I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity
Chapter 168: A Growing Following

Chapter 168: A Growing Following

The scene shifted.

Back in his dormitory room Eric sat on the edge of his bed.

The adrenaline from the day’s shocking events in the cafeteria was slowly ebbing away. It left a profound sense of exhaustion in its wake.

The [System Window] hovered silently before him. It was providing a detailed if somewhat curated summary of what had just transpired in the Red Team’s infirmary after Cian and Samba had woken up.

Reading the report Eric understood that the [System Window] had made a good decision.

The punishment it had orchestrated for the Red Team members who had harassed Ryan was not just about revenge. It was a strategic move. It was a clear message to all the other factions in the Academy.

He was slowly almost reluctantly beginning to adapt to this new reality. He was beginning to accept that the [System Window] could and would handle these complex dangerous matters on its own.

Still a seed of doubt remained in his mind. He looked at the hovering impassive blue window. System Window, he thought his mind still a whirlwind of confusion what is your plan now? Will this new group even survive? And what about the Emperor’s signature?

As if in direct response to his unspoken question the [System Window] displayed a new message for him.

[System Interface: Directive]

[Tomorrow morning you must first attend your classes. After that within this one week I will make my move to secure the Emperor’s signature for our group.]

Reading the System’s confident matter-of-fact response a sense of calm washed over Eric. He nodded his head a silent acknowledgment of the plan. He still did not know the truth about Adam.

He did not know about the separate powerful entity that resided within him.

The [System Window] continued to conceal this crucial fact.

It presented all of Adam’s powerful actions as its own. It made it seem like it was a series of calculated logical interventions from a helpful AI.

To Eric the System was a mysterious omnipotent guardian a powerful tool. It was not a vessel for another dangerous being.

As he replayed the tumultuous events of the day in his mind—the confrontation with the upperclassmen the display of overwhelming power the subsequent punishment of the Red Team’s leaders—Eric laid back on his bed.

If all of this had been up to me, he thought a shiver running down his spine I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. I would have failed. I would be the one being punished right now.

He felt a profound sense of gratitude towards the [System Window]. With that final comforting thought he closed his eyes and fell into a deep exhausted sleep.

The next morning the [System Window] dutifully woke Eric up. He was slowly almost grudgingly getting used to life in the Academy. He was getting used to the spartan simplicity of his small dormitory room.

He stood up got ready for the day and then as he opened his door he saw Void and Kado already waiting for him in the hallway.

Seeing them standing there a small genuine smile touched Eric’s lips. It was a good feeling to not be completely alone.

Kado his usual boisterous energy already in full force grinned back at him.

"Finally!" he exclaimed loudly.

"You are awake! Today’s the day you find out which class you’re in! In my opinion as powerful as you showed us you are yesterday you have to be in Section D at the very least! It’s one of the most powerful classes in the entire first year!"

Void ever the contrarian just smirked and looked at Kado. "I think," he said a teasing lilt to his voice "that our leader Eric will be in Section A."

Kado turned to Void his expression one of complete disbelief. "Section A?!" he shouted.

"That’s impossible! From what I’ve heard from the older students all the students in Section A are from powerful noble families within the Empire! Students from the outer kingdoms like us never get placed there!"

Void simply shrugged a smug knowing look on his face. He started walking down the hallway his hands raised in a theatrical gesture.

"I’ve heard that too," he admitted. "But I have so much faith in Eric’s potential that I’m sure he’ll end up in Section A. Where the famous Second Princess of the Empire Princess Monica also studies. Have you seen her? She is quite something."

Kado was taken aback by Void’s casual mention of the princess.

"Yes," he admitted a little flustered. "I’ve seen her. Everyone has."

Eric however was paying little attention to their friendly banter. His mind was elsewhere. A familiar knot of anxiety was tightening in his stomach.

He was worried about what he would do when he got to class.

He had already missed the first day of lectures and activities. He felt as though he was already lagging far behind everyone else both in terms of his physical strength and his academic coursework.

Lost in these worried thoughts the three of them walked out of the dormitory building.

Outside a large group of students was already waiting for them. It was the members of his group The New Warriors.

After the "incident" in the cafeteria the day before word had spread like wildfire throughout the first-year dormitories.

The number of students in his group had swelled. It had grown from the original forty to over eighty students now.

New first-year students inspired by his display of power and by his promise of protection were continuing to join his new faction.

This dramatic increase in numbers however meant little to Eric. For him the formation of this group and the students who were in it were not his priority.

They were the System’s priority. The System had created the group so the System could lead it.

And if in the future he were faced with a choice—a choice to save this group or to save himself—Eric knew with a certainty that shamed him that he would very easily abandon them.

He would choose to save himself. In his eyes this group was not truly his.

Therefore it was not that important to him. It was just another complication another problem in his already chaotic and confusing life. It was a burden he did not want.