The assessments at the end of the month were very important. They were the most noteworthy contributors to your final placements, but your overall performance in your day-to-day activities and classes also played a role. Otherwise, there would be no need for Kaiel to try so hard in even a simple practice duel. Right now, he did everything he could for the slim chance of a higher evaluation.

On paper, improving from zero to his current state in such a short span of time was indeed shocking. But if you were aware of the lengths Kaiel went to achieve this, you would think that something was wrong with him. Silva likely had an inkling of an idea as to how he pushed himself, but that was only the surface. On the other hand, what Silva said was true. Given enough time, then he would eventually catch up to his peers, but that would take a long time that he didn't have the luxury of waiting out. He only had three years at the academy. He could not waste them. So he appreciated her giving him concrete advice that he could use. It was extremely helpful.

As he changed into his usual uniform, Kaiel clenched and unclenched his fist. His hands had already healed from what Silva did earlier. Whatever she did, it was clearly beyond his ability for now.

Kaiel took a deep breath and patted his own cheeks as a way to rid himself of negative thoughts and to motivate himself.

The moment he exited the changing room, he was greeted cheerfully, "Yo!"

Standing against the wall was Leo.

Kaiel looked left, then right, and then behind him. But regrettably, no one else was there.

Amused by his antics, Leo laughed, "I'm talking to you."

Kaiel spared him a brief glance but walked away without a word.

Leo took a few seconds to comprehend what had happened. He was left hanging. But he was not discouraged, "You know, it is common courtesy to reply to someone when they greet you?"

Kaiel bluntly asked him, "What do you want?"

He didn't think he had done anything recently to warrant attention from the boy.

"I saw your match earlier. You're stronger than you appear to be, aren't you?"

Was that supposed to be a compliment? Kaiel let it go since he could not sense any sarcasm in his voice.

"Not nearly as strong as you."

"Ivan is considered pretty strong in our class, and you forced him to use his arts. So that means you'd be stronger in a contest of pure skill, no?"

The rules of that bout benefitted Kaiel the most. Ivan was basically fighting with a handicap.

"What value does that have? It's not like people will hold back in the future."

There would be no special rules like these in a real fight or match.

Leo nodded in understanding, "That's also true."

Kaiel looked at the boy pensively. The boy's attitude and personality were very different from their last interaction. He was more talkative and bubbly. Maybe this was what he was truly like.

"You still haven't told me what you want."

Leo smiled wryly, "You really don't like small talk, do you?"

"Don't be so prickly. Not everyone approaches you for a reason. Is it so wrong to talk to someone because you want to?" Leo raised his hands to plead innocent.

Kaiel did not budge. Seeing this, Leo cut straight to the point, "I'm sure you've noticed, but Rohan is now interested in you. As for why you're one of the only people who have ever stood up to him. "

"And that's reason enough to annoy him?"

"He's a bit sensitive about things like that. He turns into a real goody two shoes in Altair's presence, though."

"Why is that?"

"Well, you can see it as Altair being his direct superior. Actually, it's more accurate to say his father is part of Duke Vanshire's faction. Probably due to his father's request, he tends to Altair's every need. Usually, he wouldn't blindly agree to a request like that. But since Altair is both stronger than him and also of higher status, he has no choice but to suck it up. That's why you almost always see him, Lucas and Manda, following Altair around. He's headstrong by nature but has to tone that down in front of Altair. "

Kaiel came to a realisation, essentially, he is a bootlicker. He assumed that Lucas and Manda referred to the two other boys. They were irrelevant to him until now, so he never bothered registering their names. But if what Leo said was true, then someone like Rohan was not suited for that role. Rohan inherently possessed a lot of pride and arrogance. Having to suck up to someone must've been a first. He was most likely secretly indignant, and vented his pent-up stress through pushing around others, acting like a tyrant when possible.

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"You seem to know a lot about him."

"Well, I've known him for a long time after all", Leo scratched his head awkwardly.

Does he mean he's been a victim of being pushed around like that for a long time? Kaiel still could not understand Leo's thought process and previous lack of resistance. Nevertheless, he had no right to judge other people, and there might be other circumstances, so he left it at that.

There was one thing he was curious about, "And Altair has nothing to say about it?"

Leo looked up thoughtfully, "I don't think he cares...?"

Kaiel was done with this absurdity. He had listened for long enough.

"Do you need anything else?"

"No, not really."

"You came here just to say that?"

Leo was stumped for words, "Yeah..."

Kaiel proceeded to walk away. Leo chased after him, "Wait. What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

Kaiel still only half-believed that someone could be so petty. However, there was no point talking about this any longer, so he ended the conversation there.

Leo was left standing with his mouth gaping, I just wanted to talk...?

Classes had just ended. Students went about their business, whether attending society-based activities or hanging out with their friends. In the shopping streets of the Roa District, directly outside the Academy grounds, students were clamouring around the various popular cafes and entertainment stores.

Kaiel exited a bakery in the streets of the Roa District. Like the store located in Lachtis, it was his most visited store. His liking for bread stemmed from the fact that it was quick to eat and, most of all, cheap to buy. As a growing teen, nutrients were essential in both assisting his overall growth and also being the fuel he consumed when training. Unlike the noble students, Kaiel didn't have a plethora of money on him to spend on high-quality sweets and desserts. Zephyr would only give him the bare necessities to survive.

Food was also provided at the dorms, but only in the morning and the evening. Any other instance and you would have to provide for yourself.

Kaiel's afterschool plans were unchanging and simple, food and then train. Anything other than that would be an inefficient use of time.

Having got what he needed, he headed back to the dorms.

As he was returning to the dorms, he overheard several students in front of him talking.

"Are you ready to join our team?"

"Don't be absurd, only a few days have passed, and we still have several days to think about it."

"And Miss Thea and Miss Rinne have not decided on their teams. So, I... still might have a chance!"

Apparently, the student aimed to be on the top-ranked students' team. Kaiel didn't know their intentions but imagined they were probably pestered with hundreds of requests from all the students.

"Keep being delusional. Just how many options do you think they have to choose from? Even if you're the last person in the world, there's no way they'll team up with a loser like you! "

"Hey! At least let me dream?"

The student fell onto his knees and got into a praying position, "Please, by the blessing of Angurd, please... And if not those two, then any of the top-ranking students will be fine."

His friends ignored his clownery and threatened him, "We're only missing one more person. If you don't join soon, we'll just take a randomer even if you beg us later."

"You... you would do that to your friend?"

In response, his companions took turns kicking him in the ass. In the end, he was lying face first on the ground with his butt aiming at the heavens, even as Kaiel passed him.

"I must admit, I'm curious as to what team they form in the end."

"Whatever choice they make, their team will be amongst the strongest."

"It'll be interesting to see, won't it? Why don't we place bets now as to which team led by who will be king of our year?"

They all simultaneously exclaimed aloud, "Oh..."

"What are we betting...?"

"How about..."

"..."

Their voices faded away as the distance between them and Kaiel increased.

The conversation he overheard made him think about whether or not he should try to proactively ask some people.

He had initially decided to leave it to random allocation, but after his meeting with Zephyr, he was on the verge of reconsidering his choice.

Other students had a large pool to choose from, whether it be their direct friends or others from the societies they were acquainted with. But Kaiel did not have this option. He still needed to join a Society.

These thoughts occupied his mind as he returned to the dormitory. When he finally came to, he noticed that he was already opening the door to his dorm room. He decided to quickly get ready for a training session and retire for the day. He quickly wolfed down the rest of his food and wore a training uniform.

He exited his room and locked the door. He was on his way out when, coincidentally, the door next to him also opened. A student stepped out and walked into Kaiel.

Kaiel was caught off guard and was knocked back. He took a few steps in an attempt to regain his balance but was about to fall. Suddenly, his arm was grabbed, and he was pulled back up before he landed on his butt.

A jovial voice caused Kaiel to look up, "Oops. Sorry about that."

A tall boy with dark hair with silver streaks and tips stood before him. He had a carefree aura, and one of his ears was pierced. His uniform was worn lazily, his blazer was missing, and the dress shirt sleeves and slacks were rolled up slightly.

The boy had a slight smile on his handsome face and checked to see if Kaiel was okay.

The boy patted him and brushed him off as if

"You okay?"

Overwhelmed, Kaiel could only nod in response.

"Good."

With one final pat on the shoulder, he hopped away nonchalantly with a hum.

Kaiel didn't even have the chance to say a single word before the boy left like the wind. The boy seemed familiar and then remembered that it was the boy he had seen napping earlier during their training class. Believe it or not, this was his first time running into his neighbour in the two months he had lived here. The last thing he expected was that his neighbour would actually be one of his classmates.

As far as he knew, the boy rarely made his presence known in class. Whenever he saw him, he was either asleep or would be staring blankly outside the window. At the start, Silva attempted to correct his truant behaviour, but he would always wave her off, and the words she said went in one ear and out the other.

And likely due to her own innate lazy nature, she gave up and some point and would only warn him once in a while or unless he did something absurd like earlier for appearance's sake.

It made Kaiel wonder how he got into the academy in the first place and how he was not kicked out yet. Kaiel had never seen his name high in the rankings, so it wasn't as if he was a student similar to Thea or Rinne. One could argue that if it was these two, even if they spent their time at the academy with a lackadaisical approach, the Academy higher-ups would be reluctant to kick them out.

Alas, he was wasting time, so he hurriedly made his way over to the training grounds to finish training.