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Martial Studies.

Literally, the study of combat.

The philosophy of martial studies at Zerion Academy is straightforward:

"Kill your enemy before they kill you."

Today, as usual, the professor soaked in a hangover, Vega Mercia, appeared in her disheveled attire, yawning loudly.

“That’s the basic stance for dealing with apostles in the Dungeon.”

The underground Dungeon.

It is there that the apostles, created by the Demon Sovereign, are born.

The role of the academy students is to stop these apostles before they escape the Dungeon.

“After the upcoming mock battle, you’ll be assigned to teams based on your level and enter the Dungeon for the first time as second-years.”

In the first year, there were casualties.

Even so, someone must venture into the Dungeon again.

The surface world will be in danger if the apostles aren't defeated.

In this world, the burden of responsibility is passed down to the children.

Thus, the professors strive to train the students to face the apostles.

They, too, once attended the academy and ventured into the Dungeon, giving them the experience to teach effectively.

“Remember one thing.”

Vega looked at the students and spoke.

“If you can’t kill them, run.”

She turned back to the image of the apostle displayed on the magical blackboard.

Apostles are powerful.

Especially those that have undergone multiple transformations, becoming overwhelmingly strong.

“If you live, there’s always a next time.”

Most of those who perished alongside Lucas were from the martial studies department.

Despite her daily drunken stupor and alcohol-soaked demeanor, Vega was still a professor dedicated to her students’ growth.

She didn’t want to lose any more of her disciples.

On the day Lucas died, the usually hungover professor didn’t touch a drop of alcohol.

For a while, she quietly visited the graves of Lucas and his party.

Seeing her sincerity, some of the students had somber expressions.

“That’s all for today’s lesson.”

She turned off the magical blackboard.

Yawning again, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her loose pants, which hung so low they revealed her underwear straps, and shuffled out.

Her outfit was so inappropriate that it was a wonder she wasn’t reprimanded.

‘She probably gets scolded but keeps doing it anyway.’

With the class over, I stood up.

The upcoming mock battle.

I must achieve a good result here.

‘I have to make it into one of the top-ranked teams after the mock battle.’

I had managed to secure a training opportunity with Aisha, but that alone wouldn’t be enough.

This is the world after the bad ending where protagonist Lucas died.

To progress the story without Lucas, I had to become an indispensable piece in the puzzle.

I’d have to use every trick in the book to do that.

At that moment, I felt someone’s gaze.

When I turned, there was Isabel glaring at me with fierce intensity.

The shadows under her eyes and her previous gloomy demeanor were gone, replaced by pure malice and rage.

Good, it’s working.

On top of that, the other girls who sided with Isabel were also glaring at me with obvious displeasure.

This was only my second day at the academy.

I was gradually getting used to such stares.

‘Humans are adaptable creatures, after all.’

The sharper their gazes, the higher Isabel’s chances of survival.

Thinking that way, I felt surprisingly at ease.

Let them keep looking at me that way.

‘Time to focus on what I need to do.’

It was lunchtime now.

I had to prepare for the mock battle.

As I stood to leave, a voice called out to me.

“Hey.”

I turned to see several girls surrounding me, their faces sharp and menacing.

They were glaring at me like they were ready to pounce.

Then it hit me.

The ones surrounding me were students from Zerion Academy’s renowned martial studies department.

Whether male or female, those who train their bodies tend to have high pride and short tempers.

And someone in their group had been slandered.

What happens next?

“Follow us for a moment.”

A group beating.

‘Well, I’m screwed.’

Frankly, no other words came to mind.

While I’ve trained my body, these girls have been honing their skills, putting their lives on the line.

If they gang up on me, I’ll be utterly beaten.

Screech.

But I’m also a martial studies student at Zerion Academy.

They wouldn’t think lightly of my abilities.

So…

“What do you want?”

Time to bluff.

Back when I used to play sports, showing fear during a match always led to getting hit hard.

Because of that, my coach, a former champion, used to punch me in the stomach hundreds of times under the guise of teaching me how to manage my expression.

The nightmares from those days still haunt me.

That’s why I had mastered the art of controlling my expression.

Perhaps my face appeared too indifferent.

The girls scowled fiercely.

Their eyes brimmed with contempt.

"Go apologize to Isabel, right now."

The one standing at the center of the group snapped at me.

Hearing her voice, I pressed the back of my neck to hide my cold sweat.

"Apologize for what?"

"For all the awful things you said to Isabel! Apologize for everything!"

"Look at him pretending not to know. It's disgusting."

"Totally nauseating."

The girls behind her chimed in, shouting in agreement.

The atmosphere in the classroom quickly turned hostile.

Some watched with interest.

Others joined in, seemingly sharing their disdain for me.

Among them all...

I had no allies.

Naturally, this was the response after how I had confronted Isabel, the center of our class.

It was only to be expected.

“Why should I apologize for stating the obvious?”

"Wow, are you even sane? I knew you were rude, but this is a whole new level."

"You're garbage."

"Is that even a human?"

The insults intensified.

But if it’s a battle of wills…

"Unless Isabel herself demands an apology, I don’t see why you all should. What gives you the right?"

I wouldn't back down either.

If all they came for was to demand an apology…

I had a duty to keep Isabel alive.

So, I couldn’t lose in this confrontation.

"Seriously? We're her friends! When a friend is in trouble, of course we step in to help!"

"Look at the nerve of him."

"Looks like he’s destined to never have a friend."

Who said that just now?

I didn’t expect to be hit with such a low blow out of nowhere.

What a vicious insult.

I quickly regained control of my expression.

I almost lost my composure.

"Funny. The same people who couldn’t even look after a girl on the verge of death dare talk about friendship."

And before I realized it, my tone had also sharpened.

A moment ago, one of her statements…

That friends should help when someone’s in trouble… It struck a nerve.

In the end, none of them had been able to help Isabel, and she took her own life.

"What?"

The girls looked taken aback, clearly not expecting me to say such a thing.

I stepped closer to their leader, who had been snapping at me.

"Think about it. Isabel Luna—she looked like she was dying long before I ever met her."

Isabel showed clear signs of suicidal tendencies.

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From the dark shadows under her eyes to her visibly frail frame—anyone could tell something was seriously wrong.

These were signs that death had already tightened its grip around her neck.

She was slowly letting go of life.

"And yet, as her so-called friends, none of you seemed to notice or care."

"Don't change the subject! Isabel needed time alone to cope…"

"That wasn’t giving her space. That was neglect."

Her leader flinched.

"In that state, it was only a matter of time before Isabel followed that Lucas guy."

Even someone like me, meeting Isabel for the first time, could see it.

And yet, her so-called friends failed to notice.

I used this fact to push back against them.

Had I been vague in my words, they would have protested.

But I spoke with conviction.

And that conviction silenced them.

Isabel’s death was a foregone conclusion.

Thus, my certainty carried weight.

“We… we did take care of Isabel!”

"Sure, maybe you did at first. But when you saw she wasn’t improving, you grew tired of her and left her to her own devices. That’s why things ended up like this."

These people were all defending Isabel, yet…

Isabel had suffered alone, ultimately choosing to end her life.

Just as they glared at me with contempt…

My eyes mirrored that disdain back at them.

It had been months since Lucas’s death.

But Isabel still hadn’t recovered from it.

At first, people tried to help.

But seeing no change in her, they grew weary.

Though they acted as if they cared, their sincerity had long since faded.

To be fair, they weren’t entirely to blame.

There were others, closer friends, who were still supporting Isabel even now.

Those were the ones who had followed her out a moment ago.

But even with their help, Isabel hadn’t improved.

At this point, there was no use assigning blame.

However, those who barely offered any real support didn’t have the right to criticize me.

"If anything, Isabel and you all should be thanking me, don’t you think?"

I smirked as I looked at the stunned leader.

"At least while you’re fuming at me, she’s too busy to think about killing herself."

The entire class fell silent.

My words had clearly crossed the line.

But if I was going to be her enemy, there was no room for half-measures.

I would make sure everyone here understood that I was Isabel's enemy.

At that moment, the leader of the group of girls raised her hand.

Instinctively, my eyes followed her hand.

Thwack—

Before I knew it, my wrist had shot out and intercepted hers.

It was a quick reaction, purely reflexive.

Her eyes widened, clearly not expecting her wrist to be blocked.

"You little—!"

Whoosh!

She swung her other hand in frustration, but I leaned back, dodging it.

My movements were as quick and nimble as a flying squirrel.

‘Oh.’

I’ve still got it, huh?

Anyway, at this range, the direction of her attacks was predictable.

Dodging them was easy enough as long as I could read her movements.

“You…!”

Failing to slap me twice, she was visibly seething.

I knew full well, though—those were just light jabs.

If she decided to truly attack, dodging wouldn’t be so easy.

After all, she was a student in Zerion Academy’s Martial Arts class.

But perhaps because too many eyes were on her, she slowly lowered her hand, clearly feeling uneasy about her violent outburst.

"You're insane..."

The leader of the group turned away, wearing an expression as though she’d seen something utterly repulsive.

"Forget it. Don’t waste your breath on someone like that."

"Yeah, let’s go. It's not like we’re scared; it's just not worth it."

"Not even worth dealing with."

The group of girls made faces of utter disgust and walked off.

It was clear they didn’t even want to speak to me anymore.

The same sentiment was reflected in the eyes of the other students who had been watching.

Except for one.

The third princess, Iris Hysirion, kept staring at me silently.

Her gaze was the most unsettling of all.

I quickly decided to get out of the classroom.

‘Well, at least I avoided a group beating this time.’

Today, they were shocked enough by my nasty remarks to leave me alone, but there was no guarantee that would always be the case.

I’d need to prepare for what might come next.

"Yo, Royal Nut."

At that moment, I felt a weight on the back of my neck.

It was a thick, tanned arm—the arm of none other than Card Velique, the academy’s notorious delinquent.

Judging by the timing, his magic studies class must’ve ended early today, and he decided to drop by.

Apparently, my nickname had changed at some point.

He was the kind of guy who, even as another man, could openly acknowledge and respect what he saw as impressive.

"Already popular with the girls, huh? Must be nice being a king."

The fact that he could say that after seeing everything was impressive in its own way.

I brushed his arm off casually.

Card clicked his tongue in mock disappointment.

"Does that look like popularity to you?"

"Think of it as a kind of role-play. Not bad, right?"

I had to admit, he was skilled at turning even ostracism into something novel.

"You sure you wanna be seen hanging out with me?"

The martial arts students were already glaring at him for talking to me.

Card just grinned.

"Don’t sweat it. The second-year girls already hate my guts anyway."

Considering Card’s messy romantic history, it wasn’t surprising.

What was surprising was that despite his reputation, he still managed to find new "victims" willing to give him a chance.

The guy was something else.

"And hey, it’s not so bad to have at least one person to hang out with, right?"

Card smiled warmly at me.

He must’ve thought I’d taken his advice from the other day to heart.

Unintentionally, I’d earned his favor.

A funny misunderstanding, but his presence made things feel a little lighter.

"So, what about lunch?"

"I’ve got plans."

I pulled out a sandwich I had grabbed earlier that morning.

I didn’t have time to sit down for lunch with some random dude.

"Too bad. Next time, then."

Card didn’t push further.

It seemed he genuinely just wanted someone to share a meal with.

Once Card left, I resumed walking.

It was only later that I found out Isabel had briefly returned to the classroom during that time.

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