Chapter 293: The Vanguard Draft
The silence in the S-Class homeroom was absolute.
Suffocating.
Normally, the moments before the instructor arrived buzzed with the chaotic, arrogant hum of academy life. Nobles boasting about their weekends, mages comparing elemental output, and the constant, underlying hum of petty political maneuvering.
Not today.
The guillotine of Principal Aryana’s speech still hung over their necks. The reality of the Hunting Field disaster had finally breached their thick, aristocratic skulls. They weren’t untouchable. The Black Hand had slipped through the academy’s vaunted defenses, weaponized the golems, and slaughtered students in the mud.
Arthur Ludwig lounged at his desk near the back. His posture was entirely relaxed, an alpha at rest, providing a glaring contrast to the pale, rigid statues filling the room.
Alicia sat perfectly still beside him. Her thigh was pressed flush against his. She exuded her usual icy elegance, but the subtle, possessive way she leaned into his space was a silent, arrogant declaration of the new boundaries they had crossed.
A few rows ahead, Alex Stale stared blankly at his desk.
The so-called "Chosen Hero" looked like he had been dragged backwards through hell. Faint bruises still mottled his jaw, and his hands were wrapped in thick, fresh bandages—the direct result of his brutal, punishing private training sessions with Grandmaster Luke Bane.
BANG.
The heavy, polished oak doors at the front of the classroom slammed open.
Instructor Samantha Hall strode in.
She wasn’t wearing her usual tailored, scholarly robes today. She was dressed in sleek, form-fitting military leathers. A short sword was strapped to her thigh, and an aura of crackling, violent mana bled from her every step. She didn’t look like a homeroom teacher. She looked exactly like the ruthless, blood-soaked frontline commander she used to be.
She didn’t bother walking to the podium. She stopped dead in the center of the room, her blood-red eyes carving through the students.
"I hope you all enjoyed the Principal’s wake-up call," Samantha said, her voice dropping into a dangerously calm register. "Because as of this morning, theoretical grading is suspended. The curriculum you were handed on the first day is ashes."
Thwack. She tossed a thick stack of dossiers onto the front desk. Several students flinched at the sharp sound.
"The Ministry and the Magic Towers have concluded that hiding you behind barriers is producing weak, reactive mages and soft knights," Samantha continued, pacing slowly, her boots clicking against the stone floor. "The demons are evolving. The Black Hand operates within our borders. We do not have four years to coddle you."
She stopped and faced them.
"We are accelerating the Vanguard Initiative."
A panicked murmur rippled through the room. The Vanguard Initiative was strictly reserved for elite third-year students preparing for active military deployment.
"You will be divided into specialized combat squads," Samantha barked, instantly crushing the whispers. "You will be thrown into live, unstable dungeon breaks. You will undergo joint operations with active Royal Knights. If you drag your team down, you fail. If you freeze under pressure, you die."
Samantha’s piercing gaze landed directly on the front row.
"And to ensure you don’t instantly get yourselves slaughtered, these squads will be led by those who actually proved their worth in the Devil’s Forest."
Before she could read the names, a chair scraped loudly against the stone floor.
Alex Stale stood up.
The entire class turned to look at him. The golden-haired protagonist didn’t look toward Samantha. He turned around, his intense, burning gaze locking directly onto Arthur at the back of the room.
The tension in the air instantly spiked.
The petty jealousy that had defined Alex in the first few weeks was gone. The boy staring at Arthur now had seen the abyss. He had been cornered, nearly killed, and forced to watch Arthur effortlessly dispatch the demonic assassins that had nearly taken his life.
"I was weak out there," Alex said. His voice rang clearly through the silent classroom. There was no arrogance in his tone. Just raw, bruised pride. "When the demon appeared, I froze. I was useless. You weren’t."
Alicia narrowed her blue eyes at the interruption. Arthur simply smirked, leaning his chin heavily against his knuckles.
"Self-awareness is a good first step, Hero," Arthur drawled lazily.
Alex’s fists clenched, his knuckles turning white beneath his bandages.
"I’m not making excuses. You have the lead," Alex stated, his golden eyes blazing. "But don’t think for a second I’m going to stay in your shadow, Arthur. I am going to catch you. I will surpass you."
It wasn’t a threat. It was a vow. A blood-forged challenge from a rival who had finally realized the true scale of the world.
Arthur’s smirk deepened into something dangerous and thrilling. He slowly stood up, sliding his hands into his pockets as he met Alex’s gaze.
The sheer difference in their auras was suffocating. Alex was a roaring, desperate, untamed fire. Arthur felt like an inescapable, bottomless abyss.
"I look forward to it, Alex," Arthur replied, his voice smooth, dark, and commanding. "But don’t trip on your way up. The view from the top gets pretty lonely. I could use the entertainment."
A heavy, electric silence hummed between the two apex students.
"Enough posturing," Samantha interrupted, though a faint, approving smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She tapped the dossiers. "Save the rivalry for the blood-pits. It’s time for the Vanguard Draft."
She picked up the first sheet of parchment.
"Squad One. Leader: Alex Stale." Samantha read aloud. "Members: Cassandra Stale, Cedric Raven, Kaela Howler, and Eveline Vale."
Cedric immediately groaned, burying his face in his desk. "I’m going to die. I am a merchant, not a gladiator."
Kaela, however, slammed her hands on her desk, her wolf ears standing straight up. "Finally! I get to break things without getting yelled at!"
Eveline looked mildly terrified at the prospect of being the sole healer for a squad of suicidal damage-dealers, but the Saintess gave a small, resolute nod.
"Squad Two," Samantha continued, her red eyes flicking directly toward the back of the room. "Leader: Arthur Ludwig."
Arthur tilted his head, waiting.
"Members: Alicia Raven, Nadia Mystic, Akira Frost, and Althea Hart."
The classroom went dead silent for a single, stunned second.
Then, a low wave of jealous, furious murmurs broke out among the male students.
He gets the First Lady, the Cursed Heir, the Frost Mage, and the Holy Knight?
Is this a combat squad or a fucking harem?
Unbelievable...
Arthur merely chuckled, sitting back down. Alicia shifted closer to him, a deeply satisfied, territorial smirk blooming on her face.
Across the room, Akira Frost crossed her arms and stubbornly looked away, though the burning pink blush dusting her ears completely betrayed her.
Nadia Mystic didn’t react outwardly, but the dark, volatile mana that usually swirled around her seemed to purr, settling into a quiet, pleased rhythm at the announcement.
Althea, sitting a few rows ahead, visibly stiffened. Her face burned crimson, her thighs instinctively pressing together as the filthy, traumatic memories of her broken bedframe from the previous night flooded her mind.
"Silence!" Samantha commanded. Her heavy aura flared, crushing the whispers instantly.
She slammed the next dossier onto the podium.
"Squad Three..."
