Damian was already feeling very bored ever since this class started.
The only thing interesting to him was the professor herself.
Although only now he was beginning to understand why Elizabeth said it might be difficult for him to keep up with the rest of the class.
All the students present in the class had at least a talent of A rank officially recorded.
There were even 4 SS ranked talents and multiple S ranked talents this year.
S rank talents were already very rare each year, treated as a treasure.
But there were plenty of them this year. Not to mention it was rare to see a SS rank talent every year.
Getting 4 of them in the same year was definitely weird.
'It seems that the time when the Monsters start attacking is drawing near.
That old man didn't mention any timeline.
I only know that Monsters will start attacking through every portal once again in a few years' time.
Looking at the talents popping like candy… including Luna. There would definitely be a crisis coming soon, just like the professor mentioned…'
'Are these 4 SS ranked some of the main characters?
Though all of them are filled with useless pride, I see potential in each of them.
I should also make a decision about the Mafia…'
As Damian was busy contemplating future issues in his mind, Seraphina spoke up again after seeing Nobles finally quieten down.
"Now that the matter of fairness has been addressed.
I hereby declare the start of ranking matches.
Is there anyone who would like to issue a challenge?"
As soon as those words were spoken, almost all students started looking at his way.
"... I would like to challenge Micheal."
Damian wanted all the benefits of being at the top.
The freedom to choose among all the weapon arts and skills alongside having reserved room at training facilities, was not something he could just let go.
He didn't have any plans of participating in these ranking challenges previously, but now they were worth too much.
After hearing Damian speak, all other students had an 'as expected' look on their faces.
But what surprised them even more was Michael Thorne's response.
"I surrender. I'm not his match at the moment."
He gave up even without a fight.
All the Nobles in the class had constipated looks on their faces.
Even though they all knew he wasn't a match for Damian, they at the very least expected him to fight to uphold the Noble honor.
But he just gave up immediately.
"Alright, I will update the rankings accordingly.
Damian Valcor will be ranked first from now on.
Anyone who has objections can challenge him."
Although Seraphina said, she herself knew no one would challenge Damian…. At least not yet.
[Beep! Student Damian Valcor challenged Micheal Thorne and won.
Thereby, becoming The first ranked student.
The rankings for Students with rank 1 to 231 will be reduced by one automatically.]
As Seraphina finished finalizing the outcome in her watch, a notification was sent to all students whose ranking was changed.
In this case, almost 231 students received this notification at the same time.
For a while, the whole first year was in turmoil.
"Now I will start your first lesson on Aura Control…"
All students including Damian were absorbed in the lesson.
Professors at the academy were almost the best in their respective fields in the world.
So there was always a lot to learn.
"The focus of today's class will be on controlling the Aura inside your body.
…"
By the time she finished speaking, everyone had gained a lot.
'Indeed, having a good teacher really reduces a lot of time figuring things out.
I gained so much from one lesson alone.
Even though my Aura Control skill is very high for my level, understanding what I'm capable of is another thing.'
Damian remembered the ambush from yesterday night, he was able to infuse Aura in his punches without being taught.
But only now he was understanding how crude his approach was.
'... So I can do so much with Aura control.
I will never miss this class for sure.'
"... Alright, that's enough for today. There will only be one combined class for today.
For Weapon Arts class, you all need to select your arts and go individually to the Professor responsible for teaching that art.
If multiple students select the same arts, the professor assigned will teach all of them together.
Is there any question?"
"Professor, is there a limit to the number of weapon arts we can choose?"
"No, you can choose however many you like, but I suggest selecting only one and not being greedy.
It is better to master one weapon to the extreme.
Although you can later on take one more secondary weapon art after you have some success in your Main art.
But only the top 10 students can select S rank weapon arts and above in their first year.
Alright, you can check out the details of the weapon arts I will be sending to you on your watches.
Make your decision soon and report to your respective Professors within an hour."
After finishing speaking, Seraphina left the class in a hurry, as if she couldn't be bothered with the choices her students made.
****
Damian focused all his attention on his watch.
The first thing that caught his eyes was of course the change in his details.
[Name: Damian Valcor
Class: 1 A
Class Rank: 1
Status Rank: E-]
Then his eyes moved towards the message he had received from Professor Seraphina.
She had sent a list of weapon arts He was eligible for. And for some reason, she had not sent any art lower than S rank.
He saw the names of the Weapon Arts one by one and their details.
Supreme Sword - SS rank: Master a sword intent capable of cutting through everything in this world.
Dragon's Fist - SS rank: Capable of flattening mountains with your punch's might.
Soul Piercer - SS rank: The most supreme spear Art in the world capable of fighting against many at the same time.
Abyssal Slaughter - SS rank: An axe art created just for slaughter.
Note:- Only people with strong will power can cultivate this Art.
Night Shade Volley - SS rank: The Greatest Bow art capable of fighting against an Army.
Omega point - S rank: A gun art capable of killing targets extremely far from the user. The more the bullet travels, the more powerful it becomes.
…
Looking at the weapon arts before him, Damian was engrossed in his thoughts before finally deciding on selecting Omega Point and Abyssal Slaughter.
His thinking was very rational for picking up these two.
He chose Omega Point simply because it was the highest ranked Gun art he could find.
There were no SS rank Gun arts in the list sent by Professor Seraphina.
And as for his choice of Abyssal Slaughter.
Firstly, he didn't have any experience in holding a sword or a spear in both his lives.
He discarded the Punching art as well because honestly, it was more suited for someone who has innate brute strength.
He wouldn't need a Bow art as he already selected a Gun art.
So he was only left with an Axe art. And he did have some experience with an axe in his past life.
He used to log woods in the forests sometimes for calming down.
Plus, the note below that art made him even more certain. He had high will power, so why not take advantage of that?
'And I need an art capable of slaughter in the first place…'
After making his decision, Damian memorized the details of the professors responsible for teaching the arts and put a message to them.
When he finally looked up, he saw a beautiful face just a few inches away from his face.
'What the…'
As he backed away a little, Adrian Murdock spoke first.
"Hey there."
"...Hi?."
"Have you made your choice?"
"Yes."
"Good, then let's go eat something in the cafeteria since we have some time."
"... Okay."
And so, Damian and Adrian started walking together towards the cafeteria amidst the eyes of other students.
'I can never understand these Murdocks… Elizabeth is unusually kind to me and now her brother just invited me to eat together for no reason…'
'Sigh… forget it. It's not like they are harming me.'
Although Damian could not understand their motives, he didn't want to waste too much time overthinking everything.
He will handle every problem when it presents itself to him.