Chapter 7:

Arena Academy (2)

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Huh? Is she staring at me?

wondered Vinci as he noticed the headmaster’s intense eyes upon him. But as quickly as the tension came it disappeared when the elder turned and finished grazing through the crowd with her jade eyes.

As the headmaster was about to begin speaking again, a delicate lady in business dress quickly rushed up the stage and placed a black, cylindrical object in front of the elder. It was a “microphone”, an item that is able to project one’s voice similar to the Mental Projection spell.

Quietly, some of the students in the crowd sighed in relief upon seeing the microphone being used.

Headmaster Ember cleared her throat and once again spoke,

“Ahem!...Good morning, students. I would first like to congratulate all of you who made it into Arena Academy. As all of you know, our School is the one and only institution in all of United World. But even so, we are not a charity foundation. We do not present our treasured knowledge just for anyone who applies to us. Only those who are talented will be accepted, and today the fact that you are here means that you would one day go on to achieve great things…”

The introductory from the headmaster lasted for approximately 30 minutes before the students were dismissed to Class. Although the lecture was quite boring in Vinci’s perspective, he did pick up some new information.

First, statistically speaking, he found out that there is a total number of 224 students in School, with 28 students in each Class.

Second, each student is to be given a silver, rectangular device called “+Arena.” The students are to use this gadget to not only view their own personal data in school, but to use it as mean of “fighting” other students.

In other words, violence is allowed on campus as long as there are no deaths. The academy apparently encourages this due to the theory that by promoting the students to engage in battles revolving around the use of their Soul Power (SP), they would be able to increase their ranks faster. It also mimics the cruel, real world outside of school as dangers from magical beasts and criminals lurk on every corner.

Moreover, the students will be able to view their current SP Rank on this device each time after they measure their SP using the crystal ball. Their Rank will automatically be updated on +Arena.

It also serves as a the student’s identification plate. It works the same way as an “ID”, an item that allows other to recognize the said user, which was prevalent in the old school system back in the years 2000.

“Hmmm...this is quite interesting...”

muttered Vinci as he looked at his +ArenaBB screen while walking towards his class. He was assigned to be in Class 6 since he looked, and was only, a 15 years old boy on Earth. Students that were 14 to 15 years old were placed in this Class due to school system.

And for the record, Vinci was the only one out of all the other Class 5 “freshmen” students in the auditorium to actually be in Class 6. He was a year older than all of them.

Vinci stopped in front of a brown door when he saw the letters on it:

“Arena Academy: Class 6”

There were multiple voices on the other side of the door, though only a rough voice was audible among them.

“...So class, today we will be having a new student...he should be here soon...I want you all...got it?...”

Vinci took a deep breath as he slowly opened the door and walked in.

Immediately, the entire class became silent and nearly 28 pairs of eyes were fired at him.

“...Ah! So you are the new student? Ahahaha, nice to meet you! From now on I am your homeroom teacher, Mr. Mercer. How about an introduction, eh?”

The rough voice was directed at Vinci. When Vinci looked towards the source, he found a man who looks like he was about in his late 30’s with a husky, muscular built. Despite the man’s large stature and his short spiky hair, his charcoal eyes emitted a cozy warmth that belied his rough appearance and voice. This man, Mr. Mercer, was Vinci’s homeroom teacher.

“Ah!..u-ugh, my name is V-Vinci Noburo! It’s a pleashure to m-meet you!”

Vinci was taken aback by his classmates’ sudden movement and his teacher’s prompt greeting that he inevitably twisted the quick introduction that he had prepared since yesterday. Although Vinci was able to understand any language easily due to «Kami’s Mind», there weren’t many chances to speak during his quest among the dimensional worlds. After all, he always attacked before he was able to converse with any of the inhabitants, and because of this when suddenly confronted to having to speak in front of a group of people, he was momentarily shaken.

“Pfft! D-did he screw up his introduction? HAHAHAHA what a funny fellow!”

“Hehehehe...hehehe…”

Giggles and snickering rose from some of students in the class. As Vinci stood helplessly in front, his face was dyed with an usual wine color as his heart felt a slight shaking. Even his face began to feel abnormally warm for some reason. It was a sensation that Vinci had never experienced before, but this uncertainty lasted only briefly. Recalling his knowledge, this type of feeling would be best categorized as “embarrassment” in term of emotions that were broken down into certain names on Earth, such as anger, sadness, happiness, etc.

“Alright, quiet down everyone! Today is Vinci’s first day at Arena Academy, so I would hope you all to get along with him! As for now, I want you, Cecilia, as the class president, to show him around the school during the break period. Since compared to the other new students admitted, the School does not provided a Guide for students enrolled in Classes above 5.”

As if on cue, a golden haired girl stood up when she heard her name mentioned. Immediately, Vinci was once again momentarily speechless when he saw her sea blue eyes looking at him. Her long, sun hair and milky white skin coupled with an undoubtable air of confidence instantly caused Vinci to be enraptured by the beauty in front of him. The girl stared at him for a while before once again taking her seat.

“Ahh~...and your seat, Vinci...hmmm, ah! There’s an empty seat at the back of the room, you will be sitting there from now on, ok?”

Vinci weakly nodded as Mr. Mercer pointed to a seat in the very back of the class. The classroom was arranged with long, brown tables that stretched onward in a circular formation. The chairs were replaced with long, green benches that were coupled with the oval-like tables. The room was quite similar to that of a university classroom, a setting that was recorded in historical books back when institutions for young adults called “university/college” existed.

(Author’s note: The seatings look something like this: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTUY82PraJImbDmWz5mFjZ0PVcaLEL6Jq0mU-QtIuVAo6dYkp_t )

As Vinci settled down in his seat, he quietly cursed himself in different languages learned from various dimensional worlds as he replayed his blunder repeatedly in his mind.

And because of his ability «Kami’s Mind», it would not allow him to forget anything once that he had once seen or learned. Therefore, it meant that this painful memory would forever be stored into his mind till the end of time, never forgetting a single detail…

Vinci silently groaned as he endured through the class lecture.

While Vinci was busy scolding himself in his mind, he did not notice the snickering of the four students sitting a few benches away from him. They each wore a wonderful mask of contempt as they sneered at Vinci. Then, they slowly turned and began to chat among themselves.

When they turned around again to look at new student a few rows behind them, their lips curved upward into a sinister grin...

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Author's Note: If at some point, you feel that Vinci's character is somewhat incoherent, considering his previous cold attitude and battle experiences, etc...you're right. Please note it's made to be so on purpose. I'll spoil a little and say that you should find out the reason why somewhere in the 20's chapter. :)