At the same time, he was full of surprise and confusion.
With such ability, it was difficult for him to understand why Ryan had failed twice in a row and nearly been expelled.
As for Ryan's rapid improvement in strength within such a short period of time, Damian considered that impossible.
There were few shortcuts to rapidly increasing physical strength unless one continuously consumed precious resources that enhanced the body.
But those resources were so expensive that even children from wealthy families would hesitate to use them continuously, let alone Ryan.
"Are you alright?"
Elias walked over and asked with a smile.
Before the battle, even he, who knew Ryan best, hadn't expected that Ryan could fight Damian to such an extent.
Although Ryan hadn't defeated Damian, the shock he had brought to the surrounding students could clearly be seen from their expressions.
"I'm fine."
Ryan shook his head.
His strength had now been completely exposed.
However, it had been almost impossible to continue concealing his strength while facing an opponent like Damian.
Ryan had already anticipated this possibility before accepting the spar.
Between concealing his strength and launching a powerful counterattack against Damian, he chose the latter.
Although this would bring some hidden dangers, it was not without advantages.
If he could make the academy's higher-ups see his value, then with the protection of Aegis Martial Academy, he would naturally become much safer.
The practice session was the last part of the lesson, and once it ended, the morning's class was considered over.
Derek and Damian left the training ground together and headed toward the villa area.
Throughout the journey, Damian remained silent, clearly still resentful about failing to defeat Ryan.
After all, he had confidently promised Victor that he would teach Ryan a lesson he would never forget.
Each with their own thoughts, the two continued on their way, passing through most of Aegis Martial Academy before reaching the smooth, stone-paved road of the villa area and finally entering a luxurious villa.
Inside the villa was a garden of considerable size, where several young women dressed as maids were carefully tending to the flowers and plants.
In an open area of the garden stood a pavilion, and inside it, Victor lay lazily on a deck chair.
"Young Master Victor."
Derek and Damian greeted him respectfully as they approached.
"Mm."
Victor nodded but did not look up.
After a long while, he finally asked,
"You seriously injured Ryan?"
"This, this..."
Upon hearing this, neither of them spoke for a moment.
Damian was responsible for failing to accomplish the task, while Derek was the one who had recommended him.
Since Damian had failed, Derek naturally bore some responsibility as well.
"What's the matter?"
Noticing that the two were hesitating, as though they wanted to speak but didn't know how, Victor raised his head, lifted an eyebrow, and looked at them.
"You're not going to tell me it didn't work out, are you?"
"I'm sorry, Young Master Victor. Things took an unexpected turn."
Hearing this, Damian had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.
"Unexpected?"
Victor's face darkened, and he looked at Damian coldly.
"Tell me. What exactly happened?"
"Ryan isn't as simple as he seems. Although I tried to take him down, I didn't succeed..."
After a moment's hesitation, Damian spoke.
"Not as simple as he seems?"
Victor's expression suddenly turned icy as he looked at Damian with a cold smile.
"This isn't just an excuse, is it?"
"Young Master Victor, this... this is absolutely not an excuse!"
Damian quickly denied it.
"Not an excuse?"
Victor's expression clearly showed his disbelief.
"Young Master Victor, I can testify that Damian's words are not an excuse."
Derek quickly chimed in from the side.
Seeing that both of them spoke with such confidence, Victor couldn't help but believe them a little.
He looked at them with curiosity and asked,
"Tell me the details of the battle."
"Yes."
The two dared not hide anything and described Damian's spar with Ryan in detail.
After hearing the entire account, a faint smile appeared on Victor's lips.
"He's quite cunning. He actually knows how to hide his true abilities. If I hadn't sent someone after him this time, I'm afraid everyone would have remained in the dark."
Thinking of this, Victor's eyes shifted slightly toward Derek.
"I've changed my mind. Go tell Ryan that if he's willing to follow me, then we can call it even."
In fact, Victor didn't have any major grudge against Ryan.
The main reason he had targeted him was that Ryan had defeated Derek and embarrassed someone associated with Victor.
This might seem like a very minor matter, but for someone like Victor, who had grown up as a direct descendant of the powerful Langford family, it had been reason enough to retaliate.
Now, however, he no longer wanted to suppress Ryan.
Someone this capable of concealing his abilities was more worthwhile to bring under his control than to continue targeting.
"This, this... Young Master Victor?"
Upon hearing this, Derek was shocked.
He and Ryan were already practically enemies.
If Ryan also joined Victor's group, his situation would become extremely awkward.
"No need to say anything more. It's decided."
Ignoring Derek's opinion completely, Victor immediately made his decision.
Derek opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say anything.
In fact, much of Victor's enthusiasm for dealing with Ryan had come from Derek's own instigation.
And now, Derek felt as though he had shot himself in the foot.
If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have encouraged Victor to go after Ryan.
Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets now.