Chapter 145- Magic Traning (Part 3)
Many of the students looked at each other as if they were searching for someone that could explain what happened a second ago. Their eyes weren't able to follow Rin's movements that were akin to a messy blur that ended before they even opened their eyes again.
"Did he just move?"
"I don't know… Did you see anything?"
"Beat me… I saw nothing." Another said as he rubbed his eyes.
"But, I'm sure he moved. Then, how do you explain the defeat?! Did he magically fall down alone?"
"No. But, what if he did a trick we couldn't see?"
"That's impossible. If he did that, Professor would've noticed it too. But, look at him, he's also surprised. He also noticed how fast he was."
"Amazing… I never thought someone from our class can be that strong… This is unfair."
"He was hiding his strength all along. What a bastard! Is he some kind of strong student that came from the higher floors?"
"Possible. He seems to also be quite elegant with his moves so he must've trained for a long time."
Such things were being repeated left and right. Everyone was starting to create rumors and gossip about Rin. They simply couldn't accept the fact that one of their peers was so overwhelmingly stronger than them that he beat one of the strongest A-Class students in a split second.
It was just too unbelievable. The idea in and out of itself didn't fit with what their minds thought as the power level of the new students.
On the other side, Donnie wasn't even bothering with what they were saying. His sole focus was the black-haired boy that was walking back to where he was standing before. A flash of complex emotions passed through his eyes.
'This is… Not a joke. When I heard what Miss. Emilia said I half-believed it.' He thought to himself. Even though Donnie was able to see Rin's movements clearly with his eyes, it still shocked him beyond words.
'He had used one hand to throw his opponent in the air. Such a strength, speed, and precision. Should it even exist on the lower floors?' He wondered as his memories came rushing back to him.
Yesterday, he was called by Emilia to talk about the first lesson he was going to do the next day. He already knew about Sorophi's visit and so he was sure that Emilia will just warn him about the potential trouble that could happen and how he should deal with it in case it happened.
But, he was slightly off the mark in his guess because Emilia didn't only warn him about that matter but also talked about Rin.
"Listen, Donnie. I have personally taken Rin under my wing. He is in the simplest terms possible a 'Freak of nature'. I trust you with keeping that information to yourself or you know what could happen." She said as she gave him a side glare.
The reason Emilia told him about that was not that Donnie was someone extremely close to her but because she had full control over him. It's safe to say that Emilia controlled Donnie's life and the life of those he cared about so whatever she tells him, she was sure he will never dare to leak it out to anyone, especially enemies.
The other reason she told him was a matter she was waiting for.
"He will soon ascend from the lowest floor and I don't want him to take long there. He won't be using his full powers so that might lower his score in your class. Make sure he doesn't end up taking longer than expected to ascend, understand?"
"Yes…" Donnie nodded his head with a rather calm expression.
He already knows that Rin was talented but hearing the great praises someone like Emilia was giving to Rin made him wonder how stronger he got after the last time he saw him. He was honestly skeptical about that.
He had seen talented individuals and Rin was certainly one of those that could be considered geniuses. But, to call him a 'freak of nature' was stretching it.
But, even with that in his head, he didn't say anything as he wasn't stupid enough to offend Emilia.
However, now that he saw with his own eyes what that young man could do, he could only click his tongue and look down with shame. He was too naive to believe that Rin wasn't as big as Emilia said.
'She wouldn't take a mere 'Genius' under her wing after all. He seems fit to achieve her ambitions in the future.'
He had heard about Emilia's long-living dream before but he wasn't sure if it was actually true or not. But, whether it was indeed a fact or not, Rin was a precious gem that could help Emilia a lot.
Shaking his head, Donnie quickly clapped his hands and said loudly.
"Enough, chit-chatting! Who is next? Hurry up!"
His stern voice killed all gossip and the spars continued.
But, that didn't mean that Rin wasn't the focus of everyone anymore.
'I think I overdid it.' Rin thought as he rubbed his chin with a glare.
He was going to show his strength to a certain extent just to make sure everyone was aware of how strong he was. But, now that he looked at it, he felt as if he just did something very wrong.
But, Rin had no idea about the power level of the students so he just took a guess and used a certain amount of power he thought was the best for such cases. Albeit, he overestimated the power level of newbies and ended up turning himself into some kind of monster in the eyes of his peers.
"You didn't have to beat him that quickly." Elise approached him and said with a casual look.
"I did?"
"I heard some of them talk about the fact that you are a spy that descended from the higher floors."
"Really?! Damn, that's absurd. I am a newbie too." Rubbing the back of his head, Rin could only sigh in exasperation.
"I'm not surprised they thought so."
"Huh? You too?"
"You obliterated your opponent so quickly no one could even see it. I'm pretty sure that's more than enough to make you stand out like a sore thumb."
"Fuck. That's bad! I don't want some stupid rumors to spread around me. Damn it! Did I really make a mistake by doing this?" He murmured as he was slightly panicked.
"I think it's not that bad of an outcome. Let them think you are actually a student from the higher floors. That will only make them fear you even more and reduce the trouble that might happen to you."
"Hmm… Now that you say it, it is indeed the case. Haha! So I was indeed a genius by doing this." Rin's desperate look quickly changed to a proud smile.
Elise's lips fidgeted a little bit as she looked at him secretly.
'He likes to deliberately act childish sometimes in front of me. I wonder why?'
She had noticed how Rin would usually act like that and even try to tease her. But, she didn't know why he would go out of his way to do that. She was sure Rin wouldn't usually treat the others like that. She was the only one he did that with.
At first, she thought that maybe he just found it fun but then when she thought about it again, it didn't seem normal at all.
Being so dense when it comes to the matter of emotions, Elise couldn't really notice that all that Rin was doing was only for her sake.
He knew how lacking her trust in other people was and so he used this light-hearted yet effective method to open her heart again to accept others and trust them. Well, in this case, he wanted her to trust him only and no one else but it was still a form of healing for the traumatized Elise.
Rin found that teasing and pulling her into conversations was the best way for Elise to crack her shell and leave it.
But, neither of them noticed that the other thought that way. They just followed their instincts and what their minds told them.
"Sigh, well, only time will tell us how these rumors could affect me. I hope I won't end up in trouble because of it."
"You won't be alone if you get in trouble if that happens," Elise said mysteriously.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
But, as he asked that question, Elise's turn came and she quickly left without telling him anything. Rin could only watch her walk away with a confused look. He couldn't comprehend the idea behind her mysterious reply.
'Why do I feel as if she's going to do something?' He wondered.
(A//N: Elise is starting to notice the smaller things from Rin :); hopefully she would notice other things too :3)
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