At the Information Institute, the rest of the students were focused on their lessons. Luke, however, had his head down on his laptop, fast asleep. Only when something caught his interest would he lift his eyes to listen for a moment. Just like his time at Astralis College, he remained nearly invisible. Unless someone deliberately looked for him, he was easy to overlook. In truth, over the past two years following Thora, Luke had learned countless new concepts and ideas that didn't exist in this world. No one had proposed these theories yet, let alone put them into practice, but they had completely expanded his way of thinking and helped him immensely. The Information Institute did cover many areas he had rarely encountered before, and the material was far more systematic. Still, Luke's interest had never been in listening to lectures, but rather in breaking into the academy's data systems and digging through the archives himself.He lifted his head, yawned, then drifted back into sleep. Outside the window, a pair of small birds flitted past, chirping softly. Luke could not help thinking that classes really were dull. He might as well skip tomorrow and drag Shirley along with him. "Luke, sleeping in class. Go outside and do 500 push-ups," the instructor barked coldly. Luke looked up in a daze, muttering to himself. Were the rules really this strict here? As far as he knew, as long as one passed the exams, instructors usually didn't interfere. Most of the students around him watched with interest. Luke looked frail, barely under six feet tall, which was rare in the military academy. Combined with his thin, bookish appearance, 500 push-ups seemed enough to exhaust him completely. Without another word, Luke picked up his laptop and walked outside, dropping to the ground to start his push-ups.Five hundred was fine. Compared to the thousand Thora often made them do, this was already merciful. Back when he trained with the Wolffang Unit, punishments often started at 2000. Meanwhile, at the Combat Institute. Thora spent the entire day doing nothing but running errands. Freshmen in other institutes faced similar treatment, but those in the Combat Institute suffered far more. The institute worshiped brute force, and new students inevitably sat at the very bottom of the academy's food chain. Upperclassmen who had failed to advance for years could only find a sense of accomplishment by bullying newcomers. Even Thora herself had not expected to end up as the worst off among all the freshmen. "Rookie, over here!" The man who had been ordering her around earlier shouted.Thora walked over obediently. "Go get me a glass of water. Cold. If you mess it up, I'll make you regret it," the man snarled. The light blue of his uniform was especially irritating to Thora's eyes. At a glance, she could tell he was no decent sort. The scars around his wrists were clearly from struggling out of handcuffs. He likely had a criminal record, perhaps even time in prison. His name was Graham Linton. He was the ringleader among the light blue uniformed students in Combat Institute's first year and the main instigator behind the bullying of freshmen. A textbook repeater. "Okay," Thora replied flatly and turned to get the water. In the corner, Mona, who had been reading study materials, immediately stood up and tried to walk over. She had barely taken a step when Graham blocked her path. "Ms. Campbell, would you grant me the honor of a paired sparring session?" he asked. The others watched eagerly. Everyone knew what Graham was like. Female students were rare in the military academy to begin with, and even more so in the Combat Institute. After being surrounded by nothing but men for so long, seeing a beautiful girl like Mona was more than enough to stir ugly impulses. "No," Mona snapped back without hesitation. Her temper flared instantly. Graham's expression darkened. "Ms. Campbell, don't be ungrateful." Mona sneered. "Who do you think you are, putting on airs in front of me?" As the descendant of a count, Mona had never been humiliated like this, except by that one bastard who made her miserable. She instinctively glanced toward Thora, who was pouring water, her chest tightening with frustration. Instead of getting angry, Graham laughed, his expression growing more twisted. "Looks like you've got quite the temper. Since you're in our institute now, I'll help you smooth it out." As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out to grab Mona. "What are you doing? Don't touch me!" Mona immediately fought back. Her skills were not bad, but the gap in strength between her and Graham was too great. Graham dodged easily and seized her wrist in return. "Hah. Let me teach you how to be a proper freshman," Graham roared, lifting his other hand to slap her across the face. But before his hand could fall, it was caught in a crushing grip.