In front of the class, Eliott Lane, a man with flowing black hair and dark black eyes, stood with a straight and tall back. He appeared broody yet scholarly, coupled with his tight-fitting black suit-ish outfit, he was an undeniably handsome guy.

He was another combat-specialized Royal Mage of the empire and a wielder of barrier magic - a special form of magic whose main niche was the creation of unique barriers holding various effects.

Even though he wielded barrier magic and is expected to be a mage focused on defense, he’s actually a rather powerful fighter with numerous feats listed in his line of achievements. A quick look and one would find his impressive battle record from tournaments and challenges.

As for how he did this was his innovative ideas and weird usage of barriers. Rather than protecting himself, he focused on the structural part of barrier magic and slowly mastered the art of creating constructs made out of barriers, forming giant projections or an array of weapons.

Smiling lightly, he clapped his hands and called out his students’ names one by one, and with each call, he received a corresponding shout along the lines of “Present!” or “Here!”

As he approached the end of the list and called out the final student written on his paper, he heard a shout from the back of a kid sitting at the far corner of the large room.

“Sir! You forgot to call my name!” the boy shouted.

He appeared unremarkable, with brown hair and brown eyes, an average face, and a barely noticeable presence. When placed alongside those geniuses overflowing with charisma and flare, he seemed to even blend in with the background and completely disappear from view.

But, that wasn’t the problem here for Eliott. The problem was the fact he didn’t know who the kid was.

Who the hell is he? He eyed the young man with suspicious eyes and subconsciously controlled his mana to flow at the tip of his fingers as his honed instincts took hold. He was just about to cast a spell before asking who the boy was, but his mana came to an abrupt halt and his eyes blinked in confusion.

“Oh, right,” he coughed and focused his gaze back on the boy. “What’s your name again?”

“Winston!” he answered with a bright smile. “Winston Champ!”

“Yes, Winston…,” Eliott murmured and placed his checklist on his desk. Was there a malfunction on the attendance list? I should ask management about this-

Once again, his focused eyes turned daze for a split-moment and he blinked in confusion. I wonder if I should eat a meatier meal for lunch.

As he stood there, frozen from loss and bewilderment, a student around the middle of the class with silver-gray hair and piercing yellow eyes licked his lips and murmured, “Meat.”

Eliott shook his head and dismissed that strange feeling altogether to the back of his head and instead went on to focus back on the class. He still has to teach and thinking about lunch was for later.

Although now that he thought about it, perchance he should really eat more protein.

…

Noel gazed at the student named Winston Champ who sat just a few seats away from his, and couldn’t help but furrow his brows in unease.

There was a strange nagging feeling at the back of his mind as if it were trying to remind him of something, like something completely obvious, yet he couldn’t understand a single bit of that unusual nudge.

But, it seemed he had overstepped his boundaries a bit as Winston suddenly shifted his gaze from the blackboard to him, and smiled.

“Hey,” he greeted cheerily and chuckled. “You bored too?”

“Oh.” Noel’s unfocused eyes cleared up as he realized he was caught staring and simply smiled in response. “Yes.”

“Right? Theoretical classes are just so slow! I’d rather spend more time on actual magic stuff than these lessons,” Winston agreed with a nod. “Reading books won’t save you when dealing with a dragon. Only by experiencing failure and hardship would one’s skill truly grow!”

“Intriguing opinions,” hummed Noel. “But you’re undermining theoretical knowledge too much.”

“Eh, I don’t think so,” Winston disagreed and grinned. “I mean, I’ve always been more of a do-it guy than a watch-this dude, so maybe I have some bias, but still, reading a book on how the weaknesses of some monster wouldn’t help that much when you’re stricken with fear or laced with the poison of inexperience.”

“That’s right, but knowledge is like the sword for a knight. Experience would only get you so far until you reach a bottleneck,” Noel chuckled. Unknowingly, he had found himself engrossed in this little topic and was invested quite a bit.

“True, true.” He leaned back on his chair and his eyes gleamed with delight. “It’s just like what that Archmage of Miracles used to say: Knowledge is power.”

“Knowledge is power…” Noel’s eyes gleamed with a trace of nostalgia as a smile crept up on his face. “Well, if you know that phrase, then that just further proves the value of knowing theory.”

…

“Hey, hey, bro.” Elaine nudged Rob with her elbow and asked with a whisper. “How’s your progress with Holly.”

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“Holly?” Rob gave a side-eye to Elaine and rolled his eyes in response to her question. “Get your mind out of the gutter, you romance-smelling dog.”

“But come on!” Elaine whined. “You know I love me some love stories! And hell, you guys literally went on a date yesterday!”

“And it wouldn’t have been one if you weren’t so lazy with practice,” Rob remarked. “Although her progress in being a botanist is indeed remarkable with her gift in holy magic. Hehehe, I can’t wait to sell my next batch and rake in that cash!”

“Fuck your obsessive training disorder! Sundays are my rest days, we agreed on that!” Elaine spoke softly so that the teacher wouldn’t hear her complaints. “Also, won’t you mind giving some gold to your dear little sister?”

“No,” said Rob coldly.

“Pretty please?” Elaine added with a sweet smile.

“I said no,” Rob repeated.

“Pretty pretty please!” Elaine blinked her eyes rapidly and inched closer to his face.

“Get your own job if you want to! You can go learn making some time magic arrays and create a small enclosure of accelerated time, then profit out of that by allowing the other students to grow plants faster,” said Rob with a tired tone. “Look, I managed to create a business opportunity on the fly, so go use that nugget of yours to use.”

“Fine!” Elaine clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, but inside, her mind was already on overdrive as her brother’s words woke up her brain.

That’s right! Time magic is so fucking rare, I can profit from my own talent! Hahaha! I am a genius indeed! Elaine laughed jovially.

On the other hand, while the two were arguing, their dear seatmate was having a mental breakdown. She tugged and pulled at her auburn hair and muttered strange unintelligible gibberish as her eyes darted from one end of the room to another.

A date?! A fucking date?! Anna shrieked like a wailing banshee. What is happening to the world?!

Even though she appeared as lively as ever, if one were to look closely, there was a deep well of despair hidden within her bright eyes.

Flashes of various scenes appeared on the surface of her mind. The five male leads, the protagonist of the game Lucky Clover, the numerous events that happened throughout the main storyline, the descent of the Demon Lord, and the eventual end screen of the game upon completion.

Those scenes and imageries gathered and clumped together, before shattering like grains of sand. And those grains of sand were her mind, broken and mangled.

Oh, the despair of life. Every time I hear more stuff coming out of their mouths, the more depressed I become! Anna cried. Please, why is my miraculous isekai life turning into shit?! Can’t I live the pleasant lives of those otherworld protagonists? Woo some male leads, gain power, rise to the pinnacle of the world, and retire with a resounding abundance of joy.

Now I have to deal with the Demon Lord who is about to descend in three years, his nasty hidden organization that controls the tide of history along the shadows of the world, and then this unknown organization that also appeared out of nowhere under the lead of this stupidly fucking strong and mysterious Mammon motherfucker.

There’s also those two goddamn unknowns - Rob and Elaine who are becoming like significant named characters! And Holly, fucking Holly! Why is she spending way too much time with this literal mob character?! Arghhhhh! Can’t the world just return back to normal?! Where is my side character life?!

As she sat still like a stone statue and cried out to the void without much of a squirm on her passive face, Rob’s brown eyes which were tinged with a hint of gold squinted in amusement.

“What? What’s so funny?” Elaine asked suspiciously.

“Nothing.” Rob waved his hand and looked back at Corine Windsoar, their homeroom teacher, teaching. “I just heard something really funny.”

“Something funny?” she asked.

“You won’t get it.” Rob shoved her curious face away and kept staring at the blackboard without bathing her a single eye.

“Oh wow, oh wow. It seems like I’m too stupid for smarty pants here.” Elaine tsked.

“Yep, you’re too stupid to understand anything,” Rob chuckled and rested his chin on his palm. “Just like how this world is playing along the musical harmony of one person, me.”

“Yuck!” Elaine belched. “What a narcissist.”

“I’m just stating a fact,” Rob murmured mysteriously.

…

“You know,” Kain whispered as he leaned back on his chair so Holly and Alice could hear him clearly. “I think there’s something really suspicious going on here.”

“Something suspicious?” Holly asked with curious eyes.

“Oh, don’t act so coy, you little rascal.” Alice lightly punched Holly on the shoulder and grinned. “You know what we’re talking about.”

“I don’t!” Holly rubbed her shoulder and pouted. “That’s why I’m asking!”

“Sigh, you really are trying to act all innocent. Isn’t that right, Alice?” Kain snickered.

“Indeed!” Alice crossed her arms and stared at Holly with shimmering eyes. “You clearly…”

“Have a crush!” Both of them shouted at the same time in unison.

“A-A crush?!” Holly blinked her eyes as she was bewildered by the two’s sudden claim before she blushed like a bright tomato. “No, I don’t!”

“Wehhhhh.” Alice gave her a disbelieving look. “We ain’t stupid, Holly.”

“Those unfocused eyes, that constantly roaming mind, your rosy cheeks, and the subtle grin always on your pretty face… You have someone in mind!” Kain declared confidently.

“You’re wrong! You two are wrong!” Holly retorted. “I don’t have a crush!”

“Wrong.” Alice formed an X with her index fingers and wore a teasing smile. “And I already know who your crush is!”

“It’s not Rob!” Holly leaned in and whispered, afraid that others would hear, but still loud enough to show a declaration of force.

“Uehehehe, how inexperienced!” Alice grinned. “Since when did I say it was Rob!”

“Strike!” Kain exclaimed like a sports announcer when the ball finally hit the basket and patted Holly on the shoulder. “There’s no need to be so shy, Holly. I also had a crush once, and now she’s my fiancee.”

“I’m telling you guys, I don’t have a crush on Rob! He’s just a good friend, and I’m grateful for what he has done for me! You guys both know I had wanted to become a botanist for a long time, so is it that strange to be happy when I think of him?!” Holly whispered with her face remaining a deep shade of red. “Besides, I never had a crush before, so why now of all places would I have a crush on him?”

Both Kain and Alice turned silent as they looked at each other with shocked eyes.

Holy fuck…

Rob’s her first crush.

“Damn, girl…” Alice was about to add another comment when Eliott suddenly clapped his hands loudly.

“Now that’s all said and done, are you guys all ready for this morning’s combat session?” he asked with a bright smile.

The entire class broke out into loud murmurs as they were surprised by this sudden announcement. Some wore excited smiles, the most notable being Rhett Convir, while others groaned in dismay.

At the back of the class, Winston smiled and said to Noel, “It seems like this morning is a lot less boring than what I first thought.”

“Indeed,” said Noel. He then stood up, closed his book, placed it inside his storage ring, and smiled at Winston, “I hope we can have a spar together later.”

Winston licked his lips and stretched his arms around. “You better be prepared for later, because not once had I shown my true skills in class.”

“Oho? Quite confident, are we? Even though you know I’ve already reached the level of a Grand Mage?” Noel asked.

“Mana reserves aren’t everything. Besides, once I get serious, I can at least assure you I won’t lose,” said Winston.

“Words won’t mean much without actions to back it up.” Noel squinted his eyes and could feel the fearsome yet subtle aura emanating from the youth before him and couldn’t help but feel excited. “Let’s see who’ll stand on top if we ever do fight.”

“Let’s see!” Winston laughed.