"What?" Jayden exclaimed in surprise as Ren ran out the door toward him.
A few seconds later, everyone started coming out of the class one by one.
"What's happening?" Jayden whispered to Ren as he approached.
Before Ren could respond, a voice called out from behind the approaching students.
"Since you decided to miss homeroom along with your friends, I'll have to give a brief explanation when we get there—while also thinking of a suitable sanction for you three."
"Oh, come on! It was just one day," Ren sighed, scratching his head with his left hand while using his right to open the door.
Ren usually wasn't a serious person, but his motivation to always do the right thing came from the fact that he was too lazy to deal with punishment.
He was a typical slacker—tall, with black and green hair and narrow blue, cat-like eyes. He had a slightly brown skin and his appearance made him look like a delinquent, but he was actually a nice person.
The teacher entered the room, accompanied by all the students.
The room was large and empty, with a wide square space marked by red lining.
"Okay, since you missed homeroom, I'll give a simple and brief introduction and explanation," the teacher said.
"My name is Mr. David, and I'm going to be your teacher. The old students already know this, but I'm explaining it for you, Mr. Reginald. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I'm listening," Jayden replied, standing next to Ren and Nadia.
"Good. Anytime a person awakens on their first day in class, that person is to spar with the last awakened student as a test. This gives the class a better understanding of your abilities so we can help you. Do you understand?" Mr. David said as he pulled out a small box and tapped it.
"Yeah, pretty much. So, I'm supposed to fight and beat someone here, right?" Jayden asked, fighting back a grin.
"I've been training with Dad for years; there's no way I'm losing to someone who just awakened recently. I might not even need to use my magic at all. This will be a walk in the park,"
Jayden thought as he looked around at his classmates.
As Jayden was still lost in thought, a person appeared next to Mr. David holding a book.
"Okay, since you already understand, let's move on. Mr. Sein here will oversee this match. Remember, you don't lose anything by losing this match—it's just for analysis purposes. Okay, Robby Duran, you're up.
You and Jayden should enter the ring."
"Okay," Robby said as he walked toward the ring with determination in his eyes.
Jayden followed casually, his hands behind his head in a laid-back gesture.
As soon as they both entered the ring, Mr. Sein muttered a few incantations. Suddenly, a transparent wall surrounded the four sides of the ring, as well as the top, forming a cube.
"Barrier has been set and is responding normally," Mr. Sein said to Mr. David.
"Okay, quick rules: no killing, stop when I tell you to… yeah, I think that's all. Enough chatter—fight!"
The two boys stood still for a few seconds before Robby spoke.
"Sorry, Jayden, but I'm going to have to win this fight. No hard feelings, okay?"
"Yeah, because I'm not sure you're going to win. Enough talking—let's see what you've got," Jayden said with a grin, motioning for Robby to come at him.
"You asked for it," Robby said as he lunged forward, closing the distance and throwing a punch.
"Huh, he threw it too early," Jayden thought, but his thoughts were interrupted when Robby's arm suddenly extended, shooting straight toward Jayden's face.
It was too close to dodge, so Jayden brought up both arms to block, but he overestimated the strength behind it and was sent skidding backward.
"Rubber… that's your magic, right?" Jayden asked through gritted teeth.
"Enough talking. You haven't seen what I've got yet, have you?" Robby laughed, suddenly throwing four flat-headed plastic nails toward Jayden.
Jayden jumped up, avoiding the nails—but to his surprise, they hit the wall, bounced back, and began ricocheting around at high speed.
As Jayden tried to dodge the nails, Robby crept up and kicked him in the ribs, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Hey, hey, hey! You aren't just all talk, are you? You thought you were strong, but you're not! Now you're going to be humiliated—just like your friend did to me," Robby laughed, his eyes dilating madly.
Outside the cube, Nadia went up to Mr. David and pleaded, "Um, sir, don't you think this is going too far? Robby's already won—shouldn't you end the match?"
"On normal occasions, I would have," Mr. David replied. "But this has to happen—the same way it happened to Robby when you fought him. Jayden is a good fighter, and he's averagely strong, but it went to his head.
He became prideful, so he needs to be humbled. It's only after failure that he can become stronger. Look at Robby now—he's stronger than when you fought him, isn't he?"
"Yes, sir…" Nadia replied slowly.
"So watch this fight to the end. You'll see how much he grows next time, okay?" Mr. David said.
Back in the ring, Robby's punch had knocked the wind out of Jayden. He struggled to breathe.
"I made a mistake… I was too prideful, and now I'm going to pay for it. But I'll be damned if I lose without a fight," Jayden thought as he stood, clutching his side.
"Break," he muttered as glowing lines appeared across his body and shattered.
All of a sudden, the pain faded, and he felt revitalized.
"Got a second wind, huh? Let's see where that takes you," Robby said as he threw a barrage of elongated rubber punches.
Jayden responded with an identical flurry.
"He's copying me… is that his power?" Robby thought. "No matter—let's see who the original is."
Smirking, he pulled three more nails from his pocket and flung them.
One nail caught Jayden off guard, striking the back of his head.
Jayden's vision blurred, and Robby took the chance to charge in and punch him square in the face.
Jayden's vision went black. When he could see again, he was in the same pitch-black space as before—the one from when he first activated his powers.
"Huh, you're here again? Are you seriously this weak?" a voice said. It was the older Jayden.
"You—what did you do to me this time?" Jayden snapped.
"One, I have a name—it's Fantasy. Two, I didn't do anything to you. You're the one who's weak. It's disgusting," Fantasy said coldly.
"What do you mean? You're the one who didn't explain this power to me!" Jayden shouted.
"I did, but you ignored it. Remember the book your father dropped?" Fantasy said slyly.
"But if you still don't understand your power, maybe I'll give you a proper demonstration just this once—watch closely."
A bright light blinded Jayden. Suddenly, he saw himself falling after Robby's punch—but just as he was about to hit the ground, his body stopped and began to rise again.
"What? I thought he was down—" Robby was cut off as he felt a tap on his back.
Before he could turn, a powerful punch sent him flying across the cube.
Fantasy smirked wickedly.
As Robby launched another barrage of punches, Fantasy deflected them effortlessly with one hand, the other comfortably lying in his pocket.
Appearing before Robby, he whispered, "My turn," before unleashing a rapid series of blows. Lightning crackled around his fist as he delivered the final punch, breaking Robby's jaw.
Dropping Robby's unconscious body, Fantasy turned to Mr. David.
"It's one thing being prideful and weak but it's a whole different story when you're cocky and too strong," He said, as a surge of golden mana burst from Jayden's body, shattering the barrier and pushing everyone back.
"Well, that should be enough aura farming for now," Fantasy thought as he left Jayden's body, allowing Jayden to regain control.
Everyone in the room stood frozen in shock.
"Uh… so I won, right?" Jayden asked.