Chapter 96

Chapter 21: Practical Class (1)

The incident during the freshmen's first field study caused a temporary uproar at the academy. The Countess, the mother of the missing Rade, rushed to the academy and made a scene in the principal's office, and a funeral was held for the knights who did not return. Professor Cartin took responsibility for the accident with a three-month suspension, and the students who returned safely boasted about their experience to their friends. And I became a celebrity in various ways. When I entered the lecture hall for class or walked down the hallway, students who had deliberately ignored me before started whispering about me. Some students approached me out of curiosity to hear my story, and the number of students who disliked me increased due to my newfound fame. It was a joint lecture for the first-year Knight Department and Inherited Ability Department. "There's a student glaring at Prince Alex. You've gained another enemy." Varya whispered, covering her mouth. Briah, who was in front of me, tried to suppress a laugh at her words. Although some students began to treat me differently, others treated me as they always had. Pia, after thanking me that day, started avoiding me again, and Briah requested sparring sessions just as before. The princess, uncharacteristically, maintained a strange distance from me, and my brother Manuel hung out with the children of the great nobles as if nothing had happened. Varya, on the other hand, stuck by my side, teasing me with her words. It seemed I had made a bad contract. I should have included a clause to silence her. She was friendly with other students but showed a completely different side to me. Was it because there was no need to hide, or because I was the enemy of her father, or was she just annoyed by the contract? I couldn't figure out what she was thinking. The problem was that she knew exactly how far she could push me without crossing the line. Plus, she was actually helpful, so I had to tolerate her. The first-year Knight Department and Inherited Ability Department gathered in the largest training ground at the academy for a joint lecture. Several professors stood at the front. Professor Cartin stood with the other Knight Department professors, and the professor speaking now was Professor Niel, who had been in charge of our group during the field study. "Today's joint lecture is to prepare for the upcoming practical class." Professor Niel looked completely different from how she appeared in the field study. She now seemed like a cool and charismatic professor, not the biased and distorted educator she had been for the princess. "I'm sure all of you have experienced the field study at the Sealed Land. You felt the thick mana, fought against monsters, and the groups that failed had to stay there for a week to survive." The students, lined up in the training ground, glanced at the students who had failed and me. Although the attention was less intense than when we first returned, it seemed impossible for things to return to normal. "You might think it was a great experience, but in fact, that class was just a 'field study'." Some of the students who had failed and a few others showed signs of dissatisfaction at Professor Niel's words, feeling that their hardships were being dismissed. "It was a kind of Sealed Land trip, including administrative department students, to learn about the Sealed Land and how to deal with monsters." However, the professor continued to explain in detail with a calm face. "What our kingdom and our academy want from the Inherited Ability Department and Knight Department students is not travelers but combatants who can actually fight monsters." She snapped her fingers toward the front. Bang! The air exploded above the students' heads. "In a few weeks, there will be a 'practical class' where you will engage in large-scale battles. You will fight large numbers of monsters in the Sealed Land with your upperclassmen from the 2nd and 3rd years." I knew it would be a practical class with upperclassmen, but the thought of being singled out again as a bastard made me sigh. "This is not a trip or a lecture but a 'practical' class. Several students will be injured or even die." Professor Niel instilled fear in the students. "From today until the 'practical class,' the lectures for the Knight Department and Inherited Ability Department will focus on preparing for real combat." The joint lecture for the Knight Department and Inherited Ability Department showed me how large-scale battles actually took place in this world. I also understood why awakened Inherited Ability users became nobles and why knights served such nobles. Just as the Knight Department students had protected the front during the field study, the entire Knight Department formed the front line, while the Inherited Ability Department students gathered behind them to attack the enemy in their respective fields. The difference between knights and ability users became clear as the numbers increased. The knights, who fought enemies one-on-one at close range, could not compare to the Inherited Ability users who performed wide-area attacks and various abilities from a distance. Of course, the Knight Department students at the academy were awakened Inherited Ability users, but they still had to fight monsters one-on-one with swords or other close-range weapons. Their role was to hold off the monsters until the other Inherited Ability users could deal with them, so their abilities were inevitably overshadowed by those of the Inherited Ability Department, much like ordinary knights. As a result, the Inherited Ability Department students were very proud after the class, while the Knight Department students left silently with gloomy faces. I was actually glad about this atmosphere. The attention directed at me had visibly decreased. No one was approaching Pia, and the princess was also quiet. Thanks to the gold coins I obtained from the Sealed Land, my life at the academy became more comfortable, and I found it increasingly satisfying. "It would have been great if the map and the seal ring had been useful..." I searched the royal academy library, which was said to have the most books in the kingdom, and tried to gather information without being noticed, but I still couldn't determine the exact location of the ruins marked on the map or the effects of the seal ring. The Cheifrey family, the original owners of the map and the seal ring, would certainly know the approximate location of the ruins and the use of the seal ring. However, it seemed impossible to uncover these secrets without revealing that I had the two items. "Well, if I just give up my greed, there won't be any problems." To achieve my original goal of a peaceful and safe academy life, it might be better to keep the two items in my pocket without knowing their uses. As the days passed with the preparation for the 'practical class,' the day to return to the Sealed Land was just around the corner. * * * At the same time, people in the royal palace were discussing the 'practical class' of the royal academy. Two people were having a conversation on a terrace with a view of the entire capital. They were the first and second princes, who were in opposition for the throne. They met here because the second prince had called his brother for an important matter. Despite meeting alone after a long time, their conversation felt more like that of enemies about to fight than brothers. "What do you want to talk about?" "A member of a baron family visited me yesterday." "A baron?" "Baron Cheifrey himself came." The first prince growled at his brother's words. "Are you calling me to brag that Baron Cheifrey is on your side?" The second prince sighed at the first prince's immediate anger. He had to be the next king because of his brother's reckless and fiery temper, which would surely lead to the country's downfall within a few years. "It might be bragging, but that's not why I called you." The second prince wasn't a good person either. The first prince's anger flared up again at his brother's sarcastic words but decided to hold back since there was another reason. "The Cheifrey family has been searching for a ruin for hundreds of years. It's a ruin marked on a map that an ancestor brought back from the Sealed Land." "What? A ruin?" The first prince's anger subsided at the mention of a ruin that had been sought for hundreds of years. The second prince relayed the story Baron Cheifrey had told him to the first prince, including the loss of the map 50 years ago and the recent disappearance of his son. "They had figured out the location of the ruin 50 years ago, but after losing the map and two family members, they almost gave up on finding it." The disappearance of his son during the 'field study' was a common occurrence, and the first prince didn't know about it until Baron Cheifrey mentioned it. "So, you're bringing me information about the ruin?" "They say they are offering it to the kingdom, but it's not really for the kingdom's benefit." The first prince snorted at the mention of the kingdom. "They wouldn't have brought it if the king hadn't been close to passing away. It's a gift to align with you." "That's right. But since the ruin is in the Sealed Land, it's difficult for me to handle it alone." The second prince wanted to take it all for himself if he could, but he lacked the power. "You're asking me to put pressure on the academy." "As you know, we need the academy's magic circle to move to the Sealed Land. Leading a knight regiment there would lead to a war with other countries." "Pressure... You're still overreaching, aren't you?" The first prince sneered at the second prince. "The king hasn't passed away yet. To command the academy, we need the order of the crown prince, which is me." "That's true. Baron Cheifrey is clever. Since the information would eventually reach me, he's hedging his bets." The second prince shrugged at the first prince's words. He knew this would happen. However, since Baron Cheifrey didn't go to the first prince first, he had ultimately aligned with the second prince. "Is the academy still preparing for the 'practical class'?" "Yes. We can proceed with it in conjunction with this practical class." "You'll have your nobles participate." "You can have yours participate as well. We can jointly manage the ruin and the first to find the artifacts can keep them." The first prince thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I'll send the royal knight regiment. It's better for it to be the property of the royal family for the kingdom's benefit." The first prince wasn't stupid. It would be advantageous for him as the crown prince if it belonged to the royal family. However, it was difficult to oppose this. "Well, if that's what you want, I'll go along with it." The second prince was confident. Fortunately, not everything had been revealed, so if things went well, he could still turn it to his advantage. With a rough conclusion, the first prince thought of his younger sister. "Right. Isn't Aisha at the academy?" "She entered as a freshman this year." "So, she'll participate in the practical class." "Yes, but why are you asking about Aisha? She's struggling with the abilities she inherited from the queen." The first prince laughed bitterly at the second prince's words. "What a joke. You're thinking about that? You're only thinking about playing tricks behind the scenes. Anyway, with Aisha there, it will be interesting." "I'll prepare accordingly." The two brothers ended their conversation and immediately turned their backs on each other.