How To Survive A Calamity

Few minutes just before Victor and Ceres' duel began.

-"Uoooooh!"

-"Get beat already, just drop dead!"

The crowds from the stands were jarring with insults and excitement at the person standing indifferently in the arena. The whole colesium and stadium was awash with buzzing excitement.

Through one of the entrances through the aisles in the seats, a young man wearing the first year cadet's uniforms could be seen slowly and confidently walking through. A small, thin, and almost unsettling smile plaid on his lips.

He walked through the aisles as the rain of cheers from tte audience continued, with his arms in his pockets.

His smiling lips finally parted, and he whistled slightly.

"Hoo..."

Just then two of the students who were chanting at the aren in front of him suddenly turned their heads back to face him. Immediately, their exoressions brightened instantly as they readily greeted him.

"Young master, Locke! You're here!"

"Young master..."

The cadet laughs and says softly.

"I already told you guys not to call me that, we're classmates. Outsiders might get the wrong idea." He casually shrugs the topic off with a wave of his hand and looks around.

Once more, he voices his admiration and suprise at the sheer size of the crowd present in the audience for the duel.

"Wow, it's like the entire first years themselves all came to watch, it's incredible." He chuckled, his smile never leaving his lips.

One of the male cadets in front of him swallowed and nodded in affirmation.

"...Yes. That's because of the duel. It somehow got out that the first ranked Cadet, Ceres Walker was suddenly challenged less than three weeks into the official start of the semester."

It was the first ever duel of the semester, and the one directly participating was the top student. The news had spread far and wide immediately, and drew various attentions from all over.

He said, and the other Cadet inputted and continued.

"That's right. It's news that has been buzzing through the academy for the past few days now, so there's a lot of people here to watch..." His words trailed off slightly. That was because the person he was talking to no longer seemed to be listening.

Instead...

"And the challenger?"

The cadet's curious gaze was directed to the arena, where an unremarkable seeming cadet stood as the challenger. A youth who's characteristics and appearance seemed almost so insignificant, that it was vague. Perhaps, it was due to the distance, but his face and characteristics seemed blurry and uncertain to the cadet as he looked at him from the audience.

The challenger seemed to have a blank look as he continued to ignore the curses and boos of the audience. He looked unremarkable and the only things that stood out about his iffy appearance were his brown hair, and striking gold eyes.

But that was as far as it went.

There was almost nothing else spectacular about him.

Unintentionally, the curiosity in the cadet's gaze waned and turned slightly disappointed.

"That's the challenger?" He turned to the two male students and asked with doubt.

Puzzled, he tilted his head.

"He's..."

'...Weak.' he began to say, but continued in his thoughts.

The two students nodded like they understood and sympathized with him.

The one who had challenged the top student to a duel...was someone unremarkable and nameless. The cadet sought through his memory; perhaps because of the large numbers of the first year, or maybe because of the ambiguous and vague appearance of the challenger, he couldn't recall his face or put a name to him.

"Yes. He's the rumored no talent cadet who is at the bottom of the ranking." One of the male student sneered with a chuckle.

"Can you believe that, young ma— e-eh, i mean... Ahem. That guy is actually crazy enough to challenge Ceres Walker despite all odds."

"The rumoured no talent one...?" The cadet, refered to as young master, muttered vaguely, and his already narrow eyes, slinted further in thought.

That was right.

He had heard something of that sort before; news, or rumours, about a Cadet with talent so meager, it was nonexistent.

But 'he' was never someone to be interested in those less remarkable and weaker than he was, so he never truly paid much attention to the no talent cadet. Up until then, he had only been scoping out the higer ranked students, and those with promising prospects and abilities.

"Number 1499..." He slowly called out.

The bottom ranked cadet.

He was someone beneath his attention.

"Well."

With that thought, he easily dismissed the thought of Victor and raised his smile back to his face.

The challenger aside, he was more looking forward to the performance of the top student.

After all.

Ceres Walker...she was definitely someone he had to get his hands on. Someone he has had his eyes for ever since the beginning.

'I wonder what she'll show me.' his smile elongated, and his narrow eyes curved like cresents.

Then he glanced back fleetingly at Victor.

'Well considering the overwhelming difference, it'll most likely be over before Ceres can do anything for me to see.' he shook his head with a light disappointed sigh.

If only the challenger was someone just a little bit more worthy, and would last past the first exchange of blows with Ceres. He was really looking forward to watching her skills and abilities in person.

To him, Ceres Walker was a mystery.

'The Academy is hiding something.'

"Hehe. As expected, Lord Xavier is here for Number 1 to-"

"Hey, didn't he already warn us not to call him that in public!" One of the male student began, but was instantly shut down and rebuked by his peer.

But alas, it was too late by then. That little commotion had gathered them some attention from around.

-"Huh? Isn't that Xavier Locke?"

-"Just now, i also saw Number 2, and 10. Aren't there a lot of top ranking first years present?"

-"I saw some seniors too..."

Xavier sighed as he felt the gazes and pointed finger turn at him. He shook his head with a light smile at the two male students before him and said.

"It's fine, it can't be helped."

It really couldn't.

Internally, he chuckled.

'I guess it was too much to think i could sneak in to spectate the duel without no one recognising me. But that's fine too."

After all, he was one of the top ranked cadets.

Rank number 7, Xavier Locke and thrid son of the Locke family.

He was a handsome young man with charming characteristics. He had wavy pale yellow hair brushed back, curved, narrow and slanted eyes, and often wore a smile that complimented an unsettling and calculative feeling surrounding him.

But aside from his usually sinisterly curved eyes, Xavier Locke had considerable lools and enough charisma to match.

"Ooh, it's starting."

On the arena at the center, Ceres finally arrived.

Xavier shifted his gaze, and his narrow eyes opened slightly, revealing pale yellow pupils that glinted with curiosity.

'It's starting.'

Reflected in them was the beautiful figure of Ceres approaching the centre of the arena briskly and confidently.

Unconsciously, Xavier clenched his fist with hidden excitement, and his smile curved even more.

"Hoo..."

'She's strong.'n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Even from the vast distance between them, Xavier could tell.

It was from the way Ceres carried herself, exuding boundless confidence and form. Her appearance easily overpowered and masked over Number 1499, who was nothing in comparison.

Even from the audience seat, Xavier could tell.

Surprisingly, Ceres arrived and offered the challenger the chance to walk away from the duel. To Xavier's confusion she tried persuading Victor to cancel his challenge.

'Why is she doing that?' Xavier wasn't the only one who was puzzled by this development.

But...

—"Haa... You surprisingly talk a lot."

The youth had sneered in response. At Ceres' generosity, he spat in her face and mocked her.

Watching this display, even Xavier's expression turned solemn with a slight frown. He had no opinion of the male cadet who wasn't even worth his time, but now there was a single thought running through his mind.

'Pathetic.'

He was blindly arrogant.

Someone who Xavier couldn't even feel a spec of presence from spoke arrogantly and boldly to Ceres.

'It would have been a bit different if he at least has something up his sleeve... which he might, but i highly doubt. No matter how much i try, neither my senses, nor instincts are reacting to him in any manner. It's like looking at an empty space...'

Truly, Victor was...

'Insignificant.'

It was a matter of innate ability. Xavier was confident in his senses for scoping out promising individuals which he was born with, and cultivated through his nature. But none of those senses spoke anything of Victor, which meant he truly was unremarkable.

Further than before, his opinion of number 1499 fell yet again.

—"... hah! Isn't that obvious? First place, Victor Bright, doesn't that sound much better?"

As if his disgraceful act wasn't pathetic enough, Victor even went as far as disregarding Ceres position as top ranker, and the crowd threw jeers and boos at him for his behaviour.

Wether Ceres was fazed by that or not, it was hard to tell.

Regardless, she moved.

After denying use of her weapon, the duel earnestly begun.

'Finally.' Xavier clenched his fist behind his back with anticipation.

But then...

Something unexpected happened.

'Why did she...'

Ceres who clearly had the advantage throughout the first confrontation...

Immediately backed away and retreated from Victor.

At that moment, Xavier's heart thumped and the back of his neck tingled with goosebumps that spread down his back and across his body.

It suddenly felt like he stood bare and naked in the middle of a crowd with all piercing gazes and looks directed at him. A breath taking sort of chilling pressure enveloped him, but just as instantly, all of the sensation vanished.

Leaving behind only a momentary instinctive tingle at the back of his chest, and his lungs short of breath.