"It never bores me to see the stunned reactions of students when I reveal my rank," Victor laughed, satisfied with the eyes filled with awe and shock directed at him. The sound of his chuckle echoed warmly through the hall. "It’s a stupid question to ask, but are all of you aware of the rankings of a knight?"

"Yes sir!" The students’ voices came loud and confident.

"In that case..." Victor’s eyes darted towards the gathered students.

"Aria, would you mind explaining the ranking of knights for the students who might be unaware of it?"

His eyes were fixed on a long, black-haired girl at the front. Unlike the outer strands of her hair, the layer beneath was in complete contrast: a strip of pure white, like moonlight hidden in shadow. Her deep black eyes lifted at the sudden call out, yet her posture remained completely calm.

"Once a candidate passes the vetting period, they become a Star One knight, obtaining the title of The Sentinel Knight," the girl Aria explained, her voice composed and confident.

"The ranking goes on from there as the knight accomplishes achievements and becomes stronger:

Star Two, The Marshal Knight;

Star Three, The Cavalier Knight;

Star Four, The Bulwark Knight; 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Star Five, The Crusader Knight;

Star Six, The Exemplar Knight;

Star Seven, The Paragon Knight."

She took a brief pause before revealing, "There is one more rank that was only considered a concept until someone actually reached it twenty-one years ago and ended the long War of Dragons within one year.

Star Eight, The Legendary Knight."

The explanation matched what Vlad had learned from the books. He was more curious about the girl. He hadn’t seen her during the Treasure Hunt. Was she one of the geniuses Max had mentioned who skipped the orientation to train?

"Splendid, splendid," Victor said, lightly clapping for Aria. "Five credits to Aria for such an easy and simplified explanation."

His voice turned serious as he continued, "I must refrain from asking questions from Aria, or she might take my job as professor."

His words drew a wave of light laughter from the students. Yet Aria still remained completely composed, only forming an elegant smile on her face at the sarcasm.

’His teaching style is completely opposite to Professor Camille,’ Vlad murmured inwardly. ’She seemed very strict and composed while he keeps the mood lighter in the class and engages with students more.’

Vlad liked the teaching style of both professors. Each had their own approach. In Camille’s class, students remained disciplined, while here, students could interact more freely with the professor. Perhaps the difference was because of the subject they were teaching.

"Now, I need two volunteers to help me," Victor said, his eyes scanning the gathered students again.

Immediately, everyone lifted their hands high, their eyes burning with enthusiasm, either to earn credits or become closer to the professor.

Victor’s eyes reached the farthest back.

"Noah... Vlad, would you like to volunteer? Your muscles will come in handy."

The girls let out excited gasps when their names were called out. Would it be another drama? However, their excitement soon died as they saw that the girl who should have been most affected by the name calls was fast asleep while standing.

Since Victor wasn’t teaching anything important, Chloe didn’t mind taking a nap to recover her strength. Her head bobbed slightly, eyes closed, breathing slow and peaceful.

"Sure," Vlad agreed, moving forward.

"Tch, not like I have a choice," Noah muttered as he stepped forward as well. His silver hair swayed with the movement.

"Ah, my students just love me so much that they can’t reject my request," Victor exclaimed as if moved by their acceptance of help, drawing another wave of chuckles from the students.

"There are three stands placed outside the hall. May you bring them inside?" He asked the duo.

They agreed and went out of the hall through the double doors, the wood creaking behind them as they swung back and forth before settling into their idle position.

"H-haha... that snake bastard. How does he expect us to bring all of this inside?" Noah muttered, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

Before them were placed three long wooden racks, each filled with numerous different weapons: swords, lances, shields, battle axes, crossbows, daggers, and arrows. The metal surfaces glinted dully under the corridor lights. Two of the racks held real steel weapons, their edges sharp and deadly, while the other rack contained the same weapons carved out of wood, lighter but still solid.

"H-hey, what are you doing?" Noah demanded, his eyes shifting to Vlad, who had already removed his coat and blazer and was now opening the buttons of his shirt.

"The oil is spilled all over the rack," Vlad said, brushing his finger along its wooden edge. His fingertip turned black from the greasy oil that came off it. "I can’t have stains on my clothes. I need to wear them tomorrow as well."

He removed his shirt as well, revealing a skin-tight black vest beneath. The dark fabric clung to his torso.

"Tch, no wonder he told us to bring them inside instead of doing it himself," Noah muttered as he took off his blazer over his shoulder as well. The white fabric folded over his arm.

They placed their clothes closer to the wall on the floor. The polished marble was clean beneath them.

Vlad took the front position on the rack, lifting its extended edge. The sounds of weapons rattling echoed as their weight shifted. However, they did not fall out because each weapon was locked in its place. He settled the edge firmly over his shoulder, the wood digging into the muscle.

Noah took the back side of the rack. The muscles on his biceps tightened, his veins bulging outward as he lifted the rack with a grunt, his jaw tightening to summon his strength. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

The wood creaked as it slowly lifted and settled onto his shoulder as well.

"F-fuck... th-this is too heavy," he muttered through his teeth, holding the edge with both hands to reduce the pressure on his shoulder. His legs trembled slightly under the burden.

His eyes moved to Vlad, who seemed barely struggling to lift the weight. The contrast was humiliating.

"Should I start moving?" Vlad asked, his tone even.

"A-are you even human?" Noah muttered, his brows furrowing. "Move, but slowly."

Vlad nodded and took his first step forward. His footstep echoed loudly on the floor due to the several tons of weight he was carrying.

As they walked, Noah asked, his tone annoyed, "Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"You know what I mean. The misunderstanding you caused."

"Maybe next time don’t just ignore me when I greet you," Vlad shrugged.

Veins snapped across Noah’s forehead, his face reddening both from the pressure of the rack and the words of Vlad. His breathing grew heavier. He wanted to beat him to a pulp even if it meant he would be expelled from the academy.

"I want to change my room," he whimpered as Vlad opened the doors of the hall with a kick. The wood slammed inward with a loud bang.

These were the words of the man with whom every first-year had refused to share a room even though they had to pay credits for it, until at the last, the room was assigned to Vlad.