Chapter 129: The Principal [1]

’I’m not in the mood for nonsense!’

The thought had barely landed when the disguised attacker reached him.

A quick scan had already revealed that the attacker was at the Third Realm, and although not as powerful as those he had faced before, the attacker was still stronger than he was at base point.

’Tsk.’

Adam grunted as he bent back to barely dodge a high kick. Unwilling to be forced into a defensive stance, he tapped into his vector manipulation abilities and boosted his speed and physical strength, keeping up with the attacker.

"Enough!"

Adam dodged a few more and spun on one foot, sweeping the other outward, generating a powerful gale that tore into the ground and swept his attacker off their feet.

"Ugh!"

The disguised attacker managed to cross their arms defensively at the last second. And their grunt was unmistakably feminine, but Adam did not care. That blow he received on the nose still stung like a bitch. He had no room for mercy.

Adam did not hesitate to go after the attacker, dashing forward with an explosive bang. The ground beneath his feet shattered, his speed boosted by the wind element. He reached his attacker while she was still midair.

With a grunt, he appeared above her and pushed a hand towards their covered face. But just as he was about to grab that head, the attacker’s eyes gleamed with a sinister intent.

"Oh no, you don’t!"

Just as the attacker was about to unleash their ability, Adam increased his speed again. He grabbed the attacker’s head and slammed them into the ground.

Boom.

The ground shattered as Adam dragged the attacker’s head through the ground, leaving a trench in his wake. When the dust settled, Adam stood over his attacker, gazing down coldly.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Adam did not immediately turn around. He was still angry at the nosebleed and broken nose. Had he not realised this was some kind of test, he would have killed the attacker.

"The article was right."

He finally looked over his shoulder.

Standing a few meters away was a middle-aged man with black hair lined with white strands at the temples. The man had green eyes that gleamed with the wisdom of age.

The man looked at the trench for a moment before focusing his gaze on Adam again. "And good instincts you have there, Adam. I might have stepped in had you directed killing intent at my niece."

"Ni...niece?"

Adam’s eyes widened as he looked at the passed-out attacker. His anger dissipated in an instant. He narrowed his eyes and finally took a good look at the attacker.

His eyes slowly widened as he recognised the face behind the disguise. ’It...It’s Captain Calls!’

Adam stepped back with a panicked expression on his face, realising he had just beaten his senior like she was just a random mob. "I..I didn’t know."

"Relax, kid. You would have been beaten to a bloody pulp had you held back." The man chuckled as he walked over.

Adam watched as the man squatted beside the passed-out Lenora and gently slapped her cheeks a few times. "Wakey, wakey, Lenni."

Lenora slowly stirred and then groaned, grabbing her head and wincing. "Ugh. My head."

"Yeah. That’s what happens when you poke your nose in matters that have little to do with you." The man chuckled as he helped Lenora sit up.

Adam looked on in a daze, never imagining the Principal as someone who was this...this cool.

"Damn it, Adam!"

Lenora suddenly turned and glared at Adam. She pulled her disguise off and rose to her feet, grudgingly marching towards Adam.

"Couldn’t you have held back a little?! I wasn’t even going all out!"

The girl angrily poked him on the chest, making him wince helplessly. He didn’t know how to react to this side of her.

"In...In my defence, you...you started it." Adam looked anywhere but at the captain’s face.

"What?!"

"Now, now, Lenora. The boy is right." The Principal stepped in with a suggestive smile. "You were the one who wanted to test him."

"Uncle. Ugh!"

Lenora was fuming. She glared at her uncle and Adam in tandem, eventually sighing and lowering her hand.

"But seriously, pretty boy. Who knew you were so strong? I had my doubts before, but experiencing it firsthand is a real shock." She pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to him.

Adam accepted it without thought and could indeed see the shock in her eyes. Her emotions were stirring as well. She was conflicted about what the realisation meant.

’It’s the same.’ He thought sadly.

"Well, that was just by the way." The Principal smiled and approached. "But I can’t say the same for my field. It was my safe space, too."

He looked around the destroyed field and let out a resigned sigh.

"Please, Uncle. I’m not buying your sad act. Just fix it already." Lenora snorted and waved her hand dismissively.

Adam looked on in confusion. It was one thing to see the Principal behave completely differently from what he had expected, but seeing the way he interacted with Lenora was something else entirely.

’Maybe he’s only like this with family.’

Adam’s eyes widened in horror when the Principal calmly stretched a hand forward and turned it anticlockwise like he was turning an invisible dial.

The dust and dirt around seemed to tremble, slowly shaking as a breeze followed. Following the Principal’s gesture, the particles began moving in a rather unique way, as though they were retracing the path they had travelled when disturbed.

[Ding!]

[Physical:.....43.20%]

<Motion:.....57%>

<Force:...49.34%>

<Gravity:.....41.54%>

<Heat:.....61.75%>

<...>

<...>

<Time:....2.23%...2.33%...2.67%>

<...>

<...>

’Time! He’s reversing time!’

The sight was a shocking one. Adam had almost thought Temporal abilities did not exist, as he had not heard of or come across anyone with such an affinity. That thought crumbled right at that moment.

Before long, the craters and trench were closed up and the grass restored.

Everything looked as though nothing had transpired.

"Impressive, right?"

Lenora elbowed him with a smug smile on her face. She looked far too pleased with herself as she took in Adam’s shocked expression.

"Ye...Yeah."