[System Alert: Host has attracted attention!]
The moment Lucas shattered the testing crystal, the academy hall erupted into chaos. Students screamed, professors dropped their staffs, and Derek's face turned the color of spoiled milk.
Then, from the back of the hall, a voice like grinding stones spoke:
"Interesting."
Everyone turned.
Headmaster Aldric, a man whose beard looked like it could strangle a wolf, stepped forward. His icy blue eyes locked onto Lucas.
"What… was that?"
Lucas opened his mouth—
[System Warning: Do not reveal 'cultivation' yet! Suggest alternate explanation.]
"Uh… Ancient family technique?" Lucas tried.
The headmaster's eyebrow climbed his forehead like a startled caterpillar. "The Graves family are pig farmers."
"Adopted family?"
A vein throbbed in Aldric's temple.
——
Back in his dorm (now with a shiny "Do Not Disturb – Possibly Explosive" sign), Lucas checked his system:
» Realm: Qi Refining (Early-Stage)
» Next Breakthrough: 89%
» Techniques: None
» Spiritual Roots Detected:
- Metal: 12%
- Wood: 18%
- Water: 15%
- Fire: 23%
- Earth: 17%
» New Quest: Defeat an enemy in combat (Reward: "Flaming Palm" technique)
"Great. So I need to punch someone."
As if on cue, his door burst open.
Derek and six armored thugs filled the doorway.
"No cheating this time, freak," Derek spat. "The headmaster might buy your lies, but I—"
Lucas sighed. "System, can I set 'annoying nobles' as my default enemies?"
[Affirmative. Bonus XP for face-slapping.]
The first thug lunged—heavy boots, heavier fists. Lucas sidestepped with the grace of someone who once dodged flying textbooks in public school.
Thud.
The guy hit the wall so hard he left a dent.
"Huh," Lucas muttered. "Guess Qi Refining does boost reaction time."
Another charged. Lucas ducked low, swept the guy's legs, and used him as an improvised weapon to smack the next one. Two down.
Derek snarled. "Don't just stand there! Get him!"
Three left. They rushed in unison.
[Combat Evaluation: Host surrounded. Probability of minor injury: 72%. Suggestion: Channel spiritual energy to limbs.]
Lucas nodded. "Alright. Time to circulate Qi."
Power surged through him like carbonated lightning. He moved faster—sharper. A jab to the ribs, a spinning kick, one elbow to the jaw—and three more bodies hit the floor groaning.
Only Derek remained.
Derek's lips twisted into a snarl as he spat out an incantation—"Incendium Ignis!"
A roaring fireball erupted from his palm, hurtling straight for Lucas' face.
Lucas didn't dodge.
Instead, he exhaled sharply, forcing a stream of Qi through his lungs—not a technique, just raw spiritual energy expelled like a shotgun blast.
WHOOSH!
The fireball missed Lucas by inches and exploded on his desk, setting his half-finished magic homework ablaze in a dramatic whoosh.
Derek's eyes widened. "What the—"
Lucas didn't give him time to finish. He clenched his fist, gathered every drop of Qi left in his dantian, and—
"Eat this."
A concussive wave of raw spiritual energy slammed into Derek's chest.
CRACK.
The nobleboy folded like a cheap chair, ribs audibly snapping as he sailed backward into his own thugs, sending them all crashing to the floor in a heap. Blood sprayed from Derek's mouth as he gasped.
"You—" He coughed, "You didn't even chant a spell—!"
Lucas didn't respond.
He turned, strode to his desk, and smothered the flames with a towel. A few quick pats, and the fire died down—leaving half of his homework scorched, edges curled and blackened.
His eye twitched.
"A week's worth…" he muttered. "Gone."
Then he turned. Slowly.
Derek was still slumped on the floor, wheezing.
Lucas stomped toward him, grabbed his absurdly overpriced collar, and shook him like a malfunctioning vending machine.
"You burned my homework," Lucas growled, each word sharp as a blade. "That was a full week of effort—and a perfectly good desk. Pay. Up."
Derek, still wheezing, clutched his ribs with one hand while reluctantly fumbling for his embroidered coin purse with the other.
"Fine... just... take it..." He began counting out coins with trembling fingers.
Lucas snatched the entire purse mid-count, then grabbed Derek by his gilded belt buckle.
"Thanks for the donation," he said, dragging the noble toward the door.
With a grunt, Lucas heaved Derek into the corridor, then grabbed the nearest thug and tossed him after. One by one, he hurled the rest out like sacks of garbage, ignoring their protests. The door slammed shut behind them, its new "Do Not Disturb" sign rattling ominously.
[Quest Updated: Defeat an Enemy - COMPLETE]
[Reward: "Flaming Palm" Technique Unlocked]