Chapter 2

"?!"

The twins hadn't realized anyone would be inside.

Whether because of the dangerous aura surrounding the boy before them or for some other reason, the Red-Haired Twins' eyes widened.

Noticing the twins had frozen and remained silent, Qi Yue's smile widened, and he felt a little relieved.

Good. They were just stunned; they weren't looking for trouble.

Before the twins could react, Qi Yue quickly took his leave. "Goodbye."

The boy's voice was cool and clear, his tone lifting slightly.

By the time the twins recovered and belatedly turned around, all they saw was his retreating back.

"Brother, didn't you say, 'The wind is everywhere. Wherever it blows, there's nothing we don't know'?"

"But we were clearly holding hands just now. We rely on the wind to find out everything, so why couldn't we tell someone was in the restroom...?"

Staring at the spot where Qi Yue had disappeared, Zhou Ziyao murmured in disbelief.

Who at Seventh Hunter Academy didn't know that the Zhou brothers, who had awakened the Wind Esper Ability, were famous for their extraordinary ability to hear and see everything?

They were known as the Twin Know-It-Alls, living, breathing "ears on the wind." Apart, their strength was greatly diminished; together, they knew everything. From how many times the academy director had secretly cried that day to the rustling of mice passing through the underground passage... They always had the latest information at Hunter Academy and were at the forefront of the gossip mill.

When classes were being assigned, the academy director had even forced them into Classes D and E to protect his privacy when he secretly cried.

Yet a few seconds ago, with only a door between them, a strange boy about whom they knew absolutely nothing had practically appeared out of thin air before their eyes.

The boy had white hair and red eyes, and he exuded an aloof, haughty air.

Although there had been a smile in his eyes when he looked at them, it hadn't reached their depths. As he greeted them, the downward glance he cast them had carried an even more inscrutable meaning.

The Zhou brothers were deeply shaken.

In this world... No, at least on Seventh Hunter Academy's turf, when had such a striking person appeared at the academy? As Seventh Hunter Academy's know-it-alls, they had somehow failed to notice.

"More importantly..." Zhou Zifu looked at Zhou Ziyao, his expression dark. "A-Yao, do you remember the first thing he said when he saw us?"

Zhou Ziyao nodded. "I do. It was 'Hi, what a coincidence'... Wait, he greeted us naturally, with an expression as if he'd known all along that he'd see us when he opened the door."

Zhou Ziyao immediately understood what Zhou Zifu meant.

"Brother, he already knew us."

Zhou Zifu's face darkened. "He knows about us, but we know nothing about him. Do you know what that means?"

Before A-Yao could answer, Zhou Zifu spoke again.

"It means he was openly telling us that when it comes to information—the very thing we consider ourselves the best at—his ability far surpasses ours, even when we work together."

Having finished his analysis, Zhou Zifu frowned even more deeply.

From that boy, as cool and aloof as ice and snow, he had sensed not only a dangerous aura but also pressure.

"Did you feel it?"

"What?" Zhou Ziyao blinked at his brother in confusion.

Zhou Zifu spoke with a sigh. "His aura when he passed by."

Chapter 2

"Huh?"

Zhou Ziyao looked bewildered.

Zhou Zifu stroked A-Yao's soft red hair, as if lost in recollection. "The air that Old World nobles had before the mutations began. It's also the air people from the other Hunter Academies have now. Noble, cold, indifferent... an arrogant, unforgettable aura." He was definitely no ordinary person.

"...I felt it."

Zhou Ziyao recalled how, when the boy had brushed past him, even the arc his white hair traced through the air had carried a distant chill.

He couldn't argue.

"Brother, he deliberately appeared before us, the so-called know-it-alls. When he spoke to us, he didn't even deign to look us in the eyes. Instead, he arrogantly stared over our heads. That was blatant provocation, wasn't it?"

Apart from that conclusion, Zhou Ziyao couldn't think of another answer.

Without warning, the boy had descended right before the brothers, who were the best informed in the entire academy, wearing a cold, arrogant smile on his exquisite face that didn't reach his eyes.

After enjoying their horrified shock, he had greeted them casually, his breezy tone seeming to look down on them from on high—

So these are the famed Twin Know-It-Alls?

They're nothing special.

It was outright provocation, and a slap in the face to the "all-knowing twins."

"I know."

Zhou Zifu tightened his grip on A-Yao's hand and sighed. "And yet, you and I still know nothing about him." The wind had told them nothing about him.

"From our first meeting to that confrontation, we lost completely."

That silent contest had already drawn to a close before they'd even noticed.

"We've only lost for now," Zhou Ziyao stressed. How could he accept it so easily?

"Brother, there are still many days ahead."

"...You're right." His younger brother's determined gaze rekindled Zhou Zifu's fighting spirit after a brief silence. "Everything's only just begun."

The final outcome was still unknown.

Their fighting spirit restored, the twins entered the restroom hand in hand, accustomed to the severed limbs of mutated plants writhing on the floor. Countless mutated species often lurked or bred in the academy's dark corners, serving as appetizers for every student's trials.

Every half hour, the cleaners hired by the academy cleared away all the limbs, whether they belonged to students or mutated animals and plants.

Once he was out of the Red-Haired Twins' sight, Qi Yue's tense muscles gradually relaxed.

"At our first meeting, I came across as gentle and friendly. I must have made a perfect impression on them."

"It's a good, happy start."

He hoped everything that followed would be as simple and pleasant as his first meeting with the Red-Haired Twins. Qi Yue didn't expect to become friends with the protagonist group, but he absolutely couldn't become their enemy.

As soon as he finished speaking, a panel glowing faintly green popped up before his eyes—

[Warning: Hatred from the protagonist group's Red-Haired Twins +5%.]

"Huh?"

A question mark slowly formed in Qi Yue's mind.

Wait, excuse me...

Did that make sense?

What had he done? Was it wrong to greet the protagonist group with a gentle smile?

The panel wouldn't answer. It would only disappear after Qi Yue clicked the sole confirmation button.

Qi Yue: "..."

This was absurd.

As it turned out, he had spoken too soon.

Well, great. He was... just thrilled to death.

Class F.

Qi Yue had originally intended to go straight into the classroom. There was no need to draw attention by standing at the podium and introducing himself; he would keep his distance from his classmates and maintain an air of mystery.

But there was another kind of necessity—the kind where the homeroom teacher thought it was necessary.

Qi Yue stood at the door and heard his homeroom teacher, Liao Yuanliang, speaking inside.

"Let's give a warm round of applause to welcome Class F's transfer student."

The homeroom teacher didn't call Qi Yue's name. After speaking, he stood to the side of the podium, smiling at Qi Yue outside the half-open classroom door.

A minute ago, he had received a message from the academy director. A transfer student named Qi Yue, from an unknown academy, would be joining his Class F.

Qi Yue returned a brief smile.

Putting aside his foul mood at being inexplicably hated by two members of the protagonist group, he stepped up to the podium, coming into view of the Class F students.

The classroom was tiered. Standing at the podium, he had a clear view of all the students.

In an unfamiliar environment, the best way to protect himself was to keep a low profile and quietly observe his surroundings.

But—

He could overlook the mosaics covering their faces, but why did every Class F student have a green health bar above their head?

He was certain the Red-Haired Twins from Classes D and E whom he'd met earlier hadn't had health bars above their heads, and neither did he.

The conspicuous health bars above the Class F students' heads made Qi Yue instinctively sweep his gaze over them all.

The health bars varied in length.

The student with the longest health bar sat in a corner, sleeping soundly with his head on his desk, seemingly indifferent to the outside world. He never once looked up at Qi Yue.

There was no one seated around that student.

The Class F students hadn't been very interested in the new transfer student to begin with. Seventh Hunter Academy, as its name suggested, was the lowest-ranked of the seven Hunter Academies. Why would someone with a powerful Esper Ability and a strong background transfer specifically to their lowest-ranked school?

Even Lu Zhaobei, the top student in Class A and supposedly the person at Seventh Hunter Academy with the greatest potential to become an S-rank Hunter, was an Artificial Esper looked down upon by the other academies.

They assumed that anyone who transferred to Seventh Hunter Academy and into the lowest-ranked Class F must be a second-rate Esper Ability User who couldn't hold his own in public, no better than they were.

But when the transfer student came into view, his strikingly handsome face impossible to ignore, and swept his sharp red eyes over them with the refined, aloof air of an Old World noble, they were rooted to the spot by his cold, seemingly casual yet scrutinizing gaze.

The Class F students felt as though they were being watched, their scalps tingling.

The same thought occurred to all of them at once—

He didn't seem like a Seventh Hunter Academy student, much less one from the lowest-ranked Class F.

Was he sure he hadn't entered the wrong classroom?

Or... was there some deeper reason for the transfer student's appearance here that they couldn't yet fathom?

Whatever the reason, the Class F students quieted their breathing. Their formerly wandering gazes grew wary as they discreetly observed the mysterious transfer student.

Qi Yue withdrew his gaze from the green health bars. He noticed that the mosaics, which had been facing every direction, were now all turned toward him, apart from the student in the corner, who was still lying on his desk with his face obscured.