CHAPTER 101: RAN’S LINE IN THE SAND

At this point, everyone knew who Eron was. What he’d done on the first day was hard to forget, and today marked his first reappearance since then. This explained the silence that fell over the cafeteria.

"It’s him," one student whispered. "Let’s go."

"Mhm."

"He’s here, and that other guy, too. This doesn’t look good."

"They might fight again. Gee. How come he and that other guy weren’t expelled after that?"

Students—whether present during the incident or just having heard about it—quietly packed their lunches and abandoned their tables. No one could blame them. Eron had nearly massacred everyone in the cafeteria on their first day of school. Who knew if he’d snap again? Especially with Mikel also in the cafeteria.

"So, that’s him..." Boom hummed, his wide, round eyes following Eron with obvious curiosity.

Blitz, seated beside him, nodded. "He looks mean."

And somehow, when Blitz said that, the twins intuitively shifted their gaze to Mikel. The latter deadpanned at the obvious look in their eyes.

[You do not look mean, Master. At least, in my eyes, though I do not have one.]

"My friend, do not worry," Tahu suddenly tapped Mikel’s shoulder, nodding encouragingly. "This time, I’ll protect you. I’ve learned a lot in the academy since the first day of class, so you can now rely on me." Tahu slapped his hard chest, nodding reassuringly.

[Lies.]

Mikel’s face twitched at Tahu’s sincerity and Doom’s sarcasm. He shook his head, brushing off Tahu’s hand, about to finish his food, when he caught Ran’s expression. Ran’s head hung low as he played with his food, his hand trembling just enough for Mikel to notice.

Mikel wasn’t the only one who noticed; the "grandpa" in their group did as well.

Eli moved forward and patted Ran’s back. His action made Ran turn to him in surprise, only for Eli to offer a smile.

"Don’t worry anymore," Eli said. "He wouldn’t cause a problem again. I heard he’s banned from using his Phantom within school grounds, and if he breaks that, he’s looking at expulsion. Moreover, I heard the Dray Clan was also unhappy with what had happened and punished him accordingly." His smile stretched, deepening his wrinkles. "That’s how he still managed to stay in the academy."

Ran pressed his lips into a thin line and forced a smile as he nodded at Grandpa. "That’s not what worries me," he murmured. "But thanks, Grandpa."

"Big Brother Ran, if he picks on you again, Boom and I will beat him like the Ruminant Moo!" Blitz encouraged adorably, while Boom nodded profusely.

Tahu then slapped his chest. "Me too, my friend Ran. If he ever dares, I will make sure I won’t just stand idly by. I’ll show them the power of friendship."

[System Alert: Cringe Detected]

Mikel just ignored Doom’s sarcasm toward Tahu and stared at everyone.

Sometimes, I don’t think it’s that bad to have these other guys around, he thought as he quietly bent over to eat. But instead of eating, his eyes drifted to the table where Eron sat down.

Eron had dropped into his usual table, but this time, it wasn’t just the usual faces. There were more of them. Too many. And somehow, all of them were looking back at Mikel.

"Tch," Eron clicked his tongue as his sharp eyes glinted maliciously.

Mikel didn’t react and just stared back at the guy at the corner table. Without reacting to Eron’s mocking gaze, he continued to eat his food.

[Master, be careful. That young shaman isn’t the type to let things slide, not when he was humiliated—according to human philosophy.]

Let him come if he wants to.

Mikel took a few bites in quick succession, stuffing his mouth until his cheeks were puffy.

That is, if he wants to get thrashed again.

[Master, permission to apply blunt force trauma in advance? Purely for efficiency.]

Mikel quietly smirked and shook his head.

Save it for round three... if there is.

---

RING!!!

As the school bell rang, everyone in class started packing their things while their teachers were still talking. It didn’t take long for teachers in each class to leave, while students looked at each other to chat or just packed their things to leave immediately.

"Heya! Do you want to drop by the coffee shop? I heard today’s special menu is THAT." A female student excitedly turned to the other desk.

The other girl’s eyes twinkled. "You mean... that?"

"Yes, that!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in the classroom, a young man threw his bag at another. "Hey, let’s go play some basketball."

"My ball’s deflated after it was confiscated," another male student said.

"Don’t worry, I have a spare one."

Ran looked around his classmates, hearing different conversations from different groups, even if he didn’t want to. He was already used to this after-class scenario. Students were already planning where to go or how to kill their time until curfew hours since they couldn’t really leave the school grounds without a permit. So, in a way, they were like prisoners—only well-fed and confined with more comfort.

"Mike—"

Mikel yawned loudly as he was already dragging himself away, his bag slung over his shoulder. Ran stopped himself, watching Mikel go.

Right, he still has detention.

As he watched Mikel walk off, he saw him nearly bump into one of their classmates—the one who kept snapping his fingers nonstop. Just like Mikel, the finger-snapper classmate also had detention because he kept snapping his fingers. At this point, everyone was already used to the finger snapping that it didn’t bother them anymore—no one knew how, but they just treated it as background noise they ignored.

A shallow breath escaped Ran before his brows rose, catching the twins looking back at him.

"Big Brother Ran, do you want to come with us?" Boom asked politely. "Grandpa, Blitz, and I will play hide-and-seek."

"It’s going to be fun, Big Brother Ran!" Blitz chimed in. "You should come!"

Eli just chuckled because somehow, he ended up babysitting the twins. It wasn’t like he had cause to complain, because these twins were such a delight to watch, even though he just napped most of the time.

"Thank you, Blitz, Boom," Ran offered them a kind smile. "But I have something else to do today."

With that, Ran took his bag and left. As he strode off, the twins followed his figure with their gaze. Their heads tilted in synchronized innocence, blinking as if trying to decode Ran’s mood.

Eli, on the other hand, just stared at Ran with slight concern.

I wonder if he is alright? Eli wondered. He had been quiet since seeing Eron during lunch.

---

[Men’s Dormitory Building 1]

Ran sat by the desk, a knife in front of him, deep in thought. After a moment, a deep exhale escaped him.

"This isn’t the time for all of this," he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can’t just let everyone keep protecting me."

Although he appreciated everyone’s efforts and reassurance, Ran knew Eron. He’d practically grown up with that bully, and if there was something Ran was certain of, it was that Eron wouldn’t stay quiet for long.

"Mikel’s in detention because of me." Guilt flickered in his eyes as they reflected the knife of Gallos. "I can’t keep putting everyone in trouble just because... just because I’m weak."

He drew a deep breath and nodded to himself. "I managed to land a Justice Strike to the Ruminant King," he encouraged. "If I work harder... then I will... I might... be able to stand up for myself for once."