"There are three levels every combat student must complete to graduate with an apprentice occupation badge. You have all passed the first level and have now stepped into the second level of your academic life. If you are diligent this year in your respective faction, you will have one level remaining till graduation."
A female professor stood before the class. She wore dark green trousers. It was a bit similar to the pair the students had on. Her coat, however, was long to her ankles, different from the student's thigh length version.
It was a way to separate students from professors.
Her boot clicked against the floor as she walked to and fro with her arms clasped behind her back. Every now and then, her gaze would sweep to the very end of the class where a student sat away from the rest. The student had his head lowered against his desk.
It was Leonard.
Her expression dimmed for a moment before she continued, "This is the first day of the week. A case has been posted as usual. You may all go ahead and form groups of five. It is a difficult case this time and you have only but a week to unravel it. Failure to do so within the designated time, means all participants in that group fail."
A student raised her hand. "Professor May."
All heads turned. The student was Irene Agregro, incredibly beautiful and one of the professor's favorites. She was talented, only second to the top of the class. Her father held one of the strongest spots in the government as a minister, hence her nobility.
"Yes, Irene?" Professor May smiled.
"I wonder… to pass this level, how many points must a student accumulate by the end of each term? In our first level, no less than ten points were required."
Every other student nodded. They were curious as well.
Leonard turned his head. He stared at the professor. Oddly, each time her gaze fell on him, it would turn icy. In his memories, the professor was especially indirectly mean to the original soul of this body. But Leonard personally did not mind. What would being favored by a teacher do for him?
When nothing benefited him, he very much did not care for it.
"Every student needs no less than twenty points to complete each term within this level," she answered. "Since there are a total of three terms, by the end of this level, you will need to accumulate sixty points. Otherwise, you will not make it into the third level."
"Is that so…" Irene blinked several times.
This was too much.
The entire glass turned grim.
Ten points were already difficult to gather. How could they manage twenty points?
Amidst dismal students, Leonard lifted his hand.
Professor May looked at him. "Do you have any questions, Vellis?"
"Please call me Leonard," Leonard said.
All the students looked over to him. What was with the sudden change of name? Their faces distorted in contempt.
They knew of the accusations laid on him. They collectively felt displeased that a criminal would remain in the same class as them. They felt insulted.
"I see…" Professor May slowly nodded. Though she was curious about the sudden change of name, she did not ask, but smiled politely at him. "Alright, Leonard. What question do you have for me?"
"Must we split into groups of five?" Leonard asked. "If not, am I allowed to attempt this case alone?"
"This…"
Professor May immediately frowned.
"No. It is not a must. But it's impossible to unravel such a difficult case alone. The time period is one week and if you cannot make it by then, you will fail."
"I'll do it alone," Leonard insisted. "I do not wish to join a team, is that acceptable?"
She shook her head. She wanted to convince him. "Velli–Leonard Alessien, it is impossible to do this alone. You failed your first level and the only reason you managed to make it into this level is because of his majesty. If you fail this time, you understand that not even your father can help you, do you not?"
"I know that."
"Then?"
"I still wish to do this alone." Joining a group was only going to hinder him. That aside, Leonard could not afford an entire week to finish a case. At most, he could only give up forty eight hours.
Hearing him, one of the students sneered, "Professor May, let him do what he wants. He has only six days to live anyway. It must be the reason why he's behaving this way."
"That makes sense! What is even the point of attempting this case? He is bound to fail and even if he does pass by joining a group, he will only be reaping from the hard work of others. But then again, would he even… get to enjoy it?"
The rest of the class broke into laughter.
They mocked him.
"Good one, good one."
"Attempting a mystery case by himself, what a joke!"
Leonard observed them. He did not mind their mockery. Instead, he was staring at the Halos lingering above their heads. It was green, indicating they were all only Echelon 1. However, some had darker Halos while some had Halos that were unfortunately light.
Another thing he noted down was that in each Echelon rank, strength could be gauged by percentage. This number flickered itself on the very front of each person's halo, and through that number could the peak of one's strength be determined. An example would be Irene Agregro.
She was an Echelon 1, but in this rank, her strength was around a percentage of 98, which fully displayed itself against her Halo.
One whose strength was around the percentage of 90 or even less could battle her, however, these gaps were significant, hence enough to potentially ensure her win.
Professor May gazed at him for a short while. Her brows stayed furrowed.
Her students were making sense and she felt a bit sorry for him. Sighing, she shook her head. "Go ahead then. You are free to do as you please. Now class…"
"Professor May!" a student interrupted her with a lifted hand.
Her attention drifted to the left side of the class. The student was seated with his ankles crossed on his desk. A few strands of his very dark hair hung over his forehead while his arms stayed folded over his chest.
He rocked his chair back and forth.
In comparison to Irene, he was the better student, the top of the class. However, he did not have a strong background and could be considered a peasant. Regardless, he had the admiration of professors and his classmates.
"How may I help you, Castiel?" Professor May asked.
Castiel looked at Leonard who had gone back to resting listlessly. He grinned. "I would like to join him and make us a team of two. Is that allowed?"
"Yes." Professor May nodded. "But…"
Castiel flashed Leonard a smile, exposing his fangs. "You have six days left to prove your innocence. Allow me to join you. Or do you have so much time to waste?"
Leonard stared at the boy, unblinking.
"We can work together," Castiel continued. "This way, you might have a chance to save more time for your own case. Doing this alone sounds quite unwise. Would you not agree?"
Leonard tapped his finger against his leg. No matter how much he juggled his memory, he could not recall the former owner of this body ever interacting with this young man.
'Have some part of my memories gone missing after my rebirth?'
He squinted his eyes.
He chose not to respond. Regardless of whether he knew him or not, having a capable person tag along with him wasn't completely a bad idea. He could always leave him behind if he hindered him even one bit.
Castiel took his silence as assent. He turned back to the professor. "I believe I've joined his group?"
"Well…" Professor May glanced at Leonard. "There is no objection from him, so yes. You two will be the last group. Group 12."
"Great!"
"Irene, please pick up the mirrors on the table and distribute them to each group leader," she ordered, carrying on with the class.
These mirrors were palm sized and squarish in shape. They were what each group would need by the end of the case. The leader of each group must drip their blood into it the minute they conclude their case. And upon such activation, Professor May would be notified, allowing her to verify which group succeeded first.
Leonard lazily stretched his body. He was about to lay back to continue resting, when a hand slammed down into his desk. He lifted his eyes and raised a brow at the person.
Irene Agregro.
She simply stood, staring at him with utter disgust in her gaze as if they had a score to settle.
Leonard's face remained impassive under her glare. He looked at her from head to toe, and then up.
Simply, he reached out his hand for the mirror. "May I have it?"
Irene instead scoffed at him. She spat out, "The mystery faction is one of the most respected factions in this academy. A criminal like you should not be in this class."
"Give me the mirror," Leonard ignored her remark.
That seemed to get on her nerves.
'Where does a criminal like him get his confidence from?'
Her face changed in displeasure. She folded her arms and leaned to one side with mockery on the tip of her tongue. "For a criminal prince, you run your mouth well, your highness."
She laughed.
The rest of the class who were listening, joined in as well, a few chuckling while the others laughed hard.
Irene's lips curled in a taunting manner. She leaned into him and brought her face dangerously close to his as if to tempt him.
Then she smirked. "You're infectious and rather less useless out there than you are here. Say, why don't you get up and go hide quietly in your dorm like you always do, hm? How does that sound?"