Murmurs ran through the crowd upon Instructor Vex Rhane's announcement.
Some students looked excited. Others looked anxious.
"And let me make one thing clear," the instructor growled. "Even an S-rank student can be demoted if they perform worse than a lower-ranked Awakener. I don't care about your class—your actions speak louder than your rank."
Victor's heart sank. "Crap…"
He'd intentionally stayed under the radar since arriving at the Academy. Between his time spent in Ascendant Realms, and the mess with Amara and Derek, he'd tried to avoid drawing too much attention to himself.
Even during routines, he didn't do too much to avoid anyone suspecting that he had numerous abilities that was beyond the strength of a warrior.
"I've been holding back…" he muttered under his breath.
He just realised that if a C Ranked was higher than him on the monthly rankings, it would mean that he'd get demoted.
Kai who was walking beside him, gave him a sideways glance. "You good?"
Victor forced a smile. "Never better."
But inside, he was spiraling.
'Time to stop holding back...'
Later that afternoon, Victor was alone, making his way through one of the open corridors that connected the training sectors. A quiet breeze swept through the pillars, fluttering his uniform. The place was relatively empty since most students were still finishing their personal sessions or in lectures.
"Hey," a voice snapped behind him.
Victor turned slowly to find four students walking toward him. Each of them was broad-shouldered, muscular, and carried a certain cocky swagger. Leading them was the tall, red-eyed bruiser from the mountain training yesterday—Bront Kesgar.
Behind him were three others:
Elric a slim and speedy assassin known for using twin daggers. He was very arrogant and always grinning.
Farn was a burly Mage who mostly used earth based spells but his arms were as thick as logs. It was the first time Victor was seeing a muscular mage.
Zerel on the other end was quiet but dangerous. He was also a Berserker who had placed third in a recent sparring match.
Victor's eyes narrowed. "Guess I should've known you'd come."
"You humiliated us on the mountain," Bront growled while cracking his knuckles. "You sent us flying like clowns. Now everyone's talking."
Victor folded his arms. "So, what? You want an apology?"
"No," Elric said with a grin. "We want payback."
Zerel and Farn flanked Victor from the sides. The moment Victor took a single step back, they struck.
Farn sent a hardened earth wall sweeping towards Victor. Victor leapt over it and spun across the air as the wall swept below him.
The moment he landed, Elric appeared in his blind spot and slashed his dagger at him.
Victor stepped towards the left and retaliated with a sweeping kick that rammed into Elric's face and sent him flying.
Zerel was next— he came at Victor with surprising speed and strength, with a punch aimed for Victor's face.
Victor raised both arms and blocked his blow which sent him sliding backwards by a couple of feet but before anyone could blink...
He sped forward and elbowed Zerel in the ribs, causing the Berserker to fall to his knees in pain.
A counter from Bront struck Victor across the back, sending him tumbling forward.
"Guess I'll have to stop holding back now…" Victor muttered while wiping a bit of blood from his lip.
He activated his Void Emperor Bloodline, causing air to warp from the sheer pressure.
All four of his opponents hesitated for a brief second—just enough.
Victor vanished from sight and reappeared behind Elric, slamming his palm into the back of the boy's head, knocking him out cold.
Zerel activated a Berserker skill that caused his skin to turn red and his body size to nearly double.
He attempted to punch Victor in the chest but Victor evaded, causing the fist to slam into a tree a burrow a hole straight through.
Victor swerved around him while he was stuck and and delivered a rising knee to the chin, sending him flying into a pillar.
Farn roared and charged, but Victor unleashed Wind Gale Palm while slamming his palm into his chest, sending the larger student flying backward and crashing into a bench.
Now it was just Bront.
"You think you're tough?" Bront barked while drawing out his sword which erupted in flames. "I'm a B-rank warrior!"
Victor's voice was low and calm. "Then act like one."
Bront roared and lunged with his sword raised his.
Victor met him head-on.
As the sword swept towards his body, he whirled around him and kicked Bront on his butt.
Bront staggered forward with a look of humiliation.
"What's wrong? Didn't you say you were going to make me pay?"
Bront groaned in annoyance and charged forward once more while swinging.
Victor ducked slightly, causing the blade to sweep above his head and emit a crescent shaped flame that surged toward another tree.
Before Bront could retract his arm, Victor struck with a precise palm strike to his chest—
Bront's eyes widened as the blow hit like a hammer. His body flew over ten feet across the air with his sword separating from his grasp.
Upon landing, his body still slid for a few feet more before coming to a stop. Victor walked toward him and stood over his sprawled out body.
"I don't go looking for fights," Victor said. "But I sure as hell finish them."
Unbeknownst to him, a student from afar had watched the entire scene and hurried off in another direction—likely to spread word of what had just happened.
Just as Victor was about to leave, a shadow shifted to his left.
A flicker of movement.
His instincts screamed danger but it was too late.
A brutal wave of force surged toward him from a new attacker who had concealed their presence.
Their gauntlet was ablaze with mana as their attack traveled forward, aiming a vicious strike at Victor's side.
He turned just in time to brace, but before the attack could land—
A leg whipped through the air and collided with the attacker's face mid-dash.