Nikita said in an emotionless, cold voice,
"I'm going to challenge the Guardian of Order. I'll prove that I'm superior to him."
Aibar replied calmly with an emotionless expression,
"Alright… honestly, I don't even know what I should tell you or how I could help you."
Nikita's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Really? You want to help me!?"
Aibar answered calmly,
"Wait… I never said I'd definitely help you, don't rush. There's something I want to ask first. Why do you want to challenge him… the Guardian of Order?"
Nikita gave a faint smile.
"I'll tell you later. Personally… when the bell rings…"
Just then, the teacher overheard the two whispering.
Teacher Sharapat looked at Aibar and said,
"The Guardian of Order… yes, I respect you. But I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt my lesson. Yes, you're a genius, you know everything… however, it would be better if you didn't distract the new student from studying. Not everyone is like you. He actually needs to study."
Nikita froze for a moment, deep in thought, then suddenly lost his balance from shock while sitting.
"Whaaaat… you're the Guardian of Order!? Ooo… ahh—"
Crash.
He accidentally fell off his chair.
Aibar offered him help, standing up and slightly bending forward as he extended his hand.
Nikita stared at him for a moment before his expression turned irritated. He brushed Aibar's hand away arrogantly and stood up on his own.
Then Nikita looked at the teacher and declared,
"You are underestimating me. I'm also extremely intelligent and exceptional. Even compared to the teachers of this school… no, that sounds too small. I am the smartest in the world. At this point, nobody can defeat me intellectually."
Then, in a mocking tone while looking down on Aibar, he said,
"Huh… you compared me with this guy?"
Nikita smirked proudly.
"Teacher… if you don't believe me, I can prove it. I challenge… what did you call him… ah yes, the Guardian of Order... to an intellectual competition."
Teacher Sharapat looked slightly displeased.
"New student… you are rather arrogant. I don't mind, but what does the Guardian of Order—my favorite student, Aibar—think about this?"
Aibar calmly replied,
"I accept the challenge."
Since this was math class, they decided it would become a mathematical competition.
Sharapat-teacher already knew Aibar was far beyond her level. So the rules were simple: both competitors would write formulas and problems they knew onto blank sheets of paper, and whoever finished first could immediately end the competition. The final results would determine who was smarter and who could think faster.
The competition began.
Several minutes passed.
Nikita was only one equation away from finishing when—
"I'm done."
Aibar calmly ended the competition.
Nikita froze in disbelief.
"Ah… how!?"
Teacher Sharapat collected the papers and began checking them.
As she reviewed the answers, she gradually froze, staring at the papers in complete shock.
"…Impossible…"
Nikita crossed his arms confidently.
"Hmph. Even if you were faster, I solved two of the seven hardest unsolved mathematical problems in the world. I started with those first, which is why I ran out of time. Obviously, I won this competition. Your so-called Guardian of Order never had a chance against me."
Sharapat-teacher spoke slowly.
"The winner is…"
Nikita smirked.
"Hm… obviously me."
"The Guardian of Order."
Nikita's eyes widened instantly.
"Impossible… how!? This can't be real! I solved two of the seven impossible formulas! That was my trump card! How could I lose!?"
He stared at Aibar in anger and disbelief.
Sharapat-teacher continued,
"Yes… that's exactly why I'm shocked. New student, I thought you were merely boastful, and for that I apologize. You truly are a genius. However, I verified your answers using the Guardian of Order's solutions."
She paused.
"Because he solved all seven."
The entire class froze.
"Of course, I personally don't possess the ability to verify everything completely… but I trust the Guardian of Order."
Nikita stared at Aibar in shock.
"How…? Impossible…"
Ermek smiled faintly.
"I knew it… our Guardian of Order never loses to random people."
Nikita clenched his fists in frustration.
Symbat, who had previously been ranked second academically after Aibar, had now fallen to third place because Nikita was clearly superior to her.
Symbat muttered in disbelief,
"Impossible… even if he lost to the Guardian of Order, he's still the second smartest person… in the entire world right now…"
Sharapat-teacher smiled happily.
"Amazing… now I don't have one strongest student, but two. Thank God for allowing me to teach students like these."
But Nikita was furious.
He forced himself to calm down, though anger still burned inside him.
"This isn't over… I challenge you to a sword duel. We'll use sticks instead of blades so nobody gets injured."
The boys in class burst out laughing.
Sharapat-teacher quickly protested.
"Again with violence? No, stop this—Guardian of Order…"
But Aibar calmly looked at Nikita and answered,
"Fine… I'll fight you with both of my hands tied. You can stay armed."
Nikita smirked.
"Huh… even better. I'll show this overconfident idiot his place."
Both of them changed into their gym uniforms and headed outside.
The duel began.
Aibar stood defensively while Nikita charged forward with incredible speed, unleashing rapid attacks.
Aibar barely managed to dodge. Some strikes still landed, slicing parts of his clothes and lightly cutting his skin. The wooden stick moved like a razor-sharp katana.
It became obvious that Nikita was a master swordsman.
Anything shaped like a blade instantly became a real sword in his hands. He wielded it with overwhelming precision and terrifying skill.
And he still wasn't using his full power.
Nikita carefully controlled his strikes so he wouldn't accidentally kill Aibar. Every movement was precise and efficient.
This ability was natural talent.
Only recently had Nikita discovered that he possessed extraordinary skill with weapons like these. Before entering the school, he trained for years.
Aibar himself was also highly skilled with swords—even at an elite level.
However, Nikita's weaknesses were clear: he tired quickly and lacked physical endurance compared to Aibar.
Still, he continued raining down unbelievably fast attacks.
The students and teachers watching were stunned. Nikita's strikes were so fast they looked blurry, as if he wasn't even holding a weapon at all.
Everyone realized one thing:
Nikita was the only person who could even remotely rival the Guardian of Order.
After repeatedly using techniques that consumed enormous stamina, Nikita began feeling exhausted. Realizing this, he started adding more weight and power to his attacks.
Because no matter what—
He wanted to defeat Aibar.
At one point, he nearly cut Aibar down entirely.
Nikita unleashed devastating strikes filled with immense speed and destructive force. If one landed directly, it looked powerful enough to slice through a truck and split its upper half open.
To dodge, Aibar finally had to use his hands. He performed a double backflip, touching the ground with his hands for balance before landing safely into another defensive stance.
Seeing this, Nikita stopped and pointed at him.
"Hey… didn't you say you wouldn't use your hands?"
Aibar calmly answered,
"Yes… but I said I wouldn't use them to attack or directly block your strikes. Using them for support is different."
Nikita returned to his stance.
"Fine…"
Then he poured all of his remaining energy into even faster, heavier, deadlier attacks.
But suddenly—
Aibar kicked Nikita's hand.
The wooden stick flew far away.
Then Aibar lightly kicked Nikita himself, knocking him to the ground. He intentionally held back so Nikita wouldn't be injured.
Aibar turned around calmly.
"You lost."
As he began walking away, Nikita, consumed by anger, grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it at Aibar's head.
Without even looking—
Aibar caught it instantly.
Then, only glancing back from the corner of his eye with an emotionless expression, he crushed the rock into dust using one hand.
Nikita stared in shock.
Then his expression twisted with irritation.
"Tch… show-off."
Aibar quietly walked away to change clothes.
Nikita muttered internally:
"That bastard… he deliberately showed off his strength. But I have to admit… that power is unbelievable. How did he crush a rock with one hand so effortlessly…?"
He gritted his teeth.
"Even if I hate admitting it… he's stronger than me. And that's what pisses me off."
Nikita eventually went inside to change as well.
When he entered the locker room, nobody was there. Aibar had already changed and left.
After changing into his school uniform, Nikita returned to class.
The day passed, classes alternating one after another until school finally ended.
Aibar returned home.
Azamat looked at him carefully.
"Master… what happened? Was something important today?"
Aibar answered calmly,
"No… a new student just joined my class."
Azamat narrowed his eyes.
"Hm… a new student? Did he say something to you? You seem troubled."
Aibar replied calmly,
"No… but he dislikes me. He sees me as a rival."
Azamat scoffed.
"Huh… he's nowhere near your level. What a ridiculous situation. Honestly, I don't think there's anyone in this world stronger than you."
Aibar paused.
"However… he's the only person who has ever managed to injure me."
Azamat's eyes widened.
"What…? He injured you!?"
Aibar silently showed the cuts on his body.
"…Yes."
Azamat looked serious.
"Impossible… then he's definitely not an easy opponent."
Aibar calmly replied,
"Huh… do you think I am competing with him?"
Then he added quietly:
"I want to become friends with him."
Azamat sighed.
"Very well… whatever decision you make, I'll support it. But if he ever tries to kill you…"
His eyes sharpened.
"I won't spare him."
Aibar calmly answered,
"Don't worry about me, teacher… you know me."
Azamat nodded.
"…Fine. I trust you."
Meanwhile, Nikita returned home as well.
Entering the house in an exhausted state, he muttered,
"Damn it… that Guardian of Order…"
Alexei—Nikita's older brother and a tenth-grade student—called out warmly,
"Oh, welcome back. I made your favorite meal."
Nikita's tired expression instantly disappeared.
"Ooo… thanks, brother."
He sat at the table happily.
Alexei placed besbarmak in front of him before sitting across from him with a small smile.
"So? How was your first day at school?"
Nikita ate silently for a moment.
"Don't ask… and I won't tell."
Alexei smirked.
"You met the Guardian of Order, didn't you?"
Nikita immediately became irritated.
"Don't even mention that jerk. He seriously got on my nerves."
Alexei sighed.
"Yeah… I had a feeling this would happen."
Internally, he thought:
"I might respect the Guardian of Order… but for your sake, I'll hate him too."
Nikita suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right… his eyes are red too. Why didn't you warn me?"
Alexei looked surprised.
"Sorry… did something happen? Did he do anything to you?"
Nikita shook his head.
"We competed, and I lost. At first, because his eyes resembled mine, I almost revealed everything about myself to him. But don't worry. After finding out he was the Guardian of Order, I gave up on the idea of becoming friends with him."
Alexei nodded approvingly.
"That was the right decision. He's your rival. Not revealing your secrets was smart."
Nikita's expression turned serious.
"Brother… no matter what, I'm going to defeat that arrogant bastard someday."
Alexei smiled faintly.
"I know the Guardian of Order is much stronger than you… but no matter what, I'll support you."
Nikita noticed him staring.
"Something wrong?"
Alexei smiled.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it. There's more food if you want. Want some soup too?"
Nikita brightened immediately.
"Yeah!"
The next morning, both Aibar and Nikita arrived at school unusually early.
When they encountered each other, Nikita frowned.
"Why are you here so early?"
Aibar calmly answered,
"Huh… I always come early to organize the classroom. You too?"
Nikita looked annoyed.
"Ugh… yeah."
"Then let's do it together."
"…Fine."
The two cleaned the classroom before anyone else arrived.
As silence filled the room, Nikita suddenly grinned mischievously and switched to Russian.
"Just because I'm helping you clean the classroom doesn't mean I acknowledge you."
Aibar responded calmly.
"Huh… what's wrong? Just speak Kazakh."
Nikita became even more amused.
"Hahaha… I demand that you speak Russian."
Aibar answered calmly.
"You're in Kazakhstan."
Nikita crossed his arms.
"In Kazakhstan, almost everyone speaks Russian. There's no law forcing people to speak Kazakh."
Aibar nodded slightly.
"True. There's no such law. And yes, many people in Kazakhstan speak Russian…"
Then he switched to Russian as well.
"But not in our village. Not in our school. Even those of us who know Russian still choose to speak Kazakh. Do you know why?"
He continued calmly.
"We learn many languages. Not just Russian. Kazakhs try to learn many languages. But tell me this—you want to defeat me and become the Guardian of Order. Yet many people here can't speak Russian at all. Meanwhile, everyone understands Kazakh, and you know Kazakh perfectly. Isn't that more practical?"
Aibar looked directly at him.
"What I'm saying is… yes, we try to learn many languages, but not everyone has the same opportunities or social status."
Then he added:
"And in Southern Kazakhstan, Russian isn't used nearly as much because it's far from Russia. So even if you defeated me and became the Guardian of Order, people might accuse you of disrespecting the Kazakh language and refuse to listen to you. So think about it carefully… especially since you already know Kazakh."
Nikita interrupted angrily—this time speaking Kazakh again.
"Fine… stop lecturing me."
Classes continued until the final lesson of the day:
Physical Education.
After warming up, the class decided to play football.
The teams split fairly, placing Aibar and Nikita on opposite sides.
Nikita's teammates looked hopeless.
"…We already lost…"
Nobody even wanted to be goalkeeper because they feared Aibar's monstrous shots.
Nikita calmly stepped forward.
"Fine. I'll be goalkeeper."
Seeing that, Aibar also switched positions to goalkeeper.
The match began.
Whenever Aibar's team attacked, Nikita blocked every shot like an impenetrable wall.
Nikita was unbelievably fast.
Ten minutes before class ended, the score was still 0–0.
Eventually, Aibar's team passed the ball back to him.
From his own goal—
Aibar launched a massive shot toward Nikita's goal.
But Nikita managed to stop it.
Internally, he thought:
"What a ridiculous shot…"
Then Nikita dropped the ball and began dribbling forward himself.
Using flashy dribbles and feints, he toyed with Aibar's team like children.
Aibar moved out from the goal line toward defense.
A fierce battle over the ball began between the two.
But suddenly—
Aibar slipped…