"Just a few broken bones, and you’re complaining?!" the bald professor barked, spitting saliva onto Kai’s face without a care in the world. "Students from class 1-A, run two more laps! Say thanks to the Lesser Angel!"

Kai’s face turned pale as the students from his class booed him.

All he was asking was to skip the exercise and the sparring for today.

It was perfectly reasonable, or at least, he thought it was perfectly reasonable, as he was in rough shape right now. But the damn bald professor made a big deal about it and did this. He now didn’t only need to run, but also suffer the displeased glare from his classmates.

Come on, am I really wrong to ask that?

Kai clicked his tongue in displeasure and ran at the very back of his class batch.

Not because he doesn’t want to earn their glare, but because he was extremely exhausted.

Even after sleeping last night, he was still not fit enough to run.

Unconsciously, Kai stole a glance at Bree, who was running at the very front, leading the batch.

She hadn’t even turned to look at him even once.

I should’ve made her stay. Her Maternity Cradle imprint would’ve really helped.

Kai tried keeping up with the class’s pace—but it was clear that he couldn’t. He was forced by the bald professor to run on the side so that he wouldn’t get in the way of the others. It felt like he was a pariah again.

At least up until Dorian limped beside him.

"Welcome to the crippled club," He said with a laugh.

"Screw you," Kai clicked his tongue in displeasure, as he was now on the same boat as Dorian, who had a donkey leg. Some days, he gave a cheer to Dorian on the side, not daring to get too close lest the bald professor shout at him again. Now, Dorian was the one cheering for him. "Can’t believe I’d be running in this state."

"Being a Lesser Angel for months now, and you still hadn’t gotten used to it?" Dorian teased.

"I have a broken arm and probably internal bruising."

"No rest for you, little Lesser Angel."

"Are you good now?" Kai asked, happy to see that Dorian had returned to normal again.

"Somewhat," Dorian smiled, showing his white teeth. "Sorry for not helping lately."

"It’s fine. Speaking of helping, we’re down to one last requirement."

"What is it?"

"Mining. Ten thousand mana ores."

"Fuck, that’s a lot."

"Should be done in a few days," Kai shrugged, already used to mining by now. "You in?"

"Of course," Dorian nodded. "Come on, keep up, will you?"

He ran ahead with a big smile on his face, savouring the chance of running faster than Kai for the first time in his entire academy life. It was a face that annoyed Kai, and he tried to run faster, only to stumble and fall, hurting himself.

Even after his entire class finished their laps, Kai was still running.

Just a few more laps, but he was already gasping for air.

It took him a good moment to complete the laps, and when he regrouped with the others, he immediately dropped to his knees to catch his breath. Now, there was only sparring. Just that and a meditation session, and he can catch a break.

"Lesser Angel," the bald professor’s voice reverberated through the air.

A voice that Kai hated so much.

He tried his best to raise his gaze to look at the bald professor.

"You’re up first," the bald professor gestured. "Come on, get up. Don’t waste my time."

"Can I...?" Kai gasped, still breathless as every pair of eyes fixated on him. "Can I rest first?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"No. If you don’t get up and step forward right now, I’ll double your weekly quota."

"For Zeus’ sake."

Kai forced himself upright, every muscle protesting at him to stop, but the worry from having his weekly quota doubled was too scary for him. He stepped into the makeshift arena, a little more than a circular clearing hemmed in by the entire freshman class.

A low groan escaped him as he slipped off the sling, but still kept his broken arm tucked tight.

He then stood, waiting for his sparring partner.

One by one, the bald professor called for the other students.

It would be five spars at the same time.

Four more students stood to his right with a good ten-yard spacing.

"Alex," the bald professor called. "You’re up against the Lesser Angel."

Ah... Fuck me.

Alex stood up with a wicked smile on his face. He combed his clean-cut wet green hair—and stepped into the arena. Even as he moved through the sitting students and then went to stand across the arena, his eyes never left Kai.

For him, this was a Zeus-sent opportunity.

Not only was his victory certain, but he could also show off in front of Bree.

Alex turned to the side—catching Bree’s gaze, and flashed her a confident smile. His rows of white teeth gleamed. Inside, he was elated. But for Kai, the annoying part was that Bree actually smiled back, clapping her hands for him with what looked like genuine excitement.

So petty... You’re really cheering for the other guy when I’m like this?

Kai stared at Bree in disbelief, but she didn’t even spare him a glance.

All he got was Dorian, clapping his hands on the far back.

Not because he was cheering for Kai, but because he knew Kai was completely screwed.

"I’ll go easy on you, Lesser Angel," Alex smirked condescendingly. "Be thankful."

I should’ve beaten this guy back then.

Kai forced out a smile, eyes twitching at being looked down on like this by a twig.

Once all students were in position and ready, the bald professor nodded, "Start!"

Swoosh—!

Almost instantly, Alex dashed in, closing the distance with only a few steps, and threw a solid straight punch. Kai dodged it, pivoting his body sideways and launching a counterattack with his only working arm.

Of course, Alex predicted it coming.

He leaned his head back, avoiding Kai’s fist with precision, and then spun his torso.

A spinning elbow rammed squarely against Kai’s face, dropping him to the cloud ground.

"Don’t give up on me now," Alex circled him—waiting for him to stand up. "I’m only getting started."

Kai gritted his teeth and surged forward. He threw a fist, aiming to clip Alex while he was still underestimating him, but the blow found only air. Shifting tactics mid-motion, he swung the miss into a backhand slap, and when Alex leaned away to dodge, he raised his right leg—and made a perfect roundhouse kick, slicing it toward Alex’s head in a perfect arc.

It was blocked perfectly, but the impact resounded hard.

Alex was hurt from blocking that kick.

But before he could continue, Alex already charged into his personal space.

A fist drilled into the stomach and pushed.

A devastating punch that staggered Kai backward until he dropped to one knee. Blood surged up his throat—he tried to cover his mouth, but it was already too late. It spilled past his fingers and splattered across the soft clouds beneath him, staining them red.

Right after that was a total beatdown.

A fist crashed into his face, and the world spun sideways. His balance shattered, and he could not find it quick enough as a knee drove deep into his stomach, folding him in half. He hit the ground hard, and Alex wasted no time.

Like an athlete, he kicked Kai’s ribs, punishing the bruises already there.

For the next five minutes, Kai tried his best to protect himself, but there’s simply no way.

At the last second, an uppercut connected to his chin, and threw him backward.

"Stop!" the bald professor finally called the spars. "Go back to your place and meditate."

Alex looked down at Kai lying on the ground and smiled to himself, feeling good about his work of art. He turned to look at Bree, but she didn’t meet his gaze again. She was looking at Kai, and there was worry in her eyes.

Nine students returned to where they came from.

Kai was the last one again, struggling to get up.

"Can you walk?" the bald professor squatted down and asked. "Do you need help?"

"Do you need to go this far?" Kai lifted his gaze.

"Hmm?"

"Normally, the spar only lasted three minutes. But this one lasted five minutes."

"By now, you already understand how this works. There are rules in place. Rules for Angels, High Angels, and Lesser Angels. Even I cannot bend them. Be grateful I only added two. The rule stated I can raise the duration up to five."

Kai chuckled inwardly.

A self-ridiculing chuckle that caused a sharp sting to stab into his chest.

"Right..." Kai slowly rose to his feet and offered a weak smile—though all the professor could see was the slight squint of his eyes. "Thank you then, professor."

Once the sparring concluded, Kai dragged himself to the clinic and asked the healer whether his healing privileges still held. They did not. She only gave him the bare minimum—plasters and creams, and sent him on his way without a second glance.

Kai returned to class and sat near the window with Dorian beside him.

Throughout the whole class, his head was on the table, desperately enduring the pain.

Even Dorian noticed that his body was shaking.

It was a miracle that nobody had taken advantage of his situation right now.

But he though it’s only a matter of time until one does.

Kai was also the first one to stand when Professor Hera concluded the class—as he headed back to his room. Fortunately, the academy uniform was mainly black. Everyone would have seen the blood on his sleeves from how much he was wiping the blood from his mouth, had it not been black.

At this point, he wanted to quickly finish his matters for the day.

One that he would need right now was to return Iris to Professor Evie.

He was the one who talked with her, so he needs to be the one to bring Iris back.

If Matilda or Dorian is the one doing it, then she might make an excuse.

Kai needed to be the one to do it, and his condition would probably help melt Professor Evie’s heart, making her think that he had gone through this length to save Iris. In reality, rescuing the cat was quite easy.

But as he stepped into the dormitory and walked through the corridor, he stumbled.

Before he knew it, someone pushed him into an empty room.

Kai stumbled inside, almost falling to the floor, and his eyes widened when he realized what had happened. He gritted his teeth and looked over his shoulder as, finally, someone had come to take advantage of his condition.

It was going to be painful, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight.