MY LEVEL SYSTEM, WHO IS THE WEAK ONE NOW?

003

“Hold still, Vale. Unless you have suddenly grown martial veins overnight, I doubt you can make this any more embarrassing than it already is.”

Laughter erupted across the training courtyard as Theo Vale stood before three senior students, his fists raised in a defensive position that everyone knew would do him little good.

The morning sun beat down on the stone grounds of Celestial Martial Academy, where hundreds of students practiced their techniques under the supervision of instructors. Some trained with wooden swords, others circulated martial energy through their bodies, and a few advanced students demonstrated techniques powerful enough to crack the stone practice pillars.

Theo, unfortunately, had been assigned to a different kind of training.

“Again!” Senior Student Gareth ordered.

Theo barely had time to brace himself before Gareth drove a fist into his stomach. The impact forced the air from Theo’s lungs, and he staggered backward until another student caught him with a strike to the shoulder.

“Your guard is terrible,” Gareth remarked. “How have you survived three years here?”

“Perhaps his mother taught him to fight with a broom,” another student suggested.

The courtyard erupted in laughter.

Theo swallowed the pain and raised his arms again because refusing to participate would only give them another reason to punish him. His ribs were still sore from yesterday’s encounter with Cassian Draven, and every movement reminded him of the humiliating assessment that had ended with blood on his lips.

Yet he had learned something over the years.

Complaining made things worse, fighting back made things worse, and showing them how much their words hurt only encouraged them to continue.

So he stood there and endured it.

Gareth circled him before delivering another punch, this time striking Theo across the jaw. Theo stumbled, caught himself, and tasted blood.

“That’s enough,” an instructor called from the other side of the courtyard. “Do not waste the entire morning on someone who cannot even circulate energy.”

Theo turned toward the voice, hoping the instructor intended to stop the session.

Instead, the man pointed at him.

“Vale, your assigned partners are here to improve their combat skills, not to babysit you. If you cannot defend yourself, at least learn to stand properly.”

“Yes, Instructor,” Theo replied.

“Then stop looking as though someone has murdered your family and get back into position.”

Theo clenched his teeth and faced Gareth again.

The senior student grinned.

“You heard him. Apparently, even the instructor thinks you are useless.”

“Are you going to hit me, or are you planning to talk all morning?” Theo asked.

Gareth’s grin faded.

The question was quiet, but it carried enough defiance to draw a few surprised looks from the nearby students.

“You think you’re funny now?”

“No. I think you talk too much.”

For one glorious second, Theo enjoyed the expression on Gareth’s face.

Then Gareth lunged.

Theo tried to dodge, but the older student’s fist caught him in the shoulder and sent him crashing onto the stone floor. Pain shot down his arm, and several students laughed as Gareth stepped over him.

“Perhaps I should ask the instructor to assign me someone who can actually fight,” Gareth said. “At least then I might learn something.”

Theo pushed himself up before anyone could offer him a hand.

He would not give them that satisfaction.

Across the courtyard, Cassian Draven stood beside a group of elite students, watching the scene with an expression that was difficult to read.

Theo noticed him because Cassian had not joined the laughter.

Instead, the academy’s star student studied him with narrowed eyes, as though searching for something that had not been there before.

Their gazes met.

Cassian’s mouth curved into a faint smile, but there was no amusement in it.

Theo looked away first, although the encounter left an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

Yesterday, Cassian had humiliated him before the entire academy, and Theo had answered back despite knowing the consequences. Perhaps Cassian was simply waiting for another opportunity to make him pay.

Whatever the reason, Theo decided to be more careful.

He could not afford another confrontation, especially when his mother was already struggling to pay his academy fees.

“Back to your positions!” the instructor shouted, bringing the session to an end. “Those who have completed their assigned drills may proceed to weapon practice, while everyone else will report to the eastern yard.”

Gareth wiped his forehead and gave Theo a final shove as he passed.

“Try not to break anything, Vale. We would hate to discover that your only talent is causing trouble.”

Theo steadied himself and said nothing.

He had barely taken three steps toward the weapon racks when someone called his name.

“Senior Theo!”

Theo turned to find a slender boy hurrying toward him with a wooden practice sword clutched against his chest. Finn was fourteen, a first-year student who had enrolled only a few months earlier, and he possessed the unfortunate habit of apologizing even when he had done nothing wrong.

His round face was pale, and his eyes darted nervously toward the instructors.

“What happened?” Theo asked.

Finn held up the sword.

“I think I’m in trouble.”

Theo examined the weapon and noticed a long crack running through its handle.

“How did this happen?”

“I was practicing the third stance, and the sword slipped when I tried to change my grip. It struck the edge of the platform, and the handle broke.” Finn lowered his head. “The quartermaster says I must pay for the damage before tomorrow, or he will report me for negligence.”

“How much?”

“Three silver crowns.”

Theo stared at him.

Three silver crowns might not sound like much to a wealthy family, but it represented several days of food for someone like Finn. Theo knew because he had spent enough time calculating every coin his mother earned.

“Did you tell him it was an accident?”

“Yes, but he said academy property must be protected, and he doesn’t care how it happened.”

Theo sighed and took the broken sword.

“Come with me.”

Finn followed him toward the equipment station, where the quartermaster was recording damaged weapons in a thick ledger.

The man barely glanced up when they approached.

“If you’ve come to beg for more time, the answer is no. The boy damaged academy property, and the academy expects compensation.”

“I understand,” Theo replied. “Put the charge under my name.”

Finn’s head snapped up.

“Senior Theo, you don’t have to do that!”

“I know.”

“But you didn’t break it!”

Theo handed the sword to the quartermaster.

“Then consider it a gift to the academy’s weapon collection.”

The quartermaster scowled at his sarcasm.

“You should learn to mind your own business, Vale. You have enough trouble managing your own life without taking responsibility for other people’s mistakes.”

“Perhaps,” Theo replied, “but at least I know the difference between an accident and a crime.”

The man’s expression hardened, but he entered Theo’s name in the ledger.

Finn stared at Theo as they walked away.

“I don’t know how I’ll repay you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But—”

“Finn, if you spend the rest of your life trying to repay every kindness someone shows you, you’ll never have time to do anything else.”

Finn fell silent before offering a small, grateful smile.

Theo returned it, although he was already wondering how he would explain the additional expense if the quartermaster demanded payment.

He had little money of his own, and his mother could hardly afford another unexpected bill. Still, he could not bring himself to watch a younger student lose his place over a broken practice sword when he knew exactly how cruel the academy could be to anyone considered weak.

“Come on,” Theo said. “Let’s get you another weapon before the next session begins.”

For the first time that morning, he forgot about Cassian, his aching ribs, and the laughter that had followed him across the courtyard.

Unfortunately, the academy had a way of reminding him that kindness was not always rewarded.