Chapter 158: An Unfinished Business

Kael stepped into the classroom, hoping that the attention from the morning assembly would finally die down.

Unfortunately, it seemed the academy had other plans for him.

The moment he entered, he noticed Lyra already floating near the front of the classroom in her usual lazy posture. She looked as though she had been there for hours, although Kael suspected she had probably spent most of that time doing absolutely nothing except mocking him during the assembly with her annoying smirk.

Kael walked toward his seat.

Then he stopped.

He was seated beside Auriella.

Kael stared at the empty seat.

Then at Auriella.

Then back at the seat.

My fate rest entirely on the gods of they do exist.

Auriella was sitting quietly, but the atmosphere around her was completely different from usual.

She looked like someone who was patiently waiting for an opportunity to pounce on him.

Kael slowly sat down.

"Good morning."

Auriella didn’t respond.

Kael looked straight ahead.

Okay.

Well I wasn’t really expecting a reply but now I’m wondering whether she’ll actually challenge me to a duel or straight up assassinate me.

On his other side, Zion was already snickering.

Kael glanced at him.

"What?"

Zion shook his head.

"Nothing."

"You were laughing."

"I wasn’t."

"You definitely were."

Zion’s shoulders shook as he tried to suppress another laugh.

Kael sighed.

Something about Zion had changed since last semester.

He seemed much more relaxed around him now, and his teasing had increased significantly.

Kael didn’t know what had caused the change but at this moment it was annoying.

Who laughs at his brother’s misfortune.

Maybe it was because they had spent more time together.

Whatever the reason was, Kael didn’t feel like thinking about it.

He had enough problems already.

Lyra finally floated toward the center of the classroom.

"Well, it’s a new semester."

She looked around at the students.

"I’d start by welcoming you all back, but that would be boring especially considering that a lot of tragedies may occur this semester but for the most part you guys will survive I guess"

Several students chuckled.

" maybe it’s because of the target painted on my back by Auriella" Kael thought internally because there was no other reason why they could be laughing at a statement like that.

Lyra yawned.

"So we’ll just dive straight into what’s going to happen this semester."

The room became quieter.

"First and foremost, you guys are going to start frequenting dungeons."

A few students immediately became more attentive.

"You can go to the Mission Hall of the academy to receive missions. Completing these missions will reward you with merit points."

Lyra raised a finger.

"And those merit points can be used to elevate your academy ranking."

Kael listened carefully.

I guess the first years are officially starting there dungeon diving duty and who knows how many demons might be spotted in dungeons funny enough I have only encountered demons once in my total endeavor in this world.

He had spent most of his first semester ignoring the Mission Hall because he hadn’t been granted direct access to it.

Now that he was a top-ranked student, however, things were apparently different.

Lyra continued.

"Of course, there’s one exception."

She glanced toward the front of the class.

"The top three rankings can’t be obtained through merit points alone."

She smiled.

"They can only be attained through direct duels."

A few students immediately began whispering among themselves.

Kael leaned back in his chair.

So the top three are protected I would say I was safe if I didn’t have the current owner of the eye of ruin hunting me.

Kael sighed once more but he understood the reason the academy did it this way.

The academy didn’t want students simply grinding missions until they reached the highest positions.

If someone wanted to claim one of those spots, they had to prove themselves against the person occupying it.

Lyra continued.

"And then there’s the Inter-High Tournament."

The classroom immediately became more energetic.

The Inter-High Tournament was one of the academy’s biggest events.

Students from the major academies across the kingdoms would compete against one another.

Human.

Elven.

Dwarven.

Beastkin.

It was one of the few opportunities students had to demonstrate their abilities on a national stage.

"For the upcoming Inter-High Tournament," Lyra said, "only the top fifty students from each year at Academy will be allowed to participate."

She paused.

"That means the top fifty first years and the top fifty second years, you could use this opportunity to rise if you want to participate in the inter high tournament"

Several students immediately looked excited.

"For those of you who are serious about building a name for yourselves, this is a great opportunity."

Lyra’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Top guilds across the kingdoms will be watching the tournament, you could even get scouted by nobles families although I feel that most of you here don’t really require it" Lyra commented.

Kael clearly understood what Lyra was saying.

"Perform well enough, and you might receive recruitment offers, but with the majority of class 1 A students being nobles is seemed quite pointless but nevertheless they would want to prove themselves in the tournament."

Some students immediately began discussing their ambitions.

Kael remained quiet.

He wasn’t particularly interested in joining a guild.

Not yet, anyway.

His circumstances were far too complicated.

Lyra then smiled.

"Of course, people from noble families who are already wealthy and spoiled might not take something like this seriously."

Her gaze slowly moved across the classroom.

Then stopped directly on Kael.

The room became quiet.

One by one, the other students turned toward him.

Kael stared at Lyra.

Seriously?

He looked around.

Everyone was staring.

And, unfortunately, he understood exactly why.

Kael was probably the most obvious person who fit that description.

He was wealthy.

He came from a powerful noble family.

He had entered the academy without taking the entrance examination.

In fact, Kael’s admission itself had become something of a rumor.

Nobody knew exactly how much money had been spent to secure his place.

Some rumors claimed the amount was enough to purchase an entire noble family’s property and still have money left over.

Kael slowly sighed.

Well... what can I say?

He rested his chin on his hand.

I could probably live a pretty lavish life in this world.

His expression became slightly bitter.

If only the threat of damnation didn’t exist.

For Kael, money and luxury had never been the real problem.

Strength was.

Survival was.

And changing the future before it became a nightmare was.

He had no intention of becoming someone who sat around enjoying a luxurious life while the world eventually burned around him especially when he might be in the center of it.

Lyra eventually moved on.

The rest of the lesson continued normally.

They discussed dungeon regulations, mission classifications, ranking adjustments, tournament requirements, and several other details concerning the new semester.

Kael listened for the most part.

However, by the time the lectures were nearing their end, his attention had begun drifting.

I really need to visit the Mission Hall.

He hadn’t had access to it during his first semester.

Now that he was among the academy’s strongest first years, he needed to understand exactly what kind of missions were available.

The bell finally rang.

Students began packing their belongings.

Kael stood.

Charlotte immediately followed him.

"You’re going to the Mission Hall, right?"

Kael nodded.

"Yeah. We never really got direct access to it last semester."

Charlotte adjusted her uniform.

"Then let’s go."

The two of them walked toward the classroom door.

Kael had barely stepped through it when he stopped.

Someone was standing directly in front of them.

A familiar figure.

Kael’s expression immediately became tired.

Auriella Voss.

She stood there silently, her expression calm.

Too calm.

Kael immediately felt a dreadful sensation crawling down his spine.

No.

He knew that expression.

It was the expression of someone who had been waiting for him.

Auriella looked directly at him.

"I think we have some unfinished business from last semester."

Her voice was monotone.

But the anger behind her words was impossible to miss.

Kael swallowed.

"Can’t this wait?"

Auriella didn’t respond.

Behind them, Lyra was still sitting at her desk.

She had noticed the situation.

A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face.

"Oh, this should be interesting."

Zion remained seated.

He looked between Kael and Auriella.

Unlike everyone else, he didn’t even attempt to hide his excitement.

He clearly wanted to see how this would play out.

Kael glanced toward him.

Traitor.

Auriella reached toward her weapon.

Kael’s expression immediately changed.

The next moment, a scythe appeared in her hand.

The weapon’s blade reflected the light of the classroom.

Several students immediately stepped backward.

The atmosphere changed.

Auriella raised the scythe and pointed its blade directly toward Kael.

"Kael Draven."

Kael sighed.

Of course.

Auriella’s eyes remained fixed on him.

"Class 1-A."

She took one step forward.

"I challenge you to a duel for the top-ranked spot."