Chương 41: Academy Life Begins

Ch 41 - Academy Life Begins Zeph whistled to himself as he checked his room one more time. The bed had been neatly made, and both the pillows and the bedsheets looked almost brand new. It didn't look like the room had simply been left as it was. The academy's cleaning staff must have gotten it ready before he arrived. He then walked over to the refrigerator beside the small kitchen area, and to his surprise... it was completely full.

There were vegetables, fresh cuts of meat, eggs, drinks, and all kinds of ingredients neatly filling the shelves. Tucked against one side of the fridge was a handwritten note. Don't worry. Everything's still fresh. If you store it properly, most of it should last another two or three months. Eat well, okay? You'll need proper nutrition if you want to stay strong. Zeph blinked. The previous resident had been a guy... hadn't he? Who stocked a fridge like this before moving out?

As for Zeph himself, he was never much of a cook. He could only prepare simple meals, so seeing this many ingredients made him think of only one person... Lena. In her hands, all of this would probably turn into an incredible feast. Some time later, while he was still busy unpacking and organizing his belongings, a knock came from the door. Someone had come to visit. Zeph quickly opened it and found Lena and Madou standing outside, both wearing bright, excited smiles.

"Zeph, I figured you'd get lonely, so we came to keep you company," Lena said.

"Well, your timing is perfect. Looks like we're having a great dinner tonight. The fridge is packed with ingredients."

"Alright, then let's cook. Go invite your new friends too," she said before casually walking inside.

"Whoa, Zeph, that's so unfair. Your room is literally twice the size of mine." Madou said.

"Weren't you allowed to choose your own room? Why didn't you pick a bigger one?"

"Ah, damn. That's because I picked the room with a direct view of the girls' dorm. That's completely on me," Madou said with a laugh. They all headed inside. Zeph and Madou settled onto the sofa, trying out the game console that had been left in the room, while Lena cooked by herself in the kitchen. Not long afterward, the rest of their friends started showing up as well. Hugh and Malon arrived, and even Suki stopped by to join them.

Soon, Hugh and Suki were helping Lena prepare the meal in the kitchen, while Malon simply sat behind Zeph and Madou, quietly watching them play without saying or doing much of anything. The delicious aroma drifting out from the kitchen quickly filled the living area, reminding Zeph that he had spent the entire day surviving on nothing but dried meat. This was going to be an incredible dinner. Once everything was ready, they arranged the table in the center of the room.

They even had to bring a few extra chairs from other rooms because there were not enough seats. One by one, the dishes were placed on the table. There was grilled meat, fresh vegetables, soup, and several other homemade dishes, creating a feast that looked as good as it smelled. Zeph took a seat, with Suki sitting on his left and Lena settling down on his right once everything had been served.

"Our dinner tonight is proudly sponsored by Zephion!" Lena announced with a grin. Zeph smiled and gave a small nod.

"I actually got all of this from the previous resident of this room."

"You mean everything that was in the fridge?" Hugh asked.

"Yes, all of them."

"Zeph really is ridiculously lucky," Madou said.

"Man, I'm so jealous."

"And thanks to Lena, Hugh, and Suki for helping with the cooking. Now come on, let's dig in!"

"Yeah! Finally, food!" Suki said enthusiastically as she helped serve everyone else.

"Make sure you eat plenty, Malon," Madou said.

"You know, when we first found Zeph, he was even skinnier than you are. Look at him now.""'Found' is a bit of an exaggeration," Zeph replied with a helpless smile.

"We kept feeding Zeph every single day after that," Lena added.

"Now he looks completely different. Much healthier... and a lot more handsome too."

"Let's get back to talking about Malon instead," Zeph quickly said, trying to redirect everyone's attention. That only made everyone around the table burst into laughter, and the cheerful teasing continued throughout the meal. They soon began enjoying the wide variety of dishes spread across the table.

"Ah, all that waiting while I was starving was totally worth it. This is so good," Madou said as he reached over to help himself to another serving. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Madou, you do remember that all you did was play games with Zeph while the rest of us were cooking, right?" Lena said with an amused look.

"Yes, but at least you guys got to snack while you were cooking."

"That was Hugh!" Lena replied, letting out a small laugh.

"Not me."

"Hehe." Hugh scratched his cheek with an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, I was just really hungry. But I didn't eat that much."

"Actually, Hugh helped a lot with the cooking too. He's a pretty good cook," Lena said.

"So we've got two great chefs in the group," Madou replied with a nod.

"Excuse me." Suki cleared her throat dramatically. Lena laughed again.

"Suki helped too... a little."

"Hey!" Suki protested, pouting.

"Do we really need to start a battlefield at the dinner table?" Madou said with a grin.

"Come on, just eat. Let's finish everything." Everyone happily returned to their meals, eating with even more enthusiasm than before. In reality, though, it felt like nearly a third of everything on the table somehow ended up disappearing into Hugh's stomach. After everyone had slowed down and was clearly full, they split up the cleanup duties. The ones who had not helped cook took care of washing the dishes and tidying the room.

Once everything was clean again, they gathered back in the living area with drinks in hand, relaxing as they chatted about all kinds of things.

"So Hugh's a tanker too? Damn, your Core Ability is seriously amazing. You could easily be the main defender of a team," Madou said.

"My first Sigil also gave me a shield, so it works really well with my ability," Hugh replied.

"I'd be happy if I could be useful to everyone." Madou nodded.

"I've been playing the defender role myself so far, but I'm actually more of a fighter. If you've got the front line covered, I can focus more on fighting and dealing damage instead of taking every hit." Lena continued the discussion.

"And that means Zeph can focus entirely on offense if there are already two people drawing the monsters' attention." Madou nodded again.

"Exactly. And Lena, you can stay behind while supporting Malon and Suki. That would make an incredible team composition." Zeph frowned in confusion.

"Since when was this team even formed? Nobody told me about it."

"Come on, Zephion. Wouldn't it be fun if we tackled Rift Expeditions as our own permanent team?" Madou said excitedly.

"We've got Suki as our scout, which is exactly what we need. Lena's our healer. Malon's the strategist. Two tankers ready to hold the line. And then there's our suicide squad..." He pointed at Zeph.

"... you."

"Why am I the only one getting called the suicide squad? Every single one of you is just as reckless." The room erupted with laughter once again.

"A normal party only needs five people," Malon pointed out.

"Well, you're not wrong," Madou replied with a shrug.

"In that case, we'll just take on the bigger Rifts instead. Raid Rifts."

"Are you seriously not traumatized after going into a Raid Rift, Madou?" Zeph asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Besides, we'd still need more people. Four more, to be exact."

"Then we'll just recruit four random people from outside. That's way easier." Zeph let out another sigh. Looking at the group in front of him, Malon, Hugh, and Suki clearly had no interest in becoming the leader. Then there was Madou, who seemed to charge ahead without thinking, as if his brain had permanently gone on vacation. Was Zeph really going to end up being sacrificed again and turned into the team's decision-making scapegoat?

"This team composition really doesn't sound like it's going to work..." he muttered under his breath. They continued chatting for a while after that, and Zeph learned something new. It turned out that both Madou and Lena had automatically advanced to the second-year class. Since they had already reached Rank 2 Guardian, all they had to do now was complete their second year before becoming eligible to register as official Hunters.

As a result, the training they received was different from that of students who had not yet broken through to Rank 2.

"We need to make full use of everything this place offers," Madou said.

"The cultivation grounds, Rift Expeditions, the training facilities, everything. Aim to reach Rank 2 before your second year. That way, by the time you finish your second year, you'll already meet the requirements to register as an official Hunter." Hugh and Suki nodded enthusiastically after hearing that. The group ended up staying in Zeph's room much longer than he had expected. He had only wanted to invite everyone over for a nice dinner, but somehow they were still hanging around until ten o'clock at night.

Visiting hours for female students in the boys' dorm ended at eleven, after all. Even after Lena and Suki headed back to their dorm, Madou and the other two still showed no sign of leaving. Instead, they switched from the game console to board games and kept the fun going. Fine. Do whatever you want. Zeph finally gave up and decided to go to bed first. If they wanted to keep hanging out in his room, they could stay as long as they liked. He was done for the day.

Besides, this room was far bigger than he actually needed. A soft mattress. Fluffy pillows. A warm, comfortable blanket. Within moments, Zeph was fast asleep. ** The day of the new student ceremony finally arrived. Hundreds of newly accepted students of Lumeris Hunter Academy had gathered, all dressed in their academy uniforms for the very first time. The uniform featured an elegant combination of deep navy blue, white, and silver.

The boys wore fitted jackets with matching trousers, while the girls wore the same tailored jackets paired with short pleated skirts, black leggings, and polished boots, giving the entire class a refined yet practical appearance. Inside the grand assembly hall, circles marked with student identification numbers had been arranged across the floor to indicate where everyone should stand. After looking around for a moment, Zeph finally found his assigned spot. It was right at the very front.

Hugh, Malon, and Suki were lined up nearby, while Madou and Lena stood with another group on the right side of the hall. They belonged to the newly promoted second-year class, students who had advanced immediately after admission. There were only sixteen of them, a sharp contrast to the more than one hundred forty first-year recruits filling the rest of the hall. Zeph stood in his assigned position with Suki on his left, Hugh standing beside her, and Malon next in line.

One by one, the remaining students entered the hall and took their places on their own marked circles. Then Zeph heard someone click their tongue behind him.

"This piece of trash... using dirty tricks to make it this far." The voice was low, but he heard it clearly. Suki heard it too and started to turn around, but Zeph gave a slight shake of his head. He recognized the voice. It belonged to the boy who had tried to trip him during the selection test day.

"Don't bother looking down. Things beneath your feet aren't worth your attention. Just stay where you belong... at the top." Although he spoke to Suki, everyone knew exactly who those words were meant for.

"Your time at this academy won't last long. Mark my words," the voice behind him sneered once again. But, Zeph didn't bother responding. There was no point wasting another second on someone who could only bark from behind. Instead, he kept his eyes forward and waited quietly for the ceremony to begin. He wondered who would be welcoming the new students today. Would the Headmaster be the one welcoming them today?

From what Zeph had heard, the academy was personally led by a Rank 9 Ascendant, one of the strongest individuals in the Union. Even he couldn't help but wonder what someone at that level would be like.