Chapter 13: Lesson

“R… Riley?”

Hannah, who was quietly yawning behind her classmates, could not help but be completely be woken up as soon as she saw her brother going to the center of the training hall. They were supposed to do a mock-up battle of some sort today, today… right on the first day of school.

She thought it was ridiculous and they should have just let them go to their dorms first and just continue the lessons next month or something, but no– they had to be extra. It was stupid, she thought.

But to think the very first person that would be issued a challenge would be none other than her brother. Seeing this, she quickly pushed her new classmates aside as she angrily walked to the front.

This was bullying, she thought. Just because Riley was a little different than most kids, they were already bullying him on the first day of school? No, not on her watch. It truly was the right decision for her to enroll in the Academy as well because if not, she wouldn’t be able to protect Riley from instances like this.

However, as she was about to step out, their class instructor blocked her path.

“Please move, teach,” Hannah said in a very irritated tone, “That’s my brother right there.”

“I am afraid I can’t do that. If you wish to fight, then you can only do so after this match is over.”

“Are you crazy? I said that’s my brother! He might be getting bullied–“

“Then get revenge afterward. Stop being such a busybody, you can’t save everyone. And it’s Mr. Nightwalker, please address me with a little bit of respect as we will be spending a lot of time together from now on.”

“That’s…”

Fucking creepy– is what Hannah thought as her supervisor smiled at her. Nightwalker always had his eyes closed, but even then, it looked like he was looking straight at her soul. And so, with Nightwalker blocking her path, Hannah could only grit her teeth and hope that nothing bad happens to her brother. If something bad did happen to him…

…then he would burn that single eyebrowed boy that is his opponent.

“Daniel Espinoza, I will someday be known as Mega Man! My power is superhuman elasticity!”

“Riley Ross, I will someday be known… as Riley Ross.”

“That’s not a superhero name!”

“But it will still be the name I will be known as,” Riley said as he grabbed something from his pockets.

“Is that a spoon!?”

For some of the students that recognized Riley from the entrance exam, most of them flinched as soon as they saw the spoon he was holding. After all, how could they forget the violent scene where Riley accidentally almost scooped out the proctor’s heart?

“Yes, it’s silverware. Less durable but more expensive than stainless steel, but mother seems to love it.”

“No one asked!”

“But you just did,” Riley muttered as the spoon started to float in the air, “This spoon is very much like you, Daniel. Much useless than most, and probably only loved by your mother. I am joking, of course.”

“…Damn,” Gary once again let out a hum as he opened his mouth exaggeratingly while slowly turning his eyes towards his other classmates.

Silvie, who just heard Riley talk without any pause, could not help but let out a sigh. Seeing the silence persisting throughout the entire hall, she was finally not alone in her dilemma of not knowing if she should laugh or not… but since he said it was a joke, maybe it was fine?

And so, with that thought, Silvie let out a slightly muffled giggle as she covered her mouth.

“Enough!” And as if Silvie’s laugh was a trigger, Danny let out a roar, “Enough talking! Let’s do this!”

“So, we are allowed to use our powers for violence now?” Riley raised his hand as he looked at Scarlet Mage.

“Yes,” Scarlet Mage nodded before a small blaze emerged from the tip of her finger, “As soon as this flame explodes, you may begin your match.”

And from the moment of saying that, it didn’t even take 3 seconds before the blaze on Scarlet Mage’s fingertips let out a loud pop.

And as soon as it did so, Danny’s arms quickly stretched towards Riley like an arrow.

“Ew,” Riley worded before moving his body to the side to dodge.

“Got you, you autistic bastard!”

Danny’s arms, however, quickly flew back towards Riley, threatening to wrap around him like some sort of snake.

“…” Riley’s eyes continued to follow the arms as they continued to circle around him, only a foot away from making contact with his body. However, as soon as Danny’s hands intersected with one another, Riley let out a very small breath. And as he did so, the spoon that seemed to be aimlessly floating in the air whistled through the air, its other end shooting straight towards Danny’s hands.

“Gah!”

And without even a slight resistance or hesitation, the handle of the spoon penetrated both of Danny’s hands that were on top of each other. It did not stop there, however, as the spoon continued to fly down, dragging his hands until they planted on the floor.

The spoon also penetrated the floor, completely pinning down Danny’s hands. And with another flicker of Riley’s finger, the bowl of the spoon bent, locking down Danny’s hands.

“Oh,” Riley muttered as he stepped over the overlapping circles that Danny made with his arms,

“It’s much sturdier than I thought.” He then said as he looked at the spoon trapping Danny’s arms, “At least much more durable than you, Daniel. But you don’t have to worry, your mother probably still loves you, they are usually made to be that way to their children.”

“L… let go of my hands!” Danny tried to pull his hand away, but due to the pain of having a spoon embedded in his limbs, the only thing he could do was scream.

“I can’t do that, Daniel,” Riley let out a sigh as he slowly walked towards Danny, trying to avoid his extended squirming arms as he did so, “That’s a very disgusting power, I don’t want it near me.”

“You fucker! My idol has the same pow– W… what are you trying to do?”

Danny could not help but take in a short but deep breath as Riley once again grabbed something from his pocket, this time, a much sharper object– a knife.

“You don’t have to worry, Daniel,” Riley muttered as the knife in his hand slowly floated over his palm, “I will make it painless.”

And as soon as he said that, a whistle once again whispered throughout the entire hall as the knife shot straight towards Daniel’s head. Seeing this, the only reaction that Daniel had was a slight shiver of his body, before closing his eyes in fear of what was to come.

However, before the knife could lodge into his head, it completely burned down in almost an instant. Seeing this, Riley flicked his finger, causing Daniel to once again scream in pain as the spoon pinning down both his hands was violently pulled away.

And once again, without any hesitation, the spoon headed straight towards Danny’s head. But once again, before it could reach it, the instructor of the other class grabbed it with his bare hand, completely crushing it.

“…” Riley then slightly turned his head to the side, as Nightwalker was already beside him, waving his finger and gesturing to Riley not to continue any further.

“That’s enough, Mr. Riley!” Scarlet Mage then stomped her way towards Riley, the expression on her face clearly pissed off. If she was just a little late in burning down the knife, then they would probably already have their first casualty, right on the first day of school.

“You should know when your opponent is already beaten, and that goes for all of you!” Scarlet Mage shouted as she looked at the other students, “That’s one of the lessons we wished to impart to all of you today!”

“But he’s still breathing.”

“You… no!” Scarlet Mage could not help but groan in frustration as she looked at Riley’s legitimately confused face, “Didn’t you just hear him screaming in pain!?”

“Yes, it was very soothing.”

“N… no,” Scarlet Mage covered her face. Seeing this, Nightwalker walked towards her and patted her on the shoulder a couple of times.

“So…” He then whispered into her ear,

“Still think he doesn’t belong in the Potential Villain list?”