—Professor Bridget's point of view.
It had been a few hours since her class ended, but Professor Bridget's mind could not find rest. Ever since she felt the mana from that cadet, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. She hadn't expected something like this, much less on the second day since the new cadets had arrived. In fact, he had never imagined such a thing was possible.
How did a first-year cadet reach the second circle so quickly? Not even sophomores achieved that level in such a short time. How on earth did he do it?
When Professor Bridget entered class one, a strange feeling came over her. The mana in the air was different, as if someone much more powerful was present. At first, she assumed it was some sophomore or junior cadet, but the reality turned out to be much more disturbing.
His surprise was compounded when he identified the cadet. He was surrounded by members of the Big Ten families, and what puzzled her even more was the way these cadets were talking to him: Grey, Freddy, Julian, Emilia, Luna, and even Princess Gloriana. They were all interacting with him as if he was one of them.
"Haa..." he sighed as his gaze was lost in the ceiling of his office.
"Why...damn it, Asher Frostblade?"
It was impossible not to feel anger. He had always tried to keep any common cadet away from members of the Big Ten families. But why? The reason was simple: to Professor Bridget, those ten families were sacred.
When she was a child, one of those families had rescued her from the greatest disaster that had ever befallen the continent. She was one of the few survivors and had been raised and trained by them ever since. For twenty years she had seen them as her own family.
So whenever anyone tried to approach a member of those families, Professor Bridget couldn't help but be wary. They were her saviors, the people she admired above all else, and her purpose in life had been to protect the younger ones, as if they were her own children.
To her, any attempt at rapprochement was a threat. Her devotion and loyalty to the Big Ten families blinded her, leading her to make decisions that others might consider unwise or even irrational. But for Professor Bridget, her decision was clear: she would not allow just anyone to get close to those she considered her saviors and her reason for being.
"I guess I'll just have to do whatever it takes to get him away from them," Professor Bridget thought as she fiddled with her hair.
Her intention was not to hurt Asher, even if she didn't like the idea of keeping him close to members of the Big Ten families. She knew that Principal Wilbek would detect any assassination attempt almost instantly, so such thoughts were quickly dismissed. The idea of resorting to drastic methods was simply too risky.
"How will I do it?" he asked himself.
"There must be a way... Wait, I think I already have an idea, though it will take time."
With a vague plan in mind, he began to outline how he could separate Asher from the members of the ten families, particularly Princess Gloriana. The plan was ambitious and could take years to execute, but it was the most suitable strategy he could think of.
"A betrayal by her own friends..." she muttered to herself with a cold smile.
"Yes, I'll wait for the right moment."
Although she knew that manipulating Asher's friends into betraying him was a complex task that could take a long time, she was willing to be patient. Professor Bridget was determined to follow her plan, no matter how long it took.
***
—Scene Change.
—Asher Frostblade's point of view.
It was ten o'clock in the morning. It was a resounding dread when Oriana arrived at the salon; it was something Asher never wanted, but for trying it was his biggest mistake.
In the end, Oriana made a fool of Asher. It was to be expected; after all, that smile she had on her face was what led Asher to think it was dangerous, and it ended up being dangerous.
As he walked down the halls, Grey spoke in a mocking tone.
"Hehe, even Professor Oriana dislikes you."
"Yeah... I never thought that..."
Grey and Julian spoke, while Asher simply walked in front of them with his eyes on the floor.
"Ptf..." At that, a laugh came out of Luna.
"Hehe..." Emilia likewise laughed quietly.
"Ahem... I have no comment, but I must admit that was funny to see that," Freddy said as he looked at Asher.
"..."
"Hehe."
"..."
Asher looked at Gloriana, who covered her mouth with her hand trying not to be seen, but of course Asher saw her. A chuckle came out of her.
"This couldn't get any worse," Asher muttered.
***
—Scene change.
—Gloriana Mengral's point of view.
Gloriana tried not to laugh, but every time the others talked about what happened in class, it was more than enough to keep her laughter from staying hidden.
"Don't laugh, don't laugh, you mustn't laugh..."
"Hehe."
It was then that she quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. Seeing Asher's blank stare, Gloriana turned her head and looked in another direction trying to avoid his gaze, but....
"Hehe."
Again a chuckle escaped her. It was subtle and quiet, but it was clear the others could hear it.
Of course, she was trying not to laugh at her best friend, but it was unavoidable; it was half an hour of her sister doing things on Asher that were so funny.
"It was fun," she admitted.
"But sister, you're not serious in these cases and you're irresponsible."
In fact, Gloriana knew very well what Oriana had done to Asher; somehow, Oriana wanted to do that from the beginning, and so when Asher wasn't looking, she seized on Oriana's words as an excuse for a punishment.
Even knowing that, Gloriana left everything behind and watched what happened. The laughter of several cadets was evident, and even after leaving the room, Gloriana's friends started talking about everything that happened with Asher, and of course, she couldn't hold back anymore.
"He keeps looking at me."
She knew because she felt a single gaze on her.
"Hehe," but still, laughter was inevitable.
She couldn't control herself and had to let out all that laughter she had.
"Hehehe...", and it went on like that for much longer.
***
—Scene change.
—Asher Frostblade's point of view.
"Damn, why won't these idiots stop?"
They had gone out to the campus, but those annoying laughs from their friends were really annoying.
"Teacher, no, Oriana any minute now I'll have them make fun of you."
"Hehe," was an evil laugh Asher let out.
The free hour only lasted half an hour, so the cadets had that time to go about their business, and of course, one of Asher's needs was to find a nice, hot, delicious coffee.
Knowing that, Asher, along with the others, arrived at the beverage area.
At that, Asher approached where the coffee stand was, and as expected, Julian did the same.
They are both coffee lovers after all.
"Which one will you order?" asked Julian.
"A cappuccino, royal style with chocolate and a touch of the finest milk."
"Good choice, then I'll also order the same."
After a few minutes, two coffees arrived, and so Julian and Asher grabbed them and then looked around for the others.
Looking at the group sitting at a large round table, Julian and Asher sat down.
"You two, why do you like coffee?"
"It's refreshing."
"To me it's like life itself."
Asher and Julian spoke at the same time while the others made a shocked face.
Knowing that these two were coffee weirdos....
"Okay... Stop being weird," Luna voiced out loud for Asher and Julian to hear.
"..."
"..."
"Weirdos...," Asher muttered quietly.
"Why me too?" muttered Julian likewise.
At that, Asher looked around.
As was more than known, cadets were wandering everywhere, but one thing Asher didn't understand was....
"Where are the second through fifth year cadets?"
In fact, since arriving at the academy, he had only seen two second-year cadets, but what about the other cadets from higher years, where were they?
"You're right," Grey said.
"Maybe they don't have time off," said Emilia.
"But what if they're in a dungeon, because credit points are earned by doing missions."
"True, but at least one cadet should be here," Gloriana commented, and then Luna replied.
More than anything, it should be so; seeing that nowhere were the cadets of higher years, it could be more than obvious that they are on a mission to get credit points.
To get the credit points, the only option Asher knows of is to go to one of the dungeons the academy assigns to cadets, but even then, there should be at least a single senior-year cadet, which is oddly rare.
"Haa," Asher sighed.
"Let's finish up and then head back. We'll know any minute now why those cadets aren't there," Asher said, and then minutes passed.
***
—Scene change.
—Wilbek Laosa's point of view.
Looking at some papers on his desk and perusing the words on them, Wilbek's eyes widened as he took in the information.
"So there was a semi-crack...this is dangerous."
The report read as follows:
"Recently a small dimensional crack the size of five centimeters appeared. It's not that big, but this is dangerous. In seven or eight years, this rift will expand and possibly the biggest disaster in history will occur. According to scientists, the manna in the crack is impossible to measure; inside there is like a kind of holy manna, but it is very different. This is very strange, so we will close the area for five years."
As Wilbek read carefully, he finally finished.
In short, a dimensional rift appeared. According to the report, this rift could open in eight years or, at most, ten years.
"The cadets must be strong enough."
No, in fact, from now on they must be much stronger, not only the cadets, but also the whole continent.
"But that's still a long time away. Still, these cadets should reach at least the ninth circle in eight years."
Then, looking at another report, Wilbek read it:
"The rift has just appeared and we have seen that it is affecting the teleportation gates and also disrupting the dungeons."
The report was from just two days ago, and mentioned that the rift could cause the dungeons and teleport doors to become dangerous in three years.
"I guess we have very little time. At the moment, the cadets are just kids, so they should enjoy this time."
Of course, at the moment, the dungeons and teleport doors are safe, but they won't be in a few years. So Wilbek dismissed the idea of closing the doors and not allowing cadets to go to the dungeons for credit points.
Knowing that the dungeons are the source of experiences for the cadets, Wilbek decided not to close them, but, of course, this could have consequences. However, the crack appeared less than two days ago, so there is nothing strange yet.
"The crack is on the other side of the continent."
That was why Wilbek made sure not to close the doors yet. The rift was on the south side of the continent, while the academy was on the opposite side, which is completely safe.
"I should implement more security on the teleport gates."
It was an idea that popped into his head. Wilbek must strengthen the cadets and not lose any of them. The rift will open in eight years, or if luckier, ten years, so there is still plenty of time.
"Yes, I think I will put in more security."
It was then that he decided to move and stepped out of his office.
A dimensional rift is something humanity is still unaware of. There has only appeared one of these once a long time ago, and of course, most of the strongest monsters came out of that dimensional rift. Among those monsters were dragons, a species that no one knows where they are or has ever fought.
Knowing quite a bit about dimensional rifts, Wilbek was to strengthen the cadets and even look for a way to surpass the power of a ninth circle....