"Hey, Noele!"
Noele snapped out of his state of absentmindedness, glancing to see whoever it was that called him.
At the same time, the cloud of mist which had barely begun forming dispersed through the breeze.
"Ah, the Flame Emperor, huh."
"Har har."
The Flame Emperor rolled his eyes as he pushed Noele's shoulder.
"But seriously, stop calling me the Flame Emperor. Makes me cringe."
"If not the Flame Emperor, what should I call you?"
"I have a name, you know!"
Noele chuckled as he and the Flame Emperor walked to their classroom.
"Ah, wait. I need to go to the restroom. You can go first."
Noele nodded, the Flame Emperor heading towards the nearby restroom.
Third floor, Room 301.
The students of Class A flowed in as the time for class got closer.
Noele let out a sigh of relief. The traffic was surprisingly low today, getting him to school faster than his estimates.
Unfortunately for him, it also meant that Vinny had arrived early as well.
"Oh, look who's here, heheheh." "Nullementalist, hahaha!" "What a rare talent..."
Noele sighed, ignoring Vinny and her friends as he sat on his seat.
"Hmph, he really has the gall to ignore me?"
Vinny stood up from her seat and approached Noele. She slammed her hand on his desk.
Noele reluctantly looked up to her.
Vinny had a smirk on her face, her blonde strands of hair hanging loose. Her exposed cleavage threatened Noele, as did her two friends who crossed their arms behind her.
"What is it...?"
"You know what I need. Ka-ching." Vinny rubbed her fingers as a gesture. "There's a new LB bag out, I need some extra cash."
Noele bit his lip, avoiding Vinny's gaze. He hesitantly grabbed his wallet and prepared to give her a 100-note when someone kicked open the door classroom.
As he put his foot down, his striking red hair gradually came into view. Slinging his bag with one hand, he strutted towards Noele's chair.
"Would you mind telling me what's happening here, Vinny Dictiff?"
Vinny froze as she bit her lip.
Before long, she regained her composure.
"Tsk, what a coward." "Hiding behind your boyfriend, how uncool~" "How could Felum be friends with him...?"
Vinny and her friends went back to their seats while sneering.
Felum, the Flame Emperor, stuck out his tongue and flashed a middle finger at the group before looking at Noele.
"Noele, you good?"
Noele didn't move his gaze, continuing to look at the floor.
Felum sighed. "You should hold your head up high. Like this."
He grabbed Noele's chin and forcefully raised it.
Noele slapped his hand off. "The hell are you doing??"
"Ah, why did you slap me, huh? I was trying to cheer you up?"
"It felt gross, so no. You depressed me even more."
"What if I was a girl, then?"
"Are you?"
"Am I?"
"..."
Noele ran out of comebacks for this stupid friend of his. "You're really bullying me in your own way..."
Felum laughed as he headed back to his seat, glaring at Vinny on the way.
Vinny ignored Felum, opting to instead continue glaring at Noele.
Eventually, the teacher had arrived, and classes started.
-----
Megna was sweating bullets as she headed to Noele's school, her hand carrying a single blue capsule.
'I forgot to feed him this Mana Suppressing Pill! With how much mana has been leaking out Noele these past few days, who knows when everything will explode? By then, all hell will break loose!'
Megna thought of the future, when he unleashed his full potential, forcing the world to bow down to him.
'No! I can't let that happen. I need to hurry...'
-----
Lunch time.
Felum dragged Noele towards the cafeteria.
"...I want to eat in the classroom."
"But who will eat with me?!"
Noele looked at all of the girls around the hallway stealing glances towards Felum, and then at the man himself. "You serious?"
"You already know why I can't eat with those girls. She'll get angry at me."
"Ah, so otherwise, you would have left me behind, huh?"
"Yes. Exactly."
Behind the two, Vinny was peeking at the corner of the hallway, her eyes directed straight towards Noele.
She pursed her lips before deciding to proceed with her plan.
"Felum, hey!"
Felum turned his head to see Vinny, who was fast approaching them. He held back his sigh. "What is it, Vinny?"
"Mr. Harthers is calling you."
"...Why would he call me? In the first place, why would he task you, of all people, to call me?"
"Don't sweat the small stuff. Just go, go already!"
Felum looked at her with suspicion as he walked away.
Noele stayed silent as he met Vinny's gaze.
The corners of her lips rose up. "Now that the nuisance is out of the way, let's continue what we were doing earlier."
She grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the rooftop of the school. Surprisingly, it was open.
Noele creased his brows as Vinny closed the doors behind her.
"Oh, where were we? That's right, you were in the middle of giving me money."
Vinny held out her palm as the smile on her face grew wider.
Noel's breathing slowly quickened as he grabbed the wallet from his pocket.
When Vinny saw the 100-note she was about to be given, she snatched it from his hands.
"What is this, huh? Only this?"
"..."
"How much do you think an LB bag is worth, huh!?"
"..."
As Vinny continued to scream at Noele, invisible wisps of mana leaked out from his pores and floated into the atmosphere. Gradually, the sky turned darker around the school.
"Haah, just give me your wallet. I'll take what I need."
"What? No!"
"...Huh? You talked back?" Vinny raised her eyebrow.
With a gulp, Noele continued. "You... You think I'm a complete pushover, huh?"
Vinny silently looked at Noele.
"I, I don't understand how you can treat other people as your property!"
"..." Her gaze fell to the floor.
"What does a high schooler need an LB bag so urgently for, anyway?"
Vinny bit her lip. "None of your business!"
"Ah, yeah? It's- it's my business to know where my money is going to!" Noele looked at Vinny's frustrated face, and a smile crept up his.
"I said, it's none of your business!" Vinny clenched her fist.
Noele noticed that the dust in the air formed into small rocks floating around Vinny. He widened his eyes.
Vinny finally looked back at him. "Know your place!"
Noele jumped as rocks bombarded where he previously stood.
She continued using up mana and throwing it towards him.
No matter how good Noele's evasion was, with the sheer number of rocks being thrown, it was impossible to avoid every single one.
His arm was hit. His chest was hit. His shoulder was hit. His forehead was hit... and started bleeding.
With every hit, the sky turned darker and darker.
Vinny tried to form more rocks, only to realize that the mana in the atmosphere was dried up.
She regained her senses and saw Noele, battered and bruised on the floor.
'Shit, what did I do...? I went too far.'
She slowly approached him. "Erm, I'm sor-"
The doors to the rooftop suddenly opened, prompting her to check.
She saw Felum, sweating profusely as panted on the doorway.
"Noele!!"