Night had arrived.
The sky above turned dark blue with stars beginning to appear one by one. The night wind blew coolly.
On the first floor of the male dormitory building, there was a large dining hall filled with dozens of long wooden tables. Crystal lamps hung from the ceiling, providing warm yellowish light.
Hundreds of students gathered there—sitting together with their new friends, chatting while eating dinner.
The sound of laughter, conversation, and clinking plates filled the room.
At one of the tables in the corner of the room, four people sat.
Noah with long black hair covering his eyes, sat casually while spooning soup into his bowl.
Ryu sat next to Noah while devouring his food calmly.
Lin sat across from them while cutting his meat.
Junho with a calm expression, sat beside Lin while eating slowly.
Noah stared at the food in front of him with a flat expression.
'The taste... just ordinary.'
He chewed lazily, then suddenly raised his head and asked in a flat tone.
"Hey, what are the dark path and the light path?"
The atmosphere at the table suddenly became silent.
Lin almost choked on his food. Ryu stopped chewing. Even Junho—who usually showed no expression—furrowed his brow slightly.
All three of them stared at Noah with shocked gazes.
"W-what?!"
Lin looked at Noah with wide eyes.
"You don't know what the dark path and light path are?!"
Noah looked at him with a flat expression—as if it was a normal thing to ask.
"Hey, are you stupid or what?"
His voice was cold, but not rude.
"Because I don't know, I'm asking. If I knew, I wouldn't ask."
He folded his arms in front of his chest.
"I'm a village kid and where I live is far from here! So it's natural that I don't know, right!"
Lin fell silent.
'A village kid?'
'Even if you live in a village, it's impossible that no one talked about the dark path and light path...'
He looked at Noah with a questioning gaze.
'What village does this kid actually live in that he doesn't know about that?'
Ryu who sat next to Noah looked awkwardly smile.
'Looking at his face, it seems he really doesn't know about the dark path and light path...'
Lin let out a long sigh, then lowered his voice—speaking softly so no one else could hear except the four of them.
"Alright, I'll explain."
He looked at Noah seriously.
"The dark path and light path are two different philosophies for becoming strong—just like improving martial arts abilities, but in different ways."
He paused for a moment, making sure Noah was listening.
"The light path—like this Avera Academy—teaches us to become strong in the right way. Killing each other is not allowed here."
"But the dark path..."
His expression became more serious.
"Evil Academy—the dark path. That place is in a different city—far from here."
"If here we're not allowed to kill each other... there, we're allowed to kill each other to become stronger!"
His voice became softer, almost whispering.
"There, there are no rules. No limits. The strong survive, the weak die. It's that simple."
"They believe that true strength can only be obtained through life and death battles. Through blood and violence."
Noah listened with a flat expression, but there was a little interest in his eyes.
"Hoo~"
He smiled slightly.
"Not too different from the light path, right?"
He tilted his head.
"The dark path means a merciless path, right? Yeah, fits its name."
He looked at Lin with a sharp gaze.
"I wonder... are there also people here who come from there?"
Ryu who was next to him still smiled awkwardly.
"Why are you looking at me as if I know whether any of them are here or not?" Lin said.
He looked at Noah seriously.
"Oh yeah."
Noah took bread from his plate.
"In the room, I read a book. It seems there are several different classes here? I haven't finished reading it though."
Lin nodded.
"Yes, as you said. This academy indeed has different classes."
He began explaining in a more relaxed tone.
"Starting tomorrow, you have to choose your own class."
"There's Sword Class—that class will teach you sword techniques from various schools."
"There's Music Class—that means you'll learn to use musical instruments to fight. Sound can be a very deadly weapon if used correctly."
"There's Boxing Class—as the name suggests, it's a class for someone who can't use elemental power. There they will train their bodies until they become very strong and fight only with bare hands."
"There's Poison Class—that's a class where you'll fight using poison. But what's used in the academy clearly can't kill someone. Only paralyze or weaken."
Lin paused for a moment, then continued.
"Besides that, there are also Archer Class and Spear Class!"
"You can choose a class according to your abilities and interests."
Noah nodded slowly.
"Hoo, you know a lot, huh?"
He smiled slightly while looking at Lin with a dismissive gaze.
"Are you really a student?"
Lin furrowed his brow.
"That's basic stuff! What's there to be surprised about?!"
His voice rose slightly—showing that he was slightly annoyed.
Noah laughed softly.
"No need to get so angry."
He looked at Lin with a sharp gaze.
"You know... someone who gets angry means they're hiding something."
He leaned back in his chair casually.
"You should control your emotions better."
Then he turned toward Ryu.
"And you too, Ryu."
Ryu immediately laughed awkwardly.
"Ehh?, haha, I don't know what you mean... but I'll try!"
Lin fell silent, his face slightly reddening—whether from annoyance or embarrassment.
'His mouth is very scary...'
'I've never met a student with a mouth like this, who raised this kid, this kid doesn't look like a student at all!'
Ryu was also very shocked, but he chose to stay quiet rather than think too much.
Meanwhile, Junho just ate calmly—as if he didn't care about what they were talking about.
Noah looked at Junho with a bored expression.
"By the way, can this kid talk or not?"
He pointed at Junho with his chin.
"And also, why are there so many beautiful women looking toward him?"
He turned left and right—seeing several girls sitting at other tables staring toward Junho with blushing faces.
They whispered while laughing softly.
"Can't they eat their food quietly? And what's with their red faces?"
Lin looked at Noah with a confused gaze.
"You really don't know who he is?"
"Know what?"
Noah looked at him with a flat expression.
"This kid looks ordinary. What's so interesting to look at?"
Lin almost choked on his own saliva.
"You really don't know anything, huh..."
He let out a long sigh, then began explaining in a serious tone.
"He is the grandson of one of the Seven War Kings from 80 years ago."
Noah furrowed his brow.
"Seven War Kings?"
"Yes."
Lin nodded.
"His grandfather was one of the seven strongest people who survived after fighting Sesosok—a very powerful mysterious figure in the past."
"Junho is his grandson. And also the most brilliant student from Shu Sect, where his teacher is one of the Five Sword Kings!"
He looked at Junho with an admiring gaze.
"He is one of the most talented students in this generation. Even before entering the academy, his name was already famous everywhere."
Noah was silent for a moment, then furrowed his brow.
"80 years ago?"
He looked at Lin with a sharp gaze.
"Wasn't it 50 years ago?"
Lin looked at him with a confused gaze.
"What are you talking about?"
He pointed at Noah with his index finger.
"It's clearly written in history books—80 years ago! Don't you really know?"
Noah fell silent.
His expression changed—his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Damn..."
He growled softly.
"It seems I've been lied to by him."
"I don't care who you mean, whatever it is, let's eat quickly, Junho and Ryu are almost done eating, why have you been talking so much!"
"I talk a lot because I don't know many things outside the village!" Noah answered casually.
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
They continued eating quietly.
The sound of conversation in the dining hall was still heard bustling, but at their table, the atmosphere became quieter.
Noah looked out the window, viewing the starry night sky.
'Tomorrow...'
'I have to choose a class, huh?'
'Interesting.'
He smiled faintly.
A few minutes later, they all finished eating.
One by one, students began leaving the dining hall and returning to their respective rooms.
Noah stood up from his chair, stretching his stiff body.
"Alright, I'm going back to my room."
Ryu immediately stood up following him.
"Me too!"
Lin looked at them with a tired gaze.
"You two... don't cause trouble and don't be noisy at night."
Noah just laughed softly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... don't worry."
He waved his hand casually.
"I'm a good kid."
Lin let out a long sigh.