The argument between Luranta and these individuals had escalated into a full-on curse war. I took out my handkerchief to wipe my face of the soup and then cleaned my hair and dress. However, I could feel that my dress was already soaked with soup, and my shirt was sticking to my skin. The sticky feeling was unbearable – how disgusting! They really had to pour soup; didn't they have water? I couldn't suppress this feeling of disgust.
I turned to the person who poured the soup. They were fiercely arguing with Luranta, veins bulging as they shouted at her.
Unspeakable words were exchanged at piercing speeds. I couldn't believe that Luranta could even speak this fast, but I didn't have the time to enjoy this spectacle as I had decided to confront the person.
I grabbed my plate, which had been given in the cafeteria, and I had already cleaned it. I looked at the flat side, which reflected my face and wet messy hair. I observed the person who was still shouting at the top of their lungs.
I swung the plate, using my Qi to reinforce my abnormally strong body.
*BOOM*
*Thud*
With a loud noise, the cafeteria fell into silence, and I watched the person who was lying out cold. I was amazed that they had a strong face, as the steel plate had morphed into their face, much like their roaring expression, and it was sticking like a face mask.
"You've got a pretty good skull," I muttered to myself.
I looked up to see the other two. They were stunned and didn't know how their friend went from arguing to lying on the floor, out cold, with a metal mask of their furious face.
"Hey," I called to them, snapping them out of their stupor.
Their eyes turned toward me, pupils shaking.
"Take him away," I pointed to the unconscious person.
They looked at me and then at their friend in shock, processing what I had said.
"Take him to the healer," I commanded.
"O-okay," they finally understood. They moved to lift him, and one of them tried to remove the plate from his face, but it wouldn't come off. Seeing that it was not coming off, he helped his friend lift the body.
They carried him away with their shoulders supporting him.
Seeing them taking him away, I turned to Luranta, who was still shocked by what had happened.
"I will go get cleaned," I said, turned around, and left.
Luranta snapped out of her daze and looked at me as I left. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She was arguing with that person one moment, and then they fell to the ground, knocked out cold with a metal mask sticking to their face. She had not seen what had happened or even expected for this.
For one, she knew that it happened before anyone could even react. She had doubts that I might be from some big family, but now it was confirmed that I was strong too.
"Did he really mean it when he said he will break Adam like a twig? I need to investigate him further," she decided.
"What happened?" the professor asked. He had been called by the healer in the infirmary, thinking that a student was injured due to a fight, but what he saw confused him. A student was lying with a metal mask on his face.
When he asked why he was wearing a metal mask, they answered that it was a plate. He couldn't believe that the metal plate provided in the cafeteria had turned into a human mask.
"What happened?" he asked again.
"We didn't see what happened; he was arguing with this girl and then he just fell to the ground with that mask sticking to his face," one of the students pointed at the mask. Every time he looked at it, he shuddered in fear.
"Do you know who did this?" the professor asked, impatient.
"We didn't see what happened, but it could only be that guy who did it," the other student exclaimed.
"Who?" he asked, annoyed. He could feel trouble coming his way.
"It's the new student who was appointed to the theory of magic circle," the student replied.
"A theory student? Not from the combat class?" the professor asked, confused. He had been called here because it was an incident caused by a combat class student, but it turned out to be a problem of the theory class.
"Yes," both students nodded.
"Okay, give your names and classes and leave. We will call you later," he said.
He looked at the student lying in the bed; the healer had healed the injury but couldn't remove the metal mask as it was sticking to the skin. If removed forcefully, it would tear his skin with it.
"How annoying," he muttered. He was feeling annoyed because he had to face those problematic nobles.
I walked through the school, my messy wet hair and soaked clothes catching everyone's attention. Some people looked at me with pity, while others gave me weird looks, trying to guess what had happened.
I entered the washroom, one of the ones used by the combat class, as it had showers. I had gotten familiar with the basic layout of the school, thanks to Miss. Meatball's guidance.
I removed my coat and shirt, placing them separately in my storage. I turned on the tap, and cold water started to shower over me, wetting me fully. I washed my body until the sticky feeling was gone and moved near the sink. I brought out a fresh set of clothes from my storage.
I didn't take pants, as they were near-indestructible and wet-proof, courtesy of Ze. I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my well-defined muscles and messy wet hair. I sighed and noticed that only my eyes resembled my mother's.
"Only my eyes look like my mother's," I murmured. I felt like the black sheep of the family; even though my mother called me her son, it was weird. I was the only one with dark skin, even though I knew it was because of Ze, it still irked me.
"No use thinking about it," I told myself, shaking my head and splashing my face with water.
I pulled a towel from my storage to dry myself, and suddenly, I heard a feminine voice scream, "Kyaa~."
I turned towards the voice with the towel on my head. A girl was covering her face with her hands, looking at me through her fingers. I was confused about why she was here.
"What happened?" another female voice echoed from the corridor, and two more girls appeared. One of them was someone I had not expected to meet here: Elain and her friend, Emma.
"Wow," Emma exclaimed, her light brown eyes widening at the sight.
"What are you doing here?" Elain questioned, sharpening her gaze.
I tilted my head in confusion, as I had clearly come to the boys' washroom. "I came to wash," I decided to answer.
"It's the females' washroom," the girl who was looking through her fingers said in a high-pitched voice, clearly embarrassed.
"Oh, I thought it was the males'," I replied.
"Why don't you wear a shirt?" Elain said, with her eyes wandering over my body, and her cheeks blushing.
"Okay," I agreed and moved the towel to dry my body.
"Okay, we will wait outside," Elain said with a blush and dragged her two friends with her.
"Hey, let me watch!" Emma shouted.
"His chest is so wide," the other girl still had her hands on her face.
The three of them waited outside for me, and I came out after a minute with my hair still wet and my shirt not properly buttoned. I looked at the three who were waiting for me.
"Sorry for the trouble," I bowed slightly and apologized to Elain.
"No, no. Thank you for the meal," Emma replied, making a flirty comment that earned a glare from Elain.
Elain shot a glare at Emma's reply, but I just smiled at the compliment.
"It's okay because we understand it was a misunderstanding. Don't make this mistake again," Elain sternly reprimanded me.
"I will not. I made this mistake as I am new to the academy," I replied.
"Okay," Elain nodded.
"I will take my leave then," I bowed again and turned to leave but then remembered something.
"Oh, I forgot!" I stopped. "I didn't get my coat back. I don't mind you keeping it if you like it."
"No, I will give it back," Elain replied sternly.
"Okay," I replied, feeling a bit disappointed, and thought to leave, but I didn't want to leave just like that. So, I leaned towards her. Elain tried to move back, but she was already with her back against the wall.
I leaned in and whispered to Elain, my breath tickling her ears. I took a step back to look at her, and her face was burning with shame. A sly smile appeared on my lips.
"How cute," I murmured, and all three of them heard it.
"What did he say?" Emma asked curiously.
"I'm curious too," the other girl asked.
Elain shook her head at the question and to remove the shame filling her head.
On the other side, I was smiling like an idiot, my mind filled with thoughts about what had happened. I somehow knew that Luranta was behind this, planning to cause me some problems. But who would have expected it to become a god-given chance?
'Thank you, meatball,' I thought to myself.
"Hey!" someone called me, and I snapped out of my delusions.
I looked at the person who had called me and realized it was someone I didn't want to meet – someone annoying.
"What?" I asked.
"Why are you coming from there?" Adam asked.
"Why do you want to know?" I replied.
Adam glared at me and asked again, "Why are you coming from the ladies' washroom?"
I was coming from the ladies' washroom due to obvious reasons, but Adam didn't know that. He was suspecting me of immoral activities.
"And why should I answer you?" I responded, annoyed.
Adam took a step toward me, glaring. I looked at him calmly, not one to be fazed by a mere glare.
"I don't like you," Adam said.
"What a coincidence! I don't like you either," I smiled.
Adam took another step forward, "Don't approach my classmate with ulterior motives; I won't let you!"
I smiled at his attitude. "Don't stand in my path," I said, taking a step forward, with only a foot between us. "I will crush you."
My joking voice turned cold, and I added, "Didn't the golden saint come in two?"
Adam's eyes widened in shock at my remark. He didn't expect me to bring up his grandfather.
"How dare you defile my grandfather's name?" Adam's shock turned to anger.
"Seems like you don't know. He was split in half by the person who killed him," I leaned in and whispered like a hissing snake. "He didn't die while protecting others but was killed because he was weak."
My words were like demon's whispers, revealing the deepest of secrets and despair, hurting the depths of his soul.
Adam's eyes shook as he heard my whispers, and his mind became a mess. He wanted to retort but couldn't find the words. His mouth kept opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"Adam, you are weak," I declared.
Those words dealt the final blow to Adam as his mind crumbled into a mess. He was frozen in place.
I smiled at his reaction. I had seen many people like this – they act righteous and stubborn, but they're only doing it to protect themselves. They're like a sandcastle on the beach; one wave, and they crumble.
I didn't want to waste any more time on him and walked away.