The thought lingered with as I made my way toward the knight departnt's training grounds on the other side of the building.
It was strange, almost unnecessary.
I didn't have to go out of my way to see Draven, especially when I had the option of sparring with better equipnt in the private training rooms ant for elite students.
But sothing tugged there—so morbid curiosity, maybe.
Draven Lockwood.
A commoner, yes, but one whose drive was almost unmatched in this academy.
For Draven, graduating from Ravenwood as the top-ranked knight was more than a goal.
It was his way out, his way up.
Becoming a royal knight of the empire, like his father before him—that was his singular purpose, the thing that consud him.
And sohow, watching him train felt like peeling back the cover of a book to glimpse the first page.
I had my reasons, too.
Keeping an eye on the academy's hopeful hero was no small part of my survival plan.
The stares started almost as soon as I stepped foot on the training grounds.
A couple of knights-in-training, sweaty and exhausted from their morning drills, sat on benches near the entrance.
Their conversations dropped to a murmur as they noticed , a cascade of glances and whispers.
I could make out snippets beneath their breaths, but the words had one consistent the.
'What the hell is he doing here?'
"He's supposed to be up in the special training rooms…not slumming around here with us…"
"Arrogant prick probably just wants to rub it in."
Their eyes followed as I walked past, the heat of their curiosity making my skin crawl.
They didn't think I could hear them, of course. Experience tales with mvl
But I could—well enough to know they thought I had no business on their turf, no reason to be among the "lesser" students when the elite rooms were always waiting for .
The looks, the whispers, the glances; each one made my irritation spike a little more.
By the ti I reached the benches, my patience had worn as thin as paper.
I stopped, leveled my gaze at the group sprawled there, and let my words ring out with every ounce of disgust I could summon.
"Do you all have a problem?
Because if you keep staring, I'll pluck those prying eyes out myself and toss them into the mud where they belong."
The venom in my voice cut like a whip.
"Is that clear?"
Their faces blanched, their eyes darting anywhere but at .
A chorus of muttered apologies followed, each of them bowing their heads as they tried to stamr out their regrets.
Typical.
They were so quick to judge, but when confronted, they cowered just like everyone else.
『 2 FEP』
The system chid.
I moved on, striding further into the training grounds, but the sick feeling in my stomach lingered.
If things kept on like this, I'd have the entire school as my enemy by the ti I graduated—if I even made it that far.
Enemies in every hallway, every class, and every shadowed corner.
It was only a matter of ti before soone finally acted on their hate, before soone strong and bold enough made a move to end Noah Ashbourne for good.
And that was why I needed the Killing Intent Detection ability, sothing that could keep a step ahead.
The academy had an endless supply of those who despised .
Knowing who wanted dead and when could an the difference between survival and a very grim end.
Finally, as I neared the center of the grounds, I spotted him.
Draven was there, lost in his drills, swinging his sword at one of the weighted dummies.
It was an impressive setup—a wooden fra with flexible arms that carried swords of its own, designed to strike back at anyone reckless enough to take a poorly aid hit.
But Draven wasn't reckless.
Each ti he landed a blow on the dummy, its limbs ca swinging in response, and each ti he parried, the rhythm growing smoother and more precise with every motion.
He was in his elent, his face set in steely concentration.
Draven's black hair was damp with sweat, plastered against his forehead despite the early hour.
His blue eyes glead with the determination of soone who didn't just want to succeed but had to.
The resemblance was uncanny.
Draven's intensity reminded so much of Xander, the previous ga tiline main character.
Another figure I'd already co to associate with unbreakable resolve.
Two sides of the sa coin, maybe?
But the similarities between Draven and Xander were so close, so intentional, that I wondered if the ga developers had split one person into two personas.
'Ridiculous,' I told myself, dismissing the thought as quickly as it ca.
It didn't matter.
For a few monts, I just watched, srized as Draven continued, unrelenting, matching the dummy's counterattacks, parrying with precision and finesse, over and over.
Without thinking, I activated the [Character Catalogue] skill, letting the system pull up information on him.
---
[Character Catalogue]
『Na: Draven Lockwood
Age: 16
Character Importance to Story: Main
Role: Hero』
「Description: His only goal is not rely to survive, but to rise, to leave Ravenwood as the empire's top knight, and to do so while crushing the infamous Noah Ashbourne beneath his boots」
A chill settled over as I watched Draven strike again, his movents unbroken and graceful.
He was single-minded, unwavering.
And he wanted to reach his goal by besting Noah Ashbourne.
By besting '.'
The sight of Draven training, his focus sharp, his movents honed—it gnawed at .
I'd seen enough.
I was only wasting ti watching Draven chase after his dreams with that hungry determination.
We might share the goal of becoming the academy's top student, but for , it wasn't just a pursuit.
It was a lifeline.
Top Seat wasn't a prize—it was survival.
Draven wanted glory, recognition, a place among the elite.
I wanted a chance to live beyond the academy walls.
I turned to leave, my mind churning over everything I'd seen.
But as I headed toward the exit, I nearly collided with soone coming in.
Reflexively, I stepped back, irritation flashing in my eyes as I glanced down at the offender.
Blonde hair almost white, blue eyes clear as a sumr sky.
It was her, Ariana Snow.
I knew her all too well.
She'd been a minor character in the previous tiline, barely a blip on the radar.
But here, things had changed.
Now, she was a main heroine and Draven's close friend, despite the sharp class divide between them.
Even being a noble, Ariana had dirt on her hands and sweat on her brow.
A glimr of disdain crept into my thoughts.
She was a noble, a top-ten student, and yet she chose to train out here among the masses, much like Draven.
In the elite circles, students had their own private training facilities with equipnt far superior to this, yet here they were, slumming it with the commoners.
The contrast was almost amusing.
Unlike them, my ego kept firmly in my private space, and the sight before was one I couldn't let pass by unaddressed.
I sneered as she took a small step back, the awareness of my scrutiny apparent in the way her gaze fell briefly to the floor.
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