"Students, I would like you to welcome someone today. He may be a little different than all of you and have joined in late.... But I hope that you would still strive to have a harmonious relationship with him."
The kind-looking Amethyst professor nodded at the door to someone peering by the peephole.
The person who entered had no nervous air to him, and entered the classroom with a stride and his head held high just like any Noble student.
Everyone collectively gasped when they saw the color of his skin.
"Good day. I am Ronin Willowe from House Zafeiri. I am a Coal Celestus Clairo Mage. It's my pleasure to join you all in the Academy."
He bowed with the same reverence as any Commoner, but his aura was nothing like it.
Everyone already knew his name before he attended. That was because out of everyone at the batch of 1282 A.D (After Diamant), of all the 1st year students that enrolled in the Academy....
This late-comer managed to surpass the score of the Top 1 on the entrance exam by a landslide.
The former Top 1 had a steady score of 489.
Ronin had a score of 999.
But none of them would have expected that this genius would have a Coal Heartstone!
They were all shocked at first and some even could not believe their very eyes that they stood up to see if Ronin's skin was real.
Ronin stepped back from those who tried to touch him like some rare specimen and said politely as he could. "Please refrain from touching me without my consent."
"You must be joking, right? Is this just some sort of cover so your family would not recognize you or something?" One of them asked, a fancy-pants with pure white skin peppered with blue dots.
"Why must I cover myself from my family?" Ronin just smiled as if amused. "I've been with my family for all thirteen years of my life. My father Mavretri Willowe worked at House Zafeiri as a manservant even before I was born."
"He's a Commoner!? He really is a Commoner!???" Another one with Tiger's Eye Heartstone exclaimed.
"Wait, haven't you all heard the rumors about House Zafeiri? That house is full of strange things." Said one of them, who Ronin recognized in appearance to resemble one of those who attended the Belladonna's 5th birthday.
"My mother said that among the freakish daughter of Duke Taevas, the ghost appearances, and the beast-like Duke himself..... There was a servant boy who does not act like any Commoner in this world at all. His eyes were that of a daemon and can see through every single secret you have hidden."
"Then does he know my secret too!?" A male student exclaimed.
"Is he really a daemon from the Abyssal Realm?"
"Did he gain his intelligence and his powers through evil rituals to the dead Abyssal gods?"
The people buzzed with excitement at this rumor, gossiping about Ronin right in front of him. He only smiled as the teacher tried to calm the noise down.
"Everyone, settle down and get back to your seats. I will not tolerate this kind of undignified behavior as your Aristocracy Professor." The Amethyst man said. "Rumors have no place in a gentleman's discussion. We need to discuss factual things before spreading them to others, or else how are we supposed to see ourselves as a Tower of Knowledge and Truth?"
That was the other name for the Spire of Scholars. The so-called Tower of Knowledge and Truth, where aspiring scientists, medical professionals, diplomats, law creators, and upholders all join for this same search for knowledge and truth.
The person who started the commotion bowed his head. "Sorry, Professor Nifalios."
Ronin thought that it was really fitting for Professor Nifalios to have an Amethyst Heartstone and be the level-headed Aristocracy teacher. In the real world, amethyst was known to make people sober in Ancient Greece, and its name literally meant 'not drunk'.
Despite the differences in classes, he was willing to set that aside and be as civilized as possible with Ronin. Though Ronin was well aware that he himself had some... unsavory thoughts about Commoners in his classroom.
'But he's not going to say those out loud to maintain appearances, and that's what matters. Ah, nobles really care about their appearances so much.'
"You may take your seat as well, Ronin. Since you have arrived in the middle of the school year, the only remaining seat would be back there." He pointed at a desolate and broken down chair.
It seemed to have only been added on his arrival. There were no seats beside him, only a window, and the table was also just as old and worn down as the chair, not to mention significantly smaller.
Ronin made no complaints about this and just took his seat. This was actually for the best. No annoying seatmates to interact with, only those in front of him.
The people in front of him were the only two female students in 1st year's Altair Class. They just ignored him and busied themselves with books, unlike the men.
Altair was the highest class in Scholars, followed by Vega, and the lowest was Deneb.
Though to be fair, only 10% of the Academy were women, and there were only 18 students in the Altair Class, now 19 with Ronin.
The acceptance rate of the Academy was already low, and only a range of 150-200 students get admitted every year. Most of them take the Spire of Warriors too, and the rest of the scraps were to be divided among the other three spires.
In fact, most people only take the other three spires if their family have been known in these certain fields, or they did well in their Triannum test but not enough to be 'physically suitable' for a warrior.
And so, being in the Spire of Warriors holds the most prestige. Even in the Academy, there was still a hierarchy after all. Just like in real-life schools.
Ronin did not care about that. When he managed to defeat those 5 dummies, Inspector Jasny offered him a spot at the Spire of Warriors.
But what he need to find was that Spinel man, who was possibly a professor in this Academy, and he doubts that he would be in the Spire of jocks and P. E teachers.
Besides..... He was not really a Clairo Mage with strong lightning powers. Staying there meant doing more and more physical challenges that required showing his Mage Focus, and he doesn't have enough tricks up his sleeves for that.
The only benefit he could see in joining the Spire of Warriors was being in the same building as Cermin Drychspiel.
As he peered by the window, he saw that certain spire where the distant shouts of people training and sparring could still be heard even to his own Spire. There was no doubt in his mind that his nemesis was in there, possibly doing all sorts of jock things with similarly mindless, barbaric people.
He wondered when he will encounter him again as students of the same school now, and what that encounter would be like.
But it turns out that he didn't need to wait for long for that encounter as he learned that all the Spires just share one big cafeteria, located at the very center of the diamond-shaped Academy.