NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
<46 - It's the First Class>
Myung So was lost in thought.
‘Oh, Primordial Celestial Being! Why has that child awakened to such dangerous antics even before entering school?’
Worried about Oknodie’s future, he had been keeping an eye on her to see if she was adapting well to the academy, only to witness her committing crimes.
Infiltrating the guard post.
Infiltrating the dormitory building.
Breaking into the dormitory supervisor’s room.
Even going so far as to hide and emerge from a tunnel dug up by the guard dogs.
No matter how much he wanted to protect her, this was unacceptable.
Myung So approached the Principal to report what he had witnessed and sought counsel on what to do next.
– Are you saying that a child of the Wiheomhae Foundation is rampaging around recklessly?
“I’m sorry, but from what I saw, that seems to be the case.”
For the child’s future, such behavior must be stopped as soon as possible.
Regardless of what orders she had received from the Foundation that led her to act like this, from his perspective, it only looked like an assassin scouting out their operational area.
– That child really is audacious.
Does she have any self-awareness that her actions are wrong?
Her talent for sneaking around like a rat is exceptional.
Even after stealing the [Inungseok] that everyone treated as a national treasure, neither the guards nor the supervisor realized it.
The skill to sneak in and out while deceiving even the magical barriers was becoming more amusing the more he thought about it.
– If the world’s greatest thief emerges, it must be that brat’s doing!
“Don’t just admire it; please guide her.” – Does the Buddha you believe in say that child is on the wrong path?
“The Five Precepts of Buddhism prohibit theft. It is a harmful act that undermines the most fundamental trust in human society.” – What that child stole was neither the magical pass from the guard post nor the dorm supervisor’s key, but a stone.
“I don’t want to see a stone thief become a life thief.”
If she were just a quirky girl who stole ordinary stones, he wouldn’t even pay attention to her.
The Principal recognized at a glance that the stone Oknodie was stealing was not an ordinary one, but rather an Inungseok.
The captain of the guards and the dorm supervisor could vaguely sense the unusual power contained in the stolen stone and recognized it at first sight.
As audacious as her hands and feet, her eyes were equally sharp.
The claim of being the world’s greatest thief was not just an empty boast.
– If you’re worried, keep a close watch and teach her. She’s such a remarkable talent that it would be a shame for the Wiheomhae Foundation to not embrace her.
“You seem to have seen potential in Oknodie.” – If I were that Foundation’s cunning snake, I would never have sent her into my territory. If I lose her to someone else, it would be a pain that would bother me for a hundred years.
Myung So realized something from those words.
“Does Oknodie have talents even the Chairman of the Foundation doesn’t know about?” – So, mind your grip and don’t let her slip away. If that child returns to the Foundation, I plan on ensuring she is eliminated then and there.
“……!!”
The top student of Group B, blessed by the stars, was intriguing.
However, for the one with the eyes of a spirit, the top student of Group A, danger outweighed curiosity.
Of course, the way any talent is wielded varies greatly depending on the abilities of the teacher.
The Principal had instructed Myung So to prevent Oknodie from going off the rails, which was akin to entrusting her life to him.
Thus, for the sake of the child’s future, he had to fulfill his duty as her mentor and set her life straight.
[Penalty of losing 10,000 points for unauthorized entry into a restricted area has been assigned to Oknodie.]
The fastest way to correct a child’s habit was to penalize them for actions they should not take.
Oh, they found out.
I thought I was careful with [Detection] and [Color Detection].
I clearly dodged the guard post’s magic and the guards’ watchful eyes, but it seems I got caught by someone on a level beyond mine.
Whether the infiltration was revealed late or during the act, it sends shivers down my spine.
Instead of stopping me from my actions, they just threw a deduction bomb at me, saying, “Thanks for the show. Here, have this!”
‘But why was it only ten points deducted?’
Did they go lightly on me since it was my first offense?
Anyway, it worked out well.
“Oknodie, now that the entrance ceremony is over, we should go to our first class. We can’t dawdle around.”
“Ah! I’m going now, Sister Isabel!”
First Year, First Semester.
The glorious first class is a group division class.
“The upper-class classroom is here.”
While the lower classes were formed with around 50 students regardless of group, the upper class pooled all the successful candidates from each group into one classroom.
[Upper Class of Class 981]
[Group A: 17 members]
[Group B: 22 members]
[Group C: 5 members]
[Total: 44 members]
Thousands of examinees for the ticket exam and hundreds of thousands of entrance exam challengers—thousands of Gift Academy passers had climbed through all that competition.
Among them, the upper class, allowed only to 44 members, was filled with familiar faces.
“You’re late. I saved you a seat.”
“Ha ha! Even that mouse sometimes gets nervous like a kid, huh? Look at how hesitantly she’s glancing around.”
Jezel and Son Ohchun.
They were sitting in the very last row of the classroom.
Like delinquent inferior students who claim the back seats as their designated spots, they looked perfectly suited there.
On the way to the back row, the upper classmates who were already seated were staring at them from all sides.
“Hehe. It’s cute to see Di looking shy.”
“Don’t tease me, Arcadia.”
The only girl among Seoguyeon’s group and the psychological support of Group A’s female students, Arcadia.
“You’ve come, haven’t you? A child from the Foundation who knows suspiciously much.”
“Could you not call me a suspicious creature? I’m just an ordinary freshman like you all.”
“Right. Broadly speaking, both the deep-sea one-horned whale and humans can be seen as the same kind of animal.”
“…….”
Once, he carelessly boasted about his knowledge of groups, and his suspicion gauge went off the charts.
The top-ranked student of Seoguyeon and the leader of Group A’s male students, Duke Andersen.
“Hello, little one.”
“Hello, Pirate Sister.”
“Whoa, even if you ask me to call you ‘big sister’?”
Sitting by the window, the privateer Jigoku was spinning a revolver while waving.
“Hello!”
“…Hello.”
When their eyes met in the front row, Northern Grand Duchess Irene gave a light nod to acknowledge her.
“…….”
“…….”
Regardless of who came in, the Eastern Swordsman Sing maintained a meditative pose with one foot on the chair and his eyes closed.
“Hey, we’ll be able to see each other every day from now on!”
“I hope it’s not like that.”
“Too bad~”
The assassin Jiang, with a rabbit mask, made ear shapes with his hands, pretending his ears droop.
“How cute! I just want to bite them off!”
Watching Jiang stomp her feet was Beastwoman Xenia.
Next to her, Hestia was looking over with inexplicable anticipation in her eyes.
“Good morning, Hestia.”
“Uh, yes! Good morning!”
Shaking one arm as if it were thrilling, she murmured it’s good, looking exceptionally cheerful.
Among the various upperclassmen, some greeted warmly, some just a bit, and some indifferent.
In stark contrast to the generally lively Group A, Group B watched from a neutral, somewhat hostile, or extremely hostile perspective.
In the atmosphere heatedly buzzing, a cold tension hung in the air.
It was as if a sharp blade was resting nearby, leaving absolutely no room for relaxation.
“What do you think? Can you feel it from that girl too?”
“I don’t know. That child hasn’t received the blessings of the Twelve Divine Beings that I know of.”
In the area of the central seats in the classroom where Group B students gathered, the [Saintess] and the [Warrior] were conversing.
Among them, the warrior was the top student of Group B and the protagonist of the original work.
The main character of the original game’s narrative, considered a zero-tier overpowered character.
When playing again, she was the most valued playable character with the best performance.
Her closest friend, the saintess, was also a leading-level character, equally overpowered.
Hearing the two top-tier characters of Gift Academy’s Class 981 discuss her made me involuntarily tense my ears.
“If she hasn’t received a divine blessing, then she isn’t as incredible as the rumors suggest, right?”
“Divine blessings are simply a talent suitable for wielding the respective god’s powers. There are many outstanding talents even without divine selection from the gods.”
“That’s quite a blasphemous statement for a saint to say.”
“God dislikes those who are unworthy of themselves. And… just because she hasn’t received the blessings of the Twelve Divine Beings doesn’t mean she hasn’t received blessings from other gods.”
“Really? Then she could be a child chosen by gods like… or…?”
“Indeed. If there are gods whose wavelengths resonate, she might show even greater growth than someone with the blessings of the Twelve Beings. Although, it seems she hasn’t realized it yet.”
Just as that fascinating conversation was heating up, the bell signaling the start of class rang, and a professor entered, concluding the discussion.
Swish
First class time.
The professor assigned to the first class of the upper class of the 981st cycle was surprisingly.
-I’ve arrived!
“Gasp!”
“Ev-everyone shut your mouths! Points will perish!”
Sniff sniff! …Sniff sniff!
The Dragon Principal.
“Just kidding, I tried to mimic the Principal. Did I succeed? Haha.”
…A shapeshifter capable of impressive impersonations.
“From today, I will be responsible for your cycle. I’m Mahabharata, the professor of transformation magic and also the guardian dragon serving the Principal.”
“…….”
A mean-spirited dragon had an equally mean-spirited shapeshifter appear.
“Today, you’ll receive an overview of which classes you’ll attend for the next year at the academy. And once you’ve filled out your course registration, today’s educational program will end.”
An academy closer to a university than a high school.
The course registration time was approaching.
“As a side note, you can check your registration details using your Magic Watch. However, you must physically go to the professor’s classroom you wish to attend to sign up.”
That too on a first-come, first-served basis.