NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 318: Shouldn't Be a Problem, Right?
Charles could no longer suppress the sympathy in his heart. He didn't answer, instead, he stood up and turned to look at the students in the hall, asking loudly:
"Surely someone here has a birthday today?"
In the next moment,
The first student raised their hand and responded, "Me! It's my birthday today!"
The second student also raised their hand, replying, "And me! What a coincidence, it's my birthday too."
The third...
The little girl stood at the hotel door, watching as many older brothers raised their hands, claiming that today was also their birthday. Innocent and naïve, she felt a strange sensation in her heart.
"Why are there so many older brothers celebrating their birthdays today?" The little girl stared with wide eyes at Charles and asked.
Charles slowly turned around and answered firmly, "Today is a special day. Any child who has a birthday today will be very happy in the future."
Hearing Charles's response, the little girl instantly brightened up.
"Come on, let me take you inside. Where do you live? I'll have them bring your dad, mom, and little brothers and sisters over later." Charles extended his hand into the air.
"I don't have a dad. Mom said he has passed away. Mom can't walk because her leg is gone." the little girl said as she placed her hand on top of Charles's outstretched hand.
"Older brother, what's wrong?" The little girl looked up, curiously observing Charles, who was frozen in place.
Charles took a deep breath, forced a smile, and replied, "It's nothing."
Just then, a loud, arrogant voice suddenly echoed from the street not far away, sounding somewhat familiar.
"Is this the hotel where the students of Genosha Cyber Academy live? It's not that impressive. Those people are all useless, they can be defeated so easily."
That voice belonged to Silas, the crown prince of the Stellar Empire from yesterday.
He was walking with his head held high, swaying slightly, right in front of Zorion, an eighth-level Beast Master.
Behind him trailed seven or eight Beast Masters from the Stellar Empire, all displaying an arrogant attitude, loudly discussing among themselves as if they were afraid no one would hear.
"Genosha's talents aren't that great either. None of them won in a duel against us from the Stellar Empire, they all lost!"
"Exactly! Their strength is so weak, yet they dare to point fingers at us. What right do they have?"
"Calling us shameless, while they have the nerve to complain about a few wild fruits? How petty!"
"Right? They act like we wouldn't pay. It's just a few copper coins, not like we don't have any."
"Look, isn't that the little girl who was selling wild fruits?"
As the little girl heard the voices outside, she instinctively hid behind Charles, timidly peeking out to see the approaching figures.
Among the group, there were a few people who had eaten a lot of wild fruits in the morning and complained about how sour they were, refusing to pay.
"Older brother, let's hurry and go! They are Beast Masters! Two kind older brothers helped me today, but they got beaten up by them. We should leave!" The little girl used all her strength to try to pull Charles away to escape.
Charles stood there like a giant rock, completely motionless.
"Older brother, let's go! They're really strong, and they'll hit people!" The little girl looked at the approaching Beast Masters from the Stellar Empire, panic rising in her voice as tears began to well up in her eyes.
Charles slowly crouched down and patted the little girl's shoulder, responding lightly:
"It's okay, don't worry. With me here, no one can bully you. I'm a Beast Master too, and a strong one at that. I'm stronger than they are, so it's fine."
Hearing this, the little girl still didn't completely relax. She held onto Charles's hand tightly, looking extremely frightened.
"Bully? Who's bullying her? You must be Charles, right? Stronger than us? That's pretty arrogant, isn't it?" One of the Beast Masters from the Stellar Empire overheard Charles and immediately retorted loudly.
In an instant,
the students from the Cyber Academy who had been in the hotel lobby all stood up and made their way to the entrance.
Each of them clenched their fists, widened their eyes, and gritted their teeth as they positioned themselves behind Charles and the little girl.
"Wow, so many people. You think having more people will intimidate fewer people?" Silas stretched lazily, rolled his neck, and started to slander Charles and the others.
"Mind your attitude. This morning's duel accidentally injured your student. We came to check on them." Zorion, the eighth-level Beast Master, unleashed his pressure fully.
In the next moment, the boys on Charles's side felt the overwhelming pressure from the strong opponent!
It felt like a sharp blade slowly pressing against their necks, as if it would slice through skin, muscle, and veins at any moment, causing many of the less powerful students to turn pale and tremble.
Even so, no one took a step back. Those who could withstand it reached out to support their fellow students.
Charles's expression darkened as he realized that Zorion's pressure was indiscriminate!
There was still a normal ten-year-old girl present!
If it hadn't been for Charles's quick reaction, using the attribute energy within him to help the little girl withstand the pressure, she would have already been seriously injured!
"A bunch of low-level Beast Masters still struggling here, like ants!" Zorion scoffed, intending to increase his pressure once more.
"Enough!" Charles shouted fiercely.
Instantly, the scene fell silent.
The Beast Masters from the Stellar Empire widened their eyes in disbelief, looking at Charles, and slowly began to speak:
"He must be out of his mind. In the world of Beast Masters, strength is everything. How dare a level four Beast Master openly reprimand an eighth-level Beast Master? He must not want to live!"
"This is going to be interesting. Lord Zorion isn't the type to be gentle. This Charles is finished!"
"Exactly, what kind of genius is this? So arrogant, he clearly doesn't know the danger he's in!"
Zorion was momentarily taken aback, he hadn't expected that someone from the Cyber Academy would dare to speak to him like that!
"Kid, are you out of your mind? Didn't your teacher teach you to be humble in front of stronger opponents?" Zorion laughed in anger, his tone dripping with threat.
Charles's expression was unchanged, but his calm voice concealed a simmering rage as he replied:
"Bullying the weak and ordinary is not worthy of my respect."
"What do you mean? A mere level four Beast Master dares to criticize me?" Zorion's eyes widened, he had never seen someone so stubborn.
In the Stellar Empire, any ordinary low-level Beast Master that dared to offend him would have been dealt with long ago!
But now, because Charles was a student from the Genosha Cyber Academy, and Zorion was a teacher from the Stellar Empire Cyber Academy, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to directly attack Charles. However, he couldn't let this slide either.
"Since your teacher hasn't taught you, as a teacher from the Stellar Empire Cyber Academy, I have the right to correct you. You should learn to be humble when encountering strong opponents!" Zorion said slowly.
He suddenly retracted his pressure, and the energy around him began to surge, preparing to make his move!
Using the excuse of guidance to properly teach Charles a lesson was not a problem at all, after all, he was a teacher from the Stellar Empire Cyber Academy, while Charles was just an ordinary student from the Genosha Cyber Academy.
Charles took a deep breath. He knew that he was not in any danger at the moment. The other party, coming with such a large group and acting so arrogantly, was not here to apologize or check on them.
They were definitely here to stir up trouble again, to provoke a conflict, and perhaps even to ensure that more of their group ended up injured.
"You, an eighth-level Beast Master, attacking me, a level four Beast Master, is a bit shameless, don't you think?" Charles replied calmly.
"Hmph! You're just an ordinary student. I'm not attacking you, I just want to offer you some guidance since your teacher hasn't taught you anything useful at all." Zorion said disdainfully.
Charles nodded and continued to respond calmly:
"Sure, but when my teacher returns, will you be able to say that to him in person?"
Zorion nodded decisively and said, "Of course! As an eighth-level Beast Master, it would be an honor for me to guide your teacher in instructing you, his apprentice!"
"Honor? What a coincidence, my teacher is also an eighth-level Beast Master." Charles said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Zorion immediately discreetly retracted his energy, looking incredulous as he asked, "You're Jamie Dean's student? I hadn't heard he had any apprentices."
In his view, if what Charles said was true, then he really couldn't make a move.
After all, Jamie was an eighth-level Beast Master, just like him, and Jamie had been an eighth-level for many years, he wouldn't be able to compete!
"No." Charles shook his head.
Zorion let out a sigh of relief, and his attitude grew more aggressive as he said, "You're not being honest at all, trying to scare me?"
"I'm not trying to scare you, my teacher is Ezra." Charles replied.
Zorion didn't react immediately, standing there in shock for a moment.
Once he remembered who Ezra was, he silently retracted his earlier aggressive posture and took two steps back.
"Ezra's apprentice, huh? Kid, today I'm in a good mood and just want to offer you some guidance. Since you're unwilling, I won't force you." Zorion said, his expression somewhat stiff.
When he had just become an eighth-level Beast Master, he couldn't even defeat Jamie, let alone someone like Ezra!
"Funny, I'm not in a good mood today either. I'd like to spar with the geniuses from the Stellar Empire, that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Charles lifted his gaze slightly and asked calmly.