”And now, the first rank of the first years will give a speech.” The Head of Admissions announced.

It was the day of the welcoming ceremony. Vincent was waiting in the right wing of the stage when he heard his cue. Or maybe he hadn’t heard his cue…

“You’re up, Student Vincent.” The program director said.

“…”

“Did you hear me?” He tapped Vincent’s shoulder.

“Yes!” Vincent abruptly jumped up, scaring the program director. “I’ll be going!” Vincent mechanically walked out onto the stage.

“Will he be alright?” The program director was left without knowing whether to laugh or cry. Vincent wasn’t like this during rehearsal.

Vincent felt his heart pounding thunderously within his chest. When he tried to swallow it felt like he had just drunk a mouthful of sand. What were his lines again? He had recited it so many times by now, but at this very moment, those words escaped him. He looked over at the hundreds of expectant faces in the crowd and felt his mind blanked out.

“Calm down. There was some advice I read about how to deal with situations like this. What was it again? I think it was… ‘Imagine the audience is naked?’” thought Vincent. “Why would I want to see them naked? Ahhhh! Whatever!”

Out in the crowd, everyone was looking up at the stock still student. He wasn’t bad looking, but his cold expression and his eyes made him look arrogant. He had walked up to the podium in a confident strut and never made any eye contact with anybody as he looked forward beyond the crowd. Finally, after making them wait for an uncomfortably long time, he finally surveyed the audience. He didn’t even try to hide the derision in his eyes and smirked when he gave his speech.

“First of all, before I begin…” He reached into his blazer and retrieved a set of cards.

“Why the hell are they all smudged?!” Vincent silently panicked. There goes his only help. He became frustrated and tore up the set of smudged cards and superfluously tossed it up in the air. Whatever! He’ll just say what he wanted to say, what’s the worst that could happen?

“I would like to thank the teachers of Lancelot for maintaining such a high standard of learning. I would also like to thank the headmasters of the academy for giving me this opportunity to present a speech for my fellow peers. I know it wasn’t simple to earn the chance to enter into this prestigious academy. It must’ve taken each and every one of you here today painstakingly long hours of practice and study.” He glanced at everyone in the crowd, studying their expressions as he continued speaking. Everyone in the audience sat up straighter after hearing his words of praise. They subconsciously nodded their heads along with Vincent’s words. The directors and school heads were also surprised at the change in Vincent’s speech, but when they heard its contents, they silently approved and let him continue.

“Effort is applauded in our kingdom. We welcome hard workers and what more to show of it than a position in Lancelot?” Applause rang out from the crowd, making Vincent pause before continuing, “But sometimes effort just isn’t enough.” His words turned sour, causing looks of confusion to spread throughout the crowd. “Look at how hard all of you tried and yet you all still lost to me. I guess in the end; we’ll all succumb to our lot in life.” He coolly grinned. His words were actually aimed at one particular person in the crowd; William.

“Can he say that?”

“I’m not sure if he’s allowed…” Students began murmuring aloud throughout the venue. Even a few teachers grew pale at the sudden turn of events, but yet none stood up to rebuke Vincent. William also shamefully sunk his head down.

“Of course, my position is not permanent, I can be thrown off my throne at any time, but right this very moment, just know this; you are all beneath me. Will you just accept this fact? Or will you rise up and throw me off from the top? Whatever your answer is, I don’t want to hear it. Answer me with your actions. I’ll be waiting.” With a flourish, Vincent swaggered off the stage to the back. The host was slightly stunned as well as everyone else at the venue. Finally, everyone began angrily yelling at Vincent, to come out and explain himself.

“Vice Head Bardus, this… isn’t appropriate is it?” A teacher beside Bardus hesitantly asked.

“The youth these days sure are hot-blooded,” answered Bardus while stroking his beard.

“What a unique way of presenting a speech. Everyone, don’t take Student Vincent’s words to heart. Any genius will always have an eccentric personality.” The host quickly brought order back into the venue. Soon, the event calmly came to an end unbeknownst to Vincent.

Vincent had already left the welcoming ceremony and had left for the Mission Hall. The Mission Hall, in essence, a hub for students to accept and undertake missions given out by the academy. It wasn’t easy to maintain and run a city-wide academy, so a Mission Hall was built to exchange services for resources. By doing missions issued by the academy, students will be able to acquire contribution points.

Contribution points (CP) are required for all functions in the academy; students could spend CP to acquire resources or utilize various facilities in Lancelot. There are also multiple methods to obtain CP outside of the monthly allowance with the Mission Hall being one method. However, first-year students are not allowed to take any field missions. Vincent would be the sole exception to this rule, and he went there this day to do just that.

The student receptionist struggled to maintain a smile as he said, “I’m sorry Vincent, but first-years are not allowed to take that mission.” What he was referring to was only a D-rank mission, but it was automatically raised up a rank in difficulty due to the type of task it was. The mission was a reconnaissance mission; the person would have to verify and validate the claims of the mission requester. Once a person submitted a request to the academy, it must be checked first before being officially opened up for another party to accept. Missions have this two-step process to lower the casualty rates and increase the success chance.

Reconnaissance missions were the hardest because anyone who accepted the task would only have the information provided by the requester; they were flying blind. The person must also have a solid history of successes before they’re allowed to undertake such a mission because whatever they said will be taken for a fact when they are reporting the results of their investigations. So it was an impossible request for the receptionist because Vincent had no record of any missions taken.

“It won’t be a problem on the matter of experience,” Vincent answered confidently, he had already predicted this problem. He retrieved a set of documents dated and signed by the Evergreen Ranger Corps’ administrative department. On it was a list of the missions Vincent had undertaken in the last year. What shocked the receptionist were the ‘A’ results at the end of each listing.

“Please… wait here for a moment. I’ll bring this up with the Branch Manager.” The receptionist bowed with a hint of reverence as he quickly took the documents and disappeared into the back. Soon a stout middle-aged man came out along with the receptionist.

“Student Vincent?” The stout man asked as he studied Vincent. “Normally something like this has never happened before, to receive documentation from another source outside of the academy.” He placed the documents on the counter, “I’ve already received the Headmaster’s orders, so you’re free to take field missions. However, I recommend that you not take these sort of missions, even veterans with years of experience can still make mistakes.”

Vincent understood it was for his own good that the branch manager of the Mission Hall was warning him, but…

“It’s alright, Branch Manager. I’ve undergone reconnaissance training with the Corps. You should know their standards are the highest within the kingdom when it comes to things like this.”

“…” Vincent spoke the truth, and the Branch Manager knew it, so he had no arguments. “As you wish, but find a way to stay in touch, since it’s your first mission.”

“Understood.” Vincent saluted by habit, but after seeing the branch manager’s sheepish smile, he awkwardly lowered his arm.

“I’ll register your mission.” The receptionist said as he quickly took down the request and logged it under Vincent’s name. “Your mission is to verify the claims of a merchant by the name of Sidth. Three days ago his cargo wagon was attacked by what he claims “hundreds” of goblins along the southeastern road near the village of Greenboro. Your objective is to locate the goblin party. Find out their numbers and also assess their threat level. You are not to engage.”

“Understood.” Vincent retrieved a copy of the mission information and quickly left and returned to his dorm to prep. On his way back he didn’t expect to find a whole street full of festivities. If he had to compare it to something, it was like a job fair. Students wearing the first year colors were exploring around as senior students called out.

“Come check out our archery club. We are looking to recruit new members!”

There were various stalls lined up along the street. He could see people playing a game of chess. In another booth, a student was reciting a poem, but it sounded more like a chant for a spell before suddenly a burst of fireworks erupted from his palm. A lot of the girls were drawn in by the flashy display followed by the boys as they crowded around the magician.

“Join our Monster Studies Club. We’ll prepare you to fight any monsters you may meet in your adventures!”

“Join our dance society! We’re looking for new members to advance the world of dance!”

All around him were the seniors yelling enticing phrases to draw in the gullible first-years. He didn’t pay it much mind, choosing to ignore them all. Although it might not be a terrible idea to join a few clubs, it’ll give him an excuse to interact with the MC from time to time. If there was a club he should join, it would be…

*Bump!*

“Kya!” A girly scream escaped from the mouth of the girl that had accidentally backed up into him.

“Watch where you’re go—…“ The next few words stuck to the back of his throat.

The girl had fallen after running into him and was nursing her bottom. She was wearing a somewhat short skirt and with her sitting on the ground, revealed plenty of her thigh. The flash of white flesh momentarily drew the gazes of all the boys in the area. However, Vincent’s eyes weren’t watching that; he focused on her face. There was a mole under her left eye. Her facial features were as delicate as a doll, with prominent features distinctive of the eastern culture. A pair of intelligent eyes were also looking back at Vincent.

“Are you just gonna stand there and stare? Shouldn’t you help a lady up?” She revealed a flirtatious smile as she reached out her hand.

Vincent’s eyes narrowed when he saw her gesture. He knew a lot about what type of person Aya was, and this was definitely a plot cooked up by her. He didn’t accept her hand and even moved back a few steps.

Aya looked visibly hurt when he did that and tears started welling up in her eyes. “H-how could you?”

“Don’t cry. I’ll help you up!” A boy called out and walked over.

“No, I’ll help!”

“Forget that asshole. I’ll be here for you! Do you want me to kick his ass?”

Vincent finally understood what happened when he saw a bunch of guys suddenly crowded around her. After they helped her up, she wiped away her tears and said, “Thank you. Everyone, thank you very much. If I could have strong men like you in my club, we could do great things together.”

“What club are you in?” A youth asked.

“I’m in the Dungeon Exploration Society. My club is big, but I feel that the more people there are the better. Don’t you also think so?” She tilted her head in a cute gesture.

“I’ll join!”

“Me too!”

“I’ll join too! Where do I sign up?”

Vincent shook his head as he turned around and got ready to leave. He couldn’t help but take one last glance at the girl who was busy handing out registration forms. Aya also happened to be looking at him at that very moment; her long eyelashes did very little to hide the playful glint in her eyes. Vincent felt a shiver pass down his spine and decided to walk faster.

“Now I think I understood why the MC had been tricked by that demoness.” Vincent felt like he had understood a universal truth of the world as he left.