This time the reaction came with more audible feeling behind it.
There were groans.
Actual groans.
Not loud enough to disrupt the ceremony, but noticeable enough to reveal exactly how many people had opinions about that name.
Because if Chris was difficult to like, then Asher was in some ways even worse.
Hot-tempered.
Sharp-tongued.
Loud whenever irritated.
And somehow capable of becoming irritated by nearly anything.
A large portion of the student body had, at one point or another, found him deeply annoying. Some outright hated his guts. He was the kind of person who could make enemies without even trying, simply by existing in the same space as others with that arrogant, abrasive edge to him.
And yet…
When it came to actual combat, those complaints faded fast.
Because Asher Hawthorne was no joke.
Everyone had seen that much clearly two days ago.
His victory over Chris had not merely been a win.
It had been a statement.
