Perfect. I had my spot. Now
'let's see what this academy has to offer me'
Sounds arrogant? Maybe. But its not like i am shouting out this words like a young master. Just a little passing thought in my Head.
I know arrogance brings more harm than good but having a controlled arrogance i guess is not bad at all.
Anyway, Not long after I sat down, another student walked in. Then another. Then a group of two. Then another. Then a trio. One after the other, students started pouring in at short intervals.
It made me pause and think for a moment that—
'Were they all secretly walking behind me this whole time, just waiting for me to enter first?
Like, were they hiding in bushes or something? because I definitely didn't signed up for hide and seek. '
I mean, I didn't see a single soul on the path to the building, no one ahead of me, no one behind either and now? they kept pouring in like a flock of sheep pours in at feeding time.
'Where were you guys hiding?' I wanted to ask, like really.
Either way, the classroom was filling up fast.
There were students now sitting in the row above me, the row below me, and even in the same row as me.
That's when the person beside me shifted, clearly intending to talk. He had shoulder length pale brown hair, and the moment he turned toward me, his eyes first landed on my rank insignia. Then, with a smirk, he looked me straight in the eyes.
"Are you from the Frostbane family?" he asked.
"No," I replied flatly. I am not part of them anymore so no need to give confirmation.
"Oh? But your appearance says otherwise. And I've heard that Lady Celine's son isn't exactly the talented one. Your rank fits that story."
This guy... He knew I was a Frostbane. He'd come over just to stir trouble.
'What did I do to this guy?' I wondered. As far as I knew, Thorin hadn't done anything to provoke him heck he didn't even knew this guy. So why target me?
"Nah, you've got the wrong guy," I said casually.
"Oh really—" he started, but was abruptly cut off as immense pressure descended over the entire hall.
A man appeared at the teacher's podium. He had a bald head, a clean-shaven face, and a long scar that ran from his right cheek through his right eye. His cold gaze swept over us like we were nothing more than ants.
Without any greeting, he began.
"Nora Flaven."
"Harry Ainsworth."
He continued calling names—five in total.
We all glanced around at each other, confused, trying to confirm if anyone nearby had been called.
Then silence. The man seemed to pause deliberately, letting his words hang in the air and giving us time to think over.
And then—
"All of these students will have 100 Merit points deducted "
"Huh?" a voice echoed across the lecture hall. Everyone, myself included, wore the same stunned expression.
"Deduction? Why?" the red-haired guy beside me asked, trying to sound Confident and fearless as if his legs weren't trembling from the pressure earlier.
The man's sharp eyes locked onto him, and the guy instantly flinched.
'Why did he even bother asking if he was that scared?' I thought.
'Just let someone else deal with this kind of thing.' There are times when you should let other take lead.
The man finally spoke again, voice firm and cold.
"Because they were late to the lecture hall."
"Late?" another voice called out, disbelief thick in the air.
That was exactly what we were all thinking. I quickly checked the time on my AetherSync and not only me but almost all of them, some via aethersync some via watches. It read 9:27 AM clearly, i even checked twice for confirmation.
Classes were supposed to start at 9:30 am.
'Is this guy's watch 3 minutes fast or something?' I thought, quickly shaking this absurd thought out of mind or was this thought absurd ?
Then the man spoke again.
"I am Kane Roger, your homeroom teacher for this year. And there are only two thing I value more than strength and those are hardwork and discipline. Talent without hardwork is nothing. Its useless to have talent if you aren't gonna put some efforts.
His voice was like steel, he wasn't asking us to put more effort, he commanded it.
"This was just a warning. Next time, there will be no deduction but suspension. You are required to be in your seats 15 minutes before the stated time."
The air in the room shifted.
"You might be in Demonbane Academy—some of you due to talent, some due to effort, and some..." he briefly looked at me and a few others, "due to reserved seats. But let me make this clear that you can be expelled at any moment."
"Strength is necessary, but so are hardwork, disicpline and perseverance. You are Class D barely qualifying in terms of strength compared to Classes A and B. Forget even comparing yourselves to Class S. Even Class C is significantly better than you."
"If you want to survive here, you'll have to work harder than everyone else."
That man—no, our homeroom teacher, Kane Roger spoke quite the "motivating" Words. But instead of getting motivated all I thought was:
'Why the hell did he announce all that when the students who points he deduted aren't even here? Just to scare us? '
Probably. It was clearly meant to be a warning for us , the students must have gotten the notification of reduction via app. They must be crying somewhere maybe even outside the class D building.
'Poor souls' The situation was absurd not gonna lie.
As for merit points ?
What are they? Just academy currency, really. Everyone who participated in the entrance examination got 1,000 points by default in the beginning and could earn more based on their performance. But students like me those who used the "backdoor" method and not participated in examination to get better ranking only received the base 1,000. No bonuses, no rewards.
Just for context, there were only 10 reserved seats in total. And if none of us had joined the entrance exam, we'd be slapped with ranks 991 to 1,000 based on alphabetical order . Which i got since i didn't participate in examination. Harsh, but fair… I guess?
As for who got the most merit points?
Do I even need to say it?
Yeah, him. The protagonist.
I'm definitely not feeling bitter or jealous or anything.
Except I totally am.
Especially about his homeroom teacher.
Miss Delphine Lindelheight.
An S-Rank powerhouse known not just for her overwhelming strength but also for her beauty. Apparently, she was so jaw droppingly beautiful and "developed" in those area that it was mentioned in novel that some students from Class S got a boner just from seeing her.
Yes, seriously. That's the level we're talking about.
And then there's our homeroom teacher…
Kane Roger.
The bald guy with a scarred face, eyes like knives, and a personality colder than a winter grave. Though Miss delphine was also cold but i would love to Experience that coldness.
There is really only one thought that comes to mind when I look at him—
'This guy is bad news.'