"May I come in?" the protagonist, whose name was Damien, asked with a small smile on his face.
Morgana folded her arms beneath her chest, her posture straight and imposing. Her violet eyes were cold and strict as they stared at him.
"No," she replied flatly, her expression unmoved. "You are not allowed to enter. You are late."
A faint murmur spread across the classroom.
Damien blinked once, still standing in the doorway. With a calm expression, he said, "Master, I am only a few minutes late."
Morgana's eyes sharpened slightly.
"A few minutes?" she repeated, her voice turning colder. "On a battlefield, a single minute is enough to change the entire course of a fight."
The atmosphere inside the classroom grew tense.
Some students exchanged confused glances.
Master? Did he just call her Master?
Damien sighed softly, looking slightly awkward.
"I-I was fighting a ranked monster before coming to academy. Then there was traffic near the inner gate, and the guard insisted on checking my ID to make sure I was really an academy student."
He tried to make some excuses.
"Such pathetic excuses," Morgana cut him off sharply.
Damien's smile twitched slightly.
"You're being too strict on the first day."
"I am always strict," she replied without hesitation, her gaze unwavering. "That is why you are still standing there."
The classroom fell completely silent. The students stared at the two of them in disbelief. Was the top-ranked student... actually her disciple?
Damien scratched the back of his head with a helpless expression.
"Master, you trained me yourself. You know I wouldn't be late without a reason."
Meanwhile, Noah was enjoying the scene.
It felt like he was watching a TV series based on a web novel.
'This is much more fun.'
He thought while watching everything with interest. He continued tossing peanuts into his mouth, chewing them as he enjoyed the show.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
'...Why do I feel like I've read a similar scene in some web novel before? I've definitely read something like this... I think that novel was about killing the author or something like that... Well, my memory is terrible, so I don't remember.'
Morgana's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And yet, you are late."
With a dramatic expression, Damien placed a hand over his chest.
"Are you really going to make your favorite disciple stand outside? Please let me come in."
A few students gasped quietly.
Favorite disciple?
Morgana's expression darkened.
"Do not twist my words, Damien Ashworth," she said coldly. "You are my disciple, yes. That is exactly why I will not tolerate your lack of discipline."
The pressure in the room subtly increased.
Damien gave a helpless smile.
"Then please allow this disciple to enter and accept whatever punishment you decide to give me."
A brief silence followed.
The two locked eyes.
Munch.
Munch.
'It's such a common plot where the protagonist is the disciple of a female instructor who also works at the academy.'
Noah kept thinking about how cliché the characters were while casually enjoying the scene.
The tension between them was strange. Not hostile.
But filled with familiarity.
Finally, Morgana let out a soft sigh.
"You will run fifty laps around the training grounds after class," she said sternly. "And you will report to me personally this evening."
Damien's shoulders slumped slightly in disbelief.
"Fifty? Master, that's cruel."
Munch.
Crunch.
"Sev—"
Suddenly, Morgana stopped scolding Damien.
Her sharp violet eyes shifted toward Noah, meeting his crystal-blue eyes.
Noah stopped chewing whatever he had in his mouth. His breathing paused for a moment.
A shiver ran down his spine.
'What? Why is she looking at me like that?'
Instinctively, Noah pushed the packet of peanuts beneath the desk toward the student sitting beside him.
The guy next to him gave him a confused look.
"Noah Eldritch!"
Her voice echoed throughout the classroom.
Noah immediately stood up.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
He straightened his back.
Morgana looked at him coldly.
"This is your first day at the academy. The very first lecture... and you are blatantly eating something with that smiling face, as though you are enjoying a show."
'Shit! She knew it!'
The students immediately began whispering among themselves.
Things like...
-He sure is troublesome.
-It's the first day, and he's already causing unnecessary trouble.
And many more.
Even the protagonist looked at Noah with interest. The attention Damien had been receiving quickly shifted to Noah.
For what?
Because he had been sitting comfortably in the back, eating peanuts while enjoying the show.
'Damn! So I can't enjoy the perks of sitting in the back row in this world!'
He quickly swallowed whatever remained in his mouth without chewing properly.
With a respectful expression, he said,
"I'm sorry for my behavior, Instructor Morgana."
Noah bowed apologetically.
Once again, several people looked shocked because Noah's manner of speaking completely surprised them.
He was being extremely polite.
Morgana studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable.
Then she let out a quiet sigh.
"Since this is the first day, I will overlook it. But if I catch you doing something like this again, you will be punished."
Noah nodded immediately.
"As you say, Instructor. I will behave from now on."
"You may sit down."
Noah calmly took his seat.
"And you... you may enter," Morgana said, turning her cold gaze back toward Damien, who was still standing at the doorway.
Damien bowed his head slightly with a faint smile.
"Thank you, Master."
He walked inside, and the door closed behind him.
Every pair of eyes followed him.
Whispers immediately spread throughout the classroom.
"So he's really her disciple..."
"That's why he's Rank 1..."
"No wonder..."
Once again, everyone's attention shifted toward Damien.
Though not as intensely as before, since some of the students were still whispering about Noah.
Meanwhile, many of the main characters continued watching Damien with interest.
Noah quietly took back his packet of peanuts and placed it inside his storage ring.
'I'll eat them later.'
Leaning back in his chair, Noah wore a faint grin.
'But this is really amazing.'
The legendary hero of this game...
The only person with the potential to reach the Mythical Core...
And the academy's top-ranked student... Had just argued with his master on the very first day.
This was far more entertaining than reading the academy guidelines.
Noah had just been scolded by Morgana, but it didn't bother him. It wasn't his first time being scolded.
Back in college, he had heard things like this countless times. Right now, he was far more interested in these game characters who were now alive before him.
'The protagonist truly lives a different life,' Noah thought.
Meanwhile, after scanning his ID, Damien calmly walked toward the front row as though nothing unusual had happened.
Morgana returned behind the podium, her expression once again emotionless.
"Attendance for today is complete," she said coldly.
And just like that, the classroom was reminded.
This was no ordinary academy.
And this was no ordinary instructor.
---
[A/N: Hehe~ I dropped a little hint. Does anyone know which novel this scene is inspired by? Keke! Sorry, but I'm a fan of that novel. Anyway, there won't be anything similar after this, so just enjoy the story without any worries.]