"Sorry… we needed a practice dummy"

The laughter of Gerald and his group filled the entire arena.

​​

"W...what?", Evans once again released a stuttered breath. Blood oozing from his mouth from Gerald's punch.

The group then turned his huge straw sack upside down, throwing all its contents on the floor.

"N...no", Evans tried to stand up, but he failed to do so as his legs trembled uncontrollably.

"What the heck, this guy brought nothing but junk", one of the students chuckled.

"Oh, look at this", one of them picked up a thin black box from the relics that were sprawled on the floor, "What even is this?"

"Here. Here! Hand it to me", another student grabbed the thin black box, "Watch this!", he said as he threw the box towards Evans' direction. Hitting him straight on the forehead.

"Gah!"

Evans howled in pain as the thin black box hit his head. It also shattered in pieces, with the shards puncturing and sticking in Evans' face.

"Hahaha! Let me try!"

Once more, another hard object was thrown towards him. Again, and again, until his whole body was drowned in the relics that he so collected with all of his efforts.

His breathing became erratic as his whole body was filled with pain. His feet and arms, burnt. His jaw, dislocated from Gerald's fists, there were shards sticking all over his body, and several of his bones were broken.

But even then, the group laughed at him, not even caring that he was bleeding all over the place.

But Evans could no longer hear them.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. He repeated in his mind as his breaths were the only thing that he could hear.

And soon, his vision was clouded. Images of his father once again replayed in his mind as his body slowly curled into a ball.

"N...no…", he whimpered, "Father… please… no"

His whole body trembled as he repeated his words over and over again. His tears mixing with his blood on the platform.

"Oi, what the f*ck is happening to him?"

"Is he actually crying from just this much? Kakaka!"

"You can't be a System Holder if you can't endure this much, boy!"

"Are you calling for daddy!? Hahaha!"

"This guy is funny. Let's heal him so we can beat him up some more"

One of the students was about to climb up the stage, but before he could do so, Gerald pulled him away.

"Let's go", Gerald said.

"W...what?"

"Let's go", Gerald repeated his words, his voice turning colder, "We are done here"

"But we're only getting started!", complained one of the students.

Hearing this, Gerald could not help but click his tongue, "Are you disobeying me?", Gerald said as he stared at the student who complained.

"N...no", the student quickly backed away as he looked to the side.

"What about him?", the student who was about to heal Gerald muttered.

"Leave him"

"What!? He might--"

But before he could finish his words, Gerald completely ignored him and proceeded to walk out of the arena. "God damn it", the student cursed as he followed Gerald out. And quickly, the others followed, they didn't really want to be caught in this scene by a teacher without Gerald with them.

And so, they left Evans, whose cries continued to echo throughout the arena.

"F...father… it hurts… please no"

***

"Ugh… why am I the one that needs to feed the griffons!?"

An athletic female student sporting red hair was walking barefoot around the academy grounds, with her boots hanging from her neck. Her complaints filled the air but reached no one.

"Why is this place so huge anyway!?"

She raised her hands in the air, the boots that were hanging from her neck swayed, hitting her straight in the face.

"Ugh. Damn it!", she wanted to pull her hair out in frustration, but afraid that her boots might hit her again in the face. "Am I even in the right place!?"

The academy was, in a word, gigantic. It, after all, housed almost 5,000 students. If you include the staff, then it will be even more. If one were not familiar with the geography of the school, then one was bound to get lost.

And so with a sigh, the female student continued to walk. But she could not help but pause when she heard a cry echoing through the air.

"F...father… please…"

It felt like bugs crawled through her entire body as the cry pierced her ears.

"A… a ghost!? Is there a ghost here!?", the female student's eyes widened as she slowly backed away. She was about to run away but her nose twitched as she smelled a familiar scent.

"This is…", the female student closed her eyes as she strengthened her sense of smell. She was the Holder of an Evolution type System. And as the name suggests, it allowed her body to evolve in certain ways. Whether it be to transform fully into a beast or still something humanoid.

The female student continued to twitch her nose, but after a few seconds, her face twisted.

"This is blood!"