Lunch

Su Ye scanned the rest of the students at his desk. Rolon walked out of the classroom with his battle spear in hand. Ebert, who did not speak much, walked out slowly.

Only the blue-eyed young lady, Palos, was still seriously studying.

Su Ye had wanted to head outside but thought that the poor girl might not be able to speak. He put his middle and index finger together and tapped them gently on the table.

"It's time to eat. You will have a better time studying if you rest and relax appropriately and manage your energy well. You can send a magic message to a teacher or other female students if you are not familiar with the academy."

Su Ye had persistently managed his energy while he was on the Blue Star and so gave up on reading his book without hesitation.

Without waiting for Palos to raise her head, Su Ye picked up his spellbook and turned around to leave the classroom together with Hort.

Palos slipped into deep thought.

"What does energy management mean?"

Palos realized that she had involuntarily stood up after she thought over the question.

There was no one left in the classroom; only a female mage standing by the door remained.

The mage smiled. "Princess Palos, I'll accompany you and familiarize you with the academy."

Palos nodded slightly. As usual, she did not say a word as she closed her spellbook and walked toward the female mage.

The cafeteria at the Plato Academy was bustling.

The entire cafeteria was a marble building, about as large as half a sports arena. There were no lavish decorations in the building. The building contained a large number of long tables and chairs neatly placed together. Students of every level, as well as teachers, dined here.

Hort and Su Ye walked into the building together and immediately attracted countless looks.

"Hey, Hort!"

"Good afternoon, large bloke!"

"Don't forget the private competition that's happening in a few days!"

Hort smiled as he nodded toward the group.

Su Ye finally experienced Hort's connections.

The two of them found two empty spots and flipped open their respective spellbooks.

Su Ye suddenly felt an indescribable sense of familiarity. He then raised his head to survey the area.

Everyone was looking at their spellbooks.

"I seem to have seen this scene before somewhere. A bunch of… magic addicted teens?"

Su Ye smiled. With a thought, he conjured today's menu on the page.

Su Ye did not expect the meals of the Plato Academy to be this good.

Even a relatively rich family in the city of Athens only ate meat once or twice a month. It was great here. The academy had an endless supply of pork, mutton, and chicken, but they did not provide beef.

From the corner of his eye, Su Ye saw that Hort had swiped his finger from the top of the menu all the way to the bottom.

Su Ye turned his head to see that Hort had ordered all of the dishes on the menu, which was normally enough for ten people.

Su Ye shook his head in frustration. He made a reasonable choice for his lunch based on his experience on the Blue Star.

It was easy to become tired in the afternoon. So he had to avoid the main dishes that had too many carbohydrates. It was better for him to consume more meat, fish, and vegetables to prevent spikes in his blood sugar.

Su Ye suddenly heard a commotion outside the building after he finished his order.

"Damn humans! Not only do you enslave us, you even make us look on helplessly as we deliver the corpses of our kind onto the dining table!"

"Pig Gnomes will never submit!"

"Overthrow Plato Academy!"

"Defeat the evil mages!"

Su Ye turned his head to look. He saw many Gnomes propping up trays with their heads. They formed a line as they entered through the door, puffing. There were over 30 of them.

These Gnomes were only half a meter tall. They had a frame similar to that of a human, as well as stiff, black hair.

However, their heads were completely different from ordinary Gnomes, which were similar to humans. They had the head of a pig and were like a cross between a Magic Pig and a Gnome.

The first-years were flustered when they heard the shouts of the Gnomes.

"Hahaha…" The older students laughed loudly.

"You guys need not be afraid. These Pig Gnomes love to boast, but they are more afraid than anyone to take action."

"You can try scaring a few Pig Gnomes after they finish delivering the food. Don't try it now though, otherwise, they will toss down the trays and run away."

Su Ye realized that a few of the Pig Gnomes were not shouting their slogans. Instead, they were secretly observing the students and were prepared to run at any time.

The Pig Gnomes kept walking forward while they carried the trays. The magic trays would let out beeps when they approached the person who ordered the meal.

Then, the Pig Gnomes loosened their grips. Four long legs suddenly extended out from the magic trays. The trays climbed onto the dining tables like a mutated heron, then fell in front of the person who ordered the meal. Finally, the legs retracted back into the tray.

The first-years had a look of curiosity in their eyes.

The Pig Gnomes who finished delivering their orders ran out in a hurry, grumbling as they ran.

"Humans eat too much!"

"We must kill them!"

"That's right, kill them."

Su Ye stared at the waving little tails on the butts of the Pig Gnomes. He shook his head and laughed.

Sometime later, this batch of Pig Gnomes ran over with a new tray on their heads.

"Damn it, this is too tiring!"

"These damn humans, we still haven't had our lunch."

"I really want to steal a bite…"

The expression of a teacher sank. He scolded, "You're not allowed to curse in front of the freshmen!"

The 30-odd Pig Gnomes immediately bowed and shut their mouths. They continued to move forward in silence, but without the imposing vigor that they had just now.

Even their tails slumped downward and appeared limp.

The cafeteria finally got quieter, and students chatted with each other as they ate.

"I wonder when the demon hunting practice of the second-years is going to start."

"There should be someone from our academy joining the next city-state sports meet. I wonder which few nobles will be fighting for the top spot."

"Next year will be tough. I heard that the Persians have already mobilized their troops."

"I heard that Sir Hercules has once again triumphed over a powerful Demigod Magical Beast. He is too great. He killed Heroic Magical Beasts when he was at the level of Legend. Now, he was able to kill Demigod Magical Beasts while at the level of Hero. If there are no accidents, he will receive the title of 'Heroic King' before he advances to the level of Demigod."

"Guess, do you think Hort will be able to advance to Warrior Apprentice this year?"

"I think it will be difficult."

"I feel that it might be possible!"

Su Ye was shocked to realize that the topics discussed by the students in the cafeteria were instantly unified when they talked about Hort.

Almost everyone was guessing if Hort could advance to Warrior Apprentice this year.

Hort seemed to not mind it, listening on with a smile.

"Large bloke, your order is here!" a Pig Gnome shouted, not masking his grievances.

Then, Su Ye witnessed a magnificent scene. A full ten trays extended their long legs and jumped onto the table in front of Hort.

They covered the entire table.

Su Ye only realized now as to why people would not sit beside or in front of Hort.

Then, Su Ye's tray jumped up and retracted its legs, displaying its contents neatly in front of him.

Munch, munch…

Hort had already started to chow down.

Su Ye looked at the dishes before him. One set of grilled eel, one stewed chicken thigh, a palm-sized portion of roasted pork chops, one mulberry sausage, one bowl of thick vegetable soup, one serving of sautéed mushrooms, one hard-boiled egg, and a small piece of wheat bread.

Su Ye did not eat much in the past, but he deliberately ordered more to test out his appetite when he realized that his body had become stronger.

Su Ye followed the customs and ate with his hands, but thought in his heart that he should invent utensils as soon as possible.