This guy is bad news.
And if he is not, then I don't know what is. I mean, imagine a bald man with a scar running down the right side of his face appears out of nowhere into the lecture hall, and the first thing he does is to release his pressure in . No hi, no hello. Just walks up to the podium and starts calling out names like he is reading off the list of people sentenced to death.
Then just deducts 100 merit point.
The reason? They were late.
They were not even present their and technically still had 3 minutes before the class officially starts, mind you. There was still time left, at least according to my aethersync. But apparently, in his class, being on time means arriving fifteen minutes early. Anything less is considered "late." maybe It was the first day so he was generous to some student who arrived after 9:15 am but the 5 leftover ones become the sacrificial lamb and the penalty for getting late, as we just saw, is not something anyone would like to accept.
While I was still trying to wrap my head around all this, the classroom door opened again.
A boy about my age walked in. He had slightly messy dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. Behind him were four other students, all around the same age and wearing the same blue and white Class D uniform. It didn't take much thought to figure out who they were. They were the ones whose names had just been called out.
Their faces made it obvious that they had no idea what had just happened. They looked casual, maybe even a little confused as they scanned the room. Their eyes stopped at the man standing at the front—our new homeroom teacher, Kane Roger and they seemed to pause, trying to figure out who he was.
Then, in uncertain unison, they greeted him.
"Good morning… professor?"
There was a bit of hesitation in their voices, like they weren't sure if he was a professor or a staff who had entered for some other reason.
I sat back on my seat, observing quietly. These guys were way too relaxed for people who'd just lost 100 merit points. Did they not know yet? Or maybe they thought it was an glitch?
Then it happened.
A distinct "ding" echoed through the room, the signature sound of a notification from the Aethersync. The devices in their hand lit up, and all five of them checked the display. Their eyes widened, expressions shifting from confusion to disbelief, and then... frustration. Well its understandable.
"Professor, what's the meaning of this? 100 points deducted for being what? late? Late by how much, a few seconds?" the brown-haired student asked, his voice tight with forced calm. You could hear the tension underneath, the frustration barely held back.
The others didn't speak, letting him do the talking. Maybe he was their leader, or maybe he was just the boldest one among them.
I quickly glanced down at my own Aethersync. The time read 9:30 AM sharp.
So technically, they were late. By a few seconds, sure.
'This guy..' I thought, He must have predicted they'd walk in just on time and decided to announce this before us. Was he trying to aura farm?
And I was honestly surprised by the level of discipline he expected… or more like demanded, but the next thing he did surprised me even more, He didn't even bother replying to the student's question with words , Instead without a hint of hesitation, he unleashed his mana pressure on them.
No matter how strong these guys were they should at most be E- to F-, maybe some even E rank but they were standing in front of professor of demon bane academy, Professor Kane should be atleast higher than A rank.
The air turned heavy. I could feel it from where I sat, and I wasn't even the target. All five students dropped to their knees, unable to resist the pressure bearing down on them.
"urghhhhhhh" all of them groaned in unison.
Then, in a voice colder than before, Kane Roger spoke.
"My words are law. As long as you're in my class, you follow them. I expect all students to be present fifteen minutes before the lecture starts. This was a warning. Next time, it won't be points deducted but...it'll be suspension. Now get to your seats."
'Ahhh, if he had to say the same thing again to them then why did he bother to arriving early and giving us warning? Just to establish his authority?' I thought, after all thats the only thing I could do, Voice my thought ? nahhh, I am not courting death.
Anyway, There was no further argument. The five students got to their feet, their pride clearly bruised, and walked over to the nearest empty seats without another word.
No one else in the room spoke. I doubt anyone even wanted to breathe too loudly. Kane Roger had made his stance clear—as long as we are in class D we have to follow his every word.
I leaned back slightly in my seat, keeping my face neutral and ignoring the guy next to me who was sighing in relief.
After everyone who were still standing ,settled into their seats, the room finally grew quiet. The tension that had gripped the air earlier began to ease, though no one dared to fully relax under Professor Kane Roger's sharp gaze.
He stepped forward and began the lecture without any further delay.
"So, you all are here at Demonbane Academy. Why?"
His voice was calm, but each word carried weight. He paused for a moment, eyes slowly scanning across the room.
"Is it to please your parents? To bring pride to your family name? To establish some sense of power or control over others?"
He let those questions hang for a few seconds before continuing.
"Whatever the reason… it doesn't matter."
His tone grew more serious.
As long as you're here—no, as long as you breath, remember this unchanging truth that You are here to stand for humanity. One day, you will lead humanity in its struggle against the demons . You will be our sword and shield against the demons"
"Before you engage in any battle," he said, pacing steadily in front of the podium, "you must first understand your opponent. Knowledge is your first weapon. Of course, there will be times when you're forced to fight without any prior information—but learning how to survive those encounters, that comes only through experience."
He stopped pacing, folded his arms, and looked out into the sea of students.
"Who here can tell me what they know about the history of humans and demons?" he asked.
There was no immediate response. A few heads turned, others looked down, hoping not to be noticed.
"Heh."
A short laugh escaped my lips as I watched their reactions. It reminded me of my school days back on Earth, where everyone suddenly became deeply fascinated by their desk when the teacher asked a question. But apparently, that was enough to get me noticed by Professor Kane.
"So, Mr. Thorin," he said, his voice edged with sarcasm, "mind telling us what you find so funny? You've got quite the smile on your face."
What caught my attention wasn't his tone—it was the fact that he used my name. Just Thorin. Not Thorin Frostbane.
As the one in charge of Class D, he had to know how I ended up here. He must've known about me being kicked out of frostbane family. Maybe that's why he chose not to say the full name. Some people already know about this, maybe the higher ups also know about this. professor kane words brought my attention back.
"It looks like you know a bit about history," he continued. "Why don't you enlighten the rest of the class?"
So he had some sarcasm in him too—not just the cold, serious type.
As for the answer? I knew it. Between what I remembered from the novel and what Thorin studied in his earlier days, I had it covered.
I nodded towards the professor before i started to tell about the history.
"Around 300 years ago, the first dungeon gates began appearing across our world, bringing with them monsters we had only read about in fantasy books. No one knew where they came from. But their arrival also marked the awakening of mana. People began to harness this newfound power, and over time, humanity slowly adapted."
Some students looked more focused now. Most of them already had a rough idea about all this—that's why they were here at Demonbane Academy in the first place.
But no one wanted to be the sacrificial lamb who triggered the professor's wrath over a minor mistake.
"Initially, only low-ranked gates appeared, but as humanity progressed, so did the strength and danger of the gates. As stronger gates emerged, so did stronger awakened individuals. Eventually, the first SS- rank hunters appeared."
I paused briefly before continuing.
"But the real turning point was the appearance of the first and till this date the only SSS-rank gate and what we now call the Abyss of the Demons. It opened on the western edge of the continent. From it, demons of B to S+ rank poured into our world. It was chaos."
"After a year of non stop conflict, the Demon King finally emerged—the only known SS rank demon of that time. Humanity had two SS- rank hunters at that time, and they managed to heavely injure him, but both alas they both died in the process."
Then I added, " Of the two SS- rankers who originally fought against the Demon King—one of them belonged to the Voltshade family."
I paused, eyes fixed straight ahead, letting the weight of the moment settle. a little dramatic ,isn't it ?
"And the other… was from the Frostbane family."
I glanced briefly around before going on.
"Since then, the Demon King has only appeared Once or twice, and each time he was pushed back by Rankers of that time. While he remains mostly dormant, his four Demon Lords act in his stead—ruling different domains and clashing with humanity."
"Over the course of time, new Demon Lords rose and fell. On our side, new heroes appeared too. Right now, the Demon King is a SSS rank being. His current Demon Lords are all SS+ rank."
"And they're being held back by four of our own SS+ rankers—one from each of the four great families: Voltshade, Infernus, Valestra and frostbane."
"And finally—the only SSS- rank human recorded in the last 300 years of history... none other than the Headmaster of Demonbane Academy."