Well, that went well.
"What… was that all about?"
"Congratulations on your new rank, Vic."
The familiar voices belonged to Alexander and Chelsea, who I ran into after Macho Derrick finally dismissed class following my little performance.
The white-haired Alexander was still hung up on what happened at the end, while Chelsea, like any good friend, was just glad for my success.
"Thank you, Chelsea." I turned to her smugly, blatantly ignoring Alex's existence like he was less than air.
Chelsea flashed a thumbs up, her deadpan expression unchanging. anwhile, Alex facepald right next to .
"Are you seriously going to pretend that didn't happen?" Alex whined, dripping concern like a bitch.
"I don't know. What happened?" I shrugged, spinning around on my heel.
"Speaking of which, one of you wanna grab lunch? Or, you know… go literally anywhere else that isn't here right now?"
Since class had just ended, the exits of the massive hall were still choked with cadets, the air buzzing with their excitent and dazed chatter over what they'd just witnessed.
Over what they saw do.
Now the gazes were persistent, drilling into . A mixture of awe, dread, scorn, malice, curiosity, disdain, shock, and disbelief—all crashing together into a whole myriad of expressions.
It felt like countless illusionary daggers were trying to pierce all at once—deeply disturbing, suffocating—even though I was standing outside under the open sky.
Of course, I pretended not to notice, especially since I'd run into Alexander and Chelsea, who seed like the only two unfazed. Well, except for Alex, I guess.
I gotta hand it to her—this new Chelsea was pretty cool.
"Not , not today. I've got training." Chelsea shook her head and said flatly.
"Are you serious?" I turned, shooting her a glance.
Chelsea nodded stoically before adding, "Class rep should be waiting right after this, so I can't have lunch. Not now." Her short bobbed hair fluttered lightly in the wind.
Then a strained sigh ca from Alex on my other side.
"I can't either."
"What, you too? Hey—you guys aren't training behind my back, are you?" My eyes narrowed to dagger-like slits as I exchanged suspicious glances between the two of them.
"Are you really in any place to say that?"
"Well... fair enough." I shrugged noncommittally, then waved off Alex and Chelsea as I pivoted to leave without waiting for their response.
"Well, I'll see you guys later then, I guess."
I felt their eyes stay fixed on my back, but I ignored it, forcing myself through the crowd until the press of bodies thinned out.
Soon I was walking down the longer path back to my dorm. Instead of taking the direct road, I chose the winding one, stretching out the minutes on purpose. This was my way of buying ti—space to rearrange and sort out my thoughts. With Chelsea and Alexander no longer beside , I didn't have to keep up the act any longer, and a heavy, dreary sigh slipped free.
Well...
"...that happened."
I gritted my teeth and let out a sharp hiss under my breath. My fingers curled tightly, hidden deep inside my pocket.
Recent mories of Macho Derrick's class looped in my head, over and over, while one heavy question pressed rcilessly against my skull.
Why did I do that?
Why had I done that?
[Ding. Because you're a short-sighted fool whose vision—stunted as pathetically as your height—never stretches far enough to grasp the obvious fallout from your own idiotic choices.] Just then, a chanical chi went off inside my head and ta's voice reverberated.
"Wha—?! Oh, okay—my height is perfectly normal for soone my age!"
[That's what you're taking from all this?] ta's deadpan voice dripped with disbelief. I could almost picture the system rolling its eyes—if it had any.
Of course, I knew what ta really ant. It wasn't about my perfectly average height—no—it was about the duel.
[You don't think you made a mistake? You don't think you did nothing wrong?] ta pressed, her strange unexpected words drawing my steps to a pause.
"Huh?" I blinked, turning ta's words over in my head. What the hell was the System even talking about?
I scowled against the afternoon sun.
"What are you whining about now?" I snapped. "Did I screw sothing up? Fine—I'll admit I got a little carried away. But I don't see how that suddenly makes the villain here."
Good thing no cadets were around to see arguing with thin air like a lunatic.
I let out a sharp breath, rolling my eyes as I turned back to the path.
"I won a duel. I climbed the ranks. I built a reputation. Sure, it happened fast, and maybe I pushed a little too hard—but wasn't that the whole point? To stop lying down and taking it? To stop being passive? So tell , what's your damn problem?"
ta's reply ca quick, a chi as cold and rciless as reality.
[Ding. You gained suspicion. Think, dimwit—bottom-ranked cadet suddenly shoots up the board, crushes the 579th like a rag doll, then steamrolls a few more for good asure. anwhile, the Academy's hunting for a student hiding a demon inside. Care to guess who they'll look at first?]
The deadpan words carried no empathy, cutting straight through like a blade. I froze mid-step, breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened, lips parting, jaw slack—like an elevator that failed halfway.
The weight of ta's words pressed down until the only thought that surfaced was—
Oh… no.
The wind whipped past while I stood rooted to the spot, mouth opening and closing uselessly.
Finally, I managed a dry mutter.
"Dimwit, really? You just had to call that, didn't you." I rolled my eyes.
***
For the rest of the way back to my dorm, I walked slowly, feeling like a fool.
A dimwit.
ta's cold words ran through my head, spinning off into countless scenarios.
I had more or less decided to reveal myself more openly to the Academy, and the first step toward that was climbing the Ranks. Derrick's class hadn't been part of the plan, though—neither had Chase.
Honestly, it didn't have to be him.
Any higher-ranked cadet would've done.
At the sa ti, I wasn't planning on climbing all the way to the top. Doing that would only draw more attention than necessary. All I needed was a turning point for my stay in the Academy.
With everything that had happened after my Rank Up, they practically believed I'd already reached the end of my talent.
Aegis wasn't charitable enough to keep wasting resources on soone like . I wasn't a future asset anymore—I was a liability.
And I ant that literally, with a Demon resting in my left hand.
Sooner or later, they'd either cut off, let go…or kill the mont they discovered my secret.
It was only a matter of ti.
Right now, I was in a very sensitive position with the Academy.
What else could I offer Aegis? That was the only question that mattered.
What could you offer in return for the Academy's continuous resources, Cadet Victor Bright?
That kind of thing.
And my answer is—
Miracles.
Well, not literally.
Let explain.
I had already been Assessed as a No-Talent before. Then I broke through to the next Rank. An Awakened surpassing the predetermined limits of their Talent is incredibly rare—bordering on impossible.
Only a handful of cases like that exist in history…but that's a story for another day.
Now, I seed to almost fall into that category.
This either ant my initial Assessnt was wrong—or I had really beco an Irregular.
The Academy was a massive organization, the foremost authority on Awakened developnt. There was no way they'd ever admit their Assessnt of was wrong. That was unthinkable.
Which left only the latter.
If so, then I was an Irregular.
Sothing—or soone—who brought about unforeseen results.
An anomaly.
The Academy couldn't carelessly let go of a prospect like . But if my latest assessnt was true—that I had already reached the end of my potential—then I had no more surprises to offer. And in that case, I'd inevitably be cut off.
My only way forward was to keep showing them "miracles," results that broke their definition of . Every now and then, I had to produce sothing unexpected just to stay relevant. Things on par with breaking through again, or awakening so kind of legendary stigma or rare ability.
I had to defy expectations.
But in my almost desperate bid to do so, I'd overlooked one important thing.
The Academy was still hunting for the Demon Contractor hidden among the Cadets.
Cadets who suddenly exhibit abnormal growth in strength or sudden shifts in personality are the first to be suspected. Such traits often follow demonic possession or a forbidden contract.
And here I was—the bottom-ranked Cadet—who had just rocketed into the top 500.
In a single day.
Not only that, but I'd displayed a level of brutality against other Cadets that was… unnecessary.
Perfect. Just the kind of performance that screams, "Hey, maybe I've got a demon whispering in my ear."
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