The introductions continued for nearly twenty minutes.
It was torture.
Not physical torture.
Physical torture I could endure.
This was far worse.
The kind of torture where thirty people took turns explaining how special they thought they were.
A young man with short gray hair stood from his seat.
"My name is Roderic."
His voice was calm and steady.
"I am a two-star swordsman, and I graduated first from the Western Provincial Combat Academy."
Then he sat down.
No boasting.
No lengthy speech.
No mention of his family.
Sensible.
Perhaps there was hope for this class after all.
Another student stood.
"My name is Elena. I am a wind mage from Kaligon."
Then another.
And another.
And another.
By the tenth introduction I had stopped listening.
By the twentieth I was contemplating murder.
Fortunately, the instructor seemed to share my feelings.
"Enough."
The room immediately fell silent.
A blessed silence.
Instructor Seraphina looked around the room.
"You have all introduced yourselves."
She placed both hands behind her back.
"Now allow me to introduce reality."
Several students straightened immediately.
Good.
At least some possessed survival instincts.
"You are Class One."
She pointed toward the class ranking displayed above the board.
"Do not misunderstand what that means."
A few students smiled.
A mistake.
"It does not mean you are the strongest first years."
The smiles vanished.
"It means you performed best during admissions."
Her gaze became colder.
"Nothing more."
A large crystal suddenly appeared beside her.
Numbers began appearing on its surface.
Thousands of names.
Thousands.
"There are 4,800 first-year students enrolled this year."
The room went silent.
"Only thirty were placed into Class One."
Now people were paying attention.
"The academy believes you possess the greatest potential."
Then she smiled.
A terrible omen.
"The academy is often wrong."
Several students visibly tensed.
I almost laughed.
"Potential means nothing."
She tapped the crystal.
A hundred names vanished.
"Every year students drop out."
Another hundred vanished.
"Every year students are expelled."
More vanished.
"Every year some die."
The room became completely silent.
Now they were listening.
"Galia Military Academy is not responsible for your survival."
She pointed toward the academy crest hanging behind her.
"The academy provides opportunities."
Her voice hardened.
"What you do with them is your responsibility."
That was the first thing she had said all morning that sounded reasonable.
A student near the front raised his hand.
"Teacher, are deaths really common?"
"Not common."
She paused.
"Expected."
The student immediately lowered his hand.
"Now."
Seraphina waved her hand.
The crystal changed.
Several large regions appeared.
"The academy is divided into four major sections."
A new image appeared.
"The Academic Wing."
Another.
"The Combat Grounds."
Another.
"The Arcane Research District."
Another.
"And finally..."
The image shifted.
A massive gate appeared.
Black.
Ancient.
Covered in runes.
The atmosphere of the room changed immediately.
Even I paid attention.
"The Eros Academy dungeons."
Several students gasped.
Of course they did.
Even among the countless revisions I had made while writing this world, this Secret Realm remained one of the most dangerous locations in Peroza.
"The dungeons are open all day all year, except one."
Seraphina continued.
"Only qualified students are granted entry to the ero omega secrete realm which opens once every two years."
Excitement immediately spread throughout the room.
Fools.
Most were imagining treasure.
Power.
Legendary artifacts.
Ancient inheritances.
Very few were thinking about death.
"Many students dream of entering."
The instructor said calmly.
"Many students never return."
The excitement died instantly.
The lesson continued for another hour.
Rules.
Schedules.
Combat rankings.
Dormitory regulations.
Boring things.
Important things.
The usual things.
Eventually the bell rang.
The moment it did, the classroom exploded into noise.
Groups immediately formed.
Friendships began.
Alliances.
Introductions.
The natural behavior of young people.
I remained seated.
Then a shadow appeared over my desk.
I looked up.
A young man stood before me.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
Athletic.
Confident.
Too confident.
"You are Benjamin, right?"
"Unfortunately."
The boy blinked.
"...What?"
"That's my name."
"Oh."
A moment of awkward silence followed.
"My name is Adrian."
He extended a hand.
I looked at it.
Then at him.
Then back at the hand.
"..."
"..."
Slowly Adrian lowered it.
My rudeness wasn't intentional, but in my defense, I hardly knew the guy.
"I saw your scales earlier."
He said.
"You're from Elarion?"
"Yes."
His eyes brightened.
"I heard bloodline users are really strong."
That was a complement and i took it with a smile.
Before I could reply, another voice suddenly cut in.
"Strong?"
Someone laughed.
Three students approached.
One of them looked directly at my arms.
Then at the scales visible beneath my sleeves.
His expression immediately twisted.
"Looks more like a lizard to me."
The classroom went silent.
I stared at him.
The boy smiled.
A very unfortunate decision.
And for the first time since arriving at the academy...
I felt truly irritated.