“Hey, Cedric! Over here!”

Cedric turned to towards the sound and saw Erica and Chrissy waving at him. A smile appeared on his face as he started walking towards them.

He sat down in between them and said: “Hey, girls. How are you?”

“Good now that you’re here.” Chrissy chuckled while hooking an arm on his.

“You know, I didn’t expect that you’d be this fierce,” Erica admitted, gazing at him admiringly. “I thought you were just confident enough to pass. To think that you’d sit firmly at the top spot in such a domineering fashion…not bad!”

“Oh, stop it, Babes.” Chrissy snorted on the side, “Just admit that our friend over here is a bonafide bigshot and you just can’t compare.”

“That’s what I said!” Erica protested.

“Alright, stop fighting,” Cedric interjected. “What’s important is that I got in. Though the privileges brought by being 1st is nice, not gonna lie.”

“Yeah, you got a dorm with the size of a penthouse and a huge AP allowance each month.” Chrissy stated, “Anybody would be envious of that, trust me. Your batch might not yet realize it but you will soon.”

“Hmm, I think I have a clue.” Cedric hummed, “Though, I suppose you wouldn’t mind telling more, hm?”

“You wish!” Chrissy chuckled playfully.

“Weren’t you the one who said that you want to experience it for yourself? Suffer, then.” Erica laughed next to him.

Cedric smiled wryly but he didn’t feel disappointed. He already expected that they wouldn’t tell him that easily and he’s fine with that.

“Be careful though.” Chrissy’s tone turned serious at this point. “Since you received that much, you will also be receiving attention. Sir Orion must’ve already revealed this but others can replace you.”

“That’s right. Your batchmates will start targetting you.” Erica added, “If you want to keep those things for yourself, you can’t afford to be lazy. That would be a sin in this place.”

“That said, given the gap you established, you wouldn’t have to be worried so long as you’re making some effort.”

“Yeah, the gap between you and the 2nd place is already large. That guy would need a lot of time to catch up to you at the very least, and if he’s already like that, you’re other batchmates might as well forget about it.” Erica concluded.

“…speaking from experience?” Cedric asked them.

“She’s at the 5th place in our batch. I was at 3rd.” Chrissy revealed.

“Oh?” Cedric looked surprised. This was the first time he’d heard this. “So you’re the Faries of your batch? Damn, aren’t I in trouble then? I – a freshman hanging out with ladies of your caliber?”

“Gee, stop it!” Chrissy flirtatiously hit his arms and Erica just laughed. “Seriously though, there shouldn’t be any trouble. You said it yourself, you’re just a Freshman. Your Seniors wouldn’t give you a hard time for now.”

“Though that changes once you become a Sophomore,” Erica added on the side. Chrissy turned silent at her statement which gave Cedric a foreboding feeling.

That said, that’s irrelevant to him right now. Like they said, he’s just a freshman.

“So you girls are that confident that I will certainly become a Sophomore? Wow, thanks.”

“Oh, stop kidding yourself.” Chrissy snorted. “You’re already strong enough to fight us evenly. Seriously, what kind of a freak are you?”

“Yeah! You have a matured Sword Intent, an insane speed that almost rivals ours, and freakishly strong instincts and willpower all while you’re in Tier 3. If you can’t become a Sophomore here, you might as well forget about the world of Superhumans.”

Erica’s words might sound harsh but it’s the truth, not just in this place but anywhere. And of all the people who knew this already, Cedric understood it the most.

“Anyway, what subjects did you take?” Chrissy asked curiously, changing the topic.

“Here…” Cedric chose show instead of tell.

The girls looked at his system interface and looked as if what they saw made sense.

“Damn, you’re already eligible for Sword Path as expected. I bet this was ‘highly suggested’ to you by the staff, am I right?”

“Yeah, it was.” Cedric chuckled, “In bold and italics, too.”

“I’d do the same if I were them.” Chrissy mumbled, “It’s a waste to teach you basics given that you already have a matured Sword Intent.”

“You have to be careful though.” Erica suddenly turned serious. “While this might be a good thing for you, your classmates might think of the opposite.”

“Ooh, yup. You better be on the lookout for that.” Chrissy added on the side.

“…let me guess, they will attempt to ostracize me because my talent makes them feel insecure?”

“Bullseye.” Erica sighed as she confirmed his guess. “That’s just how humans are, I suppose. Besides, the Instructors won’t interfere in friction between students no matter the seniority.”

“They wouldn’t dare to make any blatant moves against you because, like we said, you’re just a Freshman. But that’s also exactly why you should be wary because they will be sneaky about it.” Erica concluded.

“I see.” Cedric nodded, “Well, thanks for warning me then. I’d be careful, don’t worry.”

“…I see that they suggested the ‘Etiquette’ class to you.” Chrissy pointed out.

“Actually, I’m confused about that.” Cedric admitted, “Are my actions really that unsavory for them to suggest this class to me? Am I?”

Unexpectedly, Chrissy started laughing at his obvious distress. Even Erica let out a few snorts after hearing it.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just funny, you see.” Chrissy let her laughter taper before replying to him. “But that’s not it, trust me.”

“Okay, if that’s not it, then what is it? Why make this suggestion?”

“It’s because you’re you,” Erica replied.

“That means…?”

“Honey, you’re way too talented.” Chrissy clarified. “By now, almost everyone here knows of you. In a sense, you’re already famous. Not to mention…”

Chrissy then traced his jaws with her delicate fingers before continuing: “…you’re hot as fuck. Like ‘Sex on legs’ level of hotness. What? Do you think that covering half of your face with a mask would prevent them from seeing what’s beneath it? That’s naive.”

“…I still don’t see your point, thanks for the compliment, though.”

Chrissy chuckled before saying: “With that face and talent of yours, it is inevitable that you would, one day, meet with really important folks. In fact, I’m almost certain that you’d be dragged into politics even before you graduated here.”

“This is the academy’s way of grooming/preparing you for things like that. After all, a student of your caliber must at least know some basic etiquette, don’t you think so too?”

Cedric blinked before finally understanding it. He chuckled hollowly as thought that he should’ve expected something like this.

“Well, it’s a good thing I enrolled in it then.” Cedric relented.

Indeed, his being dragged to those exhausting events was already certain. Now he could really see why they suggested him to learn etiquette.

Cedric continued talking with Chrissy and Erica. The girls gave him some perspective and warnings about certain things to help him without revealing anything substantially. He appreciated it a lot of course.

As he hung out with them, Cedric was also paying attention to his surroundings. Earlier, when he jokingly asked if he should be worried since he’s hanging out with them, he had a reason to say it.

Cedric discovered a few unfriendly gazes in their direction, more specifically, toward him. With his field of senses, he was able to locate where they were coming from and analyze why he was getting this kind of malice.

He figured that Chrissy and Erica should have a rather exuberant reputation here. When he called them ‘Faries’, he did it because he heard it from some jealous guy mumbling at a distance while shooting glares at him.

Perhaps it might be because of envy or jealousy. It might also be because of some form of self-entitlement or stupidity. Either way, Cedric didn’t mind. After all, even in this place, there would be no lack of people like that.

After spending hours with them, Chrissy suddenly asked if she could visit his ‘dorm’. Of course, with Cedric being that guy, he understood what she was trying to do. Erica made it obvious too.

Well, who was he to deny such a request?

On their way back, he discovered a few people tailing them. He didn’t call them out though, preferring to keep his cards close to his chest. And even if he did, it wouldn’t change a thing. People would eventually know about his close relationship with the girls so why hide it?

Chrissy already hinted at it earlier; the Instructors wouldn’t interfere in student matters unless it’s necessary. This means that his ‘relationship’ with Chrissy and Erica isn’t against the rules, so why would he be afraid?

At this point, both ladies weren’t that shy sharing the bed with him at the same time anymore, and Cedric took full advantage of that, especially since he was about to get busy from now on.

With both of them helping him as much as they could, Cedric felt confident enough to attend his first class.

Days passed by like this and eventually, the day of his first class finally arrived.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep