After Mr. Parker finished saying what he wanted to say, the room fell into the usual quiet for a few seconds as he started his class. The only sounds were the scratching of pens on paper and the faint hum of the overhead lights. Nothing special happened during the regular morning lessons; the sun just slowly moved across the floor until the clock finally reached 2 pm. It was time for lunch.
As Nova entered the canteen, the air was thick with the smell of fried oil and the steam rising from hundreds of plates. He saw that a new counter had opened at the far end, tucked away from the main crowd. Not many people were standing in that line because there were so few students in the special class. He stood in the short line for about twenty seconds, the cold metal of his student ID in his hand. He slid it into the scanner, which gave a sharp, electronic beep to verify his status. He took his tray—the plate feeling heavier than usual—and sat down at a quiet table near the window.
While eating, he remembered what Mr. Parker had said. The routine given to them was actually just a suggestion from the world government; it was not a fixed rule and could be changed depending on the situation. Nova had been thinking about this the whole time during class. He didn't really need to pay attention to the lectures anymore. The school syllabus was already finished, so the teachers were mainly doing two things: letting students solve questions to test their knowledge or explaining doubts. For Nova, it was a waste of time. He could answer every question easily and had no doubts to ask.
He remembered how, right as the morning classes ended, he didn't head to the canteen with everyone else. Instead, he walked down the quiet hallway toward Mr. Parker's office. He entered the room, where the air smelled like old paper and dried ink, and stood in front of the worn wooden desk.
Mr. Parker looked up and said he had been expecting him. He knew Nova was there to request permission to skip regular classes since they were a waste of his time. After all, Nova always came first in liberal arts in the entire school. Mr. Parker told him he had already talked to the principal and granted the permission. He told Nova he could now use that time to meditate or practice his combat techniques until the special class started.
Nova had nodded as if he would do exactly that. But in his heart, he thought about his trash talent. He knew he wouldn't improve much even if he meditated for two months straight. The only way for him to upgrade was through the system. For that, he needed points, and to get those points, he planned to head outside the city walls to hunt monsters until the special class began.
Now, back in the present time, Nova chewed the tough, aura-rich meat. It had a faint, metallic taste that left a spark of warmth in his chest. He watched the dust dancing in the afternoon light coming through the window, his mind already moving past the city gates.
After lunch, the next thing on the schedule was the special class. Nova finished eating, and just as he was about to stand up to return his tray, he saw Jack approaching from across the canteen. Jack was coming toward him with his lackeys, a vicious look in his eyes. Nova didn't take him seriously. He simply stood up and started walking toward the counter to return his tray, the plastic clattering softly against the other stacked dishes in the return window.
Jack came close to Nova, but before he could say anything nasty, Nova quickly offered his hand for a handshake. Seeing this, Jack's words got stuck in his throat and his face turned murderous. He leaned in and said in a low voice, like a growling beast, that Nova would pay for this. Nova thought in his heart that this guy definitely was not up to anything good, though he knew that as long as they were inside the city, Jack couldn't openly send people after his life. Without giving Jack any more attention, Nova walked into the classroom with a swagger.
Jack entered a few minutes after him, and immediately, the room was filled with the sound of students whispering and looking at him. Nova sat down in his chair, which felt cool against his back, and looked at Albert, wondering what the stir was about.
Albert smiled at Nova and asked if he wanted to know what happened while he was enjoying his meal. When Nova asked for the details, Albert leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone. He said some students had heard loud noises coming from the principal's office, and then Jack had walked out with a cold, angry face. Now everyone was discussing it.
Albert told him he had a good guess about what happened inside, and it was likely because of the special class. Jack always comforted himself with the idea that while Nova was the number one student in liberal arts, he had no talent for martial arts. In Jack's head, being a Rank 1 Awakened made him better than Nova. Of course, he chose to forget that his own talent was also trash; he only reached that rank after his family spent millions of alliance coins. It was the kind of result that anyone with even low talent could do better with the same amount of money.
But now that Nova had reached Rank 3 in the Awakened Realm, Jack's last bit of self-hallucination was broken. He couldn't take it anymore and had barged into the principal's office to demand he be admitted into the special class since he also had a cultivation rank. He had been rejected before, since the principal wasn't an idiot who would admit someone with such poor talent. Jack didn't really need the school's resources, but he wanted to enroll just to save his pride.
Naturally, the principal rejected him again. This guy then tried to bribe the principal, and when that didn't work, he actually tried to threaten him. As Albert explained this, he started to laugh, the sound echoing slightly in the classroom. He pointed out that Jack's family was just an empty shell now, and since the school was backed by the government, bribing or threatening would never work. Aside from that, the fact that a Rank 1 trash tried to threaten a Rank 3 Supernatural Realm warrior was just stupid.
Albert said the guy was incredibly foolish, though he almost admired his courage for being that dumb. Then, Albert started to laugh so hard that tears began to come out of his eyes, his shoulders shaking as he tried to catch his breath.
Albert said it was just his speculation, but he said it with a 100% confidence on his face that suggested every word was the absolute truth. Nova believed him without a second thought. He knew that despite Albert looking like a little bit of a dumb guy on the outside, he actually had an incredibly sharp mind for connecting the dots.
The classroom was still buzzing with the sound of students talking about Jack, while the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the desks. Nova leaned back, watching Albert finally stop laughing and wipe the tears from his eyes.
Mr. Parker entered the classroom, the door creaking slightly on its hinges. He looked over at the students and announced that the special class students should go down to the training room to attend their class, while the normal students were to stay for self-study. After saying that, he left the room. The class fell silent for a few seconds, and then everyone started on their work. Some people opened their textbooks to read, some started solving practice questions, and others sat in groups to discuss the topics in the text.
Nova watched this and thought about his classmates. For those without talent for cultivation, their only chance was to rely on their liberal arts exam scores to get into a college known for research and science. That was the only prestigious path they could take without cultivation. Nova took a breath, the scent of old paper and ink filling the air, and thought about how he was no longer like the others. With a system, he could do many things they couldn't.
While the rest of the class stayed behind, a few students stood up to leave. Nova and Albert stood up as well and walked out behind the other special class students. They walked past a few stone buildings and into the heart of the school where the warrior facilities were located. The air here felt different, smelling faintly of sweat and ozone.
In the middle of the open ground, students were already standing in groups, and others were arriving from various third-year classes. Without saying anything, Nova and Albert took a spot in the back. It wasn't that Nova didn't want to talk, but no one knew him very well yet, so he simply stood with Albert and waited for things to unfold under the bright afternoon sun.