"No, I’m not," William muttered, brushing off Emma’s demand.
It wasn’t a request—she was outright demanding he join the First Class by challenging someone there.
But William had no interest in that. Considering the kind of people who filled that classroom, and his history with them, he’d rather stay far away. Anywhere but there.
Kevin, especially, was nothing but a headache. That guy was unbearable. And with Emma so close to him, Kevin would surely find ways to pester him nonstop.
That’s why William’s tone hardened as he told her, "I’m not going to challenge anyone from that class, understood?"
Emma frowned. "What’s with this reluctance to show your strength? Are you planning to lurk in the shadows? Or is this some kind of eighth-grade syndrome?"
Her words didn’t always make sense, but William understood well enough. He rolled his eyes.
"Think whatever you like. I’ll just stand here and wait for some fool to challenge me, and then I’ll get it over with." He crossed his arms, huffing.
He could feel Emma’s eyes still fixed on him—displeased, almost scolding. But he wasn’t going to listen to her. Why should he?
"Fine then," Emma pressed, "but what if someone from the First Class challenges you?"
William scoffed at the thought. He doubted that would ever happen.
But then—
"I challenge you, William."
The words hit, and William turned to see the raven-haired boy standing before him.
Kevin.
William massaged his brows in irritation. He didn’t even need to look at Emma to feel the delight radiating from her.
’This girl...’ He exhaled a long sigh, then looked at Kevin. "I already know where I belong. Why don’t you pick someone else?"
"What are you saying, William?" Emma jumped in, her voice sharp enough to draw even Instructor Russel’s attention.
"It’s a man-to-man challenge," she pressed. "A battle between two warriors. How can you worry about positions in the academy when someone’s standing in front of you with a challenge?"
Kevin gave a brief nod of thanks to Emma for backing him. But Natalie, Laila, and Lizel all knew what Emma was really doing.
Natalie stepped forward quickly, trying to stop him. "You still haven’t recovered, Kev. Why don’t you just sit—"
"A warrior doesn’t make excuses, Nat," Kevin cut her off firmly. He turned to her and lowered his voice. "Just trust me. Please."
Natalie bit her lip. Against the look in his eyes, she felt powerless.
Instructor Russel stepped in then, her voice steady. "Are you certain about this spar, Kevin?"
Kevin nodded. "Yes, instructor. Because of William, one of my members has been living in fear. I want to show her through this battle that she has nothing to be afraid of—that it’s all in her head."
Lizel lowered her gaze, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
But she wasn’t the only one. Natalie and Laila also knew the truth: what they’d seen that day wasn’t an illusion. William’s strength was real. And Lizel’s fear...was anything but unfounded.
Kevin stepped forward. "So? Will you face me, or will you run like a coward?"
Emma’s face tightened and her eyes flashed at Kevin. But before she could say something, William spoke up, turning to the instructor. "If I beat him, will you promise he won’t be sitting in the First Class?"
Russel blinked. The question sounded absurd at first. She’d seen William in the last assessment—he couldn’t even beat the weakest student from the class above him. For him to think he could take down the academy’s strongest sounded laughable.
Still, there was something about his blunt confidence that appealed to her as a warrior. She straightened and met his gaze. "Yes. If you win, Kevin will take your seat. I promise."
William let out a small sigh of relief. That was all he wanted—no more daily headaches. His patience and temper were thin; left unchecked, one day he might snap and do something worse.
Around them, the crowd hummed with tension. Emma’s grin returned. Kevin’s jaw set, steady and unshaken.
After a brief pause, William nodded, "Alright, I accept."
Kevin smirked and then said, "Very well."
The first battle was already decided and everyone was quite eager to see someone from the noble family getting humiliated once again.
Normally, this spar wouldn’t have garnered so much attention, but no one here was unaware of the sudden shift in Emma’s interest towards William
These past few days, everyone had noticed that Emma had started to hang around William more. So for the teenagers, this appeared like a romantic rivalry or sort.
The instructor didn’t force the students to choose their opponents right away and watched from a distance as Kevin and William took their stance on the arena.
Emma stood alone, the other three didn’t approach her—too anxious to even notice Emma.
The crowd was gathered and the stage was set.
Kevin took out his wooden sword and pointed the tip at William, "I will end this in one strike."
William’s brows elevated, "I was thinking the same thing."
Kevin snarled and took the stance.
Russel heaved a sigh seeing how much worked up Kevin was just for someone like William. However, she didn’t say anything other than, "Begin!"
Kevin charged straight ahead, his natural speed too much for those from lower sections
Everyone believed they would see an embarrassing sight when Kevin one-sidedly beats William.
However, even before Kevin could reach William, the black-haired swordsman started to run fruitlessly. No, more like, the surface from beneath his feet had been removed and he was running at the same place.
"Huh?!"
"What the..."
"Is he...levitating?"
"Bro looks like a hamster, pfft~"
Kevin stopped and looked around...what in the world?!
William heaved a sigh and just flicked his wrist before—
"AHHH!" Kevin cried, thrown several meters away from the mat.
*Thud*
His body hit the gym wall before Kevin fell to the ground.
The match ended.
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Nerfing William here would have gotten me so many curses...
Thanks for reading.