That morning, Damian stepped into classroom 1-B. As soon as he opened the door, he immediately felt something strange. All eyes were on him. The atmosphere was awkward. The students in the class were just staring at him. Some looked curious, some just stared in awe. Whispers began to be heard in the room.
"That's the winning team, right?"
"How did they win?"
"They said the blue-haired guy fought Kyle directly?"
"And he won?!"
Damian slowly sat down in his seat, trying to stay calm. But in his heart, he was clearly confused. Next to him, Liam was already sitting neatly. His face was serious as usual, even though there was no teacher yet.
Damian glanced at his best friend. "Liam... it feels like everyone here is watching me."
Liam remained focused forward as he answered flatly, "There are 14 filled with envy, 3 conveying respect, and 3 conveying full of hatred. You can feel proud."
Damian was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath. "It's a bit scary when you think about it..."
Liam just nodded slowly, as if all of this was normal. Not long after the atmosphere in the class calmed down a bit, the door opened again. Rin entered with slow steps. As usual, she went straight to the back corner seat, her favorite place to be alone.
However, this morning was a little different. As she walked past Damian, the girl suddenly stopped. Her face looked hesitant. She held her book tightly, then turned her head slowly towards Damian.
"U-Um... t-thank you... that time..." she said softly, almost like a whisper.
Damian looked at her, confused. "Huh?"
Rin looked even more nervous. "During the survival simulation yesterday..."
Damian smiled casually. "Oh, that? No problem."
Rin immediately nodded quickly, her face flushed. Without daring to wait for a further reaction, she hurriedly walked to her seat. Her head was bowed, and her cheeks were still pink.
Meanwhile, Liam, who was sitting next to Damian, immediately opened his book and wrote something down with a serious expression. "Note: Rin Avelyne Interaction level 1. Bonding potential increases by 2%."
Damian glanced at her with a look of disbelief. "...Liam."
Liam remained calm. "Social interaction strategies are important to strengthen the team, Master Damian."
Damian could only massage his temples. It felt like it was going to be a long day.
A few minutes after the classroom atmosphere returned to calm, the door opened again. Now it was Tessa's turn to enter. As usual, her steps were graceful and confident. Her neat hair was perfectly loose, and her gaze seemed to view everyone in the room as something unimportant. The aura of nobility really stuck with her.
She walked past the rows of benches with a calm attitude. However, when she passed Damian's desk, she suddenly stopped.
Tessa turned her head slightly, looking at Damian with a flat but meaningful expression.
"...You're not bad. At least you can fight," she said briefly.
Damian raised an eyebrow, confused. "Me...?"
Tessa only stared for a moment before adding in a lazy tone, "...Yessss."
Without waiting for a further response, she walked again. But before she really left, Damian caught a glimpse of a thin and slightly cynical smile on the corner of Tessa's lips.
Although it sounded like sarcasm, for Damian, it was clearly a big improvement from the girl who usually only showed her cold and arrogant side.
Liam, who was sitting quietly next to Damian, leaned in slightly and whispered. "I will prepare a strategy to deal with her." Damian could only stare at Liam speechlessly. It felt like... this morning was full of strange surprises.
Morning lessons went by normally enough. Nothing strange or surprising happened. However, when break time came, the atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
Damian had just opened his favorite cheese sandwich and started eating it leisurely. But all that relaxed state disappeared in an instant when someone stood right in front of him with a very sharp gaze. Kyle Ardent.
The second-ranked student in their year. A user of fire magic, from a noble family, and someone who should be considered a rival... although Damian seemed to have forgotten about that.
"You managed to beat me yesterday," Kyle said in a flat tone.
Damian remained calm, chewing the sandwich without being distracted. "Yeah," he answered softly.
"Are you proud?" Kyle continued, holding back his emotions a little.
Damian looked away for a moment and shrugged. "...It feels normal. But this sandwich is really good."
Kyle's face tensed up. He gripped Damian's desk tightly, making the atmosphere suddenly tense.
"I... ranked second! You should... see me as your rival!" he said in a raised voice.
Damian only answered calmly. "I never asked you to be my rival."
That sentence seemed to be the trigger. Kyle almost shouted. "THAT'S THE PROBLEM!!"
The atmosphere in the classroom immediately fell silent. One table was almost moved. All the students were now staring at them. Tessa was seen smiling slightly in the distance, while Rin instinctively reached for her book and held it open, though her eyes weren't really reading.
Liam, who was sitting near Damian, finally stood up. His face was calm, but his tone sounded sharp and firm. "Please keep your distance from Master Damian, Mr. Ardent," he said. "If you want recognition, get it with action. Not with talk."
Kyle stared at Liam sharply. "You're just... an assistant, right?"
Without saying much, Liam took out a small revolver from under his coat and calmly rotated the chamber of the weapon.
"Only an assistant... can get you out of this room before you have time to regret it," he said coldly.
Damian was immediately shocked. "LIAM! STOP! THIS IS A SCHOOL!!" he shouted in panic.
The tension was high. But Kyle finally gave in. He clicked his tongue and turned to leave.
"You got lucky this time," he said as he walked away. "I'll prove I'm better than you. Just wait for the joint exam."
Once the atmosphere calmed down, Damian could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He took the tea that had been on his desk for who knows how long and drank it slowly.
"...Liam, this tea?" he asked in surprise.
Liam turned his head calmly. "I've prepared it since morning," he answered briefly.
Damian could only remain silent. That day... it felt really tiring.
In the afternoon, Damian decided to stop by the library. Not because he wanted to be diligent, but more because the assignment given was quite troublesome and... well, Liam was not in his room.
The library was very quiet. The afternoon sunlight penetrated the large glass on the side of the room, creating calm shadows between the bookshelves.
While Damian was looking for a book about Basic Survival Tactics, he saw a familiar figure in the corner of the room.
Rin. The girl was sitting alone at a small table near the window. Her hand was supporting her chin, while her eyes looked serious looking at the pile of books in front of her. However, her face looked a little frustrated.
Damian hesitated for a moment, but finally he decided to say hello.
"Eh... Rin? Reading a book about what?"
Rin was a little surprised. He turned his head quickly, then hurriedly closed one of his books.
"I-I just... want to understand more about yesterday's simulation," he said softly. "I feel... too panicked. So I want to study so that next time I won't trouble the team."
Damian smiled casually. "No, you're the one who's carrying, I'm the one who's burdened by eating too much cheese sandwich hahaha... But yeah... when it comes to simulations, the most important thing is not to panic. Focus on one thing that you can do the easiest."
Rin seemed to be thinking. "One thing... the easiest?"
"For example, you could guard the back of the team. Your job isn't to fight right away, it's to make sure no one attacks us from behind. That alone could save the whole group." Damian said
Rin slowly nodded, her eyes starting to sparkle. "That... makes sense."
The atmosphere between them became more relaxed. Damian sat for a while in the chair across from Rin, helping to show some examples of strategies from the book he found. Although their conversation was simple, it was clear that Rin looked much calmer than usual.
A few minutes passed. Rin finally closed her book, then looked at Damian with a soft smile. Her face looked warmer than usual, and her eyes radiated relief.
"Thank you, Damian... I'm glad I could talk to you," she said in a soft voice.
Damian was silent for a moment. Their gazes met for a moment, and for some reason, the atmosphere felt a little different. Not awkward, but... closer.
He smiled faintly, then rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... you're welcome. I'm also happy to be able to chat like this."
Rin continued to stare at him for a few seconds before finally looking away with a small smile, her cheeks looking faintly red.
Damian could only smile.
The night in the dorm was peaceful. Damian sat on the balcony of his room, looking at the night sky. The air was cold, but comfortable enough. He sat quietly, thinking about many things. That day felt quite tiring and strange for Damian. Many things happened throughout the day.
Rin, who was usually quiet and awkward, started to speak more openly. Tessa, although still acting the same as usual, seemed a little friendlier and less sharp in her words. Then there was Kyle, who seemed very eager to beat Damian and show that he was stronger.
While everyone seemed so concerned with position and ranking, Damian was still thinking about something else. He took a deep breath, looking up at the stars in the night sky. "I wonder when my old friends will show up in this world?" he thought to himself.
The question hung in his mind, as if a reminder that a bigger journey was still waiting ahead.
Elsewhere, the night was still quiet.
On the balcony of a room in dormitory building 1-C, a young man stood still. His posture was straight and calm. His dark hair flowed lightly in the night wind, while his sharp eyes stared straight at the moon in the sky.
He didn't say anything for a while, as if lost in his own thoughts. After that, he said, "Eating sandwiches during the survival simulation and defeating Kyle Ardent. I know that deep down he's actually panicking, so he prefers to do things that make him calm."
But finally, a soft but firm voice came out of his mouth. "I finally know where you are, Damian Kade..."
The words sounded calm, but they contained deep meaning.
Without wasting any time, the young man slowly turned around and walked into his room. His movements were unhurried, but each step seemed confident and purposeful.
The meeting that had been delayed for so long... was finally getting closer.