Making it on time to her first class, Amanda was shell shocked by the sheer size of the academy. Andromeda, the name of the Terracolony, was also the name of the school. And like the name, the academy was just as especially large as the colony itself.

[Terracolony Academy Cityscape]

Contained in a singular city Bloc, the Terracolonies maximize space but with comfort in mind. Industry and business are alight in all corners of the contained Cities.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/cCSGVKDb/1696795697236.jpg]

She thought the training grounds and the buildings next to it were the academy, but after being guided by her wrist’s device’s GPS, which she eventually learned how to use after the first few that broke upon her initial attempts, Amanda found herself standing in front of the real academy, or, more like a miniature city.

High rises and other large buildings were all around her. Coming in and out of these places of what looked like small businesses, were students in the same black and white attire like her’s. Shaking her head, she slapped her cheeks.

“Keep it together Amanda!” She said to herself. “You’ve traveled the world, so this is no problem….I think.”

All of this was overwhelming Amanda and she felt herself feel claustrophobic with all the people around. They weren’t that close, but this was the largest gathering of people she had ever seen in her 16 years of life.

Keep it together, I can do this, no prob.

Quickly making her way to the location on her holo map, Amanda soon found herself gawking again as she entered an auditorium-like building. It was domed like the arena, albeit a bit small, but she felt as if this was overkill for a classroom.

Instead of seated stands for viewing spectators, they were lined with desks and seats. She wanted to sit down to calm her nerves and the unending number of people coming in wasn’t helping.

“Oh hey! Amanda! Over here!” Recognizing the voice to be Stella’s, Amanda turned to find her with Ikki like usual. “I am glad you made it on time, you seemed sleep deprived these past few days, will you be alright?”

“Yeah, I still get about 6 hours of sleep, but it has been hard. How about you? How has rooming with Ikki been? Bet you’ve done some quite spicy things together, heh heh heh.” Amanda teased, making Stella blush.

“I-It’s alright, he’s quite the deep sleeper and he doesn’t snore.”

“Oh? Is that so? You two haven’t done anything “fun at night”, right?”

“Of course not!” Ikki stated, his face going flush like Stella’s crimson hair.

“Y-Yeah, what he said! I would never debase myself by acting in such an indecent way.” While Stella’s words seemed firm, Amanda caught the slight fiddling Stella was having with her hands. She gave a simple, I see, and moved on. Suddenly many other first year students began to crowd her.

“H-hello. I know you might not know me, but I wanted to thank you for helping me move into the dorm.”

“Same here, by the way, could I get your number? Let’s hang out sometime.”

“Hey! Don’t crowd her, give her some space, will you!”

“Oh, alright but before that, Miss Amanda, could you tell me about your travels to the Eastern Bloc, you left off on a good part the last time we talked.”

“Wait a minute, I just said to stop that, and stop hogging her.”

The young first years clamored about, swarming Amanda as if she were a celebrity. She thanked them for their flattery but had to draw a few lines when a few overly ambitious people tried to shake her hand by force.

She didn’t like the look in their eyes since they seemed entranced or even fanatical for her. Her beauty and her performance in the recent mock battle were likely the biggest causes she could think of. Everyone in the school had seen it, but though she lost, she was looked upon as an idol. Her compassionate stunt when she threw Stella out of the way of danger wasn’t missed.

Combined with how she had talked with many students who were moving in, it was only a matter of time for Amanda to capture their attention. As one of the students tried again to snatch Amanda’s hand when she was answering one of the student’s questions about her travels in the Eastern Bloc, Ikki stepped in.

Grabbing the wrist of the student in question, he gave him a stern look.

“Excuse me, but I don’t think your intrusive actions are welcome with Amanda. I suggest you step back.”

“Grrr! And who the heck are you? Her boyfriend or something!” The student accused and many other students raised their complaints at Ikki as well.

“Yeah, and I know you. You’re that grunt that fought with that suicidal idiot, just where do you get off picking a fight with Amanda and using such tricks on her! I bet you cheated to win!”

“Hey, wait!” Amanda said, trying to calm everyone down. “That fight was a mutual one, it wasn’t Ikki’s fault.”

“R-really, but how do you explain how you lost? There’s no way you and Princess Stella lost to those weak grunts.”

A mummer began to stir within the first years and many flagrant lines of gossip escaped the crowd.

“I heard that kid, Itsuki, used illegal weapons and that Ikki’s family, the Kurogen’s, had bribed the European Bloc to let Stella lose the match.”

“Heh, I bet those Crimsonia bureaucrats bargained for the money. Their way out in the sticks, so it makes sense they’d bow to money.”

“Yeah, and I heard that that Itsuki guy has a lot of rumors going around about him. Something like he’s cursed or that he's just a sleazebag. Bet he’s just putting up a front.”

“Talk about pathetic, bwahahaha.”

Overhearing that, Stella seethed with anger. These gossiping morons were talking poorly about her people right in front of her, and she wanted to scream.

“HEY!” A shout went out but Stella didn’t rebut first. Instead, Ikki did. “Those are just rumors, stop trying to put down people you don’t even know.”

“Heh!” The student and his fellow gossiping friends scoffed. “And where do you get off telling me what to do, GRUNT! Know your place!” He shoved Ikki but found himself being thrown back by his own strength. Ikki stood there, like a steadfast boulder.

The upstart student was now flat on his ass, and he started to fume in anger.

“Step away.” Ikki said calmly, trying to deescalate the tensions before it drew into a fight. But three of the students had clenched their fists, much to Ikki’s dismay. He kept an eye on them, while addressing the fallen student. He reached a hand to help him up.

“Don’t touch me!” He raged and slapped Ikki’s hand away and got up on his own, indignation in his eyes at how a weakling was pitying him. “I don’t need help from a failure like you, but it seems like I’ll have to put you in your place. I heard you flunked last year, so while you might have a year more of experience than us, fat chance that that year did any good for you.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The student grinned evilly and let his core energy stir.

“But! I do recognize you as our elder here. So in good fashion, how about you teach me a few….” The student paused, his hand at the ready and then yelled. “TRICKS!”

Ikki tensed and so did everyone else nearby as the student then drew his hand up, manifesting his weapon, a musket, into his hand and pointed right at Ikki’s face. He pulled the trigger, but in a flash, Ikki ducked in and pressed his finger between the ignition trigger and flint.

“What the!” The student was stunned, Ikki had suddenly gotten up in his face, and not only that, but his sneak attack was prevented so easily. Feeling his hand being twisted, the student was disarmed by Ikki who grabbed the student’s manifested weapon and threw it to the side.

“Are you insane! Manifesting your weapons without permission is grounds for expulsion!”

Coming from the crowd while pushing her glasses up, a girl with short blond hair with a stern but small face, gave the struggling student a look.

“W-Who the heck are you now! Stay out of this and….ow ow ow.” A painful sensation ran through the student’s arm. Ikki had twisted it just a bit more, making the student strain. While not done to hurt him much, it was instead to get the student to submit.

“STOP THAT YOU GRUNT! GET OFF OF HIM!” No longer able to keep their calm, the three earlier students with clenched fists tried to attack Ikki, their own manifested weapons at the ready. They didn’t charge him, but instead surrounded Ikki on three sides.

The girl with glasses turned to Ikki with a nod. “Ikki was it? While I am against breaking the rules, I believe this situation would allow an exception. If you need a witness, then please ask me.” It was a very violent response from a young girl who seemed so calm and upright just a moment ago, but Ikki smiled and waved off her concern.

“There won’t be a problem. Miss Nene? Was it? Thank you for your kindness, but please step back.”

Nene blushed, finding his response right out of a fairy tale. The riled-up boys who surrounded Ikki did not find his flirtatious attitude charming or valiant.

“Damn grunt! Know your place!”

“Stop flirting you weak ass shit!”

One of the three attacking students swung his bladed weapon, and while it was a good slash with sufficient power behind it, Ikki could see that the student’s posture was all off. Stepping in quickly, Ikki closed the distance and chopped the student’s wrist, making him drop his weapon as he flinched and winced in pain from his now bruised hand.

The other two students then tried to attack Ikki from his left and right sides, but as they swung at him together, Ikki ducked and maneuvered himself behind the two. With a swift kick, he sent the two students toppling forward into their third accomplice, where they then fell on top of the first student Ikki had subdued to the ground.

“I believe that was a good lesson.” Ikki said and he turned to see that everyone’s eyes were on him, even Amanda’s. “Hmmm? What’s wrong Amanda, you seem like you saw a ghost.”

“Idiot!” Stella shouted, marching up to him with a face full of red colored anger. Stella was not embarrassed for his actions in standing up for Amanda and her, but she was a bit ticked off by how Nene had reacted to his words.

Jealousy was on her face, but Ikki thought he had done something else wrong and tilted his head in confusion.

“W-why are you calling me an idiot all of a sudden?”

“It’s because you just took down these first year students without manifesting a weapon. That’s incredible and abnormal!”

“Okay? But what does that have to do with how everyone is looking at me?” Ikki asked, making Stella sigh.

“You went too far, now everyone is going to be afraid of you now!” Concern was evident on Stella’s face, since she didn’t want Ikki to be seen poorly, in fact, she felt like Ikki should be shown a little praise, but she knew his F rank title would stick to him negatively forever.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but I couldn’t just let them go off about you so poorly.”

“I uh, oh, come on, that’s not fair.” Stella mumbled as she wracked her head for a way to smooth this event over. She was interrupted as someone grabbed onto Ikki’s arm.

“That was amazing!” Nene shouted, a glimmer in her eyes behind her round glasses. The gesture Nene was presenting Ikki was kind, but he couldn’t help notice just how big and soft Nene’s chest was.

While not as big as Stella’s, Ikki began unconsciously comparing the difference but stopped himself. No no no, I am a warrior, my heart is firm, I shall not buckle, oh god, there too----damnit! Stop Stop, calm mind, calm body.

Shaking his head, he refocused and saw the red pair of eyes Stella was using to bore into him hurt like crazy.

“Umm, Miss Nene, could you please let go? This is nothing much to celebrate about.”

“Oh? But it is.” She insisted. “It’s things like this that I live to see. Such unexpected developments from the only F rank explorer. I read about your duel with Stella and Amanda and I’m impressed. You really held your own and you showed those four idiots just how strong you are. Hey! Could I get you to come to the newspaper club? We’d love to interview you for an article.”

Ikki was flattered but had to continue to insist that Miss Nene let his arm go, but Nene pouted.

“Stop calling me Miss, Ikki. You’re my senior in experience, so I should be the one to call you Mister. Now! Back to what I said before.” Adamant, Nene continued to press Ikki for an answer while other students tended to the four subdued idiots on the ground.

They had to untangle them since they fell in a way that made it hard for any one of them to get up.

Witnessing Nene’s advances, Stella blew her top as Amanda watched on with avid interest.

“Hehehe, I wonder if this will develop into a love triangle?” She imagined it and the mere thought of it got the drama fangirl side of her to stir.

“Ikki!” Stella called, her voice low and intimidating, making him tense as his head turned to her like a rusty door.

“Y-Yes? Miss Stella.”

“I told you to call me Stella! And you.” Stella pointed at Nene. “Hurry up and get off of him, can’t you see you’re making him uncomfortable!”

“OH! And why would you care Miss Crimsonia? I thought you’d hold a grudge against “Ikki” here, for you know, beating you in a duel.”

Not liking how Nene had put such sensual emphasis on how she called Ikki by his given name, Stella pushed her chest up in pride as she crossed her arms under her breast.

“Hmph! Well for your information, Ikki and I are roommates, so holding a grudge isn’t an option. And since we are roommates, I know him the best, and he does not like to be crowded, now let go of him this instance!”

A dull silence rang around them, the people within earshot froze as they heard her proclaim how she and Ikki now shared a room. While many students here did share rooms with the opposite sex due to the recent changes in the dormitories rules and policies.

The fact that the well-known foreign princess-like noble, was roomed with a guy, caused wild thoughts to roll around in many of the young and hormonal teenagers over imaginative minds.

“He’s what!” Nene and many of the students shouted in unison. Startled, Stella then realized what she had just said and went as red as a tomato and as indignant as a royal princess.

Amanda herself felt her hand on her face as she was disappointed, as well as Ikki. She, Itsuki, Ikki, and Stella had all kept this on the down low, so for Stella to just say it so blatantly, threw all their hard work out the window.

“I-It’s not like I wanted too! I-Ikki was the one who asked me to stay.”

This immediately threw Ikki under the proverbial bus since all the boys began glaring at him with eyes of envy and bloodthirsty jealousy. Of all people, the lowest rank first year and a flunky got to be the roommate to the foreign beauty who had huge breasts.

Many of the same sex roommates felt as if they had truly lost the lottery and Ikki sensed he should sleep with one eye open from now on.

“No way no way no way no way!” Nene hyped up, jumping up and down as she still clung to Ikki’s arm. “This is such a scoop, hey Ikki, let me interview you and Stella, No! Wait! Let me interview Amanda and that Itsuki guy as well.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible and I’m not sure that Stella or Amanda will agree. Right?” Ikki looked to them and they nodded but then, Nene realized that someone was missing.

“Hey, by the way, where is the fourth guy of the duel? I saw him usually with you three, what gives?”

“I think he’s running late.” Amanda said, grinning a bit since she planned to lord this over the proud upperclassman, who looked too young to be his real age.

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Ikki said. “If I’m not mistaken, he’s probably----”

But before Ikki could explain, a voice cut in over the auditorium speakers.

“Excuse me, but we’ll start the first day orientation soon. If everyone could please get to their seats please, we’ll start in just a minute.”

Hearing the speaker’s voice, the students began to disperse.

“Aw man!” Nene let go of Ikki’s arm in defeat, but stayed nearby should she get a chance to talk again.

“I guess we should get to our seats.” Ikki said as he led the way. Stella followed, albeit a bit closer and making sure to sit herself next to Ikki, as if to guard him from Nene, who sat next to Ikki on the other side next to Amanda.

Amanda was holding her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the laughter she had inside at the comedic love triangle that was forming with Ikki, or was it a harem? She couldn’t tell but would keep a keen eye on the situation.

For her, she rooted for her friend Stella of course, so Nene would have to watch out.