"See! I told you that he won't fight back!"
Ellum's voice rang with smug satisfaction as he stepped forward and drove his foot down again.
The dull thud of his shoe meeting flesh echoed in the empty practice ground behind Meridian High School.
Ellum was around sixteen, with messy brown hair and a face scattered with freckles that made him look far more harmless than he actually was.
Right now, however, his face carried nothing but cruel excitement.
"Haha! Never thought we would get a chance to get back at this loser!" Nathan laughed loudly from the side.
Nathan looked roughly the same age, his short black hair were slightly damp with sweat. His face was slightly red as his breathing had grown heavier after several minutes of kicking and despite it all the grin on his face never faded.
Instead, he seemed energized by the situation almost like he was finally settling a long standing grudge.
"So what if he ranked higher than us." Ellum continued, sneering as he pushed Verso's shoulder with his foot before kicking at him again.
"He is useless if he can't awaken."
Verso lay curled on the ground in a fetal position with his arms pulled inward and knees tucked close to his chest so that he could absorb the blows effectively.
His black hair had fallen over his face which hid his calculating blue eyes.
His uniform was already wrinkled and had dirt covering it. The once neat blazer was now scuffed and torn at the shoulders and sleeves.
'These fuckers…'
Verso gritted his teeth as another kick landed against his ribs. He shifted his body slightly, adjusting his position to minimize the damage.
Years of combat training had made his movements instinctive as he angled his elbows inward, tightened his core and rolled subtly with each impact to reduced the force of the blows whenever it was possible to.
Despite all that effort, it still hurt.
Each strike sent a dull shock through his body, building up a persistent ache wherever he got hit.
His breathing became shallow as he tried his best not to give them the satisfaction of hearing him groan.
Nathan stepped forward this time, lifting his foot and kicking Verso's side.
"Look at him." Nathan laughed. "The so called top student."
Ellum joined in, landing another kick.
"Fucking pathetic."
The insults continued as they circled him slowly, taking turns hitting Verso.
The practice ground grew quiet except for their voices and the dull sounds of impact.
Five minutes passed.
Five long minutes of kicks, mockery and pain.
Eventually, Ellum stepped back, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Man, this got boring pretty fast."
Nathan stretched his shoulders slightly before shrugging.
"Who cares, man. At least my heart feels full after putting this bastard in his place."
During all of this Verso had stayed still.
His breathing remained shallow but his mind sharpened up.
'They are finally leaving…'
Seeing Nathan step closer one last time, Verso braced himself for another kick but just then instead of kicking him, Nathan just spat at him.
The spit landed near Verso's shoulder.
"Know your place." Nathan said coldly. "Otherwise we will do you like your father."
Verso froze.
These words hit him harder than any kick he received in the past 5 minutes and for a minute his thoughts stopped completely.
For Verso, the world seemed to narrow as he slowly clenched his fingers.
Nathan turned away casually, already walking beside Ellum.
Neither of them noticed the shift in Verso.
Just then-
"YOU MOTHER FUCKERS! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
The shout exploded behind them.
Nathan's lips curled into a smile.
'Not so silent anymore.'
He turned.
But the same moment that he did-
A fist filled his vision.
CRACK.
The punch connected cleanly with Nathan's chin the force of which snapped his head backwards violently.
In the next instant Nathan's body collapsed as he hit the ground unconscious.
This entire exchange lasted less than a second, Nathan had not expected Verso's retaliation after seeing him taking all of their hits just a minute ago.
Seeing Nathan fall to the ground, Ellum's eyes widened.
He had not expected that at all.
Although awakened individuals possessed strength far beyond the unawakened, Nathan and Ellum had only awakened three days ago along with the rest of their classmates.
They did not have enough time to get control over their newfound abilities and were still not that much stronger from normal humans.
Meanwhile Verso on the other hand had always been the top ranked student not only in academics but also combat.
Ellum immediately stepped back and raised his hands into a defensive stance as he looked at Verso but seeing him he suddenly froze.
Verso slowly straightened his posture as he got ready for another fight.
His uniform hung loosely, slightly torn at the sleeve, and faint bruises had begun forming along his jawline and neck. As thin streak of blood trailed from the corner of his lip.
He looked like he was barely capable of standing up straight but there was something very different about his eyes.
His blue eyes were cold.
His glare was piercing at Ellum as the anger in them was unmistakable.
His expression carried none of the submissiveness from before.
Instead, he looked like a wolf ready to hunt.
Seeing this Ellum's stomach tightened.
'I will lose this!'
The thought appeared in his head instantly.
Suddenly surprising Ellum, Verso stepped forward.
His movement was steady and fast.
Ellum's breathing quickened as his hands trembled slightly in fear.
Verso moved again.
Just then-
Something massive appeared from the side. A bull like creature had materialized out of thin air.
Without wasting any moment it charged towards Verso.
It was too fast.
Verso barely had time to react as withing the instant the creature slammed into him with overwhelming force.
The impact lifted him off the ground as he flew several meters backward before crashing hard onto the concrete.
The air left his lungs instantly as pain surged through his body and his vision slowly darkened.
Verso lost consciousness.
The fight had ended instantly.
Ellum's breathing became uneven.
"Oh no… I am in trouble…"
The realization hit him immediately.
Using a summon during a student fight was prohibited and the punishment for it was severe.
But before he could panic any further a hand pressed down on his shoulder.
Feeling the hand on his shoulder Ellum stiffened as he slowly turned to look behind him.
Behind him stood Mister Kolden, their combat teacher.
Although expression was calm, his eyes looked sharp.
"Teacher! It was a mistake, I did no-"
"First of all," Kolden interrupted, his voice firm, "you are picking on an unawakened student."
Ellum swallowed hard, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to get off easy.
"And furthermore," Kolden continued, "you decided to use your summon in a fight."
"But sir! Verso started it-"
Kolden's gaze hardened and instinctively Ellum stopped mid sentence.
"Don't make it any worse, Ellum."
Kolden glanced toward Nathan, still unconscious and then toward Verso.
Kolden sighed quietly.
"Now help me carry both of them to the infirmary."