CHAPTER 51: LESSON STARTS; DAY 1 IN THE ACADEMY

A new day dawned in Nexus Academy.

The morning sun broke over the Academy, spilling golden light across towers of stone and glass that gleamed with embedded runes.

The buzz of hundreds of new students echoed across the training grounds and lecture halls, a tide of youthful voices surging with both excitement and dread.

For most, this was the first step into greatness. For Kairo, it was the first step into another battlefield.

The whispers followed him everywhere.

"That’s him."

"The slumrat who survived the tournament massacre."

"They say he eats raw meat. Like a beast."

"And Nexus let him into Class 1A? What a joke."

After the experiences of the past few days, Kairo already expected this but it still didn’t curb the annoyance that burned inside of him.

He clenched his fists but kept walking, his broad shoulders swaying with the same stubborn rhythm that carried him through the slums. He didn’t need to dignify them with a response.

Mira walked a few paces behind him, short hair bouncing, her hands tucked casually into her jacket pockets. She caught the tail end of one sneer from a noble boy and snapped back without hesitation.

"Careful, pretty boy. Keep your chin that high and a stiff breeze might snap your neck."

Ever since the combat phase and whatever happened to Mira there, she changed. Maybe change was not the ride word, it was more of liberation.

She no longer hid, she finally became bold enough to let out her true self. And since then, she clung even closer to Kairo as they became even closer.

Kairo didn’t really know how he felt about her, but at the very least, he didn’t feel annoyed by her presence and he didn’t feel any animosity from her so he was ok with it, for now.

At Mira’s words though, the noble flushed crimson as laughter rippled among the commoners.

Mira smirked, catching Kairo’s glance as if asking, ’what?’

He shook his head, lips twitching.

The lecture hall was vast, tiers rising high, crystalline boards shimmering with floating glyphs and holographic projections.

As soon as time hit 8:00am, Professor Haldren Voss, a tall and severe man in an obsidian coat lined with silver runes strode in. As soon as he entered, his presence silenced the room at once.

"Welcome, freshers," he said, his voice sharp as steel. "This is not a nursery. You are no longer children. You are Awakened, and this Academy will either refine you into weapons worthy of humanity or break you in half trying."

Mana glyphs flared behind him, illustrating the basic model of a mana core.

"Today, we begin with the fundamentals, mana theory and ability synergy, the mathematics of combat potential".

"You will understand that strength alone is insufficient. In the world of Awakened, your intelligence, your control, and your capacity to synergize with your own ability, these determine whether you live or die."

Pens scratched and glyphs blinked as the students murmured.

Seated close to the back seats, Kairo stared at the swirling equations and mana diagrams, his chest tightening.

Only one word rang in his head. ’F*ck!’

To him who had never been to the four walls of any learning institution, the letters may as well have been written in the language of the Elves. He bit his lip, refusing to let the frustration show, but his fists tightened under the desk.

Beside him, Mira’s eyes darted toward him. She said nothing, but she noticed the way his shoulders hunched; she understood.

From across the room, Valek’s smug voice cut the silence. "Need me to draw you some pictures, slumrat? Perhaps with crayons?"

Kairo flinched as laughter burst out, sharp and cruel. Professor Voss’s cold gaze flicked toward Valek, but he didn’t reprimand him. Not yet.

Kairo didn’t answer either. He just stared ahead, jaw grinding.

The class continued for an hour and thirty minutes before coming to an end.

...

Afternoon...

The sun blazed overhead as the students of Class 1A marched into the combat grounds, a massive arena with shifting stone floors that shimmered with enchantments.

At the center stood Captain Revarn, a scarred veteran whose arms were thick with corded muscle. He was the instructor in charge of the basic combat class.

"You are here because you think you can fight," he barked. "Prove it."

He pointed to the reinforced training dummies lined across the field. "We begin with controlled strikes. No fatal blows, no cheap tricks. Show me your ability."

One by one, the students stepped forward.

Mira drew her dagger, wind mana spiraling around its edge in a faint blur. With sharp, economical movements, she danced forward, her strikes slicing grooves into the dummy’s reinforced chest.

’She’s truly changed compared to her during the trial of steel’, watching her again away from the pressure of fighting for the scholarship, Kairo was able to appreciate Mira’s ability even more.

Switching mid-flow, she coated the blade in earth mana, the weapon growing heavier, and slammed down a crushing strike that cracked the dummy’s stone skull.

The class murmured in surprise. Mira twirled the dagger back into its sheath, smirking at their expressions.

Then the Monster Trio showed their teeth.

It was a workover for Adrain as with his two God grade abilities, he conjured a raging conflagration of mana on his fist before tearing the dummy into splinters.

Valek stepped forward next.

Eager to show-off, he activated a skill as his body shimmered, illusions splitting him into three as bloodfire coiled around his hands. His strike reduced the dummy into smoldering chunks while the illusions taunted the class with cruel smiles.

Selene followed, graceful as a songbird. Light responded to her call, weaving into blades that cut precise, surgical lines through her target. She ended with a dazzling flash, the dummy splitting apart like butter.

The crowd gasped, murmurs swelling.

Then it was Kairo’s turn.

Some laughed before he even stepped forward. "What’s he going to do? Flex at it?"

"Maybe he’ll eat it instead."

Kairo ignored them.

He stood before the reinforced dummy, his shirt straining faintly against his muscles. Closing his eyes, he exhaled, then...

~----~

[Hypermuscle Creation Activated!]

[Muscle Charge: 1/6]

~----~

Veins bulged underneath his skin as his muscles swelled like steel cables, skin taut, power humming through him.

He drew back his fist...

And punched.

BOOM!

The reinforced dummy didn’t just crack, it exploded into shards!

The shockwave rippled across the field, making students flinch back. Dust and debris swirled as silence dropped over the crowd.

Kairo lowered his fist, chest heaving, sweat glistening. He didn’t smirk, he didn’t gloat. He just turned back, expression cold, as though daring anyone to laugh now.

No one did.

Even Captain Revarn’s scarred mouth tugged upward, just a little.

And then, it was time for the Virtual Reality Class though they didn’t do anything of note on the first day, just the introductions.

And since it was an Elective Course, the freshers would have to choose their electives tomorrow before training would commence.

The students were led to towering silver pods that hummed with mana. Professor Voss reappeared, gesturing at them.

"These are the Mana Nexus Chambers. Here, we will simulate dungeons, combat, and battlefields. Safe enough to fail, but brutal enough to scar your mind. You won’t enter today, but soon. Prepare yourselves."

The room buzzed with nervous excitement.

By the time classes ended, the freshers were drained. Mira nudged Kairo as they exited the arena, smirking.

"Not bad, slumrat. Didn’t faint today."

Kairo shot her a look. "Didn’t need to."

Behind them, Valek sneered silently, eyes narrowing.

Back in his dorm, Kairo collapsed onto his bed, hunger gnawing at him, pain crawling through his body. Yet his eyes burned bright, staring at the ceiling.

"I’ll survive this Academy... the same way I’ve survived everything else, one punch at a time."