Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 773 Chapter 178.3 - Previous Undercurrents

Chapter 773  Chapter 178.3 - Previous Undercurrents

The weight of the Gravity Room pressed against me as I moved through my routines, each motion deliberate, each strike precise. The augmented gravity pushed down relentlessly, every step requiring calculated effort, every movement forcing me to channel mana for reinforcement. Sweat rolled down my back, my breathing steady despite the strain. 
Then, a shift. 
At first, it was subtle—so faint it might have gone unnoticed. But I had trained my senses rigorously over the break, honing them to pick up on even the smallest irregularities. And this? This was unmistakable. 
The sound. Or rather, the absence of it. The faint hum of mana that normally coursed through the Gravity Room seemed muted, suppressed. The ambient energy of the training hall beyond the room's barrier felt distant, disconnected. 
My breath hitched slightly, though I kept my movements controlled. My eyes narrowed as I focused on the emptiness around me, the void where there should have been noise and motion. 
'Something is not right.' 
Without hesitation, I canceled the gravity magic weighing me down, lifting the barrier with a quick pulse of mana. The oppressive force vanished instantly, and I straightened, my body adjusting to the sudden lightness. My senses expanded outward, my focus sharpening as I probed the space around me. 
Four presences. 
They weren't in the room yet, but they were close—hovering just beyond the outer walls, their movements careful, deliberate. Not clumsy enough to be a freshman. No, these were more experienced. 
'Four men. Cadets, but not freshmen. Sophomores,' I assessed silently, my mind piecing together the picture. 
The erasure of presences, the lack of connection to the outside, and the sudden, coordinated movement of sophomores in the vicinity. It didn't take much to understand what was happening. 
'I see,' I thought, my eyes narrowing further. 'The isolation, the timing, the choice of location… So you've started to act.' 
They thought they were clever, that they could catch me off guard in a controlled environment. But their presence here, their audacity—it told me everything I needed to know. 
I took a steady breath, calming the faint ripple of annoyance that threatened to surface. The four presences moved closer, their footsteps deliberate, the sound of their approach muffled but distinct to my attuned senses. The door creaked faintly as it swung open, revealing the figures who had been lurking just beyond. 
I took a steady breath, calming the faint ripple of annoyance that threatened to surface. The four presences moved closer, their footsteps deliberate, the sound of their approach muffled but distinct to my attuned senses. The door creaked faintly as it swung open, revealing the figures who had been lurking just beyond. 
Four sophomores. Their uniforms bore the academy's emblem, but their postures were anything but professional. Each of them carried themselves with the kind of arrogance that came from believing they had the upper hand. They spread out slightly as they entered, their movements coordinated, blocking any direct path to the exit. 
'I really would've loved to beat the shit out of you…' I thought. 
'But now's not the time. Too many eyes are on me already.' 
My sudden rank advancement had drawn attention—perhaps too much of it. Pair that with Irina's recent presence, and her decision to associate with me so openly, and the scrutiny on me was only growing. A confrontation here, if mishandled, could undo the careful image I'd been crafting. 
'Hitting people isn't the only way to destroy them,' One needed to remember this. 
My gaze was sharp as I took in the intruders. 'And I've been expecting something like this to happen.' 
After all, being prepared for things like this is a must. 
'You see, I have spent a really good amount of money for this thing. Please, take care of it well.' 
******* 
Victor Langley strode confidently into the gravity training room, his three lackeys trailing behind him like shadows. The instant they crossed the threshold, an invisible force pressed down on them—gravity amplified far beyond normal. Their movements faltered for a moment, but they adjusted quickly, their bodies accustomed to the strain after months of training as sophomores. 
The room was dimly lit, the overhead lights casting long shadows across the metallic floor. The walls hummed faintly, reinforced with technology and mana-infused alloys to withstand the enhanced gravity. In one corner, an activated barrier shimmered faintly, its translucent veil ensuring that no sound would escape beyond the confines of the room. 
Victor glanced at it and smirked. "Perfect." 
The air felt thick, not just from the augmented gravity but from the tension that hung heavily in the room. The four of them moved toward the center where he stood. 
A young man. 
His black hair fell loosely around his face, framing sharp, handsome features. His purple eyes, luminous even in the dim light, tracked their approach without a word. He stood motionless in the center of the room, his posture relaxed, as though the crushing weight of the enhanced gravity was nothing more than an idle breeze to him. 
Victor stopped a few feet away, his lackeys forming a semi-circle around the young man. 
"....." 
Silence. 
The young man didn't speak. He didn't flinch. He didn't even acknowledge their presence beyond a faint glance. His calm demeanor only fueled Victor's irritation. 
"You've got guts, I'll give you that," Victor said, his voice echoing faintly in the sealed room. He cracked his knuckles, the sound sharp and deliberate. "Standing there all quiet like that. Makes you look brave. Or stupid." 
The young man didn't respond. His expression remained unreadable, his piercing purple gaze steady and unyielding. 
Victor's smirk wavered, annoyance flickering in his eyes. He motioned to one of his lackeys, a tall, broad-shouldered student with a jagged scar running down his jaw. 
"Get the barrier reinforced," Victor ordered. "We don't want interruptions." 
The lackey nodded and moved to the wall, his hands glowing faintly with mana as he enhanced the sound-dampening barrier. The shimmering veil grew brighter for a moment before settling back into an almost invisible hum. 
Victor turned his attention back to the young man. "You know why we're here, don't you?" 
Still, the young man didn't respond. 
Victor's smirk turned into a scowl, his frustration bubbling to the surface. He stepped closer, the enhanced gravity causing his boots to clang heavily against the floor. 
"You think you can just walk around here like you're untouchable?" Victor sneered. "You think you're better than everyone else, huh? Someone's gotta teach you some manners." 
The young man tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanged. For a fleeting moment, Victor thought he caught the faintest hint of a smile—a mocking curve at the edge of his lips. 
"Say something!" one of the lackeys snapped, stepping forward with clenched fists. 
Victor held up a hand, stopping him. "No need. He's not the talking type." He rolled his shoulders, his mana flaring faintly around him in a show of dominance. "Doesn't matter. We'll get the message across another way." 
The lackeys chuckled, their laughter low and predatory. 
But the young man didn't laugh. He didn't flinch. 
And for a brief, unsettling moment, Victor felt the weight of that purple gaze settle on him, cutting through the room like a blade. 
******* 
On the other side, the tense air in the corridor snapped like a coiled spring as the group of freshmen surged forward. One of them lunged at Emma, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to release Taylor's collar. Another stepped in front of Taylor, shielding her from the escalating chaos. 
"Back off!" a freshman shouted, his fists clenched tightly. 
Emma's eyes blazed with fury. "You little brats think you can take me on?" she snarled, stepping forward. Her entourage, equally outraged, jumped into the fray, shoving and jostling the freshmen. 
The corridor erupted into a chaotic brawl, fists swinging, shouts echoing off the walls. Taylor pressed herself against the cold surface, her legs trembling, as she watched the chaos unfold. Her heart pounded, torn between wanting to intervene and being too paralyzed to move. 
"Enough!" a sharp, commanding voice rang out, cutting through the commotion like a whip. 
The fighting stopped almost instantly as everyone turned to face the source of the voice. A woman stood at the far end of the corridor, her presence radiating authority. She was tall and composed, with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun, and her piercing eyes swept over the scene with unmistakable disdain. 
It was Instructor Maris, one of the academy's most respected and fearsome teachers. Her reputation for zero tolerance and unwavering discipline was well-known among the students. 
"What is going on here?" Maris demanded, her tone icy and severe. She strode forward, her boots clicking sharply against the floor, and stopped in the middle of the corridor, glaring at the group. 
Emma was the first to recover, straightening her uniform and lifting her chin. "Instructor Maris, these freshmen attacked me without provocation," she said, her voice laced with indignation. "I was simply—" 
"I don't want excuses," Maris snapped, cutting her off. Her eyes darted to Taylor, who still clung to the wall, and then to the group of freshmen, several of whom bore scuffed uniforms and bruised faces. "This is a blatant violation of academy conduct." 
The freshmen shuffled nervously, some glancing at Taylor, who looked like she might crumble under the weight of the instructor's scrutiny. 
"Everyone is to immediately head to the disciplinary committee." 
And her orders were clear. 
"The academy will handle this." 
But then just then, from her earbuds, she will hear another voice. 
[Instructor Maris. Please head to the Training Grounds. We have lost a signal in one of the rooms.] 
All of them were happening at the same time. 
'Tch.'  
"Now, disperse. Your names are all recorded. Don't even try to deceive the academy." 
Saying that she immediately rushed to the training grounds.