“You all sure have the guts to ignore me like this. I wonder how well you will be able to perform just as well in your upcoming test. But from all your attitude, you all look ready.”
Instructor Harris gritted his teeth as he looked over the children in front of him. They all were becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.
Not only had they disrespected him, but they had also dared to gang up on their classmate. Instructor Harris had seen everything and he was pissed off. These brats did not know what they were dealing with.
“S-Sorry professor, it will not happen again. We just wanted to get to know each other better. Can we be excused this time?”
Kronos replied with confidence as he started the professor back. He was sure that the professor would not say anything to him or anyone else in the room.
No matter what kind of bad impression these kids gave off to their instructors, there was no denying that they were the cream of the top. And since they were the ‘best of the best’ they should be treated as such.
That was the kind of mindset most of these privileged children had when they first came to this school. Horas was beginning to see the flaws of his character design and how bland he had made most of these people.
“No. You all will not be excused this time. Since you all decided to ‘stay behind’ and ignore my class, you can participate in the detention together. Now get yourself to my classroom.”
The glass groaned as one but they followed behind Instructor Harris nonetheless. Their first impression had not gone over quite as well as they had hoped it to go.
Many students could not help but blame Horas for this. If he had just given in and answered their questions, they would not have been late for the class.
Horas knew the thought process of these privileged children and he sighed. He knew that today was going to be a bad day and everything that happened just happened to prove his point.
Instructor Harris led the small group to the back facility which contained an empty shite room. The stimulation room was used to mimic various terrains and environments.
“You all will pick your preferred weapon from the lot in front of you and then practice the basics for it with the AI today. Since there are only 20 of you, you all can use your individual rooms for practice. I will make rounds to check up on you so don’t slack off.”
Horas was familiar with the process of picking out a weapon but he already had one of his own. So he stepped back and let the class pick what they wanted.
He was thankful for having picked up a weapon beforehand because there were too many curious eyes on him right now. The students around him were curious about the kind of weapon Horas used.
Too bad, they were not going to get the satisfaction of seeing him in action today.
Horas looked around and he watched the familiar form of Ahsley Whinstone pick out her signature whip. It was a practice whip but she would use a solid white freezing whip in the future.
On the other hand, Kronos picked up a sword. It was so typical for a bully for him to go for the most destructive weapon in the room.
A lot of other students picked interesting weapons but Horas did not know their names. He also did not make an effort to know other people’s names since he was trying to maintain a low profile.
“Alright. I can see that everyone now has a weapon they are comfortable with. You all should head into your assigned chambers and start with your training. Once you serve your normal class time as well as detention time, you are free to go.”
Horas looked down at the clock his system was showing and showed an uncomfortable 6 hours on the timer. He flinched as he realized that it would be a tiring session.
The usual training class time was four hours. The additional two hours would make most people ache in places they did not even know they had. Even Horas was not looking forward to such training.
‘Hey, I am seven years old. Does instructor Harris expect me to keep up with teenagers in terms of stamina?’
Horas complained in his mind. He had spent enough time in this training chamber to know that his progress would be recorded.
“So annoying.”
Horas complained but entered the chamber where the robotic AI was standing. It was the same one he always used and he adjusted his settings to his usual one.
Over the past two years, Horas’s body had adjusted to using the gun and he was able to handle the recoil. He was much more flexible and faster than the people around him.
It was either the effect of the world he was in, or it had something to do with being the second main lead.
But despite all this, he was not able to increase his overall stats in the past year. He was still where he had started except for his level and his stamina.
Horas had aches all over his body once he was done. It had been a tiring six hours but Horas had somehow managed not to break down until the end. His shoulders were shaking with the strain of his practice.
Once he reached back his room, he collapsed in his bed and only woke up the next morning when the sun had risen brightly in the sky.
Horas hoped that the day before had been a nightmare and this one will be better. But that did not turn out to be the case.
He was still being treated as an attraction and students were following him around. Not only his class, but the upperclassmen had started to come for him as well. His legend had spread all over the school.
So obviously, Horas considered himself lucky when he did not run into any bullies in the first week.
But his luck had to end one day, and it happened one week later. He was cornered when he was heading toward his programming class. The party consisted of some of the upper-classmen Horas knew the name of.
“Look, the rumors were not wrong. There is a kid in Esper’s academy right now. And it looks like the kid thinks he’s a part of us.”
Horas stayed where he was as people laughed and cheered at his attacker’s cruel words. There was nothing remarkable about these people, not even their faces.
It was likely that most of these people ended up as cannon fodder in the future. Horas was not particularly impressed by their conduct.
Horas tried to stand up but he has knocked down again. It was a blessing that Esper’s academy did not require one to carry books around with them. It made traveling much faster and more convenient for people.
“Hey punk, where are you going? Did I permit you to leave? I don’t think you know whom you are dealing with.”
Horas looked up sharply at the kid in front of him. The upperclassmen might look older than him on the outside but they were all mean children on the inside. Horas did not have any wish to converse with such children.
But of course, things hardly ever went his way and this time proved to be no different. One of the bullies noticed Horas sneaking away so he spoke up.
“Hey, where are you going? Don’t try and be cheeky with me.”
The bully reached out for Horas but he dodged it at the last minute. His instincts had kicked in and his body had reacted.
Despite the age difference, Horas was able to keep up with the bully. When the older boy tried to attack, Horas was able to evade him. But Horas’s attack was lacking in comparison so he did not try and attack the older body.
“What the hell? Sit still you brat.”
The bully did not like the fact that Horas was able to evade all of his attacks. The elder students on the side started cheering instead of helping Horas out.
“Hell yeah. Go for it.”
“You are doing good. Show the ignorant brat what it means to be a senior.”
“Fight, fight.”
Voices chanted in the hallway and Horas knew it was only a matter of time before an instructor showed up. The teachers might ignore small scuffs between students but this was an all-out brawl.
Not to mention, it involved a senior and Principal Marbel’s ward. The teachers knew the news and they would not take a chance of this small fight reaching the principal’s ears.
“What is going on here? Fighting outside the combat class is prohibited.”
All of a sudden, everyone went silent as a familiar face came into focus. At first glance, the red hair and muscular physique would make one think of a man, but there was an obvious softness to the person’s frame on second notice.
What was worst? Horas could recall the red flaming hair and black eyes on that handsome face. It was a very important character in the book - Reed Whinstone.
