Vlad did not give more than a fleeting thought to Max’s warning. He kept walking forward, their footsteps echoing on the stone path in an otherwise silent and cozy environment. The evening air was cool against his skin, and the distant chirping of crickets only deepened the calm.

"You aren’t worried about being targeted?" Max asked, curious as he reached Vlad’s side.

"Not much. From what I saw of the peers in the competition, except for a certain few, no one stands out as remarkable," Vlad replied. "If I’m being honest, I’m a bit disappointed if this is the intelligence level of the continent’s geniuses."

For a moment, Max did not say anything. He stared at Vlad with an exasperated expression. And then, he began chuckling, shaking his head.

"What’s so funny?"

"Oh, I’m sorry. I just imagined the faces all those high noble kids would make if they heard you." Taking a brief moment to compose himself, he continued, "But don’t worry. All the true geniuses were absent from the orientation today."

Vlad’s eyebrow rose in curiosity, his pace slowing down. "You mean?"

"As I said, the real geniuses of our batch did not show up for the orientation. They arrived at the Academy on the very first day the Awakening Ceremony was held, one week ago. Those from the Order of Blades have been in the training centre ever since, while the geniuses from the Order of Rings have buried themselves under the books in the Arcane Archives. They even paid Credits in advance to not participate in the Orientation."

The image of his sleeping roommate appeared in Vlad’s mind. Was he also one of those geniuses? He wondered.

"Which one of you is Vlad Lumberjack?" A deep, sharp voice echoed from the front.

In front of the dormitory stood a handsome white haired boy, his deep blue eyes narrowed at the duo. The dim glow of the nearby hanging lamps cast harsh shadows across his face.

"He appeared just when I was thinking about him?" Vlad mumbled under his breath.

Just before Vlad could answer, Max asked, his voice stuttering with fear, "Good evening, senior. Why do you ask for him?"

"Tch, just answer the damn question," the white haired boy muttered, his frown deepening.

Vlad tapped Max from behind. "Why are you calling him senior? He is staying in the first year dorms."

"Bro, what have you done to be sought out by none other than Noah on your very first day?" Max shot back in a low whisper, his own question laced with panic.

"Do you know the guy?"

"He is a repeater from the Order of Blades. He was held back because he beat his classmate half to death," Max revealed. "He is absolute bad news."

"I asked a goddamn question!" Noah snapped from the front, his voice louder this time.

Max flinched at the sudden tone. Sweat trickled down his temple as he whispered, "Let me handle it. Don’t reveal your na—"

"I’m Vlad Lumberjack." Vlad stepped forward, cutting Max off mid sentence.

Max facepalmed himself hard. ’Whom was I even trying to stop? He is the man who made enemies of the entire first years on the very first day.’

Noah’s eyes narrowed at Vlad. "Did you throw my clothes out of the room?"

Max’s mouth hung open, his eyes widening. "They are roommates!?"

"I did." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Max’s head snapped back toward Vlad, his mouth opening even wider.

Vlad folded his arms as he continued, "You had made an absolute hellhole of the room. I needed something to clean the disease you had spread."

Veins bulged across Noah’s forehead, his lips twitching with sheer anger. "Who gave you permission to clean my room or touch my clothes?"

"Why would I need permission to clean the room? It is assigned to me, so I have the right to a clean environment. As for your clothes, you made the hellhole, so your clothes paid the price. You should be glad that I did not throw your dirty ass out of the window along with them."

Max’s jaw was now almost touching the floor, his eyes threatening to leave their sockets. ’Vlad, please stop talking,’ he screamed inwardly.

Yet, on the contrary, Vlad continued dropping bombs.

"If you have any complaint, ask the warden to change the room. He might assign you to a mud wallow. You can live there however you want."

Vlad had been holding back those words since last night, when his nose and lungs were subjected to a stench so vile it bordered on a crime against humanity.

Now he felt a little better, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"You must not have heard about me," Noah muttered, moving forward.

He cracked his knuckles, the joints popping in the quiet evening. His lips coiled sideways as he declared, "I will make you my personal punching bag until you drop out of the academy."

Without another word, he increased his pace to a sprint. The distance between them vanished in an instant. As he drew closer, he clenched his fist tight, knuckles white, and hurled it straight at Vlad’s face.

A loud clap echoed. Noah’s fist stopped cold, caught by Vlad’s open palm just inches before his face. The impact sent a faint tremor through Vlad’s sleeve, but he did not flinch.

"This will be called self defence, right?" Vlad said, his crimson eyes glaring at Noah from behind the trapped fist like a predator studying its prey. .

Before Noah could react, Vlad tightened his grip around the fist. His other hand shot up and grabbed Noah’s arm just above the elbow. With a sharp twist of his hips and a sudden pull, he swung Noah’s entire body through the air.

His body rotated once before slamming into the ground with a loud, resonant thud. Dust exploded outward from the impact, swirling in the dim lamp lights. Noah’s eyes rolled backward, the whites flashing briefly as the sheer force of the landing knocked the air from his lungs, his body left completely motionless.