In the academy training facility, the students of Class 1-D occupied an entire floor for themselves. Professor Vander stood in front of them with a quiet expression, his thoughts unknown.
Zeke stared ahead, lost in his thoughts. He only learned along the way that Combat class was a practical subject where students sparred with each other, held only once a week. Students could choose their own sparring partners with the approval of the professor.
He raised his gaze and glanced at Professor Vander. Andrei had told him that among the professors in charge of the first years, Professor Vander was the most terrifying, and all for the wrong reasons.
'… He doesn't let his students stop sparring until one of them is on the brink of death.'
Zeke thought uneasily. If he had known this, he wouldn't have overexerted his body yesterday. Better yet, he would have chosen not to show up in this class at all. With his current strength, he wasn't confident enough to face those with green-quality class yet.
Not to mention…
He shifted his gaze, seeing the dark blonde man from earlier look at him with a small grin.
'Franz… how did I provoke this guy?'
Zeke's brow furrowed, his eyes darkening with a flash of irritation. If Andrei hadn't warned him earlier, he wouldn't have known that someone in their class was targeting him.
His already terrible mood since the morning worsened. Nothing today was going right for him… Zeke turned his gaze ahead, gritting his teeth. What should he even do? He stood no chance against Franz, and Professor Vander would probably approve their match.
'… Should I excuse myself?'
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Zeke felt extremely uncomfortable, making him instinctively reject the idea. His thoughts shifted, and he recalled Andrei's advice to him.
'… Take a couple of blows and don't stand up.'
Compared to running away, Zeke resonated with this idea more. His brow furrowed, feeling a sinking feeling in his heart. But he brushed it aside and decided to go along with Andrei's advice.
He had no choice. Franz was going to beat him up terribly, and that would destroy his already broken body, further delaying his recovery. He could always take revenge later, but he'd bite his lips for now.
After coming to a decision, Zeke's mind relaxed. Yet the sinking feeling in his heart didn't disappear. It gnawed on him slowly, but what could he do? This decision was for the best…
Professor Vander swept his gaze over the students. "Does anyone want to volunteer to start this class?"
At that moment, someone raised their hand.
Zeke's heart tightened, looking at the person. But he was surprised to see that it was none other than Andrei, raising his hand ahead of Franz.
"Oh?" Professor Vander raised his brows, smiling slightly. "Who do you want to fight, student?"
Andrei turned his gaze to Franz and pointed at him. "I want to fight Franz Kruft, sir."
Everyone was startled, especially Zeke.
Zeke looked at Andrei with a complex gaze.
Franz's expression turned ugly, but he restrained himself from shouting.
Professor Vander sensed something amiss, observing everyone's expressions. He heard one of the students near him whisper a few words, something about 'acting like a hero' and 'saving the new student'.
'Hoho…'
He looked at Andrei and smiled slightly.
Once Andrei saw Vander's smile, his expression sank, a bad feeling rising from his heart. Sure enough, Professor Vander shook his head and rejected his proposal. "I think Mr. Franz doesn't want to fight you. Why force it?"
"But…" Andrei persisted.
"Oh, right, don't we have a new student?" Professor Vander said in surprise, as though he had just remembered. "I'd like to see the new student spar first. Where is he?"
Everyone turned their gaze at Zeke, their eyes sympathetic.
"What's your name?" Professor Vander asked.
Zeke answered. "…. Zeke Crimson."
"Mr. Zeke, then," Professor Vander nodded, sweeping his gaze over the room. "Does anybody here want to fight Mr. Zeke?"
Andrei raised his hand, but Vander ignored him, looking at Franz, who had a wide grin on his face. "It looks like Mr. Franz wants to volunteer. So be it. Mr. Zeke and Mr. Franz, please get ready for a spar."
"Certainly, Professor." Franz nodded immediately.
Franz looked at Zeke, his grin stretching to his ear. Zeke turned his gaze calmly, showing no trace of nervousness.
'So it came to this…'
Professor Vander nodded. "Let's step aside, everyone."
Following his words, they all retreated to a distance, leaving Zeke and Franz alone in the center.
'It's best if I don't fight back…'
Zeke walked to a distance, his thoughts stirring. The less he showed his skills, the better for him. If they realized how weak he truly was, they'd grow complacent. That was exactly what he needed. As long as he had enough time, he would have the strength for revenge.
"Are you ready to get beaten half to death, Crimson?"
Franz mocked, standing opposite him. But Zeke didn't reply, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. His muscles throbbed painfully, causing him to show a slight quiver in his movements. People saw that and misinterpreted it as fear.
Franz couldn't restrain a laugh.
"Ooh… are you scared? Hahaha!"
Zeke opened his gaze, looking at him. He spoke slowly. "Before we begin, I'd like to ask… why are you targeting me? Did I do something wrong?"
Franz and everyone else were startled, then they looked at him with both sympathy and mockery. Franz's laugh echoed in the entire room, but Vander had simply watched, eyes flickering with enjoyment.
"Huh? Are you asking why?" Franz fell silent for a moment, as though he was thinking about it seriously. Zeke's face was solemn. "Well, it's because…"
Woosh!
At that moment, Franz disappeared and appeared right in front of Zeke.
He clenched his hand, a soft glow releasing from his fist. Zeke's gaze lowered, expression shocked. But before his body could move, Franz released a devastating blow to his stomach, causing him to choke, spitting out blood.
"… Nothing!"