"After you return, don't forget to use your House Card to check the school rules. Finally, I wish the freshmen to find their own value at St. Marian Academy over the next six years!"
The opening banquet ended amidst the cheers of the students.
Principal Arte did not give any plot-guiding hints like Dumbledore in "Harry Potter."
This left Dark a bit unsure of the situation.
But after thinking it over, even if something bad were to happen, the protagonist would bear the brunt of it. What does it have to do with him, the antagonist?
Better to take care of himself!
St. Marian Academy is a closed school, and students cannot leave except during holidays.
Once the school gates close, money, power, and connections are all cut off.
Knowledge, ability, and credits are the main factors determining one's rank.
Even as a duke's son, if he falls to the bottom, he will be despised.
Moreover, those who can enter St. Marian Academy are future Magicians, unafraid of noble authority.
Dark knew his reputation wasn't great, and only the students of the Noble House, due to empathy, would be close to him.
But this suited his plan: reduce social interactions, cultivate himself, and while maintaining a laid-back lifestyle, delve into knowledge and find a way to completely remove the Demon God bloodline before it fully awakens!
St. Marian Academy, besides the Sacred Ritual Academy, is the most profound and book-rich place in the kingdom. If he can't find a way to remove the Demon God bloodline here, it might as well be declared impossible.
...
Following the senior students out of the great hall, up the marble stairs, through the portrait-filled winding corridors, and across a high bridge, the freshmen of the Noble House finally arrived at the tower in the southwest of the academy—the dormitory of the Noble House!
St. Marian Academy has four such towers, each with nine floors above the basement.
The first floor is a common lounge.
From the second floor upwards are the dormitories for first to sixth-year students.
The eighth floor is a dueling practice room, and the ninth floor is an observatory!
The guardian golem of the Noble House is a legendary creature called the "Feathered Serpent"!
The Feathered Serpent has colorful wings, deep and wise, gentle and elegant.
They cannot lie, can see through illusions, and perceive the truth, known as the "True Speaker"!
The Noble House dormitory is the only tower among the four houses that doesn't require a token, password, or other "key" to enter directly.
This is due to the presence of the Feathered Serpent golem.
As long as you pass in front of this golem, it can tell if you are a student of the Noble House.
Dark watched Diana rush into the tower and followed suit.
When he passed in front of the Feathered Serpent, the golem, coiled at the door, suddenly opened its serpent eyes, the pupils vertical, bright and lively, completely unlike a lifeless golem!
Dark was frozen in fear.
But the white light from the Feathered Serpent's eyes scanned him once and then retracted.
The Feathered Serpent then closed its eyes again, without a sound.
Dark quickly sped up his pace, entered the tower, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"...Almost thought the Demon God bloodline was discovered!"
Originally, Dark thought that the awakening of the Demon God bloodline having a progress bar meant there was room for error.
But now it seems, even if only % awakened, it can't escape the True Eye of the Feathered Serpent golem!
"Is this the legendary hell difficulty?"
...
"Dark, what's your room number?"
Diana ran over again, holding her House Card.
Dark, still shaken, glanced at the door and infused magic into his House Card.
The "Crown" emblem on the front of the House Card faded, revealing the information he wanted to know.
"Number 20."
"Huh? Diana is number 233, so far away!"
"Aren't we all in the same building?"
Dark casually brushed it off and quickly went up to the second floor, finding the room at the very front.
Only after entering the room and locking the door did he finally relax, letting out a bitter smile.
"Never felt this much pressure in two lifetimes."
The dormitory is a single room, not only with a soft bed but also a private bathroom.
On the bed were brand new living supplies and a complete set of first-year textbooks.
Dark barely managed to make the bed before his brain, overwhelmed with fatigue, shut down.
"Think about it tomorrow!"
...
At dawn.
Dark opened his eyes wearily, and on the wall opposite the bed hung a brass clock, the hour hand just pointing to six o'clock.
"Six o'clock? Seems like class starts at eight... I'll sleep a bit more!"
[Sloth +]
A cruel system prompt suddenly floated before his eyes.
Dark was startled awake, all sleepiness gone!
"Ca... a kind of plant."
The [Wrath] index didn't increase, and Dark wiped his sweat.
The smallest margin for error now is with [Pride] and [Wrath], while [Envy] and [Gluttony] are relatively more forgiving.
A quarter of an hour later.
Dressed in his uniform, Dark went to the common lounge on the first floor.
The Noble House uniform is black with gold trim, with a small crown emblem on the chest, and the academy also provided a matching card pouch that can hold twenty-one Magic Cards.
The common lounge was very quiet, and the magic lamps on the walls would automatically light up when someone arrived.
Having lost the joy of a morning nap, Dark sat down in a dejected manner and began taking out textbooks from his shoulder bag one by one.
To remove the Demon God bloodline, besides finding the correct method, necessary knowledge and ability are also crucial.
Imagine if a magic book containing the correct method was right in front of you but completely incomprehensible, how despairing would that be?
"The opposite of [Sloth] is [Diligence]."
Dark picked out the textbook needed for the first class today—"Beginner's Guide to Summoning"!
[Summoning] as a means to awaken Magic Cards is a basic spell every Magician must master!
And having the summoning class as the first class on Monday is to teach freshmen how to summon the familiar from their House Card!
Under the slightly dim light, Dark Demon opened the textbook and began to preview in the empty common lounge.
...
A few minutes later, Dark gradually got into the zone.
In his previous life, he was at least a college graduate, with more than necessary reading comprehension skills.
Among the young Magicians of the same age, no one should have a stronger grasp of language than him.
"Maybe becoming a top student like this isn't so bad?"
[Pride +]
"..."
Dark suddenly realized he had improved, not even mentioning that plant.
...
If you can get into the state of learning, it actually feels quite good.
Because you can truly feel yourself improving.
Human beings have an innate thirst for knowledge, constantly acquiring knowledge, exploring the unknown, and solving mysteries to open up one era after another.
After studying seriously for an hour.
[Greed +]
"屮!"
[Wrath +]
...
**Dark Demon's First-Year Class Schedule**
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