CHAPTER 29: THIS... IS FEAR

Ben stood on shaking legs, swaying slightly. Blood still lined the corner of his mouth, and his eyes, bloodshot and wild, glared at Noah with growing desperation.

Then, with a growl, he rushed forward again, energy gathering in his limbs. But he was slower now. His steps dragged, his swing telegraphed.

Noah moved before the strike landed. He pivoted and slammed his boot into Ben’s chest.

The Gold-tier student flew back, landing hard on his side with a choked grunt. Dust rose from the floor as he rolled.

Noah didn’t give him time to recover.

"Get up!" He roared, his voice echoing across the arena like thunder.

Ben groaned, dragging his arms beneath him.

He stood.

Noah stepped forward and kicked him again, straight in the ribs. Ben cried out, tumbling sideways.

The murmurs started in the crowd.

Another kick.

Gasps now.

Students from every tier leaned forward, eyes wide. The infamous Ben Stanley, S-rank potential, Gold-tier hero... being tossed around by a Stone-tier student like a sack of flour.

Noah stared down at Ben, who was once again trying to crawl up.

"Is that it?" He said. "Is that all you’re made of?!"

He crouched before Ben. "You’ve used all your attributes. The spell you were given. The skill you awakened. And yet, here I stand. And I haven’t used any skill or spell."

He stood, looking up at the other side of the arena, his eyes finding the Gold-tier section of the stands. Dozens of students in fine uniforms sat there, frozen in disbelief.

Noah raised his voice.

"This is your Gold-tier?" He called, loud and clear. "This is the best of you?"

The arena was quiet now. Nobody spoke.

He turned slowly in place, his voice sharp and cutting. "You sit there, high above the rest of us, pretending to be strong. Acting like potential makes you untouchable. But you’ve never had to bleed. Never had to fight for anything in your lives."

His eyes burned. "You’ve never earned anything."

Noah raised his hand toward them, pointing.

"You hide behind your parents. Behind your money. Behind your mentors and your private training halls. But when someone actually pushes back... what happens?"

He let the silence hang for a breath.

"I’ll tell you." He growled. "You fall."

He turned back to Ben, who had somehow clawed his way upright again, blood running from his nose.

Noah took a slow step toward him.

"Watch well!" He called out. "I’ll teach you all what it means to fear."

He stopped in front of Ben.

"Now stand properly, nepo baby. This lesson isn’t over yet."

Noah’s fist slammed into Ben’s jaw, snapping his head back and sending him staggering upright, barely catching his footing.

The crowd flinched with the impact.

Noah’s voice rang out for all to hear. "You want to know what fear is?"

He stalked forward and grabbed Ben’s collar. Ben swung weakly, but Noah didn’t flinch. He drove his fist into Ben’s face.

"This," he said as bone crunched, "is fear."

Ben groaned, falling to his knees, but Noah didn’t stop.

Another punch.

"This is hunger." He growled, his knuckles cracking with the blow. "The kind that chews through you until there’s nothing left but a fire raging in your belly."

Another hit. Ben’s blood splattered across the arena floor.

"I want you all to know you made this monster." Noah said. "You fed it. You laughed while it starved."

Another punch.

"And now?" He leaned in, nose to nose. "Now I’ll climb. I’ll claw my way up."

He hit him again.

"I’ll rise."

Another.

"I’ll tear through your walls."

Another.

"I’ll break your towers."

Another.

"I’ll destroy your lies."

With every word, another strike. The crowd could barely breathe.

Ben was on his knees, then flat on his back, trembling, his arms too weak to lift.

Tears mixed with blood on his face.

"S- stop." He whimpered, voice broken. "Please..."

Noah stared down at him.

He could finish it. One more strike and Ben would be unconscious.

But he didn’t move.

He stood slowly, breathing hard.

"No." Noah said. "This is enough."

He turned away, looking at the stands filled with spectators. "You’ll remember this. All of you will. For only true pain, will the message pass from generation to generation."

He turned and walked away.

He didn’t need to look back to know the silence had turned to whispers.

Every eye was on him. Every breath taken was filled with tension.

Ben Stanley, the arrogant Gold-tier, the one who strutted and mocked, was now curled in the dirt, crying and broken.

Noah had done it.

He didn’t need to kill or knock out Ben Stanley to make his point.

He’d already killed the boy inside. He’d killed his pride.

As Noah walked away, Ben’s cronies, Carlos and Kai, rushed into the arena. They didn’t look at Noah. They couldn’t.

They dropped to their knees beside Ben, carefully lifting his battered form.

Ben didn’t fight them. He just sobbed as they carried him toward the infirmary, limp and humiliated.

The image seared itself into the minds of every student in the stands.

The fear was real.

Noah Webb, Stone-tier, FFF-rank, had just shown them what monsters looked like.

They’d awakened the Dark Dragon.

And in the process, they had created their very own villain.

[][][][][]

Professor Cecilia stood by the tall window of her office, arms crossed, her gold-ember eyes tracking the figures in the distant arena below.

From here, her phoenix eyes had caught every detail.

The blood.

The punches.

The fire in that boy’s eyes.

She watched Noah now, walking calmly from the arena with that blindfolded friend of his.

His back was straight. His fists were relaxed. But even from this distance, Cecilia could see it clearly. The coiled energy beneath his skin, the storm he carried behind his eyes.

A slow smile tugged at her lips.

’Fascinating,’ she thought.

The boy reminded her of someone. Not the heroes summoned before. Not the arrogant noble heirs who strutted the halls of the Gold tier. No. He reminded her of herself.

Back then.

When she’d stood alone, rejected for the blood that made her. Pushed into a gilded cage because of the flame within her that the kingdom feared more than they could control.

’Bitter,’ she thought. ’Angry. Desperate to claw his way up.’

She turned from the window, letting the curtain fall shut behind her. The noise of the campus was muted at this height. She crossed the quiet room and sank into her chair.

On her desk lay a thick stack of parchments, grading forms, performance evaluations, reports from other professors.

But her thoughts were elsewhere.

She’d seen the whole dormitory incident the night before. The clashing spells. The broken doors. Damien Krell’s attempt to rally the others. The moment Noah turned the tables.

She hadn’t intervened.

Not then.

Because technically, it hadn’t broken any rules.

Students were allowed to fight, as long as no death occurred. Even theft was tolerated, when done within the boundaries of strength. If you were weak, you lost. If you were strong, you kept what you earned.

But when Leo Hargreaves had crossed the year boundary and cast a spell on younger students?

That was when she stepped in.

Not without letting the Krell boy burn first.

Cecilia smiled faintly to herself.

Now, however, came the question of Noah’s punishment.

She tapped a finger against her desk in thought.

A formal reprimand? Detention? Spell restriction?

Too ordinary.

Too meaningless.

No... something better.

Her lips curved upward.

There was something she could give him.

Something small on the surface, but far more telling underneath.

A task that would show her what kind of mind he had.

What knowledge he would chase when given the choice.

’Let’s see, Noah Webb,’ she thought as the flame behind her eyes flickered. ’Let’s see what you reach for when nobody’s watching.’