Adam new nickname

After leaving the Student Council room, they headed to the classroom and attended the rest of their classes.

Most of the lessons passed without anything worth remembering, though Asher slept through some of the more boring ones with the same shameless confidence he usually had.

After lunch, they attended their additional subjects.

Asher's cooking had improved a little compared to before, but only enough that it was no longer an immediate threat to human life. It was still far from anything that could be called good.

After that, it was time for team training again.

They mostly practiced coordination, though for Asher, coordination meant making sure the other three could survive while he acted on his own.

By the time practice ended, everyone returned to their own rooms.

Asher reached his room, took a bath, slept for an hour, cultivated for some time, and then headed toward the cafeteria at eight-thirty like usual.

In the cafeteria, the four of them sat together again and talked about small things while eating, though Noah carried most of the conversation.

Noah looked toward Asher and asked, "So, how did your favorite class go today?"

Asher, who for some reason was seasoning his food with a deeply serious expression, replied without looking up, "I would probably not get arrested by the food inspection department for attempting to kill customers now."

Noah paused for a second. "That's... improvement, I guess."

"Yes," Asher replied, still focused on his food. "Small improvement is still improvement."

Then, as if remembering something important, he suddenly looked around the table and asked, "By the way, who will be cooking during the survival test?"

The question made everyone stop for a moment.

Noah looked at Adam, Adam looked at Aria, and Aria looked back at them without any change in expression.

Asher ignored Noah completely and turned his gaze toward Aria and Adam.

Noticing his stare, Aria asked in an indifferent tone, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Aren't you a noble lady?" Asher replied as if it was the most natural question in the world. "You should have taken cooking classes, right?"

Before Aria could answer, he turned toward Adam as well.

"And you're a noble kid too, so you should also know how to cook."

Adam's brow twitched slightly at being called a noble kid, but Aria answered before he could say anything.

"I know how to cook," she said calmly. "But only enough that people can eat without getting health problems. I am not good at making it taste nice."

At that, Asher nodded with a slightly disappointed expression.

Adam noticed it and immediately smirked. "Aren't you also a noble? Didn't you learn how to cook?"

Asher looked at him lazily. "I'm a spoiled one. I skipped most classes and focused on important things like combat and gaming."

Adam stared at him. "When did gaming become important? No, when did it even become a subject?"

Asher smiled faintly. "It is important. That's the reason I don't faint after a duel with a bleeding nose."

Adam's expression darkened at once, but after remembering that arguing with Asher never ended well, he forced himself to calm down.

Meanwhile, Noah kept eating while listening to the conversation like someone watching free entertainment.

Once Adam finally stopped glaring, Noah spoke up. "I know how to cook too, but the taste might be lacking."

Adam glanced toward Asher and said, "Only an idiot would care about taste while fighting for survival."

Asher nodded calmly. "Yeah, this malfunctioning AC is right."

Noah immediately choked on his drink while trying not to laugh, and Aria lowered her head slightly, covering her mouth with one hand.

Even a few nearby students who had overheard the conversation started laughing quietly.

Adam's eye twitched. "You—"

The new nickname had clearly done damage.

For a moment, Adam looked like he wanted to slice apart everything around him, but he soon forced himself to breathe slowly while chanting in his mind.

He is an idiot. Don't take his words seriously. He is an idiot. Don't take his words seriously.

Asher continued eating peacefully for a few seconds before speaking again.

"You can't even produce hot and cold air. You should start training fire and water as secondary elements. It would be helpful."

This time, the others paused for a different reason.

Noah, Aria, and even Adam began thinking about it seriously.

If Adam mixed wind with fire and water, he could create steam attacks instead of ordinary wind attacks. The pressure, heat, and limited visibility would make them far more troublesome in close and mid-range combat, though mastering it would be much harder.

Adam's expression shifted slightly.

For one brief moment, he wondered if Asher had been teasing him on purpose to push him toward a useful improvement.

Then Asher added casually, "It would also be really helpful for sleeping comfortably at night in the wild."

The atmosphere around the table died instantly.

Adam's expression went blank.

Noah looked down at his food, desperately trying not to laugh again, while Aria quietly closed her eyes for a moment as if questioning why she had expected something meaningful from Asher.

Asher, however, continued eating peacefully, completely unaware of the emotional damage he had caused.

Adam finally spoke in a tired voice. "For one second... just one second, I thought you actually said something intelligent."

Asher looked at him in confusion. "Being able to sleep comfortably is important."

Noah nodded absentmindedly. "Honestly, he does have a point."

Adam immediately turned toward him. "Why are you supporting him?!"

"I'm just saying sleep is important during survival situations."

Asher pointed at Noah with his fork. "See? Smart people understand me."

Adam looked at Noah with clear betrayal in his eyes.

Aria sighed softly before speaking. "Steam attacks are actually useful, though. High temperature, pressure, and limited visibility combined could become troublesome in combat."

Adam nodded slightly despite himself. "Yeah... especially at close range."

Asher then added, "And you can also cook food faster."

Adam's eye twitched again.

Noah lowered his head onto the table and laughed silently, while Aria looked away, clearly trying to hide her smile.

Adam took a deep breath and began chanting again in his mind.

Adam, you are mature. You are not an idiot. Keep calm. Keep calm.

Unfortunately, Asher opened his mouth again before Adam could fully recover.

"Then you'll at least become a functioning cooking appliance."

Adam's thoughts immediately collapsed.

Fuck it. One day, I'll make sure to beat him.

Just like that, dinner came to an end.

Afterward, everyone returned to their rooms and went to sleep.

The next morning, their mana control class was scheduled to be practical, so the students gathered at the training grounds instead of the classroom.

Not long after everyone arrived, Professor Elisa entered the field.

The moment she appeared, the idle chatter quickly faded, and most of the students straightened their postures.

Elisa swept her gaze across the class before speaking.

"Today, we will focus on coating mana onto weapons and various objects to make them usable in battle. This technique allows you to turn ordinary tools or nearby materials into temporary weapons if you lose access to proper equipment."

Several students immediately looked interested.

Elisa continued, "You can also coat your body with mana, but that requires an enormous amount of mana and an absurd level of control. More importantly, your body is not as durable as a weapon, so even a single mistake could cost you your life."

Her expression became more serious as she looked across the field.

"That is why full-body mana coating is not advised for most students."