School!

They stepped into the school gates, the usual morning chaos washing over them.

Sure, Elara was just a year or two younger than her brothers, but thanks to a few... unfortunate academic situations, all three of them ended up in the same class.

Well—“unfortunate” might be putting it lightly. Dorian and Raze were so bad at school that if they failed this year again, they might end up in a lower grade than Elara.

All three stopped just inside the entrance.

Raze gave them a quick glance.
"Keep yourselves busy. I need to talk to the principal. Stay out of trouble."
And with that, he disappeared inside.

Dorian stretched.
"Alright, I’m off to hang with the guys. See ya in class, four-eyes."

"Stop calling me that! I told you I hate it!" Elara shot back, already annoyed.

"That’s exactly why I say it," he said with a smug grin. "Anyway, take care. Won’t be long till we bump into each other again."

And just like that, he was gone.

Elara was alone. Not the first time. She knew how to handle herself in school.

She strolled across the courtyard, minding her own business, when suddenly—

"Hey, Elara! Over here! We need you for something!"
One of the girls from her class waved her over.

She approached them slowly.
"What’s up? You need something?"

A boy in the group grinned.
"We’re about to do something incredibly stupid."

"No thanks, goodbye." She turned to leave, but they grabbed her arm.

"Wait, just hear me out!" The girl laughed. "This guy’s an idiot, yeah, but the idea’s kind of fun. We’re trying to see who’s the strongest in school."

"...Okay? And what, you wanna wrestle me or something?"

"Nope! Arm wrestling. It’s just us for now—five people, tops. Girls versus girls, boys versus boys."

"Well..." Elara shrugged. "Beats standing around like sheep, I guess."

She joined them, pulling up a chair as the girl explained the rules:
"Alright! Here’s how it works: losers are out, winners move on to the next round. Simple enough, right?"

"The winner of each side goes up against the other," the girl continued. "And the final winner is the one who beats everyone."

Elara raised an eyebrow.
"Wait a second. You really think I can beat that meathead?"
She pointed at one of the bulky guys from their group.

The guy just laughed loudly.
"Don’t worry. As long as you win among the girls, you’ll earn the title of ‘Strongest Girl on the Team.’ But just so you know... I don’t go easy on anyone."
He gave a look that was clearly meant to be intimidating.

Elara took a step back, her face pale.
"Right… and what if I say I don’t wanna do this?"

"Nope, no backing out now!" Girl 1 grinned.
"Come on, sit at the first table. We’ll start while the boys wrap up their side."

Elara found herself pushed into it without much say.
She quickly glanced around, desperate to spot Raze—if things went south, maybe he could secretly lend her a bit of power.
But… nowhere to be found.

"You ready?" the girl asked, noticing Elara zoning out.
She waved a hand in front of her face.
"Hey! Are you even listening?"

Elara jolted so hard she knocked her chair over and let out a full-volume shriek.
"Aaaaahhh!! Why does this always happen to me?!"

They sat down, locking hands over the table.
Elara could already tell her opponent wasn’t weak—even if they looked about the same size, the other girl clearly had some strength.
The match was stuck in a tense stalemate.

"One of us has to lose, you know," Elara said through gritted teeth, struggling to gain ground.

The girl just smirked.
"Yeah—and that someone’s not gonna be me."

(Elara, thinking:)
This isn’t going well. I’m about to lose. Maybe... if I can peek into her thoughts and throw her off...

She stared deep into the girl's eyes, connecting to her mind.

(Inside the girl's thoughts:)
Gosh, Elara looks so cute when she’s struggling like that... I kinda want her to stay like this forever.

Elara froze. Her mind went blank.

Then—BAM—she slammed the girl’s wrist to the table.

"I really hope I didn’t just see what I think I saw..." she muttered, eyeing the girl suspiciously.

After a few more rounds, Elara made it to the semi-finals... and got knocked out right before the last match.

Unfortunately, the bulky guy insisted on arm wrestling Elara—even though she’d already lost.
It was clear he just wanted to humiliate her.

“Eli, come on. Let’s have a match,” he said, grinning. “If you win, I’ll do anything you tell me.”

Elara raised an eyebrow. “First of all, even my brothers don’t call me Eli—so you? Absolutely not.
Second, why would you want to compete with me now? I’m already out.”

“Just for fun,” he shrugged. “Come on, sit. But I’m keeping my promise.”

“Hmph... There’s no way that’s the only thing you want. I bet if I lose, you’ll make me do something gross, right? You useless piece of trash.”

The guy chuckled. “Good guess. If you lose, you have to be my girlfriend.”

Elara froze. Her jaw almost hit the floor.

“…Absolutely not. Even if I had a zero percent chance of losing, I still wouldn’t let you lay a single finger on me.”

She turned to walk away—
But suddenly, Dorian’s voice echoed in her head.

“Hey, Eli. You listening? Can you hear me?”

“Don’t you start calling me Eli too, you worthless clown!!”

“Huh? You call me Dori all the time but I can’t give you a nickname? Whatever—listen. Go tell him you’ll do it. Quick, before he leaves.”

“Why should I? Don’t you have any pride? He just said I have to be his girlfriend if I lose!”

“Yeah, I heard. But you can ask Raze for a little boost. Just enough to help. Your chances of losing will be super low.”

“…Still, what’s in it for me? Why should I care if some oversized meathead ends up doing me a favor?”

“I’ll explain later. Just go. Tell him you’re in.”

Elara hoped there was a good reason behind all this. She turned to the boy, pointing right at him and shouting, “Let’s see what you’ve got!”

The crowd gasped, and a circle formed around the table as she and the bulky boy sat across from each other. Meanwhile, in her head, she was already panicking.

Where’s Raze? she asked Dorian mentally. How am I supposed to get help if he’s not even nearby? You know we have to focus to transfer power!

Yeah, yeah, I know, Dorian replied casually. You can hold your arm up for a couple of minutes, right?

Elara glanced at her own hand and then at the guy’s arm, which was built like a tree trunk. She imagined a toothpick trying to fight off a redwood and sighed internally. I don’t think I can even survive the first few seconds.

That’s the spirit! Dorian cheered in her head. Now that’s what I call a champion mindset.

You're the worst, she groaned. Do you even realize what happens if I lose? That guy’s condition was that I become his girlfriend!

Let’s say you lose, Dorian said, unfazed. Do you seriously think Raze would just let that meathead get anywhere near you?

Before she could respond, one of the girls shouted, “Alright, you two ready? Three… two… one… go!”

Elara wasn’t focused. The moment the countdown hit zero, the boy jerked her arm down in one brutal push.

She let out a small yelp. “Hey, you dumb ox!”

The crowd gasped. Her hand was almost pinned, but not quite. The boy was straining, muscles tight, but Elara’s hand didn’t move another inch.

Then she heard Raze’s voice in her mind.

I’m not letting you lose. Even if you do, I’m sure as hell not letting you date that garbage.

Elara's blood boiled. In her mind, she screamed at Dorian. You absolute idiot. I’m going to murder you after this.

Whoa, calm down, Dorian replied, way too casually. Raze is here and helping, right? What’s the problem now?

Elara gritted her teeth. "Brush your eyes and look at the situation for real. Sure, he can’t push my arm down any farther, but I can’t move his either."

Both Dorian and Raze went blank. Complete poker faces.

"If this goes on any longer, they’ll just call it in his favor!"

Raze sighed. "You already know we can’t push any more power into you. The rest’s up to you."

"Yeah, I got that, now shut up and let me think..." Elara narrowed her eyes and locked onto the boy’s gaze, diving into his thoughts. What she found was... disappointing. A full dumpster fire of trashy fantasies, centered entirely around her. She almost gagged.

But then—an idea. It was bold. It was risky. It was extremely embarrassing. But... it might just work.

Turning to the musclehead across from her, she raised her voice for everyone to hear. "Wow, I never thought a guy with a foot fetish for girls could push me this hard!"

The boy’s eyes went wide. Around them, the crowd gasped, clearly hearing her.

"Wait... are you trying to win just so you can do those things to me?" She batted her lashes and pouted slightly.

His grip loosened. Big time. Embarrassment hit him like a truck.

And then—bam. Elara slammed his hand down and won the match.

Victory.

Everyone went wild. And now, it was time for the boy to follow through on his oh-so-clever little deal.

Elara crossed her arms and leaned in with a devilish grin. "Well, looks like someone’s gotta do whatever I say now, right?"

"Uhh... actually," the boy stammered, sweating, "I was just joking around! Totally kidding!"

She raised a brow. "Yeah? Doesn’t feel like a joke to me."

With a deep breath, she pointed at him and shouted so the whole crowd could hear. "The only thing I want is for you to stay at least a kilometer away from me at all times, got it?!"

"But—wait!" he protested. "We’re literally in the same class! How am I supposed to stay a kilometer away?!"

Elara’s expression turned deadpan. "Don’t get caught up in the details. Thanks."

After a bit of chatting and celebrating with her friends, Elara made her way back to where Dorian was standing, clearly ready to collect her revenge.

He was chatting casually with his group when his friends suddenly froze, wide-eyed, staring at the ominous figure behind him.

There was a cold, dark aura in the air.

Dorian turned around.

Standing right there, behind him, was Elara.

And she did not look pleased.

Dorian turned around and nearly dropped dead.

Sure, Elara and her brothers are in the same academic level, but… they’re not in the same classes.

She was quietly listening to her teacher—until suddenly, a strange pulse hit her normal eye.

Slowly, she rested her head on the desk.
And then… the headache began.

It grew worse. And worse.
Until it was unbearable.

A blinding purple light burst from Elara’s body, flooding the classroom. Everyone instinctively shielded their eyes.

Within five seconds, the light vanished.
Panic followed. Students stumbled over each other, desperate to escape the room.

But Elara—
was no longer in her seat.......