Suhada

"Have you heard about the newcomer who managed to defeat all of Nectar's men?" one of the men spoke, filled with surprise, his mouth full of food 

in a repulsive manner.

 The Reserve Army Academy is managed by three powerful men, one of whom is Nectar. The supervisors do not interfere in the affairs of the recruits, leaving the management to these three.

One could say it's more of a bully institution than an effective reserve army facility. Naird closed his eyes, trying to enjoy his fruit dish despite the surrounding commotion about the defeat of one of Nectar's men. Niard now ate only once a week and literally wanted to savor every bite.

"They were nine men, no, eleven," shouted one of the men, slamming his juice cup on the table, while the other two started to argue with him.

"No one survived to tell us about that boy and describe him," 

The man who ended their argument shifted the topic from the strong man to something else as a man in a long black shirt approached.

The dining hall fell silent, as if a ghost had visited. Naird slowly placed his spoon on the table and looked up to see a bearded twenty-three-year-old with frightening features for his age.

He approached and sat at the table where Naird was enjoying his meal. "Alright, let's make this quick," said the man in the black shirt in a rough voice, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to clean his nose suddenly. Naird rolled his eyes in boredom.

It had been a week since Naird defeated Nectar's men, and the entire academy was talking about the man's achievement. What they didn't know was that it took Naird three days to heal from those wounds, having doubled his training hours to gain enough points to heal quickly.

The image of that killer general still haunted his mind. He kept thinking about ways to gain new skills.

"The more you fight someone and win, the higher the reward. I believe its amount depends on the difficulty of the mission," Naird whispered, ignoring the presence of the man in the black shirt in front of him. The man's actions were suspicious, but one thing Naird was sure of:

'He's definitely strong. I should prepare a powerful weapon using the invention skill I've acquired. I wouldn't be surprised if I had to fight someone like him,' he thought. He finished his fruit dish, cleaned his hands with a napkin, and stood to return the plate, but was stopped by the man's voice.

"Naird Lux, fight me. I heard you defeated Nectar's men," the man said in an annoying voice. No one else spoke. They were all silent, as if they feared even breathing would get them killed.

"I don't have time to play with you," Niard replied with cold eyes. The man stood and blocked his way, like a towering mountain.

"What stops you from fighting me? Are you afraid or just trying to make a scene? Do you even know who I am?" the man said, flexing his muscles which tore his black shirt. Niard's expression remained unchanged. The man didn't realize how Niard had already reached the dining hall exit.

'How fast he moved. Did he leap over me in three-quarters of a second, even before I could blink, without me noticing his movements?' the man thought, surprised. Without a skilled eye, he wouldn't have been able to follow Niard's movements, but his body was still unable to keep up with Niard's speed.

"If you want to cause trouble, get out of here," the cook interrupted their fiery stares. Niard clenched his fist. Surveillance had been tightened on everyone in the academy after the discovery of the magic user.

"Loni, darling, what are you doing here? I've been looking for you everywhere," said a girl, ignoring Niard and rushing towards the shirtless man who seemed angry at Naird's refusal to fight him.

Seeing couples in a military facility was rare. Niard sighed; at least that girl stopped the obsessed Loni from committing an unforgivable folly.

"I want to be the one in control. At least then I won't have to worry about idiots like that guy chasing me," Niard clenched his fist and headed towards the training hall, where he found Nectar with a crowd of his men eagerly awaiting his arrival.

"Naird," Nectar said with eyes filled with anger. The men he brought radiated power from their faces, numbering over fifty, all glaring at Niard with piercing looks. He swallowed hard, knowing he could take out half of them in less than a minute, but there would be consequences.

He had acquired new destructive skills and didn't want to test them on any human, as they might kill him. So, he stuck to his daily training routine.

"Why does everyone want me so badly?" he whispered through gritted teeth as he stood before Nectar. They were three meters apart. Niard was aware of Nectar's destructive energy field, but being looked down upon by someone who preferred sending his men to eliminate an enemy instead of doing it himself was an idea he despised to death.

"Oh! Is that true?" Nectar laughed spontaneously. The smooth mood dominating the hall was very strange. Niard didn't care about Nectar's irresponsible behavior.

"Hold on, man. I'm aware of what happened a week ago. You wiped the floor with my men," said Nectar, licking his thumb and running it down his half-bare chest to the start of his six-pack abs, where he hit his stomach hard and said, "I really planned to crush your head. I thought seven men would handle the task, but they failed me. Ah, I hate to admit it, but you're a strong son of a bitch," said Nectar, stepping within three meters of Niard, who didn't seem scared at all but gave him a mocking smile, making Nectar's veins bulge, yet he maintained his calm.

"I want to offer you the opportunity of a lifetime. Join me..." Before Nectar could finish, Niard interrupted with a loud yawn, genuinely tired of Nectar's talk. "I have no desire to become the follower of a weak coward. I'd rather fight alone to climb to the top. Then, you'll all be under my feet," Niard said mockingly, finally revealing that wicked smile.

"Suhada, the Enforcer," Nectar muttered through his teeth. Suddenly, a girl with long blonde hair down to the middle of her back appeared. She wore clothes different from Tala's, with seductive curves and features that made one want to possess her alone, but there was something strange about her, Niard felt.

Suhada blew a bubble with her gum and started chewing it provocatively. She walked up to Niard, snapping her fingers. He turned around to find they had moved to a darker place where everything was black and unclear.