CHAPTER 98: 98 - MEETING THE HEADMASTER

June 29, 2080

Monday, [6:00 AM]...

Raven woke up and received a shocking news.

He was currently reading the texts he received from Ruby.

=====

[Ruby]: Have a sweet dream 3

---(5:49 A.M)---

[Ruby]: Good morning :3

[Ruby]: At the SET B combat test, [CLASS A-1] overwhelmingly won. The test only lasted for 19 minutes and 23 seconds.

[Ruby]: Alec, Curtis, Adelle, Blake, Eve, and Aoi—all six of them destroyed their opponents in minutes. What took them long was finding the enemy’s base.

=====

"What the fuck..."

Raven unconsciously cursed after reading the outcome of Alec and the others’ test.

"Originally, they would have taken at least half an hour to finish the test."

He mumbled.

The result of the main characters’ test was drastically different from the story.

’I know their enemies changed, but still...’

In the novel, Alec and the others were supposed to fight against Sean and his group in the test.

But because Raven changed that, he knew the main characters’ results would also change, and their completion time would definitely be faster.

’But this is just absurd...’

Raven thought as he replied to Ruby’s texts.

=====

[Raven]: I was already sleeping last night, so I wasn’t able to reply -,-

[Raven]: Anyway, good morning :)

[Raven]: Alec and the others did better than I expected, but why are you telling me this?

=====

Ping—

Not long after, he received a reply from Ruby.

=====

[Ruby]: It’s fine, you must’ve been really exhausted :

[Ruby]: Anyway, I told you because Eve and the others approached me yesterday after their test and requested me to tell you their results.

[Ruby]: I accepted because there’s no harm in doing so, and it’s an easy favor.

=====

"Eve and the others told her to...?"

Raven mumbled.

[Looks like they were greatly provoked by you.]

Then Sariel appeared and told him.

[And why the fuck are you two flirting over texts?]

He added.

"We’re just greeting each other."

Raven casually responded as he stood up from his bed.

Then he opened his mouth again.

"So they were saying that they did better than me, huh..."

He whispered to himself as he started washing his face.

’What a bunch of funny people.’

He thought, a small smile on his face.

But deep inside, he was a little displeased that the others had beaten his time with such a huge margin.

Tok– Tok–

It was then that Raven heard someone knocking on his door.

"Who the fuck is it?"

Raven asked with a frown.

"..."

But he received no answer.

Tok– Tok–

Instead, the knocking continued.

"Fucking hell..."

Raven mumbled, scratching his head in annoyance.

Tok– Tok–

"I’m coming!"

He approached the door.

Arriving in front of it, he grabbed the handle and immediately opened the door.

Swiish—

Bam—

"Who the fu—"

"You’re homeroom teacher."

Raven was about to rudely question who it was—when a familiar voice cut him off with a dry reply.

It was Kendy.

"..."

Raven silently stared at Kendy.

Kendy was looking down at him with cold eyes.

And after a moment of silence, Raven opened his mouth...

"Is there anything you need, Sir?"

He casually asked Kendy, ignoring his earlier tone—and Kendy’s threatening glare.

"..."

Kendy didn’t answer and just continued to glare at him.

But Raven said nothing else, meeting the stare head-on.

He didn’t even apologize.

"Haaa..."

Eventually, Kendy just sighed and shook his head.

"Come with me."

He ordered.

"Why?"

Raven asked.

Then with a mischievous smirk on his face—

"The headmaster is looking for you."

Kendy replied, voice laced with a teasing threat. He was clearly trying to scare him.

"Oh, sure."

"Wait a sec."

But contrary to his expectations, Raven just accepted it calmly.

He turned around, went back inside his dorm, and came back just seconds later.

"Lead the way, sir."

Raven said.

He returned wearing a gray hoodie jacket and formal black trousers.

Simple, but he still looked quite presentable with just that.

"...Let’s go."

And with that, Kendy and Raven headed toward the headmaster’s office.

Kendy was confused as why Raven is so chill and all about this situation, a frown on his face.

*****

(Raven’s POV)

"Let’s go."

Sir Kendy said, and we left our dorm.

After getting out of the dormitory building, I looked around.

"Hmm?"

But there was nothing—I couldn’t see what I was looking for.

"Did you bring a vehicle?"

I asked Sir Kendy.

Lunar Academy is huge, and the headmaster’s office—or rather, the building where it is—is thousands of meters away from where we were.

Anyway, at my question, Sir Kendy just tilted his head—acting all innocent!

And seeing that—

’Fuck! His face is asking what I’m even talking about!’

I cursed internally.

Sure enough, my gut feeling was right.

"I just ran all the way here."

Sir Kendy replied, a sly smile forming on his face.

"We’re going to run all the way to the headmaster’s office too."

He added teasingly.

(Raven immediately dropped any remaining formality toward Kendy upon hearing that.)

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kendy asked after I just stared at him for a while.

I shook my head and began gathering mana into my legs and feet.

Seeing that, Kendy let out a curious smile.

"Come to think of it, a lot of students said they always see someone running around the academy for hours."

He said.

"So it was you..."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing... Let’s go."

After that brief exchange, I braced myself to take off.

’When Kendy runs, follow immediately.’

I told myself.

Then—

BAM—

I heard a sharp, loud burst beside me!

Kendy had vanished from my sight.

SWOOSH—

And in just a second, he was already ridiculously far away!

’Though I already expected that to happen...’

I thought, watching Kendy glance back in my direction with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, and don’t get left behi—"

SWOOSH—

Kendy was mid-sentence, clearly trying to provoke me—

But before he could finish—

"What were you saying?"

I appeared beside him and asked with a smirk.

"...!"

Kendy’s face said it all. Widened eyes. Slightly parted lips. Total shock.

It was deeply satisfying.

I knew he’d pull something stupid.

So as soon as I heard the burst from his takeoff, I immediately transformed [Celestria] into a pair of wings.

And the moment I saw his figure shoot off—I launched myself with a mana-enhanced kick and flapped my wings with full force.

’No way I’m letting him tease me without a fight. This should shut him up.’

So with a genuine smile on my face—

"Hurry up, sir."

Tap.

I lightly tapped his shoulder.

"You cheeky brat..."

But then, Kendy grinned.

"So it’s a race you want, huh?"

He muttered.

I have no fucking idea what he’s talking about.

"I’ll only use a quarter of my speed, so be sure not to fall behind!"

"Wait, I don’t want to ra—"

BAM—!

SWOOOOSH—

I tried to stop him, but he vanished—again—appearing hundreds of meters away!

"Kendy, you fucking donkey!"

Bam—!

SWOOSH—

And just like that, I was forced to follow him—or rather, race against him.

*****

"Haaaaaaaaaah... haa... hah..."

"Good job not falling behind."

Kendy said, looking down at me, who was still catching my breath.

We were finally in front of the building that housed the headmaster’s office.

Our little "race" lasted for 1 minute and 59 seconds.

Kendy won—by 2.8 seconds.

We ran a total of 2,057 meters.

Normally, I could handle that distance easily—if I wasn’t flying at full speed using mana.

But thanks to my habit of running around the academy every morning, I knew exactly where the headmaster’s office was.

So even though I couldn’t keep up directly, I followed Kendy’s afterimages the whole way.

That’s how fast he was—his speed left afterimages.

"I hate you..."

Gulp– Gulp–

I muttered, gulping down a mana potion and a stamina potion.

"Fucking hell..."

I grumbled, and immediately entered the building without waiting for Kendy.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Swoosh— Click—

-------

Kendy frowned as he watched Raven walk away.

’I used more than a quarter of my speed...’

He thought.

Agility wasn’t even Kendy’s strong suit—but as an [S+] ranker, his agility stat was [A+].

’Raven’s speed is absurdly high...’

"What a weird kid."

Kendy mumbled as he followed after Raven.

*****

(Raven’s POV)

"Fuuuu..."

I let out a long sigh to calm myself.

I was standing in front of the headmaster’s office.

The man behind that door—he’s one of the strongest beings in the world.

Not just in the human domain—in the world.

One of the 1st generation [Awakeners].

So yeah, I was slightly nervous.

But I already knew why I was summoned.

"What, you’re not gonna enter?"

I heard Kendy beside me, staring at me like I was acting strange.

"I will."

I replied with a frown.

Tok– Tok–

Then I knocked on the office door.

"We’re here, old man!"

Kendy yelled.

Swoosh— Click—

The sliding door opened immediately.

Without hesitation, I walked in.

Tap—

FWOOOOSH—

"...!"

The moment I stepped inside, cold chills washed over me.

My body stiffened—refused to obey.

The room darkened around me. My instincts flared in warning.

"Raven Obadiah."

FWOOOOH—

"Keuk...!"

I grunted as a voice filled with power called my name.

Just hearing it weighed down on me.

I couldn’t move—I couldn’t activate my skills.

’Sariel!’

I called desperately.

[I’m on it!]

And then—

FWOOSH—!

Monarch’s Presence flared to its maximum, shielding me.

I regained some control of my body.

I spread my mana outward—forcing it to push back the pressure.

That helped. I could finally move freely again.

I immediately activated Calm Thinker to its full effect.

And saw the state I was in...

Cold sweat soaked my back. My body trembled slightly.

I forced it to stop.

"Fuuuu..."

Then, standing tall, I looked ahead and spoke with a smile.

"I greet the Headmaster."

I said confidently.

’Sariel... His stats.’

I requested mentally.

[Here!]

=====

[STATUS]

Name: Leo Justo

Rank: SSS-

Mana Control: SS+

Strength: SS-

Agility: SS-

Stamina: SS

Intelligence: SS-

Luck: S

Charm: S+

[SKILLS]

Mana Path Preset Lvl.10

Overwhelm Lvl.10

Great Analysis Lvl.10

Hell Smash Lvl.10

Curse to Enemies Lvl.10

—Blessing to Subordinates Lvl.10 (Linked)

[TRAITS]

Commander

Wise

Hero Trainer

A Living Legend

=====

’What a fucking monster I created...’

I thought.

The headmaster looked at me curiously, then smiled.

"So, you can endure that much huh... You’re amazing."

He complimented.

"Now then, would you like to have a talk with this old man?"

He asked.

"It would be my honor to."

I replied, keeping the crook smile on my face.