Not long after they had all gotten into the ship and grouped themselves, the ship lifted into the air. A magical circle appeared beneath the ship, the lesser wyverns flapped their wings, and soon they shot into the sky.
Inside the ship, they could barely feel it when they literally lifted up, but through the small circular windows, they could see the clouds passing by, so they knew.
Riven was still on the floor, his blade in his hand. He stared at twilight, wishing that he could somehow go back into that place. The lady there had said each star he saw was a seal, and behind that seal was a battle that, if he won, would make him stronger.
And right now, his deepest desire was to get stronger. He slowly fell deep into thought, forgetting that he was here inside the ship until the sound of something hitting the ground reached his ears.
It was loud, heavy, and immediately after it, yells and shouts exploded. His eyes flickered open, and he saw what was going on—a group of students fighting, throwing punches and kicks, while their classmates yelled and argued.
He couldn’t tell which class it was, but he knew it wasn’t Class A, as all his classmates simply watched like him.
"A fight already? How long had it been for a fight to break out?" Riven wondered. Out of curiosity, he got on his feet and strolled toward the fight. Robert saw him and immediately asked, "You plan to stop them?"
"No, I couldn’t be bothered. I just want to know why," he said in a calm tone and kept walking. When the rest of Class A saw that Riven was headed there, they got ready. If the issue escalated and touched one of their own, they would immediately get involved. That was the way the classes worked.
Riven got close to the people fighting. He stretched out his hand and grabbed one boy. He pulled him out without his consent.
The boy was stunned. Still in his adrenaline high, he threw a punch, but Riven tilted his head back and dodged the punch before leaning in to headbutt the boy. His head swung back from the force, pain swirling around his head.
"I’m not here to fight. I just want to know what’s happening," Riven said. The boy looked at Riven, rage still written in his eyes, but as he saw who the person was clearly, he stopped.
"Rank one?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, but call me Riven. Now what’s going on?" Riven asked.
The boy glanced at the fight. He bit his lower lip and clenched his fist. Riven saw the anger in the boy’s eyes, but he wasn’t here for that. He tugged on the boy’s collar hard. "I said, what caused the fight?"
"It was someone from Class B. They insulted us because Class C lost three members during the attack. One was my friend. They said they were weak and deserved to die," the boy said. He clenched his fist even harder, rage rushing through his bloodstream.
"I see," Riven said and let go of the shirt. He walked away without doing anything.
"Aren’t you going to do anything?" Robert asked.
"Not yet," Riven replied and walked past him. Lance got up and started walking toward Riven. He stood a few feet from him. "Why did you turn back? Aren’t you supposed to stop them?" Lance asked.
"Not yet," Riven replied. Lance was pissed off by the response. He grabbed Riven’s collar. "What the hell do you mean, not yet?" he asked.
Riven looked at him, his face covered in disdain and spite. "Stop with the justice act. You already lost your chance to be that person. Now stand aside and allow it to play out. I said not yet, not that I won’t do something," Riven said.
Lance frowned. He let go of the shirt and allowed Riven to walk past. Riven made his way back to where he was seated.
A few minutes passed, and Class B subdued Class C. Luckily, there was no use of weapons or magic—that would have escalated the whole issue beyond what it should be.
Everyone returned to their groups. Class C was filled with spite and anger, but there was nothing more they could do. They had lost to Class B—bruised and battered, unable to defend the mates they had lost.
It was at this time, when everything had become calm, that Riven stood up again. He walked toward Class B.
Immediately he got close, he pulled the attention of everyone. What could the rank one actually want with Class B?
He got there and stood for a few seconds before speaking. "Rank fifty-one," he called out in a cold tone.
A boy got up and walked to Riven. He looked Riven dead in the eye and spoke, "What do you want with our class leader?" he asked.
Riven didn’t even look at the boy before grabbing his head and slamming him right into the cold, hard floor.
Everyone was stunned, shocked at what Riven just did—and the way he did it. He was extremely fast and fluid, so much that they could barely catch what happened.
"Rank fifty-one," he called out again, his voice even colder. This time another boy got up—tall, black hair, brown eyes. He was at least a good head taller than Riven.
He walked in front of Riven, his expression blank. "I’m Zack, rank fifty-one," he said in a calm voice. But what he didn’t expect was for Riven to follow with a punch so fast no one could see it.
The fist connected with his face and immediately sent the boy flying right into the wall.
Class B immediately tried to attack Riven for hitting their leader, but they all felt the cold and piercing gaze of Class A on them, like predators looking at their prey.
"Get up. I’m not done with you," Riven said, cracking his knuckles one by one.