The next day rolled in very quietly, but Ethan's mind wasn't quiet. Sitting at his desk in class, he tapped his pen lightly, lost deep in thought.
"Alright, time to finally kick this plan off," he muttered to himself.
The problem? He didn't even know where or how he was going to begin.
He wanted to track down the three underlings from Iron Fang—the ones who cornered and pressured Aria—but he had no names, no idea what class they belonged to, and their faces were already starting to blur in his memory. That whole encounter had happened so fast. He furrowed his brow.
"How the hell am I supposed to find people I can't even describe?" he sighed.
Then it hit him suddenly. "Wait a second... I don't even know Aria's class."
He leaned back in his seat, a small chuckle escaping from his lips.
"Smooth, Ethan. Real smooth from you. You've talked to her two times already, got tasked with bedding her, and you don't even know where she studies. Very impressive."
Still, that was a problem he would handle on a later date.
His stomach growled.
"Guess it's finally time to use the damn cafeteria like a normal student."
Every break since the term began had been ruined by one thing or the other—Selene, system tasks, hallway drama, Iron Fang punks—but today? Today, he was going to enjoy a proper lunch finally and nothing could take it away from him this time.
He stood, heading toward the cafeteria with quiet purpose. Inside, the low hum of chatter filled the air, plates clinking, trays sliding, mouths chewing.
The smell of grilled food and something vaguely sweet drifted all around him.
He grabbed a tray, served himself some rice, some grilled chicken, and a side of beans, then scanned the room. His eyes landed on a table tucked near the back, mostly empty. Perfect.
Sitting down, he exhaled like someone who just survived a war. "Peace. Finally."
But even as he dug into his food, his ears stayed wide open. If there was one thing cafeterias were good for, it was rumors—and he needed some.
Ethan sat with his meal, mind half on his food, half on the idle chatter floating through the cafeteria. Dozens of meaningless conversations buzzed around him, but he filtered through them, ears subconsciously tuned to anything remotely useful.
Then—bingo.
A table a few rows ahead, three guys chuckling and talking just loud enough for him to catch.
"Bro, those Iron Fang idiots still recovering from that L they took last week?"
"Yeah, heard they got humiliated by some random guy. Since then, they've been hitting the gym every damn day like they're training for war."
"Serves them right. Bunch of cocky losers thought they owned the place—one dude and they scattered like kids."
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly as he chewed. That's them. The words echoed in his head like a jackpot sound. It wasn't much, but it was enough. A lead.
"They're alive, pissed, and apparently trying to bulk up after I bruised their egos," he mused, lips curling into a faint grin.
"And the gym's where they retreat to. After school... perfect."
The bell rang shortly after, snapping him out of his thoughts. He dumped his tray, straightened up, and headed for class with a calm stride, but his thoughts were already way ahead—eyes on the evening.
"Reunion after school, huh?" he thought with a quiet smirk. "Let's give them a taste of their own medicine. Aria likes strength? Then it's time to put on a show."
After school ended, Ethan didn't waste time. Backpack slung lazily over one shoulder, he slipped through the hallway and made his way toward the gym building—or at least, where he thought it was.
Only problem? He'd never been there before.
"Hey, where's the gym?" he asked a guy in the hallway.
"End of the west block, past the art rooms. You'll see a stairway leading down."
Ethan followed the direction... and ended up near the swimming pool.
"Tch." He scratched the back of his head, turned back around and asked someone else.
"Ah, you took a wrong turn. It's the east wing basement, not the west. Big gray door. Hard to miss."
"Hard to miss, my ass." Ethan grumbled as he finally turned the right way. He passed three empty corridors and a staircase that led to what looked like a storage room before he finally found it—a thick gray door with a small frosted window above it.
He exhaled and shook his head. "Got lost like four times. If I don't find at least one of them here, I'm gonna punch myself instead," he muttered, stepping up.
He grabbed the metal handle, slid the door open—and his jaw lowered slightly.
The gym was huge.
Rows of machines, free weights neatly stacked, a mirrored wall reflecting every inch of it, and the stench of effort clinging to the air. He stepped in slowly, eyes wide for a second as he scanned the unfamiliar equipment, a bit stunned by the sheer setup.
"No wonder they train here. I could probably turn into a beast too if I stayed long enough."
But he snapped himself out of the awe.
"I didn't come to admire the machinery. I came to find those punks."
He scanned the room carefully. A few students were scattered, some focused on weights, others on cardio. But none looked familiar.
Just as he sighed and turned slightly to leave—
"—I'll show that guy who's boss soon enough," a voice muttered angrily.
Ethan paused. The voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp. Followed by a loud thump against a punching bag.
He turned his head.
One of the underlings was there, jabbing the punching bag hard, eyes burning with frustration, sweat dripping down his brow.
"Bingo." Ethan muttered under his breath, a smug grin spreading across his face.
He stepped forward, each stride calm and confident, already playing out how this little encounter was going to go down.
===========
Please donate powerstones and add the novel to your collections, it will be really helpful. For every 10 powerstones 1 bonus chapter will be released
Please leave your honest comments and reviews and feel free to ask any questions, it'll help me improve the novel's quality. Thank you, enjoy your read :)