"I really don’t want to be seen standing beside you both, so I’m just going to go walking around until the assessment begins," Finral scoffed and was about to move away when his shoulder was grabbed by Ray.
"What did Yami sir say? Stick with each other and try to get along. Right?" Ray asked as he glared intently at Finral. "So it’s better we pick a spot together and stay there."
"Seriously?" Finral asked with a deep frown on his face.
"It’s the master’s orders. We need to follow it to the letter," Ray replied firmly.
"Whatever," Finral scoffed again as he pushed Ray’s hand away, and the trio looked for an empty spot to hook themselves onto.
Grey couldn’t help but let his eyes wander around, scanning the whole place. Soon enough, his gaze fell upon the attires adorned by several of the candidates.
They wore expensive-looking clothes, tailored and gleaming, with fabrics that clearly weren’t locally sourced. Their posture and stance screamed power, influence, and ridiculous levels of wealth.
Only a few students were dressed in worn-out clothes that almost looked faded and patchy. They stood metres away from the obviously rich kids, as if an invisible line had been drawn between them and the rest of the elites.
Among the rich kids stood three younglings who seemed even more highly regarded. Where they stood together, no one dared step within two metres of their space. It was like an unspoken law had been carved into the floor.
They stood with their backs against the wall, eyes scanning the entire place with visible irritation and disdain. Grey’s gaze lingered on them longer than he intended. He could practically feel the strength and authority radiating off them.
There were two boys and a girl.
One of the boys was tall around six feet eight inches with a lean but athletic build. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a sly, devilish kind of smile played on his lips. He looked like the type who enjoyed conflict far too much.
The second boy was much shorter, probably about five feet two inches, with a permanent scowl etched into his face. His black hair partially covered his eyes, and his hands were buried in his pockets like he didn’t care for anything or anyone around him.
The girl had a frown too, though hers was even deeper than the other two. She was strikingly beautiful, with long silver hair fluttering gracefully behind her back. But it was her eyes those icy blue eyes that stood out the most. They held a coldness so intense that it felt like the air around her was freezing.
’Huh? I wonder what’s wrong with those three. Can’t they even smile for once?’ Grey thought, scoffing slightly with a small glare before turning around. But just as he began to shift...
"Hey, peasant! What’s with that look?!" the shorter boy barked, glaring at Grey while stomping toward him. Everyone in his path quickly stepped aside, unwilling to get caught in the crossfire.
"Me?" Grey asked as he pointed at himself, his brow raised while the boy continued his approach.
"I said, what was with that look earlier? How dare you stare at us with disdain?" the boy growled, hands clenched into fists and eyes burning holes into Grey’s skull.
"Shit. He’s gone and offended Mada. Damn, he’s in trouble," someone in the crowd whispered nervously, their voice barely audible over the tense silence that had fallen.
"I mean, who in their right mind would want to anger a direct descendant of one of the big clans?"
"I think he’s oblivious to the trouble he just got himself into."
"Poor guy. I almost feel pity for him."
Ray and Finral could hear the whispers going on around them, and they couldn’t help but gulp slightly.
"See what I mean when I say he attracts trouble for my family?" Finral whispered quietly to Ray. "It’s like he’s a trouble magnet or something."
"Shit! I need to find a way to defuse this situation," Ray muttered under his breath.
"Me? When did I give you a bad look?" Grey asked with a deep frown on his face.
"So you mean to say that I was blind?" Mada replied, his tone radiating pure anger as he glared at Grey.
"Now, when the hell did I call you blind?" Grey retorted, his own glare matching Mada’s.
"And now you dare raise your voice at me? You’re a freaking peasant. You need to know your damn place!" Mada shouted in fury.
"Now I can see you’re just looking for a way to flex your strength and pick a fight. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m in no mood today, so buzz off." Grey turned around, casually waving his hand as he began to walk away.
"How... ho... how dare you talk back to me like that?!" Mada bellowed, causing a hush to fall over the coliseum.
The other two rich kids watched the scene unfold while an amused smile played on the face of the tall teenager standing beside them.
"Damn. Mada is really hot-headed. But that kid is dead now," the guy said as he licked his lips in amusement.
"You peasants never learn unless you’re taught a hard lesson and I’m more than willing to be your teacher!" Mada roared, causing Grey to spin around just in time to see Mada dash forward at full speed.
’Shit! He’s fast,’ Grey thought. He could barely blink before Mada appeared right in front of him, his fist rocketing toward Grey’s face with terrifying speed.
The punch didn’t land on Grey’s face. Instead, it crashed straight into his gut, causing blood and spit to shoot out of his mouth as his body was launched backward. He slammed into the wall with a loud thud.
’Crap! He’s strong too,’ Grey groaned internally. His abdomen throbbed with searing pain as he winced on the floor, struggling to sit up. That was when he heard footsteps approaching him.
Lifting his head weakly, he saw Mada closing in. Before he could react, Mada grabbed a handful of his brown hair and yanked him up, glaring into his face.
"I can tell. Just by looking at how weak you are you’re a mere stage 1 warrior. But here’s the difference between us. I’m a stage 4 warrior!" Mada snarled, swinging his fist toward Grey’s face once more.
Grey, barely conscious, shut his eyes tight. The wind from the approaching strike slapped his face, but the punch never landed. It halted inches away, the air around them rumbling.
The entire coliseum trembled as a loud mechanical noise echoed in the distance.
"You’re lucky," Mada whispered.
Grey opened his eyes slowly to see the large door behind the three giant chairs beginning to open.
"The assessment is about to start. One piece of advice, quit and go home now. Because if I catch you in the academy..." Mada leaned in, his voice venomous, "I’ll make your life hell."
He tossed Grey back to the ground like a ragdoll before leaping away, leaving silence and tension in his wake.