A few minutes later, Cloud had changed into a fresh pair of tracksuits and cleaned his white sneakers. He then stuffed the bloodstained tracksuit into his bag and added his shabby spare clothes before tossing the bag into the wardrobe.
Once he was finished, he prepared to head out with a juice box and two snack bars tucked into his pocket. However, the moment he stepped outside, he noticed a breakfast food package placed beside his door.
Cloud picked it up and glanced toward the other three doors along the corridor, but there was nothing placed in front of them.
'Eh? Breakfast has already been delivered. Huh… it seems I'm late to pick up mine.'
Recalling the announcement Chris had made yesterday regarding meals, he did not bother questioning the sudden appearance of the food pack. The package itself was quite elegant, a medium sized box adorned with the Academy's crest at the top.
The others living on his floor had likely collected theirs long ago, since it was already noon and most students would have departed for the training grounds by now.
It would have been rather awkward if anyone had seen it sitting there with no one coming to retrieve it.
Cloud carried the box back into his room and placed it on the table. Despite not feeling hungry, he still felt an inexplicable urge to eat it.
Nevertheless, he resisted the temptation, unwilling to make himself even later than he already was.
He remained slightly hesitant, though.
"I don't know if it will still be edible by the time I return, but I will have to eat it anyway."
Deciding not to linger any longer, he left the apartment and headed straight down to the lobby. However, the place was completely deserted. Everyone had already left, leaving only the attendant behind. Cloud approached the woman at the desk to ask for directions to the training grounds.
"Hi. I'm running a little late, and I just wanted to ask where…"
The young woman, who appeared barely older than eighteen, intercepted him with a friendly smile before he could finish his sentence.
"The training grounds? Let me give you a map. It will be much easier than trying to explain."
Indeed, she looked like a student who had volunteered for the position during this period. She handed him a pamphlet displaying the full map of the Academy and pointed toward a particular section not too far from the temporary hostel.
Cloud accepted the map slowly from her hands and offered a brief word of thanks before turning to leave the building. His eyes were already focused on the diagram.
However, the more he studied it, the more his expression twisted with confusion and an emerging headache.
'What on earth is this mess of lines!?'
***
Sadly, Cloud used about half an hour to find the training ground, a task that would have taken him ten minutes if he had understood the map better or at least been given directions. It was a real struggle finding the location, almost as challenging as battling to tame Ignivar.
He arrived at the front of a single-story building roughly the same size as the front dome of the temporary hostel.
Compared to the other structures within the Academy, this one had almost no design applied to it. The walls were plain, and the structure appeared purely functional, giving it the appearance of the most standard building he had seen since entering the Academy.
Cloud did not waste time staring at it and simply walked in.
The moment he stepped inside, he realized the building was far larger on the inside than the exterior had suggested. The training hall was quite wide, with a high ceiling and a reinforced stone floor covering a massive area clearly intended for combat practice. Dozens of students could train at the same time without getting in each other's way. Some students were scattered around, practicing movements or discussing techniques among themselves, but a noticeable number had gathered toward the center of the hall.
Two instructors stood not far from there, observing calmly.
Cloud scratched the back of his head with visible confusion.
"What's happening here?"
Following their line of sight, he soon understood what had drawn everyone's attention. In the middle of a marked combat area stood an advanced training robot. The machine was roughly the size of a fully grown man. Its metallic body was solid, and its mechanical joints locked into a combat stance as it faced a student standing several meters away.
The student was a girl.
At first glance, she looked rather fragile to be standing in front of something like that, and undeniably pretty. He was drawn to her beauty almost instantly, and her figure was flawless.
She wore an expensive dark skirt that reached just above her knees and a fitted jacket over a light shirt — the outfit was clearly not designed for combat.
Her hair was dyed forest green, with faint traces of black running through it, and the strands extended to her shoulders without being tied back. Her skin was flawless and pale, and the way many students had gathered around to watch made it clear she was not just another random student.
Judging by the attention she was receiving, she was probably from a wealthy family and seemed to be something of a celebrity among the students.
Despite her fragile appearance, the expression on her face was anything but soft. Her brows were slightly lowered, and her eyes were locked onto the robot with a sharp, almost menacing glare, as if she was already irritated by its presence.
To be honest, Cloud had seen many people carry that exact kind of confidence before a fight.
And the results were obvious — most of them ended up embarrassing themselves.
It would be a real shame if she were about to do the same thing in front of this many people, who clearly had high expectations for her.
Cloud personally had no idea who she was.
He briefly surveyed the training hall, searching for the blind girl he had seen yesterday, but she was nowhere among the students present.
'She's not here?'
He did not dwell on it.
Someone like her might have been granted certain exceptions regarding attendance at training sessions.
With that thought dismissed, Cloud returned his attention to the center of the hall and edged closer to the crowd to gain a better view of the forthcoming fight. From everything he had observed so far, all he could envision was the failure of another overconfident individual attempting to prove something.
Yet one detail aroused his curiosity.
Even the instructors overseeing the match appeared unusually focused on her, directing far more attention to the girl than to any of the other students in the hall.
He chose to eavesdrop on a few students who were intently observing the battle.
"Honestly, I can't believe I'd encounter someone like her here. I mean, with her status, shouldn't she receive special treatment even among the elites…" a female student murmured to her male companion.
"Of course, but I'm not that surprised. This is Great Awakened Academy, the most prestigious Awakened Academy on the continent. Even if she belongs to House Starfall, it doesn't mean she stands above the entire world," the male student replied nonchalantly with his arms folded.
The girl blinked twice.
"Ha! You seem remarkably confident. I heard she's among the top ten students who awakened unique Abilities and were exceptional cases in this year's awakening ceremony. Although I am unaware of her Ability, she is undoubtedly superior to us in combat intelligence and every other regard."
Cloud listened more intently to their conversation upon hearing the name of the house she hailed from. Even without knowing her personally, he was well acquainted with House Starfall. Its founder had been among the first hundred humans to awaken abilities during the calamity that had struck Earth years ago. It was undoubtedly one of the three most powerful families on this continent. Now he understood why she was effortlessly drawing so much attention.
If anything, she resembled those formidable special princesses in web novels and games who later join the main character's harem. Yet, she was far from icy. In fact, she did not behave like anyone from a family of such magnitude; only her attire and physical condition suggested her lineage. She carried herself without the slightest trace of noble decorum. Her expression resembled that of a jester, and Cloud could vividly envision the type of princess she truly was.
The male student regarded his female companion with a look of distaste.
"Then let us see if she can handle a robot with combat proficiency equivalent to that of a B rank Hunter. It is obvious that nobody has challenged the doll yet, except her."
Cloud paled instantly.
'The combat proficiency of a… B rank Hunter? I never expected her to be so confident in her abilities. Even if she had been training since childhood, there is no way she could actually face a B rank, right?'
The combat proficiency of a B rank Hunter was an entirely different magnitude from anything a teenager could attain, regardless of training, wealth, or family status. A B rank had been forged in countless real battles, each one honing reflexes, endurance, and tactical acumen, granting instinctive mastery over both body and skill that no training ground could replicate.
No matter how long she had practiced or how costly her lessons, she could not possibly match something built from such extensive experience. Every student here, including Cloud, remained E rank. Their abilities, awakenings, and skills were confined to the minimal exposure they had to real combat, and neither family privilege nor personal effort could bypass that limitation.
This was suicide!
Why had the instructors not intervened?
And why was a training doll of that Rank here?
The robot lunged toward her with smooth, precise, and fluid motion. She stood her ground without hesitation, already poised for the clash, a sharp grin on her face.
The students watching grew tense as their eyes followed the two.
Cloud felt it just as acutely as anyone else, knowing that what was about to occur far exceeded what anyone of his rank could normally endure.