Amid all the chatter from the surrounding students, Lachlan spoke up with a smile, showing some of his apprehension from how his chin trembled. "I'm so sorry about that, sir. I shouldn't have walked into someone of your stature…"
"Don't try flattering me," said the boy disgustedly, "I hate pussies that do that the most."
To Lachlan's surprise, his ass-kissing, which worked on the previous student at the gate, didn't have the same effect towards this one.
More and more students enclosed in to the surroundings, and their eyes beamed at what would happen.
Lachlan knew he couldn't reason with this boy, so he tried to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
"I'm so sorry," said Lachlan as he hurriedly got up and turned around, preparing to walk away. "I'll go my own way and not disturb you any further."
Yet, just when he began walking, something appeared in front of his face, like a translucent golden wall that made him fall on his buttocks.
"Who said you could go…" said the boy unhurriedly, with a hint of intensity.
Lachlan knew he fucked up, and all he thought of doing at that moment was to "appraise" to see if he had a fighting chance.
The familiar screen popped up once again, which displayed the student's information.
‹Brice Buckfield›
‹Race: Human›
‹HP 100/100›
‹Ability: Force-field›
‹Ability level: 4.1›
Lachlan gulped loudly when he saw the level yet tried to reason to find another way out of the situation, "Can't we just let this one slide? I understand that I've committed somewhat of a blunder but can't you forgive me just this on-"
Yet before Lachlan could finish, the student, known as Brice, had thrown a fist with a force-field encompassing it, squarely connecting to Lachlan's abdomen, throwing him across the corridor into an adjacent wall.
"Aghhhh- fuck --cough, cough - motherfucker…." Said Lachlan in between coughs and yells of protest. Lachlan was ingrained into the wall, and his light-blue tunic was torn in the middle, showing exactly where the punch had firmly landed.
Lachlan almost vomited and could feel it creep up his throat, but luckily gulped it down at the last second.
Brice, who was only a couple of meters away, began strutting towards Lachlan like a victor with a massive grin on his face. Lachlan could even overhear the praises from the surroundings students as he strode past them.
"Nice hit, man!" said a boy from the crowd, swinging his hands in excitement.
"Wow, he's so powerful and handsome!" cheered one of the girls, looking at Brice provocatively.
"I wish I had that ability," said another enviably.
Brice waved his hand and accepted all the praise, and after he was done, he came closer to Lachlan and voiced, "We're not finished yet cripple, I'm going to discipline you real good today! You can be sure of that."
A golden hue once again engulfed his fist as the force-field wrapped around it, and he proceeded in throwing his fist out like a blur.
Yet before it could hit, something appeared in between him and Lachlan, blocking the punch.
What appeared came quicker than lightning, and when Lachlan finally came to his senses, he was rattled at what had blocked the punch.
It was a female student, and her hand was wrapped around Brice's fist, with lightning coiling around it.
"Back off!" she roared.
Brice looked exasperated at first, yet he backed off with a rattled expression as soon as he saw her watch.
His head visibly sunk, and he walked off the scene hurriedly.
The girl then spoke up with a yell, "Everyone scatter," which prompted the students in the periphery to go back to their usual activities.
Lachlan was dumbfounded yet enormously thankful for what she had done, and he had been intrigued by what her level was to make Brice back off that quickly and for the students to do thatas well. Yet, right as he was about to appraise, she turned around, stopping him in his tracks.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone.
Lachlan stared at her in a daze.
He was mesmerized by her beauty.
She had fair skin coupled with an oval face that emphasized her cute features. She even had bright blondish hair that reflected the orange hue coming from the windows, making her look delectable and sweet. She also had a well-proportioned body that gave off the impression of elegance, charm, and a hint of nobility.
Lachlan almost drooled at her appearance, and he wanted nothing more than to just eat her up right there but held himself back.
Then, finally, as he snapped out his stupor. He said with a friendly expression, "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks a lot for that."
The female student smiled and said, "Great, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. That must've been tough for you… Also, you're bruised, and your clothes are torn; want me to help you to the infirmary?"
Lachlan smiled and said, "I appreciate the offer, but classes start soon, and I don't want you to be late; I can go there myself, no worries."
"Okay... Well, I hope you feel better!" She said as she started to walk off.
As she turned her back to Lachlan, he swiftly appraised her from curiosity.
‹Leila Taurel›
‹Race: Human›
‹HP 100/100›
‹Ability: Lightning Augmentation›
‹Ability level: 5.5›
'Wow… she's got to be one of the most powerful ability-wielders I've ever seen. I don't even think Royce's level reached that high….' Thought Lachlan before he dismissed the appraisal screen and headed towards the infirmary.
After he had been treated, there were about 5 minutes left before the start of class.
He hurried through the almost-emptied corridors till he finally reached classroom J-1.
"That's the one," he muttered to himself.
Classes were divided into alphabetical order, from A-Z, with the number afterward stating the year. As there were only two years of military academy, only 1 and 2 existed.
As Lachlan walked inside the classroom, he was assailed by glares, some haughty, others disgusted.
'Ahh... Either my appearance is disgusting, or word travels fast' thought Lachlan as he shyly walked to the back of the classroom.
Amid the glares, there was one that didn't show any hint of hostility.
It was from the girl that had saved him before, Leila Taurel. She sat there beautifully, attracting many gazes from the surroundings boys.
She smiled when Lachlan saw her and waved her hand to greet. Lachlan briefly reciprocated the smile and kept walking to the back.
He didn't want to attract too much attention to himself, so he situated himself quite a distance away from the girl in the corner of the classroom.
After he sat down, he looked at the countless students around him, and In the back, where he sat, there were primarily level 1's and 2's, while the further you got towards the front, the higher the levels went. He could even see a couple of level 4's and 5's in the front, one of which was Leila.
Before anyone could try to approach Lachlan and start anything, a middle-aged man with a trimmed beard shot with white and solemn gray eyes walked through the door. He was muscular and donned in black military attire, like most of the faculty were. The only difference was his age, which looked to be in the 60's.
At his arrival, the murmuring died down, and the atmosphere was replaced with one of eerily silence. The once slumped backs of the students had become straighter than nails, and their drained faces invigorated.
Everyone was prepared for the lesson, and no longer was anyone messing around. Military academy determined your future, and everyone here firmly knew that.
The man spoke up with a solemn expression, "My name is Gamal Eaton, but you'll refer to me as Instructor Gamal, understood?"
His gruff voice bounced throughout the classroom, bringing all the students to a swift nod.
"Good. Given how this is your first lesson and second day on the campus. I'm going to give you a tour of the academy, and if we have time, even the city around it. Understood?"
The students once again nodded, which prompted Instructor Gamal to say, "Great."
He then waved his hand, which cued the students to follow out of the classroom, to go on the tour.
—-—
After the tour, Lachlan was already drowsy. It was beyond boring, and the sights weren't that big of a marvel. The only thing that had impressed him was the coliseum, where ability fights were held between students. Apart from that, everything else was quite bland.
As for the city, they didn't have time to explore there, but he had been told that it was one of the most developed cities outside of earth. Making Lachlan drip with anticipation for the time he could check it out.
On his way back to the dorm, he stopped by the school's cafeteria, and once he was finished with his meal, he resumed going to the dorms.
As he was on his way to the hyperloop, he could feel somebody's presence, and before he knew it, his vision had turned black.
"What the hell," shouted Lachlan apprehensively.
A burlap sack had covered his head, and he felt his body being dragged across the ground.
As Lachlan was beginning to panic, the dragging had come to a halt, and a voice resounded in his ear that sounded eerily familiar.
"Take the sack off,"
Followed by footsteps and a hand that removed the mask on his head, Lachlan could see the figure who spoke.
"You!" snapped Lachlan.
The man smiled and responded wryly with a smile, "Yes. Me."
"Why?" said Lachlan through clenched teeth.
"Well, we weren't finished; that meddlesome girl got in the middle of our fun." Responded the man. "And I don't like being interrupted.
It was Brice and his goons around, all of whom were carrying heavy grins on their faces.
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened; I didn't know that girl would interfere. But, can't you let this go this once," said Lachlan. "It was not my intention to bump into you."
Brice laughed, and so did his gang from the back.
"Hahaha, do you seriously think I care that you bumped into me? Are you retarded? I merely want a punching bag to test some new tricks on.. stupid fucking cripple. They must've not taught you in your previous school what you're used for." Said Brice. "But that's fine, my friends and I will teach you in their stead."
As he finished, he began enveloping his fists with the force field like before. And just as he was ready to punch, Lachlan screamed, "WAIT! I CAN GET YOU SOMETHING BETTER!"
Lachlan's word prompted Brice to stop and peer at him exasperatedly.
"Stalling won't change a thing," said Brice. "It will only make me hit you harder.
"No!" yelled Lachlan, "I swear I could get you something better than a punching bag!"
one of the portly boys in the back couldn't help but yell, "Don't try to deceive our boss, do you wanna get yourself killed!"
"I'm not trying to deceive anyone. I could seriously get you something better than a punching bag. I can help you get back at that bitch who interrupted my thrashing, and at the same time a sexual release." said Lachlan with a wide-grin
"A sexual release?" said one of the boys confusedly.
"Yes!" shouted Lachlan back with passion.
"And how would you do that." Said Brice with a skeptical look.
"Well, you see, I'll trick that bitch into somewhere secluded, like say —hmm ah! — the forest in the westernmost part of the academy where there are no witnesses. There, you could not only beat her half to death, but also fuck her till she bleeds!"
"That's way too risky," said the portly boy. "she's a level 5!"
"I can see from your wrist watches you have three level 2's, two level 3's, and one level 4. So with all of you, that bitch won't stand a chance."
With a hint of consideration in Brice's eyes, he asked dubiously, "What if she could identify us."
"The forest's innermost parts are very dark; she won't see a thing, especially if you bludgeon her head before you leave," said Lachlan resolutely.
The boys looked at one another skeptically but seemed to come to an unspoken agreement.
"How long will it take" asked Brice.
"A couple of days." Responded Lachlan.
"I'll give you three, and you better be in the center of the forest when that time comes. if you're not, then you'll be the one beaten half to death, not her," declared Brice. "Got that?"
"I understand," said Lachlan with an earnest expression.
After the agreement, Brice and his gang departed, leaving Lachlan alone with nothing but his own thoughts.
Lachlan knew he had saved himself some time, but come 3 days, and he would be in trouble.
He opened up his system and peered at the main quest…
‹Main Quests›
‹Plunder an ability: 1000 exp›
'Not only will I get an ability if I finish this quest, but I'll also get 1000 exp which will give me a couple of stat points. After allocation, I might have a fighting chance….'
With that thought cemented in his mind, Lachlan started thinking earnestly about ways to plunder someone's ability within the following 3 days.