Ch.1817. First Day (2)

# 17. First Day (2)

He glared at me for about three seconds, then sat in the corner of the very last row in the classroom.

Chris also looked at Leo and said,

“Did something happen between you two?”

“No? Nothing special.”

“His eyes looked pretty fierce for someone you don’t know.”

“I just ran into him once yesterday while heading to the dorm.”

Chris nodded.

“That’s good if that’s all it was.”

“You should be careful around him.”

Chris agreed with that.

“Yeah, he’s kind of a troublemaker.”

These guys have some nerve.

Talking about someone right in front of them, knowing they can hear everything…

And about the Emperor’s son, no less.

Even considering that he can’t exercise his power in the academy, it’s still a gutsy move.

But this guy had backing.

The reliable backing of his parents.

But I don’t have such…

‘Or do I?’

Suddenly, the most reliable person in the world came to mind.

“What are you thinking about?”

When I came to my senses, Chris was looking at me like I was strange.

“My girlfriend.”

“What?”

“…!?”

At those words, not only Chris and Raicle but even Leo in the distance looked surprised.

Chris asked me,

“You have a girlfriend?”

“I was just joking…”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, I thought so.”

When I said it was a joke, everyone looked at me with disappointed expressions.

“What do you mean ‘you thought so’? You believed it.”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if you did. It would be weirder if you didn’t.”

Chris said this while looking at my face.

“I’ve never dated anyone.”

“Eh? Really!?”

“That’s more surprising than you having a girlfriend.”

“What have you been doing all this time?”

“Yeah, really…”

I was a bit taken aback by the question “What have you been doing all this time?”

‘I should have lived more earnestly.’

If I had worked as hard in my previous life as I am now, would things have been different?

That question lingered in my mind.

But there was no point in thinking about it now.

I’ve been given a chance to make up for past mistakes, and I should make good use of it.

And that alone is enough.

“Teacher’s here.”

At some point, all the students of Class A had entered the classroom, and so had the teacher.

The woman with impressively pointed, long ears and blonde hair spoke.

“From today, I’ll be your homeroom teacher. My name is Gloria Taylor.”

I noticed Raicle listening attentively to Gloria’s words.

“I’m sure you’re most curious about how your grades will be determined, so I’ll explain that first.”

Unless you’re a special case like Raicle, grades are important.

Whether you join the military or a large party, they focus on grades.

“Your evaluation will be based on 25% common subject grades, 25% elective subject grades, and 50% combat performance. Additionally, you can earn extra points by winning awards at various events or competitions, or by performing well in dungeons.”

‘Combat performance is 50%, huh…’

So that’s why someone like Raicle can be in Class A.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can neglect academic subjects.

They still account for 50% of the total.

“For your information, my subjects are swordsmanship and history.”

Come to think of it, was the first period history?

“Today’s first period is history. Everyone received their textbooks, right?”

Gloria showed her ruthlessness by starting with the curriculum from the very first class.

***

I listened to the lecture just in case, but I was relieved to find that I already knew all the content.

However, this guy didn’t seem to feel the same way.

“Wow… how can she jump into the curriculum from day one?”

Raicle looked like he was dying of boredom.

Still, perhaps because it was Ms. Gloria’s class, he managed to stay awake and focus.

“By the way, why didn’t you take swordsmanship?”

“I don’t need it.”

At least he’s not just mindlessly following me around.

“That’s true.”

“What’s the next class?”

“Combat training.”

“Oh!”

We headed to the training ground where the combat class would be held.

Since it was still break time, there weren’t many people there yet.

“Perfect timing. Let’s do it.”

“Now?”

“When else would we do it?”

He immediately activated [Body Like a Sword].

His entire body was imbued with a terrifying amount of power.

I felt a bit intimidated by his fierce appearance.

‘Clearly I’m not the only one who’s been working hard.’

Just from that one skill, I could tell that Raicle had also been putting in effort over the past five months.

Reassured by this fact, I simultaneously activated [Blade of Darkness] and [Mortal’s End].

Just as I was impressed by his improved skills, he was also amazed at my growth.

“You’re a complete monster.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Both Raicle and I had made tremendous progress.

His level was probably still higher than mine.

Originally, there was about a twofold difference.

That gap must have narrowed considerably by now, but there would still be a difference.

Still, I felt like I wouldn’t be struggling due to inferior stats anymore.

I charged at Raicle, feeling the cool sensation in my hand.

-Clang clang clang!-

His sharp hands and my sword clashed, making strange sounds as they fought against each other.

-Whoosh!-

Raicle charged at me with lightning speed.

It was a blow powerful enough to knock out anyone with ordinary skills, but I blocked it rather easily.

I took one step back, then activated [Swiftness] and swung my sword at Raicle with increased speed.

-Clang!-

Raicle was surprised by the quick attack using [Swiftness], but he managed to respond calmly.

“Oh, not bad.”

“The rank is much higher than before.”

As he said, the rank of [Swiftness] had increased by 4 levels.

But Raicle still reacted to my [Swiftness] despite its higher rank.

‘He really is impressive.’

Still, he’s just a kid.

Just a 17-year-old brat lacking in both skill and experience.

I tripped Raicle’s leg as he maintained an awkward posture trying to dodge my attack.

“Huh!?”

He immediately lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.

Watching this, I chuckled and pointed my sword at his neck, just like last time.

“That’s unfair.”

“That’s real combat. Fair or unfair, winning is all that matters.”

Whether you win by playing dirty or lose while fighting fair, winning is winning and losing is losing.

And in real combat, winning means living, and losing means dying.

“That’s not the point.”

“This isn’t real combat, you know?”

“We’re treating it like it is, and if this had been a real situation, you’d be dead.”

Raicle couldn’t argue and lowered his head.

“How you win doesn’t matter much. What matters is whether you win or lose. Just win first.”

“You sound like a real expert.”

Raicle looked at me with somewhat admiring eyes.

“I am an expert.”

In one-on-one close combat, I was strong enough to defeat anyone.

If I’m not an expert, who is?

-Clap clap clap-

I turned my head at the sound of applause from behind.

“Excellent.”

Ms. Gloria was clapping in my direction.

Now that I think about it, I remember that our homeroom teacher was in charge of combat training.

“I can hardly believe you’re only 17.”

“I often think the same thing.”

Sometimes I’m amazed by the fact that I’m only 17 years old.

“I’d like to spar with you sometime, as one swordsman to another.”

“I’d welcome that anytime.”

We took a short break while waiting for class to start.

As class time approached, the other students began to show up.

“Did you two already have a match?”

Chris complained about being left out of the fun.

“You should have come earlier.”

“So who won?”

“I did.”

“Shouldn’t have asked.”

Raicle warned Chris.

“You can’t beat him. I guarantee it.”

Despite his confident voice, Chris didn’t back down.

“Just because you lost doesn’t mean I will.”

“He’s really the strongest in one-on-one combat, though it’s mostly because of his skills.”

“Those don’t work on me.”

It seems Chris has already obtained [Gabriel’s Blessing].

I’m not sure what rank it is, but it’s probably not low enough that I could pierce through the blessing and intimidate him.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Chris nodded with a dignified expression.

It might be worth looking forward to.

“Everyone, please gather around. I’ll explain the second class.”

The second class of the day was about to begin.

Gloria enthusiastically explained what we needed to do today and in the future.

But the only thing that mattered to us was Gloria’s statement: “Since it’s the first day, you can spar with whoever you want, as much as you want.”

Chris and I looked at each other, and as soon as Gloria finished speaking, we immediately took positions in the center of the training ground.

And then.

“Come at me.”

***

At that same time, something unexpected was happening in the Kingdom of Babylon.

In a pitch-black space where not even a speck of light could enter, someone was giving orders to their subordinate.

The subordinate was shocked by the command.

“Your Majesty!…”

The order was to wage war against the Kingdom of Orion, a neighboring country and ally of the Kainis Empire.

The subordinate opposed the order in her heart, but she couldn’t express her opinion to her lord.

It was obvious what would happen to her if she did.

“Understood…”

She had no choice but to carry out the king’s orders.

The king smiled arrogantly at the back of his obedient subordinate.

“Ugh!… Then I’ll take my leave…”

The subordinate noticed his gaze and left the place as quickly as possible.

The king watched her disappearing figure for a long time.