Reaching the classroom where the signboard showed HA213, I opened the door and entered.
This class was the place where the story took its place. After all, it was where Ethan had resided as the protagonist.
Inside the classroom, students were scattered throughout the room, chatting with friends or busy preparing for the upcoming lecture. As I walked in, I noticed a few curious glances, but for the most part, I was ignored, just like any other ordinary student.
I made my way to the back of the class, where an empty seat awaited me. It was a spot that provided a clear view of the entire classroom, and it suited me just fine. I preferred to observe quietly rather than draw attention to myself. Even though Astron didn’t choose this seat because he wanted it, it proved to be more suited for me.
Taking a seat, I glanced around, noting the various students in the class. Some were diligently taking notes, while others were engaged in hushed conversations. There was a mix of talents and abilities, each student with their own unique traits and potential.
As I settled in, I overheard a conversation nearby about a recent dungeon exploration. It seemed a group of students had encountered a powerful monster and narrowly escaped with their lives. The tale was filled with thrilling details, and the other students were listening intently, captivated by the adventure.
In front of me, a group of friends were discussing their plans for the upcoming weekend. “We should totally go to the dungeon my guild discovered. ” one of them suggested, eager for some friendly dungeon dive.
“Really? We can?” Her friend answered with a smile. But I could see faint signals of envy hidden underneath his face. The way her face slightly stiffened, her gaze was narrowed, and his sleeves were grabbed tightly was enough to show that she was actually upset.
‘It was this girl….That wanted to undermine her friend’s successful guild…’ I thought. Being trapped in that necklace made me almost insane, and if not for the fact that I could observe everything around Astron, I would have probably gone. So, I knew who this girl was.
‘It is funny how hypocritical people are….’
I listened quietly, finding some amusement in the various rumors and stories being shared. It was intriguing to see how each student had their own aspirations and dreams while some others had their own scheme and envy.
CREAK
At that moment, the door opened, revealing three figures that immediately got the attention of the class.
First one was a young man with a very handsome face, dark chestnut hair, and green eyes. An aura of imposing was spreading from him as he led the two behind him.
From his neatly arranged clothes and small signs of smoke, I could see his clothes were just ironed this morning. His accessories that shaped his looks were enough to show that this young man before me was someone that attached importance to his looks.
‘Victor Blackthorn.’
I thought, seeing the man.
‘The first rival of Ethan and the first ranking student inside the academy.’
He was the main rival of the MC, Ethan, and their clash of talents and personalities had caught the attention of many.
With his neatly arranged clothes and his noble posture, it was evident that this boy before me came from a renowned family. And he was.
The Blackthorns were a respected lineage of skilled Human Hunters, and Victor was no exception. In fact, he was the son of the third-ranked Human Hunter, adding further to the explanation of his strength.
His sharp eyes were enough to show that he was actually someone skilled at combat and hunting. He was known for his expertise with a finely crafted longsword that he carried with pride.
“Tch! What are you looking at, lowly dogs.” With a scoff, he sneered at the students looking at him and reached the front seat. His followers behind him followed his steps. They were the ones that were there to lick his feet for their family and relationships, simple patter for bullies.
The students who heard him saying this immediately averted their gazes, fear of offending him. Even the girls had a rather dissatisfied expression on their faces… Though some had a blush…
‘As expected, he does have this personality.’ I thought.
Just as he was about to curse further, the door swung wide open once again, revealing a familiar figure that I saw in the cafeteria Saturday. 𝞸𝒱xt.𝐂𝒪
It was a girl with white hair and blue eyes clear like the sky. Her beautiful face immediately got the attention that was centered around Victor.
“Ah….”
Seeing this, Victor closed his mouth, which was about to curse further…..Since he liked Julia.
At the beginning of the game, Victor is known to be somewhat of an elitist. He believed in the superiority of his lineage and talent, and this made him come across as aloof and arrogant to others. His initial attitude led to some conflicts with other students, especially those he deemed unworthy of his attention. But those conflicts could never escalate further since the background of Victor was like a king’s.
After all, he was one of the most talented human hunters in this generation whose father was the third strongest, and that came with his own ego and privileges.
Being raised by the world’s best institutions even before the Hunter Academy, he was someone that was close to the children of rich and strong people.
Thus amidst his training as a child, Victor’s feelings took an unexpected turn when he encountered Julia, a talented and kind-hearted fellow student. The moment he saw Julia, he fell in love with him at first sight.
Because of his obsession with aesthetics, he deemed Julia’s face to be the most beautiful, and he was obsessed with the girl.
That was his reasoning as to why he liked him.
Following Julia, two other girls entered the room.
One of them had fiery red hair and an arrogant smile on his face.
And the other one had green hair and red eyes that was beautiful. Instantly, almost every male inside the classroom was about to droll, looking at the girl’s face.
She was Lilia, the campus bell, through the end.
“Yo! Mister Cool-guy! Pricky as usual in the morning!” Irina, with her loud voice and smiley persona, greeted Victor as she made her way toward the first rows.
“Shut up.” Victor scuffed with his usual expression, but Irina didn’t mind at all.
“Why? Because Prince Blackthorn is mad?” The playful expression remained the same, Irina asked.
“….….” He glared at Irina with an irritated face, but he didn’t do anything, even though he was someone with a strong background. That was the same for Irina, who was the daughter of the strongest Fire Mage in this world.
“It seems you have had your fill to curse for the morning.”
Saying that Irina sat behind Victor, and her face was covered with a smile. It was a smile that was normal for others, but I knew why she was so adamant about playing with Victor.
After all, she liked him. It wasn’t revealed in the game, but I could see the signs clearly. The signs that Irina showed Ethan when her route was pursued as a romantic interest were now there.
Her small gestures when she played with her hair, the way she rubbed her thumb into her index finger…
With a fiery persona like that, Irina was someone that liked people stronger than herself, and Victor fit in that category.
‘But I am sure it is his looks….’ I thought, but of course, I didn’t say anything.
Following her, Julia, who had a bright smile on her face, and Lilia, who had a blunt face, sat on the third row.
But before Lilia sat, I saw her throwing a gaze at me.
Considering I saw her training with her bows on the shooting range, she must have also noticed me; thus, that wasn’t unexpectable. But her little interest diminished after a one-millisecond gaze.
Just like that, the trio at the front kept talking while the two followers of Victor had already taken their seats far away from him. Since Victor was surrounded by three girls.
CREAK
But, immediately, the door opened once again, revealing another three people, this time all of them being males.
“You bastard, don’t think you can run faster than me next time.”
“Fuck…Just wait three months…. Then I will run faster than you…”
“Language.”
“Sigh…. Carl, not again.”
“Okay, okay, Lucas, let’s calm down. Everyone is looking at us.”
It was three males with good looks. The first one had wavy blue hair and hazel eyes. His face looked sweaty, but thanks to the clothes he was wearing being an artifact, no smell emanated from him even though he said that he still wore a smile on his face.
Then the other one was a man with white hair and blue eyes who was smiling, and the last one was a bulky man with a serious face.
Just like that, our protagonist and the two supporting characters also made their appearance, making the classroom lively once more.
“Hey. Morning.”
Ethan greeted the frontier main cast with a smile on his own.
“Tch. Don’t talk to me.”
Victor just sneered in response.
“Victor, don’t be rude to him.”
But, hearing what Julia said, he immediately took a 180 degrees turn and changed his attitude. “Okay, my bad.”
“Good.” Julia, being the airheaded she is, didn’t notice what she did and signaled the three to come. “Come on; the class is about to start.”
“Tch…” I could see Irina glaring at Julia. Knowing that the man she liked showed his affection for another girl must have hurt her pride, and it was obvious that she was having a hard time controlling her emotions.
But in the end, she did.
As the main cast settled into their seats, the classroom atmosphere remained lively with chatter and laughter.
Ethan, the guy with wavy blue hair, leaned back in his seat, a playful grin on his face. “So, Lucas, tell us what happened with you last night. Heard some wild noises coming from your room.”
Lucas, the guy with white hair and blue eyes, blushed slightly and cleared his throat. “It was nothing, just a little accident. Knocked over some vials while I was experimenting with potions.”
“Eh? Just some vials? It sounded like a whole alchemy lab exploded,” Ethan teased, causing Irina to giggle and nod in agreement.
“Just don’t blow up the whole dorm, okay? We still need a place to sleep,” she chimed in, earning a playful scowl from Lucas.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lucas replied with a smirk. However, that little dark glare he gave Ethan didn’t miss my eyes.
He then turned to Carl and asked. “Hey, how about you, Carl? Anything exciting happened last night?”
Carl, with his stoic and serious face, tilted his head slightly, pondering about the events of yesterday.
“Nothing exciting happened yesterday, but on a Saturday night, I heard some weird noises coming from the forest.”
Hearing this, my ears perked up. It was evident that what he was talking about was related to Mistwraith.
‘How come the sounds are transmitted? This guy must have a special skill or passive related to sense.’ I thought.
Trying to see if they saw anything, I perked my ears and attentively listened.
“Weird noises?”
“It was like the sound of some beast growling.”
“Did you check?”
“I was going to, but Mother called, so I couldn’t.”
“Bruh, really?”
“Mother always comes first.”
“Sigh…..”
“I also heard some voices.” At that point, Lilia also jumped into the topic as she opened her mouth.
“I was returning from Archery practice, but there I saw a bunch of instructors running to the forest.”
“Ho? So, something happened?”
“I don’t know. When I asked what happened, they said I should just go to my room.”
“Ho, I wonder what happened…”
“Hey? Now that the topic opened, where are these three clowns?” Irina suddenly asked, looking at the three seats that were empty.
“Three clowns?”
“I mean, those three that sat there all the time and spoke loudly.”
“Ah, you mean Dylan and the other three.”
“Yeah, that trash.”
“I don’t know. Do you think it was something related to them, Victor?”
“I don’t care about trash.”
“….You are always the same.”
CREAK
Just as they were about to continue their talk, the door swung wide open, revealing a woman with serious clothes and a face.
“Silence.”
Immediately silencing the classroom….
——————————-A/N——————————–
Hope you liked the chapter.
Give me power stones if you like my novel; I am participating in WPC, so it helps a lot.
You can check my discord if you want. You will be able to see the illustrations here and engage in a conversation with me if I am available.
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