ke?! KE?!

"You... It's you!"

3 days ago when the practical examination was about to end and Felix thought that he was about to meet his demise, a foreign species appeared and saved him.

Felix would never forget his face and his summoned skeleton that swiftly ended the battle against 10 [Owl Bears].

Without his help, Felix would either be shredded into pieces by [Owl Bears]' claws or he would be turned into an item by being ranked bottom.

Felix was regretful as he wasn't able to inquire about his savior's name. He was too disoriented and the next second, they were transported out of the [Owl Bear Dungeon (C)] as the practical examination ended.

Felix survived... and he owed it to his savior.

He kept on searching and searching for him until before he knew it, he had been searching for him for 3 days now. But, it was futile...

Felix didn't see even his silhouette.

And in Arkhe town, he saw entities with similar frames as his savior. There were three of them, one woman and two men. Their figures were identical to his savior, with no pointy ears or protruding horns on their heads.

And that was when Felix learned...

His savior was a human.

He heard about them once from his father. Dark elves regarded humans with hostility. They had a murky past that Felix was oblivious of.

"But he is kind, that man who saved me is kind", Felix decided to keep on searching.

And now, looking at the figure of Alab, his enigmatic expression seemed not to depart his face, and his dull black eyes that shunned nonsense discussions, Felix couldn't help but beam.

"It's you!", Felix couldn't hold his excitement as he exclaimed.

Alab however glanced at him momentarily and then turned his head to the window, inhaling the soothing air that drifted in. Under the desk, the figure of huddling Locust vanished along the strong smell of a graveyard.

Earlier, Alab summoned Locust who banged his skull in the table as he hid. Incidentally, the sound was similar to a fart and there came the misunderstanding.

Students thought that it was a fart and now, Girth poked fun at him.

Gradually, the room fetched its tranquility. A sweet scent once more pervaded the air.

Felix was about to utter more words when the students frantically flooded into the room. Their eyes were dilated as they had seen the system notice.

"Is that true?! We completed it?!"

"and not just that, we are the only class to fulfill this punishment!"

"WAHA, shame on those in the higher class!"

Everyone was bewildered by what just happened. They didn't expect that they would manage to do it with the little half a minute remaining. The rabbit girl was skeptical but decided to just shrug it off.

"Somehow, we managed to pull it off.", the rabbit girl muttered.

"I guess we are lucky! BWAHAH", the male ogre jeered which made the rabbit girl roll her eyes. It was clear that tension brewed between the two species.

Without the fart, uniting the entire class of diverse species and conceited personalities would be close to void. It was just impossible. It was for this reason that the other classes failed the punishment.

In the end, the class escaped further penalty and even received a bonus reward!

The Copper Class 3 cheered as they looked at the rear part. Their eyes were grateful to Girth.

"W--what?! It's not me! KE!", apparently, Girth was mistaken for...

"Yeah yeah", the students shrugged.

'Everyone who farted would definitely say the same line...'

"KE!", Girth sneered.

He made sure to send a piercing gaze to the indifferent Alab, emitting his infuriation.

With everyone seated and Savra entering the room once more with an upright and professional posture as if nothing happened, the first class of the Copper Class 3 had finally begun.

"Mr. Felix, you may sit on whichever seat you want", Ms. Savra gestured to Felix who was pinned in the teaching area, his dazzling eyes concentrated on Alab.

"Mr. Felix?", Savra tapped the shoulder of Felix which pulled him out of his trance.

*cough*

"Ms. Savra?"

"I said you can take whichever seat you want"

"Ahh! T---then, I will take that sit", Felix pointed in the rear direction, right at the seat adjacent to Girth's. His eyes gleamed and his smile was gentle.

"Ohh, besides Mr. Farthead then, okay, you may take your seat now", Ms. Savra jested and then placed her book on the wooden podium right in the corner of the teaching area.

Felix took eager steps, going upward. Then, when he reached the rear part, he nodded at Girth who rolled his eyes at him and then toward his savior, Alab.

Alab didn't even spare a glance as his eyes shifted to Ms. Savra ahead. Felix felt a sting but decided to just brush it off. He took a seat and similarly listened to Ms. Savra... Or so what things were supposed to go...

Beside him, Girth began pestering him. Felix couldn't listen to Ms. Savra at all.

"Let me introduce myself once more, I am Ms. Savra from the extinct Lizardmen clan and I will be your professor in the subject Fundamentals of Academia.", Ms. Savra reintroduced.

"As you may have seen, this world is covered with fogs of endless height and endless span. What awaited beyond a fog is a mystery that will be unfolded over time. Only the dean, Mr. Luke, and Ms. Hazel have the power to disperse such fog and of course, that is through so much unimaginable cost.", Ms. Savra glanced through the window. Towering fogs surrounding Academia were conspicuous.

Her eyes were wistful as she muttered.

"Even I am oblivious of what awaits behind that fog", she mumbled.

Recouping herself, Ms. Savra flashed a gentle smile and then proceeded with the lesson.

"In this subject, we will be tackling the history, purposes, and every fundamental knowledge that you, students need to know about Academia", she stated and then strolled toward the podium.

She opened her book and then glanced at the students.

"You begin with a thousand participants and now it dwindled and only 959 remain. There are 200 participating worlds and if my knowledge is right, 5 of which had already fallen. They no longer have any surviving participants.", Ms. Savra paused as a troll male raised his hand.

"What will happen to those worlds who lost?", he asked.

Ms. Savra's eyes wandered for a moment, grief reflected in her eyes. Wistful, she responded.

"That should no longer be your concern", Ms. Savra's voice became deep.

"Remember why you are here, you, students are the exiles of your respective worlds. Always, always remember that", Ms. Savra flashed a gentle smile in the end but the wrinkles beside her eyes betrayed her impression of solace.

She, herself was aggrieved.

Noticing the sour mood that began to pervade the room, Ms. Savra skimmed through her book.

"You guys are the third batch of students. The higher batch is already taking advanced classes and is now taking an assessment. They will be back in Academia in a while after their assessment ends", Ms. Savra added.

The class proceeded in a rather smooth manner. Ms. Savra was gentle and accommodating to students' queries. Her lesson was engaging and she conveyed the topics in a simple and digestible manner. Furthering that was her humor and enthusiastic personality.

The class concluded with the students having a great time and abundant learning.

Ms. Savra called for her system and scrolled through the translucent screen. The class list of Copper Class 3 filled her sight.

Attending class was not compulsory but the professors were tasked to take attendance regularly. Ms. Savra then began calling names.

"When I call your name, just say present. Ms. Carrot?"

"Present", the bunny girl voiced.

"Mr. Dennis?"

"Present!", the proud male orc resounded.

....

..

"Mr. Felix?"

"Present"

"Mr. Girth?"

"Ke!"

"I guess that means present. Next. Mr. Kriks?", Ms. Savra called. However, no response resounded.

Ms. Savra called once more.

"Mr. Kriks, are you here?"

Seconds passed and no one voiced out from the 36 students. Ms. Savra then marked him as absent. She proceeded.

"Next, Ms. Kraks?", she muttered and again, there was no response.

"Mr. Kroka?"

"Ms. Kreka?"

Ms. Savra kept repeating their names but it was futile. There was no response. Ms. Savra couldn't help but wonder why all the goblins were absent.

After a while, she just put it aside for a moment and called for the last name.

"Lastly, Mr. Alab?", Ms. Savra called.

A mild voice of Alab resounded. "Present"

With the attendance settled, Ms. Savra cradled her book and then glanced at the students. Opening her lengthy mouth, she muttered.

"Your days here in Academia will be a mix of hell and euphoria. I am glad that we started with rather entertaining jokes from Mr. Felix there. *wink*", Ms. Savra winked toward Felix who felt his hair standing all over.

Pulling open the door, Ms. Savra turned her head as she spared a last glance at the students.

"You still have half an hour before the next class. I suggest you use that time to elect your class liaison.", she muttered.

*wink*, she winked before her figure vanished into the corridor...

Left in their learning quarter, Carrot stood and then strode toward the teaching area. She was just brimming with confidence and was not easily fazed.

Enduring the aloof gazes of her fellow students, she muttered.

"As Ms. Savra suggested, we should elect a liaison. Anyone you think who is fit for the role?"

As her words fell, half the class turned their heads to the rear. Their eyes were fixed on the man in the middle of the seat...

Nodding their heads, half the class agreed.

"It's Mr. Girth! He is so witty and funny earlier!", they exclaimed.

*shiver*

Feeling his body tensed, Girth dilated his eyes. Stiff, he stammered.

"ke?! K---KE?!"