Mark moved down the school hallway with Hermione walking beside him, a steady stream of funk beats pulsing through his headphones. The enthusiastic, hyped up rhythm of the song landed with just the right amount of intensity in his ears, and he let himself enjoy it while it lasted.
Along the way, nearly everyone in their path fell quiet, momentarily pulled away from whatever they’d been doing by the simple sight of the two of them walking together.
It wasn’t especially unusual for reactions like that to follow students already well known throughout the sophomore class, but right now, the two of them had stepped squarely into their own private spotlight.
Hermione, a member of the prestigious Phoenix family, walking side by side with the new summoner who somehow always found a fresh way to surprise everyone around him.
Mark caught a mix of expressions as they passed, admiration, curiosity, plenty that were simply unreadable, mostly from the freshmen crowding the halls, though not all of it read as favorable.
Opinions about him always varied wildly depending on who you asked, but the majority still leaned toward quiet judgment rather than acceptance.
What actually caught his attention, though, was Victor, one of Mia’s usual subordinates, currently shoving a fellow sophomore girl hard against the lockers like she was nothing more than a discarded toy, while she struggled weakly against his grip.
She was just one of many students who had ended up on the receiving end of those who flaunted their power arrogantly and without restraint, left whimpering under their weight instead of finding the strength to push back.
Mark remembered all too well what it felt like to be exactly that, back when he first arrived here as an ordinary human surrounded by summoners already brimming with potential.
That period had subjected him to plenty of social mistreatment, including the particularly cruel kind where already bullied students sometimes turned around and redirected their own frustration onto whoever they believed sat even lower than themselves on the ladder.
Still, he had managed to stay stubborn and resilient enough never to fully break under that constant pressure.
Over time, he had learned to tune out their hunger for dominance, eventually rising above it enough to look back and recognize just how absurd his entire situation had really been.
Watching the same cycle repeat itself now, aimed at someone else, genuinely bothered him, even knowing full well it remained one of the harsher, unavoidable realities of this new world they all lived in.
And yet, back when it had been his own turn to suffer through it, not a single person had spared him so much as a passing glance of concern.
That experience alone had taught him plenty about just how cold and indifferent the wider world could be toward people it deemed beneath notice. So why, he sometimes wondered, should he bother caring now either?
Still, something stirred uncomfortably inside him watching it happen all over again.
He understood, deep down, that people who flaunted their strength so openly often carried the same hunger that eventually pushed someone toward wanting to dominate everyone around them, not unlike the Dark Summoner himself, who had once set out to conquer the entire world the moment he realized just how much raw power he actually possessed.
That, in many ways, was exactly why nurturing a student’s potential within a school setting like this carried both real risk and real value in equal measure. Nothing about people was ever fully predictable, and sometimes the most unexpected among them changed course entirely when least expected.
Victor glanced toward them with a knowing smirk as he slammed the timid, bespectacled girl against the locker once more.
She whimpered helplessly under his grip, the entire scene sending a clear, unmistakable message to everyone watching about just how brutal this upcoming competition might actually turn out to be, not only for her, but for anyone else who wasn’t strong enough to stand their ground.
The tension in the hallway thickened noticeably. Students who had been chatting casually only moments earlier began exchanging wary, uncertain glances instead.
Some looked genuinely excited at the thought of finally proving themselves, while others suddenly seemed far more aware of exactly what might happen if they ended up facing someone considerably stronger than they were.
This wasn’t supposed to be how the competition began. Everyone was meant to arrive prepared, strong, well rested, and confident, the entire event framed as a fair, friendly contest rather than some brutal, high stakes rivalry.
And yet, as always seemed to be the case, reality had its own stubborn way of twisting expectations into something else entirely.
That, after all, was exactly why the school administration had granted everyone a full day off beforehand, meant to give students the chance to rest, clear their heads, and properly prepare ahead of today’s competition.
The intention had been simple enough, allowing everyone to walk in at their absolute best. Yet judging by the mood currently hanging over the hallway, it seemed plenty of students had spent that free day thinking far less about actual rest, and considerably more about how they intended to prove themselves at someone else’s expense.
The bullied sophomore finally managed to shove herself free from Victor’s grip, using the sudden opening to stumble toward Mark instead, who raised an eyebrow at her approach, hands still tucked casually into his pockets.
Stopping a meter away, she clenched both trembling fists at her sides, eyes red and glassy behind her glasses as she jabbed an accusing finger straight at him.
"You... you’re the reason for all of this! Why couldn’t you have just stayed exactly where you belonged, weak and forgettable, instead of dragging the rest of us down with you? The rest of us who were actually meant to rise, not get overtaken by some mere mundy! You’re going to..."
Her eyes suddenly widened, words dying mid sentence at whatever she’d just spotted. She flinched hard, stumbling backward before turning and bolting down the hallway like a terrified rodent fleeing the shadow of a stalking cat.
Mark blinked, momentarily caught off guard, before turning toward the girl beside him. Hermione already wore a radiant, closed eyed smile, the kind that brought out the faint, endearing dimples along her cheeks.
Something about that particular expression always managed to soften whatever tension had been building in him. Mark genuinely appreciated how effortlessly Hermione could shift the entire mood around him without seeming to try at all.
She never once treated him like some burden, or someone constantly required to justify his own existence. She simply stayed close, and that quiet, steady companionship meant more to him than he usually found the words to properly express.
Victor’s eyes narrowed into a sneer as the scene wrapped up.
"Hm, interesting. You always just hide behind some girl’s back, huh. Pretty shameless, honestly. Look at that, a prince tucked safely under his princess’s skirt."
He let out a short snicker before walking off, leaving even more curious eyes trailing after the two of them.
By the time they stepped into the classroom, another wave of silence rippled through their peers, most of whom had already been deep in conversation about the competition’s upcoming start.
The tension lingered in the air as several gazes locked onto one another, though the bulk of the attention remained fixed on the students already widely expected to perform well, names like Hermione, Kai, and his usual circle of subordinates.
Mia rubbed absently at her glossy lips, catching a few lingering stares drifting her way before her own attention shifted toward the oddly unsettling sight of the two people who always seemed to move together, practically inseparable, almost like siblings by now.
’Why do those two always give me such a strange, unsettled feeling whenever they’re around? It wasn’t like this before everything happened.’
Candy Girl mused quietly to herself, watching Mark and Hermione settle into their usual seats. She let out a small sigh, crossing one leg neatly over the other.
’Why does he always seem so much calmer these days? Like she’s somehow made him harder to rattle than before.
I know he feels protected around her, safe, like she’s standing between him and the rest of the world as some kind of defiant shield. By now, I honestly figured he’d have learned his place beneath the rest of us, instead of coasting along with this kind of privilege.’
Her gaze flickered briefly toward Mark as Hermione settled comfortably beside him.
Still, despite the lingering tension, the noise in the room picked back up almost as quickly as it had died down, mostly thanks to Jack, one of the class’s resident troublemakers.
He burst into a fit of exaggerated laughter and mocking gestures the moment he spotted Mark and Hermione sitting so close together. As his influence within the class continued climbing, a few others joined in behind him, eager either to earn his approval or simply enjoy the spectacle unfolding.
Then, suddenly, Jack stopped cold.
His entire body registered the oppressive, suffocating weight of a presence bearing down on him. He froze in place, quickly realizing exactly where it was coming from.
Hermione’s gaze had landed squarely on him, heavy and unwavering, carrying the kind of oppressive strength you might expect from someone capable of rivaling a top High Tier summoner outright.
"Jack, what a jerk."
Her voice sounded even more pleasant to Mark’s ears with that sharp edge of irritation running through it. His attention perked up instantly, along with several other students who quietly reacted to the shift in her tone.
"Get your fat ass back to your seat, now."
Jack ground his teeth together hard enough that veins bulged visibly along his forehead. He wasn’t used to taking orders from anyone outside Mia, and this marked only the second time someone had managed to command him so directly and expect obedience.
The first time had been his confrontation with Mark, where at least he’d had some semblance of an excuse to back down gracefully.
But this?
This was simply an order, coming from someone entirely outside his usual circle.
He couldn’t bring himself to resist it either, fully aware Hermione likely outclassed both him and Mia combined in raw strength. Worse still, everyone else in the room clearly understood that now too.
The mood in the classroom shifted noticeably.
Several students who had been laughing only moments earlier fell abruptly silent. Others traded quiet, knowing glances, slowly realizing
Hermione wasn’t simply the beautiful heir of the Phoenix family everyone had been gossiping about for weeks. She carried more than enough raw presence and strength to silence someone like Jack without ever needing to lift a single hand.
Mia shot him a look he knew all too well by now.
Rather than risk escalating things any further, Jack turned and stormed out of the classroom like a coward, exactly as he had done once before.
The sight left the entire class visibly startled all over again, Kai included, who leaned back slowly in his seat, watching the whole scene unfold.
His gaze drifted toward Mark, who had already settled into his seat, headphones still playing quietly.
"You should really be ashamed of yourself, letting something like that happen without stepping in yourself. Don’t worry too much about it, though. The competition’s going to open up the real gate for people like us to finally show exactly what we’re capable of, especially to people like you," he drawled lazily, leaning even further back in his chair.
Hermione didn’t so much as spare him a glance in response.
Mark noticed, and something quietly appreciative settled in his chest at the sight. Hermione never felt the need to fight every single person who tried provoking him.
She simply seemed to know instinctively when stepping in actually mattered, and when someone wasn’t even worth the effort of her attention. There was something deeply reassuring about having someone like that standing beside him.
As she finally settled into her own seat, something beneath Mark’s desk caught her eye. She leaned forward slightly, peering underneath it.
Her expression twisted with visible disgust as she straightened back up, lips curling in distaste.
"Okay, seriously, who’s responsible for this? This whole gum graffiti collection under here?"
Her gaze snapped immediately toward Candy Girl, whose bright pink bubble popped sharply between her lips at the sudden attention.
"Get over here."
Candy Girl simply rolled her eyes before rising from her seat, clearly deciding against pushing her luck any further.
She knew exactly who she’d be dealing with and knew better if she kept acting difficult, and she had absolutely no interest in finding out what the consequences might actually look like.
Kai only raised an eyebrow, watching the whole thing unfold with quiet disbelief. This was, without question, genuinely unbelievable.
----
A/N: I hoped that you had a nice happy read. Please help support the book by adding to your library, golden tickets and giving PS.
I appreciate all of your supports, let’s go further!
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter
