"That's Just How Matthew Is."

Several days had passed, and Class A remained at the Hero Association headquarters.

Among them was Matthew, who had taken charge of his new organization and started to train.

This trip initially became a "training trip," where every day a student would spar with an official hunter, to train his abilities.

Matthew effortlessly defeated each opponent without utilizing his class abilities, which led Stella to the brink of madness.

She almost wanted to fight against him, but she couldn't because the hunters would be chosen by the students themselves.

However, Stella wasn't the only one seething with frustration...

And to top it off, Matthew only challenged a D-Rank hunter continuously, without even hiding the fact that he was trying to hide his full power.

The students who had fought Matthew knew right away that he could be much stronger and more ferocious than he was.

SLAM!!

"...I'M FUCKING DONE WITH HIM!" A bald man shouted loudly, slamming his hands against the table.

He picked up a few papers from the table and teared them off in two.

The other people around him frowned, but they didn't do anything.

"I'll make that fucking student reveal his skills!" He declared loudly, and left the conference room where he was.

Stella simply sighed at his outburst, "This stupid baldie! If it weren't for his background, we'd fucking throw him out of here... although, he's not entirely wrong."

"Well, we can't do anything about it. If he wants to hide his skills, let him do that." Another one was voiced out.

"Ah... I just hope that the student won't do anything to him... After all, the baldie isn't even an awakened person." Someone else murmured with a faint sigh.

Hearing his words, Stella nodded in agreement, but suddenly, her thoughts drifted back to a conversation with Lilian that she had a week ago.

—

"Matthew is a complete monster when it comes to anything."

"A-ah... what?" Stella raised her eyebrows.

Looking at her confused face, Lilian sighed with a faint smile.

"It's literally what I said. Even compared to the 2nd year of my academy, with his current power, he should be more powerful than the weakest person in Class A."

"WHAT!?" Stella exclaimed loudly, as she looked at Lilian.

She could not believe her words at all, mainly because, in the 2nd year of Lilian's academy, the students had already been awakened for a few months!

And the weakest student in Class A in the 2nd year, should at least be a C-Rank Hunter! 

"Yeah... shocking, isn't it? I'm not really sure how he got so strong, but maybe he already is contracted with a constellation."

"Did you check his attributes?"

"I've tried, but my "inspection" skill doesn't work on him. And it's certainly not due to a constellation."

"Ahh... that's really strange." Stella spoke.

If Lilian couldn't inspect his abilities, then nobody in the world could.

"It's would be a good thing... but his character is a bit... how can I say this?" Lilian pondered, thinking about how to describe him.

"Mhm?"

Sighing, Lilian spoke, "Well, he's very ruthless, and doesn't have a single ounce of pity for others."

"He's also very selfish or self-centered... and certainly very arrogant. In our first class, he had the guts to say that he was thinking something bad about me." Lilian smiled faintly as she thought about the scene itself.

"Fuck... he really has balls then!" Stella exclaimed.

Even she didn't dare to offend Lilian, but Matthew actually did without even caring about it.

"Basically, he's the kind of person who will offend someone who pissed him off, without even caring about his background."

"Like... if someone tries to block his path, he'll surely beat them to a pulp." 

"That's just how Matthew is."

—

"Oh fuck..." Stella muttered under her breath.

Everyone's attention was gathered on her, and she immediately excused herself and started running towards the training hall.

"Please... tell me he didn't do anything to him...!" She hoped.

In a few seconds, she had already arrived at the place and saw the baldie screaming loudly at Matthew's face.

A sigh of relief escaped her as she saw that everything was fine, but a shiver ran down her spine when she heard Matthew's words.

"Shut the fuck up, Baldie." He coldly spoke as his black spades' symbols started glowing deeply.

The bald man's eyes widened, and his face changed with anger as he raised his hand and was about to slap Matthew.

Slap!

Before he could land a blow, Matthew's hand intercepted, delivering a forceful slap that sent the bald man sprawling to the ground.

"A-ah...! How dare a mere stude—KEUGAHHG!"

Rustle...

Vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the bald man and hoisting him up in a crucified position.

Gasping for air, the bald man exhaled and inhaled deeply as he tried to get oxygen into his lungs.

"Y-YOU... STOP THIS RIGHT NOW. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? AND HOW POWERFUL MY BACKGROUND IS!!?"

Upon hearing him speak, Matthew gave him a frightful look that made the bald man swallow hard.

He grinned darkly, and a faint scarlet smoke came out of his eyes.

"Hah... do you think I give a fuck?" Matthew's eyes narrowed.

"MATTHEW STOP!" Stella's voice rang out...

SWOOSH!

BAAAAM!

The bald guy was flung into the building's walls by the vines, who made a loud noise like a slingshot.

With several wounds all over his body, the bald man passed out with blood seeping from his forehead.

Matthew walked toward him slowly and used his right hand to raise him up.

The bald man awoke in disbelief, but before Matthew could use any strength, he felt immense pressure all over his body.

His gaze swiveled to the right, where he saw Stella radiate a chilly aura in his direction.

"Matthew, I won't say this twice. Let him go." She said coldly as the pressure on Matthew's body increased.

Surprisingly, though, Matthew remained perfectly still.

Rather, Matthew just ignored her presence, his lips curving into a sneer.

"Look here, Baldie. I don't give a single fuck about who you are. But, since you've provoked me, don't even think about leaving without being injured..." Matthew's eyes glowed as he grabbed the bald man's left arm with his left hand.

"N-no... P-p-please!" The bald man felt Matthew applying pressure to his arm and cried out.

Pull... SPLAT!

"KUIEAGHHH!" The bald man let out a loud cry as Matthew ripped his arm off of him.

Matthew wouldn't normally act in such an extreme manner, but the bald man said something he shouldn't have said.

Swish!

Stella suddenly materialized in front of Matthew and swung a punch in the direction of his chest.

Thud!

But Matthew did nothing more than deflect her punch with his hand before striking her in the face with his left fist, which was enveloped by his red mana.

Pop!

Stella staggered backwards a few meters, stunned by the unexpected force of Matthew's punch, leaving a visible imprint of his fist on her cheek.

"...How did he get strong in such a short amount of time?" She wondered as she healed her own face.

That blow from Matthew had actually the strength of a B-Rank Hunter!

"From our last meeting, he wasn't so strong, and it just passed a few days!" She murmured under breath.

"Hey Stella... is that all that you've got?" Matthew smiled distortedly as he held his hand on his face, looking through the small gaps.

Seeing that face, a vein popped on Stella's forehead.

"That's it... you fucker...!" She clenched her fists deeply, dashing towards Matthew.

BAAM!