Arrogance

About a month had passed since I was discharged out of the hospital and I have finished making up for the classes that I've missed during my rehabilitation, thus I didn't have to attend supplementary classes after school anymore. With supplementary classes now out of the way, I had more time to focus on my magic cultivation and spell casting.

For this past few weeks, I had been consulting with Roland about various things such as his origin, his purpose and the reason for choosing me. We have also discussed about mysterious objects known as 'Techno Relics' and how Roland was also one of these mysterious objects. To put it short, I had learned many things from Roland, most of which were unorthodox or even heresy, however, due to our strange connection ability, it made it so that I'll completely comprehend everything he says.

Only a few seconds remained before the school ends, everybody in the class stared intensely at the clock's minute hand, completely ignoring the safety announcement being announced.

"Alright, class dismiss!" Shouted the teacher.

The sound of bell ringing rung throughout the school and the students in my class excitedly left the classroom. Like a stampede, students from other classes crowded over the stairs, pushing and shoving one another. I patiently waited for the crowd to lessen before making my way downstairs.

Like always, it was extremely lively outside the school building, with students chattering and gossiping either about the latest news or the rumors going on around the city. Conversations of monster attacks had become even more frequent than before, which in turn had made everyone in the campus to be extremely agitated and vigilant rather than curious.

"I'm still on tier-8 of the Freelance stage…" I murmured as I walked. "Although I'm probably way ahead than everyone else in terms of level… I was only able to advance so much because of sheer luck! My cultivation had been delayed slightly these past few weeks... I need to put in more effort than normal if I don't want to be left behind!"

With that being said, I've been consistently casting spells in my spare time, especially 'Cure Bolt'. By using Roland as target practice, I was able to achieve exceptional results and because of that, I am now at the bottleneck of the 8th tier of the Freelance stage, just a hair away from tier-9!

"Roland, what do you think I should do to increase my speed in cultivation?" I asked while walking towards the school's entrance. "I feel like, at my current pace, I will really fall behind in cultivation…"

"Hmm – with all due respect master, your cultivation speed is quite exceptional already…" Roland replied. "At master's current pace, master should be able to easily meet the average level status quo..."

Suddenly, he paused and looked at me, he could tell that I was not satisfied by his answer so he pondered for a moment before continuing.

"There is a - certain method master can try to quickly improve your cultivation..." He said. "By using external resources such as magical stones and elixirs, master can drastically boost your cultivation speed at an explosive rate."

My eyes glittered upon hearing that, I was about to speak but was abruptly interrupted by Roland.

"However!" He remarked. "That method can be a bit costly master... and from what I recall - master you are... in a bit of a bind financially…"

My face instantly drooped when the word 'costly' was mentioned and I sighed deeply.

"Right… Money is an issue for me, having no resources to rely on is kind of tough when you are aspiring to be a great mage." I muttered. "If only there was a way for me to earn a good amount of money while focusing on my training at the same time…"

"Would master like me to look into that?" Roland proposed.

"Eh?" I replied.

"I may be of assistance to master in solving your financial issues." He continued. "If master is alright with it, I could try to find a plausible solution for master."

"Really?" I replied eagerly, "It'll be a lot of help Roland, thanks! When can you do it?"

"Right now, master." Replied Roland, and as he said that he disappeared, however, his voice was still audible in my head. "Do not fear master, we can still communicate telepathically even if we are distances apart. If you're ever in need of my assistance, all you have to do is summon me and I will be there in mere seconds."

Afterward, there were no more voices in my head, I looked up at the sky and sincerely gave my regards to Roland. I continued to walk past the school gate when suddenly, I felt a firm grip on my left shoulder and as I turned around, the grip loosened.

The person that had stopped me was a female student with light blonde hair and fair jade-skin, her blue eyes were dazzling and gleaming with beauty, however, it would've been more beautiful if it weren't for the fact that this pair of eyes were currently intently glaring at me. This person was none other than Zhu Yan.

"What were you looking at?" She asked bluntly while giving me a strange look.

"It's nothing, " I replied.

Seeing how I'd shrugged her off she creased her eyebrows.

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me..." She stated.

"Oh - You're being awfully attentive about this topic senior sister Zhu..." I retorted.

"And you're being awfully defensive about this topic junior brother Huang ~ " She retorted back while grinning at me and at the same time, leaning closer towards me. "Could it be that junior brother Huang - is - hiding something from me ~?"

My body shivered slightly as I paused for a moment; I felt too nervous to reply.

"Master!" Roland's voice suddenly echoed in my head. "Stay calm and don't react to her taunts, she's obviously bluffing so don't worry! But she is thoroughly cunning and observant, master must be careful! This person is very dangerous."

I was startled by Roland's voice at first but after hearing what he'd said, I regained my composure immediately.

"Hahaha, what are you saying senior sister Zhu? I was merely observing the density of magical energy in the school, compared to that of other places outside, " I replied calmly. "I want to know the exact reason why the energy in our school is so much different from the energy in the other areas of the city. Surely senior sister Zhu... Wouldn't you find it strange as well?"

"Oh... Since you put it that way, it's somewhat mysterious I guess..." She replied, feeling slightly astonished.

"Oh is that so?" I gaped, acting surprised. "Do senior sister Zhu have any thoughts about the reason behind it?"

"Hmm... Let's see..." She pondered. "To be honest there had been several theories and rumors going on in school, for a very long time, for the reason of this strange occurrence, but the most popular theory of all, from what I've heard is that - hidden somewhere in this school, there is an Arcane Crystal!"

"An Arcane Crystal!?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, an Arcane Crystal! These crystals are compressed rocks with dense magical energy, of the highest purity!" She explained. "It is said that even a thumb-sized crystal can drastically elevate the magical energy density of an entire city for millenniums!"

After hearing her said that my eyes widen with amazement.

"Amazing!" I cried, genuinely astonished, to think that such a thing existed, I was tempted to continue the conversation when suddenly, I'd realized that we've gone off topic. "Ah - wait... Senior sister Zhu, let's get back on topic now."

"Oh - um... Right..." She hesitantly replied.

"Alright then - what do you want?" I asked bluntly.

"Let's see - " She said while looking at me in the eye. "Have anything strange happened to you lately after your discharge from the hospital?"

I gave her a wary gaze before replying to her question.

"Strange? What do you mean by strange senior sister Zhu?" I asked attentively. "Please elaborate."

"Have anything strange happened to you like... a sudden exponential growth in cultivation, an abnormal amount of mana buildup in your body or being chased down by a group of monsters? Or something like that..." She replied. "Did anything like that happened by any chance?"

"Hmm - Let me see... No, nope." I replied. "As you can see, my cultivation had been stagnated ever since that incident and it doesn't seem like any monsters are chasing me at the moment."

As soon as I said that, she scanned my body from top to bottom rapidly. She then looked straight at my chest intently before letting out a shallow sigh.

"I see..." She muttered, slightly disappointed. "Hmm... He doesn't seem to be lying... Could it be that the principal was somehow wrong... Ah... Oh right! There was one more thing! Did something weird appe-... Actually... No, nevermind..."

Seeing her mumbling to herself like that made me slightly nervous. Did I blow my cover? I was not willing to allow Roland to be exposed so early, so I approached her and interrupted her train of thought.

"What is it senior sister Zhu?" I asked, acting curious. "It seems like you have something on your mind."

Startled by my sudden approach, she stuttered her wordings.

"Ah... No, it's nothing, dont worry about it." She replied while turning around at the same time. "It's really nothing... Th - That's all, you should get home now."

"Alright..." I replied.

I watched Zhu Yan made her way back into the school building, and after she was no longer in sight I turned around to leave as well.

"Congratulations, master." Roland's voice echoed within my head.

"For what?" I asked.

"For suppressing your terrifying anger throughout the entire conversation." He responded. "You did well to contain it, but master, please tell me the reason for this exception."

I stopped for a moment to ponder, after a short while I replied.

"...I realized that even in a group of bastards, not all of them are bad..."

With that, the entire trip back was silent.

.....

"Time's up! Hand in the quiz paper!" The teacher cried and in response to his words, the class rep started collecting the quiz papers. "Your scores will be posted in the first year scoreboard downstairs. Alright, class dismissed for recess!"

Students pushed and shoved each other out through the classroom's door and just like that, half of the students in my class disappeared. The other half continued chatting and complaining about the recent quiz and of course, the monster attacks.

"What's so interesting in talking about the same topic every day?" I murmured to myself.

I truly didn't understand how the social norm of our current society works anymore. As time passed, more and more students began to leave, I eventually left as well. I decided to head over to the cafeteria as there was roughly half an hour left before the next class started, furthermore, I was feeling quite famished as well.

As I made my way to the cafeteria I heard loud yelling coming from within it. The yelling sounded very arrogant and narcissistic, to anyone else it would be utterly revolting, however to me, it was nothing but pitiful.

"Zheng Shui, come out! I know you are here every time, so get out here and fight me!" The voice yelled. "Unless of course, you're too scared to fight me?"

"Hmph, what gall! You dare challenge against senior brother Zheng!?"

"Haha, what a fool!"

"What's this? He's not even tier-7 yet and yet he still wants to challenge senior brother Zheng!? He's looking to die!"

"That's right! That's right! He must have been dropped on the head or something when he was young, such foolishness is unheard of!"

I'm now having a hard time to decide whether or not to proceed entering the cafeteria or to leave. On the other hand, a part of me was quite interested in the event that would transpire within the cafeteria, in the end, my curiosity got the better of me. As I enter the building, I was invited by an extremely loud crowd and an especially loud person at the center.

"Hmph! I, Chen Li, is afraid of no one!" Said the person in the center. "I'll prove it by beating the crap out of that bastard Zhu Shao, but first I have to teach his right-hand man, Zheng Shui, a lesson as a warning to him!"

"Huh!? Did this guy lost his mind?"

"He's actually trying to go against a member of the Zhu family?"

"It was ridiculous enough to pick a fight with Zheng Shui - but Zhu Shao as well... He's a dead man!"

"This tier-4 scrub doesn't know his limits, I thought he was joking at first but I see now that even if this was a joke, there's no turning back from being bashed..."

Just as I'd presumed, the person in the courtyard from before, the brown-haired student, Chen Li, was going to get himself into a lot of trouble in the future. It was just that I didn't expect it to be so soon.

"So what if I'm only tier-4?" Chen Li cried. "I am special! I'm gifted with a special ability unlike all of you losers! My ability can cut down anybody within the Freelance stage and once I reach higher stages, my ability will no doubt become even stronger!"

"Quit bluffing you trash!"

"I had enough of this shit, where's senior brother Shui? Wait until he's here to put you in your place!"

"Quit barking you dog!"

"I wanna beat you up now trash! But it'll be rude to senior brother Zheng if I did..."

"Blah, blah, blah, blah!" Chen Li retorted. "That guy's worth dog-shit against my Divine Excalibur!"

"The hell is that?"

"Shut up you fake!"

"Your mom's worth dog-shit!"

The insults ceased to end as words after words of contempt rained down over Chen Li, yet he remained resolute, proud, with an arrogant smug on his face.

"Well, well..." A voice called out from within the crowd. "I heard that there was someone looking for a fight against me, but I didn't expect that someone to be a tier-4 idiot!"

Loud muttering spurred at the back of the crowd and it quickly spread all the way to the center. The crowd slowly moved apart, making a pathway towards the center for the person that the voice belonged to.

"It's Zheng Shui!"

"Zheng Shui is here!"

"Teach that arrogant kid to shut up senior brother Zheng!"

"Hmph! Zheng Shui, I hope you are prepared for this!" Cried Chen Li arrogantly. "That's because if you're not... I'll beat the crap out of you so hard that, that bastard Zhu Shao won't even be able to recognize you!"

As soon as the last group of people moved to make way for the path, a bolt of lightning raced towards Chen Li and struck him directly on the chest. He was sent flying at an upward angle, with incredible speed and painfully crashed against a wall. Just as he was about to descend towards the floor, another bolt of lightning struck him and shoved him against the wall again.

"Gaughh!" Cried Chen Li.

"What's wrong?" The voice sneered. "Weren't you going to beat me with your 'Divine Excalibur', you tier-4 scrub!?"

From within the crowd, a young man with sleek blue hair and charming violet eyes stepped out. He was of above average height with a well-built stature, and his hands were shrouded with purple light.

"Hahaha - just you wait..." Chen Li groaned. "My ability activates when I'm in a pinch."

"Really now?" Zheng Shui chuckled. "I'm actually quite curious about this 'so-called' ability you've been barking about this entire time. Go on... Show me."

In response to his words, Chen Li stood up unsteadily due to pain while glaring at Zheng Shui intently. He then chuckled softly and raised both of his arms into the air, exposing his unkempt uniform and bruises.

"Perfect..." He thought. "I knew he would launch a surprise attack on me, he'd always been like that in a fight... so using that to my advantage, I purposely made no attempt to dodge it and allowed him to hit me instead..."

"According to my theory, my ability won't work if I'm not severely injured. But, since I'm quite hurt now... Hehehe, that Zheng Shui just dug his own grave!"

Chen Li closed his eyes and breath deeply, although no spell was being cast, he began to pour magical energy into his arms. Residue energy radiated out of his arms, giving off the impression that something amazing would happen. Although this would be convincing to ordinary people, to all mages, even for those who can't cast spells yet, it was quite obvious that no spell was being cast. Soon, several seconds had passed.

5 seconds.

10 seconds.

Yet there was no response, cold sweat started to drip down Chen Li brow as he began to feel extremely nervous and agitated.

"What's going on - " He softly mumbled, but it was shortly interrupted by rows of laughter.

"Hahaha ~ " Zheng Shui burst. "I think... You're not in a pinch just quite yet - "

As he said that, Zheng Shui extended his right arm and pointed the index finger towards the now dumbstruck Chen Li.

"Violet Arrow!" He cried.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out from his fingertip and sped toward Chen Li, striking him on the chest.

"Guaagghh!" Chen Li painfully howled, as he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

He slowly raised his head to look towards Zheng Shui who was only meters away from him. Suddenly, he felt a firm grip latched around his neck, pinning him against the wall.

"Ack!" He coughed.

"Now tell me?" Sneered Zheng Shui. "Who's getting his ass kicked now? You tier-4 scrub!"