Spark

Lucas hated to live a monotonous lifestyle. In his previous life, he always sought excitement and thrill to keep him entertained during his youth.

Even after he had lost all his human emotions, Lucas was a person who thrived on chaos. If there wasn't any, then he created chaos himself.

And right now, Lucas was witnessing the start of something that would later turn into huge chaos.

He put the martial manual in his hands back inside the dimensional bracelet and took out a packet of popcorn that he had prepared beforehand.

Since his training was already completed, he might as well enjoy a live show before heading back to his apartment.

"What did you say to me?!" a bulky black male yelled at a small structured emerald-haired elven boy's face.

He was ripped, and the black blazer he wore struggled to contain his giant biceps.

With a height of around 7'4, he possessed an imposing figure capable of inducing fear into anyone's heart. It was hard to believe that he was only 18.

"Do you know who I am? I'm Alberto Okoro! I'm the right-hand man of Kai Wiseman!" the ripped guy yelled again, his deep, booming voice thundering across the training field.

The onlookers quaked in fear for the safety of the petite elven boy facing the giant man.

Those who had not been watching the scene before were surely paying attention now, turning their heads to see what was happening.

"Dude, why are you so mad? I just asked you to move from this spot politely." while everyone else quietly watched in horror, the elven boy in front of Alberto spoke calmly without a shred of fear visible on his face.

He was William Sinoath. His family background wasn't that special.

Sinoaths used to be a powerhouse in the past but now they have lost most of their influence and political standing due to an incident in the past.

Sinoaths still serve the Netyoive family– the ruling family of the southern continent– as their vassal but are barely a noble house anymore.

However, they are still known for their pride as an elven family. Despite no longer holding the fame they once had, they maintain their dignity in their bearing.

And the pride and dignity of the Sinoath blood shone through in the way this boy held himself. Standing tall against a man twice his size, he exuded an air of determination.

"What do you mean you asked me politely? You literally said, and I quote, `Oi, move from here, you're taking too much space.` Does that sound polite to you?!" Alberto spat out in a ridiculing tone. "And who are you to tell me what to do anyway?!"

For an outsider, this looked like a childish reason to fight.

After all, Alberto's whole basis for the argument was that William rudely talked to him.

Alberto was the perfect example of the saying 'weak in front of strong and strong in front of weak'. And William was a little too haughty for his own good. So obviously if these two were to argue then it would definitely turn into a full-blown fight.

"What are you talking about? I never said that! It looks like you're trying to blame me for something I didn't do," Williams said, frowning. "I just asked you to move a little because I wanted to practice here swinging a great sword around like it's a toy! You could hurt someone with that!"

"Oh, is that right? So you're saying I heard wrong?" Alberto raised his voice. "I'm sorry to tell you this, shorty, but unlike your long ears that can't seem to function properly, mine works perfectly!"

That struct William right in his sore spot. Elves are really sensitive about their ears and short guys are really sensitive about their heights. So there is no way he would be able to remain calm after hearing that statement.

After a few seconds of silence, the emerald-haired elven boy puffed his chest in anger and yelled

"You know, I never said anything you're claiming I did, but now I am! You are uselessly big. Go fuck off elsewhere instead of making a fuss here and disturbing everyone around you!" he scowled.

Now, Alberto was the one to lose his calm at William's words.

"What?! Why the fuck would I care about anyone else? And if you have a problem with me, then you move! In fact, run! Run before I punch that stupid face of yours." Alberto barked and clenched his fists as a warning.

"So you accuse someone of something they never did, you refuse to be mindful of your surroundings, and to top it off, you threaten to carry out a physical assault against a fellow cadet." William voiced Alberto's violations out loud, seemingly giving him one last chance to retreat.

But instead, Alberto shot a wide grin and continued his barking. "Yeah, I do! What the fuck will you do about it? Go cry to your mama, you little baby?"

"Is that supposed to be a comeback? Because if yes, then it was childish and stupid." William gritted his teeth and mockingly cocked his head to the side, "God, I pity you. To be both stupid and ugly. Life must be hard for you."

As soon as those words left Williams' mouth, Alberto raised his right hand up. He channeled mana to his dimensional bracelet and equipped a greatsword in his hand.

The elven boy didn't back down, either. He took a low fighting stance and summoned a spear in his right hand.

Crunch— Crunch—

Munching on the popcorn, Lucas enjoyed the sight in front of him in anticipation of what was about to happen.

Fwoosh—!

But before Alberto could swing down his sword and William could thrust forward his spear, a black-haired boy appeared out of nowhere in between them.

As expected. Lucas thought as disappointment took over him at the interference in the show.

Who else but Nero can be counted on to ruin a perfectly good fight before it even starts?

"Stop it, you two!" Nero yelled while using his hands to push back the two cadets and create some distance between them. "And Alberto, raising a weapon at a fellow cadet is a violation of rules. I will report it to the cadet council if I see this sort of behavior ever again."

"What?!" jerking Nero's hand that was pushing him back off his chest, Alberto shouted. "He has also pulled out his weapon on me!"

"You were the one who did it first. You surely don't expect William to let you hit him without fighting back, do you?" Nero narrowed his eyes while retrieving his hands.

"You–" Alberto was about to start barking again when a guy from his class came forward and took a stand for him.

"And you surely don't expect Alberto to let William keep insulting him, right? I mean, if we are really going to the cadet council, then let's also tell them how rudely William talked to him." the guy who came forward argued.

Before Nero or William could respond to that comment, Anastasia stepped up and inserted herself into the argument too.

"To be fair, he is a big guy," she pointed at Alberto and said. "Not to mention he's using a greatsword. There's plenty of space in the field; he shouldn't swing that thing around near someone. If William wanted him to give him some space, he could've done that."

"Is that a reason to start insulting someone about their physique? Your classmate called Alberto 'uselessly big' in front of everyone," in response, a girl came forward from class 1-C-8 and answered back to Anastasia. "Not to mention, your classmate could've also gone somewhere else to practice."

From the looks of it, both this girl and the other boy were probably part of Alberto's unit.

"And is that a reason to pull a weapon on someone?" Nero shot a counterargument. "Mind you. He pulled out a real greatsword on him! That weapon is meant to kill! And if that wasn't enough–"

"Quiet!"

Just as they were in the middle of shouting at each other like cats and dogs, a thunderous voice echoed throughout the training field right then and silenced the cadets.

It seems that the Instructor has finally remembered that it is his job to supervise the cadets.

After being unable to bear the disturbance any longer, Leo Sensei walked over to the cadets who were making a fuss and yelled in their faces.

"Enough! Cease this childish quarrel now! Get back to your training and remember why you are here. You all are the future of this world, so start acting like it!"

"But Sensei, he pulled a weapon on me!" William exclaimed, seeming unhappy that Alberto was receiving no punishment. "He was the one who picked a fight with me!"

"I said enough!" however, Leo sternly told William to drop the topic. "If you take this matter to the council, both of you will be punished. Now go back and resume your practice!"

Only when Leo ended the confrontation with them did the cadets drop their heads and nod.

As they dispersed, the whole training field was plunged into an awkward silence.

Crunch— Crunch—

Some of them wanted to argue further, while others wanted to take this matter to the authorities.

However, they could do nothing but return to practicing their weapon arts in bitter silence.

They all hoped that this matter would settle here and not create further trouble.

Obviously, things wouldn't end with just this.

Lucas was more than sure that this incident would later turn into a big incident.

"Hmm?"

As Luca was thinking about the possible future scenarios, he noticed that the cadets near me were giving me a look as if to say, "Are you serious?"

What? Why is everyone staring at me?

Lucas was sure that he hadn't done anything to garner attention towards him. Even his new technique wasn't seen by anyone so he was confused as to why the cadets were looking at him

Ah, right. I forgot about this.

Then it hit him.

In the tense palpable silence followed by a heated argument, the sound of someone munching on popcorn echoed across the training field.

And it was he who was eating the popcorn.

Putting away the popcorn packet in his dimensional bracelet, Lucas equipped my martial manual back into his hands.

Ignoring all the looks of disbelief and ridicule directed at him, he began pretending to practice his weapon art again. But he was still thinking about the incident that happened a few moments ago.

It feels like someone is intentionally trying to cause trouble with our class. Kai Wiseman was it? I wonder if he was the one behind this. 

Although others didn't pay attention to it, Lucas clearly remembered Alberto introducing himself as Kai Wiseman's right-hand man.