28. Unease

Everybody was staring at Liam intently to see the evidence he was about to pull out.

However, Liam suddenly raised his blade and showed Zara. "If he passes me, who has been tutored by my father, who is the best blacksmith in the empire, then he cheated."

"Interesting."Zara walked towards Liam and inspected his knife.

Zara smiled as she shared her findings after a thorough inspection, "Blaze outperformed you in every aspect except the inscription. Your hammering technique scored 65%, which is evident from the coarse texture of your blade."

Blaze, who had been staring at them all this while, suddenly stood up and walked towards them. His rationale told him not to do it, but his vibrant hormones and hot-bloodedness of a teenager were pushing him to do it. After much struggle, Blaze decided to with his hormones as he found the idea interesting.

When Blaze reached in front of Liam, he suddenly smirked. It gave Liam chills, but Liam calmed down after remembering the rules – using the element to fight in class or intentionally hurting others when it's not official training is punishable by expulsion.

In a sudden turn of events, Blaze launched a punch towards Liam's face, causing him to fall to the ground. Blaze then proceeded to crouch beside Liam and relentlessly delivered a series of punches to his face. Both individuals were depleted in mana, leaving them with no other option but to engage in a physical brawl. After the sixth punch, Zara snapped out of her daze and quickly intervened, rushing to pull Blaze away from Liam.

Zara's warning came with a cold edge, her eyebrows raised in disapproval. She reminded Blaze, "You are aware that engaging in fights is a serious offense that can result in expulsion, right?" The tone of her voice conveyed her disappointment and a sense of authority. While Zara found Blaze intriguing, she couldn't help but feel that his decision to engage in a fight in her presence displayed a lack of respect. Perhaps the regular delivery of food she provided for him had led him to forget her true identity. Despite her interest in Blaze, his actions at that moment left her disappointed and questioning the level of regard he had for her.

"Oh! I wasn't aware. What I saw on my amulet is 'using elements to fight'," Blaze replied calmly, unfazed by her cold tone. After finding a loophole in the rules, Blaze has already decided to exploit it and Liam happens to be his first victim. People in Hadar are so dependent on their mana and elements that nobody hardly battles without elements.

Zara gazed at Blaze, a mix of astonishment and speechlessness evident in her expression. While the school had indeed considered the possibility of such tactics, nobody had ever attempted to engage in a fight without utilizing their elemental abilities since the school's establishment. The specificity in the rules was meant to weed out any students who might claim ignorance of the regulations.

"I guess the rules need adjustment," Zara muttered and turned to a student.

Zara's voice remained composed as she spoke, "Take him to the healers," directing her words toward a student. She then shifted her attention back to him, her gaze firm. "As for your punishment, I'm revoking the four marks I previously awarded you. I hope this serves as a lesson, reminding you to adhere to the school regulations when dealing with such matters."

Turning towards the rest of the class, Zara raised her voice, commanding attention. "Alright, class dismissed. Remember to consult your amulets for tomorrow's lecture schedule."

As Blaze nonchalantly walked away, Zara's eyebrows furrowed, her expression revealing a mix of frustration and curiosity. She couldn't help but wonder internally, 'If he's so composed now, why did he lose control so easily earlier?' The enigma of Blaze's demeanor left her perplexed, questioning the inner workings of his thought process and emotional responses.

Blaze walked through the spatial gate and walked into his house, performed a rushed shower, before climbing into his bed after changing into a new robe Caroline bought.

"My core is almost emptied so I nearly used my darkness to finish the knife, but other students' cores weren't as empty as mine. You can see that from the level of less fatigue on their face," Blaze said calmly in confusion.

Aphrodite explained, "It's because you've two elements within a single core. As a result, the quantity of each element is halved compared to a regular core. Everybody has one core. The world is all about sacrifice. The quantity of each element is reduced to obtain a new element. That's why I warned you earlier to be quick," and Blaze nodded before lying down to sleep.

"Your speech earlier was too vague," Blaze muttered before sleeping off. Although his darkness element is filled, after the part of his core, which had the water elemental mana emptied, he felt tired.

———

A knock on the door woke Blaze up. Getting off the bed, Blaze noticed that it was already dark.

"Zara," Aphrodite informed him of the person at the door.

Blaze slowly opened the door and stared at her. As usual, Zara held a food flask. Blaze stared at her weirdly.

'Helen has finished her part and now a new one?' Blaze thought.

"Because you've got a new robe, you won't let me in?" Zara said with a sweet smile that revealed her pearl-like teeth.

"Come in." Blaze turned and walked in without breaking his straight face.

Zara looked around as she entered.

"I didn't see you at the dining hall, so I thought something might have happened," Zara said as she took a seat on Blaze's bed, carefreely.

"Just sleeping," Blaze replied aptly and collected the food and began eating calmly, unfazed by Zara's watchful stare.

"Your hammering was really good. Where did you learn that?" Zara questioned.

Blaze paused his eating and raised his head to stare at her in the eyes.

"You can forget it if it's not convenient," Zara quickly added.

As Blaze continued to eat, he calmly spun a tale, weaving a web of deception. "I found a man in a forest settlement when I was wandering by myself. He maintains and sells weapons, in exchange for meat and food. So, I thought of learning from him. Although he never agreed at first, after much pestering, he later agreed to let me help him."

Blaze smoothly words flowed smoothly. With a casual demeanor, he resumed his meal, allowing the lie to settle in the air between them.

Zara nodded, half-believing his tales. Aphrodite, on the other hand, did not believe any word that came out of his mouth at that moment.

However, the truth is that Rahgar, his current body, had a blacksmithing shop. Blaze had to run the shop to avoid looking like an alien in front of Helen. Left with no choice, he started learning blacksmithing from a neighbor, and he read all of Rahgar's books. However, inscription and mana usage were not among them. Only hammering and using molds to make different things.

Zara's voice remained calm and composed as she addressed Blaze, her words carrying a weight of concern and caution. "Why did you strike Liam? The news of the incident has already reached his father, Duke Andrew. The Quadragon family holds significant influence, just beneath the Royal family, the Drakon family. It is unwise to become enemies with them. Furthermore, your actions have earned you a reputation as a 'madman,' which will only serve to isolate you from others."

She paused for a moment before offering her advice. "I know you possess a strong sense of self-confidence, but allowing pride and madness to guide your actions may lead to consequences that could harm you in the long run. It might possibly even lead to your demise. I know you. You're too cool for that."

"How much do you know about me? What do I like and what do I dislike?" Blaze suddenly asked, which stumped Zara.

Blaze, pausing from his meal, offered a sharp piece of advice to Zara. "It would be wise not to claim familiarity with someone when you have only a superficial understanding of them. Such presumptions can have dangerous consequences, possibly even leading to your demise." With that, Blaze returned his focus to his food, leaving the words to linger in the air.

Zara couldn't help but offer a wry smile in response to Blaze's words. Amongst all the students, he was the only one who treated her as an equal, despite the age difference. Their conversations flowed effortlessly.

Blaze, still focused on his food, shared his perspective on the matter of isolation. "To be honest, I've never paid much attention to the isolation and judgment from others. Regarding the incident with Liam, I acted purely on my emotions at that moment. Sometimes, allowing oneself to receive *harassment* without any form of retaliation can lead others to perceive you as weak or powerless. At least, being labeled as a 'madman' serves as a deterrent for the noble children to approach me." Blaze spoke with a sense of detachment, his gaze fixed on his plate.

"You're saving yourself alone? What about the other civilians?" Zara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm no universal savior," Blaze said and both of them tactically stopped talking.

After Blaze finished eating, Zara carried the empty food flask and left.

"You are not powerful yet, so fighting a noble is a foolish move," Aphrodite chided calmly while swinging her legs from the table, where she was sitting.

"Yeah, I know. But the teenage hot-bloodedness got me, and sometimes, you have to respond to your feelings to be free-minded. However, I think it's not a bad thing," Blaze said as he stood up and stretched his body.

"Not a bad thing?" Aphrodite asked in confusion.

Blaze, maintaining his calm demeanor, elaborated on the events that led to his actions. "Priscilla and Liam both targeted me, relentlessly trying to assert their dominance. It seemed they were even planning to rally others against me, in an attempt to solidify their superior position. Even with my strength, it would be impossible for me to fight against three hundred nobles. However, with the 'madman' label attached to me, they will surely think twice before launching any further attacks." Blaze's voice remained composed as he shared his rationale.

"If they come together to attack you. As a 'madman', when you recover, you will pick on them one by one?" Aphrodite tried to confirm her guess.

Blaze smiled. "They might think of it differently, but everybody is scared of a madman because they are unpredictable and impulsive."

In a sudden motion, Blaze reached for his school com amulet and initiated a call to Robin. Almost instantly, Robin answered, his holographic image appearing with a mischievous and foolish smile adorning his face.

"Where are you?" Blaze asked calmly.

"My room. Should I come? Let me get dressed. I'm on my way," Robin rapped while asking and replying himself.

"I never said you should come. Have you met anybody after you left the class?" Blaze asked.

"Let me think…no," Robin replied.

"Are you sure?" Blaze questioned with narrow eyes.

"No. No. No," Robin quickly replied, noticing Blaze's seriousness.

Blaze disconnected immediately.

"Where is it coming from?" Blaze slouched in his chair, tilting his head back and closing his eyes, while rhythmically drumming his fingers on the table.

Aphrodite, concerned by his prolonged state, finally broke the silence. "What seems to be troubling you?"

Blaze gradually opened his eyes and started voicing his thoughts as he calculated. "I was feeling uneasy and restless during the class. At first, I attributed it to fatigue. However, after I woke up, the feeling never vanished. It only intensified. If Robin hasn't done something foolish, then the source has to be from outside the academy. My instincts rarely mislead me, and there must be a reason for their heightened response."

Blaze slowly rose to his feet, picked up a black cloak, and walked towards the door.