Chapter 23: The First Real Enemy Made

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: The First Real Enemy Made

A young woman stood between Xavier and Ethan. She turned toward Ethan with an icy expression.

"Ethan Carter, haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?" she said.

Ethan stared at her. His expression changed instantly.

"Evelyn..." he said.

The tension at the academy entrance broke almost as quickly as it had erupted. For a brief moment, everyone stood frozen. Then the whispers started.

"Wait... is that Evelyn Hart?" someone asked.

"No way. Why is she standing in front of Xavier?" another said.

"Hold on. Is she actually defending him?" someone else added.

"Keep your voice down. She’s probably just stepping in because things got out of hand," another student said.

"But still... look at Ethan’s face. This is going to be all over campus by lunch," someone finished.

Evelyn Hart was impossible to overlook. She had transferred to Arcadia Academy only a month ago, yet she had already become one of the most talked about students on campus.

Her appearance alone would have attracted attention, but that wasn’t what made her famous. She was a gifted mage, already well into the Advanced Apprentice rank despite her young age, and she came from one of the most influential families in the region.

The combination had made her the academy’s unofficial new celebrity almost overnight.

So seeing her step between Xavier and Ethan left everyone confused. Especially Ethan.

He stared at Evelyn as though he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

"Evelyn! What was that for!" he yelled, his voice trembling with disbelief.

"Why did you hit me and interfere like that?" he added.

Evelyn didn’t reply, just an irritated look on her face.

Immediately, Ethan concluded as his eyes shifted toward Xavier.

She had defended him back at the treasure pavilion and now she had intercepted him when he had tried to hurt him.

It could only mean one thing! Why would a girl do all this for another guy?

"Don’t tell me that you like this dude! " he asked, his voice shaking incredulously.

Before he even realized, Evelyn slapped him again. This time, the entire entrance went silent.

"Stop speaking to me like we are friends. I am not on your level," she said, her expression ice cold.

"And don’t make ridiculous assumptions about me," she added.

Although her face remained composed, the tips of her ears had turned red. Not from embarrassment. She was furious. Ethan had just dragged her reputation into something completely unrelated.

She folded her arms.

"Xavier is my friend. You started a fight with him, and then you pulled a weapon. I stopped you. That’s all there is to it," she said.

"Your friend?" Ethan said, staring at her.

"You met him yesterday!" he added.

"And?" Evelyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I need your permission before I decide who my friends are?" she added.

Ethan’s face tightened.

"Evelyn, I’m your friend too! He was the one who attacked me first!" he said.

He pointed angrily at Xavier before glaring at Marcus.

"And these two—" he started, his expression twisting with contempt.

"You’d better watch yourselves. This isn’t over," he said.

A cold voice suddenly cut through the crowd.

"I heard someone making threats," the voice said.

The surrounding students immediately stepped aside. Supervisor Caleb Hart approached with a grim expression. One of the academy’s security officers had already informed him about the disturbance at the entrance, including Ethan’s earlier remarks about not caring about the security department.

Caleb stopped directly in front of him.

"Ethan," he said, his tone calm but with no warmth in it.

"I was told you said you didn’t care who I was," he said.

Ethan’s confidence immediately faltered.

"I—" he started.

"If you’ve got something to say about me," Caleb continued, "say it now," he added.

Ethan’s mouth opened, but no words came out. A moment later, he hurriedly pointed toward Xavier.

"He attacked me first!" he said.

"Save it," Caleb said, giving him a flat look.

He had already heard what happened from the security officers. There was no point pretending otherwise.

"You started the confrontation, brought two people with you, and then pulled a weapon after losing the fight," he said, his expression hardening.

"Now you’re coming with me," he added.

Ethan’s face paled.

"Where?" he asked.

"To the principal’s office," Caleb said.

The two students who had accompanied Ethan immediately lowered their heads. They knew better than to interfere. Ethan’s family might have influence outside the academy, but Arcadia Academy was backed by the government. Inside these walls, family connections could only take him so far.

Caleb grabbed Ethan by the arm and pulled him away from the crowd.

"Wait—" Ethan said.

"Walk," Caleb said.

Ethan had no choice but to follow.

As Caleb passed Xavier, he stopped briefly.

"It’s settled. Get inside and get to work," he said.

"Yes, Supervisor," Xavier said, nodding.

The crowd gradually began to disperse. To anyone watching, he looked completely calm. But beneath that calm expression, a dangerous thought had already taken root.

Ethan had promised this wasn’t over.

Xavier agreed. It wasn’t. The man had approached him for no reason, brought people along to intimidate him, and eventually pulled a blade. If Xavier hadn’t awakened the system two days earlier and strengthened himself to the second rank of the Apprentice level, that attack could have ended very differently.

He wasn’t going to forget it. Still, revenge could wait. He had more important things to accomplish. For now, getting stronger mattered more than settling a petty score.

Xavier turned and walked into Arcadia Academy.

The incident at the gate, however, was far from finished. Within an hour, the story had spread across the academy’s online student forum. Modern technology was widespread even in this world. With smartphones and the internet practically everywhere, news traveled almost instantly. And Ethan already had enough enemies that his latest humiliation became instant entertainment.

"Finally! Someone stood up to Ethan!" one post read.

"I heard he started the fight and still got destroyed. That’s hilarious," another said.

"You guys don’t know who Xavier is? He’s Mira Sinclair’s husband," someone posted.

"Wait, seriously? The guy who married Mira?" another asked.

"Yeah. Apparently he’s also been accepted as an apprentice in the academy’s alchemy division," came the reply.

"An alchemy apprentice? Then why was Ethan stupid enough to pick a fight with him?" someone asked.

Another discussion quickly followed.

"Forget Ethan. Why was Evelyn defending Xavier?" one post read.

"She literally called him her friend," another added.

"They only met yesterday, though," someone pointed out.

"Do you think there’s something going on?" another asked.

"Don’t start that nonsense. Evelyn probably just hates bullies," someone replied.

"Either way, Ethan looked ridiculous," another added.

Others were less amused.

"Xavier should be careful. The Carter family isn’t going to ignore this," one comment read.

"Exactly. Beating Ethan in front of half the academy is one thing. Dealing with his family afterward is another," another said.

"But Evelyn said Xavier was her friend. If the Carters cause trouble, she probably won’t just stand by," someone added.