Mara, Artha, and Vikar stared at the empty space where their banner was supposed to be.
A moment later, the three of them rushed into the Ashram in panic.
They quickly stopped in front of their classroom door.
But when they looked inside, they realized that the classroom was completely empty.
Mara slowly stepped into the classroom and looked around carefully.
Yet, there was nothing there except silence.
Suddenly, Vikar loudly shouted from outside,
"Mara! Hurry and come outside!"
Hearing this, Mara immediately rushed out of the classroom.
He quickly walked toward Vikar and asked,
"What happened?"
Vikar pointed his hand toward the Ashram grounds and said,
"Brother… look over there."
Mara looked in that direction.
There, Lina and Maya were standing together and talking to each other.
Mara looked back at Vikar in confusion and asked,
"What happened?"
Suddenly, Vikar became excited and started moving his eyebrows up and down, as if trying to give some kind of signal.
But Mara failed to understand anything.
Annoyed, he suddenly slapped Vikar hard.
After receiving the slap, Vikar shouted,
"Hey brother! What was that for?!"
Mara angrily replied,
"Speak properly! I don't understand these weird signals!"
Hearing this, Vikar burst into laughter and said,
"Brother, I want to become friends with Lina."
Mara laughed lightly and replied,
"And what exactly am I supposed to do about that, sir?"
Meanwhile, Artha was standing beside them quietly, watching the entire scene unfold.
Inside his mind, he muttered,
"Both of these idiots are hopeless…"
But then he glanced toward Lina and smiled faintly before quietly admitting to himself,
"Although… Lina really is nice."
Mara slowly began walking forward.
Confidence and excitement could clearly be seen within his footsteps.
After taking a few steps, Mara suddenly turned back toward Vikar and Artha and asked,
"Aren't you two coming?"
Hearing that, Vikar immediately started walking as well.
But Artha simply remained leaning comfortably against the wall, watching everything with a relaxed expression.
Mara and Vikar soon entered the Ashram grounds.
The atmosphere there felt strangely fresh and energetic.
Suddenly, Mara's eyes shifted toward the left side of the field.
There stood a large tree.
And beneath that tree were Vasuki, Yunsa, and Pasito.
The three of them were leaning against the trunk of the tree.
Pasito was quietly staring at the tree branches above him.
Vasuki stood there with one hand covering his eyes.
Meanwhile, for some unknown reason, Yunsa kept staring downward near his waist as if deeply lost in thought.
Mara slowly stepped forward to approach them.
Vikar was walking behind Mara.
Suddenly, Vikar looked back and noticed that Artha was still staring toward Lina and Maya.
But in reality, Artha seemed lost in his own thoughts.
A mischievous smile appeared on Vikar's face.
He suddenly ran toward Artha and slapped him loudly across the face.
The sound of the slap echoed across the Ashram grounds.
Because of that, Lina and Maya immediately turned their attention toward Artha.
However, Vasuki, Pasito, and Yunsa remained standing beneath the tree in the exact same positions as before.
Meanwhile, Mara calmly looked back after hearing the slap.
A faint smile appeared on his face, as if he had already understood what had happened.
Without saying anything, Mara turned forward again and continued walking toward the boys standing beneath the tree.
Artha angrily shouted at Vikar,
"Brother, why did you hit me?!"
The next moment, Artha started running after Vikar to take revenge.
Meanwhile, Vikar quickly began running toward the right side to escape from him.
But he had no idea that in the same direction, seven or eight teachers were already standing together and discussing something seriously.
On the other side, Mara finally reached Vasuki, Yunsa, and Pasito.
He looked at them curiously and asked,
"What are you guys doing?"
Pasito laughed lightly and replied,
"M-Me? I'm looking at the apples growing on this tree."
Mara stared at him in surprise before saying,
"Brother… this is a mango tree."
Without changing his expression even slightly, Pasito calmly replied,
"Oh… really?"
A faint smile appeared on Mara's face.
Then he walked closer to Yunsa and asked,
"What are you staring at?"
Yunsa quietly answered,
"You'll find out soon enough."
Still confused, Mara turned toward Vasuki and asked,
"And what are you doing?"
The moment Mara asked that question, Vasuki suddenly began trembling.
His breathing grew heavier and faster.
Inside his mind, Mara helplessly thought,
"Why is nobody telling me anything…?"
Suddenly, he heard Vikar screaming loudly from behind.
Mara immediately turned around—
and the moment he saw the scene before him, he froze in shock.
Alpha Core had flipped Vikar upside down across his knee and was punishing him with a wooden stick while Vikar cried out loudly in pain.
Mara slowly looked back again.
That was when he noticed something terrifying—
Vasuki had finally removed his hand from his face.
Clear slap marks could be seen on his cheeks.
At that moment, Mara silently muttered inside his mind,
"Looks like these guys already got punished…"
"Am I next now…?"
Alpha Sensei was extremely furious.
He glared at Mara and shouted angrily,
"Mara! Is this the time to stand around and talk?!"
The very next moment, Alpha threw his wooden stick toward Mara.
The stick moved through the air at incredible speed—
but suddenly, it stopped directly in Mara's hand.
At that instant, the temperature of the wooden stick began rising rapidly.
Mara's eyes started glowing with a crimson-red light.
Within seconds, the stick itself began to burn.
Seeing this, Alpha slowly started walking toward Mara.
Yet there was no fear visible on Mara's face.
Inside his mind, Mara quietly thought,
"I am not afraid of anyone."
That single moment captured everyone's attention.
And unknowingly…
this became the very first step toward Mara's growing power.