Twenty minutes into the class, the entire room fell silent.
The door creaked open, and a man stepped inside.
A long black cloak flowed behind him, swallowing almost his entire figure. In one hand, he carried an old wooden staff that looked as though it had long since died, its twisted branches giving off an eerie, almost cursed aura.
Noah swallowed.
"Is that Mr. Warwold?" he whispered, silently praying the answer would be no. Because if that creepy-looking man was really their teacher, then how exactly was anyone supposed to stand in front of him without having a heart attack?
And... did he even have a face?
As the man walked farther into the classroom, Noah couldn’t make out anything beneath the oversized hood. It was as if darkness itself hid whatever lay underneath.
"That’s him," Rose muttered quietly. "He loves perfection and absolute order. Keep your head down and stay quiet unless you want to receive something from him you won’t like."
The warning couldn’t have been clearer.
Lie low.
Don’t let him notice you.
Unfortunately...
Noah had never been good at staying unnoticed.
The moment the teacher’s gaze swept toward him, Noah somehow managed to lose his balance. His chair tilted backward, and before he knew it—
Bang!
He landed flat on his butt with his legs awkwardly spread beside the overturned chair.
Rose immediately buried her face in her palm.
"Excuse me, sir..." Noah forced out an embarrassed smile as he looked up.
The creepy man simply stared.
No reply.
No expression.
Just an unnervingly long look that felt more like he was dissecting Noah’s soul than looking at a student.
Finally, the man spoke.
"Aren’t you supposed to be sitting in your assigned seat?"
His voice was cold enough to freeze the room.
"Why are you sitting beside Rose?"
The meaning behind the question wasn’t hard to understand.
Know your place.
Poor students didn’t belong among nobles.
Noah, however, pretended not to understand the hidden insult.
"She invited me over," he answered honestly. "Besides... after my head injury caused by God knows who, I can’t really remember everything."
He didn’t know why he had said that.
Nor did he understand why his eyes instinctively shifted toward the row occupied by the Moonlight Alphas.
As expected...
Every single one of them was already staring back at him.
The intensity of their gazes nearly made him gag.
Mr. Warwold remained silent for several seconds.
"So," he finally said, "you’re implying they’re responsible for your attempted murder?"
The question came so suddenly that Noah immediately sensed the trap hidden inside it.
Every eye in the classroom locked onto him.
Waiting.
Watching.
Expecting.
"I... I don’t know, sir."
His answer came almost instantly.
Mr. Warwold turned away without another word and walked back toward the front of the classroom, stopping beside the large projector that served as the academy’s teaching board.
"Then you truly are useless."
His words echoed throughout the room.
"So weak that you couldn’t defend yourself... and foolish enough to keep talking about memories you don’t possess."
A brief pause.
"It seems you have quite the desire to die young."
Noah’s jaw tightened.
What kind of teacher said something like that?
Yet despite those cruel words, Noah still couldn’t see the man’s face beneath the oversized hood.
For one irrational second, he wanted nothing more than to march over there, rip the hood off, and see what kind of wretched expression belonged to someone capable of saying such horrible things so casually.
"I—"
"You’ll speak when permitted."
The interruption was immediate.
"As I said... know your place."
The classroom grew even quieter.
"Return to your proper seat and stop trying to sit where you clearly don’t belong."
Soft laughter spread throughout the room.
The loudest came from Slyvia.
Noah resisted the overwhelming urge to march over and slap that smug smile off her face. For some reason, nothing was more satisfying than watching arrogant heroes and heroines break down into tears.
Holding his head high despite the humiliation, he walked toward the row reserved for the weaker Omegas.
The seats looked just as miserable as he expected.
Around him, several Omegas kept their heads lowered against their desks, almost afraid to breathe too loudly.
None of them looked free.
Not a single one.
Noah frowned.
What exactly had these people gone through to fear simply existing inside a classroom?
Now that he had become one of them...
He supposed he’d find out soon enough.
As he settled into his seat, he caught Rose looking at him from across the room.
Her expression practically screamed:
I told you so.
Too late now.
The embarrassment had already happened.
And somehow...
He had the unpleasant feeling things were only getting worse.
The projector suddenly flickered to life.
Images began flashing across the screen.
People surrounded by different colored energies.
Some glowed with brilliant life.
Others radiated terrifying darkness.
Some weren’t even human anymore.
Noah felt his blood run cold.
Mr. Warwold finally began the lesson.
"As all of you know, the history of Affinity distribution has shaped our world for centuries."
His voice echoed calmly.
"For generations, these powers have protected humanity."
The images shifted again.
"Now that the Five Heroes have fallen..."
"...it is our responsibility to train those who will replace them."
Several symbols appeared across the screen.
"Dragon Affinity."
"Blood Affinity."
"Nightmare Affinity."
"Moon Affinity."
"Time Affinity."
"Beast Affinity."
"And Gravity Affinity."
"These seven Affinities form the very foundation of our world’s strength."
"They are the reason humanity still stands."
His grip tightened around the ancient staff.
"So I hope each of you possesses the determination necessary to master your power."
His hidden gaze swept across the room.
"Because I do not teach weaklings."
Noah clenched his fists beneath the desk.
Those Affinities sounded absolutely insane.
The worst part?
The novel had never explained how any of them actually worked.
He hadn’t reached that part before transmigrating.
Meaning...
He was completely clueless.
Fantastic.
He was screwed.
"Now," Mr. Warwold continued, "I require volunteers to demonstrate their Affinities."
"I believe every major Affinity is represented in this classroom."
"So..."
"Come forward."
A hand shot into the air almost immediately.
Noah didn’t even need to turn completely.
Of course.
It was Abigail.
Can this girl go five minutes without showing off?
Mr. Warwold nodded.
"Which Affinity?"
Abigail lifted her chin proudly.
"Dragon Affinity."
"Gasp!"
The sound escaped Noah before he could stop himself.
The entire classroom turned toward him.
He quickly raised both hands.
"Sorry... my bad. Please continue."
Unfortunately...
Eugene wasn’t about to let that opportunity slip away.
"What?" he sneered. "Still acting like a baby because you can’t even cast a single spell?"
His malicious grin made it painfully obvious.
He genuinely hated Noah.
Why?
Noah still had absolutely no idea.
Slyvia laughed immediately, treating Eugene’s insult as the funniest thing she’d heard all day.
Meanwhile, Killian subtly shifted farther away from her.
His face twisted with visible irritation as Slyvia tried leaning against both him and Eugene at the same time.
Apparently...
Even he found her annoying.
Why am I even paying attention to these people?
Noah lowered his head, determined to ignore them.
Sadly...
Abigail wasn’t finished.
"Worthless Omega."
Her voice rang clearly across the classroom.
"Someone like you would be better off dead."
Every hair on Noah’s body stood up.
Slowly...
He rose from his seat.
"What did you just say?"
For the first time, Abigail looked slightly surprised.
But only for a second.
Then she smirked.
"I said..."
"You’re nothing but a worthless Omega who deserves to die."
She looked him directly in the eyes.
The classroom became deathly silent.
Mr. Warwold simply watched the exchange without intervening.
When Noah refused to react, the teacher finally spoke.
"Cocky, aren’t you, Ashton?"
Noah’s stomach dropped.
"Very well."
Mr. Warwold tapped the floor once with his eerie staff.
"Come forward."
His hidden gaze shifted between Noah and Abigail.
"Show the class how one escapes a Dragon Affinity attack."
Silence.
Noah’s eyes slowly widened.
His mind went completely blank.
...Fuck.
He was so dead.