The academy was bustling, to say the least.
As soon as we left the dorms, we were met with a massive crowd of students all rushing in different directions.
Their badges were mostly blue.
Which made sense, during the second year, on the first day, you are sent on your first true rift mission, which required a lot, and I mean a lot of work to be done beforehand, preparation, research, gathering materials, getting permission slips for certain mana tools and artifacts.
Not to mention the RCA and both the Royal Armies would be watching them, so the pressure was insane.
And probably the hardest part.
You had to do the mission in collaboration with second years from the other academies.
This only applied for the first mission, though, after that, you're free to go with whatever party you want.
This is a problem because, as you can imagine, these students are competitive as hell.
Especially since this is another way to show off the academy's strength even before the InterAcademy Games.
Regardless, we made our way through the crowd, eventually reaching the main building where classes are held.
It stood tall with large pillars at the front and stairs that led to the halls; the ceiling seemed to have words carved into it. The words in the ceiling were finger-width deep, like someone had clawed them in.
"The architecture is impressive," I commented.
"It was built by the third headmaster of Aethon; he was a massive literature fan," Seris spoke without stuttering and stared at the ceiling. She seemed excited to see it. "So he embedded all his favorite novels into the ceiling."
"You're a fan of the third headmaster?" I asked
"N-no, I just... like reading, so I thought he was cool." She spoke softly
I smiled, "I like reading too."
"Y-you do?" She was back to stuttering
"Yeah... in fact, I read a really shitty novel recently."
She let out a small laugh. "It must have been bad."
"You have no idea."
"Eh... I think the gym is better than reading." Bram commented.
"Sure it is," I spoke.
"You need to hit the gym more; the ladies don't like thin arms." Bram flexed his arm as an example.
"Piss off."
"Look who's finally getting a taste of his own medicine." Another voice came.
"And where did you come from?" I turned to Liam.
"I'm also heading to class." He turned to Bram and Seris. "Nice to meet you two, I'm Cassian's first friend."
"..."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Bram Holt."
"Yeah, I remember you from the ceremony."
"Nice to meet you, I am Seris Dunmore." Seris didn't stutter.
My eyes widened slightly, and I stared at her for a moment.
She turned to me. "I-Is something w-wrong?" She began stuttering again.
I seemed to be the only one bothered by this.
'...weird'
"Haa..." I sighed, pushing aside the thought. "Liam, where's the class?" I asked him.
He raised a brow. "What do you mean? It's right behind you."
I turned around only to see large wooden double doors arched right there.
'...Damn it.'
I saw both Bram and Liam smiling like idiots behind me.
'Haa...' I sighed inwardly and pushed the doors open, stepping inside...
The classroom reminded me of lecture rooms.
The wooden desks were arranged in ascending rows, lecture-hall style. They were a deep shade of dark brown, and the walls were wooden with large windows that stretched to the ceiling at the sides, and a large chalkboard stood at the end.
The seats were full of other students, but there was a noticeable split between them.
'Guess some things never change.'
The students from either the Thorne Kingdom or Caldress Kingdom had sat on two different sides of the class, only mingling with their fellow people.
The second we stepped in, the entire class gazed in our direction, or rather at me.
'I should've expected this.'
There was a multitude of expressions on the students' faces as they looked at me.
"Well, well, if it isn't the prince," an arrogant-sounding voice came.
A boy with short blonde hair stood up with an arrogant smile and approached us, his group following him with similar expressions.
'Is this... what I think it is... no way.'
"You've always been pathetic, but you dare to insult the Thornes. You seem to have a death wish. The boy spoke.
"Yeah!"
"Thats right!"
"You tell him!"
His group of lackeys encouraged him, and his smile widened.
The entire class was paying attention.
"Not gonna say anything?" He spoke again."You were arrogant before, yet now you're scared?"
"Pfft-Hahaha!!" I laughed out loud.
Their expressions twisted with surprise and anger. "Who do you think you're laughing at?"
"Haa..." I wiped a tear and stopped laughing. "You'd make a great third rate villian you should apply for the position."
"..."
"..."
"..."
His entire group went silent at my words then...
"pfft-" A small laugh came from behind me.
Seris was laughing, and the rest... they seemed to be struggling not to.
"You-!" The third rate glared at Seris, but I put my hand on his shoulder before he could continue.
-Thud
His body flopped onto the floor, causing the entire class's eyes to widen.
"W-what did you do?" One of his lackeys asked with wide eyes.
"Chill, I just paralyzed him temporarily, take him to the infirmary or whatever if you want to."
"I-I c-can move." A weak voice came from below.
"That was faster than I expected," I commented.
He slowly pushed himself up with the help of his lackeys and glared at me.
"Wow, you're stubborn," I spoke, a bit surprised. "Take him back to his seat," I spoke in a commanding tone.
"Y-yes." His lackeys helped him toward his seat.
"...Wow your like a supervillian," Bram spoke.
I turned to him. "How am I the villain? He provoked me first!"
"Yeah, but the way you dealt with him was a bit extreme," Liam spoke.
"I thought it was cool," Seris spoke.
I smiled. "See, she gets it, thanks, Seris."
"You're welcome." She spoke softly.
"Anyway, come on," I gestured to them to follow as I walked to an area where there were open seats.
The entire class's gaze followed us.
I turned toward them, and they avoided my gaze.
'Haa... was that good?' I asked.
'It was horrible.' Vaelis answered.
'It worked, though?'
'It working doesn't matter, your control and visualization were worse than an infant spirit.'
'Okay...'
'But you didn't kill him, so... acceptable for a first attempt.'
'Thanks... I guess?'
Yes, I used elemental mana for the first time. Vaelis had given me the basic rundown on how to do it.
It was different from spells in that it not only used mana but also my mental ability, or better described as visualization.
I basically have to visualize what I want the ice mana to do, in which I froze that guy's heart for a second.
Which wasn't my idea because I thought he would go into cardiac arrest, but Vaelis insisted it was a good opportunity because working under pressure creates better results.
After using it, I immediately had a stinging headache, which I tried my best not to show.
'Is it always going to be like this?' I asked.
'Until you develop your mana pathways.' Vaelis answered.
'But that's at C-rank!!'
'And?'
'Haa...'
I sat near the window, and the rest followed.
Liam was about to sit next to me, but...
"..." My eyes widened slightly.
"..." Liam made a confused expression.
Seris sat down calmly, unbothered by the fact that she had stolen Liam's seat and that we were staring at her in surprise.
Liam eventually gave up and sat in the seat in the row below me, alongside Bram, next to him.
"Is this gonna be our group from now on?" Liam asked.
"I guess," I shrugged.
"Let's all go to the gym to celebrate our friendship," Bram spoke.
"Yeah, yeah, let's do that after class," I said and turned to Seris. "What about you?"
"Hmm?" She had a confused expression.
"Do you wanna join us? It's fine if you don't. I understand hanging with a bunch of gu-"
"I'll join," She interrupted me.
I blinked. "Okay..."
-CLAP
A clap echoed through the room, causing all the other students to stop their chatter and look toward the source.
"Looks like I have your attention."
There stood a man who looked no older than 30, with faded hair, and wore a long robe.
The students' eyes all widened at his appearance... even mine.
'This...'
"Oh, my god!!" A girl squealed
"I-Its Corvin Ash!!" A guy squealed, too?
Corvin smiled. "It's nice to meet you all, and yes, before you ask, I am your homeroom teacher."
A student raised his hand.
Corvin pointed at him. "Yes?"
"P-Professor, I thought you only teach the 3rd year."
"Thats usually true, but this time is an exception."
Although he wasn't even looking in my direction, I swear I felt his gaze.
My expression twisted slightly.
'Why is he here?'
He wasn't supposed to be here yet.
I looked down at Liam, and I could see...
'He's surprised too... this isn't good.'
Although I'd expected some changes in the storyline, this was much earlier than I expected and much bigger as well.
Corvin Ash, a former RCA Squad Captain, was a hero to the people. He once risked his life to save a small settlement. Even when he was ordered to withdraw, he still pushed forward and singlehandedly saved hundreds. They built a statue of him in that settlement and named the settlement after him.
But most importantly, he was Liam's mentor. He taught Liam how to use a spear in the first timeline, and he died in the Northern Valley before he could reach S-rank. Right now, he should be around peak B-rank.
And he wasn't supposed to appear until the InterAcademy Games. So something changed his course.
'But what?'
"Settle down, students." He waved his hand, and everyone went silent. "Your first class will be weapons training with me, and after that, endurance training with Professor Black. After that will be your lunch break, and then you'll return here to receive your subject choice forms, so I hope you already know what you wish to do.
He gazed directly at me. "And Mr. Cassian, please refrain from using violence outside of training from now on, or you'll face disciplinary action."
"Yes, Professor." I nodded.
'He must have been watching from the start.'
'He was.' Vaelis confirmed my suspicion.
'Good to know.'
Corvin smiled, "Okay, students, form a neat line and follow me to the training grounds."
The students complied, and so did we, but just as we were about to leave...
"WAIT!!" A scream came from the door.
I smiled and looked toward the door.
There stood Nira leaning against the panting slightly as if she had run here in a hurry.
Which she did.
"Miss Caldress..." Corvin spoke in a tone sounding disappointed. "I hope you don't think coming to class this late is okay."
"N-No, I won't do it again." She spoke almost nervously.
Corvin smiled kindly. "Good, I hope that's the case, now, get into the line please."
"Yes, Professor," She bowed slightly and walked toward...
'Me?'
She slipped in behind me, pushing whoever was behind me back.
"You were supposed to go to the back of the line," I spoke.
"Oh, was I?"
"Haa... whatever."
"Who's this?" Seris spoke in front of me; her tone sounded a bit cold.
"Oh, this is Nira Caldress... an acquaintance," I replied.
"Oh..." Seris smiled and greeted Nira. "I'm Seris Dunmore, Cassian's friend." She didn't stutter.
I didn't know why, but the way she said 'friend' felt... pointed.
"...Oh, hello, as you heard, I'm Nira... Caldress." She smiled back at Seris.
'This feels awkward.'
I was stuck between two girls who seemed to have some unspoken agenda against each other, and I had no idea why.
'Have they met before?'
And just before I could confirm...
Corvin spoke. "Okay, students, follow me."
We all followed as we left the classroom and walked down the halls.