After class, the students had the rest of the day to themselves. Erie was eager to test one of the skills the system had granted him, so he and Gene made their way to the open fields to train and spar.
As they walked through the courtyard, they couldn't ignore the lingering stares from other students. The murmurs grew louder as they passed.
"Better stay out of his way. One of the third-years has already approached him."
"Yeah, this guy's bad luck. And did you see it? More of those orphans arrived today."
"Hey, did you hear? They have more golden ribbons than we do in the city."
Erie and Gene ignored the whispers, focusing on the training ahead. But the murmurs only grew louder the closer they got to the training fields.
Once they arrived, Erie scanned the area to see if any higher-level students were using the space.
"Looks like no one's here for now!" Gene grinned, stretching his arms.
"We can spar without worrying about anyone watching us." He immediately shifted into his battle stance.
"No warm-up?" Erie raised an eyebrow.
Before Gene could respond, Erie's gaze drifted past him, locking onto a lone figure standing in the distance. He nudged Gene.
"Hey, we've got a watcher."
Gene barely spared a glance. "Erie, are we gonna spar or not? I don't care if the school general is watching. Let's train." His stance shifted slightly, his expression calm and focused. "Are you ready?"
Erie took a deep breath, steadying his heartbeat. He wasn't sure if it was nerves or excitement, but he'd been waiting for this moment all day.
"Yeah, you're probably right, Gene. It's probably Jake—I haven't seen him all day."
Just then, the system chimed.
'Spar detected.'
'Opponent: Gene Gane.'
'Defeat Gene Gane in a spar.'
'Reward: Instant level-up.'
Erie's eyes widened. Instant level-up? He never expected such a reward. But why was it an instant level-up? Is it because he's a hybrid? He shook off the thought. All that mattered was winning.
Erie finally took his stance. It wasn't perfect, but his steady posture showed he'd been in a few fights. As he readied himself, he noticed something odd—Gene's eyes shifted from black to blue, and his hair began changing colors—a subtle pressure radiated from him, making Erie flinch slightly.
Before Erie could process it, Gene moved.
A blur—then a fist.
CRACK.
Erie's head snapped back as Gene's punch landed clean. The impact knocked him off balance, sending him stumbling backward. He barely had time to react.
"Crap, Erie! Why didn't you dodge?" Gene exclaimed.
Erie winced, pressing a hand to his nose as blood trickled down. He wiped it away, shaking his head.
"Let's try that again!" Erie said, retaking his stance. This time, he locked onto Gene's every move.
Gene smirked. "Alright! I'm still not holding back. If you're that slow, you need all the training you can get!"
Erie wasn't slow—Gene was just that fast. Whatever his bloodline was, it gave him an insane speed advantage. And that wasn't even the worst part.
Every time Gene moved, water followed—trailing his limbs like an extension of his body.
Does he not have an ability? If this is just his natural bloodline, that's one hell of an edge…
Erie's eyes narrowed as Gene's hair changed colors again.
He's about to attack!
'Concentration!'
The moment Erie activated his skill, time seemed to slow.
Gene lunged forward, his fist cutting through the air like a bullet. Erie reacted instantly, stepping to the side at the last possible moment. His breath hitched as he narrowly avoided the strike.
Now!
With perfect timing, he countered—his fist flashing toward Gene's head.
But Gene wasn't slow.
A trail of water followed his missed punch. Even though Erie dodged, the sheer force of Gene's swing created a shockwave. Erie staggered back, thrown off balance.
"Shit—I didn't even see the water!"
The impact rattled him, breaking his focus.
'Skill deactivated.'
"Damn it," Erie muttered under his breath, struggling to regain his footing.
But Gene wasn't done.
A sharp twist—water coiled around his palm. With a quick spin, Gene lashed out, sending a wave of water crashing into Erie.
The impact lifted Erie off his feet.
Then—SLAM.
His back hit the ground hard. His lungs emptied in a single gasp.
"Hey, Erie! If you're my friend, you better improve your reaction speed!" Gene called out, shaking his head.
Erie groaned, trying to push himself up, but Gene wasn't finished.
With a sharp motion, Gene raised his hand. Water gathered above his palm—then crashed down.
A second wave slammed into Erie, pinning him to the ground.
His breath hitched. He couldn't move.
'First spar has ended.'
'User could not complete the quest.'
'User has gained 10 experience points.'
'135 of 200 experience points.'
Gene exhaled and walked up, extending a hand toward Erie.
"Dude, your reaction speed needs work," he teased. "At this rate, the academy's gonna eat you alive."
Erie groaned, reaching up to take Gene's hand.
Erie finally understood how Concentration worked. The moment he activated the skill, a wave of energy surged through his mind. Everything around him faded into the background, leaving only the fight before him. Every movement, every shift in Gene's stance—he saw it all with sharp, unwavering focus.
"I wish the system gave me a description of how these skills work," he thought. "Maybe I wouldn't have to learn how it works this way."
After Gene helped Erie to his feet, they noticed a group of students approaching. They wore silver ribbons on their arms, marking them as first-years.
One of the boys sneered. "Hey, looks like those two are using the training grounds without paying up." His watch flashed Double-D rank, while the others showed D-rank.
"I know the General doesn't want any Bronze ribbons using this field without his permission," another muttered. "If we let it slide, he'll knock us down a rank."
"We should make them pay up and just turn a blind eye," one of them suggested.
"Are you crazy, Flint?" another hissed. "If we do that, Jason will come after us! You know he's stronger than all of us combined!"
"Stop it, Stacy," one of the boys yelled, his voice firm. Everyone deserves a chance. Let's take the currency and let them pass."
The academy didn't want the students hungry, so it gave them unlimited meals a day, all paid for by the city. Also, each student received one "Coin" as a "stock." Each coin was worth 35 points.
After training, each coin was automatically sent to their wristwatch daily around five am.
If the students wanted to earn more coins, they would have to complete missions, go to the training grounds, defeat the beast, sell their cores, and do many other tasks the school has set up for them.
As the students reached Erie and Gene, they finally spoke up. "Do you two have permission to be here?" Stacy shouted at Erie; he saw Gene's watch and directed his outburst toward Erie instead.
Erie shook his head, turned to Gene, and continued talking about their spare.
"Hey, you Tripple F!" he yelled. "Do you have permission to be here!" he shouted even louder towards Erie, who was finally walking up in front of him.
This was only the first day of school, and the dynamic was already turning out exactly how it was for him in his village. He hoped that at least having Alex there will ensure that no one else bothers them while training.
"Look, I don't want to do this," Flint announced. But these training grounds are only permitted to be used by silver ribbons, not bronze," he said as he glanced at Gene and Erie.
Stacy smiled, "Well, it's your lucky day, you two. All you have to do is hand over your beachside coins, and we will turn a blind eye."
" This is the only coin I received today. I'm trying to save up for something, "Gene said with his back turned.
Erie watched as Gene's eyes flickered between black and blue, shifting repeatedly. He didn't know Gene well yet, but judging by his expression, something about this situation was really getting under his skin.
Flint sighed and stepped up, placing a hand on Stacy's shoulder and gently pushing him back. "Ok,"he said, his tone calmer than before. "I really don't want to do this. If you have a problem, take it up with the guy running the grounds, alright?"
With that, Flint tapped his watch against Erie's. A sharp ping sounded as a notification appeared—coins had been transferred from Erie and GGene'saccounts to Flint's
""We were never here.""Flint turned away, motioning for his group to follow as they disappeared back toward their area.
Just as Erie was about to shake it off, a message flashed in his vision.
''The enemy has taken something that belongs to you.'
''you have received a new quest.'
''second Fight: Defeat Stacy Harris and Kyle Markenburger.'
''eward: 50 experience points each.'
'' grade-level difference has been detected.'
'Additionally, experience points will be granted.'
''If the user defeats both enemies, a system reward will be granted.'
Erie's lips curled into a grin, and his gaze flicked toward Stacy and Kyle as they walked away. Unlike before, the reward this time wasn't instant level-u, which meant the fight wouldn't be impossible. Even though Gene was leagues ahead of him, these guys? They were in his range.
"Are you seriously smiling right now?!"Gene snapped. "Hey, you just took our currency!"
Erie ignored him. He took a step forward, raising his voice.
"Hey, Kyle! Stacy!"
The three boys continued walking, talking, pretending they didn't hear him.
Then, Erie saw it—one of them flinched. "ood.""""both of you are dead!""Erie shouted.