"Arman, my dear colleague, how are you? Everything okay?" Eden asked as he made his way through the group of students, stepping into the middle of them.

"What do you want, Eden?" Arman nearly shouted in his face.

"You know exactly what I want. You struggle with understanding respect, so I came to give you a special lesson. I wasn't aware that you also need memory pills," Eden said, placing his hands behind his back and raising his chin. "I would've got you a prescription."

The girls around chuckled, further annoying Arman.

"Fuck off with your respect. You're lucky i didn't tell the teachers you slept in class. Now go wash your face before speaking to me, you look like a zombie." Arman's joke made everyone present, boys and girls alike, laugh at Eden. It was indeed funny.

"Don't worry, my dazzling complexion is enough to outshine this conversation," Eden said calmly. "And i am not lucky at all, you didn't report me to the teachers because you know what will happen if you do. If i was the same like the little 'Einstein' in our class, you would've make life hard for me. But today is not about me, is about how special you are, Arman. Are your neurons so primitive that you can't properly understand human language the first time you hear it? Are you always in need for a sequel? Can't you see you're bringing shame to you and your family by not respecting those who try to help you?" Eden asked, aggrieved by his colleague's behavior.

The other students gazed at Eden, not fully grasping the meaning of his words. To them, he was just spouting nonsense. But Arman knew exactly what he meant. What he was referring to.

"Eden, have you fallen for Mia? She tells me because she wants to, you have no right to preach me," Arman said seriously. "What happened to you? Are you not feeling well, love sick perhaps? Or what's wrong with you, bro?"

"None of the above," Eden said with a grin. "But even though she is responding to everyone and helps all in need because that's just how kind she is, there is no need for fuckers like you use her. I have no right to preach you about respect and manners as no one asked me to, but my civic sense is telling me to do that. So you will go and apologize for being the pig you are and not bother her with stupid questions ever again."

"Do you think you can tell me what to do?" Arman asked arrogantly. "Go fuck yourself, i was in the middle of an important conversation."

Eden gave a sad smile. "Why do you all need violence to understand something?" he said, moving closer to Arman. "Is it because of your low level of consciousness?"

"Eden, brother, calm down. What's this about?" another student placed himself between Eden and Arman, trying to stop the conflict.

"Raul, step aside," Eden said in a friendly manner. "I warned Arman not to do something, but he didn't listen," he said, placing a hand on Raul's shoulder, gently pushing him to the side.

Raul didn't say anything else and moved out of the way.

"What, do you think i'm afraid of you?" Arman asked, smirking.

"Don't care." Eden shrugged.

But when he got close enough, Arman punched first, aiming directly at his face.

Eden blocked it and landed a low kick on Arman's leg. The impact made Arman lose his balance, but another kick blocked by his arm helped him maintain his posture. Arman retaliated with a left hook that missed its target as Eden ducked low.

Closing in, Eden countered with a solid uppercut that dug deep into Arman's side, right where his liver was. Arman wasn't a trained fighter, just an arrogant student, so he dropped to the ground, spitting and gasping as he struggled with the pain.

"Weak." Eden took out a napkin and place it next to Arman. "Here, clean your mouth. Now you will go and apologize to her. And don't make me come after you again, cuz i will not let you off so easily, bro."

Despite his inclination for violence, Eden didn't like it. It wasn't something he liked to use to make his point, but sometimes it was necessary. The students around remained quiet, none daring to say anything. Seeing that Layla and Alice had watched the scene, Eden went to exchange a few more words with them.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this," he said.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm sure you had your reasons," Layla said, admiring Eden's features. She seemed absorbed by the man in front of her as her fingers traced the line of his jaw.

The flame inside Eden ignited at her gaze. He stepped forward, responding to her provocation. Layla arched her lips and placed her hands behind his neck, pulling him closer. Eden responded, letting himself immerse into a passionate kiss, his hands moving beneath Layla's short leather jacket to hug her waist and touch her skin.

"Sweet as always," Eden said, raising his head with a seductive arrogance.

The bell rang, the sound spreading over the entire courtyard.

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"The break is over, back to class everybody," one of the students announced loudly.

"Seems we need to part ways," Layla said, raising her chin to provoke Eden.

He accepted and kissed her one more time before letting her go. The small game of provocation was something Eden enjoyed. In his words, it brought a sense of adventure and excitement to the relationship.

"Alice," Eden said with a theatrical bow before leaving.

The students started heading back to their classes, and Raul helped Arman walk. Eden noticed the class rep, who stood motionless like a statue, watching as her fellow classmate was helped back to class.

Eden stopped next to her, feeling both affected by her condition and confident that he did what he had to. "He'll be fine," he said before resuming his walk.

. . .

After the last class of the day ended, Arman was the first to exit. But not before taking one last look in Eden's direction. Eden understood this couldn't be a good sign, but he couldn't change the situation. All he could do was adapt.

He took out his phone and checked his bank balance. The sum of 7,347 credits was displayed. He felt good and joyful, thinking how well things were developing. Back when he first started playing Ahartohaim, it took him months to make a decent amount of money, mostly from trades. And that was because Cole helped him in the game.

Unfortunately, Cole had decided to skip another day of school, so Eden knew he had to fight on his own. Walking with his classmates, Eden observed Arman talking with some individuals in front of the academy gates.

Is he that stupid? Eden wondered. Unfazed, he walked normally and exited the gate, acting like the guys waiting for him didn't exist.

"Hey, you!" called one of the guys, stepping in front of Eden. "We need to have a talk," he said in a deep, rugged voice. The guy was big, with pumped muscles, body tattoos, a malicious gaze, and an imposing stature.

"Talk?" Eden asked. "I have nothing to talk about with you. Go talk with your friend over there." He pointed at Arman.

"I don't like your tone, boy," said the big guy.

"Listen," Eden said with a sigh, observing that the guy didn't have the posture of a fighter. "I don't have time to waste. We can’t do anything here; the guards will stop us, and I don’t want to see you on the streets in a few days. So let’s be frank, what do you say?"

The guy smiled, speaking in a low tone, "You hurt my little brother, so it's my job to hurt you."

Eden nodded, keeping his serious expression. "So you're his brother. Alright, let's do this. Two streets from here, there's a parking lot. No one will interfere there. Let's fight and end this stupid thing. But be aware, I'll break something from every single one of you. And I'll break your little brother's arm for being an idiot. Is that alright with you?"

"Boy, I'll send you to the hospital for saying that," the guy threatened, moving to place his hand on Eden's shoulder to assure he won't run.

"Don't touch me," Eden said, grabbing the hand and pressing his thumb into the weak spot below the wrist.

The guy recoiled in pain, glaring maliciously at Eden as his friends prepared to attack.

"What are you doing here?" Mia asked, pushing through the barrier of students watching from the side.

"Nothing, class rep, we're just talking," Eden said with a smile.

Please don't meddle in this, he thought.

"It doesn't seem like that to me," Mia said, squinting at the guys surrounding Eden.

"Go back, girl. This doesn't concern you," said Arman's brother.

"If you don't shut up, we can't get out of here," Eden retorted angrily at the man.

"Fuck you!" the big guy cursed, lunging at Eden.

But Eden's kick was faster, the tip of his shoe hitting the guy in the neck. As Arman's brother staggered back, clutching his neck, Eden stepped on the inner part of his ankle, forcing him to the ground. The nearest adversary rushed to help his fallen leader, but Eden kicked him behind the knee, and as the guy fell, he received another kick on the left side of his neck, dropping unconscious.

"What are you doing there? Stop, stop!" shouted the two security guards rushing to the scene from the academy building.

"Knife!" Mia managed to scream with the last bit of strength she had. Her body was trembling, her face pale as snow.

Eden didn't need the warning; he was already aware of the guy with the knife. The simplest way to fight a man with a short weapon was to use speed and distance, and Eden used his leg to crush the man's balls.

As the guy doubled over, Eden took control of the knife before kicking him below the ribcage. He then threw the weapon away in the grass, turning his cold gaze to the other two enemies who remained still, too scared to follow their friends. His eyes finally landed on Arman.

But Eden didn't have time to go after him as the security guards pushed through the crowd and reached him.

"Someone call an ambulance," one of them shouted, moving to apprehend the two boys who tried to run. The other guard reported through his radio and turned to Eden.

"You stay here," he ordered before going to help his colleague.

Eden remained at the scene, removing the thought of breaking Arman's hand from his head, and moving to comfort the girl with the pale complexion.

"Mia," Eden said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Everything's good, everything's alright."

But the class rep was trembling uncontrollably, her eyes lost from the shock. Eden hugged her, resting her head on his chest and bringing her cold hand close to his mouth.

"Breathe, Mia, breathe. Everything is alright."

. . .

Back home after wasting more than an hour, Eden checked his empty fridge, hoping for a miracle. Finding none, he took the last bottle of E-rank vitamin drink. He sent a few messages to Mia to check on her, but she didn't respond. Unable to reach her, Eden set his phone down and opened his laptop to resume his work.

'You know all of this could have been avoided if you hadn't attacked Arman in the first place, right?' Zizi's voice echoed in his head.

"I couldn't just let things be. I needed to make an example of him. Otherwise, Mia will continue to work extra, helping everyone but herself," Eden said, opening an online platform.

'And do you think your actions today will bring any change?' Zizi asked softly.

"I hope so," Eden said seriously. "I just wanted to talk to him, but he asked for a beating."

'What about tomorrow? Are you going to punish him for asking someone to beat you?'

"No. His brother is in the hospital; that's enough. And i don't want to cause more trouble for Mia," Eden said, checking his phone.

'Have you started to have feelings for her?' Zizi asked, controlling her tone.

"No," Eden replied categorically. "She's too soft to face all the aspects of life and lacks the inner flame I'm looking for. She's attractive, but she can't handle me. I don't want to hurt her."

At that moment, Eden received a notification on his phone. It was just a message from the bank informing him of his current balance.

"Let all the money come to me," Eden said.

'Leave the money. What do you think about me? How do you imagine me?' Zizi asked.

"Like a fairy with moods," Eden replied.

"Moods? You have moods, not me. How can you say I have moods? Are you hearing yourself? I am a—"

And she starts again, Eden's thoughts managed to break through the infernal noise in his head.