Chapter 618: Confrontation
If it hadn’t been for Michael severely holding back his punch, Ryn would have been sent flying, along with anyone standing nearby, to the other side of the road.
Even so, the restrained blow carried enough force to shock everyone around.
Michael Norman.
The name alone carried weight. Anyone who knew even fragments of what he had done during the unified exams would understand that he wasn’t an ordinary being. Yet, since most hadn’t seen it firsthand, they attributed his feats to his undead. It wasn’t entirely wrong—but it wasn’t exactly right either.
Ryn, of course, wasn’t a fool. His arrogant confidence wasn’t entirely baseless bravado. He had approached Michael not just to intimidate him, but to gauge his reaction—to be close enough to counter if Michael decided to summon one of his undead.
From Ryn’s perspective, this was even better.
He didn’t fear dying; the academy’s safety barriers and surveillance ensured no one could actually kill another student. But if Michael lost his temper, if he even slightly broke the academy’s behavioral rules, that would be leverage. Ryn could use that to suppress him publicly—to tarnish the reputation of the "famous Michael Norman" before the semester even began.
At least, that had been the plan.
Unfortunately for him, things hadn’t gone according to plan. Michael didn’t lose his composure, nor did he summon an undead to fight in his stead. He simply acted and used his own fist.
The result was devastating.
The air cracked with a dull thud that echoed, followed by stunned silence. Ryn staggered backward several steps, boots grinding against the paved floor as he barely kept his footing. His face twisted, not from pain but from disbelief.
Lira and the nearby students stood frozen, their mouths slightly open. None of them had even seen Michael move. One moment he had been standing calmly, the next, Ryn was reeling.