Alex left the infirmary, stomping away in a storm.
"Argh, that guy...!" he sighed heavily.
Victor's behavior was difficult—more so after what had just happened.
Alexander wasn't sure how to feel, whether to laugh or cry.
He had heard his *friend*—or classmate—had challenged another cadet to a duel and lost pathetically. After that, he was brought to the infirmary, where he was supposed to be patched up and attended to.
Victor was a bona fide loner with a cold, vague, and gloomy attitude. Surely, soone like that wouldn't have a single friend or acquaintance in an academy filled with teenagers and youth.
That ant Victor would have no one to comfort him when he woke up.
And so, Alexander decided to take on that role.
Why?
As Alexander walked away, his shoulders slightly slumped and drooping, he had a thought.
"Because we're..." he stopped.
Victor and Alex.
They were what?
"Friends."
Alex wondered silently—could he really call it that?
Certainly, Alexander considered Victor a friend. They were classmates and part of the sa combat departnt. But could he say with certainty that Victor thought of him the sa way?
In the first place, what even defined the characteristics—what were the "requirents"—that determined a friendship?
*Classmates...* Alex recalled part of a conversation he and Victor had once, a while ago, during the banquet.
Friends?
No, no, no. They were classmates.
Victor had said so himself.
At that point, during the conversation at the banquet, Alex had been flustered and embarrassed.
Victor was right then.
Wasn't it unfair of Alex—and sudden of him—to claim the two were friends when they hadn't even known each other for a week back then? Victor might have felt overwheld or wary.
To Alex, Victor seed like soone who was very conscious and sensitive about his rank. So perhaps that was why, most of the ti, Victor would shoot him a troubled glare whenever they crossed paths.
*But that was then.*
The banquet was weeks ago now, behind them.
Surely, at this point, it wouldn't be a stretch to call Victor a friend... right?
Alex's thoughts strayed all over the place, and his steps slowly ca to a halt, his expression growing strange.
Speaking of knowing each other...
*What exactly do I know about Victor?*
"Ah." Alex's lips parted slightly, a sound of dawning realization escaping.
It was then he realized there wasn't much he knew about this so-called "friend."
For better or worse, it wasn't an entirely wrong exaggeration to say Victor was known among the first years, at the very least. Especially after what had just happened.
The story—and na—of soone without talent was bound to spread quickly and widely.
Perhaps many wouldn't know Victor's na or recognize his appearance in person, but surely every single cadet in the first-year vicinity had at least heard about him, even as a rumor or myth.
And yet, at the sa ti—
That was about as much as Alex knew about Victor as well.
A naless nobody.
The bottom-ranked cadet.
The weakest Awakened in all of humanity.
The one who lost pathetically to the Number One.
And finally:
Number 1499.
"..."
Alex's expression went blank for a mont.
Could he really call himself Victor's friend?
In the first place, the total cumulative amount of ti they had spent together wasn't much.
If Alex didn't know better, he might almost assu Victor had been intentionally avoiding him. But what reason would he have to do that?
Outside of classes and lectures, Victor was always, most certainly, training sowhere. News about his extre and eccentric training habits and behavior had quickly spread through their classmates and the first-year cadets. Victor's na and titles were cented as "Weirdo," "Crazy," and "Crazy Weirdo."
Victor would always spend his ti locked in the training hall.
What's more, he persistently challenged equipnt that was more powerful and higher-ranked than what he was supposed to handle.
Each ti he challenged a Hero-ranked golem, he would crawl out beaten up and broken—only to go at it again.
And again.
And again.
Unceasingly.
If he stopped today, he'd just continue tomorrow.
'Hardworking.'
Alex's eyes rippled slightly.
He raised two fingers to touch his chin in a deliberative posture.
"Victor is hardworking."
Perhaps his thods were extre, and people called him crazy or a weirdo, but it was undeniable that Victor was earnestly hardworking.
Despite his overwhelming routine, he would still always arrive the next morning for horoom and attend classes. He would show up with red, bloodshot eyes, blistered palms, dark eye bags, and dry skin. His appearance always seed to convey complete indifference to the gazes and stereotypes of the world around him.
Victor would walk into the classroom with an unpolished uniform, a loose tie, and ssy brown bed hair, acting like nothing had happened.
There were even tis when he was caught intensely frowning, growling, and talking to himself like a madman in public. He always seed to be in an argunt—though only with himself.
His passive, leisurely aura and listless appearance gave everyone the impression of a lazy, underwhelming cadet unfit for the prestigious Aegis Academy.
But in reality, it was the complete opposite.
Victor was, perhaps, the most hardworking first-year student. With no ti spared for himself, he was always struggling to improve, pushing himself through relentless, intensive training.
Suddenly, Alex felt a new and different sense of admiration and warmth for the cadet.
There was a reason why he was so intent on calling Victor a friend.
Perhaps it was instinctive, or just a part of his nature, but Alex couldn't stand by watching soone like Victor get bullied or trampled on when he first t him. At first, it was just reflexive. But as he exchanged words with Victor and watched him, slowly, he began to remind Alex of soone little from years ago—soone he used to know.
Years back... before that tragedy.
Thinking back, that person had also been resilient and persistent, always crying and screaming about how strong they would get to protect their family.
But that was too much... before they could realize their dream, life snatched them away.
No.
It wasn't life that destroyed everything.
Alex clenched his fist tightly, unconsciously. He gritted his teeth, and his soft, pale face turned blank with a ferocious intensity.
Alexander's ghostly blue eyes glazed and widened. Rage and emotion boiled from the depths of his gut, like corruption spreading through his being and physicality.
Life hadn't been the one who snatched them away.
It was the demons.
Perhaps that was why Alex couldn't pretend to just ignore Victor like the rest—because he reminded him of his younger brother, who was now long dead.
Just as Alex had his unknown thoughts, feelings, and emotions, so did Victor.
Victor's ranking: Number 1499.
Alex could clearly see that Victor's rank and status hung over him like a guillotine. The cadet clearly wanted to change the whole perspective people had of him.
Alex recalled the last conversation he had just finished having with Victor.
Even soone as seemingly indifferent and irritable as Victor wanted power and strength to defy his fate and destiny. To break the stereotype, he would first have to get stronger.
But alas, Victor beca too impatient.
The fastest way to climb the ranks in the academy was simply to challenge and win from the current owner of a rank.
But Victor had aid too far, too quickly. It was presud foolish arrogance.
He challenged the top-ranked cadet...
And lost pathetically.
Rather than change the perspective of those around him, his infamy only further increased. His reputation had plumted even further.
And yet, Victor didn't seem the least bit remorseful. In fact, Alex felt like he would still go ahead and do sothing foolish, like challenge another top ranker—or even Ceres again.
Alex suddenly sighed, feeling exhausted.
Truly, Victor was tiring.
As Alex shook his head slightly with a sigh, he continued on his way to his dorm.
He had said all he could to Victor already. Victor would probably be present for horoom the next day, so Alex thought he'd check on him again by then.
But as Alex was lost in thought, he suddenly saw soone abruptly step out from around a corner, smiling, which made him stop in his tracks.
"Huh?" Alex raised his gaze and blinked in mild surprise.
It was a stunning young female cadet wearing the Aegis first-year uniform.
She had long, light purple hair cascading down her back like a shimring waterfall, soft fair skin, and a petite face frad by her bangs. Her eyes were round and enchanting, an exotic violet hue that could almost glow in the dark.
What was even more fantastical about them...
Were the illusionary stars that swirled in their depths.
Looking into her eyes gave the mind-numbing serene sensation of staring at a beautiful starry night sky. They pulled and pushed.
With a gaze that seed to see through everything, she approached Alex with a wide smile.
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