Chapter 23: Cause and Effect

Chapter 23: Cause and Effect

"Then, every time Hutton humiliates me and I don’t resist, feeling ashamed and even pained, he feels happy and comfortable. This happiness and comfort is the reward for 'him bullying me.' The more rewards he gets, the more he wants to bully me."

"That’s a very apt analogy!" Holt widened his eyes, looking at Suye intently, surprised by his insightful words.

Suye continued, "But when you eat honey, sometimes don’t you get tired of it?"

"Yes!" Holt replied.

"Then you might put down the honey, but soon after, you want something better, or perhaps you want to try more expensive honeys, like those from magic bees."

"Exactly!" Holt answered.

Suye said, "So, Hutton is the same. He keeps humiliating me, and if I always show the same pain, eventually, he’ll feel that the reward is diminishing. Then, he will inevitably want more rewards. Or, when he’s unhappy about something, he’ll want more rewards to cheer himself up. What do you think he would do?"

"He would intensify the humiliation or even harm you!" Holt answered solemnly.

"Correct. So, I must do everything possible to interrupt his reward cycle and prevent him from forming the habit of humiliating me. When he realizes that humiliating me brings not rewards but pain, he will stop." Suye explained.

"I understand. You’ve become stronger," Holt said, staring seriously at Suye.

Suye smiled and said, "You don’t really understand."

"What do you mean? I know I’m stupid," Holt said helplessly. He had been ridiculed for being dumb since childhood. At twenty, he joined Plato’s Academy and still hadn’t advanced to warrior apprentice after five years, breaking all records for the worst student. So, even if people called him a dumb giant or the second dumbest, he didn’t care.

"There are many reasons why he bullies me. The reward I mentioned is just one reason. Knowing the reason alone does make me act, but it wouldn’t make me act so quickly."

"Why did you act so quickly then?"

Suye smiled, "I was thinking about what would happen if I didn’t resist."

"What would happen?"

"At first, I would be in pain, then fear, then despair, then self-doubt, and ultimately, numbness. I would let them bully me without ever resisting, becoming a toy for his youth, and this would leave a scar on my heart, a piercing, shattering scar. Even if I grew up later, remembering this would terrify me, causing nightmares. Even if I gained status, wealth, and power, the scar would remain, piercing and shattering."

Holt looked at Suye, feeling a chill in his heart.

The blue-eyed girl listening in clenched her right fist lightly.

Suye continued, "If I submit now, kneel down now, I will live in the shadow of humiliation for the rest of my life. I asked myself, do I want to live like that? Do I want to cry over my wounds every day? Do I want to wake up from nightmares crying? No! So, even if it means risking my life, I must stop him from ruining my future!"

"But what if he really goes mad and kills you..." Holt showed concern.

Suye smiled slightly, pointing to his heart, "Compared to death, I fear living with that scar more."

"I kind of understand, but I still don’t fully get it," Holt scratched his head awkwardly.

Suye smiled, "Looking forward, I understood the cause; looking back, I understood the significance. Knowing the cause and effect, I had no choice but to act."

Holt stared at Suye, speechless for a long time before saying, "You’re really different now."

"Life forced me to change," Suye thought, patting his shoulder, but couldn’t reach, so he patted his upper arm and returned to his seat.

The blue-eyed girl’s gaze was fixed on her magic book, but her mind was wandering.

"Truly, Plato’s Academy, known for its hidden talents, lives up to its reputation. No wonder the mages here surpass those from noble academies. Even the third-worst student has such wisdom, strategy, and knowledge. How extraordinary must the top students be? It seems that even as a Black Iron Warrior, I need to set aside my pride and arrogance and study diligently."

She clenched her fist gently, straightened her posture, and her eyes filled with determination.

At this moment, Suye realized he had neglected the new classmate and whispered, "Hello, I’m Suye. What’s your name?"

The blue-eyed girl turned slightly, her white neck elegant like a swan, her gaze shimmering like a deep blue light sweeping across the classroom.

She pushed her magic book between them, placing her finger on the lower right corner of the cover.

"Palos?" Suye read aloud.

Palos nodded, withdrew her magic book, and continued studying earnestly.

"Not a word, truly aloof. But maybe she can’t speak? Poor child..." Suye thought.

Suye remembered there was a letter and opened it to read.

It was from his other classmate, Jimmy, who had passed it when Suye sat down.

"Just a friendly warning: stay away from the blue-eyed girl. She’s apparently a big deal. Even Luo Long treats her with special courtesy and keeps his distance."

Suye glanced at Palos with his peripheral vision and then at Luo Long, noticing that Luo Long was quieter than usual today.

Luo Long was different from ordinary classmates.

He always wore black leather armor and carried a battle spear and short sword.

Luo Long was a significant figure in the class. He joined halfway through the previous semester and ended up ranking first, surpassing the original top student, Rick.

Rick had a talent for perfect memory, which made many people skeptical.

There were many rumors about Luo Long, suggesting that his family was at least a Saint Domain Baron, possibly even a Legendary Marquis.

Since joining the class, he kept everyone at arm’s length, only interacting with a few nobles in the academy.

Whether due to his aloofness or the faint melancholy in his eyes, he was particularly popular with girls.

This blue-eyed girl, Palos, made Luo Long wary, indicating her even more extraordinary status.

Suye thanked Jimmy in reply and then opened last year’s mathematics textbook in his magic book.

When he flipped through the textbook earlier, Suye felt relieved.

The mathematics content for first-year students at Plato's Academy is quite basic, with the highest difficulty level being equivalent to that of fourth or fifth grade on Blue Star.

However, Suye was unclear about many simple mathematical concepts, and since the vocabulary in this world was different, he didn't take it lightly. Instead, he used his usual study method.

He started by taking meticulous notes, recording every mathematical concept, term, and piece of knowledge. For each one, he provided an explanation in his own words and then gave examples. When encountering particularly abstract concepts, he even used real-life analogies.

By noon, he had extracted all the key points from the book and was about to proceed to the next step when a bell rang.

"Let's go eat!" A shadow fell over him.

Suye smiled helplessly; Holt was so tall that while others played hide-and-seek, he could only play hide-from-an-elephant.

Suye nodded, closed his magic book, and stood up.

"Good job earlier!" The classmate sitting on the other side of Holt patted Suye's upper arm, giving him an encouraging look before turning to leave.

Suye watched the back of "study genius" Rick, smiling. Ever since Luo Long took the top spot, Rick studied harder and became even thinner.