As expected, I managed to attain first place again.

I had planned to become the academy's second place, allowing the Main Character to be first. My attempt at blackmailing Lyra was also under the assumption that the Main Character would be alive. However, now that he was not here, why would I go the extra mile to save her? It's not like I have to do it to save the world.

As the first day of the academy arrived, I got out of the taxi and made my way to the classroom I was assigned.

I easily found Class S, which was written in the message on the system screen.

"Huuu!"

After collecting my breath, I twisted the doorknob in my hand and swirled the door open.

As I opened the door, I felt the gazes of those around me.

Acting like I didn't feel their piercing gazes on me, I walked to a vacant seat by the window at the back.

"Isn't he that guy?"

"The one who managed to use his daggers to kill the instructor?"

"Woah! Is that for real?"

"What rank do you think he is?"

While pondering about the 'activities' that will be held on the first day, I opened my system screen and opened up my notepad. There were some characters from the novel that I recognized in this class.

Firstly, there is Nerissa, the one who shot the gun at the instructor at the entrance exam. Her main weapons are snipers or pistols. Her skill in both is what allowed her to attain second place in the academy.

Secondly, there is Jin. He can manipulate the shadows by either blending in to erase his presence or wielding them as a weapon. He was the main antagonist of the Main Character who eventually decided to help him instead after being defeated multiple times.

Lastly, there is Carl. His skill is...

...Being rich.

He was the typical rich boy who was born with a golden spoon and could buy his way through challenges. Despite lacking in combat skills or supernatural abilities, he probably managed to enter this class through connections or 'donations'. What a lucky person... Wait, I forgot that I am rich too.

While I was thinking such thoughts.

"Hey everyone, nice to see you. I remember some of you."

A woman with an evil smile entered the classroom.

She wore shades despite being indoors and a coat that was hung over her shoulders.

It was Lyra Brightshade, the instructor from the entrance exam.

"My name is Lyra Brightshade. From today onwards, I will be your homeroom instructor for this year."

A genius spatial magic user.

A close combat expert.

A crazy S-tier Hero.

Oh no, I can already imagine how 'fun' the first semester will be.

"During lessons, it is entirely at the discretion of the homeroom teacher. Whether we have theory lessons, training, or finish early is all up to me."

As she finished her sentence with an evil laugh, she snapped her fingers.

Oh no. Could it be...?

"Right now, you will all be transported to an E-tier dungeon. The goal is simple. Be back here by 4 pm. You have two hours."

With a blinding flash of light, we were suddenly engulfed in a magic circle that seemed to be set up beforehand. We were whisked away to the depths of the dungeon without warning as the surroundings began to change from the peaceful atmosphere of the classroom to a dark and nightmarish forest.

I was definitely not going to do this.

Not only did I lack any combat-related skills, but I was also too lazy and didn't want to participate.

Hence, I decided to reset back to before we were dropped into this dungeon.

...

"...entirely up to me."

Now that I was back in the classroom, I quickly pondered how I could avoid getting dragged into the dungeon.

Snap-

'Oh no.'

As I was teleported again, I regained my senses and reset to the previous savepoint before any monsters appeared. I'm sure the others will be fine.

...

As I continued being teleported to the dungeon, a realization dawned on me.

Couldn't I just step out of the magic circle?

Since the classroom was square-shaped, the magic circle would not cover the edges of the classroom. It was probably an oversight from the instructor who assumed that everyone would fall for her trap.

This time I decided to try again.

...

"During lessons, it is..."

Growing sick of repeatedly resetting, I resolved to break out of this cycle.

Slowly inching backward in my seat, I waited until she was about to snap her fingers.

"...training or finishing early is all up to me."

As the familiar snap of her fingers echoed in the classroom, I acted quickly. As my seat was near the corner of the classroom, I only had to move a few steps to get out of the magic circle.

"Finally," I muttered under my breath, relieved to have broken free from the endless loop.

As I glanced toward the place where I last saw the instructor, I shivered at the sight of her smiling evilly while slowly clapping her hands.

"Congratulations, you are in first place."

Slightly nodding my head and taking my seat, I noticed that the situation in the dungeon was displayed on the chalkboard at the front of the classroom.

"Have you been watching us through that item?"

I already knew that she was watching us by using an item that was created to know the ongoings in dungeons.

However, I couldn't let her know, could I?

"Do you want to watch with me? It's kind of sad that you did not get to participate with your classmates."

She was truly a sadistic person...

"I would not decline your offer to watch with you. I do have to reject participating, though. I did manage to 'escape' that dungeon with my skills."

Smirking at my response, she shifted a little to allow me to grasp a better view.

Jin was using the shadows in the dungeon to his advantage, allowing him to kill the goblins, which are the monsters in the dungeon, more easily. As it is all E-tier, their speed is not high while their strength is low. Although they do possess a shred of intelligence, they could not compare to a person.

As I was watching them struggle through the island, the classroom door opened and Nerissa indifferently walked toward the instructor, who looked as if she expected it.

"You're finally here? You got second place."

As she glanced around and realized that I was there, she approached me and spoke without a greeting.

"How did you get first place?"

Knowing her, she was probably curious as she expected there to be no one who could escape before she could reach here.

"I was actually near the academy eating some food when Ms. Lyra teleported my projection. How?"

Well, even though I didn't want to reveal too much about myself, there was no need to lie.

"I got lucky and did not get teleported."

"...I see."

After hearing my answer, she seemed to lose interest and returned to her seat as if nothing happened.

Shrugging my shoulders, I focused on the video again.

...

After about 30 minutes of watching the display on the chalkboard in silence, more students began to show up.

Most of the students had seen the results and left straight away.

The only ones left in the classroom were me, Nerissa, Carl, and a few others.

"Don't you want to go too?"

Ms. Lyra sat in her seat and twirled the pen she was holding as she spoke.

"No, I'll watch a little longer."

"Well, it's all up to you."

I have to recruit useful guys within this school to help defeat the Demon God.

A smile naturally formed on my face as I already started imagining the potential of the people I would recruit in the future. They would surely be a good addition to defeating the Demon God after all.