"Great work, Vice-President Richard!" Harvey was yelling when I descended the stage to join my society. "You showed them!"
"Impressive." Stan was nodding in approval…as if I ever needed his approval. "That was a splendid performance."
"Awesome…" Wang Fei's eyes were shining as well. No wonder Harvey managed to rope him into Ultimate Outcast Society.
"I knew my brother can do it!" Dong Fang Yue Chu slapped my back in delight, causing me to flinch because of my injuries.
"Who's your brother?" I demanded, annoyed. Before Dong Fang Yue Chu could retort, Alicia Violet stepped up, beaming brilliantly. All the guys around us, not just those from Ultimate Outcast Society, were dazzled by the school goddess's beauty.
Normally, if this was a cliché web novel, the existences beyond the fourth wall would expect stupid responses from the male students around me. You know, the usual "jealousy" scene where all the male students would curse me under their breaths or start plotting to kill or bully me all because the school goddess deigned to talk to a "nobody" or "trash" like me. However, this was reality, so there was no glares of hatred, no looks of envy, and nobody cursed me or insulted me. Besides, I had just literally defeated Jie Bing, someone ranked among the top 50, so even if they somehow unrealistically bore a grudge against me over the most inane reason ever (seriously, who the fuck was idiotic enough to resent somebody just because a beautiful girl simply spoke to him? As if she was not supposed to talk to any guy in school except the very best? What kind of bullshit was that?), they had no choice but to suck it up. Hell, they probably would be afraid of me because they knew what I was capable of in the arena.
"That was an amazing battle, Student Richard," she said, tilting her head slightly. "One of the best I've ever seen."
"Thank you." blinking, I tried not to stammer as I forced my mind to work. Gosh, but Alicia was gorgeous, and I could feel my temperature rising. Realizing that my mouth had gone dry, I swallowed, and continued. "Um…I didn't know you were here…"
Well, I did, but what I actually meant was I didn't know why Alicia would specifically watch my match. Shouldn't she be watching Troy's match, for example? Or the match of someone from Black Rose Society? There was little point in watching a duel between members from other societies.
"The interschool tournament is coming soon," Alicia informed me, the corners of her lips tugging upward. "Have you forgotten? It's only a few months away."
I had, because it had nothing to do with me. Now that I thought about it, participating in the tournament as a representative would earn my society a lot of prestige points, as well as improve my ranking. However, you had to be among the top 20 to participate. As such, I didn't think it was a realistic goal and never bothered about it.
But I obviously couldn't say that so I just shrugged noncommittedly. "Hmm, I see." Then I suddenly frowned. "Wait, what does that have to do with my match?"
"To be honest, I was watching Student Jie Bing, not you. I was assessing his abilities and skills, to see if he is suitable to be one of our representatives for this year." Alicia's lovely smile widened. "As you probably already know after experiencing his magic firsthand, Student Jie Bing has one of the most potential in our academy. He might prove to be one of our aces."
"Yeah, he really is incredible," I agreed, shuddering when I remembered our fierce duel. The match was so close that it really came down to the wire. Just one misstep on my part and I would have been the one defeated. The combination of his ice sword and swordsmanship, as well as his adaptable ability to create whatever weapon that suited the circumstances, was terrifying. "I'll definitely recommend him as a representative."
Alicia giggled and nodded. "So noted. But…I think you might have a lot of potential too."
I laughed awkwardly. "Um, you can probably consider me if I ever manage to break into the top 20."
"Oh, exceptions can be made, and not all of the top 20 want to participate anyway." Alicia turned away, a mischievous finger on her chin. "I'll make sure to do a fair assessment, but if it comes down to it, I'm sure we can work something out."
"…right." I knew better than to take her word for it. Alicia was definitely reliable and trustworthy, but there was no way the school would just accept her decision to recommend me based on her word alone. I had to show results and fight my way to the top, otherwise no amount of praise on Alicia's part was going to help me. As I watched her leave, I stumbled a little, pain shooting through my torso and head. Raising a hand, I found that blood was still leaking into my eyes. Now that the ice was gone and the temperature had gone to normal, my blood was no longer frozen and my cuts were bleeding again.
"You should get to the infirmary," Dong Fang Yue Chu advised when he saw how battered I was. I nodded.
"Okay."
*
While I left the arena, escorted by the members of my Ultimate Outcast Society, Alicia stepped out into the corridor, only for someone to approach her.
"Brother Hai!" she exclaimed.
The good-looking guy grinned, leaning back as he brushed a hand through his dark hair. He nodded a greeting and lowered his sunglasses, revealing his honey-brown eyes as he looked at the school goddess. Unlike the students who were dressed in the Jing Tian Academy's standard gray uniforms, he was wearing a black leather jacket with black jeans, chains hanging from his pockets. A dark fingerless gloves covered his hands, his calloused fingers curled into the pockets of his jeans or jacket.
"It's been a while, Alicia."
"Yes, it has!" Alicia exclaimed in delight. "When did you get back?"
"Just yesterday." Feng Hai smiled. "It took me a while, but I finally flushed those Night Devils out from their hideouts."
He actually hunted them down for over two years, along with his mercenary group, the Silver Wolves, but he didn't say that.
"You've grown. You look a lot more beautiful than before."
"Thank you." Alicia blushed a little, fidgeting anxiously. Of course she would – Feng Hai was a real looker whose rugged appearance caused girls' hearts to melt. Especially teenage girls. He gave off that bad boy vibe, after all.
"Got a boyfriend yet?"
"Of…of course not!"
"…heh…really?" Feng Hai raised his head and glanced in my direction. I was barely visible, surrounded by my society members. "I thought you were pretty interested in that kid." He nodded in approval. "I saw his match. He's pretty impressive."
"Stop that! Richard is just a schoolmate. I'm merely assessing both him and Jie Bing for the representative team for Jing Tian Academy."
"I see, so his name is Richard." Feng Hai smirked.
Alicia studied him, but she didn't say anything else to give herself away.
"They are both good, impressive for their age." Feng Hai smirked. "Not as good as me when I was their age, but…they show a lot of promise." He then glanced at the nervous Alicia. "I'm surprised, though. What about that Richard kid attracted you?"
"Um…that's…"
Alicia recalled the first time she had met me. Apparently it had been inside the library. As you probably know, I spent a lot of time in the library, looking for books and reading. It was during one of those reading sessions that Alicia spotted me. My diligence and focus had caught her attention, and when she saw how I shut everything out to concentrate on reading my book, for some reason she began to develop some curiosity toward me.
She was aware of my notorious reputation as a loser who hadn't won any matches, of course. That was why she was drawn toward me. Despite losing so much, I hadn't given into despair and quit. Instead, I seemed to spend more and more time in the library, reading up on magical tomes and researching on ways to get stronger. Over the next few times she went to the library, she discovered that I was pretty much a fixture there. She had become impressed with my perseverance, my unwillingness to give up despite the odds, and my determination to improve myself and learn new magic skills. She was amazed that I possessed a strong enough will to walk down the path I chose for myself – summoning – despite the mockery and scorn I received from others for my naivety and lack of realism. Alicia found herself drawn to the hope brimming inside my intense gaze as I pored over thick tomes and arcane grimoires.
"…um, Alicia, I meant what about his magic or skills that attracted your attention, not how you ended up falling for him."
Alicia's face flushed an extremely deep red when Feng Hai interrupted her. She realized that she had made the mistake of becoming lovestruck.
"I…uh…"
"Oh, well. I'll find out for myself." Feng Hai waved his hand dismissively, saving her from her embarrassment. "I'll be seeing him and all the other students tomorrow."
*
"Hey! Did you hear who's coming as a guest instructor today?" Harvey asked as we waited in the classroom for combat magic the next day.
I shook my head and stared at him blankly. "Nope."
"A legend! He's here!"
"Huh?" I continued to stare at him, bewildered. "Who's he?"
I got my answer a few minutes later when the classroom quietened down, everyone's attention drawn to the stage at the front. When the guest instructor showed up, all the students cheered and clapped excitedly.
Apparently, in this time period, most of the greatest idols were heroes, particularly those who possessed both strength and beauty.
The guy who stepped onto the stage definitely had tremendous amounts of the former, but while he obviously couldn't be called beautiful, he was definitely handsome. A male idol then…judging from the way the girls were swooning and screaming as they drooled over him, he was definitely a male idol of Jing Tian Magic Academy.
What? Did you think that all idols were female? That just because I was a male protagonist, the mysterious new instructor-idol would a beautiful slightly older lady type of character? You've been reading way too many harem web novels, dudes. Reality wasn't that convenient, and the world didn't just bend over and break its own rules and indulge in implausible improbabilities to surround a guy with beautiful girls that apparently have the potential to be heroines. That was just utter bullshit.
"That's the legendary Feng Hai!" Harvey exclaimed. "Don't tell me you've never heard of him? He's a graduate of Jing Tian Academy and became one of the strongest and most successful mage mercenary ever! He's the founder of that powerful mercenary group, the Silver Wolves!"
"Seriously? Feng Hai? Can authors not think of anything original anymore?" I grumbled and shook my head with a sigh. "And let me guess…his nickname is Fiend Blade?"
"Huh?" Harvey gave me a strange stare. "Of course not."
"Good." I sighed in relief. At least we weren't blatantly ripping off a character from…
"He's known as the Hurricane Blade. The Hurricane Blade Feng Hai." Harvey was beaming as he unearthed more of his knowledge regarding the good-looking twenty-something guy on stage. "The pride of Jing Tian Academy! The fastest wind mage…his enemies never see his attacks coming! He's capable of taking on a swarm of B rank monsters by himself!"
Well, I had heard of the Silver Wolves at least. If this guy was truly the founder of that renowned mercenary group, then he was definitely a veteran with thousands of battles under his belt.
And right now he was looking at me with a predatory gaze that unsettled me. I blinked, not sure why I would have drawn his attention, but I couldn't help shuddering under his intense stare.
This Feng Hai was like a sly wolf, watching me closely as it waited in ambush, ready to lunge if I so much as showed an opening.
Groaning to myself and burying my face in my palm, I sighed again.
Why me?