"Who are you?" The boy asked.
"Brother! What are you doing here?" Vanya asked in panic.
"Oh! Are you the infamous Reyansh? The top of the Elite hunter class who failed to awaken and couldn't even afford an awakening potion." The boy taunted.
"Haha…oh boy, it's my lucky day to be in the company of such a spectacular failure," he laughed.
"Are you okay, Vanu? Did he hit you?" Reyansh ignored the tantrums of the boy as his eyes remained focused on his sister except for the early glare.
Angered due to being ignored, the boy tried to yank his hand from Reyansh's hold and failed miserably.
Even when non-awakened, Reyansh's strength was nothing to scoff at. So at the moment, it was pure bully to a kid who had yet to reach 12 years of age.
"Unhand me you weakling, do you know who my father is?" the boy shouted, unable to get his hand free, attracting the attention of other students in corridor.
"It's alright brother, I am fine. Why are you in school today?" Vanya answered his brother's question, while the boy struggled like a chicken caught in net.
"Go to the meeting room. I will meet you there, shortly," Reyansh relayed.
"Brother, just leave him. He's not worth the hassle," Vanya implored his brother.
Before, Reyansh could respond, the boy losing his patience, spoke up. "Hey, you two..."
However, he was cut short, as Reyansh interrupted him with a shrill voice, "One more word and I forget you are a child." And tightened his grip around the boy's arms.
"Vanu, you go and wait, I will be with you in a few moments," he calmly spoke to Vanya.
Knowing his stubborn brother, Vanya just nodded and walked towards the meeting room with slow steps, glancing back at them.
Reyansh twisted the hand he was holding as he asked, "Now, who the hell are you? And why are you so eager to die?"
"Ahh...Ahh...Wh-What kind of question is this?" Groaning in pain, the boy stuttered.
"Dumb kid, I want your name and the reason behind you tried to lay a hand on my sister," he rephrased the question.
"Oh, so that's why you are behaving this way. You actually..." before the boy could gloat any further, Reyansh smacked him in the head.
"Don't test my patience," Reyansh retorted.
"I am Aryan Rajput, my father is an S-rank hunter and owner of Victory Guild. So basically you are digging your own grave." The boy, Aryan, explained arrogantly, his hand still in Reyansh's grasp.
Hearing about S-rank hunter, a moment hesitation occurred in Reyansh's mind. Though not the pinnacle of power, S-rank hunters holds a respectable position in current hierarchy, no matter the law.
He would have to consider this even if he didn't want to. The rage inside him had only covered by the layer of love for his sister. He didn't wanted Vanya to witness something, she shouldn't.
'I have to grow stronger, much stronger that next time, I laugh when I hear about S rankers.' He made a quiet vow in that simmering anger.
Seeing Reyansh's thoughtful face only fueled Aryan arrogance, as a smirk appear on his face.
Even so, before their confrontation could grow, a teacher of the school appeared due to increasing number of students around them.
"What's happening here?" the teacher asked in stern voice. However, the moment his eyes laid upon Reyansh, he felt something amiss.
'I feel like I have seen this boy but I can't place his face.'
"Good morning teacher, I am Reyansh. I was just schooling this junior about how to behave." Reyansh took the lead.
"Ahh...Reyansh, I felt you were familiar. But why are engaging with him, you are breaking the decorum of school."
"You have to the principal office, follow me," the teacher, though in slightly soft tone reprimanded Reyansh.
"I hope you fine him and his sister for causing me grievance," Aryan demanded, feigning victimhood.
"We will solve this issue, Aryan, and you also behave according to rules of school," the teacher tried to appear balanced by scolding Aryan.
Reyansh's eyes also didn't miss this monkey balancing, an idea sprouted in his mind.
"Ahh...I didn't know my junior had grievances with me. Why don't we do this? There's no need to involve school administration in this."
"How about I transfer credits you want directly to you." Reyansh proposed with a grin, loosening the grip on Aryan's hand.
"Haha...now I know why you were termed Elite of the elites. You are smart, trying to chicken out knowing I can't access CNI until I turn 12." Aryan responded like he knew it all.
"No, I truly meant what I said. For someone influential like you, it would be easy to have access to someone to like that," Reyansh countered.
"Hmm...you are right. Mehta sir, why don't you become my bank for some time? You will receive compensation for that," Aryan shamelessly demanded from the teacher.
"As a future heir to Victory guild, I should be compassionate. If you could transfer 10,000 credits for my grievances, I let bygones be bygones." He added further without waiting for teacher to answer.
The smug look on Aryan was almost hideous, as he imagined his triumph.
Reyansh turned towards teacher and opened his interface and transferred the amount.
"Done," Reyansh announced.
The smugness of Aryan's face faltered, "Wh-What do you mean done? How could that be? It was 10,000 not hundred." Aryan argued.
"No, it's true but I received 50,000 credits," Mehta sir spoke, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"Huh? Why did you....Ahhhh" Aryan couldn't even complete his sentence when he felt something ominous as he felt Reyansh's grip tightening on his hand.
With a calculated show of strength, Reyansh broke his forearm in one move.
Before Aryan could even scream properly and others could intervene, a punch connected to his face, sending him flying into the wall.
"Extra credits was for future grievance." Reyansh spoke with a smile as he bend down near Aryan laying against wall.
This was enough to send him close to being unconscious as he whimpered on ground. For a moment, not even air moved, teacher Mehta was too stunned to act immediately.
"Reyansh, you shouldn't have done this. You have come to principal office," The teacher Mehta finally reacted few seconds later.
"Next time you think about laying a hand on my sister, I will remove both of your arms. This is just warning." Reyansh whispered in Aryan's ear.
Without waiting for any response, Reyansh stood up, turning towards the teacher, "Please take me to principal, Mehta sir."
Still stunned by the action taken by Reyansh, Mehta sir spoke quietly, "Follow me," moving forward.
Reyansh followed, though a single thought occupied his mind at the moment. He had to go a roundabout way to punish someone like.
'If I was really strong, I wouldn't have resort to such method.'
This thought only ignited his drive further.
'I need to become stronger.'