Roommate Sean

"Huff... huff..."

Somewhere in the Royal Capital's slums, a youth with short brown hair stared intently at the attacker directly in front of him, breathing slightly labored.

This attacker possessed a Third-Class Magic Rank.

His body was burly, muscles nearly bursting through his clothes.

His face was covered in thick, brutal features, and his bald head gleamed under the setting sun as if radiating light.

In contrast, the youth Sean standing before him looked like a little lamb.

The strong man clearly came from some knight family, having at least learned some Knight Technique, making his body incredibly tough.

Although the brown-haired youth Sean had already reached the Tactical Rank in magic level, unfortunately, he was born a commoner. The instructor who taught him magic hadn't given him any extra training in formal knight skills.

Because of this, the brown-haired youth could only fight the strong man to a stalemate.

But even so, Sean felt more relief than anything else.

Luckily, he had sensed something was off early and jumped off the carriage, avoiding being fully surrounded by them.

Luckily, aside from this bald strong man in front of him, the rest were worthless scum.

Otherwise, Sean might have died here.

Dying on his very first day reporting to the Royal Capital—going back like that would probably get him laughed to death by Tonalie...

Thinking of Tonalie, Sean's vision blurred for a moment.

That Childhood Friend who went to the Medical Department—he wondered how she was doing now.

She had great talent in Healing Magic, so she should have already started working there.

It felt like his life was flashing before his eyes.

But the strong man in front of him had already charged forward like a rampaging hill.

Snapping back to reality, Sean quickly dodged the strong man's lunge.

The strong man grinned viciously, his gaping mouth forming the words:

'I'm going to kill you right now.'

Sean roughly understood the meaning.

His mind sharpened, focus intensifying. His gaze passed over the strong man and lingered briefly on a corpse behind him.

That corpse was also one of the attackers, and in its hand was an old-fashioned revolver—an outdated relic.

Though it couldn't compare to the revolvers commonly used nowadays, it was still a rare and useful weapon.

If Sean remembered correctly, this guy had only fired three shots. The old revolver's cylinder held five rounds, meaning there were still two bullets left.

Calculating the distance between himself and that revolver in his mind, then looking back at the strong man, Sean quickly made a decision.

A resolute expression appeared on his face. The remaining magic power in his body surged at high speed, granting him strength, and then he charged straight at the strong man as if ready to fight to the death!

"Aaaah!!!"

As he ran, he shouted to bolster his own courage.

Seeing this, the strong man's grin nearly stretched to his ears. He planted his feet, clenched both fists, and brought them down heavily toward the oncoming Sean!

But the strong man's punch missed.

Sean had no intention of clashing head-on.

Just as he was about to reach the strong man, he feinted, slipped past him in a sliding tackle, and came up behind him. His right hand grabbed the revolver from the corpse.

The strong man turned around, finally realizing Sean's plan.

Startled, he lunged at Sean, trying to snatch the gun away.

But Sean's fingers moved faster than his opponent.

Turn, aim, pull the trigger!

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out, and two bloody holes appeared in the strong man's chest and the side of his neck.

His eyes flew wide open, and his body collapsed onto Sean like a dead weight.

"Ha... haha...!"

With the nearly two-hundred-pound strong man pressing down on him, Sean felt nothing—instead, he laughed out loud, gazing at the sky dyed red by the sunset, letting out a carefree laugh.

No matter what, he had survived.

But soon, Sean's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Because he heard someone calling his name.

"Sean Sweet..."

"!!!!"

Shoving the corpse off him immediately, Sean grabbed the gun and looked toward the source of the voice.

A non-commissioned officer in an army uniform stood at a distance, watching him with a faint smile, and said to him:

"You passed, freshman."

"..."

Hearing those words, Sean finally understood—the ambush he had faced today was all a test for him.

Right then, he collapsed to the ground again, losing all his strength, and said with a wry smile:

"...Instructor, please trouble yourself to send me back to the academy later. I... I have no strength left..."

The magic power within him was completely drained, and his energy was nearly gone. He truly didn't have the strength to walk back to school on his own.

"D-Don't come near me—!!"

Elsewhere, a certain youth with dark gold long hair wildly swung the blade in his hand, trying to keep the attackers away from him.

But doing so only made the attackers draw closer.

And just as several of them were about to strike him, a series of gunshots rang out from afar—bang bang bang bang.

Then, all the attackers who had been coming at him collapsed to the ground.

An instructor in an officer's uniform walked over with a grim face, staring at the blonde youth:

"...Jamie Railword... FAILED!!!"

Hearing that earth-shaking shout, the blonde youth slumped limply to the ground.

"Jack Baron... FAILED!"

"Andrew White, congratulations—you PASSED!!"

"Leicho Shude... FAILED!!!"

Without the other students knowing, this year's Freshman Assessment came to an end.

Only three passed, while a full seven failed.

But surprisingly, among the three who passed, one was an aristocratic disciple that Bolent hadn't thought highly of, while the one Bolent had expected to pass nearly died during the test.

Regardless, Sean had successfully made it through the assessment, and that night, he was delivered to his student dormitory.

Arriving at the student dormitory, Sean pushed open the door.

When he noticed it was a double room, Sean was momentarily stunned.

Having grown used to the army's large communal sleeping quarters, he had assumed his dorm would be at least a six-person room, or maybe a four-person one in a better scenario.

He never expected it to be a double room, complete with its own bathroom and toilet, and the room itself was much larger than he had imagined.

"Did they give me a double room because I passed?"

Staring at the spacious room, Sean murmured to himself.

Carrying his luggage into the room, Sean intended to set it down, but only after entering did he notice that the bathroom light was on.

The lights in the Military Academy weren't kerosene lamps, but the more advanced magic lamps.

When Sean came in, the magic lamp was already lit, illuminating the entire room brightly, so he hadn't noticed the bathroom situation.

It was only after stepping closer that he realized someone was still inside the bathroom.

Probably his roommate.

According to the instructor, a total of ten new students had transferred into the academy this time, but only three had passed.

If Sean's earlier reasoning was correct—that only those who passed were entitled to a double room—then the person currently showering in the bathroom must be one of the successful candidates.

Thinking this, Sean felt a bit nervous.

He had heard from the instructor that everyone's tests had taken place at almost the same time.

The fact that this person had arrived at the dorm before him, already arranged their luggage, and even had the leisure to shower, meant their strength was definitely greater than his.

He hoped his roommate would be easy to get along with.

Otherwise, the next two years would be tough for him, Sean.

Just as he thought this, the bathroom door was pushed open.

Then, a small, slender figure wrapped in a towel, drying their hair with a hand towel, stepped out of the bathroom.

"!?"

Seeing this figure, Sean was instinctively startled, because judging purely by their build, the other person looked like a minor.

But Sean wasn't entirely sure.

Only when the other person turned around did Sean fully confirm it.

This was just a kid.

"Oh? A newcomer? I thought I was the only one."

The person turned his head, his blue eyes landing on Sean.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Sean actually felt a sense of pressure from him.

"I... hello... my name is Sean, Sean Sweet. I'm... I'm a new student."

Regardless, he started with an introduction.

Thinking this, Sean extended his hand toward the 'child' before him.

But the boy ignored his hand entirely.

The boy wiped his hair, walked over to the bed, and sat down, speaking calmly:

"Li Qi Grat, same as you, a new student."

He said this while picking up the clothes lying on the bed.

The clothes were an officer's uniform, slightly too large for the boy.

Sean caught a glimpse of it, and when he saw the rank insignia, his eyes went wide.

Warrant Officer!!!

This kid, who didn't even look fourteen, was a Warrant Officer!?

I'm only a Corporal!!

Realizing that after over a year of struggling in the military, his rank couldn't even compare to a child's, Sean felt instantly dejected.

But at the same time, hearing the name Li Qi, Sean tilted his head in thought.

Li Qi... he felt like he'd heard that name somewhere before...