"You all will only stand a chance if you face me together, not alone. And, oh, before we start, I want the two nobles to introduce themselves—I want to know the names of my victims."
"Well, who's first?"
"My name is Zalek Chvengar. I am the First Vice Chancellor's third son, and I feel you don't deserve to be in the same class as the nobles."
Commoner Leo said, "Wow, that attitude needs a factory reset, and I would love to factory reset that… emmm… attitude of yours. Well, onto the next: hey, babe, what's your name?"
"Okay, listen patiently, because I am only going to say this once. My name is Xara. I am the daughter of the king's third wife, and I am his second daughter. I'm very pleased to meet you, and I would love to fight you."
"Okay," Leo answered. "Yo, babe, I hope your dad won't file any girl-rights lawsuit against me, huh?" He looked at the Headmaster, who gave him a nod as confirmation. Leo turned back to her. "It seems I don't have a problem—school your ass."
Xara said, "You know, Nicole, you have a bad character, right?"
"Oh," Leo replied, "wow, you have keen eyes. But you also have the most stupid attitude of them all. You are just pretending to make yourself popular and uphold the image of 'princess in training.'"
Xara's cheeks puffed out—she was clearly getting angry 😡💢.
"Wow, babe, drop the act. You look more beautiful the angrier you are." Xara blushed at the word.
Leo concluded, "All right, time to fight. Remember: work together to stand a chance; if not, you all fucked up."
The Headmaster interjected, "Well, if you are done with your chat group, time to display what you are made of. Once the clock strikes twelve, it officially begins. Currently the time is 11:59:50, so you all have ten seconds left. And to all the remaining bugs who didn't display balls—congratulations. You have truly displayed your talent for being commoners."
Suddenly a hand was raised. "Oh, who has a problem now?" the Headmaster asked.
Vultra stepped out. "Headmaster, I don't think it's fair—"
"What don't you think is fair?" the Headmaster asked.
"I don't think this battle is fair. If Nicole gets to fight, what about me?"
The Headmaster answered, "So you have a problem with the battle that is about to begin? But I know you two—if I let you fight, it will end up being a showdown, and the repair bill will be bad for business. So this is what I want you to do for me: save your dispute. You will need it for an upcoming event later. Just quiet down and enjoy the Soul Gale. Understand?"
"Yes, sir—loud and clear," Vultra answered, sighing in disappointment.
Side talks erupted: some students said, "He is one of the commoners," which truly set a mark on both commoners and nobles—he and Nicole are the principal's favorite students.
Now the scene shifts to the arena. The battle just started.
Xara and Zalek charged Leo head-on. Leo used one hand to stop both their attacks. Leo said, "Do you want to know a secret? I'm only level 2."
Both Xara, Zalek, and Pallor's jaws dropped. In fact, the whole arena—students and the Headmaster—were all quiet before they shouted in unison, "What the fuuuccckkkkkk?!" It was like an asteroid crashed into the arena.
The scene now shifts back to Pallor attacking Leo from his blind spot. Leo used his insane core strength to perform some calisthenics moves, using his two legs to give Pallor a run for his money while he used his hands to wipe the floor with those two nobles.
The three students decided to regroup while Leo stretched, waiting for them to come up with solutions. The three regrouped far away from Leo.
Pallor started, "I know you hate nobles, but if we keep up this attitude, Nicole will use us as practice rehearsals."
Xara said, "Even though I hate commoners, I guess for this moment we can put aside our differences. What do you think, Zalek?"
Zalek replied, "Well, since it is our only option, I guess we will have to go with it. Now here's what we will all do: I will lead the charge, Xara attacks the flank—since we can't use magic, but we can use our weapons—and Pallor, anything you feel like doing that can benefit the team, do it. Got it?"
Pallor, Xara, and Zalek answered in unison, "All clear."
"Let's go take Nicole down," Zalek said.
In an instant, they moved at insane speeds. Leo saw them coming and said, "Oh, so you didn't run away? It doesn't matter—I will take you down this time."
Leo dashed at them, not underestimating them because the power of teamwork is supreme. Zalek started the attack, signaling the rest to attack. Knives flew at Leo from Pallor; Leo used his hands to block and parry. Before he could react, Xara threw chains at him; Leo narrowly evaded.
Leo was still using his basic hands to fight. Suddenly, Zalek, wielding a giant sword, slashed in his direction. Leo slapped the blade away with his bare hand.
They regrouped again. Leo said, "Congratulations. Through the power of teamwork, you successfully pushed me back. For that, I commend you. But if you were paying attention, you would notice that while you were all fighting with weapons, I used my bare hands and legs. Since I am merciful, I don't want to send you guys to the infirmary. I will use my weakest weapon."
The whole academy was dumbfounded; they were shocked.
Leo said, "Now witness why you deserve to fear me." He pulled out his knuckles—he always wore them—and then disappeared. He instantly inflicted cuts on the three students. They were shocked.
Leo said, "You know I'm not really serious, and it's going to take more than that pesky attack to defeat me. Come at me like you mean it, or you all will be embarrassed."
"Yo, gramps, why don't you lift the restriction on not using magic?" Xara taunted.
The Headmaster said, "Call me 'gramps' one more time and I will kill you. Got it?" Leo flinched under the glare.
The Headmaster continued, "Since the rule is a limit, there are no rules—except don't kill one another." He stretched his right arm; a paper flew toward him. "This statement reads: for any damage done to one another or to the arena, the academy will not be held responsible. If anyone dies, the academy will not be responsible. And if you break anything, you will get slapped with the bill. Got it? Now run wild like wild dogs for me."
Leo said to them, "You heard the man—show me your true power, and I can also go all out." He removed his knuckles and laid them on the ground. He stretched, then pulled out his twin blades, gave them a stare, and disappeared—instantly landing four clean cuts on Pallor.
Pallor unleashed his aura, showing his earth affinity, and stamped his foot on the ground. The earth shook. Leo said, "Wow, I'm honestly shocked. What's even more shocking for me is those nobles—they just flew up! Their shoes are magical and grant flight ability, but since Pallor doesn't have one, I guess it is for nobles. Anyway, staying in the air makes you open prey."
Leo unleashed his aura as he activated his sword skill and—using Demos' blessing—applied enhancements to his blade. Xara used her lightning ability to create a domain which she calls "Thunder God Domain," while Zalek used his fire affinity to create "Fire Domain." As if they had rehearsed, they merged their domains, and Pallor merged his as well—giving it the clumsy name "Fire-Thunder-God-Earth Domain."
Leo said, "After all this showoff, your weapons have changed according to your domains. I love this attitude. Well then, come at me." The students rushed at him while he surged toward them.
The scene shifts to a hidden void realm. A distant old enemy watched from the shadows. His subordinate told him, "We are ready, my lord. Say your orders and it will be done."
The enemy said, "Wait a bit—not yet, but very soon." He then laughed like a true maniac.
What do you think will happen next? Who is this old enemy? Controversies and plot twists are coming in the next chapter—stay tuned!