'Ava Osiris Dovian'
'What does she want from me?' Stare pondered seriously, despite the calm facade he had on at the moment.
"Stand." She simply ordered with a condescending tone.
A small smile briefly appeared on Stare's face as he looked up to the lofty expression she had on her face.
Stare then looked around and noticed that most of the seats in the front row had now been occupied by Elites.
'Of Course, how could he have forgotten the tyranny that was bound to occur with the likes of these 'Elites' around.'
They could easily boss anyone into doing what they didn't want to do and only a few could oppose, and although their victims didn't always want to do according to their biddings, there wasn't much of a choice. Without strength and influence your words or even personal liberty mean nothing.
The sole means of escape from such tyranny is by forming alliances with people of strength and influence or becoming strong and influential yourself.
A small smile appeared on Stare's face again as he looked back at Ava and simply replied:
"No."
The expression of everybody in the classroom changed this including Ava, as no one had anticipated such a response, especially from some 'nobody'.
Stare could see both Bobby and Joel giving him warning signs from the side, their faces were completely covered in sweat and their expression was one of fright, but Stare didn't bother with them and just looked into the amber eyes of Ava unwaveringly.
Yes, he had initially planned on avoiding making contact with anyone who could be related to the Oracle's Path and anything that brought him to the spotlight altogether.
Yes, the girl in front of him was an Elite amongst Elites and the daughter to the Rector of the Academy meaning she could easily make his life here in the academy miserable with her level of connection.
Honestly, Stare didn't bother if he got pushed around, as long as it didn't affect his plan…maybe, just maybe if she had bossed him around and asked him to leave his seat for her in a different situation altogether, he would have easily given in.
After all, he wasn't coming here intending to graduate a Hero, he didn't need any sort of attention as well, but now her actions were clashing against his plans.
The tension in the classroom had grown heavier and one could tell from Ava's ugly expression that she planned on acting soon and it was not in a good way, to make matters worse, it seemed like she wasn't the only one planning on acting as even Ares who was seated not too far away had also stood to his feet and his expression wasn't looking good as well.
Yet despite all of this, Stare remained unrelenting.
Everyone could feel the place getting hotter and the atmosphere seemed unbearable to breathe in at the moment as most people had been carried away by their anticipation of what would happen next.
Both Bobby and Joel briefly looked at each other in panic, it seemed like their silent gestures did the work of conveying their messages.
Both simultaneously nodding their head in some sort of agreement, they suddenly jumped to their feet and ran in between Ava and Stare.
"Superior Ava there's no need to waste your time on such nonsense matter and settle for such a low seat position when you could pick from other seats at better positions." Bobby said with a respectful and fearful smile.
"...Yeah, like mine, it's further away from the door so the chances you get suddenly distracted are lower." Joel added, also bearing a respectful and fearful smile on his face.
Ava's expression gradually shifted as she contemplated their words. After a pause, she nodded lightly, diffusing the tension in the room. Ares, with a final menacing glare at Stare, also returned to his seat.
As Ava began walking toward Joel's seat, she suddenly paused and cast a lingering look back at Stare, who maintained his enigmatic smile.
"Next time, know your place," she stated bluntly. Stare had initially intended to nod in agreement, but at that very moment, a familiar connection drew his attention. Swiftly, he turned his gaze toward the door, completely disregarding Ava's presence.
'That sensation.'
Upon turning around, he locked eyes with a boy who looked of similar age, sporting white hair, dull green eyes, and handsomeness that could easily rival his own. Strangely, an air of melancholy and defiance surrounded the newcomer.
"So, this fucker finally decided to make an entrance," Stare muttered, his smile growing wider.