Immediately Lyrian noticed a few eyes on him, which quickly lowered as he gazed at them. From the looks of everyone else, he was already an outcast.
Since Anaviotis was such a prominent school, only high-ranking nobles and royals would find themselves attending there. For Lyrian however, it was clear to see that he wasn't of any such origins as his clothes alone looked like what average people would wear.
In comparison, the other kids wore jewelry in the form of rings and bracelets, with surcoats and robes made of fine fabrics like velvet or silk.
On top of that, everyone on board must have noticed the sudden stop in some old city on the outskirts of the kingdom where no high-class nobles would find themselves stepping foot.
Lyrian's immediate feeling when standing there was the sense of everyone's egos being caressed by simply standing next to him. They must have all felt like they were better than him, seeing his places of origin.
Although all of this was true, it wasn't like he was completely the only one out of one large group. He could see that there were multiple different groups of students on the ship that had already been formed.
Near the head of the ship looked to be where the royals and the highest-tier nobles gathered. They were of course the rarest among everyone, so there were probably only around 10 of them in total.
Out of everyone else, they were the quietest and also the most nonchalant looking when it came to their facial expressions, most of them looking out into the sky with emotionless eyes.
They came from families with important backgrounds, so Lyrian assumed that they were probably taught to be very restrained in order to not damage the family's image.
One step below them were the normal nobles, who still came from very prosperous families when compared to anyone in Illstria since they most likely originated from the inner kingdom. These kids were the most common, consisting of around 60% of the total kids on board.
After them were the lower-tiered nobles who came from inside the walls of the kingdom, but not exactly from the very luxurious inner kingdom.
There were of course some other kids from places not listed, but for the most part that was the bulk of the kids that Lyrian could see.
Out of everyone on board, not a single person was sitting down. it was clear to Lyrian why this was as well.
The intensity in the atmosphere. He didn't know exactly what to describe it as, but it felt like he was in some sort of competition just by existing there.
No kid wanted to relax, all of them subconsciously battling their egos together in a competitive environment.
Knowing this, Lyrian decided to be the first one to sit down.
'Why be bothered by competition... the exam hasn't even started.' He thought to himself, seeing it foolish to try and battle egos with other kids for no reason.
Instead, he crossed his legs and began cultivating. It looked like the journey was going to be a while, so why waste time when he could instead be getting stronger.
Seeing him sit down, a few kids glanced at him, surprised at what he was doing. To them, sitting down seemed like someone was giving up just a few seconds ago, but now, seeing Lyrian, it felt like a direct challenge to everyone on board.
Almost as if to say "I don't feel intimidated by any of you."
"Che! Who does that bastard think he is?" A voice suddenly sounded from the crowd of nobles, as a larger kid stepped out from the mix.
The kid was tall and also bulky, looking to have an equal mix of muscle and fat. To the average kid, he looked intimidating as hell.
"Oh no... here he goes again..." Another kid that was nearby said, seeing the large kid step out from the crowd and walk towards Lyrian.
"Did Bardon find his new victim?" More people began to join in the conversation.
"Oh... it's that peasant kid."
"That poor guy... he shouldn't have sat down so casually."
"I wouldn't want to be him..."
Bardon, the large kid, smiled menacingly as he made his way to Lyrian. From his first moments of being on board, he had already bullied a few kids to tears in order to assert his dominance early on.
In fact, he had already made a name for himself, "Iron Press Bardon," by pressing his hand down on the kids' shoulders, causing them to be crushed to the ground from the weight of the brute.
Bardon walked right in front of Lyrian, as many eyes from around the ship carried over to the two, along with the eyes of some of the kids from the group near the head of the ship as well consisting of royals and high-tiered nobles.
"Hey peasant, stand up and greet your superior." Bardon smiled, standing over Lyrian.