Chapter 11: In Due Time
Yosen Magic Affiliated College — Training Facility M101.
"Heh." Two figures stood apart from each other.
One student, the disciplinary member, stretched with a cocky grin, rolling his shoulders as if warming up for a leisurely workout.
"Uhm. Ma'am, I'm really sorry for the trouble."
On the sideline, the first disciplinary member apologised with a deep bow toward the instructor.
Celeste Blackwood exhaled a plume of smoke, not bothering to look at him.
"Stop. It's not my job to babysit or stop squabbling between students."
She waved her cigarette dismissively before taking another slow drag.
The disciplinary member, embarrassed by her indifference, turned toward Kaiden.
"Uh, really... Sorry about this."
Kaiden glanced at him, tilting his head slightly.
"—No. Don't be; besides, you should be more worried about your colleague instead."
The disciplinary member blinked, confused by Kaiden's cryptic reply. He then turned towards the instructor.
As usual, she had a nonchalant expression. However, she then turned to Shane.
"Shane. You're the referee."
"Do I have to?"
Shane groaned, slouching his shoulders with his usual lack of enthusiasm.
Celeste gave him a long, blank stare—a wordless challenge. It was the kind of look that said: You dare oppose me?
"Fuu... Fine."
Shane exhaled dramatically, dragging his feet toward the centre of the training floor.
The entire class had already stopped to watch whatever was happening — and so, many were wishing for Damian's loss.
At the very least, most of them wished for his loss.
Shane stopped between the two combatants, hands in his pockets, his gaze moving from his brother to the disciplinary member.
"Alright, are you both ready?"
Shane asked lazily, but his eyes rested on Damian just a little longer — as if insinuating something.
"Just so you know... I'll step in the moment it looks like things are getting dangerous."
Damian, seeing his brother's gaze, stifled a smile and didn't say anything.
Damian noticed the pointed glance and smirked, saying nothing.
"Heh." The disciplinary member snickered. "Hear that? He's worried about you."
"Sure," Damian replied calmly, hands in his pockets. "So... Should I fight now?"
The disciplinary member cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Tsk. You cocky little—fine! Come at me!"
Shane raised his hand, then let it fall like a dropped feather.
"Then, since you both are ready. Fight."
The words barely left his mouth before the disciplinary member shot forward, his enhanced speed kicking in with a rush of wind.
His fist was cocked, aimed squarely at Damian's ribs, but...
Swish.
Damian wasn't there. He'd slipped to the side, dodging effortlessly.
"Enhancements?"
Damian muttered, observing his opponent's movements with detached interest.
Enhancements.
One of the most basic magic techniques.
Enhancing physical attributes—speed, strength, endurance, but the output varied depending on how well it was controlled.
The more precise the application, the stronger the enhancement.
"Speed and strength based enhancements, huh?"
Damian murmured, dodging another quick jab that grazed past him by inches.
"Stop running!"
The disciplinary member barked, irritated. He halted in place, panting slightly.
"Fight me head-on if you're a man!"
"Oh?" Damian blinked, seemingly amused. "So... You want me to hit you? You sure?"
The disciplinary member's face twisted with frustration. "Tsk. Bring it!"
This time, he charged even faster, pushing his enhancements to their limit.
His movements blurred, leaving afterimages.
"His speed has increased again."
"As expected of a disciplinary member, it seems like he was going easy on Damian before."
So we're the murmurs coming from the background.
However, those that had known the end result from the start kept their silence.
The disciplinary member dashed straight at Damian with a smile on his face, but the moment he reached Damian—his fist just inches from connecting—everything fell apart.
With minimal effort, Damian pivoted gracefully, sidestepping the blow.
His opponent stumbled forward, eyes wide with disbelief.
"The speed you pride yourself in looks slow to me."
Those were the words he heard.
BAM!
Before the disciplinary member could comprehend what was about to happen–
Damian's foot connected with his side in a brutal kick. The impact sent him flying across the room like a ragdoll.
THUD!
He would have crashed headfirst into the far wall if Shane hadn't appeared out of nowhere, casually catching him mid-flight.
"Haha. I did say to go easy."
Shane muttered, dragging the limp student back to the ground.
He glanced toward Damian with a lopsided grin. "Winner: Damian."
The class went silent, with the shocked expression mired on people's faces except for a few.
"How did…"
The second disciplinary member, standing beside Celeste at the edge of the room, gaped in disbelief..
"Seems like the disciplinary council has no idea who they're dealing with."
Celeste huffed her cigarette again before turning towards the disciplinary member.
"What do you mean by that?"
The disciplinary member asked, confused, but Celeste merely shrugged lazily.
"You'll figure it out soon enough."
She tapped the ash from her cigarette and glanced at the Creed brothers — Kaiden and Damian.
"Alright, that's enough. Now that you're done, it's time to leave my class."
"A–ah, yes ma'am."
Damian was now approaching, twirling the defeated student's armband on his finger.
Shane, dragging the unconscious student behind him like luggage, gave a half-hearted wave to the other member.
"Thank you."
The first disciplinary member said awkwardly, addressing Shane before looking at Damian with an unreadable expression.
"You and Kaiden... follow me."
He clenched his jaws as he couldn't say much. He was pretty relative to his felled colleague in terms of power.
And that same colleague was defeated in one blow, which means he didn't stand a chance.
Perhaps the only people that could match with him are the likes of the third year—mainly the vice chairman and the chairman himself.
"Okay then." tossing his colleague over his head, "Let's move."
They then proceeded outside the training facility.
Yosen Magic Affiliated College – Administrative Building, Disciplinary Committee.
The knock at the committee's door was answered by a heavy voice from within. "Come in."
The door opened, as the person who knocked entered.
Inside, the chairman and vice-chairman of the disciplinary committee sat in silence, waiting.
They were the only ones in the committee's office.
Their sharp gazes glanced over the newcomers as they entered the room.
Kaiden, was the first to enter, his nose buried on his book, followed by Damian, twirling the armband casually.
Their gaze then turned to the defeated disciplinary member that slumped lifelessly over the shoulder of his colleague.
The fallen disciplinary member looked every bit as uncomfortable as he felt.
"Hm... What's this?" The chairman rumbled, eyes narrowing slightly.
The first disciplinary member cleared his throat, explaining everything that had transpired in the training facility.
The room was quiet for a long moment.
"....."
"Chairman?" The vice-chairman glanced at the chairman who was mulling it over.
"You over there, Damian Creed, correct?"
"Yeah?" Damian replied, raising his eyebrows as his gaze locked onto the chairman.
The chairman folded his arms, closing his eyes briefly, showing no concern over the bet that had resulted in a disciplinary committee spot.
There were no formal rules forbidding a student from taking someone's position through combat.
After all, this was one of the many unspoken laws governing their world.
In truth, the chairman considered it his own fault for allowing such arrogance to fester in his ranks.
Hence. "Very well, I'll honour that bet of yours."
"Welcome to the disciplinary committee, and you, Kaiden Creed."
Kaiden had been silent the whole time, and that was naturally because his face was still buried under his book.
Meanwhile, Damian stopped spinning the armband around his finger, glancing at the chairman.
He stared at the welcoming chairman in half wonder.
"What?"
Noticing his stare, the chairman then looked at Damian, his eyes narrowing.
However, there was a smile on the chairman's face, something that surprised the vice-chairman himself.
"Don't tell me, you want my position too?"
"Chairman, that—"
The vice-chairman started, but before he could finish, the chairman raised a hand, silencing him.
Damian's eyebrows twitched upward, but he soon relaxed, a grin spreading across his face.
"Let's see… In due time."
The disciplinary member standing behind Damian flinched at those words.
He instinctively tried reaching toward Damian—only to freeze when Kaiden shot him a cold sidelong glance.
The chairman leaned back, his smile deepening. "Hmph. I'll be waiting for that day, Damian Creed."
"But for now... welcome aboard."