Chapter 45 - Mission

I heard some spicy news on The Prestige.

It details some misinformation that I hope I could bridge.

Some have started to viscously spread doubt.

I want clout? Careful what you spout, else we'll have a fallout.

To regain my dignity, I have a mission to offer.

The reward is a million points stored in a coffer.

The Fat Guy is hiding his real power

Whoever could unleash it will be the man of the hour.

From Yours Truly, Veer>

Everyone read the report with the sounds of silence filling the crowded club. Felix frowned as he looked at the pamphlet in his hands and crumpled it into a ball. He did not think that Veer would have the audacity to give out pamphlets while he was here.

Felix was at a standstill. He did not know if Hugh truly had a hidden power, but he had to assume that it was true since Veer bet a million points on it.

If the students started to riot, and they force Hugh to reveal his hidden power, then Veer's words would be correct. The students would believe every word that came out from Veer's pamphlets. They would have lost control of the students, which would be unacceptable as the Vice President of the Student Council.

If Felix prevented the students from getting to Hugh, they would assume that Veer was right. He could not see a situation in which he would win, which frustrated him even more. He bit his fingernails as he quickly thought up a plan.

Hugh held the pamphlet in his trembling hands, shocked at its contents. He was obviously the subject of the crusade, and everyone would come after him. The freshmen and the sophomores would live a comfortable life with a million points, so they would try to complete the mission.

Hugh slowly raised his head from the pamphlet, only to see sharp eyes directed at him. He could see the greed flowing from their mouths, and it was made clear that they would come after him.

He backed away with a step, only to be stopped by a sophomore behind his back. He was slowly cornered as students blocked every exit.

He had to get out as soon as possible. He could not survive the riot of a hundred students without his transformation, which was their goal.

He gathered strength in his fist, and a silver and brown liquid flowed out of his body and formed into his armor. He did not want to escape his way out by fighting a sophomore because he would instantly lose.

He scanned the room and saw some of his classmates joining in on the barricade.

He noticed that they were Aric's inner circle, and behind them was the exit to the club. They became Hugh's escape plan because he was not sure who was weak and who was strong amidst the students.

Before the students could enclose Hugh's escape, Hugh rushed towards Tanner. They were not surprised that Hugh tried to run, so Tanner was prepared to take on Hugh.

Hugh punched towards Tanner, and Tanner activated his Desire to absorb the impact. Tanner's body started to balloon and filled with air, like a pufferfish.

Hugh used all of his strength to punch Tanner's puffed up body and launched him across the room. Tanner felt a small prickle in his body, and he was unhurt, but he was thrown towards the room.

Tanner underestimated Hugh's power because he thought that Hugh was only an F-level talent. Just like everybody in the room, he was surprised that Hugh overpowered him.

Hugh did not linger any longer as he dashed towards the exit. Brad and Chip were at Tanner's side before he was launched across the room. They acted quickly and caught Hugh's uniform.

Brad got a good grip on Hugh's uniform as he tugged it back, expecting Hugh to be brought back. Chip did the same as they both tried to pull Hugh back.

As they pulled Hugh's shirt away, it turned into liquid and flowed out of their hands. They could not grasp his shirt, and Hugh was able to get away from their grasp.

Brad and Chip looked at their hands and massaged their hands. They remembered the slimy feeling of the liquid as they tried to grasp it. They looked at Hugh's back, and his uniform was as good as new as if they had not caught it.

Hugh's uniform was without any creases like it was newly ironed. There should have been some creases from where Brad and Chip grasped it, but there were none.

Brad and Chip were not stupid, so they realized that Hugh was wearing a uniform made out of his Desire. They remembered that Hugh never took off his uniform, meaning he had his Desire activated all this time.

They looked at Hugh with confused eyes because they were still freshmen; Desires that have not reached further advancements could not last that long.

Hugh ran towards the exit without any regard to the thoughts of Brad and Chip. There were still some students that tried to catch up to him, so he had to focus on not getting caught.

Some Sophomores chased after Hugh in an attempt to get an easy million points. The stronger sophomores tried to run after Hugh, but they felt that their legs were constricted.

There were black snakes that tied their feet to the ground. Felix looked at Hugh while he controlled the black snakes to prevent the strong sophomores from fighting Hugh. He did not want Hugh to transform since that would prove Veer right.

Hugh put all of his strength into his shoulder and created the armor there. He bulldozed his way through the students that tried to stop him, and Hugh successfully reached the exit.

Once he stepped foot onto the outside, he could see Veer's pamphlets all over the ground. The students around him held the pamphlets while they discussed with each other.

Hugh's heart stopped as he realized that there were more people outside than inside the club. He was prepared to get stampeded, but it did not happen.

The students gossiped to one another, and Hugh realized that they did not know who the fat guy was on Veer's pamphlet. He heaved a sigh of relief as he used his armor on his legs to run far away.

Multiple students got out of the club and started to run towards Hugh at full speed. The students on the outside were confused at the sudden race that was happening.

Some people quickly picked up on the fact that the rallying students came from the club, and they were running towards a fat guy. They joined the race as they tried to catch up to Hugh.

Hugh ran through the streets and dodged through the various buildings to try and lose the crowd. He had used up his three seconds of armor, so he had to wait another four seconds before he could use it again.

He put his back onto an alley building hidden from the crowd of people. He panted, trying to regain his strength from running at a fast pace. He heard the stampede of footsteps outside, so he quickly stopped breathing.

He held his breath as he tried to hide his presence from everyone. Fate was not kind to Hugh as he heard someone shout from the crowd.

"He's there! Catch him!"

As soon as he heard that, he bolted away from the crowd. His armor was still on cooldown, so he had to run with his bare feet. He was slow enough for the fastest in the group to catch up to him.

The fastest man in the crowd reached towards Hugh, about to catch his shirt, when Hugh accelerated away. Thankfully, Hugh's cooldown was off, so he was able to use his armor again.

Hugh tried every alley and building he could find, but there were always students there to stop him. Even if he hid in a dark place, someone from the crowd had a homing Desire that would lead them to him.

At this rate, Hugh would be caught by the greedy students. He could not use his Desire so much without getting exhausted. He had to think of a way to get out of the crowd.

He looked around and saw the exit, and a flash of inspiration hit his mind. He changed his direction and charged towards the barrier between the central area and the housing circle.

He felt no resistance that prevented him from getting out, so he continued to run away. After a few seconds of getting out of the central area, he stopped in his tracks and looked back at the crowd.

The students chasing him were all stuck inside the central area, unable to go outside it. They did not wear the uniform, so they were not permitted to go outside.

Hugh continued to run away with all his might. After a few minutes of running, Hugh was tired. He was about to lay down on the ground when he felt a tingle in his neck.

His instinct told him to turn towards a direction as he saw a man in the darkness walking towards him.