"Celina, Neraxis, you two pass." A voice resounded behind him—it was William.

He was unsure when he had arrived; his consciousness felt like it was fading. Still, he couldn’t pass out yet.

There was also the issue of being stabbed again. Every time he nearly dozed off, Celina struck both of her daggers together, startling him awake.

Though I’m glad it’s finally over... probably. Neraxis exhaled a tired sigh and stood up.

William wore an amused expression; he had seen the entire fight and the interaction between the two.

"Surprising that you two didn’t go for each other’s throats," he remarked, turning his gaze toward the two still lying on the ground, unconscious, covered in their own blood.

Celina merely smiled and continued playing with her daggers. Meanwhile, Neraxis stretched, not feeling well.

The only thing he wanted to do right now was go back home and sleep, hopefully waking up in the future too. But that might be a long shot.

Nonetheless, William picked up Jay and Damien before tossing them out of the barrier, leaving only the two-to-be students and the headmaster inside.

"Neraxis, your skill seems a bit different from what was confirmed. What happened?" William suddenly asked, startling him.

It was rare for a main skill to change unexpectedly. It wouldn’t have been as suspicious if his skill had any resemblance to the previous one, but they were completely different.

William noticed his unease. Taking a deep breath, he stated, "Listen, I’m going to be the only thing standing between you and the freaks over at the government. They’ll try to exploit you because of such an irregularity. I don’t need to tell you how they’d do that, do I?"

A shiver ran down Neraxis’s spine. He knew exactly what exploiting meant—after all, one of the heroes from his previous party had been ‘exploited.’

There were a total of 10 heroes, but one died—gruesomely. His brain was dislodged and inspected for information. It was primitive and evil, but no one dared speak out.

After all, those who opposed the government faced dire consequences. One could even assume they had ties to the monsters.

"I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just warning you," William continued. "The rotten part of the government has been culled. Only a small fraction remains. But still, no one knows who’s left."

William began casting a spell—a green mana, but with a certain warmth to it. It enveloped Neraxis, and suddenly, his wound from earlier began to close. The piece of clothing he had stuffed in there had shot out as well.

What the... He inspected his body. There wasn’t even a scratch.

...He didn’t have healing abilities back then... And why exactly are they better than the Saint's from the heroes' party?

His confusion went unanswered as William shot him one more glance before turning his attention to Celina, who had been paying barely any attention to their conversation.

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"Celina, why didn’t you use your stealth more effectively? You could’ve dealt a fatal blow."

"Just 'cause. What’s it to you?" She shrugged and answered teasingly, sporting a hint of arrogance.

Talking like that to him? Well, that’s not a good idea...

However, William’s next words surprised Neraxis: "You still have a spoiled personality. How have you not grown out of it yet?"

"Shut up, gramps! You’re embarrassing me!" Celina shot back and suddenly lunged at him, trying to shut his mouth.

Meanwhile, Neraxis stood stunned.

Gramps? This guy has children? I’m definitely dreaming... there’s no way.

"Celina... I told you to behave while in the academy. Zari would murder me if she found out her daughter was turning into a delinquent on her first day..." William said, shedding a fake tear.

It was all so unusual—the world, this situation.

William had always been a cold-blooded man with no relatives or connections—his only asset was his magic. But it seemed that wasn’t the case anymore.

Congratulations, my old friend. At least you’re happy in this life, Neraxis thought inwardly as he watched the grandpa and granddaughter duo bicker.

It went on for several minutes. By now, his pain had completely subsided, and it was time to move on to something else.

"Excuse me? Are the tests finished?" Neraxis asked, interrupting the gap in their conversation.

"Hmm? For today, yes. Those two buffoons were pretty good. I honestly expected at least one of them to remain, but alas, you came out on top—along with Celina, of course." William said, flashing an unusually warm smile, one that Neraxis wasn’t used to seeing.

However, his next words were anything but warm. "Go home. The opening ceremony for the first years is Friday—exactly three days from now. If you’re late like you were today, I’ll use a spell to permanently bind you to the academy. Agreed?"

Haha... yeah. Fuck you too, Neraxis thought inwardly, but nonetheless, he gave a fake smile and nodded.

Immediately, the barrier was dispelled, and they noticed there were no people around them—not even Jay and Damien, who had been thrown out of the barrier earlier.

It seemed they were the last to finish their little exam, though Neraxis assumed it had been much harder than for the others.

Neraxis took one last glance at Celina and saw a smile appear on her face for just a moment before she followed William out.

Hmm... He left the training grounds and entered the auditorium. A few students were gathered, but none had happy expressions on their faces.

Most sat with massive frowns, probably because they had failed the exam. The auditorium was a place where they could stay after failing, possibly watch how others passed their exams to prepare for the future.

That is, if they had the confidence to try again.

Neraxis absentmindedly guided himself through the hallways. He practically had the academy’s structure memorized.

Finally, he left and found himself once again outside, surrounded by a lot more people than in the auditorium. Many were gathered with their friends.

He recognized some of them—especially the party that had been the first to pass the exam. They were surrounded by people, looking like they would be the popular kids for the first few weeks.

However, as he walked among the crowd near the academy’s front, he spotted a familiar face—one he hadn’t expected to see.

It was his younger sister, Elara, and she seemed to be chatting with a few other girls around her age.

Although they were all incoming students, Elara wouldn’t start at the academy until next year. She was 15 after all.

Neraxis snuck up to her and pinched her cheek while she wasn’t looking.

What happened next completely defied his expectations.

Elara quickly turned around and side-kicked him in the abdomen, making him nearly throw up what he had eaten an hour prior.

Why is she so strong!? He did his best to steady himself.

But when he looked up, he met her purple eyes and a massive frown.

"Did I or did I not tell you to stop sneaking up on me?" Elara said with a pout, smacking him on the head once more—this time with much less force.

"Sorry..." Neraxis instinctively apologized, looking around at the people staring at them with strange expressions.

Elara ignored the onlookers and announced, "Anyways, let’s go. Mother is coming over soon, and you need to help me tidy up the house." With that, she began walking toward the academy gate, not waiting for him.

However, Neraxis’s mind was in turmoil because of what had happened in the past.

That woman is coming over willingly?