CHAPTER 33
Compared to his outward nonchalant look, Ray was actually seething with rage on the inside because of the situation.
'These damned fools. They know that they can't attack higher graders. I'm pretty sure they must have lost a few points during the exercise, and now they're here to vent their anger and frustration on low graders just because we are weak? How is that fair?'
He snickered inwardly as he narrowed his gaze at them, his hand moving as he shoved his fork into his mouth while calmly chewing.
'... Enough is enough. I'm not going to get pushed back by the world or its inhabitants. With or without power, I'm no pushover.'
That was when he replied;
"If I had overtaken you, doesn't it mean that you are just slow?"
"....."
Silence crept into the air as the leader of the group blinked, his eyes twitching at the response he had just been given.
It seemed like his ego had been bruised, especially as the low grader continued to eat calmly, as though nothing had happened, seemingly ignoring the four figures standing right in front of him.
"How dare you act so nonchalant?!"
'Oh boy. Here it comes.' Van gulped loudly as, for some reason, he felt completely invisible in the face of the bullies.
The leader of the group swiftly lunged forward, crossing the distance of a metre in mere seconds, his fist shooting down toward Ray's head.
And for some reason, the young lad was still casually eating until—
"How dare you?" A calm, dangerous voice wafted through the air, cutting through the chatter of the cafeteria.
A strange, deadly aura swept through the hall, making the weaker Aspirants shudder in fright.
For the first time, Ray lifted his head.
He had felt this aura before and already knew who it belonged to.
The Aspirant's hand was instantly stopped dead in its track, causing a deep frown to flash across his face.
Turning around, he saw a tall figure standing before him.
One hand was holding onto his elbow, while the other remained tucked casually in his pocket as he glared at the person in front of him.
This was Kai, and he didn't look pleased.
"Who are you? How dare you int—"
"... Shut up." Kai calmly cut the student off as he removed his hand from his pocket and flashed his wrist in front of his face.
Seeing the number displayed on it, the student suddenly lost all will.
His eyes bulged as though they were about to pop out of their sockets.
His heart pounded like he had just witnessed his worst nightmare.
A loud, audible gulp echoed as the Aspirant wriggled his hand free, then with a sneer, stomped away along with his gang.
The moment they were gone, the suffocating pressure in the cafeteria receded.
Kai turned and smiled at Ray, who had already stood up, having finished his meal.
"Didn't need your help."
And with that, he walked off, leaving Van with a completely lost appetite as he stared at his untouched food, sweat beading down his face.
'Th…That was close.' He gulped.
After dropping off his plate, Ray tapped on his watch.
The display immediately directed him to where the homeroom session was about to take place.
As he headed there, his mind drifted into deep thought.
'The incident just now has given me an idea of what aspect class I want to focus on. I almost forgot that in this world, I won't only be facing Aberrants... but humans too.
And without the necessary skills to back it up, I would be a goner.'
Soon enough, he walked into the homeroom class.
It was a bit empty, except for the fact that a girl could be seen staring at the board out front as she claimed a seat near the center.
Surprisingly, he recognised who she was. She had been part of his assessment batching.
'... What was her name again? Chloe? I think.'
He shrugged lightly and decided to walk off, selecting a seat close to the window, causing a slight breeze to ruffle through his hair and brush against his face.
The seat he picked was actually wide enough to fit three people comfortably, so currently, there was enough space for two more occupants.
And soon enough, they arrived.
"Oh. He picked a seat for us." The annoyingly charming voice echoed through the room as Kai and Van could be seen walking in.
Ray exhaled softly, trying his hardest to ignore the tall dude altogether.
Without hesitation, Kai took the middle seat while Van sat at the edge, causing Ray to now be annoyingly close to Kai.
"Ohoy~ Bray, what are you thinking of?"
Ray lifted an eyebrow, his face scrunching up in disbelief.
"Bray? Fool. My name is actually simple to pronounce, yet you still find it hard? How can you fumble something as basic as 'Ray'?"
Kai rubbed his hair nervously with a mild chuckle.
"I don't know. I have always been bad with names, and no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to remember unmemorable people's names."
'Unmemorable?' Ray felt an overwhelming urge to facepalm at that moment, but he merely sighed, deciding to let the situation slide.
"Whatever."
Van was about to chime in, but the class was immediately being filled up by students at an impressive rate.
In no time at all, every seat was occupied, and only then did the instructor walk in.
His brown eyes scanned the students as a charming smile settled on his face while he took his position on the podium.
"Good morning, Aspirants. I'm Instructor Sony. And we would be delving into the history of Alcatraz for the next two hours."
Ray felt like groaning inwardly at the sound of that.
Two full hours of a torturous lecture covering things he already knew by heart.
'Lucky for me, I selected a seat close to the window.' He smiled inwardly as the instructor's voice gradually faded into the background while his gaze drifted outside.