Lunchtime.
The cafeteria roared with noise—clinking trays, shouted jokes, and the constant hum of youth basking in privilege. Sunlight filtered through tall glass panes, casting gold across rows of polished tables.
For most, it was a break.
For Rover, it was war.
He sat alone. Again.
A steel tray before him held a modest bowl of rice and broth—untouched, cooling. He wasn't used to all this: the rhythm of bells, assigned seating, the way people stared like he didn't belong.
Because to them, he didn't.
He was still learning how to exist here.
And that's when they came.
Gan Sae Bok swaggered into the scene like a crowned predator. Two shadows followed him: Ryke, a smirking wind-type with twitchy hands, and Tae Byung, the silent stone wall of a B-rank.
Gan (mocking):
"Oy, street rat."
He leaned over Rover's table, fire dancing behind his eyes.
"Fancy meal you got. Rice and soup? What's next, a throne?"
Rover didn't answer.
Gan crouched closer, grinning.
"You know why you look good here? Because beggars belong on their knees."
Laughter erupted nearby—casual, cruel.
Ryke (snickering):
"Still using sticks to fight goblins, huh?"
Tae Byung:
"I heard even slimes outrank you now."
Rover kept his eyes low, fists tight.
Gan's voice grew louder—enough to reach the entire cafeteria.
"You say you wanna be a hunter?
You don't even have a core. No mana signature. Nothing.
You're not a hunter.
You're a tourist in a warzone."
He grabbed the tray—SLAM!
It clattered to the floor, broth splashing across Rover's shoes like spilled shame.
Gan (cold):
"You're not one of us. You never will be."
Laughter exploded—louder this time. A symphony of scorn.
Even a cafeteria worker snorted behind the glass.
Then—
A hush.
Like someone hit pause.
Two girls had risen.
Ayaka Tsukishiro stood at the far end, arms crossed, expression unreadable—like a sword in its sheath, quiet but deadly.
Beside her, from a different table, Mina Hisaka glared like she could tear steel with her eyes.
Ayaka (calmly):
"You done barking, Sae Bok?"
Gan blinked.
"…What?"
Ayaka (tilting her head slightly):
"Because if you're trying to impress someone, you're failing."
Mina (voice sharp as glass):
"Kicking someone already on the ground doesn't make you strong.
It makes you pathetic."
Gan's smirk wavered.
Ryke and Tae shifted, unsure.
Ayaka kept going, her voice low but piercing:
"You've got fire, Sae Bok. But all I see is smoke.
Try lighting that ego in an actual duel."
Mina stepped forward.
"No lackeys. No flames. Just you and him.
One-on-one."
The cafeteria buzzed—but no one dared laugh now.
Rover stood, slow and steady. His shirt clung to the broth on his legs. His hands trembled—not from fear, but from holding back.
His gaze locked with Gan's.
Rover (quiet, steady):
"I don't have mana.
I don't have a core.
But I've survived things that would leave most of you curled up in a corner, crying for your parents.
You can laugh now.
But one day…"
He stepped forward.
"…you'll choke on your own fire."
Silence.
Not even a cough.
Ayaka moved to his side, nodding once.
Ayaka (gently):
"Let's go."
Mina glared at the crowd one last time.
Mina:
"Anyone else think it's funny?
Come on. I'll laugh with you."
No one moved.
As the three of them walked out, the silence they left behind was louder than the mockery that came before it.
Inside Rover, a storm churned.
He didn't want their pity.
He didn't need their help.
But now, he had something more dangerous than hate.
He had momentum.
To be continue…