In a luxurious bathtub, a stunning woman who seemed in her twenties rested. Her long black hair floated on the water surface, framing her bare shoulders.
Glub! Glub! Glub!
The water bubbled as it boiled at high temperatures, yet her expression remained calm, unaffected by the intense heat.
"Master." A woman called her out from behind.
"Yes," she responded.
"The shadow we assigned to protect the young miss has died."
Hearing the words, the woman's eyelids fluttered open, revealing radiant golden irises that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light. The very air around her trembled as the room quaked subtly, the pressure of her presence palpable. Behind her, the other woman recoiled, fear gripping her as if the mere act of those eyes opening had unleashed a force beyond comprehension.
She closed her eyes. "Is Lucy alright?" and asked, concern etched in her voice.
"Y-yes, n-nothing to worry about." The servant stammered.
"Elobarate." The black haired woman commanded, her tone cold.
The servant, composing herself, started explaining, "The young miss had a conflict with a cadet. It escalated to a fight, and the young miss was injured. The shadow acted to protect her."
"The fool took action on his own, huh? And the academy disposed of him, I presume?"
"Yes master"
"So who is that kid? Has the academy gone so far as killing a shadow assigned from the Lukostrelec family?" she asked.
"Cadet Jadel Wayner, the disowned child of the Wayner family."
A sly smile appeared on her face. "How unexpected. Has the man gone soft? He wouldn't blink if his family members were slaughtered in front of him...
…After all, he killed his first wife and children to gain power."
Her smile faded as she continued. " Next time, if he dares to harm my daughter outside of the academy grounds, give him an appropriate punishment. If he attempts to kill her... torture him until he breaks."
"Understood."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
The woman shook her head. "No"
"Then leave"
Splash!
Once the woman departed, the woman slowly rose from the tub. Her wet skin shimmered in the dim light, revealing a body sculpted with perfect curves.
Droplets of water tickled from her breast and hips as she stepped out gracefully, reaching for a nearby robe.
"Jadel, huh? Thats unexpected"
***
***
***
It's been two days since the rank assessment. The repair of the academy was completely finished, and from today on, the classes also started.
After we got our new ranking, I saw Taren jumping rank all the way to A class, the same class as the main cast.
In the novel, they would have hidden their strength with the help of Ms. Elisa and fought fiercely in the first year academy tournament.
But since they took a massive hit this time, way worse than the dungeon incident, they decided to not hold back, just as I predicted.
But I was in the same class since I only jumped forty-two ranks, but that's a significant improvement—not enough to draw much attention.
[ Cadet Jadel Wayner
Rank: 2452
Class: 10E
Disability: Damaged mana veins ]
The test conductors were surprised—in fact, really surprised. How could a kid who was held back by his condition be able to rise ranks?
I'm sure if I jumped a little more ranks, they would have grown suspicious and interrogated me, and if the information about absorption gacha were to be revealed, that would be a doom for me.
This time I somehow fooled them, but still they are kind of suspicious. As for Lucy, I'm sure she won't tell anyone even if she had a beef with me; that simply is not her character.
Looking at the holographic screen, I smiled. 'Well, it's good. With a way of knowing to grow quickly, I'm not as scared as the first time.'
I walked to my classroom and entered. Even though not all students arrived at the time, the ones present in the classroom were all new faces.
"Move. That's my seat." I told the guy who was sitting where I usually sat.
He glanced at me, then quickly moved, offering a sheepish apology. "My bad." Then took the seat beside me.
He had black hair and black eyes. Seeing his face, he looked innocent, but the hint of tattoos peeking from under his collar suggested otherwise.
Fifteen minutes later, the room was packed with fresh faces, all except for me.
'The fuck, am I the only old student here?' I did expect they wouldn't hold back this time, but I never thought all of them would jump ranks.
'It's certainly abnormal growth. Just what the hell did that entity do?'
"Good morning, students." Ms. Elisa's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. She entered the classroom with her usual great energy and cheerful personality, blessing us with her beautiful smile that melts every man's heart.
Seeing her beautiful figure and smile, the guys looked at her, mesmerized by her beauty. Even girls couldn't escape from her.
"All of you are newly enrolled here, right?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.
""Yes,"" they said in unison.
Ms. Elisa looked at me, her smile widening slightly. "Then let me introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth, the homeroom teacher. You guys could call me Ms. Elisa.
Okay, when I call your names, introduce yourself to the class."
"Rank 2500-Jermie Neo"
He stood up and started introducing himself: "Hi, you can call me Jermie. I'm new here and hope we can enjoy our time together in the academy."
His tone and energy indicated he is really an extroverted guy.
"Good. Rank 2499- Clarie Thompson"
" I-Im Clarie, I-it's nice to meet you guys."
After calling names, my turn finally arrived. "Rank 2496- Jadel Way– …Atlanta" There was a slight confusion on her face as she read out my name.
Murmur! Murmur!
"Is he a mermaid?"
"Atlanta? Like the royal family?"
"Whoa, it's my first time seeing a mermaid."
"Can he transform?"
Jadel's mother sent me a message asking about my well being and saying she would be changing my last name because the Wayner family clearly wants to cut ties with me.
But I didn't think she would change into her former last name, a name only used by the King's family, 'Atlanta'.
"Then is he a nobl–"
"You can call me Jadel. I'm partially new to this class."
Now she, called the last name, the top student here.
"Rank 2451- Lui Grey"
He stood up and started introducing with a confident smile. "My name is Lui Grey; call me Lui. It's a pleasure to meet you all." It was the tattooed guy that sat on my seat.
'Ah, that guy is ranked 1 in this class. He… felt like plain.'
Clap!
"Okay, since you guys are new to the academy, I will start with the fundamentals of basic mana control."
"So mana is..."
As she began her lecture, my eyelids grew heavy. Since I knew all of this before, it wasn't long before I dozed off.
Tap! Tap!
I opened my eyes to see Lui tapping my desk. "Next class is starting," he said, voice flat.
"Wake up, Jadel; it's combat training now." She said and walked out of the classroom, leading the students.
Getting up, I also walked with them, and soon we reached the combat training ground. Changing our clothes from uniform to battle suit, we walked to the ground.
Since it was their first time, Ms. Elisa waited until every student changed and came to the ground.
"Good, all of them arrived."
Clap!
Clapping her hand, she attracted the students' attention. "The top 12 rankers, come to this side." Nodding, they walked to her, where training dummies were placed.
Then she looked back at the students. "So, is there anyone who has experience in combat?"
A few of them raised their hands.
"Good, now those who have experience in fighting should separate from the group. And for those who don't know how to fight, I will give you weapon techniques that are easy to learn. For your information, every student will learn to fight, including mages." She said.
After distributing the techniques, she arrived at the experienced group. "I will now help them learn their techniques, and for you guys, find a sparring partner and start sparring."
Finally, she arrived at us, observing each one of us. "I have checked all of your data and footage of the tests. I have to say it's really surprising. If it weren't for the rules, you guys would have ended up in higher classes."
"No, it's okay, miss, learning from scratch and learning good information is a good thing." One of the students voiced out.
"I hope you guys don't mind."
""No"" they said in unison.
"Okay, these dummies have been programmed based on the data of my former students who recently moved up to higher classes. Fight them, even though they are copies, but I'm sure you guys will learn much from the fight.
""Yes""
A dummy approached me and took its stance. Two daggers appeared on its hands, and lowered his legs.
'Taren' I thought seeing the dummy took Taren's stance.
"Huh!" As I looked at other dummies, I saw Lui's dummy take the exact same stance as me, but something was different.
'Is that really my copy?'
Before I could dwell on it, the Taren's dummy lunged at me.
Swoosh!
My eyes widened seeing the dummy approach me at a fast speed.
'Fast, too fast'
I barely avoided a fatal strike, but I felt a sting on my neck.
"For the information, the dummies only use 60% of the power that the real students are capable of. And if the dummy deems you dangerous, it will increase its strength.