The Author's POV

At this exact moment, an indescribable yet terrifying aura appeared on the tall stage.

Everything stood at a standstill.

Be it Haris, the referee, or the people in the stands. A cold chill traveled across the arena grounds.

"W-what is going on?"

Stopping midway, Haris felt as if his legs were made of lead. He couldn't move.

"Y-you what have you done to me?"

The momentum that Haris had previously completely disappeared the moment Ren's eyes turned grey. As if an invisible hand had grasped his neck, Haris's speech stuttered and his eyes dilated.

This was the first time he had ever felt such dread from someone. He could barely utter a word as his body convulsed slightly.

Swaying left and right, Haris tried his best to remain standing.

His heartbeat increased, his back was slowly getting drenched, his eyes dilated, and his breathing became rugged.

He was suffocating.

At this moment, in the eyes of the spectating students, Ren looked incomparably scary. With just one look, and his opponent could barely stand. Even the referee was affected as droplets of sweat appeared by the side of his head.

Noticing that Haris was still standing, Ren took his hand off his face. His two eyes were revealed, and the pressure intensified.

Right after the second eye was revealed, Haris's mind almost collapsed. He let out a sharp and pained cry.

"Haa-!"

Ren ignored him.

His dull grey eyes remained fixed on him.

The more Haris looked into Ren's eyes, the more insignificant Haris felt. It felt as though he was a peasant looking at his king.

How insolent of him!

"...Kneel"

Finally opening his mouth, Ren's hoarse yet cold voice echoed across the arena.

Without even thinking, Haris's knees weakened. An indescribable look of terror appeared in his eyes as his body continued to move down slowly and carefully.

He was afraid of angering the person before him.

Slowly and carefully Haris placed both knees on the ground.

As he knelt, he faced the ground the whole time. He did not dare look into Ren's eyes, nor did he care about how he looked at the moment.

Right now, all he wanted to do was kneel down.

Nothing else mattered to him.

As long as he knelt he was going to be fine...

"Stop! The match is over!"

Recovering from his stupor, staring at Haris who was slowly kneeling on the ground, the referee raised his hand and ended the match.

Instantly, the pressure alleviated and Ren's eyes returned to their usual deep blue color. Smiling as if nothing had ever happened, Ren nodded towards the Referee.

-Gulp!

Staring at Ren, the referee swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He was currently a third-year and his rank was D. He could be considered quite talented for his age.

The reason he choose to be a referee was so that he could improve his CV for when he applied for a job once he graduated. However, at this moment, he almost regretted his choice.

The moment Ren's eyes turned grey, even he couldn't help but be affected. To make matters worse, once Ren's voice rang in the arena, he had almost knelt as well!

Had it not been for Ren holding back, who knew what could've happened. With everyone spectating and recording, this would've been extremely detrimental for his future.

Gratefully looking at Ren, the referee announced.

"Student Ren Dover wins"

Right after the referee announced the winner, silence prevailed over the surroundings.

Ren did not seem to mind this as he leisurely turned around and made his way towards the tunnel that led to the arena.

Like that, Ren's true show of might was revealed to the world.

...

"What was that?"

"I don't know"

Staring at the arena grounds below, Emma had a solemn expression on her face.

At this moment, no one cheered. Everyone had the same question on their mind.

'What just happened?'

Emma was the same.

All she saw was Ren's eyes turn dull grey before an indescribable chill washed over the arena grounds.

Even though she couldn't directly feel what had happened, judging from the referee's change in expression as well as Ren's opponent's reaction, Ren had done something outrageous.

With her body leaning forward, she muttered, "Was that a skill?"

"...possibly? But I don't know"

Amanda shook her head.

She did not know. She had originally thought that Ren was going to reveal the sword skill he had used back when he killed Elijah, but it seems like she was wrong.

Whatever Ren had used, she had never seen such skill before.

"Than what do you think that was?"

"I'm not sure..."

Because they were far from the actual arena grounds, they weren't fully aware of what had happened.

Although they felt something, it wasn't strong.

But it was enough for them to understand what Ren's opponent went through.

Frowning, Emma looked at Ren's opponent, Haris. His complexion was currently extremely pale, and his eyes were blank.

With a stretcher in tow, two medical staff came into the arena and placed Haris on it.

Placing her hand on her chin, Emma asked, "You think he's going to be okay?"

"I'm not sure"

Amanda once again shook her head.

She had no idea.

"I think he went a little too hard on him. There is a chance that he might never recover from this. From the way I see things, the opponent might be scarred for life..."

"Indeed..."

With a complicated expression on her face, Amanda agreed.

Had this been a physical fight she might've been able to tell the extent of his opponent's injuries.

However, from the very minute that the match had started Ren had not moved from his spot. This meant one thing.

Whatever Ren did, he had destroyed his opponent's mentality.

This had something to do with the brain! One of the most delicate organs of the human system.

If something really happened and the brain got damaged, no potion or modern technology could solve this issue.

Both Emma and Amanda knew this.

Once again staring at Haris who was slowly being carried away from the arena grounds, Emma's and Amanda's expressions turned solemn.

What would've happened if it was them? Would they have been able to resist whatever Ren had done?

...they did not know.

After Haris was carried away from the arena grounds, a show cast over them as a figure left the arena stands.

"Jin's leaving"

Walking towards the exit, Jin indifferently left the arena grounds. Apart from his brows being slightly knit, Jin seemed rather unfazed.

No one knew what he was thinking.

"I guess he really came to look at Ren's fight"

"mhm"

"Oh, it's finally Kevin's turn"

A minute after Jin left, Emma's eyes lit up as she saw Kevin enter the arena grounds.

Enough time had passed since Ren's shocking scene, and most of the people in the stands had recovered from their previous shock. Emma and Amanda too.

Standing up, they all cheered.

"Huuua-!"

...

Right after Ren's fight ended.

Inside the tunnel that led towards the arena grounds, Kevin leaned against the side of the wall with his arms crossed.

Spotting Ren's figure walking in his direction, Kevin smirked.

"You show off"

"No choice, unlike you I am not planning on treating everyone as my training dummy"

Rolling my eyes, I shrugged my shoulders.

Since I've said I was going to leave with a bang, I naturally did as I said.

This little stunt of mine will cement my position as a 'prodigy' but that was part of my plan. I knew that I needed to adapt to the changes.

After spending the last couple of days thinking, I had more or less come up with a rough outline of my future courses of action.

In a way, though it had its disadvantages, standing out could help me achieve my goals faster.

"By the way, you didn't permanently hurt him right?"

"Nah, I held back"

"You held back?"

"Well yeah"

My opponent was only F ranked after all. Had I used my full power, he would've permanently been scarred.

He would recover with a little bit of rest.

I was not stupid enough to cripple someone. That would achieve the opposite of what I wanted.

"That's true..."

Nodding his head, Kevin agreed. He knew Ren wasn't stupid enough to permanently injure a student out of pettiness.

Had he actually done that, he would've been in trouble.

"Alright, good luck with your match, not that you need it"

Wishing Kevin good luck, I headed to the changing room.

"You're right, I guess I don't"

"Pu! Since when have you become so arrogant?"

Halting my footsteps, I spat on the ground.

The Kevin that I knew would've never said such words. Who had corrupted him?

"Mh, I guess I've been spending too much time with the wrong people"

"I agree, don't hang out with Emma and Melissa"

Hearing Kevin's statement, I nodded solemnly.

Emma and Melissa were both bad influences for Kevin. He needed to spend less time with them or else he'll turn into an arrogant prick like the both of them.

"...I was talking about you"

"..."

I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't hearing things.

"Who else would I be talking about? I literally spent a month with you in Immorra. Yesterday too! If I'm getting influenced by someone, it's you"

"Piss off!"

After a short pause, I irritably waved my hand and turned around. The veins on the top of my head were bulging.

This fucker.

Me a bad influence? What was he on about?

Not even in the slightest.

"hahaha, I was just kidding"

Laughing out loud, Kevin turned around and entered the arena.

It was his turn.