Rocky strode across the hallway. Just a few steps later, he opened the classroom door and stepped inside.
Almost immediately, curses and scolding words spread among the students. Countless bursts of laughter followed, yet the atmosphere felt strangely awkward.
Rocky understood it well just by looking at their expressions.
Jeff and his underlings had forced them to do it.
He only frowned slightly as he walked to his seat—but his desk had been ruined, covered in shallow slashes and stomp marks.
Jeff had crossed his legs on top of the table, staring out the window. Then he spoke up.
His voice was full of contempt.
"That place suits trash… and your dirty ape."
Rocky ignored Jeff and sat down. The scolds and curses only grew louder.
Travis smirked as he watched the scene. To him, it was nothing more than morning entertainment before the first lesson began.
However, he quietly frowned when he sensed the fur ape's level perched on Rocky's shoulders.
(Level 12? How could a trash beast climb to that level in such a short time?)
From what he knew, even his own beast, an Apex-ranked species, had only managed to reach level 10 in the first green dungeon. And not only that—the green dungeon he cleared had been a top-quality one.
To think that the fur ape could climb to that level under such harsh conditions, with Rocky's inferior way of raising it, was hard to believe.
(Maybe there's a reason his beast stands in the calamity species ranks, but that won't change certain things: the weakness and misfortune of beasts from the black zone.)
Travis smirked, no longer paying attention to Rocky's beast, and rested his chin on his hand.
(The trash doesn't deserve my eyes.)
Creak!
The next moment, the entire class fell silent as a stranger stepped into the classroom. Everyone's eyes widened in bewilderment.
"Scarlet Kirk? The daughter of a great clan?"
"Why would such a noble appear in this class?"
One student whispered.
"Ah, remember it? A few days ago, the professor said our class would have two new students. I think she's one of them."
Another student nodded.
Scarlet glanced around before her eyes settled on Rocky. She sent a quiet smile his way, then walked to her seat.
"Did you see that? She just smiled at me." One student grinned smugly.
"Tch, you're overthinking. She'd never look at common nobles like us."
Meanwhile, Rocky frowned slightly, because he knew exactly who she had smiled at… it was him.
(Luckily, she didn't greet me directly. With my low position, that would be more trouble than fortune.)
He had a few memories of her from the past, back when great clans met at noble banquets. She was a humble and modest noble, even though she was the daughter of a great Clan. Beyond that, she possessed many good traits that a woman should have.
(But it's been a long time. Guess she doesn't want to talk to me anymore… Still, I need to thank her with dignity. After all, she saved me.)
He glanced at her and triggered his system to scan her beast.
—
Ting!
Race: Primal dragon
Level: 87
Species Rank: Calamity
Strength: ??
Constitution: ??
Mana: ??
Speed: ??
Unique Skill: ??
—
Rocky's jaw nearly dropped when he saw the stats.
Level 80? That was already the level a graduated student was supposed to have. With such a beast, she shouldn't have anything left to learn here. So why did she still come to this academy?
Plus, the species rank and stats were even harder to believe. In the current world, there was still no Calamity-rank species within the great Clans. If one of them possessed a beast with such a rank, that great Clan would become the strongest among the three. Of course, that was only if the beast could reach its peak without being killed outside.
(Tch, the strongest race with a Calamity species rank… I don't doubt that in the future, the Kirk Clan will become the strongest of the three great Clans.)
He glanced around at everyone else, who barely noticed her beast. It seemed her dragon was capable of concealing its true power.
(For sure, keeping a low profile is always a good thing. She'll be fine.)
And only he could see the dragon's true power through the system. If he wanted to see all of her beast's power, maybe his own beast would need to reach a certain level first.
He scowled when Bobby tapped his neck. He glanced at his beast, who was pointing toward Scarlet's dragon.
Even so, it was hard to read his beast's thoughts.
He summoned the system screen.
—
Name: Bobby
Race: Ancient ape
Compatibility: 100%
Species Rank: Calamity
Level: 12
Unique Skill: Basic Swordsmanship, Void Forging, Aura of Predator
Current Preferred Mana Core: [None]
Current Mood: Wants to become the boyfriend with that red dragon.
—
Rocky frowned in disbelief.
"Are you crazy? That's a dragon… and you're an ape. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
Yet Bobby kept pointing his finger at the red dragon, wearing a pleading expression toward Rocky.
He even knelt on Rocky's shoulder, his eyes turning tearful.
Rocky pressed his forehead lightly and nodded.
"Alright, I'll do it in a private space. This place isn't fit for something like that."
Still, Bobby didn't stop kneeling. He kept praying to Rocky—clearly, he wanted to do it right now.
"Tch, it's rare for me to read you this clearly. Which means you're on some kind of vital mission."
If the mission succeeded, his beast might even learn something interesting. It was worth the risk—risking his life in the academy, even drawing more hostility from their enemies.
Rocky took a deep breath and stood up, striding toward Scarlet's table. His ape puffed out his chest confidently and brushed his fur neatly.
All the students in the classroom were shocked by Rocky's actions.
Rocky pulled out the seat closest to Scarlet and sat down.
It was also a good chance to thank her properly.
"Thank you for helping me back then," he said, pointing his thumb at the beast on his shoulder.
"My beast is Bobby. He wants to make friends with your beast."
Just like that, Bobby leaped from Rocky's right shoulder onto Scarlet's table. He puffed out his chest and offered a tiny flower to greet the red dragon, which was lazily resting on Scarlet's shoulder.
Ting!
[Your beast has developed its skill]
[Aura of predator → Aura of Apex Predator]