It's been about two weeks since I had officially entered the academy, and I couldn't say I was particularly excited about classes.
Not only was it hard for me to train, due to the constant stares, but for the theoretical courses, I really couldn't understand a thing.
Although they were interesting, because of how advanced all the material was, I didn't even know how to solve the easiest questions.
What was the point of them being interesting when you knew nothing about them?
I didn't even have the basic foundational knowledge.
It was like presenting an integral calculation to a kid who had just learned how to perform additions.
It was totally ridiculous!
I just realized, at this rate, I might actually not make it past my first year!
Although the lock mainly focused on nurturing heroes. In order to pass the first year, you still needed to pass all your courses.
If I couldn't pass a course, my chances of graduating, let alone pass the first year were extremely slim.
This was a huge problem!
That was because the second year was the main year of the academy arc!
It was the year where, after the protagonists who have all settled down and adapted to school life, suddenly came face to face against villains!
It was the most impactful part of the academy arc which helped the protagonist and his friends grow in both strength and character.
Missing such an event would be detrimental to my growth, as not only did I lose access to the top-end facilities provided by the academy, but I would also lose my chance to gain experience fighting against villains.
"Alright guys that marks the end of the lesson, I hope you enjoy yourselves at the elective fair"
disrupting my thoughts was Donna's enchanting voice.
'So today is the day, huh...'
Today was the day the elective fair was held.
The elective fair was an academy-wide event where the third and second years tried to recruit new members to their elective.
Once an elective was chosen, you couldn't change it until the start of the new year.
There was a wide selection of electives available for each student to choose from.
There was a 'Specialised combat' course, a 'programming' course, a 'dungeon exploration' course, and many more activities to choose from.
This was also the time when first years would come to contact with the senior years.
Because the first, second, and third years were separated they didn't have many chances to interact with one other.
Electives were a great chance for the seniors to interact with their juniors.
Moreover, the more first years they manage to recruit to their elective course, the more budget they were granted by the academy.
So every year, the first years found themselves getting assaulted by all types of seniors looking to recruit new members.
Furthermore, there was another thing one needed to be careful of when taking into consideration what elective to join.
That was...they had to watch out for the 'hidden politics' in certain electives.
Factions existed inside of the academy.
A good example was the 'Blood supremacist' faction that Gilbert used to be a part of back when he was still a student.
Many electives were secretly a recruitment process for certain individuals to their factions.
Therefore, one should be careful when choosing an elective as choosing one faction means being an enemy to all other factions.
Fortunately for me, I was keeping a low profile.
Since I was fairly unnoticeable, I was almost certain that I wouldn't be dragged into this senseless conflict.
However, although I may not encounter any problems during the elective fair, that didn't mean others would have it as easy as me.
Take Kevin as an example.
Because he stood out too much, he would not only have to face the endless number of people requesting for him to join their elective, but he would also have to fend off against factions who were eager to have a talented person like him in their group.
I could already imagine how miserable his life would be for the next few days.
Actually, I didn't need to imagine, I already knew.
Moreover, since I already knew what would happen in the next few days, I also knew that this was the period where one of the main scenarios for the first-year academy arc began.
Seniors vs. Juniors.
The first major event that Kevin encounters since joining the lock.
An event which even if I didn't want to participate will be forced to join.
'Ah...why did I even...'
Just imagining myself encountering more arrogant characters was upsetting my stomach.
At least I still had Donna with me...
Watching her leave, I couldn't help but admire her beauty which was more mature compared to the main heroines who were still young.
"..."
As I was busy admiring her, she turned her head around and met my line of sight.
I couldn't remember much after that, as I felt my body suddenly become lethargic.
I couldn't even lift my finger.
-Bang!
It was only after I heard the sound of the door closing that I managed to recover from the abnormal state.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I tried my best to regain my composure but...
"Look at this donkey getting caught looking at professor Longbern"
"hahaha, how pathetic"
"I know she's beautiful but how is a bottom ranker like you worthy of her?"
Three individuals surrounded the area where I was sitting, causing me to frown.
"What's going on?"
Why were they suddenly picking on me?
Usually, they would just say some sarcastic remarks and leave, but now it felt like they were coming at me more aggressively than ever before. It was like they were purposely targeting me.
ah...
Right.
How could I forget?
Slightly turning my head to the left side of the classroom, I could see Arnold sitting with his arms crossed looking at the front of the classroom indifferently.
"What's going on? Cat got your tongue?"
Pushing my left shoulder, a rather lanky individual that seemed to be the leader of the group asked
"Why are you looking at professor Longbern with such disgusting eyes?"
I know the best way to deal with these kinds of people.
"..."
"Hey, you deaf or something? say something"
Since you couldn't fight in schools, I could just ignore him and get along with my day.
If you're caught fighting in school, depending on how serious the violation was, you could potentially be expelled from the academy.
Moreover, since my ranking was so low, I doubt they would bother keeping a troublemaking student like me.
"Oy! I'm talking to you moron!"
"..."
"Bro I don't think he's ignoring you, I think he's just too terrified to even speak"
"Yeah, what a moron"
"..."
Think whatever you want, just don't bother me!
Grumbling to myself, I stood up and packed my stuff up.
"You leaving?"
"..."
Putting my bag on my back, I stepped to the side and tried to walk away, but...
"Not so fast, who told you I'll let your run like that"
Looking at him with cold eyes, I coldly spoke
"Move"
Ubeknowst to me, after nearly dying inside of the dungeon, my demeanor had become slightly colder.
Slightly surprised by my response, the leader of the group laughed "Hehehe, who do you think you are to make me move?"
Sigh
Letting out a sigh, I tried to push my way through the trio but it was to no avail.
"You think you can pass without my permission?"
Seeing that the situation was becoming unfavorable for me, I dropped my bag back on my desk and sat down.
I really wished fighting was allowed, but since I couldn't afford to be expelled, I could only silently endure their harassment.
Taking out my phone, I loaded a game and started playing it.
Seeing me sit down, the trio initially smirked with a sense of superiority, but as soon as I started playing my game their smiles faded away, and their complexion turned grim.
"Y-ou"
Trembling, the leader pointed his finger at me, trying his best to suppress his rage.
Looking up at him, I tilted my head and asked
"Need something from me?"
"HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF ME???"
Seemingly having lost all sense of reason, the leader of the group tried to assault me, but just as he was about to hit me, his two friends held him back.
"Stop Richard! you might get expelled for this!"
"Don't do this Richard!"
So his name was Richard...
Mhhh...
Never heard of him.
After being restrained by his friends, Richard managed to calm down before staring at me with hatred.
"You will pay for making fun of me!"
"Hold on a second"
Pinching the middle of my brows, I let out another exhausted sigh.
"Let me get this straight. You're mad at me because I ignored you?"
Taken aback for a second, Richard processed what I said before looking down at me with disgust
"You lowly ranker, you think you're worthy of my anger?"
"No, you clearly were angry. Even a stupid person could realize that"
"I'll kill you!"
"No Richard stop!"
"Ghhhhu, stop Richard"
Dumbfounded, I stared at Richard being restrained again.
Was this some sort of comedy skit?
Were all minor characters supposed to be dumb or something?
"Huff...Huff...I'll remember this!"
Glaring at me, Richard, who was seemingly out of breath, threatened me with a third-rate villain quote.
"Please don't"
"I'll kill you!"
"Richard don't!"
"Richard! please stop, I can't take it anymore!"
pffff
"Hahahahahah"
Before I knew it, I found myself laughing hysterically at their antics.
I was laughing so hard, that tears started gathering in the corner of my eyes.
I haven't laughed this hard since coming to this world.
It was somehow refreshing.
Suddenly being thrown into my own novel, although I tried my best not to show it, I had built up a lot of stress.
From the very beginning since arriving here, I had been constantly working towards my goal.
From getting the [Seed of limit], [Keiki style], entering the black market, and almost losing my life against a Baron ranked demon.
I had been constantly risking my life.
My sudden burst of laughter was not just laughter that stemmed from Richard's group stupidity, but it was also a laugh that swept some of my worries away.
Although my journey towards the top was going to become tougher from now on, I should enjoy every free moment that I could get.
Although this world was tough, it was still much better than my old world where I was silently waiting for death to come with every passing day.
There were times when one just needed to let go of their worries and just relax.
Looking at Richard who was being restrained by his two friends, the corners of my mouth involuntarily pulled upwards.
Seeing me laugh, as if a switch had been flipped, all three of them stopped at the same time.
"Is he laughing at us?"
"Is this lowly ranker looking down on us?"
"Is he treating us like some sort of clowns?"
"..."
Somehow I feel like I did something I shouldn't have.
It seems like my laughter had wounded their pride.
Feeling their intense glare, I pretty much knew that they were going to assault me.
It was fine before because Richard was being restrained, but now that all three of them wished to beat me up, a fight was inevitable.
"You think this is funny?"
"Do we look like a joke to you?"
Approaching me with intense hatred in their eyes, I could see from their eyes that they no longer cared about the repercussions.
All that was reflected in their eyes, was me.
But just as they were about to attack me, a stern voice interrupted them.
"Let's leave it at that shall we?"
Stopping right before me, the trio halted their movement and turned towards the voice that told them to stop.
"Who are you to medd-- ah, K-kevin"
Turning around and figuring out whose voice it was, the trio froze on the spot.
Being in a society where rank meant everything, they were overcome with fear and couldn't stop trembling as soon as they saw who was speaking to them.
Kevin Voss, the first-year number one ranked student.
"W-ee we-re must lettin-t him know h-is place"
As his voice trembled, Richard spoke to Kevin.
"And what did he do exactly?"
"Ehm..ehm.."
Overwhelmed by Kevin's charisma, Richard started fumbling on his words.
Placing his hand on Richard's shoulder, Kevin patted him a couple of times.
"Let's leave it here okay?"
Repeatedly nodding his head, Richard and his group immediately fled the scene.
Seeing this happening before me, I couldn't help but slightly admire Kevin who with just a few words made the trio run.
I have to say, there were definitely perks in standing out.
Like being able to swiftly deal with low-level characters with just a few words.
But in hindsight, facing low-level charters was much better than dealing with annoying high-level ones.
So I was still going to try my best to remain as hidden as possible.
"Thank you for your help"
Standing up, I put my bag on my back and expressed my gratitude to Kevin who simply nodded his head in acknowledgment.
Finally free, I quickly left the classroom and headed towards my dorm.