Volume 3 Episode 6: Reasons

"Peter Han, I'm going to have to ask you to leave Thomas alone. We are going to have a talk with your parents about this, so I ask you to think this through calmly."

He was trying to scare Lin into leaving Thomas alone, but Lin didn't budge.

'Hey system, is this Mr. Luis one of the Rivaldo family's lapdogs?'

[ Yes boss. This person is one of the bodyguards of Thomas Rivaldo who infiltrated the school as teachers. ]

'Perfect.'

The system confirmed Lin's suspicions, and a big smirk stretched across his face.

'Then let's get serious.'

Lin suddenly pushed Thomas away, causing him to fall down to the side.

The sudden action distracted Mr. Luis, which gave Lin enough time to close in on him quickly.

'What? How is he so fast?'

Mr. Luis was only distracted for a fraction of a second, which was in no way a long period of time and definitely not enough time for an attacker to come near him. But the fact that a high schooler had managed to do so with ease confused him.

Who the hell was this kid?

Lin certainly wasn't going to give him enough time for him to make assumptions, as he punched towards his face as soon as he got near him.

'I have to defend!'

Mr. Luis tried to block the attack, but to his surprise, the punch, which was at a speed that he thought would give him time to defend, accelerated almost instantly, reaching his face before he could even raise his hands.

Lin's fists connected with his face, and Mr. Luis felt as though a large hammer had smashed his skull. He couldn't believe that such a powerful punch was performed by a high schooler.

Mr. Luis went flying with that one punch, smashing his head on the blackboard with blood spurting all around him, his condition unknown.

The students, who were watching thinking it was just a normal school fight were suddenly terrified by the bloody figure of their teacher. Some of them started screaming, and some just stood there, frozen.

What they had initially written off as a mere school fight had evolved into a serious crime.

Most of the spectators were now afraid of Lin. They were scared of even being near him. Some just ran away, afraid that they'd end up like Mr. Luis stayed around him for too long, while some, although scared of Lin, stayed still, just to see what was about to happen next.

Lin on the other hand didn't seem to care about what the other students thought about him, and slowly walked towards Thomas who was lying on the floor.

He hadn't lost consciousness yet, but Thomas was too terrified of Lin to get up from the ground. He clearly saw what had happened to Mr. Luis when he tried to approach Lin.

The normal students didn't know, but Thomas did. He knew that Mr. Luis was one of the highly trained bodyguards his dad employed to protect him from any sort of enemy attacks in school. He didn't agree with his dad, thinking it was too much, but his dad had still implemented it.

He had seen these bodyguards in action before. He knew how powerful and skilled they were, which was why it terrified him when he saw the person who he had assumed was a nobody thrash one of those highly trained assassins as they were nothing.

'Was he just holding back before? Is he a spy sent to assassinate me? Why attack me now? Did he somehow blow his cover and now has to complete his mission as quickly as possible? Am I going to die?'

Thomas's mind was filled with a barrage of thoughts, questions he wanted to know, but terrified at the same time. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to get a chance to ask, as Lin grabbed him by the neck, pulling him up from the ground easily.

"Gah.. m-my neck.."

Thomas couldn't breathe due to the strong grip of Lin. He was searching for words as he was being choked. Lin looked at him for a second, emotionless. To Lin, Thomas was basically a stranger.

He had just met this boy a few minutes ago, and now, here he was, holding him by the neck, choking him.

Even though he was Peter Han right now, it wasn't as if he had an obligation to do all of this. He could've found another method to get to Brusnia. He could've searched for a much safer method if he had given it enough thought and time.

But still, Lin wanted to do it. He wanted to go through with this reckless plan. He liked it.

'Why?'

There were mainly three reasons.

First, this was undoubtedly the quickest way Lin had thought of which, although having high risks, if completed successfully would result in very less repercussions and consequences. While the higher risk factor might make others rethink their options, Lin was sure he could handle them, especially when he had dealt with far powerful people by himself in the magical world before.

Second, this would ensure the protection of the Han family. Even though Peter Han would ultimately pass away after Lin's eventual departure to the magical realm, he had to make sure that his actions wouldn't have massive consequences that affect the Han family badly. They hadn't done anything to him, and he wouldn't do anything to them as well. His actions were to only affect those whom he intended.

Third, he felt anger. Not because the bullies were targeting the previous owner of the body. What angered him most was that they were only bullying him because they were more influential than the other.

Peter was born into a wealthy family, until their life crashed down, which led to him being bullied by those whom he previously considered to be his friends. They were now more 'influential' than him.

Lin knew what it meant to be 'not influential'. He wasn't in the same situation as Peter, not by a long shot. But he did know what it meant to be 'not as influential' in an environment where everyone was. He hated it. He despised them, but he despised himself more.

He didn't want to feel helpless or not influential. He especially hated those who used their influential power, which wasn't even their own in the first place, to make others feel less important.

It infuriated him.

'I know why.'

Lin smiled while looking at the young boy squirming in his arms, as he slowly let go.

"HAAH!!"

Thomas fell on the floor, and Lin watched the boy gasping for air, emotionless. He then pulled him up, grabbed a pen from one of the student's bags and held it close to Thomas's neck. The tip of the pen was touching the skin, and Thomas could feel the pen grazing over his neck.

"W-What are you doing? Are y-you going to k-kill me? I'm telling you, you are making a serious m-mistake…. P-Please don't kill me. It wouldn't be g-good for you as well. So w-why don't we ju-"

"Why don't you just shut up for now?"

Lin interrupted the stuttering Thomas, holding him from the back, grabbing his neck in a tight hold and pressing the pen a bit more to the skin. Thomas was screaming for his life inside his mind, but he kept quiet because of Lin.

Lin then searched through his pockets and grabbed a smartphone. He then gave the phone Thomas, who looked at Lin confusedly.

"Call your bodyguards."