MY LEVEL SYSTEM, WHO IS THE WEAK ONE NOW?

004

By late afternoon, Theo had completed his assigned drills and reported to the equipment room to collect the practice blade allocated to him for individual training.

The room smelled of old wood, oil, and metal. Rows of practice weapons hung along the walls, while damaged equipment occupied several crates near the rear entrance.

Theo located his assigned blade and tested its balance.

Something felt wrong.

The handle shifted slightly when he tightened his grip, and the weight seemed uneven, but he initially assumed the weapon had simply seen too much use.

He carried it to an empty practice station and began working through the basic movements he had memorized from his manual.

His first strike landed cleanly against the wooden target.

The second did too.

On the third, however, the blade twisted unexpectedly in his hand.

Theo’s fingers slipped, and the weapon scraped across his palm before he managed to release it. The damaged blade struck the ground with a sharp crack, revealing a deep split near the base of the handle.

He stared at it.

Had he tightened his grip incorrectly?

Theo crouched and examined the damaged section more closely. The crack was not fresh. Someone had deliberately weakened the handle, cutting through part of the wood and concealing the damage beneath a thin layer of dark resin.

A cold feeling settled in his stomach.

This had not happened by accident.

He picked up the blade carefully and turned it beneath the light. The cut was too precise to have resulted from ordinary use, and the resin covering it had barely dried.

Someone had tampered with his weapon.

Theo carried it straight to the equipment station, where the quartermaster was preparing to close the day’s records.

“I need you to examine this.”

The man glanced at the broken blade.

“What have you done now?”

“Someone damaged the handle before it was issued to me.”

The quartermaster sighed as though Theo had interrupted something important.

“Practice weapons break every day. You should be more careful with academy property.”

“Look at the cut. It was weakened before I used it.”

The man reluctantly took the weapon, examined it for barely a second, and dropped it onto the counter.

“I see nothing unusual.”

“Then perhaps you should examine it properly.”

The words escaped Theo before he could stop them.

The quartermaster’s expression changed.

“Are you accusing me of incompetence?”

“I’m asking you to investigate why my assigned weapon was tampered with.”

“And I am telling you that you damaged it during training. If you want to continue making accusations, I can report your behaviour to the disciplinary committee.”

Theo stared at him, struggling to contain his anger.

“Someone could have been seriously injured.”

“But you weren’t, were you?”

The quartermaster pushed the blade toward him.

“Take your complaint to an instructor if you believe you have a case. However, I suggest you remember your position before wasting everyone’s time.”

Theo took the damaged weapon and walked away.

He knew the quartermaster would do nothing, but he refused to leave without reporting the incident. If someone had deliberately weakened his blade, they might try something worse next time.

He found Instructor Halden near the eastern yard and explained what had happened.

Halden listened impatiently before waving a hand.

“Do you have proof that someone tampered with the weapon?”

“The cut was deliberate, and the resin was fresh.”

“Did you see anyone damage it?”

“No, but—”

“Then you have no proof.”

Theo’s hands tightened around the broken blade.

“Are you saying I should wait until someone actually gets hurt before the academy investigates?”

“I’m saying that accusations require evidence, Vale. If you cannot provide any, stop wasting my time.”

“But—”

“Another complaint, and I will have you removed from the training grounds for the remainder of the week. Is that clear?”

Theo stared at the instructor, then lowered his gaze.

“Yes, Instructor.”

He left before his anger could get the better of him.

By the time he reached the empty corridor outside the equipment room, his palm was throbbing, and the cut had begun to bleed again. He wrapped it with a strip of cloth torn from the inside of his sleeve, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

He had done nothing wrong.

He had attended his assigned training, endured the humiliation, helped a younger student, and reported a potentially dangerous act of sabotage.

Yet somehow, he was the one being treated as a troublemaker.

Theo drew a slow breath and pushed away from the wall.

He would not allow them to break him, no matter how determined they seemed to be.

But as he approached the courtyard exit, voices drifting from the nearby stairwell made him stop.

“Are you certain the weapon was damaged before he collected it?” a man asked.

Theo recognized the voice as Gareth’s.

“Of course,” another student replied. “I saw the blade being prepared this morning. The cut was made exactly where his grip would put pressure on it.”

Theo’s pulse quickened.

Someone had deliberately tried to injure him.

He moved closer to the stairwell, careful not to let his footsteps echo across the stone floor.

“And what happened?” Gareth asked.

“He reported it, but nobody listened. Halden threatened to suspend him if he made another complaint.”

Gareth laughed.

“Good. That should keep him quiet.”

Theo felt his anger harden into something colder.

Before he could hear more, a third voice interrupted them.

“That’s enough.”

Cassian Draven stepped into view, his hands tucked behind his back.

Gareth straightened immediately.

“Cassian, we were just discussing—”

“I heard you.”

Cassian glanced toward the courtyard, where a few students were still practicing beneath the fading sunlight.

“Has he said anything about yesterday?”

“No. He kept his head down during training, although he did give Gareth some attitude.”

Cassian’s expression darkened.

“And the weapon?”

“Exactly as planned. He nearly cut his hand, but the fool managed to drop it before the blade broke completely.”

Cassian considered this for a moment.

Theo held his breath, pressing himself against the wall.

“Listen carefully,” Cassian said. “I don’t care whether he complains or whether the instructors believe him. I want him out of the selection trials before he becomes an embarrassment to the academy.”

Gareth hesitated.

“Do you really think he’s a threat? Everyone knows he has broken martial veins.”

Cassian turned toward him.

“Then why did he look me in the eye yesterday instead of begging for mercy?”

Nobody answered.

Cassian’s voice dropped.

“I have spent years watching that pathetic fool crawl through the academy, and now he suddenly thinks he can challenge me. I don’t know what has gotten into him, but I will not allow him to forget his place.”

He paused before delivering his final order.

“Deal with Theo before the selection trials begin. Make certain he understands that he has no future here.”

Gareth nodded.

“Understood.”

The footsteps receded, and the corridor fell silent.

Theo remained pressed against the wall, his injured hand clenched so tightly that fresh blood seeped through the cloth.

He had suspected that Cassian was responsible for the cruelty he suffered, but hearing the truth confirmed something far worse.

This was not simply a matter of talented students bullying someone weaker.

Cassian was deliberately arranging circumstances to make Theo suffer, and he was willing to use the academy’s own negligence to get what he wanted.

Theo looked down at his bandaged palm.

For years, he had believed that enduring the humiliation was the only way to remain at the academy and honour his mother’s sacrifices.

Now he understood that silence would not protect him.

It would only make him an easier target.

He turned toward the exit and walked into the evening, carrying the damaged blade with him because he refused to let the evidence disappear.

He still had no power, no influential family, and no proof that anyone would accept, but he had heard Cassian’s orders, and he knew the selection trials were approaching.

Whatever Cassian planned, Theo would have to find a way to survive it, because the next time someone tried to put him on his knees, he intended to make them work for it.