Chapter 27: Changes (Part-1)

After that incident, life settled into a predictable rhythm. Zen, having proven his mettle in combat, hardly got challenged, so he only fought to fulfill the criteria. Anna got a free ride with Zen as no one wanted to piss Zen off by fighting Anna. So basically they got free wins every week. Zen never made things difficult for anyone and just betted the lowest amount of credits. Zen was never the one to initiate a fight. As long as no one stirred any trouble with him, he remained indifferent to the antics of others.

As the months went by, Zen and Anna got caught up in a bunch of tasks. The end of the semester was coming, and exams were on the horizon, putting a cloud of stress over them. In their world of engineering and economics, exams were like a battlefield where students fought to be the best in the ranks. No one wanted to get demoted! 

Zen followed a strict routine, akin to a modern-day barbarian. Mornings were reserved for practicing his martial techniques, followed by a handful of lectures. The evenings saw him training with Shreya, refining his combat skills. As the day ends, Zen delved into the realm of AI development before dozing off..

Of course, following a schedule like this resulted in Zen getting less sleep but he noticed that after his showdown with Shane, he started feeling more vigor and no matter how much he pushed his body, it never broke down. Zero also helped him a lot in understanding the techniques he obtained.

After surviving the exams, Zen and Anna caught up with Tanya and a gloomy James.

"What's the plan for the vacation, James?" Anna inquired, noticing his sulky demeanor.

"Hahaha!" Tanya burst into laughter, giving James a hearty slap on the back. "He's heading home to cry in his mom's arms, right, son?"

Zen and Anna looked at Tanya and then she spilled the beans. Apparently, James was defeated by Tanya in the martial arts exams and because of that she was torturing him for hours now.

"Shut up! I'm going back because my cousin Liam is returning after training."

"What? Liam's coming back? Oh, shit!" Tanya's face contorted into an ugly expression.

Zen, now intrigued, asked, "Who's this Liam dude?" Tanya's reaction was too intriguing to ignore.

James sighed dramatically. "Liam is the sole heir of the Rogers family. Not just because he's the only child of the head of the Rogers family, my uncle, but also because he's a genius. Despite being our age, he's already in the third ring, earning him the title of one of the three jewels of our generation."

"Hold on, what's this three jewels thing?"

"Haha, any noble would kill you for saying that. The three jewels are high-profile, most talented next-gen members of the nobility. Liam's the 'emerald,' Stacy Hudson is 'Ruby,' and His Highness the prince, Oliver Banks, is the 'Diamond'."

"What the actual fuck? You guys sure have some people with chuunibyou. But this doesn't explain Tanya's ugly face."

"Just know that, except for Stacey, the other two are as flippant as they are talented."

"Don't sugarcoat it James. Your cousin has a knack of sticking his dick in every hole he can find. That fucker. That guy has a special talent for forcing girls to bed with an attitude like he's doing them a favor."

Zen and Anna could only imagine the level of arrogance needed for such behavior. "So, why is he not in school?" Anna asked.

"Well, he was sent to the army as a punishment so he is joining now. Apparently, my family paid a lot to get him into the academy after one semester. Zen please be careful around him. He is not someone to be trifled with. He hates commoners and will find trouble with you." James advised, despite knowing that it is impossible to stop Zen.

"Well we will see. Let's go, the exam results will be out in an hour. We should have lunch before that." Zen replied nonchalantly. James and Tanya just shook their heads and followed Zen.

Following lunch, they eagerly made their way to the rank board, a colossal screen showcasing the top 10 performers in each department at the semester's end. Beyond the regular standings, an honors category ranked the brightest minds of each year. Leaving one's mark in one of the Earth's premier universities was no small accomplishment, and getting the top spot in the batch added another layer of prestige.

Zen and his crew awaited the revelation, stealing glances at the board. Suddenly, the hall plunged into darkness, and a mechanical voice filled the space. 

|Hello, everyone! We will now unveil this year's rankings.|

The display changed and a blinding white light shined. Gradually, the light faded and the ranks were visible on the board.

Zen casually glanced at the board, spotting his name as 1st in Engineering, while Anna claimed the top spot in Economics and Business. No surprise registered in Zen's eyes; he knew no one could outshine them in their respective domains.

|Let's give a round of applause to the rankers.| echoed the voice. 

Amidst the applause, Anna's sudden scream cut through the noise.

"Brother, check out the honors ranking!"

Zen turned his head around and saw the rankings. He froze when he saw the rankings. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not imagining things.

1st → Zen Ashford

"How?" Zen found himself bewildered. Martial arts students typically dominated the honors ranking. Even Tanya and James were ranked 3rd and 5th respectively, while second position was taken by someone from the Evans family, a noble family.

Tanya interjected, "It might be your fight against Shane."

"Yeah, that must be it. Since Zero calculates these rankings, that's the only logical explanation." Zen nodded in understanding. Zero calculated everything. Although the unofficial fights were not counted, it might have made a difference because the difference was so big.

As they discussed this, a new voice reverberated throughout the hall, but this time it was a man's voice.

"Is this the academy's standard? I must be wasting my time. A commoner in the honors? Disgusting." 

Amidst the celebration, a lofty 6-foot-tall dude swaggered into the hall, oozing arrogance. Blonde hair like James, green eyes, and wearing the uniform casually. His shirt? Well, it had an open cleavage, showcasing his chiseled chest for all to see.

"Haha. Even the nobles are pathetic. They can't control a filthy dog." He looked around and found James in the crowd and walked towards him, "Hey, Hey if it isn't my cousin James. You are as useless as ever. Can't even snag the top spot in martial arts. Ptooey" He spat on the ground.

James seethed with anger but kept quiet. He was standing before the heir, after all. He has to behave like that. Satisfied with James' reaction, Liam turned towards Tanya, 

"If it isn't my beauti—"

"Shut it, Liam! James may stay mute, but I won't. Watch yourself," Tanya snapped.

"Aww… you hurt me." He just smiled. "And you must be those filthy commoners who got ranks. I was told that my useless cousin was playing friends with you. Although this girl is a beauty, it's too bad that I don't keep commoners as my bitches."

'Shit,' thought James and Tanya simultaneously. This was the recipe for Zen vs. Shane Round 2.

But Zen didn't act like what they expected. He just closed his eyes and replied,

"Ah, you are trying to rile me up and then use that person hiding there to oust me, right? Too bad, I can sniff out perverts from far away. Please Mr. Stalker, come out of the hiding." Zen replied and looked at the entrance.

"You sure have big guts to call a professor a pervert." A middle-aged man in white colored blazer came inside. He also had blonde hair like Liam and he wore earrings on one side. 

'Does he think it's a fashion show?' Everyone thought after seeing the man.

"Oh, trust me, my guts are tiny. Or I'd have broken his nose by now," Zen sneered.

Hearing this, the middle aged man's face twisted and he unleashed pressure like a deflating balloon, but Zen, well, he trained with Shreya. Pressure? Please.

"Remember, you're not the only inner ring here," Zen retorted.

As soon as Zen said this, the pressure was immediately canceled and a different person appeared in the hall. 

"I welcome the Rogers family to the school. I hope you will not overstep the boundaries." This was the martial arts instructor, David.

"What do you mean by this, Professor David?" The middle aged man canceled his pressure and sneered.

"Please don't test my patience Mr. Smith. You are not in your territory." David replied.

"Heh, thank you for the 'welcome'"

"Please follow me." David said, and left with Liam and the middle aged man. Before leaving he gave Zen a glance.

As soon as they left, Zen received a message from Shreya,

|Come to my office immediately.|

"Well, well, look at things spicing up around here!"