Chapter 35: #35 The Observation

The timer hit zero, and Ric stepped out of the booth.

A shadow fell over his face, his expression unreadable.“I’ve decided,” he muttered.

Isabelle, still nearby, turned toward him.“Huh? What did you decide?”

Ric blinked. “You’re still here?”

Isabelle clenched her teeth.

“Am I not supposed to be?”

He sighed, brushing it off.“Yeah… never mind.”

She fumed, her face reddening.“I hope you bite your tongue, you ungrateful brat,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Huh? Did you say something?” Ric asked, tilting his head.

Isabelle froze. “N-no, I didn’t say anything!”

Ric crossed his arms. “So… is there anything else I need to know?”

“Oh, right! I forgot to mention—there’s an assembly being held three days from now.”

“Assembly?”

“Yeah. It’s like a welcome event for freshmen. They announce the official rankings, explain a bit about the Academy, the Miasma Forest, and other important stuff.”

Ric frowned slightly.“But aren’t the dorms already assigned based on rank?”

“Well, yeah, but just knowing your dorm doesn’t tell you your exact rank, right? You could be number one, or dead last among the top five. This event clears up the hierarchy so students don’t fight over pride or status.”

Ric paused, then asked,“Hmm… what’s the range?”

“Range?”

“How are the dorms distributed among the freshmen?”

“Oh, that. It goes like this:

The top 5 students get S-rank dorms.Ranks 6 to 15 go to A-rank.16 to 30 are in B-rank.31 to 50 get C-rank.And 51 to 100 are in D-rank.But honestly, it's rare to have more than fifty freshmen. So don’t worry about the D-rank dorms.”

“Well, are there any empty dorms?” Ric asked.

Isabelle blinked, confused.“There are, since some students are still receiving treatment. Why though?”

Ric shrugged.“Let’s just say I’m curious. I want to get a feel for my fellow students’ situations.”

“If you say so… follow me.”

Ric trailed behind Isabelle as they walked through corridors and halls until they arrived at an A-rank dorm.

“Here it is,” Isabelle said. “This one's assigned, but the student is still recovering. Take a look—but don’t touch anything, okay?”

Ric stepped inside and scanned the room.

“Hmm… there’s quite a difference. If my dorm feels like a noble’s chamber, this one’s more like a rich merchant’s quarters.”

He stepped back out.“I’m done. Let’s go.”

Isabelle glanced at him, puzzled. She had no idea what he was thinking, but didn’t question it. They moved on, passing more halls before arriving at the B-rank dorms.

Ric repeated the process—quietly observing each room—until they eventually reached the D-rank dorm area.

“Well, these are the D-rank dorms,” Isabelle said. “Most are empty, so you can check out whichever one you want.”

“Don’t mind me, then.”

Ric opened the door to a supposedly vacant room—only to find three figures inside. Two guys were bullying a skinny, frail student, while a third sat behind them, clearly the boss.

Ric let the door swing shut behind him.“Don’t mind me. You guys carry on.”

He walked into the room casually, inspecting the furnishings as if those bullies weren’t even there.

“Boss Philip, who’s this guy?” one of the grunts asked.

The seated one leaned forward.“Probably walked into the wrong room. Bring him here, No.2—I could use another lackey.”

“Roger that, boss!”

The grunt strode toward Ric, grinning.“Bad luck, brat. If you hadn’t opened that door, maybe you'd have lived peacefully. The only way out now is to kneel and swear loyalty to our boss!”

He kept rambling.

“Our boss is crazy strong—he took out five guys at once, didn’t even sweat! Broke some loser’s arms just for bumping into him. You’re lucky he only wants me to drag you over instead of turning you into a bloody pulp!”

Ric waved a hand mid-speech, as if brushing away a fly, and turned to leave.“Okay, I’m done. See ya.”

“This punk is ignoring me! Take this, Fire Magic! Flame Fist! ”

Flames burst around No.2’s clenched fist as he charged, the heat promising a devastating blow upon impact.

“Sigh”

Effortlessly, Ric smacked No.2’s wrist, deflecting the strike, then stepped in and grabbed the other wrist, twisting it sharply behind the grunt’s back.

“Ugh!”

No.2 groaned as Ric kicked the back of his knee, forcing him down with a heavy thud.

Outside, Isabelle waited, lost in thought.

“He’s good-looking, not arrogant, kind enough to care for other students, not a noble… and strong—or smart—enough to make it to the top five. Heh. The freshmen this year aren’t half bad.”

She chuckled softly, a smile forming on her face. But then—

CRACK.

“That sound..Did he break something?!”

Alarmed, she rushed to the door and flung it open.“Hey! I told you not to touch any—thing…?”

She froze.

Ric stood over No.2, his foot planted on the guy’s back, pulling both arms upward at a brutal angle.

“H-Hey, Ric! What are you doing?!”

“Nothing. Just giving them a warning.”

No.2 screamed in pain as Ric slowly increased the pressure.

“AAAGH!”

With a final jerk, Ric yanked the arms back, dislocating both shoulders. No.2 passed out instantly, crumpling to the floor.

Silence fell. Isabelle stood frozen, but still managed to speak.

“D-Don’t you know?! Fighting is prohibited outside duels or the training ground!”

“Yeah? Then punish him—he started it, not me.”

Ric pointed towards the fallen No.2

“What?”

“Yes…”

He turned towards Philip and stated

“Am I wrong, Philip?”

His sharp yet cold gaze sent chills down Philip’s spine. In fear, he agreed.

“Y-Yes this trash started it, he was just defending himself.”

“Boss! What are yo-“

Philip grabbed No.1’s head and whispered

“You idiot! Just do as I say for now.”

He stopped him from speaking and forced him into a bow and exclaimed

“We are sorry for the trouble, please punish that idiot according to the rules.”

Isabelle was perplexed.

“B-But—“

“Isn’t that enough?”

Ric walked past her and continued.

“You have the testimonies from two witnesses, and unlike me, Senior Isabelle can probably sense the Mana residue left on that guy’s hand. I think that’s enough evidence of my innocence, right?”

Isabelle went silent, she couldn’t refute it, as what Ric said was true.

“Thanks for the help, Isabelle. Nice meeting you.”

Ric walked away, back towards his dorm, This moment completely changed the way how Isabelle saw him.

“That moment when he dislocated the shoulders of this guy, It wasn’t just the violence—it was the way he did it. I saw his eyes, they were cold, void of emotion.. No hesitation, no anger, no pleasure. Just… silence. Like it was routine..”

Her stomach churned.

She stood in thought for a moment, then shook her head, trying to brush the feeling away. She raised her hands and smacked her cheeks.

“Forget it! As a member of student council I need to take care of this matter right now.”

She looked at Philip and the others, and stated.

“As the member of the student council, I am taking you all to investigate this matter, carry him and follow me!”

Philip and his lackey obeyed her and carried No.2, while the frail student who was bullied also followed them from behind.

“Hey you!”

Isabelle pointed towards the frail one.

“Come here. They were bullying you, right?”

Philip got flustered and interrupted.

“Huh? Wait senior, we were just playing!.”

“Shut up! The Student council will decide if you were playing or not!”

And just like that they were taken to the student council for questioning.