Chapter 415

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Order Class

The first lesson after the rest day began early in the morning.

Taking advantage of the weather not being too hot to be unbearable, the freshmen of the Royal Academy gradually arrived at the training ground, quickly gathering and forming square formations. The area was bustling with people, the noise rising and falling, and the students were quite excited.

Professor Melville arrived very early as well. When Sarah and I got there, the elderly man was standing on an open space in front of the formation, directing the students from the four towers to adjust their formations, creating a half-circle, leaving a large open space in front of the arc. Then he ordered the students sitting closer to the front to sit on the ground, those in the middle to squat down, and the taller ones at the back to stand.

This was the first time since the freshmen enrolled that the Order class was officially taught.

Originally, the course schedule wasn’t supposed to be like this. Based on past experience, the first year should have been filled with twenty-six lessons of foundational Order theory in the first half of the year. Only after the students thoroughly understood the basics would they proceed to formal Order courses in the second half. When I first enrolled, I received the same notification.

But for some reason, the academy decided to accelerate the course schedule. This meant some people might fall behind, such as those who hadn’t been coached by teachers before enrolling or those who started learning about Order powers later and didn’t have a solid foundation. Even some who weren’t quite familiar with using Order powers, like Daisy from 1504, fell into this category. There were quite a few such individuals. Once the schedule was accelerated, they had to put in much more effort if they didn’t want to be left behind.

Of course, for me, the acceleration was perfect.

Today, I sat in the front row by Lake Ceylan, which made me a bit unhappy.

We arrived a little late, and we should have stood at the back, but Professor Melville noticed us as we came over. He glanced at us and casually said, “Quickly, Peyelo go sit in the front row, others find your own suitable positions.”

This sentence depressed me for three minutes.

And what depressed me even more was that even in the front row, several girls beside me were taller than me.

This gloomy mood only gradually eased when Professor Melville let us all sit down and the height difference became less obvious.

The green rock surface of the training ground wasn’t particularly clean. Afraid of getting my uniform dirty, I untied the handkerchief tied around my wrist and placed it under my bottom, straightened my skirt, crossed my legs, and adjusted the wide-brimmed soft hat on my head.

Soon, the crowd suddenly stirred. I turned my head and saw four people slowly approaching from the iron gate entrance of the training ground.

“Master Aiden! Look, that’s Master Aiden!”

“Teacher Luciana, wow—, she’s so beautiful…”

“Knight Horsel has also come…”

“Who is that…”

“That’s… that’s Mr. Reckert! Oh my God! The Sword of the City Guard, the captain of the Canri Sword! The academy actually invited him here!”

“He’s so handsome! I really like him—”

Hmm?

Reckert?

I took a closer look and realized the tall, thin guy walking last, looking somewhat absent-minded, was none other than the man I pushed out the window the other day.

Why is he here too…

Also, his spiky hair, once exposed to the sun, looked even more vibrant…

I felt bored and leaned my chin on my hand, listening to the buzzing of the flower children around me, yawned, and watched the four people walk to the open space. Professor Melville went up to greet them, exchanging pleasantries with smiles, then positioned themselves in front of the formation, facing the students.

The students remained highly excited, continuing their chatter. Next to me was a girl with freckles, her eyes fixed on Reckert, her fists clenched tight, as if she wanted to rush forward immediately.

Professor Melville stepped forward, raised his hand to signal everyone to quiet down.

“I mentioned in the previous lesson that you will see the pinnacle of Order power in the royal city. Now, they are here.”

The old man was thin but had a resonant voice. The atmosphere of the entire training ground was reignited by his words, with many people raising their arms in cheers. The freckled girl next to me shouted Reckert’s name loudly, her voice breaking, and Professor Melville had to raise his hand again to signal for silence.

“Perhaps some of you are already familiar with the names of these four individuals, but allow me to introduce them again… Miss Luciana, formerly the deputy commander of the German Knightly Order, now one of the highest-ranking teachers at the Royal Academy, known as the strongest female knight in Ethenbel… Mr. Aiden, the most famous wandering poet in Ethenbel, the master of combat with Wood Order…”

“Knight Horsel, captain of the Royal Guard near the Crown Prince, who used powerful Earth Order to repel wave after wave of attacks during the recent Clive family rebellion, slaying countless enemies, known as the bravest defender of the palace… And our Mr. Reckert. The sword of the kingdom, the highest responsible person of the Canri Sword, the guardian of Her Majesty the Queen…”

Applause and cheers intertwined, surging like waves in the vast training ground. Professor Melville’s voice was long drowned out, even I sitting in the front row couldn’t hear him clearly anymore.

But no one cared much about this.

Not even Professor Melville himself cared.

After introducing the four, he stood in front, gazing at the enthusiastic students, his face carrying a faint smile, silent, waiting for the commotion to subside.

To his right, Reckert was scratching his face, looking around distractedly, as if searching for someone. Soon, his wandering gaze finally settled on me, blinked, and a corner of his mouth curled up.

What are you looking at…

I rolled my eyes at him in return.

“Ahhhhhhh! Mr. Reckert smiled at me, he smiled at me! Did you see it!”

The girl next to me was really loud…

Everyone was so noisy…

The frenzied cheers lasted nearly twenty seconds.

Once the students’ shouts died down, my ears gradually returned to normal.

Professor Melville spoke again, “I heard your respect and longing for the strong. You are students of the Royal Academy. In the not-so-distant future, some of you will become respected figures, just as strong as they are. But that is in the future, not now. Now, you are all weak.”

After this statement, the venue fell silent instantly.

“I invited the four here today not to lecture or perform for you. If you want to become strong, the first step is to understand what it means to be strong. That is why I invited them here, and that is the content of today’s lesson.”

The old man paused.

“In other words, they are here to beat you up.”

“I know some of you have exceptional talent, and some of you have been undergoing special training since childhood, putting in more sweat and effort than others… You may be proud of this. You might think, compared to these four in front of you, you aren’t much worse, that your talent is just as outstanding, and one day you will surpass them, or perhaps you already consider yourself quite strong and qualified to face the strong… Is there anyone like that?”

They began to whisper and glance at each other, arguing loudly for quite some time, but in the end, no one dared to step forward and admit it.

Seeing this, the old man seemed somewhat angry.

“Is there? ! Are the students of this generation all cowards! Not daring to admit their own level? Or is it that none of you, even one person, believes that their talent and effort far surpass others?! If so, stand up! Otherwise, you are all cowards!”

Wow…

I have never seen such a teacher like Mr. Melville before. I also never imagined that, despite his advanced age, he could still scold people so loudly…

“Teacher, I!”

Ah, someone stood up…

I turned around and saw that it was a young man with sharp features… in his early twenties, his face filled with righteous indignation.

“Good, courage! What’s your name?”

“Ehuasi!”

“Ehuasi, step out! Come forward… Anyone else?”

“Mr. Melville, I! My flame order is very strong!”

“And me! I once defeated a dozen mountain bandits!”

“Teacher—”

Several people stepped forward.

Mr. Melville revealed a smile.

“Very good, very good, just like this! You are students of the Royal Academy, the future stars of humanity, and should not fear challenges! Come, you brave ones, step forward! Among us, including myself! Choose an opponent and use your skills to confront him!”

“Pfft—”

Immediately, someone shrugged and shamefacedly turned back.

“That guy, why are you running! Come over!”

“Teacher, I, my stomach hurts—”

“Hahahaha—”

The students laughed.

“Coward!”

“Teacher, I’m not!”

“Then come over!”

“I… ah, alright…”

In the end, six people came to the front of the team and stood before Mr. Melville. One of them looked familiar… I thought for a while before remembering he was the one who had bullied Daisy until she cried, and whom I had hit so hard it dislocated his nose, earning me the nickname “Nose Terminator.” He was the ghost fire youth from the Rike family… what was his name again?

Anyway, he was later crippled by Alex.

It seems his leg has healed… wasn’t he caught by the iron-clad guards as a hostage back then… hmm?

He seems to be sneaking a look at me…

“Not bad, you’re not bad… please choose your opponents.”

After Mr. Melville spoke, those few people began to pick their opponents.

“Sir Horsel, I would like to try your shield…”

“Miss Luciana, I admire you greatly, so I’ll choose you…”

“Mr. Reckett…”

The ghost fire youth chose Reckett as his opponent. After selecting, he glanced over at me, seemingly quite proud…?

Is he showing off something to me?

“They all want to show off in front of Peylo by the Silan Lake today…”

Hmm?

The voice came from the side behind… talking about me?

“I heard someone knew about today’s arrangements long ago and prepared for it for a long time… that Peter, I know he likes Peylo, wanting everyone to see how great he is…”

“Which boy going up there isn’t like that…”

“Shh, keep your voices down… Peylo is right there… be careful not to be heard…”

“Why be afraid of her…”

“You can’t afford to offend her… there was a girl at the Ahama Mountain Tower, apparently a noble lady of the royal city… she liked a boy who confessed his feelings to Peylo. She couldn’t stand it and gathered some people to block Peylo… but when they went out, they were beaten, I was there… covered in blood… till now, no one knows who did it…”

“But we didn’t curse her…”

Several girls’ quiet conversation reached my ears clearly.

Tsk…

I pursed my lips.

How to say it?

The mood was quite complicated and awkward.

It seemed suddenly, the nature of Reckett and the others being invited over in my eyes became like accompanying kids in a fight… or beating up kids…

Forget it, let’s watch it as an interesting program.

Anyway, I definitely won’t join in this commotion…

Fighting, dust flying everywhere, will dirty my clothes…

As I leaned on my chin thinking, I cast my bored gaze forward.

At this moment, several people who had stepped forward had already chosen their opponents, and it seemed Reckett and the ghost fire youth decided to start first. They stood facing each other on either side of the open space, already more than ten meters away from the student队伍, with others making way for them.

Mr. Melville stood not far from the formation, his eyes fixed on the two people in the field, his right hand hanging by his side with water droplets quietly flowing, looking ready to intercept any stray attacks at any moment.

“Mr. Reckett, I am Peter from the Reckett family, and I have had the honor of meeting you a few times, though you may not remember… but after today, you will definitely not forget me.”

The ghost fire youth’s words sounded quite humble, but upon closer inspection, one could see the smile at the corner of his mouth.

Oh~ very confident, teenager, I believe in you…

Beat up Reckett for me!

“Are you ready? Alright, let’s begin.”

As soon as Mr. Melville’s words fell, two bright flames burst forth from the palm of the ghost fire youth.

“Peter,加油!”

“Go—!”

The students erupted in noise again, with some shouting encouragement. The ghost fire youth slowly moved his right foot forward amidst the shouts, crouching slightly, his eyes focused and cautious, unaffected by external distractions, appearing somewhat composed.

Compared to him, Reckett seemed rather casual, even scratching his ear, then gesturing towards the opponent with a finger, as if provoking him. I saw the ghost fire youth’s eye twitch noticeably, clearly agitated by this action, but then subconsciously glanced in my direction again…

Why do you keep looking at me?

Fight him!

“Peter, 加油.”

I didn’t call the wrong name…

I raised my right fist above my head and waved it, giving the boy the most resolute support with my gaze.

Then I saw the ghost fire youth’s expression turn as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

“Ahhh—”

He roared and charged towards Reckett!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The youth was fast, the flames swirling around his hand in the wind. In just two seconds, he was already in front of Reckett, crouching, lowering his body, left hand feinting to distract the opponent’s vision, right fist pulled back, and in the midst of the audience’s gasps, struck Reckett’s abdomen.

But in the next moment, Reckett dodged to the side.

Facing the attack, he didn’t even move his feet, merely tilting his body slightly to the left, effortlessly avoiding the full-force fire punch from the youth, and taking advantage of the youth’s stunned moment, lifted his right arm and swung casually.

Whoosh—

Wind rushed, dust flew.

A fierce wind stirred up the dust around Reckett, spreading swiftly and instantly obscuring both figures.

I widened my eyes, sitting on the ground, still holding my fist high, watching the dust rush toward me. I couldn’t even swear in my heart, quickly closing my eyes and mouth, holding my breath, listening to the panicked screams of the girls around me, feeling as if countless dirty particles had blown onto my face, body, neck, and hair, making me feel as if ants were crawling all over me.

Damn…

That bastard did it on purpose.