Chapter 155: Non Human Strength Hugo sat still, hands resting calmly on his knees, eyes scanning the playing field below. He wasn’t doing anything. He never did. Never caused trouble. Never raised his voice. Always kept to himself. For three years, no one had dared to call out to him. But today… that changed. A voice rang out across the yard, loud, direct, impossible to ignore. For the first time in years, someone had spoken to him. Hugo looked down. Below, a small group of students stood gathered near the base of the bleachers. He didn’t recognize any of them. “Hey!” one of them shouted again. “If you actually want to listen to what we have to say, why don’t you come down here?” Still, Hugo said nothing. He didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Just watched them, his expression unreadable. Down below, the group exchanged glances. They knew this wouldn’t be enough, not for Dipter, not after what they’d been pushed into doing. “Alright,” the same student said with a sigh. “Looks like we’re going up.” He looked around at the others. “Stay alert. Just in case. I don’t know what this guy’s deal is, but if the rumors are even half true, he could strike without warning.” One by one, they started climbing the bleacher steps, steel staircases that served as makeshift benches, stacked like an open frame. Hugo sat at the top, about three meters off the ground. “I’m not looking for a fight,” one of the boys whispered. “But there’s five of us, and if we stay ready and he’s caught off guard, we might get out of this without too much damage.” They weren’t alone in watching what was unfolding. The commotion had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the yard. The usual chaos, the arguing, the pacing, the games, had all come to a stop. Conversations went quiet. Heads turned. People stared. Because no one, in years, had ever walked up to Hugo. Not like this. No one had ever tested him. Hugo had never caused problems, but his silence carried weight. The kind that didn’t come from rumors alone. And yet, no one had seen what he could actually do. Until now. A buzz of curiosity spread through the yard.Was today the day they finally saw it? Even Popper, from across the field, had paused. His one good eye followed the group carefully, tracking every step they took as they climbed toward the silent storm sitting at the top. Something was about to happen. And everyone knew it. “Dipter…” Popper muttered from the sidelines, watching with a crooked grin. “You’re not as stupid as I thought. Got those fools to act on your behalf instead. Clever move…” He leaned back against the wall. “…Although I doubt the situation is anything like what you’re expecting.” Follow new episodes on the "N0vel1st.c0m". Across the yard, another group had taken notice, the guards. They weren’t relaxed. Not at all. A few of them stood near the yard’s entrance, watching with tight jaws and uneasy eyes. One turned to the other, voice low but tense. “Do we let this happen? Step in before something goes down?” The older of the two shook his head slowly. “We let it play out,” he said. “Sometimes something like this has to happen. Helps remind the rest that kid’s not one to mess with. You can feel it, something’s changed. If we shut this down now, it’ll just blow up somewhere else.” “I get that,” the first guard replied, “but there’s another problem.” He leaned in slightly. “If he gets going… is there anyone who can stop him?” Neither of them answered that. And by then, it was already too late. The five boys had reached the top of the bleachers. They were face to face with Hugo now, who hadn’t moved an inch since they’d started climbing. Still seated. Still calm. Still staring out like none of it mattered. “Alright,” one of the boys said, breathing heavy as he stepped forward. “We came to you. That’s what you wanted, right?” No response. “Well, we’ve got something to ask,” the boy went on. “It’s about a group, our group. We’re forming it while we’re inside, so we’ve got something ready when we’re out. No more coming back to a place like this.” He smiled nervously. “We’re trying to build something smart. A crew that can stop all this crap from happening again. A system that works.” “So,” he said, spreading his hands, “what do you say? You in?” Hugo finally moved. Not much, just his head turning slightly to look at the group now surrounding him. One in front. Two to his left. Two to his right. All of them standing, hearts thudding, pretending not to be nervous. He didn’t speak. Just stared at the one in front of him. “Are you scared or something?” the lead boy snapped. “Or maybe you’re mute? You gonna say something, or just keep ignoring me while I’m right in front of your face?!” His voice echoed across the yard. Everyone was watching. And Hugo still hadn’t said a word. “Alright, you rude f***!” the student snapped, raising his hand and slapping Hugo across the face, hard. SMACK. The sound cracked across the yard like a gunshot. Everyone heard it. The silence made sure of that. “You think we’re scared of you?” the boy shouted. “Because of some dumb-ass rumors? You don’t know what we did to get locked up in this place, you dumb fu, ” He didn’t finish the sentence. Hugo’s boot slammed into his stomach like a sledgehammer, lifting the boy clean off the ground. One second, he was standing. The next, he was airborne. Time seemed to slow as his body soared, up, up, way up. Higher than anyone had any right to be from a single kick. He wasn’t falling. He was flying. Then gravity took him back, and the crash was brutal. He landed flat on his back with a sickening crack, his body skidding across the concrete. Skin tore against the ground as he scraped to a stop nearly thirty meters away from the platform. Everyone stared in stunned silence. One kick. Just one. And it had launched someone farther than most people could long jump. The remaining four on the platform didn’t wait. They turned fast, legs trembling, and scrambled down the steps as quickly as they could, desperate to escape. Across the yard, Dipter saw them. “What the hell are you doing?!” he shouted. “Get back up there!” But they were running. Yeah, the kick was impressive, but Dipter had seen kicks like that before. From elevated ground, with good form and timing, some people could manage that. Maybe. He wasn’t convinced yet. He wanted more. He wanted to see how far Hugo’s strength really went. And that’s when Hugo moved again. He stepped to the edge of the platform, and jumped. From three meters up, he dropped like a boulder and landed on the concrete with a heavy thud. Still silent. Still calm. Dipter’s eyes narrowed. Hugo turned toward the bleachers, toward the same platform he’d just been sitting on, and reached out with both hands. He gripped the bottom row of the steel benches. And lifted. The metal groaned. Bolts strained. Then, impossibly, the entire lower section of the bleachers began to rise. And it didn’t stop. Higher and higher, Hugo hoisted it, until the entire platform was tilted up above his head, steel frames and benches casting a massive shadow over the yard. Veins bulged along his neck and arms like thick vines, pulsing with unnatural power. “AHHHH!” Hugo finally let out a primal roar as he locked eyes with the others below. Even then, his face was hard to read. The emotion, if there was any, was buried deep. It wasn’t rage. It wasn’t pride. It was… something colder. Dipter took a step back without meaning to. “…Alright,” he said, swallowing hard. “That’s… that’s not normal human strength.” He stared up at the platform still held over Hugo’s head. “That shouldn’t even be possible.”