CHAPTER 42: A BITTER VICTORY

Eric yawned, feeling too comfortable lying in the hammock tied to the only oak tree in the academy. He’d found this spot during his wanderings, and it seemed he might adopt the quiet place for meditation. Or probably just to burn time while staying away from people, just as he’d always wanted.

The oak tree was indeed a prime lounging spot. The twin wooden daggers Silk had given him rested on his chest, rising and falling with his breath. He wasn’t asleep. In his mind, he was replaying the fight with Opal—not his clumsy attacks, but the moment everything changed.

It was the boots.

He was going to pay Silk a visit sooner than intended. Silk was probably trying to get him expelled, giving him such life-threatening gear when the academy had clearly stated that first years were not to carry any weapon besides the standard blunt, wooden training equipment.

"’Train with these,’ he told me. He didn’t say they’d shoot out porcupine prickles and nearly kill a student."

He was appreciative of the daggers, at least. They were small and difficult to master, but they gave him a new challenge. A change from wielding only a katana his whole life back at the colony.

But the boots?

He’d tucked them roughly into a corner of his closet and vowed never to bring them out again until he was ready to face Silk. Keeping something like that in his possession was incriminating enough. He hoped the guards didn’t do a dorm clean-up, or else he was a goner.

For now, his black leather boots would do. That’s what everyone wore, after all. Even Stanley, whom he was supposed to fight in a few minutes.

He knew being matched against Stanley today was tough luck, and it was true Silver had put him on the spot. But Eric wanted this, too—just for an entirely different reason.

’I must make them believe I am truly the weakest among them all.’

He opened his status screen and checked his Endurance stat again. It was currently at 40 points.

Before the fight with Opal, it had been only 30, but after taking her to the hospital, he’d returned to the training ground to run lap after lap and perform as many rigorous exercises as he could.

He’d sweated buckets by the time he was done, nearly collapsing, but the system had granted him only +10 points to his disappointment. He’d hoped to reach 50, but it wouldn’t go past 40.

He could have done more push-ups or squats, but he was utterly worn out and feared he might even lose points if he pushed harder, so he gave up.

At the same time, his Strength stat received a +2 increment from the bodybuilding exercises, bringing it to 37 points.

Eric had no idea how the academy’s point system was calculated. Thirty-seven points for Strength didn’t seem impressive, but he needed to know how it measured against his peers. He had to find someone who would divulge that information without making himself sound suspicious.

Back to his plan of being seen as the weakest in the academy: he’d trained hard to raise his Endurance so he could withstand Stanley’s attacks without too much suffering. Stanley was the type to punish his opponents, and Eric needed to endure the pain that came with it.

He just hoped 40 points was enough.

His Dexterity was currently at 35, and he knew he could give Stanley a good fight if he decided to battle properly, but that wouldn’t fit his plan.

He needed to appear so weak that even Kieran would look A-ranked in comparison.

He rolled out of the hammock after receiving a system alert that he had only five minutes to get to the training ground for the ranked battle.

But as he gripped the daggers, flexing his wrists to ensure free movement, he felt the presence of his roommates. He’d noticed he didn’t have to see them to sense they were near. The atmosphere grew dense, and a bitter taste gathered at the back of his throat whenever they were around.

’How the hell did they find me here?’

"Are you still going to use those damned daggers against Stanley?" Opal sounded too frustrated for someone who had just left the hospital. Eric had expected something else from her after what happened at the training ground.

’Did she lose her memory when she hit her head?’

"Hi, everyone," Eric said quietly. He shot Gary a sidelong glance. It was obvious he was the one who had given the spot away.

"It’s almost time. Let’s go," Silver urged.

Eric tried to stay as far from Opal as possible, but Gary and Silver had other plans. They intentionally fell back, leaving Eric and Opal to walk side by side at the front. The tension between them was palpable.

’Those fools must know what happened.’

The four of them arrived at the chosen venue. Almost all the first years were in attendance. They were all gathered at a corner, whispering among themselves. Eric thought they might be too excited about this fight between a top ten ranker and the lowest ranker.

But something was wrong. Eric couldn’t quite place it, but the feeling was definite. The students all stared at him with cruel, unforgiving eyes. They murmured among themselves, and Eric could pick out words clearly directed at him—none of them good.

"What’s going on?" Opal voiced her curiosity aloud.

A student stepped out of the circle. He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he’d been crying. Eric recognized him as one of the boys who always followed Stanley—the same one who had been behind him on the day of the challenge. His voice broke as he spoke.

"Really, Opal? ’What’s going on?’" he said, voice cracking. Eric was sure now he had been crying. "Did you not hear?"

"Hear what, Phil?"

"Stanley is dead!"

Opal gasped.

The murmuring grew louder, and Eric could now clearly hear what they were saying about him. From what he gathered, they were pointing fingers at him for Stanley’s death.

’How?’

But then...

Chime!

[One Mana Source Detected.]

[Consume Before Life Force Drains Away.]

’Now I have to consume Stanley’s mana?’ he thought bitterly. ’I guess I won the challenge after all.’