Grey warned the short boy with a reddened face that looked like a ripe tomato about to burst, "This is not your street, Arthur. You can't do anything you want here and get away with it. Your mother won't be able to save you from what I will do to you."
Arthur handed his lunch box over to Thompson. Thompson was already carrying his, so now he had two. But when he saw what was about to happen, he dropped the lunch boxes and followed Arthur quietly.
Arthur didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't going to allow it to continue without putting up resistance.
So he stepped forward and approached the boy. He came close to him and stood right in front of him. His height didn't make him as intimidating as he wanted, but he made up for it with the fierce look in his eyes.
He knew that the matter could escalate beyond words, but he still went through with his plan because he didn't want to be considered a pushover by anyone.
If the matter would escalate, he wanted it to be because he refused to cower and not because his enemy saw him as an easy target and decided to take advantage of him.
At least this way, his enemy won't see him as an easy target and will have to consider it seriously before they antagonize him or try to bully him.
So he poked the boy in the chest and said, "Tell me, Grey. What can you possibly do to me?"
Grey couldn't take his provocation anymore. He lunged at Arthur immediately.
He was bigger than Arthur, but he wasn't stronger. Arthur was also ready for his attack. So while Grey had more momentum from his lung and was even able to press him to the ground, Arthur was able to retaliate.
Arthur focused on his opponent's face. His tiny fist slammed into his head again and again.
Grey was an inexperienced fighter. He was pressing Arthur to the ground with both hands, which meant he didn't have any to spare to hit his opponent with.
By the time he recovered and settled his weight on Arthur, his face had been impacted three times. Instead of hitting back, he was trying to block Arthur's punches.
As the two of them engaged in a scuffle, Grey's lackeys came forward to help him. But they were stopped by Thompson and most of the classroom.
There were only five lackeys, but those who came to Arthur's help were 16. That meant there was more to spare after they surrounded the five boys and began beating them.
These extra helpers jumped on Grey and began hitting him from the sides. Soon the sound of squealing and cries of pain could be heard.
The noise of fighting and crying drew the attention of the people outside training. It also drew the attention of the teachers.
The closest teacher was the one for the first years. He was already on his way before the fight began. So it didn't take long for him to arrive after the cries of pain were heard.
The teacher entered the class and shouted, "Stop this instant."
The children paused what they were doing to look at the source of the instruction. What they saw was a tall man with black hair cut short and large muscles bursting through his robes.
When they saw that it was an adult, they separated from their opponents. All of them stood up and straightened themselves.
Arthur and Grey were finally revealed. Arthur had a bruise on his face. His lips were also bleeding from a cut to them.
Grey wasn't doing so well. He had bruises all over his body, not just his face. His lips and nose were both broken and were bleeding.
Even as they stood up, the bruises on his face began to take on a black coloration. His cheek and the whole side of his face were swelling. The swelling on the left side of his was already threatening to force his eye shut.
Teacher Lawson looked at them with a stern face. Then he said, "I don't care who started it, but this will be the end of fighting in my class. It won't happen in the future, or you will regret it immensely. Next time you want to fight, either challenge your opponent to the ring or wait to encounter them in the field."
Then he asked with a raised voice, "Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
Then he focused on Arthur and said, "Little boy, come over here."
Arthur stepped forward because he was the only little one in class.
When he reached the instructor, the man knelt down and began examining his body by squeezing his arms and legs. He pressed all over Arthur's body, which caused some discomfort.
When he was done, he said, "Your body is weird. Your muscles and bones appear to be in the first transformation. They have the width of the first transformation, but they are as strong as the second transformation."
"It doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that I wasn't sure it was the right decision to let you begin training so early, but it seems you can hold your own without fear of damage to your potential."
"Still, I must ask, are you sure you want to do this? Physical training won't be fun and will be painful. I can speak to your mother on your behalf and convince her not to force you to begin training so early."
Arthur shook his head and said, "My mother isn't forcing me. I want to do this."
The man raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then he snorted and said, "We will see how enthusiastic you are soon. In the meantime, I don't want you causing trouble in my class. There is no bread here."
Arthur heard some sniggering behind him, so he turned back to glare at the sources. This cut off the sniggers immediately.
The instructor shook his head and said, "You may return."