Preparation.

Author: This chapter was supposed to come out yesterday, I apologize. As compensation, there will be two chapters today.

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It has been about two weeks since I officially enrolled in the academy, and I can't say that I am particularly excited about it. Not only was it difficult for me to train, due to my lack of knowledge compared to all the other students, but my main plan was also failing.

I tried to identify cliché situations to locate the protagonist of this world, but I was miserably failing.

The maximum suspicion I currently have is coincidentally my target, who, with his story and suspicious ways, seems to be involved in a plot.

It could be time travel, or possession of another person. But whatever it is, it's clear that he has an advantage that I don't have.

The memories of his body, because he deceives well.

Since I met Lyron in the early morning, I have been committing myself a little more to get closer, and it worked.

We went from acquaintances to colleagues, and he even helped me choose a weapon.

Which I forgot again in the dormitory.

I was getting mentally exhausted. I was studying twice as much as the students to try to catch up, and also training in the early morning.

It was obviously exhausting.

My appearance was already slowly changing because of it.

"You need to sleep more, your dark circles are too big," Glenn whispered beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts as he stood up. "The class is over, let's go grab something to eat."

He nudged my arm to get my attention and I stood up, following him towards the cafeteria.

"History is a drag, whether on Earth or here," I complained, spotting the entrance to the cafeteria.

"What Earth?" Glenn asked confused, but I just shook my head, indicating for him to forget about it. He shrugged.

We entered the cafeteria and the scene was the same as the past few days: several empty tables and a huge line to get food. At a specific table, a blue-haired girl waved at me, opening a smile.

I swallowed hard as I waved back and felt several threatening glares turn towards me.

"That's not funny," I grumbled in a serious tone upon hearing a chuckle from the corner and turning to Glenn, who had a mocking smile on his face.

"It's very funny," he disagreed, pushing me to enter the dormitory. "I have to ask, how did you become friends with the Student Council President? Do you know how many people are obsessed with that girl?"

"I didn't even know there was a Council, in the first place," I replied as we entered the back of the line. "I needed help and she helped me. That's it."

Glenn turned to me, raising an eyebrow. As he was about to speak, his eyes passed over me and went to the newcomer who passed by the line and stopped next to her, grabbing food before the others.

It was Jun Nightingale.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue. "I wish I was strong enough to use that line."

"Me too," I responded with a sigh.

But being strong was not enough to use the "strongest line". Most of those who used it were famous students or delinquents who did not fear the crowd's hatred.

"What are you talking about? You have three stars on your scanner," he turned to me. "You're strong enough."

"What!? Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked, surprised.

He was silent for a few seconds before coughing and saying, "Well... you're my only friend... and you didn't ask me anything."

His voice grew lower with each word that came out of his mouth.

"Frankly..." I rolled my eyes, leaving the line and going to the 'line' next to it that had no one.

Some hated me for being a bastard, others hated me for my friendship with Anna, so I was already used to public hatred.

I grabbed my food and looked at the tables in the cafeteria, ignoring the various hateful glares behind me.

I couldn't sit with Anna, it would only intensify the hatred they felt for me. Besides, some members of the council also hated me.

And because one of them was considered the perfect couple with Anna, their fans also hated me.

Since I couldn't sit with Anna and Darya was with her new friends, the only acquaintance I had left in the academy was Lyron.

"Can I sit here?"

I asked Lyron, who was sitting alone at the most isolated table possible.

"Sit down." He replied, then continued eating.

"Thanks." I sat down in front of him. "By the way, thanks for helping me choose that weapon."

"No problem." He stared at me for a few seconds. "Why aren't you carrying it?"

"I don't have any Art to use it here. I plan to carry it only in combat classes."

While I ate, Lyron remained standing in front of me, thoughtful.

"Take the weapon to the exam tomorrow," he said with a strangely serious expression, almost as if he knew something important.

"Why? Is something going to happen during the exam?" I asked, keeping my suspicion to myself.

Lyron remained silent and went back to eating as if he hadn't heard my question, but I could feel that he had.

"Something is going to happen, isn't it?" I dropped my fork on the table and stared at him.

"You'll see," he whispered just loud enough for me to hear. Then he grabbed his plate and left the table with his head down.

As he left, Glenn passed by him, watching him for a few seconds before shrugging and sitting down in his seat.

"Your friend is weird," Glenn commented.

"So are you," I retorted.

"Having weird friends makes you weird too," Glenn teased.

"Go fuck yourself," I replied, rolling my eyes as I continued to eat my meal in silence. Glenn and I were never the best of friends, but we had a kind of mutual respect that kept our relationship civil. It wasn't much, but it was enough to survive in that academy.

*****

"The best way to use abilities is to use them to complement your Arte," that phrase was said by my new father, the White Demon, in an interview two years ago. Humanity had created a new method of harnessing Nexo energy: the Artes. Whether they were martial arts, sword arts, fist arts, and so on, each with classifications that increased their power.

When I found out about this, I was immediately desperate. I tried to ask Darya for help, but she told me that only those who were vying for the position of family heir could use the White Demon's Arte.

I decided not to let this situation hold me back. I was determined to overcome it. Then they announced that the Spiral would open its arsenal of weapons and Artes to students who didn't have them. This cheered me up quite a bit, after all, even though it was the most famous awakened academy in the world, they accepted everyone, regardless of financial condition or past.

I was almost certain that Lyron was like me, someone from Earth. But what was more evident was that, unlike me, he had read about the work.

I looked at the old blades scattered on my roommate's bed - someone I had never seen because he moved out.

Each weapon in the Spiral's arsenal came with a corresponding Art, ranked from D to SS. Arts of rank B were the highest in the Spiral, but had already been chosen by the first students to select their weapons.

However, something curious happened when students chose their weapons. They all passed by a pair of dusty black blades, which didn't seem to have a defined pattern but also weren't random. Their curves were sinuous, following a flow of energy invisible to human eyes.

Although everyone ignored them, Lyron told me to choose them. I decided to trust him and my instinct, and if I was right, he knew something about the blades that no one else did.

So, I got up from my bed and picked up the small book next to the blades on the bed. On the cover of the book was a drawing of the blades and, above it, written in matte red, was the name "Blades of Disturbance."

I was dealing with a level C Art. Originally, I planned to gain even more of Lyron's trust to discover more about this Blade and only then start practicing the Art. But now that I knew something would happen in the exam, I couldn't wait.

In academic novels, there is always a test or exam that goes wrong and many characters die, reducing the number of students in the protagonist's class. Even if it's not a specific class and students are assigned by subject, the number of students is still enormous.

"Okay." I grabbed the sheath of the blades and the book and left the dormitory towards the holographic room once again.

"My biological clock is already ruined anyway, taking extra precautions is a good idea."

As I walked, I opened the book and began reading it on the way. The Art was a content that the user would have to absorb on their own, without external help.

I walked through the dark corridors of the Spiral reading the book. It was out of pure boredom that I discovered that if I focus my Nexo energy on my eyes, I gain something like night vision and enhanced vision.

Upon arriving at the holographic room, I spotted Lyron leaving it. He seemed to be focused on something, and when he saw me, he nodded in greeting before continuing to walk.

"Hey, Lyron! Wait a minute!" I called out to him and ran to his side. "I wanted to ask about this Blade you mentioned before..."

"Ah, right." He scratched his head. "I can't say much about it, when you put into practice what's written there, you'll understand."

"I see, thanks anyway." I thanked him and then we said goodbye, each going our own way.

Upon arriving at the holographic room, I took out some Esperans from my pocket and inserted them into the compartment, starting to adjust the room's settings.

There were several configuration options available in the room, from holograms of targets for archers to holograms that taught the basics of using a weapon. There were also experienced holograms that were capable of simulating combat against intermediate or superior Despertos.

However, the more specific the settings, the more expensive it was to use the room.

Although I couldn't use the Mercer family's Art because I was a bastard, I could still use their fortune.