Reincarnated With a Cheat System

Chapter 18 – Academy Life Begins

The morning sun barely peeked through the dorm windows when Klein was already up, stretching and preparing for the day. Phyro, on the other hand, remained sprawled across his bed, arms and legs spread out like a starfish, completely unconscious.

Klein sighed. "Wake up, you lazy brat," he muttered before grabbing a pillow and smacking Phyro right in the face.

"Gah!" Phyro jolted up, looking around wildly. "What? Who? Where's the enemy?!"

Klein crossed his arms. "The enemy is class, and if you don't get up, it's gonna defeat you before you even start the day."

Phyro groaned, flopping back onto the bed. "Just five more minutes…"

"Alright, your choice," Klein said, casually walking to the door. "Guess I'll have breakfast without you."

Phyro instantly shot up. "Wait—!"

By the time they reached the cafeteria, the place was already packed with students enjoying their morning meals. The moment Phyro and Klein stepped in, whispers and excited murmurs filled the air.

"That's him! The Prodigy!"

"I heard he destroyed the training dummies with one hit yesterday!"

"And his brother is almost as strong! Are they both monsters?!"

Phyro smirked as students literally fangirled over him. Some even tried to sneak glances at him while blushing. A few bold ones walked up to him.

"Um… Phyro, right?" a girl with long silver hair said, twirling a strand shyly. "Are you… dating anyone?"

Phyro immediately leaned against the table, flashing his best charming smile. "No, but I'm open to offers."

Before she could respond, a loud "TCH!" echoed from the side.

A noble-looking boy with sharp features and slicked-back blonde hair scoffed. "Pathetic. Girls flocking to someone just because he's strong? He's nothing more than a child playing with power."

Phyro raised an eyebrow. "And who might you be? The Academy's official fun police?"

The noble's eyes twitched. "I'm Lucian von Aldren, top of the first-year class before you showed up."

"Ah, I get it," Phyro smirked. "You're jealous."

Lucian scoffed. "Hardly. You may have impressed a few commoners, but strength alone doesn't make a true mage. I challenge you to a duel—let's see if you're worthy of the hype."

The cafeteria went dead silent. All eyes darted between Phyro and Lucian, tension filling the air.

Klein took a bite of his bread. "Called it."

Phyro, without hesitation, grinned. "Sure. When and where?"

Lucian smirked. "Tomorrow at noon. The Duel Arena."

Phyro stretched, cracking his knuckles. "Sounds fun. Try not to cry when you lose."

Lucian scoffed, turning to leave, while the crowd exploded in excitement.

"Phyro's gonna duel Lucian?!"

"This is gonna be huge!"

"Lucian's from an elite noble house—this won't be an easy fight!"

As the students talked, Phyro sat back down, still grinning. Klein sighed. "You really can't go one day without making things complicated, can you?"

Phyro just shrugged. "What can I say? It's in my nature."

Their first lecture was held in a grand hall, with bookshelves lining the walls and magical runes glowing softly on the ceiling. The professor, an elderly man with a long beard, began explaining mana flow and spell formation theory.

Phyro lasted exactly five minutes before slumping over his desk.

"This is so boring…" he whispered to Klein.

Klein, taking notes, didn't even glance at him. "Maybe if you actually paid attention, you wouldn't be so lost."

Phyro groaned, then tore a piece of paper and started writing something.

A minute later, he subtly slid the note to a girl sitting next to him.

She opened it.

"Are you single? If yes, can I have your number? (Wait, do we even have numbers here?)"

She rolled her eyes, crumpled the paper, and threw it at his face.

Klein shook his head. "You're impossible."

The professor, without turning around, suddenly spoke. "Mr. Phyro, if you have enough energy to flirt, perhaps you'd like to explain the difference between structured and unstructured spellcasting?"

Phyro froze. "Uh…"

The whole class turned to stare.

Klein sighed. "You're on your own, idiot."

After the boring lecture, combat training began again. This time, students were allowed to challenge each other for ranking points.

Klein went up against a second-year student and won in an impressive display of swordplay and magic.

Then it was Phyro's turn.

The instructor announced, "Phyro will be facing Vincent Dorein, a third-year student and one of the top duelists in his grade."

Gasps echoed through the training grounds.

"A third-year?!"

"That's so unfair!"

Phyro, unfazed, stepped forward, cracking his neck. "Alright, let's do this."

Vincent smirked. "Try not to embarrass yourself, kid."

The moment the match started, Vincent shot forward, aiming for a quick win.

Phyro dodged, disappearing from view with sheer speed before appearing behind Vincent.

"Too slow."

With one strike, he sent Vincent flying backward, crashing into the arena wall.

Silence.

Then—

"WHAT?!"

"He won in ONE MOVE?!"

"THAT'S INSANE!"

The students exploded into cheers and shock. Even Lucian, watching from the sidelines, clenched his fists.

Phyro dusted off his hands. "That was kinda disappointing. Who's next?"

The instructor, stunned, eventually declared the match over.

After training, Phyro and Klein walked back to their dorm.

"You really like making enemies, huh?" Klein said.

Phyro grinned. "Nah. I just like proving people wrong."

They reached their room when Felix walked up to them.

"Phyro, you realize Lucian is one of the strongest first-years, right? His magic isn't normal."

Phyro stretched. "Good. I wouldn't want it to be boring."

The next day's duel would be the first real test.

And Phyro couldn't wait.

End of Chapter 18