"Well, well… what''s a piece of trash like you doing here? Lost your way?" a familiar voice sneered from behind.


    Ss turned slowly, his eyes locking with the three students standing with arms crossed. He recognized them instantly.


    A grin began to stretch across Ss''s face, subtle but unmistakable.


    "Well, guess who''s going to be my scapegoat?" he muttered under his breath, his gaze firmly fixed on Caleb and his cronies.


    Caleb took a step closer, his posture filled with arrogance. "We didn''t finish what you startedst time, Griswold. You were saved by Mr. David," Caleb remarked darkly, his expression turning grim.


    Ss stood still, his face calm and collected.


    Had this been only a few days earlier, Ss would have been trembling, likely on his knees, pleading for mercy. But now, he felt nothing but an odd sense of calm, free of the panic Caleb used to inspire.


    "But don''t worry," Caleb continued, his cruel smile returning. "I''m not going to beat you to a pulp. I need something from you." His tone wasced with malicious intent. "You took part in yesterday''s raid, didn''t you? Which means you must''ve earned yourself a nice stash of Tokens."


    "What I want is every single Token you earned during the raid. All of it. Along with whatever you had before." Caleb''s voice hardened, issuing his demand as though it were an undeniable decree.


    "And why, exactly, should I give you the Tokens I earned?" Ss asked indifferently, his voice devoid of any emotion.


    "Because I said so," Caleb snapped back, his irritation unmistakable. "And because you humiliated me in front of everyone yesterday!" His face grew redder, clearly unustomed to being questioned in any way.


    Ss studied him for a brief moment before calmly turning his attention away, effectively dismissing Caleb entirely. His eyes drifted toward the man selling food, as though Caleb''s demands were inconsequential.


    The sight of Ss ignoring himpletely made Caleb''s blood boil. His hands balled into fists, the veins in his neck bulging as he was consumed with fury.


    "You filthy piece of trash! How dare you ignore me!" Caleb roared, his voice cutting through the buzz of the cafeteria, drawing everyone''s attention to the brewing confrontation.


    Blinded by rage, Caleb swung his fist with all his might, aiming for the back of Ss''s head. The punch flew through the air at remarkable speed, but just as it was about to connect, Ss moved his head ever so slightly, allowing the fist to miss him by mere centimeters. He felt the rush of air as it brushed against his cheek.


    *Gasp!*


    A collective gasp echoed through the cafeteria as students witnessed the scene unfold before their very eyes.


    "Did he just dodge Caleb''s punch with his back turned?!" a girl eximed in utter disbelief.


    "There''s no way that trash could''ve done that," her friend responded, though uncertainty lingered in her tone. "Caleb probably didn''t put much effort into it."


    Caleb, however, was genuinely stunned.


    ''I put everything I had into that punch, and yet this trash dodged it without even looking?'' Caleb thought, his disbelief quickly giving way to anger as his re hardened.


    Ss slowly tilted his head before turning fully to face the three towering figures behind him.


    "Don''t start something you can''t finish, Caleb," Ss''s voice carried a cold, detached sharpness, sending a chill through Caleb''s spine despite his growing rage. His face flushed red with anger.


    "Don''t you dare get cocky, you bastard! Boys, get him!" Calebmanded as he stepped back, letting hisckeys do the dirty work.


    At Caleb''smand, the twockeys charged at Ss, their fists hurtling toward his head simultaneously. Ss remained calm, observing their movements without a flicker of fear. As the fists came dangerously close, he sidestepped effortlessly, dodging the strikes with grace.


    One of theckeys quickly recoiled, pulling his arm back beforeunching another punch. Reacting fluidly, Ss dodged again, the fist grazing past him, missing by the narrowest margin.


    This time, Ss decided to counter. He clenched his right fist tightly and swung it toward theckey''s face with calcted precision.


    *BAM!*


    The sound of Ss''s fist making contact echoed loudly through the cafeteria. The force behind his punch lifted theckey off his feet, sending him crashing backward into a table. tes shattered upon impact, and theckey copsed onto the floor, groaning in pain.


    Ss nced down at his hand, flexing his fingers as a small smile curled at the corner of his lips.


    "No question about it… I''ve gotten stronger," he mused to himself, his eyes still on his fist. "But I''ll need to keep it under wraps. If I go overboard, I''ll just draw unnecessary attention. I have to be cautious, hold back."


    His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a furious scream.


    "AHHHH! HOW DARE YOU, YOU WORTHLESS TRASH!"


    Ss turned his attention toward the remainingckey, who was charging toward him, palms pressed together as a pulsating green energy gathered between them. Theckey thrust his hands forward, the green energy swelling into a vibrant orb before rapidly firing off as a powerful beam.


    *BOOM!*


    The beam shot toward Ss at blistering speed, and the spot where Ss had stood erupted in a violent explosion. A thick cloud of smoke and dust billowed into the air, obscuring the aftermath from view. Students stood frozen, watching intently, awaiting the dust to clear and reveal the fate of Ss.


    "He''s dead. No way he survived that!" one student murmured.


    "Yeah, he''s finished!"


    "Sammy probably went a little too far," anothermented nervously.


    "Too far? Are you kidding? That trash deserved it! Well done, Sammy! Caleb!" some of the students cheered, their eyes fixated on the dissipating smoke.


    Caleb grinned triumphantly, his earlier fears dissolving as he basked in the praise. For a moment, he thought Ss had made him look foolish by dodging his punch, but now that Ss was gone, there was nothing to worry about.


    "What the hell… is that?" Sammy muttered, eyes widening in disbelief as the dust began to settle.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As the smoke cleared, a figure remained standing tall,pletely unscathed among the debris.