Extraordinary Voyage
Chapter 93: Ridicule

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Ridicule

Class is dismissed.

The small auditorium usually serves as the venue for theoretical lessons, and when there are no classes, many cadets treat it as a makeshift officer club, spending time or socializing here.

For most active-duty Navy officers from various fleets, being able to reach the rank of officer and being sent to the Navy Academy for further training as excellent annual personnel, none of them are fools.

Apart from people like Aiven who have their own clear goals, expanding their connections and weaving a network is their most important task. Therefore, for some, networking may be more important than the so-called short course itself.

Today was no exception, of course.

Although classes were over, 80 to 90 percent of the cadets were still gathered here.

Some were gathered to play card games, others were engaged in tactical simulations on sand tables, and some were just chatting. Fortunately, the place was large enough to accommodate the antics of these energetic officers.

The spacious auditorium diversified into more than a dozen circles, some large and some small, with as many as a dozen people, and as few as just a few. Interestingly, each circle had an almost imperceptible boundary from others, not obvious, yet existent.

The old saying goes, wherever there are people, there are social circles.

In a short training class of less than a hundred people, more than a dozen groups had already formed in less than two weeks since the start of school.

Background, service fleet, strength, swordsmanship school, personality and hobbies... each person had different labels. Because of these labels, everyone consciously or unconsciously became part of a group.

Outliers who drift away from groups? There’s no such thing here.

Even Aiven is no exception. Although his main goal is to gain access to the legendary Shadow Library, he doesn’t want to be too peculiar or ostracized, as it would bring more trouble than tranquility.

Among all small groups.

The First Fleet and Third Fleet didn’t have particularly charismatic figures, so the circles were led by the Second Fleet faction represented by Lieutenant Colonel Kelson Augustine.

Although rank doesn’t determine seniority at the academy, this guy was undoubtedly the highest-ranking person among them.

Not only that, he was a veritable "second-generation Navy" member, with his grandfather serving as the deputy commander of the Second Fleet. It’s said he trained hard in swordsmanship under a sword master from a young age. Despite not following the orthodox cadet route, his background attracted many to his side.

This faction gathered more than twenty people in total, making it the largest among all groups.

And Aiven’s roommate, Krell, is barely the one with the widest connections from the First Fleet circle. Their Dawson family had at least produced a general, thus naturally becoming the center of another small circle.

Because of him, Aiven was also assumed to be a member of this circle.

Moreover, ten days into the start of the semester, Aiven was no longer an unknown in this group of proud and daring officers. In the small tests held every three days, whether in practical combat or theory, Aiven consistently ranked in the top three for every subject.

In any world, academic achievers belong to a different dimension compared to ordinary people.

Generally, no one was willing to provoke him carelessly, not to mention, today Aiven also had a minor spotlight moment, making him one of the prominent figures of this term.

These two circles currently rank among the top two small groups, having had continuous competition and friction since the start of the semester. But since this is a military academy, as long as no incidents occur, healthy competition is actually encouraged by the school.

The Kelson faction was gathered, playing a card game.

"Hahaha, I won again, pay up, pay up."

"Tch, Derek’s luck is pretty good today, huh."

"No big deal, tonight I’ll treat everyone to drinks at the ’Platinum Oak’, everyone’s invited."

"Great, generous!"

The group cheered loudly, affecting others, but they didn’t care at all, becoming even more carefree.

"..."

"By the way, have you heard of the ’Shadow Library’ legend?" Derek, temporarily the center of attention, slyly glanced towards Krell’s circle, seemingly casually bringing up a topic.

Everyone in this circle knew Derek was Kelson’s number one lackey, but they couldn’t figure out the reason behind his sudden words, although it didn’t stop them from chiming in to support Derek.

"Shadow Library? What’s that?"

"Yeah, is it a school secret?"

"Could it be like a school ghost story, with something unclean in the academy?"

"Hahaha, coward, how could there be something unclean in the Kingdom’s strongest Navy Academy!"

The crowd excitedly discussed, and seeing the atmosphere was right, Derek mysteriously addressed everyone: "The Shadow Library is quite an incredible place, only circulating among the academy’s elite. Today, I’m telling you, but don’t spread it around!"

Though he said to keep it secret, his voice was loud enough for most in the small auditorium to hear, and instead, due to his mysterious demeanor, he captured everyone’s attention.

Ears were perked up to listen.

"Rumor has it, this ’Shadow Library’ houses at least tens of thousands of volumes documenting mystical knowledge. Not only the extraordinary swordsmanship and magic potions of various schools, but also stone-to-gold alchemy, many professions’ manuals on the extraordinary path, and even terrifying witchcraft records.

If you could qualify to enter the Shadow Library, even a normal person could rise to greatness, having a chance to become a powerful extraordinary. Not to mention us Extraordinary Knights, who would surely gain even more!"

Derek spoke with bewitching rhetoric, leaving his audience longing. Who wouldn’t want to visit such a marvelous place?

Seeing the small auditorium quiet down because of his words, Derek felt slightly smug, scanning his audience’s eyes for a moment, then continued:

"Yes, no one wouldn’t want to see the Shadow Library. To verify this rumor, I specifically asked every professor teaching at the academy, wanting to know who currently has this honor at the academy?

Guess what I heard?"

Meeting the curious and even expectant gazes of the crowd, Derek suddenly burst into laughter: "Not a single one! Whether it’s professors or students who have been at the academy for over three years, no one could say someone around them has qualified."

Tch—

Instantly, the audience let out a chorus of boos, feeling their anticipation was wasted, realizing that the so-called Shadow Library might not even exist!

"Are you messing with us?"

"Exactly, if such a great place existed, why wouldn’t the school make it public, secretly enhancing cadets’ abilities with the extraordinary knowledge inside?"

"Using a campus myth to entertain us, I almost believed it for a moment."

Amidst the crowd’s denunciation.

"Sorry, sorry, I only heard an interesting rumor while asking the professors, wanting to compare notes with such wise elites like yourselves.

Apart from being a myth even a child wouldn’t believe, we have a friend among us who believes it wholeheartedly, applying to the school for five consecutive years without success, yet never tires of it!"

Derek repeatedly apologized to his audience, but his eyes shifted, intentionally or not, towards Krell and Aiven’s side.

"Isn’t that right, Mr. Krell Dawson? Oh no, it should be naïve boy Krell, hahaha..."