Ch.8Chapter 8. Welcome (2)

Long ago, so far back that it’s not an exaggeration but truly a “past life,” I was once an “educated person” who received higher education in South Korea.

In other words, I graduated from middle school and high school.

Though my memories of middle and high school are now hazy, there are still a few emotions and sensations I clearly remember.

One of them was the feeling of entering a new classroom after advancing to the next grade.

The awkwardness and unfamiliarity in a classroom so quiet you could hear the turning of pages, the subtle power struggles between classmates, and the strange atmosphere.

‘Hmm. I don’t think it was this intense back then.’

I came prepared for the Academy to feel similar since I’d experienced it before.

Zzzzt-

I reflexively turned toward the source of the hostile gaze directed at me, more blatant than before.

A blonde boy met my eyes with an unmistakably displeased expression, making no attempt to hide his hostility.

‘Sigh.’

So that blonde boy was the owner of the gaze I felt earlier on the first floor.

When I was talking with Elaine, he had entered with other students, and after Elaine left saying she needed to go somewhere briefly, he started staring at me in earnest.

I was just wondering if I could ever recreate those memories of becoming friends with classmates and going out for tteokbokki after school when…

“Hey.”

A voice filled with hostility came from behind me.

It was the blonde boy who had made eye contact with me earlier.

Of all times, while Elaine was briefly away, the boy with the flashy blonde hair stood behind me with a grave expression, looking down at me.

“Can I have a word with you?”

“Huh?”

“I said, let’s talk.”

“Why?”

“I want to see the skills of the great commoner who got the top score.”

<Sub-Quest Generated!>

<Sub-Quest(1-3) ‘Follow Me to the Rooftop’>

Objective: Win the duel against Cain Hover

Description: Show your skills to those who doubt the Academy’s top entrant.

Reward: 2 Stat Points

Penalty: Reduced efficiency of the title <Academy’s Top Entrant> (Growth acceleration +30% → +15%)

‘Follow you to the rooftop…’

“Hurry up and come out.”

“Haah…”

I couldn’t help but sigh, but part of me thought this might be interesting.

Well, let’s see what level these kids are at these days.

**

Thump- Thump-

In the silent space, the sound of two people walking out echoed loudly.

Everyone secretly glanced toward the sound, aware of what was happening, but no one showed any sign of trying to stop the situation.

To be fair, there were only three other people in the classroom besides those two.

“Haaah.”

Cynthia let out a deep sigh before getting up with a troubled expression.

Cynthia Surplus.

Though not as prestigious as the Sinclair family, Cynthia was the eldest daughter of the Surplus family, one of the well-known houses in Crescen, and was famous among her peers for various reasons.

Cynthia was famous for her elegant purple hair characteristic of the Surplus family, her pretty face, and her provocative figure, but what made her stand out even more was her behavior.

Like most people from the Surplus family, Cynthia was particularly known for her “righteous” personality that couldn’t tolerate injustice.

One famous incident that exemplified her character was when she challenged another noble to a duel after witnessing them abusing their servant.

Challenging another noble to a duel because they hit their own servant a few times, even though it wasn’t her servant—unheard of.

‘Someone needs to stop them.’

Thinking this to herself, Cynthia tightly tied her long purple hair back and followed the two who had already left.

Separate from her righteous personality, Cynthia was still a noble of the “Surplus” family, so she wasn’t particularly pleased that a commoner had taken first place in the exam.

But it was already done, and since the Academy hadn’t made any announcements about it, Ryu must not have cheated or used any loopholes.

If that was the case, she had no choice but to accept it.

Though it stung to be outperformed by a commoner, this was just the entrance exam, and there would be plenty of opportunities to get even later.

Besides, Cynthia had placed sixth, allowing her to start in Class S from the beginning, so she tried to look on the bright side.

She thought she had followed them quickly, but the two had already disappeared from the corridor.

Cynthia leaned over the railing to check the first floor, wondering if they had gone outside, but they weren’t there either.

That meant they must have gone into one of the rooms on the second floor.

‘Ah, the training hall.’

Cynthia went around opening every door she could find until she saw a sign that read ‘Training Hall.’

She had a hunch.

If her intuition was correct, the two would be passionately fighting in there, typical of boys their age.

‘In case things get too heated…’

Cynthia opened the door while maintaining her tension, preparing for the worst scenario.

Slide-

The sliding door opened silently, and Cynthia saw the two people she had been looking for.

‘Huh?’

However, the situation in the training hall was quite different from what she had expected.

The blonde boy who had confidently led Ryu out was now kneeling on one knee in front of Ryu, clutching his stomach and panting heavily, while Ryu was calmly looking down at him with his arms crossed.

And at that moment.

Whoosh-

As the blonde boy fell backward, intense heat erupted between the two.

“Y-you crazy bastard!”

Flames appeared without warning.

Judging by the shape of the flames, that blonde boy must be from the Hover family.

Cynthia reflexively covered her face with her hands and closed her eyes at the sudden heat.

This situation had escalated more than expected.

**

There are countless families in the Crescen Empire.

From the six great families that wield the most powerful influence and firmly support the Crescen Empire, to the countless noble families known as “prestigious houses” below them.

The characteristic of the well-established families, including the six great families, was that each had its own uniqueness.

For example, the Sinclair family had been famous as a family of knights since ancient times, and this tradition continues today—when people hear “Sinclair,” they naturally think of knights in shining silver armor.

Among the many families, the “Hover” family was known for fire mages who used fire mana.

The flame magic used by mages bearing the Hover name was qualitatively different from the flames of other mages. In particular, the flame magic used by Hover mages who reached a certain level was said to take the form of a bird, giving rise to the term “Hover’s flame bird.”

Whoosh- Crackle-

Cain Hover proudly looked at his flame bird—not as perfect as his father’s but still good enough to be called a “bird”—and glared at the black-haired commoner standing beyond it.

“Let’s see you dodge this too!”

“Hey, isn’t this going too far? Someone could die.”

Seeing Ryu maintain his composure even after witnessing his flames, Cain felt his anger rise to another level.

He had disliked Ryu since the entrance exam, but now Cain was furious at Ryu’s arrogant attitude.

Not only had this commoner outranked a Sinclair for the top spot, but he had also casually brushed off his speech and even made it into Class S.

So Cain had decided to teach him a lesson on behalf of everyone, but Ryu had consistently maintained his arrogant attitude and effortlessly dodged his attacks.

If Ryu had just dodged his attacks, Cain might not have been this angry, but Ryu had even hit him.

And it hurt quite a bit.

Cain, who had rarely been hit by anyone before, was half out of his mind with rage at the fact that a commoner had attacked him.

He had initially planned to just scare Ryu and warn him not to act up in the future, but now Cain was determined to teach him a painful lesson.

Flap-

The flame bird, carrying Cain’s will, fluttered its small wings and emitted heat around it.

“Die, you commoner trash.”

True to his nature as a flame mage, the hot-tempered Cain hurled the flame bird toward Ryu with all his anger.

The familiar heat spread in all directions as the flame bird flew rapidly toward the commoner who had one hand casually in his pocket.

Cain had no doubt that the commoner would soon be engulfed in flames from a direct hit from his flame bird, writhing in pain as his body burned.

“Kyaaah! Are you crazy?!”

A sharp female voice suddenly came from the doorway, but Cain was too focused on not missing the moment his magic struck Ryu, his eyes wide with excitement.

This was the first time he had sent a flame bird at an actual person, and though his heart was racing wildly, Cain felt an irresistible thrill.

The flame bird flew precisely toward Ryu, determined not to miss its target, and to Cain’s eyes, Ryu seemed to have given up completely.

He was probably overwhelmed by seeing magic up close for the first time and couldn’t even think of dodging.

After all, commoners rarely had the chance to see magic this close.

Just as the flame bird spread its wings wide, fluttering as it increased its speed and was about to reach Ryu—

At that very moment, the flickering, heat-emitting flame bird that had filled Cain’s eyes disappeared instantly.

As if it had never existed in this space to begin with.

“…Huh?”

A confused groan escaped Cain’s lips at the sudden turn of events.