[ Perspective: Lucian Vale ]

“Alright, that was…” Lucian exhaled, running a hand through his black hair, “a trip. I felt like I was losing my mind.”

He said as he took a bite of his snack, chowing down eagerly.

Once class was finished, he and the others, Miranda, Dorian, Veronica & Lira Voss had gathered in one of the Academy’s cafe’s to chat about the class and what electives they planned to do.

He had bought a coffee and an apple pie and was currently chowing down on it while talking to them. Despite it only being the first day, he had quickly found a new group of friends, just like his master told him to.

“Same. She had clearly said to explore our techniques, yet it felt like I was reliving my worst nightmares.” Miranda said, taking a sip of coffee.

“That was your worst nightmare?” Veronica asked, raising a delicate brow, “I saw myself on a battlefield as the leader. With every decision I made, it felt like I was growing more powerful.”

“Pfft, that’s normal, I wish that’s what I experienced.” Dorian said, “I was trapped in a battle, and can you believe, there was no women? Impossible, how can my soul not show me a single woman? That’s basically all my motivation for coming here anyway.”

Veronica rolled her eyes as she heard him say this and turned towards Lucian, “Why did you invite this pervert anyway?”

“I’m not a pervert? I am an admirer of women.” Dorian said, but everyone ignored him as Lucian was answering Veronica’s question.

“He’s not that bad of a guy, plus, he’s way better to have around than William anyway.” Lucian responded.

“That’s right, you might not have crossed paths with him Veronica, but William gives me the creeps. He always keeps that group of lackeys around him too, and he’s even more of a pervert than this guy over here, he just hides it in public.” Miranda said.

“Let’s just ignore the pervert, what did you see in your Soul-Space Lira?” Veronica asked.

Lira hesitated, “I saw… light. Just endless light. Not the warm kind. Blinding. Empty. Like I was being erased. It was strange.”

A silence passed between them all.

Lucian was the first to break it, “That place was insane.”

“No kidding,” Veronica muttered.

The group continued chatting with each-other before Miranda suddenly interrupted Lucian, “Hey,” she said nudging him, “Isn’t that Albedo.”

Lucian quickly sprung up, looking towards where Miranda pointed to and sure enough, walking in through the glass doors was Albedo, alongside a girl with long dark auburn hair in a ponytail.

Albedo approached the counter and ordered two coffees, one for himself and one for Elara then sat with her at a quiet table near the window. The light from the hanging mana-lamps caught in his platinum hair, making it gleam like frost.

“Did any of you hear of him before the Entrance Exam?” Dorian asked, leaning forward, “Because I haven’t. Not even a rumor.”

“Same,” Miranda said, “You’d think someone capable of taking #1 would’ve been all over pre-Academy rankings or predictions.”

“Lucian wasn’t on the predictions either, is it really so weird?” Veronica asked.

“Of course it is,” Dorian responded, “Lucian is already a freak, but Albedo took #1, it’s natural to be more curious from where he came from.”

Lucian was about to comment and call Dorian out for calling him a freak when he noticed Lira had gone unusually quiet. Her gaze had been locked on Albedo the entire time, but it wasn’t awe, it was something else..

“Lira?” he asked gently. “You alright?”

She blinked, then looked down at her drink, her brows furrowed slightly.

“I think… I know him.” She said a bit nervously.

The table went silent at that revelation.

“You know Albedo?” Miranda asked, incredulous.

Lira shook her head and tried to explain, “Not know like a friend, I think the correct phrasing is I recognize him. It’s only seeing his name and seeing how he looks up close that I’m now sure it’s him.”

“Where did you recognize him from. I checked with my family, and his family aren’t noble or a guild leader or a business owner of any kind. In fact, my dad said he doesn’t have his parents recognized anywhere, so he might’ve been born and raised outside the Empire.”

Lira nodded slowly, “Yeah, I recognize him from outside the Empire, I’m almost certain. When I was little, maybe five or six, my family would travel to places in the Western Outskirts to meet old adventurers who retired there, as my mom was an adventurer before she married into my family.”

Lira explained and continued, “We visited this one village the most. I don’t remember it perfectly clear, but his family and my parents seemed pretty close, and I met him a couple times, he looked exactly like you would think a young version of himself looked.”

Her voice softened, almost uncertain.

“Then what happened to him?” Veronica asked, puzzled.

Miranda leaned in, also puzzled as she asked, “If his parents were influential enough to meet with a Count’s family, there’s no way someone like that just… vanishes.”

“I don’t know,” Lira said, “But I’ll ask my parents tonight. Maybe they remember.”

The group fell silent again, each processing the revelation in their own way.

Miranda’s eyes drifted back to Albedo, who was laughing softly at something Elara had said, thinking about him.

“Albedo Neverwinter, who are you.”

***

[ Perspective: William Frost ]

Meanwhile, upstairs, the upper lounge of the cafe wasn’t open to the public, at least not officially, but that didn’t stop William Frost and his lackeys to occupy it like it was their birthright.

The lounge was much more luxurious than downstairs, adorned with lavish velvet cushions and a golden chandelier glittering overhead.

William leaned back against the plush seat, one arm draped lazily over the shoulders of the chair, while the other ran across the body of the girl sitting on his lap.

She was the daughter of a minor Baron, though the way she clung to him, hands tracing small circles across his chest, lips brushing his jawline, grinding on his crotch, she clearly hoped her title would rise through association.

“Will~” she purred, voice syrupy. “You were incredible during the entrance exam. I don’t care what the rankings say, you’re obviously stronger than some no-name commoner.”

William chuckled softly, and brought a crystal glass to his lips, sipping some fine wine. While it wasn’t up to his usual standards, it sufficed enough for a random cafe.

He wasn’t focused on the girl however, instead looking down towards the lower floor of the cafe, his eyes locked on one particular person.

Albedo Neverwinter.

There he was, sitting with some random girl who was probably a commoner as well, laughing like he hadn’t just stolen what should’ve been his place.

The #1 rank.

It should’ve been him.

“That’s them.” Kaden Nightstone muttered, scowling as he followed William’s gaze, “Lucian is also over there, and that bastard dares to be so close to Miranda, doesn’t he know his place. Commoners, both of them.”

Next to him, seated around the table were Kaden Nightstone, Gareth Trusk, and Vionne Cerelain—his loyal lackeys, all of them noble by blood and sycophant by nature.

“Disgraceful,” spat another one of William’s lackeys, Gareth Trusk, the Son of a Count, “Those bastards come from no-where, no Noble bloodline, no rich family, not even the son of prominent Guild Leaders. How dare they, and how does the Academy let nobodies just walk in and humiliate us like this?”

“I think we should teach them a lesson.” said Vionne Cerelain, William’s assistant, who had came from a vassal family of William’s.

William said nothing for a moment, just taking a couple other sips of his drink before placing it on the desk, turning his attention to the girl on his lap and brushing aside a strand of hair from her cheek, his hand slipping towards her breasts as he groped them.

“Let those losers have their fun,” He finally said calmly.

“They’ve had their moment in the spotlight,” he said, brushing invisible lint from his expensive blazer, “But moments fade. They’ll crumble the moment the real tests begin. Technique comprehension. Group missions. Spars against each other.”

William’s smirk deepened.

“They don’t have the foundation. They weren’t raised for this. Their little flukes won’t save them when the curriculum starts pushing people to their limits.”

Kaden nodded sharply, “We should help speed that up. Remind them of their place before they get too comfortable.”

William chuckled.

“Oh, we will.”

His eyes narrowed, alight with cold amusement as he looked downstairs to Lucian, who was busy laughing with Miranda.

“I’ll take care of Lucian. I want him broken, completely. Let him learn what happens when a commoner invades the world of Nobles. It’ll teach that slut Miranda a lesson too.”

He turned his eyes toward Albedo next.

“As for this bastard… I’ll drag him down slowly. He has that irritating look of someone who thinks he’s better than everyone else. I want to see him fall. That way, no one ever forgets that it was a Frost who put him back in the dirt.”

The Baron’s daughter giggled again, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers as she leaned in and kissed his neck, her hand moving down to his crotch, “You’re so scary when you talk like that baby.”

“Good,” William murmured, voice silk and steel.

“Because that’s what people like them need to understand.”

He raised his glass again and toasted the two boys below.

“To commoners who forget their place.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep