In the end, they decided that Chrome needed to keep his Dark Paladin class hidden. He would still be able to add experience points to it in order to level up and obtain the stat benefits, but until he reaches rank 6 or his life is in danger, and he has no alternatives, he should not use any active skills. After the discussion had concluded, Celene, noticing that the atmosphere of the room had worsened, suddenly stood up and clapped her hands.

“Alright, that’s that. We’ve decided what to do, and let’s not worry anymore. Let’s all go to bed and wake up tomorrow fresh and ready for classes!” She said cheerfully.

The rest of the group grunted their confirmations, obviously still in thought about the issue, but nevertheless stood up to move. Chrome, for his part, was worried about his potential role in such a conflict. More specifically, he wasn’t afraid to fight, but would the nation, including his new-found friends, turn him over to an overpowering enemy in order to appease them? Right after Chrome stood up slowly, Celene grabbed his attention.

“Chrome,” perhaps sensing his unease, she put on an earnest smile and sincerely said, “even if the enemy nations gathered together and demanded it, we would NEVER sacrifice you.”

The others quickly joined in. “Agreed.” “We have your back.”

Then everyone stopped to look at Tybalt, the only one who hadn’t said anything yet.

“What?” He paused at the intense glares he was receiving. He turned to put a level gaze on Chrome. “...Well, if the situation ever came to a 4 nation alliance, you can bet that they wouldn’t be satisfied with just taking you. It would be dumb to surrender our biggest combat asset right before being invaded.” He finished with a nonchalant shrug, and surprisingly, the rationale behind his statement ended up comforting Chrome the most.

Chrome was taken aback by the expressions of solidarity; he was always alone in the orphanage (a combination of his relatively introverted nature and Aldo’s bullying). A warm feeling rose in his chest, and for the first time in a long time, he truly smiled.

“Thanks, everyone.”

He had a great sleep that night.

The next day quickly arrived, and any hatred he had for the academy quickly disappeared. In the morning exercise, already he could feel the difference of that extra CON point. He still finished way behind his peers, but the magic meat breakfast more than made up for any embarrassment he may have felt.

After breakfast was a class named War Tactics, Leadership, and Politics which honestly went over Chrome’s head. However, the other members of his group seemed to enjoy it and recommend it greatly, so Chrome still made an effort to try to learn the material in order to keep up. Sort of. Honestly, the class lasted an hour and a half, and he couldn’t wait for it to end; after all, the next course was what he was really looking forward to: combat practice. And judging from the subdued excitement in the atmosphere, the other students were also looking forward to it.

The course was the bread and butter of the military academy, and over the next three years, will encompass at least half of the students’ effort. The instructor of the course was a stern-looking, muscular elder with scars adorning his face and exposed arms. His hair was cut short and colored white from his age. As he stood there with arms crossed and a grim expression on his face, the lively chatter from the students gradually disappeared until the entire arena (the class was outdoors in a coliseum) fell into a tense silence. Only once there was absolute quiet did he begin to speak.

“I love seeing young blood.” There was no warmth in his voice. “They have not seen the blood and slaughter in war. They have not lost dear friends. They are, put simply, not dirtied by the taint from the warring states.” He paused, and despite his monotonous tone, everyone had shivers run down their spine. Chrome gulped.

“Unfortunately, as pure as it is, such naivety is weakness on the battlefield. If you want to survive, you must be disciplined. You must throw away your illusions of justice and fairness. You must act in cold blood.” He paused again, and everyone was hanging on his words.

“What I just saw, youthful chatter, is fine outside of this classroom, but inside, if you want to survive, if you want your friends to survive, I expect absolute discipline in learning. No more pointless chatter. Am I understood?” The way he emphasized ‘youthful’ almost seemed to be mocking them, but no one said anything but “yes, sir”.

“Good. Then before we actually start, I should give an introduction and a summary of what you will learn. I am a retired general, but on the battlefield I was known as Zom Firewolf, the surname being personally given by the Emperor.” Chrome gasped - Zom Firewolf was a legend! The stories about General Firewolf are numerous, and some of them are absolutely insane - one of the stories Chrome heard is that the general single handedly killed a dragon. A dragon! For his part, Zom ignored the commotion his introduction caused and moved onto the syllabus of the course.

“The first part of the course will involve individual combat and mastering the skills your classes provide. Why do we need to practice the skills when we can already use them?” Without waiting for an answer, he continued, “Because skills are just like any weapon. They must be mastered in order to be used to their full potential. The most powerful skill is useless if it can’t hit its target. Conversely, a weak skill can be used or adapted cleverly to catastrophic effects. The emperor is known to be able to superimpose 5 miniature cyclones to create a larger one. Combined with his rank 4 passive which increases superimposition by 100 times, he is able to stack 500 miniature cyclones together for devastating effects.”

“In addition, there are different types of skill compositions and knowing how to adapt to a changing opponent is crucial. As such, in the first part, you will actually not only learn mastery of your own skills, but also adaptability to others. In the second part, we will introduce teams for group combat. Are there any questions on what will be happening?” When no one said anything, he nodded. “Good, then let’s go ahead and get started.”

The class was slower than Chrome expected. Instead of being action packed and full of sparring, Zom instead went through every student individually, giving them pointers and specific exercises to focus on. Fortunately, he went through the list alphabetically by first name, so Chrome did not have to wait too long.

When he got to him, he looked him up on a clipboard that seemed to appear out of thin air.

“Chrome. 7* Necromancer. When the upper echelons heard of you, we were all pleasantly surprised - we are expecting great things from you.” Chrome almost smiled until the instructor said the next portion. “But don’t let that get to your head. Right now, you are still weak. If anything, I will be working you twice as hard as the others. Now, have you summoned your first undead yet?”

Chrome shook his head in the negative.

“Hm, that’s probably for the better - we wouldn’t want other nations to learn of you just yet. Not until you’re at least 5*. Anyways, the actual summoning process and results differ between individuals, and no one except the necromancers, and sometimes not even them, know why. I know a 5th rank Grave Digger that has to create a grave in order to summon an undead, even when the grave doesn’t contain any corpse. Do you have enough mana for a summon and are there any special requirements?”

Chrome let that sink in before responding. He wasn’t even aware that other classes that could raise undead exist - he guessed that once at the 5th rank, the higher ups would potentially pass off his 7* Necromancer class as a lower star rating class. The irony of having to have a double cover up was not lost on him, and he inwardly chuckled.

“I don’t think so. In the skill description, the only constraint mentioned is a rank constraint that I can’t summon something of higher rank than myself. And yes, I have enough mana for one summon.”

“That’s great - having versatile summoning methods will definitely be a boon. Don’t worry about the rank constraint, that’s normal for any summoner class. However, keep in mind that, unless necessary, you should only summon undead where others can’t see. People can distinguish classes based on the summoning mechanism. Then without further ado, try summoning your first undead.”

Chrome hesitated. He definitely wanted to summon, but he was also afraid about the result. What if his summon was extremely weak and underwhelming? He knew the fear was irrational, as even if it was the case, he could simply try again later, but he desperately wanted to have a successful first try. He looked at the instructor, and upon receiving an encouraging nod, he steeled himself. Only to realize that he didn’t know how to invoke the skill.

“...what’s wrong?”

“I-, uh, how do I invoke the skill?”

“...just say the skill name.”

Tension largely gone and replaced by embarrassment, Chrome cast the first active skill of his life.

“Summon Undead”

Riernel let out a huge yawn. He was bored out of his mind waiting for his turn - he was definitely expecting more of a running start to the combat practice class. He languidly turned towards the instructor who was now helping Chrome, before shifting his gaze to the person in question with a complicated expression.

“What’s on your mind?” Joan and Tybalt came over to talk to him.

“What you said yesterday, about the other 4 nations ganging up on us. Do you really think that will happen?

Tybalt was silent before answering decisively. “If the matter of Chrome having two classes gets out, it would be a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’. Forgetting Celene, would you abandon him in that situation?”

“No.” Riernel surprised himself by how quick he was to answer - a part of him must have grown close to the boy. He added on clarification in case it seemed like he was too sentimental, “when I first met him and told him about my dream to end the warring states, I wasn’t lying. I also may have exaggerated the promises of equal opportunity but those aren't out of the question either. In order to achieve both of those goals, his power is a requirement.”

“That’s true. In order to end the 200 years of war, overwhelming power would be required. When he gets older, he would almost certainly be unparalleled.” Joan added.

Riernel was about to reply when, all of a sudden, a wave of ominous energy swept through the arena and sent chills down his spine. Everyone’s attention immediately turned towards the direction of origin. There Chrome stood still with his arm outstretched, and before him was a fracture in the very air. Slowly, the crack gradually opened until it turned into a full-size portal that a grown man could walk through. Riernel wasn’t able to see the other side, because the surface of the portal was completely dark, almost like a mirror colored purple and black. A pale arm stretched out of the portal, disturbing the otherwise serene portal entrance and sending ripples through it. As the full figure of the undead made its appearance, Riernel only had one thought on his mind.

Chrome might turn out to be a bigger monster than he thought.

Zom observed the undead that the student summoned currently standing in front of him. It, or it would probably be more apt to say she, was a lesser variant of vampire, telltale of her crimson pupils. Straight white hair fell past her shoulders and framed her face where eyes lay scrutinizing carefully the world around her. She wore a high collared, black uniform with yellow highlights giving off both a noble and disciplined aura.

“This is the undead you have summoned?” Zom was inwardly shocked at the summon. He was expecting something more… primitive. A skeleton or something similar is standard for a rank 1 necromancer. At the very least, definitely not someone.

“The undead has a name. Her name is Vaeri Omaris, daughter to Keerla and Horith Omaris, from the prestigious house of Omaris. You may call me Vay.” Before Chrome could answer, the vampire did so instead. “And yes, I serve Chrome Yet-To-Be-Named, a 7* Necromancer.” She nodded towards the necromancer as she said the last portion. The introduction shocked Zom even more, threatening to break the rock solid countenance always had. A last name and clear intelligence meant that this undead was not a variant of a vampire, it was a vampire. However, vampires were known to be at least of the 5th rank or above, and Chrome himself said he had a rank limitation on what he could summon.

“Vay then, what is your rank?” If the rank was too high, it is likely that Chrome would not be able to control her. In that case, in order to protect this national asset, he would have no choice but to … his eyes narrowed as he continued to look at the vampire.

Sensing the subdued killing intent, Vay immediately got into a defensive position. Unfortunately, that action only further solidified Zom’s position - the killing intent that he released should not have been detectable by those at rank 1. The tension continuously rose as the two stared at one another, and finally when it was about to reach the breaking point, Chrome couldn’t stand it and interjected.

“Um. Vay’s current rank and level are currently limited to be the same as mine. Does that solve whatever issue is present?”

Zom broke off his gaze and looked at Chrome. “Show me.” Seeing Chrome hesitate, Zom pressed on, “Unless you can show me that the rank of this vampire is indeed no greater than yours, and thus pose limited threat to you, I will assume you have been somehow enthralled by her and will duly eliminate the threat posed to you.” The words put Vay even more on edge, and she backed up while maintaining her guard.

“... can I show you only Vay’s status?”

It was an unusual request, but not out of the normal. Many people wanted to hide their skills and statuses in order to better protect themselves. He was sort of surprised that Chrome already knew about the importance of hiding his skills, but he attributed that caution as a natural byproduct of rooming with the other high star-rating individuals. He nodded his consent.

“How can I only show Vay’s status?”

… sometimes Zom forgot how ignorant Chrome was on how to manipulate the status screen.

“Say or think the following in order. Status. Summons. Vay. Status and Rank Only. Public.”

Chrome did so, and the ever-familiar blue screen popped up in front of them.

Name: Vaeri Omaris

Age: 218

Race: Vampire

HP: 1000/1000 300/300

MP: 3650/3650 300/300

STR: 100 30

DEX: 100 30

CON: 100 30

INT: 365 30

WIS: 285 30

CHA: 100 30

Class

Blood Witch - +2 INT per Level

Rank: 5 1

Lvl: 23 - EXP: 2833/12960 1 - EXP: 0/10

Zom nodded and understood what Chrome meant by her stats were restricted to his rank and level. It appeared that in order to still satisfy the rank requirements, her abilities and stats were restricted to the same rank and level as Chrome. He couldn’t see the skills, but he guessed that the skills beyond rank 1 were also locked.

“That’s fine then.” Zom gave another glance at Vay. He had let go of his murderous intent by now, so while she was still guarded, they were no longer so obviously hostile to each other. “As it is, this is a good thing. While previously I was expecting you to summon a skeleton or something that requires control, she already has intelligence, so you can skip the control practice and focus more on gaining her loyalty and coordinating their actions.”

“Gaining her loyalty?” Chrome understood the necessity of the second point, but the first point seemed unnecessary. He looked at Vay, who seemed mildly off put at being talked about as if she wasn’t there. “But she seems loyal enough?”

Zom sighed at his naivety. “Intelligent servants are indeed much more powerful than their counterparts, but they are double-edged swords. Generally, they won’t fully follow someone who they don’t respect. You don’t want to give a command in combat only to suddenly find that she thinks she knows better and does something else. Especially for a former 5th rank, she probably thinks of a 1st rank like you as inexperienced.”

The general said one final word. “Necromancers are powerful, because they effectively have entire teams of powerful people under their control. However, depending on the team coordination itself, there are huge differences in overall combat ability. In the future, if you are able, you should choose and develop your undead according to the needs of a team. Make sure you have all the basic roles such as a tank, support, and damage dealer.” He was about to leave when Chrome interrupted.

“Uh, sir! Can you give me some tips on how to gain loyalty and coordinate our actions?” Chrome had no idea where to start on either of those.

“For the latter, you can run through the various combat formations you learned in your War Tactics course. For the former, there is information in your Leadership course on how to be a better leader, but I can’t tell you how to gain loyalty - that’s something you need to figure out on your own.” And he continued to leave. Chrome was really wishing that he paid more attention to the former course now.

Chrome turned to look at Vay. She looked at Chrome back.

“So… what do we do now?”