Chapter 66 - It’s Time (2)
"Ashton, you good?" Disha asked him as they once again walked into the academy.
"Yeah. I'm good." Ashton replied absentmindedly.
Ashton could not sleep the entire night because of what the mistress told him. He was planning to hold himself back during the competition to get rid of the 'slaves' the mistress had so graciously given him. But now it seemed like a bad idea.
'If I were to rank low, I would have been allotted one of the shared quarters. Thus the possibility of having the slaves around me all the time would be nullified as that isn't allowed.' Ashton sighed, 'as a result, it would have helped me tremendously to go out in the dark and level up as an undead and a vampire.'
'But on the other hand... doing something like that would print a target on my back. The bastard nobles would relentlessly harass me and I would not be able to fight back in the daylight. If I did, the professors would surely cause more issues for me. Fck! No favouritism, my ass.'
No matter what path Ashton chose he will lose something. But in the end, he would have to choose one of the two. Either stay free from conflict during the day or tolerate all the crap nobles will put him through and hunt during the night.
Tolerating those bastards was not a problem. He had been doing so ever since he was born. But with the power he had now, he would find it difficult to not fight back. That was the thing he was more concerned about.
As long as he didn't fight back, all he would have to do was to get used to the nobles crapping on him all the time. But the moment he fought back while staying in the weak rank... he would have to worry about the professors as well.
Ashton hadn't been aware of it, but according to the Mistress and Disha who both attended the academy, the professors always favoured the higher ranking student. They could beat the shit out of a low ranked student and get away with it. But if a low ranker did the same to a high ranker, their life would be made hell. The corrupt professors would make sure of it.
The mistress had experienced it first hand when she decided to stand up to the bullying of her half-sister, who also happened to be the King's legitimate daughter. n the end, her half-sister, Keshika, was beaten up so badly by the mistress that she had to be taken to the Capital for treatment.
After that, The mistress was forced to do horrible things for the professors, at least according to her. Things had gotten so bad, at one point she even tried to herself. But that all changed once she evolved from being an F-grade being to an E-grade. But her genes weren't the only thing that evolved. Her rank in the school did as well.
Only then was she even acknowledged by her peers and professors. But she decided to make them pay... subtly. However, her happiness was soon destroyed when she was called in for a hearing to address her attack on Keshika.
As a punishment for assaulting King's daughter, she got banned from ever entering the city of Contingent without the king's permission.
The only plus side was that she was allowed to continue her education and it was thanks to the allies she made during that time, she turned out to be as strong as she was now. Some even argued she was strong enough to overrule the king's commands anytime she pleased.
Ashton tried to know a bit more about her past. Hoping he could find something or someone from her past life that could help him with his revenge. But his attempts were quickly shot down by both the mistress and Disha.
"Some things are better left buried in the past."
That's what they told him. So, with no other choice, Ashton decided to focus on what he had to.
'I can think of some ways to get rid of two humans easily... but I won't be able to do the same with the nobles or the professors.' Ashton finally decided what he had to do, 'If worse comes to worst, I will just have to kill both of them. Even though that's not something I want to do, I can't let anyone stand between me and my revenge.'
Ashton had lived as a human for 99% of his life, so it was obvious he didn't want any of them to suffer. But since it was clear that the slaves were loyal to the mistress, Ashton had no choice but to look at them as potential obstacles in his path.
But then, on the other hand, his life in the academy was already going to be hellish because he was a 'mutt'. So matter what his rank was, he would be looked down upon. The only question was, how much did he want to be looked down on?
'Nah... having a higher rank would deter those bastardly nobles from doing anything. Well, it looks like I'm aiming for the top then.'
"Look who it is!"
Ashton heard a familiar annoying voice and sighed heavily. He already had too much on his plate and did not want to deal with someone like 'him' right now. But his luck was already bad enough. it was Lucas with his gang of royal knights.
Well, he wasn't the only noble with knights and attendants. All of them had a few men and women around them. As far as he could see, Ashton was the only one there with a single attendant.
"Step aside, Lucas," Ashton said in a cold tone, "that is if you don't want to piss your pants again."
"How dare you talk to our master like that, you filthy mutt-"
One of the blue-haired knights standing behind him unsheathed his sword and was about to take a swing at him when someone parried the blow and kicked the knight away.
"I never knew the knights from the Wring family had a fuse shorter than their dicks." An empowering voice echoed throughout the academy plaza, "Now get back before I chop them off entirely."
Everyone in the plaza had their eyes on them. It wasn't every day they get to see the knight whose skills even the master swordsmen of the academy acknowledged.
"Donovan..."
The blue-haired knight gritted his teeth but otherwise didn't do a thing. Even with all of the knights there, it would be difficult to deal with him. After all, even the king of Lycania had praised the Bismarkian knight for his talent and valour a week ago. It was all over the news.
"I could have taken care of him by myself." Ashton looked at the one whom he probably hated even more than the mistress, "What are you even doing here?"
"Fulfilling my orders." Donovan replied and sheathed his sword, "The mistress wanted me to keep an eye on you till you got your rank. So here I am. Come on, let's get going before any more idiots trouble us."
"Alright..." Ashton mumbled and kept walking to get himself registered.. But with Donovan there, he couldn't help but wonder what the heck was he and the mistress planning to do now.