Bang!
A hand slammed onto the desk.
“A bunch of worthless fools who got here through connections,” Fenric said through gritted teeth, veins bulging in his forehead.
It had been more than a decade since Nova was last seen at the Univara Academy, and many things had changed.
Teachers and students came and went, and buildings were constantly renovated to keep up with the fast-changing times.
But there was one thing that hadn’t changed since then.
The dean.
While the three academies still under the Federation had all changed their deans for various reasons—Altura’s Mazin stepped down to focus on his training instead of managing children, and Tritus’ Caelan felt too old to hold the position—Univara’s dean had not followed the same trend.
Fenric’s position as dean seemed as permanent as the clouds in the sky, and he had no intention of leaving.
“You’re here to teach and protect the students, but they keep dying right under your nose! What’s the point of having you here if you can’t do your damn job?!”
His fiery eyes scanned his office, where more than a dozen high ranking teachers stood quietly, heads hanging low.
He took just enough time to breathe before continuing, “It was bad enough that we already lost close to twenty ranked students, and what did you tell me just yesterday? ‘Don’t worry, Dean, we’re tracking down the assassins.’”
Bang!
Another slam on the desk rang out, small cracks forming on its surface.
“Not only did you fail to catch the assassins, no!” Fenric’s breathing became rapid, his nostrils flaring. “A top 20 student died last night! And what did you find?!”
“NOTHING!”
Boom!
This time he slammed his fist on the desk, causing it to instantly crumble.
Debris shot across the room and some hit the teachers, but they didn’t dare make a sound. They didn’t even breathe too loudly, much less complain.
Chest heaving, Fenric took a moment to catch his breath. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
If he could, he would have never wanted to see any of these teachers again. But he knew that was just wishful thinking.
The academy had long since ceased to be merely a place where the Federation’s young ones learned to fight and thrive in the world.
It was now a place where powerful figures of Earth pulled the strings behind the scenes.
Who would pass up a position as a teacher at the largest academy on Earth, where they could be the first to discover new talent, recruit them into their own faction, and thus increase their own status and power?
Very few.
So few, in fact, that it was easier to find a needle in the ocean than someone who would turn down such an opportunity.
The office fell once again into silence, the only sound the dean’s steady breathing.
Moments later, he opened his eyes. His expression had regained some of his calm as he asked, “Don’t you have anything to say?”
As if by unspoken agreement, all the teachers’ gazes fell upon a fat, middle aged man, Oakley.
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Oakley glanced around nervously and couldn’t help but let out a bitter sigh. Who told me to be the headteacher?
He stepped forward and spoke quietly, “Dean, after a thorough inspection of the scene, we can reasonably assume that the assassins have found a way to evade the academy’s surveillance arrays. We’re still investigating, but it’s only a matter of time before we catch them. There’s even a real possibility they might start making mistakes if we increase pressure and tighten the security.”
Then he fell silent.
Fenric didn’t respond to the words. He simply asked, “Anything else?”
Oakley shook his head slightly.
“Gather all the remaining geniuses ranked in the top 50 and bring them to a shared residence, where five teachers will take turns guarding them. If there isn’t enough space, prioritize those in the top 20. From today until the Birth of Deities, which will happen in three months, they aren’t allowed to leave. Their training will continue as normal in the residence.” Fenric waved his hand. “That’s all.”
As if pardoned by the gods, the teachers hurriedly bowed and left the office without looking back. Oakley was one of them too.
Once he was finally alone, Fenric sank into deep thought.
Should I report this to the President? he asked himself. Scenarios soon began to unfold in his mind, each representing the countless possibilities he could imagine.
The more he mentally simulated the outcomes, the more his body shook with anger.
In most scenarios, the lightest punishment he could hope for was being forced to step down as dean, while the worst was being sent to the army and thrown into the deadliest missions.
In the end, under his leadership, the academy had lost almost twenty of the most promising youths of the current generation, one of them even ranked in the top 20.
Fenric knew that, despite the lofty appearance of his position, he was in the most precarious situation of them all. His current crimes weighed as heavily as mountains, and if he couldn’t catch whoever was responsible, he would be treated as a sinner.
A terrible one, to boot.
I can’t report this to the President before I resolve this mess, or I’ll never be able to regain this position. I must find those assassins or come up with something, because…
He thought of a woman who held the same position as him, and his nerves twitched. As long as that witch is still a dean, I’ll never step down.
She was the main reason Fenric refused to relinquish his post, though even she had no idea.
He had a few suspicions about who might have sent the assassins. Very few people on Earth had the influence and power to hire skilled assassins capable of evading even the academy’s surveillance arrays.
But even if he was suspicious of several people… what could he do without evidence?
Start a war based on a feeling?
There was also the possibility that the assassins belonged to a hidden group, using Univara Academy to gain fame and make their organization known.
He couldn’t be sure of anything until he caught one of them and heard the truth from their own mouth.
Even the academies of Altura and Tritus weren’t exempt from his suspicions.
With the tournament approaching and the fierce competition between the academies for resources, it wasn’t far-fetched to think they might try to whittle down the competition.
“Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll make your life a living hell.”
Fenric stood and left his office.
If the teachers were too useless to catch a few assassins… he’d do it himself.
/////
Tens of thousands of kilometers away, on a stretch of ice that seemed to span to the horizon, a stunning young woman with long blonde hair that gently swayed with the wind and a rapier strapped to her waist moved swiftly across the frozen expanse.
She wore a white, long cloak embroidered with gold, though it didn’t seem necessary for the cold as every now and then, the cloak would flap open, revealing armor beneath that left parts of her arms and legs exposed.
“According to the reports, this was the last place the beast was seen. It shouldn’t have gone far,” she murmured softly. Then her lips curved into a smile as she added, “It’s been a while since I last went hunting, and this time the target is one of the stronger beasts in Grade 1. I bet its body will fetch quite a price.”
She was lost in her thoughts when a roar echoed nearby.
Though “nearby” was a relative term in this case.
Her eyes glinted. “There.” She pushed off the ground, and her figure soon covered a hundred meters.
The roar, which had seemed almost beside her, grew louder and louder. After traversing just over two kilometers, a seven meter tall figure covered in white fur came into view.
It had once been a polar bear, but its species, after the evolution, was now without a name.
Just crouching there, it looked like a small hill. There was no telling how tall it would be if it stood upright.
She murmured softly, “With that size… how much will I earn?”
Her gaze fixed on the beast’s back as it had yet to turn around.
She unsheathed her rapier and quickly advanced toward it.
Just as she was about to strike—
Thud.
The beast collapsed to the ground, making it shake slightly for a moment before everything went still.
“Hm?” Her steps came to a sudden halt. She had only just noticed that the ground beneath the beast was red.
As she stared, the sound of footsteps came from the beast’s direction.
Someone’s here!
Her eyes narrowed. “I know someone is there, come out.”
From the side of the bear, the tip of a spear appeared first, followed slowly by a man with short black hair as he stepped into view.
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