My heart was pounding as my sweaty hand pushed open the door to Class 3A. I'd chosen to arrive during break time on purpose—clinging to the childish hope that maybe, just maybe, Yukie and her gang wouldn't be in the classroom.
Creeeak...
The classroom door groaned softly.
And my hope was instantly shattered.
My gaze immediately snapped to the corner of the room near the window, to Yukie Iceblood's desk. And she was there. Exactly as I'd feared. She sat with perfect posture, her porcelain-like beauty seeming untouchable and cold. Next to her was Isabel Mercedes, with her straight black hair and the perpetual sneer gracing her red lips. In front of them, Nerissa Rishbell, the pink-haired girl, was twirling a pen with her slender fingers, her sweet face hiding a heart crueler than any devil's.
My blood ran cold, then boiled. The hatred I'd been bottling up pressed heavily in my chest. My eyes scanned the room. Where were the other two? Maximus and Alex?
Suddenly, a voice all too familiar—one that often haunted my dreams—hissed in my left ear, so close it made me choke on my breath.
"Missed us, trash?" Maximus whispered, his warm breath on my ear. "I thought we'd never see you again. You came at the perfect time. I'm so bored right now."
Before I could even turn, he was already beside me. Maximus Treybern, with his tall, athletic build and deliberately messy brown-blond hair. His wide, sadistic smile froze me in place.
From across the room, I saw Yukie looking at me. Her empty white eyes seemed to pierce straight through to my soul, freezing every nerve. I shuddered, paralyzed.
"Twenty percent kick!" Maximus yelled suddenly.
BAM!
The kick slammed into my stomach. My body was thrown forward, sliding across the slick floor and crashing into the legs of the desk where Alex Rutherford was sitting, sending it toppling over.
Alex, the guy with neatly trimmed black hair and glasses, frowned sharply.
"Damn it, Max," he said coldly, standing up, then delivered a powerful kick to my side.
THUD!
I was thrown again, this time slamming hard against the wall. Agh...! Yet, through the haze of pain, a vague realization dawned—my body... wasn't shattered. My ribs weren't broken like they used to be. Level 23 and the stat points I'd invested in Vitality were actually paying off. I was stronger, more durable.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Maximus's dirty boot, approaching my face. He stepped on my cheek, grinding my face into the cold floor. I groaned, a mix of shame and pain swirling inside me.
And then, she appeared. A shadow more terrifying than anything else approached. Yukie Iceblood now stood over me, looking down with her unblinking white eyes. Cold. Empty. Piercing.
"You came back," she stated, her voice flat as ice. "Fool."
I lay silent on the floor, my body shaking violently. Yukie's voice was like an ice knife stabbing directly into my brain. My breath came in ragged gasps, my chest felt tight, and my mind was blank except for the paralyzing fear. Even when Maximus lifted his foot from my face, I didn't notice. All I saw were the eyes staring down at me with contempt, with Yukie's gaze as the most piercing center.
"Didn't I say I was sick of seeing your face," Yukie spoke in a flat yet threatening tone. "I warned you never to appear before me again!"
Her pale, slender hand reached out toward me. My entire body trembled violently. Move! I have to fight back! my inner voice screamed. But the pain from Maximus and Alex's kicks still lingered, compounded by the deep-rooted fear that clouded my mind. The [Time Stop] and [Mind Control] skills I was so proud of seemed to have evaporated from my thoughts.
Yukie's cold hand touched my arm. At first, it felt like a normal touch, but suddenly...
AAARGH!
Thousands of invisible ice needles pierced my skin where she made contact. The freezing cold instantly turned into a scorching, blazing heat, like a branding iron pressed against my flesh. I wanted to scream, but before any sound could escape, Yukie pulled her hand back. What happened next nearly made me pass out.
RIIIP!
A piece of the skin and flesh from my arm peeled off and stuck to Yukie's hand, which now seemed to be wearing a transparent glove of ice adorned with my blood and tissue.
I opened my mouth wide to scream, but my mouth was suddenly filled with dense, freezing ice. It was so hard and full that it locked my jaw, rendering it immovable. I choked, trying to spit it out but couldn't. It felt like drowning in a piercing cold.
Yukie watched the torture she inflicted without expression. Even Maximus and the others, who usually enjoyed the violence, were silent this time, slightly unnerved. Nerissa looked away, while Alex cleaned his glasses to avoid looking.
The ice glove on Yukie's hand melted away, the peeled-off piece of my skin and flesh falling to the floor with a sickening, wet plop. Her hand was clean and smooth again.
Then, her delicate, soft hand reached out once more. This time, it touched my entire face. And once again, I suddenly felt thousands of ice needles piercing my face.
.
.
I stumbled into the restroom, my body still shaking uncontrollably. My stomach felt nauseous and hot, and I finally dropped to my knees in front of a toilet and vomited uncontrollably. Even though Nerissa had healed my physical wounds, the memory of Yukie's torture still burned in every nerve. My uniform was crumpled and damp with cold sweat, my hair was a mess, and my breath was still ragged.
I spent several minutes leaning against the cold restroom wall, trying to calm my nearly broken spirit. Slowly, I gathered the courage to step out, staggering toward the large sink. In the mirror, I stared at my helpless reflection—a pale face, dull and empty eyes, lips still trembling.
"What's the point?" I mumbled at the reflection, my voice hoarse. "Why is it that every time I face her, I end up like this? I have [Time Stop], [Mind Control], I could easily defeat her, even kill her... so why didn't I use them earlier? Why did I just stand there! Why didn't I fight back?! Why can I only cower like a coward!? Why aren't I like the protagonists in stories who can just easily get their revenge? Damn it! Damn it!"
My fist slammed into the sink's mirror, cracking it. "Do I have PTSD? Hehehe... Damn bastard! I'm really sick! Do I need to see a psychologist?! Fuck! I think I've really lost my mind!"
I hadn't noticed at all that the sink was filled to the brim because the drain was still plugged. Water started overflowing, soaking the floor.
Suddenly, the restroom door was thrown open with a loud bang. Five burly guys and an incredibly beautiful red-haired girl entered. One of the guys immediately shoved me roughly.
"Piece of trash! Trying to fix your ugly face in the mirror?" he barked, grabbing my hair and shoving my face into the sink full of water.
Glug! Glug! Water flooded my nose and mouth, sending me into a panic, unable to think straight. I choked, struggling desperately for fresh air.
"Hey, hold on a second, hold on a second! I'm helping you clean up your ugly face!"
He yanked my hair back roughly, then slammed my head into the sink once before throwing me onto the floor. I coughed violently, water streaming from my nose, my chest feeling like it was about to burst.
"Look at that, so pathetic," one of them said. "Just a little dunk and he's already gasping for air."
"Nepotism kids like this are just soft, bro."
"HAHA!"
"Tch, so unfit for Class A."
Their laughter echoed, filling the small room.
Then the red-haired girl stepped forward, the sound of her heels clear on the wet floor.
"Alright, that's enough. We've been at it too long. This pet needs a lesson that's more... memorable." She kicked my stomach mercilessly. I curled up, trying to breathe, but she just stepped on my chest, her shoe pressing down hard.
"Aww, poor thing," she said in a sickeningly sweet tone. "How about you crawl now? Like a dog. Try barking a little, so everyone knows your place."
Laughter erupted again.
"HAHA! Hear that, Aria's telling you to bark, trash!"
"Come on, hurry up, before she gets bored!"
"HAHA! Don't be like that, he might cry."
Arianna bent down slightly, her face coming close to mine. Her perfume was sweet, but it felt like poison.
"If you obey," she said softly but sharply, "I might consider making you my personal dog. Sounds better than being that cold woman's pet, doesn't it?"
I stared at her with a gaze full of hatred and rage. Suddenly...
[Revenge Quest Generated]
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[REVENGE QUEST]
TARGET: Arianna Blazinger and her underlings.
OBJECTIVE: Beat her underlings until they pass out and humiliate her by making her bark for you in front of them.
REWARD: 1000 EXP and 1 Random Item.
NOTE: If she barks while you are using the [Mind Control] skill, it does not count.
[Accept: y / n]
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