The morning wind tasted of mist and mana. Albedo was walking briskly across the elevated bridges towards his first class of the day – Combat Class with Professor Skye.

He chewed through a chocolate bar while walking, savoring the taste. That was one thing he liked about this world as well, due to Mana, all the ingredients for food were purer, making all of them taste better.

As such, as an admirer of delicious food, it was like being sent to an all he can eat buffet once he reincarnated here, every meal he loved just tasted better, including chocolate bars.

As he closed in on the Violet Arena where the Combat Class would be held;

“Oi! Neverwinter!”

He stopped at the sound of his name being called, turning around until he spotted who did it.

Two students stepped out from under one of the archways near the Arena’s entrance. They were Third Years, Albedo could tell because the color of the school crest on their uniform was green.

Albedo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he wondered what they wanted.

One of them, a tall boy with a sun-scorched tan and confident gait, gave a casual wave, “Didn’t mean to block your path. Just wanted to talk real quick.”

The other, a girl with frizzy black hair tied in a loose bun and gold-rimmed spectacles, held a small booklet in her hands, “We’re from Common Glory. Maybe you’ve heard of us?”

“Can’t say I have,” Albedo replied, measured but not impolite. His fingers twitched at his side, already calculating the mana in their bodies.

While they had tried to minimize their aura, he could still tell how strong they were. The boy was Peak Gold, which was slightly below average for a third year from what Albedo remembered.

The girl however, was Mid Amethyst, obviously being much more talented than him.

“Common Glory’s a new student club,” the girl continued, stepping forward. “Sponsored by alumni, meant to help commoner students bridge the gap. Resources, techniques, networking. We’re trying to break down the noble monopoly on advancement.”

The tall boy grinned, “Yeah, and you can be a big part of that, you’re the poster child for what commoners can do. A commoner who made it to the rank #1 in Myth Class, higher than nobles who’ve been training with private tutors since they were in diapers.”

“Lucky me,” Albedo said flatly. He had never heard of this club in the Novel, which was weird since Lucian, as the rank #1 in the original timeline, naturally should’ve come across them.

Albedo wondered if they were just so irrelevant they never came up, after all, it was impossible for the author to write literally everything about his life.

“So what’s this?” He asked, looking at the booklet they were handing him.

“A meditation technique developed by one of the alumni,” she said, handing it to him. The title gleamed in elegant gold ink across the front:

Circle of Renewal: A Foundational Breathing and Flow Technique for Mana Stabilization and Growth

“It’s growing in popularity and we only begun handed it out 3 days ago.” she added quickly.,”Not flashy, but powerful in the long run. Helps with refining control and easing bottlenecks, especially for those who never had formal training.”

Albedo took it without expression.

“We’d love for you to join us,” the boy said, “No pressure. Just think about it. Even just showing up once would help inspire the others. You’ve become… kind of a big deal.”

“I’ll think about it.” He said.

The girl smiled, but her gaze lingered as he turned to go. “Even so, don’t throw it away. That technique changed lives.”

He nodded absently, tucking the booklet into his coat pocket.

And then he kept walking. He tossed the booklet in his inventory and forgot about it. While it might be useful for other students, his techniques were way too advanced to need it.

With that small event finished, Albedo entered the Violet Arena, already spotting most of his classmates there sitting in the observation decks and waiting for the class to begin.

Time ticked by and once the clock struck 8:00am, Professor Skye burst into the arena, her gleaming violet uniform accented by the golden crest of House Elrowen.

While it technically wasn’t allowed for Professors to show off their Noble houses like that, no-one would care. In a world where power meant everything, bending the rules was light work for those influential enough.

She stepped on the main platform and looked over the students like hawks, “Professor Kayle has her own prior commitments, so I’ll be handling today’s class solo.” She said, a smirk on her lips.

Albedo could immediately see where this was going, recognizing this as the setup for a minor event early in the Novel.

“Today’s lesson,” she began, her voice smooth but laced with disdain, “is adaptability in group combat. That means fighting smarter, not just harder. And who better to show you that than those more experienced than you?”

A hum of intrigue spread through the class as four older students stepped onto the field. Second Years.

Their uniforms were marked by a red crest that signified their status as Second Years. Each of them also bore the proud insignia of noble houses. Their eyes glimmered with amusement as they looked down at the First Years.

‘Condescending bastards,’ Albedo noted internally.

Skye’s lips curled upward faintly, “These upperclassmen have volunteered to demonstrate and… instruct you. You’ll be working with them for today’s team assessments.”

‘Volunteered, my ass,’ Albedo thought.

This was an event from the novel, clear as day. Professor Skye, notorious for her hatred of commoners, had used this exact lesson to humiliate Lucian and any non-noble students.

In the original story, things escalated when the Second Years went too far against Grant Talden, a commoner student, eventually leading Lucian to step in and challenge them.

“Let’s begin quickly.” Skye said and the class begun.

It was 1v1 battles. The first one was Zeus being paired against one of the higher ranked Second Years, and it was a clean, respectful fight, where although Zeus lost, nothing went overboard.

However, in the second battle, when the Second Year instructor was paired against the rank 16, a commoner, things quickly went south.

The Second Year instructor didn’t pull punches. He overwhelmed the girl, flinging her to the ground with a brutal sweep, and mocked her while Lucian and the other commoners held back their rage.

They all could clearly tell this was just these Nobles taking their one chance while Kayle was away to mock them and beat down on those they saw as beneath them.

The third match was a disaster waiting to happen. Grant stepped onto the stage, the one who had kicked off the events from the Novel, he was a lean boy with brown hair and a nervous stance.

His opponent was a Second Year named Darius Varnholt. Albedo definitely recognized him from the Novel as a grade A asshole, and Darius was also living up to that impression he had.

He had an arrogant smirk on his face and the way he loosened his uniform coat suggested someone who’d grown used to victory, and liked rubbing it in.

Grant bowed to Darius as is customary, but Darius didn’t bother bowing, not wanting to give that level of respect to his opponent.

The bell chimed and the match began.

Darius moved first.

Within moments, he was on Grant with the speed of a predator. A flurry of light-infused strikes rained down, forcing the younger student onto the defensive.

Grant did his best, deflecting with a sword, but his control was shaky and raw.

Crack.

Grant’s shoulder buckled under a downward strike. He stumbled back, and Darius didn’t relent.

The next hit swept Grant’s legs from beneath him, slamming him into the stone platform. His head bounced. A second later, a light-forged boot pressed down on his chest.

“You call that defense?” Darius sneered, twisting his heel as Grant winced, “No wonder commoners stay at the bottom. You lot break like glass.”

Darius didn’t even seem to do anything special, but with his much higher rank, it was just so effortless for him to beat down on Grant.

The crowd shifted. The nobles were grinning. A few even laughed.

Albedo watched from above, leaning against a pillar. His arms crossed. Eyes sharp.

It’s starting, he thought. Just like in the novel.

He thought, looking at Lucian who stood up, just like he did in the original events.

“That’s enough,” Lucian’s voice cut through the arena like lightning through cloud.

All eyes turned to him as he descended the stairs with the slow, confident stride of someone who knew he had the right to intervene.

Green eyes crackled faintly with mana as he stepped onto the edge of the stage. Miranda followed behind him, silver hair catching the light, her elegant gaze burning colder than any flame.

“Step off him,” Lucian said again, his tone calm but absolute.

Darius scoffed, still standing over Grant. “And who are you to tell me how to teach, First Year?”

“I’m someone who doesn’t tolerate cowards hiding behind higher rank to beat down the weak.” Lucian’s voice dropped into a lower octave, “Or is bullying the only way you know how to prove yourself?”

The arena went quiet.

Darius’s face darkened, but he pulled back, stepping off Grant with a mock bow, “Ooh, noble words from Arclight’s golden boy. Trying to play hero now? That how you won Myth Rank #2?”

Miranda moved beside Lucian, her eyes glinting, “We’d be happy to show you how he earned it. Tomorrow. In a fair match.”

Lucian’s eyes didn’t leave Darius. “2v2. You and one of your friends. No ‘lessons,’ just a duel.”

Darius’s grin stretched wider, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “Fine. Princess, I don’t get what you see in this loser, way to cocky for his own good. We’ll show you the difference between us and these foul commoners.”

Miranda didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, she reached down and helped Grant to his feet, whispering something Albedo couldn’t hear.

As the next pairing was being decided, an arrow was piercing the air, and Albedo caught it, just before he crashed through his shoulder, looking to see the Second Year who shot it at him, a cocky girl with sea-blue hair tied in a military braid.

The arena quickly turned silent as Albedo stared at the girl, who quickly spoke “What’s wrong, Neverwinter?” she called. “Too good to fight with your fellow commoners?”

Another Second Year beside her snickered. “Maybe he’s just scared. You know, being alone at the top makes you fragile. You crack easier than you think.”

Several eyes turned toward Albedo, waiting for a reaction. But he didn’t flinch. He slowly stood from where he had been sitting in the observation deck, brushing invisible dust from his coat.

He walked forward, descending each step with precision until he stood at the edge of the platform. The sunlight filtering through the crystal dome above lit half his face in a soft golden sheen.

“What exactly are you implying?” Albedo asked, voice low but razor-sharp.

The blue-haired girl smiled like a shark, “I’m saying, if you really are the ‘Myth Class Ace,’ then you should fight. Or are you only good at beating First Years?”

The male Second Year stepped in, grin smug, “How about this, tomorrow, you and a partner of your choice, against us. Same time. Same stage.”

Albedo’s expression didn’t shift. If anything, the corner of his lip twitched in something close to amusement.

He had expected something like this to happen, but he was still surprised at the shamelessness of the Second Years.

He tilted his head slightly, blue eyes cold and gleaming.

“Fine. I’ll accept.”

The girl blinked. “Just like that?”

“You challenged me,” Albedo said, turning away, already done with the conversation. “All I did was accept.”

“Don’t forget to bring a partner,” the boy called mockingly after him, “You’ll need one to survive.”

Albedo didn’t reply. He simply walked back up to the seats, thoughts already racing.

Who should I bring?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep