"That's the kid from the first year class. My professor made us all write a full page on the battle he performed and why he is ahead of his class in battle experience."
"Did you know he also came in first place for the last of the year's acceptance tests? Him and that girl with him."
"Don't get any wise ideas. There are already a few big families that have eyes on him."
The gossip around the dining hall was small compared to what it usually was like. This was mostly because some of the bigger families' children had been eating there. The reason this made everyone silent was simple, the children of the bigger families were searching for talent. If they said the wrong things they might ruin a potential future. Not everyone that was in Nova academy could afford to pay for resources.
"I can't say I have ever seen this much high class food. I was just handed meat from a giant python. Those are naturally tier four wild beasts." Clark had shown a lot of who he was in his amazement at the food. Living with his parents he had not eaten much wild beast meat. The wild beast meat that he had gotten was tier one or two. The easiest to capture outside the city.
"Wait, how come you knew where the best stuff was? Have you eaten it before?" Just as Clark asked this question he realized that he had forgotten to hold himself back. He didn't even notice that Maria grew shy and slightly fearful while he recomposed himself. "Ehm, thank you for showing me."
The drastic change made Maria change the way she was acting. That was until someone walked over to them. "First year. You have been invited to sit at young master Henry's table." The boy that came over was wearing a slightly cleaner and brighter uniform than other students who had to hand clean their own.
"And why might I sit with him? I don't know a henry. Nor have I ever heard of one."
Clark had no connection to who this Henry was and did not care to find out.
"You are a first year after all. Young master Henry is from the Cain family. They work directly under the Mourne family. Ou would be wise to come and accept his offer. Not the girl, she is not welcome." The glare that Maria received made Clark even more unhappy with what he had just heard.
"Then let me put it this way. If you or anyone from the Cain family interrupts my lunch again I will haunt you for the remainder of your short lives." The steel in Clark's voice brought butterflies through Maria's chest. She thought that Clark had reacted because of the way she had been spoken to.
"Kid, you don't have a single brain cell in that head. Listen closely. The Cain family can do whatever it takes to get the prize they desire. Don't make them visit your family-" Clark's fist shot out faster than the boy could see. The dull thud was quickly followed by a larger thud as the boy hit the floor.
"Clark! You don't need to…" Maria saw that there was much more to why Clark had become so drastically angry at the boy in that moment. His eyes were dark and cold. There was a tension around him that couldn't be explained.
With a single hand, Clark pulled the face of the still stunned boy to his. "Tell me trash, where is this table? I want to send them a proper response." The boy's hand pointed out. He was struck by fear seeing the look in Clark's eyes.
Just as Clark started to drag the boy toward the table that had been pointed out professor Wright came to stand in front of him. "I saw everything that happened. You were not attacked first yet you assaulted this older student. There will be a penalty." A quick slap freed the boy from Clark's grip.
The purple bruising was already becoming clear. Clark hadn't used the focused fist skill but it had been enough to do major damage. "Because you have broken the rules and fought outside of the arena. You will be banned from class for three days. I expect you to have a better head when you get back. Leave Now!" Professor Wright knew there had to be more to it but had to follow the rules. She just kicked the best student out of class. It would look bad on her as well.
"You, go to the nurse. But if I see you threatening another student I will have your expulsion in my hand before the week is out. And you will be banned from classes for a day." This wasn't the exact thing she wanted to do but had to make sure everyone learned to keep to the rules.
Maria scrambled to put some food together. She wanted to follow Clark out. She knew he would still be hungry since he had barely taken two bites before the boy had come over. "You rat. Don't think we don't know who you are. You don't belong here and we do not want you. Stay away from the young master's new puppet. Or else we will allow the entire school to know about you."
The threat almost made Maria drop her plate. With a heavy heart, she ran from the glares and laughter of the table Clark had been about to attack. She barely managed to catch up to Clark who seemed to be fuming with rage.
"Here… you're still hungry right?" The food was easily pushed in to Clark's hands. He wasn't fully able to realize what he was taking. But it became even harder when he realized that tears were falling from Maria's eyes. His heart stopped. He couldn't fathom why he was so stuck and why he couldn't move.
Seeing that Clark was looking right at her, Maria ran away. The only thing left were a few teardrops that had fallen on the plate in his hands. "Crim, Devi…I think something's wrong with me." His anger had evaporated so fast that he was left with the same empty feeling as before. However, Clark was lost. He couldn't understand why he felt so uncomfortable seeing those teardrops on Maria's cheek.
Alexander was sitting at an office flipping through books and maps. "So you said you banned him from class for three days?"
"Yes sir. I was forced after one of the Cain family pawns attempted to threaten him. Unfortunately, Clark punched him. I am unsure of why." Professor Wright had gone directly to Alexander to report this. He was Clark's mentor so she was required to do so.
"That is fine. I was going to pull him from school anyways. I want to send him on a little errand. By the way, your class should be ready for an outing. I have a special place on campus for you all to go. Weak beasts with strange skills." Professor Wright felt that this was all going to add up to a tough situation. Alexander had too much excitement on his face when he told her this. Especially when he started explaining to her where they were going exactly.