Class S
It didn't take long until the entirety of class was filled with students, all wearing white uniforms.
Scanning the classroom with my golden eyes, I observed all the main characters present.
The Saint was talking with a girl who had thick glasses.
The Princess was reading a book.
Ian was glaring at everyone present.
Arthur was… simply here.
It seemed peaceful.
All of their personalities matched what I remembered from the game, which gave me a small sense of comfort, as I knew what to expect from each of them
'That's good…'
Intervening my fingers, I took a deep breath, glanced at the clock and closed my eyes.
It was about to happen…
We were about to meet our new professor.
Boom…
As soon as my eyelids covered my irises, I heard a loud sound of something exploding coming from the front of the classroom.
Slowly, opening my eyes, I saw other cadets rubbing their eye sockets with shouts of surprise and confusion.
Amidst the chaos, a man with a stern expression and disheveled hair appeared on the podium.
Our gazes met for a second and a barely noticeable smile flashed across his lips.
It took a minute until everyone regained their eyesight and after they did, hateful gazes were sent the man's way.
However, he didn't seem apologetic for his actions nor phased by their reactions.
"Hello, my, dear students~"
Playing with a cigarette in his fingers, the man addressed the whole class with a casual voice as if he hadn't blinded all the students with his spell 'Light Flash' just a few moments ago.
"From today onwards, I will be your homeroom teacher, Professor Zane Minz, you can call me Professor Z."
He paused for a moment and lit up a cigarette, taking a long, slow drag before continuing.
"From what I understand, all of you should be the best, the elites of the academy. Right now some of you are probably thinking, 'how dare he treat us like this, we are from Class S!?' So let me tell you a few things…"
His gaze swept across the room with amusement.
"Most of you are garbage."
"Yes, you've managed to get into the most prestigious Academy in the kingdom, into the best class of the year and yet most of you couldn't even sense a simple damned light spell I launched into the classroom a minute ago!"
"I can count with one finger how many of you managed to avoid being blinded by the spell!"
Extending his hand, he showed all of us a middle finger.
"One!"
Placing the cigarette on the table, he sighed.
"Anyways, let me make one thing clear, I don't care whether you have a strong background, come from a long lineage of mages or have been praised as a prodigy your entire life. In this classroom if I see any lack of effort, you will be immediately punished."
"Although this is our first lesson, I will be harsh because there is nothing more that I hate than people who think they are the shit when they are mediocre at best."
Seeing that everyone was paying attention, a smile appeared on his face.
"Now that we got that out of the way, let's begin by checking the attendance."
Summoning a notepad out of thin air with a flick of his wrist, the professor began calling out the names of students.
"Rank 1: Cordelia Lightreal"
"Present."
…
"Rank 3: Aveline Shadowblight"
"Present."
…
…
"Rank 7: Ash Morningstar"
"Here."
Professor Zane continued down the list, his gaze scrutinizing each student as he called their names.
His eyes momentarily lingered on my name before he continued naming the others.
After all of us were accounted for, the professor leaned back in his chair and let out a long and deep sigh.
"Okay, now that we've done all that, all of you stand up. We are going to the northern training grounds! Whoever is last will receive a fun punishment!"
Clapping his hands, he smiled and I immediately closed my eyes.
Boom…
Once again a small explosion erupted and I heard the groans of students who were once again blinded by the professor's spell.
Surprisingly, some learned.
The Princess and the Saint managed to close their eyes in time, but others scrambled in confusion, trying to find their exit out of the classroom.
That didn't bother me though.
『 Vanish 』
I immediately appeared outside of the room and dashed towards the northern training grounds.
Whatever I did, receiving that 'fun' punishment was not an option.
…
Huff… Huff…
A small group of white-clothed people stood in a loose circle.
Most of them were gasping for breath and had pale faces as if someone had chased them.
I could only shake my head observing them.
It was probably tough not being able to teleport every few seconds for almost no cost.
"Finally, everybody's here~"
Seeing the last guy running towards the group with wary and fearful steps, the professor smiled.
In his hands he held a small, glowing sphere that pulsed with energy.
As the guy who was dead last approached, the professor signaled him to come closer and placed the object in his palms.
"…!"
Surprisingly, as soon as the sphere fell into the student's hands an unimaginable amount of weight crushed down on him, causing him to collapse on his knees with a pained grunt.
While he was struggling to hold it, the professor explained what was about to happen.
"Since it is my first time seeing you and all that I know about you is your rankings and names, you are going to have a few spars with me so I can determine what your actual strengths and weaknesses are…"
"It might seem like I am a jackass, but one thing I am confident at is teaching and for a reason, I'm currently the top-ranked instructor in this Academy. So give it your all, I can only work with what is given to me so if you hold back, you will only be hurting yourselves."
Putting on a serious expression on his face, he weaved his hand and a long spear materialized in his grip.
"Cordelia, step forward, you'll be the first one."