Velcrest Academy Inauguration [5]

Whispers moved through the crowd, this time with some audible chuckles. The tension in the air shifted—what had started as excitement had now become dreadful.

Emma only glanced at Naomi as she spoke, then at Asher, but said nothing.

"You're being mean too, y'know."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing," she chuckled nervously and looked away.

The ceremony continued. More names were called. Some received powerful classes, others only common ones. But none were met with as much pity as those who received nothing at all.

Then, at last—

"Asher Morgan."

Silence.

It was as if the entire courtyard had gone still. Everyone had been checked.

Asher exhaled slowly, his expression remained the same as he stepped forward. He felt their stares—the judgment, the curiosity, the ones who expected him to fail.

He ignored them, but deep inside, he was very annoyed.

Standing before the Inauguration Stone, he raised his hand and placed it against the smooth, glowing surface.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, the crystal suddenly turned black.

The sudden shift was immediate. The stone pulsed violently, sending a shockwave through the air.

The torches lining the courtyard flickered, their flames dimming as an unnatural chill seeped into the space.

Dark tendrils of energy spiraled out from the stone, wrapping around Asher's arm, coiling like serpents. The ground beneath him cracked slightly.

A black energy moved around him, instantly changing his aura.

Gasps filled the air, followed by a series of statements.

"What the—?"

"What kind of reaction is that?"

"Isn't that an arcane class?"

"I doubt it. Arcane classes have bright light. Not even black magic is like that."

"Must be a forbidden class."

"None of the forbidden classes are that black. Look at the energy around him."

For the first time, while staring at Asher, Tay smiled—something between pity and pride.

Naomi and Emma, on the other hand, were shocked to the bone. They even had to shield themselves behind one of the instructors.

Above Asher, a screen appeared, displaying the details of his class.

[Abnormal Arcane Class – Necromancer]

[Class Name: Null]

[Rank: SSS]

The crowd erupted into chaos.

A dark class. A cursed class. No one knew what to call it. One that had been all but banned from Velcrest Academy since it posed a threat to the students.

Some students took a step back, as if he had suddenly become dangerous. Others looked on with expressions ranging from horror to fascination.

Even the instructors exchanged wary glances.

Naomi's smirk vanished, replaced by a look of shock. Emma's eyes widened in disbelief. Tay just chuckled and dipped his hand into his pocket.

The whispers turned into something more.

"A necromancer…?"

"Is that even allowed here?"

"That's practically a death sentence..."

Asher slowly pulled his hand away from the stone. The tendrils of black energy dissipated and faded.

He flexed his fingers, feeling something different, but he knew it wasn't good.

He didn't need to look at the crowd to know—he was either a threat or a laughingstock.

And no one knew whether that was a good thing or a curse.

Then, just as everything settled, the lead instructor let out a short, disappointed sigh after speaking to one of the other instructors in silence.

He waved a hand to quiet them and sighed again. "There is no need for such a reaction," he said.

"The stone's display is merely a formality. The class is exactly what it says—Necromancer. A magic class long deemed impractical and obsolete."

Some of the tension broke as murmurs turned into quiet snickers. A few students outright laughed.

"That's it?"

"For a second, I thought it was something terrifying."

"So it's just... useless?" one of the students at the front of the crowd asked.

The instructor nodded, gaining more laughter.

But then Asher, still in his spot with his gaze fixed on the glowing words above his head, spoke up.

"So basically, this class is useless, and I'm useless too, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes—unless you have outstanding physical abilities."

'Yeah, right,' he thought, and a small smile formed on his lips. He finally had an opportunity to enjoy his life like a useless side character, and no one would focus on him.

But as the thought hit him, Alya's face popped into his mind—her scolding him, telling him things would be alright.

And then there was their mother, with that disappointed yet proud look on her face. His heart clenched.

'This is just emotional blackmail,' he thought as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't even think right with these stupid memories."

Useless.

Of course.

It was exactly like his game. Everyone said the most expensive and unused class was useless, burning through mana like water.

This was one of the things that made him think about his best friend. He chuckled softly and shifted his gaze to the crowd that was still laughing at him.

'It's all the same,' he thought. 'They all think Necromancy has a limit, that it's probably useless, just like in the game.'

'Wait… isn't this one of those moments where I'm supposed to laugh like a maniac and tell them to await my return? But what's the point?'

He was lost in his own thoughts when he overheard a particular group talking.

"It's a shame the most outstanding student awakened such a weak class."

"He scored the highest and was even mentioned in the board meeting, yet he slapped them in the face with his useless class."

"Tch, to think I was trying to get Naomi to stay with a loser like him. I wonder how she must be feeling."

"Hey, don't say that. He's actually good-looking, even more than most of the guys here."

"Why don't you date him, then, since you like the loser?"

"W-what? No! I wouldn't want my friends to see me with him."

"His parents must be so disappointed after raising such a failure. Awakening nothing would have been better than awakening a useless class."

"Well, at least he's the first Necromancer in a thousand years. The ancestors with that class must be proud of him."

The crowd erupted into laughter at the sarcasm. Asher just kept his head low, fists clenched, biting his lip hard.

Emma made a move to step forward, but Naomi stopped her.

"He's a loser. You wouldn't want to catch his disease," Naomi sneered.

Emma looked at her in disbelief, even more than when Asher's class had been revealed. "Why are you saying this? He's your boyfriend!"

"Tch, he stopped being my boyfriend a long time ago anyway. You can have him for all I care," Naomi spat and walked off, the other students following suit.

The ceremony had already ended, and the instructors had left as well.

Tay remained where he was, watching everyone leave. Many of the guys who once laughed with Asher now mocked him, telling Tay to leave him be—but he ignored them.

Once everyone was gone, leaving just Asher, Tay, and Emma, she leaned close to Tay.

"What do we do?" she whispered, glancing up at him.

"Why not be patient and watch?" He flashed her a smile and took out his phone.

For a moment, Emma was more confused than usual—until Asher's soft chuckle reached her ears.

With wide eyes, she turned to look at him, only to see his head now raised, a genuine smile on his lips. And he wasn't forcing it.

"Asher?"

"I'm fine," he laughed, running his fingers through his hair to push back a few strands. "You were right."

"What?"

Tay just smiled and walked over to his side. "I didn't particularly think you'd awaken something like this, to be honest. I thought it would be nothing."

Asher shrugged. "At least it's something like this. I actually saw it as a way to slack off."

"What's going on?" Emma asked, drawing their attention.

"My class is useless, right?"

"Uhm… yeah."

"Call it a social experiment," Asher said, smiling.

"Naomi wanted me to awaken a useless class—and she got what she wanted. She showed her true feelings for me."

"And I also got to know those who never actually liked me." His smile widened.

"I'll do what I did before, show them my Necromancy is actually worth the high rank, and then I'll rub it in their faces."