"Let's go to the cafeteria," Lotus said immediately as soon as Anvil left the room.
"Ok." Anvil nodded and followed her.
Anvil noticed a lot of students of varying ages exiting their rooms and heading to the cafeteria as well.
However, he also noticed many gazes. Students were looking at him.
"Weird." Anvil didn't know why they were staring. Their eyes were filled with amusement, wonder, confusion, pity, and other emotions.
"Did you say anything?" Lotus asked.
"No, nothing." Anvil shook his head and stopped caring about the stares.
The cafeteria was clean, but there were many students walking around carrying food to their tables.
Tables were neatly placed on one side, and the food counter was on the other.
At one corner of the cafeteria, a group of students was shouting.
"Relon! Relon!"
"Lomki! Lomki!"
Two names were being chanted, with occasional "Woooo!" sounds that made Anvil curious.
He decided to see what was going on.
He entered the crowd and saw two people fighting.
"Whoever wins this battle gets a Golden Meal Card for a day!" a boy shouted. "And it seems Relon is taking the card!" he added.
Two burly figures were fighting with raw strength.
Punching, kicking, and grappling each other, they showed sheer violence. Their uniforms were tattered, pieces of cloth scattered across the ground.
Bruises and blood covered their faces and bodies.
Bang!
Relon had fewer wounds than Lomki. Anvil recognized their names from the large tags on their chests, still hanging on despite the brawl.
Relon was big and muscular, looking strong enough to defeat ten people with ease.
Lomki, on the other hand, was thin but agile. His punches were weak but precise, always targeting weak spots.
One fought with pure strength, while the other relied on pure strategy.
It was indeed an interesting fight.
"Interested?" a girl suddenly asked beside him.
"Huh?" He tilted his head.
"This fight. Are you interested?"
Is she asking me if I want to join? Anvil didn't understand her words, so he simply shook his head.
"No."
"Me too. I despise these fights. They show how the rich use the poor's weaknesses to exploit them. Honestly, it's sick." She began complaining.
Anvil looked at her beautiful face for a second, then shook his head.
"Not my business." He was about to leave when the girl suddenly called out.
"Hey, I'm Lunar. What's your name?"
"Anvil." He answered. "Do you need anything?"
"No. I just joined this academy today. I don't know anything, so could you kindly help me?"
"I joined yesterday. So you chose the wrong person to ask."
"Oh! Then we're both newcomers. Let's stick together." She joined Anvil.
"Suit yourself." He walked to a table.
"You don't have any food. Aren't you going to get something?" Lunar asked as she sat beside him, also without food.
"Someone's gonna get me."
"Oh, you already have friends here."
As she said that, a voice answered from behind.
"Yes!" Lotus, carrying two plates full of food, sat in front of Anvil and placed them on the table.
"I'm Lotus!" she introduced energetically. "Who might you be? Are you two acquaintances?" Her eyes gleamed.
"I'm Lunar." Lunar smiled at Lotus, thinking of her as a child. "We just met. I joined this academy today and was looking for someone to help me."
"Then you came to the right place." Lotus puffed her chest. "I can show you around. I know every single place in this academy."
"Oh my, that's wonderful." Lunar was delighted. "Then I'll shamelessly ask for your help."
"Ok! Ask me anything, or anywhere you want to go, I'll guide you! Wait, you don't have food. Here, take this. I'll get another plate for myself."
"No—" Before Lunar could decline, Lotus had already stood up and left.
"What an energetic kid," Lunar said with a gentle smile.
"Right. She's annoying and a pain in the ass." Anvil said, though his expression softened a little.
"You two seem close." Lunar probed.
"We just met yesterday, and she's been clinging to me since." He sighed.
"How cute." Lunar smiled.
After that, silence fell. They both looked at the food.
There was quite a variety: dumplings with tomato sauce, steak, mutton, chicken soup, a hamburger, cheese pizza, and fries.
One plate contained all of that.
Lunar looked at the food as if the portion wasn't big for her.
Anvil thought it was a lot, but his eyes lit up and a bright smile formed when he saw the dumplings.
He didn't hesitate and grabbed the plump dumplings.
"Don't be rude," Lunar suddenly said. "Wait for Lotus. It's not polite to eat before your friends arrive."
Anvil gave her a blank look, then popped the dumpling into his mouth anyway. His face brightened.
The dumpling was packed with juicy meat. After finishing one, he spoke.
"When did I say I'm a polite fellow? I don't care how you see me. I'll do what I want." He then wolfed down the dumplings with sauce.
With each bite, he let out a joyful sound, as if it was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.
Lunar rolled her eyes but found his eating quite amusing.
Lotus returned with two more plates of the same food.
"Oh, you've already begun. Then let's eat!" Just like Anvil, she didn't wait for a response before digging in.
"Give me dumplings. Take anything else you want," Anvil requested.
"Ok."
"No problem."
Lunar traded chicken soup for dumplings, while Lotus took the hamburger.
The three of them ate in peace.
"YEAHHHH!"
Suddenly, people began screaming in delight.
The crowd at the corner was going wild.
"I WON! I WON A THOUSAND UCC!"
"Damn! Damn! Damn! I lost! How—how?! They'll kill me! I took on massive debt! Nooooooo!"
Some shouted with joy, others cried in sorrow, while the rest watched with either envy or pity.
The trio didn't care and continued their meal.
Anvil glanced over and saw that Lomki had won.
Wisdom beats strength, he thought.
"Does this happen… every day?" Lunar asked.
"Hmm. In the cafeteria, it's rare. But fights like this happen daily in certain parts of the academy."
"Is this even allowed?"
"Yeah. Teachers don't care. As long as no one dies and both fighters consent, it's not a problem."
"Tsk. What a lawless place." Lunar clicked her tongue.
After the meal, the trio stood, and Lotus led them to a classroom on the 10th floor.
"This is a class for new students. It begins at 9. We have 10 minutes left. I'll join you too," Lotus explained.
"Ok." Lunar nodded, and Anvil entered the classroom.
It was a clean room with neatly arranged desks.
There were no boards or screens.
Only ten desks were in the room. Small, but neat.
The trio sat down. The two girls chatted while Anvil looked out the window, listening to their conversation.