Karma is a bitch

Varian thrust his foot into the ground and loosened his fist.

When the bell rang, Narcis's figure blurred and in an instant, a Demi-wolf appeared in front of Varian.

Perhaps he still thought Varian was a Level 2, Narcis only used the strength of a peak Level 3 Morpher.

Just enough to break the bones in his body without killing him.

How merciful.

CLAP!

Varian's hand moved faster and before Narcis could comprehend what was happening, his world spun.

He crashed into the floor, his face literally burying itself into the tiles. Only Level 4s and higher could follow his attack.

"Whaaa!"

A huge commotion rose from the crowd.

Everyone — every cadet, boy or girl and even every staff gaped at the scene.

This must be a joke.

Varian's identity quickly spread. But, even if he was an apprentice, prior to that, he had no background.

How could he compete against the young master of Xander Family?

But the truth slapped their faces.

"Narcis, tsk." Varian looked down at the twitching Demi-wolf that slowly stood up.

The left cheek of Narcis' face was dripping blood and was completely swollen.

Narcis looked like he swallowed a balloon. That was how much his cheeks swelled.

"Y-You!" With red eyes that swore vengeance, he channeled the prana in his body.

In his eighteen years of life, he was never so humiliated.

After transformation, Beast Morphers were easy to be angered than others.

But that didn't apply to Narcis. He'd have been angry, anyway.

"So you reached the peak of Level 3? Fine! I'll use my full strength!" He roared and his prana spiked.

Varian glanced at the arrogant Narcis with a bored expression.

Currently, he was only using his Body Path.

He was the peak of Level 4 Enhanced. Enhanced path raised his stats equally.

But Narcis was a Beast Morpher. So his stats were skewed.

Even though he just entered Level 4, his attack power, and speed reached mid-Level 4.

His defense, however, was much lower than typical Low Level 4 Body Awakener. His stamina also seemed to be lower compared to a body awakener.

But—

"Be crushed." Narcis dashed in front of Varian and swiped his claw with complete strength.

Even if he blocked it with his full strength, a normal peak Level 3 would be on the brink of death.

'I see. Once his pride is hurt, he's losing it.' Varian calmly raised his other hand.

PAA!

Narcis spun in the air as he coughed out blood.

The entire audience stood up in shock. They rubbed their eyes. They gasped. Some even wondered if this was all the prank of a powerful mind awakener.

This couldn't be happening.

Even after Narcis used his full strength, he was toyed with… what in the name of Heaven's Will was this absurdity?

Varian kicked out at the still spinning Demi-wolf's body.

Boom!

Narcis crashed into the barrier and clutched his stomach. There was a deep shoe imprint on his abs and blood gushed out.

"W-Why?!" Narcis collapsed to his knees as he continued to cough out blood.

It formed a dark red puddle under him. The warm liquid's metallic smell was telling him that this wasn't an illusion. It was a real fight.

No. It wasn't even a fight. From the beginning, he didn't land a single blow.

"Why?" Varian walked to the kneeling Narcis with a smile.

Narcis raised his head and glared at Varian. "You—"

Boom!

Varian stepped on Narcis's head.

"Guh!"

Crack!

The stage cracked, and cobwebs started spreading.

"If you ask me why," Varian's voice was filled with rage and he gnashed his teeth. "It's because karma is a bitch."

Boom!

Varian kicked Narcis in the gut and, with sounds of bones cracking, Narcis was sent flying to the other end of the barrier.

Varian's figure blurred and before Narcis slid down the barrier, his fist reached the wolf's head.

Boom!

Boom!

Narcis thrashed against the barrier in a bid to escape.

But he stood no chance and could only try to block the unforgiving punches.

Each punch was deliberately aimed at his defense. It broke his defense, and with it, his pride.

Narcis never felt so helpless as Varian clutched his throat and showered him with punches.

"Y-Why?" He groaned in pain.

"This is for Kyle!" The punch nearly twisted his innards and Narcis's vision blurred.

"W-wait!" He used all his strength, but he couldn't stop the angry man from shattering his chest bones.

"This is for trying to kill me!" Pain. Terrifying pain coursed through his body. He could only register the pain and the voice. That dreadful, demonic voice.

He gave one last attempt. He uttered the name. One he was most shameful of. One he would never do. "C-Charles."

All it got was a harder punch that broke his ribs completely.

"Your brother ain't gonna work against me anymore. You guys forced me to get the fucking backing. Now enjoy the fruits." Varian smashed into the same location and blood spilled on his face.

The pain broke the threshold Narcis could bear and his brain shut started to shut off his consciousness.

Narcis felt his vision fade when he heard the last line. "This is for messing with my life in the academy. I had to go through hell. Your brother is next."

PLOP!

Varian watched in silence as the barrier faded and the referee hurriedly caught the injured Narcis.

Narcis was quickly losing his transformation and went back to his human form.

The referee quickly fed him an expensive potion and glanced at Varian with a complicated expression.

Not just him. Every pair of eyes in the audience was staring at him.

Varian took a deep breath and raised his hand. "Think twice before you go against me."

He stepped down the stage and, amidst the excited crowd, walked towards the exit.

On his way, he caught the sight of a figure rushing towards the stage. Ryan.

At the same time, a girl was kneeling on the floor as she sobbed. Her eyes were happy, however.

But everyone else was excited.

There were praises.

"Varian!"

"You're so strong!"

"You're a high level 4, right?"

"Kick their asses. These elites only bully us all day."

There were scorns.

"You're cruel!"

"He's a fellow human. You monster!"

"Why did you keep punching a powerless man?"

Not just that.

"He should've just killed that bastard. He could've saved so many lives."

"What shady acts did he do to gain so much power in such a short time?"

Envy. Resentment. Hatred.

"Junior brother, do you have a girlfriend? How about—"

"Can you join our party? You can take 70% of the mission points."

"Varian, can we exchange numbers. I want to gift you a four-star armor."

Adoration. Admiration. Worship.

He felt all those emotions being directed towards him.

But one thing was for certain.

From today, whether they liked him or hated him, no one would ignore him.

Varian was no longer a forgotten cadet.

He was the strongest first year cadet. By a long, long shot.

Perhaps, they were witnessing the rise of a Super genius.

They were wrong.

This was much, much higher.

They were witnessing the rise of Human Emperor.