As Aria made his way to class, the buzz of excitement in the air was palpable. It had been a whole week since the start of the school year, and a lot of things had changed during this week.
For starters, most students had completed their armors making the week hectic, the ranking kept changing constantly due to constant rank battles, but till date, the top ten still remained unchanged.
Kai, who was rank one was challenged multiple times, but all who challenged him were beaten almost half to death, what made it worst was that he never even used his armor once. He was also the first to have completed his armor, and that was on the first day, but even till date, no one is yet to have seen his armor.
The rest of the top ten students had already had already established dominance, beating every student who dared to challenge them.
As for Aria, his suit was still incomplete, and for that reason, he was the busiest of the top ten, as he was constantly being challenged time and time again. All because they underestimated him, thinking he was weaker than the rest of the top ten, being the only one without his own suit, but they were gravely mistaken.
His prowess still remained unchanged, he dispatched each and every one of the students who were foolish enough to face him. It left the rest of the students wondering what will happen when his armor is ready.
It had already been clearly established that he was a contender for the top 3, but he never tried to challenge any of them. Maybe he was just waiting till his armor was complete or maybe he just wanted to stay at number 5, who knew? No one knew what the emotionless doll was thinking.
Another thing that happened during this period of time was that Lirien and Kael had finally gotten close to Aria, close enough for them to have a short discussion at least. Even Aria himself was shocked, he didn't know when, or even how it happened.
Right now, he was walking beside the two, they seemed to be deep in their conversation but he paid no attention to the two, in fact now that he think about it, he hadn't seen Eryndor for the past 3 days, that was ever since his fight. He didn't know the timid guy was such a strong opponent.
Lost in his thoughts, Aria almost collided with a group of students who were gathered around a display case. He stopped abruptly, his eyes drawn to the gleaming suit of armor on display. It was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, with intricate carvings and glowing runes etched into its surface.
"That's Sheila's suit," a student whispered. "She's ranked number eight, but she is already being talked about as a potential top three contender."
Aria nodded, his expression inscrutable. Sheila was known for her earth control abilities, and her suit was made from a rare metal gotten from the hide of a beast that was nearly indestructible. She would be an extremely annoying opponent to fight to say the least. 'But still! Who displays their armor in such a way' Aria thought with a sigh.
As he continued walking, Aria passed some of the other students who were showing of their suits. There was Emily, ranked number twelve, who had created a suit that looked like a medieval knight's armor, complete with a helmet and a sword. Next to her was Jax, ranked number fifteen, who had designed a suit resembling a futuristic exoskeleton, complete with glowing blue lines and a built-in computer system.
Aria's eyes lingered on Jax's suit for a moment. He had heard that Jax was a brilliant inventor, and his suit was packed with all sorts of gadgets and weapons. It was clear that Jax was not to be underestimated as well.
As Aria approached his classroom, he was stopped by a girl with long silver hair, and large silver eyes, with a medium sized body shape.
'Sheila' Aria thought, his eyes becoming furrowed as he stared at Sheila.
"Hey Aria," she said, her voice dripping with confidence. "I've been looking for you. I want to challenge you to a fight."
'Again!' Aria thought, his face carrying an annoyed expression. This girl has been pestering his life for the past four days.
…
In class
"Aria, fight me" She whispered, which Aria replied by shifting his desk further to the side, and ignoring her, but she followed after him.
During Lunch
"Hey!!Aria, fight me" She shouted as she rushed over and sat down beside him, ignoring Kael and Lirien's shocked faces. But Aria replied once again by ignoring her, this time carrying his food to another table.
During training
As Aria was jogging up the mountain, sweat running down his face, He then heard a sudden shout behind him. "Aria!!Fight me." Sheila shouted pursuing behind him, he increased his speed but she still followed after him.
Even when he was about to sleep
ARIA! FIGHT ME," She shouted from down stairs which caused Aria's eyes to twitch as he covered his ears with a pillow, his eyes already forming dark eye sacs. He glance over and saw Lirien carrying an empty can with a tired expression on his face. He walked over to the window, opened it, and threw it with all his might. The can flew with incredible speed before hitting Sheila in the head.
"Shut the fuck up! Can't you see we are trying to sleep, stupid ass stalker." Lirien shouted with an annoyed expression on his face.
"I am not leaving, till Aria agrees to fight me." She replied while rubbing her forehead and carrying a pouting expression.
Lirien's eyes twitched as he heard those words before shutting the window with force, him and Kael then glanced at Aria with deadpan expressions.
"Find a way to handle this! I can't take any more of this." Kael said as he grabbed his earphones and tried to get back to sleep.
…
That night they weren't able sleep until one of the teachers forcefully dragged Sheila to her room.
He didn't know whether this girl was mad or something, she was a potential top three candidate right? Why was it only him she cared about torturing. He turned and saw Kael and Lirien looking at him with expressions that said, "Better agree or we will kick your ass for her!"
"Fine! I agree, I will fight you, I don't have anything important to do anyway." Aria said, his voice devoid of emotion. 'Is not as if I have a choice in this anyway.'
Sheila grinned, seemingly unfazed by Aria's apathy. "Great! I knew you would see it my way. The match is set for tomorrow." She said as she walked away happily.
"If you had ignored her one more time, I would've thrown you out of the room." Lirien said, his voice without emotion.
"But Aria, are you sure you're ready for this, I mean your suit isn't done right? Kael asked.
Aria's expression remained unchanged. "I'll be fine. I've been holding my own so far, haven't I?"
Aria said as he entered the class, while Kael and Lirien glanced at each other before Lirien walked over to his class and Kael followed after Aria.
Meanwhile, news of the fight between Aria and Sheila had already spread like wild fire through the school. Students gathered in small groups, discussing the odds and placing bets. Everyone was eager to see who would emerge victorious.
…