08. Averson Blythe

"So, you are … Avery Blythe's distant cousin?"

A middle-aged man with glasses stared at Ave suspiciously, examining the young man's registration file. The man's glasses were almost slipping off his long, crooked nose as he continued to scrutinize Ave’s figure from top to bottom. 

Well, everything did feel so sudden, Ave admitted to himself. Luckily, having been an assistant and frequently visiting the teacher's room, he understood a little about how the school's registration process works.

Facing the young man was Dotoevsky Swerzen, commonly known as Mr. Swerzen, the Economics and Business teacher at Neogen High School and the person in charge of sorting through the students applying to the school. One could imagine how stingy and calculating the balding man in front of Ave was.

However, Ave was not worried because he already had an answer to this problem.

"Yes, Mr. Swerzen. We come from the same grandma, but my family lived in Rivera and only recently decided to return to New Orleans due to job demands."

"Oh, really? Here it says your father works in mining." Mr. Swerzen asked skeptically, trying to catch a lie.

Ave did lie about it all. About Rivera, about both his parents—he just made it up to perfect his disguise.

The young man nodded. "My dad works at Vreeport company's nickel mine, and lately, they've been transferring workers to the west side of New Orleans. Aren't you aware of that? The news is everywhere now."

That was half a lie and half a fact. He did see the news about a massive transfer of mine workers because the mining profession was no longer popular due to its high risks.

Listening to Ave's explanation, Mr. Swerzen sighed softly. He had heard the news that morning.

"However, still—"

Clank!

As Mr. Swerzen was about to complicate things, Ave took a shortcut and placed a bag full of money on Mr. Swerzen's desk, making the old man spontaneously silent and wide-eyed.

"20,000 dollars. Put me in class 2-1 and don't ask anything else, alright?"

"Gulp." Mr. Swerzen swallowed hard hearing that amount. Even for Swerzen, his monthly salary was only half of that. He then took the bag and opened it, and sure enough, a stack of dollars was inside, making Swerzen's eyes gleam with wealth.

"Alright," Swerzen finally said.

Ave had anticipated this. He had to part with his precious 20,000 dollars from his Gold Coins balance to bribe the money-hungry man. Swerzen was indeed easily bribed. He would turn a blind eye to bullying cases at Neogen High School as long as the parents involved bribed him with a few thousand dollars, ensuring innocent kids like Ave would never get justice.

'It's okay. Someday I'll take back my 20,000 dollars.'

After Swerzen finished counting the money, the money-hungry man now looked at Ave with adoring and respectful eyes, a far cry from his skeptical and suspicious gaze at the beginning. "Exactly 20,000 dollars, wow, so outstanding, Young Master! You wanted to join class 2-1, right? Of course, I'll arrange for an extra seat for you there. You can join the class today."

Ave shook his head, then pulled out another letter from his bag. "No, I don't need an extra seat. My distant cousin, Avery Blythe, resigned from school and returned the scholarship due to family issues. Since he can't come here, he entrusted me with his resignation letter. I'll just take his seat."

"Oh—he quit, it seems." Swerzen received the letter, glanced at it briefly, and then quickly filed it away. "Of course, he was a scholarship recipient, but coming from a poor family, you know, he's not that valuable to me—for this school."

Swerzen then turned his gaze back to Ave with a sycophantic expression. "While you, as the new light of Neogen High School, compared to your cousin, can take his place anytime you want!"

Seeing Swerzen's face made Ave want to vomit immediately, his teacher's attitude was so disgusting. So that was his status in the eyes of this school? A worthless person because he does not come from a wealthy family that can give them some bribes?

Ave stared coldly at Swerzen, making the balding man slightly shiver as he was suddenly looked at like that. "Y-Young Master? Is there something on my face?"

"It's nothing. I'll go to class right away. Isn't the lesson starting soon?"

Swerzen nodded quickly. "You're right! Haha, I almost forgot that the class will start soon because I was so happy chatting with you."

Hearing Swerzen's nonsense made Ave snort briefly.

‘Heh—Chatting with me or with my money?’

The man stood up and put the money in his storage safe, Swerzen glanced at Ave, afraid that the young man might see the safe code, but Ave was not interested and was busy looking at a ninja turtle statue on the shelf while whistling softly. 

"Wasn't this figure popular decades ago?" Ave murmured to himself while examining the details of the mini figurine.

"Okay, let's go. Young Master..."

"Averson," Ave answered with a small smile. He didn't want to change his real name too much because it would be troublesome if someday Ave accidentally mentioned his own name. Averson was a safe choice for him.

Mr. Swerzen nodded in understanding. "Certainly, Young Master Averson. I will personally escort you to class. Please follow me."

The guy walked ahead of Ave and opened the door as an extra service after Ave gave him 20,000 dollars as a bribe—a pretty big amount even for a New Orleans conglomerate. Ave and Swerzen walked through a big hallway in the main building of Neogen High School. The school had 3 main buildings, with some gym buildings specifically for practical classes or sports. This time, they were heading to the left wing building, where the second-year classes were. There were 7 sub-classes in this building, divided by students' abilities and rankings.

Ave used to be in class 2-1, which was the top class with geniuses in both talent and intelligence, including Claude, Rosalind, and Fraser. By going back to his old class, Ave challenged himself to stand up against bullies and reclaim the top spot in class.

"By the way, do you know that Neogen also provides dorms with a small additional monthly fee? If you want to stay in the dorms, just come to me, and I'll take care of it for you," Mr. Swerzen said with a wide smile, as if waiting for another stack of dollars to come his way.

Hearing the teacher's offer, Ave just smiled faintly. He had no intention of staying in the dorms. After all, who would take care of his grandmother if Ave stayed in the dorms?

"I'll think about it later," Ave replied.

"Oh, alright. Come to me anytime you make up your mind. We're here; this is class 2-1."

Ave looked up and saw the class nameplate reading '2-1' above the door.

Ah, he was back here again.

"Are you ready?" Mr. Swerzen suddenly asked, making Ave stare at the money-minded man for quite a while. Swerzen probably meant Ave could be nervous about entering a new class in the middle of the school year.

However, Ave interpreted Swerzen's meaning in a different context. Maybe, was Ave ready to return to that hell and face his day again? The young man clenched his fists.

No, he was ready. He had to be ready.

Ave's mission was to defeat all the bullies who had troubled him and become number one at Neogen High School, no, even number one in the world. To achieve that, entering this class was just a stepping stone for Ave.

The young man pulled the corners of his lips, forming a thin smile, "Of course, Mr. Swerzen. I'm ready."