## Chapter 100 – No. 25. Enrollment # 2
A long, wide desk stretched out, resembling a stage.
The No. 1 classroom, slightly curved to enhance student concentration and seemingly embrace the podium, possessed the beauty of its curves.
However, at this moment, the scenery of the No. 1 classroom was not in No. 25’s sight.
The sudden attention focused on No. 25 was enough to fluster him. He couldn’t even bring himself to step into the classroom, hesitating and stepping back.
“Ah, aah…”
He hadn’t even taken a few steps back when a soft, squishy sensation started at the back of his head and spread throughout his body.
No. 25’s upper body was buried in Adriana’s ample chest.
The ecstasy of being enveloped was fleeting, as Adriana pushed No. 25’s back forward slightly, as if displeased.
The longer he stood foolishly in front of the classroom, the more gazes poured in. Unable to bear the pressure, No. 25 muttered to himself, seemingly in a panic, staring at the air. Professor Adriana, unable to watch any longer, opened her mouth instead.
Of course, before speaking, she clicked her tongue once, revealing her displeasure without reservation.
“He’s a new student. In principle, we don’t accept students after the entrance ceremony, but there are special circumstances, so everyone should just overlook it. As for self-introductions, you guys can take care of it on your own in your free time.”
Adriana, without taking a breath, spewed out the words in an instant, furrowed her brow, and pushed No. 25 forward into the classroom, shooting him a venomous tone.
“Don’t just stand there like an idiot, go sit in an empty seat.”
No. 25 ended his short reply and lowered his gaze, heading to a seat in the corner.
Had he ever received so much attention?
The burden of dozens of eyes following him with every step he took.
He realized for the first time that excessive attention could be poisonous.
The whispers around him could be heard even if he didn’t want to.
Among them were good words spoken based solely on No. 25’s appearance, but in this world, where there were sweet words like honey in a flower, it was only natural that poison and thorns would follow.
Some students with strong pride or those who hadn’t entered the academy with a half-baked resolve seemed displeased with No. 25.
When you think about it, it was only natural.
The academy was built to be chosen by the seven Demon Lords. The students who entered the academy admired the Demon Lords and wanted to serve them.
Among them, No. 25, who had received the favor of Low, the Demon Lord of the 2nd District, who possessed a different kind of strength, and had been admitted as an unprecedented special case, could not be seen favorably.
Doubt, doubt about whether he had the qualifications to stand by the Demon Lord’s side.
They would constantly doubt and question No. 25 until he proved his abilities.
“Is that the parachute kid?”
“Some people work hard to barely get in here, and he’s living such an easy life.”
Malice pierced his heart like sharp daggers.
He couldn’t even deny this situation because their words were all true, and he felt resentful.
No. 25 still kept his head down as he passed them and headed to the back seat in the farthest corner.
A seat where the podium couldn’t be seen properly, a seat that a student with a passion for learning would never sit in.
No. 25 had to endure the students’ gazes until the moment he sat down.
Those who liked the new student who was favored by the Demon Lord they admired, and those who hated him.
Fortunately, the student next to No. 25 belonged to the former.
“Hi?”
At the first sound of a deep male voice he had ever heard, No. 25 turned his head and looked to the side.
Honestly, he couldn’t say it was a good first impression, even as a polite gesture.
A huge man with tanned skin and tremendous muscles, hair dyed bright blonde. Piercings all over his face.
He exuded such an overwhelming presence that one could easily imagine him making someone cry with just a simple frown.
“Ah, hello.”
He moved his chair closer to No. 25 and started rattling off things he hadn’t even asked about.
“Professor Adriana is a bit strange, isn’t she? She’s the professor in charge of the first year, so you’ll have to keep seeing her until the next grade. Oh, and she’s a little sensitive because she’s past her prime but hasn’t gotten married yet? It’s good to be careful. If you get on her bad side even a little, she’ll find all sorts of faults and make you run all sorts of errands.”
“U-uh huh.”
Now he understood why her attitude had been so sharp.
After finishing his words, he extended his hand to No. 25 and smiled brightly.
“I’m Saruk. I was the only guy in the first year, so I’m glad you came.”
Later, he would learn that the academy’s gender ratio was roughly 8 to 2.
It wasn’t that there were no men at all, but the number was ridiculously small compared to the women.
The man named Saruk sitting next to him was one of the 20% of men, and he was excessively friendly to No. 25, happy to have met another man.
No. 25 didn’t dislike the favor. Moreover, No. 25 was also happy to meet a male friend on equal footing for the first time, and he firmly grasped the outstretched hand.
His thick hand, unlike his delicate hand, gave him the feeling of being a real man.
“My name is Ryu, please take care of me.”
Saruk let go of his hand and spoke to No. 25 again.
“Ask me anything if you don’t know.”
A question, there was only one question that came to mind at this point.
“Who are those people wearing white uniforms?”
It was a question that reminded him of the clothes Claire, who was particularly memorable, had worn.
“White uniforms are for 4th to 6th graders. We’re 1st graders, so we wear navy blue. Navy blue is for 1st to 3rd graders.”
“Hmm, then what about black?”
Black uniforms were rarely seen in the academy, but some students were clearly wearing black uniforms with gold embroidery.
“Ah, that’s 7th grade. It’s the uniform that only the highest grade students, those who are about to graduate, can wear.”
Saruk kindly answered No. 25’s continuous questions without showing any signs of displeasure.
Just as No. 25 was about to ask another question about the academy, Adriana frowned and raised her voice.
“Quiet! Today, we’ll have the test as we talked about yesterday.”
At the word test, No. 25 looked at Saruk with a bewildered expression.
He grabbed his brow with his hand and shook his head from side to side as if he had a headache.
A test when he hadn’t learned anything, wasn’t this too much?
No. 25 expressed his feelings to Saruk, who was sitting next to him.
“A test on the first day? I haven’t even taken a class yet…?”
“It’s your first day, but it’s already been a month since we enrolled… Besides, you came through a special admission, so it might be hard to get out of it? The professor and the students all doubt your skills, so why don’t you take this opportunity to show them?”
Even if he showed them, there was no way he could solve a test from a class he hadn’t learned, right?
No. 25, half resigned, took the paper handed to him and spread it on his desk.
Adriana, after confirming that all the students had received the test papers, took out a silver pocket watch from her pocket and opened her mouth one minute before the second hand of the watch pointed exactly at 9 o’clock.
“The test time is exactly 30 minutes. If you’ve finished, submit it to me and then get out of here quickly.”
The test begins with the roughest language of any woman No. 25 has ever met.
No. 25, who unfolded the test paper, tilted his head.
He knew he shouldn’t do this, but he turned his head and checked the people next to him.
It wasn’t to see the answers.
The confusion No. 25 felt was amplified by the sight of Saruk frowning and looking like he was struggling.
No. 25 was mistaken in thinking that the series of tests that were taking place was a kind of event for him, who had just enrolled.
The reason was simple.
Easy.
It was ridiculously easy. He could tell all the answers just by looking at them roughly.
There was no chance of the fountain pen, which had begun to dance on the paper with suspicion, falling.
In a way, it was only natural.
No. 25, who learned quickly, had read countless books while living with Low, who could be said to be the foundation of magic.
In the 2nd District, where there were no proper facilities or people, the only things to do were hunting monsters and reading. Later, sex with Low was added, but before that, most of the way No. 25 spent his time was reading.
The many books that Low had written himself, but had not published to the world because he was annoyed or had forgotten, became No. 25’s knowledge.
No matter how excellent Adriana was as a professor, she was ultimately just a student pursuing knowledge in front of Low, who was like the root of magic.
The dry knowledge of No. 25, who had read books that were like the source, could not be satisfied by books written by professors.
Therefore, the problems that originated from those books were also easy problems for No. 25, like ‘1+1’.
Now he seemed to understand why Low had said that there was no need to take classes at the academy, he seemed to know the meaning of those words.
No. 25, who had solved the problems in an instant, carefully raised his hand halfway and said to Adriana, who was standing in front of the podium.
“I’ve solved them all… where should I submit them?”
He said those words less than 5 minutes after the test had started.
Saruk, who was sitting next to No. 25, opened his mouth in disbelief and stared at No. 25’s profile.
It wasn’t just the students who were surprised. Even Adriana, who was known for not showing any changes in expression, widened her eyes slightly as if surprised, then looked at No. 25 with a lowered gaze.
She cleared her throat and beckoned to No. 25, opening her mouth.
“Bring it here.”
The students’ eyes were fixed on No. 25’s back as he got up from his seat and headed to the podium.
They were still on the first page of the test paper, at most in the middle. Of course, they couldn’t understand the speed at which No. 25 had solved the problems.
The students’ faces were covered in shock, and they put strength into the hand holding the pen as if they couldn’t accept the fact that a suddenly appeared new student was better than them.
Adriana, who received the test paper from No. 25, stood still and scanned the test paper from top to bottom.
There were no fixed answers to the essay-style subjective questions.
In a position of pursuing knowledge, there was no way to set fixed answers to questions that were made to write down a person’s subjectivity. Adriana savored the answers written by No. 25 with an interesting expression.
At the end of the continuing silence, a short breath, hmm, is heard.
Adriana finally put the test paper down on the desk with a satisfied expression.
“It seems like you’re worth being admitted as a special case. Well, otherwise, there’s no reason why Low-nim would recommend you himself.”
It was a nonchalant tone, but it was a look she had never shown to other students.
At that change, the attention of all the students in the 1st classroom was once again focused on No. 25, who was standing on the podium.
The negative gazes that doubted No. 25’s qualifications had mostly disappeared, and what remained there was the look of admiration for talent.
“You can go.”
The steps of No. 25, who pushed open the wooden door and went outside, were lighter than before.
