The news of Lian’s test spread through the Academy much faster than he himself had expected.
In less than a few hours, almost all first-year students had heard his name. The talentless boy who had suddenly returned from the tenth Ruined Realm.
The talentless boy who was now considered a level ten Awakened. And such a thing was strange enough to shake the entire Academy.
The sun was slowly setting behind the Academy’s tall buildings.
The sky had turned a dark orange. Lian was walking through the main Academy grounds when suddenly a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Level ten?!"
Lian did not even need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. It was Kain. When he turned, he saw his friend staring at him with wide eyes.
As if his mind still could not accept the truth.
"You were gone for only a week!"
"Only a week!"
"I am still stuck at level three!" Kain messed up his hair.
"This does not make any sense!"
"Don’t be jealous. It is not that strange." Lian gave a short laugh.
"No, don’t get me wrong." Kain pointed at him with his finger.
"You are taking this too calmly. Level ten means you are stronger than most first-year students! In fact, stronger than all current first-years!"
"Even some second-years have not reached level ten yet!"
Lian said nothing. In fact, he knew better than anyone what price he had paid to reach this power.
Reaching level 10 was not easy, and he knew that now that he had reached this level, his position would be among the best students at the Academy.
But it would not be easy either. The National Academy of Awakened had thousands of students, and he might find many rivals among them.
A few minutes later, Seraphina also arrived. The Vice President of the Student Council. The black-haired girl who these days was almost always busy with Academy work. She was a second-year student.
But as soon as she reached Lian, her steps slowed. She just looked at Lian for a few seconds.
A long look. A strange look.
"Were you really there for only a week?" She finally said.
Lian was silent.
"I’m serious. Since you came back... you’ve changed." Seraphina frowned a little.
"Changed?" Kain asked with surprise.
Seraphina quietly nodded.
"Yes. Before, when you looked at him, you just saw a normal boy who acted somewhat withdrawn."
"But now..." She did not finish her sentence.
Because she herself did not know how to explain it. Lian seemed to have suddenly grown several years older.
Not in appearance, but in his gaze, in his silence, and in the calmness that now existed within him. Even from a distance, she could feel absolute confidence from Lian.
Were these changes because he had become an Awakened? Or because of something else he had experienced in the ruined realm?
"Anyone who becomes that famous overnight naturally changes." Lian just gave a faint smile.
"I guess you are right. You are now level 10. Higher than all first-years and higher than half of the second-years as well." Seraphina nodded.
"Did you come to see me just to say that?"
"What else were you expecting?" She smirked and said with sarcasm.
"I thought maybe you came to check on me." Lian shrugged, which made Seraphina a little shy, and her face suddenly turned red.
But when she noticed Lian and Kain laughing, her face immediately turned cold.
"Hmph! Enough laziness. It is clear you are fully recovered! If you don’t attend classes from tomorrow, I will report you!" And without looking at them, she turned to leave.
She had just come to check on Lian and spend some time with him, but this bastard dared to laugh at her! Yes, she had forgiven him, but she needed to teach him a lesson so he would not dare to laugh at the Vice President of the Student Council.
"She seems angry again." Kain continued laughing.
"Ah, I can smell trouble." Lian sighed and walked toward his dorm.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
It did not take long for night to fall. The news had spread like fire throughout the Academy dorms.
In every hallway, in every room, the name Lian Vonhelm was heard.
"Did you hear he found a legendary treasure?"
"Nonsense. He was already awakened and just hid it."
"So you are saying he has been an Awakened for a long time and was getting stronger secretly? Then why was he hiding it?"
"Who knows? Maybe for revenge?"
Rumors were made one after another, and none were close to the truth.
That night.
For the first time in a long while, Lian was going to have a good night’s sleep. He lay on his dorm bed.
The room was quiet.
There was no sound of monster roars, no smell of blood and death, and no screams.
Just silence.
And he quietly closed his eyes. Tomorrow he had to go to his first class, and he needed to rest.
The next morning, after waking up, he checked his phone notifications.
An official Academy notification appeared on his communicator.
[Status Updated]
[Elite Student]
[Access Granted]
[Student Points: 0]
Lian stared at the screen for a few seconds. From today, he was no longer a normal student. He was an elite student.
He looked at his student points, which were zero. These points are like currency in the Academy, earned through achievements and completing various missions.
With them, you can buy all kinds of equipment, items, and information. You can even buy skill books or various treasures that can permanently increase stats.
An example of that is mana crystals, of which he had several. By absorbing each one, you can increase mana by 1 to 5 points depending on the crystal’s quality.
Naturally, there are special treasures for other stats as well, but they are expensive and valuable. Fortunately, he does not need such things.
He got up and went to the bathroom. After finishing, he put on his Academy uniform and headed to his class.
The elite class building was located in the northern part of the Academy. Unlike the normal buildings, this one was much larger and more modern.
Armed guards stood at the entrance.
Students with expensive equipment came and went. All of them were Awakened, and all of them were considered the top talents of their generation.
When Lian entered the building, several looks fell on him.
Some were indifferent, some curious, some hostile, and many did not even recognize his face and wondered why he had come to the elite building.
He entered the classroom without paying attention to them. Inside the class, about twenty students were present. Almost all were level five or six.
A few were level seven.
All elites, all proud, and at least elite classes, even some with four-star classes, were present.
When Lian entered, whispers began.
"Is that him?"
"The survivor of the tenth realm?"
"I heard he became level ten."
"Nonsense."
"Impossible."
The atmosphere immediately became heavy, but Lian ignored it and sat in one of the empty seats. There were only two empty seats, next to each other.
A few minutes later.
The classroom door opened. A tall man entered. Short gray hair, a cold face, sharp eyes, and a presence that made the entire class immediately fall silent.
Professor Valerius Kane.
One of the senior combat professors. A man who had gone through two evolutions.
"Good morning." He stood in front of the class without any introduction.
"It seems we have a new student. So let me introduce myself once again."
"I am Valerius Kane, professor of practical and theoretical combat. An Awakened at level 46 who has gone through two evolutions."
"I don’t care what family you are from. I don’t care how much money you have."
"And I don’t care who your father is." Complete silence ruled the class.
"If you are weak, you are weak. If you are strong, you are strong. Here, only results matter."
Then his gaze paused on Lian.
"And it seems today we have an interesting student." Several students turned toward Lian.
Valerius opened a folder.
"Since we have a new student today... I will explain the rules of the elite class again."
He began to walk.
"First, no one here gets respect because of their age or background. Respect must be earned."
"Second."
"Rankings change every month. If you are weak, you will drop, be expelled from the class, and return to the normal class."
"If you are strong, you move up."
"And third."
"Our classes are more practical than theoretical."
Valerius closed the folder.
A very faint smile appeared on his face. A smile that made several students unconsciously sit up straight, because they had learned in previous sessions that this smile was not a good sign.
"Good. So today we are not wasting time."
He moved toward the classroom door.
"Today we have a practical class. Everyone get ready." Then his gaze turned on the students one last time.
"We are going to the simulation ground."
And at that moment, the confident smiles of several elite students faded.
Because they all knew that in Professor Valerius’s classes, the simulation ground was not a place to go for fun.
It was a place where pride was crushed.
And for Lian, his first day in the elite class had just begun.