The Author's POV

—Click!

"What do you think?"

Inside of a pitch-black room, on a long and round table, sat multiple obscured individuals.

Displayed before them was a projection of youth with jet-black hair and deep blue eyes standing on what seemed to be an arena ground.

Out of all the figures sitting, only one stood up.

A relatively old man who had long grey hair and a thin mustache on his face. Judging from how respectful the individuals in the room were towards him, it could be inferred that he was a relatively important figure.

As the clip played, the youth's eyes slowly turned dull grey. Not long after, the match ended.

It was one-sided.

The youth not once moved from his spot.

"..."

After the clip ended, silence prevailed over the room as no one spoke.

"What skill was that?"

After a while, one of the figures broke the silence and spoke. His eyes remained fixed on the youth displayed on the screen.

"I'm not sure as well"

The old man shook his head.

He too wasn't too sure about what had happened. Despite being one of the strongest people in the human domain, he wasn't omnipotent. He didn't know everything.

"Could it be a fear-inducing skill?"

A figure interjected.

"I doubt it, I've seen similar skills, but none of them even comes close to this one"

"Than what do you think?"

"I'm also not sure"

Another figure spoke.

"Then could it just be the youth's power?"

"That's right, from what I've read he was ranked E+, it could very well be just his aura"

Instantly the room was filled with discussions as more and more people joined in.

Suddenly, as everyone was speaking, one of the figures sitting in the room spoke up as he looked at the old man.

"Sir, I don't understand. Why did we have to go public with his information? If we wanted to protect him, wouldn't it have been better if we did not disclose his information?

Instantly the room turned silent. Everyone stared at the old man.

They too were curious.

Feeling the stares directed in his direction, the old man shook his head.

"Haizz..Unfortunately, because of the pressure coming from the guilds, we had to reveal the information"

The old man truly felt that it was a pity.

With the world still following a capitalist principle, talented youth were treated as prize pieces for the top guilds to own for the sake of their honor.

If there was ever a chance that a talented youth was found, they were to immediately report it to them. This was so that they could 'nurture' them into future powerhouses for the sake of humanity.

The old man knew that this was bullshit.

Despite the fact that humans were facing the threat of extinction. Instead of being united, humans still segregated themselves into different factions with the idea of wanting more power.

"Hai...I guess there is no end to human greediness"

Once again the old man shook his head.

He originally wanted to keep the youth's rank and talent sealed, but with the pressure coming from all sides, he had to give in.

After all, he was responsible for thousands of people's jobs. Even though he was strong. He was only one man.

"Tell the Lock to take care of him. Oh, and make sure you warn Maximus. I won't tolerate another one of his son's blunders. If push comes to shove even a mosquito sting can be devastating"

This time he was serious. What had happened to Kevin not long ago truly sent him into a fit of rage.

If not for the fact that Gilbert had not killed Kevin, he would've personally have taken action.

A talent like Kevin could not die!

"Haa...I hope I won't have to take action"

Calming down, the man sighed.

This was the best he could do for the youth at the moment.

He really hoped he would give him a pleasant surprise in the future. The world needed talented youths more than ever. Especially since they were currently facing the threat of extinction.

"Understood"

Staring at the old man, everyone shouted in unison. The meeting ended after that.

...

[Lock, 7:50 A.M]

Class A-25

Having set an impression during my sparring session yesterday, no one approached me.

"Huuuam...morning"

"Morning"

No one besides Kevin of course. Taking out his tablet, Kevin sat down. Used to Kevin now sitting next to me, I didn't mind his presence.

"haha, check this out"

Scrolling through his tablet, Kevin laughed out loud and handed me his tablet. Curious I took it and read what was written on it.

[Shocking display of might coming from Kevin Voss and R-]

"Bah, don't show me this crap"

Tossing the tablet back to Kevin I rolled my eyes. I had seen enough articles talking about me. Every time I saw an article about me I ended up cringing hard.

Fortunately, I knew that with given time they would slowly decrease in number.

"Oh right, has your suit arrived?"

Putting his tablet down, Kevin suddenly thought of something.

"My suit?"

"Yeah, the one we bought a couple of days ago"

"mhm, it did"

I was honestly surprised by how efficient the tailors were. Within one day the suit was already sent and delivered to my apartment.

I haven't tried the suit, but from the outside, it looked pretty good. Not sure whether it was comfortable though. Looked pretty tight.

"So, what about it?"

"What about what?"

"What about the suit I mean? Do you like what we choose?"

"I guess it's alright"

"What do you mean alright, I choose the suit! Of course, it's good"

As Kevin and I were talking, Emma suddenly interrupted.

It was evident that she was eavesdropping on our conversation. Ignoring her blatant attempt at joining the conversation without looking like she was eavesdropping, I responded.

"Is it really?"

To me, it just looked like a regular suit. Though it looked good, nothing about it stood out.

"This guy is hopeless"

"...and what are you doing here?"

Leaning back, I crossed my arms.

"What about me?"

"What are you doing here? Go back to your own seat"

"Does this seat have your name on it?"

Looking around, Emma pointed at the seat she was in. Frowning, I shook my head.

"No"

"Then sit here I shall"

Smiling, she sat down.

"..."

No words escaped from my mouth.

She was doing this on purpose, wasn't she?

"Ren, it's useless. Once Emma sets her mind on something, there's no convincing her"

Sitting next to me, Kevin shook his head. He had been through this multiple times.

"Uh..."

I knew that...

That's why I was speechless.

"Oh, Amanda sit here too"

Right before I was about to rebuke, spotting Amanda entering the classroom, Emma waved at her. Staring in Emma's direction, Amanda's eyes were hazy. She was not a morning person.

"Why?"

"Just come, don't leave me here alone with those two"

"Then why don't you just leave"

I quickly retorted.

If she didn't want to seat next to me, she could just move. No one was forcing her to stay with me and Kevin.

Emma ignored me and kept pestering Amanda. In the end, still lethargic due to having just woken up, Amanda gave in and sat next to her.

A row ahead of where I was sitting.

"Great, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse..."

"It's okay"

Patting me on the shoulder, Kevin consoled me.

'This is practically your fault!'

If Kevin had never sat next to me, this would've never have happened!

If before a lot of the students were staring in my direction, now practically everyone was staring in my general direction.

Kevin was enough.

But now Emma and Amanda too? Are you kidding me?

"Ah right, Kevin, what time are you going to the banquet next week?"

Turning around, Emma asked.

"Hm, around 7:00 P.M."

"I see..."

"Why are you asking?"

"Nothing"

Turning her head around, Emma avoided the question. Her voice had a hint of disappointment.

Noticing this, I rolled my eyes.

'Just tell him that you want to go with him already!'

Emma was obviously trying to ask Kevin to go with her. Unfortunately for her, Kevin was dense. Unless she told him right in his face, he would never pick up the hint.

"What about you Ren?"

Unaware of this, Kevin asked me the same question to which I vaguely responded.

"Whenever"

That was a lie.

I was in fact going to go one hour earlier than Kevin. There was a reason for that. It was to stop something that will eventually happen at the party.

Although the plotline was different from what I remembered, the events at the Lock should still somewhat be the same, right?

I wasn't sure.

That's why I wanted to go early and check.

"Ah right Kevin, by the way, did you hear about the—"

Quickly recovering, Emma turned around and asked.

"Shush...class is starting"

Cutting Emma mid-sentence, I put my finger on my lips. A second after, the door of the classroom opened up and Donna walked in.

Checking the time, 8:00 A.M, I muttered.

"Punctual as usual, not even a second late..."

...

Late that night.

—Bang!

Emma slammed the door to her room close, then jumped on her bed.

"Dense bastard..."

For the past day, Emma had tried dropping as many hints as she could to Kevin. She wanted him to accompany her to the banquet.

The reason was simple.

Given how popular she was, she would naturally attract the attention of a lot of boys. This has happened to her multiple times in the past.

Knowing this, she wanted Kevin to act as her shield. As long as she was with him, no one would dare bother her.

...unfortunately.

"How can he spend so much time with that fucker..."

Ever since last week, Ren and Kevin had almost been inseparable. They were almost always together!

He even changed seats to sit next to him!

In fact, Emma understood why Kevin was interested in Ren. She too was slightly interested in him.

Ever since watching him fight, Emma's interest in him piqued. Especially after she saw him fight Haris.

She did not know what he did that day...but he was scary. In fact, the moment she saw him in the arena, she was reminded of the time back in Hollberg. Back when he was strangling Jin.

They had the same vibe...

Cold, and vicious.

"That's beside the point!"

Emma shook her head and dismissed such thoughts from her head.

There was a more pressing issue.

To her, the way Kevin and Ren became so close to each other was just so fast!

Within a couple of days and they were suddenly best friends? Who would buy that?

Emma didn't.

Just what could've happened between them during such a period of time?

"Could he be...

Suddenly she had a thought, her body shuddered as a result. She quickly shook her head.

'No, no, no, get your mind out of the gutter! There's no way Kevin is like that. Maybe Ren, but not Kevin...But what if?' Falling deep into her delusion, Emma bounced around on her bed while striking it repeatedly.

The next day, Emma attended the lectures with glaring black circles beneath her eyes.

...

[Monday 6:00 P.M.]

A week had passed and finally, the day of the banquet arrived.

As usual, I attended the morning and afternoon lectures. Apart from the unusual stares which I was starting to get used to, nothing in particular happened.

Having set an impression during my fight last week, no one approached me. Be it the five tyrants, the factions, or the professors.

This was understandable.

They all wanted to observe me first before approaching me.

What I had done back in the arena grounds sort of made most people apprehensive. In fact, not a lot was known about me. My background was also unknown. The extent of my abilities was unknown.

Apart from 'the one' which no one knew anything about, everything about me was unknown.

Therefore, without getting a proper read on me, no one would naturally approach me.

So for the past week, it was pretty chill. Not sure about the future.

"Is it this way? No...this way right?"

At the moment I was currently looking at myself in the mirror. Wearing a slick deep blue suit that complimented my eyes and perfectly outlined the outlines of my body, I tried to put on my tie.

Unfortunately, having only worn a suit on a couple of occasions in the past, I had no clue on how to proceed. I did look at the web, but it was easier said than done.

"Screw this crap, if only they allowed me to take the Hawaiian shirt..."

Eventually, out of frustration, I threw my tie on the floor. I regretted not taking the Hawaiian shirt.

Would've been much easier.

—Ding!

Suddenly my door rang. Walking towards the door, I opened it and found a package on the ground.

"Oh, just in time"

My eyes lit up, the sender was Melissa. Taking the package into my room and closing the door, I ripped the package open.

—Riiip!

"..."

Opening the package and looking through its contents, my hand froze. Blinking a couple of times to make sure I wasn't seeing wrong, I was left speechless.

'Are you serious?'

The potion was there alright.

...there was just one problem. It was the fact that there was a glaring sticker with the words (W.V pharmaceuticals) engraved on it.

"Haa..."

Pinching the middle of my brows, I exhaled.

"...you could've at least removed the tag"

I shook my head.

Melissa probably forgot to specify this to her assistant when she gave her the orders.

—Click!

Taking out my phone, I took a selfie. I made sure to emphasize the sticker by the side of the potion.

[Thank you for the wonderful potion YOU MADE]

Typing some words of appreciation, I sent Melissa the photo.

"Serves you right..."

For all those horrible days, it was about time I made you suffer.

—Ding!

Suddenly my phone rang. Leo was the sender.

[Ren where are you?]

I had promised him and Pram that I would go with them. Thinking about them, a smile appeared on my face.

Despite what had happened these past few days, they treated me the same.

Unlike the others, they weren't scared of me. From there I knew that they were truly good friends.

[Coming, coming]

Trying my best to fix my tie, I typed back.

[We're waiting for you on the bottom floor]

[Alright, give me a minute, I'll be right there]

—Plack!

Checking myself once again in the mirror, I turned off the light and headed downstairs.

It was time for the banquet to begin.