[A-34]
I had finally arrived at my class.
From what I had understood, classes in the academy went from F-Rank to A-Rank, with only the best students placed in A-Rank. It once more showed just how important your ranking within the Royal Academy was. A-Rank students received better resources and, on top of that, they were assigned the best teachers.
Seems I arrived early.
The classroom was completely empty. I decided to sit toward the back, not wanting to attract anyone's attention.
However, just as I sat down, other students began entering the room. They noticed me instantly and started whispering among themselves. Rumors were bound to spread about me, especially since no one knew where I came from. On top of that, my abilities were still a mystery to them. None of them had ever seen me fight.
Is that Hannah?
I frowned as I saw her walking toward me.
She stopped in front of my desk and pointed at the seat beside me.
"Is this seat taken?"
I looked into her eyes, trying to understand why she would do this.
"Yes, sorry."
She smirked and still placed her bag on the desk.
"It's fine. I'm sure they won't mind~!"
I didn't respond and simply looked away, annoyed. The amount of attention she was giving me only made more people curious about me. I could hear them whispering about my supposed past.
Some of them even started speculating that Hannah and I had once been in a relationship, which was why I was acting cold toward her now. After all, none of them could understand why anyone would treat the Royal Princess with such indifference instead of trying to curry her favor.
Fortunately, most of them stopped staring in our direction when the professor finally entered the classroom.
"Welcome to your first day of class! As you all know, this is Combat Class. So, the first question I have for you all is this: what makes a great fighter?"
Someone who isn't afraid of death, I answered silently to myself.
Several students eagerly raised their hands.
"Your control over your affinities?" one of them suggested.
The professor shook his head.
"Physical strength?"
He shook his head again.
"The way someone wields their weapon?"
The professor continued shaking his head.
"No. But that's what most people believe. What truly makes someone a great fighter is experience."
He paused before scanning the room.
"Who in this class has ever been in a real fight?"
"Do VR games count?" someone asked.
The professor burst out laughing.
"No. I mean a real fight… in real life."
No one raised their hand.
Maybe some were hiding it like me. But with a single glance around the room, I could tell that most of them had probably never fought a day in their lives. They were rich nobles whose parents gave them everything they desired. They had never needed to fight for anything.
Everything had always been handed to them.
"Not even you, commoner?" the professor suddenly asked. "You've never had to fight for some food?"
Murmurs instantly spread through the room.
"Is he talking to the second-ranked student like that?"
"Did he just call him a commoner?"
"Is he really one?"
"If the professor said so, then it must be true…"
I sighed at the professor's obvious intentions.
I already knew what many nobles thought of commoners. However, after visiting the Lix Estate, I thought things couldn't possibly get worse than that.
Apparently, I had been wrong.
"Yes, I fought before," I replied absentmindedly, wanting to end this conversation as quickly as possible.
If I lied, the professor would eventually realize it when we began sparring.
"Really?" the professor asked with a smirk. "And for what reasons?"
"Because I needed to."
"Then perhaps you'd like to demonstrate to the class what having real fighting experience means?" the professor said, his grin widening.
"I'm fine."
"I think I'll have to insist."
The professor gave me a look that clearly said refusing was not an option. If I declined, he would probably kick me out of his class, which could easily lead to me being expelled from the academy.
Instead of arguing with him, I stood up and walked to the front of the classroom.
"Haha! Perfect! Now then, would anyone like to have a little spar with our new star student?"
I wasn't sure if this had been arranged beforehand or if the professor simply disliked having a commoner in his class.
However, when I saw that Alex Loge was the only one raising his hand, I realized there might be something else going on here.
Though they're clearly underestimating me. As the professor said, experience is what makes a great fighter.
Alex walked to the front of the room with a confident smirk.
"The number three student against the number two… Now, how about we make this a little more interesting?" the professor suggested. "Let's put something on the line in case you win."
"I want your number two spot," Alex said immediately, as if he had rehearsed the line beforehand.
Seems like he abandoned the idea of trying to win me over, I thought, remembering our conversation from the previous night.
"What about you, my little commoner?" the professor asked.
I rolled my eyes at how obvious his bias was and shrugged.
"I'm not interested in anything he might have."
Every student in the classroom widened their eyes at once.
Everyone except Hannah, who didn't look surprised in the slightest.
"Are you sure?" Alex smirked. "I can give you some pocket money. How about thirty gold coins? Isn't that about what your parents make in an entire year?"
"Think about it."
I didn't answer. Instead, I glanced at the professor, silently asking him to begin this pointless fight already.
"The two of you may go all out," the professor announced. "I will intervene if your lives are ever in danger."
I nodded.
Alex frowned, clearly annoyed that I had refused to play along with his little game.
"I'll make you realize the difference between a noble and a commoner, you trash."
I looked at his flimsy posture and instantly realized something.
Just like most of the people in this room, he had probably never trained in real combat.
"Try to last more than a minute," I muttered to myself as I dashed forward.
I'd be making him regret ever picking a fight with me, even it made me an enemy of his family.