Chapter 4. Overrated

Succubi Chapter 4. Overrated

His eyes narrowed, his expression cool and unreadable. "I don’t know what kind of trick you pulled to avoid getting classified, but I don’t buy it."

I blinked. This again?

"Excuse me?" I said slowly.

He crossed his arms. "You don’t have a class. That’s impossible. Everyone has a class."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I hacked the Academy System?"

"You tell me."

Wow. This guy was actually serious.

I let out a slow breath, already done with his bullshit. "Look, I get that you’ve got some ‘Chosen One’ complex going on, but I didn’t do anything. The System’s the one messing up."

Ares scoffed. "Convenient."

Leon stepped in, irritated. "Okay, seriously, what’s your deal, dude? Evan just got here, and you’re already acting like he stole your kingdom."

Ares finally looked away from me, glancing at Leon with mild disinterest. "It’s nothing personal."

I gave him a look. "Really? Because it definitely sounds personal."

Ares ignored me. "I just want to make sure you’re not cheating your way into the Academy."

I squinted at him. "You think I cheated?"

"You show up, cause a scene at the registration desk, then your System just so happens to malfunction?" Ares narrowed his eyes. "It’s a little too convenient."

I stared at him. "Do I look like a criminal mastermind to you?"

Leon snorted. "Yeah, man. If Evan was gonna cheat, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have done it in the most dramatic, obvious way possible."

Ares wasn’t amused. "I want to test you."

I blinked. "What?"

He stepped forward, his posture too damn serious. "If you really belong at this Academy, then you should be able to prove it."

Leon scoffed. "What the hell do you mean by ‘prove it’?"

Ares' eyes glowed slightly. "A duel."

I felt my headache worsen. "Of course. Because the best way to solve a misunderstanding is violence."

Ares ignored my sarcasm. "A simple spar. Nothing extreme. Just to make sure you’re not a fraud."

I crossed my arms. "Oh, so now I have to prove my existence to you?"

"If you’re as strong as people say, it shouldn’t be a problem."

Leon muttered, "Damn, you’ve been here for like, an hour, and you already have a rival."

‘I DON’T WANT A RIVAL!’ Yeah, I really wanted to scream that.

Ares watched me, waiting for an answer.

And honestly? I was so tempted to just walk away.

But there was something about his expression—not just arrogance, but something deeper.

A guy like Ares? He had zero doubts about his strength. He probably thought of himself as the main character of the Academy.

And now, I was standing in his way.

I sighed. "Fine. You want a fight? You got one."

Ares smirked. "Follow me."

I stared at him. "Follow you where?"

"I know a quiet arena."

Leon groaned. "Now?"

"Yeah, now." Ares turned on his heel, already walking like he expected us to follow without question. "It's a good chance to test out the battle system. Why not?"

‘Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I just got here, was already dealing with an identity crisis, and had zero motivation to entertain some self-proclaimed academy prodigy?’

I huffed, crossing my arms as I stared at his back. "Is this guy seriously treating me like a newbie?" I muttered.

Leon snorted. "You do kinda look like one."

I elbowed him.

I’d heard the stories about Ares Bellator. Everyone had. Top of his training class, unparalleled swordsmanship, ‘the next big thing’ in The Archeline Battle Academy, blah blah blah.

And yeah, I’d seen clips of him fighting before, and I could say… It was overrated! Overpromised! Overselling!

But hey, props to him for succeeding in his personal branding.

Leon glanced at me, whispering, "Dude, we don’t actually have to follow him, right?"

I sighed, rubbing my temple. "Unfortunately, I think he’ll just stalk me until I agree."

"True."

So, against my better judgment, we followed Golden Boy to his so-called "empty" arena.

And, of course, the place wasn't empty at all.

The second we stepped in, I knew Ares was full of pure, unfiltered bullshit.

There were students everywhere.

Some were sparring, some were just walking through, and a handful were watching duels like it was some kind of street fight ring.

"Bro," I muttered, scanning the crowd. "You said it was empty."

Ares shrugged. "It's not my fault if it’s filled with people."

‘THAT’S LITERALLY THE DEFINITION OF YOUR FAULT!’ I screamed internally. But somehow I could keep my calm. Good job myself!

Leon nudged me, whispering, "I think he just assumed nobody important would be here."

That… actually made sense. Ares probably meant ‘empty’ as in ‘no one on my level is here.’

Which meant, in his head, normal students didn’t count as people.

I rolled my eyes. "So what, you planned on fighting me in private?"

Ares looked at me, expression unreadable. "Does it matter?"

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because there were about fifty people who would absolutely watch me get humiliated if I lost?”

Leon whistled under his breath. "Man, if you wanted to publicly destroy Evan’s reputation, you could’ve just asked."

Ares gave him a flat look. "That’s not my intention."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I folded my arms. "So, what, we just go at it? No rules?"

Ares turned toward the weapons rack, grabbing a training sword. "We’ll use these. No magic. Just pure skill."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why no magic?"

"Because I want to see what you can do without relying on spells."

Oh, so this was a test now?

I scoffed, walking over to the weapons rack. There were all kinds of weapons lined up— spears, daggers, greatswords, bows, and even a pair of knuckle dusters.

But I reached for the longsword. Simple. Classic. Reliable.

Leon hummed, glancing at Ares. "So you don’t think Evan deserves to be here, huh?"

Ares didn’t hesitate. "I think his placement is questionable."

"And you think you’re the guy to judge that?"

Ares gripped his sword, his expression dead serious. "Someone has to."

I huffed out a laugh. "You know, for someone who doesn’t take things personally, you sure as hell seem invested in my existence."

Ares didn’t rise to the bait. "Are you ready or not?"

I sighed, rolling my shoulders. "Fine. But I swear, if this is just an excuse for you to beat up a ‘random new guy,’ I’m charging you for emotional damage."

Leon chuckled. "I’ll be the referee."

We both stepped onto the training ground. The students nearby stopped what they were doing, their gazes shifting toward us.

Great. An audience.

Just what I needed.

Ares took a classic knight stance, blade held high, posture perfect. Textbook execution.

I held my sword in a more relaxed grip, keeping my stance loose.

"Go!" Leon called.

Ares moved instantly.

I barely had time to react before he was in my face, sword flashing.

‘Fast.’

I twisted, bringing up my blade to block, the shock of the impact vibrating through my arms.

Ares didn’t give me time to recover.

He pressed forward, his swordwork precise, relentless, and disciplined. He was testing me, pushing my defenses to see if I’d crumble under pressure.

I scowled. This wasn’t a fight. It was an evaluation.

Ares parried my counterstrike effortlessly, his eyes sharp and calculating.

"Sloppy," he muttered.

"Annoying," I muttered back.

I caught movement in my peripheral vision. The students watching were whispering among themselves.

"Wow, Ares is really going for it."

"That new guy’s holding up, though."

"Still, Ares is on a different level…"

I could already hear it.

The doubt. The expectation that I’d lose.

‘Oh, hell no!’

I took a sharp step back, breaking the rhythm of his attacks. Ares hesitated for a split second—just enough time.

I lunged.

Our blades clashed, and this time, I pushed back.

I could tell I caught him off guard because his eyes flickered with surprise. A little crack in that perfect knight demeanor.

I smirked. "What’s wrong? Not as easy as you thought?"

Ares reset his stance. "You're decent."

"Decent?" I scoffed. "That sounded painful for you to admit."

He didn’t answer. Instead, he moved again.

Faster this time.

I barely managed to parry before he was on me again, pushing the fight back into his control.

Damn. Okay, yeah. I might’ve underestimated him.

But I wasn’t out of tricks yet.

Author note:

If you want to support me and read advanced tier visit My Patreon-page

Join my discord server for more images.

Like it? Add it to your collection XD

Don't forget to vote~