"I agree with Lily. His power is really strange. He just stared at me, and my clones disappeared instantly," Nana Mathilda said, fear in her voice as she recalled the incident of facing Van.
"We have to be careful with Van Black. He can even prevent us from using [Mana]," Lucas White said seriously.
Hearing Lucas's statement, everyone showed various expressions—stunned, shocked, afraid, in disbelief, and more.
"Are you serious?" Walton Rockefeller asked, his voice trembling slightly.
For them—whether wizards, swordsmen, or others—[Mana] was like oxygen. Without [Mana], they were no different from newborn puppies.
"Yes. When I faced him, I couldn't feel or access [Mana] at all," Lucas White replied.
"How could such a power exist in this world," Theodore Roosevelt muttered, almost unable to believe it.
If it hadn't been Lucas White saying it, he might have dismissed the story as nothing but a fairytale.
"Besides his mysterious power, don't forget the legendary skill of the Black Family's ancestor, [101 Shadows]. And let's not forget he comes from the Black Family—his swordsmanship is definitely on par with, or even surpasses, Arthur's," Lily Woody said, adding fuel to the fire.
Hearing Lily Woody's words, everyone once again fell silent and sighed helplessly.
"A monster in human form," Victor Grave muttered.
"A gap in talent," Masashi Kojiro muttered.
"For now, we must stay vigilant against Van Black and Arthur Black. Arthur Black's twisted personality is extremely dangerous, while as for Van Black—we know far too little about his strength," Lucas White said, with a warning tone.
"Understood, Chairman!" the other nine members of the [Academy Committee] responded.
"Then let's end our meeting here," Lucas White said.
- - - - -
Van and Arthur were walking down the corridor toward their fourth and final class of their first day.
"The next class is so boring. Math? What even is that," Arthur said lazily.
"You need to train your brain too. If you don't, you'll get tricked easily," Van said flatly, staring straight ahead.
"Tricked? If anyone dares, my sword is ready to send them to Hell," Arthur said with a wide grin, stroking the blade of his sword.
Seeing Arthur's terrifying grin, the academy students shivered in fear and quickened their pace.
Van was too lazy to respond to Arthur's nonsense and simply rolled his eyes.
Seeing that Van didn't respond, Arthur sheathed his sword and followed Van.
They finally arrived at the door of their fourth class. Van noticed this class was much more crowded than the previous three they had attended.
'Well, this is a general class. Besides, this kind of education is crucial for commoners in the field,' Van thought as he stepped inside, followed by Arthur.
Thanks to his knowledge from his previous life and Sebastian's teachings, Van had already mastered all the general academic material from the first year through the seventh at the academy.
In the end, Van and Arthur sat in the back right corner near the window.
The master finally arrived in class, and the lesson began.
Since Van already knew all the material being taught, he felt very bored during the class. As for Arthur? He had fallen asleep within the first minute of class.
The teaching master of course noticed their behavior, but ignored it and continued the lesson.
After two hours, the class finally ended, and Van and Arthur immediately left without a word.
After finishing all the classes on their first day, Van and Arthur returned to their villa in the [Residential] area of the academy.
Upon arriving at the villa, Arthur clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw a hundred [Doppelgangers] that looked like him doing the house chores.
"Tch. Why does it have to be me," Arthur asked, a little annoyed.
Van stayed silent, not responding, and headed for his room, as did Arthur.
*KNOCK
*KNOCK
Hearing the knock on the door, Van and Arthur were immediately puzzled.
"Do you have a friend already on your first day," Arthur asked.
"What do you think?" Van replied with a rhetorical question.
"Then who came to visit," Arthur asked, confused.
"Let's check," Van said.
Van walked toward the villa door, followed by Arthur and the [Doppelgangers]. Then, one of the [Doppelgangers] opened the villa door.
Seeing who the visitor was, Van and Arthur couldn't hide their shock.
"Headmistress Valentina," Van said. He clearly hadn't expected the Headmistress to come visit him.
"Hi, damn boys. Do you accept visitors?" Headmistress Valentina asked with a friendly smile on her face.
"Sorry, we're not accepting visitors," Van said flatly, and promptly shut the villa door.
"Eh?"
Headmistress Valentina stood stunned in front of the door. She was surprised and couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
After a moment, Headmistress Valentina snapped out of it, and her expression turned annoyed.
"Such insolent children! How dare you refuse me!" Headmistress Valentina said, pounding on the villa door.
The commotion caused by Headmistress Valentina drew the attention of several academy students living in the [Residential] area. It immediately sparked gossip among the students.
"What is Headmistress Valentina doing?"
"If I'm not mistaken, villa No. 100 is supposed to be occupied by Van Black, isn't it?"
"What?! Are you serious?! Tch, the life of nobles sure is nice."
"Forget that! Why is Headmistress Valentina banging on Van Black's villa door? Do they have a conflict?"
"Could it be Headmistress Valentina is a shotacon?"
Realizing all the academy students in the [Residential] area were watching her, Headmistress Valentina panicked. But when she heard the students' gossip, she became furious.
"What are you all looking at?!" Headmistress Valentina asked, glaring sharply at the students.
The students felt uneasy under Headmistress Valentina's glare and quickly dispersed.
After seeing the students disperse, Headmistress Valentina finally calmed down.
"Student Van Black, are you going to open this door, or should I open it by force?" Headmistress Valentina asked, her voice laced with annoyance.
Hearing Headmistress Valentina's threat, Van sighed wearily and reluctantly opened the villa door.
When Van opened the door, he was inwardly shocked to see dozens of fireballs floating around Headmistress Valentina as if ready to blast down his villa door at any moment.
'Crazy woman,' Van cursed inwardly, though his face remained expressionless as always.
Seeing Van's face remain flat, Headmistress Valentina showed a curious expression.
"Whether you're weird, sick, or whatever it is, your expression is always flat just like the rumors say," Headmistress Valentina said.
"I was born this way. So no need to be surprised. Humans are unique," Van said calmly.
'Interesting,' Headmistress Valentina thought.