Chapter 343

The United Academy is a place where anyone with talent can enroll, regardless of their status.

This has led to an influx of geniuses with an ego bigger than a hot air balloon, and let me tell you, their egos are usually off the charts.

Ego is often referred to as pride, but it also encompasses feelings like self-esteem and arrogance—basically anything related to one’s self-image.

Because of this, unless egos get crushed, they have a strong tendency to climb over others to elevate themselves.

Or they might just set their egos aside for a bit and look for a chance to ascend. Honestly, that’s pretty much the typical life at the Academy.

Want to enjoy a friendly school life? You’d be better off in a local educational institution than at the Academy.

Of course, people do end up making friends due to mutual human charm, but that’s more of a ‘romantic’ notion, and the fierce competitive atmosphere hasn’t really changed.

Moreover, with recent global tensions rising, there’s often a mix of political motivations going on.

“….”

A few days had passed after the freshmen’s duel. Reina, the top freshman, had recently been feeling uneasy.

Sure, it was great that she enrolled as the top student, and she performed spectacularly in the freshman duel.

But still, Reina wasn’t completely satisfied. What she truly wanted was an active school life.

At first, due to her background as a princess from Frozen and her outstanding combat skills, a lot of people approached her.

Being passionate and approachable, Reina welcomed all of them without reservation.

The problem lay with her fatal weakness.

[Strong and mighty in the morning! If anyone asks, I am Reina!]

[Uh… what?]

[It’s a strong greeting!]

[What?]

It was a catastrophic communication failure. Her worst weakness that had been pointed out even before enrollment.

Reina was aware of it and was trying hard, but maybe her academic brain just wasn’t cut out for it.

Even after starting at the Academy, her disastrous language abilities remained unchanged.

If there were any other students from the same country, things might have been better, but unfortunately, Reina was the sole representative from Frozen.

[Hello. What’s up today?]

[I’m sorry, Your Highness. Please don’t talk to me from today. I can’t understand.]

[Uh, uh? Ummm…]

No matter how amazing her skills were, if communication was tough, people naturally tended to drift away.

Especially at the Academy, having communication difficulties could clearly act as a ‘weakness.’

In severe cases, rumors could inflate suggesting something was wrong with her mental state. Reina was already guessing that much.

One might question whether it was acceptable to disregard a princess, but if one shares a similar status, it’s okay.

Moreover, if this situation strained international relations, it could lead to a tremendous embarrassment, so she had no choice but to tolerate it.

‘I can hear just fine…’

Reina sighed inwardly. She understood the importance of the common language long before entering the Academy.

So, despite her efforts, she must have had no talent for the arts, as progress had been minimal.

In fact, she often heard people say that she was great at fighting and creativity but really terrible at studying.

So much so that even the tutor didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and kind of gave up halfway through. Learning her mother tongue was even a struggle.

‘Why is it so hard for me to read?’

Reina knew what her issue was. Simply put, the letters didn’t register in her mind.

Whenever she saw writing, it felt like decrypting a code. So naturally, she avoided it.

Her family said she just didn’t have a knack for studying, but it was just that reading itself was difficult for Reina.

‘I don’t know why.’

Though she was studying the common language in her spare time, it was still tough. Occasionally, she even found herself holding the book upside down.

Fortunately, listening wasn’t a problem, so speaking wasn’t hard for her at all. She just struggled with writing.

Reina sighed in frustration.

‘Everyone else is good at the common language…’

She scanned the classroom. It felt bitter, but it was a suitable spot to sit in a corner and observe.

Reina’s class was largely filled with students of high status. Particularly, notable families from the Eastern Empire made up over half the class.

Rumor has it that they fled due to some rebellion in the East, which is why the ages were all over the place.

‘Seems like they aren’t all that friendly.’

It was clear that they were precisely divided into two or three factions. The exact reason was unclear.

But let’s face it; political reasons were probably mixed in there. More than anything, she wouldn’t even have a spot in that crowd.

Looking closely, it was obvious that only those from the Eastern Empire were gathered. She could instinctively feel she didn’t belong there.

‘What about the others…?’

Another noticeable group was undoubtedly the twin siblings from the Matra Empire royalty.

Sure, there were tons of bad rumors about them, but hey, they were stunning to look at. People couldn’t help but be drawn in.

Especially in Reina’s eyes, the sister, Diana, stood out more than her brother Leo.

With her shimmering gray hair, sharp cat-like eyes, and porcelain skin.

And the elegance and mysterious aura that emanated from her every gesture.

‘Where did those rumors about them being wild come from?’

They were only more mature compared to others their age; there didn’t seem to be any real issues. The problem was with the brother.

He had already caught the eye of several female students and had received some harsh rejection. At a glance, he was definitely someone you’d want to steer clear of.

But, like birds of a feather, being a prince of an empire meant there were plenty of people trying to get close to him. Not a great situation.

‘I need to master the common language ASAP.’

That was the best thing she could do right now. Mastering it as quickly as possible.

Even though writing was tough, listening and speaking wasn’t a problem. She had to capitalize on that.

‘If only I had studied harder back then…’

Would things have turned out differently if she had been more diligent in learning the common language from her tutor? Who knows?

As students chattered and laughed, Reina sat alone, opening a book related to the common language.

But even as she tried to read, it was incredibly hard. The words just felt like squiggly worms wriggling around.

‘…Can I even do this?’

Just as Reina’s confidence was dwindling.

-Creak!

The sound of the door opening silenced the classroom in an instant.

Reina tore her eyes from the book, verifying who had entered the room.

Walking in was her professor, Dis. A skinhead with an X-shaped scar on his head, strikingly impressive, to say the least.

He looked more like a mercenary or a bandit than a professor. And let’s just say, he was just as skilled as he looked.

“Uh? Uh-oh?”

However, what stood out even more were the people who followed him. Reina felt a wave of panic wash over her.

It wasn’t just her; other students wore similar expressions of shock. Most were staring in disbelief.

“That gray-haired one. No way…”

“That brown-skinned one with red hair. Isn’t that the Tartar ethnicity?”

“I heard the only Tartar in the Academy is a princess…”

And rightly so, the appearance of those entering behind Dis was famous in various circles.

Gray hair is exclusive to the royals of the Matra Empire, while brown skin is a distinctive feature of the Tartar people.

“Red eyes?”

“Could it be him?”

“No way. Why are they here?”

“Could they have flunked?”

That last person with the red eyes was a hot topic swirling around at the Academy.

Perhaps due to his ghostly pale skin, his red eyes were extraordinarily eye-catching.

With famous newcomers who even the freshmen already recognized, the classroom buzzed with murmurs before quickly quieting down again.

“Everyone, quiet!”

“….”

“….”

With the charismatic command of Professor Dis, the students snapped their mouths shut.

Dis then scanned the room with his piercing gaze before speaking in a deep voice.

“You’re likely all confused. But let me be clear: the people standing before you will be providing much help as assistants in the future.”

“Assistants?”

“Those people?”

“Two of them, sure, but isn’t that red-eyed one a wildman?”

“Are they going to lead us? This is ridiculous.”

Whispers began again among the students. And it made sense, as assistants are supposed to support professors.

To assist a professor, you need the right skills and knowledge. Naturally, it was going to bring up some controversy.

Though they were chatting in their mother tongue, Dis quickly caught on to the negative vibe of their discussion.

He’d had an inkling such reactions would arise. So, he continued in a calm voice.

“Let me reiterate; these individuals have been chosen solely to assist us. Their skills are not lacking, so treat them politely.”

“Skills aside, I’ve got doubts about their knowledge…”

One student raised a hand to challenge him. Quite a rude rebuttal.

Dis turned his gaze to the student, who belonged to a prestigious family from the East.

It was pretty obvious who he was targeting, but Dis merely chuckled. The challenger’s expression shifted awkwardly.

“Knowledge versus intelligence… You’ll see. You’ll regret those words.”

“….”

“First, we’ll wrap up the introduction of the assistants and move on to the upcoming schedule.”

The schedule itself wasn’t vastly different from what Sivar experienced in his freshman year. There was a manual developed over decades.

“In this, the assistants won’t be directly involved in practice and exams… but this time, it’ll be a little different. They’ll be taking part.”

“Wait, an assistant is stepping in?”

“Yep. To be honest, I’d say you’re already familiar with the red-eyed one in the trio.”

Familiar? It was common knowledge at this point—the rumors were rampant.

That said, the students didn’t quite grasp the intention of his questions. They simply awaited Dis’s words.

Then, with a subtle smile, Dis blurted out something that would crush their egos.

“No matter how many of you come at him, this assistant will not be beaten. I guarantee that.”

“….”

“Feeling your pride hurt? Tough luck.”

There’s only one way to handle those with strong egos.

“It won’t take long for you all to realize that it’s true.”

To prick their pride and then completely crush it.

And an Academy student’s pride was generally derived from their abilities.

‘He really was something! Well, that settles it if he managed to take down that bear by himself.’

Reina could only marvel in pure admiration.

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