One of the guys stepped forward, blocking the hallway. He looked at Xavier’s uniform—first year blazer.
"This is second-year wing," he said, voice slick. "First years don’t belong here."
Xavier didn’t even stop walking. "That so?" he said, stepping closer. "Well, I’m here now. Sucks for you."
The guy narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t expecting that.
Another dude leaned forward and squinted. "Wait a sec... I know this guy. You’re that kid, right? The top scorer. First year freak."
The third one snapped his fingers. "Yeah, yeah! That clip! The one where you got your ass beat in the space training chamber. Went viral as hell. You got dropped hard, man."
Xavier chuckled. "That was . Good tis."
They blinked. Like he just admitted to sothing they were gonna use against him, but it bounced off instead.
Xavier’s eyes flicked past them toward the bloody guy on the floor, then to the two girls recording. He gave a half-smile. "I’m looking for soone. Thought maybe you assholes could help."
One of them folded his arms. "Who?"
"Eleanor Von Stein."
Everything just... stopped.
All six of them stared at him. Like he’d spoken a na they weren’t supposed to say out loud. Even the girls stopped recording.
The tall one stepped closer. "Why are you looking for her?"
Xavier gave a half-shrug. "That’s a secret."
That rubbed them wrong. You could see it on their faces. One guy clenched his jaw. Another rolled his shoulders like he was getting ready to throw the first punch.
"Y’know," one of them said, tone turning smug again, "there’s this little tradition at the academy. First years get to bully first years. Second years bully second years. But when a first year shows up in the wrong place, with the wrong attitude... we get a little upgrade."
The others chuckled. The girls smirked.
Xavier just smiled. A little too calm. "Cute."
They didn’t like that. One guy stepped forward, chest puffed.
"You threatening us now, golden boy?"
"I don’t do threats," Xavier said, eyes cold. "I’m just letting you know. If you lay a hand on , there’ll be consequences. I don’t care how old you are, what year you’re in, or how many people you got with you. You touch —there’s no going back."
Another guy scoffed. "You think you’ll do what you did to those other clowns? Leak a video and get us suspended? Please. We ain’t that stupid. We know where the caras are. And we make sure no one ever sees what we do."
Xavier nodded. "Good for you. But you’re missing the point."
He stepped a little closer, his voice calm as ever.
"I’m not planning on recording anything."
They looked confused.
"I don’t want another video. Not unless it’s soone else getting beat, and I’m the one doing it."
The air shifted. Just like that.
Xavier’s eyes flicked to the bloodied student again, then back to the group. "Why are you even bullying the guy anyway?"
The one with the chipped tooth sneered. "None of your business."
Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, figured."
He paused. Tilted his head.
"Still, though. If you’re gonna go that far..." He gave a slow, sarcastic nod toward the half-conscious student. "Why stop at bullying? Why not just kill him and be done with it?"
Silence.
All of them froze.
Even the girls. No more smirks. No more chuckles.
Xavier grinned. "What? Suddenly too much?"
He leaned forward, voice low.
"Don’t act like you’ve got the guts to play monsters if you’re gonna flinch the second soone treats you like one."
They didn’t say a word. One of them shifted uncomfortably. Another looked away.
Xavier clapped his hands once, loud in the dead hallway.
"Now then. If you’re done pretending, can soone point to Eleanor, or do I have to ask the guy you were just about to send to the hospital?"
They didn’t answer.
But one of the girls put her phone away and muttered under her breath, "Library. Third floor. Room C."
Xavier looked at her, gave a nod. "Thanks."
Then, without sparing a glance at the rest, he walked past the group like they were nothing.
"Hey... what’s that guy’s deal?" one of them asked.
"Is he really a first year? I an... I know he is a first year, but what’s with this... sass?"
"Co to think of it, he was arrested a few days ago, but then they released him and even announced his innocence in front of everyone. I think it’s better to not ss with him. He might have a backing."
"Oh! I rember where I had seen him before! I saw him at the Midnight club, he was hanging out with so gangsters."
All of them let out a sigh of relief as they thought and muttered the sa thing.
"Thank fuck we didn’t touch him."
Xavier headed toward the location the girl had whispered—Library, third floor, Room C.
He passed the wide glass hallway, the academy’s marble floors gleaming under the morning lights. Students strolled casually, so riding the slow-moving internal escalators, others just leaning against the walls, buried in their tabs. Everyone here looked polished, expensive, and far too self-important.
After reaching the third floor, he made his way into the library wing. The place was massive—floor-to-ceiling glass on one side, and row after row of digital shelves, private study booths, and AI assistants floating silently in the air. Room C was in the far-left section, past the reserved cluster.
Xavier pushed the door open.
It was packed. Around a hundred students, all seated in silent clusters or buried in their devices. So were scribbling notes, so projecting holo-screens from their tablets, and a few were straight up passed out with half-eaten snacks beside them.
He stepped in, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the room.
’So many people. One of them’s gotta be Eleanor.’
He wasn’t sure what he expected. So spoiled rich princess with guards flanking her on both sides? Or maybe soone dressed like a runway model with a ’Don’t talk to unless your family owns planets’ face?
But nothing stood out.
He walked a little further in, then spotted a girl near the far bookshelf wearing neat black glasses and a tight bun. Her expression was serious, almost librarian-level. He walked over.
"Hey," he said casually, "you know where I can find Eleanor Von Stein?"
She looked up at him, slow and cautious. Her eyes scanned his face, and for a second, she said nothing. Then, she nodded once and lifted a finger, pointing across the room without a word.
Xavier followed her finger.
There was a girl sitting at one of the isolated tables near the corner window. She had her back turned, her posture perfect, fingers flying across a keyboard, head tilted like she was deep in thought.
He walked toward her.
"Excuse ," Xavier said, his voice low but clear, "are you Eleanor?"
The girl stopped typing.
She turned around slowly.
Their eyes t.
Both of them froze.
Her lips parted slightly. A flicker of disbelief crossed her face. "Xavier...?"
His brows furrowed. "You...? Why are you... here?"
They both said nothing for a mont.
Neither of them had expected this.
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