The classroom was dead silent as a particular student stepped inside.
Everyone's eyes were wide with shock as they took in the image of the ashen haired boy with pale skin and crimson eyes. As his uniform clung loosely to his slim and tall body, he appeared like a ghost to the students.
They had thought they wouldn't see him as an Akashic student—or, at the very least, not a member of their Class.
However, here he was… standing with a cold look.
"Welcome the newest addition to Alpha Class… Master Ashfelt Zephyr!" The Instructor declared, and a lackadaisical round of applause echoed in the classroom.
A lot of students were too stunned to render a proper applause, but most were actually buried in their thoughts… wondering how it was possible for a student who flunked out of Beta Class nearly two weeks ago could be back now.
'Did he use his connections? But would the Academy even allow that to happen?' One student thought to himself as he stared at the calm Ashfelt.
'I didn't know we could reapply, though.' Another reasoned. 'Is that also one of the Academy's hidden rules?'
'How can he just reapply and enter Alpha Class again? That makes no sense!'
Many Alpha Students were internally upset by the fact that Ashfelt managed to rejoin their ranks despite his shortcomings in talent. They didn't know about the results of his Re-Entrance Exam, so they simply thought nepotism was at play.
The Akashic Magus Academy claimed to be a neutral ground for learning, but observant students could tell that there were hints of bias present.
As a result, it wasn't too surprising—though it remained downright unfair—that Ash managed to escape his place in Beta Class and return to a place he didn't deserve. Despite all of their dissatisfactions, however, they had to keep their negative comments to themselves.
Well, most of them…
"Instructor, I have a question." One of the students jumped on his feet. "Why has Ashfelt returned to our Class despite failing the Promotional Exams, which sent him to Beta Class, and then getting a Lower Grade Spirit as a Familiar, and then dropping out?"
The bespectacled boy who spoke shifted his glasses after raising his query, a serious expression clouding his otherwise cute face.
Many students nodded in support, but made sure their silent agreements were inconspicuous.
None of them wanted to get into any trouble later.
"What are you talking about, Master Arius Inkwell?" The Instructor slowly replied with a nervous sigh.
"I mean, he clearly doesn't belong here!"
The students—with a few exceptions—couldn't help but silently nod in agreement.
Arius Inkwell, also one of the Great Noble Households, was speaking exactly what they had in their minds, and for that they were most grateful.
"All I can say is that Master Ashfelt passed the Re-Entrance Exam with flying colors, and after careful assessment by the judges, he has been deemed qualified enough to enter Alpha Class."
"Bullshit! I don't know anything about a Re-Entrance Exam, and he must have done something to bribe or compromise those so-called judges."
None of these students—Arius included—knew that the judges that scored Ash all had plans to fail him before he turned the tables on them and displayed undeniable potential as a Mage. As a result, all they could do was rely on speculative suspicion.
"Young Master Arius, that's enough." The Instructor became a lot bolder. "You are not allowed to talk about the staff of this great Academy that way. If you have a complaint, you can take it up with the—"
"Complaint? This has passed the level of a mere complaint!"
Arius interrupted the Instructor and pointed his hand at Ash, his eyes suddenly glowing a bright blue color. "That guy shouldn't be here! He's a blight on the prestige of the Alpha Class, and I'm sure pretty much everyone agrees to that… it's a fact!"
In truth, most Alpha students felt the same as Arius, even those who didn't have a grudge against Ashfelt. However, they all fell silent because they didn't dare speak negatively about a son of the Zephyr Household.
Only Arius could contend with him in their class because he also belonged to the Great Noble Household of Inkwell.
"Don't act like you speak for everyone, Arius." Seth's voice suddenly echoed in the classroom, causing nearly every student to shudder.
Even Arius felt the hair on his skin stand as soon as the boy spoke.
"You certainly don't speak for me." He continued. "My brother's worth must have been determined by the Academy to be worthy of Alpha Class, which is why he was transferred here."
"Hmph! Do you really believe tha—?!"
"Stop talking as if you didn't transfer straight to Alpha Class due to the same preferential treatment that you're complaining about now!" Elma also put her hat in the ring, smirking as she playfully directed her spiteful remark towards Arius.
"You…"
"Am I not wrong? Or is it alright for you to keep quiet about something when it benefits you, but bitch about it once you don't like the results… just like you couldn't handle my rejection after you asked me out."
Many students gawked in shock, and a few silently snickered.
This caused Arius' face to redden as he glared at Elma in unbridled fury. "You'll regret this… I swear you will."
"Yeah, yeah." Elma shrugged fearlessly. "Keep talking like that to a former Beta Class Student and see what will happen… maybe the White Death is listening."
"Tch! The White Death has been caught… and you're shameless for using that, and the death of our classmate as some kind of threat."
"The same way you're shameless for complaining about your fellow Noble getting into the same class as you." Elma retorted.
At this point, silence reigned supreme in the classroom, and the piercing gaze of the Instructor, Elma, and Seth… coupled with the numerous eyes that were upon him… began to overwhelm the bespectacled young man.
His throat suddenly felt dry and itchy, and as he removed his attention from everyone and tried to stabilize his breathing, he found his gaze resting on the very student he was criticizing.
—Ashfelt Zephyr.
Ash was smiling coldly at him, perfectly silent as he watched him with his lazy crimson eyes.
That stare pissed him off, but before he could say more—
"Sit down, Arius."
—He was completely shut down by Seth's words.
"Now."
"Or… what?" Seth slowly rose to his feet, his bright blue eyes flaring with energy as he glared at the trembling boy.
"I'll make you… and not in the way that you would like."
This cold statement from Seth carried so much weight that Arius didn't even know when his body obeyed and he felt the warm embrace of his chair's flat surface on his buttocks.
What had started out as an act of bravado, supported by everyone, had suddenly become an attack on his own reputation.
A reputation that was now in the gutters thanks to the combined efforts of a few people.
'I won't forget this…' Arius growled silently as he cast a glance at Elma, then at Seth, and finally… on Ash, who was now re-introducing himself to everyone present.
'Just you wait! I'll make you all pay!'