"We’ll just give it our all," Celia said.
Derrick snorted. "Yes. We just go in there and defeat all the class members."
Before he could say anything else, a speaker cracked to life around them. "Now! It’s the turn of Class Four, the mock battle between Team Leader Serena Ashford and House Leader Severin Reignhart!"
That got the students muttering. House Leader? Of course, they knew he was a House Leader, but did he really have to say it like that as if he was special?
A toad that got lucky and managed to create the weakest and shittiest House ever in the Academy.
The students muttered some more, their eyes focused on the platform, waiting for Severin, the so-called House Leader, to be crushed.
"You can now start! Don’t worry, fight to your heart’s content. There’s a formation in place to prevent accidents!"
Derrick stood and straightened. "Let’s get this over with."
Severin sighed. He waved his hand casually. "I will take care of this."
Derrick nearly exploded. "What the hell? You’re going to take care of this? You? You’ll be beaten into a pulp in seconds. Instead of that kind of humiliation for the team..."
"Shut up, Derrick. You’re not the boss here." Celia’s voice dropped low in warning.
Severin sighed again. He ignored them and walked out from their hiding spot.
Serena’s team didn’t move away from their place. Most of them looked bored. They needed to get it over with and continue with their day.
But Serena was watching Severin like a hawk with a thin sword in her hand. She looked at him with disappointment. "Where’s the rest of your team? Don’t tell me you are surrendering."
Severin didn’t reply as he walked closer. His sword remained by his side.
Everyone seemed on edge. What would this guy do? He somehow escaped the last fight he had like this when he made his opponent mysteriously surrender.
But now, was there anything he could do to escape his fate?
Severin looked at Serena. She was a tall girl with a flat build, but her eyes were wild like that of a forest cat. The strongest in Class Four, eh? She earned it.
Severin knew how crazy she trained. In the book, she was used as an example of hard-working. But unfortunately, she didn’t really have the talent to go very far in life.
And her dreaming of making her family rise turned out to be unrealized.
Severin smirked. Hard-working, eh? He wanted her to join his team.
But just like a forest cat, it wouldn’t be easy.
She didn’t really have much going on in her life.
She was mid and proper side character, written just to maintain the story. All her life, she’d struggle for whatever she had, and now she had the title of the strongest in Class Four.
She wouldn’t let that go.
She had sensed and marked Severin as a threat since.
So her first approach was offense.
She drew her sword, light dancing along the edges. "I won’t take your surrender."
Severin’s cold face softened. His mouth twisted into a sneer, and in just a second, his expression had turned to that of a bully. He yawned. "Well, this is what I expect from you, Serena, but still I am disappointed."
The change—everything—caught her off guard, and she blurted out, "What?"
Severin gestured casually. "You’re hiding behind the whole class? The strongest in Class Four that has to bring the whole gang to fight?"
"What? This is a team figh..."
Severin went for a knife twist. "Well, you’re a woman. That’s only expected of you."
It was as if a switch was flipped.
Serena went deadly still, and her face turned cold. Her hand tightened on her sword as her eyes narrowed. "You..."
"Isn’t that why you brought them all along? Because you are weaker? A woman is weaker. You should not be doing something like this. You belong somewhere else!" Severin shouted.
Serena shook where she was standing. Her face flushed with anger. She couldn’t believe her ears.
But Severin knew the reason for her anger and breakdown. Her family was very outdated and wouldn’t name her the heir even though she was the first daughter. Instead, her small brother was named heir.
All because he was a male child.
She who had vowed to raise her House was being denied the privilege of the said House.
Severin knew this, and he was using it against her.
As the others had said, it was useless to fight a whole class team. They would be overpowered and beaten. An overwhelming victory that would end in their humiliation.
Severin didn’t want that.
"So, why don’t you just fight me? A duel between us to represent our two teams," he smiled. "A duel between a man and a woman."
Serena was too angry to care. What she saw was the horrible view that her family held. Her brother should be the heir just because he’s a male? Her brother that was weak and she could beat with her two hands tied?
She didn’t consult her team. What for? She was the team leader, and right then she was fighting for her pride. "I will kill you."
The words tumbled from her mouth in a rush of hatred.
Severin smiled. "Be ready for your defeat."
Behind the large rock, Derrick and Celia were staring at each other in surprise. What the fuck was Severin doing now? He wanted to fight Serena, the strongest student in Class Four?
Was he crazy?
That was even worse than them fighting the whole team.
They weren’t the only ones that held the same view. All around, the spectators were watching them. It was almost a repeat of his battle with Ethan.
The obviously weakest against the strongest?
It made no sense.
But still, why did they watch the platform so intently?
Severin had won his monthly assessment in the most surprising way. He had founded a House, and he raided a dungeon without his team getting hurt.
What the hell was he going to do now?
A large screen of projection opened before the Head Instructor in his office, his eyes on a single platform.
He muttered, "Let’s see how you’ll pass your first test."