Named the Royal Academy, the academy held great prestige in the Golde Kingdom. Since every n.o.ble attended and graduated the academy at some point in their life, the place had become a hall of memories and a place to pa.s.s on legacies.

A particular thing about the academy is the fact that commoners can still enroll if they possess talents which are desired by the kingdom to be nurtured and grow into fruits. These commoners are either seen as people to be respected or people to be bullied, it really depended on whether they had the backbone to stand up for themselves.

This year, Tanya would be enrolled as a first year student. Although the most junior of the students, she felt like this was nothing to stress over. She had no desire to become an overly popular girl, she only wanted to have a little fun while drawing a clear line of separation between her and her peers. She had already achieved quite a lot in these past few years, much more than a mere teenager could possibly do.

"Young Miss, you have been practicing your swordsmans.h.i.+p and magic for the entire week. You should stop and train your mind more." Penelope commented while watching Tanya alone, chopping another dummy in half in the training yard.

"I study at night and practice my more practical skills at day… or would you prefer if I do both by day and do something more interesting with you at night?" Tanya sheathed her sword with her back face to Penelope, turning her head at a graceful angle as she winked with a smug expression.

"You know what? If you can become the valedictorian of the entire academy this year, I will be more than willing to entertain that thought." Penelope smiled confidently and crossed her arms.

"Are you sure you want to promise? Will you be able to take responsibility for your own words? I, Tanya Sera Vermillion, am not one to forget promises. Make sure to exercise your back appropriately, it may ache when I become valedictorian." Tanya s.h.i.+fted towards Penelope and tickled the latter's chin.

"You seem to be very confident about that. I heard that the crown princess will be attending the same year as you, she is also very intelligent too. You better watch out or you might not even be valedictorian of your year level." Penelope giggled.

'The princess…'

In all actuality, Tanya had never met the crown princess. Serena Golde has only been a topic in trivial discussions and had never really been paid attention to. Most novels a.s.sumed that she would be married off to one of the ducal houses to strengthen their ties with the royal family or be married off to a different kingdom's royal family. Now, Serena had become the new crown heir to the throne. The next Queen.

All that anyone knew was that Serena is intelligent. This could only mean one thing for Tanya; a challenge. If she wanted to become a baroness at graduation, she needed to beat the crown princess to it. Facing off against another opponent, Tanya would observe and note. With many years spent in the highest echelon of politics and compet.i.tion, she knew a thing or two about dealing with opponents.

"Penelope, are you saying that I am inferior to princess Serena?" Tanya licked her lips playfully, pressing her body against Penelope's.

"Not here…!" Penelope suddenly turned red again.

"I should punish you for thinking lowly of me….mmm…" Tanya just couldn't help but feel annoyed when she was being portrayed as inferior. As an emperor, she needed to be the best to thrive. Inferiority is simply not an option.

"But not today. I will be waiting at the end of this year though. And since you will be attending to me while I am at the academy, I hope you realise why I seem so confident. You have already signed yourself up for a night to remember, so I'd be prepared." Tanya poked Penelope's nose and stepped back.

[Level up: Prince Charming 2]

[Met conditions for secret job]

[Ascend from Warrior 10 and Mage 10 to Magic Knight 1?]

A spike of energy courses through Tanya's veins. Something had begun within her, her first combat job ascension.

"Aargh…" Tanya knelt down on one knee as she felt her stomach clench in pain.

"Young Lady! What is wrong?! Do you need a physician?!" Penelope began inspecting Tanya and checking for any signs of injury.

[Job ascension: Warrior 10 u0026 Mage 10 -u003e Magic Knight 1]

The pain quickly subsided as quickly as it came. The first combat job evolution would always have some pain, even for the lowliest combat job ascension. Today, Tanya had obtained a new job and a growing feeling inside her.

"Young Lady! Have you just ascended?!" Penelope's face became extremely excited after noticing Tanya's sudden spike in mana.

"Yes I have… Penelope, please do not tell anyone. We are alone right now so I would prefer for you to be the only one that knows. A combat job evolution at age 16 is quite hard to believe, so let's keep this a secret just for now." Tanya patted Penelope's shoulder and sighed.

"I will definitely reward you if you keep this a secret~" Tanya seductively whispered into Penelope's ear.

"First of all, are you alright?! You need to rest! An ascension drains you of most of your mana and stamina, we need to get you to be right now." Penelope ignored Tanya and princess-carried the latter back to her room in the mansion.

When her Young Miss suddenly went through an ascension, the first thing she did was worry over her safety. Penelope did not bother listening to the pointless trivial things Tanya stated, she already had common sense. For her, she would rather make sure that Tanya is alright rather than speak for this moment.

Tanya really did not deserve Penelope.