He had just been scratched twice.
Once, when Baltar had called him weak.
And again, when he claimed that being strong was all that mattered.
Provocation. Arrogance.
It would have been stranger if he didnât get angry.
But since his opponent was an Aura User, he couldnât exactly argue against it.
âHaving no power is a crime in itselfâ¦â
Because it was nothing but the truth.
â¦However, the next words that followed made him forget his irritation entirely.
"Do you want to become a Superhuman?"
If anyone else had asked that, Ihan would have laughed in their face, called them a fraud, and walked away.
But this was Baltar.
A living Superhuman.
There were barely five of them on the entire continent.
When someone like that asked the question, no one could simply dismiss it.
And soâ
"â¦â¦."
Ihan thought.
âHah. Look at this brat.â
Baltar was impressed.
If he asked a thousand knights the same question, every single one of them would instantly respond withâ
"I want it!"
They would jump at the opportunity.
But this kid was hesitating.
To others, it might look like arroganceâlike he didnât even know his place.
Like he was spoiled enough to consider his answer.
But Baltar knew.
There was no one hungrier for strength than Ihan.
And no one who understood himself better.
So it wasnât hard for Baltar to guess why he was hesitating.
And sure enoughâ
"â¦So youâre not asking if I can become one. Youâre asking if I want to."