It took a few minutes for things to settle down even after the test ended.
Amidst the rush of battle and the burning desire to lay waste to their enemies, the Cadets didn’t stop fighting immediately.
Most of them didn’t even hear the announcement, too busy bashing the faces of their opponents… or having their faces bashed by them.
The staff members who were on standby had to come in and personally stop some of the fights.
Finally, fifteen minutes later, everything went back to normal.
Portals appeared near each Cadet one by one, allowing them to step through it and exit the dome.
Selene Valkryn was waiting for us in the Academy grounds when we exited the Portal. She organized us in neat lines, not caring how tired we all were, and gave us a brief overview of our performance.
Yes, unsurprisingly, she had been watching everything that was going on inside the dome.
More than half of the total Squads failed to finish the first objective — a few of them failed to even slay more than three Spirit Beasts.
The Academy staff had to jump into the skirmishes between the Squads and Spirit Beasts multiple times to save some Cadets.
They also had to drag away the Cadets who fell unconscious because of the toxins in the dry air to safety more than once.
Salene said it was embarrassing, and those Cadets would have to attend extra classes under her and Instructor Reichardt — the P.E. devil, as the first-years had come to name him — in the future.
Fortunately, most Squads did slightly better than she had expected, so she was somewhat pleased by their performance.
At last, there was my team — Squad 9.
Selene said she’d personally reward us with our first mission in a few days, but just because we had won didn’t mean we could get complacent.
She made it clear that we didn’t win because we deserved it or we were better than everyone else, but because everyone else was not competent enough.
In her words — we weren’t exceptional, just marginally less disappointing.
Normally, I would’ve protested if someone had called me average, but I let it slide since I was in a good mood… and tired out of my mind.
Soon, we were dismissed.
•••
The cafeteria was mostly empty when I walked in.
It was supposed to be our lunch break, but most of the first-year Cadets were still stuck in the infirmary building.
They were busy buying antitoxins to get rid of the generous amount of Aethylorine in their systems.
Oh, yeah. They had to buy that.
The Academy was so fair, right?
What a genius way to squeeze even more money out of the Cadets.
Anyway, since I was the Ace, I didn’t have to deal with that nonsense.
Unlike the others, I didn’t need to stand in line for a measly vial of medication.
No, I had access to the premium stuff — the kind that was stored in the exclusive medical ward for people who actually mattered.
People like me.
…And the other top-ranking Cadets, sure.
But it was mostly me who mattered.
By the time I made it to the cafeteria, I was already feeling much better.
The premium ward had taken excellent care of me — antitoxins, hydration infusions, and even a full-body scan to make sure I didn’t have any internal damage.
A healer personally treated my wounds and gave me some specially concocted painkillers that were very effective.
The perks of being the Ace were undeniable.
After piling my tray with food, I picked a corner seat and let myself sink lazily into the chair.
The exhaustion was finally catching up to me.
Nothing hurt anymore, but I still felt drained.
Unfortunately, I had a few more classes to get through before I could go home.
“…Wait a second. I’m the Ace. I don’t need to go to class.”
That realization hit like a lightning bolt.
Yeah, that was right!
Another perk of being the Ace was that I could skip classes whenever I wanted, unlike the rest of the Cadets who were forced to attend every single mandatory course if they didn’t want to fail.
“Hah!” I exclaimed, grinning maniacally. “I love my life!”
The cafeteria was suddenly filled with a faint hum of noise.
A few Cadets were shooting me glares. Perhaps my outburst was more intense than I intended.
However, I couldn’t help but notice that they were looking at me with more indignation than I deserved for merely shouting a little loudly.
Hmm. Maybe Vince Cleverly has already started spreading rumors about me — I thought to myself.
I made a mental note to find out what they were later. If people were going to talk, I might as well know what they were saying.
For now, I quieted down and turned my attention back to the food.
I had just taken a bite of my steaming bowl of stew when my dear friend Jake plopped into the seat across from me, uninvited as always.
“Hey, Sam,” Jake greeted and stretched out a hand toward me.
I looked at his outstretched hand over my food. Then at his face.
He looked like he’d just walked out of a war zone.
His hair was singed, his uniform torn, and his chest was still heaving like he’d run a mile for the first time in his life.
And yet, that stupid signature grin was still plastered on his sweaty, pig-like face.
My eyes dropped to his tray.
It was piled so high with food it was practically a mountain. Honestly, it was a surprise his tray did not collapse under the weight of his gluttony.
“What do you want, Jake?” I asked flatly, ignoring his hand. “If you’re here for my food, you can choke on your own.”
His grin widened, if that was even possible. “I asked you to grab me an antitoxin vial from the premium ward, remember?”
Oh, I remembered.
I remembered nothing like that ever happening.
I slapped his hand away and took another mouthful of stew.
“I’m sorry,” I said with all that guilt in my heart – which was none – and swallowed. “I must’ve forgotten.”.
Jake’s smile faltered, and he started whining. “What? But I texted you! You never check my texts anymore! That other day, I sent you this hilarious video of some guy eating a raw Infant Spirit Beast egg. It wasn’t fully developed, so halfway through chewing, it hatched in his mouth!”
I glared at him. “Jake, I’m eating. Do you mind not telling me something that disgusting?”
“It wasn’t disgusting. It was funny!” he argued, waving a hand dismissively. “There was mucus, goo, and blood everywhere, and this slimy little lizard thing started clawing its way out of his throat. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe!”
I froze, my spoon suspended at the entrance of my gaping mouth.
The vivid, nauseating image formed in my mind without permission.
Resisting the urge to retch, I threw my spoon back into the bowl with a resigned sigh.
“What is wrong with you?” I snapped. “If what I heard is true, you fell unconscious only ten minutes after entering the dome! The staff took you out immediately! You don’t even need antitoxin because you weren’t in there long enough!”
Jake gasped like his non-existent pride was deeply hurt. “You know, Sam, you’re way too harsh! You should work on your social skills! No wonder people talk behind your back.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? What are they saying?”
That stupid grin reappeared on his face.
Right. In high school, I’d beaten up more than a few guys for trash-talking me.
Jake probably thought he’d get to pick fights in my name again.
“Oh, lots of things!” he said cheerfully. “Like how you extort Cadets, paid the Academy to make you the Ace, cheated during the Interview because there’s no way you could’ve passed, you’re a lunatic, and… oh, you engage in unusual private hobbies behind closed doors.”
Jake’s grin was punchable, but his words interested me more than enough to give him a pass.
I leaned back in my seat, fingers idly drumming against the edge of the table as I digested his list of absurd rumors.
Extortion? Buying my title? Cheating?
Yeah, most of it was true one way or another.
But unusual private hobbies? That one hurt!
And while these rumors weren’t anything noteworthy now, knowing Vince Cleverly, they’d soon be blown out of proportion.
Jake’s voice cut into my thoughts. “So, you want me to sniff around? Find out who’s spreading all this garbage and give them a lesson in manners they won’t forget!”
“No,” I interrupted, more forcefully than I intended. “Let it go. I don’t care.”
In fact, I was more than content with the whole situation. Vince truly worked fast.
His face fell into a pout that was comically childlike, considering he was still wearing the remnants of what should’ve been a battle-ready uniform.
“You don’t care? People are dragging your name through the mud, Sam. You’re just gonna sit there and take it? You?! Samael Theosbane?!”
“Yes.”
His frown deepened into a scowl and his voice tinged with frustration.
“What happened to you?! Why are you acting so subdued these days?! This is not the Samael I know. You would’ve never never let anyone talk trash about you back in the day! You were someone everyone feared, and now—”
Thankfully, before I could shut him up, he stopped speaking on his own. But for some reason, he looked furious.
When I followed his gaze and turned to my right, I understood why.
Michael was standing there. And he looked awfully pissed when he said to me, “We need to talk.”