"Wow, Conan, what happened to your hair?!" asked Anna.
"Yeah, since when has it been so golden?" said Goon-woo.
"And it smells good, it's better cared for than ours!" said Adhel, leaning over to smell it.
Everyone was around me, holding my hair or leaning over to smell it. This started as soon as I entered the dining room; instantly, everyone turned to look at me, approaching where I was and surrounding me.
"Get away!" I shouted, slapping the hands of those who touched my hair.
Even though I did my best to push them away, they dodged my blows and came closer, just to look at my hair.
From outside, I could hear laughter approaching, and then I saw the older students come in, surprised to see them surrounding me.
"What's going on here?" Ryna asked, rising above the others.
I could see her eyes widen when she saw me, before she smiled and lifted me into the air.
"Wow, what beautiful hair!" she said, holding my face against her chest and moving me from side to side.
"Put me down!" I shouted, trying to escape.
No matter how hard I tried to break free from her embrace, I couldn't escape, which also surprised me as I felt Ryna's great strength. After a few minutes, Ryna let go of me, dropping me on the floor, where I collapsed. I could feel how extremely heavy my body felt after being squeezed so tightly.
"Stop making such a racket!" Ophelia shouted, annoyed by all the screaming.
None of us had realized she was nearby, so we were surprised to hear her. Following her order, they stopped bothering me and separated, sitting down in their places. This allowed me to breathe freely, at least during breakfast, since from a distance, no one stopped looking at me.
After breakfast, we had to do our usual training, which we finished even faster than the day before. Everyone went their separate ways; I was going to go with the others to the library, but I stopped when I saw the older ones gathering in the center.
"Are they going to practice like before?" I asked myself.
I wasn't the only one nearby; Anna also started to approach when she saw them.
"This time I'll stay and watch," Anna said, sitting down on the floor next to me.
It seemed that the others had thought the same thing, as they were already on the floor or on their way there. I did the same as the others, excited to see the older ones practice again.
"There are more of you now, huh?" Ryna said, smiling at us before grabbing a sword and walking into the middle.
"Let's show off a little," the older one with fox ears said to his partner, placing his hands on the ground before shooting toward her.
Suddenly, all of us began to feel a strong pressure coming from them, increasing with each of their movements. We could see how the leaves on the ground were lifted by the wind they created.
Ryna moved so fast that I could barely see her, throwing several sword blows at Eugene; he was even faster, dodging every attack she made. My surprise was even greater when I saw Eugene deflect her sword with a kick, then deliver another that went straight to her side.
Ryna covered herself, grimacing in pain as she moved away from Eugene. He followed her and continued to throw kicks, aimed directly at her face, which she could barely dodge. We thought Ryna would lose since Eugene was even faster than her, but we were surprised to see her stop a kick aimed at her face with her own leg.
The blow echoed throughout the room before Ryna grabbed his sword from below and slashed at Eugene's outstretched leg. Although he was able to dodge it, his leg didn't touch the ground, and his opponent took advantage of this, taking a long stride and then elbowing him in the chest.
We all cheered as Eugene fell to the floor, clutching his chest as he seemed to struggle to breathe.
"They love me more," Ryna said to Eugene, a smile on her face.
He smiled back at her as he clutched his chest, slowly recovering before sitting down on the floor and saying,
"That hurt."
"Eugene, did Ryna beat you? Looks like you're losing your touch," said a voice from behind us.
When we turned around, we saw the leader of the older kids, the one who had stood in front of the others when they entered the dining room. His name was Matthew, and from what we had been told, he was the oldest in terms of age.
"Try practicing against her yourself," Eugene challenged him, standing up and walking toward him.
"No, I don't want to get hit," he replied, unabashed.
We were about to make fun of him when, suddenly, the sect's front door opened. A group of boys entered from outside, taller than any of us but shorter than the older ones.
"We're finally back!" said one, his long red hair covering his face, stretching his arms as he yawned.
"Get out of the way!" a girl behind him shouted, kicking him and sending him crashing to the ground. She had short pink hair tied back in a small bun, with a few strands falling across her face.
It was the first time I had seen another girl besides Anna with short hair, so I was very surprised. I looked behind me, hoping the others would know who they were. Luckily, the guys who were ahead of us ran over to greet them, hugging them as they talked excitedly.
"More people, huh? How many are there here?" Niko asked from behind me.
I was thinking the same thing. Every day, this place seemed to get more and more crowded. Although it didn't seem anywhere near full, I was still surprised that they kept appearing and appearing.
"You took too long, I was thinking of sending someone to look for you," said an old man, approaching the group.
"Yes, it was because of that woman who stopped us halfway and wanted to come and talk to the sect leader," said the pink-haired girl, pointing behind her.
Just as she said, behind her was a woman in a long, elegant white dress. Seeing her, the old man was surprised, before saying:
"We weren't expecting the leader of the Crimson Spear Guild. May I ask what brings you here?" asked the old man, as he led the woman to his side.
"I have to resolve some issues with your leader, who invaded one of the dungeons that was being prepared for exploration," she said with a smile on her face. Even so, her tone of voice was tense and she seemed angry.