Hearing Ren Isana and Yukino Yukinoshita's sudden conversation, Asuna Yuuki looked over with an innocent, bewildered expression. *What in the world are they talking about?*
*What exactly happened? And why did they suddenly bring me into it?*
Yukino's reaction was definitely a bit off. *Could it be that she suffered a loss when fighting Ren?*
Curiosity getting the better of her, Asuna couldn't help but whisper to Megumi Kato, "What happened between those two?"
Hearing Asuna's question, Megumi quietly recounted the details of yesterday's sparring match between Ren and Yukino.
After understanding the situation, Asuna didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sure enough, Yukino had suffered a massive disadvantage, which was exactly why she refused to fight Ren again.
Still, she was quite curious about Ren's true strength. To be regarded so highly by someone like Yukino, he had to be incredibly strong, right? Furthermore, he used a sword... or rather, a blade.
Blades and swords were two sides of the same coin. The Tang Dao Ren wielded closely resembled a straight sword; calling it a sword wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.
*Perhaps I really should exchange pointers with him during our combat class later,* she thought.
Meanwhile, Ren instantly lost interest the moment Yukino refused to fight him.
*I only punched her once, right? Did she really chicken out just from that? Isn't getting a little hurt completely normal in a fight?*
After ruthlessly roasting her in his mind, Ren went back to scrolling on his phone.
It wasn't long before the class bell rang, and their homeroom teacher, Rina-sensei, walked in from the hallway.
Ren had obediently put his phone away and sat up straight the moment the bell chimed. The rest of the class followed suit, falling completely silent the second their teacher entered the room.
Rina-sensei scanned the classroom. Seeing that everyone was present, she spoke up. "Students, if you plan on going out recently, it's best to travel in groups. A new Dimensional Rift has been discovered within the city limits. It's highly likely that monsters have already slipped through, so everyone must prioritize their safety."
The homeroom teacher had dropped a rather grim piece of news the moment she arrived. Hearing this, the entire class froze in shock.
A Dimensional Rift inside the city? Was she serious? If that were true, things were incredibly dangerous.
Dimensional Rifts appeared randomly across the globe at irregular intervals, and there were no special methods to detect them in advance.
Because of this, every manifestation caught people off guard. Some rifts weren't even discovered until long after they had opened.
The appearance of a rift also brought forth all kinds of monsters. This posed a lethal threat to the city's residents, even though the general populace practiced martial arts.
If they encountered stronger monsters, it would still result in massive casualties, especially among the weak and defenseless.
Of course, the emergence of a Dimensional Rift also meant the city had gained a brand-new monster-farming zone, which contained a considerable amount of treasure.
It was a double-edged sword. However, if too many monsters flooded into the city from the rift during its initial opening, dealing with them would be an absolute nightmare.
Listening to his teacher, Ren recalled the heavy security patrols he had seen that morning. *So this is the reason behind all that, huh?*
"Sensei, have monsters already breached the city?" one student couldn't help but ask anxiously.
After all, they had families. While the students were relatively safe inside the school, the same couldn't be said for their relatives out in the open.
That was exactly why the student was so frantic, terrified of going home only to be met with tragic news.
"The security forces are already conducting a comprehensive sweep, but there might still be a few that slipped through the net. The city administration will likely issue a public broadcast soon, warning everyone to stay safe," Rina-sensei explained considerately, clarifying the current situation.
Hearing this, the students below finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was for the best that the city was already on high alert.
Sweeping her gaze over the classroom and seeing that there were no further questions, Rina-sensei began the lesson.
They still had one general education class this morning, which she also taught. Only after this period ended would they move on to their Magic class.
"Everyone, take out your Ethics textbooks. This is what we'll be covering today," Rina-sensei instructed before picking up a piece of chalk and writing on the blackboard.
Ren pulled out his textbook as well, though his mind was already pondering a completely different matter.
To others, this might be a dangerous crisis, but to Ren, it was a golden opportunity to make some serious cash.
If he actually ran into a monster, killing it and selling its drops would net him a hefty sum. This was his chance to strike it rich.
As long as the monsters weren't overwhelmingly powerful, he should be fine. Besides, if he played it safe, hunting them was definitely doable.
After all, Ren possessed Megumi Kato's innate talent. If he truly wanted to stay hidden, those monsters wouldn't even be able to perceive him.
The more Ren thought about it, the more viable the plan seemed. *Maybe I should go hunting after school this afternoon.*
If he found some, great. If not, no harm done. Although he didn't know exactly how many monsters had infiltrated the city, there was bound to be an opportunity somewhere, right?
Having made up his mind, Ren pretended to pay attention to the lecture. He had already memorized the contents of the textbook long ago, so he spent the class multitasking, mentally organizing the new Sword Skills he planned to develop next.
The class period passed by in a flash. As the bell rang, Rina-sensei announced, "From the next period until the lunch break, you will have your Magic class. The afternoon will be dedicated to Martial Arts. Unless something unexpected comes up, this will be your standard schedule moving forward. Keep that in mind."
With that said, Rina-sensei left the classroom. The moment she stepped out, the room erupted into a flurry of activity.
Students immediately pulled out their phones, scrambling to call their families and warn them about the news their homeroom teacher had just shared.
Only orphans like Ren—or those who simply weren't worried about their families running into trouble—remained calm.
The majority of the class came from ordinary backgrounds, making them the most anxious about the situation at home, especially those whose family members lacked combat strength.
The parents of the girls sitting near Ren didn't live in this city, so they weren't worried about this issue at all.
"Ren-kun, aren't you going to notify your family?" Megumi asked, looking at him in confusion as she observed the frantic reactions of their classmates.
*Is Ren not a local? Did he transfer here from another district like us?*
"I'm an orphan!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Megumi, in particular, looked completely at a loss for what to do.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." This was incredibly embarrassing. She genuinely hadn't meant to pry into such a sensitive topic.
"It's fine, it's really not a big deal." Ren waved it off, not taking the matter to heart at all.
Asuna and Yukino were both utterly shocked. Neither of them had expected Ren to be an orphan.
No one had known about this, especially Yukino. *This guy is truly absurd,* she thought. *He became this strong entirely on his own...*
Even before awakening his innate talent, Ren must have been quite exceptional. After all, the fact that he managed to test into this elite school proved everything!
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