Emotions Are Uncontrollable

(Third Person Pov)

The lift stopped at the 21st floor and Julianna stepped out of the lift only to be greeted by a woman who looked to be in her 20s.

Her silky chest-nut colored hair flowed down her waist and her gem-like emerald eyes looked captivating.

She was wearing a maid outfit.

I bet she is a high-ranker.

Julianna thought.

"ID Card please" The soft and calm voice of the woman brought Julianna back from her daze as she hurriedly pulled out the ID card the guard had given her from her pocket and gave it to her.

The woman received the ID card, looked at it, swiped it on her bracelet, and then with a nod spoke

"This way" Saying so, the woman took the lead. Julianna followed her closely behind as she observed her surroundings.

The hallway of the floor had many intricate designs and many cameras around it as well.

She passed through various rooms, training room, mana experimentation room, alchemy room, smithing room, and so on until she finally reached the end of the hall.

The woman she was following stopped in front of a gate and stepped aside.

"Please," She bowed and gestured with her hand for Julianna to enter.

Julianna found herself baffled by how someone like her was bowing down to her.

She couldn't even comprehend how someone like her was okay with it.

"Is there a problem?" The woman titled her head to the side as she questioned breaking Julianna out of her stupor

"A-Ah, right!"

Saying so, Julianna twisted the knob on the door, entered the room, and then closed the door behind, leaving the maid outside, she didn't seem to had any intention of coming in.

Julianna heaved a sigh and pulled her hoodie off her head as she started to walk inside the room.

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The fuck is this room...

Julianna couldn't help but think so as she looked around the room with the only light source of the screen that seemed to have a game being played on and Noah who had the game controller in his hands.

There were some pizza boxes and Coke cans around him and ...some butterflies. Despite the dark in the room, these butterflies shone beautifully, captivatingly.

It was without a question the most beautiful butterfly she had ever seen in her life.

She reached out her hand to touch it but upon the touch, the butterfly burst into small shimmering ethereal particles, surprising Julianna as she quickly drew her hand back.

"Mana butterflies...?"

Julianna muttered

"Yup" Noah replied while focusing on the screen, he had moments ago asked to renovate his room and turned it into a small box with a bed, a huge TV screen, and some basic necessities.

On the other hand, Julianna found herself amazed and shocked.

"You can do Mana Sculpting!?"

Mana sculpting, was an intricate manipulation of mana to create beautiful and ethereal-looking art.

It was similar to art, drawings, or whichever word fits your bill but with a difference.

Unlike art that's created by hand, in mana sculpting, people not only drew but also brought their creations to life or at least it looked like it has come to life.

Instead of colors that are used to draw in art, in mana sculpting, mana was used as the medium for it.

Similarly, people who use aura can engage in the same process, referred to as Aura Sculpting.

However, both Mana and Aura Sculpting demanded a high level of proficiency, requiring intense concentration.

The people who were skilled in Mana/Aura Sculpting were people who immersed themselves in their creations for an indefinite amount of time, even years.

It was simply a hard and long process.

But ...the end result simply made up for it. Art that is produced by Mana/Aura Sculpting was spellbinding, possessing an ethereal look, no matter what word you used, it was impossible to describe its enchanting charm.

The distribution among the species who involved themselves in the practice was simple.

Elves, Vampires, Beastfolk, Humans, and then Drawves.

Well, Dwarves have simply decided to create those images using the technology but in the end, people preferred the Mana/Aura Sculpting done by hand.

And of course, to attend a single show for Mana/Aura Sculpting the amount of money one needs to have is ...not something a normal, middle-class family would be able to afford.

Anyway, the point is, Mana/Aura Sculpting was a big deal that wasn't some silly-willy thing that anyone could do and not certainly someone with low proficiency.

"Yup"

Noah replied.

"Don't just yup, me! How the hell can you do it!?"

Julianna who seemed to now have forgotten her gripes with the room shouted, walking towards him as she climbed onto Noah's bed, her face incredibly close to his, her eyes peering into his eyes.

"Like this,"

Noah said pointing a finger on her face.

Slowly, Julianna saw ethereal shimmering particles, interactively and slowly weaving together with each other.

At first, six small legs were formed, then wings covered with designs of scales, providing vibrant colors to it, then its abdomen, thorax, and finally its head.

Once complete, the butterfly flew, Julianna's sparkling eyes followed it as it flew into the air, flapping its wings.

It took Noah about 30 minutes to make it. He looked at Julianna who had a smile etched on her face and her eyes plastered on the butterfly

Mana/Aura Sculpting took days, months, and years to be made. What people saw in the show wasn't the person making it but the person showing their already-made creation.

It went without saying that Noah taking only 30 minutes was a mind-numbing fact that anyone wouldn't be able to believe if they didn't see it for themselves.

But, it was only natural for Noah to be faster than others. Noah didn't rely on only one source of component of the World's Power but 4 different components. It was natural for him to be way faster and more efficient than others.

Anyway, watching the process happen in front of her eyes wasn't something Julianna had ever thought she would experience.

Noah silently observed her.

She looked shocked, amazed, and mesmerized.

But beneath those sentiments, there was sadness, yearning, and memories of the past reflected in those crystal clear sapphire eyes.

Slowly closing his eyes, Noah switched off the screen of his game, the room now was dark and only the source of light was those butterflies.

All the butterflies started to gather around Julianna while she remained frozen in her position, not taking her eyes off of them.

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"Sorry! Sorry! I am really sorry!" Julianna said again and again while in a dogeza.

The butterflies ended up coming in contact and then bursting which brought Julianna out of her daze.

And then she realized the time.

It was midnight!

She had extended her stay in someone else's house and she had inconvenienced Noah. She realized Noah hadn't been able to play his game, because of her.

And so, the current situation.

"Calm down, I don't give a fuck"

Noah replied.

Julianna slowly lifted her head up and looked at Noah.

Noah sighed.

"If I felt troubled I would have thrown you out of the building from the window"

Julianna could definitely visualize being thrown out of the window. Noah was someone who could do it and would do it.

This is the guy who slashed someone's hand off because they annoyed him.

Julianna recalled the incident that had occurred in their class back in the first month.

Maybe, I am worrying unnecessarily.

Slowly, she calmed down and then questioned.

"If it wasn't enough that you defeated various rankers who are higher ranked than you, now this ...?"

Julianna asked as she looked at Noah who was lying in his bed making butterflies once again. 

Hm? Wait, why am I sitting on his bed?

The late, embarrassing realization was starting to slowly dawn upon her.

Gladly for her, the room was dark.

"What can I say, I am a multi-talented genius"

Listening to those words helped Julianna push the embarrassment away as she rolled her eyes.

But even so, she couldn't find a retort.

"Yeah, Yeah... anyway, I thought you would be looking dead like other students from your new class but you seem fine compared to them"

Julianna recalled the wasted images of Allen, Elinalise, and the two other students.

"You met them?"

"I met Allen and Elinalise and there were two others who I don't know anything about in the lift"

"Well, I didn't get any duel challenge from anyone and I am stronger and smarter than them so the class was also a breeze for me."

That does make sense, no one in their right mind would challenge Noah to a duel.

Noah already had a label of Psycopath attached to him but now that he defeated the entirety of a class on his own, everyone had decided to stay away from him.

And after today, when the students had dueled with the special class students, everyone understood the difference between themselves and them.

But it also made it clear about how much of a monster Noah is.

Of course, it remained a mystery how Noah who is F-ranked is so strong.

Some had come up with a theory that the Academy is lying about his rank and it's actually too high to be revealed.

And then some had come to a dumb decision.

"You might not be able to enjoy your free days for long."

"What?"

"Some people think it's a lie that you won and all that, that you might be just a son of some big shot, and the academy is keeping you at the top because of that. After all, your rank doesn't explain how you are so much stronger. So, they plan to challenge you"

Julianna said as she inched closer to Noah and showed him her phone and the school forum discussion on it.

"Nah, no one will challenge me. They won't have the guts to actually go through it."

Noah said and Julianna didn't find it convincing.

Flash!

The light of Noah's phone suddenly lit up. He grabbed it from the table, opened it, and then read the notification.

"What happened?" Julianna asked seeing Noah staring at his screen.

"I got challenged"

"Ptff!"

Julianna started laughing.

"Don't laugh"

Noah said but it just made her laugh even more, in her laugh, she didn't seem to hear the words Noah had uttered.

"I will make it the first and the last time"

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(Third Person Pov)

Fear.

Pure, indescribable fear, clawed its way to their very core, an overwhelming and paralyzing feeling that gripped them. It was inscribed in their wide, horrified eyes.

They all felt it, some cowering in their seats.

Disgust.

A sickening, visceral, and profound revulsion that clung to every fiber of one's being. An overwhelming feeling that seemed to twist one's stomach into knots.

They all felt it, some vomiting.

Nausea.

An intense wave of nausea surged through them, reeling them in distress. Their skin crawled with discomfort, and beads of sweat formed on their forehead.

They all felt it, some losing consciousness.

In the arena were two people dueling each other, no it was wrong to say it was a duel. What occurred was just one-sided torture.

The only way to lose in the duel was to either lose consciousness or if the other person explicitly says they want to quit.

Usually, it isn't like that but the boy with a smile had provokingly asked to have the rule be that way, and his opponent had simply agreed with his inexpressive face.

And now that rule came to bite him back.

The boy was on the ground, his tongue ripped out, his limbs torn apart, writhing in agony.

And then his opponent slowly pulled out a vial from his pocket, it was an Elixir and helped re-attach his limbs and heal him... only to rip the boy's body apart once again.

He tore his nails off, cut his fingers into pieces, stomped on him, and even put sugar and spices on his wounds.

"AGHHHH!!!"

But throughout it all, the boy's opponent made sure the boy wouldn't lose consciousness and so, the torture kept continuing, it had been going on for the last hour.

Watching the harrowing spectacle unfold in front of them, students felt indescribable horrors.

Each anguished scream of the boy being tormented sent a shiver down their spine, wishing for it to just end already.

And their wishes were granted.

The boy's opponent stopped and then simply knocked the boy out.

With that, he won.

With a mic in his hand, he spoke.

"Anyone else?"

The voice was devoid of any emotion, his face remained inexpressive and his body was stained with blood.

With that, his rank 1 remained unchanged, his grade rank and the rank in the list of potential threats.

Noah wanted to make it clear to not fuck with him though he didn't realize that what he had done went far beyond that simple statement.

The eyes of the students in the stadium remained downcast, not even daring to look at him.

Among them, one did look at him, barely able to keep her eyes on him.

It was Julianna, her breathing was ragged, she had vomited several times already, and her eyes were uncontrollably shaking.

She recalled last night when she had spent time with him and then saw his blood-stained face

You see, emotions change constantly, and the newer, the more recent, and more intense the emotion the more impact it has. Even a longstanding relationship between two individuals would end up suffering if even one party ends up confronting a newer emotion, and if that emotion falls in the negative category, it might spell disaster.

That's just how people are and Julianna was no different.

Upon being confronted with the ruthless nature of Noah, Julianna was simply left horrified, the last night's memories being replaced by today's.

Noah looked at her cowering and the moment their eyes met, Julianna averted her gaze trembling.

Emotions weren't something one could control. They keep on changing over time and emotions are what influence people to make their decisions at crucial times

....and that was why Noah never absolutely trusted others.