In the academy, students only needed to attend classes four days out of the seven days of the week; they were free to do whatever they wanted for the next 3 days.
For now, the first-year students didn't have much that they could do in the academy and they weren't allowed to leave the academy yet either.
For the past two days, Ivan had been staying inside his room and absorbing mana, only going out when he felt hungry. He didn't go out to roam and play around like the other students, it was a waste of time and he had nobody to hang out with anyway.
Ivan didn't know what time it was when the growling of his stomach woke him up from his mana-absorbing state. His stomach was protesting to be fed as Ivan had only eaten once in the morning and it had been hours since then.
He gradually opened his eyes, his gaze landing on the front view of his room.
"The glow of the first orb has finally increased slightly but it still looked very dull, I'm not yet at the third stage," Ivan said to him as he looked at his palm.
After listening to Teacher May's lecture on Mana, Ivan had realised that the tiny ball of light inside his mana core was called an orb by humans.
Mana orbs to be precise. These were what signified a warrior's rank, the number of mana orbs one had was equivalent to the rank they were in.
Right now, Ivan only had one mana orb in his core. Only a few students had reached the stage by now, the majority of the students hadn't even formed a single orb yet and their mana core was still probably only the size of a puddle.
According to what Ivan knew, the mana orb would become brighter as one advanced in the sub-stages. Eventually getting as bright as the core before a second orb would eventually form.
Currently, Ivan's single orb couldn't even be considered bright but at least it wasn't as dark as when it first formed. This showed that he was already approaching the third stage of the Level 1 warrior rank!
"If I can get to mana cores and enter the mana chamber, I'll definitely break through to the third stage," Ivan said, his eyes flashing with confidence.
Growl~
The growling of his stomach sounded again, reminding him that he was forgetting something.
Ivan looked down and patted his stomach.
"But for now, let's go grab something to eat first." He chuckled as he jumped up from his bed, his body feeling lighter than before.
The training inside the gravity chamber was already showing results.
Ivan exited his lodge and realised it was already dark outside. He had been absorbing mana for so long.
Shaking his head, Ivan made his way to the cafeteria. He arrived quickly and went straight to get some food before finding a quiet corner to eat.
The scene inside the cafeteria was the same as the first time he came. Those on the first level bullied those on the third level, Ivan ignored all of this and ate peacefully.
At this moment, someone suddenly arrived in front of him and dropped a tray of food across Ivan.
"???" Ivan
He raised his head to see who it might be, wondering if the students had finally decided to pick on him.
When Ivan saw who had come to sit with him, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
In front of him was a young boy who looked no older than 15, with short white hair and an innocent face. The kid had a nervous expression as he sat across from Ivan and forced himself to maintain a smile.
Ivan looked past the kid and saw a group of other students standing not too far away. They were obviously targeting this kid but had stopped since he came to sit with Ivan, they didn't approach and just observed from a distance.
Ivan returned his gaze to the white-haired kid in front of him.
"You are?" He asked in a soft tone.
"Lucas Otocha, nice to meet you." The boy responded quickly, while still holding up a nervous smile.
"Do you know me?" Ivan asked again.
The boy's smile almost collapsed at this question but he still forced himself to answer.
"Y-yes, you're Ivan Castellan. I've heard my classmates talking about you," the boy said.
"Oh, what did they say?" Ivan asked, suddenly getting curious.
Lucas's mouth hung open, not daring to say what he knew.
"Relax and speak, I won't get angry. Unless, you want to leave and go sit somewhere else." Ivan said with a smile that reached his eyes.
Lucas's body jolted and he immediately started talking.
"They said you're a trash with a Paladin-class and only able to survive because you're from a big family." The boy said fearfully before quickly adding. "But I don't agree with them, you aren't trash at all!"
"Oh, why do you think so?" Ivan asked with a chuckle, he felt that Lucas was amusing.
They were talking in low voices so the students who were waiting for Lucas to be chased away in the distance couldn't hear what they were saying. They all frowned when they saw Ivan laughing.
It couldn't be that this brat knew someone from the Castellan family, right?
"T-that's because I believe that no awakened class is useless. I'm a summoner and my companion is a Twingo. Although it's very small and can't fight, I believe it'll grow stronger!" Lucas explained quickly.
A look of surprise flashed across Ivan's eyes when he heard this.
'This kid had a Twingo? How lucky,'
Others might not know but Ivan knew just how valuable a Twingo was. It was among the top five when it came to scouting abilities and would evolve into a stronger flying beast once it crossed Grade 5, Ivan could tell that Lucas didn't know how lucky he was.
'But his current mindset is enough, no awakened class is useless.'
"Hmm, that's good." He said to Lucas and resumed eating.
Lucas didn't move and watched Ivan eat. Noticing this, Ivan paused and raised his head. He looked at Lucas and then at the food the kid had brought.
"You aren't going to eat?" He asked.
Lucas flinched and quickly reached for his food.
"T-thanks,"
Ivan said nothing and resumed eating, the both ate in silence.
Not far from them, the students who were still waiting for Lucas all showed hideous expressions when they saw the two eating together. It became obvious that the two knew each other and while Ivan didn't have a strong awakened ability, he was a member of a first-rate noble family.
It wasn't smart to mess with him or anyone related to him. So they left, no longer waiting for Lucas.
Seeing that the students had left, Lucas finally heaved a sigh of relief. He looked at Ivan and thanked him again.
Ivan nodded in response and focused on finishing his food.
When he was almost done, a new group arrived.
A figure stood in front and behind him were about five people who moved like escorts.
'What's this, a parade?' Ivan thought as he watched the group. The person leading them was a handsome young man who looked like he was in his early twenties, the mana around him was odd and Ivan could feel it.
They were making their way to the stairs, which meant that they were upperclassmen and were going to the higher floors of the cafeteria.
However, the young man in front suddenly stopped and stared in Ivan's direction. His eyes crossed with Ivan's eyes and they locked gazes.
Ivan "..."
'Umm, would you believe me if I said this was a mistake?'