Chapter 10:


    However, her being a boss in the middle of the 1st chapter wasn’t about to happen soon because, in the game, one click could skip a few days, but this was reality.


    <b><i>‘I just thought of a rough n right now as well.’</i></b>


    Basically, it wasn’t a matter of great urgency. It’s not like Hannah was a spy or a monster. It’d be best to follow a step-by-step n. Abel slightly moved his head and nced through the other people.


    <b><i>‘Now that I think about it, it’s really just the outstanding guys here.’</i></b>


    The upper ss wasn’t simply a name. They chose only the elite amongst the elite. Among the upper ss, the only distinction was that of who was more remarkable than the other.


    Considering that Abel’s goal was to be the<i> ‘overwhelming no.1 among the top 40’</i>, it was only apparent he’d have to struggle a lot for it because he’d be left behind in an instant if he becamecent after getting the 1st rank in the entrance test.


    “Okay, it seems it went a bit long, so I’ll end it with onest thing!”


    As Abel finished checking out his surroundings, the Prince stressed the wordst and spoke further. Though no one believed him because this was the 5th time he’d said the word <i>st.’</i> But it wasn’t fake this time, and after a few bbering about a few bigoted snippets, he smiled and said.


    “Then. May you all be the swords of this great kingdom. That’s it from me.”


    Nobody showed it on the outside, but inside their hearts, they were all genuinely shouting cheers of joy. With that, the Prince stepped aside and Magnus came forward, raising his hand over the magic tool.


    “We’ll pick up the pace for the next section. Announcing the first and second rankers of the entrance test.”


    The Prince’s boring speechsted for nearly two hours straight, which is probably why Magnus’s calm and to-the-point progress stood out even more. Even the faces of the special guests participating in the ceremony brightened up.


    Rather than dragging it out, Magnus spoke, looking straight at the front of the ranked cadets, to be exact, at Abel.


    “Top rank, Abel Klein. Come onto the podium.”


    Having been trained separately on how to do this, Abel immediately got up on the tform from the staircase on the left. Soon he stood in front of Magnus, who then smiled and said,


    “Abel Klein. I present the aforementioned candidate with this award for showing the most outstanding performance among all the applicants in this entrance test. The aforementioned candidate will be granted a full schrship and supported with a Gigant periodically throughout the curriculum, so continue to be diligent in your efforts.”


    Magnus handed him the certificate and patted his shoulder with his hands that resembled an iron cauldron lid. Abel expressed his gratitude by greeting the Prince standing in the back and Magnus in the front and was about to get down the tform.


    “Abel Klein.” The Prince in the back called his name. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’ll look forward to your achievements.”


    Abel was hesitant for a moment.


    <b><i>‘Heard about me?’</i></b>


    Under the circumstances, it was highly likely that these words were justpliments out of formality, but when his eyes met the Prince’s, Abel sensed something strange. As if the words he spoke were intentional. Regardless, Abel quickly concealed his shock and replied to him politely.


    “Thank you.”


    He gave off a chatty and sloppy image during his speech, yet when their eyes met, he felt a chill down his spine.


    <b><i>‘…As expected. It’s tantly obvious.’</i></b>


    If he were clueless, he would be doubtful, but Abel could see that the Prince was no ordinary man. He had another face hidden under his gentle-faced mask. However, while Abel greeted him in gratitude, the prince smiled as if he’d never made that face before and said to Magnus,


    “Go ahead.”


    “Yes.”


    Magnus signaled him to go down the tform, and only then could Abel start to move. By the time Abel got down the stairs, Magnus had continued his speech,


    “Now! Next is the runner-up! In second ce is Evelyn Cephyr. Come onto the tform.”


    Upon hearing those words, Evelyn came forward and walked up the staircase. While Abel was returning to his spot, his eyes met hers. Like her gaze towards him after the test the other day, Evelyn looked at him and went ahead as if brushing past him.


    <b><i>‘Annoyed, the 1st rank was taken, huh?’ </i></b>Abel thought as he returned to his original spot.


    Thest time too, it didn’t seem like she was looking for no reason, but it was difficult to ascertain the exact cause. Even if he tried, there needed to be more skill to meticulously judge the inner thoughts of others. On top of that, it wasn’t just her. The Prince’s words bothered him, too, turning his brain into aplete mess.


    “…so continue to be diligent in your efforts.”


    During the time he was thinking of other stuff, the announcement of the runner-up wrapped up, and Magnus announced the end of the entrance ceremony.


    “With that, the entrance ceremony is over.”


    As per the original program, the ceremony was meant to continue for longer, but the Prince’s unusually long speech might be why it was cut short so drastically.


    Just like that, the unexpectedly long entrance ceremony came to an end.


    ?————- ★ ————-?


    After everyone who had to leave had left, the inside of the building became instantly noisy.


    “Follow me!”


    “Come this way, please!”


    The guide teachers called the cadets and gathered them in groups. The Middle ss of 140 cadets was chaotic, but the Upper ss, with just 40 people, got together in no time.


    “Okay then, let’s get moving.”


    A female teacher with pale white skin and glossy ck hair led the upper ss. She was one of the ‘<i>housemasters</i>’ in charge of the Upper ss dormitory. Contrary to her outward appearance, she was an expert in martial arts.


    Abel and 39 other cadets followed her. In the meantime, they got out of the auditorium and moved to the dormitory, perhaps because it was just the beginning phase, no one talked to each other, and they arrived without much fuss.


    <b><i>‘How is this whole ce so huge.’</i></b>


    There were 4 dorm buildings for the Upper ss, though they were all quite far from each other. Anyways, the buildings in front of them were each used by cadets of each academic year, so with just 40 cadets using one building, its size was enormous.


    They didn’t give off the grand, majestic feel as the buildings where the test or ceremony took ce. Instead, the design gave off a cozy vibe.


    <b><i>‘Well, it’s kinda expected. It would be weird if a dorm gave off an overpowering feeling.’</i></b>


    Following the teacher, they passed through an enormous door and saw the spacious main hall. The most eye-catching of it all was the elegant, striking chandelier. There were stairs on both sides from the chandelier, and a visibly expensive carpet was spread out on the floor.


    After giving the cadets some time to look around the interior, the teacher finally spoke up,<hr>


    Infamous Scans<hr>


    “In case of any message to be delivered or small event, these take pal;ce at the main hall. Now, follow me.”


    After a short exnation, she moved to the left towards a passageway. Not long after following her, the cadets could see arge restaurant.


    The teacher said while pointing to the interior,


    “Breakfast, lunch, dinner. All will be served here. Meal time is from 7 am to 8:30 am. Lunch is from 11:30 to 2:00. And dinner is from 5 to 8 pm. Outside of those hours…”


    After the exnation about the restaurant ended, they moved to another ce right away. In that manner, she went around the dorm facilities, briefly exining each—the restaurant, training room, infirmary for treatment, the housemasters’ office, and so on.


    After the tour of the dorm and her hospitable exnation of its facilities, they return to the main hall.


    “The luggage you brought has already been moved to each of your rooms, so you can unpack first and then get back here by 3:30 pm. About the room locations, you can go up the stairs and check from the notice on the wall.”


    “Okay.”


    “All right then.”


    Upon hearing the reply, the teacher nodded in response and went toward the housemasters’ office. After she, whose presence kept the cadets in control, left, the main hall filled with noise instantly.


    With only a few hours since they entered the Academy, they were obviously not that close to each other. Those who knew each other before enrolling in the Academy were the ones talking.


    That didn’t concern Abel, so he tried to pass through the kids standing in groups. However, when he reached the front of the stairs, someone grabbed his shoulder.


    “Let’s have a little chat, yeah?”


    Turning his head, a boy with a cheeky expression came into his view. Luke. The second son of Marquis Paltaine and the punk who got his head smashed in, unaware of what he got himself into after fighting with Abel.


    “What chat?”


    “You’ll find out soon enough.” He said with a grin on his face.


    Abel had no intention of responding to Luke’s childish provocations on his first day at the Academy. But that was before he saw the message pop up before his eyes.


    “Okay. I’d love to chat. Let’s go.”


    When Abel didn’t frown and responded smilingly, Luke was startled for a second. However, within a moment, he took the lead with a sly smile on his face.


    Following this, a boy with an exceptionallyrge build and a sneaky-weasley little boy showed up on both sides of Luke. They looked like they were his newckeys. Abel didn’t care about that either and smiled.


    [Unforeseen quest ‘Real-life education’ begins!]


    [Please give a real-life lesson to the arrogant and immature Luke Paltaine!]


    [If you seed, you will receive 5 low grade magic spell boosters!]


    After a while, they reached the training grounds inside the dormitory. To be precise, the spaces were prepared for individual training, so Abel was inwardly surprised at Luke’s choice of location.


    <b><i>‘Are guys like them born with an instinct to run off to secluded ces?’</i></b>


    In that time, their visual memory must be excellent for them to find a suitable ce. However, it was pathetic of them to choose such a ce. Abel looked at them and spoke as they kept quiet even after getting there and were picking up weights.


    “So what’d you want to talk about? Let’s be friends from now on, huh? Something like that?”


    “Are you just slow or are you pretending to be slow-witted?”


    “Of course, it’s thetter. Do I really have to say it out loud for you to know? Huh?”


    “Wh-what?”


    “Why are you stammering now? Is it because you hurt your headst time?”


    Abel’s constant taunting turned Luke’s face burning red. At the same time, the facial expression of the two punks standing behind Luke became sour. The atmosphere there was a menace.


    <b><i>‘How cute.’</i></b>


    But, of course, Abel waspletely unaffected by that. He might have been in a boy’s body, but originally he’d even served in the military. At best, they were 15 or 16 year olds, yet seeing those kids lifting weights could only seem cute to Abel.


    Abel thought that those guys would run for him in their excited state. However, instead of running to him, Luke spoke with trembling cheeks.


    “What, just because you got into the Klein family, you think you’re a wolf or something? You son of a bitch from the streets. It looks like the Kleins have lowered their standards.”


    Those were extremely harsh, biting remarks. As soon as the punk stopped talking, Abel turned off the magic tool in his pocket and said.


    “Then what about you, who was rolling on the floor after being beaten by a son of a bitch, huh?”


    “I’m…”


    “Even right now, you’re just running that mouth because you’re scared, right? Isn’t it?”


    “You bastard!”


    That was the extent of that punk’s patience. He ran in Abel’s direction with his fist clenched. But he wasn’t wholly reckless and maintained the proper posture.


    <b><i>Swish!</i></b>


    However, Abel dodged his fist like it was nothing. Not just once, either. He easily avoided the fist flying at him the second and the third time too.


    “Are you letting me dodge it on purpose? Hm?”


    Along with sarcastic remarks in the spare moments, he clenched his teeth and swung his fists. Luke’s face slowly turned redder and redder.


    All of a sudden.


    <b><i>Whirring-!</i></b>


    Blue haze started rising from his body. He was starting to raise his mana level. Considering Luke’s background, he’d likely use one of his family’s secrets. Using mana, even bare fists could break bones and damage organs. That was why those behind him stood with panicked expressions on their faces.


    Abel’s eyes sank into a cold gaze after trying to dodge the attacks and end them in a few blows.


    “Now you’re crossing the line.”


    Luke, who was too immersed in the heat of the moment, didn’t understand the warning he was given, and Abel did not give the warning for the second time.


    Luke’s fist came in at a speed many times faster than before.


    <b><i>Whoong-!</i></b>


    Seeing that, Abel recited to himself in his mind.


    <b><i>‘Shadow step.’</i></b>


    Instantly, Abel’s new form became blurry and then disappeared.


    <strong>[To be continued.]</strong>