Milliette Visoki hung up the Comm disappointedly as she resented the boy in her mind. "Okay, so he is strong and has found a way to be immune to a Nullification Crystal, which should be because he has a gimmick, perhaps he has a strength ability, so what? How dare he reject my invitation. I was even going to apologize for last night because I took pity on him. But I guess I was just thinking too much!"
Despite her resentful sentiment, the thought of Eli's heroic rescue last night made her heart skip a beat.
Hutton Academy High was a well-known upper-class academy in Ember Estate. It ranked number one in Hutton District both in terms of hardware facilities as well as the skills of teachers. There were only two kinds of people who could be admitted into this school: the geniuses and the rich kids.
And Eli just happened to be the latter as he easily passed the compulsory entrance examination.
On his way to school, Eli saw numerous luxury aircraft whizzing past him towards Hutton Academy High. Some kids were chauffeured by their parents, others by private drivers, and a few flashy ones piloted their own aircraft, evident from their daring maneuvers.
Upon arriving in his classroom, Eli noticed it was only half full. Everyone wore school uniforms and had above-average looks. The boys were tall and handsome, while the girls were pretty and innocent. Despite their wealthy appearance, they seemed lacking compared to the students from his previous school, Elysium Nexus Academy.
"What a shame that I don't feel anything, even when I pay attention to the girls in my class. Some of them are drop-dead divas."
Eli noticed that no one seemed to have paid attention to him when he walked in. They were too busy chatting with each other, talking about their vacations and hunting on a beast planet during the summer break.
"Are you looking for someone?" A honey-haired girl with milky skin, seductive brown eyes, and an aura of wealth finally noticed him.
"I am new," Eli shrugged. He spotted the seat beside the numerous windows and sat down.
The honey-haired girl smiled, making her even more beautiful as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's an old joke. You're wearing the uniform, so it's obvious. My name is—"
"Not interested," Eli cut in with a bored voice.
Some girls glanced at him between their chatter. Seeing his handsome face, pale skin, red hair, blue eyes, and muscular body, they were momentarily dazed. However, their interest quickly faded when they noticed his ordinary school uniform. This was the standard issue given to students admitted for their genius, while the rich flaunted their status by wearing the deluxe version. The deluxe uniform, costing 500,000 credits, even Milliette's parents had to cough out the astronomical price just so their daughter could have a pleasant school experience. It was a massive sum, but wealthy parents insisted on it to distinguish their children from commoners.
Their interest in the new boy evaporated as quickly as they ditched their last boyfriends. Despite his good looks, he was just a studious pauper. He even turned off the ability and ability level holographic screen on his uniform, suggesting he had a mediocre ability, probably earth-based. With such a shitty ability, which he got after licking the boots of the government and promising to continue to be a good dog in the future, he had no right to reject Celiac Panera like that because she wanted a new play toy. Her father owned a gold mine. As the only child, she was the heiress of the Panera Conglomerate.
"Balls! I thought we were going to have a pretty new girl. What a bummer!" Eli heard a loud sigh next to him.
The boy sitting next to him had well-defined features, but his overall appearance suffered from a pale complexion and dark circles around his eyes. Unlike Eli's pale skin, which added a touch to his charm, the boy's paleness looked like the result of some illness.
"Well… if you change your mind, the name's Celiac Panera, Room 323, Upper Chamber." The honey-haired girl gave Eli a light smile before returning to her seat, which was three rows away.
Eli cracked a smile and kept his silence.
After some time, the head teacher Venortt Benetto arrived.
She was wearing a black dress and had a cold cast to her stone-chiseled face. Venortt Benetto was a graduate of Hutton Academy High. By now, she was the assistant to the school principal. Being the head teacher of class number nine was only a transitional job for her.
She nodded at Eli, willing him to stand up and introduce himself.
Unimpressed by what Eli had to say, most students kept on chattering quietly.
Even after Eli had finished his self-introduction, he was rewarded with only some sporadic and halting claps.
"Your name is Eli Dengare Baxter? Your self-introduction is lame, man. You have to be cool on your first day. The first impression is the most important to girls, which you lost a huge chunk of by rejecting Celiac. I would have rejected Celiac too, not like she would talk with me or something. Perhaps you, just like me, like the ladies with the sizable bounty." He shot the new boy a sidelong glance all men could understand as he spoke.
"Whatever, it's not important any longer. My name is Jadeson Tanqour; they call me the 'club prince.'"
Eli nearly rolled his eyes at him. "Of course, so much for being the club prince, obviously ostracized!" Eli could tell when he entered that the dude was ostracized due to the seat placement and how people were avoiding that region. That's the reason he chose the seat, and when he talked about Celiac, Eli could tell Jadeson Tanqour was jealous because of the change in heartbeat, which also occurred when Celiac approached him to talk to him.
The holographic screen on the guy's uniform displayed his ability and level: Ability: Nature, Level: 2.
The Nature Ability was one of the cheapest and weakest in combat. It allowed plants to grow faster, even out of season, or in harsh environments. It could also help identify edible plants, which was useful on a beast planet. However, it was frowned upon by most youngsters and the world because these tasks could be done with the right equipment. At level 6, it gained an offensive ability to control and quickly grow plants as weapons, but it was still weaker than the Earth Ability.
Eli couldn't understand why Jadeson Tanqour didn't turn off the holographic screen since it wasn't mandatory. This was the first time Eli saw someone making their life harder on purpose. He was certain the guy's life would be a struggle, and it would be lucky if he survived in this harsh world for a few years.
[Omnipotent Eye Activated]
[–5 HP]
Eli's vision blurred as his eyes tinted crimson. Countless visions of Jadeson Tanqour flashed before him in five seconds. He saw the Jadeson Tanqour falling in love, getting into trouble with the club boss over the girl, crying on the comm with his father who couldn't get him out of jail, and being put in a government asylum due to mental illness. Eli closed his eyes to ease the throbbing pain in his head. "Well, his life is just as I predicted," Eli thought.
After a few moments of silence, Jadeson Tanqour started to lose his interest in the new student.
"Fine, fine. I will have to show you the ropes; let me fill you in!
"Most of the girls in our class are pretty, but the prettiest of all, the crown jewel, the cream of the crop, is our class leader: Chantelle Hermes. Look, she is right there."
So saying, he pointed at a beautiful girl with a well-endowed mature body sitting upright in her seat.
"Chantelle Hermes is not only the class leader but also the host of the school evening party. She is the leader of all the girls in our class. In our entire grade, only two other girls are considered more popular than her: Aurelia Thalassa and Milliette Visoki.
"Of course, I suggest you stay away from them. One of them has already landed a role in a TV show. The money she makes every year is enough to buy a coupe aircraft." The thought of Aurelia Thalassa made Jadeson Tanqour's eyes glint.
Jadeson Tanqour continued, "Another word of caution. Do not piss off the girls! They know every girl in the school, so if they don't like you, then you have no chance of getting any other girl's attention on campus."
"Thank you for the heads up." Eli nodded.
He gave Chantelle Hermes another few cautious glances, and he had to agree with Jadeson Tanqour that she was one of the best-looking girls in school.
"Um-um… not her either. Chantelle Hermes is also way out of your league. She wouldn't even be interested in me, much less you." Jadeson Tanqour said after he noticed Eli's glance at Chantelle Hermes.
Eli cracked a smile. Jadeson Tanqour had a pair of sharp eyes and an even sharper tongue.
"Chantelle Hermes has her eyes set on Van Halen." Jadeson Tanqour lamented. "But that jerk thinks he is too good to be with anyone, handsome and popular since he became the new model face for Hutton Dream Magazine."
Right after Jadeson Tanqour had spoken, he pointed his lips toward the entrance and said, "There he is."