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“Welcome, new students. I am Kim Bong-du, the president of Hero Academy. Hang in there, survive, and please, grow stronger. That’s all.”

Thanks to Kim Bong-du’s 10-second speech, the flustered voice of a staff member could be heard.

“P-President! Please, just a little longer this time…”

“What’s there to say? The sooner it’s over, the better for them and me.”

The staff member sighed as if used to this and continued the proceedings.

It was called an entrance ceremony, but it was nothing special.

The president greeted everyone, introduced the heroes who would be instructors, and it ended so simply that you’d wonder why they even gathered.

“With that, the entrance ceremony for the 12th class of Hero Academy is now concluded.”

The embarrassingly short ceremony ended just like that.

“What… is this it? Are we supposed to leave now?”

There was no guidance on whether to stay seated or where to go. The students were baffled by the unfriendly proceedings.

“Welcome, 12th class.”

“…”

Students wearing the academy’s uniform rushed onto the stage.

They had blue name tags.

Since the name tags rotated between red, blue, and green, blue meant they were from the 11th class.

But why were they here at the 12th class’s entrance ceremony?

It didn’t take long to figure out.

‘A time to establish hierarchy and discipline among students.’

Hero Academy is full of Awakened Ones.

With hundreds of Awakened Ones entering each class, it seemed like a necessary process.

It’s faster for direct seniors to control things than distant instructors or staff.

They’re probably just following what their seniors did.

But what I saw was just a bunch of nonsense.

“Not greeting us? The 12th class is a mess. Everyone, stand up.”

At the blue name tag student’s words, the entire auditorium froze.

Not everyone was scared.

A few students laughed at the nonsense, and some looked completely uninterested.

But since they entered the academy, they followed its rules and stood up as told.

Except for me, of course.

“Gyeoul, shouldn’t you stand up?”

“Why? Hayan, you stay seated too. No need to get involved with these idiots playing power games.”

Jeong Gyeoul, the little Demon King hit by puberty and middle school second-year syndrome, doesn’t bow to such nonsense.

“But…”

Hayan fidgeted, unable to decide whether to sit or stand, and eventually stood up.

“Whoever’s sitting, come out now!!”

The voice carried magic power, echoing through the auditorium.

I guess there’s no rule against using magic inside the academy?

Not a good choice.

If a fight breaks out using magic, one of them could get seriously hurt…

Or maybe that’s what they’re aiming for.

Is this a hero training ground or a villain factory?

“I said come out!”

Silence fell around.

Hayan, panicked, grabbed my shoulder and shook it.

“Gyeoul…”

While I was lost in thought, the students’ gazes turned to me, and the blue name tag on stage turned red with anger.

Hayan had every reason to be flustered.

But I had no intention of standing up.

“You punk!”

The voice calling me grew louder, and the blue name tag came down from the stage.

“Are you deaf? You wanna fight me? Daring to defy a senior? And at the entrance ceremony?”

The blue name tag walked up to me and barked.

I listened indifferently, while Hayan trembled beside me.

Hayan, now S-Class, had lost much of her old self, but she was still a fragile 14-year-old.

By the way, ‘daring to defy a senior’…

I’m a senior in life, you punk.

I wanted to act like an old-timer, but 14-year-old Jeong Gyeoul had lived a shorter life than him.

I’m behind in both age and class.

What a pity.

“Isn’t the entrance ceremony over? Did the academy approve this? Or is this just the seniors’ doing?”

“…What’s your name? 16? 15? You look too young. Just because you awakened early, you think you can act like this to seniors?”

As the blue name tag approached, the students blocking my view moved aside, causing a commotion on stage.

The blue name tag ignored it and continued to lecture…

But another blue name tag ran down and tried to pull him away.

“What are you doing? Let go! How dare a 12th class student defy a senior…”

He whispered something urgently into his ear…

From his expression, I could guess what it was.

He’s the Demon King’s brother!

Something like that.

“…”

Sure enough, the blue name tag’s face began to pale.

“Uh… Gyeoul… So this is… I misunderstood… I made a mistake… I didn’t know you’d be at the entrance ceremony…”

The stern atmosphere from earlier vanished, and he stuttered an apology to me.

‘This is ridiculous…’

I haven’t even done anything yet.

I was about to fight back and enjoy the moment.

This feels unfair.

‘But since he apologized first…’

As I got up from my seat to accept it half-heartedly…

“I’m sorry! I was wrong! This won’t happen again! I didn’t want to do this! Please forgive me!”

“…?”

The blue name tag suddenly started sobbing and backing away.

“Why are you…”

“Aaaah!”

As I took a step forward, he screamed and collapsed.

“It’s okay…”

“Kyaaaah!”

“…”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please spare me! I won’t do it again!”

I haven’t even done anything yet, you crazy guy.

“Jeong Gyeoul is tormenting an 11th class senior…”

“Shouldn’t someone stop him? This could get serious.”

“…As expected of the Demon King’s brother, causing trouble right after entering.”

“What do we do, of all people, Jeong Gyeoul…”

“Should I go call the instructors?”

“Stop, you might get targeted too.”

The tense atmosphere broke, and even the 12th class students started siding with the 11th class blue name tag.

I… became the top predator the moment I entered.

I became a disruptive species the moment I appeared in the ecosystem.

Even so…

“Hey…”

“Kyaaaah!”

Every time I spoke, he almost had a seizure.

“…”

Did he get beaten by the Demon King or something? His condition seems serious.

If it’s not PTSD, it’s hard to explain.

Even though I’m the Demon King’s brother and the youngest Awakened One.

Seeing how the same class students aren’t that scared, it’s clear that a senior acting like this isn’t normal.

I felt like a monster for a moment.

The blue name tag’s reaction was that intense.

“Gyeoul… Are you already the top here?”

“Don’t say weird things, we entered together… I feel wronged.”

As the 11th class representative blue name tag became unable to do anything, the other 11th class students also looked flustered.

Someone relatively sane came forward to quickly wrap things up.

“…In an hour, there will be an ability measurement. Until then, it’s free time, so you can roam around. Except for those in casual clothes, everyone else is a senior or staff, so be respectful. Especially during the ability measurement later, don’t act like this. The 10th class seniors will be watching too.”

“Yes!”

The once confident 11th class blue name tag seniors left dejected, and the situation was settled.

“…Wow, a fight on the first day.”

“Is Jeong Gyeoul crazy or something… Even if he’s a senior.”

“But honestly, I found it satisfying. They were just trying to show off their authority. What era is this…”

“I should’ve come in the 13th class. I don’t want to be around Jeong Gyeoul…”

“…If you came in the 13th class, 15-year-old Jeong Gyeoul would be your direct senior.”

“True, thank you for letting me be in the 12th class…”

***

The last official event of the day, the ability measurement, arrived.

They advised us to update our records at the Association before entering, but since too many students didn’t, the academy requested the Association to provide a measurement machine.

It was the latest model that could measure magic rank, awakening category, and ability type all at once.

Of course, only the rank and awakening category were publicly disclosed.

The details of abilities were kept strictly confidential.

If the exact nature of an Awakened One’s ability is known, it’s easier to exploit their weaknesses.

“Check your student numbers, and those from 120001 to 120010, come forward in order.”

The 12th class students took turns stepping into the measurement machine.

Thanks to the latest model, it went quickly, and Jeong Gyeoul’s turn came.

“Jeong Gyeoul, C-Class, Super Ability Category. Ability is this.”

“Got it.”

The results were detailed on a smartphone connected to the machine.

Lee Hayan, right after Jeong Gyeoul, also finished her measurement.

“Lee Hayan, S-Class… Magic Category ability is this.”

The most common in the Magic Category is the Elemental Mage.

Usually, they specialize in one type of element.

There are no mages who can handle more than three types of elements.

But Lee Hayan was an all-master, specialized in all elemental attributes.

Of course, only the Demon King, Jeong Gyeoul, Lee Hayan, and Lee Hayoon knew she was an all-master.

 

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