“What a weirdo,” Ethan spoke to himself as he left the training grounds, walking towards his group. He had recently awakened, so he didn’t know much about the world of Hunters in terms of strength, but as someone that was nurtured by a strong family, he knew how good Astron’s unarmed combat skills were.
It is not that he was unbeatable or anything. Rather, Astron himself didn’t seem to be overly engulfed in the martial arts either. He looked like he had just trained a little bit.
But the thing that got Ethan’s attention was something different. It was his talent.
‘He improved rapidly.’ He assessed, reviewing the fight.
Ethan was a righteous person who believed in his values, but he was by no means a stupid guy. No, rather, he was quite smart, especially in combat terms.
It was quite hard to put into words the talent of Astron, but if he would say it, he would say it like this.
‘It feels like I was fighting with someone like myself.’ He wanted to talk with him about combat arts, what he thought about swords, his fighting. Astron seemed like a person that was serious about everything.
However, the thing that made it weird to talk with him was his initial coldness. He didn’t have much interaction with him before, but he knew he was ranked last. That was all he knew about him since he hadn’t cared much about him at the start.
But, he first noticed him on the training grounds practicing with his daggers, and it seemed like he was decent enough. Like, the art he was training was probably the common dagger art that one could get from everywhere pretty easily. Therefore he didn’t think Astron was amazing, but he was certainly good.
Though at that time, he thought he was restraining himself for training purposes since he could see he was moving at a speed that was easily seen. Never once he thought that was his peak speed; after all, to become a student in this academy, that kind of physical aspect would not be enough.
However, apparently it was. Since when they had sparred with each other, he felt like Astron’s strength was quite low. He was weak; his endurance was low. Only his speed was decent.
“I must admit, his movements were simply astounding. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t seem to gain the upper hand against him.” It was this realization that led him to believe that Astron possessed a unique talent – not just in physical training, but in the art of combat itself.
‘This is kind of fun….I really want to see how he will do in the future. His beliefs were also interesting.’ Ethan thought. Astron’s way of behaving resembled a wolf in his eyes. He disliked interacting with others, behaved coldly towards them no matter what their gender where, and mostly he seemed to like being alone.
“Look, Ethan, I respect your perspective, but don’t waste your time on me. Our world doesn’t work the way you think it does.”
Remembering what he said at that time, he thought about his words.
‘Our world doesn’t work in the way I think it does, huh? You really sound like my brother.’ Ethan mused, remembering what his brother would always say about his words. He would say he needed to grow up, but Ethan didn’t want it.
It was not that he was unaware of how this world did work. No, rather, he just wanted to believe that he could make the world a better place by becoming a better person. Rather than behaving like a normal hunter that puts their own gains before others, he wanted to become a better person that also valued others more.
He believed that if everyone could put their selfishness aside, the world would be a better place.
“Yo! Where are you going on your own?” Just as he was thinking to himself, suddenly, a hand touched him on his shoulder.
“Lucas.”
“Where are you going, man?”
It was his best friend from childhood. Seeing him coming like that, he unconditionally smiled. “I was just coming to you.” He answered as they started walking. “Where are the others?” Looking back, it seemed only Lucas was left.
“They left. Julia said she was going to train, and Victor followed her like a dog.”
“Hey, you know if he hears about this, you are going to be in trouble, right?”
“It is fine, it is fine. Even Victor couldn’t have this many eyes inside the academy. Also, that guy is trying to court that idiot sister of mine. There is no way he can do something to me.”
“Well, you are right. He is not even making it secret.”
“This is how he does. But that bastard. Does he really think by showing off, he can make that dumbass like him?”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Well, maybe?”
“Nah…Really, Ethan? It seems you need a bunch of lessons about girls.”
“Yeah, yeah, mister Playboy. So, where are the others?” Ethan asked, smiling at his friend’s antics. Lucas was always like that, playing with people and joking around all the time. Though he knew he could entrust his back to him no matter what.
“Others, huh? Irina seemed quite upset, so she probably went to burn some students or something, I don’t know. Lilia said she needed to be somewhere, probably a business meeting. Seriously, how is she able to manage her studies, training, and her guild position at the same time? I can’t understand.” Lucas asked as he wondered about Lilia.
That girl was beautiful and one of those he wanted to woo but at the same time, she was one of those he would never get close to. That girl would probably roast him alive if she knew about his deeds in the academy.
“Well, she is always busy. But whenever I see her notes, I am also left in awe. She is probably one of the tidiest people I know.” Ethan answered, remembering Lilia’s notes. She was one of those that Ethan respected, even though he knew their values were different.
“Then, where is Carl?”
“Carl? He mentioned something about Student Council Work, so he probably headed there.” Lucas answered as they walked further.
However, suddenly Ethan was curious about Astron and how others viewed him.
“Hey, Lucas, did you hear about that new guy, Astron?” Ethan asked, curiosity piqued.
“That guy you are sparring with, right? What about him?” Lucas asked another question.
“I mean, he kind of looks interesting.”
“What? Hey, hey, hey. Ethan, bro, don’t tell me you swing that way.” Lucas widened the distance as he said with a smile, but his words were enough to get the attention that was already on them to Ethan.
“YO? WHAT THE HELL? Where the hell did you get it from?” And since he was not gay, at the very least, Ethan felt the urge to defend himself and tried to clear the misunderstanding.
“I mean, you just came to me, randomly asked about a brooding guy, and said he was interesting. What do you expect me to think?” Hearing Lucas’s reasoning Ethan wanted to slap his forehead, but he resisted.
“Just think like a normal person, maybe? I just asked it because that guy seems a bit mysterious.” Ethan said. He just wanted to ask his friend’s opinion, but Lucas did his own thing and made everything complex again.
All right, all right, my bad. No need to get all defensive,” Lucas chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “But you’re right, Astron is a bit of a mystery. There have been a few rumors swirling around about him.”
Ethan’s interest was piqued even more. “Rumors? Like what?”
Lucas leaned in slightly as if sharing a secret. “Well, you know how stories get blown out of proportion in this place. Some say he’s the sole survivor of that attack inside the academy two weeks ago. Remember the noises we heard at that time from the forest? It seems a monster appeared right there.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “Wait, what do you mean by the attack inside the academy? And a monster?”
“Yes. The academy was trying to hide it, but it seems a sneaky monster was able to enter the academy. They don’t even know what kind of monster it is. Some are even saying it was a demon. Those three that didn’t come to the classes, remember? They were the ones that died in the hands of that monster.”
Ethan’s skepticism was evident. “That sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? I mean, if it were true, it would have been all over the news. After all three academy cadets died, how come nobody knows about it.”
Lucas let out a sigh, shaking his head. “Ethan, my friend, you’re still thinking about this place as if it’s some normal academy. The world doesn’t work like that, especially not in the realm of Hunters.”
Ethan frowned, clearly puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Lucas leaned against a nearby wall, his expression serious. “Look, you know how the academy operates. They have their reputation to protect, and sometimes that means keeping things hushed up, especially if it’s something that could cause panic or fear among the students or the public.”
Ethan’s skepticism remained. “But a monster attack? That’s a bit hard to hide, don’t you think?”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Is it? Think about it, Ethan. We’re in a world where Hunters face creatures that defy imagination, where magic and the supernatural are real. The general public might not know the details of what goes on in this academy. And besides, the Academy Council holds a lot of power. They can control the flow of information.”
Ethan still seemed unconvinced. “I get that, but three cadets dead? That’s not something they can just sweep under the rug.”
Lucas gave a wry smile. “You’d be surprised. The Academy Council has ways of making things disappear. They could manipulate the story and claim it was an accident or some sort of training mishap. They have resources we can’t even fathom.”
Ethan folded his arms, deep in thought. “So you’re saying Astron might have been involved in that attack?”
Lucas shrugged. “Who knows? But it does add a layer of intrigue, doesn’t it? That’s why rumors like these gain traction. People are drawn to the mysterious and unexplained. Also, it seems like he changed his weapon from daggers to bow after that weekend as well.”
“He changed his weapon?”
“I mean, he didn’t entirely change, but he just also registered a bow as his weapon. I think he awakened in the face of danger.”
Hearing this, Ethan thought about it for a moment. It was not that common to change one’s weapon from dagger to bow, but assuming that he was connected to the attack since he changed weapons right after the said attack….That seemed a bit relied on too many assumptions, probably his inherent liking of Astron also played a role in his judgment, but Ethan didn’t believe he could do such a thing.
“Well, I think it is impossible,” Ethan said as he remembered the training he did will Astron today. “He is not that strong to pull such a thing off.”
“Ho? Why do you think so?”
“You know today I was partnered with him, right? He seemed like he was really weak, probably lowest in terms of raw strength.” Ethan explained.
“Are you sure? Maybe he was restraining himself.”
“No, it is not possible. He moved in such a way that I can easily say that he was accustomed to that strength like his own body. There is no way he is that experienced.”
“Hmm….That makes sense. Irina also said that guy had a hard time dealing with one simple Lesser Silver Wolf. Anyway, why are you interested in him all of a sudden? Don’t tell me it was because of Sylvie. Are you mad now he made her cry like that?” 𝐎𝑣𝗅xt.
Ethan’s cheeks reddened slightly. “No, no, it’s not like that. I’m not interested in Sylvie.”
Lucas grinned, nudging Ethan with his elbow. “Oh really? Then why are you so defensive?”
Ethan let out a sigh. “Sigh…Don’t tease me, Lucas.”
Lucas laughed. “Come on, Ethan; you can’t hide it from me.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Fine, you win. Maybe I was a bit upset about it, but it’s not like that means I like her. It just felt uncomfortable.”
In the end, Ethan was also a guy, no matter what. Though, it was not specifically about Sylvie, and Lucas also knew that. After all, he knew about the one in Ethan’s heart.
However, that didn’t mean he was not going to tease him. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Just like that, the two friends kept going with their talk as they kept walking.