Abel calmly asked what they wanted. The blue-haired one snapped back at him for being arrogant and told him to drop the act. The green-haired one went further and produced a magic tool, threatening to teach him a lesson, confident that without Ted around to protect him today, they could finally make him suffer.
But Abel asked them a question first. He wanted to know why they despised outside students so much.
The green-haired one's face twisted with instant rage, biting out the resentment he had bottled up. They had spent years working and studying just to earn their place here, but outside students could walk in alongside them on the strength of a single exam. That infuriated him beyond reason.
Abel laughed coldly inside, seeing no evidence of all that supposed hard work. He casually set down his bag. The next second the magic tool was in his hand. They hadn't even seen him move. Even Alyssa's jaw dropped.
Abel turned the weapon over in his hands with a slight frown. He pointed out that the magic tool was poorly maintained. The spell runes on it had degraded from neglect. Then he tossed it back carelessly, suggesting the owner take better care of his things. The green-haired student fumbled to catch it and went sprawling to the floor.
Abel looked away from them and called to Alyssa that they were leaving. The green-haired student picked himself up, shaking with rage. He swore viciously that tomorrow he would make the two of them regret it.
The next day's physical education class had Ted buzzing with excitement. Abel and Alyssa watched him with a mix of resignation and understanding. After all, this was the class they only had once a week. The excitement was understandable.
The PE teacher, Canter, announced that today's activity was magic ball combat. Everyone cheered. Ted asked curiously about the rules, and Alyssa didn't know them either.
The teacher was about to explain when the green-haired student cut in smugly. He announced that they already knew all the rules by heart. Teacher Canter smiled, his words carrying an unmistakable bias. He said that class always had to accommodate the ignorant students. The green-haired student shot a pointed look toward Abel's group.
Alyssa was instantly furious, determined to teach them a lesson. But Ted cheerfully told her to relax. Having fun was what mattered most.
Canter began dividing them into teams. He called out names and had them gather accordingly. After the commotion died down, Abel's teammates assembled around him. Ted was still beaming about being on the same team as his master. Alyssa couldn't help but snap that he was as dense as a brick.
Abel pointed out that every member of team D was an outside student. The grouping was far too deliberate to be a coincidence. Ted finally caught on, realizing something was wrong.
Two of their teammates admitted they had no athletic ability whatsoever. The other two said they were mediocre at best and had little confidence. Alyssa stepped up and promised she would carry the team. They decided they were going to win fair and square and shut the other side up for good. Those words reignited the fighting spirit in their teammates.
Abel alone remained wary. The other side was not playing clean. Sure enough, the green-haired student threw out another taunt as he walked past, and Teacher Canter's face wore a smirk that didn't belong on someone neutral. Abel understood immediately. Even the teacher was on their side.
The match began quickly, with team B on offense and team D on defense. The rules were simple. The attacking side would fire three types of magic bullets using magic tools. The defending side had to dodge and survive, with the team keeping more members standing declared the winner.
The battle started. Team D's members began moving and evading. Ted had a sudden realization. It was just like dodgeball. The words were barely out of his mouth before he pulled off a backflip to dodge an attack. He was instinctively sensing incoming attacks before they arrived. Abel thought his athletic reflexes were genuinely impressive.
But the very next second the bespectacled boy was hit and knocked out. The magic bullets had been weakened, but the impact still hurt. Ted barely managed to block one attack. Alyssa dodged another by a hair.
Then two magic bullets came flying straight at Abel from the front. Abel was just thinking how odd it was that the attack seemed so direct and simple, when the bullets abruptly made a sharp right-angle turn at the last moment. He snapped his head around to see two more teammates already dropping to the ground. A single ambush had cost their team two members in an instant.
Abel's heart sank completely, his alertness spiking to its peak. The attacking trio's faces broke into triumphant grins.
Alyssa called out that the attack was an obvious violation of the rules. They had tampered with their no-attribute magic. The shooting gloves had been secretly fitted with runes designed to track targets. It was outright cheating, but the other side laughed it off, firing back that their opponents were just sore losers. One of them followed it up with a crude insult targeting Alyssa's body.
That was enough to set Alyssa's fury completely ablaze. Abel immediately placed a hand on her shoulder and quietly told her to stay calm. He reminded her that verbal provocation was a standard tactic in a fight. Right now they needed to stay focused and watch for attacks that could come from any direction.
Alyssa's face flushed. His closeness flustered her more than she expected.
The match continued in chaos. Abel kept his head cool and observed everything around him. He noticed something different about the black-haired girl named Yukari. Her athletic ability was nothing special, but she kept warning her teammates of incoming danger. Broad field of vision, calm under pressure. A scout who was being grossly underestimated. Abel thought that if only her passive personality could be improved, she might become an extraordinarily capable mage.
Just then three magic bullets came screaming in from a sharp angle. They slammed squarely into her back. Yukari cried out in pain and pitched forward to the ground. The ferocity of the strike shocked everyone who saw it. Abel frowned. The other side knew to neutralize the scout first.
But the green-haired student burst out laughing, sneering at her to get out of the way. He fired again, aiming straight at Yukari as she struggled to push herself up. Another direct hit to her back. Yukari curled up in pain.
Alyssa whirled around in outrage, demanding to know what they thought they were doing. But the green-haired student just shrugged it off, shouting that he was simply driving out the invasive species. Before the words had even fully left his mouth, a denser barrage of bullets rained down on Yukari. Dozens of hits landed on her frail back. Tears and the sweat of pain slid down her face together.
Ted rushed over to shield her, and Alyssa stepped in front to argue with them. But the green-haired student taunted Alyssa for getting too full of herself. The moment Alyssa was distracted by the argument, an attack came from behind her. Caught completely off guard, she was hit by a magic bullet and stumbled to the ground.
Abel sighed inwardly. Alyssa let her emotions get the better of her far too easily.
Ted couldn't take it anymore and threw his hand up, protesting to the teacher on the sideline. He demanded the teacher rule on the unfair attack that had just happened. But before he could even finish, the same ambush found him too. Several magic bullets hit him in the back and put him flat on the ground.
Abel rubbed his forehead helplessly. The one who had tried to help got taken out first.
The green-haired student crowed with self-satisfaction, declaring that outside students were useless after all. Invasive species should crawl back to the gutter they came from.