{Eren Brown's POV}
Without waiting or suspense, I opened the message immediately and began reading its contents.
*(Everything may seem normal at first glance; but do not believe everything you hear—believe what you see. You will reach the end and find what you seek; but if you do not change the details, nothing new will happen.
This riddle is advice for you and the first hint for Emily. Win the Academies' Championship, and you will find the person you need to see the most.)*
"..."
A minute of silence passed as I stared at the message.
"What is this?"
I could not understand anything from the riddle, so I turned my attention to its second part.
"The person I need to see the most."
The first person who came to mind was Emily—but I dismissed that immediately. I want to meet Emily, but I do not need her.
Who could it be, someone whose meeting would be something I truly need?
No specific name came to mind, but there was no point in focusing on something I did not understand.
"It seems I won't gain anything from this message this time."
Since it wasn't important, I could simply ignore it—if only for a short while.
Didn't I say I would see the manipulator get manipulated?
"And that will happen sooner or later."
I muttered as I changed my clothes, getting ready to sleep, optimistic about tomorrow…
"I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow."
...…
I woke up to the sound of the alarm as usual and immediately began my daily routine.
Which consisted of washing up, doing some light stretching exercises, then washing up again and finally getting dressed.
"Here we are."
I looked at myself in the mirror, searching for any flaws; there didn't seem to be any problems.
After making sure everything was fine, I went to the cabinet where I kept the dragon egg and began doing the usual thing.
I placed my hand on it and started pouring mana into the egg; notably, the egg began absorbing mana from me.
"Greedy, as always."
I muttered while watching my mana flow effortlessly into the egg.
As soon as I felt it was enough, I instinctively pulled my hand away.
"My apologies; today I need to be in peak condition—especially since I'll be competing against two heroes: the protagonist of the first novel and the author who became the protagonist of the second."
To hell with hiding my strength. It had always been a dream of mine to defeat heroes of a novel—let alone my favorite one.
I would prove it today: if given the chance, I could defeat even the strongest heroes.
I left my room and made my way toward the classroom. It was noticeable that the number of students roaming around was small—why?
Well, ever since I reincarnated into this body, I picked up some of its habits—one of them being arriving early to anything I do. A wonderful habit, if you ask me.
A perfect habit for someone who aspires to be perfect.
I arrived at the classroom and noticed it was completely empty.
"Looks like I'm the first to arrive again today."
Happily, I went to my seat and began meditating. By the way, it's a great way to pass the time and recover lost mana—two birds with one stone.
"Good morning, Eren. Early as usual."
A familiar voice pulled me out of my meditation. Yes—it was my childhood friend, May.
"Good morning, May. How was your day?"
"As usual—nothing new. Are you ready for today's sparring session? We'll be facing the two best students in our year."
May said, and the excitement in her voice was evident—one of the few things in life that truly made her happy.
I hope I become stronger faster so I can keep that smile.
"Yes, I'm completely ready. Let's hope we don't lose too badly."
I said with a laugh, noticing her frown.
"Why do you think we'll lose? I'm not that weak, you know."
She said, pride evident in her voice.
"Well—the first-ranked and second-ranked students versus the sixth-ranked and the 240th-ranked. A very balanced match, don't you think?"
The sarcasm in my voice was unmistakable.
"We both know rankings aren't everything. Besides… you're not that weak, are you?"
I noticed a yellow circle forming in her blue eyes—the Emperor's Eye.
One of the best eyes known in the novel; it allows its user to notice subtle changes in an enemy's body, roughly determine their strength, and even predict their next moves—cheating disguised as a skill.
"Well, you could say that."
I laughed, scratching my head as I recalled May's ability.
"All right, students, return to your seats. We'll begin today's lesson."
Teacher Scarlet's voice interrupted our conversation. Her timing was impeccable. I glanced at my watch—it was exactly eight o'clock, and she was already standing on the platform, fully prepared to start the lesson.
"Today's lesson is about the Great Towers—the Apocalypse Towers. What do you know about them?"
She looked around the classroom, searching for a student to answer. Notably, most students raised their hands—myself included, of course. I'm a diligent student, right?
"Student Selena."
The teacher said, pointing at Selena—the girl with glasses.
"Yes, teacher. There are five known towers in the world, named after the types of monsters and traps within them: the Eastern Tower, called the Tower of Nightmares; the Western Tower, called the Tower of Dreams; the Northern Tower, called the Tower of Hope; the Southern Tower, called the Tower of Dread; and the Tower beneath the ocean, called the Tower of Oblivion."
Selena took a breath before continuing.
"Each tower consists of ten floors. Upon clearing a floor, a reward proportional to performance is granted. There is also a special reward for the first time a floor is cleared; afterward, the rewards become lower in quality but repeatable for everyone. No tower has been fully cleared to this day. The highest recorded floor across all towers was the seventh floor of the Tower of Hope, achieved by the second hero, Harry Dragao. In the other towers, the highest record is the fifth floor."
"Excellent, Selena. Though your explanation wasn't well organized, the concept is clear. Now, does anyone have a question or an addition to what Selena said?"
No student raised their hand, which Teacher Scarlet took as a signal to continue.
"The Great Towers have always been humanity's highest—indeed, most important—goal. The ancients said of them…"
She paused for dramatic effect.
"Humanity's only hope of survival lies in clearing the Great Towers."
And she was telling the truth.
"As you all know, the demon invasion is inevitable. Every increase in our strength is a blessing to humanity."
She continued.
"You will be taught everything necessary to attempt what the ancients could not—but you are not obligated to succeed."
She was right. This generation was the strongest of Awakened humanity had ever produced—and the reason was clear.
The appearance of the Hero.
Yes, the Hero's appearance was the catalyst for all events to come.
And who is this Hero?
Yes—Ren.
The rest of the lesson passed with the teacher explaining the mechanics of the towers and how to clear them. Nothing particularly noteworthy happened, aside from a few questions directed at Lucas, which he answered swiftly—cheating.
"All right, that concludes today's lesson. Now prepare yourselves—we're heading to the Weapon Selection Hall. Remember: the weapon you choose will stay with you throughout this period and cannot be changed unless under forced circumstances."
Teacher Scarlet said, narrowing her eyes at the students.
"Is that clear?"
"Clear."
We answered in unison, unable to hide the excitement in our voices. At last, the practical training would begin.
You can't ask athletes to just study—this comparison perfectly described the state of these students.
"All right, follow me."
Teacher Scarlet said as she led the way toward the Weapon Hall.
As we walked, I couldn't help but notice the sheer size of this educational institution.
Calling it a city would be perfectly accurate.
We arrived at the Weapon Hall, and all I could say was that it was huge—truly enormous.
Its size rivaled that of one of the massive football stadiums from my world.
The weapons inside were divided by type, and I could almost swear that every known kind of weapon existed here.
"You may begin searching for the weapons you will use. You have one hour, starting now."
Teacher Scarlet said as she headed out, the doors closing behind her.
Notably, all the weapons here were of Rare rank. Oh—I haven't talked about weapon ranks before.
Weapons are divided into five ranks:
Common.
Excellent.
Rare.
Legendary.
Mythical.
Special weapons begin at the Rare rank—and by special, I mean those with unique abilities. It can be said that the most important thing about a weapon is its special ability.
You might ask: are rare weapons really so abundant that they fill an entire stadium? I'd say, first, this academy is wealthy. Second, they collect rare weapons that students obtain from dungeons.
You might say that isn't fair. Well, there are several conditions—but the important thing is that no one objects to this rule.
I headed straight to the spear section. It was noticeable that each hero went to their preferred weapon section.
Ren went to the swords; May and Lucas to the bows. I was alone in the spear section, aside from a few unimportant individuals. By the way, there is a supporting character who uses a spear—but she's in another class and won't appear anytime soon.
Selena and Ryan went to the dagger section. Yes—daggers. Even though Selena is a mage, magic isn't everything. Many use magic alongside close-range weapons to eliminate a mage's fatal weakness.
I began wandering through the spear section, searching for something that caught my eye.
Name: Fire Spear
Rank: Rare
Ability: Produces a fireball dependent on the mana used.
(Cooldown: 5 minutes)
Name: Ice Spear
Rank: Rare
Ability: Allows the user to freeze everything in front of them, depending on their mana.
(Cooldown: 1 hour)
"Not this, nor that."
I muttered while searching for a spear that suited me. The problem was that I didn't have much time left—and I still hadn't found one compatible with my abilities.
"Looks like I'll go back to the Ice Spear."
After nearly fifty minutes of searching without finding anything suitable, I began to give up. I mean, nothing truly attracted me.
Until I felt something strange—as if I had found a part of myself, if you understand what I mean.
My eyes scanned around, searching for the source of that feeling, until they landed on a spear that looked ordinary at first glance. But I had learned that the ordinary was often the strangest thing in this world.
I approached it and began reading the description written on it…
Name: Light Spear
Rank: Rare
Ability: Emits an aura that slowly heals the user during combat as long as the user has mana.
"I found you."
I muttered joyfully, having finally found the spear I needed.
...…
Elsewhere, two men dressed entirely in black stood conversing.
"It seems that fool failed to obtain the art—and he died. We haven't found a trace of his body since that explosion."
The first man said, anger evident in his voice.
"Yes, sir. He failed to obtain that art."
The second replied, kneeling on one knee, indifference evident in his tone.
"Find whoever took that art and bring them to me at any cost. You may injure them in any way—just make sure they're alive."
"Understood, sir."
The second man said, disappearing from the spot.