In the end, Ash and Serena didn't buy anything that day. At the end of the day, they still had to part ways. Ash returned to his house while Serena went to her dormitory in the second-year student area.
The next morning, Ash tiredly woke up to the sound of nature's alarm clock - the chirping of birds, creating a melodious and soothing symphony.
It was strange that there were birds on an island floating in the air, but he didn't pay much attention to this strangeness.
His eyes were quite blurry, still unable to adapt to the light outside. Ash wasn't a person who was used to waking up early.
"I want to continue sleeping…"
But after sitting still for a while doing nothing but thinking about life, he finally became more awake.
And in just 20 minutes, he had completed all the morning routine: Brushing his teeth, washing his face, changing into his academy uniform, and toasting a simple loaf of bread.
Standing in front of a large mirror, Ash looked at himself in this uniform. It had been a long time since he had worn such a thing like this.
And to be honest… this thing didn't suit him at all.
The entire outfit was pure white, with a few gold patterns, sparkling but not too flashy. But unfortunately, Ash was only suited for dark-colored clothes.
Bright things like this didn't look right with him at all.
Brushing his hair carefully, he immediately picked up his briefcase and walked out of the house, not forgetting to put a hot piece of buttered toast in his mouth.
Since Ash's house was in the forest, completely separate from the dormitory of the new students, he wasn't bothered by anyone or had his ears tormented by unpleasant noises in the morning.
It was quite comfortable and pleasant.
He didn't expect that living alone in the forest had such advantages.
But when he stepped out of this forest, everything had completely changed.
Today, some students no longer paid any attention to him, but some, like yesterday, were still uncomfortable with Ash's presence.
They didn't even bother to hide it, as if they wanted him to know what they were thinking.
'It seems like I've understood Modric's message.' Ash thought to himself.
If this was the Third Prince and not him, he definitely wouldn't be able to bear being looked down upon like this.
And he would definitely punch those who intentionally made things difficult for him.
Luckily, he was Ash and not The Useless Prince, so he could still grit his teeth and let this anger pass.
***
Awakened Academy was divided into several Classes as follows:
D Class
C Class
B Class
A Class
And finally, the Elite Class.
And just like any other Academies, D Class was for the worst students and the Elite Class was for the geniuses of geniuses. This meant that the odds of getting into the Elite Class were extremely low.
However, fortunately, because of his status as the Third Prince of the Empire, Ash was allowed to enter the Elite Class without having to pass any tests.
But honestly, he didn't know whether he should be happy or sad.
Of course, he was happy knowing that he would receive the best quality of teaching.
However, on the other hand, he couldn't help but feel anxious, wondering if he could keep up with the other students in the Elite Class or not.
If he were to compare the theoretical aspect, no one would have more information and knowledge than Ash, but if he were to compare the practical aspect - combat…
…Nah.
After all, Ash "Worthless" Voidveil was an extremely weak character in the game, without even a single combat Ability.
And Ash was the same, he didn't even know how to use a sword. He was just a streamer who stayed at home all day playing games.
The only time he actually fought was when he fought against Mini Deaths.
But at that time, Ash was only able to kill a few of them. Which wasn't much compared to the other students in the Elite Class.
'Tsk, what can complaining about it change? There's no way I can change Classes anyway…'
'I guess I'll just have to bet on my luck…'
Just like that, Ash headed straight to his first class - Voidveil Empire History.
Since it was a theoretical subject, Ash could definitely pass it easily. He believed so.
***
As soon as he opened the door to the classroom - the lecture hall - all the old professor's words had completely stopped. His attention and that of all the other students were focused on the person who had just opened the door.
Yes, Ash was late, and he didn't even understand why.
According to his own calculations, he should have arrived on time. But for some reason, he was not.
"Well well well, look who we have here?" The fat old professor slowly walked towards him with a mocking and disdainful smile.
Immediately after, a few giggles started to rise but were completely suppressed when Ash glared at them.
His intentions were extremely clear, he wanted to humiliate the Third Prince of the Empire in front of all the students here. What a brave man.
In Awakened Academy, all professors had the right to treat students however they wanted, without being stopped by anyone. Even if that professor bullied a student, he would not be harmed.
And this was also one of the things that was not very reasonable in the game False Horizon.
But it was definitely the intention of the game developers because because of this, it would lead to many events that would happen in the future.
It was a pity that they could not think of a more reasonable way other than giving these professors a rather overwhelming privilege.
Ash didn't say anything, which only made the professor want to insult him more. It seemed like he wasn't afraid of the Empire's revenge.
"Listen, Ash "WORTHLESS" Voidveil, no matter how you are, you shouldn't be late on the first day, right?" He deliberately emphasized the word "Worthless."
Ash didn't even know what he had done wrong to deserve such humiliation. He was just a little late, right?
But then again, that's human. Which meant that they did not need any reason to hate and insult others.
In this situation, Ash couldn't argue back but could only stand there and listen to his scolding.
If he made even one wrong move, Ash would definitely be expelled from Awakened Academy. And he didn't want to risk that at all.
Realizing that he had the upper hand, the fat professor was about to continue speaking but immediately fell silent when he saw Furina Faelan - the principal's daughter - standing right behind Ash.
She didn't show any emotion, but judging by her eyes, she was angry.