“Is he really that strong?”
At Mantis’s question, James stared silently into the air.
It was as if he were recalling some sort of memory.
“Damn it, I haven’t won against him even once since I entered Pasadian. Listen, kid. To think a guy that strong is so obsessed with an Omega brat…….”
“……If you mean an Omega, are you talking about Darin?”
Mantis had seen Darin, who, while not as pretty as Anakin, was quite fair-looking.
He was a unique existence rarely seen in Pasadian, where hierarchy was determined by strength and groups were divided accordingly.
He was always by Kainon’s side, yet he didn’t look particularly strong.
He was one of the figures shrouded in mystery.
James narrowed his brows at that and stayed silent for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Anyway, that’s not important. Let’s help each other out, as we’re in the same boat.”
As he changed the subject, Mantis stared at him with a suspicious look.
‘In the same boat.’
It was a sentiment that felt almost unpleasant.
Mantis had never felt jealousy or inferiority while watching Hilde or Anakin.
Thinking about it, perhaps it was because he never thought he was on the same level as them to begin with?
Perhaps it had become natural to look up to them.
He had been incredibly timid since the moment he first arrived at the Pasadian testing grounds.
He was like a frog in a well facing the world for the first time, surrounded by entirely unfamiliar things.
He had taken the exam here to succeed, but reality was ruthless, and there were so many exceptional people.
To the point where he felt pathetic for thinking he was somewhat strong.
After passing the exam, Mantis, who felt like he was sinking into a deep, endless ocean, finally came to his senses when he heard Hilde’s words during a previous practical exercise.
“I guess the momentum I saw when you were breaking that guy Dorman was just an illusion.”
Only after hearing those words did he realize he had forgotten the purpose for which he had come here.
The habitual verbal and physical abuse Dorman inflicted on my sister.
My weak self, who could do nothing while watching it.
I hated and felt so pathetic for that version of myself…… I couldn’t stand it, which is why I came here.
Mantis said to James with calm, settled eyes.
“James, I am not in the same boat as you.”
“……What?”
James’s face changed instantly.
The gaze that had been looking down on Mantis with condescension turned menacing and harsh in a split second.
Mantis had seen many of this type in his life.
Those who approached others while wearing a mask to hide their true nature.
Such people were usually not upright and only used others as a means to an end.
“I will surpass the geniuses and win somehow. I won’t give up like you.”
“What can a mediocre person like you do? You look weaker than me.”
Seeing James mock him, Mantis finally realized that he didn’t truly acknowledge Kainon.
It was a deep-seated sense of defeat and inferiority.
Unless you pulled it out by the root, it was something that could never be eliminated.
“If you were going to face a wall and give up like that, why did you even come to Pasadian in the first place? You should have just gone to a different school.”
Grind.
James’s teeth gnashed together.
His angry eyes were violent enough to throw a punch at Mantis at any moment.
Even so, Mantis was not afraid.
He saw Dorman, who used to bully him, overlaid on James.
Even if Mantis loathed and hated Dorman, he thought Dorman was at least better than James as he was now.
“At least Dorman thought he was the best.”
At the very least, he didn’t do something as pathetic as feeling inferior while watching others.
“What are you saying? You ignorant little…….”
Mantis’s collar was grabbed by his hand.
James warned Mantis as he raised his other fist.
“Just because I’m talking to you, do you think I’m your friend?”
“…….”
Mantis stared back at him without backing down.
He didn’t know why James had come to find him, but at least thanks to this behavior, he knew for a fact that James hadn’t approached him with good intentions.
“Don’t treat me like you. I don’t have that kind of filthy inferiority complex. If you were trying to sow discord, just give it up.”
“You little…….”
His fist struck the side of Mantis’s face violently.
A stinging sound of impact, loud enough to make his ears ring, resonated from his eardrums.
‘He wasn’t just big; he was strong too.’
Despite the burning pain, Mantis grabbed James’s collar in return and shouted.
“Right now……!”
At that moment, a familiar, pleasant voice rang out from right in front of them.
“What are you doing?”
It was Anakin, his face hardened in cold anger.
Anakin looked back and forth between Mantis, who had been struck, and James, who was clutching his collar.
It was a scene where it was blindingly obvious who the perpetrator was.
At the sight of Anakin’s icy face, James, his reason returning, slowly loosened his hand from Mantis’s collar.
Then, looking flustered, he opened his mouth.
“His tone was way too disrespectful…… Ahem. Well, anyway, that wasn’t my intention.”
Mantis made an incredulous face at James, who was rapidly changing his attitude as soon as he saw Anakin.
‘No, you treated me so harshly, why are you being so careful of Anakin?’
I suspected it was suspicious that he was looking for Anakin from earlier, and it was clear Anakin had been his goal all along.
Anakin looked between the two of them again before speaking.
“Did you hit Mantis?”
I had dragged my already exhausted body here with such difficulty, only for this to happen.
Anakin struggled to keep an indifferent expression while bracing his trembling thighs.
“Listen. I’m the one who’s aggrieved here. I just came because I wanted to be friendly, but he started a fight out of nowhere.”
“……Is that true, Mantis?”
At Anakin’s questioning tone, Mantis was silent for a moment.
‘Why is he hesitating like that?’
Anakin, feeling frustrated, asked him again.
“Mantis?”
“It’s nothing.”
Mantis, clutching his swollen cheek, said to James.
“I won’t tell anyone about what happened, so please leave now.”
“……?”
Anakin tilted his head. It was because Mantis felt different from his usual self.
“……Ahem.”
When James checked to see if he meant it, Mantis stared at him with a look of disgust.
Thinking he shouldn’t escalate things further, James quickly backed away.
It seemed he had some wits about him, having spent his time rolling around in Pasadian.
“Mantis. What the hell is going on? Isn’t that guy from the 46th class?”
As Anakin approached quickly, Mantis forced a smile and shook his head.
“It’s just a minor misunderstanding. It’s really nothing.”
“But you were hit…….”
Anakin furrowed his pretty brows and touched Mantis’s swollen cheek.
Even in that moment, Mantis felt absurd that his heart had fluttered for a second at Anakin’s touch.
“It’s okay. It’s already in the past. More than that, Anakin, you seem to have a different feeling.”
“Oh…… I became a 4th-Circle mage. Hilde helped me…….”
At those words, Anakin’s serious face changed to one of slight bashfulness.
“……Really? Congratulations! Anakin.”
Mantis, who had hesitated for a moment, soon smiled brightly and congratulated him.
Then, Anakin shook his head bashfully and said.
“Let’s go into the room first.”
Anakin kept asking Mantis about what happened earlier, but Mantis absolutely would not tell him what had occurred.
‘Is it something worth hiding?’
I stopped because it felt like a nuisance to keep prying, but it was true that it was still bothering me.
Who wouldn’t be concerned when their friend had been hit like that?
Anakin fell asleep feeling uneasy and woke up one hour before class started.
When he woke up, Mantis was already gone from his seat.
“Hmm…….”
Feeling the absence of Mantis, who always woke him up, he felt a strange sense of disappointment.
‘Something definitely happened last night.’
When he went to class, Mantis was already sitting there talking to another friend.
The ice pack he had applied the previous night was already gone from his cheek.
It wasn’t the right situation to talk, so Anakin awkwardly walked past him.
“Anakin!”
Then, Lucien, who had been bickering with Hilde, called out to Anakin.
“Why?”
“Did you hear you became a 4th-Circle mage yesterday? Congratulations!”
At Lucien’s energetic remark, all the children around turned to look at Anakin.
“No, are you going to go around telling everyone? Lucien.”
I whispered to Lucien while forcing a smile, and only then did Lucien blink and sit quietly in his seat.
“Lord Anakin, are you already a 4th-Circle mage? Congratulations.”
“As expected of the ‘Monster Class,’ your progress is truly fast.”
Renya and Comult also approached to congratulate Anakin.
Seeing the reaction, which was quite different from before, Anakin stared blankly at them and then laughed.
“Thank you. Haha…….”
Kainon’s group also looked over once, but they didn’t make snide remarks like before.
Anakin, who had become the center of attention thanks to Lucien, sat next to Hilde.
“Did Hilde tell you?”
“……Because you kept prying.”
According to Hilde, Lucien asked relentlessly about what he was doing that made him come in late, or if he had been with Anakin.
He must have tormented him quite a bit, as dark circles were heavily cast over Hilde’s pale face.
Anakin nodded as if he understood and comforted him.
“Hilde. Still, thanks to you handling Lucien, the number of victims has decreased.”
“…….”
At Hilde’s look, which seemed to ask if that was supposed to be comforting, Anakin laughed for a second and then straightened his face.
It was because Chris had entered.
In the classroom, which had instantly gone silent, Chris announced news that surprised everyone.
“We are planning to hold a joint sparring session combining the 45th, 46th, and 47th classes.”
‘Excuse me?’
‘A sparring session, all of a sudden?’
