<h4>Chapter 208</h4>


    The ambiance around the Orbis ss dormitory was somewhat different from that of the Royal ss dormitory.


    The path leading toward the entrance of the Royal ss dormitory was lined with rows of pirs, which gave the feeling that one was approaching a grand temple. The building itself had been designed with an architectural style that emphasized curves, giving it a majestic feel.


    However, the Orbis ss dormitory felt much more rigid.


    I wouldn’t have considered it crude, since it was equally grand in scale.


    But if the Royal ss dormitory felt like a splendid temple, the Orbis ss dormitory felt like a castle. A silent fortress.


    The heavy and imposing architectural style already conveyed the essence of the Orbis ss.


    While the Royal ss was more free-spirited, the Orbis ss operated on strict military-like discipline, with clear seniority and hierarchy.


    The building itself reflected the Orbis ss’s emphasis on order and unity.


    Although it was grand, it felt somehow stifling.


    “Wow... I’ve never been here before... It’s amazing.”


    “I thought it would be simr, but it’spletely different.”


    Both Connor Lint and Kaier each had their own impressions of the ce. Just as the atmosphere between sses was different, so was the atmosphere of the dormitory buildings. Unlike those two who were captivated by the building, Erhi seemed anxious.


    “... Everyone’s staring at us...”


    “That’s expected. We came in wearing our uniforms.”


    Though few in number, some Orbis ss students wereing and going near the dormitory, and we were familiar with their uniforms by now.


    They all stared at us intently as they passed by. While they didn’t speak or confront us, it was easy enough to read their faces: <i>‘Why are those guys here?’</i>


    They didn’t know us, but they recognized our uniforms.


    The hostility simmering in their eyes was apparent, simply because they knew we were from the Royal ss.


    We were in a ce full of people who disliked us.


    The other two flinched, clearly uneasy after hearing Erhi’s words and seeing the hostile gazes.


    Like the Royal ss, the Orbis ss consisted of a select few. There were at most around a hundred and thirty of them.


    The tension between the Royal ss and the Orbis ss was solely instigated by the Orbis ss.


    In other words, the Orbis ss harbored a one-sided animosity. The Royal ss disliked the Orbis ss simply because they disliked us first.


    The Royal ss did not have anyone they needed to surpass. Ack of effort was a personal issue, and if one could ovee theirziness, they could achieve exceptional sess in their field of expertise.


    Without a specific target, the Royal ss did not need to use a sense of inferiority or hatred as a driving force for growth.


    However, the Orbis ss was set up with the Royal ss as their rivals, and they were pressured to surpass them.


    Their reactions were totally expected.


    All the students passing by, whether seniors or ssmates, seemed to view us as invaders.


    Amidst those hostile gazes, it was only natural for someone who looked like a senior to approach us.


    “You guys seem to be freshmen. Don’t you know you’re in for a bad time if youe to the Orbis ss area without permission? Didn’t your seniors teach you that?” he said.


    Though his demeanor was fierce, he was still only offering us a warning. He didn’t know why we were there, but he suggested we leave to avoid trouble.


    He was still somewhat considerate, since we appeared to be freshmen.


    He was quite a handsome guy with blonde hair and golden eyes.


    Now that a senior-looking figure had suddenly said something like that, all three of mypanions were scared out of their wits.


    “We’vee for a fight.”


    “... What?”


    Of course, I wasn’t scared at all.


    ***


    I could win, I could lose, or I could get beaten up like a dog.


    But so what? Shame and disgrace over a loss or defeat didn’t matter. It wasn’t like I was going to die.


    Since my return from the Dark Land, whether it could be called growth or not, there had been an undeniable change in me.


    I had already seen the ultimate level of violence. I had sliced through the necks and smashed the heads of corpses that attacked me even after death.


    Because of that, winning or losing a fistfight didn’t mean much. Winning wasn’t a reason for joy, and losing wasn’t a reason for despair.


    Though I hade under the pretext of seeking revenge for a ssmate who had been beaten up, even that wasn’t my true intention.


    I had simplye for the achievement points.


    That was all.


    Considering the change in my mentality, entering a cross-dressing contest or a beauty pageant just for points might also seem appropriate...


    But no. Even so, that was a bit... It crossed the line of shame and disgrace and into something else.


    I wouldn’t be able to handle that. Fighting was just easier...


    Though my mentality has changed, I couldn’t handle that yet. It would feel like something other than my life was being lost. The prank I pulled on Connor Lint was still a traumatic memory, and I never wanted to do something like that again.


    “... You came for a fight?”


    “Yes.”


    The person who looked like a senior in the Orbis ss seemed taken aback by my calm deration.


    “I’m Reinhart, first-year student, Number 11 in Royal ss A. To be precise, I came to personally resolve a situation. My friend here is being bullied without reason by a first-year student of the Orbis ss.”


    I stated my purpose confidently. Standing firm in front of a senior, let alone a senior from the Orbis ss, and calmly saying that I hade for a fight was enough to draw admiring looks from the Three Idiots.


    <i>‘This guy’s aplete lunatic. He’s something else!’</i> their expressions screamed.


    “Bullying, you say?”


    “Yes, I would have preferred to leave it alone, but it seems to be quite persistent. So, can we go in and call the person out?”


    “...”


    The senior looked at me and then at the other three. It was neither disbelief nor bewilderment on his face—he seemed somewhat intrigued.


    “Alright. If you want to handle a personal matter personally, it’s not for me to say otherwise. I’ll call them for you. Who is it?”


    <i>‘Oh right. I didn’t even ask who it was.’</i>


    Since winning or losing didn’t matter, I hadn’t been at all curious about who was bullying Erhi.


    I stared at Erhi, and he hesitated before speaking up.


    “Orbis ss, first-year ss A student Number 5, Lilka Aaron.”


    “Oh.”


    <i>‘... That sounds like a girl’s name...?’</i>


    ***


    Orbis ss, first-year A-5, Lilka Aaron.


    She wasn’t one of the main characters. While Nilsonia and Adler Belkin, who attended Swordsmanship sses with me, gained some significance by sparring with Ludwig in the second semester, Lilka Aaron never did. She was outside the scope of my original main story arc.


    It made some sense why Erhi had adamantly refrained from telling the teacher about him being persistently bullied.


    It must have been extremely embarrassing for him to be continually beaten up by a girl. Even Connor Lint and Kaier seemed to realize for the first time that the tormentor was a girl.


    But why should that be embarrassing?


    Shouldn''t gender have been irrelevant once Ellen was revealed as the strongest amongst the first-years? I got beaten every day, and instead of feeling ashamed, I felt grateful. Although I had to admit it pissed me off sometimes.


    Anyway, that’s what you call a useless sense of pride.


    The Orbis ss senior who had stopped us was in his fourth year. He didn’t seem particrly irritated, perhaps because we were first-years, even though we were from the Royal ss.


    Coming to seek revenge for bullying among first-years and setting up a so-called fight.


    He seemed to find the whole situation both intriguing and amusing.


    Unlike the Royal ss, the Orbis ss had a militaristic air.


    “Gilliot!”


    “3-B-4 Gilliot! Present!”


    The senior who identified himself as a fourth-year barked a single order, and a lowerssman who happened to be passing by came sprinting to stand before him.


    <i>‘Whatever this 3-B-4 designation is, it’s probably akin to a military rank, right? Third-year, ss B, student number 4?’ </i>


    I watched as the junior approached at full tilt and came to a stop in front of his senior. The senior who had stopped us inclined his head towards the Orbis ss dormitory.


    “Summon everyone from the first year to themon training ground. All of them.”


    “Yes, sir!”


    Without asking why or questioning the order, he dashed off towards the dormitory as soon as themand was given.


    —Hello, sir!


    —Hello, sir!


    Now that I thought about it, we asionally saw juniors bowing deeply at the waist whenever they ran into their seniors.


    The atmosphere was vastly different from the Royal ss. The expressions of the hopeless trio, already stiff with unease, became even more rigid.


    Seeing the actual workings of the Orbis ss in person made them even more intimidated.


    The senior, who had just spoken to his junior in amanding tone, addressed us rather kindly, which somehow made it even more frightening.


    “Let’s go, guys. Everyone will be gathering now.”


    ***


    Themunal training ground to which the senior led us was simr to the one in the Royal ss. However, since each dormitory had its own attached training buildings, I had never felt the need to visit themunal one before. The other Royal ss students probably didn’t frequent it much either.


    Given the timing, we should have been the first to arrive, since we made our way straight there after the call to assemble. But, as if by magic, the first-years of the Orbis ss were already there.


    They must have rushed over the moment the call had been sent out, given the way some were still catching their breath.


    This ce was clearly where seniors instilled discipline in juniors.


    Themunal training ground of the Orbis ss was evidently a well-used facility. The worn-out floors, the heavily-used training swords, and the scars on the training dummies all testified to that.


    The students who had been nervously expecting to receive punishment from their seniors seemed confused when they saw the senior leading us in, wearing Royal ss uniforms.


    In total, there were about twenty present, including us, which was probably the entire first year of the Orbis ss.


    The four of us and the fourth-year senior who had ordered the assembly...


    I noticed familiar faces among the group: Nilsonia and Adler Belkin. Their eyes widened in surprise. They couldn’t fathom why I was there.


    Though my primary reason foring to the Orbis ss was to earn achievement points, I had a secondary motive.


    Beginning from the second semester, the Orbis ss would begin to weave into the main storyline. I had a personal interest in seeing what the characters I’d written and described were actually like.


    Since the festival was the focal point of this semester, regardless of my interference, these guys would eventually sh with theirpatriots from the Royal ss.


    The conflict between the Orbis and Royal sses was something that would eventually happen regardless of my actions.


    Among them was someone who, although not quite fitting the bill of a viin, would serve as Ludwig’s rival in the second semester.


    Of course, I wouldn’t be able to recognize anyone just by their faces. Even if I’d described their appearance, recalling the exact details wouldn’t be easy, nor could a few written lines fully recreate their image in my mind.


    However, there were other more general traits that could help identify them.


    A guy whose calm eyes stood out, and was observing the situation even while everyone else was tense.


    He alone seemedpletely unfazed.


    That was likely den Amorel, A-1 of the first year of the Orbis ss, and currently the top student among the Orbis ss first-years. He was supposed to score a convincing win against Ludwig during the festival before losing to Ellen.


    However, it wasn’t because he was weak. He was quite formidable as well—Ellen just happened to be a monster. As things stood, I wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Fortunately, he wasn’t the one bullying Erhi; it was Lilka Aaron.


    den’s character was cynical and calm. Though simr to Ellen, he was different in his own way.


    That didn’t necessarily make him a bad person.


    But I had my eye on someone else.


    Just as den Amorel could be recognized for his calm demeanor, another guy stood out for different reasons.


    While den’s calm and unshakeable aura set him apart, this other guy had a different aura.


    His eyes seemed somewhat uneasy. There was something off about him—he elicited a different sort of uneasepared to Dettomorian or Anna de Gerna.


    He had the kind of eyes that made you think he was about to get into trouble.


    Orbis ss first-year, ss B, student number 10.


    The lowest ranking student in Orbis ss.


    The true viin of this semester.


    Ender Wilton.


    Though I couldn’t fully read his eyes, there’s a saying that you see as much as you know.


    Apart from the fear instilled by the call to assemble, there was a twisted anger and sense of inferiority in his eyes.


    He was at the bottom of the Orbis ss, a ce that valued effort and training. In a ce where teachers and seniors preached that everything can be ovee through effort, he was the Number 10 in ss B.


    In a ss where ranks were reassigned each semester, he had been B-10 for both the first and second semesters.


    His self-disgust and sense of inferiority, fueled by his inability to improve no matter how hard he tried, were gradually driving him mad.


    In the original story, he would lose to Ludwig, the Royal ss’s lowest-ranking student, in the festival tournament preliminaries.


    At this point in the original timeline, Ludwig would be much weaker and would have just been overwhelmingly defeated by Nilsonia, B-3 of the Orbis ss.


    In essence, Ender Wilton would fight with Ludwig, who was at his weakest point, over who was worse.


    The duel between the strongest of the Royal ss and the Orbis ss would end with a victory for the Royal ss.


    And even when it came to the two lowest-ranking students, the Orbis ss would lose to the Royal ss.


    After failing to achieve results despite his efforts and even losing to Ludwig, a rival from another ss, he would be officially recognized as the lowest of the low.


    He had neither talent nor the ability to ovee everything with effort.


    Ultimately, he would make the wrong choice and turn to dark magic to gain strength.


    In the first semester of his second year, he manages to defeat everyone in the Orbis ss and climbs to be the fifth-ranked ss A student.


    Then, at the festival, he challenges Ludwig, who had humiliated him before.


    But Ludwig hadn’t been idle either.


    After his defeat by den Amorel at the festival, he underwent rigorous training during the winter break. By the time Ludwig enters his second year, he will be much stronger than he had been at the festival.


    Ender Wilton had grown strong, but Ludwig would manage to defeat him after a fierce battle.


    Even though Ender had turned to dark magic, he still lost.


    Both of them had been at the bottom of their respective sses, but while Ender gained strength through dark magic, Ludwig had grown strong without resorting to such means.


    The only difference was talent.


    Ender Wilton would fall into despair before the insurmountable wall he couldn’t ovee, even with his forbidden power, and would eventually go mad.


    He would grow more dependent on dark magic, unable to stop even though he knew it led to ruin.


    Ludwig would learn from Anna de Gerna, who had a talent for dark magic, that Ender Wilton was involved with dark magic, and begin to investigate.


    Eventually, Ludwig would discover that Ender’s strength came from his dabbling in forbidden power, and would try to stop him before he caused a bigger problem.


    He would confront Ender Wilton alone.


    Though he tried to give Ender onest chance to turn back, Ender had no intention of listening.


    Ender would attempt to kill Ludwig to silence him, but he would lose once again to the opponent he’d already lost to before.


    And then, he would go berserk.


    Ender Wilton’s body, with its excessive exposure to dark magic, was in an unstable state. The dark magic lurking within him ran amok, turning him into a monster.


    Ludwig would battle against the monstrous Ender Wilton, and after a series of struggles, managed to defeat the monster consumed by dark magic.


    Someone within the Temple had sought power through dark magic, eventually bing a monster, and Ludwig had put an end to him—That was the rough story arc.


    This incident was both a main event in the overall story, and a starting point for another arc.


    How did Ender Wilton, abat major,e to rely on dark magic?


    Who provided Ender Wilton with forbidden dark magic?


    These questions would lead to the next event.


    A fake viin, den Amorel.


    And the real viin, Ender Wilton.


    I familiarized myself with the faces of those two.


    Although they weren’t present, there was also the real mastermind—the secret mage of the ck Order, a spy named Aaron Mede. But that’s an issue for ater time.