Challenge

"Is Hunter okay?"

"Yes he's fine, just a little quarrel between siblings."

"This fight happened because they were arguing over who would make a better chieftain and a slip of tongue led to the brawl," Jasper added.

"How did the fight end?" I asked.

"The fight ended in a draw. Their father intervened and stopped them from going any further."

"By the way, don't you need to get moving?" the orc asked.

"For what?" I replied.

"The academy."

My eyes opened as wide as they could; I had totally forgotten about that. I gulped down the remaining food and rushed through the door onto the gravel path.

I sprinted as fast as I could, brushing through hordes of orcs who all shot glances at me. I was still a stranger after all. My legs were still burning a bit from the training session earlier, but I did not have the luxury of taking a break.

An arm was raised, blocking my path. I grinded to a halt and faced the orc who stopped me. An old and frail lady stood before me; she was barely able to stand.

"O-Oh young man, please help me," she said.

After some consideration, I decided to lend her a helping hand as I was already late to school. Arriving slightly later would not change anything.

"What do you need madam."

"Can you lift those boxes for me?" She said while pointing to a pile of boxes on the side of the road.

I placed both of my hands underneath the bottom box and heaved them up. My face scrunched up and all of my muscle fibers were contracted, this thing was heavy!

"Are you carrying rocks?" I jokingly said.

"Where do we go now?" I added.

The old lady giggled before leading the way, presumably to her house. She lived close to the center, so it was safe to assume that one of her family members was fairly strong. Her place of residence was far nicer than Jasper's. The building was crafted out of bricks and the roof was tiled with decorative elements. There was even a garden where vibrantly colored flowers cohabited in harmony.

'Maybe I should ask her to adopt me.'

The inside of the home was lined with portraits and artworks. Her furniture was also far nicer than back in the cottage; she pointed towards a table and I dropped the containers on it.

"I'm so sorry to have inconvenienced you. My son went hunting and forgot to bring the boxes for me."

"Let me give you something," she added.

The beast reached into her bag and pulled out five gold coins. These were the orcs' currency and the amount she gave me was enough for a sword! My happiness was cut short as out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something. One of these portraits seemed familiar, I knew him. It was a painting of Xavier.

"Is that Xavier?" I asked.

Her face instantly lit up and a smile formed on her lips.

"Yes that's my son, do you know him?" she asked.

"Of course I do. I'm staying at Jasper's place."

"Oh so you're him. My son has so many good things to say about you and I can see that they are true."

"Ma'am, I'd love to continue our conversation, but I'm late for the academy," I said.

"Pass my greetings over to Xavier," I added as I walked out of her house, waving at her.

My marathon continued as I ran towards school, being later than ever. I walked through the gate and stopped dead in my tracks.

"Mister Jett."

This strict vocal tone meant that I was in serious trouble. My head slowly turned to my left and was displeased to see the office lady staring at me with her arms crossed.

"You better have a good reason for your lateness."

"Meet me in my office after classes."

I barged in the room gasping for air while the eyes of everyone in the class were on me. The teacher who wore an angry expression pointed to my seat. I sat next to Lucas and looked at him; he was even finding this amusing.

'You traitor!'

The lesson was as uneventful and boring as always but I knew that things were about to spice up. My gaze moved to Arthur who looked petrified; he must not have expected me to be back so fast. The break was starting soon and I thought that maybe I should pay a little visit to Hunter's precious nephew! As the bell echoed throughout the academy, the corners of my lips raised slightly.

Battering another student in the yard would definitely get me in trouble and put a lot of pressure on Jasper, however, I could issue him a challenge. There was a great chance that he would refuse my provocations, but I had a way to make him crack. His ego would lead to his downfall.

Arthur and his goons stood in the middle of yard, surrounded by every other students. Their chattering buzzed my ears as I slalomed my way through the crowd. The miscreant was only an arm's length away when I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Arthur I challenge you to a duel."

"Wait, what are you doing. Stop this now," he whispered.

"What's that? Are you refusing my challenge?" I yelled.

"Are you scared?" I added.

His entire visage turned a bright red as he tightened his grip and lifted his shoulders; he was being humiliated in front of the new generation.

'His father will be the chieftain and he is backing down from a challenge.'

'He is sullying his family's name.'

'Be quiet, what if he hears us?'

Those were some of the words being said amongst the onlookers. There were three orcs in particular from the crowd who only grinned at the scene; those were the geniuses of the younger generation. The academy was only attended by beasts between the ages of five and seven, so all three of them were my age.

"Fine I accept your challenge," he said.