A smile came to his lips as Rio heard the system's voice in his head again, he had been waiting for it since last night. He was curious to talk with the system, ask questions and doubts he had found in these past 8 years, receive the rewards for all his hard work, see how many points he got or just simply discuss his next strategies with the system - but that would all have to wait for a while.
After all, as he said before, today was a day dedicated to the protagonist. It wouldn't be fun if he ignored him and decided to talk with the system instead.
Unlike his past self which bore no hatred or animosity towards the protagonist, and would even want to ignore him, the current Rio had developed a form of wariness against this chosen son of fate, that just wouldn't leave him alone now. The incident from 2 years ago, was simply a slap of reality for him because of taking things too lightly and thinking of himself as untouchable.
He didn't want to repeat his experiences. He only met 2 protagonists till now, one already killed him once and the other's fate influenced the events and he almost died again. If not for his last bit of luck and strong will, he would've been turned into a freaking zombie by now. Roaming around eating other zombies.
So he wanted to be careful around this guy from the very beginning.
Rio looked upwards to the floating panel of rankers, and he could see their faces, the main characters of the academy arcs. The hero, heroines and villains - all on the same stage. Looking at the surprised face of the protagonist, as he tried to make sense of this situation, Rio couldn't help but smile.
'How does it feel, when someone takes everything away from you? When someone just swoops in and steals the things you fought hard for? Do you feel helpless? Irritated? Does it feel annoying - I bet it does. It did for me 2 years ago. This is just the beginning, blame your gods for they started it.'
Rio turned his attention away from him and started walking forward. He was moving towards the first rows of the crowd, where the children of nobility, and the students who were invited to join this academy and didn't participate in the public exams were seated.
[ — The entrance exams were divided into 2 parts. The first part, conducted by the World Association, which was mandatory for every aspiring student to pass. This initial examination served as a filtering mechanism, determining the candidates' basic qualifications. Once that was done the students could be given choices to choose the academy where they want to join and study.
After that, the chosen academy would process their application and check their performance. If it satisfies them, they either send you a letter of invitation with which you can directly join the academy. Or they call you to take part in another public entrance exam, done solely by that academy. If you pass that you can join, if not, then you either try to go to some other academy or try again next year.
This second exam done by the academy also dictates the first rankings of the new year students, and those on top get to show off in front of the whole world, like just right now. This is why many nobles and even those who received invitations join this exam to get a better ranking and show their superiority and bolster their reputation and status.
Obviously there are also those who like to keep a low profile or want to keep their abilities to themselves and don't like participating when they're already fixed to join, so they ignore this test and rankings.
Despite the grandeur of the rankings celebration and the immediate fame it brought, these rankings held little practical value within the academy itself. The real difference and real ranking of students gets done after the end of their first semester and 6 month exams. That ranking provides a more accurate reflection of students' academic and practical achievements, effectively distinguishing the cream of the crop from the load of crap. — ]
Rio walked through the pathways ignoring everything and everyone, the questions, the rumors, the theories - everything anyone said, went from his one ear to another, as he kept moving.
However his steps came to halt when someone just crashed into his body. Looking down at the girl who hugged him as tightly as she could, her tears staining his attire as her voice trembled with emotion.
"I'm _ I'm sorry. It was all my fault. If I didn't _ then _ I missed you so much."
He wanted to look at her face to see who she was, when he heard her apologizing to him and he realized her identity.
His hands instinctively rose to comfort her trembling back, but stopped midway, when the memories of what happened 2 years ago started playing in his head again.
"Get out of here"
"We don't have any time "
"We can't leave him behind."
"We have no other choice now leave _ "
"Riiioooo _ !! "
The sounds of what he remembered while he was fighting for his life, the scenes when all those so called friends and classmates of his left him to die and ran away from that dungeon. Their running backs as he felt his body getting crushed in a million pieces, the pain that felt like eternity and would never end - as the girl's apologies washed over him, they acted as triggers for the scenes he forgot.
Her cries and sorry's brought out all the memories he buried in his heart. The charade he put around himself as he tried to act normal near his family was broken, as his eyes got a cold glint, now devoid of any emptions, his fists clenched in anger and bloodlust started leaking out from his body.
_
Few minutes ago,
Various students from the student council were talking to each other in their office. Chatting happily as the entire event was progressing smoothly and there was no problem anywhere.
"Hey Lisa, you didn't tell us your brother was that talented?" One of the students suddenly said, as they looked at the big screen focusing on the platform.
"Yeah, he took the first rank. He must be a genius." Another one chimed in.
Hearing their questions, a girl with short red hair smiled and said - "Well, what did you expect, I already knew he'd be talented too, by just looking at Lisa's ranks."
Her logic was simple, since the big sister is so talented, lil bro would be somewhat good too right. The boy from earlier nodded his head too, but in his defense he started saying -
"That's true. But still, he even broke Rio's record, now that was unexpected right?"
He had just finished his words, as the atmosphere in the room shifted subtly, like a breeze turning chilly. Lisa, the older sister of the talented newcomer they were talking about, turned around to address her friends.
"You guys can keep watching from here, I'll go check on everyone else."
As she left the room, the gazes of her companions shifted to the boy who had unknowingly ignited a spark. They all had the same expression that was saying - 'seriously dude'.
It took a moment for him to realize what he did or said. But by the time he realized Lisa was already gone. He looked back at his friends who were still staring at him, like looking at a fool. "What? It just slipped out. Not my fault."
His protestations were met with sighs and incredulous looks. The red-haired girl among them stood up, her tone carrying a mix of irritation and concern.
"I'll bring her back. And you, no more slip-ups this time."
The room fell into a lull as the door closed behind her. The boy grumbled to his friends, trying to justify his thoughtless comment.
"What'd I do? She can't keep everyone from mentioning his name, when her brother is literally going to be compared with Rio right from the start."
A chorus of reproachful glances met his explanation. Another boy chimed in, attempting to reason with him.
"You should've been more careful. You know she's been extra on edge ever since those rumors about his return started circulating."
The boy, still defensive, voiced his frustration.
"Well, fuck them girls anyway. She left him to die there, and now she's acting like this. If she was going to be so emotional about it, she should've stayed there with him. I just don't understand girls."
Outside the room in the hallway, Lisa removed the communication crystal that connected every member of the student council. The words of that boy reached her ears, stinging like a lash. An indignant rage surged within her, colliding with the guilt and pain she had felt. She clenched her fist around the crystal, and crushed it.
Anger surged into her, as she couldn't find the words to refute what he said. After all, that was the truth. Guilt, pain, anger - it all crashed into her.
Walking to a nearby window, she leaned against the frame and lit a cigarette, as she kept staring at the crowd that gathered below, cheering for her brother, happily comparing him with Rio.
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A/N - what r ur thoughts about this gal?
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel