374 Reunion
Yawning tiredly, I strolled through the streets of Global City, making my way toward the academy.
I’d been away for half a year, but the city didn’t seem to have changed at all.
Cheerful faces of cadets, towering buildings, the vibrant glow of holographic neon billboards, worker robots diligently cleaning the streets, and occasional flying cars and hoverbikes racing through the sky.
Looking at the city and finding it exactly like how I remembered brought solace to my anxious heart.
The truth is, I’ve been feeling a little scared these past few days. At first, I didn’t want to admit it, but it’s the truth.
Chaos and carnage loomed on the horizon, drawing closer with each passing day.
Once the final exams are over, the third arc will begin. Am I even ready for it? For the death and destruction that will happen in the third arc?
“It’s alright,” I whispered to myself. “I’ve done everything in my power to prepare.”
And I truly did.
I had trained to hone my skills, secured powerful relics, and made influential allies to prevent the doom of the world.
I also made sure to push other characters to grow stronger to the best of my abilities.
I’d say I did a great job.
“Yes, I’ll be alright.”
Of course, I would be. After all, I was one of the chosen ones.
“Huaaa~”
Yawning once again, I halted in front of a quaint café.
The reason I was more sleep-deprived than usual was the lengthy chat I had with Kent last night.
Since I was at Mount Hua, I couldn’t have responded to his texts and calls because I had no access to the internet or network most of the time.
Although I asked Quinn and Grace to anonymously spread the word that I was training at Mount Hua for a few months, Kent still bombarded me with hundreds of texts and calls.
So, when I finally replied to one of his texts last night, he immediately called me, and we ended up talking for the entire night.
I couldn’t manage to get even a wink of sleep. Anyhow, right now, I was waiting for him at our designated meetup spot.
As I was about to yawn one more time, someone suddenly pounced on me from behind, wrapping their arm around my shoulder.
Of course, I saw it coming from a mile away, but I made no effort to dodge it.
“Broooooo! I missed you! Oh, boy! You’ve grown your hair, huh? Arghh! It’s been so long! Aghh! Don’t ever leave me like that, you meanie!”
“Okay, okay! Calm down, Kent!”
A smile crept onto my face as I nudged his arm aside and pulled him around in front of me.
Kent… had changed quite a bit… but at the same time, he didn’t change at all.
He seemed a bit taller, and there was a lot more depth in his ocean-blue eyes.
His porcelain skin, as smooth as the finest of silk, remained the same. He styled his short blue hair in spikes that resembled undulating ocean waves.
I think he looked more handsome – but that wasn’t surprising, considering he was an elf, and they only grew more beautiful with age. But his gaze still held that same twinkle of gentle humor.
However, what grasped my attention the most was the fact that his presence was a lot more imposing than I remember.
This guy… had grown stronger.
He was not at the level of Anastasia and Nero, or even close to Amelia and Quinn, but I could tell he had grown a lot stronger than before.
“Kent, just how much have you grown?” I asked in pleasant shock.
“Oh, you can tell?” Kent raised an eyebrow in surprise before letting out a sigh. “But that means I’m still weaker than you. Well, I’m at ?Silver 3? rank right now.”
“Damn,” I exclaimed in disbelief. “You’re on the verge of breaking into the middle ranks.”
I myself was at ?Gold 3?. I ascended once again just last week. Originally, the rank I am currently on was supposed to be Lucas’ potential limit.
The closer one gets to their potential cap, the harder it gets for them to climb to the next rank.
The original Lucas would have taken at least two or more years to reach where I am right now.
And in terms of combat prowess, he would have still been far behind me. Not to brag again, but I really think I did a great job.
“My potential cap is ?Platinum 3?,” Kent sighed once more. “So it’ll only get tougher for me to advance once I break into the middle ranks.”
“Mmm, that’s true,” I nodded.
Talking about things like that, Kent and I started walking again.
We arrived at the academy and spent a few minutes crossing the campus before entering our classroom building.
But the second we stepped inside the classroom, it felt as though every eye in the room swiveled toward us – specifically, toward me.
“What’s this?” I murmured under my breath.
Kent smiled and shrugged, whispering an answer barely loud enough for me to hear.
“Ahh, after the King’s Tournament and your participation in stopping the vampire attack, your popularity has sky-rocketed.”
Yeah, I expected as much. But after six months, I thought they would have lost interest.
Under the watchful gazes of the cadets present in the class, both of us settled into our seats.
Everyone murmured for a while, gossiping while covertly staring at us. I didn’t mind, and Kent certainly liked the attention.
Since we arrived a little early, we had nothing else to do but watch cadets enter the class one after another as we chatted.
Not long after, I saw Amelia and Anastasia stepping through the door.
When Amelia noticed me, her eyes widened. She stopped talking to Anastasia about whatever topic they were discussing and waved at me. 𝑂𝑣𝑳xt.𝗇𝓔t
As I waved back, both of them approached us.
“You’re back!” Amelia said, getting near our seats. “It’s been six months, and you didn’t even return any texts.”
“Yeah,” I smiled, rubbing the back of my neck. “Mount Hua doesn’t have network connectivity. Believe me, six months felt so long without the internet.”
“I think we all should take some time off the internet and social media to embrace nature,” Anastasia commented, walking behind Amelia.
That caused both Amelia and I to stare at her. Flustered, Anastasia stammered, “Wh- What? Did I say something wrong?”
Amelia blinked a couple of times. “You sometimes sound like an old woman.”
Anastasia gasped. “That’s so rude!”
I shook my head. “Do you understand how much pop culture I’ve missed in the past six months?”
Amelia dismissively waved her hand. “You don’t have to worry. Nothing happened in all this time. There was this movie that came out, and that actress–”
“Wait, pop culture is about movies and actors?” Anastasia blinked in confusion.
“…It’s about celebrities and trends… Why? What did you think it was about?” I asked.
“I thought it was some real culture!” Anastasia exclaimed.
“…..”
“…..”
Both Amelia and I were flabbergasted.
“Argh! It’s so embarrassing!” Anastasia covered her beet-red face with her hands.
After a few seconds, I coughed and shook my head. “It’s fine. It happens. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I get Kent must have even embarrassing stories to tell, right buddy?”
“…..” When I got no response, I asked again. “Right buddy?”
Again, no response. Frowning, I turned to Kent and found out that he was spacing out while staring at something in the distance.
Frowning deeper, I followed his line of gaze and saw that he was looking at Aster and William, who were sitting a few seats away from us. Both of them were playing with William’s black cat, Rui.
Tilting my head, I returned my attention to Kent before looking at Amelia.
“What’s up with him?” I whispered.
Amelia barred her teeth and hesitated for a few seconds before whispering back. “He was rejected.”
“….”
Kent? Rejected?
Wait, rejected by whom? Aster?!
I blinked in confusion. Noticing this, Amelia sighed and said, “Well, he wasn’t rejected directly. It’s just that… before he could confess, Aster and William made it official.”
Wait, what?
Aster and William?
When did this happen? And why?
William was supposed to be Ella’s future fiance. And Aster was supposed to be in a polygamous relationship with Nero!
The frown on my face morphed into a scowl.
Wait, I remember now. Aster, William, and Kent went to train in Southern Blade Edge together.
Did it happen there?
Seeing the puzzled look on my face, Anastasia chuckled. “Kids fall in love all the time, Lucas. Why do you look so confused?”
“Again, you’re talking like an old lady, Sia!” Amelia smacked the back of her friend’s head.
But I wasn’t paying attention to their banter. My mind was occupied elsewhere.
This was… not a favorable development.
I don’t care who Aster is in a relationship with, but William had to be with Ella. Both of them were supposed to unify the might of families – Brights and Sinoaths.
And that’s just one of the many things they were supposed to do together!
Biting on my thumbnail, I couldn’t help but curse inwardly. It wasn’t a big deal. I could still handle the situation.
Why did I not see it coming? I should have predicted something like this!
If I am actively changing the fates of characters, their relationship with each other would also change!
I should’ve calculated this. Damn it, I’m such an idiot!
Just as I was in the midst of self-reproach, a gentle voice interjected, pulling me back from my thoughts.
“Lucas,” Amelia’s hand lightly tapped on my shoulder. “What are you thinking so hard about on your first day back?”
Meeting the emerald of her eyes, I paused briefly, letting out a sigh before shaking my head once more.
“Nothing,” I replied.
I couldn’t do anything about the matters beyond my control.
All I could do was accept the unexpected developments and deal with whatever challenges that may come my way.
Before Amelia could respond, the classroom door swung open.
Instantly, a crushing pressure flooded in that hit me by surprise. My eyes widened as I looked at the door and saw Nero stepping into the room.
He looked… battered and worn.
His uniform was impeccable but his hair was tousled, and baggy dark circles were visible under his abyss-like eyes.
He was hunching and walking with a slight limp but his presence was sharper than ever, reminiscent of a newly forged sword.
I turned to Amelia and Anastasia. “What in the world happened to him?”
“He… has been pushing himself intensely during his training,” Anastasia answered.
Well, of course! It was evident! He must have reached the Platinum rank by now! As if he wasn’t already enough of a monster!
Sensing my gaze on him, Nero furrowed his brow and swiftly turned to meet my stare.
His eyes widened as soon as he caught sight of me.
However, before he could greet me or walk over, the classroom door swung open once more, and a familiar figure entered this time.
It was Liz Snyder.