Chapter 8
Chapter 8— School Life! (1)
‘And thus, this is why students who were sent to the Beta Class are unable to properly
grow,’ Desir thought .
Alpha Class students received excellent lessons from the faculty’s most brilliant
professors . As such, the faculty, carefully and with great passion, nurtured the
Alpha Class and ensured they received the best attention the professors could
offer . With this, their talents would surely awaken . They would inevitably
become excellent combatants that would conquer the Shadow Worlds .
Yet Beta Class was the complete opposite .
It was mostly composed of commoners who lacked any kind of support . Care
and passion was not pointed towards the students of the Beta Class as almost
none of the lectures had proper professors assigned to them . Because of this, it
was extremely difficult for these students to reach their full potential .
Desir smiled bitterly . ‘Even in my past life, I was a Beta Class student . ’
Desir had been born as a commoner . So, of course, due to his social status, he
had been assigned to the Beta Class . And without proper education, it had been
impossible for him to improve . So, when he’d first entered the Shadow
Labyrinth, he had only been a 1st circle mage .
‘In an environment like this, many talented people were buried . The system was at
fault . If it weren’t for a system like this, Beta Class students would have been able to
become stronger . They wouldn’t all have been massacred so easily, nor so quickly . ’
Yet, the only person who had survived to the end as a Beta Class student was
Desir . Being reminded of such end results, Desir decided on one goal in his
heart . ‘I will make sure the most talented students in the Beta Class will be promoted
to Alpha Class . ’
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In the past, Desir had failed to clear the Shadow Labyrinth . But there were
many hidden gems in the Hebrion Academy . And he knew that if he was able to
properly nurture them and guide them to their best potential, then it wouldn’t
be impossible to clear the Shadow Labyrinth . ‘To do that,’ he thought . ‘I must
move together with them . In other words, I’ll create a party . ’
He would find the ones with the most potential based on his past life
experience and knowledge . He would find these hidden gems, convince them to
join his party, and then he would ensure their promotion into the Alpha Class .
And he knew who the first gem would be: Romantica Eru, the Wind Mage who
had taken the entrance exam with him . She was the esteemed daughter of
Baron Eru and was called the Tempest Sage . Her specialty was chant-less
magic . In the past, she’d also been a veteran mage who’d survived in the
Shadow Labyrinth for 8 years .
And Desir was determined to win her over and make her his first party
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member—to ensure she advanced from Beta to Alpha class, thus increasing her
power for the future .
A girl with clean, lustrous hair cascading down her shoulders sat at a desk in a
lecture room . . Her snow-white skin clashed with her red cheeks . And her
usually bright coral green eyes exuded a gloomy darkness .
“To think I would end up in Beta Class,” she sighed .
The ancient clock on the wall screeched with every movement the minute hand
made . The lecture room’s damp atmosphere, creaking chairs that gave off a
rotting cucumber smell, and marked up desks with gashes carved into them
only proved to make the girl’s shoulders slump even more .
It was truly a horrifying scene .
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Romantica could not believe this was a classroom . At that moment, a shadow
loomed over her open book .
“Hello . Are you Romantica Eru of the Eru Barony?”
Romantica raised her head . Three people stood before her, wearing the shiny
blue badge on their right chests, which represented the Alpha Class .
The person who’d spoken was the tallest person amongst the three . With thick
eyebrows and thick lips, he exuded a heroic aura .
“You know my name, but you haven’t introduced yourself yet,” she said .
“Pardon me . ” He sat down across from her . “My name is Doneta Hadun . I’m a
new student just like you . . . and I’m currently looking for a new party member . ”
He spoke very politely, the dulcet tone of his voice flowing between them, so
different from the atmosphere of the room .
“I hope you find a good party member who suits you,” Romantica said .
“I hope so, too . That’s why I came here,” Doneta said .
“Do you have some business with me?” she asked .
“I wanted to meet you, but it was difficult to do so . As you know, the lecture
rooms for Beta Class and Alpha Class are quite far apart . ”
‘In more ways than one . ’ “Well, yeah,” she said .
“I heard you are an exceptional Wind Mage . Furthermore, I heard your family
has the title of Baron . For an exceptional Mage with noble status to end up as a
Beta Class student, the academy must have made a mistake . ”
A stiff smile stretched across Romatica’s face . The awkward moment spread out
before her, as she tried to maintain her poker face . “Well, even the academy
professors are people, too . They’re bound to make mistakes . ”
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“Oh, right . However, it’s still unacceptable for the academy to assign you into
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this group of garbage commoners . They must apologize to you . How dare they
assign a noble like us to this foul smelling lecture room . . . ” With a look of
disdain, Doneta surveyed the moist and dank lecture room . There were a few
people who glared at Doneta for insulting commoners; however, upon eye
contact, they quickly turned their heads away .
The Hadun family was well known . There were almost no commoners willing
to fight against such a large noble family .
“These insects . ” Doneta’s chilling voice gave the other students goosebumps .
The sincere and respectful attitude he’d had towards Romantica was nowhere
to be seen, as if it had been merely a dream or a passing breeze . He continued
to look around the Beta Class, scrunching his face in pure disgust .
“So what do you want to talk about?” Romantica’s smile trembled ever so
slightly .
Doneta turned back to look at Romantica . Without noticing her, he said, “I’ll get
to the point . I recently joined the Blue Moon party where Senior Elheim is the
leader . And I decided that you, who are exceptionally skilled, should join our
party . ” Doneta’s voice was firm .
“The Blue Moon party?” Romantica tried to remember . She had a gut feeling .
“It’s the school’s greatest party . ” Doneta said . Romantica now realized that she
had just received an offer to join one of the largest Alpha Class parties . It
wasn’t an easy opportunity to get and rarely would anyone see this kind of gift
fall into their laps like this . Romantica opened her mouth to say something, but
Doneta grabbed her hand .
“For recommending you into this party, I hope that we could start dating . ”
After a brief moment of silence, Romantica looked at Doneta in disbelief .
“ . . . What?”
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“I said I wish we could start dating . ”
So, she hadn’t heard him wrong . “Have we met before?” Romantica asked .
“At the entrance exam’s banquet hall . It was love at first sight, Romantica . ”
She forced Doneta to let go of her hand .
“There are no reasons for you to decline, Romantica . ”
“I just need some time to think about it . ”
Doneta’s face wore a dumbfounded expression . “Why?”
“I need some time to think . ”
“Of course, but . . . this is—”
Romantica’s green eyes, which looked like the wind itself, glittered sweetly at
Doneta . “You should give this lady some time to think . If you truly are a polite
gentleman . ”
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A polite gentleman .
Hearing those words, Doneta leaned back . “Ah, of course . Also . . . ” Doneta stood
from his seat .
As Romantica was about to stand up, too, Doneta took something from his
pocket and spread his palm towards Romantica . It was a wooden dagger . “I
hope you would accept this from me . ”
A finely detailed and colorful pattern was etched into it . For a dagger, it was too
thick . It looked almost like a box that was shaped as a dagger .
Romantica thought she could open the lid and her thoughts were correct .
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“It’s a tradition followed in my Kingdom’s military where we gift this Kemubin
to the person we love . ” Pushing the groove of the handle with his fingers, the
knife and the handle separated with a click . At the same time, a smooth golden
chain necklace trickled down from inside the dagger .
Doneta gave the necklace to Romantica .
But, she shook her hands to politely decline . “This is too much . ”
“You don’t have to feel pressured . ” After lightly bidding his farewell, Doneta
headed towards the exit .
As soon as Romantica saw him leave, she went limp . She felt like a tempest had
passed by . But without even a moment’s reprieve, another person approached
her from behind and stopped at her side .
“You surely are popular, Romantica . ”
“Kya!” She yelped . With a crash, Romantica’s chair fell back . She had been lost
in thought, so she did not notice another person’s presence from behind her . It
was her bad habit to yell when she was taken by surprise .
As if untouched by this scene, Desir Arman nonchalantly sat next to her . “I
greeted you five times, but you wouldn’t respond . So, I decided to personally
come to you . ”
Embarrassed, Romantica quickly pulled her chair back to its original spot and
settled back into her seat .
“We first met at the entrance exam . So, I guess it’s been two days since we’ve
met?” Desir said .
“What do you want from me?” Romantica cleared her throat, her face pinched
with annoyance .
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Naturally, Desir was unfazed by it . “I came here to invite you into my party . ”
Party invitation .
She responded back, uninterested . “I have nothing to talk to you about any
party . ”
“Are you declining my invitation because you don’t want to date me? Don’t
worry . I won’t ask you to date me . ”
Romantica scoffed . “Enough with the lame jokes . I’m not in the mood . ”
“If I ask for a reason, would you answer me?” Desir asked .
Romantica sighed . Opening her palm, she showed him the golden chain . “You
see?”
For the first time, Desir lost his usual calm composure as one of his eyes
slightly widened . The lights of the dim, magical lamp flickered, dyeing
Romantica’s hair a bright red .
She blew out a breath . “If you were me, which party would you choose? One of
the largest Alpha Class parties where I’m guaranteed success, or a no-name
Beta Class party?”
Desir knew how sweet Doneta’s offer sounded to her . The Blue Moon party was
one of the few powerful guilds in the academy . Party activities were the main
focus of Hebrion Academy, making the offer even more charming .
She couldn’t decline . There was no reason to decline .
But Desir knew one more thing: choosing The Blue Moon party would be the
worst life decision she could possibly make .
“But you still haven’t decided yet, Romantica . ” Desir’s voice was certain .
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“That’s because . . . I needed some time to think . But thinking about it now, I
made a bad call . Doneta was right . From the beginning, my answer was already
determined . I can’t think of a reason to decline his offer . ”
“Even if you have to date him?” he asked .
“It’s actually more beneficial for me to go out with the Hadun family’s child as
a condition to join the best party . ”
“That’s quite cold and calculating . ” Desir said .
Despite Desir’s sarcasm, Romantica’s decision did not change . Rather than
being shaken, it seemed like her conviction became stronger . “Since we’re done
talking, can you leave?”
‘I guess it can’t be helped . ’ Desir reached into his pocket, feeling as if he was
pulling out a knife, but his hand only held a slip of paper . A letter . Calmly,
Desir passed the letter to Romantica .
However, Romantica tried to get rid of the letter without reading it .
But then Desir spoke . “Best to dispose of that quickly . Though, you should be
more careful with it since it contains all of your secrets . ”
Startled by his sudden declaration, Romantica looked back and forth between
the letter and Desir, now unsure of what to do . Her previous haughty attitude
had vanished, and Romantica sat frozen in place .
Raising his eyebrows, Desir simply urged her on .