..."YOU! HOW DARE YOU DODGE! YOU FILTHY COMMONER!"

Basil prepared yet another fireball and hurled it towards the kneeling Odrunn. A hand made out of stone reached out and completely blocked the fireball.

"That's quite enough Mr Basil, please leave the hall and head back to your dorm." It was Principal Davenport, his hand slowly reverting back into its normal appearance.

Basil turned around and scowled as he shouted,

"little fat commoner, I will destroy you and that skinny freak who helped you out just now."

Z turned to look at Soli and the pigtail girl, after all, he had seen what happened. Soli turned her head away instantly and the pigtail girl stuck out her tongue blowing a raspberry.

"Oof!"

Z felt like his ribs were going to break as the huge Odrunn rushed forward and hugged him from the back lifting him up entirely.

"Thank you for saving me! Your kick saved my life, from today onwards you will be my boss wherever you go, I will follow you!"

Zero felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on ends, as he felt the stares of all the students turn towards his direction. He let out a sigh and resigned to fate that he for sure had met the god of misfortune.

Shortly after the incident, the nobles returned to their seats as the commoners continued walking along to be tested. The commoners outnumber the nobilities by a large. Meaning, that even if they weren't sent to the military as meatshields or doing manual labour as the militia, they would have very little chance to be commanders of their own unit, mostly ending up as underlings to some better privileged Noble.

A huge number of commoner students went on stage and mostly got Tier D and E with a minority as Tier U and a rare few reaching B and C, Odrunn stepped up to the detector next. Still affected by almost being burnt to a crisp, the loud-mouthed Odrunn went up quietly like a mouse.

"Odrunn Braveflight, E Tier"

Odrunn felt tears coming out of his eyes as he blushed. He had never been so embarrassed all his life, the words he spoke earlier only served as a slap to his face.

"Looks like the crowd will chant his name Odrunn! Odrunn! The loser!" one of the girls who listened to his big talk earlier mocked him.

"How dare he make fun of great master Basil when he is such a weakling" another one of the girls mocked him.

Soon, the entire hall was in an uproar.

One of Basil's underling smirked and spoke up.

"Okay quiet down! He is a useful member of our school, Odrunn, we'll look for you later and we can have a spar, we'll need you as a punching bag Hahaha.."

A shiver ran down Odrunn's spine as he thought of his days of endless torment in the school.

"M...my boss will get a good Tier, you'll see. He will protect me."

At the side, Z sighed. He never expected to get so much attention just by being next to Odrunn on the first day. He knew that with the busker's manifest to mask his abilities, he was bound to be U tier. But a hint of anxiety was gripping onto him, afraid that he might not be able to get through the detection.

It was soon Z's turn. Stepping up, his thoughts jumbled and he started to think of a plan B, worried that if his plan fails, he would be taken away. He prayed silently in his heart, hoping that the manifest would not let him down. His entire plan hinging on him staying in the academy instead of being taken away to that godforsaken incubator.

Stepping forward, one foot at a time zero walked in front of the detector he put his hand on the Machine as the Envoy's voice sounded out.

"Zero Cromwell, U Tier"

Hearing this, Zero let out a sigh of relief almost busting out a smile, while Odrunn face turned pale. The crowd exploded in a discussion as the student body started to mock him

"looks like the boss of trash is an even bigger trash. You are the boss of the trash. Hahahahha"

"looks like they are made for each other so useless."

"The both of you better watch your back!" One of the lackeys from Basil's side spoke out.

Z, wasn't embarrassed by the weird looks or the mocking that his classmates were throwing at him. He was after all an adult despite his body now, even without training, he was confident that if he was fighting the principal, even if he couldn't win he could run away at the very least. At this moment, however, he was feeling exhilarated that his plan worked. Avoiding the incubator was step one of his plans. Now that this was in motion, he just had to survive in the academy and make sure he manages to graduate and get a good rank before starting to climb higher in the military.

Z calmly walked off the stage moving into the crowds of students, ignoring whatever buzz was going on and waited patiently as they were issued their lodging. The nobility would often provide hefty donations to the academy, so the academy was always equipped with a pre-owned lodging for the noble children.

As for the rest, the academy compound consisted of a very large space, students at the academy was provided for in terms of food, usually for the poorer students, just nutrition bars and lodging, special serums to improve control over their manifests were sold by an exorbitant amount of Academy credits or given as special rewards. As for allowances, students will be given Academy credits that were issued through their communications watch for merit.

As for the quality of food and lodging, it depended on potential. Needless to say, the tiers play a vital role and the U tiers and E tiers are paid the least and their quality of life is worse off, for Zero however the lodging and food are the least of his worries.

________________________________________________________

Somewhere around campus, a voice could be heard communicating through the communications watch.

"Esteemed Grandfather, it's me. It seems the young heir of the Steelhammer group is here as well. What are your orders!"

Another voice, thin and muffled replied from the watch

"It would be a shame for the young son of the Steelhammer group to pass away in an accident in the academy, but if that should happen, it would seem that it would be in our greatest interest."

"I won't fail you Grandfather!" The silhouette ended the conversation as he continued to look out through the window of his lavish room.

___________________________________________________________

'Tent number 231, West wing. It says it's a 2 person sharing tent. As long as the other party doesn't get in my way, we'll get along just fine.' Z thought to himself.

He pushed the door of the tent aside and went in, it was slipshod and the ground was full of gravel, but what kind of condition hasn't Z seen before. As long as there was something similar to a bed, everything would be fine.

The tent flap started to rustle as the door opened once again..