Instructor Andriel and Nova stared at the scene with expressions of complete shock. Neither of them had expected this outcome at all. The scene before them was like watching a violent thug brutally beating up helpless students.
"If anyone does not want to continue participating in this match, come out of the circle immediately!" Andriel shouted.
Every single remaining student still standing ran out of the circle as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Tsk, tsk… running away this easily…"
Edsel frowned as he watched the remaining students flee the circle. Only the unconscious boy remained on the ground. Edsel slowly raised his foot.
STOMP.
The boy's body jerked slightly from the impact. Edsel lifted his foot again, ready to bring it down—
"STOP!"
Nova suddenly rushed forward, pushing Adriel aside as she stepped into the circle. She glared at Edsel.
"Don't do anything beyond that," she said firmly. "He's unconscious!"
"And?"
"What do you mean by 'and'?" Nova frowned deeply at his response. She had heard rumors about Edsel being the type of kid who caused trouble everywhere, but stomping on an unconscious student was heartless behavior. "I said stop right now."
"It seems that you do not understand the rules of this match, instructor. Instructor Adriel clearly stated that this was a fight to become the class representative. You both witnessed how those students were preparing to gang up on me from the very beginning. This is merely self defense on my part." Edsel tilted his head while continuing. "Now think carefully about what would have happened if I was not strong enough to defend myself against all of them."
What he said was technically correct. They both knew the outcome if Edsel had not become stronger over the break. Things would have been much worse for him.
Adriel had been prepared to step in if the situation became dangerous, but he had never expected that Edsel would become the danger instead.
"But that does not mean that you should stomp him to death on the ground. He is already defeated and unconscious. Do you not feel any sense of conscience about what you are doing right now?" Nova yelled while her face reddened with anger. "Come on, toss that boy over here to me right now!"
Penelope's hand twitched while she waited for Edsel's reaction. She watched patiently, ready to move at any moment.
Edsel looked down at the unconscious boy and grabbed him by the neck. He lifted the body like a lump of meat that weighed nothing at all. He stared at it for a moment and then extended his arm while wiggling the boy slightly in the air.
"Here, catch," he said casually.
Nova spread her arms wide to receive the boy.
"Good, just hand him over carefully—"
Crack.
The sound of breaking bone echoed through the training ground.
Nova's eyes widened in horror.
"Huh?"
The unconscious boy suddenly woke up from the pain and started screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Aaaaaaaaaah! Ughhhh! My arm! My arm is broken! It hurts so much!"
Edsel had twisted the boy's arm at an unnatural angle before releasing him, and the bone had snapped audibly under the pressure.
Edwin stared at the scene in disbelief and anger. "He actually broke his arm on purpose..." He wanted to step forward and intervene, but Cecilia grabbed his arm and held him back.
"EDSEEEEL!" Nova screamed so loudly that the entire training ground shook with the force of her voice. A massive wave of mana burst from her body, and all the students felt the crushing pressure immediately.
Edsel tossed the boy towards her without any hesitation, and she quickly stopped her mana outburst to catch the groaning student in her arms.
"There, our deal is complete. I handed him over just like you asked," Edsel said while dusting off his hands.
Before anyone could react to his words, Penelope lunged forward and threw a powerful punch directly at Edsel's face. He did not react quickly enough to dodge completely, but he managed to raise his arm and block the strike at the last second.
"You absolute idiot! Let me challenge you right now since we are both battle mages!" Penelope shouted while clenching her fist tightly. "I knew that you had not changed at all, but breaking his arm like that crossed the line. I'm going to teach you a proper lesson for what you did!"
Edsel slowly lowered his arm and stared at it.
The skin had already turned red where Penelope's punch had landed. A dull tremor ran through his muscles, the aftershock of the impact still lingering in the bone.
'She's stronger than Osias.'
The thought came to him immediately.
Penelope wasn't just another student throwing punches wildly. She had been trained as a battle mage, someone taught to fight with both body and magic from the beginning, unlike him who had only recently started fighting.
Dodging someone like her wouldn't be simple.
This fight will be troublesome.
A faint chime rang inside his mind.
Ding.
[ New Quest: Defeat Penelope Wendell, one of the Lucky Child heroines ]
[ Reward: New Authority ]
For a moment Edsel simply stared at the message. Then his hand rose slowly, covering his mouth as a smile crept across his face.
A new authority meant a way to grow beyond his current limits and become even stronger than before.
Penelope's brow twitched.
"Why are you laughing, you weirdo?" she said, glaring at him.
Edsel lowered his hand and looked straight at her.
"Nothing at all. I was just thinking about how ugly your face looks when you are angry."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?"
Penelope yelled while her face turned red with fury. She lowered her body and prepared her battle stance to attack him immediately.
Edwin bit his lip while watching the confrontation unfold. He was worried about what might happen, but at the same time, he knew that Penelope would probably end this fight quickly.
"Do you think that she will actually win against him?" Osias asked while watching nervously.
"Of course she will win. She is Penelope after all, and I trust her abilities completely," Edwin responded, though his voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Cecilia and Osias stared at Edwin, knowing deep down that he was not as confident as he sounded. But if it was Penelope fighting, Osias held onto hope that she would emerge victorious.