Under the blazing sun, Archie propelled himself down the immaculate sidewalk on his skateboard. With a powerful push from his left leg, he gained speed, the wind whipping past him as he expertly navigated the streets, his mind honed in on a singular goal.
His eyes were locked forward, only darting to his phone occasionally for directions to the cafeteria building.
Dressed casually, Archie had planned to stay indoors until classes began the next day. However, a glance at his phone changed his plans.
"Please let it be freshly cooked, not frozen,"
He murmured to himself, saliva pooling at the corner of his mouth. The allure of today's special, Shrimp Noodles, was enough to make him brave potential dangers.
Since his arrival two days ago, Archie had been subsisting on cup noodles and pre-packed junk food, supplemented by some fresh noodles stashed in his inventory. He had taken to eating in the bathroom, away from prying eyes.
During those two days, he had completed his daily missions and exercised relentlessly within the castle, the memory of his humiliation during the opening ceremony still fresh in his mind.
After Ron concluded his speech in the auditorium, the students filed out, passing Archie and tossing 100 Echo notes at him.
Archie endured it all, his lips clenched and eyes welling up, but he remained silent. He was aware that any physical retaliation outside of combat would lead to immediate expulsion from the academy, which was precisely what they were hoping for.
Despite the ordeal, Archie decided to venture to the cafeteria, knowing that the high clan students wouldn't be present—only those from branch families or others.
While high clan students had their meals delivered directly to their rooms, others had to dine at the public cafeteria. With this small comfort, Archie made his way to the cafeteria.
After a brief journey from his building to the cafeteria, Archie halted his skateboard with a sharp downward push on its tail, then kicked it up and caught it.
Standing before a modest 10-story building, Archie joined a group of students entering the cafeteria. Upon seeing him, they quickly retreated, some even turning back completely.
Unfazed, Archie entered the building, his mind solely on the shrimp noodles.
He made a beeline for the elevator, riding it alone as others avoided him. He pressed the button for the fifth floor, where his assigned dining hall was located.
Stepping out of the elevator, Archie scanned the grand hall for the shrimp noodles counter.
Amidst the sea of stainless steel dining tables, he spotted nearly 40 counters serving various dishes at the far end of the hall, but his eyes zeroed in on the one serving shrimp. Once he found what he wanted, Archie put down his skateboard and glided across the mosaic floor, leaving a trail of tire marks.
His skating drew attention, but Archie was undeterred, his gaze fixed on the counter. He closed the distance swiftly, heading straight for it.
"Oops… I'm sorry, still learning,"
Archie apologized, feigning inexperience at skateboarding to cut the line, stopping his skateboard by grabbing the counter to reinforce his act.
"One large, extra filling, extra soupy, extra spicy, extra noodles in a big bowl. A large mixing bowl will do,"
Archie requested from a middle-aged woman in a white chef's uniform, her cold, unfriendly eyes reflecting her disdain for her job.
She shot him a frosty look, turned around, and placed something in front of Archie, announcing,
"Here are your special extra noodles."
"What!" Archie cried out in disbelief at the sight of a store-bought noodle cup. He pounded the counter and protested,
"This is unacceptable. You can't expect us to eat this."
"Hey, special bowl. Look around,"
The woman retorted, gesturing around her. Archie looked around and realized that all the food being served was store-bought and canned.
"No way… It's not just about frozen or freshly cooked anymore. We're eating off-the-shelf. This is worse than I thought," Archie muttered to himself.
The woman flicked her fingers dismissively and instructed,
"Take it and join the microwave queue."
"UGH! Microwaving cup noodles is a crime!"
Archie exclaimed, to which the woman simply gestured to her sides.
Archie found himself facing a long queue before the 20 microwaves, only half of which were functional.
"Huh!" Archie exhaled in frustration, clutching his cup of noodles as he joined the line. He knew arguing with the cafeteria lady would be fruitless.
After enduring the queue for several minutes, Archie filled his cup with water and heated it in the microwave. Once done, he found a secluded corner table in the dining hall, where only a handful of students were eating.
"What's on the menu, shrimp?"
A male voice taunted. Archie looked up to see a group of five students approaching him, seemingly waiting for him to settle down.
"Shrimp!" Archie replied with an air of indifference, his faith in the academy already dwindling over something as trivial as shrimp noodles.
"HA…HA…"
Laughter reverberated through the hall as one of the students, a brown-haired boy of Archie's height, stood at the forefront and jeered,
"A shrimp eating shrimp. You're quite the clown, aren't you?"
"UGH!" Archie grumbled, his thoughts consumed by the disappointing reality of the cafeteria's shrimp noodles, barely registering the student's words.
"THUMP!" Feeling disregarded, the brown-haired student slammed his hand on the table and barked angrily,
"Listen here, shrimp. You should leave this academy right now."
"Maybe I should. I thought they served good shrimp noodles,"
Archie mumbled, resting his chin on his hands, his demeanor reflecting a sense of loss and desolation.
Archie's nonchalance incensed the group of students. One of them, a black-haired boy, stepped forward, swatted the noodle cup aside, and growled,
"Don't test our patience. Leave the academy."
"Ugh!" Archie sighed, retorting, "Now I have to queue up for another shrimp noodle."
"You bastard!" The black-haired student swiftly grabbed Archie's collar and threatened,
"Leave the academy, or we'll bury you here."
Archie wiped his face and quipped, "Stop spraying, dude."
"HA…" The black-haired student's friends chuckled, aware of his tendency to spit when he spoke, which only fueled his rage.
"You son of a—"
Before he could finish, the black-haired student's hands transformed into rock, sharp nails protruding like blades, aimed at Archie's throat.
Archie gulped and remarked,
"With all that spraying, I thought you'd have Aqua Ethereal."
"AHHH… you bastard!"
The black-haired student lunged to slash Archie's throat, but before his hand could make contact—
"WOOSH!" A fork knife whizzed through the air, striking the black-haired student's hand. The force sent him spiraling through the air, crashing headfirst into a chair.
The incident unfolded so rapidly, it left everyone stunned.
Archie slowly took in the situation, noted the pitiful state of his attacker, and shifted his gaze to his right, where six students stood, each bearing a distinct appearance from the rest of the students.