As soon as Arthur agreed to the duel, a giant ring formed around them. It was an array in the academy, preventing other students from interfering.
"If I fight back, I guess you'll also carry on with your threats?" Arthur was silent before a smile formed on his mouth. "Are you asking me to be beaten without fighting back?"
"You can fight back, but I don't know what might happen to her." Trevor unbuttoned his sleeves. "Even though I have confidence in taking you down, I want you to know the difference between our statuses."
The students began noticing what was going on and a crowd slowly formed. A one-minute countdown appeared in the middle of the ring until the duel started.
Arthur looked at Trevor silently as the black knight appeared behind him. He wanted to find a way out of this, but he didn't have the time to take action.
"Alexie!"
Arthur glanced at the crowd and found that Jonah had arrived as well. He scanned the present people and found Rae also glaring at him with piercing eyes.
"You don't your friend to feel bad, do you?" Trevor smiled, talking in a low voice so that the others wouldn't hear it. "Make sure you put on your finest act, Bastard."
The shadows started to gather and scatter as Arthur felt Ruki's rage. They threatened to attack even without Arthur's command.
'Let me kill him, My Lord.' Ruki's voice was furious, which made Arthur's heart feel warm. However, he commanded her to stand back.
The countdown reached zero in no time. As soon as it did, the knight appeared in front of Arthur. He raised his hands as the knight slashed his away. His arms turned metallic before they collided with the sword, making Arthur fly away like a broken kite.
He rolled on the ground with his sleeves torn through, blood dripping. Before he could stand up on his own, Trevor appeared in front of him and kicked him in the stomach, making him fly upward.
The knight was there to strike him down toward the ground. His body slammed to the ground leaving a crater with himself in the middle.
"Alexie! Just surrender!" Oliver was banging on the ring's barrier as he shouted. Arthur was conscious enough to hear him, but he couldn't surrender just yet.
He tried to defend himself as the attacks rained on him. His body received injuries upon injuries until he couldn't stand up anymore. Trevor stood in front of him with a smug and victorious expression on his face.
"You should surrender unless you want to die." He said in a prideful stance as if he didn't want to hurt Arthur further. Arthur glanced at him and mouthed out the words.
"I... Surrender."
The ring broke apart as soon as he said the words and he received a notification of losing the duel. Trevor walked away and the crowd parted.
"Are you alright?" Jonah and Oliver rushed to pick him up and he nodded. They walked toward the infirmary as the crowd looked at them with mixed feelings.
'Coward.'
Rae whispered as they passed by her, enough for Arthur's perception to pick it up. He was taken toward the infirmary where he was given potions to heal him up. He was admitted to stay overnight while the others went back to their rooms.
"Why didn't you fight back?"
In the darkroom where he was resting, waiting for his wounds to heal, Reece The Cat appeared and asked him. It jumped on his bed and snuggled beside him.
"He threatened me to hurt Jonah's sister," Arthur answered calmly. "It was the right thing to do."
"I see," Reece was quiet before answering. "You did well."
"I shouldn't have antagonized him, to begin with." Arthur sighed. "These people wouldn't stop on anything to restore their pride."
"It takes courage to fight for one's sake," Reece said in a melancholic voice. "But greater courage to avoid fighting for others. You did the right thing."
"Maybe."
"Aren't you angry?" Reece asked with doubt. "You have the right to be."
"Anger isn't going to solve anything, contact Sier and tell him to protect Jonah's family for me."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'll wait." Arthur got up. "Everything has gone well. I have a conflict with more than one noble and I showed potential. It's time to be kidnapped."
"What about Trevor?"
"He got his revenge. He won't do anything for the time being."
Reece nodded and the two spent the night like that. Arthur's wounds began to heal and he was discharged by early morning.
They had theory classes that day. As soon as he arrived, everyone looked at him. Even though it was his dorm, their gazes weren't that friendly or concerned.
"Why didn't you fight back, coward?" The red hair noble, who had gone against Jonah at that time, stood up and glared at him. "Not only you made us lose face, but they also get points for their dorm."
'Is that the reason they are pissed at me?' Arthur blinked his eyes. 'I guess we were only a group in name, never in heart.' He shook his head and went to his seat without answering.
While he was waiting for the lectures to start, Arthur started browsing through the community. There were many posts about what happened yesterday, mainly by the Nightfall dorm gloating students.
Someone sat next to him and Arthur raised his head to see who it was. Oliver was eating a burger so early in the morning and he offered one to Arthur.
"Are you alright now, brother? You need to eat something. I also went to the infirmary when I collapsed after the ten laps. Their food sucks."
"No, I'm fine." Arthur waved his hand with a smile. "Are you sure you want to sit here? I guess a lot of people hate me for not fighting back yesterday."
"Screw them." Oliver gulped down his food. "These people can't tell the difference between a good fart and a bad one."
Arthur assumed this was either an insult to them or him, but he convinced himself Oliver was trying to compliment him. In the corner of his eyes, Arthur saw two people enter the lecture hall as well.
Jonah was accompanied by Amelia as he walked in. He looked around and paused when he saw Arthur. He started walking toward him before Amelia pulled his arm and whispered something.
Jonah paused and looked at her with hesitation. He then turned away and sat elsewhere with Amelia.
"That vermin." Oliver spat.
"No, he did the right thing." Arthur smiled. "If others saw him with me, they would think I was a leech. The hate would have multiplied."
"Aha," Oliver rolled his eyes. "If that was his concern, then he should stand up to you when that happens."
Arthur smiled and didn't say anything. The lecture started and so did the routine of his life.
***
A week passed quickly after that incident. As Arthur would have expected, he was shunned by the others except for Jonah and Oliver. The first time Jonah ignored Arthur, he came to his room later on and apologized.
He said that he didn't want to bring more trouble for Arthur. He was right and that's what he had asked from Jonah the first time they were together.
After that, Oliver and Jonah would spend time at Arthur's room every night either playing or simply gossiping.
As for his relationship with the others, it was worse than he had anticipated. He would hear people calling him a coward or a leech as he went on the usual.
Their practical class that day was the same as the weak before, only with their roles reversed. In the end, the Nightfall team won by constructing a giant barrier around the flag with a prolonged battle of attrition.
The rest of the weak was uneventful and Arthur began to see improvements in his control over his body. He had chosen the Daggers Art until he gains enough Legacy Points to buy a better one.
Rae started ignoring him too as if her interest in him has been extinguished. She still held her part of the deal and protected Sarah, who called him a week later to tell him that she had found something.
As Arthur left his lecture hall, he saw Trevor and the rest of the Nightfall team walking in the field. Unlike them, their Arts training was today.
After that day, Trevor ignored him. He got a message from Sier saying that Jonah's younger sister was in a foster home, sick and bedridden. That's probably why Jonah was taking the Magical Medicine, to find a way to heal his sister.
His meeting with Sarah was later that night, so he decided to head outside the city for a while before he came back. He went to the city twice that week to purchase materials that might act as a replacement for the Phoenix's Tears. Herbs, ores, and anything that was related to the rune Ancient Armor.
By the time he reached the library, it was already nighttime. Arthur looked around for Sarah but she wasn't there. After a while, someone entered the library in a hurry.
Arthur was confused when he saw Jonah instead of Sarah. His face was pale and rushed toward Arthur as soon as he spotted him.
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked with a frown.
"Something bad happened. I don't know if it's bad, but its aftermath is bad." Jonah was taking deep breathes. Arthur asked him to calm down.
"Tell me what happened first."
"It's Trevor." Jonah breathed out. "He's dead."