{Eren Brown's POV}
Things went exactly the opposite of what I had planned! One could say that I failed—spectacularly—in hiding my power.
"Ren Foster and… Eren Brown; it seems you are the two most outstanding students in this class, aren't you~?"
The one speaking was Instructor Scarlett, wearing a smile that sent chills down my spine.
"Well then, students, I'll give you five minutes to regain your composure before we begin the first lesson of this year."
Miss Scarlett said this as she left the classroom—though not before casting a fleeting glance at both Ren and me.
It seems I've drawn the attention of the first important character in this story.
Lucky me.
How could it be otherwise, when Scarlett is the very person who trained Ren, Lucas, and the rest of the story's heroes…
Don't misunderstand me; her training is pure torment—no, hell itself. I mean, who makes a student train while wearing weights and mana-suppressing equipment, then fight a monster—and by "monster," I mean her.
The five minutes passed incredibly fast.
"It's time for the lesson. Everyone, return to your seats."
The teacher's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I began to focus, fearing that I might give her the impression that I was lazy or uninterested in her class.
But guess who did exactly that? Yes—Lucas, or rather, the author of this world.
Because of his author's authority, Lucas doesn't seem to care about anything theoretical; he can simply ask his system a question and receive the answer instantly…
Yes, cheating truly is wonderful—but it comes with its downsides. He was always given unexpected quests at unexpected times and places.
"Student Lucas Silver; it seems you're not paying attention to my lesson. Please come forward and explain to the students the classifications of demons and monsters, and how we differentiate between them."
Scarlett shot Lucas an angry look before asking him. Well, this scene also happened in the novel, and one could say it marks the beginning of the rivalry between Lucas (the author) and Ren…
At first, Lucas's character is truly awful; he doesn't care about anything, and all he wants is to leave this world.
But in the final chapters of the novel, something happens that isn't explained until the very end—one of the mysteries I truly don't know—and his attitude does a complete 180-degree turn.
"One could say that demons are ranked from the first tier up to the tenth. The strongest demon discovered so far was from the ninth tier, and it's said that there exists a single demon of the tenth tier, who is naturally the Demon King. As for demon types, we only know them from the heroes' accounts; they have encountered four types so far, namely…"
Demon types have always been a source of debate, since some demons can use powers other than their own.
That was what truly frightened me.
Lucas continued, saying:
"1. Dark Demon: Represents the ugliest type of demons and possesses immense strength and extraordinary abilities.
2. Fire Demon: Controls fire and uses it to burn everything in its path.
3. Ice Demon: Controls ice and cold, using them to freeze everything—even the emotions of its enemies.
4. Mind Demon: Uses intelligence and mental manipulation to control others; it embodies deception and deceit."
One could say that these classifications are both accurate and inaccurate at the same time.
The classroom fell silent as everyone stared at Lucas, shock evident on their faces. Lucas had been known since childhood to be terrible at theoretical subjects before entering the academy; his score on the theoretical exam was even the lowest among the top ten.
"Excellent, student Lucas. And what about monsters?"
The instructor spoke, looking satisfied with Lucas's answer.
"Monsters are classified like humans, from rank F up to rank SSS. Intelligent monsters naturally start appearing from rank A, and there is only one type of monster capable of reaching rank SSS—the dragon."
Lucas continued confidently. Had I not known the source of his confidence—that it came from his system, which answers all his questions—I would have been just as surprised as the other students.
"Well done, student Lucas. However, you must listen to my lecture even if you are already familiar with everything mentioned in it."
That was all Instructor Scarlett could say.
"Yes, ma'am."
Lucas replied, his mind clearly racing with thoughts I couldn't yet understand.
The rest of the lecture passed normally, with nothing particularly important to mention.
"This concludes today's lesson. Starting tomorrow, the practical classes will begin. I ask everyone to prepare well."
Instructor Scarlett said as she left the classroom—of course, not before casting a quick glance at several students. Yes, I was among the lucky ones; you can sense the sarcasm.
"Eren."
As I stood up from my seat, intending to leave the classroom, a familiar female voice called out to me.
"We haven't met in a while, Eren."
I turned to find Mai standing before me, a charming smile on her face as she looked at me.
I found myself stunned for a moment, but quickly regained my composure.
"Hello, Mai. How have you been since then?"
"I've been fine; nothing major has happened recently."
She said, her smile unchanged.
"Now then, shall we go eat and chat a little~?"
A shiver ran through my body; this had completely slipped my mind.
I'd forgotten to come up with an excuse for Mai about why I was in that village…
We began walking toward the dining hall, my thoughts racing as I tried to escape this situation—until an unfamiliar voice pulled me out of my thoughts, sounding exactly as I had imagined it would.
"Hello; you're Eren Brown, right?"
I turned to find a young man with blue hair and red eyes. The first thought that came to mind upon seeing him was "gratitude"—which was strange; I mean, I'd never met him before. Great, more unnecessary thoughts…
"I'm Ren Foster, and I wanted to ask you something."
He said. I started wondering what he wanted, until I remembered the protagonist's character.
"Would you spar with me?"
The moment he said that, a smile formed on my lips. How could it not? I'd just found the perfect excuse to dodge Mai.
"Sorry, Ren Foster, but we're going to eat now."
Mai said, her tone as usual—but if you paid close attention, you could notice a slight annoyance on her face…
"That's fine. I was heading to the dining hall as well. Then from there, we can go to one of the training platforms, right, Eren?"
Ren said, wearing a foolish smile on his face. My God—a textbook novel protagonist.
"Well, why don't we go together and then head for the spar?"
I tried to ease the atmosphere—but it seems I failed. I noticed Mai's look, as if she were saying, "I'll get back at you for this."