As he picked up his fork, he felt a sense of unease. Zero was conspicuously absent from their usual spot. Mayo, catching his inquiring gaze, merely pointed towards the cafeteria's entrance. Given the past three days' pattern, it would be safe to conclude that a new SCENE was about to start.

[Press X to observe]

His eyes followed Mayo's direction, landing on Zero, who happened to be standing near the trash. (The white-haired boy really looked 'great' there). Immediately, a bulky guy walked over, slamming his hands onto the trash can to shout:

"—Hey, punk! Re-member me?" The taller guy hollered, taking a brief moment to make sure Mrs. Watson was preoccupied elsewhere. "Were you the one who stole MY PLOW?"

"No," was Zero's curt reply.

'GIVE ME BACK MY PLOW!"

Funny, because the person who actually had the 'Heavenly Plow' was eating popcorn… and Steven, how'd you get that popcorn?

"Oh, this?" Steven nodded, "I found it."

[Dieze: 'You acquired it… from a hole in the vending machine.' X]

"Oh," Mayo said. "So, can I have some?"

Steven nodded. Together, they chowed-down on popcorn as they watched the scene unfold:

Bull E, despite his significant size and aggressive demeanor, smirked wickedly as he delicately pulled out a tiny little trinket from his ears. With an audacious grin, he announced:

"Behold, the Earthly Bull's Tin Shovel!" (How many did he have?) With a flick of his wrist, it expanded to a size that made Steven question the physics of it all. On its surface, tiny grooves seemed to shift and morph, like intricate records of the history of shoveling.

Zero, unimpressed or maybe just used to it, turned his head around to walk back to his table.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" Bull E roared, lunging at Zero, shovel raised and ready to strike.

Munching on his popcorn, Steven's eyebrows furrowed. Zero, oddly enough, wasn't even attempting to dodge.

Every smash of the shovel echoed a resounding 'clang!', drawing a wide range of reactions from the students around them.

While some, exasperated, physically pushed Zero away, trying to shield themselves from the human ping-pong match, others simply sidestepped, inadvertently forming a circle around the duo. With each swing from Bull, Zero was sent careening into a bystander, who would then, with a mix of annoyance, volley him right back into the path of the oncoming shovel.

It was less a fight and more an impromptu, bizarre game of "Pass-the-Zero".

"TWANG! CLACK… BOING!"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

This went on for a bit too long, no?

Bull E, wiping the sweat off his brows, finally tried to grab Zero and give him a wedgie. This of course, did not work, as Zero seemed to for once react. He said: "Wait."

Bull E, surprisingly did.

"That kid has your plow." Zero nonchalantly pointed.

Interesting how he was pointing at… wait, he was pointing at…

"—ME?" Steven's eyes opened wide. He coughed, sputtering out half-eaten kernels.

"Take out the plow." Mayo suggested, as Bull E. stomped over. Steen frantically took out the plow as his interface beeped:

- 'Ding!'

[NEW] Notification: 'DIEZE TACTICS FOR FIGHTING 101'

"#1: Don't be Steven."

"#2: If you are Steven, tough luck."

"Calibrating… current cultivation rank: ERROR: You have not even reached the first stage… Your opponent is: Bull E. Cultivation Rank: Core Formation. CONCLUSION: Time to start recording. This will make a good video."

"Wait, it's kinda tiny? How do I make it bigger?" Steven mumbled, holding the toothpick-sized plow up. Noticing an incoming swing, he quickly dodged by jumping out of his seat.

As Bull E readied his shovel for another swing, Steven held up the gilded plow meekly: "Hey, Bull E, quick question: how do I make this bigger?"

"Oh, that?" Bull E, showed him. "See, just imbue some energy and imagine it growing bigger! W-wait, why am I telling you this? DIE!"

Bigger… Come on, bigger! He imagined it growing inches longer, until-

Maybe it was luck that the plow grew in the nick of time, deflecting Bull E's blow. Unfortunately the resulting force made both of Steven's arms numb and Bull E had only been using one arm!

- 'Ding!'

['-1 HP']

Mayo, acting like Steven's personal coach from the sidelines, shouted critiques and advice:

"Stay on your feet, Steven!" Mayo called out, as Steven nearly toppled over from the force of the blow. "Balance! Balance is key!"

[Dieze, on the other hand, seemed to be recording… 0:19… 0:20…]

Bull E growled, taking another swing, but Steven managed to clumsily parry with the now-enlarged plow, throwing off Bull E's rhythm just a tad.

"Use your environment!" Mayo yelled, pointing to a nearby table. "Put something between you two!"

Steven, trusting Mayo's judgment, shuffled backwards and kicked a chair in Bull E's path. Bull E, slightly taken aback by this maneuver, took a second longer to dodge the chair, buying Steven a momentary respite.

"Channel your inner energy! Breathe!" Mayo continued, demonstrating a deep, calming inhalation.

Steven attempted to mimic her, taking a deep breath. In the split second that followed, Steven felt a surge of energy, albeit weak. It wasn't the Qi gathering that some elites had, but it was... something.

- 'Ding!'

['Spiritual Awakening +0.1'], ['Dexterity + 1']

"Yeah, there you go!" Mayo cheered. "Remember, fighting isn't just about strength. It's also about strategy. Use your opponent's movements against them!"

Use… your opponent's movements against them?

"Ragh!" Bull E lunged again, but this time, Steven managed to sidestep, letting Bull E's momentum work against him. Bull E crashed into a nearby table, sending trays and food flying.

Steven looked over at Mayo, his eyes saying: 'thanks'. But there was no time to celebrate, Bull E was already getting up from the floor. Dang it, what was his next, best move?

Mayo shouted, "Think! What's the one thing he doesn't expect you to do?"

Steven thought for a second, watching as the incoming Bull charged closer, and closer…

…and…

Clo-S-

-ER—

"MRS. WATSON? HELP!" Steven screamed, waving the lunch lady over.

| 'Achievement Unlocked: Call for Backup! First Time? [+1 Wisdom]' |

MRS. WATSON turned over, her eyes glaring down and colliding with the floor of the cafeteria like twin-asteroids from ancient times. Her soul brushed through the cafeteria, and her arms expanded into crazy sizes as she grabbed and picked up a little, miniscule bull.

"What seems to be the issue here?" Mrs. Watson barked menacingly, an undercurrent of threat in her tone. Bull E's bravado melted away, replaced by sheer terror. Despite his pleas for his life, Mrs. Watson remained unyielding and dragged him out of the cafeteria… Once again…

Steven sat down in his seat, fixing his shirt collar which looked like someone had pulled on it one-too-many times.

"Need help?" Zero helpfully offered.

Steven looked back at him.