Ch.7Chapter 7. Welcome (1)

# Crescen Academy

As the name suggests, Crescen Academy is directly operated by the Crescen Empire and is the only academy in the empire.

With only one academy across the vast imperial territory, it was natural that countless talented individuals from throughout the empire would gather at Crescen Academy.

From children of renowned families like the Sinclairs, whose name alone commanded recognition, to those from provincial families completely unknown to the public.

Now in her tenth year as a professor at Crescen Academy, Amillion Starpen had seen an incredibly diverse range of students and experienced many different situations. She believed she had encountered almost everything the academy could throw at her.

From students threatening to kill each other over family feuds, to casualties during competitions, the Black Shadow Corps infiltrating the academy, and even a madman making terrorist threats during the entrance exam.

“Ughh.”

Tap- tap- tap-

Amillion was tapping her table faster than usual while holding her forehead.

She had thought that after becoming a professor with ten years of experience, she wouldn’t have to rack her brain with difficult problems anymore, but that wasn’t the case at all.

As if to congratulate her decade of service, a talented individual had presented Amillion with an entirely new type of problem from the moment of admission—the 158th class’s top-scoring commoner entrant, Ryu.

A boy with black hair as unusual as his name.

A boy who had surprised not only the new students but also the supervisors and professors by breaking the all-time record in the “Golem Hit” test.

‘He certainly has historic talent, but…’

Amillion couldn’t hide her amazement as she watched Ryu in the video that her instructor Kain had brought.

Amillion, nicknamed “The Penetrating Gaze,” immediately recognized Ryu’s potential after watching his exam video.

His physical abilities alone would qualify him as having top-tier talent, but he also showed aptitude for magic.

As a magician before being a professor, Amillion knew all too well that the casting speed Ryu demonstrated was at an absurd level compared to others his age.

Not only could he cast magic without incantations, but his casting speed was remarkable even for non-attack magic.

“Haaa.”

But Ryu’s potential was one thing, and the current situation was another.

Amillion stared intensely at the words “Top Student: Ryu” written clearly on the paper, contemplating how to handle this situation.

She had already watched the entrance exam video several times and knew well that this commoner named Ryu hadn’t used any underhanded methods.

‘If only he had used some trick…’

But that fact only made Amillion’s headache worse.

Crescen Academy had several unwritten rules.

Some rules were written in the school regulations, while others were traditions that everyone recognized and followed despite not being officially documented.

One of these was “The top-scoring entrant is assigned to Class S.”

This was both a written rule and one actively encouraged by the academy to maintain the symbolic status of Class S.

Another rule was “Commoners can never belong to Class S.”

While not written in the school regulations, this unwritten rule had emerged to maintain the “symbolic status of Class S,” as most students and professors were nobles, and the academy itself was directly operated by the state.

Even a cursory examination would reveal that these two rules could potentially conflict, but until now, no one had questioned or commented on this.

No one had ever imagined that a commoner could become the top-scoring entrant.

Commoners entering the academy wasn’t particularly unusual.

There were quite a few nobles who discovered and sponsored talented commoners for various reasons—whether because their own children lacked talent or because they wanted to nurture talent for their own purposes.

However, the idea of a talented commoner outscoring numerous noble heirs from prestigious families was more far-fetched than dragons from the northern part of the continent suddenly deciding to launch a coordinated attack on the empire.

After all, their innate potential and pre-academy education would naturally differ.

“Sigh. What am I supposed to do?”

Amillion recalled the discussion from the recent meeting about which class to assign Ryu, the top-scoring commoner entrant.

The meeting had been evenly split between those arguing he should be assigned to Class S according to the rules and those suggesting that placing a commoner in Class S didn’t seem right.

In the end, the conclusion was that Amillion, as the entrance exam coordinator and person in charge of class assignments, should make the decision.

They clearly didn’t want to take responsibility for breaking one of the academy’s two existing rules.

Thanks to this, Amillion was still at her office desk long after closing time.

The class assignment report was due tomorrow morning.

And it had to be reported directly to the principal.

“Ah, damn… really…”

Amillion let out a groan of agony.

Of all times, why did this have to happen when she was in charge of the entrance exam?

**

“Wow. Nice.”

“This is the dormitory building. Each new student has already been assigned a single room, so you can use the dormitory if you wish.”

“Huh? So if I don’t want to use it, I don’t have to?”

“Of course. The room assigned to you is available for use throughout the year, so you can also commute between your original residence and here.”

“Oh, I see.”

First day at the academy.

Contrary to my expectation of stern professors shouting and awkward yet fresh air among students meeting for the first time, the academy’s first day felt more like a tour.

Actually, I had been to Crescen Academy once before.

However, at that time, I was just briefly “borrowing” some magic stone or gem that the academy was keeping, so I didn’t have the leisure to properly look around the entire academy as I do now.

It was also dark then, so I only had vague impressions like “there are many buildings” and “the interior facilities are quite luxurious.”

Crescen Academy was so vast that it would take several hours to tour the entire place.

After passing through the lecture hall, research building, professor’s building, cafeteria, and shopping area, we arrived at the dormitory.

I had no intention of staying in the dormitory, but after hearing the staff’s explanation, it seemed like a good idea to move some of my belongings there since I had a room assigned to me for a year anyway.

Above all, the luxury evident from the dormitory’s exterior made me want to take a look inside.

“The empire really spent a lot of money here. Last time I came, it was dark so I couldn’t see the exterior properly, but this is truly impressive.”

“…Dark? The entrance exam was held during the day.”

“Ah, well, I mean it was getting dark when I left? And when I arrived, I was so nervous that I couldn’t really look around properly… sigh.”

The academy tour currently underway was actually a one-on-one tour.

I don’t know how many new students there are, but thinking about the fact that each one has a staff member personally introducing them to the academy makes me wonder just how much money the academy has.

“These are the main facilities, and you can find other facilities by referring to the academy map we provided. You probably won’t need to go anywhere else besides the places we’ve seen today for a while.”

“Ah, I see. So is this the end? The first day ends just like this? Without even meeting my classmates?”

“…No. We’re now going to head back to the lecture building to take you to your class.”

“Oh, I see.”

When I first heard I had to enter the academy, I really didn’t want to come, but thanks to continuous mind control and self-gaslighting, I was now completely ready to enjoy academy life.

If I have to do something anyway, it’s better to do it happily and enjoyably.

“By the way, what class am I in? How many classes are there here?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

“But… we don’t have to walk all the way back there, do we?”

“…Yes, we have to walk. You don’t have warp portal usage qualifications yet.”

“Sigh.”

I couldn’t help but sigh.

Is there anything more inefficient than walking a distance that could be covered in the blink of an eye?

**

First Year Class S.

It seemed like a class name that could have been given a more impressive title, but it had a strong feeling of being hastily named out of laziness.

When I heard I was in Class S, I asked the staff if there were also classes A through F, and it turned out to be true.

The staff explained enthusiastically that Class S had a special meaning at Crescen Academy, and that there was no precedent for a commoner like me entering Class S, but I only half-listened.

I was in despair at the fact that I had to walk again to a place I had already visited once, and that I would have to endure such inefficiency every day while staying at the academy.

“Good job, please go in~”

“…Sigh. Well then.”

The staff member who had guided me had a displeased expression, but still bowed and greeted me before quickly disappearing somewhere after bringing me to the lecture building.

I carefully checked the exterior of the building, which looked as luxurious and splendid as the dormitory, and the surrounding scenery before entering.

The eight-story building was exclusively for new students, with the first floor being a common area and the second to eighth floors housing Classes S through F in order.

‘So I’m in Class S, which means the second floor?’

I was hoping to greet fellow students who would be sharing the academy life with me, even if they weren’t in the same class, but there was no one inside the building.

“Hmm.”

I went straight up to the second floor using the central staircase.

I thought the entire floor was supposed to be “Class S,” but there were quite a few doors on the second floor.

‘Well, which one is the classroom…’

As I was looking around wondering this, a familiar and welcome voice called out.

“Ah, Mr. Ryu!”

“Huh?”

It was Elaine, whom I had somehow saved on the day of the entrance ceremony.

The third daughter of the Sinclair Family, appearing exactly as she had that day, called out to me with a very slightly welcoming expression as I was looking around.

If it weren’t for me, no one would have even noticed that Elaine was showing a welcoming expression.

“Seeing you here, I guess you’re in Class S too.”

“Yeah, that’s right. But I told you to speak comfortably. We’re both new students, right?”

“I’m more comfortable with formal speech.”

“Oh, umm.”

I didn’t have much to say since I had asked her to speak comfortably, not to use informal speech.

As I felt last time, the Sinclairs are a thoroughly knightly family, and Elaine had a very rigid and conservative way of speaking.

It was almost like seeing Addy.

“Are you in Class S too?”

“Yes, the top seven scorers from the entrance exam are all in Class S.”

“Oh, really?”

“For now, at least.”

“For now?”

“Don’t you know? There’s a promotion exam every six months, and if you don’t maintain high grades there, your class can change at any time. Class A students can move up to Class S, and Class S students can move down.”

“Wow, that’s brutal.”

“It’s the empire’s will to nurture outstanding talent through competition.”

Elaine’s expression as she said this somehow looked bitter.

Whatever the case, I was very pleased with the fact that there was someone I knew in the same class.

“Shall we go then?”

“Yes. I think the other students will soon… Ah, they’re here.”

Following Elaine’s words, I looked down at the first floor and saw a group of students entering the building with a bustling noise.

“How come they’re all coming together? Wasn’t the tour one-on-one?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? The one-on-one tour is a special privilege given only to the top and second-place students.”

“I see.”

It seemed that this academy operated strictly based on performance.

“This way.”

“Ah, yes.”

I felt a clear sense of hostility and stares directed at me from the bustling first floor, but there were so many people that I couldn’t pinpoint exactly who was emanating this hostility.

The hostile gaze continued to follow me as I followed Elaine somewhere on the second floor.

‘Tsk…’

How annoying.