Scooping up the last of his ice cream, Raymond stared at the empty plate in front of him.
His eyes turned back to the buffet table.
Turning back to his empty plate, he made a decision he knew he would definitely regret tomorrow.
He went back for seconds. With each new item and scoop Raymond could feel his own body screaming in protest.
Grabbing another scoop of the vanilla ice cream—he ignored his body's warnings.
Some things were just more important, and Raymond wouldn't get any health issues from eating too much sweets anyways.
...probably. If he still had his peak strength then he could have eaten ice cream the rest of his life and not even develop the slightest hint of any health issues with his stats.
But his now weaker body was an unknown, I mean he had yet to develop any problems so it was probably fine right?
Finished with his selection, he returned back to the table. Seeing Thomas And Zachary still arguing—likely over some stupid thing with Ellen fanning the flames.
"When it comes to the strongest member of the hero party then its naturally Caspian! He managed to defeat the Harbinger of Dark Days all by himself! That's way more impressive then any other feat by the other heroes!" Animatedly moving his arms around, his face was nearly the same shade as a tomato.
In contrast however, Thomas simply sipped his drink. Calmly replying, "Zachary, Caspian is one of the few individuals in history who awakened with the light mana affinity like you. In a fight against the Harbinger he naturally had the advantage. Viviana's feat of holding the entire frontline against the demons for 4 entire years all by herself is much more impressive."
Ellen cut in, "But Viviana is known for her mastery of large scale magic. She merely had to defend against weak low-level demons rather then against elites like the Harbinger."
"Yes! Thank you Ellen! But weren't you supporting Thomas just now?"
Raymond shook his head, these idiots.
"Obviously Viviana's feat is much more impressive then all of the other heroes. Are you guys dumb?"
Thomas opened his eyes and glanced at him, "Why thank you Raymond, i'm glad someone can finally see some sense."
"Why is her feat more impressive then?! Like Ellen said, she was just fighting against low level grunts!"
He rolled his eyes, "Because she's a mage and we are obviously superior compared to you brutes."
Mages were obviously the best class. White magic, summoning magic, elemental magic, transformation magic. They had it all!
But if a warrior were asked to heal someone they would probably say something like, "But he looks perfectly healthy!" as the patient actively bled out.
This was the agenda Raymond had believed in all his life and maintaining this mage agenda was Raymond's top priority.
"That's just your personal bias!"
...
"...I can see that you really enjoyed the academy food."
"Well its the only good thing about the academy. Your internal security is trash.", he snarkily replied.
Right now, Raymond was in the principals office. Sitting across from Lucius Daubeny Herol, their gazes locked onto each other.
He frowned slightly, "The academy is trying its best. But in the grand scheme of things the actual influence and power the academy holds is nothing compared to other big players."
Excuses excuses and even more excuses. It was actually impressive, in less then four hours Raymond's potential score had already been leaked to basically the whole world.
Uncrossing his legs, he made eye contact with the principal. "I'll ignore your flimsy excuses for your sake. We've been sitting around for several minutes now, just get to the point. What do you want from me?"
Despite the fact this man could probably swat Raymond like a fly. Raymond held absolutely no respect for him.
This guy just sucked at his job. How in the world did he even become the principal of the Academy for Heroes?
The numerous bullying cases from the upper class, the several cases of horrible internal security and the attacks from the demons and demon contractees.
Even with all of that, he did next to nothing about it. Only doing a few pretenses for show, never actually achieving anything.
He sighed, "As a student of the academy with a potential score like yours. The academy naturally wishes for you to learn and grow well. If you have any demands then we will try our best to fulfil them. "
Well, at least they weren't that far gone yet. A student like Raymond was an anomaly with talent that shouldn't have been possible—a future powerhouse in the making.
Naturally, the academy desperately wanted him to stay. Humanity needed more heroes who could protect them.
If the academy didn't treat Raymond well, and he left or switched sides...the repercussions would not be as light as what they were already facing.
Not that Raymond had any intention of joining the demons or fighting for humanity. Once he had sufficiently recovered his strength he was leaving as soon as he could!
"Then, I want unlimited academy points, the best possible dormitory space to myself, I want access to all of the academy's resources-
Taking a deep breath, he continued listing out his demands
"I want permission to skip classes and leave academy grounds whenever I want, permission to not do any of the work that is given to me by the academy and also I want to be put into the special class. "
Listing his demands, Raymond churned his mind as he searched for more things he could extort from the academy. They may have failed in ensuring student safety, but at least they had some good stuff in their vaults.
"We can't give you unlimited academy points, but we are willing to increase your monthly points by ten times. The best dormitory space is already a given for you as one of the top students. We can give you access to most academy resources if you provide a legitimate reason for it. You can have permission to skip classes whenever and not do any work required. But you can only leave the academy grounds on weekends."
Well that was swell, nearly all of Raymond's demands had already been fulfilled. Minus the points and the academy grounds one.
But going from 750 points a month to 7500 points was already enough. It practically made Raymond a millionaire in the academy! As for leaving only on weekends, well he could tolerate that.
"As for the special class, you have already been admitted into it ever since your potential score was revealed."
Raymond had suspected that as well, but having it confirmed was a nice thing.
Nodding his head, he asked. "Is this all that you wanted to discuss with me or is there something else?"
"We've given you all of these benefits so please do not abuse them however you please. Other then that, we hope that you will sincerely dedicate yourself to growing stronger."
So he had nothing else to say, standing up from his chair. Raymond bowed slightly and speedwalked his way out before Lucius could say anything else.
"If that's all then i'll take my leave now then okay bye sir."
Nearly slamming the door shut behind him, Lucius was left alone in his office—staring at the door which had just closed.
If it was any other student, Lucius would have reprimanded them intensely. Even if they were someone with a potential score above 90.
But for someone like Raymond, his hands were tied. If he tried to do anything which might have caused him to be dissatisfied—Lucius would be considered responsible and face the consequences.
Raymond was simply too valuable too lose, with his potential he could turn the times against the demons once and for all.
He sighed, with the wrinkles on his skin and the slightly graying hair his true age was starting to show.
Lucius didn't even wish to become the principal, but as a close friend of the party of heroes who had all died. He was selected as the next best option by the government.
They needed someone strong and recognizable to cement the academy's status. Lucius just so happened to be a convenient figurehead for them.
Since the war with the demons had stopped temporarily with the deaths of the party of heroes—leaving him nothing to do. He had accepted the job offer.
He had really regretted it now, with how tensions were rising between the humans and demons. He would rather spend the last few years of his life fighting rather then being a principal.
He knew full well of several issues the academy faced, but even with his strength he was powerless when it came to politics.
Rich families who would simply throw money to hide their children's bullying cases, guilds secretly sending in spies to work and the government constantly reprimanding him.
He had been through a lot throughout the years. But his future was looking even bleaker.
Although the new generation was shaping up to be stronger then their predecessors. Lucius couldn't help but worry about their personalities.
From what he had seen of the special class students so far. None of them had the same drive or ambition needed to defeat the demons.
They didn't have the willingness to sacrifice like the party of heroes did.
"The future generations...is humanity truly going to be fine?", he muttered under his breath.
He sighed, he really wanted to go for a drink right now.
It had been a long time since he had last enjoyed himself.