Chapter 6
All eyes were locked on Dorian sprawled on the ground, and then on me.
‘Was I always this strong…?’ I stared at my hand, feeling the faint sting in my knuckles.
Dorian laid there, his body twitching slightly. His three lackeys were now glaring at me, their faces twisting into something between shock and fury.
Just as I was about to prepare myself for a three versus one.
An oily voice seeped through behind me.
“Now, what do we have here?”
My expression soured as I turned to see Dean Malrick waddling toward us. The lackeys’ eyes lit up the moment they spotted the Dean, their faces instantly morphing into exaggerated expressions of hurt and feigned innocence.
They rushed to him, and one whimpered,
“D-Dean Malrick, you have to bring justice to us! We were only trying to greet them, and these two just attacked!”
“Oh? If that’s the case, then it’s only fair we keep savages like these away from the Academy,” Malrick said, his tone dripping with false concern.
“What a load of bullshit…” Kaelon spat, picking himself up from the ground and wiping blood from his mouth.
Malrick turned his gaze to Kaelon, eyes narrowing.
“Are you implying there’s more to this story, Applicant Kaelon?”
“It was clearly them who attacked it first!” Kaelon’s voice seethed with rage.
“If that’s the case, then let’s ask everyone here to confirm it.”
Malrick turned to the crowd, a glint of malice in his eyes.
“Well, can anyone here confirm whether these words are true?”
No one in the crowd said a word; some even averted their eyes. Malrick shifted his gaze back to Kaelon, a smile of contempt curling on his lips.
“Well, it seems your story doesn’t hold much weight,” he sneered. “Silence speaks louder than words, Applicant Kaelon.”
“Damn these commoners…” I heard Kaelon mutter under his breath.
“D-Dean, you also have to deal with that commoner over there,” one of the lackeys said, pointing a finger at me.
Malrick finally turned his attention to me, sizing me up before leaning in slightly with a mocking smirk.
“You, is it true that you inexplicably assaulted these four gentlemen?”
‘It's pointless defending myself right now, he’s clearly on their side’
“Yeah, I attacked them. So what?” I said coldly.
His face immediately flushed red.
“Watch your damn tone when you’re speaking to me, commoner”
“Oh… I apologize, Dean Malrick. I was just cleaning up some trash I saw,” I said, glancing down at the three lackeys and Dorian.
“Y-you dare to talk about nobles like that?! Looks like I have to discipline you right here!” Malrick snapped, his face flushing with rage.
Without warning, he raised his arm and abruptly threw a punch at me. I watched as his fist sliced through the air, aimed straight for my face. For some reason, everything around me suddenly slowed down—every movement stretching out like a drawn-out shadow.
I shifted my head to the left, barely dodging as his fist whistled past my face, grazing my skin. Malrick stumbled forward from the momentum.
‘Holy shit, he's actually crazy!!’
Before I could catch my breath, Malrick snapped his head back sharply, his face flushed a deep blue with sheer rage.
“How dare you humiliate me, you damn commoner!!!”
He flicked his fingers, conjuring a bolt of black lightning before shooting it straight toward me.
I instinctively raised my arms, bracing for impact. But the pain never came. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see a familiar silver-haired man standing before me—it was Professor Lucian. With a calm flick of his wrist, Professor Lucian casually dismantled the crackling black lightning, dispersing the spell into harmless sparks that faded into the air.
‘Thank god, I’m safe…’ I breathe a sigh of relief.
“What do you think you’re doing, Malrick?” His voice was cold, laced with silent fury as his piercing gaze bore into Malrick.
“Move out the way, Lucian. I’m definitely teaching that commoner a lesson today!”
“I don’t care what reasons you have. But it is not befitting of a dean to attack a student.”
Malrick clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth.
“That boy attacked these four applicants behind me and insulted us nobles. I’m merely upholding justice.”
Professor Lucian’s expression darkened. “He attacked first? I was told something entirely different.”
“What?! I want whoever said that to come forward!”
Professor Lucian suddenly signaled to a girl standing near the edge of the crowd. She was slender and petite, her dark hair tied back into a tight ponytail.
“Applicant Zaira, step forward and tell us what you told me.”
The petite girl stepped forward, her gaze wavering as she spoke in a shaky but clear voice
“I saw the entire incident. It was the four nobles who taunted and attacked first. He was defending that blonde noble.”
“Everyone here could testify that’s what happened, I’m sure of it!”
Professor Lucian scanned the crowd, studying the onlookers’ expressions carefully.
“Is what she says true?” His voice was calm but carried an unspoken warning.
A few heads shifted nervously, and the crowd remained silent.
Professor Lucian’s eyes darkened ever so slightly. “I suggest you think carefully before answering.”
Suddenly, a small voice broke the silence
“Y-yes, what she said was true… it was them who started the fight.”
Encouraged by the first, more voices began to rise—hesitant at first, then steadily gaining strength. One by one, people stepped forward, each confirming the same truth.
I glanced over at those four idiots, now sweating buckets, their eyes darting nervously as they fidgeted under the weight of the growing accusations. I couldn’t help but bite back a laugh at the sight of their panic.
“There you have it, Malrick. It’s clear they’re the culprits now.”
Malrick clicked his tongue before turning away, his face twisted in anger.
“I’ll hold off this time, handle it as you see fit, Lucian.” With that, he stormed off, leaving the scene behind.
Professor Lucian watched as Malrick’s figure fully disappeared before turning his attention to the four nobles, his eyes narrowing.
All four flinched under his gaze, and Dorian quickly dropped into a deep, trembling bow, his voice barely a whisper as he apologized with great effort.
“We’re sorry!! This won’t happen again! Please don’t disqualify us.”
One of them even broke down, tears streaming down their face, desperation clear in their trembling voice.
“M-my father will kill me if he finds out I got kicked out…”
Professor Lucian let out a long sigh.
“You won’t be disqualified, but disciplinary actions will still be taken. Understand?”
“Y-yes, yes! We understand! Thank you!”
I watched as they all scurried off like rats, their tails tucked tightly between their legs.
‘Well that's that, I guess…’
Professor Lucian finally shifted his gaze onto me, his expression unreadable.
“Are you alright?”
“A-ah, I’m fine. Thank you very much for your help,” I said, bowing my head respectfully.
Professor Lucian nod his head
“No problem. Just a heads-up—the first exam will be ending in a few minutes. Get ready for the next phase.”
“Got it, sir.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
“Lucian, where the heck did you just go?” Professor Axton called out, striding up to him.
“Nothing, just dealing with some commotion among the applicants. It’s all resolved now,” Lucian replied coolly, his eyes scanning the area for trouble.
“Ah-haha. For a moment I thought you went off to slack off somewhere.”
Professor Lucian just rolled his eyes. “As if I have time for that.”
“Yes, yes, our little Lucian is too studious for that kind of stuff,” Professor Axton teased with a grin.
“Enough of this. We should get started preparing for the second part of the exam.”
As they continued to walk, Professor Lucian mind lingered back to the image of that boy—who somehow managed to dodge a mana-charged punch from Malrick
‘Looks like there’s another one worth watching…other than the duke’s daughter’
