{The Devil's Training Begins}

The silence that followed Milo's last words was deafening. Hailey stood frozen, her fists clenched at her sides as the classroom erupted into snickers and muffled laughter. Her face burned, not from embarrassment—no, she was far past that—but from sheer, unfiltered rage.

How dare he?

How dare this Agama Soldier—this insufferable, arrogant, self-righteous military wannabe—stand there and humiliate her like that? Calling her brainy dim in front of everyone?

Webby nudged her. "Uh... sit down, Hailey, before he throws another chalk at you."

Hailey snapped her head toward her friend, still fuming. "Oh, I'd love to see him try," she muttered under her breath. But Webby's urgent eyes told her not to push it. With a huff, she plopped back into her seat, arms folded, her foot tapping violently against the floor.

Milo gave her a hard look before turning back to the rest of the class. "Good. Now that we've cleared that up, let's get to work."

With that, he picked up a marker and turned to the whiteboard, scribbling down a series of equations so fast that it almost seemed like his hand was a machine. The classroom fell silent once more, the students watching him with wary expressions.

"For the next two months, you'll be following my syllabus. Unlike your previous classes, I won't tolerate laziness, excuses, or slacking off. You will do the work, and you will pass. If not—" He turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over them, "—then consider yourselves doomed to stay in this Kingdom of the Dullards forever."

The way he said it made several students squirm in their seats.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Wow, dramatic much?" she whispered to Webby.

Milo suddenly tossed a marker in her direction. It landed squarely on her desk with a loud thunk. She jumped in surprise.

"Since you're so eager to speak, Miss Hamilton, why don't you come up here and solve the first problem?" he said, voice calm but deadly.

A chorus of oohs filled the classroom.

Hailey's lips parted. "What? Why me?"

"You have a mouth big enough to argue science and IQ levels, surely solving a simple algebraic equation shouldn't be an issue, right?"

Hailey stared at the board. X² + 5X - 24 = 0.

She swallowed.

Damn it.

Math wasn't her strongest subject. Nothing was her strongest subject. She had long since accepted her fate as an academic failure. The only thing she had ever been good at was running her mouth, throwing hands, and getting into trouble.

But there was no way she was going to let Milo win. Not after what he did to her.

With an exaggerated sigh, she stood up, grabbing the marker. "Fine. But don't expect me to show my work. I'm a genius, remember?"

The class chuckled as she walked up to the board, her confidence mostly for show.

She tapped the marker against her chin, stalling for time.

Milo crossed his arms, watching her with that same unreadable expression.

"Tick-tock, Miss Hamilton," he said. "If you take any longer, we might as well wait for your fully awakened brain to join us at 10 AM tomorrow."

More laughter.

Hailey clenched her teeth.

"Just shut up," she grumbled and quickly wrote down something—anything—that looked remotely like an answer.

When she stepped back, she sneaked a glance at Milo. His expression didn't change.

"Interesting," he muttered. Then, in a swift motion, he erased her work with his palm and rewrote the entire solution in perfect steps—clear, precise, and, most importantly, correct.

Hailey's stomach sank.

Milo set the marker down. "This is how you solve it," he said. "Pay attention next time."

She turned on her heel, storming back to her seat.

"I was paying attention," she muttered, flopping down into her chair.

"Really? Because I just proved otherwise."

The class snickered again, and Hailey buried her face in her arms.

She hated him. She hated him so much.

After Class – The New Order

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. The students let out a collective sigh of relief, stretching as if they had just survived a military boot camp.

Milo gathered his books, looking as unfazed as ever.

"Your homework is on the board. I expect everyone to turn it in tomorrow, no excuses," he said. "And if I catch anyone slacking—especially certain individuals—you'll wish you never stepped foot in this classroom."

His eyes flickered toward Hailey for a second before he walked out.

The moment he was gone, the entire class exploded into chaos.

"Bro, this dude is insane!"

"Why does he act like we're in a freaking army camp?"

"I swear he's trying to kill us!"

Hailey groaned, rubbing her temples. "I knew he was going to be a problem the moment I saw his face."

Webby smirked. "Oh, you mean the moment he threw a chalk down your throat?"

Hailey shot her a glare. "Don't remind me."

Just then, Rhett and Franco swaggered up to their desks.

"Man, that teacher is something else," Franco said, flopping into the seat in front of them. "I kinda like him, though. Dude's got style."

"Style?" Hailey repeated, incredulous.

"Yeah. The way he roasted you back there? Legendary," Rhett added with a laugh.

Hailey smacked him. "Whose side are you even on?"

Rhett raised his hands in surrender, still laughing.

Webby leaned in. "Honestly, though… do you think he's gonna be as bad as he says?"

Hailey snorted. "Worse. This is just the beginning. I can feel it."

As if on cue, the door suddenly swung open again.

Milo was back.

The room fell silent instantly.

He strode inside, his gaze scanning the students like a predator assessing its prey.

"One more thing," he said, voice calm but firm. "Anyone who fails my class… gets extra lessons. With me. Personally."

Gasps of horror filled the room.

Hailey's stomach dropped.

"No. Freaking. Way," she breathed.

Milo's eyes found hers again.

"Oh, yes," he said smoothly. "And trust me, Miss Hamilton, at the rate you're going… you'll be seeing a lot more of me."

He turned and walked out again.

The silence lasted only a moment before the class burst into groans of despair.

Hailey, however, sat frozen in place.

Extra lessons?

With him?

Oh, hell no.

This was war.