Chapter 10: Rank A Opinions

A low ripple of excited murmurs passed through the class as Professor Crane spoke again.

"In three days you will be taken to a monitored low rank Dungeon approximately four kilometers from campus. The Dungeon produces Salves with occasional activity from Devils at the deeper levels."

She stayed silent for a moment, letting what she said sink in before speaking again. "Your task is simple: enter, observe, record, and eliminate designated targets under instructor supervision. This is not going to be a walk in the park. It is an assessment of basic competence, control, and decision making under real conditions."

A pause. "Restricted ability users will operate under additional observation protocols. You already know who you are."

She continued with other things like groups, equipment, departure time, but Ethan only half-listened.

His mind wandering to what the professor said earlier...

A Dungeon. Actual monsters and real corpses that were not birds or rats.

Though the energy cost would be higher, the results would be much better...

A smile found its way to his lips.

Lila leaned slightly closer, her voice low.

"You look like someone just handed you a gift."

"I look like someone who needs better corpses," Ethan replied quietly turning to her. "Rats are very limited educational tools you know?"

She snorted under her breath, and Professor Crane’s eyes flicked in their direction.

Both of them straightened and faced forward looking as serious as possible.

The lecture continued, and Ethan took notes on the useful parts and ignored the rest. The two week timeline to Level 5 flashed in his mind.

In three days, they would also be going to a Dungeon. That alone changed a lot of things.

There was a possibilty of higher quality corpses, actual combat experience, and more EXP if he performed well...

When the class ended, students rose and left for their next classes. Lila however, stood with him.

"East grounds after last period?" she asked. "Or are you quoting the rule at me again?"

Ethan gave her a long, flat look....

"The rule is on life support," he said. "Don’t get comfortable."

Lila nodded but her grin alone said she was already comfortable.

As they left the hall, Ethan glanced once toward the front of the room where Aria had been sitting. His mind wandering to what she had told him on the first day.

Relying on the dead isn’t real strength...

He would have to disagree with that assessment eventually.

For now, he had a goal and a field test in three days. Preparation was needed.

***

Ethan stood over the remains of a freshly dismissed undead rat, his system screen open as he reviewed the numbers with the same attention he once gave performance reports.

The energy cost had dropped another point, and command response time had improved.

Though the undead still moved like it had never had legs before, the results overall were moving in a positive direction.

Lila sat on the low wall nearby, rotating a small flame between her fingers as she spoke.

"You’re getting faster," she said.

"Yup." Ethan closed the screen. "At this rate I’ll be terrifying like the next decade."

"Optimism. I like it."

He was about to search for the next test subject when three figures walked toward them.

The one in front walked in a way that suggested he believed the entire academy had been built for his convenience... he was broad-shouldered with clean-cut, while the two that followed him were most likely his lackeys.

Lila’s flame flickered out. "We’ve got company..."

The student stopped a few meters away and looked Ethan up and down like he was inspecting something.

"Necromancer," he said, looking at Ethan dead in the eye.

Ethan met his gaze. "What do you want?"

The guy’s gaze narrowed. The student was Marcus Hale. A person who had awakened with Rank A Enhanced Strength. Within the first day, he already had two people following him like he was some alpha male.

He spoke after a moment of silence. "I’ve been watching, and I see that you’re out here every day raising dead animals like it’s a hobby."

"It’s practice," Ethan corrected. "Hobbies are supposed to be enjoyable. This is mostly disappointment."

One of the followers snorted, but Marcus didn’t smile.

"People are talking," Marcus continued. "A restricted class F rank class spending all his time in the dirt with corpses. The truth is that some of us think it’s disgusting, while some of us think it’s a waste of academy resources. I’m going both ways."

Lila shifted on the wall. "Wow. You came all the way out here just to share your opinions?"

Marcus ignored her, his attention stayed locked on Ethan. "You should be careful. Abilities like yours make people nervous. Instructors watch you differently, students will talk. If something goes wrong... if one of your little projects gets out of control, there won’t be a lot of sympathy."

Ethan tilted his head slightly, before replying.

"I’ll keep that in mind," he said. "If I don’t forget it before the end of the way that is," he pointed at his own head. "Got a lot to think about, you see..."

Marcus’ expression hardened. "You think this is funny?"

"I think it’s dumb." Ethan kept his voice calm, as calm as he possible could. "You walked all the way out here, interrupted my practice, and used several sentences to tell me something I already knew. The academy monitors restricted classes, people dislike necromancy, and my current undead can barely walk in a straight line. None of this is new information. If you came to intimidate me, the delivery needs work. If you came to educate me, then your curriculum is clearly outdated."

Silence stretched for a beat.

One of the students following him looked uncomfortable. The other looked like he was waiting for permission to be angry.

Marcus’ jaw tightened.

"You’ve got a mouth on you for a Rank F," he said quietly.

"I’ve got a mouth on me for a person who was trying to raise a rat in peace."

Lila made a quiet sound that might have been a suppressed laugh, and Marcus’ eyes flicked to her,

"You should watch the company you keep," he told her. "Restricted classes have a way of causing problems for everyone nearby."

Lila hopped off the wall and landed lightly as she replied while dusting her clothes. "I’ll take my chances. He can hold a better conversation than most people I’ve met so far."

Marcus stared at her for a moment, then back at Ethan.

"Enjoy your dirt and your dead things," he said. "When the field test comes, we’ll see how useful your little hobby actually is."

He turned and walked off. His two companions followed after a brief hesitation.

Ethan waited until they were out of earshot, then exhaled.

"Well," he said. "That was educational."

Lila raised an eyebrow. "Educational?"

"I learned that most people here can be just as dramatic as I feared. Also, that my resting face apparently invites life advice." He crouched again, scanning for another corpse. "Irritating, But useful."

"Useful how?"

"I was starting to get comfortable with slow progress. But I forgot that comfort is an enemy that holds you down and keeps you from achieving your goals..." He found a small dead bird near the edge and dragged it closer with the toe of his boot. "Being told I’m a waste of resources is excellent motivation."

Lila stared in silence for a moment, genuine confusion flashing across her face. ’Is he a masochist?’

He placed two fingers on the bird and pushed Death Energy through the connection with more focus than before.

The irritation from the confrontation in the back of his mind converted into attention rather than anger.

```

[Raise Undead (Basic) activated]

Corpse Quality: Poor

Energy Cost: 6

Result: Basic Undead (Avian)

Control Capacity: 1/8

Death Energy: 37/50

```

Six points.... Another drop.

The bird stood with less wobble than previous attempts, green eyes glowing.

When he ordered it to walk, the movement was still stiff, but the line was straighter. When he ordered it to stop, it stopped cleanly.

Lila hummed softly. "You’re actually using him as fuel."

Ethan nodded and ran the undead through a short series of commands—forward, turn, stop, turn again, then dismissed it.

The system logged the EXP the way it always did. "People like that are going to keep existing," he said. "I can either let them slow me down or let them remind me why these numbers need to move faster."

He repeated the process with two more small corpses. Each raise was better than the last and the energy costs holding at six.

Command response continued forward, and by the time his Death Energy sat at twenty-two, the EXP bar had climbed in a way that felt satisfying.

Lila watched the entire sequence without interrupting, and Ethan rolled his shoulders— the mental strain of repeated raises was present but manageable.

She grinned. "You’re taking this seriously..."

"That’s the idea," he replied. "Might as well grind while I had the chance."

They left as the sun set lower—other students already moving toward the east grounds in small groups.

A few glanced in Ethan’s direction with a mix of curiosity and discomfort but he ignored them.

The confrontation with Marcus had already occupied enough of his attention for one day and he was too exhausted for any kind of confrontation as well...

As they walked back toward the dormitories, Lila glanced sideways at him.

"You handled that better than most people would have."

Ethan just shrugged. "Getting into a fight with a Rank A strength user on day would be a very dumb thing to do...."

He remembered back in his old life, he had faced much worse circumstances. He found himself in situations where even the slightest reactions could cost him...

He was just using the knowledge from his old world here...

They reached Dorm 303 without further incident, and Lila disappeared into her room with a casual wave.

Ethan sat at the small desk in his own room, pulled up the system one more time, and reviewed the day’s progress...

```

[Name: Ethan Shaw]

[Age: 19]

[Awakened Class: Necromancer]

[Rank: F]

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 45 / 100]

[Death Energy: 22/50]

[Control Capacity: 0/8]

```

The EXP bar had moved further than any previous session. Level 2 was no longer distant... It was only a matter of time...