Chapter 77: Who is Lorenzo?

"Who exactly is Lorenzo?"

"Honestly, he doesn’t seem like a noble to me."

"Then is he a commoner?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then how do you explain what he did in Antarctica? He opened a teleportation gate and even had an S-rank Saint serving as his bodyguard!"

"Then... could he be a Legacy?"

"Are you a fucking idiot? He doesn’t even look like one!"

"Wait! I have a better theory! He’s an orphan!"

"...Huh?"

"Think about it! When Professor Yuki was taking attendance, she didn’t mention his surname alongside his name!"

"So?"

"Even commoners have surnames! But she only called him Lorenzo! That means he’s probably an orphan!"

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, that makes sense."

"Wait a minute! Even if he’s an orphan, how do you explain his strength and connections? As far as I know, none of the orphan students possess anything like that!"

"M-Maybe... he’s connected to the underworld? You know, criminal organizations and stuff? I saw him talking to Lucas this morning."

"Oh! That actually makes sense!"

And so, after an extensive discussion involving questionable assumptions and absolutely no reliable evidence, the students of Class A reached a rather interesting conclusion.

Lorenzo was an orphan with connections to a criminal organization.

Unfortunately for them, the real Lorenzo was nowhere nearby to hear their brilliant deduction.

Otherwise, he might have congratulated them on being the most imaginative detectives he’d ever encountered.

Of course, their conclusion wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Lorenzo’s identity had been deliberately concealed, and his behavior didn’t fit neatly into any of the categories the students understood.

He possessed the confidence of a noble, the connections of a powerful family, and the combat experience of someone who had survived far more than an ordinary seventeen-year-old should have.

Yet he showed little interest in flaunting his status.

Naturally, the students were curious.

However, their curiosity wasn’t the only thing driving the discussion.

There was something else.

Something that bothered the noble students far more than Lorenzo’s mysterious background.

He had ranked second in the entrance examination.

He had survived Antarctica.

He had provided an escape route when hundreds of students were stranded in a monster-infested wasteland.

And he had done all of that while supposedly being a commoner.

To the nobles, that was the real problem.

He’s still a commoner in the end.

Several noble students exchanged glances, their expressions revealing their dissatisfaction.

"So what if he ranked second?"

"I’ll surpass him soon enough. I’m a noble, after all."

"His connections might be impressive, but mine aren’t any worse."

They had grown up hearing that noble bloodlines possessed advantages that ordinary people could never hope to overcome.

Their families had money, resources, connections, and generations of accumulated knowledge.

They had been taught from childhood that the world belonged to those who possessed the strength to claim it.

And now, someone who might be an orphan had appeared and placed himself above them.

Worse, he had done so without even trying to impress anyone.

It was irritating.

Extremely irritating.

Some of the nobles had already begun treating Lorenzo as a rival, even though he had done absolutely nothing to provoke them beyond existing.

Meanwhile, the commoners were experiencing an entirely different set of emotions.

"Did you see that? Lorenzo is ranked second!"

"I know! And he helped everyone escape from Antarctica!"

"Not to mention that he had an S-rank Saint with him!"

"An S-rank Saint! Do you understand how ridiculous that is?!"

The commoners could barely contain their excitement.

For generations, noble families had dominated the academy’s upper ranks. They possessed better resources, more experienced instructors, and access to weapon arts that ordinary families could only dream of obtaining.

Even among talented commoners, reaching the top of the rankings was an extraordinary achievement.

But Lorenzo had done it.

He had secured second place in the entrance examination, defeated monsters during the survival exercise, and earned the attention of students who would normally never spare a commoner a second glance.

For the first time since entering Golden Dawn Academy, many commoners felt as though they had someone they could look up to.

Someone who might prove that noble birth wasn’t the only path to greatness.

Of course, none of them knew that Lorenzo’s actual background was considerably more complicated than their theories suggested.

Nor did they realize that if they ever discovered his true identity, their excitement might turn into something entirely different.

After all, Lorenzo Riina wasn’t simply a mysterious orphan with connections to the underworld.

He was the heir to one of the most powerful underworld families in the world.

And his father was Aldric Riina, an Overlord whose name alone was enough to make even the most influential nobles think twice before acting recklessly.

If anything, the students had underestimated his background.

By a rather considerable margin.

---

Meanwhile, Lorenzo had no idea that his classmates were busy inventing increasingly ridiculous explanations for his existence.

As he walked toward the Weapon Arts Department on third floor, his smartwatch vibrated with another notification.

Lorenzo glanced at the screen.

A message from the academy directory.

[Ania: Professor Leo Vale has accepted your request to learn the Phantom Bullet weapon art.

Please report to me as soon as possible.

I’ll guide you to him.\]

Finally.

He had submitted his request nearly an hour ago, but the academy’s administrative process had taken longer than expected.

Initially, he had intended to wait patiently in the classroom.

However, after spending twenty minutes staring at the directory and another fifteen browsing through the available weapon arts, his patience had run out.

So, he had decided to head toward the Weapon Arts Department himself.

And now, just as he was about to arrive, the academy had finally responded.

How efficient.

Lorenzo shook his head and continued walking.

The third floor was considerably quieter than the main corridors. Unlike the classrooms, which were crowded with students, this section was primarily used by professors and students who had already selected their weapon arts.

Several doors lined the corridor, each marked with the name of a professor and their area of specialization.

Swordsmanship.

Spearmanship.

Archery.

Firearms.

Axe techniques.

There were even a few rooms dedicated to unusual weapon arts that required specialized equipment.