Chapter 8
Honestly, it had been so long ago that calling it a “past life” wouldn’t even be an exaggeration. Back in those days, I was a “learned person,” having received secondary education in South Korea.
In other words, I’d been through both middle and high school.
Though those memories are now a bit blurry, certain feelings and sensations remain distinct. One of those memories was the feeling of entering a new grade and a fresh classroom. The uneasy quietness of a class where even the sound of flipping pages felt loud, the awkward tension, the subtle competition, and the unfamiliar atmosphere.
‘Hmm. But I don’t remember it ever being this intense.’
I’d prepared myself, expecting the Academy to feel similar.
Zing—
But as I felt an especially hostile stare directed at me, I reflexively turned toward the source. A blond boy was glaring at me with a disapproving expression, showing no attempt to hide his animosity.
Sigh.
The hostile gaze I’d felt earlier from the first floor had come from this blond kid. When Elaine had momentarily stepped out, he had intensified his focus on me while with the other students.
This was so different from the camaraderie I remembered from back in school, laughing with friends and grabbing snacks after classes. Those memories seemed far off.
“Hey.”
The voice behind me was filled with animosity.
It was the blond kid from earlier. Now, while Elaine was gone, he stood behind me with a determined look, staring down at me.
“Come with me for a second?”
“Huh?”
“I said come here.”
“Why?”
“I want to see how skilled our impressive ‘top-ranked commoner’ really is.”
<New Quest Triggered!>
<Subquest (1-3) “Follow Me to the Rooftop”>
Objective: Defeat Kane Hover in a duel.
Details: Prove your skills to those who doubt the Academy’s top-ranking student.
Reward: 2 Stat Points
Penalty: Reduced effectiveness of the <Academy’s Top-Ranked Freshman> title (Growth Boost +30% → +15%)
‘So he wants me to follow him to the rooftop…’
“Hurry up, will you?”
Sigh.
A sigh escaped me, but honestly, this sounded kind of fun.
Alright, let’s see how capable the kids here really are.
***
***
Tap, tap—
The footsteps of two people echoed through the still space, and everyone subtly glanced in their direction, understanding what was going on but showing no intention of intervening. Not that there were more than three others in the classroom besides the two leaving.
Sigh.
Cynthia sighed deeply before standing up, clearly debating something.
Cynthia Surplus.
Though not from a family as prominent as the Sinclairs, she was the eldest daughter of the Surplus family, which was well-known in Crescent, and she was quite popular among her peers for many reasons.
Cynthia’s popularity partly came from her distinctive violet hair, a signature color of the Surplus family, combined with her striking appearance and her bold figure. But more than that, her actions spoke louder than her looks.
Like most from the Surplus family, Cynthia couldn’t stand injustice and had a very “righteous” personality. One of the most notable incidents that illustrated her character was when she witnessed a noble abusing his servant and challenged him to a duel over it.
It wasn’t her servant being mistreated, yet she intervened on behalf of a stranger’s servant—someone seen as the noble’s “property”—and called him out.
‘Someone needs to stop them.’
She sighed again, tied her flowing violet hair back, and followed the two outside.
Though Cynthia was righteous by nature, as a noble from the Surplus family, she wasn’t thrilled about a commoner taking the top spot in the entrance exams.
However, the Academy’s silence on the matter indicated that Ryu hadn’t cheated or used any tricks.
So, as much as she resented being outdone by a commoner, she had no choice but to accept it. It stung to be outranked, but this was only the entrance exam. There would be many opportunities to reclaim her honor.
In any case, she’d ranked sixth, which meant she also started in Class S, so it wasn’t all bad.
She thought she’d left quickly, but by the time she reached the corridor, the two of them had already disappeared from sight.
Cynthia leaned over the railing, looking down at the first floor, wondering if they had gone outside. However, they were nowhere to be seen on the first floor either.
That meant they had gone to one of the rooms on the second floor.
‘Ah, the training hall.’
With an instinctive sense, Cynthia wandered down the hall, opening every door she passed until she spotted a sign that read “Training Hall.”
Her intuition was spot on.
If Cynthia’s intuition was correct, those two boys were probably inside, passionately fighting it out, as boys that age often did.
‘If things get too heated…’
Assuming the worst, Cynthia opened the door cautiously, keeping her body tense.
Srrrk—
The sliding door opened without a sound, and inside, she saw the two she had been looking for.
‘Hmm?’
But the scene in the training hall was not what Cynthia had expected.
The blond boy who had confidently dragged Ryu away was now on one knee, clutching his stomach and panting heavily in front of Ryu, who stood there calmly, arms crossed, looking down at him.
And at that very moment—
Fwooosh—
The blond boy suddenly reeled back, staggering as a surge of intense heat flared up between them.
“You’re insane!”
The unexpected appearance of flames.
Judging by the form of the flames, Cynthia guessed that this blond boy was from the Hover family. Reflexively shielding her face from the sudden heat, she closed her eyes.
This was quickly turning into something serious.
***
The Crescent Empire was home to numerous noble families. Starting with the Six Great Houses, which held the most influence in the Empire, there were countless other noble families known as “prestigious houses.”
Among the Six Great Houses and other distinguished families, each had its unique attributes.
For example, the Sinclair family had been renowned for its knights for generations, so it was only natural that the name “Sinclair” conjured images of silver-armored knights.
Among those countless families, the Hover family was known for its mastery over fire mana and fire magic.
The magic wielded by the Hover family’s mages differed in quality from ordinary fire magic. Notably, the flames produced by advanced mages of the Hover family would take on the shape of a bird, a phenomenon referred to as the “Hover’s Firebird.”
Fwooosh—crackle—
Kane Hover looked proudly at the flame bird he had conjured, though it wasn’t a perfect bird form like his father’s. Glaring beyond the flames at the black-haired commoner, Kane sneered.
“Try dodging this!”
“Hey, isn’t this a bit much? You’re going to kill someone.”
Seeing that Ryu still looked unfazed in the face of his fire, Kane felt his anger rise another level.
He’d disliked Ryu since the entrance exam, but seeing his arrogant attitude now had pushed him to his limit. Not only had this commoner beaten Elaine to become the top student, but he had also breezed through his speech as though it were a nuisance and then waltzed into Class S.
Kane had decided to put him in his place, representing everyone else, but Ryu had responded with an irritating level of composure and easily dodged every attack.
If Ryu had merely dodged, Kane might not have been so enraged. But Ryu had even struck back— and it hurt.
Kane, who had rarely experienced getting hit, was half-losing his mind over the fact that a commoner had dared to attack him.
He’d originally intended only to scare Ryu into staying out of everyone’s way, but now, all he wanted was to land a hit on him.
Swoosh—
The firebird, animated by Kane’s will, flapped its small wings, radiating heat around it.
“Die, you filthy commoner.”
Known for his fiery temper, Kane launched the firebird at Ryu, brimming with fury. The familiar heat surged around him as the firebird swiftly flew toward the commoner standing with one hand in his pocket.
Kane fully expected to see the smug commoner scream in agony as his body caught fire.
“What are you, insane?!”
A sudden, sharp voice came from the door, but Kane, too focused on the thrill of the moment, kept his eyes wide open, eager to witness his magic striking Ryu.
Though it was his first time using the firebird against a person, his heart raced with an intense mix of excitement and euphoria.
The firebird, with its wings fully extended, sped toward Ryu, aiming to make contact. Kane thought Ryu looked like he had resigned himself to his fate, perhaps too overwhelmed to even think of dodging.
After all, it wasn’t every day a commoner had the chance to see magic up close.
Just as the firebird flared its wings wider, accelerating toward Ryu—
The flame, flickering and radiating heat, vanished in an instant as if it had never been there.
“…Huh?”
Kane let out a bewildered gasp, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
—
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