Chapter 10 – S Ranks Glare At Us As Spoiled Slackers While Sakura Clings Too Tight?!

Heavy, suffocating tension hit me the absolute second we stepped inside.

The massive quest room doors closed behind us with a loud, final thud that echoed across the vast stone architecture.

Massive floating crystal boards hovered high in the air above the crowd. They glowed with an ethereal blue light, casting long shadows across the polished marble floor. These boards constantly updated with new dangerous missions, displaying everything from basic herb gathering to high-level monster subjugation requests.

Hundreds of ambitious students crowded around the glowing quest listings, eager to risk their lives for academic points.

The moment the heavy doors sealed shut, the ambient noise of the bustling hall died completely.

Several groups of elite students turned toward us at the exact same time.

Their eyes burned with pure, unadulterated anger.

The S Rank students were especially furious. They stood near the high-tier quest boards, clad in their pristine uniforms lined with gold trim and merit badges. These were the elites who fought tooth and nail for their positions, and their hostility was a physical weight pressing down on my shoulders.

They clenched their fists tight, their knuckles turning white under the glowing magical lights.

“Spoiled slackers.”

One girl with long silver hair muttered the insult under her breath, but the quiet room made her words carry perfectly.

“They skip everything and still stay on top of the academy rankings.”

Sakura did not care about their glaring eyes at all. In fact, she pressed her body even tighter against mine.

Her soft chest molded firmly to my side, her curves leaving absolutely no space between us.

Her slender arm stayed locked around my waist in a grip that felt like a velvet-covered vice.

Her fingers began to trace slow, agonizingly distracting circles on my hip bone.

“Ignore them, my precious Dylan.”

Her warm breath brushed directly against my sensitive ear, making me shiver involuntarily.

“They are just jealous of what we have.”

Her unnatural body heat radiated straight through my thin academy uniform. It felt like standing next to an open furnace, and it made my pulse race in a highly uncomfortable way.

We walked deeper into the large, cavernous hall.

The S Rank students glared even harder as we approached the center of the room. The sheer malice radiating from them was enough to make a normal person pass out, but the terrifying aura leaking from the gorgeous girl glued to my side kept them from taking violent action.

A tall guy with a jagged scar on his cheek stepped forward slightly, blocking a portion of the main aisle.

“Look at them.”

He sneered, his eyes filled with absolute disgust.

“Strutting around like they own the entire academy.”

Another student standing next to him nodded angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.

“They never attend a single magical theory lecture.”

The scarred guy spat on the floor.

“They get private penthouses in the absolute best dormitory. All while we actually work for our ranks and bleed on the battlefield.”

Sakura ignored their complaints entirely and simply nuzzled her face deeper into the crook of my neck.

Her soft lips grazed my skin lightly, sending a jolt of electricity straight down to my toes.

Her deeply possessive touch sent an alarming heat down my spine. I knew exactly what she was doing. She was marking her territory right in front of the people who hated us the most.

“They hate us because we hold the ultimate free pass.”

She whispered softly against my ear, her voice dripping with dark amusement.

Her free hand slid up my chest, her fingers resting directly over my racing heart.

“We can skip all the boring classes.”

She tilted her head, her crimson eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

“We can ignore every single rule this pathetic school tries to enforce.”

Her grip on my waist became almost painful.

“As long as we keep our SSS power level, they can do absolutely nothing to stop us.”

Her fingers pressed firmer against me, anchoring me to her side as if she feared I might suddenly float away.

“The S Ranks see us as lazy, cheating scum.”

She let out a breathy, unsettling laugh.

“They see us as spoiled gods who do absolutely nothing to earn our keep.”

Her bright red hair tickled my jaw, smelling strongly of vanilla and something deeply intoxicating.

I tried shifting my weight away slightly, desperately needing just a single inch of breathing room.

Her grip only tightened more, her nails digging slightly into my side through the fabric of my shirt.

My face felt burning hot.

This extreme level of physical closeness in a public space felt way too intense for my heart to handle.

A group of five seasoned S Rank students deliberately moved to block our path to the central desk.

Their faces were twisted with clear, undeniable resentment. They looked like they had just returned from a brutal dungeon raid, their uniforms scuffed and their weapons still drawing magical energy.

“You SSS types make me absolutely sick.”

One of them, a guy wielding a massive broadsword, spat the words loudly across the quiet hall.

“You probably slept all the way through the practical entrance exam.”

Another student in the group, a mage with glowing green eyes, crossed his arms tight.

“While real students like us grind every single day just to survive the semester.”

Sakura finally lifted her head from my shoulder.

Her beautiful crimson eyes narrowed dangerously, locking onto the group of S Ranks with the intensity of a predator spotting prey.

But her body stayed firmly glued to mine.

Her thigh brushed deliberately against me with every small step we took forward.

“Do not listen to these pathetic insects, my treasure.”

She spoke in a sweet but bone-chilling tone that echoed through the massive room.

“You are completely perfect just the way you are.”

Her free hand moved slowly from my chest down to my lower back.

She pulled me even closer, completely eliminating whatever microscopic distance was left between us.

Her soft curves pressed fully into my front now, making it incredibly difficult to think straight.

I swallowed hard, feeling the heavy, suffocating atmosphere threatening to crush me. The sheer embarrassment and danger of the situation grew thicker by the second. All I wanted was to go back to my dorm, pull out my sourdough starter, and bake a quiet batch of artisan bread. I did not ask for this insane magical drama.

The S Rank students muttered even louder, their anger boiling over into open hostility.

“They get absolutely everything handed to them on a silver platter.”

One fierce-looking girl pointed directly at my face.

“Private state-of-the-art kitchens. Luxury dorms that look like royal palaces. No consequences for anything they do.”

She gritted her teeth, sparks of fire magic dancing around her fingertips.

“While we fight for every single academic point just to keep our scholarships.”

Sakura giggled softly at their outrage.

The sound was melodious, but it carried a dark, terrifying edge that made the closest students flinch.

She stroked my chest slowly with her delicate fingers.

Her touch felt deliberately intimate, a clear show of ownership meant to infuriate the crowd even further.

“They are angry because they know they can never reach our level.”

Her lips hovered dangerously near my neck again.

Her breath was hot, steady, and entirely focused on me.

“So they call us slackers.”

She traced the collar of my academy shirt.

“Spoiled.”

She dragged her thumb across my collarbone.

“Useless.”

Her fingers traced lower, moving slowly down toward my stomach.

I caught her hand gently but firmly before she could go any further.

“Sakura.”

I whispered the warning, my face completely flushed.

“Not here in front of everyone.”

She smiled up at me sweetly, looking like an innocent angel.

Her eyes, however, glowed with an unfiltered yandere intensity that promised absolute destruction to anyone who tried to interfere.

“But I really like touching what is completely mine, Dylan.”

Her body shifted against me.

She rubbed against me in a slow, deeply possessive way that made my brain short-circuit for a solid three seconds.

The surrounding S Ranks watched this display with even more fury.

One highly muscular guy, covered in magical tattoos, slammed his heavy fist into a nearby wooden table. The thick oak cracked under the sheer force of his blow.

“This is utter bullshit!”

He shouted the curse across the silent room, his voice booming with authority.

“These top rank assholes think they are completely above everyone else in this academy!”

His heavily armed friends nodded in aggressive agreement.

“They barely even train in the combat simulators.”

A dual-wielding rogue chimed in from the back.

“They just coast on their raw, unearned power.”

The scarred guy from earlier stepped up next to the table.

“While we literally break our backs for the S Rank title.”

Sakura turned her head slightly to look at the angry mob.

Her long red hair swayed beautifully, catching the ethereal blue light of the quest boards.

She kept one hand firmly locked on my waist, ensuring I could not run away.

Her other hand moved back up to rest flat against my chest.

She was feeling my rapid heartbeat, and a satisfied smile curled on her lips.

“They will never understand our bond.”

She whispered the words so quietly that only I could hear them.

Her voice dropped even lower.

It became more intimate, more terrifyingly sweet.

“You are my absolute precious treasure.”

She looked deep into my eyes, completely ignoring the angry crowd screaming insults at us.

“I will never let these pathetic losers take your rightful position.”

Her fingers dug possessively into my shirt.

The unnatural warmth of her palm burned straight through the fabric, branding my skin.

More elite students gathered around the commotion, abandoning their quest boards to watch the confrontation.

The anger in the massive quest room thickened into a toxic fog.

Vicious whispers spread through the crowd like a roaring wildfire.

“Look at those SSS slackers.”

“They get complete free passes for doing absolutely nothing.”

One S Rank girl with tightly braided hair and a heavy staff glared daggers at me.

“I bet that pathetic baker boy did not even earn his rank legitimately.”

Her voice carried clearly across the vast hall, designed to humiliate me.

“He probably just bought his spot with his daddy’s expensive pastries.”

Cruel laughter mixed instantly with the heavy resentment in the room.

Sakura’s body stiffened completely against me.

Her grip went from a firm hold to an iron vice in the span of a single heartbeat.

Her soft form pressed harder into my side, but the romantic atmosphere vanished instantly.

A wave of pure, unadulterated protective rage radiated from her body, causing the magical crystal boards above us to flicker and dim. The temperature in the room plummeted.

But she kept smiling that deeply creepy, perfectly sweet smile.

“My Dylan earned absolutely everything he has.”

She announced the statement loudly, her voice echoing off the high stone walls.

Her tone carried a crystal clear warning of impending death.

“Anyone who doubts his incredible power is more than welcome to come closer and find out.”

Her hand slid slowly down my side.

Her fingers brushed lightly against my hip bone, sending a different kind of shiver through my body.

The touch felt electric.

It was uncomfortably intimate to be touched like this in front of a massive crowd of hostile elites, but I was too terrified of the impending bloodbath to stop her.

I felt my cheeks burning hotter than an industrial oven on the highest setting.

Despite the terrifying pressure leaking from Sakura, the proud S Rank students did not back down.

Their glares only intensified, fueled by their wounded pride and sheer numbers.

Suddenly, the crowd parted violently.

A tall, fiercely athletic woman with short, striking blue hair pushed her way through the center of the mob.

She wore the golden S Rank badge proudly pinned to her chest, and a heavy, incredibly detailed claymore rested easily on her shoulder. The magical energy rolling off her body was dense and aggressive.

Her intense, cold eyes locked directly onto me, completely ignoring the terrifying yandere clinging to my arm.

Pure, unfiltered anger boiled in her sharp expression.

“You.”

She pointed a heavy, gauntleted finger straight at my face.

“Dylan.”

She slammed the tip of her massive claymore into the marble floor, shattering the stone beneath the blade.

“I challenge you for your SSS spot right now.”