Andrei's words lingered in Zeke's mind throughout the entire Mathematics class, making him realize that perhaps he hadn't even scratched the surface of this academy's system.
When the bell rang, Andrei invited him again to the cafeteria. Zeke didn't have a reason to refuse and he was already planning to go there. He was going to resume his traininh later, and he didn't want to do so on an empty stomach.
"Let me tell you about the good stuff in the cafeteria. There's this thing called…"
But when they arrived in the cafeteria, Zeke suddenly froze. He immediately turned around and quickly blended with the crowd before that person could notice him. Andrei was startled, quickly following after him.
When they reached a crowded corner, Andrei looked at the wary Zeke and couldn't help but ask worriedly. "What happened?"
Zeke paused, looking through the gaps in the crowd. A long, silky pink hair gracefully swayed from a distance. Sapphire eyes that shone with the splendor of a diamond, and a flawless face that attracted gazes everywhere.
It was none other than the conversation devil herself, Seralune.
Zeke had no doubt that if she had spotted him, she would've definitely made a scene. Thankfully, Seralune was surrounded by a lot of other girls who took all of her attention, so she wasn't able to see him when he appeared.
"Are you interested in Seralune?" Andrei saw where he was looking and a knowing smile formed on his face. "I didn't know you were that gutsy! No, I should've known after your spar with Franz. But tsk, tsk… Immediately going after one of the four Crown Jewels of the academy. I completely support you, though!"
Zeke was startled, frowning. "What the hell are you saying?"
Andrei simply chuckled. "It's alright, I can keep a…"
Before he could even finish his words, Zeke already started walking away again.
His mind lingered on Seralune, feeling a slight headache. Seeing her surrounded by so many girls and also described by Andrei as one of the four Crown… Jewels? Simply thinking about it made Zeke cringe.
Regardless, he can't let her talk to him in school.
'She's too famous…'
After experiencing the consequences of being in the spotlight, the last thing Zeke wanted was for it to happen again. Not only would it be useless, it would also put him at risk of humiliation.
'Fame and strength go hand to hand. If I keep getting the spotlight without the strength to match it, there'll be a line of people targeting me…'
Zeke brushed aside his thoughts and quickly bought some bread. He went to a seat far away from the main hall to avoid being spotted. Andrei sat across from him, also eating some bread.
While eating some bread, he put away thoughts regarding Seralune and couldn't help but think back to Andrei's words in class.
'Class exams… that's right.'
Zeke thought for a moment, then asked.
"Have you guys already taken a class exam before?"
From the way Andrei spoke about it, that seemed to be the case. Zeke needed an idea what it would be like so he could prepare himself.
"...Ngom hgom…"
Andrei pointed at his mouth, chewing something. Zeke stared at him with disgust. After gulping down the food in his mouth, he cleared his throat.
"Ehem. Excuse me."
He took a tissue from the table and wiped his mouth.
"Yeah, we did take it before. It was only last month that we took our first class exam…"
Andrei recalled as he explained. "To be exact, just right after our first week being admitted to the academy, we took a mandatory class exam. But of course, nobody knew what it was, and how important it was for our future in the academy that time."
"The results of that class exam determined our current personal value and class placement. Classes were divided into five: E as the last rank, D as the second-to-last, and so on until A, being the highest among all the classes."
"In that exam, we were put in a dungeon simulation where we had to kill as many monsters as we can. It tested both our knowledge and fighting ability. I don't know how, but the academy has a way to track everything going on inside, and they can compute the score in real time. If I remember correctly, initiating a fight with students in the same class can deduct overall score, but fighting against students in a different class and winning can increase overall score…"
Zeke listened quietly as he ate, inwardly surprised. The system was far more comprehensive than he thought. Even classes were ranked, not just students… but more important than that, the academy put their students in dungeon simulations.
He remembered the dean once mentioning that many students have died in the exams of the academy before, so maybe these class exams were one of those deadly exams? Zeke frowned, feeling a sense of unease.
If that was the case, then if he went in there with his current strength, he would be in danger. A sense of urgency suddenly rose in his heart. Before the class exam started, he needed to complete the Stick Master proficiency panel!
Zeke quietly looked at his stats again.
- - -
Name: Zeke Crimson
Age: 16
Class: Stick Master (Gray 37/100), Gamer (Black 0/100,000)
Rank: Initiate 1.1
Striking Force: 599 kg
Speed: 19 m/s
Spirit Force: 0
Echoforce: 10
Skills: Stick Manifestation (Active 37/100), Stick Skill (Passive 37/100), Gamer Proficiency (Passive 0/100,000), Gamer Attributes (Passive 0/100,000), Gamer Growth (Passive 0/100,000), Gamer Overload (Active 0/100,000)
- - -
Since he took the opportunity to rest yesterday, his proficiency didn't increase since his last training session. Zeke looked at his current proficiency and made a rough estimate of how many days it would take him to fully upgrade it.
'If I practice for 3 hours every day with a 30-minute break in between, then I can reach 100 points within the next couple of days!'
That was assuming that no significant hurdle stood in his way.
"Hey, Zeke."
Andrei tilted his head, seeing Zeke fall into a daze.
'What's wrong with him? He told me to explain but he isn't even listening…'
He clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
***
After their break was finished, they returned to the classroom immediately. The next subject was Killing Techniques by Professor Xavier, and being late was one of the worst things one could do in his class.
Xavier calmly entered through the door, his eyes scanning the room. When it fell on Zeke, he paused. But his gaze only lingered for a few seconds before moving away. Once he saw that there was no seat left unoccupied, he walked towards his desk.
'I can't tell what he's thinking…'
Zeke furrowed his brows. But before he could ponder it more, Xavier tapped the desk.
"Class is starting. Eyes on me."