Thora lifted her head. The sharp, icy look in her eyes made the man instinctively take two steps back. When he realized what he had done, embarrassment flashed across his face. The other upperclassmen all turned their attention to Thora, waiting to see how she would react. The freshmen in the corner looked toward her as well. Mona stared at Thora too, a trace of worry hidden in her eyes. Thora raised the rag in her hand and asked calmly, "Running errands?" "That's right. Running errands," the upperclassman replied, forcing confidence into his voice. Thora nodded. "Oh." With that, she didn't enter the training grounds. Instead, she followed their demand and began wiping down all the equipment in the facility. The freshmen were stunned. Even the two instructors watching from a distance looked surprised. "This is the first time I've seen such an obedient freshman. She's way too easy to bully," one of them said, shaking his head. The other sighed. "That won't do. A freshman without any backbone will only stay at the bottom of the food chain." The two instructors had come only to check on the new students. Seeing this, they didn't linger. It was the same every year. Freshmen were suppressed by upperclassmen, and as long as no one died and no complaints were filed, the academy always turned a blind eye. Today was a free training day, with no scheduled classes. After a brief glance, the two instructors turned and left. Thora spent the entire day doing menial work, quickly earning a reputation as the most easily bullied freshman in the Combat Institute's first year. Upperclassmen who had initially thought she looked sharp and impressive lost all interest once they saw how submissive she was. Only the freshmen who had entered alongside Thora found the situation strange. They could not shake the feeling that she was deliberately playing weak. Still, they were glad to be in the same institute as her. Seeing Thora quietly accepting her chores, they stopped making trouble themselves and became obedient, doing whatever the upperclassmen told them. In an unfamiliar environment, clinging to someone stronger was human instinct, especially when that person was on their side. The upperclassmen, however, grew puzzled. They could not even focus on training. This year's freshmen were far too well behaved. There was no challenge at all, and it left them with no sense of accomplishment.As Thora cleaned the equipment, she occasionally looked up to observe. Most of the first-year students wore gray-blue uniforms as freshmen, along with light blue uniforms worn by upperclassmen who had been held back. Very few wore true blue uniforms. In other words, the first-year Combat Institute students were almost all at the bottom of the academy's overall strength rankings. They mostly trained alone, with the occasional two- or three-person sparring session. Their techniques and weapons varied widely. Thora had encountered most of these combat styles before, though she was not yet familiar with the methods unique to this world. Even so, if she were forced into a fight, she already knew how to counter them. More importantly, her physical condition far exceeded that of ordinary people. Her sheer strength and speed alone put her beyond the reach of most students.Watching them train, Thora suddenly thought of the stealth techniques used by members of those two smuggling groups, as well as the traditional Astralis combat arts she had once seen on Darius. The corner of her lips lifted slightly. Perhaps she should take the time to learn these techniques properly. It was a pity Tristan had not been assigned here. If he were, he would have loved this kind of atmosphere. Thora spent most of the day working in the training hall, summoned and dismissed by the upperclassmen, yet she showed no reaction. She did whatever she was told, her calm demeanor eventually draining their interest in ordering her around. There were two reasons Thora tolerated it. First, she had just joined the institute and wanted to understand the situation. Second, a bit of work meant nothing to her. She didn't even see it as deliberate harassment. After all, not a single one of them could actually fight her.Because of this, the upperclassmen became even more convinced that Thora was a weakling who didn't dare to resist. Meanwhile, at the Command Institute. Ashley sat in the classroom, twirling a pen between his fingers. His mind was nowhere near the instructor's lecture on new tactical systems. So boring. The corner of his mouth lifted faintly. Without that little one around, there was no fun at all. Which institute had she been assigned to? Had she not said she was coming to the Command Institute? Had she gone back on her word? He narrowed his eyes and looked out the window. Knowing her personality, she was absolutely capable of doing something so unexpected. He had originally planned to leave once his task was complete. But now, he suddenly felt like staying, just to watch her graduate from this military academy. Because when he looked at her, it felt as if he were looking at light itself.