Luckily, the tug on Verso's collar was strong enough to nearly pull him off his feet so he took a moment to steady himself and slowly turned around.
The classroom was mostly empty now as the other students had hurried out the moment the bell rang.
Looking back, he saw that only two students remained in the class aside from him.
"Do you really think we would just forget about you?"
The one holding Verso's collar was a large, chubby kid with messy brown hair named Ian.
He was wearing a school uniform that clearly didn't fit him anymore as the buttons on his shirt looked like they were barely holding.
Verso looked at the Ian's hand, then up at his face.
'Such a waste of time.' Verso thought to himself.
He didn't feel the same fear he would have felt a week ago. Now that he had awakened, the physical presence of someone like Ian didn't carry the same weight.
"You really thought you could get Ellum and Nathan suspended and walk away without any trouble?" Ian sneered as he tightened his grip on Verso's shirt, pulling him closer.
Verso didn't respond to the question at all as he didn't see the point in arguing with someone who was clearly just a lackey.
Seeing that he wasn't getting a reaction, Ian's face turned to a darker shade of red. He looked back over his shoulder toward a student who was sitting on one of the front desks.
"Hey Xavier, what should we do with him?"
Verso's gaze followed Ian's.
The student sitting on the table had dirty blonde hair that was perfectly styled and deep blue eyes. He wasn't looking at Ian or Verso. Instead, he was hunched over with his thumbs moving rapidly across the screen of his phone.
It looked like he was playing some kind of game on his mobile and was completely absorbed in it.
'The Heir of Brightons...' Verso thought back to the title that people in the class had given Xavier.
The Brighton family was one of the most elite families in Meridian City. They weren't just wealthy, they were also a complete powerhouse.
They owned several of the largest businesses in the city and were known for producing some of the strongest summoners in the region making them a family that you did not want to mess with.
And Xavier wasn't just any Brighton either but rather he was the grandson of the family's head and in a school like Meridian High, he was essentially royalty.
"Xavier?" Ian asked again, waiting for some kind of response with his voice sounding a bit more desperate.
Despite being called multiple times, Xavier did not look up.
He just started tapping his phone even more aggressively and the sound of his screen being tapped was the only noise in the quiet classroom.
Verso looked back at Ian as a flicker of pity crossed his mind.
"All of this just to win someone's favor..." Verso said quietly.
He had known for a long time that the kids who picked on him were just trying to get Xavier's attention. They thought that by bullying the top student who couldn't awaken, they would look better in the eyes of the elite.
But looking at how Xavier ignored them, it was clear that he didn't care about them at all. To Xavier, Ian was probably no different from a servant.
Verso shook his head slightly.
"I guess I can leave-"
Verso turned his back on Ian, intending to walk toward the door. He had only just taken two steps when a loud and violent sound echoed throughout the room.
THUD.
Verso stopped and looked back.
Xavier had stood up and his expensive smartphone was lying on the floor in front of him, shattered into a dozen pieces. It looked like he had thrown it at the ground with all of his strength.
Xavier was now standing directly in front of Ian as he reached out and grabbed Ian's collar with one hand with his face twisted in a look of pure rage.
"Xavier this, Xavier that! Can't you see I'm busy?!" Xavier screamed.
Ian's eyes went wide and his tough guy act vanished instantly.
"I- I'm sorry-"
Xavier didn't wait for the apology to finish as he pulled Ian forward and drove his fist straight into the boy's face.
The sound of the impact was sickeningly loud.
Ian's head snapped back and he collapsed to the floor. He groaned while clutching his face as blood began to leak through his fingers.
Xavier didn't even look at Ian as he fell instead turning his head and locking his eyes on Verso.
"And you," Xavier said with a dangerous tone.
"Who said you could walk away?"
He started walking towards Verso slowly.
Verso stayed right where he was completely silent. He knew better than to say anything right now.
In the background, he could see Ian curling into a ball on the floor, holding a nose that was clearly broken and bleeding heavily.
'The elites really are ruthless...' Verso thought.
It did not look like Xavier cared about loyalty or the people around him at all.
Xavier stopped just a few inches from Verso. He was slightly shorter than Verso, but he radiated an aura of intense arrogance which made him feel dangerous.
"You're lucky that you haven't awakened yet," Xavier said, looking Verso up and down with disgust.
"Otherwise, I would have taught you a real lesson."
It took Verso a second before he realized that Xavier had no idea about his awakening. In fact, no one in the school knew that he had just went through a forced awakening yesterday.
'I guess he's also afraid of getting suspended.' Verso understood why Xavier hadn't hit him yet.
Even the Brighton had limits.
Although Xavier was powerful, his family was no where close to the level of the Great Clans who could completely make the rules disappear.
"You better stay in your lane," Xavier said, leaning in close.
"I don't have time to spare on dogs like you."
He shoved Verso's shoulder and walked past him heading for the exit. He didn't even look back at the phone he had destroyed or Ian who was supposed to be a friend of his.
'Aren't you guys the ones picking on me...' Verso thought as he watched Xavier leave.
The logic of people like Xavier was beyond him. They went out of their way to cause trouble and then acted like they were the ones being bothered.
Verso didn't bother trying to make sense of the situation as he had a mission that he needed to complete.
He looked back at the floor at Ian who was still groaning as a cold smile appeared on his face.
'But they really might lose their marbles when they find out I also awakened.'