“...Everything that student told you was the truth. Isaac’s been doing whatever the hell he pleases.”
“I see... So he really has been stooping that low...”
Late that afternoon, Yugo returned to his makeshift home in a secluded corner of the academy garden. There, he listened as Hex—who was far better plugged into the school’s grapevine than Yugo could ever be—filled the group in on the current state of affairs.
Yugo felt a pang of gratitude for Hex. As the academy's most reviled student, Yugo found it impossible to gather intel himself, but that gratitude was quickly overshadowed by the shock of confirming Isaac’s atrocious reputation. During the Bull Golem incident, Isaac had honored Yugo’s request to spare Skull. Yugo had pegged him as a bit arrogant, perhaps, but ultimately a decent guy. He’d had no idea what Isaac’s true motives were back then. Now, Yugo sat in a heavy, brooding silence as Hex laid out the facts.
“Remember how I told you everyone’s been dueling over materials lately?” Hex asked. “Isaac jumped right onto that bandwagon. People had been eyeing his skills for a while, but he’s a loner—no real friends or social circle—so there wasn't much to go on until recently.”
“So, he’s become the talk of the school because he’s stripping everyone of their resources?” Melt asked.
“Pretty much,” Hex replied. “He hunts down targets and challenges them to Duels just to plunder their materials. Once word of his strength got out, people started turning him down. That’s when he started the threats Yugo heard about—forcing them into Duels they can't win. He’s been hoarding materials like a madman.”
Anhel grimaced as she recalled her own brush with the man. “He’s a real piece of work. He approached me about becoming his Exclusive Engineer not too long ago. I thought he was just a weirdo because of how over-familiar and casual he was, calling me by a nickname right off the bat... but this is way worse than I imagined.”
It wasn't just a lack of boundaries; it was a total disregard for anyone else's well-being. Isaac’s tyrannical behavior had clearly earned him the school's collective hatred. But as Yugo recalled the victim’s claim that no one could stand up to him, Hex added another grim detail.
“He’s been so out of control that even the Hero Candidates tried to step in. You remember them, right? The ones who fought back during the small Magic Armor Beast attack and are now looking for party members. They tried to put a stop to him, but...”
“But what?” Yugo pressed.
“...One of them lost a Duel to him. Since then, the rest of them have been dead silent.”
“Are you serious?” Yugo muttered. “How did all this happen without us knowing?”
Lately, Yugo had been consumed by thoughts of the missing Demonic Sword and working with Anhel on the Blaster's enhancement. Between his own focus and the fact that other students actively avoided his group, he’d been living in an information vacuum. He felt a sharp sting of regret for failing to notice how dire things had become.
“Is no one else trying to stop him?” Yugo asked. “Did everyone just give up because one guy lost?”
“Looks that way,” Hex said. “The guy who lost is keeping his head down, and the other Hero Candidates are being incredibly cautious now that they’ve seen what Isaac can do. When the rest of the student body saw their ‘heroes’ lose heart, they lost their nerve, too. Now, Isaac’s the king of the mountain.”
“But if he hoards all the materials, no one can perform Magic Item Enhancement,” Melt pointed out. “The Hero Candidates need those items if they want to build strong parties. For them to be this hesitant... just how strong is this Isaac?”
“On the surface, he's just following the Duel rules to win materials, even if his methods are dirty,” Anhel added. “It’s hard to even complain to the teachers. Besides, the staff is slammed with the Academy Restoration right now...”
“If someone doesn't stop him, this is going to end in a disaster,” Yugo said. “I talked to him earlier, and it felt like his greed was spiraling out of control. It’s hard to describe... but it wasn't just him being arrogant. There was a genuine, fundamental wrongness to him.”
The problem was too big for the students to handle, yet the teachers were preoccupied with restoration and the fallout from the incident Rush started. Knowing the truth behind those events, Yugo understood why the faculty was spread thin, but that didn't make the current situation any less dangerous.
Earlier that day, Isaac hadn't just demanded the rare Flame Attribute Magic Crystal; he’d demanded “possession” of Melt and Anhel. Betting humans as if they were inanimate objects was beyond simple pride—it was depravity. Yugo felt a chill at the thought of Isaac making similar demands of other, more vulnerable students.
“Honestly, I can't believe it,” Melt said, her face twisted in disgust. “He's a bigger scumbag than Yugo ever was. It’s pathetic that everyone is so terrified that they’ve just let him get away with it.”
“I’m with you,” Anhel agreed. “Knowing a guy like that is running rampant... it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
Hex, whose expression was grimmer than anyone else’s, shook his head. “Don't exhaust all your hatred just yet, you two. From what I’ve gathered, Isaac might be up to something even more dangerous than just stealing materials.”