Zaroth was sleeping peacefully until he felt a cold finger gently poke his cheek. After several attempts, he grunted and opened his eyes.
"Good morning," Luna said with a smile.
"Isn't it too early to wake me up?" Zaroth asked, pulling his pillow over his head in an attempt to get more sleep.
"It's 7 o'clock right now. Yesterday, we checked your schedule, and it said your classes start at 8. So you'd better get up!" Luna said as she grasped his hand and lifted him effortlessly.
'I keep forgetting she's a dragon. The strength she has despite being in human form is astonishing,' he thought as he got to his feet, stretching his body.
"Oh, also, there seemed to be clothes placed on the table. We didn't even notice them yesterday," Luna added, pointing at the table.
Walking over, Zaroth picked up an elegant suit woven with both red and white threads. "So they're giving us uniforms. I guess that's good—I won't stand out that way."
After a quick breakfast, he put on the student uniform. At first, it was too large, but unexpectedly, the clothes glowed slightly and tightened around his body, adjusting to fit him perfectly.
Luna whistled with a grin as she watched him. "This suits you pretty well."
After checking that he had everything, he exited his room and summoned the map on his bracelet. As he walked toward his destination, he also opened his schedule. It was simple:
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8:00-9:30 – Basics of Magic and Its Effect on Human Society
9:45-11:15 – Practical Use of Magical Abilities
11:30-13:00 – Physical Body Training
14:00-15:30 – Familiarization with Specific Classes
15:30-17:00 – Live Combat Practice
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It seemed he had fifteen minutes between classes to get around, with an hour for lunch between 13:00 and 14:00. The schedule also listed the rooms for each lecture.
From what he could tell, there weren't any breaks on the weekends—but that wasn't surprising. There was a reason this academy was considered the most prestigious, after all.
Exiting the apartment complex, Zaroth traversed the garden on the way to the academy. Along the way, he saw many people.
Some seemed much better off than others—just the way their skin shone and their hair was styled made it clear who was noble and who was a lucky citizen accepted into this place.
Finally entering the academy, Zaroth wandered around until he found himself in front of the door to his lecture room: 7/24.
Taking a deep breath, Zaroth steeled his resolve. 'This room will be full of nobles—most likely the rich and arrogant kind—and it will probably be obvious that I'm the only one of 'lower status.' I need to be ready to face anything.'
Placing his hand on the doorknob, he grinned, remembering Elysia's words, 'And if you can, anger the rich nobles as much as possible while being in A-Class. It's not a priority, but it would be highly amusing for me.'
'Oh… believe me, I'll anger them alright.'
*****
Zack was currently in conversation with one of the rich nobles in A-Class.
Just looking at the fat man, sweat dripping from his forehead, filled Zack with disgust. But he didn't have much choice—this guy was the son of an influential figure, so befriending him could be beneficial.
"As I was saying!" the fat man—whose name Zack hadn't bothered to remember—continued,
"I saw the announcement, and I'm sure there's a mistake! There's a person with just a single name appointed to A-Class! He doesn't even have a family name! There's no way they'd accept a poor street rat into the top of the academy, right?"
"Well…" Zack began, "To be honest, I don't really care about social standings. Look at it this way, if he was really accepted, it means his abilities are so unbelievably powerful they had no choice!"
"Even if that's the case!" the fat man—kid? It was hard to tell; he looked more like a child despite supposedly being an adult—snapped. "We must not accept just anyone into our ranks! There are social hierarchies for a reason!"
'You're one to talk,' thought Zack. 'The only reason you're here is because your father is stuffed with money.'
Glancing at his expensive watch, Zack saw there were two minutes left until the lecture began. He glanced around, counting the students. There were 95 in the room, but the board listed 96 assigned to A-Class. It seemed they were one person short.
The large doors at the front suddenly opened, and a man in his fifties walked in, stopping at the podium. Checking his watch, it seemed he was waiting for the clock to hit exactly 8:00.
Zack returned to his seat. One minute left. 'It seems it was a mistake after all,' he thought. 'And here I got my hopes up that they really had accepted someone of lower status in this class.'
The room was dead silent, waiting for the professor to begin the lecture, when the knob on the back door suddenly turned. Because of the silence, everyone heard it and turned to see who was entering.
A man on the shorter side, with white hair and green, cat-like eyes, entered. Scanning the room without hesitation, he seemed unfazed by the stares directed at him as he walked down the steps.
Zack shuddered for a moment, looking into those eyes. It wasn't because they marked him as dragon-descendant but for another reason. He knew those eyes from looking at his father and brothers.
Those were the eyes of a killer—cold and calculating.
The white-haired man found an empty spot at the back and sat down, crossing one leg over the other just as the clock struck 8:00.
The professor opened his mouth to begin, but a sudden shout interrupted him. The fat noble stood up, his body shaking with exertion.
"Disgrace! How can a mere commoner like you be accepted into the highest elite academy of the empire?!" His outburst forced him to pause and gasp for air several times.
A few girls burst into laughter at the insult.
Zack shifted his gaze to the white-haired commoner, who was smiling as though expecting this reaction. Without missing a beat, he responded in a voice cold and devoid of emotion.
"If fat people like you, who can't even stand or speak without gasping for air, are considered the elite, then our empire truly is on the brink of collapse."