Chapter 276: I Challenge You!
The grueling hours of advanced lectures finally bled to a close as the sun of the Academy grounds dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of deep orange and violet.
The dining hall was a massive step up from the standard cafeteria. The long wooden tables were polished to a mirror finish, the chandeliers hummed with warm, ambient light, and the food was actual, high-quality cuisine.
"Haa... finally some peace..."
Kyle groaned dramatically, propping his elbows on the table and slumping back into his plush dining chair. He let out a long, exaggerated exhale, staring up at the painted ceiling.
Sitting across from him, Sira gracefully cut into her roasted fowl and snorted.
"Peace? Funny it’s coming from you."
Kyle immediately straightened up, his brow furrowing defensively.
"What? Can’t I enjoy peace? I spent the whole day listening to Mikensy. My brain is basically fried."
"Your brain is always fried, Stoneheart," Tobias sighed from the head of the table. He didn’t even look up from his plate, meticulously cutting his steak into perfectly symmetrical, bite-sized squares.
"Can’t you two just please keep quiet and eat? Some of us are trying to enjoy the sole benefit of our academic labor without a headache."
I sat quietly between Tobias and Emma, silently chewing my food.
The mess hall was relatively full, occupied by the rest of the top fifty students. And just like in the lecture hall, the atmosphere was incredibly tense. Groups of aristocratic students were huddled together, shooting not-so-subtle glances at our table. I could practically hear them calculating the odds, weighing which one of us would be the easiest target to knock out of the top ten.
"They’re staring again," Sira muttered, pointing her fork discreetly toward a group of classmen near the beverage station.
"Let them," Kyle said, tearing into a piece of bread with renewed energy. "If they want a piece of rank ten, they can meet me in the dueling ring tomorrow. I could use a good fight to stretch my legs."
"You’re not the one they’re looking at, you idiot," Tobias pointed out dryly, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses. His sharp gaze shifted over to me.
I paused, setting my fork down on the porcelain plate.
Before I could even formulate a response, a delicate hand reached over.
Emma smoothly placed a perfectly sliced piece of glazed fruit onto my plate. I turned my head slightly. She was sitting right beside me, completely ignoring the heavy tension at the table. She looked entirely at ease, humming that same soft, cheerful melody under her breath.
"You should eat more, Jin," Emma smiled sweetly, her bright blue eyes curving into happy crescents. "You burned a lot of calories yesterday. You need to keep your strength up."
I stared at the fruit, the faint, lingering phantom ache on my neck briefly flashing in my mind.
"Thanks," I muttered, carefully keeping my voice neutral.
"Well, I for one am not worried," Emma declared, picking up her water glass and looking around the table. "Jin is really strong. If any of those stuck-up nobles try to challenge him tomorrow, he’ll just beat them!"
"It’s not about beating one of them," I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck, making sure to keep my collar firmly in place. "It’s about the volume. The dueling rings operate on a challenge-accept system, but as a top-ten holder, I am mandated to accept at least one official challenge per week to maintain my rank. They’re going to try to wear me down."
Sira frowned, leaning forward. "So what’s your play? You can’t just dodge them forever."
"I don’t plan to," I said, my dark eyes flicking toward Torren Graves, who had just walked into the mess hall with his entourage. "If you want a pack of wolves to stop testing the fences, you don’t fight all of them. You just have to make an example out of the first one who steps inside."
Just as the words left my mouth, the low chatter near the entrance of the mess hall died down.
The heavy, rhythmic click of leather boots on the polished floor signaled someone’s approach. I didn’t even have to turn around; my Debugger interface was already registering a hostile mana signature closing in on our table.
A tall, sharp-jawed noble stopped right at the edge of our space. He had slicked-back burgundy hair and piercing amber eyes that dripped with arrogant disdain. His uniform was customized with fine gold embroidery along the cuffs, indicating his high-ranking lineage.
It was Julian Vance, eleventh rank, a known fire-mage and the cousin of Sira.
"Jin Raith," Julian spoke, his voice carrying clearly over the quiet room. He crossed his arms, looking down his nose at me.
"You managed to scam your way into the second rank by playing scavenger in the woods. But tomorrow, the playground rules are over. I, Julian Vance, officially challenge you to a ranking duel at the first morning bell."
Kyle immediately dropped his fork, his brow furrowing as his posture tensed. Sira winced slightly, looking away from her cousin in second-hand embarrassment, while Tobias merely took a slow sip of his water.
I looked up from my plate, letting my gaze drift over Julian’s smug face for a brief, exhausting moment. I let out a quiet, heavy sigh.
"Fine," I said, my voice completely flat and devoid of any emotion.
"I’ll be ready."
Julian let out a sharp, mocking chuckle, clearly satisfied with how easily I had accepted.
"Enjoy your premium dorm room while you still can, Raith," he sneered. Without waiting for a response, he spun on his heel and marched back to his entourage, the group laughing quietly as they walked away.
I leaned back heavily in my chair, raising a hand to rub the back of my neck to soothe the building tension.
"What a headache," I muttered.
"Hey, Jin," Kyle suddenly piped up, his green eyes narrowing as he stared intently at my hand.
"Did you hurt your neck?"
I paused, my hand freezing mid-motion.
"What?"
Kyle leaned over the table, pointing a blunt finger toward the side of my throat.
"Right there. There’s a nasty red mark on your neck, man. Looks pretty fresh."
Beside me, Emma’s fork clicked slightly against her porcelain plate. A rosy flush instantly crept up her cheeks, but she didn’t say a word. She kept her eyes glued to her food, taking a perfectly polite, entirely silent bite of her glazed fruit, completely detached from the conversation.
I forced my hand down, smoothly adjusting the high collar of my uniform jacket to seal the mark back out of sight.
"Yeah," I lied smoothly, waving my hand.
"Yesterday while we were packing up, I tripped over a hot rod near the fire. Ended up burning my neck. It’s nothing."