19 Just a Punch

Kadia clapped her hands, looking at the students around her, saying, "What are you doing here? Some of you can't even lift the sword. If you continue like this, you'll regret it in the future."

The cold aura emanating from Kadia, along with her eyes, made the students tremble and run back to training.

"Ugh, what's wrong with the teachers in this place?" shouted several students.

While Amelin helped Edward up, he felt Kadia's intense gaze on him, and she spoke, "And you... Don't take offense at what they say, whether it was luck or not, you still dodged an attack from a potential Ten."

"And Amelin, the rumor about your familiar seems to be true; you have excellent eyes," Kadia continued, then moved toward Edward's group, who seemed to have finally chosen their pairs.

"Amelin, what are you thinking? What if you had hurt him?" Sillian walked towards them.

"As I said, I can't control the strength properly... But you didn't need to worry; I would have stopped the attack before hitting him," Amelin explained, raising both hands.

"The last person who said not to worry ended up unconscious for three days..." Mine crossed her arms after joining them.

"Do these three know each other for a long time?" Edward wondered.

"Mine and Amelin must be childhood friends, for sure," Litty commented, already sitting on Edward's head.

"Look at what you did; he even lost his voice after what happened," Sillian said, touching Edward's shoulder.

"Huh? It's not that; I just didn't want to interrupt you. I'm fine; see?" Edward spoke, giving a small laugh.

"Well, if you're feeling anything, we can go see the school nurse," Amelin said, letting the sword fall to the ground and extending her hand to Edward.

"Hoho, this girl is good; she wants to know what's hidden in your little body," Litty said, wiggling her fingers.

"If he really needs it, I'd better do it. After what you showed, I find it hard for the teacher to take her eyes off you anytime soon," Sillian spoke, unconsciously increasing the strength of her grip on Edward's shoulder.

"What are you talking about? He's my partner; I should be the one to take him. After all, it's my carelessness," Amelin said, getting closer to Sillian.

Yawning, Mine thought, 'Should I say something?'

"Why are you so quiet? You should stop this soon; they're practically fighting over you," Litty sighed, looking to the side.

"And in this situation, I managed to enjoy one of the few good things I found in the academy from the other world," Edward said, smiling. Then he drew the attention of the two girls, saying, "Ahem... Seriously, I'm fine, okay? The teacher even said I dodged, and girls at your levels discussing like this might cause a misunderstanding."

"Huh?" Amelin and Sillian stopped, looking at Edward.

"You're right; this isn't something someone at my level should do... I apologize, Miss Amelin," Sillian held the edge of her skirt, bowing.

'I think I went too far,' thought Amelin, responding to Sillian with a bow, saying, "No, I started this, and I didn't even stop to listen to what Edward had to say."

' What? What's going on here? These two, who only stopped when one was declared the winner, are acting like this?' Mine thought in shock, staggering as she took a few steps back

"Mine? Are you okay? Dizziness again?" Sillian and Amelin turned their attention completely to the two.

'Ah... I see, they've just found another person like me,' Mine thought, smiling while giving a thumbs-up with her hand while her eyes were fixed on Edward. "Never been better."

'This look... doesn't seem like a good thing,' Edward thought as he felt Litty pulling his hair strands, saying, "Edward, look there!"

"What is it? What is it? I've told you not to do that..." When Edward looked to where Litty was pointing, his body froze, and his soul detached from him.

"Edward... are you sure this guy is really the protagonist?" Litty spoke, totally pale; if a breeze hit her, she would turn into dust.

"After what happened yesterday, I have no doubts..." Edward, with his hand on his face, concealed his expression of discouragement, while his soul seemed almost to leave his body.

"So why the hell is he sprawled on the ground?" Litty pointed desperately at Michael, continuing, "It's impossible for this guy to be the protagonist; there's no way the protagonist is weaker than a baby."

Edward's red eyes were turning black. "What are you talking about? It's his opponent who's on the ground looking like mush."

"Huh? Didn't he cause a big stir yesterday because of his potential?" Mine spoke, confused, tilting her head.

"The headmistress may have sealed his power... No, wait, there's no reason for her to do something like that." For a few seconds, Amelin pondered over this until disinterest settled in her head. "Maybe it was just a mistake after all; his mana is a rare type if what he said is true."

"For me, he just seems like an incompetent... Look at his arms and legs; they're not even trained... Should have noticed that yesterday." Mine looked at Edward and some other students. "Compared to Edward, even the other boys in the class seem to have a twig for an arm."

"Why humiliate him? Does this girl have some resentment towards Michael?" Litty, sitting on Edward's head, spoke.

"Mine, I think you went a bit too far; you may be of lower level, but you're still a noble," Sillian said with a concerned tone.

"She's right; he didn't do anything to you." Amelin said, placing her hands on Mine's shoulders, who responded, saying, "He's just a damn show-off. That's the last thing I'll say."

The only ones talking in the room were the three girls; all the others were silent, including the teacher who seemed to be waiting for something.

'Something's not right... Just yesterday, this guy showed a number I've never heard of in potential and even held the sword as if it weighed nothing. So why did he fall so easily?' The boy thought, his hand trembling because, despite the humiliating scene in front of him, Michael's body conveyed a terrifying feeling that it could kill at any moment.

That was also why the other students didn't start jeering; everyone felt as if something sharp was touching their necks.

"Urghh..." Michael put his fingers to his temples, getting up, holding the sword with his right hand. His right eye was covered in shadow, while the other seemed to look directly into the boy's soul. "Sorry, I ended up falling asleep."

"Is he sleeping?!" Several students shouted together while Kadia sighed in relief.

'I thought Adrwnr was getting old already... Good thing it's just a very cheeky boy.' Kadia thought, placing her hand on her chin. She spoke, "Alright, since it seems everyone wants to see this, I'll announce the beginning of this fight. Show me what you've got without fear because I'm here for any unexpected events."

The boy swallowed hard. "Let's start this."

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to look?" Edward spoke, looking at the three conversing among themselves.

"Huh? Oh, well, Mine was right; he's just a show-off, and on top of that... A weakling," Amelin spoke with her eye having the clearer iris and a subtle sparkle.

"What are you waiting for? Did you wake up? I thought you died on your feet," Litty said.

"It was just a sudden shock. After all, if he's really a weakling, maybe I have to rethink my lifestyle, or studying here will be hell," Edward spoke, paying attention to Michael and the other boy.

They ran toward each other until, halfway, the boy who had his hand trembling let the sword slip out of his hand.

"I got you." The boy saw Michael very close, swinging his arm down forcefully, banging his sword against Michael's, making the blades slide against each other, and his fist going straight to Michael's face. Michael released the wooden sword and fell unconscious to the ground.

"Weakling? That would be a compliment for him..." Edward spoke, ignoring his existence, the teacher, and the other students, turning to the three girls.

"I told you he's just a weakling; only a miracle would make him strong now." Mine spoke, yawning.