Chapter 630: First Group Meeting II

"I was really shocked when I saw your message, Miss Gena, about your achievements at Ash Academy."

Lucy said this with an impressed expression as she stood behind Ezra, looking at the holographic screen displaying Gena’s face.

"Hehehe."

Gena smiled proudly, clearly pleased with the reaction she was getting.

"Yeah, Gena was really amazing!"

Blake joined in, his excitement returning as he leaned closer to the screen of his Para.

He seemed more than happy to tell Lucy and Ezra about what had happened at the academy, especially since the results had turned out better than he had expected.

"Did you know that, unlike your Royal Academy Grand First-Year Combat Festival, which commenced at the end of the first semester, we First Years at the Ash Academy had to undergo a tournament during our first month to determine which class we would attend?"

He spoke in the same excited tone, his face drawing closer to the screen as though that would somehow make his explanation more interesting.

Ezra listened without interrupting.

He rested his back against the chair, his attention on Blake’s screen, while Lucy remained behind him.

"Does that mean they ranked each First Year according to the class they would attend?"

Ezra asked, showing a faint interest in the arrangement.

"Spot on!"

Gena gave him a thumbs-up.

"It’s a new system they added to the academy structure. They started with us First Years instead of simply integrating it into the lives of the other two years."

She moved her right hand as she explained, her expression brightening as she got further into the topic.

"We have four classes."

She raised four fingers.

"The Lite, Elite, Beta, and Alpha."

Gena listed the four ranked classes before pointing at herself with a proud smile.

"And I’m in the Alpha class."

Lucy glanced at her with renewed interest, while Ezra gave a small nod as he took in the information.

The new arrangement was straightforward enough.

The academy had introduced a system that ranked the First Years early in their school lives, allowing the instructors to place them into classes according to their performance.

Of course, the ranking itself would not necessarily determine how far a student could go.

It only showed where they stood at the time of the Year.

Still, getting into the Alpha class during the first month was an achievement worth being proud of.

After Gena finished speaking, both Ezra and Lucy turned their attention towards Blake’s screen.

"And what about you, Blake?"

Lucy asked.

Blake’s smile faltered a little.

"I started in the Lite."

He rubbed the back of his head, looking somewhat awkward as he admitted it.

The excitement that had filled his voice a moment earlier had diminished, and he avoided looking directly at the camera for a brief moment.

He had not told them about his class ranking before because he had expected Ezra and Lucy to be disappointed.

After all, Gena had entered the Alpha class, and he was now a member of the Lite class.

The difference was considerable, at least when looking at the academy’s ranking system.

However, Gena had also kept her class ranking from Ezra for a different reason.

She wanted to surprise him with her progress, especially after working hard to improve her academic weaknesses.

Now that the truth was out, Blake waited for a reaction.

Ezra gave him none of the disappointment he had expected.

As usual, the young noble simply looked at him, his expression calm.

"It’s obvious you would get that rank. You’re neither an Ashenlocke nor a member of Ash. More importantly, you’re not an Alchemist."

His back remained leaned on his chair and he now folded his arms comfortably.

There was no insult in his voice.

He was simply pointing out the factors that had affected Blake’s placement.

Blake blinked before letting out a small breath.

"You’re right about that. It was the same for all of us non-Alchemist First Years. Although we have a curriculum different from the one for Alchemists, we still didn’t get an easy pass into the higher classes."

His expression became more relaxed as he continued.

At least Ezra had not made a big deal out of his starting rank.

"But, as I already told you..."

His voice suddenly returned to the excitement with which he had begun the call.

"After my invention was released, I became the first non-Alchemist to be promoted to the Elite class!"

He lifted his chin, unable to hide his pride.

That achievement meant something to him.

Blake had started in the lowest class, yet his work had earned him recognition and allowed him to move up.

He might not possess the abilities of an Alchemist, but he had other strengths, and he was determined to prove that they were worth something.

Gena’s smile weakened a little.

"But it did come with trouble."

She looked annoyed as she brought up the matter.

Ezra and Lucy already knew what she was referring to.

Blake had previously explained the problems he had faced during his first semester at Ash Academy, particularly after his invention began attracting attention.

Once his Steam Bicycle invention gained recognition, several of Felix’s friends and followers who attended Ash Academy had gathered around him.

They wanted Blake to become a member of their group.

At first, they approached him with promises.

They told him who Felix was, explained the influence he held among the younger generation, and spoke about how much Blake’s life could improve if he joined them.

His family, too, would benefit from the connection, especially if he used his intelligence and inventions to help Felix regain his standing.

The more Blake’s invention attracted attention, the more persistent they became.

What they offered might have sounded attractive to someone who cared mainly about status and influence.

Becoming part of a powerful group could provide protection, resources, and opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

But Blake did not want to follow that path.

He had his own plans, and he was not interested in joining Felix simply because the young noble possessed influence within the academy.

Ezra understood the situation almost immediately when Blake had first explained it to him.

Felix was still gathering influence among the younger generation.

Despite the results of the Trial of Steel, he had not abandoned his ambition to compete for the title of Young Lord.

He was still attempting to strengthen his position by gathering talented people around himself, and Blake’s invention had made him a useful target.

However, Felix’s own performance at the Royal Academy had only pushed that ambition further out of reach.

The situation at Ash Academy was different, but the intention behind the recruitment efforts was easy enough to understand.

Blake had something Felix wanted.

And Felix’s followers were determined to make sure he joined their group.

During that period, Freed, the strongest member of Felix’s group attending Ash Academy, had taken the lead in pressuring Blake.

Rather than accepting his refusal, Freed and the others tried to make his life miserable, using their position and strength to force him into reconsidering.

Their approach gradually became more aggressive.

Blake was surrounded by people who held higher positions in the academy’s class system, and their connection to Felix only made the situation harder to handle.

Every refusal risked bringing another confrontation, while asking for help was not as easy as it should have been.

At that time, Blake genuinely did not know what to do or whom he could approach.

The class divisions made it difficult for him to reach Gena.

She was in the Alpha class, while he had only recently started moving up from the Lite class. The difference between their positions meant they did not have the same opportunities to interact throughout the academy day.

And even after Blake reached the Elite class, he still hesitated to tell her what was happening.

For some reason, he did not want Gena to know about his troubles.

Maybe part of it was because of pride.

He had worked hard to improve his standing, and he did not want to appear incapable of handling a problem that had arisen because of his own invention.

But there was another main reason.

He was worried that Gena would get involved and end up being targeted by Freed and the others.

Freed was one of the top students in the Alpha class, just like Gena.

In fact, he was the current number one First Year, having achieved the highest score in the tournament held to rank the new students.

Gena, on the other hand, held fourth place.

Her Alchemy strength had helped her secure that position, but she was still dealing with her own weaknesses.

Her academic strength.

Blake knew she was working hard to improve, and the last thing he wanted was to bring trouble into her school life.

So, he kept quiet.

Unfortunately, his silence did not make the situation disappear.

Ezra had not been an Ash Academy student, nor had he been present to witness the events unfolding there.

Yet, he had considered the possibility that someone might try to force Blake into joining their group because of his invention.

That notice had prompted him to send Gena a simple message, asking her to check on Blake’s health and welfare.

It was a small request.

But it was enough to change what happened next.

Gena had been focusing on improving her academic weaknesses, especially with the first-semester examinations and tests approaching.

She had been working hard to keep up with the demands of the Alpha class, and she had not fully understood what Blake was going through.

Once Ezra’s message reached her, however, her attention shifted.

She went to check on Blake.

And what she found was not something she could simply ignore.

That day became one of the most memorable incidents among the First Years of Ash Academy.

A girl had used her bare fists to beat eight boys.

Freed was the only Binder Alchemist among them.

The other seven were Novice Alchemists.

Gena herself had only recently become a Binder.

Despite that difference, she had fought all of them.

The fight was brutal for those who had witnessed it.

When Gena saw Blake’s condition, her attention had fixed on the boy who had been suffering while keeping his troubles to himself.

Whatever doubts she might have had about confronting Freed and his group disappeared in that moment.

She moved against them with her bare hands.

The first exchange quickly turned into a fight involving all eight boys.

Gena could not afford to stand still and let them surround her, so she kept moving, striking when she found an opening and refusing to back down when they tried to overwhelm her with numbers.

Her opponents had the advantage in numbers, and Freed possessed the strength of a Binder Alchemist.

The other boys were Novices, but that did not make them harmless. Even one mistake could have left Gena open to several attacks at once.

Yet she continued fighting.

Her fists landed with enough force to break bones and cause serious injuries.

The boys who had expected to intimidate her found themselves struggling against a girl who refused to retreat, even when the fight became more dangerous.

Gena did not emerge from the confrontation unharmed.

The effort of fighting eight opponents, including Freed, pushed her beyond what her newly attained Binder rank could comfortably handle.

But she still managed to defeat Freed before finally losing consciousness.

By then, the damage had already been done.

The group of boys had suffered serious injuries, and Gena had collapsed from the strain of the fight.

The incident left little room for anyone to pretend that nothing had happened.

Nathalia, Scott, and Daniella were among those who helped Gena after the fight.

Bobby and some of the former members of Veda’s group also assisted in taking Blake, who was seriously injured himself, to the infirmary.

When the instructors learned what had happened.

punishments were handed out.

And warnings were issued to those involved.

The matter was not allowed to grow into a much larger incident, and the academy eventually returned to its usual routine.

Classes continued, students attended their lessons, and the First Years went back to their daily lives.

On the surface, it was as though nothing had happened.

But a few things had changed.

Some of those changes were small, while others were far more interesting than the people around them realized.

Back in the call...

Blake covered his face with both hands.

His cheeks had turned red.

Gena had been explaining the incident again to Ezra and Lucy, recounting how she had fought the eight boys and what had happened before she lost consciousness.

She spoke openly about it, apparently unaware of how much the story was affecting Blake.

He remembered the scene all too clearly.

The moment he had seen Gena stand up for him, even though she was facing opponents who were stronger in number and included a Binder Alchemist, had been burned into his memory.

She had not hesitated.

She had simply stepped in and fought.

To Blake, that sight had been incredibly cool.

He had been the one who needed help, while Gena had taken on the people who had made his life miserable.

Thinking back on it now, he could not help feeling as though he had been a damsel in distress.

It was embarrassing.

And yet, for some reason, he could not bring himself to dislike the memory.

His face grew hotter as Gena continued talking.

His heart began beating faster whenever he recalled how she had fought to save him. Even during their ordinary conversations, there were moments when the same feeling returned without warning.

Blake still did not understand why.

He covered his face more tightly, hoping that the others would not notice how red he had become.

Unfortunately for him, the call was still going.

And Gena was still talking.