Spiravit's POV:
Quis.
Quis, Quis, Quis. What an interesting character he is. His past a mystery, his reason for being here undefined, his motives not understood. I know nothing of who he really is, but that isn't what matters. What matters is that I know his means. He is insensitive to even the most vile methods of getting what he wants. He isn't afraid of blackmail, extortion, seduction, manipulation, thievery, and even murder; that's why I respect him. He can do things that I can't.
But it's for that reason that I also want to best him. I need to prove that I'm better than him in every way, no matter the cost. That's why I lowered myself to the level of the common student, allowing them to talk to me regularly. That's why I didn't turn him in for killing Pulchra. That's why I instead blackmailed him. When I blackmailed him, I felt at the top of the world. I proved I had the upper hand; even if he was better than me at a couple of things, I still could control him... That's what I thought at least.
Then he suddenly disappears. He just retreats. I understand why he would do so, yet I can't help but be angry because of all of the lost effort. And for the longest time, I thought he was gone forever. But it turns out I was more wrong than I had ever been in my life. He had been under my nose the entire time. He humiliated me in front of everyone else. He somehow gained the affection of the entire student base. He stole my thunder!
Crack!
The point of my pencil broke off, flying over the head of the student to my left and creating an echoing sound in the silent classroom. I got up, breathing in and out, before going to get myself a new pencil.
He showed up to the classroom, and he didn't even have to do much of anything before Capcis, the girl I've been trying to get onto my roster for the longest time now, fell head over heels for him, practically begging for his attention. I have no clue how he achieved this, but that isn't at all the most important part. He said not a word after that. He didn't explain what he had been doing. He didn't tell us why he showed up now. He didn't even give a proper greeting to anyone except Capcis. But he didn't have to. Instead, he only had to let the silver magic circles on his face do the talking.
No matter how much of a dumbass you were, you could make the connection. It was obvious that Quis was actually Igmor. Igmor was a person who had earned the respect of every single student, including me! Yes, I'm pissed off that he made a fool out of me, but I can understand why he had to do that. Now every single student was stuck between mixing the views of the teacher who they respected and learned from, and the student who extorted them. It wouldn't be hard for Quis to capitalize on this and steal every student I have had a hard time winning over.
But this wasn't all. If he just showed up as he left, maybe playing teacher a bit, but nothing else, I would be feeling fine. However, it wasn't that simple. The story of how Igmor single-handedly killed The Bamboo Bear and saved the sect from even more casualties was widespread. And The Bamboo Bear was in the 2nd half of Coal Class! It had a fucking Spell! Yet, somehow, Quis, who was barely able to beat two Stone Class Cultivators, over the course of merely three months, gained the strength to not just defeat, but KILL a Wild Beat in the 2nd half of Coal Class! How the hell did he manage that?! And I couldn't just attribute it to luck either! Because some way, somehow, he also ascended to Stone Class! Before he showed up I was the only one to do that! And because of this, the student's imaginations were running wild! Just how did he do it? What technique did he learn? Was he actually just that talented all along? I bet that Spiravit can't hold a candle to his talent!
Boom!
Just as I was returning to my desk with a new pencil in hand, I kicked it upward with my leg, sending the desk and the papers the others were working on into the air. Before the desk hit the ground I kicked it again, this time breaking it in two as both halves were shot left and right, wedging themselves into the wall with some wooden shards flying out.
"Spiravit! What in the Wood Sovereign's name do you think you're doing?!"
I turned around and, through the agony of incredible anger, feigned a smile, "I'm sorry Ms. Attu, I was just a bit overwhelmed by a difficult question and couldn't think straight, I promise that it won't happen again. I'll even pay for the repairs." I reached into the air and grabbed a file that was in the middle of falling. I opened it up and answered the final question on the sheet of paper and put it back before walking over to Hasrem, "I've just got the answer and have also finished. Again, I'm sorry for the disturbance."
After placing the file with my name on it on Hasrem's desk, I turned around and left the classroom. Once I was out of the classroom and the door was closed behind me, I took a deep breath. The moment that I opened my eyes, the madness coursing through my body was gone, replaced with a sense of reassurance.
Everything would be fine. Yes, Quis has the opportunity to steal the entire class from me. Yes, he is much stronger than me right now. Hell, he might even be more talented than me. But it doesn't matter what he can or can't do because I dictate the difference between his continued survival and his fall of demise. I am weaker than him, but I have the evidence of him murdering Pulchra in cold blood. It doesn't matter how strong he is, that isn't something he can escape from. I hold his reigns. I am his master.
I could feel all the anxiety in my body fade away and my confidence reappear. I thought back to how unusual I acted earlier and began laughing out loud before settling on a devious smile. I already had an idea of the next step I had to take. This way, not only would I place myself firmly above Quis, but I also wouldn't have the risk of Iusus outdoing me in the practical exam.
I took a deep breath and smiled pridefully to myself.
'I am an undeniable genius.'
___________________________________________________________________________
Quis' POV:
Heh.
It seems as though my reemergence has thrown Spiravit for quite the loop. I already had a good idea of what was going through his head as I've seen and experienced his type many times before. I'm sure that before this, he was living it up. He was gathering students left and right to place under his posse while bathing in the idea that he made me retreat. Maybe he didn't even realize it, but he definitely gained a boost in confidence from the idea that I left because of him.
So my showing up was like a kick to the balls for him. But not only did I show up again, I also indirectly said to him that I was pretending to be Igmor the entire time. This must have been even harder on him because he's already accepted in his mind that Igmor is stronger and more knowledgeable than him. He was now feeling insecure.
He's lived his entire life as the genius, the one who was better than everyone around him. That feeling of being better than others and having no equals consumed him. It became his identity. So when I showed up and showed qualities of being better than him, it was obvious why he tried his hardest to beat me up: he wanted to feel superior again.
The only difference between him and other insecure bullies was that he witnessed the person that he declared weaker than him do something he could never have considered a possibility. After seeing me kill Pulchra he was filled with wonder and respect. Any normal person would immediately rat me out, and any insane person would find excitement in what I did. Spiravit was a part of the ladder.
After witnessing me do something as unbelievable as that, he grew to respect me much more. He was consumed by the thought and even wanted to gain the abilities I had. But he was still an insecure asshole, so he couldn't just beg me for tutelage, swearing to follow my every order in return. No, he had to get what he wanted while still proving he was better. So he used his evidence as blackmail to show to me and himself that he was greater. Not only did he have that, but he also knew that his Talent was greater than mine, fueling him with the idea that once he caught up to me mentally, I would never come close to crushing his identity again.
But now that isn't the case. I've proven to him that my rate of growth outdoes his. Maybe a more humbly raised person would admit defeat at this point, but he couldn't. If he admitted I was better than him then his identity would crumble and he would have to face reality. And there was nothing more terrifying for an insecure person than facing reality. So now he's grasping at straws, and the only one he has left is the fact that he has evidence of me killing Pulchra. I do wonder though: What would happen if I kicked that last straw out of his hand?
Suddenly I felt the presence of someone else sitting down next to me. I turned around and saw that Capcis was sitting right next to me with a tray in her hand. She turned to me and asked me, "So Quis, how have you been?"
Capcis was, in my opinion, a more interesting personality than Spiravit. She started insecure and was scared of the world because of it, but she has already faced reality and was able to adapt to it, that was more than I could say for Spiravit. However, now that I have shown up, the forefront for her change, her mind probably went through an overload. It's a fact that she's already changed, and she won't return to the timid shy girl she was before, but she won't be the same cold and distant girl either. If I were only an observer I would let her develop and see what happens as a test of some kind, but because she was directly involved in me and also an important part of my plans, I would have to manipulate her onto my side. Luckily I already laid the groundwork for this, so it wouldn't be too hard.
I answered the question with a fading smile, "Well, to be honest, as of the last couple of months things have been pretty hard on me, but as of today, I can feel that changing." As I finished my words, I made sure to top it off with a genuine smile.
She suddenly looked very worried and pressed her body against mine slightly, "Tell me what made you upset. It might just make you feel better." The beaming smile that she ended her fretting statement with proved to me even further how attached to me she was right now. It probably wouldn't last like this forever, so I had to take advantage of it.
I gave out a sigh before replying to her, "Well, I'm sure you've already realized by now, but I had these magic circles imprinted onto me. That was only the beginning though, because after that I was forced into the character of Igmor. It was really difficult to see you like that Capcis, yet still be unable to do anything. But... I'm glad I'm able to commune with you as Quis now." It wasn't a secret to her that I was Igmor, it's just that she'd been purposefully avoiding talking about it in case it was a sore spot. She was only bad at talking before, not understanding other's feelings.
She rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes before saying to me, "Well, I won't make you go deep into it if it's difficult for you to talk about. For now, I'm happy with just knowing you're alright-"
Suddenly her eyes popped open and her body went straight like a pencil. She narrowed her eyes and said in a colder tone, "What do you want?"
I followed her eyes and found myself looking at a familiar face, 'It looks like Capcis is going to have a problem with letting me talk to others, though I do understand. If someone I just realized I cared deeply disappeared, and I assumed them to be dead, before showing up a few months later, I would want them all to myself as well.'
The reason why such a thought was triggered in my mind was because of the girl who just sat down on the other side of the table and glared at me with eyes of daggers. I brought my face closer to hers, while keeping it connected to my hand which was supported by my elbow lying on the table, and smugly smiled at her, "What's wrong Iusus? Not gonna sneak up on me this time?"
I could see her inner anger spike as I said this, but she was somehow able to keep herself calm as she responded to my instigative comment.
"No, not today Quis. I don't need to do that to you anymore. What I want right now is simple: I want answers."