I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 115: Hostile Welcome

Eric followed the male Academy staff member. He walked in his wake as they traversed the beautifully maintained campus grounds.

The Academy was huge and very clean.

After a short walk they arrived at a very large building. It was one of many such buildings that dotted the landscape but this one seemed specifically designated as a dormitory a place for students to live.

A crowd of newly admitted male students was already gathered outside the main entrance.

One by one they were making their way inside with a mixture of excitement and trepidation a mix of eagerness and fear.

A high wall encircled the building. It separated the dormitory from the rest of the Academy.

This created a distinct self-contained compound.

The Academy staff members were escorting each new student to the entrance of this compound.

They were giving them their room assignment telling them where to go.

And then the staff members were promptly departing their duty to guide the new arrivals concluded.

They did not go inside the dormitory compound themselves.

As they reached the entrance to the dormitory compound the staff member who was escorting Eric stopped. "Your room is on the fourth floor of this building," he stated his tone professional and direct.

He did not waste words. "Your room number is 14." He handed Eric a simple metal key. It felt heavy in Eric’s hand.

"Tomorrow morning," the staff member continued "you will need to report to the staff office. It is in the main Academy building.

There you will receive your official student ID card and all the other necessary items you will require for your four years of residence here at the Academy. Things like your schedule and books."

With that the staff member gave a curt nod a quick formal gesture.

He then turned and walked away leaving Eric standing alone before the entrance to his new home for the next four years.

Eric looked towards the large dormitory building. He could see the other new students their faces a mixture of nervousness and anticipation as they stepped through the gate one by one.

He took a deep breath.

He tried to steady his own racing heart.

Then he walked forward through the gate and into the dormitory compound.

The moment Eric stepped past the gate the moment he went beyond the outer wall and into the dormitory courtyard he realized the situation was not as simple as he had anticipated. It was not just a matter of finding his room and settling in.

Lining the courtyard observing the new arrivals with a predatory stillness were numerous older students. They all wore the standard Academy uniform a practical and dignified gray attire.

But their demeanor the way they stood and looked at the new students was anything but welcoming. These were clearly second and third-year students.

Their confidence and a certain hardened look in their eyes set them apart from the fresh-faced first-years who were just arriving.

The new students who had entered before Eric were already clustered together. They were on one side of the large courtyard standing in a tense silent group.

They looked nervous and a little scared.

Eric was quite surprised by this unexpected reception.

He had thought they would just be shown to their rooms. He did not expect to be met by a large group of older students.

As Eric and the small group of students who had entered with him moved further into the courtyard one of the second-year students stepped forward.

"Just like the others who arrived before you," the older student called out. His voice was commanding.

He was clearly used to giving orders. "All of you new arrivals go and stand over there with them! Now!" He pointed to the group of first-years huddled on the side.

These upperclassmen these older students seemed... skilled. They seemed intimidating.

Although none of them were brandishing weapons they weren’t holding any swords or showing any magic Eric could feel a distinct negative energy coming from them.

It was a collective aura a combined feeling of hostility and arrogance that made him deeply uneasy. It was a very unwelcoming feeling.

However he was in no position to object or to ask questions.

He was new here.

Like all the other new students Eric and the boys who had entered with him followed the order.

They moved to the side of the courtyard to join the growing crowd of first-years.

They were being herded like sheep into a pen.

This process continued for some time. More and more new students would enter the dormitory compound.

They would be intimidated by the upperclassmen who were waiting for them. And then they would be ordered to join the silent waiting group of first-years on the side.

Eventually all the newly admitted male students for this year were gathered together on one side of the large courtyard. Facing them were the second and third-year students.

Their expressions were a mixture of amusement disdain and a kind of predatory interest. They looked like wolves looking at a flock of sheep.

A particular group of upperclassmen then stepped forward.

They seemed to assume a position of leadership.

They stood in front of the other older students.

It was at this point that Eric noticed a subtle yet significant detail about their uniforms.

He looked closer.

All the students new and old wore the same basic gray-colored Academy uniform.

However there were distinct differences.

He saw that the uniforms of the upperclassmen were distinguished by colored bands or sashes that they wore.

He observed that these older students were segregated into distinct groups based on the color of these bands. There was one group of students whose gray uniforms were adorned with a striking bright red band.

Another group sported a bright yellow band on their gray attire.

They stood together. A third group was distinguished by a deep blue band on their uniforms.

And finally a fourth group a group that looked particularly serious wore a stark dark black band on their gray uniforms.

Eric could clearly see that the students were standing together with others who wore the same color band. They were forming clear distinct factions or groups.

And all of them all these different colored factions of upperclassmen were now standing together before the new students. Their collective intimidating gaze was fixed upon them upon the group of first-years.

The welcoming orientation Eric might have expected the friendly start to his Academy life was clearly not on the agenda today.

This was something else entirely. It was an unofficial welcoming party and it did not feel friendly at all.