I finally reached the dining hall. The instant my foot hovered over the threshold, a sharp arrow shot out of nowhere and slammed into the exact spot where I was about to step.
I sighed.
The archer must have been watching from the shadows, expecting me to flinch and jerk my foot back like some scared rookie. *Oh boy… how wrong she was.*
The arrow was barely a finger's width from my boot when I moved. My hand blurred, snatching the shaft mid-flight and whipping it straight back at her with casual, blinding speed.
A split second later, a sharp cry echoed through the hall as the same arrow buried itself deep into her right ass cheek. Blood instantly soaked through her pants.
She spun around in agony, eyes wide with shock. The moment she lifted her head to find me, I was already standing at the serving counter, calmly picking up a plate and loading it with breakfast as if nothing had happened.
When she saw me standing at the counter, calmly loading food onto my plate without a care in the world, her rage boiled over.
Gritting her teeth, she reached back and violently yanked the same arrow out of her right ass cheek. Fresh blood poured freely from the wound, soaking her pants, but she didn't seem to notice or care. With pure hatred burning in her eyes, she nocked the bloodied arrow, drew her bow with shaking arms, and took aim at my back.
*Tch. Let me eat in peace, damn it.*
Right as her fingers released the string, I casually snatched up a second plate with my free hand—at the very last possible second, deliberately giving her a flicker of hope.
The arrow tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
It never reached me.
I raised the plate at the perfect moment. The steel tip punched straight through the ceramic with a loud *crack*, stopping just inches from my face.
The archer's face drained of all color. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead as the realization hit her.
She knew exactly what was coming next.
I set my breakfast plate down on the counter with deliberate calm, pulled the bloodied arrow free from the shattered ceramic, and began walking straight toward the archer.
The surrounding crowd immediately started snickering. A few outright laughed, though their amusement was laced with a clear hint of pity for the girl who had just made the worst mistake of her life.
She was already trembling visibly, eyes wide with terror. "B-bro, this was just a prank!" she stammered, voice cracking. "A harmless prank! You're taking this way too seriously!"
I didn't reply. My expression remained completely flat as I tightened my grip on the arrow and steadily increased my pace.
She staggered backward, nearly tripping over her own feet. The entire dining hall tensed. Someone whispered loudly, "Is he… actually going to kill her?"
Murmurs erupted all around.
"No way, right? It was just a prank…"
"He can't be serious…"
When I was only ten feet away, I began channeling mana into my legs—
—but three girls suddenly stepped into my path, forming a human wall.
One held a heavy shield raised in front of her, another gripped her sword with white knuckles, and the third was already crouched behind them, hands glowing with soft healing light as she frantically mended the archer's bleeding ass cheek.
I stopped the mana flow instantly.
The situation had escalated in a heartbeat. The entire dining hall crackled with thick, electric tension.
Yet my expression never changed. Still perfectly flat. Still completely calm.
The shield girl slowly exhaled and spoke in a calm, steady voice.
"Bro, this is all a misunderstanding. We're extremely sorry about what happened."
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear.
"You already used mana fighting Vance in the corridor. Catching that arrow just now burned another 30% on your legs, 20% on your eyes, and the clash itself took 10%. So you're sitting at roughly 40% left. There are four of us. Do you really want to fight?"
She straightened and crossed her arms, the warning crystal clear: *We have the numbers. You're low on fuel. Back down.*
I let out a quiet sigh. She was right—I only had about 30 to 40% mana remaining.
Even so, I slowly raised the bloodied arrow and pointed it straight at the four of them.
"Don't fuck with me," I said, my voice completely flat.
Without waiting for a reply, I turned and walked back to the counter to finish loading my breakfast.
My words hit them like a blade pressed to the throat. Deep, primal fear flooded the four girls. Cold sweat broke out across their skin as they felt the killing intent radiating from my eyes—cold, fearless, and utterly serious.
All four of them gulped at once.
The message was unmistakable: *Even if I die here, I will take a bloody chunk out of at least one of you.*
The sword girl whispered nervously to her group, "I think we should target someone else…"
She had assumed that since he was a lone wolf, snatching his parchment would be easy. But after what she had just witnessed, it was clear he was no ordinary lone wolf at all.
I ignored them completely and walked over to an empty table. The instant I sat down, everyone seated across from me hurriedly stood up and moved to other tables without a word.
I let out another long yawn. 🥱
*Man… I'm so bored.*
My breakfast looked incredible: a rich 1-Star Early Stage Magical Goat Mutton Curry packed with fresh vegetables and fragrant steamed rice, paired with a hearty 1-Star Early Stage Bear Paw Soup. To the outside world, this was an extremely luxurious and nourishing meal, brimming with dense nutrition, vital energy, and even beneficial for cultivation to a certain degree.
I deliberately took extra portions of tender meat and three full bowls of soup, arranging everything neatly in front of me.
"Hmm… smells delicious," I murmured with a satisfied grin. 😋
Without wasting another second, I dug in and began enjoying my meal.
Vance lay in a bed inside the vast medical hall, his face pale and twisted with pain and fury. The enormous ward was currently filled with around fifty to sixty injured youths. Those with serious injuries—like Vance, with his shattered arms and broken bones, or even the newly crippled—lay groaning in their beds, while only the ones with minor wounds stood in line, receiving quick treatment from the nurses.
A group of 1-Star Early Stage healers, who had awakened their Healing Jobs just yesterday, moved diligently between the patients. Like everyone else here, they faced the same brutal truth: by the end of the year, only the best would be allowed to stay.
Poor Vance was heavily bandaged from chest to fingertips, both arms completely immobilized and useless for at least the next month. He was already dangerously behind everyone else, and the humiliating realization burned like acid in his chest.
He was still seething with rage, especially every time his tongue brushed against the jagged stubs of his shattered teeth.
Just then, the door opened and the same four girls who had confronted Kai earlier stepped inside. The archer girl walked stiffly, wincing with every step. Their healer had managed to stop the bleeding from the arrow wound in her ass cheek, but the injury was still far from fully healed—the girl simply wasn't skilled enough yet.