Mark gestured subtly, and his lackeys moved at once, spreading out to surround me from every direction. Their steps were careful, deliberate. He clearly had no intention of letting me slip away.
Even though I was only a civilian in their eyes, Mark wasn't careless enough to underestimate anyone.
That was one lesson the academy drilled into every student from day one.
My gaze swept briefly across the six people encircling me before returning to Mark.
"I have somewhere to go," I said evenly, my gaze meeting his, "and you're blocking my path."
"Hahahaha…." Instantly, Mark burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as though he'd heard the funniest joke in the whole world.
His laughter echoed through the classroom, loud and exaggerated, forcing his lackeys to chuckle along awkwardly.
It took nearly a full minute before he managed to calm down, wiping imaginary tears from the corner of his eyes.
"You know, Kai, I don't know where you get the confidence to talk to me like that."
His aura flared, and the air rippled slightly, the pressure settling across the room like invisible weight pressing against everyone's shoulders.
He was only Class-C.
But that didn't mean someone like me could treat him lightly.
[Name: Mark Sloven]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Elemental Warrior (C-Rank)]
[Level: 5]
Looking past his status screen, his gaze returned to me.
"It seems," he continued slowly, "I'll have to teach you a lesson about knowing your place."
Something about me had always irritated him.
He hated people with guts. Especially people who shouldn't have them.
Who gave trash like me the courage to ask out an S-class goddess?
And now… who gave me the audacity to stand before him like he was nothing more than an inconvenience?
The thought alone made his anger boil.
Black flames ignited around his arms, coiling upward like living serpents. The fire twisted and condensed, forming a snake-shaped construct that slithered along his shoulder.
The head of the snake came to rest on his shoulder as the creature turned to me and flicked its tongue with a hiss.
The temperature in the room rose instantly.
For most people, especially someone who had once been F-rank, the sight alone would have been terrifying.
Mark watched closely, waiting for fear.
Waiting for hesitation.
Waiting for submission.
Instead, I merely glanced at the creature, inhaled slowly, and spoke again.
"I will only say this one more time. I have somewhere important to be. " I said calmly and the air seemed to grow heavier. "Step out of the way if you don't want things to end horribly for you."
"You little—" Mark's anger instantly exploded as he attacked without any hesitation.
His lackeys surrounding me didn't stand idly either. Instead, they quickly made their moves, all sorts of attacks threatening to erupt toward me.
However, just as the lackeys thought they could attack, everyone froze.
The air in the room dropped by a few degrees as I turned to look at Mark dead in the eyes.
My flat look sent goosebumps running down his skin as he noticed that familiar gaze again.
He had seen that gaze once before.
Years ago.
At his father's company.
A visiting assassin surrounded by armed guards had looked exactly like this.
The gaze of someone who had already decided the outcome.
Mark's body tried to retreat instinctively, only to discover he couldn't move.
My lips parted as I spoke in a calm, almost gentle tone.
"I warned you."
Internally, I counted the time.
'4 seconds left.'
Before the time could drop any further, my hand streaked through the air with the force of a spear and struck Mark's face.
His head twisted to the left, faint outlines of strained muscles cracking across his face.
His eyes grew wide as he struggled to move, however he couldn't.
Internally, his mind screamed as wildly as it could…
'What is going on? Why can't I move? Is it… no, it can't possibly be this F-rank trash! It can't possibly be him!'
The thought appeared in his mind again and again, but he found it impossible to believe.
The academy rankings were absolute.
They were never wrong.
It was impossible for the academy to be mistaken in their detection of one's class!
'Then what was happening?'
Pa!
Another slap rang through the air as my hand landed squarely on his face.
Pain exploded across his face, shattering his concentration.
Slap! Slap!
The sound echoed through the silent classroom, each strike louder than the last.
No one moved.
One lackey's weapon slipped from trembling fingers and clattered softly against the floor.
Another unconsciously took a step back, his face pale and filled with fear.
Mark's rationality crumbled piece by piece, the humiliation burning hotter than the pain of my attacks.
'Time up,'I thought with faint regret as the shadows loosened and dissolved without my control binding them anymore.
Even after the restraint vanished, no one dared move.
Four seconds passed quietly and the familiar sensation returned.
The Shadow Dancer class reactivated.
A grin appeared on my lips as I felt the familiar control of shadows return to my grasp.
Still, I didn't use it just yet.
"What are you going to do now, Mark?"
I grabbed his hair and forced his head upward.
Blood dripped from his nose, staining his uniform. His eyes were unfocused, disbelief still clouding them.
"P—please forgive me…." Mark said incoherently.
Since I couldn't hear him clearly, I pulled his head closer and asked, staring coldly into his eyes, "What was that?"
"Ple—please forgive me!" Mark repeated, tears spilling freely from his eyes.
I let out a sigh as a smile spread across my lips.
I deliberated for a few seconds.
The silence stretched between us, broken only by Mark's quiet sobbing.
"Alright," I said lightly. "Since you asked nicely."
I gently patted his cheek.
Just when Mark thought I would let him go, the shadows spread out once more under my control.
Darkness spread across the floor like liquid, wrapping around Mark and his lackeys' shadows before they could react.
Their bodies lifted against their will.
Feeling their bodies move without their control, horror appeared on all their faces as they stared at me.
"If a single word of this leaves this room," I said quietly, "you won't need to worry about rumors anymore."
As soon as I finished speaking, the shadows detonated outwards, sending them crashing toward the wall.
Boom!
Their bodies slammed into the reinforced wall with terrifying force. The impact shook the classroom, yet the wall remained perfectly intact.
Dust drifted lazily through the air.
With everything done, I calmly popped my joints and exited the classroom.
Silence lingered for several seconds before Mark slowly stood up, shock still glowing brightly in his eyes.
Turning to his lackeys, he stared at them with blood-red eyes, his face still dripping with blood, before quickly exiting the classroom without another word.
They knew what to do… No one would speak.
Not if they wanted to live normally again.
Who could have imagined that Kai, the supposed F-rank trash… was something closer to a monster rivaling A-class students.
Maybe even S-class.
One by one, they left the classroom.
The room fell quiet again.
A few moments of silence passed before a faint flicker appeared.
Gradually, the silhouette of a slender girl dressed in a dark green crop top came into view.
In her raised hand rested a compact 8K recording camera, its tiny indicator light blinking steadily.
Her mouth hung slightly open.
But the shock in her eyes wasn't fear.
It was excitement.
The kind someone felt after discovering something powerful enough to change everything.
Her lips curled slowly.
"…This is going to break the academy."