Ricktor lifted his sword up in the air, pointing toward the sky. It became a focal point as everyone's eyes looked at it, but it just remained there up in the air. He didn't swing it down nor did he move.
As for his eyes, he was looking straight ahead at Raze. He didn't break eye contact and just continued to look ahead.
Murkel Dockthron, the principal, had taken note of his grandson's actions.
'Why is he looking at the white-haired kid? Did something happen between the two of them?'
With the position Murkel was in, he was more the principal in name only. He had an entire clan to run, which meant he would only be called or informed when there were big decisions to be made.
He was unaware of what had happened to Raze, nor did he really know of his existence until now.
"What are you doing!" Liam shouted in anger. "Fight me, I said fight me!"
Liam charged forward and swung his sword out to the side. Moving quicker, Ricktor swung his sword down and hit Liam right on the shoulder before he could even fully swing his sword.
"ARGHH!" Liam shouted in pain.
The sword was lifted in the air again, and Ricktor swung down, hitting the other side of his shoulder.
The pain shot through his entire body, and Liam was unable to even stand; he was falling to his knees, but before he could, Ricktor hit him right in the chin, keeping his body up with the strike.
When Liam's body was falling again, Ricktor proceeded to hit just under his armpits, keeping him up again, and did this a few times so he was unable to fall to the ground.
"This is… this is just cruel," Dame commented.
Honestly, Raze couldn't agree more. Why were there people that flaunted and abused their power over others?
Was the thrilling feeling that they got, did it mean that much to them?
Eventually, Ricktor had stopped, and Liam fell to the floor. He was still conscious, his muscles bruised, his bones perhaps already partly broken.
Yet, he still reached for his sword.
'I trained… I trained so hard. I did everything I could for this day. Are you better than me, because you trained harder than me! Are you stronger than me because of things you've been through?'
As Liam turned around, Ricktor stepped on his chest.
"I told you already," Ricktor said smiling. "I was born in this position, and you were born in your position. You can't change those facts; you can't overcome it with hard work."
"All of you are here for us."
With the bottom of his foot, Ricktor then went and kicked Liam. His body was lifted in the air, and he was heading right for those in the Blue headband group.
The first to react, though, was Safa. She rushed out of her seat and caught Liam's body. He was heavy, though, and the kick was strong.
She slid across the floor until Simyon had joined in and grabbed onto Liam as well. When he grabbed onto the body, the three of them stopped.
Liam looked to see who was holding onto him, and he could see the big beautiful round eyes.
"Oh Safa, if I knew all I needed to do was take a beating for you to hold me . I would have gladly taken a hundred beatings." Liam smiled.
Hearing this, Simyon then pulled Liam's body away from Safa and dragged him along, taking him to the teachers.
"This pervert seems to have something wrong with his head; he needs to get checked," Simyon said, leaving him be.
Now with Liam by the side of the students, they could see how much damage and pain he was in. He was trying his best to hide it, but parts of his body had already swollen up due to the fractures inside.
"It's a shame; that young man with the Blue headband actually showed some promise with his skills. If he had taken on a Yellow headband owner, then maybe he would have had a chance," one of the onlookers commented.
"Arrogance and knowing one's strength are also part of being a Pagna warrior. It just goes to show that he thought too much of himself, and a warrior like that will be hard to grow."
After seeing the results of the first match, Teacher Lee was getting nervous. He looked over at Amir, who shook his head.
'I have brought all of these prominent people,' Amir thought. 'You will have to show a lot more than that. I need a reason to tell the Lethal Bite Clan to back down and to show these merchants that you are capable.'
Although Teacher Lee couldn't hear Amir, he knew exactly what he was thinking, and his fists were tensed harder than ever.
'According to the evaluation, he was our best student, and he couldn't even land a scratch on the Red headband. The only way we can show our strength is by winning more matches.
With that, the next Blue headband student stood up and declared his opponent, naming one of the students from the Yellow headband group.
The fight had started between the two of them, and there were only a few clashes before the Blue headband student had ended in defeat.
The next match took place, and the next, and again and again, they all would lose their match in similar fashion.
All of the Blue headband students were gripping their clothes, frustrated at what was happening because they could see it.
They could see the Yellow headbands, the Red headbands, and those watching, all of them laughing at the results that were taking place.
The harder they tried, the more amusing it was to the others; eventually, the students had suffered ten losses in a row.
"What is this!" Lee shouted at Tod and the other assessor. "Are these really the best students out of them all? They are getting destroyed out there."
Tod gulped. "We did as you asked and assessed them based on all the tests you provided us. These are the results. I'm sorry, Teacher Lee, but the students are just not strong enough."
Usually, Teacher Lee wouldn't react , but he was desperate for a win. Desperate for anything to turn the tide, but now he had next to no hope.
This wasn't giving him a good reputation; he could tell from the merchants and others. This was ruining his reputation completely. If he could, he would stop the fights right there and then, allowing just the Yellow headbands and Red headbands to continue.
There was still his own pupil, but evaluating the skills he had seen, she would most likely lose as well.
If that were to happen, then he felt like his world would come crashing down at that moment.
Not too far by the teacher's side, though, was Liam, who had been lying down, and he had heard everything.
He had also seen the results of all the matches so far, and he had had enough. Lifting his body off the ground, he grunted in pain before shouting.
"No!" Liam said, and the students turned as they heard his words. "There is someone… there is someone in our group who's strong and can beat them!"
Teacher Lee was wondering what the student meant. He was the strongest out of the Blue headbands, so how could there be someone else?
"Please, we're getting destroyed out there."
This whole thing is embarrassing and so frustrating. I can see the way they look at us. The way they treat us… and I just want someone to shut them up!" Liam shouted.
His voice was on the verge of breaking; his frustrated cries were felt by the students sitting in the stands as well.
"You have to let him take part; you have to let him fight; you have to let Raze fight!" Liam shouted.
Liam still remembered when he had challenged him that day. His overwhelming defeat. He knew he was strong, but he didn't want to admit that a no-name could best him.
However, was the way they were treating him, not the same way they were being treated by the higher headband users as well?
Being put in the situation they were in now, he knew how Raze and the other No-names must have felt.
From that day, Liam treated Raze differently, but he was embarrassed by his actions. He couldn't even look him in the eye. So how could he ask him to fight for them?
This strong sense of guilt within Liam was growing. It grew even stronger when he didn't speak up during the Power Stone gathering assessment.
He deserved a place on the seats to go up against them, much more than anyone else.
"Please…let him fight.." Liam asked once again.
Teacher Lee looked at the assessment book given to him and tried to search for the name Raze. As he did, though, he could see that he had been given the lowest score out of the two hundred headband users.
'This kid, is he just trying to get his friend a chance to fight? I can't risk it; there are still ten more students left to fight. Letting the weakest pupil fight, is he just trying to make me into a bigger laughing stock.'
"Callum, please stand and select your opponent," Teacher Lee called out.
Callum stood up from his seat, his whole body shaking. He looked at Liam, and then looked back up at every corner of the stands.
"Teacher Lee…I agree with Liam, please let Raze fight."