"Good afternoon, students," a professor in a tightly fitted red dress suit smiled from the front of the class.
"My name is Professor Gerald, and I'll be your primary instructor and mentor. Any grievances in other classes or between students will be routed through me. Today will be brief as we'll only cover the syllabus, and afterwards everyone can chat before being dismissed."
Meanwhile, at the back of the class, stiff and pale, I sat with shallow breaths. Achlys was still unpleasantly poking at my body, sometimes painfully, and its complaints never ceased.
'Come on, let's find souls to devour!' Achlys whined. 'This is so boring...'
'We're not doing that.'
I winced as it pinched hard and whispered hungrily. 'So you'd rather I devour your soul? I have no problem with that...'
Sucking in air, I exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself and the soft trembling that came when it said that.
'I'll get you food.'
'When?'
'Soon. I need to listen to the syllabus. I know—'
'What kind of food? Most of the souls here are pitiful but there are a few who would satisfy me.'
The dark voice somehow slithered in the direction he was mentioning, toward the hero, William. It gradually moved over the other main protagonists, Scarlette and Marcus.
It couldn't be them. They needed to live to fight the corruption in the later chapters. Marcus, especially, would change in the future and replace the current emperor, leading the nation toward peaceful prosperity.
'Any of those would satisfy me for years. You wouldn't have to worry about your soul for some time.' I glanced down and saw it grinning maliciously. 'A phantom pain that never fades. Dull, consistent, and maddening.'
'Not them! I have others in mind but I need to focus right now!'
'Tsk.'
I wasn't lying either. I may have forgotten some of the details or perhaps details had changed, even simple settings.
Nothing had changed, though, about the academy. Two years with two semesters and an extended summer for students to return home and manage their respective territories. It worked for commoners, too, who needed to return home to help with the harvest or summer duties before fall and winter.
William Crest would spend his first summer clearing dungeons and obtaining items from more dangerous ones that put his life at risk.
'Their relationship is already sour,' I thought, watching Prince Marcus try to greet Astra only to be brushed off.
Astra Frost couldn't return home due to the distance. Prince Marcus would ask her to accompany him to the palace so he could win her over but instead, she would fight alongside William, growing stronger and gradually becoming more attached to him.
So what was the point of me? Was I some magical game changer that would stop the deaths of his companions or save innocent lives?
No.
I was stuck in a survival situation and the best idea I could come up with now was to eat the souls of the villains before the Hero's party killed them.
'But that creates more problems. A lack of trials and tribulations for the hero. Will he become strong enough without them or do I have to swoop in last second to steal the kill, or soul, each time?'
'I'll definitely be attacked by the Hero's Party.'
I groaned loudly as salivary sounds echoed in my mind again.
'You could consume this soul next to you. Her soul would satisfy me.'
'Who?'
Wearing long, slender robes, with dark hair, a lady sat next to him. Equally bored, her expression read, 'When will this be over?'
'Clara?' I blinked.
'You know her too. Interesting...'
'Crap.' Even though I didn't speak to Achlys, it sensed my shift in demeanor.
She was the daughter of Gaius Magnus and wasn't supposed to appear in the Academy Arc until the Heroic Party set off. She was disciplined, arrogant, and a magical genius. In fact, if it weren't for her clearing waves of demons flooding out of the demonic castle's gates, I doubted William could've confronted the demon king.
"Do we know each other?" she asked, surprising me further because she wasn't looking at me.
"No?"
"Then look somewhere else."
"...You don't want to get to know each other?"
Clara sighed. "Not really. I'm just waiting for this to be over."
"Are you sick?" she asked, peering at my pale complexion.
"No," I faked a smile. "Just a little nervous."
She snorted and returned her attention to the front of the class. Her good trait, as I remembered, was that she cared about the well-being of others after her mother died. Her involvement in the Heroic Party, however, was compulsory because of her father's will.
"And that concludes today's syllabus!" Gerald announced. "Before we leave today, if you haven't already introduced yourself to the person next to you, please do so now and reveal your summoned creatures! That is all!"
A miniature red dragon plopped itself on Marcus's shoulder and a phoenix hovered behind Scarlette. A white wolf hopped up on Astra's desk but nothing appeared on William's or my desk.
Well, more specifically, I couldn't reveal mine.
Turning my head back to Clara, a griffin nestled itself atop her head while she smirked.
"You're summonless? That makes two in this class and both are commoners." Clara mocked, pointing down at William who gave an embarrassed smile to Astra. "He has a reputation from the front line. What's your excuse?"
"Psh. I'm just such a badass that I don't need a summon."
"Uh-huh. Well you won't survive long without a summoned creature. Every mage needs a protector when casting powerful magic. You can't synergize to create stronger spells without one either!"
"I guess that means I'm a lesser version of William if I'm not in the front seat. My entry exam grades were good enough to get me in though." I shrugged at the end.
'Achlys is very strong. Too bad I can't use it willy-nilly. For now, I need to test my powers. I don't know how strong Mephitis is without using Achlys...'
"Just drop out," Clara sighed, standing and gathering her things. "You'll only get hurt if you stay here."
"I'll keep that in mind."