"Is everything alright, Neraxis?" The butler's worried voice rang out from the driver's seat.
He had a lot on his mind, but nonetheless, Neraxis steadily replied,
"...Yes."
The browsing session yesterday had been eventful, to say the least, and he had found out a bit more than he was initially expecting.
His mother was an accountant, and his father was a guard at the tower. It seemed simple at first.
But then he scrolled down and found out they were just doing this as some sort of side gig for their project.
That was also the moment he discovered they owned a conglomerate—a massive one at that.
It had its roots in this city—clothing shops, entire malls—and then expanded to at least six other massive cities.
Safe to say, they were rich—unbelievably so.
"We've arrived," the butler announced before stepping out of the limousine and opening the door for him, adding,
"Call me whenever you are finished with your excursion."
"Got it, thanks." Neraxis nodded back and proceeded toward the classroom.
Apparently, they were all going to be heading out together, and he was not yet sure how that would work.
It's almost like some school trip. He chuckled to himself before entering the classroom. He wasn't late or early—just on time.
Kael wasn't here, neither was Celina or her friend. The only people he could recognize were the two he'd been racing against in the library the other day.
Judging from their expressions, they were not exactly happy about not finding anything.
Neraxis sat comfortably in his seat. He had packed a few things to make this excursion a little less unbearable.
Food, water, and lastly... a lighter. He checked through his bag, nodding to himself in confirmation upon noticing he hadn't forgotten anything.
[You sure you don't need a pillow?] Evangeline mused with a tired voice.
He tilted his head in confusion. I'm going to be fighting—why would I bring a pillow?
[Well, where will you sleep then?]
On the ground? Just like I always have? Neraxis was starting to grow suspicious as he asked, You didn't happen to bring pillows onto the battlefield in the past, did you?
Evangeline seemed startled as she immediately spoke, [H-How did you know?]
...You are something else. He couldn't even be bothered to entertain her silliness as the class began filling up.
And just a couple of minutes later, it was completely full, with Kael sitting lazily beside him.
"You didn't bring anything?" Neraxis questioned.
"Why would I? It won't take long anyway. These goblins are E- ranked at most," Kael replied with a shrug, not going into more details.
Figured. Why the need for supplies when you can simply kill everything before you.
Just as he began wandering off into his thoughts, Magnus's voice resounded, "Attention!"
Everyone's gaze immediately fell on him as he continued, "I am glad no one is late. Also, I see some actually took their time to prepare."
Magnus scanned the class, landing on a few students who had brought some supplies, just like Neraxis.
"Those who didn't, be sure to do so in the future," he stated before bringing something out of his bag. It was a bowl with tiny notes inside.
"You will be drawing numbers. 1 through 5 will be your team. Each team will consist of four people. Go ahead," Magnus announced, and immediately the students began rushing towards the bowl and placing their hands inside.
Kael seemed amused as well, so he made his way there and picked one out before coming back and saying, "Team 4."
"Hmm..." Neraxis nodded in response and waited until most of the notes had been taken before making his way over as well.
He did not have a particular team in mind, and it was not like it mattered anyway. Aside from a few people, he didn't know anyone else.
Walking up, he picked up the last note and went back to his seat before opening it up.
Team 2, he mused before putting the note back into his pocket.
"What'd you get?" Kael asked in a whisper.
"Team 2. Guess we'll be going up against each other this time around." Neraxis replied with a chuckle.
"True... Let's see who kills the most monsters."
"Sure."
As the two were talking amongst themselves, Magnus's stern yet urgent voice resounded, "You two... Why must you always be the odd ones out? Come, we are ready to go."
Neraxis shifted his gaze toward the door, and surprisingly, the entire class was already packed and ready, standing by and waiting impatiently.
Guess we'll be driving there. Please don't be a shit-mobile like back then... He prayed inwardly, reminded of the terrible buses he had taken on his way to a few excursions.
However, despite his expectations, they were not heading outside. Instead, they were going the opposite way—exactly where the training rooms for the special class were located.
Walking even further, a downward staircase appeared before him.
Neraxis stood confused but noticed the others confidently walking past him and after Magnus.
Are we going to...? He tried convincing himself but failed. He had to see it with his own eyes.
Rifts—by nature—were unstable phenomena from which monsters constantly came through.
That solidified further in his mind once again when he encountered a rift break in this new timeline too.
But as they made their way down, several reinforced metal doors were strewn across the narrow hallway.
And on them were signs, ones that read what he slightly expected.
Rat Cave, F rank. Swift Bee Nest, E rank... Well, fuck.
It had finally hit him—the changes were much more severe than he thought.
To think they would be able to stabilize rifts and keep them under the academy...
[Nothing unusual about it. My people knew how to do it too,] Evangeline remarked nonchalantly.
Neraxis was speechless for a moment before saying, I... Well, now mine do as well, I guess?
[Pfft... Yeah, enjoy our little draw,] she giggled as the silence once again descended.
After a bit of walking, the entire class finally arrived in front of a certain door. Magnus turned around to face them before stating,
"Group together with your assigned teams. I'm giving you five minutes to become acquainted with each other," he said, fiddling with a watch he seemingly pulled out of nowhere.
"Timer starts now."
As soon as his words fell, the students began huddling to their respective teams, with Neraxis doing the same.
It did not take long to find his team, and out of the three other members, he was not close to a single one of them.
The only person he could say he had paid attention to out of all of them was the blue-haired shy girl Celina had been sitting with.
Yet he didn't even know her name—or the two other girls' names beside her.
Walking up to the three of them, he was about to greet them, but before he could, the blue-haired girl spoke up.
"N-Neraxis Valen, right? Celina talked a lot about you."
"...She did? I'm flattered?" he said, a bit unsure how he should have replied.
He was expecting her to continue with whatever she was saying, but instead, Neraxis noticed her simply look to the side, hiding the blush that did not fail to escape his eyes.
One of the girls beside her walked up and stretched out her hand before introducing herself. "I'm Raeny."
She appeared like any ordinary swordswoman, her sword looking similar in shape to his own.
But if she got in based on swordsmanship alone, then she was much better than him.
He returned the greeting with a soft smile. "Neraxis. Nice to meet you."
The moment he finished shaking her hand, the second girl appeared, and unlike most of the class, she was holding a staff. In most instances it signified that she was some sort of support, perhaps even a healer.
"Aella, hi," she introduced herself, much more cheerful than the rest of the group.
Neraxis nodded at her with a smile, just for politeness, before heading over to the shy one of the group—the blue-haired girl.
"What's your name?" he called out, seemingly startling her.
Just a moment ago, she was perfectly fine addressing him, yet now she was a nervous wreck.
But despite that, she managed to mutter out her name.
"...A-Aurelia."
"Nice to meet you," Neraxis said with a small smile before walking to the side, waiting out the five minutes.
Inwardly, he felt a bit conflicted.
The team was great—at a glance at least.
But how was he going to win the bet against Kael?
[You choose to act like a child whenever you want to, huh?] Evangeline chuckled.
Why not? It's fun, he stated before turning his attention to the door leading into the goblin rift.
Besides, what is there to be worried about? It's just some low-ranked rift.