The two Lucy was talking about are Aoi Hiroshi and Lulu Arcadia. They are inner disciples like Lucy, Nia, and Asha.


    Back when us and his friends went to Hiroshi City for the regional trial—because Arcadian City wasn''t suitable for the trial—us met Aoi at their estate after she forced her father to organize a dinner for the elites in the region.


    At that time, she wanted to meet the rising star of the Northern Union. The dinner was just a smokescreen to get what she wanted.


    She met him, and like anydy who has ever encountered us, she bested him in a duel of pure swordsmanship...Lol.


    Back then, us was only skilled at cutting things with a sword; he wasn''t well-versed in the intricacies of mastering a swordy style unique to himself.


    So, he lost. However, Aoi, who didn''t want him to lose face, let him win in a rather spectacr way.


    Long story short, us held her like a princess who had tripped on her sword, humiliated her little brother, flirted with her big sisters, and, well, Aoi fell in love with him.


    But she had to leave and return to the academy, so she never truly had the chance to take the next step with him.


    Now, sitting in a hot bath after a morning of sword practice, she couldn''t help but look at a picture of a certain white-haired bastard and smile.


    "He''s finallying, huh? I wonder how I''m going to face him," she muttered, a small red tint on her cheeks.


    "At least he promised me he''d join my faction. That will give me more time to process things," she added before sliding into the water.


    Since she was the first to invite us to join her faction, she might just get her wish. us wasn''t nning on joining any faction filled with arrogant heirs and heiresses—that would be no fun.@@novelbin@@


    By joining one of the weaker factions, breaking the top factions would be far more entertaining. And us was all about the fun now that he was surrounded by people rather than monsters and zombies.


    While Aoi was rxing in her bath in a certain apartment, Lulu had also just finished her morning training. She had been battling simtions in Oracle, and after removing her helmet, she stretched with a satisfied sigh.


    Thanks to the technique us had given her, she had be significantly more powerful.


    When us nearly died for the second time—this time at the hands of the mutated Zombie Queen, the Blood Queen—he was saved at thest minute by the leader of the Overlords and brought to Arcadian City.


    After waking up, he met Lulu at a dinner hosted by her family.


    At that time, us was beginning to explore the Spirit Master nature of his Weapons Overlord ss. Lulu made him fall even more in love with the Spirit Master aspect of himself.


    Back then, he witnessed her immense power and was deeply impressed. But in the end, it was Lulu who fell for him.


    Like so many others, their meeting was brief. But now, us wasing to the academy. She had even promised to wait for him in a message she deleted immediately after sending it.


    Unluckily for her, us saw the message before it disappeared. Of course, us, being us, didn''t reply, leaving her second-guessing herself at that moment.


    "I hope he didn''t actually see that embarrassing message," she muttered, ncing at the clock on the wall. It was a quarter past 6 a.m., which meant us would arrive at the academy in less than an hour.


    "Dear lord, how am I going to face him? Knowing him, he''d tease me endlessly if he did see that message." She closed her eyes, her cheeks flushing red.


    "I even attached an image to it. Jeez, was I that desperate or just in stupid?"


    Just like Aoi, she slipped into a warm bath, burying her blushing face in the steamy water, trying to drown her embarrassment away.


    But while damsels were blushing, foes were also plotting and scheming. This was especially true for a group of eight individuals currently meeting inside the apartment that belonged to Hunter Duncan.


    The name said it all. Hunter was an heir from the Duncan Legacy family, the same family that had dered war against us.


    Naturally, Hunter hated us and was doing everything he could to make life in the academy difficult for him.


    Find more to read at empire


    Of course, he wasn''t alone in this enterprise. With him was his sister, Kate Duncan, who hated two things in this life. First was us Hanson; for decimating her guards, she had lent her younger siblings, E, Ethan, and Max, to discipline him.


    It ended badly for her.


    But aside from hating us, she hated anyone close to him. This hatred evolved from being dragged through the mud by Lucy Ross, us''s first woman during their time in the Union Trials.


    Because of this, she wanted nothing more than to see use crashing down at her feet. She wanted that more than anything.


    The other six with them were people who equally hated us. Three were from the great ns, and three were also some of the powerful people in the inner areas of the academy.


    Zaid Nabil is the third son of the n leader of the Nabil Great n. He is very powerful and quite arrogant. Naturally, he and us were bound to be enemies at some point since they disowned his woman and kept threatening her.


    Miriam is from the Nabil Great n, but after the incident with her sister, they disowned her. However, that was when she was just a weak, scared little girl. She wasn''t that anymore, and because of that, they started to pressure her to return to the family.


    Naturally, Miriam wouldn''t be able to endure much longer, and us would be pulled into it. But that is a matter for another day.


    Kim Jiwon is also from the Jiwon Great n and a devoted hater of us.


    Richy Mason is from the Mason Great n. Naturally, his anger and hatred toward us are much more potent.


    The reason is simple: he had Lucy in sight for many years, yet he hadn''t won her heart. And now, a no-background slum kid swooped in and took what belonged to him. Naturally, he was going to have an issue.


    Amelia Grace is the Sky Phoenix Sanctuary''s leader, the academy''s third-strongest faction. She is a peak Great Sage, almost on the verge of bing a Sovereign.


    She is a very powerful fire mage and a hater of Lucy, who is widely known as the Queen of Woods/Vines.


    Seojin Choi is also the leader of the Celestial Wind Pavilion, the second-ranked faction in the academy, known for their great control over the wind. Most of their members are wind users.


    For him, he doesn''t hate us or Lucy; he just wants to suck up to the Legacies and the ns. He is an opportunist who can be bought with money.


    Thest is Sofia Gabri, the Fire Dragon. Her moniker matches her faction and her affinity.


    She is one terrifyingdy with an affinity for the fire element and also the Fire Dragon Hall leader, the academy''s number one faction.


    But what makes her a terrifyingdy is her ss. She has a fearsome ss called Fire Dragon Arcane Mage.