The murmurs of the students rippled like a wave across Ground One, growing louder and louder as more people gathered.
"Damn… even third-years came to see this?"
"Since when do they care about first-year drama?"
"Only when something big is happening."
"Ah… crap. This is bad. Really bad."
A second-year boy swallowed, his throat dry as dust.
"If Kael loses too fast, the third-years will mock all of us second-years too."
His friend slapped his arm. "Forget us—worry about him! Look at him!"
He pointed at Kael, who stood shakily, a faint bruise on his stomach from Kaigaku's earlier punch.
A girl biting her nails whispered, "Poor guy… he didn't even start the fight yet and already half the academy's watching…"
And someone else added, "This is going to spread through the academy instantly… Everyone's going to talk about this."
The second-years exchanged worried glances.
"This fight… it's going to shake things."
And they all knew it.
