Chapter 126: Confrontation on the training grounds
My gaze, sharp and resolute, swept across the academy grounds, a search for the owner of the voice that had interrupted our conversation. And even as I turned, something told me I already knew what to expect.
The certainty that I felt as I turned to face the owner of the voice was like a lodestone.
There, standing not far from where we had been conversing, would be a young man, his features contorted in a mask of anger and irritation as he watched me make a move on his girl.
She might not even be his girl, maybe just a crush.
Yet his possessiveness, even over one he may not have officially claimed as his own, was palpable in the air, his indignation at the mere prospect of another man approaching his 'crush' evident in the hard set of his jaw and the fire in his eyes.
A sigh of exasperation escaped my lips as I turned to face the young man, the weight of his misguided possessiveness like a leaden blanket upon my shoulders.
"Men who fight over women," I muttered to myself, my tone dripping with disdain, "are the absolute worst."
For indeed, this was a battle I had witnessed far too many times before, the folly of testosterone and ego leading to far too many unnecessary conflicts and wounds.
If a man trusted your woman, then he wouldn't have to resort to such aggressive methods to prevent her from talking to other guys.
After all, she's a human being fully capable of thought and reason.
Indeed, the young man's behavior spoke to a deeper underlying issue, one that was both toxic and possessive in nature.
For by constantly monitoring the woman's interactions with others and resorting to aggression and hostility, he was sending a clear message to both her and the world around him.
On one hand, he was suggesting that the woman lacked the capacity to make her own decisions, that she was somehow lesser and in need of his protection.
On the other hand, he was acknowledging her ability to think and choose for herself, but expressing his fear that her decisions would not align with his own desires.
"Why would a person be with a partner like that?" I thought to myself. "Better to just break it off and remain single, than to be shackled by the chains of insecurity and fear."
"If it were my girl," I mused to myself, his brow furrowing in contemplation, "I would watch in silence. I would trust her to handle the situation, to brush off the unwanted advances with ease."
A new image began to form in my mind, a vision of a different way to approach the situation.
"Or perhaps," I thought, my gaze sharpening with a hint of amusement, "I would walk over, calmly and quietly. I would wrap my arms around her in a gesture of possession, to show the other guy that she was mine, that his advances were fruitless."
"Either way," I thought, "I would not be yelling across an entire training ground like a madman. I would be calm, controlled, and confident in my partner's ability to handle herself, or in my own ability to silently assert my claim without causing a scene."
My gaze shifted from the young woman to the source of the commotion, my eyes falling upon a figure that seemed to embody the very image of adolescent insecurity.
Standing some feet away from me, his arms crossed and his jaw set in a defensive posture, was a boy of average height (172 cm), his body bearing the softness of youth and inexperience.
His hair, a messy halo of brown, had been hacked into a bowl cut that sat atop his head like a lopsided helmet, the clumsy style doing little to hide the flushed redness of his cheeks.
Beneath the disheveled mass of his hair and the ruddy flush of anger, there was the hint of a handsome face, a strong jaw and well-defined features that would have been pleasing to the eye if not for the sour expression that twisted his lips into an unsightly scowl.
In the throes of his fury, his face resembled a mask of ugliness, the lines of his face contorted by the rage that consumed him.
Like a bull in a china shop, he stomped toward me, his heavy footfalls echoing across the empty expanse of the academy grounds.
With each step, his anger seemed to boil higher, the rage in his eyes intensifying with every passing moment.
I watched his approach with a wary eye, a sense of annoyance mingled with amusement at his childish display.
It seemed the only reason why he didn't approach me before was because I had an imposing figure.
it became clear that his earlier reluctance to approach was rooted in a fundamental fear.
The truth was evident in the way he held himself, the slight slouch in his shoulders that spoke of insecurity and uncertainty.
In his mind, I was a towering figure, a man of strength and confidence who seemed to radiate a power
Upgrading my strength points had transformed my frame into a paragon of strength and agility.
My arms were corded with sinew and muscle, their rippling power a testament to the physical prowess I had cultivated.
My shoulders, broad and defined, spoke of the explosive power that lay coiled within my body, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
Combine that with the fact that I am 180cm tall, you would be able to understand why he was a little intimidated.
Which was why he paused and called out to me at first.
However, as I turned to face him, the young man's eyes, filled with defiance and determination, locked onto mine with a newfound sense of boldness.
For though I towered over him, a physical manifestation of strength and dominance, there was one weakness in my appearance that he could exploit.
My face, though angular and strong, bore a certain softness that belied the power of my frame.
An oval shape, with full lips and eyes that sparkled with mischief, it was a face that, in another life, could have graced the features of a woman.
The face that had earned me the admiration of many was also a mark of vulnerability, a sign that, in spite of my strength and prowess, there was a softer side to me that could be exploited by those with less noble intentions.
My slender jawline, the smooth and almost poreless skin that graced my cheeks, these were the hallmarks of beauty in another context, but in the harsh reality of the academy they were seen as a weakness.
People saw my gentle features and assumed that I was easy to rough up
Even without the system, I doubt the previous owner of this body had been weak. He was working on a farm and I don't think farm work would allow for laziness.