Chapter 5: Banquet (Part 1)

"Brother, since when was a place this luxurious was there on Earth"

"Hahaha…. This academy is the home to the current generation and next generation of leaders. Of course it will be luxurious." James said with a smug face.

Zen and Anna were greeted with something they couldn't believe. In front of them was a big hall so beautiful that it looked like a medieval period castle. There were golden lights all around with 4 extraordinarily long tables. Not only that, out of the four tables, one had thrones for chairs, one had exquisite chairs, one had normal chairs and the last one had benches.

"Elite students take the table on the second from right." A girl bob cut brown hairs announced cordially.

It was clear as day that academy was showing the differences in treatment between the grade of students. There was no equality here, only the one at the top has privilege to enjoy everything.

Zen, Anna, Tanya and James took their respective seats.

"Hey Tanya, you are a martial artist right?" Zen asked.

"Hmm. I am a first outer ring fire martial artist."

"Hey bro! Why didn't you ask me about that? Are you ignoring me?" James acted as he was about to cry.

"Of course! Who would like to talk to a burly muscle head like you? Right lil bro?" Tanya said.

"Of course big sis. How can I even put someone like James in my eyes when I have a beautiful big sister like you beside me." Zen took her hands while looking into her eyes.

"…" Tanya was surprised. She was teasing him a bit but she never imagined she will be teased back.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Kids…." Zen smirked.

"Hahaha…. You found your match this time 'Big Sister'." James laughed.

"Hahh… trouble always has a way with me." Zen suddenly sighed.

"What do…." Tanya was about to asked but then she saw 2 girls and 3 boys came up with an arrogant look.

"Oii commoner! You think you deserve to sit at that table?" One of the boy said.

"Yeah. Filth like you should not be allowed in the academy, let alone be an elite." The girl nodded.

"James, do you see another seat here?" Zen asked looking concerned.

"Huh? No! Everyone already took their seat."

"That's weird. Oh, probably some lower grade shit lost their way. You guys can sit there." Zen pointed out to the other tables with his middle finger.

Silence. Absolute silence.

The master of these dogs came out of stupor and angrily said

"Do you know who you are talking to? I am from the Maxwell family. Give me your seat and I will think about forgetting this. I can even take you under…"

"Pffttt….. cough cough." Anna held her laugh.

"Brother did he really say that? Why is he acting like a Chinese novel villain. Even his face is as ugly as them. Did we reincarnate??"

"Hahaha" Many were trying to suppress their laughter but James, Zen and Tanya were not among them. They laughed openly.

"Fuck! I, Mike Maxwell from the Maxwell family challenge you for a duel. If you are man, accept it."

"I, Zen Ashford from the Ashford family, reject your challenge. And as for me being a man. I could have shown you, but I don't swing that way." Zen said looking on guard.

"You…. Youuu…."

"Hey bro, everything alright? Are you constipated?" Zen asked with concern.

"I will remember this. And you bitch, I will make you beg." He said threateningly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zen's atmosphere changed completely. Yes, he was angry. Nobody talks to his family like this.

Even Tanya and James were shocked to see this change. Only Anna had a look of pity in her eyes. She knew what her brother could do. She felt a bit bad for Mike.

"You wanted a duel right. What's the bet?"

"Now that's the way. I will show you the resu…."

"Shut up bitch. Save you big words for the dogs who wag their tails around you. I don't have all day. Professor, can we fight here?"

"…Yes, you can. Give me a minute."

The lady who Zen called professor was in charge of the banquet. She instructed someone and immediately their was a transparent wall like structure surrounding the an area of the hall.

"Remember. If I lose, you can do whatever. But if I win, I want you to rub your nose on the ground and apologize to my sister."

Zen and Mike walked into that, and took their positions. Mike just sneered listening to this.

"No killing or fatal wounds are allowed. Both parties have to respect the bet. The duel will come to end, if a party is not able to fight or surrender. After the duel ends, no one is allowed to make a move. Am I clear?"

""Yes""

"Then start."

Zen looked at Mike with indifferent expression. He knew he was at a disadvantage because Mike was first outer ring mutant with water attributes. Knowing that Zen was not a mutant, Mike had a cold smile.

"Haha, you got nowhere to run now." Saying this, Mike started running towards Zen having a water coating on his fists. Water can act both as a damper to resist physical attacks and as a blunt weapon. Currently, Mike was using it as a weapon.

Mike punch carried a lot of weight. Not only he densely packed water into his fists, he also had years of training to back it up. As soon as he arrived in front of Zen, he threw the punch with confidence.

Zen was looking at Mike's hands calmly. To the audience, it looked like Zen froze with fear.

|Whoosh| the punch was extremely fast. Everyone's breadth stopped. After throwing the punch, Mike felt odd. He was sure that he didn't feel anything but air. He was scared because he thought Zen was too weak to take the punch and he accidently killed Zen. He looked up and his eyes were wide opened. Zen just tilted his head to the side and avoided the punch closely.

"You sure are pathetic for someone who was barking so loud some minutes ago." Zen said with a ridiculing smile.