She glared at him.

"Lucian...!"

He subtly traced his finger under his desk, sending his words directly into Sera’s mind via telepathy.

’Shush! Keep quiet, sit straight, and don’t make a single move. That cape belongs to Elira. now don’t open your mouth at all, or that starving wolf in front of us won’t let us live in peace for the rest of the semester...’

Sera was utterly confused.

’W-What? But that—’

Lucian shot her a deadly glare from the corner of his eye. She immediately clamped her mouth shut and sat straight, stiff as a board.

In the front row, Cassian was still facing the ogre head-on. Actually, Cassian knew exactly whose cape that was and He also knew that Gideon couldn’t just barge into a classroom and start a massive commotion for no reason, even if he was the strongest. After all, the academy’s authority was still something to be respected.

Though... looking at Gideon’s savage, predatory demeanor, it didn’t seem like he cared about the academy’s authority or feared anyone at all.

Right after Cassian had spoken, Gideon held the cape right up to his face and asked.

"Brat... is this yours?"

keeping his composure to maintain his flawless reputation in front of the whole class, he replied calmly.

"No, sir... this is not mine. And it probably doesn’t belong to anyone here either. No one in this class wears something like this, you can see for yourself."

Gideon’s heavy gaze slowly shifted from Cassian to the terrified Aria sitting right next to him.

Something seemed to click in his mind... and he abruptly turned, marching straight toward the back of the classroom. Exactly down the aisle where those three prodigies were sitting.

Sera didn’t move an inch from her spot, following Lucian’s orders to the letter. Elira was still sitting rigidly with her face completely turned toward the window.

Who did that leave? Lucian... the ultimate sacrificial lamb.

"Damn it! The more I try to lay low and stay out of the spotlight, the more this cursed novel’s scenarios keep chasing after me instead of that damn golden boy!"

"System, you useless bastard, are you going to say something?! Didn’t you tell me that Fate Correction wouldn’t happen for thirty days?! Then what the hell is this?! You absolute scammer!’

Watching the monstrous lion of a man approaching him, Lucian instinctively activated his skill to scan him.

[ STATUS WINDOW ]

Name: Gideon Arkendale

Mana Stage: Crown (Peak)

[ Attributes ]

Physical Strength: SS

Magical aptitude: S

Combat Power: 125,000

[ Special Status ]

Attribute: [ B L O C K E D ]

Note: System unable to track hidden variables. Data interference detected.

’Motherf... What are those bullshit stats?!’ his eyes twitching twice.

Gideon had now arrived right in front of their desks. Slamming the blood-stained cape down onto the wood, he asked one more time...

"Which one of you three does this cape belong to?!"

The entire class immediately erupted into anxious, gleeful whispers.

"It’s Valemont again..."

"Yeah, that bastard is completely done for this time... dead meat for sure."

"Good, let him die. That arrogant prick has been showing off way too much lately anyway."

"Oh come on... When have I EVER shown off?! And about what?!"

It was crystal clear that there was no point in running away anymore. Lucian had to face this head-on. He could curse the System out later, but right now, he needed to deal with the starving beast standing right in front of him.

Just as Lucian braced himself and was about to stand up, a loud commotion suddenly echoed from outside the classroom, right where the two knights were standing guard at the doors.

"Hey! Get out of my damn way!"

"I am the homeroom instructor for this class... and you think you can stop me? And besides, who the hell let you guys barge into the academy without permission?!"

"Instructor, you must wait," one of the knights replied sternly.

"Our Commander is inside attending to urgent business... His business—"

"Do I look like an idiot to you? I said get out of my way. I won’t tell you twice."

BAM! CRACK! THWACK! BANG! SMASH! WHOOSH!

Hearing all those chaotic sound effects from the hallway, it was so obvious that someone was getting a brutal, one-sided beatdown.

A few moments later, the heavy doors swung open. The person who stepped foot inside the classroom was none other than Professor Kael... the savior of the entire class.

Actually, no. At this exact moment, he was solely Lucian’s personal savior.

The entire class stared wide-eyed at their instructor.

The very second Kael’s sharp eyes landed on Gideon towering over the back row of desks, his entire demeanor shifted. Stalking forward with the deadly grace of a predatory panther, Kael instantly unleashed his own overwhelming, suffocating bloodlust.

"Gideon..."

Kael narrowed his eyes as he stepped forward, standing directly head-on in front of Gideon. In response, Gideon immediately unleashed his own monstrous bloodlust.

The dead silence was practically scorching every student’s heart with each agonizing second that passed...

No one had any idea what was about to happen now that two absolute apex predators were about to collide. After all, their combat instructor, Kael, was also a formidable opponent sitting at the True, 5th Stage of Mana.

And then, exactly what everyone feared finally happened. With a completely blank, unreadable expression, Gideon slowly raised his heavy, armored hand... and placed it directly onto Kael’s shoulder.

But instead of a bone-crushing blow, he suddenly let out a deafening, booming laugh.

"BWAHAHAHA...! I see you’re still as grumpy as ever, Kael, you bastard!"

Just like that, the terrifying, murderous bloodlust radiating from both of them completely vanished into thin air.

"And you are still the exact same overgrown gorilla..." Kael sighed flatly, entirely unbothered by the heavy hand on his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing in here scaring my students?"

"Your students?" Gideon raised a thick eyebrow in sheer amusement. "Since when did you start giving a shit about a bunch of brats?"

"Since they became my problems..." Kael replied, lightly tilting his head. "And you know exactly how I feel about people messing with my problems."

Gideon let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "Still the same territorial bastard, huh?"

"Says the guy who barged into my classroom like he owns the place," Kael shot back seamlessly.

The suffocating tension in the room evaporated like steam off hot metal. The two of them just stood there—looking far less like an Imperial Commander and an Academy Instructor, and much more like two old war buddies who had just run into each other at a local tavern.