7:25 AM. I donned my academy uniform. It was a sleek design, black and white with the crescent logo stamped on the chest. The fabric and design felt quite advanced for a world that was supposedly set in the fourteenth century.

  I stepped out of my dormitory and was escorted into the academy proper by my caretaker, Michael. It seemed the school body had already begun spreading rumors about me. Students who looked my way would freeze and avoid me, while the oblivious ones were whispered to and warned about my identity.

  Great.

  My father had advised me to forgive those who would try to hurt me. My mother, however, told me to suck up to them and use them for my own gain.

  Although their advice had their own merits depending on the path I chose, I preferred to keep things exactly as they were.

  Did they see me as some sort of monster? Good. Because I am one. I have no intention of using a facade this time.

  Fear is a tool I intend to wield. Kindness is too often mistaken for weakness, and I cannot afford that. Although fear can drive a person to irrationality, it also has the power to paralyze. Instilling that kind of paralysis is something I am well acquainted with.

  "Okay, kiddo. Don't get into trouble, alright? Just head to the assembly hall in the courtyard. You will see the stone column on the left. That is where you are supposed to be," Michael said, turning and leaving quickly.

  I turned to the courtyard for the assembly, but I was rudely intercepted by a group of seniors.

  "This academy doesn't need freaks like you," one of the seniors stepped forward- a tall, muscular girl with unkempt blonde hair that reached to her waist sneered at me.

  She stepped directly in front of me, looming over my frame. She cracked her knuckles loudly.

  It seems the opportunity has arrived sooner than I anticipated. I immediately began preparing my rebuttal

  "Oh really? Well, you see, that's quite surprising.” I paced around her. “I didn't realize the academy lowered its standards enough to admit livestock. Yet here you are."

  Silence fell upon the gatehouse. Her cronies recoiled in surprise, and the surrounding students stood frozen in place, their gazes fully locked in between the two of us.

  Her face flushed a deep red. She seized my uniform collar. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, you little piece of shit? You want a fight? Is that it?"

  "I am simply observing the wildlife," I said, locking eyes with her. "But if you are done posturing, go ahead. Or does your brain process commands as slowly as it processes insults, Miss Gorilla?"

  She launched a heavy right hook, using her left hand on my collar as an anchor to prevent me from dodging. I quickly deflected her fist aside and let her own momentum spin her body around, exposing her unguarded back.

  In one fluid motion, I crushed her left wrist to right, wrenched her hand off my uniform, and slipped into her blind spot. She tried to turn, but I already delivered a kick squarely to her backside that sent her sprawling face-first onto the floor.

  "You're gonna regret that," she whispered venomously as she scrambled back to her feet. She shifted into a proper fighting stance this time.

  I watched her closely, ready to counter whatever she threw at me next.

  Then I hesitated. A standard win would be boring, and if I wanted to shatter her will while terrifying the audience, I needed to make her look like a fool. So I decided to change tactics.

  I exhaled slowly and dropped my stance entirely, letting my arms hang loose at my sides as I offered her a wide-open target.

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  To the spectators, and most importantly to her, my indifference looked like pure boredom.

  It was the ultimate insult.

  I stood there comfortably, making it crystal clear to everyone watching that she was so insignificant I didn't even need to raise my hands to defeat her.

  "Arghhh!" She let out a frustrated scream and lunged, throwing her weight into every upcoming blow. She threw a jagged right hook. I tilted my head to the side just an inch.

  She followed with a left hook. I shifted my weight back, letting her fist graze the air in front of my nose.

  I was mocking her. I made sure to move as little as possible, allowing her fists to come within millimeters of my face before slipping away.

  The disrespect was working. I could see the blind rage taking over her eyes.

  I glanced toward the crowd and I spotted a teacher standing silently among the students. My attention snapped back to my opponent as a jagged faint green light flared around her body.

  Mana reinforcement. She was finally desperate enough to use magic.

  The air cracked. Boom. Her speed doubled in an instant.

  A reinforced right hook. I side-stepped.

  An uncoordinated high kick. I ducked.

  She lunged forward, her fingers glowing as she tried to seize my uniform. I leaped backward, putting open air between us.

  "Oh, poor Miss Gorilla," I sneered, making sure the crowd heard me. "Are you having a hard time swatting a little freak like me?"

  I had pushed her enough. Now, it was time to end this. Dodging only made her angry, but it gave her the excuse that I was just slippery. To truly destroy her ego, I needed to show her the gap between us. I wouldn't dodge the next one. I would let her strike me squarely in the face. When she realizes her full power can't even make me flinch, that is what will shatter her.

  I analyzed the trajectory and speed of her previous strikes. Her raw output was roughly equivalent to a heavyweight champion.

  In my previous life, I could have tanked it easily. But I wasn't foolish enough to attempt that in a developing thirteen-year-old body.

  She was using mana to reinforce her muscle fibers for offense, so I simply needed to invert the process. I would use mana to reinforce my skin for defense.

  "You're dead, fresh meat!" She leaned back, winding up for a massive strike. The faint green aura around her deepened into an intense bluish hue.

  I stood perfectly still. I again dropped my hands to my sides in a neutral, relaxed pose. While she saw arrogance, I was focusing intensely. I began to construct a microscopic barrier of mana over my face and nape, visualizing a non-Newtonian fluid structure that would harden upon impact.

  A faint purple glow began to ooze from my skin, but her speed was immense. Her fist slammed into my face before I could blink, and I was sent flying backward into the courtyard wall.

  Dust and debris rained down, creating a thick cloud of smoke. I touched my face.

  The skin was smooth and unharmed. However, I felt a warm liquid trickling down my forehead. My face and neck were intact, but my body and head ached terribly. I had only fortified my face, leaving the rest of me to take the brunt of the impact against the wall.

  I dragged myself up, ignoring the pain. I wiped the blood from my eye and grinned. The experiment was a resounding success.

  I chuckled low in my throat as I stepped out of the settling dust. "Was that it?"

  Silence.

  The students were shocked. I glanced at the faculty members on the sidelines. They were just watching. Are they seriously letting this continue? I mused. Fine by me.

  I took a step closer. The arrogance in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a look of sheer bewilderment and fear as she stared back at me.

  I widened my grin, letting the blood drip down my cheek. "Come on. Don't tell me you're done. I am waiting for your next attack."

  She hesitated for a split second, then launched into another frenzy of attacks. I didn't bother dodging. I had already coated my entire frame in a defensive layer. Her fists slammed against my guard, driving me back step by step, but the damage was negligible.

  I watched closely as her stamina hit its limit. The intimidating blue mana around her hands flickered, fading to a deep blue before degrading back to that initial, pathetic green.

  She was running empty.

  It was the perfect moment. Just as I prepared to deliver the final words that would completely dismantle her ego, a voice cut through the air.

  "STOP BULLYING HER!"

  The shout came from a girl with bright pink hair who appeared to be about my age. She shoved her way to the front of the crowd and planted herself directly between us to stop the fight.

  "SERAPHINA IS A GOOD PERSON! SO STOP BULLYING HER!" she screamed. She was sobbing so hard that snot was bubbling out of her nose.

  Who the hell is this girl?