PACK!
Shang easily shoved the hand to the side again, making it miss his shoulder.
For a moment, the two of them only looked at each other.
Then, Shang walked to the side, making room for the blonde guy. Without saying anything, Shang simply gestured to the free door.
For a bit, the blonde guy looked at Shang with furrowed brows. On one hand, he could pass now, but on the other hand, Shang had shoved his hand to the side.
The guy definitely didn't like that a mere kid was looking at him like that.
"Tch, don't do something like that again if you want to survive in the academy," the guy spat before he entered the building.
Shang didn't answer, and his eyes didn't follow the guy.
With his actions, Shang had shown that he was willing to comply but also that he wouldn't accept being mistreated.
Shang had shown that it was a bad idea to pick a fight with him, but he had also not provoked the other person. He hadn't insulted him or berated him. He had only dealt with the action that went too far without teaching the other side "a lesson".
Could Shang have verbally attacked the guy after his little verbal provocation?
Sure, but why should he?
It was simply someone that wanted to save some face after receiving a perceived loss.
Many times, when someone felt like they were losing a confrontation or a discussion, they tried to get one last jab in before leaving. Something like that was a bit cowardly, and one could certainly start the entire confrontation again based on that last jab. However, Shang had better things to do than to argue with some random guy.
Many people in Shang's place would have thrown a jab back. After all, he had been verbally attacked, so he had the right to attack back.
But that wasn't Shang.
Why?
Because it was pointless.
It was a waste of time.
What was the point of beating down some random guy? Would Shang get fighting experience?
No.
Would Shang get money?
No.
Would Shang get training?
No.
So why should he do it?
Just because it felt good?
Because it felt good to stand above someone else?
Sure, but here's the kicker.
That feeling is only something someone without much self-confidence needed.
Shang's self-confidence didn't come from beating up some random kid that insulted him but from his actual power.
After the guy entered the building, Shang walked forward, leaving the building behind.
Sounds of fighting and screaming filled the area, and Shang got reminded of his old MMA gym. It hadn't been this crowded and loud, but the feeling was very similar.
Shang followed the paved road for a bit until he reached a crossroads. The rulebook had included a map of the academy, and Shang knew where each road led.
The western road led to the main building.
The eastern road led to the city.
The southern road led to an area dedicated to trading. It included the exchange hall for Contribution Points and a market with plenty of useful wares for warriors. Of course, the market only accepted gold.
The northern road led to the most training fields and arenas. Sure, the fields and arenas were basically everywhere strewn around the academy, but the biggest of them were in the north.
Since Shang was interested in purchasing a knife, he went towards the south, to the market.
"You seem pretty strong."
Shang couldn't take more than a couple of steps before someone stopped him from the side.
"Is there something you need?" Shang asked neutrally.
The person that had stopped Shang was someone at his age, 14 or 15 probably. He had icy blue hair, and Shang could feel a bit of Ice Mana swirling around him. On his waist, he carried two long rapiers.
Shang had the habit of analyzing everyone around him and thinking about how they would fight, and this boy wasn't an exception.
Shang guessed that this boy wasn't a pure warrior but a Magic Warrior, someone that practiced Magic to enhance their physical fighting capabilities. With his two rapiers, he was probably someone that struck quickly and with precision.
However, for some reason, Shang felt like the boy in front of him was weak.
Everything about him, his equipment, his long hair, his two shining weapons, and his radiant uniform made him appear like a genius.
Yet, Shang felt like the boy was only putting on an act.
To Shang, he felt very weak.
The boy smiled with confidence, his smile brightening up the surroundings. "I've seen how you dealt with one of the upperclassmen, and I think we two can be useful to each other."
"Useful? In what way?" Shang asked neutrally.
"Well, you see, I'm Stars Gerbon from the Gerbon National Resource Trading Firm," the boy, Stars, said with a graceful tone. "I've recently joined the famous Warrior's Academy, and I'm planning on creating a group of like-minded individuals."
"Not interested," Shang said directly.
Stars looked with shock at Shang for a second. Then, he put on a bitter smile. "Excuse me, have you heard of the Gerbon National Res-"
"No," Shang answered, interrupting him. He didn't want to listen to that annoyingly long name again.
Stars' left eyelid twitched a bit, but he still kept up his polite smile. "Well, you see, the Gerbon Nat-"
"Doesn't matter," Shang said, interrupting the boy again. "Your background doesn't matter in here, and as I've said, I'm not interested."
Then, Shang continued walking.
After Shang said that, the polite smile vanished from Stars, and an icy expression came over his face.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked slowly.
Shang stopped walking and slowly turned around. Then, he looked into Stars' eyes. "Since you've been polite up to now, I'm willing to give you an honestly well-meant hint. This is not some veiled insult, or something said to provoke a reaction from you. It's an actual piece of advice."
Stars only lifted an eyebrow.
"Your act only works on warriors that haven't been through enough life-threatening situations in their lives," Shang said. "You can fool those warriors, but those warriors are worthless to begin with. In this world, four hands can't beat two fists."
"Give up," Shang said. "Give up trying to create a power. You obviously haven't been in danger in your life, and an experienced warrior can see that. Don't try to get around the pain of training by using your political ability to create some form of power. You're too weak for such an undertaking."
"Go back to training."
Stars' eyes narrowed, and Shang could not only see anger but actual hatred inside them.
Obviously, Shang had hit a nerve with his words. Based on that look, Stars had probably heard exactly these words a couple of times before in his life. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had such a strong emotional reaction.
Shang guessed that Stars' parents had probably said something similar.
So, how did Stars react?
He sighed, turned around, and left.
A couple of seconds after Stars left, Shang sighed.
'Me and my big mouth. I wanted to give him some honest advice but see where that got me. I'm pretty sure that guy is going to send his goons at me later for my perceived disrespectful behavior.'
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang continued walking to the south while scratching his chin.
'Honestly, I don't want to deal with every annoying guy individually. I think I should make an example out of the first group.'