Nero had already seen Vilhelm before. He was tall, lean, with blonde hair and striking blue eyes. The man wore a lazy smile, as if he did not have a care in the world, and seemed entirely harmless.
Yet for all the laziness he appeared to show, his guard was never lowered - at least during the short period Nero had seen him in. His posture was not that of a mere soldier, but that of a trained, seasoned warrior who had seen countless battles. His movement was not the robotic, rigid movement of someone who had merely trained a lot. No, he had the fluid movement of someone who had mastered his training, understanding the underlying essence of it rather than merely mimicking the movements.
It was impressive, but then again, that was already expected. Whether in his classes, or in combat, Vilhelm had attained the highest possible grade. The fact that he appeared to lack ambition or motivation was independent of that fact.
Nero wasn’t sure of what to expect when he arrived at the arena to watch Vilhelms fight. There were too many rumours abound, which made it difficult to ascertain the truth. It would be best to judge for himself.
He arrived, like so many others, to watch the match. It was between Vilhelm and a third year senior. Contrary to the immense expectations such a fight would have, the combat seemed all too normal.
There were no flashy moves, no loud screaming or yelling, and no secret techniques. Vilhelm fought in the simplest, most orthodox fashion, which is where the secret lay. It was not his fighting style itself that was impressive, but his application of it.
The more ordinary the fight seemed, the more control it showed Vilhelm actually had over the situation. By not winning outright, Vilhelm was showing his opponent some respect, allowing him to save face, yet Nero could tell almost immediately that he was destined to win.
The sheer difference in combat awareness and skill made it so that Vilhelm would not lose unless he wanted to - that much Nero could see within the first few seconds of watching the fight.
Nero’s expression turned solemn as he could not spot a single weakness or flaw in Vilhelm’s style, making it incredibly difficult to find an opening to attack him. A lack of openings was not too much of an issue as an opening could be created, but Vilhelm was too clear headed in the fight.
Just as Nero strived to remain calm in a fight, Vilhelm displayed a frightening level of composure. He did not get too eager, nor was he impatient or aggressive. He was... a formidable opponent.
Nero could not help but wonder what his innate ability was. It would be a shame if someone as skilled as him ended up with an unfortunate ability.
When the fight eventually ended, most of the observing students found it boring. They had already expected Vilhelm to win so the outcome was not a surprise, and the process was not nearly as flashy or shocking as Nero’s fight against Axel.
Many began to draw comparisons, wondering who the better fighter was, not understanding the actual nuances of the fight itself. For those with a little more insight, the fight was far from boring.
"What do you think?" Luna asked, stepping up beside Nero. "You think you can beat him?"
The other cadets around them turned towards Nero, awaiting his response. It was too soon to say for sure, but for now it seemed like Nero might emulate Vilhelm’s achievements, becoming recognised as the best of their batch. Naturally, everyone was curious about which of them was better.
"Of course," answered Nero without any hint of hesitation. "He is a strong opponent, one worthy of the utmost respect, but that does not mean I will consider myself less than him. In fact..."
Nero paused, and then instead of continuing his sentence, started walking towards him. There was no point in delaying things. From the moment Nero had heard about the prodigy, he knew they were going to fight. He was not afraid of a strong opponent - on the contrary, without sufficient pressure, his own growth would stagnate so he looked forward to the fight.
As Nero cut through the crowd, heading towards the arena, the other cadets followed him, forming a sort of train. They immediately drew attention, and all those in the way moved aside, watching for any impending drama.
All the cadets lived a very intense and exhausting life in the academy, and good entertainment was severely lacking. Watching such fights was one of the best ways to relieve stress. Nero’s popularity and presence was nowhere near that of Vilhelms, but those who knew of him had already been anticipating this match. Combined with Nero’s latest performance against Axel, many actively began to hope that a fight would occur between these two.
The switch in attention from the concluded fight to Nero was so swift, in fact, that a silence fell around the arena, creating an environment ready for whatever was in store.
In truth, as Nero approached Vilhelm, standing in the arena talking to his defeated opponent, with an entourage behind him and all eyes on him, he sort of felt like a villain. If life were a book, then this scene might be described or played out like him coming to pick a fight with the one guy who was minding his own business.
But, well, life was not a story, not to mention that Nero had no compunctions about being a villain either. In fact, the way in which he was orchestrating the rise of his own image and perception was very much in line with what any decent villain might do. After all, it was important to maintain a strong, positive public image.
Nero dismissed the random thoughts in his mind as he stepped up to the edge of the arena and waited for Vilhelm to finish his conversation, which did not take long. In fact, the moment his group arrived, Vilhelm was forced to cut his conversation short and look over.
"I’ve heard of you," Vilhelm said with his signature lazy smile adorning his face. "People are saying that you want to surpass me. But isn’t it a little too early to be facing me?"
Nero nodded.
"I’ve heard of you as well," Nero responded. "In fact, from the moment I entered the academy, I’ve been hearing about you. Your achievements and performance are inspiring, so naturally I aimed to surpass you. After all, why else did I join KMA if not to become the best that I can become?
"However, you are also correct. Normally, I would not think of challenging you so soon. But as fate would have it, Madame Isabella has given me an assignment of defeating you twice. It has taken me quite a few days to get permission to issue Crucible challenges to seniors, so I hope you won’t refuse my request. I would like to issue you a challenge for tomorrow, since you have already fought today."
Nero was neither aggressive nor overconfident in his challenge, and even appeared somewhat friendly. There was no point in making enemies, and in fact it would be for the best if Nero became friends with Vilhelm after this ordeal was over as he would make for a reliable ally in a fight.
Yet the more normal he acted, the more arrogant he seemed to the observers. This was not some random person Nero was challenging, it was the cadet who had dominated the challenges all of last semester. Moreover, not only was Nero challenging him, he spoke of defeating him twice! It was as if Nero saw his own victory as a foregone conclusion.
Yet Vilhelm did not see it that way. After all, to deceive him was a nigh impossible thing due to his innate ability. He could sense Nero’s intent. There was a strong sense of competitiveness, but also a distinct disinterest. He had encountered all sorts of people before, but he’d never met someone who harboured such an unusual combination of intents. That made him curious - not to mention the things Arter had told him before.
"People who knew you in Lumina have had some good things to say about you," responded Vilhelm. "I’ve heard especially good things about your combat ability. I look forward to fighting with you tomorrow."
Nero nodded, appreciating the direct acceptance of the challenge.
"In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow," he said, and then left, not bothering to linger. Since the challenge had been issued, and it had been accepted, there was nothing else to do but wait.
Of course, that was what was in Nero’s mind. For everyone else, there was something extremely important that they had to do: they had to spread the news!
The prodigy of last semester, and the new standout from the latest semester were going to fight, and from the looks of things, it was going to be an interesting fight. Could Nero really beat Vilhelm twice? They would find out.