Cybernetic Evolution System

He paused, then continued, "As the winner of the official duel, Ezekiel Zahara is now ranked third among Class Three Magical Swordsmen."

No one uttered a word.

"JJAARRAANN!!"

"JAARRAAANN!!"

Three students dashed from the seating area, jumped onto the stage and immediately rushed towards Jaran.

Kiran. Ranked twelfth on the Magical Swordsmen.

Darl. Ranked Eighteenth.. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Jiron. Ranked nineteenth...

They were all descendants of the Windcrest Clan - all within the top twenty rankings. Among them, Jaran was the only one to step into the top ten.

The Windcrest Clan was also placed in groups across classes and other academies.

It was common among most clans to do this because it allowed them to take care of one another, cast a wider net over their forged connections, and also to chisel out the weakest link among them.

Unless they were under pressure from their clans, descendants and heirs of similar clans, or those with prestigious backgrounds, they remained loyal to one another.

Due to Jaran’s accomplishments, the Windcrest descendants in Class Three had flocked around him using him as a canopy to protect themselves from others and partaking in his achievements, so my actions were the same as directly stabbing their reverse scale.

Kiran and the others gathered around Jaran, assessing his condition.

Their worried faces turned into relief, then shifted to anger.

They turned their gazes to me.

Their eyes burned with hatred.

"YOU..!"

Kiran yelled and dashed towards me.

Jiron and Darl followed behind him.

I tightly gripped my iron sword.

SWISSHH!! WHOOSH!!

As Kiran and the others were about to close the distance, a sharp wind swept across the area.

I took a sharp breathe.

A straight line appeared on the stage a few steps ahead of them, leading to the end of the stage, and the other end led to... Fredric.

I was astounded.

I had only observed him raise his hand and point a finger in their direction.

The next thing that happened was something that I couldn’t understand.

Was this the power of an instructor?

It should be!

It was almost on the same level of the oppression that I had felt from instructor Sarafina?

I quickly suppressed my emotions.

My expression returned to normal.

I was lucky that I had been able to learn more about his strength with this event.

However, if he suddenly decided to use this move against me, I wouldn’t be able to block it.

The disparity in strength between us was too significant.

Fortunately, the Grand Avalon Academy had a strict policy regarding conflicts between instructors and students.

Although there were a few loopholes which many could exploit to their advantage, other than his schemes, Fredric was the least person that I was apprehensive about.

Meanwhile, Kiran and the two others besides him froze in their steps.

Sweat beads gathered on their foreheads, before they fell to to ground, butt first. With their bodies trembling, they immediately moved away from the line.

"What are you trying to do?" Fredric asked with a frown.

"Due to the current situation, I’ll overlook the fact that you had broken the rules of the academy and attempted to attack a combatant after an official duel."

His tone was strict and carried no room for refusal.

"Take Jaran to the hospital immediately before he’s injuries get worse. I will be there soon to explain the matter to them."

Kiran bit his lips, tightened his fists and nodded.

The other two weren’t in a much different position, but their heads were bowed much lower.

They helped each other to their feet. Their gazes lingered on me before they returned to Jaran, raised him onto their shoulders and took him off the stage.

I released my grip on my sword.

Fredric turned to the class. "Today’s class has ended. You can all spend the rest of the day in your respective clubs. Enjoy your weekends!" He announced.

Then, he turned to me, "I’ll be heading to the hospital to clarify Jaran’s injuries. However, I want to speak with you in private, so head over to my office and wait for me."

I nodded.

Does he want to continue lecturing me about the injuries I had inflicted on Jaran’s?

Suddenly, I remembered that I had to inform him of the club I wanted to join today.

Fortunately, I had already looked into it while I wasn’t busy.

I walked away and stepped down from the stage.

The entire class looked at me.

Curious about their thoughts, I met a few of their gazes.

Many of them turned their gazes away and trembled.

A few met mine with hostility and wariness.

Delilah-in-training stared at me blankly, as what had transpired was of no interest to her. However, she couldn’t completely hide the interest in her gaze.

Milas’s gaze was strangely intense. He wore a smile on his face and waved at me with a sword in his hand.

I quickly pretended as though I hadn’t seen him.

I hope his interest would somehow shift back to Ivory. I didn’t want to have to deal with that freak.

I quickly got my belongings and exited the arena.

***

Fredric’s Office

"I’ve explained the entire situation to Jaran’s nurse. She wasn’t happy about the injuries. Injuries like that are rare, but they aren’t unusual, so he will be able to recover within a few days."

"However, it will leave a scar that will gradually wear off over time."

Fredric said as his hands stroked the keyboard, compiling the information that had transpired today in his class.

He sighed tiredly.

He paused, raised his head, and looked at Ezekiel, who stood across the table from him.

He’s changed! That was what Ivory had told him.

She couldn’t quite put his finger on when it had happened, but she knew that Ezekiel now was different from the Ezekiel she once knew.

Fredric couldn’t give his opinion because he hadn’t been paying attention to him. With 100 students, it wasn’t easy to keep track of them.

His role as their instructor was to help them build their foundations and train them.

Many of them had a prestigious background, and already possessed solid foundations, so instead, his focus was on polishing them.

As long as a few of them show exceptional skills, why waste time on the mediocre ones?

Ezekiel wasn’t even someone worth recognising as his swordsmanship was only slightly better than that of a commoner, with a robust strength to cover up for his weakest.

His attention only diverted to him after he had rose from being ranked 40th to 20th.

So, he could only come to one conclusion.

Ezekiel had hidden his strength!

Apart from his suicidal tendencies, which led to his unusual absence from class, his strength might have remained hidden if Ivory hadn’t challenged him to a duel.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, he had shown his prowess once more by effortlessly defeating Jaran.

If it weren’t for the Zahara Clan’s descendants, who were intent on ruining his future as a Hero, Fredric would have devoted more attention to Ezekiel to explore how far he could improve his skills.

The looks on the faces of the Zahara Clan descendants after he had explained how Ezekiel had defeated Ivory with a sudden burst of strength were unforgettable.

Perhaps Ezekiel had long been aware of their plans and had hidden his strength as a precaution.

Now their positions were comprised.

They were dealing with prey that could see the snake in green grass.

They could no longer use a direct approach.

Fredric awaited his response.

"I hope he recovers quickly," Ezekiel replied.

"Don’t you have anything you’ll want me to tell your classmate for putting him in that condition?" Fredric asked, returning to the task on his computer.

Ezekiel wore a thoughtful expression.

"You can tell him that ’I know he would do the same, so whenever he recovers, he can challenge me at any time he desires.’ We are still classmates after all,’" he responded.

"That’s it," Fredric raised a brow, meeting his gaze.

Ezekiel nodded.

Fredric sighed in defeat.

He paused and met his gaze, then he changed the conversation.

"Despite my warnings, you still went to the dungeon," he said, "Although I’ve given you my word to investigate the case between you and Ivory, with your reputation, if something bad happens to you, it’s going to be challenging to continue with the investigation."

"With your ascension to the ranked third of the Class Three Magical Swordmen ranking, a commotion might sweep across the academy, so it’s best to avoid doing anything that would put you in the spotlight."

Fredric didn’t miss the surprise in Ezekiel’s face as he suddenly brought up the matter. However, Ezekiel’s expression quickly turned normal as he nodded.

"Thank you, mr Fredric. I’ll try my best to follow your advice."

Fredric had grown to realise that the person before him was someone who could be a rebel one minute. The next minute, calm. Mute, thereafter.

He began to suspect that Ezekiel might be facing some psychological issues.

....

Thank you for your support, Aira.