{Eren Brown POV}
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing for now. Originally, someone asked me to monitor you and help you if necessary… but it doesn't seem like you need help at the moment. Still, I'll give you a small piece of advice: enroll in magic classes. You need them right now."
Ms. Heartline spoke, and my mind began to race. Who could request a favor from her… and at the same time know me?
It seems the number of influential people affecting my life—whom I don't even know—is increasing.
Wonderful.
Director Luna Heartline stood up from her seat and began heading toward the door to leave the room. But she turned around, looked at me, and said…
"When you reach rank C, come to me… to awaken the dragon blood within you."
Ms. Luna left, and I was left staring with my mouth open, the shocked expression on my face impossible to hide.
"How…?"
I muttered, my mind racing as I processed what had just happened. Damn it—her eyes really managed to figure out that I'm half-dragon.
And that reminded me just how terrifying her abilities are.
She has an ability that allows her to know most information about almost anything—nearly equal to the author's abilities.
But it has its downsides…
It can only be used once a month, and if used more than once, it causes a violent backlash—sometimes even resulting in a permanent rank decrease.
What shocked me wasn't that she discovered my condition…
but that the Reader's Mind didn't resist her in the case of me being half-dragon—yet it prevented her from learning the rest of the things about me.
More and more questions… and not a single answer.
Knock, knock!
The sound of knocking on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Come in."
I said, somewhat loudly…
The door opened, and someone entered—someone I didn't expect to come at this moment.
Who am I kidding?
I expected her the moment I came here.
Yes… it's Mai.
"Well, well, what do we have here? The student who defeated the strongest two first-years by himself with a single strike… how are you? Are you okay? What was that attack you used?"
Mai's energetic personality still makes me smile unconsciously.
"I understand, but calm down a little. What I'm about to tell you is a big secret, alright? I don't want anyone to know."
Mai nodded as she waited for my words…
I told Mai about my style, and that I was the sole heir to Zero's style. I didn't tell her the rest of the details.
You might wonder why I told her this.
Well, I never intended to hide my style from the beginning, because most people don't know anything about Zero's style.
Besides, I want resources from the academy—and what better way to do that than to display power?
And that's one of the many reasons that pushed me to accept the duel with Rin and Lucas…
I was confident that I would reach this stage with ease.
"So you're saying you're the heir to the First Hero's art, and the Spear King himself? Isn't that truly amazing? That means you can move forward in achieving your dream… you'll become the strongest human, right?"
She laughed mockingly at me, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You do realize I was five years old when I said that, right?"
I said with a smile on my face. It seems my body reacts on its own—especially when I'm with her.
We talked about a few other topics, then she left the clinic after confirming with the nurses that I was fine, and that what happened to me was just simple exhaustion.
"You may leave, Mr. Brown. Take care of yourself, and be careful during friendly sparring sessions so you don't end up coming back to us again."
The nurse said, and my instincts told me I'd be back soon.
"Understood, and thank you, ma'am."
I thanked the nurse, then headed to my room. It could be said that I slept for nearly six hours, and the school day ended. It seems the teacher didn't punish me for missing the rest of the classes… I hope.
I went to my room, took a shower, then fell asleep immediately.
Sleep was never a flaw—rather, it's a luxury I always try to preserve.
...
I woke up the next day and started my daily routine: a bit of training, then a shower, then injecting mana into the egg, and finally getting dressed, leaving, and heading to the classroom.
As I walked, I began thinking about my next steps… and how I was close to breaking through to rank D- at last.
And also about finding out who the person moving behind the scenes was…
along with many other things—until I arrived at the classroom.
I entered and sat in my usual seat, and it could be said that I've started to truly like this place.
I arrived early as usual, since there weren't any students here yet.
So I did the thing anyone in my position would do…
I dozed off a little.
Just kidding.
I was contemplating, trying to make my body get used to the constant flow of mana.
I opened my eyes as I heard students talking, and it seemed class time had arrived. Teacher Scarlett could be seen standing in her usual place, and her presence was still as striking as ever.
"Today's lesson will be practical. You will be divided into groups of four students per group, and you will compete against one another. You'll find your teammates' names on your devices now."
At that very moment, everyone's devices rang at the same time…
I opened my phone, and what I saw surprised me. I mean, it said:
Group One:
Rin Faust
Lucas Silver
Mai Fuji
Erin Brown
What the hell… why would they put us in the same group? I mean, that won't be fair to the other students, will it?
"All groups, head to Hall Number 4. You'll find a trainer waiting for you there, and they'll tell you the details of today's training. Except for Group One—wait here for a moment."
"Yes, ma'am."
The students shouted in unison, and it seems I started to understand where this was going.
As soon as the students left the classroom, and only the members of Group One remained, Rin asked the teacher:
"What about us, teacher?"
"You have special training… because you have a special opponent."
Oh no.
"And your opponent… will be me, personally."
A nearly sadistic smile formed on her face.
"Damn it…"
It seems I'll be returning to the nurse very soon.
.