"Good morning, everyone. I'm Ella Grace. Your homeroom instructor for this semester."
When Ella Grace looked at me straight in the eyes, I realized that not even my poker glasses could hide my expression in front of her. I still managed to remain calm, but internally, I was a complete mess. Among all the plans I made, all the variations I considered, and all the surprises I was expecting, this one was by far outside my reach.
In this school, everyone knew Ella Grace as a normal history instructor. Even when she was a student at the academy, she wasn't anything special. The type of person who scored enough during exams just to pass. It's been ten years since she became an instructor at the academy, and during that time, she only did what she was tasked to do—nothing less and nothing more.
Then why was I panicking while seeing her? Well, that's because I knew her secret identity. She was one of the directors of Caelestis Academy. But plot twist: she wasn't the elf director who was already within my control. Even though she was an elf, Ella Grace was actually the human director. She was someone who didn't like attracting attention to herself. But when she finds something interesting, her true nature will start to surface. She was absolutely crazy, and when she did something, she didn't care about the consequences as long as she was entertained.
She was currently smiling while looking at everyone in the classroom. But after scanning every single student, her warm, smiling face instantly changed into a cold stare. She released her mana, and the whole classroom felt the pressure of her strength. To my horror, I could see, one by one, the heads of every student falling off their bodies as if they were being cut by an invisible sword.
'Wait, this is an illusion.' My mind, which already started analyzing the situation as soon as the head of the first student felt down, came to this conclusion.
I closed my eyes and started moving my mana from my heart to my head. When I opened them again, all the students still had their heads. Their eyes were close, and they sat immobile as if paralyzed.
"Congratulations! You are the first one to break through the illusion. I didn't expect anyone to be able to break free in less than a minute. Having a high intelligent grade really does wonders." Despite her words, I could see from her expression that she was expecting this. I looked away without even replying to her. I didn't want to waste my breath talking with this crazy person. Right now, I have to throw away the hundreds of plans I made for this semester because of her interference.
Soon, Anastasia Storm and Nyx Exla opened their eyes. Their faces were completely covered in sweat, and they started breathing heavily.
"Anastasia Storm, you are the second student to break the illusion. Nyx Exla, you are the third. Both of you broke it after 3:29 and 3:31, respectively. Congratulation."
I could see Anastasia's confused face as she was looking around. But Nyx stood up and hit her table angrily. "What the hell are you doing? Why did you put me under such an illusion? Do you know who I am?"
"Clam down, young girl. Yes, I know who you are, but inside the academy, your princess title doesn't work. As for why I did it, wait for everyone to break free first, then I shall explain." Nyx tried to refute her answer, but Ella Grace completely ignored her.
"Do you know what's happening?" Anastasia quietly asked while looking in my direction.
"I think it's a surprise test she is making us take. Let's just wait for her explanation after everyone has freed themselves. By the way, congratulations for being second." I did my best to comfort her for the sake of my future plans.
The next students to break free were the other main characters. Silas Avongus (4:40), Lucas Astram (4:57), Melina Sloane (5:17), and Freya Destdemona (5:40). Anastasia explained what she knew to Lucas and Melina when they woke up. Nyx and Silas were angrily shouting at the instructor, but Freya had a satisfying face, as if she found the illusion entertaining.
After 15 minutes, the last students finally broke free from the illusion. Immediately, Silas and Nyx started demanding an explanation.
"Alright, everyone is finally back to reality. This illusion was your first test at this academy. Some of you did well, but some of you will have to improve a lot. Your time here will be challenging and filled with competition. If you don't have strong mental fortitude, then you don't have a place here. For those of you who were arguing with me earlier, remember that everyone in this class is considered an elite, and everyone here will need to prove their worth. If you weren't able to break free from the illusion after the class ended, I would have transferred you to another class."
Everyone felt silent at her explanation. Even those who were angrily arguing with her didn't say a word now. They just realized that everything she said was true. If they want to succeed in this academy, they need to be strong both mentally and physically. That's how harsh the competition is.
"Now that everyone has calmed down, let me once again congratulate the top 3 of this test." By hearing the top 3, everyone's eyes were on the three royals in front of the class.
"Third place, Nyx Exla. You broke the illusion after three minutes and thirty-one seconds. I will reward you with three merit points. In second place is Anastasia Storm. You broke the illusion after three minutes and twenty-nine seconds. I will reward you with five merit points."
Everyone was surprised at the mention of Anastasia. She was ranked 6th behind the three royals, but nobody knew anything else about her.
"And finally, Alex Fawn, I will reward you with ten merit points for being in first place. But because you broke the illusion in only forty one seconds, I will reward you with an additional five merit points." Ella looked at me with a satisfying smile.
This time, everyone followed Ella's eyes and looked at me with shocked and confused faces. My name was already well known, but having a huge difference between me and the second place was something nobody expected.
"Excuse me, instructor, what are merit points?" I immediately questioned her, and everyone's attention switched back to Ella.
Of course, I already knew the answer to my own question.
"Oh, how careless of me. I forgot I had to explain how the academy works in today's class. Well, we only have a few minutes left, so let me tell you only the most important things you should know. Firstly, the merit points. Every student in the first year starts with exactly one hundred merit points each. You gain merit points after passing a challenge or test an instructor gives you. But you lose merit points if you fail the challenge or test. You will only be able to use your merit points during the final exam of the semester. Trust me, having a lot of merit points will give you a huge advantage during the final exams, which will affect your overall ranking. But if you lose all your merit points, you will automatically be expelled from the academy. Also, since everyone here was able to break my illusion, except for the top 3, everyone will receive one merit point."
"Next, everyone's smart watch will be upgraded. The new update will incorporate a dimensional storage space that you can freely use. You will also be able to access every detail of the academy through your smart watches. You can go to the first-year administration later today to get it upgraded."
At the mention of a dimensional storage space, the mood of every student brightens up. Only people that the Heavenly Alliance acknowledges can have access to a dimensional storage space in this world.
"Finally, everyone will receive a secured tablet that will act as an intermediary between you and your instructors. You can post any question you have under their name. Likewise, your instructions can post any changes that will be made to his class. You can also write your notes you will take during classes."
Ella then took twenty tablets from her dimensional storage, and with a spell, they landed on the tables in front of every student, who immediately started checking their contents.
I looked at the tablet in front of me and noticed that it was locked. The screen said that it needed identification before being used. I placed my smart watch in front of the screen, and it automatically unlocked itself. On the tablet, I could see the schedule of all my classes and the instructor that was assigned. Fortunately, everything was the same as in the game. No more unpredicted surprises like the crazy elf in front of the class. After our homeroom period, we had four classes today: magic class, combat class, alchemy class, and finally history class. My mood soured seeing that I will have to see the crazy elf again this afternoon.
Soon the bell rang, and Ella left the classroom. Melina, Anastasia, and Lucas approached me and started questioning me about how I broke the illusion so fast.
But they stopped talking when we noticed everyone looking in our direction. The reason was because three distinguished individuals were making their way toward us.
"Alex Fawn, I challenge you to a duel."