“Everyone, I hope we can get along as fellow future heroes!” Xinyi waved at the rest of my class in the academy, causing me to groan out loud.

“Isn’t that the girl you picked up the other day, Zen?” Lei nudged me in the side and asked me a question in the middle of her introduction.

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“What’s unfortunate about this? Our class is a total sausage fest, and she’s really cute too!” he replied, his voice barely able to maintain a low volume. “And those scars, gives her kind of a dangerous mystery to her, doesn’t it? It’s… attractive.”

“Is there anything you’re not attracted to, Lei?”

“You.”

“Well, the feeling is mutual, now shut up or we’re gonna get in trouble.”

Xinyi took a seat in the back near us after her introduction, and the class commenced. Afterwards there were quite a few complaints aimed at her sudden admission into the academy, a rare occurrence. However, once the practical training of the day began she showed everyone why she was allowed in so suddenly, with just the recommendation of one top hero.

“Incredible, she moves so swiftly without even using a Skill!” Lei was certainly impressed, but to impress him you just had to have a pair of tits and no major deformities, it wasn’t that surprising. “You think she’d be interested if I asked her out?”

“I have no idea, it’s only been two days since I met her, I don’t know anything about her.”

“Yi Zen, let’s spar!” the new girl called out to me enthusiastically, and I really wasn’t interested. But she was persistent, and I doubt I could ignore her for long.

“Fine, fine, but don’t expect anything impressive, I didn’t inherit my Mom’s Skill or anything like that.” I stood up and headed out into the center of the courtyard, catching the attention of several other students.

“Yi Zen is fighting someone again? What kind of bad omen is seeing this rare sight twice in one week?”

Jin Chun scoffed from across the yard at me, obviously still mad at the mockery that was our last fight, but I didn't really care about him at the moment. Instead, I focused on my opponent. Honestly, I’d rather fight Jin Chun again after seeing her go toe to toe with my mom.

I held out my sword towards her in my off hand, an expression of boredom clearly painted on my face. She wielded her loan sword, an older blade I had often used in training with my mother when I was little. It was plain and a little beat up, but still served as a deadly weapon.

“Don’t hold back on me just because I’m a girl, Yi Zen!” She dashed forward, her movements a complete blur. It was a similar pattern to what she had don’t against my mother the previous day, so I was able to deflect it.

She tested me with a few more weak, halfhearted swings, then stopped without warning.

“What are you doing?” she asked me, a strange look in her big, red eyes.

“I’m… sparring with you?” I replied, not sure what she meant.

She stabbed towards me with her borrowed sword, and I sidestepped it with ease. She wasn’t putting much effort into her attacks, so it was pretty easy to avoid.

“Let me ask you a question then.” she spoke again, putting her sword away. “Were my swings serious? Or could you feel I was holding back?”

“Of course they weren’t serious, I saw you fight my mother with much sharper movements before…” My eyes widened for a moment, and I turned away from her, sheathing my sword. “We’re done here.”

I had no idea someone without a Skill could be so scary, she had seen right through me. Her level of sword mastery, built only on her own skills, was far higher than the students of this academy, who relied on overpowered gifts and talents they were born with to succeed. I would have to be more careful around her from now on.

“Why… were you trying to look weak?” she asked me, her voice confused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m just a guy born with Zero Skill, I’m not special at all.”

As I walked off, Jin Chun walked up, clapping.

“Amazing, the new girl got Zen the Zero to give up in record time, he didn’t even try and call for mommy!”

“Get out of the way, Jin, I’m not in the mood to look at your face right now.” I growled, walking past him.

“Watch your tongue, scum!” he shouted, slamming his knee into my stomach, and I doubled over on the ground. If my mother had seen this happen, she would have torn his spine out in an instant, I’m sure of it.

But she wasn’t here today, the emperor needed to speak with her, so I was on my own.

“Someone as weak as you has no right to speak to me that way, and without your mommy to hide behind you should know better!”

“Stop it!” Xinyi ran between us, holding her arms out to block me from Jin. “Zen isn’t weak, he protected me, he saved me!”

“And who the hell do you think you are, girl? Walking in here, acting so important after only one day… I’ve been training in this academy since I was five years old, my grandfather was one of the founders of this school!”

“And that gives you the right to treat people like dirt?!”

“Sure does.” he smirked, pushing her out of the way with little effort. “I’m the top around here, the number one contender for the title of the next Sword God, and you’re nothing but trash in my way!”

“I… I challenge you to a duel!” Xinyi crawled to her feet, a fire burning in her eyes almost as intense as her red hair. “Not a sparring duel, not practice… by the laws of this country, I challenge you to a duel of honor, to the death!”

The gathered crowd fell silent in the face of the absurd words spouted by the girl, and Jin Chun smiled menacingly.

Why is she like this?