Show of Power

{ From this chapter onwards overall ranks will be changed to a Star system. Rank I = One star and so forth. I choose to do so because the word rank got way too overused and thus its meaning got diluted and way too varied. Please do be considerate that it might take some time to go back and fix earlier chapters, but at some point, I hope that I will be able to fix all of them. Attribute values will also change their names to stats, i.e. strength stat, intelligence stat, and so forth. Thank you all for reading my little story! Cheerios!}

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The sun was high up in the sky, with not a single cloud to be seen. As it was still in the middle of summer the heat was taking a little bit of a toll while I was making my way to class. Even if it was early in the morning, there were quite a number of students strolling around.

It was awkward walking over the academy grounds to our homeroom. The rumor had already managed to spread that I was back, and even though it had also been clarified that it had been a freak accident, this still didn't make the other students comfortable around me.

Everyone who saw me began whispering to each other and actively avoided walking near me. To be honest it felt somewhat good to not have to make my way through a crowd of giants, not having to worry about getting bumped around or accidentally landing my face in someone's bosom.

As I still walked incredibly fast I quickly arrived at my classroom.

[1-A]

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for what was to come. My head already started to cool down, almost as if I unconsciously recognized that my classmates were no longer my allies. This was no longer just a place to survive, it had become a place to fight.

I wasn't surprised that when I opened the door, the room was empty. Looking around at the modern classroom I felt yet another wave of memories flood in. This had been the place where I had naively tried to stay out of trouble and avoid the hero party, having romanticized the importance of their presence in the world.

Now I didn't care. I still knew that James would be important for the world to survive, but I would no longer make myself a victim because of it. I will live my life as I see fit, and if the hero is my enemy, so be it. It's not like I would kill him if I didn't have to.

'Speak of the devil...'

Just as I had sat down at my seat, which was now missing my little butt pillow, the golden boy walked in. Although I wanted to make a strong impression on him, it was hard when my feet were dangling in the air.

Our eyes met each other's but we didn't speak a word. We had already talked enough the day before. Instead, he just took a front-row seat and sat down.

After a while, our classmates started to enter as well, with incredibly varied reactions when they saw me.

Akane got pale and instantly lowered her gaze to the ground when she saw me, scampering away like a squirrel to sit down.

Suzuka looked at me as if I was a dangerous animal, her green eyes showing she would protect her sister, before joining her sister at a desk.

Arthur had started his arrival proudly, standing tall, but as soon as he saw me his red hair shook as he flinched. He managed to keep it together after collecting himself for a second and sat down.

Then Brad and Sarah entered at the same time and a part of me hurt. I thought I had completely shaken off the remnants of our friendship, but looking at their eyes pained me.

Sarah still wore the same complicated expression as yesterday, but she seemed a bit less hesitant now. She would stand by James, no matter what decision he made. She believed in him.

What pained me more was seeing Brad's face. He was grieving the loss of a friend, someone he had had a lot of good memories with. I had never really interacted much with Brad alone, but this made it clear that he had truly regarded me as a friend. A friend that he now couldn't accept.

Sarah took the seat beside James in the front row, while Brad sat alone.

The next one to join us was Lindsey, her silver hair still as enchanting as ever. Her reaction was by far the most bewildering. As soon as she saw me she just walked up to my side and sat down with me, not uttering a single word.

'Still as strange as ever...'

I didn't mind it though, knowing I had one classmate whom at, the very least, was neutrally inclined towards me was a blessing in itself. It wasn't like I actively wanted to antagonize anyone anyway.

The last one also came. The gray-haired youth appeared to have gotten even stronger during my time away, judging by his improved physique. Just like Lindsey, he walked straight up to me as soon as he saw me.

I kept my face expressionless as I talked to him, "What's up, Bayyan?"

His face already looked like thunder and my casual way of speaking didn't seem to help.

"Shut up. You aren't supposed to be here, and you know it. You don't belong here."

Although the young man wasn't exactly wrong, I couldn't care less. I chose where I belonged and it wasn't up to this kid to decide that.

"Lindsey, would you mind moving a bit for a second?"

The girl just looked at me, nodded, and moved a few steps to the side.

Bayyan got even more enraged as he thought I was ignoring his words, "Did you hear me you, fucking shrimp?"

I had already decided to teach him a lesson, his taunting just made me more eager to.

"Shut the fuck up."

As I spoke I stood up and looked straight up into his eyes. Mana started to conglomerate inside of me, exuding pressure around me as the purple lightning coils started to rampage around me.

"This academy is famous for promoting power, the strong ones are the ones to decide right?"

All of my classmates were looking at us with worried eyes, "Isn't that what you believe as well, Bayyan?"

I continued to absorb mana, pushing me into the territory of a four-star, making Bayyan start to pale as the pressure increased and he knelt in front of me. There was something odd about the pressure that I could exude while overclocking. An ordinary four-star would never be able to make Bayyan kneel just from their presence but maybe as a side effect of my mind strongly imprinted the intent to kill it was a lot more dire.

All of my classmates stood up and withdrew their weapons, except Arthur, who was shaking a bit in his seat, and Lindsey who was still just observing. Even Akane managed to gather enough courage to join them.

As I looked around the room, my eyes landed on James. He looked almost completely unperturbed by my aura as he opened his mouth,

"Stop this Miren. I won't say this twice."

A slight grin appeared on my face, as I thought about what would happen, "Or what?"

He started to channel mana into his sword, making it start to shine with a golden hue, "Or we will make you stop."

Something about the situation made me riled up, excited even. Even though my head had already completely numbed a lot of my emotions as it entered battle mode, a sense of exhilaration was still present.

My grin widened even more at his words, making it clear what kind of situation this was.

'I'm the bad guy, huh? Fine, so be it then. If that's how they want to see me they are free to do so.'

Acknowledging my smile as an answer they got ready to initiate combat with me, and I was ready to just escape if needed. Even with my head ready for battle, I knew that I had no chance against all of them.

Just as James braced his legs to dash forward, a loud voice rang out, "STOP THIS YOU STUPID BRATS!"

I instantly released my pressure and let go of my overclocking. Fighting the urge to let my body just fall down from the strain, I looked at our homeroom teacher who had just arrived.

"It's the first day of the new semester and this is how you start ?! Are you stupid?!"

All of their faces started to flush, embarrassed by getting caught in this situation by the teacher.

I did not care. I had already successfully shown Bayyan that he is below me, even if it was the cost of my body. It hurt like hell.

Mike started to rub his forehead as if he had a headache and continued, "Bah! Sit down at your seats so we can get started!"

He didn't want an explanation, disputes between students were supposed to be settled by students.

'But not in my fucking classroom!'