The room fell silent instantly at her appearance. Alice made no visible note of this, as she casually climbed the platform below.

Her silver eyes ran a quick scan of the room, before her gaze paused on me. A light, yet terrifying smile played on her lips.

"Cadet Victor. Late once again."

'Bu-but how does she know? She wasn't even in the class.'

The woman continued fluidly.

"Once can be taken as inexperience, but doing it twice sets a bad precedent. Be sure to stop by my office soon."

'She wasn't even in the class. She's late too. How the hell is that fair?'

Of course, I wasn't insane enough to express such grievances to a bloody Paragon. I could only stand up and nod meekly.

"Understood."

Shin and Rowan both gave me pitying looks as I sat down, with the silver haired boy whispering,

"I think you're marked."

"Yeah, no shit."

Alice's voice suddenly spooked me.

"Are you still speaking back there, cadet?"

"N-no, instructor."

She gave me a knowing look, before nodding it off.

"Very well."

I shot glares at both troublemakers near me, but they ignored me completely, acting suddenly interested in Alice's class.

As though it couldn't get any worse, I got an interface message right after that.

I didn't even need to check the name to know the smug, red haired noble that sent it. Before I could send one back in retort, Alice began talking again.

"I am sure the simulation has been rather enlightening to some of you."

A large holograph of the ranking list floated behind her. Though currently, it only displayed the top ten rankers.

"Many of you certainly have questions about it."

She waved a hand behind her, bringing forth a magnificent chair out of thin air. Then she sat on it.

"I shall not be addressing any of them. What I will say is that whatever you experienced there could just as easily happen in the real world. You are Bastion's greatest generation, having some of the highest potentials in recorded history."

She paused for a moment, then continued with a wry smile.

"Yet that is all you are. Potential. You are neither the strongest, fastest, nor the most powerful hunters, you merely have the potential to be so. The predator that wiped out every last one of you was rank D. The greatest generation of hunters, eliminated by a mere beast. You will meet herds of such creatures roaming just beyond the borders of Bastion."

"It is my greatest wish that you do not grow conceited and see yourselves as any greater than you actually are. It will get you killed."

A solemn air filled the class at her words. I couldn't find myself disagreeing with her.

The predator that trounced the entire class was a mere rank D. Those sorts of monsters were extremely common.

Of course, it was a bit unfair to pit novice rank hunters that hadn't taken a single injection against a monster of that rank. But then again, in Alice's words, the world never played fair.

The witch cleared her throat lightly, before pointing toward the hologram behind her.

"On to more important matters. With the simulation complete, these shall serve as your official ranks within the school, at least for a time. They can only be changed during the midterms assessments and final exams. Those who've made their way into the top twenty should also be well aware of the benefits appearing on it entails."

'And what lovely benefits they were.'

With second place already being as luxurious as it was, I couldn't stop myself from imagining how first place would be.

Alice continued.

"The first year student council shall be formed before the end of this month. As always, the first and second positions shall automatically be appointed as President and Vice President."

'Of course.'

Eyes were on me once again, most being burning glares from Varic's dogs and lackeys.

But it was all according to plan. This had also been one of the reasons I'd tried so hard in the trials. To disrupt the plot.

In the original story, Varic still made the same mistake of trying to kill the predator, so he still hadn't come second. Rowan did.

Naturally, with most nobles being against Rowan and Racheal, there was no way they'd be fine with a council led by them.

Hence…

Alice continued.

"Of course, if you aren't satisfied with the appointments, then you are always free to challenge them for their positions. This is a game of power, after all. Though such duels will need to wait till the end of the month. The only ways to usurp their positions before then is if the seat holders voluntarily resign."

Murmurs burst from every corner of the classroom the moment she paused.

That statement had been the very thing that sparked violence between the commoners and nobles.

The nobles, Varic particularly, tried pressuring Rowan to resign. This took on many forms, like bullying, extortion, and even numerous threats to his family.

But with the massive shield that was Racheal and the Solaris clan, such threats were easily shrugged off by Rowan. Instead, with a little fanning from the girl herself, they'd only managed to further stoke the anger of Racheal's faction.

The result of all that was a sudden spike in violent, often bloody brawls between both factions. The perfect environment for the skinwalkers to begin their reign of terror.

The fighting only stopped at the end of the month, when Varic beat Rowan in their duel, officially taking the mantle of Vice President.

But by then, the damage had already been done. Relations between both factions became nearly irreparable.

With me as Vice President, it would be much harder for that chain of events to even begin.

I wasn't affiliated with either Racheal or Varic. Sure, Varic would still try persuading, coercing, then bullying me to resign, but it wouldn't cause the same chain reaction that happened in the original story.

I already had plans for dealing with him and his gang too.

Alice coughed lightly again, instantly silencing the class. The projection behind her changed, displaying a note this time.

"That's enough of an introduction. We shall continue from where we stopped last class. On the principles of heartblood, we can see…"

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