As Kris's group emerged from the exit of the obstacle course, they anticipated being the first ones to finish.
However, to their surprise, a large crowd of students had gathered, their curious eyes turning to the newcomers.
One student stepped forward, a smirk on his face.
"Oh, which part of the course did you guys give up on? Was it the drone one? Because that was impossible!" He laughed, clearly enjoying the mischief.
"Nah, mate, we were able to—" Thursday started to respond, but before he could finish, a familiar face rushed toward them.
"Belle! My Belle! Are you okay? Did you and Selina not pass through the other obstacle as well?" It was Adam, a look of concern etched on his features.
He grasped Belle's hand, caressing it gently.
"I was worried! I waited a couple of minutes in the jumping course, but when I got eliminated, I searched for you here but didn't find you. And why are you with that shameless Kris?"
Belle, taken aback, quickly pulled her hand away with disgust.
She glanced at Kris, worried he might react negatively, but his expression remained nonchalant.
"First of all, no, Selina and I passed through the obstacle course with my new friends." she said with pride
"Second, don't ever touch me like that ever! I don't want to cause any misunderstandings."
"lastly, don't call Kris shameless again!"
Belle set her boundaries firmly and reprimanded Adam.
The other students nearby exchanged incredulous looks, unable to believe what they had just heard.
"No way, that's true! It's been only two hours since the start of the second stage, that could be a new record!" one exclaimed, eyes wide with disbelief.
"I agree! Last year's batch had to spend twice that amount of time," another chimed in.
Adam, struggling to accept Belle's words, let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Belle, stop being delusional. No one has come out of the second stage that fast! If you failed the obstacle, just say so."
Selina felt a mix of annoyance and amusement at Adam's disbelief.
Belle had already made her stance clear, but Adam's stubborn refusal to accept the truth only added to the tension.
"It's true, Adam. We passed the second stage because we followed Kris's group," Selina said, her voice firm and unwavering.
She had once thought Adam was a decent guy, but after what she had just witnessed, his behavior seemed more shameless than she remembered.
He hadn't even considered Belle's words, immediately dismissing her as delusional without knowing the truth.
'The audacity,' Selina thought, her irritation growing.
Adam, confused by Selina's sudden anger, furrowed his brow.
"Selina, did you hit your head too?"
He turned his gaze to Kris, eyes narrowing in frustration.
"You shameless Kris, what did you do to my friends?"
Kris simply looked at Adam, his expression blank, as if he couldn't believe Adam's stupidity.
He didn't bother responding, letting Adam's words hang in the air as the other students around them started whispering, sensing the awkward tension.
Whispers filled the air as students around them began to chatter.
"That guy is so shameless, trying to convince the girls they finished the course," one student remarked, his tone dripping with disdain.
"I can't believe it! He looked so handsome earlier, but telling your friends to lie about passing the second stage? That's disgusting," murmured a group of girls who had seen Kris at the entrance earlier.
The rumor of Kris's group allegedly lying about completing the course spread like wildfire, igniting suspicion and anger among the gathered students.
One student, with green hair was sulking in the corner, his ears perked up when he overheard the murmurs about Kris's group.
It was Terrence. He had been fuming ever since he failed the drone section of the obstacle course, harboring resentment towards the group who had passed it with ease.
"I saw them pass the Drone Course," Terrence added, walking out of the crowd of students.
"But it was just luck! They must've gotten stuck at the next part and gave up!" His words only fueled the flames, turning the other students' frustrations of failing into open hostility toward Kris's group.
Adam, emboldened by the growing support around him, felt his confidence surge.
He grabbed Selina's wrist, yanking her toward him. "Come on, Selina. You need to tell the truth and stop hanging around with that shameless guy!"
"Ahh! Don't pull me, Adam! You're hurting me!" Selina winced, her voice edged with pain.
Before Adam could react, a tall figure loomed behind him. In a flash, Kris had grabbed Adam's arm with a cold, firm grip.
Adam's face contorted in discomfort, but the grip was unyielding.
"Let her go, Adam," Kris's voice was low and chilling, filled with restrained intensity.
Adam grimaced, realizing he couldn't overpower Kris. Reluctantly, he released Selina's wrist, his face twisted in both pain and frustration.
Adam's face turned beet red, his anger bubbling up as he stared at kris.
He clenched his fists, wanting to shove Kris, but remembered the humiliation from their last encounter and decided against it.
Instead, he jabbed his finger toward Kris's face, frustration spilling over.
"What did you do, you shameless Kris? First Belle, now Selina! Whatever you're trying to pull, just stop it! Leave them alone!" Adam spat, his voice shaking with anger.
Kris, maintaining his calm, locked eyes with Adam for a moment before letting out a tired sigh.
Without a word, he shook his head and turned back toward his group, not wanting to entertain Adam's tantrum.
Adam, thinking he had won the argument, puffed out his chest and called after Kris.
"Don't you dare walk away from me!"
But before he could continue, Necho stepped in, positioning himself between Adam and Kris. His presence was enough to halt Adam in his tracks.
"Why are you so sure we lied?" Necho demanded, his voice steady but sharp.
Adam, now growing even more agitated, threw his hands up.
"Didn't you hear what they said? The last batches took 4 to 5 hours to finish this course, and you're telling us you did it under 2 hours? That's impossible!"
Before Necho could respond, Thursday chimed in with a smirk.
"Hey bloke, why don't you take a look at the podium?"
He gestured toward the stage, where a massive screen displayed the names of the students who had successfully completed the second stage.
Sure enough, five green names were listed, alongside their photos.
The crowd shifted their attention toward the screen.
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the students as they realized what was on display.
"What? Look! They really did finish the course!" one student shouted in surprise.
"That's incredible! Our batch just made the school's history with one of the fastest clears!" another added, clearly impressed.
The murmurs of disbelief quickly turned into whispers of admiration.
However, among the crowd, one girl squinted at the photos. "Wait... where's that handsome guy? I don't see him there."
"That's Kris," someone else chimed in, he was in the same class with him. "He's the one with the long orange hair."
The students turned back toward Kris, comparing his current appearance with the photo on the screen. A few tilted their heads in confusion.
"What kind of magic did he use to look like that?" another guy quipped, making the crowd snicker.
Kris, hearing the absurdity of their comments, couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Even in moments like this, he found it amusing how people could shift their attitude just based on someone else's words and when they discover the truth they change.
Adam stared at the screen in disbelief, his body slumping to the ground as his mind raced.
"Impossible... that's not possible!" he muttered under his breath, feeling like everything around him was conspiring against him.
Before Kris's accident, Adam had always seen him as a weak, insignificant figure.
When Kris confessed his love for Belle, it fueled his hatred for Kris even more, believing that Belle was meant to be his and no one else's.
"It's his fault," Adam muttered, clenching his fists.
His mind scrambled for an explanation, and suddenly, an idea clicked. He stood up, a crazed look in his eyes.
"He must've bribed the teachers! That's the only way they passed!" His laughter echoed through the room, loud and hysterical.
The room fell silent, all eyes now on Adam.
"What!?" a student blurted out, confused by the sudden accusation.
"They bribed the teachers?"
Adam turned toward the crowd, raising his voice even louder to convince the other students.
"I'm sure of it! They bribed the teachers to let them pass!"
Terrence, still fuming from the result of the course, jumped in, seizing the opportunity to back Adam's claim.
"Yeah! There's no way they passed fair and square! They paid their way through! They're despicable!"
Murmurs spread through the students as doubt and confusion took hold.
Some glanced at Kris's group with suspicion, while others were unsure what to believe.
The room buzzed with uncertainty, the once-admiring atmosphere now clouded with accusations.
Necho, Thursday, and the others exchanged glances, the tension thickening around them.
Kris, however, remained calm, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Adam, who was desperately clinging to the slanderous claim.
The room was now a swirling storm of confusion, divided between admiration for Kris's group and the poisonous rumors Adam and Terrence had planted.