Chapter 40: Eldoria Academy (1)

Slowly, sunlight entered the room where the three of them were sleeping. The light fell upon someone with blonde hair, causing him to gradually awaken.

It was Magnus.

He glanced at Philip, who was still fast asleep, and hurriedly tried to wake him up, remembering that today was their first day at Eldoria Academy.

"Oi, Philip! Wake up!"

Philip slowly opened his eyes and looked at Magnus.

"Five more minutes..."

Magnus sighed in frustration before noticing that Haruki was nowhere to be seen. He then climbed down from the large bed, only to accidentally step on something.

Slowly, he looked down and was slightly startled.

"H-Haruki?"

Magnus quickly woke him up, reminding him that it was time for their first day of classes at the academy.

"Oi, Haruki, wake up! Are we seriously going to be late on our first day at someone else’s academy?!"

The two of them hurriedly left the room and noticed that some of the local students had yet to get ready as well.

Haruki then remembered that Teacher Darius had mentioned the previous day that classes would begin at eight-thirty in the morning.

The two of them glanced at the clock hanging in their room.

*Vll : X* *7 : 10*

Both of them let out a sigh of relief before slowly making their way out of the room and heading towards the bathrooms.

However, they suddenly stopped.

’Where’s the bathroom again?’ Haruki wondered.

They looked at each other and immediately understood what the other was thinking.

"We should ask someone," Magnus said.

Just then, a student who appeared to have already finished washing himself walked past them.

Magnus quickly stopped him and asked where the bathroom was. However, asking an unfamiliar student for directions would soon lead to an unexpected situation.

"Go straight, then turn left."

Magnus thanked him before quickly calling Haruki to follow.

"Then turn left... There it is."

*Bathroom*

They entered without hesitation, both of them amazed by how spacious and luxurious the bathroom was.

They then chose two adjacent shower rooms and began chatting while complimenting the place. Little did they know that what happened next would make things considerably more complicated.

Haruki eventually told Magnus to stop talking after hearing what sounded like a woman’s voice.

Haruki and Magnus turned off the running water so they could listen more clearly. And sure enough, they could hear a group of girls inside the bathroom.

"What are they doing here, huh?" Magnus whispered.

"Keep your voice down, idiot."

One of the girls then asked her friends something.

"Did I just hear a boy?"

"Maybe it’s just your imagination."

The group of girls entered the shower area while continuing their conversation. Some of them even began wondering why two shower rooms were locked.

The two boys remained completely silent, nervously swallowing their saliva.

Magnus’s face had already turned red as his mind began wandering towards rather inappropriate thoughts.

’Now is not the time, Magnus,’ he told himself.

The girls then moved on to another topic. They began discussing the students from Arcane Academy who had temporarily transferred to their academy.

One of them eventually brought up the kingdom that had been attacked.

However, what caught Haruki and Magnus’s attention was when the conversation shifted towards the three of them, including Philip.

"Hey, do you guys know who stood out the most when that kingdom managed to defeat the ice monster?"

One of the girls immediately mentioned the names Haruki, Philip, and Magnus.

That was exactly what she said. Most of them began praising Philip, claiming that he had been the most impressive during the battle because his magic was truly extraordinary. Some even complimented his handsome appearance.

As the conversation continued to revolve around Philip, the girls kept praising him so much that Magnus and Haruki were practically on the verge of throwing up.

Slowly, the group of girls left the bathroom, and the surroundings became quiet once again.

Haruki was still hesitant to leave, worried that another group of female students might enter.

He then remembered his Invisibility skill. However, that skill could only be used on himself.

Haruki quickly examined the skill more closely and discovered something he had never noticed before.

Apparently, he could upgrade his skill.

[Skill - Invisibility]

Level - 1

*100 Coins Required to Upgrade Skill*

Haruki upgraded the skill until it reached its maximum level, which was Level Five.

He then told Magnus to hurry up and put on his clothes before climbing into the adjacent shower room where Magnus was.

"Hold my hand."

A few minutes later, the two of them successfully managed to get out and returned to their room.

However, the corridor was completely empty, which made them feel slightly uneasy.

They entered their room and noticed that Philip had already disappeared, leaving his bed in complete disarray. Neither of them was surprised. This was simply how Philip usually behaved.

They quickly checked the clock before rushing out of the room.

Their classes were about to begin!

"W-Wait, did we spend too long bathing?! Haruki?!"

"How am I supposed to know?!"

Magnus could only follow Haruki, since he was the only one who had paid attention to what Teacher Darius had said the previous day.

When they reached the second floor, they noticed that there was only one classroom. Both of them were certain that it had to be theirs.

They approached the door and slowly pulled it open. The moment Haruki took his first step inside—

The entire classroom fell silent as everyone turned to look at the two of them.

Once they had both entered, they noticed that there wasn’t a single student from Arcane Academy inside the classroom.

Magnus and Haruki assumed that perhaps Teacher Darius had given them the wrong classroom location.

Just as they were about to leave, they were stopped by Teacher Darius, the same person they had met the previous day.

He then asked whether they had been given the wrong classroom.

"No, this is your classroom. Where’s the blue-haired boy?"

The two of them hesitated for a moment before explaining that they had no idea where Philip had gone.

Teacher Darius then instructed them to sit at the back, near the window.

Slowly, they made their way towards their seats while being watched by the other students. Some of them could even be heard whispering as they looked at the two newcomers.

Thirty minutes passed.

Suddenly, the classroom door swung open with tremendous force, revealing someone very familiar to Haruki and Magnus.

"Huff... Huff... Sorry I’m late."

Since it was the first day, Teacher Darius decided to give Philip a chance to enter the classroom.

Philip slowly stepped inside. However, the moment his right foot crossed the doorway—

A dense purple aura began emanating from his body.

The students inside the classroom immediately felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness and fear.

The further Philip walked, the heavier the pressure surrounding him became.

Haruki and Magnus noticed that the other students seemed terrified of something.

"Everyone, deactivate your Magic Detection!" Teacher Darius shouted.

The students immediately returned to normal, no longer feeling the overwhelming pressure. However, their gazes towards Philip had changed. They now looked at him as though he were a terrifying threat.

Haruki then invited Philip to sit beside them.

Even as Philip walked towards their seats, the students continued watching him with sharp, wary gazes.

Once Philip had taken his seat beside the two of them, the class proceeded as usual.

However, even during the lesson, some students continued staring at Philip with hostile expressions, particularly the boys.

The girls, on the other hand, seemed to have the opposite reaction. Some admired his handsome appearance, while others couldn’t help but notice his muscular physique.

An hour later, it was finally time for the students’ break.

They left the classroom and simply followed the other students heading towards the cafeteria, since they had no idea where it was.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Haruki looked around for Vila but couldn’t find her.

"The break times for our class and their class are different," said a black-haired girl standing behind him.

"Ugh, thanks... And what about our class?"

The girl then introduced herself as one of his classmates, named Elara Voss.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Haruki—"

"I know."

Haruki smiled slightly before Magnus pulled him away to accompany him in getting some food.

...

While eating, Haruki and Magnus deliberately kept their distance from Philip.

After all, Philip was currently surrounded by a group of female students from the academy.

Meanwhile, the other male students continued watching him with hostile expressions.

’What exactly did they see when Philip first entered the classroom?’

Haruki then remembered that Teacher Darius had instructed the students to deactivate their magic detection.

His thoughts became increasingly tangled.

Just as Haruki was deep in thought, Teacher Lukas approached and tapped Magnus on the back.

"Yo."

"T-Teacher Lukas?"

"How’s your first day going, Magnus and Haruki?"

After that, they sat together while watching Philip, who was still surrounded by the girls.

From a distance, a male student seemed to be observing the three of them. Every now and then, his gaze shifted towards Philip.

’Philip, Haruki, Magnus, and Lukas.’

’They’re the ones who defeated the army that invaded their kingdom.’

’Is it true that their kingdom was invaded by a kingdom called Frostval...?’

’I couldn’t find any kingdom named Frostval in any of the books.’

The student then activated a spell that allowed him to perceive the magical auras of others.

He examined Philip first and discovered that his aura was incredibly terrifying. He began to believe that the rumours about just how dangerous Philip’s magic was might actually be true.

He then shifted his attention towards Magnus and Lukas. Their auras appeared perfectly normal.

However, when he looked at Haruki, he couldn’t sense anything emanating from him.

All he could see was a faint brownish aura surrounding his body.

’Why...? His aura is exactly like that of a corpse... Even a newborn baby has a stronger aura than this person.’

[SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU]

"Huh?"

Lukas then noticed Haruki’s reaction.

"What’s wrong, Haruki?"

"Ah... It’s nothing."

Haruki slowly tried to look around. Eventually, his eyes accidentally met those of the student who had been watching him.

The student immediately lowered his head.

’Damn it... Did he notice me?’

Haruki simply ignored it and continued talking with Teacher Lukas.

’Haruki... Perhaps he’s even more interesting than Philip.’