The place was divided neatly into two halves. On the far side stood rows of equipment, robotic dummies that whirred faintly in standby mode, archery targets lined up in rows, racks of training tools. On the other side, a sea of students crowded together, buzzing with nervous chatter.
All of them were first-years like me.
I hesitated for a moment, watching. The air was thick with half-excited, half-anxious energy, the kind of atmosphere that came before an important test.
Friends stuck close to one another, trading reassurances, nervous jokes, even last-minute strategies. Meanwhile, I stood alone.
Alone. The word pressed down on me more heavily than usual.
Not that I minded being by myself most of the time, it had its perks, but in this moment, surrounded by so many clusters of voices, laughter, and whispers, the space around me felt… hollow.
I tried to ignore it. But then, I noticed a subtle shift ripple through the crowd.
Heads turned. Eyes fixed toward the far corner of the room. Conversations died mid-sentence as people leaned, craned their necks, trying to get a better look at something, or rather, someone.
I couldn't see clearly at first with so many bodies blocking my view. My curiosity got the better of me, so I pushed through, weaving between students until I finally caught sight of what had stolen their attention.
It was her. My seatmate. The same girl who had ignored me multiple times without the slightest hesitation. The one who hadn't even spared me a glance when I tried to be friendly as possible.
I frowned, brows knitting together. Sure, she was undeniably beautiful, too perfect in that polished, untouchable kind of way, but was that really enough to freeze an entire room like this? To have all eyes drawn to her as if she carried her own gravity?
It didn't make sense.
I turned to the boy standing beside me. He was staring at her with the same awe-struck look as everyone else, practically drooling.
I nudged him with my elbow and asked quietly,
"Who is she?"
The boy blinked, startled, then gave me a confused look.
"… Who?"
I pointed directly at her.
"That girl. Why is everyone staring at her?"
His expression twisted, like I had just asked him the dumbest question in the world.
"Do you live under a rock or something? You really don't know who she is?"
I shook my head, completely serious.
"No. I don't."
He groaned, dragging a hand down his face, then gave me a look like I'd just confessed I was an alien pretending to be human.
Finally, he leaned closer and whispered, his voice carrying the kind of reverence people reserved for legends.
"That's Yara Wall. The youngest daughter of the Wall family. Her father isn't just any guild leader, he's the number one guild master in the entire world. Not only that, but he's also a ranked hero. Rank one. The strongest man alive."
The words slammed into me like a physical blow.
My chest tightened, and I nearly clutched at my heart.
That wasn't news, neither a bad news, it was a death sentence in the form of a news.
Memories of every single interaction I'd had with her flashed through my mind. The words I said to her. Her irritation towards me. The fact that I'd even annoyed her.
I had been casually playing with fire. No, worse. I had been walking blindfolded through a room filled with explosives while smoking a cigarette.
I gulped.
That girl could end me, end my entire future here, if she so much as raised her hand. With a family like that behind her, she wouldn't even need to try.
The academy wouldn't protect me, infact they would be the one to expel me.
The system wouldn't be able protect me either. I even wouldn't be able to help myself from myself in anyway either.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry as sandpaper.
I hadn't been annoying a classmate. I had been poking at the daughter of the number one guild leader in the world. The daughter of the strongest man alive.
My hand tightened around the hilt of my katana. I steadied my breath, and forced myself to stand still, blending back into the crowd as best as I could, but my pulse wouldn't slow.
This assessment had already been nerve-wracking enough. Now, it felt like walking into a battlefield with a blade pressed against my neck before the fight even began.