9 Punishment 

The principal saw that the lights and electronic devices in his office were behaving strangely. Still, he didn't associate it with Zac. He just looked around strangely when Zac opened his mouth to explain Dario Mullen's complaints.

"Principal, you know very well things are not as they may seem to others. Dario and his group have attacked me many times in the past. Everyone at Eastside High School knows that. 

But this time, I fought back and made them feel some of what I've been feeling for years. Yet, they acted first. So am I being punished for responding to their aggression?" He asked with a hurt expression on his face.

Principal Price was well aware of what was going on in his school. But he found it convenient to turn a blind eye to certain problems.

"Mr. Mullen claimed that you attacked him and his group yesterday. Are you saying that he and his companions lied to me?" Leon Price asked with a serious expression that gave the impression that he was truly ignorant.

"That is not what happened. There were four of them, and I was alone. It would have been stupid of me to act against them." Zac said, clenching his fists angrily behind his back. 

Leon had nothing to say. Zac was a notorious nerd who didn't know how to fight and didn't have many friends after he had ended up in the hospital a few days ago after trouble outside of school. How could someone like that deliberately go up against a group of four delinquents?

That was the point that made it difficult for Leon to fulfill the wishes of The Vipers.

Fortunately, he had managed to convince the person who had visited him that morning that he would find a way to expel Zac from school and ruin the young man's future. Before that could happen, there was only one thing he could do today.

"Very well, I'm going to suspend you from school activities for a few days as punishment for your violence against your classmates, Mr. Small." He rose from his chair and said in a strong, authoritative tone. 

"Maybe Mr. Mullen's group did what you said. There's no way for me to know. It's their word against yours. But even if they did, it's a fact that you attacked your colleagues.

Your action yesterday is against our regulations, so take the next few days to cool off and try to understand your mistakes." He finished signing and stamping the suspension paper that Zac would have to give to his sister.

If the guard hadn't warned him earlier, he would have challenged this decision, which was unfair. But knowing that the principal was a crook controlled by The Vipers, Zac accepted the punishment and played dumb.

"Thank you for your kindness, Principal Price." He swallowed his anger as he looked at the principal and saw this man's internal organs.

It was a strange sight, even worse than seeing people naked. But since he couldn't control this ability, Zac pretended everything was fine as he left the office.

Leon looked behind Zac's back and sighed, feeling sorry for this poor young man who didn't know his place in society.

'It is good to have intelligent people in my school, but an inconsequential genius is no good.' He thought to himself before returning to his work.

...

After leaving the principal's office, Zac saw the guard Allen waiting to escort him out of the school.

"Mr. Allen, thank you for your honesty earlier. I hope to hear from you soon." Zac said as he stopped before the school entrance, where Dario and his companions watched him, laughing and smoking.

Allen didn't say anything to Zac and soon returned to his job, a little too upset to talk to Dario about their success in getting Zac suspended from school for a few days.

How would that affect Zac? Well, as someone who was intelligent and had good future prospects, Zac could soon be accepted to a major university on a scholarship.

But the stain of a suspension could take away his best chances in Ushal!

Colleges in that country didn't accept applications outside the standard time period, so if he was expelled, his future could be completely ruined!

"That idiot is leaving, haha! He must be crying!" Skin said to his friends, looking at Zac's face and laughing.

Dario had a serene look on his face, a little pleased to see the little shit leaving his school like that. But he wasn't satisfied.

"That's not enough," Dario commented to his supporters. "He will suffer much more in the coming days."

Seeing the smile on Dario's face, one of them asked. "When will your people move against him?"

"Let him suffer a bit for his suspension before we make him desperate." Dario mischievously laughed as he puffed on his cigarette.

Meanwhile, Zac left the school with no idea what would happen to him in the next few days.

But he knew what he wanted to do with the free time he would have from today on.

'I need to train my powers,' He thought as he felt his hands sweat. 'I need to be able to control at least some of my powers when those bastards come after me!'

He passed in front of a martial arts gymnasium and couldn't help but look at the place differently than he had until a few days ago.

He had considered martial arts to be a waste of time in the past. He didn't think that martial arts were useless for everyone. Sure, following the path of martial arts might be interesting for certain people, individuals who might need more discipline and self-control.

But he couldn't see himself doing martial arts because he already thought he was disciplined and controlled. Besides, he had no interest in learning it.

However, now he not only felt the need to know how to defend himself but also realized that his discipline and self-control weren't as good as he thought.

Without much thought, he went to such a place and entered a martial arts gymnasium for the first time in his life.

His appearance didn't match that of people who practiced martial arts, so he soon attracted the instructors' attention, especially the students there.

But places like this were more receptive than he expected. When one of the instructors noticed that he was interested in what they were teaching, a person approached him and asked.

"Son, are you looking for someone? Or are you looking for information about our gymnasium?"