A day passed after everyone returned. Although Sylph had healed their wounds and restored their stamina, she couldn’t alleviate their ntal fatigue.
Just like that, on the first day back, everyone returned to their dorms and fell asleep almost instantly after lying down.
The next day was more eventful, with the exam results being released to every student through their wristwatches first thing in the morning.
Despite everything that had happened, the Academy had kept the records from the first two days of the hunt and used them to grade each student.
Surprisingly, most teams managed to pass the exams despite wasting the entirety of day three. The boost they got from Lake’s late-night hunting session and the subsequent day spent gathering points were enough for most of them to just barely pass the 1,000-point requirent.
One thing that did leave them shocked was the absence of Lake’s na in the ranking of passed students, leaving them puzzled.
While so students liked to believe they had outperford him, everyone knew the truth: Lake had amassed over two thousand points on the first day alone, far surpassing the results of everyone else.
However, it didn’t take long for them to figure out what happened as a small piece of information began to spread through the various chatrooms like wildfire.
Lake had been disqualified!
****
Lake stood outside the principal’s office with a relaxed look on his face.
Last night, he had watched the entire board eting through the Web of Fate, so he already knew what was going to happen.
His points had been revoked due to the trouble he caused, and his remaining Academy points had also been cleared, making him the poorest student in the Academy.
"Co in."
Lake heard a voice from inside the office and entered soon after.
As he walked in, his vision was imdiately drawn to the silver-haired young man standing behind the principal. The man had a smile on his face, but there was sothing unsettling about his gaze, as if he could see right through Lake. The smile didn’t reach his eyes, which were piercing and cold, giving Lake a sense of unease.
"It’s nice to see you again, Principal Ralph. I received a notification this morning that you wanted to see ?" Lake spoke with a questioning tone as he bowed slightly. He pretended not to notice the young man’s unnerving gaze and awaited a response.
Principal Ralph had a small smile on his old face, seeing Lake’s polite stance. He had half expected Lake to co rushing in here, questioning where all his points went, so he was glad to see that he was taking it much calr than expected.
"Lake, as I am sure you’re aware, all your points have been revoked due to the trouble you caused during the monthly exam."
Lake didn’t respond and waited for Principal Ralph to continue.
"Due to your reckless actions, you’ve not only endangered the lives of over a hundred students, but you also forced more than thirty hunters into a life-and-death battle against a horde of beasts and two of them against a Rank Three creature against their will." Principal Ralph paused for a mont and released a small sigh.
"Fortunately, none of the affiliated hunters and their guilds decided to escalate the matter, and we were able to resolve it with a simple compensation. However, that still caused the Academy imnse losses."
Lake nodded in understanding. "Then, I assu having my points revoked isn’t the end of my punishnt?"
"Mhm, I’m glad you caught on quickly," Principal Ralph said as he leaned back in his office chair with a comically long backrest.
"This is the school’s financial advisor, Mr. Liam, and he will be responsible for overseeing your punishnt this ti." Principal Ralph gestured to the young man beside him.
At this point, Lake finally turned to face the young man and properly observe his appearance. Short silver hair, shining blue eyes that seed to pierce through him, and a mischievous smile that felt more predatory than friendly.
Lake’s first impression of him, based on appearance alone, was trouble. When he saw the young man’s fate, his fears only deepened.
’His fate is also protected...’ Looking at the dark blue, shadowy, claw-shaped fate, Lake tried to read through it but was imdiately blocked by a translucent silver veil that jumbled and blurred what he saw.
Lake only took a glance at the top of Liam’s head, but it didn’t escape Liam’s notice as his foxlike smile widened. "Is there perhaps sothing above my head?" His voice was soft, almost a whisper, yet it sent a chill down Lake’s spine.
Lake was slightly startled by Liam’s question but quickly recovered. "No, I was just surprised by your silver hair, that’s all. It reminded of an upperclassman of mine."
"Oh? You must be talking about Gwen. I heard you went on an outing hunt with her before. She told much about your excellent assassination skills." Liam’s smile grew even wider, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"Your relationship with Gwen is...?" Lake asked despite already having an inkling of the man’s identity.
"She is my little sister."
"I see." Lake nodded in sudden understanding as his guess was confird. "I didn’t know Senior Gwen praised so much. I feel flattered."
"Oh, I wonder about that." Liam’s eyes opened slightly, and for a mont, Lake felt as if those eyes were pulling him in, reading his very soul. He quickly looked away, unnerved by the intensity of Liam’s gaze.
"Cough." Principal Ralph cleared his throat at that mont as he continued to speak. "Now that introductions are out of the way, I guess we can move on to the next matter."
’There’s more?’ Lake raised an eyebrow as he listened to Principal Ralph. There hadn’t been any ntion of further punishnt or action when he watched the board eting, so he was genuinely confused.
"Despite your actions and the damage caused, it is true that you played a major role in the defense against the beast tide and the eventual hunting of the Rank Three creature." Principal Ralph spoke as a small smile appeared on his face. "Because of this, both I and your horoom teacher have acknowledged your results and decided to grant you a few privileges that are usually given in your third year."
Lake’s eyes slightly widened in surprise as he quickly comprehended the aning behind his words. Still in disbelief, he asked for clarification. "You an..?"
"You’ve been granted permission to leave the Academy for outing hunts."
Lake was left speechless by Principal Ralph’s answer. He knew he was going to get punished, but he never expected to be rewarded at the sa ti. Not to ntion, just how aningful this reward was to him.
’With the ability to leave the Academy, I’ll have a lot more options available to in the future.’ Lake’s mind was already racing as new ideas and plans began to formulate in his head. However, he soon stopped and refocused on the current situation.
"I..." His voice faltered for a mont before stopping. As he tried to speak, he realized that he was still speechless.
Luckily for him, Principal Ralph seed to catch on as he chuckled. "However, don’t think that just because you’ve been granted permission to go outside that you can leave whenever you like. As a safety precaution, you’ll have to either join a third-year team or be accompanied by an available instructor. You’ll also be expected to attend classes as per normal whenever you’re in the Academy’s compound."
Lake slowly nodded in understanding. It made sense that he would have to work with others on the trips as it wasn’t like he was leaving for a stroll. Each outing was a hunting operation, and the Academy had the responsibility to ensure each student’s safety to so degree.
However, he couldn’t help but feel slightly helpless that he still had to attend mandatory classes despite the massive knowledge gap between him and everyone else. With his integrated Mage role, his knowledge had already surpassed the limit of humanity, making him quite literally the pioneer of magic and mana theory in his world.
Unfortunately, Lake hadn’t revealed the full extent of his knowledge before, so Principal Ralph and the others had no way of knowing what a huge waste of ti attending classes was for him.
"...I understand. Is there anything else I should be made aware of?" Lake spoke softly as he quickly regained his composure.
"No. We’ve discussed everything I wanted. Advisor Liam will be the one to carry out the rest of your punishnt, and the thod has been left mostly up to him." Principal Ralph spoke, causing Lake to take one more glance at Liam, who was still smiling like a fox at him.
Liam had a hand on his chin as he tilted his head slightly. Lake couldn’t help but feel a creeping discomfort every ti he saw Liam’s vibrant blue eyes staring at him.
’It’s like they can see right through ...’
"If there is nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave then." Lake spoke as he bowed. Principal Ralph only gave him a nod as Lake turned to leave.
On his way out, however, he heard Liam call out to him. "I hope we get along well during the next few days, Lake. I have high expectations for you, after all."
Lake didn’t reply as he quickly left. He really didn’t want to spend another mont next to that slit-eyed weirdo.
As Lake left, Principal Ralph extended his mana field slightly, creating a small soundproof space within the rustic office.
"What do you think?" Principal Ralph spoke out, his gaze still fixed on the door Lake had just walked out of.
"He’s even more interesting than my sister described him." Liam’s smile widened as he recalled Lake’s unique presence and the subtle information he had picked up. "He seed to have good senses."
"Senses?" Principal Ralph raised an eyebrow as he rubbed his white beard.
"Indeed. I was testing him throughout the conversation, and although he tried to hide it, he seed to pick up on it."
"Really? I didn’t notice anything myself."
At that point, Liam laughed lightly. "Hahaha, that’s because you’re getting too old, Ralph. Your senses have probably been dulled by the long period of peace. You really should start looking to hand over your position to little Sarah."
"Ugh, don’t even get started on that granddaughter of mine. All that’s been on her mind recently is rift this and rift that." Principal Ralph sighed, recalling the conversation he had with his granddaughter a few days ago.
Liam didn’t seem to mind his frustration and continued, "However, that wasn’t even the most interesting part."
"Hmm?" Principal Ralph paused before he could start his rant and looked over at Liam. "What else did you see?"
"His eyes." Liam spoke, recalling the cold, uncaring look he managed to spot hidden behind Lake’s facade. "They were the eyes of a killer."
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