Harmony Within the Class

After everyone else had left, Duke felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he found it was Louisa. 

  "Thank you,"

  she said before she could speak. However, the bespectacled boy next to her chimed in discontentedly, "Just thank her? What about me? Are you valuing romance over friendship?" As he finished speaking, he playfully punched Louisa's arm.

"Arnold, if you keep blabbering, I'll make you regret it! The relationship between Duke and me is pure revolutionary friendship," Louisa said, displeased, as she playfully hit Arnold's shoulder. Arnold held his shoulder, his face turning slightly blue.

"Furthermore, What's the use of thanking you? Your original force is only eighty-two. Do you think I don't know? If a few thugs come at you, you'd be the first one knocked down."

Amidst laughter and mocking comments, Duke's heart warmed slightly. Louisa was his desk mate, and though their circumstances were different, Louisa had exceptional talent and often ranked among the top in the campus. Moreover, she came from a wealthy family and never lacked raw stones. Up to now, no one had been able to uncover Louisa's background, which was why Danny was so wary of her.

As for Arnold, who sat behind Duke, he was well-versed in various pieces of information and could be considered the class's intelligence expert. Among the whole class, only these two were Duke's genuine friends.

"Stop arguing already and let's go. We still have tests today," Louisa decisively interrupted their squabble.

While Louisa did offer Duke some fragments of the raw stone, she didn't seem eager to discuss the topic further. The group quickly headed towards their classroom.

Not far away, Viola walked over with a sense of self-blame: "Danny, I didn't investigate this matter thoroughly."

Danny chewed his gum, and his expression didn't appear downcast.:"It's alright, just an ignorant kid. When he truly realizes his incompetence and that no matter how hard he tries, he can't awaken, he'll understand. By then, when he wants to sell raw stones, I can set any price I want."

Viola nodded, agreeing with Danny's assessment. That was, he lacked self-awareness.

Over three years, most people's original force increases were around 50. Some geniuses could add 70 or 80 points, just enough to break through the minimum threshold for awakening. This was not only a resource issue but also involved talent and effort.

Duke was probably one of those individuals who thought their low original force was due to a shortage of raw stones. Viola had seen too many like him.

Seeing that Danny didn't blame her, Viola felt slightly relieved. She quickly cast aside the unpleasantness from her exchange with Duke earlier. In her view, he was just an arrogant ordinary student who would never belong to the same echelon as her in the future.

Duke and his friends returned to the classroom quickly. Along the way, Arnold, like a chatterbox, continuously questioned Duke about the details of how he had killed the Infected.

"Nothing special, just luck. The monster was already injured, and I fired a few shots by chance. It was purely coincidental," Duke said, eight parts of his statement being true and the remaining two parts not worth disclosing.

Hearing this, Arnold clapped excitedly:"See, I knew it!" Louisa rolled her eyes, no longer wanting to pay attention to this guy.

As it turned out, Arnold had speculated among his classmates soon after the news broke. At the time, he had guessed that Duke had surely turned the tide, and now his guess had indeed proven true.

"However, you're really bold. If it were me, I'd definitely stay at home. Of course, your luck is also really good. With so many high-quality raw stones, you could make quite a bit of money by selling them."

By now, they had returned to the classroom.

Over the course of three years, Duke hadn't become acquainted with many people. Most of the gazes directed at him were tinged with envy. Yes, after seeing the reports, the first thing they had noticed was that Duke had received high-quality raw stones from the Enforcement Bureau. As for killing the Infected, most people's speculations aligned with Arnold's.

In this era, hope was especially precious, particularly in the poverty-stricken areas where the Infected frequently appeared, leaving the populace fearful. While these regions had poor conditions, their large populations were responsible for basic farming and urban labor services.

Thus, the government couldn't abandon these people. Therefore, they set an example to show them that even the people from impoverished areas could cooperate with the enforcers and defeat the Infected. They aimed to prove that the Infected weren't as terrifying as they seemed and that people could live in peace.

The students clearly understood this. Several familiar faces came over to exchange greetings, and before long, the bell rang. A slightly plump middle-aged man entered the classroom.

"Cough, cough, at this time, you're still making a racket, not showing any sense of urgency!" The bearded male teacher berated them while wearing a scraggly beard. Though he scolded them verbally, his eyes held little blame. Seeing that the Awakening Ceremony was less than twenty days away, marking the end of three years with these students, was imminent.

"First of all, welcome back, Duke! Everyone already knows that Duke cooperated with the Enforcement Team, successfully killing an actual Infected, and bringing honor to our class."

The homeroom teacher, Jim, had a full smile. Although this honor might seem more like a hollow title and not as impressive as having an Awakened student in the class, it had still garnered him considerable prestige within the school.

"Alright, in a while, the school will organize the final original force test before Awakening. Additionally, there are two announcements I need to make. Firstly, during this test, students with original force values exceeding 90 will have the chance to enter the Special Training Class, which will last for ten days."

This information was already known to everyone in the class. It meant that the most outstanding students of the entire grade would undergo intensive training during the final stage. Furthermore, the instructors for the Special Training Class were all Awakened! This was an opportunity that everyone coveted, though the conditions were extremely stringent.

"In our class, the only ones who previously scored over 90 in the test are probably only Charles and Louisa. As for the rest, does anyone have the potential to surprise me? This year's comprehensive evaluation will depend on all of you."

Jim playfully quipped. Amidst his joking, the attention of the class focused on one student. With a fringe of hair covering his forehead, fair skin, a slender figure, and an expressionless face, he sat upright. He was Charles, the student in the class with the highest original force value.

After Jim finished speaking, quite a few students in the class displayed slightly ashamed expressions. After three years of interaction, they had all come to understand Jim's character. Though he might speak sharply, he was kind-hearted, always offering help to many students. Particularly, he wasn't like other homeroom teachers who only focused on a few top students and ignored the rest. He looked out for each and every one of them. Unfortunately, although they were grateful, most of them were still quite helpless in terms of their academic performance.

"Alright, there's one more major announcement!" Jim's expression turned serious.