Michael didn't bother looking up to acknowledge Ethan; he simply kept his eyes locked on his plate, methodically focusing on his meal and seeming unconcerned with anything else happening around him. As Ethan's group approached the table, Nick noticed them coming closer and briefly considered saying something or reacting, but, after glancing over at Michael, who was still resolutely eating and showing no interest, he decided to mirror Michael's calm and nonchalant attitude, choosing for the moment to ignore Ethan's group as well. The two of them continued with their food, their silence a quiet statement that they weren't willing to give Ethan or his friends the attention they might've hoped for.
Soon Ethan was standing in front of them and Michael could see the hate in his eyes.
"Hey loser, what happened to David? Both of you entered the same dungeon, didn't you?" Ethan asked, expecting an answer from Michael, but Michael was not ready to look at him or even give him the attention he wanted.
"I'm talking to you!" Ethan shouted, his voice echoing across the cafeteria. Without waiting for a response, he lunged forward in anger, his fist already flying through the air, aiming a punch straight at Michael. The sudden movement caught everyone's attention, and the room seemed to freeze for a split second as Ethan's anger exploded into action.
Just as Ethan's fist was about to connect with Michael's face, it was abruptly halted in mid-air. Someone's hand shot out from the side, gripping Ethan's wrist with surprising strength and stopping the punch just inches from Michael. The sudden intervention sent a ripple of shock through the nearby students, and conversations around them stilled as everyone turned to see who had stepped in to block the attack. To everyone's surprise, it was Nick who stopped the fist. Due to Nick first stopping Ethan's punch, they could not see Michael's face, but when Nick moved Ethan's fist away, they could see Michael's eyes were closed.
Everyone who saw this thought he was scared of the punch, that's why he closed his eyes, not even trying to defend himself. But luckily, his friend was around. Now everyone had one thing in mind: Michael was weak after all, he just awakened a few days ago.
Ethan also had the same mindset. After all, he had been bullying Michael for a month before he awakened. But that wasn't what Ethan was focused on right now. Instead, his mind was racing as he didn't know who Nick was or what relationship he had with Michael.
Ethan sneered, "You. Didn't your parents ever tell you to mind your own business?"
The other person just grinned. "Funny you ask—I remember them telling me never to start fights. Guess I'm just here to finish one."
Ethan's eyes narrowed, his arm still trapped. "Let go if you know what's good for you," he growled, straining to free himself.
The other person held firm, their calm grin unfazed. "Relax, man. No need to make a scene. Besides, you wouldn't want everyone here to see you getting schooled, would you?" A few students nearby started to murmur, phones pointed in anticipation, the tension in the air thickening.
Ethan was sweating by now. He had forgotten all about Michael as his reputation was on the line. He forgot all about Michael as his reputation was on the line. "Let go of me; you don't want to be an enemy like me," Ethan said.
Nick decided to release his grip, which made Ethan focus on Michael again, in order to show his dominance and ensure his reputation was not ruined. After all, the weak were meant to be stepping stones. But this time, he didn't dare try to hit Michael, but used his mouth. "You piece of trash, tell me what happened to David in there! There's no way you could have made it out of that dungeon if he himself was killed!"
Even with all this said, Michael's eyes were still shut. All the students started getting confused because, with a backer, Michael didn't need to be scared of Ethan.
Ethan, seeing that Michael still decided not to reply, took it as his go-ahead to hurl insults against Michael and look even stronger. "So, you won't say something, right? Hahaha! I knew you were a disappointment from day one, little Michael, and that your parents were a disappointment for having you."
Immediately those words left Ethan's mouth, the room's atmosphere changed. It was as if the room got darker, even though there was still light in the cafeteria. This sent shivers down everyone's spine, so students had a hard time breathing. For Ethan and his group, it was like drowning in darkness.
Immediately Michael's eyes snapped open, but instead of his purple colorful eyes, his eyes were black, devoid of light, with two perfect red rings rotating inside his pupils and a black crow in the middle.
Immediately those eyes opened, every student felt the dark pressure increase further. Ethan, whose gaze was focused on him, was completely locked down; his body refused to move.
Everyone was affected except for Nick, who was staring at Michael in shock. Nick knew that Michael was not weak, but he was shocked to find that Michael also had a special eye, just like him. After all, for someone to possess a special eye was difficult. Even in an entire generation of a family, it was possible that not a single member could possess the eye, as each eye has different abilities.
Just as everyone in the room was feeling the effect of Michael's special eye, a scream was heard. It came from Ethan, who was now holding his eyes, which were bleeding. This sent even more shivers down the students' spines.
"Feymir," Nick said in his mind. "Like, my roommate is quite something. To put this guy under a shade craft—quite impressive."
Even others knew what Nick had said in his mind, but they didn't understand that Michael could cast illusions with his eye. They only saw him staring at Ethan, and then Ethan's eyes started bleeding.
Michael's eyes returned to normal, but he felt a huge headache. "Damn it, this eye is an essence drainer, and my head hurts a lot," Michael said. When Ethan started talking to Michael, Michael decided not to pay him any attention, but as soon as Ethan decided to punch him, it triggered a memory. That memory triggered an emotion that Michael wanted to suppress, but the fool went on to curse his parents, which activated his kurogan eye.
Ethan was dragged away from the cafeteria to the infirmary, and since the academy doesn't interfere with students' affairs, Michael wasn't going to get punished. Michael was finally being protected by the law that once sought to destroy him.
In a monitor room, a man could be seen looking at the system that was showing what transpired between Michael and Ethan.
Instructor Keal was standing beside the man.
"I think you might be right about him, Keal," he said. "Make sure you use every resource to ensure he gets stronger." Instructor Keal just nodded. After saying that, the man left the room leaving instructor keal to his thoughts.