8 Katriny Alabardo

"I am Katriny Alabardo, and I am your beloved headmistress in this academy. Only those in the special class know my true appearance, so consider yourselves honored."

The two statues beside the door lowered their axes, breaking the wooden door into various pieces that began to float in the air. The fragments, along with the statues, merged and created a small tunnel.

Footsteps were heard, and from the tunnel emerged a woman who appeared to be no more than thirty years old, holding a dark blue cane with white carvings. The woman stopped, quickly scanning everyone still standing.

"What a show-off, doing all this and not even that pretty..." Litty remarked, turning her face to the side, ignoring everything happening.

'Really... too much, damn it. Making a speech right at the beginning, my life almost ended before it started,' Edward thought, looking around and seeing thirteen people around him.

"What a surprise. This year had a good number of qualifiers. Alright, keep it up, don't say anything," Katriny said, twirling the cane in her hand and pointing into the tunnel. "Just enter; I'll take you to the main hall. We need to be quick, as the latecomers are arriving, and you've already seen enough of my beauty. Let's go, let's go."

Katriny has long hair touching her leg, silver in color. She is wearing a tight white bodysuit, and her right hand, holding the cane, is covered by black gloves with small star patterns. She wears a dark blue long skirt with bright white dots around three small cuts, revealing a part of her leg.

Katriny turned, starting to walk, followed by everyone in single file.

"I hoped the director would be an old man or a lich. What luck that it's a hottie; it even makes me more excited!" a green-haired boy with purple eyes and a pair of swords at his waist exclaimed.

"I've already found one to stay away from..." Edward whispered with a disgusted expression.

"Ugh... that smug smile makes me want to smash his face into the ground," Litty said, throwing some sparks into the air.

"With those tiny hands, he'll think he got stung by a bee," Edward said, giving a small smile.

"I'll make you bald if you say something like that again," Litty said, emanating a murderous aura, to which Edward responded with a sigh.

Minutes passed, and everyone reached the entrance hall. Katriny tapped the cane on the floor and took a few jumps forward, turning around and saying, "Girls to the right, boys to the left. There, you'll find your rooms and wait for all the other students. After that, you'll take the potential test."

"Another test? Isn't what you did already enough?" a boy adjusting his glasses with his finger asked. "And if it's necessary, wouldn't it be more effective to do it now?"

Before any other student could say anything, the boy's glasses lenses shattered, and his nose began bleeding, causing him to scream in pain. "Ahhh... Why did you do that? What's your problem? This crappy academy will be closed when my father finds out."

In front of this student stood Katriny. "When you speak, don't hold back. Say exactly what you wanted to... Even talentless students you mentioned could easily kill you." She tapped the cane on the floor; the student's body froze, and in front of him appeared the most horrendous creature imaginable, causing his eyes to tear up and his mouth to open in despair.

Katriny looked around, seeing all the other students in silence, ignoring everything happening. This made her smile and continue speaking, "The first test was only physical and mental endurance. You could leave the special class at any time. Of course, it never happened, but if it does, I'll deal with it myself. After all, you won't remember my appearance."

"And she didn't even mention the beautiful appearance... it was serious," Litty said, looking at the two with wide eyes, holding some strands of Edward's hair and caressing them.

"This is what happens to those who can't read the room and still try to act tough. Even the cheerful one before seems to know more..." When Edward looked at the green-haired boy, he noticed that he was already asleep, prompting him to say immediately, "No, he's just a complete idiot..."

"This only confirms that he is one of the main ones," Litty said, giving a little chuckle.

"Well, what are you doing here? Go to your room and don't mind him. If he doesn't go to his room at the right time, he'll just be demoted. With that, I wish you a pleasant stay at Dantrian Academy," Katriny leaned forward and disappeared in front of everyone's eyes.