The voice was calm, clear, and confident. The classroom quieted almost immediately, for the long-awaited homeroom teacher had finally arrived.
He looked surprisingly young—far younger than most of the Professors at the academy. He had short, neatly kept dark hair and wore a pair of clear glasses, giving a scholarly appearance. His academy uniform was immaculate, pressed so sharply it looked as though he had just stepped out of a formal ceremony.
"My name is Kael Halvek," he said, standing at the podium. "Please call me Kael. I will be your homeroom instructor this year."
"I have been a professor at this academy for four years now. And during that time, I have overseen several first-year classes,
While the teacher spoke, a boy in front of Landen leaned over to whisper to his friend.
"I heard when he first came here, he beat most of the professors during the entrance exams. He's supposed to be some kind of prodigy."
"Seriously? He looks barely older than us."
Up close, he really did look young—no older than his early twenties. His face still carried the smooth features of someone who had only recently stepped into adulthood.
Landen was ecstatic at what he heard. A powerful master was exactly what he needed. He had expected to search tirelessly to find someone strong enough to learn from, but instead, the person he was looking for was standing right in front of him.
"Do you see that?"
The sudden voice startled Landen, making him blink.
"Is that you, System?" he asked.
"Of course, who else would it be?"
Landen rubbed the side of his head.
Right… of course.
He was going to have to get used to hearing a voice in his head.
"The boy beside you fixes his gaze upon you," the system continued. "He studies you."
Landen glanced to his side.
A white-haired boy beside him had leaned halfway across his desk, openly studying him. One hand rested on the massive greatsword propped against his chair, his fingers loosely gripping the hilt as if it were the most natural thing in the world to bring such a weapon into a classroom.
His pale eyes were fixed directly on Landen.
Landen raised a brow, then rotated his entire body to face him.
They locked eyes; neither averted their gaze.
As he looked at him, Landen thought to himself, Damn, why does this kid look so cool?
The boy had perfectly cut, spikey hair, white of all colors. His bandaged arms and this huge great sword made him seem like he came straight out of a movie.
After Landen stared at the boy for a few more seconds, something clicked in his mind.
His eyes widened.
"Wait a minute… You know who I am, don't you?" Landen shouted.
He shot up from his chair and pointed at the boy.
The outburst was so sudden that Professor Halvek stopped talking. All heads snapped in their direction.
"Yeah," the boy replied casually. "You're that guy from the stage, Mifaso."
Landen shook his head.
"No. Not that. You know my true identity. I can see it in your eyes!" Landen pointed toward the rest of the class. "Go on! Tell them all who I really am!"
The white-haired boy stepped onto his seat, one boot on top of his desk. His hand was on the hilt of the massive greatsword.
"It doesn't matter who you are. Right now, I need to beat you to obtain the title of the strongest in our class."
The strongest in the class. Landen wondered. Is that how they see me? Well then, let's keep it that way.
"I see… Well, it's bold of you to skip straight to the final boss," Landen replied.
The boy smirked.
They continued their standoff, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The room was in complete silence until someone dropped something on the floor.
The sound triggered both boys to throw wild punches, but their fists stopped mid-air before they could land.
Standing between them was the professor, Kael, effortlessly holding onto their arms.
Landen's eyes widened. When did he get here?
Across from him, the white-haired boy was just as stunned. I didn't even see him move…
"I appreciate the spirit, boys, but fighting isn't allowed in class," Kael said, casually, but at the same time, he released a hint of pressure, and the air suddenly felt tight.
"Sir, I am detecting a high-level threat," the system said.
Yeah, I'm looking at it.
"Now then," Kael said, releasing their arms. "If the two of you are finished establishing dominance…"
The class chuckled.
"…please sit down. You will have plenty of time to play later."
Both boys quietly sat down, not before giving each other fighting stares.
With the interruption over, the professor continued his lecture.
"I can tell many of you are eager to fight. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we should first understand why you are here."
He began pacing slowly in front of the podium.
"This is Aegis Vanguard Military Academy. Our institution was not built to produce ordinary soldiers.
"We exist to forge the strongest warriors in the World Battle Arena Association. I assume everyone here is familiar with the WBAA?"
Landen raised his hand. "I am not, sir."
"Very well… The WBAA is a collection of each nation's strongest warriors. This is how nations measure power, where heroes earn their reputations, and where legends are born. Because of that, this academy trains students with one goal in mind—creating elite Battle Arena champions.
"And for that reason… we only accept the best."
"At the end of this year, only the strongest of you will move on to the second year, and that decision will be determined by the Freshman Tournament Finals."
"This tournament is fought by teams formed from each freshman homeroom," Halvek continued. "There are currently six freshman homerooms in the academy, and each homeroom will only support one official team.
"The homerooms are allowed to hold only fifteen students to form the team."
"Now look around you. There are fifty students in this class. Do you understand what that implies?"
Many students looked confused, clearly still trying to do the math.
But Landen and the white-haired boy exchanged looks as the same thought ran through their minds.
One team of five means only one position was available per role. Seeing that the white-haired boy had a sword. There was only one role that he would take. The clash lane fighter.
Kael sighed softly. "At the end of this semester, each home room will only have fifteen students, which means thirty-five of you will be leaving."
A collective gasp spread across the classroom. Students began looking around nervously at their classmates.
"In fact," he added, adjusting his glasses, "I expect more than half of you will be gone before the end of this week."
The room erupted in quiet panic.
Students whispered frantically, trying to process what they had just heard.
They had believed that simply sitting in this classroom meant they had already made it into the prestigious academy. But none of them expected that their place here could be taken away so soon.
Halvek raised a hand, and the room slowly quieted again.
"To determine who stays and who leaves, you will be tested continuously throughout the semester. Your performance, your teamwork, your decision-making, and your combat ability will all be evaluated.
"The first round of testing will determine your role within a team. If, by some chance, you cannot be placed into a role…"
He let the sentence hang for a moment.
"…you will be expelled."
The room fell silent.
Landen watched as Halvek turned back toward the podium.
Expulsion? Landen thought. There wasn't a chance that this would happen to him. Bob brought him here to learn from this school, so he was confident that he would get the role.
Halvek stood at the podium. "Well, I believe that is enough explanation. Let us begin your first assessment."