Free Web NovelChapter 31: Chapter 31: Joint Class Assignment
A full week had passed since the incident in Velcrest City.
The demon attack had already become one of the biggest stories circulating through the Empire. News channels replayed blurred footage of collapsing buildings, emergency response teams, and witness testimonies from civilians who claimed they had seen a winged monster flying above the city before elite hunters arrived and suppressed the situation.
The official report labeled it as an illegal summoning conducted by underground cultists.
The public was told the situation had been handled.
Most people accepted that explanation.
Kael knew better.
At the very least, he knew enough to understand how dangerous it would be if anyone discovered he had been there.
Which was why, for the past week, he had behaved as normally as possible.
No unnecessary attention.
No suspicious movements.
No mention of Velvet Gang activity.
And definitely no mention of the fact that he had awakened demonic mana inside his body.
Unfortunately, maintaining a calm routine did absolutely nothing to solve his current problem.
Kael slammed his fist into the reinforced training dummy.
BOOM.
The entire dummy bent inward from the impact before slowly reforming itself through the academy’s regeneration technology.
"Damn Velvet Gang..." Kael muttered under his breath.
The gravity training room pressed heavily against his body. The artificial pressure field distorted the air itself, multiplying the weight on every movement. Sweat rolled down his face as he threw another punch.
It had been one week.
One entire week since he and Lillith left the hotel.
One entire week since she had last come to see him.
Kael already understood the reason.
Lillith was a spy inside Astraea Academy. The Velvet Gang had likely ordered her to minimize unnecessary contact with him publicly after the events in Velcrest City. Staying close to him too often would attract attention, especially after the chaos surrounding the demon summoning.
It was the logical decision.
Kael still found it irritating.
Mostly because she kept secretly watching him.
He had sensed her presence multiple times throughout the week. Rooftops. Hallways. Observation balconies. Hidden mana signatures following him just long enough to confirm he was safe before disappearing again.
She never approached him.
Not once.
Kael drove another punch into the dummy.
BOOM.
The gravity pressure made his muscles scream in protest, but compared to the changes happening inside his body recently, the physical pain barely registered.
Ever since removing Tsukuyomi’s ring in the hotel, his mana circulation had changed drastically.
The demonic seed implanted inside him had fully awakened.
Even now, he could feel the violent pressure sleeping beneath his skin like a second heartbeat. If not for the ring suppressing the excess demonic energy, his body would probably already be leaking miasma uncontrollably.
His adaptation skill had stabilized things for now.
But only barely.
Kael exhaled slowly before lowering his fist.
His stats had not increased dramatically over the week, but his control had improved.
That mattered more.
Strength without control was useless.
Especially when he was trying to hide the fact that he was becoming something no human academy would willingly tolerate.
Kael grabbed a towel from the side bench before glancing toward the massive virtual combat chambers lining the far side of the room.
The academy’s VR combat system allowed students to simulate battles against recorded hunters, monsters, and combat styles. It was one of the fastest ways to improve combat experience safely.
Unfortunately, his student rank was too low to access the higher-level simulations.
"Tch."
Kael clicked his tongue in annoyance.
If he could access advanced recordings, he could use Perfect Copy far more efficiently. The ability itself was monstrous, but it depended heavily on exposure and analysis.
Without quality techniques to observe, its growth speed slowed considerably.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it for now.
Kael left the gravity room after showering and changed into his academy uniform.
By the time he reached the main academic district, the campus had already become crowded with students returning from break periods and training schedules.
Astraea Academy looked peaceful on the surface.
Beautiful stone walkways.
Massive white buildings.
Decorative gardens.
Students chatting casually between classes.
But beneath that polished appearance was a brutal reality every student understood.
Astraea did not train children.
It trained soldiers.
And soldiers died.
Kael entered the classroom quietly before taking his usual seat near the back window.
The room was already noisy.
Students discussed rankings, assignments, rumors, and dungeon raids excitedly.
Some looked nervous.
Others looked overconfident.
A few were trying very hard to hide fear.
Kael leaned back in his chair.
First assignment day already, he thought.
In the game, the first-year joint assignment served multiple purposes.
It evaluated teamwork.
Measured combat compatibility.
Tested survival instincts.
And most importantly—
It showed students exactly how dangerous the world outside the academy truly was. freewebnσvel.cøm
Most likely, they would be sent into an E-rank dungeon.
Dangerous for civilians.
Manageable for trained students.
At least, manageable under normal circumstances.
Kael crossed his arms.
Since I’m not the protagonist, he thought dryly, the dungeon probably won’t suddenly evolve into an S-rank death zone halfway through the mission.
That kind of disaster followed Leon everywhere.
The classroom door opened.
Miss Stella walked inside immediately silencing the room.
As always, her presence alone commanded attention.
The silver-haired instructor carried herself with perfect composure, her sharp eyes sweeping calmly across the students before stopping briefly on Kael.
Only for a moment.
Then she continued normally.
"Good morning," Stella said.
The class responded unevenly.
Stella didn’t care.
She placed a large black container on the desk before speaking again.
"As all of you already know, today marks your first official joint class assignment."
The atmosphere immediately shifted.
Even the louder students straightened slightly.
Stella opened the container.
Inside were dozens of metallic armbands lined neatly in rows.
"These are monitoring armbands," she explained. "You will wear them throughout the assignment. The academy will use them to monitor your location, mana fluctuations, pulse, injuries, and combat activity."
Several students swallowed nervously.
Stella continued calmly.
"You will be grouped according to your entrance rankings and combat evaluations. Some of you may be satisfied with your teams."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"Others may not."
A few students immediately started whispering anxiously.
Kael already knew what this meant.
The academy intentionally grouped strong and weak students together sometimes to observe adaptability and leadership.
Other times, they grouped rivals together specifically to create tension.
Astraea Academy enjoyed pressure.
Pressure revealed talent.
Or crushed it.
Stella lifted one of the armbands.
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear before this assignment begins."
The classroom fell silent.
"Death is common inside this academy."
Her tone remained completely emotionless.
"Many of you entered Astraea believing talent alone would protect you. It will not."
Nobody spoke.
"Every year, students die during practical assignments, dungeon expeditions, combat evaluations, and field missions."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"And by graduation," Stella finished calmly, "nearly half of you will be dead."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Kael watched the reactions around him carefully.
Fear.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Some students looked pale.
Others looked determined.
A few seemed excited.
None of them understood yet.
Not really.
The world outside the academy walls was worse than anything Stella could explain in a classroom.
Kael knew that firsthand now.
He had seen a mid-tier demon massacre an entire underground base.
He had felt demonic mana awaken inside his own body.
And somewhere beyond all of that—
The real story had not even begun yet.
Stella activated the classroom monitor behind her.
A large digital ranking board appeared instantly.
Names began shifting rapidly across the screen as the academy system finalized assignment groups.
"Your teams," Stella said, "will determine whether you survive your first real operation."
Kael stared at the screen quietly.
Around him, students held their breath waiting for the results.
And for the first time since arriving at Astraea Academy—
Kael felt something close to anticipation.
