“Good morning, Professor.”
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Professor!
“Good morning to you, too.”
A handsome young man, who seemed to be in his early twenties, greeted the two students who were looking at him with a flushed expression.
“Today is the first day of class,” the handsome professor said with a smile. “If you don’t hurry up, the two of you are going to be late. This is not a good trait that beautiful and talented girls, such yourselves, should possess.”
Although he said this in a stern manner, the smile on his face made the two girls feel their hearts beat wildly inside their chests.
Seeing their reactions, the handsome professor sighed and took four candies from his pocket, “It can’t be helped. Take these and be on your way.”
The two girls giggled and accepted the professor’s gift. They then walked away while sneaking glances at their handsome professor.
“Professor Carter is so dreamy. I wonder if he has a girlfriend.”
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend. I had already asked around and this information has been confirmed.”
“Handsome, talented, and the youngest professor in the Royal Academy,” the pretty girl with shoulder-length brown sighed. “There are rumors that the king himself is planning to nurture him to become a high-ranking official.”
“Actually, that rumor is actually true,” the girl’s best friend replied as she looked around their surroundings. “According to a reliable source, Professor Carter only needs to complete one year of teaching in the Royal Academy before he is taken as the assistant of the Prime Minister.”
“Is this true? If yes then I’d better get serious and catch his attention.”
“Goodluck, but, the two of us are going to be rivals. Please, go easy on me, will you?”
“Why don’t we share him between the two of us?” the pretty girl with brown hair proposed. “That way, he will not be able to cheat on us even if there are other girls who plan to hook up with him.”
“Sounds like a plan,” the girl’s best friend replied. “Oh my gosh! This candy is so delicious. I wonder how it was made?”
“You’re right,” the brown haired girl agreed. “This is probably a very expensive candy that is not sold in the capital. Maybe we can ask for more after classes end. What do you think?”
“I like the sound of that!”
“Remember, you’re not allowed to take the lead.”
“Deal!”
——
Carter was walking towards the dining hall when a sliver of power passed through his body. A smile appeared on his face because it meant that the two girls had eaten the candies that he had given them.
By now, the suggestion magic that he had infused on those same candies had already planted a seed inside their subconscious minds. As they ate more of his candies, they would gradually fall into his hands and become willing slaves that would help him capture the peerless and talented girls inside the Hellan Royal Academy.
Aside from the two girls earlier, he had already given his candies to four others. He wasn’t in a hurry to corrupt all of them because the school year had just started. He planned to take his time in “training” them. He wanted to mould their bodies and minds to be the perfect slaves that he could use to turn the Royal Academy upside down.
—–
William and Kenneth had arrived at the dining hall after taking a shower inside their dormitory room. The other students who had followed William in their training were, surprisingly, sharing the same table with them.
Priscilla was seated across from William and Kenneth as she ate her sandwich in peace. Since she was the Vice-Prefect of the First Years, it was only natural for her to be seen with William.
However, what the shepherd didn’t understand was that, aside from her, Spencer, Drake, and the boy named Conrad, along with his lackeys were seated at the same table as him. Just like Priscilla, Spencer and Drake were seated across William, while Conrad sat beside him.
William didn’t say anything, because although it was odd, all of them were in the same school year. Since he couldn’t reserve the entire table as his own, having people with familiar faces around him was the next best thing.
“Head Prefect. You said that in a month’s time, you will choose the new batch of officers, isn’t that right?” Drake asked.
“Yes,” William replied with a smile. “Are you interested?”
“Very interested.”
“Then you have to do your best. I will only pick capable individuals,” William stated. “However, the way you are now, you won’t qualify for any position I have in mind.”
“Why?” Drake inquired. “I am confident in my strength.”
The other students who were eating inside the dining hall perked their ears to listen to their conversation. Earlier, the dining hall was still noisy, but now, only the sounds of utensils moving could be heard.
“Strength alone doesn’t win battles,” William answered. “I already mentioned this in my speech when I became Head Prefect. Besides, individual battles are going to be rare starting from this point onwards. If you want to have a position, you must learn to cooperate in group battles.”
Matthew had already given William some pointers on how to be a good Head Prefect. As someone who had held the position for four straight years, Matthew was well aware of how difficult it was to maintain his position.
Because of this, he didn’t skimp on anything and told William exactly what he needed to do in order to succeed.
“Are you talking about the Inter-Division-Battles?” Spencer asked.
“Yes and No,” William replied as he drank his fruit juice. “Aside from the battle against other divisions, we are also required to complete missions from the academy. Although you can do these missions alone, it will be faster if you do it with a group of people. Think of this as a form of training.”
“But forming teams is only for the weak…,” Drake mumbled. “I want to be like the Sword Saint who protects the borders of the Hellan Kingdom. With him alone, the armies of the other four kingdoms dare not enter our territory. I want that kind of power.”
William patted Drake’s shoulder and said goodluck.
He was not against the notion of walking the lonely path towards the Peak of the Mortal Realm. In fact, this was the path that William initially decided to take when he was born in this world.
However, he was not meant to travel that lonely path. In this lifetime, he had his Mama Ella, and thirteen other goats who were willing to fight by his side. With such a loving family backing him up, how could he possibly abandon them and move forward on his own?
“Head Prefect, do you want to form a team with us for the upcoming Dungeon Exploration?” Conrad asked.
“Ah about that, I want Priscilla, Spencer, Drake, and you to form your own teams,” William answered. “I am looking for qualified generals that will help me command our entire Division during the battles that we will face in the future.”
The students who heard William’s words nodded their heads in understanding. The Domain and Dungeon explorations were an integral part of the academy’s teaching. Aside from taking missions that would require them to travel outside the academy, the Dungeon and Domain explorations would help them sharpen their fighting abilities.
“Can we recruit students from other divisions?” Priscilla asked after finishing her sandwich. “Or must we rely only on the students of the Martial Class Division?”
“Freel free to recruit students from the other divisions,” William answered. “The ideal is to form a permanent team with people you can trust. Although all the Divisions are our rivals, that doesn’t mean that they are our enemy.”
All students were required to take missions twice a month. By doing this, they would be able to earn “Academy Points” that they could exchange for special items from the Academy’s Exchange Shop.
Once the students had obtained enough Academy Points, they would be able to buy rare weapons, ability scrolls, enchanted armors, and other items that would help strengthen their bodies and raise their ranks.
Top performers of each Year-Grade would be given a special reward by the instructors on a quarterly basis.
“How about you, Head Prefect?” Drake asked. “Who will you be teaming up with during the dungeon explorations?”
William finished chewing an apple before answering Drake’s question. He had no intention of hiding his relationship with Est and the rest, so it was best to come clean to avoid future misunderstandings.
“The Head Prefect of the Magic Division begged me to form a party with them,” William said in an arrogant manner. “Since I am a refined, elegant, and charismatic person, it was hard for me to reject his offer.”
The students inside the dining hall pretended that they didn’t hear the part about their Head Prefect being refined, elegant, and charismatic. They focused more on the part where the Head Prefect of the Magic Division “begged” William to form a party with them.
“A permanent party?” Priscilla asked. “How many members do you have?”
“Five.” William spread out the fingers in his left hand. “Kenneth is included in my party as well.”
The students in the dining hall gave Kenneth sneaking glances that were filled with envy. To be personally added to the party of the Head Prefect means that William had already taken Kenneth under his wing.
There were many students who wished they could swap places with Kenneth, but hurriedly tossed this idea to the side. They wanted to be like William. If a shepherd, who had spent his days tending sheep and goats, could become a Head Prefect then they, too, could become officers using their own powers.
After his speech, William had unknowingly become the idol of the commoners in the Royal Academy. They looked at him favorably because he was just like them. A common person who rose through the ranks due to his hard work.
William was feeling smug because everyone was seriously listening to his every word. This had never happened to him before and it was usually “he” who needed to listen to others in a serious manner.
The shepherd enjoyed this moment of happiness, unaware that he would be caught inside the storm that was brewing inside the Royal Academy.
