I Became A Side Character Fated To Suffer-Chapter 29:Barking Dogs May Seldom Bite But...

Another voice rose from the crowd before the tension could settle.

"Hm... seeing you reminds me of something."

Students turned as another cadet stepped forward.

He had sharp features, short ash-blond hair, and the relaxed arrogance of someone who had grown up hearing his name praised in taverns and battlefields alike.

He looked Noel up and down with open disdain.

"Barking dogs seldom bite," he said lazily. "And judging by the noise around you... it seems Nova’s reputation is going down."

Noel slowly turned his head toward him and raised one eyebrow.

His gaze scanned the boy from head to toe like someone examining a defective product.

"Now who are you, Mr. Fucker?" Noel asked calmly.

The boy’s smile immediately disappeared.

"What the hell did you say?"

"I asked a simple question," Noel replied, shrugging lightly. "Name... Background. Why are you barking."

The boy stepped forward proudly.

"I am Theasre, the son of the Mighty Mercenary King."

He puffed his chest out as if expecting applause.

"Ah," Noel nodded thoughtfully.

A few seconds passed.

Then he tilted his head.

"...And?"

Theasre blinked.

"...And what?"

Noel sighed.

"I’m waiting for the impressive part."

The crowd snorted.

Theasre’s face reddened.

"How dare you disrespect me!"

Noel waved his hand lazily.

"So what? Should I lick your boots because you’re the son of that mindless monster who swings a sword for a coin?"

Theasre’s eyes turned bloodshot.

"How dare you insult my father!"

Noel leaned slightly closer and spoke in a bored tone.

"Relax. If your father’s reputation collapses because one student called him a donkey with muscles, then he wasn’t very mighty to begin with."

A few students choked trying to suppress laughter.

Theasre roared.

"I’LL KILL YOU!"

Before he could move—

Sunta stepped forward again, cracking his knuckles loudly.

"TALK TOO FOR Someone so weak."

Noel glanced at him.

"Oh right...The barbarian tiger with anger issues."

Sunta growled.

"You think you’re funny?"Theasre asked.

"No," Noel replied calmly.

"I think you’re funny."

Sunta’s tail lashed violently.

"Stop standing there acting like a king."Noel shrugged.

"If you have guts come here and show me."

Theasre clenched his fists."You’re just a noble brat hiding behind your name!"

Noel stretched his neck slightly.

"My name?"

He smiled arrogantly.

"You two are the ones screaming your fathers’ names like lost puppies."

The crowd went silent.

Sunta stepped forward aggressively.

"Let’s see how arrogant you are when your teeth are on the ground."

Noel nodded approvingly.

"Good."

Finally,a useful sentence.

He looked between the two challengers.

"One angry cat."

"One daddy’s boy mercenary."

Then he cracked his knuckles.

"This is starting to look like entertainment."

Theasre pointed his dagger toward Noel.

"You’re going to regret opening your mouth."

Noel smiled calmly.

"I doubt it."

He leaned forward slightly and spoke with quiet arrogance.

"But if you manage to land even one hit, I’ll apologize."

Both Sunta and Theasre froze.

The crowd gasped.

Then Noel added casually—

"Of course... if you fail..."

His eyes sharpened.

"...I break whatever part of you tried."

Theasre snarled, causing veins to bulge across his temple.

"YOU BASTARD!"

At the exact same moment, Sunta roared like a raging beast.

"I’LL RIP YOUR HEAD!"

Both of them lunged forward at Noel, disregarding any sense of reason. Two killing intents collided at once. Theasre darted in from the right, his dagger gleaming viciously as it cut through the air toward Noel’s ribs. Sunta came straight from the front like a charging bull, his massive fist swinging down with enough force to crack bone.

To anyone watching there was no escape as Noel stood between them.

He was surrounded.

And yet...

He smiled, a slow, mocking smile.

"Finally..."

Then he whispered almost lazily,

"Try not to die too quickly."

Sunta’s fist tore through the air like a cannonball. The ground cracked under his step.

"DIE!"

But before the punch could land—

Noel moved.

Or rather, he simply vanished.

The fist smashed into empty air.

"Wha—"

CRACK!!

Noel appeared beside him like a ghost, and his elbow crashed directly into Sunta’s jaw. The sound echoed across the field like breaking stone. Sunta’s entire head snapped sideways as his massive body lifted off the ground, spinning like a broken cartwheel before slamming into the dirt.

BOOM!

Dust erupted everywhere.

Before anyone could even process what had happened—

Theasre’s dagger flashed toward Noel’s ribs. It was a perfect assassination strike, precise and vicious.

But Noel didn’t even look at him.

CLANG!

The dagger flew out of Theasre’s hand as Noel casually slapped his wrist aside like swatting a mosquito. Theasre’s eyes widened.

"The Fuc—"

A hand suddenly grabbed his collar.

Noel pulled him closer and flicked him upward to perform a slam.

"Let me teach you something," Noel said softly.

Then...

SMASH!

He drove Theasre’s face straight into the ground.

THUD!

The dirt cracked beneath his skull and the entire training field trembled from the impact. Theasre screamed as dust exploded everywhere.

"A—AAGH—!"

Noel didn’t stop. He grabbed the man by the hair and lifted his head slightly.

"Already tired?"

Then he slammed it down again.

CRACK!

The ground split further as blood spread across the dirt. Noel leaned closer and whispered near his ear.

"You introduced yourself so proudly earlier."

Another brutal slam followed.

THUD!

"Where did that confidence go?"

Theasre coughed violently as his body twitched helplessly.

"Y-you—"

Noel stepped on his back casually, and the pressure forced the air out of Theasre’s lungs.

CRUNCH.

Bones creaked under Noel’s boot.

"Stay down."

Behind him, a punch tore through the air.

BANGG!

The fist slammed brutally into a face, but it wasn’t Noel’s face.

"Gyrrrrre!"

Theasre’s face was pummeled as Noel used his face as a shield.

Sunta roared again. The beastman staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth as his eyes burned with fury.

"FILTHY HUMAN!"

He charged again and punched.

Noel sighed.

"You people really hate learning." He clicked his tongue.

The claws ripped through the air, fast and deadly. But Noel simply stepped forward with one small step and extended his palm, which pressed lightly against Sunta’s chest. It looked harmless, almost gentle.

Then—

THOOOOM!!!

A shockwave exploded from Noel’s palm. Sunta’s eyes bulged.

"G—!"

His massive body flew backward like a cannonball. He smashed through the ground and blasted against a wooden dummy in the background.

CRACK!