"Come over here, I dare you," Luke shouted in pure rage. He closed his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, his body coiled like a spring ready to snap. "Come and fight me as a man, you damn coward! Stop hiding behind your family's influence and your friends!"
"Humph! As if I'm afraid of you." Bernard moved forward, a sneer of mockery etched into his face.
John stood between the two, observing the unfolding drama with interest. He could tell there was a deep, likely tragic story behind the Lockheart family, but he didn't care about the politics of this world's families yet. What he did care about was the opportunity. At this moment, Bernard had provided a bridge to the blue-haired target.
If he wanted to investigate the origins of the suspicious youth, he needed to break into their circle. And the best way to do that was to escalate the chaos.
"Why don't we raise the stakes then?" John suddenly interfered. He stepped up beside Luke, leaning back with confidence that seemed to radiate from his very core. "Why don't the two of us fight the lot of you instead?"
"What?!!" Bernard's face went pale, then flushed a deep, unsightly red. He looked at the group of four students behind him, then back at John.
"Are you afraid of me, perhaps?" John smirked, crossing his arms and gesturing with his head toward the elite group. "I recall that loser from last night stood with your group... Alfred was his name, if I recalled it right. Sorry, I have the habit of always forgetting the trash and useless stuff…
He was standing right by your side. Why don't you try to clear his name, and yours, and prove yourselves against me? Or are you only brave when you're mocking someone's family?"
"You..."
"Don't cross the line, zero-scorer!"
"Do you take us for losers like you?!"
A chaos of shouts erupted from the group. They were insulted, furious, and ready for violence, all except for the target John was eyeing.
The blue-haired boy stood silently at the rear, his faint blue eyes tracking the scene with a chilling calmness. He didn't join the shouting; he didn't even look agitated. He looked like a cold statue watching a play he didn't care about.
Noticing the target's reaction made John realise his task was even harder than he thought. The blue-haired youth clearly knew John was a high-threat; he wasn't going to be easily baited into a messy brawl.
He maintained his distance while his underlings, like Bernard, stepped closer to John and Luke, the air crackling with the threat of an immediate explosion.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
The roar came from the classroom doorway. Every student froze. They turned to see the fierce-looking, bald teacher standing there with his arms crossed.
"In one minute, I don't want to see a single one of you in this corridor," the teacher barked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the gathered crowd. "Unless you want your first day to end with a disciplinary punishment? Move! Now!"
The teacher's eyes gleamed with a dangerous, threatening light that made even John's heart clench. This man was the real deal. If he promised them hell, John had no doubt he would deliver more than that, with interest.
"Consider it your lucky day, idiot!"
Even as the fight was cancelled and the gathering disbanded under the weight of the teacher's gaze, Bernard couldn't help but throw one last insult directly at Luke's face.
However, John noticed that Bernard avoided locking eyes with him. The bully might be arrogant, but the memory of Alfred's broken form was clearly still fresh in his mind.
John simply ignored these flies. His eyes remained fixed on his target until the youth vanished around a corner. Throughout the entire confrontation, that student had never shown a single speck of worry or distress.
He hadn't flinched when the teacher roared, nor had he looked concerned when John issued his challenge. It felt like he got everything under his total control.
On top of that, the boy radiated a chilling sense of security. He gave John the distinct feeling that he was confident he could hold his own against him. Even if he acknowledged John's strength, he seemed certain of his own ability to crush John if the need ever arose.
"Thanks for the help," a voice broke into John's thoughts.
As John walked away toward the dormitory building per the teacher's instructions, Luke hurriedly chased after him, his long strides easily catching up. "I know you stepped up back there to help me. I really appreciate it! Most people would have just watched the Lockheart kid get humiliated."
"At least you have a few brain cells working up there," John cracked a joke, a small smirk playing on his lips.
Even if Luke was hot-tempered and prone to charging in blindly, he was smart enough to realise that John's intervention had saved him from a five-on-one slaughter.
Even if Luke had misinterpreted John's true motive, John didn't mind it. Establishing a good relationship with someone who seemed to know a lot about this world, like Luke, was a solid move.
"By the way, who was that kid with the group?" John asked as they reached the edge of the dormitory building. He tried to keep his tone casual, masking the burning interest in hearing the answer. "The one with the blue hair and the silver earrings?"
"Which one?" Luke blinked, momentarily confused. It seemed he was slow to grasp things. "Oh, him? That's Richard. But I heard others in that group calling him Ricky."
"Ricky?" John felt a surge of satisfaction. He had a name. He had successfully gained a foothold in his curiosity just by playing along with Luke's drama. "You know him? Is he from a big family like yours?"
"First time I've ever seen him," Luke honestly said, suddenly pausing in his tracks. A frown creased his forehead, as if he were lost in deep thought. "But now that you mention him, something definitely seems off about that guy!"
"How so?" John's interest was piqued. He leaned in slightly, waiting for Luke's next words.
"You see, Alfred, Bernard, and the others in that lot are all the same type," Luke explained, his voice lowering. "They all come from the direct Guardian Families of the Paragons. They're incredibly insular and elitist.
They'd never accept an outsider into their inner circle, and yet... I could easily tell they were treating this new face with the utmost respect. It was almost like they were treating him as their leader. Which is... Quite weird, actually! Those guys don't follow anyone who isn't higher than them in status."
John didn't fully grasp the weight of the term: Guardian Families, but the subtext was loud and clear. Ricky wasn't just another student; he was the son of a high-ranking figure or a strong family in the world.
"Don't look at me like this... You must have heard about my family and what happened to it," Luke said, his tone shifting abruptly. The proud fire in his eyes died down, replaced by a sombre, depressing shadow. He lowered his head as he spoke, his voice tinged with the embarrassment of a fallen noble.
John wanted to ask directly about the Guardian Families and the Lockheart downfall. He was curious about the lore of this world to fill in the gaps of his sudden rebirth here.
Yet, a warning flared in his mind. Asking about basic, well-known concepts like what happened to Luke's family or about the Guardian Families would be a glaring red flag, even to someone as seemingly straightforward as Luke.
"I'm not that informative, you know," John said vaguely, trying to offer a neutral answer.
"Ah, I'm glad you didn't hear the gossip," Luke laughed wryly, though the sound was hollow. He seemed relieved to avoid the topic of his family's shame.
"Anyway, let's continue our talk next time. I'll go and leave you to rest. Sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have jumped you for a fight right after class."
John recalled that he had used the excuse of wanting to rest to dodge the spar. He had no choice but to accept Luke's farewell. He watched the tall youth walk away, satisfied with the intel he had extracted. He had a name and the social status of the group surrounding his target.
"Damn!"
After walking alone for a few more minutes, John slammed his palm against his forehead, a sharp pang of regret hitting him. "I should have asked him about that girl as well!"
He had been so focused on Ricky that he had completely forgotten to ask about the brown-haired loner. He could have ended up knowing her name as well. "I'll have to ask him tomorrow," he decided, while heading towards his dorm.