Lucien slowly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. For the first time in a while, he felt… well, not like death.
"Finally, some peace."
[Peace? Ah, yes. The peaceful reality where you have one ally… and an entire demon race that wants to kill you.]
Lucien groaned, rubbing his temples. "Thanks for the reminder, you sentient bad luck charm."
[You're welcome! I take my job seriously.]
Umbra, still in his shadow form, slithered onto Lucien's arm. "You're awake."
"Yeah," Lucien sighed. "Let's see if I survived the results."
{Academy Plaza – Exam Results Announcement}
A massive crowd had gathered in front of the ranking board. The air was thick with tension, excitement, and, in Lucien's case, mild existential dread.
Theory Exam Rankings:
1st – Lucien von Zephyr
2nd – Elara Whitmore
3rd – Leon Albright
4th – Cecilia Winslet
5th – Lilia Elthorne....
10th-...
Lucien blinked. He was first?!
System: [Congratulations, nerd. You beat an entire anime cast in brainpower.]
Lucien smirked. "Damn right I did."
Combat Test Rankings:
1st – Leon Albright
2nd – Lilia Ethorne
3rd – Cecilia Winslet
…
8th – Lucien von Zephyr
9th – Elara Whitmore
10th-....
Lucien sighed in relief. He actually passed.
System: [Only 8th place? Tsk. Imagine if you actually listened to me and submitted all those A and S-rank monsters.]
"Yeah, imagine me not getting hunted down for being suspicious."
Overall Rankings:
1st – Leon Albright
2nd – Cecilia Winslet
3rd – Lilia Ethorne
4th – Lucien von Zephyr
5th – Elara Whitmore
10th-...
Lucien grinned. Fourth place.
He didn't just survive—he climbed his way into S-Class.
Just as Lucien was basking in his personal victory, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Well, well, well… look who actually made it."
Lucien turned to see Lilia Ethorne, the academy's villainous noble girl, smirking at him.
"Didn't expect you to reach S-Class, but congratulations," she said, flipping her silver hair.
Lucien raised an eyebrow. Was this genuine? Or sarcasm?
System: [She's either impressed or setting you up for your downfall. Good luck figuring out which.]
"…Thanks?" Lucien replied cautiously.
_
Not long after, Elara Whitmore—the commoner librarian girl—walked toward him. She looked at him with curious golden eyes.
"You beat me in the theory exam," she said, tilting her head.
Lucien scratched his cheek. "Uh… yeah?"
[Oh no. You've attracted the attention of a bookworm. Prepare for an intellectual battle.]
Elara narrowed her eyes. "I always place first. How did you do it?"
Lucien hesitated. Telling her that advanced magic theory was just fancy math would sound… weird.
"…I studied really hard?"
Elara kept staring at him. Then, finally, she smiled. "Interesting."
And just like that, she walked away.
Lucien exhaled. Did he just get placed under observation?
__
Of course, not everyone was happy.
Leon Albright and Cecilia Winslet were both glaring at him like he just stole their protagonist status.
"This has to be a fluke," Leon muttered. "There's no way he placed fourth."
Cecilia crossed her arms. "He must have cheated. There's no way someone like him—"
Lucien yawned loudly. Annoying.
Leon sneered. "Don't think this changes anything, Lucien. Your crime hasn't been forgotten. Even if you're in S-Class, you'll never escape it."
Lucien sighed, rubbing his temples. Same script, different day.
Ignoring them, Lucien stretched and walked away. He had far more important things to worry about.
To be continued…