Fai was forced to fight against three opponents, each of them being his long-term enemies from high school.
The pain they had all put him through, all the maltreatment and wicked energy they poured on him, he was finally able to give it back, and not just equal to what he suffered, but double of it.
Now that he had crushed his nightmares, he looked at them, every one of them, and this strange feeling filled his chest—satisfaction maybe… but not guilt. No, he could never feel guilty for this, not even in his dreams.
Even now, Fai still believed that the torment they made him go through was far more painful than what they had just experienced.
He then slowly moved toward each of them and began to search for golden coins; in the end, that was the main reason for their fight: to make it through the assessment.
He searched each of them carefully, checking their pockets one after another. He wanted the coin.
Not only did he need it to pass this stage, but he also needed it to fulfill the system quest. Without the coin, he couldn't call this a victory. The coin was like the trophy, the very reason for the fight.
He searched the two boys carefully, and he found their coins hidden in their pockets. Finally, it was time for him to search the only girl of the group.
"Man, this feels so weird…" Fai whispered. Slowly, he searched her, his cheeks turning slightly red as his hands brushed places that felt improper to him, but he continued. He searched.
Still, he didn't feel like it was right to search a lady, especially in such a helpless state, but the situation demanded it. It wasn't his fault, right? … He just had to find something—the coin. He kept bringing up excuses in his mind to convince himself, blaming the assessment instead. To him, doing this was the right thing to do.
After the search, he had found three coins from Leo, two from Brine, and two from Prime, making a total of eight golden coins.
[NUMBER OF COINS OBTAINED]
[8]
[NUMBER OF ACCUMULATED EXP]
[200 >>> 550 EXP]
The system gave him another notification, but in a moment like this, it only felt annoying.
Fai took a deep breath. The air was refreshing, almost like it was washing away all the pain he had been keeping locked inside his chest. For a moment, he thought everything was over.
But then the realization struck him. It wasn't over. Not yet. Not until Keal was defeated.
'Oh man, I forgot about Keal,' Fai thought. 'But right now, I'm too weak to face him. With how low my HP is, if I were to fight him, the slightest mistake could mean death.'
He looked at his HP. It read:
[HP: 6/23].
–––––––––––
Johnson, a young teenager who was also taking part in the assessment, was someone Fai had ended up sitting close to on the bus.
This person had shocked Fai in more ways than one. The fact that Johnson wanted to be his friend out of the blue was still something Fai couldn't believe could just happen overnight.
Even after everything, Fai never truly believed him or saw him as an ally. In fact, he couldn't believe the world still had people with such pure minds, so Johnson had to be lying.
That was until he saw Johnson defending him and fighting back against his enemies. Even when Johnson was given the chance to escape and not get involved, a chance to run away from confrontation, he still refused.
Heck, he was even offered a noble deal if he abandoned Fai, but he had turned it down. Instead, Johnson chose to stay and fight in a battle that wasn't his to begin with.
Fai couldn't just leave him on his own. Of course, he could—but his conscience wouldn't allow it. He wasn't that type of person. He wasn't going to let Johnson fight this battle alone, not when it wasn't his fight to begin with.
And not only that, he still had to make Keal pay for all the pain he had caused him back in high school. Fai wasn't going to let someone else do it for him; no, it wouldn't be as satisfying unless he was the one to end it.
But what could he do in this state? His wounds were healed, yes, but his HP was still dangerously low. The slightest mistake could drop it to zero, and that meant instant death.
It wasn't a risk he wanted to take, but he couldn't just allow Johnson to deal with Keal on his own. That wasn't something he could stand by and watch.
The area where Johnson and Keal were fighting was farther ahead. Fai could see them now, and the battle didn't look like it was in Johnson's favor.
Johnson and Keal had already sprung into action. After a few exchanges, Johnson had been on the receiving end, barely landing a blow on Keal. Meanwhile, Keal kept delivering endless punishment, hit after hit.
Right now, Johnson was on his knees, groaning and clutching his stomach. The pain Keal had inflicted was too much.
Keal still had a firm grip on Johnson's hair, having just delivered a crushing blow to his gut.
"I'm sure you're confused. You tried to escape, right? You tried to use that petty trick of yours, your mutant ability—I can tell. But from the look on your face, it didn't go your way," Keal taunted.
"I'm sure you thought I was the weakest, the easiest one to deal with. The easy target, right?"
"You have no idea how pathetic you look right now. And to think I gave you a chance to leave. I gave you a chance to be free from this, and I even gave you coins that could help you win your place in the next stage of the assessment. But how did you thank me? By walking out on a made deal!"
Keal snapped, then swung his fist down hard, punching Johnson until he collapsed to the floor.
"Maybe if you knew what my mutation was, you wouldn't have dared to fight me in the first place."
Keal said this as he slowly kneeled down, bringing his face level with Johnson's. Now they could see each other eye to eye.
"Well, even if you knew my mutation, you wouldn't be able to do anything about it. So I guess I could let you in on some information at least."
Keal raised his hand and slowly turned it, looking at both sides. Johnson saw it then: his hands shimmered with a faint red glow, and the approaching night only made that glow brighter.
Not only his hands, but his eyes too—they burned with the same light.
"I have the ability to see ahead in time. I can somewhat predict the future, and with these hands, I can change the outcome to be in my favor," Keal said, his voice dripping with chilling confidence.
'A time mutation… I haven't heard of anything like that before,' Johnson thought, bewildered.
'I guess I was wrong after all… The black underwear wasn't the lucky one… the green one was,' Johnson thought painfully as tears ran down his face.
"And for that simple mistake, I'm cooked," Johnson whispered.
Keal, hearing this, couldn't help but grin wildly.
'If only I had made the right choice of underwear, maybe things would've been different. Maybe the outcome would have been different,' Johnson cried inwardly.
********
Thanks a lot for the vote
sheikh ,
Anna Grace .
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I appreciate all the support you guys have been giving the novel .
Trust me , It's all the motivation I need