Chapter 17: Unwanted Attention
The days following the incident at his parents' grave had been a blur for Zack. In a way, the quiet, solitary routine he had once embraced was now fractured. It was as if the ripple caused by the emotions he had suppressed for so long had disturbed the surface of his life, and now everything felt different. He hadn't expected anything to change after that day, but it did. The attention he received—whether he wanted it or not—was overwhelming.
Zack had always been the quiet, unnoticed student in the E-class. His lack of mana, his total reliance on physical strength, and his lack of any magical talent had made him the invisible one. Sure, people occasionally spoke to him, but it was never anything serious. Just a passing word, a casual comment, nothing more. But ever since that battle with Georgina in the arena—when he had defeated her so effortlessly—it was like something inside of him had shifted. He couldn't tell if it was the students or the academy's system that had noticed him, but either way, he was no longer just "that guy" in the background.
It was Georgina that started it all. Her pride had been wounded after the fight in the arena, and ever since, she had been relentless. Every chance she got, she tried to challenge Zack to another match. It didn't matter where he went, she would appear out of nowhere, demanding a rematch. Her fiery personality couldn't accept the fact that someone from Rank E had defeated her so decisively. It ate away at her ego, and she couldn't rest until she had her revenge.
Zack couldn't care less about the challenges. He had already faced her more times than he could count in his previous lives. Her repeated attempts to best him felt almost... trivial now. He knew her attack patterns, her movements, her strategy down to the finest detail. Every battle was the same. She would come at him with her magic and axe, and he would dodge, block, and strike back until she eventually succumbed. It wasn't that she wasn't strong. In fact, she was extremely skilled, but against someone like Zack, who had experienced her attacks countless times before, it was almost laughable.
But what was truly irksome wasn't Georgina's constant challenges. No, it was the fact that she couldn't seem to take a hint. After every loss, she would storm off in frustration, vowing to return for another rematch. Sometimes, she would show up at the academy's training grounds at odd hours, hoping to catch Zack off guard. The rest of the students, from Rank S to E, couldn't seem to get enough of the spectacle, and Zack found himself constantly surrounded by them, some cheering Georgina on, others watching him with a mixture of awe and confusion.
It wasn't just Georgina, though.
Yurina had been another constant presence in his life, though for different reasons. As much as Zack had tried to isolate himself, Yurina kept showing up, especially in his E-class. She had started to make it a habit of attending his class and checking in on him after every major event. It wasn't just to keep him company, either. Yurina knew about his eternal return and his tendency to reset himself when things got too overwhelming. She had promised she wouldn't tell anyone, but there was still an understanding between them—she was keeping an eye on him, making sure he didn't fall back into the spiral that led to his resets.
Zack could feel her eyes on him whenever she visited. He hated the attention, and her constant vigilance only added to his frustration. He wasn't a fragile thing that needed protection or constant reassurance. He didn't need her to "check on him." But Yurina was stubborn, and her worry for him seemed endless. Sometimes she would sit next to him in class, her bright smile a sharp contrast to the dark thoughts that clouded his mind. Other times, she would join him for a meal, chatting away about random things, trying to distract him from his own thoughts.
Zack was starting to find it annoying. He knew she meant well, but there was only so much of it he could tolerate. He had tried telling her to leave him be, but Yurina was as persistent as always, showing up like clockwork. It made him feel... trapped.
But that wasn't all. As if things weren't complicated enough, some of the other students in his class had started to take notice as well. They began finding reasons to approach him, whether it was to ask about his past battles, discuss tactics, or simply to stand around and stare. Zack was, for the first time in his life, a topic of interest. And, of course, it wasn't just students from his own class. Occasionally, students from higher ranks would approach him as well, drawn by his apparent strength and his mysterious air.
It was suffocating.
Zack had always preferred being invisible, never drawing attention to himself. It was easier that way. But now, every time he stepped into the hallways, there was someone looking at him, someone whispering about the Rank E who had somehow defeated a Rank S student in a battle. People seemed to think he was some kind of anomaly, an outlier who didn't fit the expected mold of a low-ranking student. He could feel their curiosity and confusion in every glance, every question, every unspoken word.
It was getting harder to ignore.
As Zack walked down the hallway toward the academy's central courtyard, he spotted a familiar figure waiting for him by the entrance to the training grounds. It was Georgina, of course, her fiery red hair catching the light of the late afternoon sun. She was leaning casually against a stone pillar, tapping her foot impatiently, as if she were waiting for him to show up just so she could challenge him again.
Zack sighed. He could already feel the headache forming.
"Zack!" she called out, her voice loud and brash, as usual. "Are you ready for another round? I won't go easy on you this time!"
He didn't even break his stride. He knew exactly what was coming, and he wasn't in the mood. Instead of acknowledging her, he continued walking, hoping she would just leave him alone. But Georgina was nothing if not persistent.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" she yelled, catching up to him with long strides. "You think you can beat me every time, huh? Well, this time will be different!"
he tried to walk away from Georgina but she kept following him as well Yurina join her follow Zack to the dormitory building and Zack thought to himself, he should just reset himself.
To be continue...