Allies

With the incident at lunch, I accepted that people looked at me in a negative light, then I would just do what I wanted regardless of their opinions. 

When I had resolved this, I felt as if I was liberated from some invisible chains. I walked with confidence, and made my way through the halls. I even ignored the fact I had stains on my clothes, and simply went along my day. 

After what happened in the cafeteria, there were no other people who caused a problem with me, instead they opted for the tactic of utilizing gossip. Many people were talking about my behavior, including nobles who wanted to act as if they were better than me. Whispering behind my back, and spreading rumors.

During our conditioning class, I did my best to keep up with the training, but it proved too much in the end. I ended up throwing up the majority of my lunch, but I still kept moving my body. I ended up receiving a look of disapproval from everyone, including the instructor, but I ignored it.

I had noticed I wasn't the only student who had terrible stamina. There was another student, who was struggling and couldn't even make it to the end. He ended up collapsing, and I stopped jogging to come help him stand up.

Wheezing, I extended my hand to him. Him, equally wheezy, took my hand and stood up.

"My-my name is Titus Freeman... Thanks-thanks for the help."

He smiled as he forced out those words in between breaths. I smiled and waved it off.

"My name's Darius. Darius Crow."

At this I saw him freeze up slightly. To which I just chuckled lightly.

"I don't know what people are saying about me, but if I make you uncomfortable, I can leave."

However his response surprised me.

"N-no. It's... Okay. I think the rumors might be... Exaggerated."

I looked at him and smiled. We spent the rest of the time walking together and chatting lightly. Since we were doomed to be last, we decided to at least enjoy ourselves. 

I learned that Titus was an orphan, and came to this school with a dream of being a hero. He worked hard, but was mostly admitted because he had impressive regenerative abilities. However, this was more of a curse for him than a blessing. Because he regenerated any damage he took, his muscles did not grow, which caused him to be a small, weak kid. 

Because of this he was bullied and often looked down on. I thought it was a shame that people thought so little of him, because from the way he carried himself he was clearly someone who had the passion to be a hero.

While we spoke, we learned that we got along pretty well, and decided to exchange numbers. The conditioning class came to an end, and we went onto our first combat class. Surprisingly Titus liked to fight with his fists, and so he wrapped his hands in protective boxing wraps before beginning to practice on a dummy.

I on the other hand, decided to take the day and look at all the different types of weapons out there. I considered all the possibilities, before I decided to just use several knives. Alice could give me pointers, and I felt that with my poisons I could utilize throwing knives well.

I picked up several daggers, and began to familiarize myself with them. I then grabbed a bundle of practice throwing knives, and went to the range. I worked on improving my aim with my flintlock, while also practicing with my throwing knives whenever I was waiting for my gun to reload.

Whenever I ran out of mana, I would use my knives until I became exhausted and took a long break. This went on throughout the class, and it eventually ended.

The rest of the day went along simply, with me dedicating myself to developing my skills. I understood that skills would not immediately boost my strength, but instead were tools that I needed to sharpen for their true effects to shine. 

So I took my training seriously, and with patience. I didn't meet anyone else like Titus, and I ended up being a loner from day one. It didn't bother me though, and I simply learned to live with it. 

For my dinner I took my food, and went to a secluded area to eat by myself. I chose a spot in the forest, since I knew most people would not come in here.

However as I was eating, I was proven wrong once again, as I heard the sound of several boys walking through the forest nearby. 

I quietly stood up, and walked towards the sound to investigate.

"This is far enough."

One boy said. I snuck up behind a tree, and peeked my head out slightly. In a small clearing I saw four boys standing around another small boy, one who I recognized as Titus.

"H-hey guys, what's the problem?"

Titus began talking nervously. They had him surrounded against a tree, and it didn't look like they were there to have a friendly chat.

"We heard you were hanging around that Crow kid."

"Yeah."

"I-I mean, yeah? A little? But I think the rumors about him aren't completely tru-"

*smack*

The lead boy slapped Titus hard across the face, and because of the difference in their size, Titus fell to the ground.

"Did I ask for your opinion? You little shit, we tell you he is a bad guy, and you try to defend him? Then that makes you a bad guy too. We don't like bad guys, as heroes we have to root out the bad people from our ranks... So today we'll teach you what happens to bad guys."

They then began to kick and stomp on Titus. I watched in silence as I knew if I were to step in here, it would only cause more problems. I knew Titus had good regenerative abilities, but I was also one of the only people who acknowledge that he still felt the pain from his injuries. The physical wounds healed, but the mental wounds never went away.

I looked at him in pity. Thankfully, it didn't last long before I heard a voice from the forest entrance.

"Yes professor, I saw a bunch of kids come in through here, I was worried they would get lost in the enchanting forest so I called yo-"

"You did the right thing, don't doubt yourself. Let's just hope they didn't get too fa- Ah, boys! Come here, what are you doing?"

The boys had already picked up Titus and were carrying him on their shoulders.

"W-We found him in the forest! We saw him follow Darius Crow into the forest, and were worried about our friend here. When we found him, he was all beaten up."

The lead boy had quickly come up with an excuse for Titus's injuries, but the professor showed a suspicious look. He then looked at Titus.

"Is that true, Mr. Freeman?"

Everyone looked at Titus, and I could even vaguely see the boys whispering something to Titus. Most likely threatening him to go along with their story.

"I..."

Titus then looked defiantly at the boys.

"I didn't meet Darius Crow. These four dragged me into here and beat me. They told me not to be friends with Darius, and that they would teach me what happens to people who are."

Titus then shook off the boys, his wounds closing at a visible pace. The four boys showed expressions of fear, and were looking at Titus with a stupid expression.

"T-teacher! He's lying! We-"

"You boys think being a hero is a joke?"

The air became heavy, and the boys had trouble breathing under the pressure from the professor.

"I already casted an investigation spell on the boy's wounds. I already know you four kicked him when he was on the ground... Pack your belongings. You're expelled from the Academy."

With that the four boys' expressions collapsed further. They were here for only a single day, and they had already been expelled. Their families were going to be incredibly disappointed, and expulsion from the Academy was paramount to a permanent black mark on your record. Only those with poor moral standing were expelled from the school. 

The professor escorted the four kids to the administration office, and made sure they were punished.

I watched in surprise, as the school was not as corrupt as I had originally thought. They really did enforce their rules, and I respected that. I waited for the rest of them to leave, and then I quietly stepped out from behind the tree. Revealing my presence to Titus.

He was surprised, but didn't start the conversation.

Instead we stood there for a moment, just looking at each other.

I was the first one to talk.

"I... I appreciate you defending me... Even though you didn't have to, and you wouldn't lose anything by selling out my name.."

Titus scoffed.

"What kind of hero would I be if I did that? You're my friend. I'm not going to lie and get you in trouble when you were the only one who saw me collapse and helped me... Those guys didn't deserve to get away with it, and I wasn't going to stain my conscience for them... Thanks for... Not stepping out.."

"I-You shouldn't thank me for that..."

"No, I know why you didn't step out. If you had, and the professor didn't appear, things would have just been harder for me.. You're not a bad guy like the rumors say you are... Why is everyone saying those things about you?"

I looked at him for a long time, but I didn't say anything. I simply shook my head in defeat.

"There is nothing I can do about how others will judge me. So I'm not going to bother. I just want to help people, and I think you do too... I think we can help each other. What do you think?"

Titus looked at me, with my hand extended, and thought for a moment. After a couple minutes, he reached out and grabbed my hand.

"I think you're more of a hero than most of these people. If you're a villain like they make you out to be, then I'll be a villain too."

With that, I had made my first ally at the school.