Three months.
That's how long it had been since Jalen started training under Gun.
Each day was brutal. Bone-crushing routines. Endless repetition. Gun didn't offer praise just silence and expectations. Every mistake was punished with a strike, every improvement met with harder tasks. And Jalen kept going. Not once did he stop. Not once did he complain.
Now, he moved differently. His body no longer hesitated. His instincts were sharper. He didn't just learn he absorbed. Every feint, every shift in stance, every silent tell from an opponent. His muscles were defined now, honed by months of discipline and pain. His reflexes were so sharp, it was like he saw things before they happened.
Gun stood across from him in the training room, arms folded.
"You're not just good anymore," he said. "You've surpassed everyone I've trained. Even Johan. Even Jake. You're past them now."
Jalen didn't smile. He just breathed, wiped the sweat from his brow, and nodded once.
The next morning, he stepped out of the Rolls Royce as his butler opened the door in front of J High. He'd grown since the first day taller, sharper, calmer. His uniform clung to his frame just right, every step confident but never loud.
It was the first day of the new semester. Jalen was now a sophomore.
The moment he entered the school grounds, the whispers started.
"That's him…"
"The second-year…"
"He's even better looking than the rumors said…"
"Wait isn't that the guy Crystal looked at during the festival?"
"And Mary Kim too!"
"He looks like a celebrity no, like something above that."
First-year girls turned their heads as he walked by, unable to hide their stares. Some froze in the hallways. Others whispered with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Even boys, new and old, gave double takes some with admiration, others with envy.
Jalen didn't react. He walked calmly through the school, letting the wave of attention wash over him without ever flinching.
His eyes scanned the hallway. Familiar faces. Daniel, Vasco, Zack. They were talking near the lockers.
He nodded once in their direction. Daniel waved with a grin. Jalen nodded back, then continued walking.
He was no longer just the rich, handsome transfer.
He was something else now.
And everyone was starting to realize it.