1.14.2 Talent no more.

The nails protruded from his arms, and they did hurt. Which was unexpected even for Daarun.

He might be old and weaker than his prime. But at the end of the day, he was still a purple rank hunter.

"You pass." Daarun said as he took out a nail from his arm and looked at it deeply. Then he turned to look at Andy whose broken nails had already grown anew.

"You should keep them in check… they are dangerous." Daarun pointed at Andy's nails before turning to the rest of the students in the field.

"What are you waiting for, the weakest one of you jumped ahead and became a white star before you. Don't you have something to say." Daarun reprimanded the group, which caused them to wake up from their shock.

"Did this actually happen?" One of them asked. But his voice was drowned by others who started to shout in disbelief.

Then they rushed toward Andy who was tired from the fight and started asking him how he did it. How did he suddenly got so strong so fast, considering he had the weakest talent among the group.

It was also when Luvi joined in and asked them to back off. "Da fuck you doing. He is tired, let him rest. As for your questions, I will answer them."

Even though his plan might have failed and Andy exposed his strength earlier than expected. But it didn't mean he can't change his plan to suit his needs.

So he walked forward and became Andy's 'Shield', letting others know how close the two individuals were if they didn't already know while also letting them know the kind of backing Luvi had, in case they thought otherwise.

But, there was also another reason.

"Andy, you go with the teacher and rest… lemme handle these cunts." WIth a reassuring gaze, Luvi sent Andy to rest, while Daarun took Andy's nails and moved somewhere else.

And it was not the direction of the infirmary.

'Ah, I forgot to warn the teacher… Those nails are poisonous.' But Luvi then shut his mouth. He had no way to explain why he knew it would be poisonous. Even in the notes he sent, there was no mention of the nails being poisonous.

But it was good, the first person to test Andy was Daarun and considering the ability of that man, there was no way he would fall victim to such a weak poison.

There was a higher chance Daarun might not even feel that he had been poisoned.

"You… Do you really know the reason?" One of them asked.

"Of course I do… even you guys should know. Andy learned the claw technique that was released to the world a few weeks ago and practiced non-stop… it's probably what caused the mutation in him."

"Hah! Don't lie. I have been practicing those techniques since day one. And the growth rate is not so absurd as you mentioned. Even, I got only a little stronger than before."

"Then you mister is not a hard working guy like him. Didn't you guys see how he kept training while you guys were standing around talking? And I might have just started coming to the academy, but even I can see it."

In simple words, they were lazy when compared to Andy. But none of them dared to speak against these accusations. For these words held truth.

Because, even though Luvi had released all this information into the world, few actually put their efforts into practicing them. Most just gave it a sideways glance and practiced lightly.

In their mind, the world of awakeners is and will always be divided by the term talent.

And even if they find the method to get stronger, their life might not change much, considering those more talented than them would also practice these techniques, hence maintaining the distance.

What they didn't understand was how good these techniques were in reality.

"I will start practicing properly from today."

"Yeah… even our ability teacher didn't say much about this. And now someone weaker than us is ahead."

"Hey, he might be weaker, but I remember him working harder than all of us. No wonder he became the first to take advantage of those techniques."

"Yeah, with this, we might be able to decrease the gap in talent against others."

Luvi told the group how Andy trained and how he couldn't sleep at night because of weird noises from Andy's room.

And if not for knowing Andy was single without an ounce of charm to trap a chick, and also not gay considering how he never gave pass to him, even though how handsome Luvi is. Luvi might not have thought that Andy was training at night as well.

Or so, he lied.

He was used to sleeping with anime playing on his headphones. Noises like those were a breeze to his ears. And he was too tired after a full day of training to bother with Andy anyways.

"Your hands are the same. Did you also practice claw technique?"

"Of course not, practicing the combat arts and depending on the weapon or art you choose, you might also suffer from injuries like these."

Luvi acted outspoken, giving tricks and methods on what to do when they were injured while practicing, trying to do his best to look best in front of these students. "Sadly, I am not at the level of Andy. But I believe it won't be long before I do. As you can see, the injuries on my hands are not getting worse than before."

Luvi smiled, as he looked toward a small group of students composed of those with greater talent then the rest of students.

He can feel their hate and indignation. And among them, there were some who were a lot more annoyed by what happened here than expected.

Among which were some familiar faces.

'Yes, the lower students are rising. Are you really going to bother with a nobody like me."

The cultivation techniques now acted as great equalizer.

*****

"That bastard your guys beat up… he is now a White rank Hunter."

-"What are you talking about?... That weak guy? Are you drunk or something?"

"Brother, I am still a minor, I can't drink. But what I said is true, I just saw his battle with teacher Daarun. That guy injured the teacher."

_ … How is this possible? No one grows so much in a few weeks. Are you sure what you saw was the truth?

"Yeah, that fat bastard is moving around the school praising the hard work of Andy and how he is good friends with him… And I don't know how, but people in the media also got word of it and are waiting our of the academy. Wishing to interview Andy."

-"If the media is involved, then this is the truth… as for who. It's probably Luvi. He is used to doing this. He has the edge over us once again… Stop doing anything to him for a while. Control Adam and don't let him become a nuisance."

"..."

"I forgot to tell you this, but Adam is already hospitalized, the muscles on his chest ruptured after Andy grabbed him lightly."

-"... Send me the footage of the battle between him and teacher Daarun."

Hamid in his home can't believe the news he just got from one of his 'Minions' in the academy. It all sounded absurd, but opening the academy forums, his fears were proven true. Which increased his curiosity over how strong Andy got.

'This makes things harder… a lot harder than before.'

To him, the job of beating up Luvi and recording it seemed easy on the surface. But the more he involved himself with that guy, the more he understood how unpredictable and shameless a person can be.

Luvi didn't act like a normal student that he was used to dealing with. He acted more like a snake that likes to watch its prey die on the side before devouring it.

Yes, that was the feeling he got when he talked to Luvi for the first time. But why does it matter?

Luvi was a talentless hack where it mattered, his bright brain can't help him much when it comes to the real world and personal strength.

He was so weak, even his family disowned him. And they might even stop giving him money once he reaches the age of 18, cutting all their connections with him.

Which goes to show how alone Luvi was. There was no one to care for him, neither did he cared for anyone, Which he showed by letting his friend get beaten by them instead of himself.

The same friend, who was now a white star hunter.

"If that weak bastard can get strong, there is no telling Luvi is not hiding his hands as well, they do live next to each other."

And then Hamid started to overthink in a different direction.

Luvi's actions have caused him a trauma of a kind that was hard to fix. So he needs to plan properly this time if he wishes to succeed.