We walked out of the classroom together and began hurriedly making our way toward the training grounds. All the other cadets in our class had already left and were probably already at the grounds.
I looked over at Audrey, who walked by my side, and saw that she kept stroking the head of her owl, which was now perched on her arm. Feeling my gaze, the bird turned its head a full two hundred and seventy degrees. When it did, I immediately flinched and looked away.
'Jeez, that thing is scary.'
I shifted slightly away from them.
'Is this how I discover I have a potential phobia for owls?'
"Are you okay?" Audrey's voice drew my attention. "You seem… tense, and your face looks a bit pale."
"Oh uh… I'm fine." Though as I said that, my gaze was alternating between the owl and her.
She caught on to that but seemed to misunderstand and raised the owl closer to me. "Do you want to stroke Toki's head?"
"NO!" I blurted at first, causing even her to flinch. Then I cleared my throat and said politely, "No, I'm good."
Audrey looked at me for a bit but didn't say anything else.
We kept on walking in silence for a while until we reached the path leading to the outdoor training grounds.
Then, right at that moment, I spotted someone familiar approaching, which caused me to halt mid-step. It was an imposing figure with striking red hair and cold blue eyes. Upon recognizing him, I began to feel an emotion that I shouldn't have felt, and that emotion was fear.
This figure approaching was not just one of the strongest first year cadets, but also my junior brother, Levi.
It was easy to recognize him. After all, he stood at the forefront of those who bullied Cedric.
Despite the original Cedric not being a relevant character, Levi was one of those characters who played a major role later in the world beyond the veil. Right now, he was someone many cadets in the academy wouldn't dare to cross.
Seeing me suddenly pause, Audrey who was walking with me, alternated gazes between me and Levi and I could see a frown form on her face.
'Gamer privileges?' I immediately thought, while fixing my gaze at the approaching figure.
[Activating Gamer privileges…]
'Stats!'
~~~~~~ Character Profile ~~~~~~
Character Name: [Levi Anele Martini]
Age: [16]
Level: [16]
Grade: [2]
Element: [Fire]
Class: [Warrior]
Class Attribute: [Berserker]
Bond Name: [Ifrit]
Bonded Ability: [Ruined World]
Exclusive Skills: [Hell Fire - Lv9], [Hall of flames - Lv8]
EXP: [8,500/10,000]
~~~~~~ ============== ~~~~~~
'Fuc…'
This was bad.
While I was still studying the profile, Levi finally stopped a few meters from us.
My gaze shifted from the screen to him, and that was when i could see his bond perched on his shoulder. I couldn't even recognize what sort of creature it was, but it was definitely hideous.
It looked like a vague description of a small, demonic brown wolf standing on its hind legs. Two large horns protruded from its head. Its eyes were pits of red, and when it opened its mouth, all I could see was boiling red fire and heat.
"Ah… We meet again, big brother."
Levi spoke, and his voice was just as imposing as he was.
He grinned savagely, then added, "Honestly, when I heard that you had returned, I had a really hard time believing it." He tilted his head slightly. "Now I see that it was true. Not only did you manage to somehow escape the merchants and return, but you are even looking much better than I remember."
"Merchants?"
It was Audrey who blurted out in confusion. She turned to look at me with a questioning expression before her gaze returned to Levi.
Meanwhile, I swallowed, and sweat began to drip down my face. It wasn't just fear; Levi was purposefully emitting his aura, and the air around us was growing unbearably hot.
He took a step closer and when I took a cautious step back, he grinned even more.
"What? Aren't you happy to see your little brother?"
I gritted my teeth, but before a thought of what to answer even crossed my mind, Audrey stepped forward and stood between me and him.
"C-can you please not? We are in a hurry at the moment." She tried to make her timid voice confident, but it wavered and cracked.
Levi frowned. "Eh? You are that cadet that he usually hangs out with."
He tilted his head studying the timid girl in front of him. The proud glare in his blue eyes made it instantly clear that he held no regard for those beneath his standard. "Could you step aside? This business is strictly between me and my brother over there."
Audrey gritted her teeth, but didn't move.
For a moment, there was only silence and tension in the hot air.
Then…
The owl on Audrey's arm broke the tense silence.
"I think we should just listen to him, little Audrey."
Audrey clenched her shaky fist then said. "No!"
"Huh?" The owl trembled slightly. "You don't have to do this, you know. We can't afford to."
Toki was right, and I could understand why he said that. Bonds, after all, had a duty to protect their dominants, and it was an obvious fact that Audrey wouldn't stand a chance against Levi.
But Audrey didn't listen to him. Instead, she muttered again. "No!"
And then her voice broke. "Wh… Why does everyone have to make life hard for him? Why can't you guys just let him be? What does it matter if he is bondless?"
She trembled, then added. "I've had enough. I can't just stand by and watch it anymore."
The owl stared at her with its beak open for a moment. It then turned its head and glared at me before looking back to Levi. Then it rubbed its head with its wing and complained. "Gaahhh… Dammit! Fine!"
It then lifted his head and instantly, its large black eyes shifted to a pale, translucent color, and a gentle gust of wind swirled around Audrey.
'Wind? Her element is wind?!'
Seeing that, I immediately thought… this was bad.
It was common knowledge that the wind element wasn't a very good match against fire. But seeing how she was already unleashing her aura, it was clear that she was really determined to stand up to Levi.
Levi scoffed, raising an eyebrow at the swirling wind. "Really? Is the bondless bastard behind you worth you making an enemy out of me?"
It was at this point, that I finally felt the anger overwhelm the fear. Watching this drama unfold in front of me, I couldn't help but feel annoyed.
Why should a boy who is barely over sixteen be in my way, intimidating me? And why should a girl who can barely even stand her ground go out of her way to defend me, while I stood here, shivering in fear behind her?
I may be weak, inexperienced, and my level may be low, but that didn't mean I had to tolerate every disrespect. Unlike the previous Cedric, I was not Bondless.
I hate the things I do not like, and what was happening before me right now topped the list. And so, I had to man up and interfere.
Drawing in a deep breath, I slowly exhaled and tried to calm my nerves. Then I called out coldly:
"Enough… little brother."