I felt tons of stares converge on me even as I sat at the lounge amid the other students present.

This was an emergency meeting to decide the actions we would take concerning the Demons that currently swarmed our campus. Of course, given the state of unrest among everyone, only a few were chosen to participate.

The best of the best.

Of course, the Rankers were included; as well as those who could be counted on among everyone else.

I was unanimously chosen by everyone in my Class, so it was clear who the Lower Class Representative would be. As for the Middle Class, their strongestthe Rank one of their Elite Tentook their place.

The most problematic choice was the Upper Class. Since the Rankers were all Upper-Class members, one would think they didnt require anyone else from their section, however

The Rankers are a distinct body not really bound by Class.

Of course, this was only in theory.

The issue of choosing a representative was resolved easily when Kuzon said he wanted it. No one argued with him.

Why? I wondered.

Maybe because he took care of a lot of Shadows by himself. But, according to him, there were no witnesses. Plus, after alerting everyone and explaining the situation, he ventured out to find me.

I didnt think he was lying since he had no real motive to, so I simply assumed something else caused everyones refusal to comment on him being chosen.

And so, while the staffAloe Vidawhom I resurrected handled the students alongside other surviving Dorm Masters of the Upper Class, one of them decided to join our meeting as the adult.

Of course, at this point, he was impotent in authority since he must have guessed that everyone gathered at the meeting could mop the floor with himexcept the Middle-Class Elite.

With such pressing matters that concerned everyone, I expected people to be more focused on thatnot my face.

I received a particularly fierce glare from Richard Novothe one I one-sidedly beat during the Exchange. Whenever I looked in his direction, though, he whimpered and looked away like a scared bunny.

I believe we should address the most important matter first. Fabian broke the silence with his deep, commanding tone.

The boyFabian Lestromehad the aura of a Prince of the Eastern Kingdom. His ambiance was cool and collected, but I understood that he was simply putting on a front.

Still, his mask was quite impressive.

Thats a prince for you

These Shadows theyre somehow similar to the Demons we know from the vague collations of history. Theyve somehow infiltrated the Academy, have spread themselves throughout the campus and no adult seems to be present.

Of course, there were a few adults, but everyone must have known what the boy meant.

Adults that count. Adults that are strong!

Dorm Masters were powerful in their own right, but they simply couldnt be compared with lecturers. Rankers could defeat any Dorm Master, so the fact that the number of the Elite students outstripped the staff spoke volumes of the much-needed manpower.

Five Dorm Masters were currently present.

Two from each Upper-Class Dorm, and Aloe whom I resurrected. Based on utility, the latter was the most important.

Not only had I increased her Mana Core Grade to rivalmost likely even surpassthe other Masters, but she could use Light Magic. That made her an asset.

Of course, no one among those seated was aware of this yet. Rushing into the series of conversations that were occurring would not be the wisest choice. I simply had to wait for an opening.

The Staff are currently having the Academy Review. Its located somewhere on Campus, but even we dont know where. We cant access it as well The Upper-Class Dorm Master explained.

Once he told us everything he knew, it checked out as to how we werent able to get assistance from our Lecturers and trustworthy staff.

I see thats a smart move

Obviously, this was the work of a mole. Capitalizing on Nerons disappearance and the schedule of the meeting was a wise plan. But, this only made me all the more convinced about their intentions.

Is there no way to reach out to them? Fabian asked, his voice slightly trembling for a millisecond.

Nno not that I know of.

The Dorm Master must have felt pained to be useless since he bit his lip bitterly and hung his head in a shameful manner. Being unable to help his wards definitely made him frustrated.

Sigh so, thats how it is. Fabian addressed everyone.

From the way he spoke, he must have already had this conversation with the Dorm Master earlier. His recent actions were simply to show everyone the current predicament.

We need to lay out a good strategy, accounting for the fact that help isnt coming. According to Mister Garliad, the meeting takes up a lot of time. Also, we cant expect to be safe if were not prepared for a way to protect ourselves from those things.

There was a short moment of silence in the room.

Now, since weve mentioned the problems, lets deliberate on the way forward. Fabians calm voice reached everyone with a meaningful tone.

It was time for opinions.

I believe we should make use of this place as a stronghold and hold out until the lecturers are done with their meeting.

Naturally, the most ignorant and stupid one spoke first.

Think about it we have a much better chance of sticking together. Why dont we establish a perimeter and create an absolute defense against those Shadows? T-that way

This sounded like a decent plan. In fact, many simpletons would love this strategy. The concept of safety in a monolith was appealing. However giving in to that temptation would be a fatal mistake.

Especially considering the circumstances

However, as expected, many people lauded the young mans suggestions. He belonged to the lower echelon of the Rankers, but apparently, his words were very wise.

I sighed internally.

This is a mistake.

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