Extra's Guide to Surviving a Dark Fantasy World-Chapter 75: Holding Back

A set of roars came from our left, and the forest erupted into chaos as dozens more Glyms came rushing through our side. Aria immediately cast a frost shield around the left flank, keeping the Glyms at bay, but these monsters were relentless and somehow even stronger than the ones we had just fought.

I leaped forward over the Glym in front of me, sword raised high. Flames erupted from my blade, trailing behind me as I soared.

One Glym lunged at me mid-air, claws slashing. I twisted my body and brought my sword down, flames clashing with its chest. The creature screeched, but I barely had time to register the sound before another Glym jumped toward my side. I barely dodged, feeling its hot breath on my skin, before turning around and slicing its legs.

--

The headmistress’s office was currently occupied by the majority of the academy’s teaching staff, all of whom comfortably sat on their seats in front of large screens while quietly watching the group of freshmen fighting for their lives in the hollows.

"I must admit, this year’s batch of students might be the best we’ve had in a long time." Professor Baldwin spoke in a cheerful tone. "I mean, when was the last time we saw students get into a solid military formation even before entering the test grounds."

"I absolutely agree, Professor." Another teacher, a gruff middle-aged man, spoke from the side. "But one had to remember that this coordination was only possible due to someone like Seylith Serenth, who promptly calmed everyone down and took command. This alone should warrant him extra points."

"Yeah, right," one of the other professors scoffed. "Seylith Serenth himself was only able to do so after following Aria Nyrith’s lead; she was the first one to figure out what situation they were in, not to mention she was a huge influence to rally the students into a coherent force. If anyone should be getting extra points, it should be. "

Seeing where this was going Mia quickly tuned the two professors down and focused back on the screen, however even she couldn’t prevent the scowl to appear on her face.

What a bunch of lowlifes, already bought and paid for by Nyrith and Serenth’s houses.

And they weren’t the only ones; ever since the Expansion Initiative had been announced to the public, all the heads of three major houses had tried their best to buy out a large part of the academy’s staff, bringing them into their side.

Did she hate it? Absolutely. Could she have stopped it? Absolutely.

But she hadn’t simply because she knew the truth behind this sudden desire to expand human territory.

"Anyone caught your eye yet?" Deciding not to spoil her mood thinking about such things, Mia instead leaned to her side, whispering into the ears of an old man. Among all the staff, Cyric Novar was among the few who had refused to be bought out by the three houses, which had further increased her already high view of him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Cyric didn’t respond, instead continuing to watch the screens.

Watching him not answer her, Mia slightly frowned before continuing. "Oh, come on. You might be forced to take a few students this year. The noble houses have sent in the best of their crops this time; surely someone must have caught your eye? What about Aria Nyrith or Seylith Serenth? Those two might belong to the three great houses, but that doesn’t mean their talent is anything to scoff at."

Once again, the old man didn’t respond, opting to silently watch until eventually, he raised his hand towards the screen.

"Those two." He spoke while pointing at the formation’s back. "What are their names?"

Those two? Mia slightly widened her eyes while looking at the back of the formation herself, her eyes catching the figure of one black and one blonde-haired boy. The black-haired boy was wielding his sword using flame magic, while his contemporary was wielding a spear while wielding blood magic.

Both of the boys were fighting against the Glyms, barely surviving as they did so. Yet, there was something else that caught her eye that caused her to scowl.

The two stars on their uniforms were among the batch Mia had hated to accept being let into her academy. Sacred Vanguard Academy was supposed to be the pedestal of Academy learning, housing only the geniuses of the geniuses, yet this year, due to the stupid initiative, the higher-ups in the alliance had forced her to lower the threshold for admission, ruining her academy’s image.

Just looking at them barely surviving while their fellow students in the front absolutely obliterating their enemies was even further proof of that.

Perhaps Cyric had seen something that she had missed? Once again, tuning out the blabbering around her, she focused on the screen, paying close attention to two students.

She found nothing, there was absolutely nothing about the two boys that stood them out from the rest of those at the second tier of Body refinement.

Yet still, she didn’t want to offend Cyric, plus she herself wanted to see what he had been so interested in since it clearly wasn’t their skills.

She silently took out a holographic screen on her side and began searching for the two boys. Soon, their information appeared on the screen, which she passed onto Cyric.

"The blonde-haired one is named Soren Vylor, a commoner who got accepted into the new scholarship. The black-haired one, however, is a bit more interesting. His name is Roye Valdrin, the former second prince of the Valdrin house; he was originally engaged to Aria Nyrith over there but was kicked out by his parents after he got drunk and made an embarrassment of himself by puking all over her. He had been underground since then, only appearing out of nowhere by his uncle’s side a couple of months ago; who used his connections to let him in the academy?"

"There is nothing special about these boys; why are you interested in them?" She asked.

"Both these boys," Cyric answered, his eyes still not leaving the screen. "They are holding back their strengths."