I woke up in the morning and opened the curtains.
The sunlight streamed into my room.
Lately, I haven't been getting much sleep.
Work and training had been taking up all my time.
Even though I was exhausted, I didn't regret it.
All the hard work was for the sake of my future.
There was a deep satisfaction in seeing the results of my efforts.
After a quick shower and breakfast, I got dressed and headed to class.
The moment I walked into the classroom, I noticed my classmates whispering among themselves.
"Look, it's Xerox,"
someone said.
"Did he really beat Lucas and Rowan? Or was it because of Aerox?"
"I saw the fight! Xerox crushed them both—it was intense."
"Come on, Lucas and Rowan were already worn out from fighting Aerox. Xerox just got lucky and finished them off."
"Exactly. If he was that strong, why didn't he step in sooner?"
Rumors about me had spread throughout the school.
Some thought I was riding on Aerox's success, especially those who hadn't seen the fight themselves.
Still, others in my class couldn't believe it.
To them, the quiet pervert like me they knew had suddenly shown unexpected strength.
I made my way to the back of the classroom.
As I walked, the chatter stopped, and everyone's eyes followed me.
Reaching my seat, I sat down quietly.
It was in the very back, far from the center of attention.
No one came over to talk to me, as usual.
I glanced toward Aerox.
He was surrounded by friends, laughing and chatting like always.
Unlike me, Aerox had no trouble fitting in.
In the middle of his conversation, Aerox turned and looked in my direction.
He caught my eye and gave me a warm smile.
I smiled back, a little hesitant.
Aerox's smile grew wider before he returned to his friends, as if nothing had happened.
Aerox's POV
The next day, I got to class early.
Most of the students hadn't arrived yet.
As usual, a group of people quickly surrounded me.
It was even more crowded than before, now that the second-years weren't bothering me as much.
Back when the second-years used to harass me, fewer people dared to talk to me, worried they might get into trouble.
Honestly, I liked the quiet mornings back then.
But I couldn't stand how those seniors caused problems for everyone else.
"Has your wound healed, Aerox?"
one of my fans asked.
"All healed up,"
I replied with a smile, swinging my arm a little.
"The Academy healer is really good."
"Hmph! You got beaten up by two weaklings. Looks like you need more training,"
Trival said with a sneer.
Trival wasn't impressed by Lucas and Rowan.
While others thought they were strong, he saw them as barely better than the average student.
Trival hadn't even stayed to watch the entire fight.
He left early, so when he heard later that I had been beaten, he wasn't happy.
To Trival, if Lucas and Rowan could defeat me, it made him look weak since he was my closest rival.
What annoyed him more was hearing about Xerox.
Xerox, who had always been quiet, defeated Lucas and Rowan after they wore me down.
Now, people were starting to respect Xerox, and the old rumors about him being a coward were fading.
Trival wasn't happy about that, especially since it might improve Xerox's image in every girls eyes.
"Don't listen to him, Aerox. You did great,"
Silvana said as she walked into the room with Lily.
"Yeah, Aerox, you were amazing,"
another student added.
"Fighting two seniors on your own is really impressive."
"If Lucas and Rowan hadn't cheated, you would have won for sure."
"Exactly! They even broke the rules by using those pills, and Professor Lance didn't disqualify them. Totally unfair!"
The room buzzed with students defending me and criticizing the seniors.
Suddenly, the chatter quieted.
I glanced toward the door and saw Xerox walk in.
One of the girls frowned and muttered, "If he had helped earlier, Aerox wouldn't have been hurt."
"Yeah, he only won because of Aerox. There's no way he could've done it on his own."
"He just stood there during the fight and didn't do anything."
Xerox glanced at me, and I smiled at him.
He gave me a small smile in return before sitting down.
"I'm grateful for his help,"
I said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I was the one who told him I wanted to fight alone."
Silvana nodded.
"Oh, so that's why he didn't step in sooner. Makes sense now."
"But why did you want to fight alone?"
Lily asked, looking confused.
"I wanted to test my strength against the seniors,"
I admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"But I ended up losing."
It was true—if Xerox and I had fought together from the start, we would have won easily.
Still, I couldn't help but feel responsible for dragging him into that fight.
He didn't even agree to their challenge; they just included him because I accepted.
No matter what anyone said, Xerox saved me.
If we had lost, I would've been humiliated and probably harassed by everyone.
What surprised me most was Xerox's power.
People were saying he won because Lucas and Rowan were already tired after fighting me.
That might be partly true, but I knew how strong they were.
Even after using so much mana and stamina, they were still at the peak of Rank-2+.
If Xerox hadn't stepped in, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
At the start of the school year, Xerox was just Rank-1+.
Back then, everyone knew him as the guy who kept bothering Lily.
Many thought he was a coward because he avoided fights, even when challenged.
But I saw it differently.
I thought it was impressive how he stayed calm and ignored the insults.
Most of our classmates are arrogant and get angry over the smallest things.
There were two possibilities for why Xerox didn't react to provocation.
Either he was really a coward, or he was stronger than he let on.
And if he was strong, he might not have wanted to waste his time fighting weaker students.
After seeing him fight, I knew the second reason was true.
Still, growing from Rank-1+ to Rank-2+ in just two months?
That's insane.
Even with the help of the system, ranking up usually takes over a month.
"What are you thinking about?"
Silvana's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
Everyone around me was staring at me.
"Ah, it's nothing,"
I said quickly.
I joined the conversation with my friends until Professor Costine entered the classroom.
As soon as she arrived, the students hurried back to their seats.