William breathed heavily, standing on top of the man's chest, sword in hand. He had lost a few of his teeth and gotten stabbed a lot. But strangely. He didn't want to stop fighting, no matter what.
His heart almost wanted to prove himself as more than a commoner.
"Who were you calling a bitch, you snobby brat?" William pushed the tip of his sword down at the man's chest, piercing his skin.
"Damn it! Help me!"
The man's eyes flickered towards the group that had come with him, but Mime was doing whatever they could to hold them back.
"Help? You want help? Weren't you Simon the Great's 15th- Sorry, I mean, 17th Grandson?" A small smirk spread across William's tired and bloody face, the blood from his mouth dripping down onto the man's face.
He was scared. The armored man who was so good at boasting a mere few moments ago was now afraid. And that made William feel just a bit better about getting destroyed.
'Young Master William fought dirty, definitely; he bit the man's ear off, spat into his eyes, and kicked him in a rather intimate spot, one too many times. Had the man expected an unfair fight, Young Master would've been dead meat.'
William also knew this; it was a quick fight, no more than a few minutes, where he had done everything to win and caught the man by surprise. Had that not been the case, Mime would've had to interfere.
"H-Hey. I'm super important around here! I'm a decently high-ranked member of Oblect's Guild- I can get you into the Guild!" The man tried resisting William's foot, but he collapsed to the ground, still in immense pain, which increased as William pushed down with his foot even more.
"Resources! Resources that no one in the academy has! Just let me go! Even if you don't want to be inside a guild, remember my name! Simon! It'll get you more respect around here!" The man, Simon, tried bargaining, even though he had no leverage. And that alone made Mime want to burst out laughing.
Though he would never show if anything was to amuse him.
"What's going on?"
Ah, Luciferis, that ever-squeaky voice, but why was it so angry?
William's intuition was right; Luciferis was absolutely pissed. His expression contorted in rage as he looked at the girls.
'According to Leonidas' memories, they're the nobles from around Orchel, the oldest is Alexandria, she hates commoners... Did she try to hurt William?'
Luciferis eyes narrowed further, almost into thin slits, as he took the cloth off Risean.
"Mime. Please get a sheath for this sword, and I'd also like another sword, one similar to this in quality."
"Very well. Young Master. But please... Let loose."
Luciferis approached Alexandria, the girl who was responsible for all of this; she was like any other snobby brat. Blonde, blue eyes, pompous clothes, and heavy jewelry.
"Explain yourself, 10 words."
"Oh? Have you gotten an ego after awakening your fancy Element? Leonidas?" Alexandria had a smile on her face, one that was sly and sarcastic, but she definitely wasn't expecting to get backhanded by Luciferis across the face.
"How dare you hit a woman?!" One of Alexandria's friends tried to push Luciferis, but he simply smashed her head against the wooden walls of the building, smashing through the first layer.
"Shut up. You tried to hurt my friend, who just so happens to be an ex-Division 3 Soldier from the Orchel Fortress. No wonder the big guy lost."
Luciferis pointed his sword at Alexandria's neck; he wanted to kill her. But he couldn't. Not yet, at least.
"William is used to fighting Tier 5 or Tier 6 beasts. That man is a senior who failed 3 of the final exams, right? So he's barely Rank VI. That's equal to Tier 5."
"Shut up! You're speaking so well of that dirty peasant-"
Luciferis frowned as he kicked Alexandria across the face like a ball. Knocking out a tooth. Was that too brutal? Yes. Was it needed? Maybe not, but it sure as hell made him feel a lot better.
"Damn Noble trash."
(...)
William was sitting on the bed of the broken dorm, getting his injuries bandaged by Mime, his clothes and other necessities were shoved into a bag for him, while Luciferis was busy packing his own.
"William. What Rank are you at?"
"Rank V. I think I had a breakthrough during the fight with that Simon dude."
Luciferis hummed as he descended into a train of thought. He wanted either William or him to win the tournament. And that would mean being Rank VIII at the least. Or, getting into the double digits.
He sighed before picking up the now properly sheathed Risean and the other sword Mime had brought, one that was a bright white, like a cloud.
"Thanks for finding me this sword, Mime... It's super nice."
"No problem, Young Master. Though."
They paused, standing up after bandaging William's chest and shoulder. He had made William drink a potion as well. That would regrow his teeth within a few days.
"You've been at this academy for a little more than a week. Yet you've been avoiding classes, people, and not exploring. That's not good."
Luciferis grunted slightly at the lecture. But it was true, it felt like they were flying through the academy, maybe it was time to attend an actual class.
"Fine... I'm okay with that. It's about noon, so the revision classes will start. We both will go." William's head immediately whipped towards Luciferis. Who was desperately trying to hide his smirk.
"What do you mean by 'we'?! I'm not going!"
"Young Master William."
"Okay, I'm going." William stood up immediately after seeing Mime's rather terrifying passive-aggressive smile.
"Great, then I'll finish up with the packing and move to the Headmaster's personal Guild's dormitories."
"How do you know where they are?" Luciferis asked, a bit confused, a little terrified as well.
"I just do," Mime replied cryptically before silently walking to begin the packing process.
William sighed, looking at his broken sword in the trash. It wasn't anything great, but it was a weapon in the end.
"Let's get another one for you, huh? But first, let's run, if we miss these classes... Mime will probably cook us alive."
Luciferis slapped William's back, the boy screeching in pain like a rat.
"Fine! I'll study!"
(...)
A few hours had passed, the 'sun' had begun to set in the Academy's separate artificial world, and Luciferis and William were busy catching up with their studies.
But Simon? The man who had fought with William? He was in a whole different realm of trouble.
"So you're telling me you fought a commoner just for... Ego?"
"Yes, sir..." Simon replied shakily in the dark room. He was brutally beaten up; apart from that, his hair was burnt, and his eyebrows shaved.
"I see... God, I wonder who let you into the Guild." The sound of something getting peeled caught Simon's attention, but he didn't dare to open his eyes.
"Anyways? Want an apple?" The voice asked gently, like a friend. But Simon knew better.
"N-No thanks."
"That trick usually works... Oh well. Beat him up some more."
The person sitting in front of Simon lit up a candle, revealing their masked face and menacing hat. It looked simple, a porcelain theater mask, and a black and white checkered hat with two bells at opposite sides.
He watched as Simon was humiliated even more by getting thrown around the concrete room by shadowy figures.
"You see, I don't care that you attacked someone and lost, you can do whatever ya want for all I care. But you fought William Burner, and LEONIDAS VAN ORCHEL GOT PISSED OFF!"
He stood up, grabbing Simon by the hair and pulling him up into the air with one hand despite his rather average-looking body.
"See now. The brat is protected by... None other than the headmaster and the Aurelion Empire. The only reason you even got close to him was that he's inside the Aurelion Academy's private dimension, where the Emperor can't just barge in. But still... You risked the entire guild getting destroyed. Thankfully, news of him being under protection isn't widely known."
Simon looked at the masked man's almost void-like eyes, dead, motionless, and calculated. Yet he could just feel the amusement the man harbored, even in a situation like this.
"Anyways... Guys, wipe his memories after beating him up. I'm gonna go out and take a smoke."
"Oblect Ludus! I'm a Noble! How dare you treat me like this?!"
Simon, in a desperate attempt to try and get out of this room, shouted at the top of his lungs, but Oblect simply shrugged, throwing a playing card at Simon, the paper cutting through Simon's eyes.
"Oops... Yeah, heal him and wipe his memories, alright, guys?"
Oblect smirked under his mask before bursting out in laughter. The adrenaline of having the life of a shitty noble underneath his control was... Exhilarating.
"William and Leonidas, right? I'll pay them a visit soon, just gotta finish up some business here. Keep an eye on all other Guilds' activities. Protect Leonidas Van Orchel at all costs."