Chapter 14

With Beixing at his side, he could avoid a great deal of trouble without even realizing it.

"Before today's training starts, would you be interested in looking at this?"

Qi Yue handed Beixing a "magic" book he had borrowed from Teacher Bai the day before. It was actually a course about mixing various materials in different proportions to cause damage or produce other effects. It was similar to chemistry class in Qi Yue's original world.

The Seventh Hunter Academy had seven classes in total, but only six had students. In classes A through F, only six students from each class could ultimately form a team to participate in the Joint Monthly Assessment of the Seven Hunter Academies after passing their class's internal trials. Each team had six members, and Qi Yue hoped Beixing would be one of his teammates. Whether for his own sake or Beixing's, he hoped Beixing would learn more ways to protect his life. What if he needed them? After all, an ordinary person could kill Beixing. There was no guarantee that someone with ulterior motives wouldn't infiltrate the joint monthly assessment.

"...Okay." The sight of the text made Beixing's vision go dark. But he still nodded stubbornly and forced himself to open the book.

"At eight, we'll go to the cafeteria for breakfast, then head to class," Qi Yue said, laying out his plans.

"...Okay."

I have to read for over two hours?! Beixing's vision went dark again and again.

Are all strong people this competitive?! How scary.

Ten in the morning.

In the vast forest, the class F students had spread out or gathered in groups to use their abilities.

"Very good, Beixing." With another round of training over, Qi Yue leaped down from a tree. Beixing was proving very effective; no one suspected that Qi Yue was using the ability class he couldn't participate in to practice what he had learned in Teacher Jian's physical training class. Everyone would only think he was "accommodating" Beixing.

A few fallen leaves drifted down beside Qi Yue as he landed lightly. His short, snow-white hair traced an elegant arc in the breeze.

The scene caught the eyes of seven exchange students from the Sixth Hunter Academy on a forest path.

"I failed again..." Beixing's voice was dejected beneath the tree. Today, the rules of their training game were the same as those Qi Yue had set when they first fought.

For Beixing's safety, Qi Yue still hadn't used his ability. After all, everyone in Class F knew that Qi Yue's ability could easily smash an Esper Detection Crystal Ball to pieces, let alone Beixing. The envious looks from those around them made Beixing happy, but he also felt guilty. He couldn't even touch Qi Yue when he wasn't using his ability. Just how useless was he?

"Is that student with white hair and red eyes in class A? What's his name?" He was as light as a swallow, landing as gently as a cicada's wing. Was his ability related to his body?

Most importantly, his bearing was impossible to ignore, otherworldly and cold as ice and snow. When had the Seventh Hunter Academy gained someone like him?

A flash of admiration crossed Atas's eyes.

He was currently posing as an exchange student from the Sixth Hunter Academy, but he was actually a secret investigator from the First Hunter Academy. Using his identity as an exchange student, he had to secretly investigate the truth behind the shattered Esper Detection Crystal Ball.

Chapter 14

Atas had asked the question the other six exchange students were curious about. Everyone turned to Yu Kaicheng, the Dean of Studies whom the academy head had put in charge of matters concerning the exchange students from the Sixth Hunter Academy.

Bearing was a marvelous thing.

At that distance, they couldn't make out his features, yet his presence was hard to ignore. He had to be someone remarkable, at least at the Seventh Hunter Academy.

White hair and red eyes made Qi Yue easy to pick out in a crowd. Yu Kaicheng didn't even need to look to know who they were describing. Of the seven in the group, he still didn't know which one was the investigator from the First Hunter Academy who had infiltrated their ranks. But...

Class A?

"No..." Looking at Qi Yue shining in the crowd, Yu Kaicheng shook his head.

"He's a student in class F. His name is..."

"Class F..." Atas interrupted Yu Kaicheng before he could finish.

There was unmistakable disappointment in Atas's voice. "Then there's no need to know his name."

"...Haha, all right." Yu Kaicheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't particularly wanted to introduce Qi Yue either.

The academy head's intentions were clear: protect Qi Yue. Though Qi Yue himself might not need the academy head's protection at all. After all, he was someone who could effortlessly destroy something that was, in principle, indestructible in an instant.

Still, it had to be said that this exchange student's arrogance was truly... an eyesore. If he hadn't been sure which of the seven exchange students was the investigator from the First Hunter Academy before, now he seemed to have some idea. Yu Kaicheng gave Atas a couple more looks.

Atas looked away, instantly losing interest.

An F-rank ability was no different from having no ability at all, and even an exceptionally striking appearance lost its appeal. For new humans like them, strength in their abilities was naturally the most important thing. An insignificant person wasn't worth wasting his precious time on. He had an important mission to carry out.

In any case, since the Seventh Hunter Academy had no S-rank Esper Ability Users, the Esper Detection Crystal Ball could only have exploded in the A-rank class.

The others didn't react like Atas. Their gazes remained on Qi Yue, full of curiosity and inquiry.

"Teacher Yu, let's go. I'm sure the other students are as eager as I am to meet our new classmates." Atas wanted to reach class A as soon as possible. He couldn't wait to find out which class A student had been holding the crystal ball when it exploded during the ability test.

"Ah..." Yu Kaicheng took the opportunity to ask, "Students, I almost forgot to ask: which class will each of you choose first for this exchange week?" Every exchange student was free to choose a class, regardless of the strength of their ability.

"I, Atas, choose class A." Atas didn't hesitate.

"No problem, I've noted it down." Yu Kaicheng wrote the letter A after Atas's name on the form. Excellent. Without any persuasion from him, the student he suspected of being the investigator had chosen to stay away from the scene of the incident.

"What about the rest of you?" Yu Kaicheng looked at the other six students. They weren't as arrogant as Atas. After all, they were students from the Sixth Hunter Academy. Compared to them, last place was last place, with no difference in the eyes of the other academies.

"A, I suppose..."

"Class A."

"A."

"I choose class A too."

All six of the remaining students chose class A. Naturally, they would choose the best class for an exchange; it was a perfectly normal choice. If Atas hadn't shown his arrogance when they encountered Qi Yue, Yu Kaicheng would have needed to spend some time looking for the possible investigator from the First Hunter Academy.

"Once you've confirmed your choice, you can't change it. Students, are you all sure you want class A?" Yu Kaicheng's gaze swept over the seven exchange students one by one.

"Of course." Atas's voice rose at the end, carrying an unconscious arrogance. "Fl... Oqi never regrets his choices." Atas hastily changed the end of "Flint" to "Oqi," the name of his forged identity.

No one objected.

Yu Kaicheng put away the form, his words carrying a double meaning. "There's really nothing to worry about now. Let's go."

Thanks to Atas's arrogance, Yu Kaicheng happily led the group toward class A.

Catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Director Yu leading away the group that had stopped in its tracks, Qi Yue approached Beixing. The gazes that had rested on him for 37 seconds from the shaded path nearby weren't worth his attention.

In any case, he was in class F, the least conspicuous class.

Besides, it was just another group of mosaic faces that all looked much the same. What was there to pay attention to?

Qi Yue stopped one step away from Beixing, maintaining a polite social distance, and said quietly, "It's all right."

After an hour and a half of nonstop dodging in combat, Qi Yue wanted to breathe freely like Beixing, but he couldn't. The countless pairs of eyes that fell on him from time to time would spot a flaw.

He couldn't breathe too deeply, or he might be suspected of secretly taking deep breaths. Nor could he breathe rapidly, or people would grow suspicious and start assessing his stamina. It was best to remain as composed as he had after running 3,000 meters, preferably without letting anyone notice him breathing at all.

Qi Yue deliberately kept his breathing steady. Smiling, he encouraged Beixing in a gentle voice. "You've improved a lot compared to before."

That wasn't a lie. The last time Beixing had fought him for half an hour, he had collapsed and fallen asleep. This time, they had fought three rounds of half an hour each, and judging by his movements, he showed no sign of collapsing and falling asleep. His breathing was just very ragged, and his attacks were also messy and lacked any method.

"Huff... huff... really?" Beixing panted a few times, bent over with his hands on his knees, and looked up at Qi Yue with shining eyes.

"Of course." Qi Yue refined his wording a little. "How could I lie to you about something like that?" He couldn't make any guarantees about other things.

Beixing was encouraged. "Give me ten minutes to rest. We'll go again in ten minutes!" Nothing made him happier than improving alongside the precious friend he had so rarely managed to make.

Qi Yue let out an almost inaudible breath. "Okay."

After putting on an act for so long, his body was stiff from holding his poses, and he was mentally exhausted. It was time to relax for a moment.

Yes, during the past hour and a half, Qi Yue had been "acting" every single second. Under everyone's watchful eyes, even though he was already using Beixing as a golden "excuse" to review Teacher Jian's training, he still had to make every movement one hundred percent perfect.

Dodging backward, gathering strength to jump, the angle at which he turned to look back, how much force he put into the hand braced on the ground, which movements stood out most when facing the breeze, what pose would be stunning when the wind was against him...

Everything he had displayed, which in everyone's eyes he had accomplished effortlessly and nonchalantly,

was the result of careful simulations and calculations in his mind.

These things were not to be underestimated. Done well, they would make people more wary of him and keep them farther away.

These were also part of his training today.

Class A.

The students were in the middle of a lesson. Yu Kaicheng brought the seven exchange students straight to class A. After a brief introduction, all seven were given places in the class for the time being.