Atticus's eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on the video in front of the youths, clearly showing him brutally burning the figures of the third years, his thoughts swirling.
It was very obvious that someone had taken a video of the scene during the incident, and Atticus didn't even bother to wonder who had done that.
There were quite a few people watching the scene unfold on that day, and knowing well that the artifact's seamless features allowed the students to take videos of anything they wanted with next to no visual cues.
This had been exactly why Zara had been able to make a deal with Atticus and take videos of the blacksmithing classes.
There were only two things on Atticus's mind: the implications the video would have on him if the whole academy were to see it, and the identity of the mastermind behind the assailants who had attacked him.
'Is it the one who sent them that did this?' Atticus's thoughts raced as he tried to get a clear picture of what was going on.
The assailants had all obviously entered an academy contract with someone, and although he greatly doubted it, Atticus couldn't help but believe that this current situation had been the mastermind's plan from the outset.
The only thing was…
'Wouldn't that mean the mastermind knew from the beginning that I would be able to easily take care of multiple geniuses of the third year?'
That notion sounded so absurd, even to him. Even though Atticus appeared to be in the Advanced+ rank, there were about four Advanced+ rank third years among the assailants.
Individuals who should have more experience than any first year, even if they were in the same rank.
Who in their right mind would expect Atticus to win with that kind of lineup?
Atticus suddenly had a realization, 'Or the mastermind had been close by, watching from the beginning, and seeing as I easily took care of the students, he decided to change his tactics and tarnish my reputation?' Atticus pondered.
He believed this second assumption was the right one. And coming to this conclusion, Atticus couldn't help but berate himself.
'I made a mistake.'
Atticus had been completely focused on torturing and extracting information from the assailants that he hadn't even thought about scrutinizing the crowd of students that had gathered in the building to watch him.
Even worse, he didn't even look at them.
If someone had sent the students to him, it was only natural that said person would want to be close by to watch the scene unfold.
If only he had scrutinized the crowd of students, Atticus was sure he would have at the very least found a clue.
Atticus slightly shook his head, clearing his mind of all unnecessary thoughts. 'It doesn't matter.'
Atticus had never been one to care about how good or bad his reputation was in the first place. In fact, Atticus didn't even believe that this would tarnish his reputation.
This was Eldoralth, not Earth.
This level of brutality was a normal occurrence here.
If anything, it did well to solidify exactly the kind of person he was. It would very greatly help him deter any fool who might start something.
Plus, in the grand scheme of things, his reputation didn't matter. It wasn't like he was trying to become a president or something.
What mattered was if Atticus were to go full power, would the entirety of the geniuses and even the true geniuses of the third year be able to last more than a second against him?
'This is getting annoying. All I have to do is find that fool. I'll make him regret this,' Atticus thought with a cold glint in his eyes, the air around him becoming colder.
Despite all the commotion around them, Zoey was still very perceptive of her environment. She immediately noticed the subtle shift in Atticus's demeanor, as though the air around him suddenly changed and became colder.
'What's wrong with him?' Zoey thought worriedly.
It had all been going well so far; she couldn't help but wonder what suddenly changed.
'Listen to what the students are saying.'
Zoey followed Lumindra's instructions and focused her senses. She was immediately able to hear what the students were talking about:
"Hey, it's really him in the video," one youth said while looking at the display in front of him.
"Yeah, I know he's a Tier One and all, but wasn't this far too brutal?" another random youth commented.
"The Ravensteins truly are the madmen of the human domain. Remind me always to stay away from them," another student added.
In just under a few seconds, Zoey was able to hear everything the students were talking about. And although her eyes weren't nearly as sharp as Atticus's, with a slight focus, she was able to clearly see the video of Atticus brutally, coldly burning a bunch of students.
Zoey instantly raised an eyebrow, 'I guess he really wasn't joking about his personality,' she thought with a slight subtle chuckle.
'Yeah, he wasn't," Lumindra added. "How do you feel about this?' she asked.
'Huh? What do you mean?' Zoey asked, confused.
'I mean he literally burnt those youths alive. Even though they were at fault, don't you think what he did was too much?'
Zoey was so shocked that her neutral expression almost faltered.
Was this really her Tier 7 spirit, Lumindra? The Lumindra she knew, despite her petite form and bubbly personality, was completely ruthless.
In fact, part of her cold, ruthless side came from her.
Zoey inwardly chuckled, 'I literally cut off the dick of a guard before I came to the academy. Do you really think that I would care that a boy I like was burning some students who were clearly the ones that came to look for trouble? If anything, this clearly shows how much our personalities match, and that to me is a good thing.'
There was a slight silence for a few seconds as soon as Zoey finished her speech, and then in the next instant, the sounds of cute sniffing sounded as though someone was crying.