Chapter 26 Provocation

('Interesting. I guess the contract you negotiate revolves around how much utility you provide to the Union, the higher the utility you provide, the more lucrative the contract you can negotiate. Martial Squires probably can't negotiate that lucrative a contract with the Union, and would probably have to settle with lower commission-cuts.') From this it could be inferred that higher realms of Martial Artists would easily be able to negotiate higher commission-cut rates; higher proportions of the money paid for the mission. ('Martial Squires probably receive fifty-percent of the money paid for a mission that they completed, or something in that range. It's likely that the higher you go, the greater the cut/percentage of the money paid for the mission you get.') "...and these are the means and ways by which your time in the Academy can influence your contract in the Union." Chancellor Callux concluded. "This brings us to an end to the primary presentation of the Induction Ceremony. As I'm sure you've realized, the goal of this short presentation was not to cover every shred of information that is relevant in any way to your studentship at our Academy. But to give you a broad understanding of our system, norms, policies and regulations. The details are far too many to be able to possibly fit within a single presentation, nor are they worth diving into rigorously in a single presentation. Of course, that doesn't mean they are not important, nor does it mean we won't address them, our Admission Department is fully equipped to address your inquiries and doubts of any kind once the Induction Ceremony is over." Chancellor Callux smiled. "And with that, the presentation has come to an end. I thank you all for your patience, and I would like you all to join me in welcoming the Honour's Student in giving his speech. Please welcome Student Nel." He said, ushering a round of applause. ('Honour's student, eh? That must be the student that ranked number one in the entire Exam.') Rui mused curiously. He was indeed curious about what the number one student was like. Especially so since this student was evaluated to be higher than Kane and Fae by the examiners. Messy silvery white hair, shockingly red eyes, an undignified and a carelessly nonchalant saunter. These were the traits that stood out from the Honour's student Nel. The applause even died down with how remarkably lacking the adolescent boy seemed to be in the most common etiquette that encompassed all human interaction. Apathy and disdain oozed out from his demeanour, he had the bearing and mien of a wild animal. ('This is the kid that beat all of us?') Rui wanted to laugh. It was too amusing. The bright light illuminating the stage only intensified his scowl. By the time he reached the stage, Chancellor Callux was sweating. "Welcome, Nel, I look forward to your speech." He courteously said, despite himself away from the megaphone. "Hm, where is your speech copy? " "Don't have it." "Eh?" "Don't have it." "S-Surely you jest." Nel ignored the man and took his place in front of the megaphone-like device. "Listen closely motherfuckers." He instructed. "He said something about no violence, but I don't give a fuck." "..." "Imma fuck y'all up." "..." "I ain't playing. I'm boutta fuck all y'all motherfucking asses up." He grinned. The crowd was unamused. "Who the fuck you think you are kid?" "Let's take this outside little brat." "Acting all tough just cus you won number one." The crowd heckled him. What was once a dignified gathering was beginning to disintegrate into a chaotic mess. Nel grinned even wider. This was what he wanted to see. The peaceful, calm and dignified atmosphere was terribly dull. Conflict was his mantra. If this little provocation could spark even a single fight, he would be grateful. "There's no need to go outside old man, I'm right fucking here." Nel spread his arms. "What? You scared? You a lil bitch? Huh? HUH??" He taunted putting a foot atop the megaphone stand. "The name's Nel! And I'm here to let you all know that each of you so-called students ain't fucking shit. Y'all lil pussies who ain't got the balls to beat me. I'll dominate each and every single one of you, anytime, anywhere, anyhow and anywho. I'll spank your asses like the little children you are. Come at me, motherfucking wusses." He said with a disgustingly smug, wide grin. He walked away flipping the bird at the audience. Yet, despite how crude the provocation attempt was, it didn't fail completely. Rui get sense hostility emanating from his fellow batch-mates. ('... Is that even allowed?') He laughed. He wasn't sure. But it was a breath of fresh air to him in all honesty. The kid was interesting. Still, what Rui was more interested in than his antics was his combat prowess. ('He ranked number one in the second-round too from what I remember. It would be cool to see him fight and check out what he's made of. I wonder who'd win in a fight between him and Fae.') He couldn't know until he saw Nel fight seriously, and Fae too. He was positive she'd held back against him, and he still had no idea how she knocked him out. ('All in good time.') ********** "Are you sure we shouldn't intervene, Headmaster?" Chancellor Callux wanted to puke. He felt his lifespan reducing every time Nel tried to provoke a fight. "He hasn't violated any rules thus far." Master Aronion sipped some tea peacefully. His calm and serene demeanor despite Nel's disruption boggled Chancellor Callux. It gave him almost as much anxiety as Nel himself did. ('That's because not insulting your fellow batch-mates is basic common sense! It's not in the rules because it's an obvious norm.') He facepalmed himself. Master Aronian chuckled at Callux's expense, amused by the turn of events. He threw a glance at Nel. Where others might have seen a dangerous, savage beast in human skin with a maniacal temperament, he only saw an excited little chick throwing tantrums, eager to pick fights. "This year's batch will be interesting.." He stroked his beard in a sagely manner, while observing Nel's antics. "He's finally done! That felt like forever." Callux exclaimed as he saw Nel walking down the podium flipping the middle finger to the audience. Relief sparked across his face only to be replaced with anxiety as he realized it was his turn next to follow up after that catastrophe of an honour's student speech. "Can I resign?" He mirthfully asked. "Sure, go give that speech first." "Sigh" Callux steeled himself while putting on his standard diplomatic courteous smile, before walking down the stage, leaving Master Aronion chuckling at his expense. As Callux commenced the closing speech of the Induction ceremony, Master Aronian threw a glance at the crowd from the guest chambers, spotting several students he was looking for. Nel, Fae, Kane and Rui, among others. ('This year's batch will definitely be interesting.')