POV: Leon
"Wow, guys, the arcade was so fun yesterday," said Lia, stretching lazily as we walked through the academy hallways. "After the midterms, we should definitely go again."
"Shut up," Rina groaned. "That place was a traumatic experience. I never want to go back there."
Carl laughed loudly. "That's because you kept losing."
Rina shot him a glare.
"What did you just say, you crazy muscle head? Do you want to burn to death?"
"Haha, calm down, Rina," Nia chimed in with a small smile. "He's right though."
The group continued bickering as we made our way toward the cafeteria.
"Leon."
I turned toward the voice.
"Yes, Liam?"
Liam Veridian crossed his arms casually.
"Let's spar today during Professor Nox Valen's class."
I smiled.
"Haha, of course. I'm looking forward to it."
"Ugh, you muscle-headed idiots," Lia muttered.
"Can I join too?" Nia asked.
"Um… sure," Liam replied with a shrug.
As the group continued teasing each other, a small commotion caught our attention from across the cafeteria.
"Hm?" I looked over.
"What's happening over there?"
A few boys had gathered around a table where a single student sat alone.
Nia squinted slightly.
"Oh."
Her lips curled into a faint smirk.
"That's the last-ranked kid."
The others leaned slightly to get a better look.
They all remembered the scene from earlier in the week.
The same boy.
The one Yelena Zephyr had dragged out of this very cafeteria.
"Wait…" Lia frowned.
"Are they bullying him?"
"HAHA!" Rina laughed loudly.
"Well, looks like something interesting is finally happening."
Carl crossed his arms with a grin.
"What? It's just a bunch of low-rankers messing with each other."
"I agree," Rina added casually.
Lia sighed.
"You guys… this still isn't fair."
She turned toward me.
"Leon, should we stop them?"
I hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.
"Yeah."
But as I started walking toward the table…
Something strange happened.
My body suddenly tensed.
The air felt heavier.
Behind me, the others stopped talking.
Even they seemed to notice it.
I looked toward the boy sitting at the table.
Chrono Zephyr.
His head slowly lifted.
For a brief moment, our eyes met.
And I felt it.
A strange glint in his gaze.
Cold.
Sharp.
That wasn't normal anger.
That was…
Killing intent.
My instincts screamed at me.
I immediately broke into a run.
And just as I reached the table, I saw his hand moving toward the other boy's face.
Too close to his eye.
"Hey!"
I grabbed his wrist before he could touch him.
"Stop."
POV: Chrono.
My eyes shifted toward the hand gripping my wrist.
Then toward the person holding it.
Leon… huh?
Leon Ardent.
So the protagonist himself had decided to interfere.
I let out a small chuckle.
"Haha… it seems you've misunderstood."
Leon frowned slightly.
"I was just about to rub the dust off his shoulders."
"But I clearly saw you—"
"Isn't that right?"
I cut him off and slowly turned my gaze toward the arrogant noble standing in front of me.
The boy froze.
His face had turned pale.
"H-he… he's right."
"…."
The cafeteria fell into an awkward silence.
Leon slowly released my wrist.
I grabbed a napkin from the table and calmly wiped the food from my hair and uniform.
Then I stood up.
Without another word, I began walking toward the exit.
But just before passing Leon…
I stopped beside him for a brief moment.
Leaning slightly closer, I spoke quietly.
"Next time…"
I glanced at my wrist.
"Ease up on the grip."
Then I looked straight at him.
"My wrist still hurts."
Leon blinked.
"Uh… oka—"
But as he began to reply, he looked up and met my eyes.
For a brief second—
That same strange glint was there again.
Cold.
Unstable.
Something about it sent a chill through his entire body.
"…!"
Leon froze in place.
Behind him, he heard a familiar voice.
"Leon! What happened?" Lia called out.
But by the time he turned around…
I was already gone.
Only the quiet cafeteria remained.
And the lingering feeling of unease that refused to leave his chest.
"Damn… is Leon Ardent's hand made of metal or something? My entire wrist is sore."
I rubbed my wrist as I walked down the academy hallway, the pain still lingering where Leon had grabbed me.
Students passed by on both sides, chatting casually as if nothing had happened in the cafeteria just moments ago.
Typical.
The academy always moved on quickly.
I glanced at the chrono-clock mounted on the wall.
There was still about an hour before Professor Nox Valen's class began.
"Hm…"
An hour was more than enough time.
"I guess I'll warm up a little."
Changing my direction, I headed toward the training wing of Nexus Academy.
The halls grew quieter the deeper I went, the lively chatter of students fading behind me.
Soon the familiar doors of the training room came into view.
Perfect.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
If Professor Nox's class was coming up…
Then this was the perfect chance to test Kazi's Eclipse again.
And this time…
I intended to push my body further than yesterday.
"Phew…"
I lowered the practice sword and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
My arms ached, but the movements were finally starting to feel smoother.
"I think with this… I can at least reach the top 1500."
For someone ranked dead last, that would already be a huge jump.
Not bad.
Within just two days, I had already made this much progress.
The B-Rank sword style was slowly becoming easier to execute, though my body still struggled to keep up with the memories.
I placed the sword back on the rack.
"Well… that's enough warming up."
I glanced toward the wall clock.
It was almost time.
"Let's head to Professor Nox Valen's class.".