"So, what do we have here?" Blake said in a nonchalant tone as he didn't bother to look at the nobles, but was staring at the commoner.
"You were the one I saved a few weeks ago right?" The commoner nodded with a hint of fear in his expression.
"Do you have any suggestions on what I should do to them?" Blake asked but the commoner shook his head.
"Why are you guys struggling? By now you should know that running isn't an option and it will take more than double your previous numbers to have a chance of winning. So, keep silent and don't anger me more."
This caused the nobles to uncontrollably shiver and close their mouths tightly as they remembered the pain they had gone through for weeks.
It turned out that the school had punished the nobles for bullying and causing a commotion by not healing them properly and also barring them from leaving the school to prevent their family healers from treating their injuries.
On the other hand, Blake wasn't even called to the principal's office or even talked to about how he had gruesomely handled the nobles. He wasn't sure if his actions were wrong or right or maybe it was because he was a VIP student.
"So what do you say, I should let them go or I should deal with them?" Blake asked the question to which he already knew the answer.
"Please let them go." The commoner said in a timid voice, causing Blake to shake his head in disappointment.
"You guys can go, but be rest assured the next time I see you guys near him or hear any news about this repeating itself, I won't ask for his opinion I will be breaking 2 things." Blake said in a very calm tone that sent chills down their spine.
Immediately they felt that the force holding them down was out, they ran out of their seats, before they could go far Blake called their attention.
"You forgot this one." Blake pointed at the unconscious noble on the floor.
Once the noble had been carried away by his friends, Blake decided to speak to the commoner. "One thing you should know is that no matter the act of kindness you show to the wicked, they will always see it as a sign of weakness and it only makes the bullying worse."
"They might be gone, but you need to learn how to stand up and fight for yourself at a certain point." Blake said.
"I have to thank you for saving, but I can't do as you say. My family might already be in danger for you stepping in to save me." The commoner said in a sad tone.
'Why do things have to be complicated?' Blake thought to himself before asking. "What is your name?"
"Jim." The commoner answered.
Blake took a quick look at Jim who had brown hair, a warm beige skin tone, and an oval face that had acne spots on his cheek region.
"Since that is the only reason you can't fight back, I will see what I can do about it." Blake stood up and returned to his table where he continued to eat his meal as if nothing happened.
After they were done with their meal, Blake decided to walk with Luciano as they left the canteen.
"I need a favor from you." Blake said to Luciano.
"Let me guess, it is concerning the student you just saved? You want me to do something to protect his family?" Luciano asked.
"Yes." Blake wasn't surprised by Luciano's question.
From all the students Blake had seen in both the 1st and 2nd years, Luciano was the smartest. So, it was natural for him to piece everything that had happened so far and come to an accurate conclusion.
"Why not. These are things Bryon likes hearing." Luciano smiled.
"Thanks, a lot. I owe you one." Blake gave him a nudge to the shoulder, causing him to pause for a few seconds.
"I am doing it for free, you don't owe me anything." Luciano shook his head in disagreement.
"Protecting one's family is a big deal, I insist." Blake said.
"If you insist then, I need a favor from you. Why did you choose to help him on that day?" Luciano didn't waste time to use his favor.
From what he knew, Blake turned a blind eye to things like this because they were none of his business and because helping complicated things.
"I was frustrated at that time and I saw an opportunity to let out some steam. So, I interfered in the fight but it seems the knuckleheads saw it as me trying to help." Blake explained.
"Then why are you still helping him?" Luciano asked.
"The first reason is that I made things worse for him, so I feel I am responsible for fixing it." Blake continued. "The second reason is that I noticed that I didn't have any form of connection with the normal class. So, if I am to help him he would feel indebted to me and be made use of in the future when I have a use for him."
"The first reason is what I thought happened. As for the second, I think it is a nice idea to have eyes and ears in the normal class since you have a lot of friends across the top to mid rankings." Luciano nodded in acknowledgment.
"On a side note, how do you think this season's beast tide would go?" Blake asked to know how he felt about it.
"One thing I know is that it won't be easy." Luciano said in a serious tone.
…
When Blake returned to his room he went straight to business. Awakening mana vision was a breakthrough to his all-round bottleneck.
Awakening mana vision didn't grant him only the power to see elements in their default state (mana). It increased his sensory abilities, alongside his mental power, mana control, and mana capacity.
So far, Blake had come across 2 stages of mana vision, this and that of the system he had used to crack arrays at Azkelwart's base.