The Novel's Professor

Inside a wide spacious room, all the First Year students grouped together. Some students stood, frowning in nervousness. Other students merely relaxed themselves as they waited patiently.

Arcuied walked leisurely through the room — approaching a group of students. His footsteps echoed, alarming the group of students to stare at him. He stopped, scratching his head awkwardly as he apologized. "Uh...sorry, I'm late?"

"Tsk. You better be sorry," A burly male student wearing glasses replied, clicking his tongue in annoyance. The student was wearing the academy's uniform.

Arcuied averted his eyes, feeling embarrassed. He couldn't blame them if they were angry. He practically didn't reply nor answer to any of their messages during the past week. In his defense, he didn't even know that he had a group, much less know of its members.

"Thomas!" A red haired female student shouted, her face frowning — but with her baby face features, she seemed rather cute than angry.

"But..! Elise!" Thomas clenched his fist, feeling anger. "Just because he's a genius doesn't mean that he can just ignore his team members! What if we fail, huh?!"

Elise struggled to open her mouth. In the end, she went silent as she lowered her head.

"Now, now, calm down Thomas." Beside Elise, a beautiful and elegant deep voice resounded. The other female student spoke up, her eyes staring at Arcuied. "I'm sure our dear Team Leader Arcuied didn't mean to ignore us, right?"

Arcuied shifted his stare, noticing the last member of his group. It was a girl — a beautiful and elegant girl. The female student was a noble, no doubt. Her mannerisms were graceful and charming. Adding in with the odd, ashen white hair similar to his, she looked to be the ideal image of sophistication.

"Alright, just because it's you, Sophia." Thomas muttered, his head shaking as he stared at Arcuied in distaste.

"...Right, I am extremely sorry for such negligence on my part." Arcuied bowed. He raised his head as he stared at the noblewoman student. He asked. "If you wouldn't mind me asking, what's your name, my lady?"

"Me? My name is Sophia Skye," Sophia raised her brows, staring at Arcuied in interest. "The second daughter of the Skye Family."

He hadn't heard of that name before...Arcuied shook his head, internally cursing at himself for not paying attention to public matters more. Before the academy — all he did was fighting, all the while ignoring every public matter.

Arcuied raised his head, staring at Sophia blankly... Oh right, did he hear that one correctly? He asked: "...Did you say I was the Team Leader?"

"..You don't know?" Sophia frowned. This was their team leader? Perhaps she was just reaching early conclusions...but how unreliable. "Just where were you in the past weekend?"

"Uh...I was holed up in the hospital," Arcuied replied, averting his eyes awkwardly. It was not like he wanted to be there. He didn't really want to get holed up in the hospital — the slightest rest and break made him anxious for the future.

"Huh? Hospital, why?" The three other members looked at him blankly, confused. They didn't hear that...why didn't the academy notify them so?

"Remember that disaster on the Harrowing Lands..?" Arcuied answered, his eyes shifting to the group. "As luck would have it, me and Eugene were coincidentally in the area where the disaster strook."

As soon as his words dropped, a heavy silence dropped in the atmosphere. The silence stretched. No one was saying anything. Besides their group, several students stared in disbelief at his words.

Arcuied tilted his head, confused. His eyes darted around the room, noticing the several stares directed at him. He asked:

"Uh...did I say something wrong?"

The other three members stared at him, their expressions, quite frankly, horrified. Thomas took a step back, distancing himself. Elise widened her eyes in disbelief — her body shuddering. Sophia froze before regaining her calm as she chuckled.

"Is there something funny?" Arcuied asked, frowning as he stared at Sophia.

"No, no... we were just shocked that you were part of that disaster," Sophia replied, her smile twitching. "...Quite frankly, that is hard to believe. That disaster took several Rank C and D victims... so for a Rank E student like us to survive...how?"

"Luck, I would say." Arcuied answered, his hand running down on his back from embarrassment. "For the most part, I was unconscious and asleep. I only realized that I was alive when I woke up in the hospital in the past week."

"Even then, such experience must be terrible..." Sophia commented, her head bowing as she apologized. "We're sorry for not visiting you...or much less, understading why you were not responding. Sincerely."

"..H-hey, it's alright." Arcuied smiled awkwardly. It was no one's fault. If it was anyone's fault, it was to him — he kept practicing too much in the club he forgot the exam.

"No!" Thomas suddenly shouted — his body dropping to the ground as he smacked his head beneath. "Truly, I am sorry, Arcuied! I thought you dismissed our group merely by your arrogance! It turned out..."

"Hey, hey, I told you it's fine..." Arcuied said, putting his hand on Thomas. Internally, he was appalled by the sudden personality change. "Instead, let's just reintroduce ourselves to one another. My name is Arcuied Valens. I don't think...I have a lineage."

"..Think?" Sophia muttered strangely. She shook her head, stepping forward as she spoke with a smile. "I've already introduced myself but... I am Sophia Skye, second daughter of Skye Family."

"My name is Elise Ember, the third daughter of the Ember House." Elise bowed her head politely. Her eyes were still widened in disbelief — not being able to manage her calm on the news.

Thomas grabbed Arcuied's hand, standing up as he neatly pattered his clothes — removing the dust. He raised his head, bowing. "My name is Thomas, Thomas Alverdille. I have no lineage whatsoever! I am but a common civilian!"

"Alright, now that we introduced each other... do you guys know when will the exam start?" Arcuied asked, shifting his stare in the middle of the room. In the middle, a large object was covered by a thick leather, covering its appearance.

...That object had been there for a while. Many were curious — but no one was stupid enough to act upon their curiosity.

Sophia was about to reply — but the entrance of the room suddenly opened loudly. Arcuied shifted his stare, alarmed from the loud noise. Every student stopped what they were doing and directed their stare on the door — spotting a burly figure enter with several people behind their back.

The figure was a burly, muscular blonde haired man. Arcuied squinted his eyes, staring at the man. The figure looked familiar... Aha! He finally remembered who the man was.

It was the Deputy Head of Examinations, Professor Guile.

"Long time no see, First Years!" Guile shouted, his hand spreading as he walked to the middle of the room. "It's been a while since we last saw each other, huh? I'm sure everyone here is bored with nothing happening recently, right?"

The students had mixed reactions. Some were perfectly happy with the boresome events in the academy — while others nodded in agreement, feeling impatient to learn something befitting of a Miracle Invoker.

"Well, worry no longer! It's time for you kids to finally learn an extremely valuable lesson!" Guile chuckled, his hand holding over the thick leather covering the large item in the middle. He was about to pull it off, however he stopped.

Behind him, the several followers stood still — their eyes covered by black sunglasses as they waited for Guile's orders.

Everyone furrowed their brows, confused.

From the corner, Eugene closed his eyes as his lips curled into a smirk. He stared at the smartwatch on his wrist, muttering, "It's time. The reason why the Volund Academy is not only the best but also the most horrible academy at the same time..."

"However...before all that, you guys did remember the Mock Test we had, right?" Guile asked, his brows raising in interest.

The students nodded strangely, feeling an ominous sensation. What does have to do with this test?

"Perfect! It took us weeks. Well, it got delayed because of a sudden disaster—but overall, we finished the analysis." Guile continued, snapping his fingers. "Good to say, results have come out."

As soon as the finger snap echoed — countless beeps suddenly resounded in the room. Every student was startled, their body taking a step back as they stared at the sudden hologram projected from their smartwatch.

"...What is this?" Arcuied asked, taking a step back as he stared at the hologram infront of him. A blue-colored screen formed infront — showcasing his three dimensional figure holding a sword.

[Name: Arcuied Valens

Year: First Year

Rank: Peak Rank E

Profession: Martial Artists, Swordsman

Volund Ranking: Rank 300.]

From the corner of the room, Eugene stared at his own hologram. He muttered. "Rank 301..? Not bad. Second best of the entire First Year."

"Volund Ranking...?" The students collectively muttered, their eyes filled with confusion. Volund Ranking? What was that?

"Correct, Volund Ranking!" Guile nodded, his voice resounding in the room. "It's the direct representation of how much value the academy sees in you, combined with the whole student campus."

Everyone, aside from the notable nobles, was confused — staring at their profile status in bewilderment. Direct representation...?

One student in particular — having classy, neatly trimmed black hair stepped forward and asked. "Why is mine on Rank 500?"

"..What are you asking specifically?" Guile asked, his eyes shifting to the student. "The total rankings within the academy are up to Rank 600."

"I'm not sure you understand..." The student shook their head, continuing. "To make it clearer — why am I Rank 500? Isn't this severe understatement of my talent?"

"..Are you saying the academy made a mistake, Mr. Fulgier?" Guile frowned. "I'll make it as simple as it gets. The ranking is what the academy sees on you. Your number is the direct representation of your value."

"Then, another question.." Fulgier asked, his attention never leaving Guile. "What's the importance of this Volund Ranking?"

Guile stared at the student for a while. A tense, oppressive atmosphere descended to the room — Fulgier averted his eyes, feeling sweat pour down on his body.

Suddenly, Guile laughed — his hand landing over his stomach as he uncontrollably chuckled. A while later, the laughter died out. He shook his head, sighing.

"Oh boy, you guys are really ignorant, aren't you? The Volund Rankings is the real basis on whether you would get to 'graduate early' or stay in the academy for another year."

Fulgier frowned, his face hardening as he asked: "...Pardon?"

"Well, you see..." Guile stared at every student in the room, his eyes closing as he smiled cruelly. "The last 150 students on the Rankings would get expelled next year."

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