"Now, I will be taking attendance," Anna said coldly.
"Introduce yourself when your name is called."
"Rank 1. Link Rex."
"Present!" Link stepped forward with a warm smile. "As everyone already knows, I'm Link Rex. Although I am the son of an SS-rank awakened, please treat me equally. I look forward to our academy life together."
Hmph. Two-faced bastard, Rio thought. You're probably already planning how to bully the lowest-ranked student in this class.
"Rank 2. Kira Bloodlight."
Here comes the main heroine.
"Nice to meet you, everyone," Kira said politely. "I'm Kira Bloodlight, a mage. I look forward to our academy life."
"Rank 3. Lia Silver."
Oh, Lia. The only villainess in the novel.
In the story, Lia was the only girl who never accepted the protagonist. She played the role of a villainess, constantly harassing the heroine, Kira. A swordsman herself, she despised mages.
Since the protagonist was a mage, she rejected him repeatedly, even humiliating him whenever he confessed. In the end, she was killed by the boss monster of an SSS-rank gate.
Five minutes later,
"Rank 505. Rio Flash."
Oh. My rank's decent enough.
After giving a brief introduction, Rio sat down quietly and waited for the real show to begin.
The protagonist's entrance.
"Rank 1000. Fade Crest."
No response.
"Rank 1000. Fade Crest!"
Still nothing.
Anna's expression darkened. Irritated, she scanned the classroom until her gaze locked onto the back row.
Fade Crest was asleep at the last desk.
She strode over and slapped him across the face without hesitation.
"Ah!"
Fade was sent flying, crashing into the wall with a loud bang.
Oh… she's just as ruthless as the novel described, Rio thought.
Fade tumbled to the ground, fully awake now, trembling in fear.
"Next time, pay attention in my class," Anna said coldly. "This applies to everyone. If I catch anyone sleeping again, they'll get the same treatment."
The entire classroom fell silent.
Everyone swallowed nervously.
"Since it's your first day, we won't be doing much," Anna continued. "Come with me to the training grounds and choose your weapons."
"Follow me."
The students lined up and followed her. After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the training grounds.
Rio's eyes widened slightly.
These places are massive… they could easily hold thousands of people.
"Choose your weapons," Anna said. "Every type you can imagine is here. After that, you may train lightly on your own. That's all for today."
With that, she turned and left.
Rio knew better, though.
She's definitely watching us through the cameras… probably with the other teachers.
Let's not waste time. I'll mind my own business.
Students began selecting their weapons. Rio chose a double-handed longsword.
This will do for now.
Only academy-issued training weapons were allowed here, unless, of course, you were confident you wouldn't get caught.
Gravity room first.
Soon, most students dispersed to train.
Except for one.
Fade Crest remained standing there, dazed, as if lost in thought. After nearly half an hour, he finally picked up a mage's staff and walked toward the practice dummies.
He raised his staff and cast a spell.
A fireball appeared, barely larger than a lighter's flame.
Laughter erupted around him.
Even in the monitoring room, the teachers shook their heads.
Anna clenched her fist in fury.
"Damn it! How did that piece of trash get into our academy?"
The other teachers laughed inwardly. Anna had always been known for having a perfect record, every student under her guidance passed with good marks.
This year, that record would finally be broken.
After two hours of training, Anna returned and dismissed the class.
Back in his dorm, Rio immediately collapsed onto his bed.
"Hoo… today's training was average," he muttered. "I need to train harder."
"Once the protagonist gets his cheat, his growth will be terrifyingly fast. I need enough strength to protect myself."
Before awakening his system, Fade was cowardly and weak. But after gaining it, he would become arrogant ,beating anyone who stood in his way.
Disobedience would be met with violence.
Tsk. I'm not getting bossed around by that brat, Rio thought. A sword to his neck, and that problem disappears.
The academy allowed fighting, but strict rules were in place: no killing, no torture, and no fatal wounds.
Anything else was permitted.
Because of those rules, Fade would be beaten daily by Link's lackeys,never fatally, just enough to humiliate him.
Of course, he wouldn't die from something so trivial.
How could a child of heaven fall so easily?
Instead, that suffering would become the trigger for his system's awakening.
Rio smiled faintly.
"I'm looking forward to it."