Kaiel’s cold eyes remained fixed on the three boys.

Tension was brewing as the silence in the room was palpable. His classmates started to shift around, unsure of what was to happen. None of them stepped forward to mediate. Some watched in amusement as the conflict was something they enjoyed watching. Others simply ignored it.

Seeing as there was no response from Kaiel even after Leo had apologised at his prompt, the arrogant boys' smiles faded.

The boy at the forefront of the three responsible for the situation was named Rohan. If Kaiel remembered correctly, he was from a noble family in the Empire, but he couldn’t remember which one; the name slipped by him. Rohan was part of the aristocratic, elitist faction within the Academy.

Rohan's fake amiability transitioned into distinct hostility. Something about the black-haired boy's disinterested gaze irritated him on a fundamental level. It felt as though he was being looked down upon. In other words, it felt condescending to the degree that it poked at his ego.

Next to Kaiel, Leo shifted restlessly. He scratched his head, unsure of how to diffuse the situation. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kaiel spoke in a flat and uncaring voice without breaking eye contact with Rohan.

"Be more careful."

He then proceeded to ignore them. He tore out a note-filled page and crumpled it into a ball. The page had already been partially ruined from the impact earlier, so he would have to rewrite it.

Perhaps not satisfied with the response that Kaiel gave him, Rohan decided to push a bit further.

The seat in front of Kaiel's desk was unoccupied. Rohan pulled it out with more force than necessary, causing it to rattle harshly in response. He sat with his back facing the front of the classroom and his head tilting forwards, invading Kaiel's space.

Forced to acknowledge the annoying presence. Kaiel looked up slowly.

Rohan picked up the notebook that Kaiel was writing on. He held it up and flipped through the pages as though he was reading its contents, “Ever the diligent student, aren’t we? If I remember correctly, Kaiel, I saw that your name was near the top of the rankings."

He looked back at the other two boys, who responded quickly, “Rank 5th in our year for theory, to be exact”.

Rohan continued with a sarcastic voice, “Rank 7th last month and now rank 5th. So before long, it wouldn’t be very surprising if you reached the top three?”

He looked directly into Kaiel's muted blue eyes with a smile and asked, “I have to know, what is the secret behind your spectacular achievements? I would like some pointers.”

Kaiel did not back down from this and looked into the boy's green eyes. He had no idea what this boy wanted. His actions up till now were incomprehensible and, in his opinion, a waste of time. He also thought that the boy's smile was exceedingly unpleasant. But he answered anyway, in hopes of being left alone. “There is no secret or trick to it. And if you really want to ask someone. The current Rank 1 is also in our class.”

With that, Kaiel saw no further need to elaborate. He took the book out of Rohan's hands. It was a cold response that displayed his desire to be left alone. It was harsh of him to pass the baton onto another student, but what he said was reasonable, as ultimately, he wasn't the best in the year. They were to be a scapegoat for the greater good.

Rohan restrained the irritation bubbling inside of him, “Ah. Thank you, thank you. But in light of this, I now owe you for telling me such valuable advice.”

What advice? Kaiel thought to himself. There was no need. Kaiel wished the boy would hurry up and move on.

Rohan did not follow the wishes inside Kaiel's mind. Instead, with a voice laced with sarcasm and mockery, he continued speaking, “There's another thing I just remembered. On the combat ranking, I could not see your name at all. That will not do. If this continues, your overall ranking will remain at the bottom of the year. With your intellect, don't you think that would be sad? As your classmate, and since I now owe you, how about I give you some pointers in combat? I'm absolutely sure I would be of great assistance to you. Believe it or not, I was ranked quite highly. Nowhere near the top 10, mind you, but still much... much higher than your ranking. How about it?”

It was very tiring when people didn't speak bluntly. Kaiel would’ve much preferred it if the boy expressed his thoughts plainly instead of using these roundabout speeches that were a waste of breath. Kaiel wasn’t stupid enough to play along.

“I’ll refrain from doing so. I’ll spare you the trouble of seeing my miserable combat ability.”

Rohan did not relent, “You’re being modest, and it’s no trouble at all. Who would I help out if not my own classmate? I insist.”

Exhausted from speaking in circles, Kaiel decided to be straight with the boy, “Don’t waste your time. If you want to improve, spend it more productively.”

That was the breaking point for Rohan. He leapt up from the seat, sending the chair flying backwards. He thought that Kaiel definitely deserved a beating right about now.

A voice came from the entrance, “What are you doing, Rohan?”

The cold voice caused Rohan to halt his actions, and his anger subsided immediately. He felt like a cold bucket of water had been poured over him. His previously arrogant attitude did a complete 180 switch, similar to the difference between day and night.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

With a submissive voice, Rohan and the two other boys bowed slightly to the individual who had just entered the classroom, “Young Master,”

The boy walked with a certain dignity befitting his status. Unlike the nobles who operated

His platinum blond hair was neatly combed, his uniform impeccably spotless with his family emblem just below the academy emblem, and he wore expensive white gloves. His face was handsome but aloof, and his sharp green eyes were utterly emotionless.

Altair Vanshire.

That was the name of the boy who had just made his appearance. If not for the constant frigid expression on his handsome face, he would be the ideal dream for many of the female students present at the Academy. But unfortunately for them, he was hard to approach. He did not associate himself with such, in his own words, trifling matters.

Despite being nobles, Rohan and the two other boys were his lackeys. Supposedly, Altair was a higher-ranked noble than them. So it was not surprising he'd have an entourage of followers, not that the boy acknowledged them as that at any point. They were boot lickers in the truest sense of the word, sparing nothing at fulfilling their honourable superior’s every demand and request. This also meant that they took liberty in deeming who and what was unworthy of being in his presence.

Most of the time, he treated them as though they were thin air. He would only speak to them whenever it was convenient for him or should they cause any inconveniences for him.

This was one such occasion.

Altair waited for a response.

Rohan was now much more subdued, “We were simply discussing the rankings. I was praising Kaiel and informing him of how impressed I was.”

Altair gave Kaiel an unreadable glance, “Is that so.”

And with that, he said nothing else.

Altair walked past them to the back of the classroom like always.

Rohan shot Kaiel a vicious look one last time before making his way to the back of the classroom.

Kaiel let out a relieved sigh. They had finally left him alone. Leo saw this as his cue to go quietly. He also headed to his seat, not before giving Kaiel one last reluctant glimpse.

The show was now over, albeit anticlimactic in ending in the opinion of some of the students. The other students quickly returned to what they were doing before. It was almost time for the start of the class.

The students’ time for relaxation ended as a woman walked in. She had striking auburn hair tied up into a bun and dark eyes that seemed as if they could pierce through you. By her hip was a decorated sword with intricate patterns on its sheath. It looked extremely expensive and high quality and was her personal weapon. She wore a white shirt with a waist belt, a long black slit skirt, and combat boots. It was not the standard issue instructor uniform.

If not for the armband on her left arm, you would be hard-pressed to see her as an instructor.

This woman was their instructor, Silva. She had an impressive reputation even before coming to the Academy. But her being an instructor at the Academy spoke volumes about her ability. The only problem was her attitude. She leaned forward over the podium, slouching over it completely.

In her hands was a piece of paper.

Her gaze wandered around the room, and after confirming that most students were present, she grunted.

The students waited in absolute silence.

And only after a full minute did they hear something being mumbled, “Ah. Damn it. So troublesome.”

She spoke lethargically with a tired and monotone voice, "There are a few announcements to make, but first, I’d like to congratulate those of you who made it high on the rankings.”

She nodded approvingly at several students in particular. “Please give them a round of applause.”

Following their instructor’s lazy example, the students performed a chorus of awkward applause. In turn, the high-ranking students either smiled proudly or embarrassingly averted their gaze as the entire class’s focused on them.

“As for those of you who did not achieve the results you wanted or expected, please work harder and try to find areas of improvement. Please ask the honour students if you have any topics you are stuck on. I’m sure they will do just as good of a job explaining it to you dullards as I would, if not better.”

Shouldn’t we ask you? This was the thought that all the students had. The students all knew that she just wanted to avoid her responsibilities.

She waited for a response, “Where’s your answer?”

Most of what she got in return was half-hearted compliance. She shook her head helplessly. But she refrained from speaking any more than necessary.

Several other, more traditional noble instructors had commented on her lazy nature being unfit for education at an elite institute such as this. These instructors argued with Silva regarding her lackadaisical approach to teaching and that she should berate the students for not trying hard enough. Needlessly forcing expectations on students would only cause them to break. Not every student had the mental fortitude to excel in such an unforgiving environment. This was doubly so in such an elite institute where most students were spoilt brats. In Silva’s opinion, most were useless and would never amount to anything significant.

She neither saw the need to nor had the desire to encourage half-hearted individuals.

Ultimately, how the students spent their time, productive or not, was at their discretion.

Silva moved on to the next topic. Her voice had a tinge of enthusiasm as this next topic was more to her liking, “As for the announcements today, the biggest one would be that all of you first-year students will begin to form your squads. These teams and units will be the focal point of your time in the Academy for the next three years.”

All the students burst into a discussion. This was a primary aspect of Rangurd Academy’s educational program. In the world, there were many dangers, and behemoths ran rampant in certain hotspots and ancient ruins. No matter the profession, acting alone was typically associated with death, as it was scarce for an individual to emerge victorious against a Behemoth single-handedly. Hence why, be it a mercenary, adventurer or knight, the Arts users of the Empire always act in squads and cells of four or more people, often taking up different roles in the party.

This made all professions heavily favour teamwork and camaraderie.

The Academy had adopted that mindset and wanted to prepare their talents early for the real world. By forming these teams, the students would undergo trials and tribulations together and hopefully become life-long companions. This was the ideal.

Silva was annoyed as none of them was now paying attention to her. Then, she tapped the podium with mana infused into her finger, creating a loud noise that caused all the students to quieten down.

“You can save the discussion for later. Let me finish first. There are two ways you can go about this. You can form teams of your own choice or leave it to random allocation. Regardless of what you do, if you do not form a full roster by the end of the two-week deadline, then random allocation will take place. Students who are not part of any group yet will be randomly allocated to fill in spots.”

A student raised their hand, “What is the max number of people in a team? And are we able to form teams with students from other classes?”

“The maximum number of individuals is six. And yes, there is no restriction by class. Therefore, you can be with students from other classes you are close to and would like to work with.”

The Academy was surprisingly flexible with this.

Kaiel listened in intently. If he wasn’t wrong, people like him were in for some troublesome times.