"They said they don't want to join your little gang, so why don't you... you know, fuck off," he said, smiling.
However, the tension in his expression and the veins bulging on his forehead betrayed anything but friendliness.
The creepy, smirking guy named John narrowed his eyes in dissatisfaction.
He felt especially offended by Sam's good looks and the fact that he lived with two gorgeous women, while he was ignored by women like a plague.
"Sam Tatsuya, this doesn't concern you. Go away," John said with obvious hostility, making it clear that if Sam didn't comply, he would be forced to make him.
"Let's see," Sam replied with an equally unfriendly smile.
"You came to my home, knocked on my door, and threatened the two girls living under my care. That sounds a lot like something I should be concerned about. They've already made their decision, so get the hell out of my house."
"Or what?" John challenged, narrowing his eyes further. "You might be the strongest first-year, but even you're not at the level where you can threaten us."
"Oh yeah?" Sam wasn't one to back down. If John wasn't going to retreat, a fight was inevitable.
Sam was ready to use all his strength and the system's rewards if necessary.
"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to kick ass today," John said, smirking as he took a step back and turned to leave with his group.
Sam had expected him to attack right away, but unexpectedly, John chose to leave without causing a scene.
"By the way, this isn't finished. Don't make me point my sword at you—it won't end well for you," John added, turning back to deliver his threat.
John probably thought he was making himself look cool and heroic in front of Yuki and Isabelle, trying to prove he was the alpha.
But all he managed to do was insult Sam and make the girls frown, while successfully infuriating Sam.
Sam did not appreciate being threatened, especially not in front of two women who could potentially become more than just roommates in the future.
"Are you okay?" Yuki asked, placing her hand on his arm.
"I'm fine," Sam replied. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and his frown turned into a grin.
"Actually, I'm more than fine."
"You know, there are many ways to initiate a challenge with literally anyone in the Academy, regardless of their year? It's so simple that we can do it with a click on our phone," he said, pulling his phone from his pocket and opening an application.
The Academy had installed an app on everyone's phone, one of whose functions allowed any student to issue a duel challenge to any other student at any time.
The interesting part was that when issuing a duel challenge, everyone in the Academy, from trainers to students of all years, would be notified.
"This guy thinks too highly of himself. He needs to be put in his place," Sam said, searching for the name of the bastard who had just angered him.
He clicked on the challenge button, typing: "I hereby challenge John Connar to an official duel. Should he refuse, it will be clear that he's nothing more than a cowardly pig with a mule's intelligence, unworthy of respect. Also By declining, he agrees to grovel at my feet, proclaim me as his superior, and publicly declare his own disgrace and gayness."
Sam sent the challenge, his grin widening as he imagined John's reaction to the very public humiliation that awaited him.
The phones here are powered by mana, enabling instantaneous communication and data transfer.
As soon as Sam clicked the send button, every single person in the academy heard their phone ring.
Yuki and Isabelle heard the ring, opened their phones, and their mouths dropped open when they read the message.
"Did you do this?" Isabelle asked, both concerned and shocked.
"Yep," Sam nodded, smiling proudly.
"You do know he's a senior and very powerful at that? What are you doing publicly challenging him to a duel with that humiliating message?" Isabelle crossed her arms, unable to believe the message he had sent along with the challenge.
"And you called him gay?" Yuki asked, setting her phone down.
"No... I only said he's gay if he doesn't accept the duel," Sam replied, noticing that people who were going about their lives were now staring at him, holding their phones.
"I told you before and I'll say it again: that guy is crazy."
"I can't believe he challenged a senior... and called him gay. Hehe, that is kind of funny."
"Did you see who he challenged this time?"
"John Connar?"
"John Connar? Isn't he one of the top five strongest second-year students around?"
Not just the first years, but even the second years were quite shocked by the challenge announcement.
There had never been instances where a junior challenged a senior because even the weakest second-year hero was at least ten to fifteen levels higher than the strongest first-year students.
Somewhere in the academy, in a private room of the library, a group of people was gathered, sitting at a round table with their phones in hand.
"Very interesting," one of the guys said, chuckling.
"He's causing waves after waves. First, he scored the highest points in the entrance exam in history, then he put on that huge dramatic show fighting that Yami guy and his crooks, proceeded to duel every student in his year and win, and now this," a girl named Lina from the group said, grinning mischievously.
"Hoo, looks like someone has a crush on him," another guy beside Lina named Leon teased, while also side-eyeing a girl seated at the edge with short black hair and dark eyes, who seemed displeased with his joke.
Seeing her expression, the guy stopped speaking, and not just him, everyone else also fell silent.
"What are you thinking, Lucy?"
"Nothing," the dark-haired girl with intense eyes replied.
"Nothing? Sam Tatsuya just challenged John Connar. It won't be a problem if he loses, but if by some miracle he wins, we need to bring him to our side. We have to do something," a guy named Ken said with uneasiness.
"Haven't I made it clear? Don't bother him. I won't repeat myself," Lucy glared at Ken, who took it as a sign to shut up.
"And ask the Reapers to ignore his challenge."
"Ignore? Didn't you read his humiliating message? There's no way John or the Reapers are going to ignore this," Leon replied.
"Mm," Lucy tapped her finger and sighed.
"Have you noticed Lucy has been acting weird for the past two weeks?" Leon whispered in Lina's ear.
"Yeah, and I bet it's because of Sam Tatsuya," Lina whispered back with a grin.
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[A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones. And if you absolutely loved it, you can even contribute a Golden Ticket. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much! - Arigato! 🙏]