Ring! Ring! Ring!

The reverberating sound of the bell marked the end of the combat class. As the morning classes wrapped up, the large Hyperion Academy's dining hall buzzed with animated conversations and cheerful laughter. Amidst the lively atmosphere, Viktor couldn't help but notice the bruises on Seth's face.

"Hey, Seth, what happened to your face?" Viktor asked curiously while placing his lunch order on the table's interactive tablet.

Jake had already noticed the bruises on Seth's face since morning but every time he had asked him about them Seth had evaded the question. He didn't want any of his friends to know about his little encounter with Ethan because they'd probably want to get involved. He wanted to avoid Ethan marking them as targets since they weren’t protected by the school like Stella was. Luckily for him, the auto-injection Stella gave him had worked wonders, it had almost completely healed all of his injuries, healing completely a couple of bones and only leaving some bruises visible on the surface. The remaining visible wounds were only minor injuries that could pass as the product of an accident.

"It's nothing," Seth replied dismissively.

"He claims he 'tripped and fell'," Jake said, his tone showing his annoyance.

"Seriously? Did you fall from a fourth-floor window or something?" added Ilya, joining in the conversation.

Maybe the remaining bruises were a little too serious for a little accident.

"I guess I'm just that clumsy," Seth replied while trying to act embarrassed to make his lie more believable.

Needless to say, none of his friends bought it.

"I bet that brat Ethan had something to do with it, he’s always giving non-awakeneds a hard time," Jake said with a hint of aggression.

"I'm telling you, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Seth assured his friends. "So, Viktor, how did your test go?" he quickly changed the topic.

Seth’s friends realized Seth wouldn’t tell them anything so they decided not to push the topic further.

"I passed and even got a good grade," Viktor boasted, puffing his chest.

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"Lucky bastard," Ilya muttered under her breath.

"What was that? I think I heard a sore loser," Viktor teased, turning to Ilya. Then he turned to Jake and Seth. "We made a bet, I betted that I would pass the exam and she bet that I wouldn’t, she even said it was 'easy money.' Well, turns out it wasn't," Viktor said mockingly while sporting a smirk.

"Lucky bastard," Ilya echoed.

"I already told you, my friend, the correct term is 'talented,'" Viktor said with a smug grin.

"So, what was your score?" Jake asked curiously.

"I scored 76 out of 100, while Ilya got 90. So, I wasn't even that far from her. What about you guys? Any interesting news?”

“I won a spar against 4 Manifestation stage espers,” Seth bragged proudly.

"For real?!" Viktor and Ilya exclaimed in unison. Seth nodded in response, so both of them turned to Jake for confirmation.

"Yep, he did," he said calmly while Viktor and Ilya couldn't hide their surprise.

"Woah, I knew you were strong but to think you fought 4 espers at the same time without having an ability yourself. You would be absolutely terrifying if you had yours," said Viktor shocked while Ilya nodded in agreement.

"What did your teacher say about it?" Ilya asked.

"She said I'll be participating in more sparring sessions to prepare for the tournament."

“She must really see something in you since she is willing to help you.”

Seth thought about the day before and Mrs. Cunningham’s attempt to talk him out of participating in the tournament, "I think she's just concerned for me, but she also mentioned that my exceptional technique would benefit the other espers in their training for the tournament."

"In any case, it's good that she's helping you," Ilya remarked, smiling.

Engrossed in their conversation, the four of them continued chatting until lunchtime was over.

"Hey, guys, how about we hang out after school?" Viktor suggested before they separated.

"I'm in," Jake quickly agreed.

"Count me in too," Seth said.

"Sure, why not?" Ilya added.

The four of them agreed to meet outside the academy once school was over and they went to their respective classes.

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Ring! Ring! Ring!

The remaining classes passed uneventfully, and as the final bell rang, Jake approached Seth, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Let's go, Seth. Viktor texted me, and he says they're already waiting for us outside," Jake told Seth.

"Alright, let's go," Seth replied, closing his backpack and following Jake's lead.

They left the classroom and made their way toward the academy's entrance, where Viktor and Ilya were already waitingl.

"What took you guys so long?" Viktor asked.

"Our teacher dragged the class on, even though the bell had already rung. I really hate him," Jake grumbled.

"Which teacher was it?"

"Mr. Voight, our quantum physics teacher," Jake replied.

"Oh, I understand. I can't stand him either. He's an a**hole" Viktor affirmed, the memory of the strict teacher coming to his mind.

"We shouldn't badmouth the teachers, you know? Plus, he has a sound-related ability, we could get into serious problems if he heard us," Illya pointed out.

“Yeah maybe but still, screw him,” Jake said.

"Anyway, where do you guys want to go?" Viktor asked, changing the topic.

Taking a moment to think, the four of them realized none of them had a specific plan in mind.

"Well, for starters, how about we head to the mall?" Ilya suggested, breaking the silence. "We can wander around the shops, and if we get bored, there are also a lot of things we can do around there."

"Sounds good to me," Seth agreed, his friends nodding in unison.