Chapter 187
A choice
IAM locked eyes with Natsuki.
She didn't look away. If anything, she leaned in slightly, tilting her head as she studied him like he was a puzzle she hadn't quite solved yet.
She was a descendant of the Elf, standing around five-foot-five, with a deceptively soft frame. At first glance, she looked delicate—but the quiet definition of muscle beneath her skin betrayed someone far more capable. Her complexion was the palest IAM had ever seen, so light it almost looked like moonlight on snow.
In contrast, her lips were a vivid pink, standing out sharply against the rest of her features. Her hair was jet-black—like spilled ink, fell in a long straight unbroken curtain down her back, swaying gently as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
Her eyes were deep brown—almost golden . They carried a strange glow to them, like amber catching firelight. There was something about them—something that made it hard to look away. That, paired with her small nose and consistently blank, aloof expression, gave her an almost dreamlike presence.
She gave off the kind of energy that made it hard to tell if she was listening or lost in her own world.
She used those distant, glimmering eyes to study IAM in full, slowly tracing his figure from head to toe.
His caramel-colored skin was dotted faintly with the marks of old acne, his face unremarkable at first glance. But what drew attention immediately were his eyes.
They were a pair of nothing but pools of pure darkness, not metaphorically, but quite literally—there was something about them that made one feel as if they were being pulled in, like staring into gravity wells that absorbed everything. He was an average-looking man in most respects, but those eyes made him striking.
His head was crowned with long locs—thick and well-kept. Each one swayed slightly when he moved, framing his face like roots stretching outward. On each ear, he wore a diamond earring.
Across from him, Natsuki tilted her head, studying him openly.
She didn't bother hiding it.
Her eyes moved from his earrings to his locs, then back to his face, narrowing slightly when they reached his eyes. For just a second, something unreadable flickered across her expression.
IAM couldn't quite tell what was going through her mind, but one thing felt certain—Natsuki didn't seem to like him very much. Their first encounter had ended with her calling him a creep, and that wasn't exactly the kind of thing you forget.
Still, he had a sinking feeling that whatever opinion she held of him now was about to get worse.
Hobbie, standing as referee for the final match, finally voiced the question that had been echoing across the arena in hushed whispers and narrowed eyes.
His tone was sharp, his expression even sharper. "Why aren't you using your Avien?" he asked. "What kind of fight do you think this is if you're not even going to take it seriously?"
IAM inhaled slowly, letting the air sit in his chest for a moment before closing his eyes.
Throughout the dozens of matches that came before this, he had been thinking—no, obsessing—about how to avoid this exact moment. He had searched every possibility, every loophole, hoping something—anything—would present itself. A miracle. A distraction. A power outage. Even divine intervention.
But nothing came.
There were no perfect solutions.He had weighed the risks, analyzed the fallout, turned each option inside out, and still, the truth remained:
There was no right choice.
Only the one he could live with.
But it was, in this moment, the only choice that made sense.
His eyes opened slowly.
They locked with Hobbie's for just a second—and then came the answer.
"I surrender," IAM said calmly.
A stunned silence fell across the arena.
For IAM, the choice had been clear.
As he'd gone over again and again during the matches before, there was one thing he absolutely couldn't afford: revealing that he'd already reached the Experienced level.
Not yet.
Faking a loss had been an option he considered, but it quickly crumbled under scrutiny. It wouldn't be convincing. Anyone paying attention would notice he wasn't using his Avien, and with an opponent like Natsuki—someone who would definitely come at him with full force—pretending to lose would be messy at best, dangerous at worst.
If he went too far in trying to act weak, he might get seriously hurt and no one would buy it. The margin for error was microscopic.
If anything, it would only make things worse—faking a loss without using his Avien would draw even more attention to the fact that he wasn't using it in the first place.
And so, he was left with the only path that, while far from perfect, still gave him control.
He surrendered.
It would tank his reputation. That was guaranteed. His classmates would be annoyed, disappointed, maybe even angry. People would talk. Rumors would fly. Life at the academy would only get harder from here.
But between ridicule, suspicion, and injury… he could live with ridicule.
Let them think what they wanted. They didn't know who he was. They didn't know what was at stake. And right now, IAM didn't owe anyone an explanation.
Everyone seemed frozen in place, their brains struggling to register the words that had just come out of IAM's mouth.
Kevin immediately jumped up onto the stage, his brow furrowed in confusion and frustration. "What exactly are you doing?" he demanded. "What do you mean you quit?"
IAM opened his mouth, ready to answer, but he didn't get the chance.
Natsuki spoke first. Her tone was calm, almost cold, but the undercurrent of fury was unmistakable. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped forward, lifting her wooden sword to point directly at him.
"You…" she said slowly, "are you underestimating me right now? Do you think surrendering is some kind of favour to me? You won't even bother to use your Avien?"
She shook her head, disgust plain on her face.
"Actually, never mind. I don't care what excuse you have. What you've done isn't just disappointing—it's insulting. To me. To the fight. To what it means to be an ascender. You've disrespected your opponent. And that? That is something I won't forgive."
Then, without another word, she turned on her heel and walked off the stage—leaving IAM standing there alone under countless stares.
For whatever reason, fate—or maybe just dumb luck—seemed hellbent on ensuring that Natsuki had the absolute worst impression of him possible.