The "sewer feast" wasn't as bad as Ryn had feared, but the business that followed was far more serious.
"None of you are to infiltrate the academy," Ryn said, his voice dropping into a harsh, cold register that made even the fire dragon, Adorn, flinch.
"B-but My Liege, we are meant to—"
"I will take care of the academy," Ryn cut her off, his eyes glowing with a faint crimson light. "While you are here, your task is to stay hidden and find any other demons who survived the purge. Do not draw attention. Understood?"
He stood up, dusting the sewer grime from his trousers with a look of distaste.
"My Liege, are you leaving already?" Olivia asked, bowing her head.
"Yes. I'll return regularly. If you have urgent news, send it through Olivia," Ryn said. He turned his back on the ragtag group and left the stench of the sewers behind.
...
The morning sun hit the Academy grounds with a blinding intensity. All the students were lined up in the central plaza, facing a podium where the Headmaster stood.
He had the same black hair and piercing violet eyes as Mira Adrian, but the strangest thing was how young he looked.
He didn't look like a grandfather; he looked like he could be Mira's older brother. He began a long, sweeping speech about "honor" and "destiny."
To Ryn, who hadn't slept a wink thanks to his sewer excursion, it all sounded like: "Blah, blah, blah... magic... blah, blah... heroes."
"Ryn!"
The name snapped him out of a standing drowse. Every eye in the plaza was suddenly fixed on him.
"Ryn, please come up to the podium," the Headmaster repeated.
Ryn walked up, feeling the weight of a thousand stares. Standing beside the Headmaster was Bron Fontera, looking like he wanted to murder someone.
This is wrong, Ryn thought, his stomach twisting. In my notes, Leon and Bron were supposed to be the ones standing here.
'Why am I replacing the main character?'
"These two represent the peak of this year's S-Class," the Headmaster announced. "Bron Fontera, ranked number one in combat abilities."
Bron smirked, the personification of the phrase: 'Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one.'
"And Ryn... ranked number one in the written examination with a perfect score."
The crowd erupted in murmurs. Ryn felt a chill. Now he knew why Arthur and Mira had approached him.
To the nobles, a commoner with a perfect score wasn't just a student—he was something else an amazing player people who never see coming.
...
In the S-Class lecture hall, Ryn tried to melt into the shadows of the back row. Then, the door opened.
A youth with messy black hair and emerald-green eyes walked in.
He didn't have the arrogance of the nobles; he had an aura of calm, suppressed power. It was Leon Hart, the original protagonist of the novel.
Leon looked around and, of all the empty seats, chose the one right next to Ryn.
Ryn stole a glance at him, his mind spinning. 'I created this kid. I gave him that scar on his hand. I gave him that destiny. And now he's sitting next to me.'
"My name is Leon... it's nice to meet you," the boy said, noticing Ryn's stare.
"Ha... I'm R—"
"I'm sure everyone knows your name," Leon interrupted, a hint of sharp sarcasm in his tone. "You're a star, you know. The commoner genius."
Ryn blinked. Was that sarcasm? Leon isn't supposed to be sarcastic. Before he could respond, the door slammed open. Brandon Ignatious entered, and the room went silent.
"My name his Brandon and I will be the home room teacher for this class" he said with an authoritative voice.
"Mark the courses you wish to study,"
Brandon barked. With a flick of his finger, papers floated to each desk via [Telekinesis].
Ryn looked at the list:
* Magic Theory, Mana Control, Swordsmanship, Combat Practice, Monster Studies, Artifact Engineering, Battle Tactics, Wildlife Survival, Mana Physics, Alchemy, History.
Ryn chose Swordsmanship, Magic Theory, Artifact Engineering, and Alchemy. If he was going to survive, he needed to know how to build gear and brew potions.
He peeked at Leon's paper. Leon had circled every single course.
I really was a cruel author, Ryn thought. I made him a workaholic just so I could explain how he got so strong.
By the final class of the day—Magic Theory—Ryn was drifting off again. The teacher was a woman in her thirties with bone-straight hair and a gaze like a hawk.
"Mister Ryn," she called out. Leon nudged him hard. Ryn stood up, blurry-eyed. "Since you are our top student, why don't you help me solve this?"
She pointed to a board covered in a messy, complex mana-circuit equation.
System... do your thing, Ryn thought.
________________________
[Answer to Mana Circuit Equation]
Cost: 100 Glory Points.
[Yes] / [No]
_____________________________
He hit [Yes]. The answer flooded his brain. He walked to the board, wrote the solution in seconds, and sat back down.
The teacher's jaw dropped. That was a trick question; even she struggled with the final variable. She quickly wrote another—a question from the Senior Scholar's certification.
"And this one?" she challenged with a smile.
Ryn didn't even hesitate. He spent another 100 points, walked up, and solved it.
The classroom went dead silent. The students looked at him with a mix of awe and fear. In their eyes, Ryn wasn't just smart; he was the smartest person in the history of the academy.
After class, Ryn headed for the dorms, desperate for a real bed. But a girl with long blonde hair and golden eyes blocked his path. Cilia Amonith, the Princess of the Empire.
"Hey, commoner," she said, crossing her arms and giving him a serious glare. "From now on, I want you to be my tutor. You're going to teach me everything."
Ryn looked at her. In his book, Cilia was the "dumb blonde" trope—rich, powerful, and completely hopeless at magic. An idea suddenly sparked in his mind.
"I would be honored, My Lady," Ryn said, a small, "maniacal" smirk touching his lips as he rubbed his fingers together in a universal gesture for cash.
"But I must warn you... my fees are quite high. And I guarantee you'll learn more from me than any professor."
'I think I just found my money-making machine.'