"Hello guys! I am Amon Vale from Class A. It's nice to meet you." Amon decided to come out of his hiding place, not wanting to run and get chased by them.

Maybe they can form a team together. It's not like Amon had any animosity with them. They might take him in their team, so he came out.

Both Ricky and Kai looked guarded. Their weapons were already in their hands, ready to attack him anytime.

Amon smiled friendly at them.

Kai's eyes frowned at him. "Amon Vale? I think I have heard that name somewhere."

Ricky remained silent without saying anything and thought deeply. Then he remembered it. Who this man actually was. There were a lot of rumors about this boy not only in first year but also among second-year students.

"He is Amon Vale… Don't you remember the commoner boy… who hangs out with Elf Princess Eliana and Lady Seraphina? Not only that… he was walking around the academy with Her Highness, Selena. That too, hands on her shoulder! So shameless!" The more Ricky talked, the more his face became annoyed and angry.

He didn't understand why such an average-looking man was closer to so many beautiful girls. If that was not enough, they were actually from royal and high noble families. Yes, maybe he was jealous.

The moment Kai heard him, sudden realization came to him. He remembered those rumors… No! Not only rumors. Now that he thought deeply, he had seen Amon hang out with those girls.

Amon, who heard them and saw their changing expressions, felt uncomfortable. His kind smile faltered.

"Hey-hey guys! We can… be a team, you know. The more, the merrier." Amon tried to act friendly, sound more reasonable. Telling them there was no need to fight. Yet their expressions didn't change.

"Ricky! ...I heard he's the last-ranked student in the first year… he's no use for being in a team. Why don't we just defeat him? Heheh." Kai said to his friend with an evil smile. He laughed at the end like a third-rate villain.

"Fufufu! Well said, my friend. Let's beat the shit out of him. He really acts high and mighty in the academy, not knowing his place. I always liked to show this kind of people their right place." From beside Kai replied with the same villainous smile.

Amon felt so wrong. Why? He didn't even know them. And when did he act high and mighty in front of them?

'Damn! Why? Are they idiots? Is that even a reason to fight me? What wrong deed have I done to them?'

Amon stepped back. There was no choice. Either he needed to run or fight them and defeat them.

What Amon was going to choose was already decided.

'Run!'

Amon spun on his leg and dashed to run away.

Both Kai and Ricky got surprised.

"Wait! He's running!" Ricky yelled.

"Stop, you coward!" Kai also started to run after him.

Amon's lungs burned, feet pounding the leaf-strewn path. Branches slapped his face, roots tried to catch his ankles, but he pushed harder.

Behind him, he heard the shouted orders and the crash of pursuit, two sets of furious footsteps closing the distance.

Halfway through a bend in the trail, Amon skidded behind a fallen log and dropped his weight for a single breath. He needed time, something to buy him those precious seconds.

He let his mana simmer, cool and steady, then pushed it toward his shadow like squeezing paint.

A shadow peeled off the ground and took shape beside him. An imperfect mirror of himself, darker at the edges and slightly slower in its movements. The Grim Mirage. Amon grinned, wet with sweat and adrenaline.

"Hey! Over here!" he called, voice cracking on purpose.

Amon had created it behind a tree. The clone made some movement, while Amon ran in the other direction.

Ricky screeched and swerved toward the clone, sword up. "There! Get him!" he snarled.

They saw a shadow move behind the tree. They also heard Amon's voice coming from behind that tree.

Kai hesitated for a heartbeat, then plunged after the shadow double, spear aimed. Both boys pursued toward the mirage with single-minded aggression, sprinting down the trail Amon had just vacated.

Amon didn't look back. He darted between trees, slipped through a tangle of ferns, and let the forest swallow his shape.

His heart hammered so loud he thought it would give him away, but he kept his breathing shallow and let the cool night air flush his mind.

The moment they got closer to the clone, Ricky's sword thrust inside it only to pass through it. The mirage wavered and slowly dissolved into the air.

"Dammit! A shadow spell! Where'd he go?!" Ricky cursed, spinning to search.

Kai jabbed his spear into the ground, panting. "Split up. Check the bushes!"

Amon was hiding on one of the huge tree branches, hiding behind the leaves.

Minutes crawled by. Ricky and Kai's voices grew distant as they moved away, then angered shouts drifted back. "No sign!" "He must've hide like coward!"

Amon continued to sit there. He controlled his mana and formed another mirage just beside him. He had now decided to fight those two idiots and kill–no, defeat them. The plan was simple.

He would hide and attack them. Amon did have confidence that he was stronger than those two… hope so.

He heard those two boys' voices again. They again came in the direction where Amon was hiding.

'Alright! Let's do it.'

"Dammit, where did he go? He must be hiding somewhere, I bet." It was Kai's voice, filled with annoyance.

"Yes, let's check again," Ricky responded to him.

Amon yelled loudly, "Hello, motherfuckers!"

And instantly Amon wrapped his feet with shadow and lunged at another tree. The impact of his feet made the branch shake violently.

He perfectly landed on another tree branch and hid behind the bark of the tree.

Hearing his loud voice, both boys sprinted toward it. "He dares to do that to us!"

"I won't show any mercy to him!"

They came and stopped under the tree, where the branch was still shaking a little. Leaves rustling as if someone was hiding there.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.