“This goddamn mother****ing Eren Idril has fu*cked us over one too many times now, Ron. I don’t care what you say but…”
“Dino, I agree with you. This wretched man needs to be taught a lesson for messing with us.”
Dino was pacing around in the courtyard of their dorm house. Ron was sitting idly at the nearby bench, looking at his friend with cold eyes. But the coldness radiated from them was not directed at Dino. it was meant for someone who had screwed their team and him while keeping a straight face doing it.
Dino was surprised that Ron agreed with his opinion. He stopped his pacing and asked to confirm:
“You do? Then tell me the plan, already. I don’t know about the others, but I’m in for sure. If we can catch him off guard…”
Dino’s eyes radiated the pure excitement he felt from just thinking about enacting his revenge on Eren. But that excitement was soon reined by Ron’s next words:
“You do understand that jumping on any of the LA students would get us kicked out from the academy, right?”
“Don’t tell me you are just letting him go just like that because of these rules?”
“When did I say that? I’m saying you don’t have to be stupid to get your revenge.”
Said Ron and got up from his position. He then started heading inside his home before stopping to look at his friend.
“I have already gotten some information on him. His daily chore includes going on border patrol. You know what I mean by that.”
Ron flashed a devilish grin at Dino who couldn’t help return that with heartfelt laughter.
“Hahahaha! Yes, what happens in the forest, stays inside the forest.”
Dino followed Ron inside the dorm house after that. They had decided that they would not let Eren treat them like some disposable pawns without facing any consequences.
What they didn’t know was that Eren was baiting them to target him. The butcher didn’t know how or when the dual berserkers were going to attack him. But he was counting on them to do just that sooner than later.
After all, all good hunters never follow their prey around. They just set their trap in anticipation and wait for them to fall into it.
***************************
“Eren, you shouldn’t have irked Ron’s Raiders, man. I mean I do like that we raked in a hefty amount of Merps. But will it be beneficial for us in the long run?”
Eren’s team was at their usual place of training. They had come together to meet up in the evening, a day after their first inter-year war.
Becky was scrutinizing Eren’s actions and she was not alone at it. Others were in silent agreement with her. That’s how she got the confidence to speak in front of Eren who was observing his teammates silently.
Renita pitched in right after that:
“Hate to admit it, Eren. But Becky is right. We have pissed off a lot of second years with our high betting amounts and then won them back with even higher prize money.
Plus, the other top first-year students would hesitate to tag-team with us after they have seen how Ron’s Raiders ended up allying with us.
*Sigh. We have won big, there’s no doubt about it. But we will have to brace ourselves for the consequences heading our way.”
Eren was quiet at that point. He had the sudden urge to start his old habit of smoking the roll of fire-cured leaves listening to his teammates’ complaints. He rolled his eyes before finally speaking up:
“There will always be consequences, guys. No matter what you do. Even the act of inaction can lead to some severe consequences. Trust me, I know this better than you do.
So all you can do in this case is choose your actions right and anticipate the consequences. At least in this way, you are in control of what’s coming for you.”
Becky shook her head right after Eren said what he said. She took a long breath before replying:
“Eren, that’s a euphemism. What you say makes sense, but it isn’t practical. We had no reason to pick a fight with Ron’s Raiders. Even with normal winnings, we would have still benefitted aplenty.
Why go for sudden profits when your regular income is steady and enough for your sustenance?”
Almost everybody agreed with Becky except Renita and Ramy. Renita was already an ambitious girl even before meeting Eren. and meeting him had only amplified that drive.
Ramy had become a staunch Eren supporter now. He would agree to anything Eren would say and do.
The guy with the lisp had become Eren’s yes-man. That’s why his teammate had asked him to keep quiet. That and the fact that his speeches would often turn the serious mood into one of uncontrollable laughter.
Eren looked at Becky while narrowing his eyes. It looked like he was trying to decide on something in his mind. Then he shook his head before putting his point forward:
“Why go for sudden profits when your regular income is steady and enough for your sustenance? Hahaha!
Becky, if you want to stay mediocre, do it after you get out of the academy. Don’t try to drag me or my team members into that mediocrity with you.
These are precious years of our lives. We need to grab every opportunity we could get to make it big after we get out of the academy. And staying low-key all the time won’t ever let us become the best version of ourselves.
I get that you prefer steady progress over these types of risky moves. And I can understand where it is coming from. Rankers can be revenge-seeking animals after all.
But staying in your comfort zone all the time will make you a toothless tiger in the future. Your ranking journey would stagnate with an attitude like yours.
The rankers’ society has restrictions. And low-level rankers like us get the brunt of it.
But the same restrictions become less restrictive as we climb the ranking ladder. Why is that? Because a single high-ranker can have a say over a bunch of low-rankers due to his exceptional individual powers.
The Merps I have now will help us get close to achieving that power. You will come to know about this in the future.”
Ana was the first to talk after she heard Eren’s speech that sounded like a prediction:
“But why seek a faster route to the ranking journey at the cost of hurting or making an enemy out of others?”
Ana blinked innocently after she said that. And Eren felt like he had a headache listening to her question. He massaged his temples gently with his fingers before replying:
“Why do you need a reason to seek power? You seek power because it’s the most fundamental part of our lives. Money, political power, social status, are all secondary to ranking prowess.
Remember this from now on. Don’t try to seek the reason behind why you want to become a powerful ranker. Treat it as your necessity to live a life that is worth living.
Your kindness has no value if it stems from your helplessness. Only when you are powerful enough can you be allowed to be kind.”
Said Eren and walked towards the check-post that would allow him to get outside LA grounds. It was about time he visited Agatha and checked on her progress. His departing figure was thought-provoking in the eyes of his teammates.
=========================
AN: Thanks Renovator, emme_z, Venom30, TempestSilver, HAREYKITO, GojoVir, Guilermo_Martinez_8963, SandeshKarki, TrafalgarLaws, and aidan_chambers for your gifts. Special thanks to EdiSong for gifting a Massage Chair (That’s like 50 colas lol).