Chapter 27
"Hey, over here." A loud voice called out to Seth.
Seth traced the voice's origin to a closed-off room at the end of the bar. The room's door was open, and a young man stood right beside it, waving his hand at Seth.
The slender young man with wavy black hair shouted once again. "Seth, get your ass here!"
Seth smiled the moment he heard him.
He thought to himself. 'Oh, Jeremy. Whenever I look at you, I just want to slap you.'
Seth moved towards Jeremy. Once he got closer to the young man, he dived in for a big hug, contrary to the thoughts swirling in his head.
"Hey. Hey. Hey. Now is not the time to be sentimental. Jesus, what happened to you? I know you miss me, but old Seth wouldn't do this. Or am I too charming? I was able to change your habits?"
Immediately, Seth flung Jeremy into the room with pure aggressiveness.
"F*cking b*tch. You just have to run your mouth, huh?" Seth retorted.
Nevertheless, there was a smile on his face.
It was just like Jeremy to make everything about himself. The guy was completely narcissistic. His phone's wallpaper was a picture of himself. Even the wallpaper of his laptop was a picture of himself.
To top it off…. His room… his room was way worse. Frames of himself with philosophical quotes written on them. Quotes Seth could swear Jeremy wasn't capable of saying.
"The top is just a coordinate from your perspective. Existing on that coordinate is another 'top'."
"Always smile because you want to be beautiful, not because you are happy."
"Hard work never fails."
.
.
.
.
The young man named Jeremy was truly as uniquely disturbing as Seth.
After pushing him into the room, Seth saw his other friends. His smile deepened, and he strolled towards an empty spot among the seats.
"F*ck. Seth Ravenswood came back to this forsaken place. And here I thought you would never leave your condo." Someone spoke to him.
It was a girl with dyed blue hair. Her black eyes sparkled as she casually threw a bottle of wine at Seth.
Obviously, Seth easily dodged the bottle.
He smiled at the lady. "It's good to see you too, Kierra."
Kierra was the jerkiest human to ever walk the earth. In all sense, she was an upgrade of Seth. He had figured the best way to deal with her was to respond kindly to her aggressive words.
Seth glanced at the remaining two in the room. Jake and Kayne. Both of them were known for being quiet, but for different reasons. Whereas Kayne loved to stay aloof, Jake was a shy intellectual. He rarely spoke much, but his thoughts were always over the place.
Seth faced the person who sent the group message. "Kayne. So, what do you want to tell us?"
Kayne's eyes surveyed the group. He appeared to have struggling thoughts, as if the issue at hand was complicated.
After a few seconds of silence, Kayne sighed. "I have had a sh*tty day."
Seth scowled. "Well, you don't say? My day was cursed beyond understanding."
"I think my day was worse."
"F*ck off Jeremy. It wasn't as sh*tty as my day."
"Yeah, today was bad."
"...."
They all looked at themselves and said in unison, "Let me guess, you encountered a bizarre game, right?"
"Yeah…" Seth led on.
"Yes."
"Yup."
"Hmm.."
It was clear by now that all of them were players in the sadistic game. While it was unknown if this was a coincidence or not, this was something the group ganged together to discuss.
"I swear that game is f*cking messed up."
"It's a huge propaganda to produce more unstable mental patients."
"Jake, that sounds smart. I love the game, though. The thrill of beating whoever you want to knock down. Hahahaha."
"There is magic. When I finally wield it, I'm gonna be an exceedingly talented mage."
While the others were conversing, Seth stayed quiet at the corner. He couldn't relate to the others.
His experience with the game was too strange. It was wrong to call it horrible, but it was also wrong to call it pleasurable. It was just 'there', in the middle of both contrasts.
"So, why did you text us?" Seth whispered to Kayne, who had separated himself from the chaos in the room.
"I just needed a break. The game was too intense for me," replied Kayne.
Seth gave him a soft look. "Hmmm…"
That would have been a good excuse, but Seth knew Kayne. Five words. Kayne was a broody motherf*cker.
He never did things without meaning. And he was never one to arrange a social meetup!
Kayne and Seth weren't exactly best friends. Their first encounter led to a memorable fight. They had met about six years ago when Seth was still in high school. Being the jerk he was, Seth decided to taunt one of the less popular students for fun. It just happened that the person turned out to be Kayne, an athletic student.
The fight did not end well at all. Kayne almost battered Seth, but the latter responded with a dirty tactic. He grabbed a nearby chair and smashed on Kayne.
Two years after that, they met again, but this time, their mutual friend, Jeremy, forced them into a friendship.
'He is deeply layered. Always hiding something. Always thinking about something.' Seth ruminated.
'Well, whatever… I also need a break.'
Seth grabbed a bottle of wine and gulped it down.
The others were still arguing with themselves, leaving Seth and Kayne alone. The situation was awkward since the two weren't used to directly speaking with one another.
Having revamped himself, Seth was the first to speak. "So, how was your first tutorial quest?"
"Easy. Nothing too difficult." Kayne comfortably replied.
"Hmm... I see. Mine was also quite simple."
To keep his pride, Seth lied. It was a necessary lie!
How else was he to deal with the fact that the tutorial quest was only "nothing too difficult" for Kayne?!
It was a freaking battle for his life on his side!
Seth decided to not ask any further questions. He simply enjoyed his drink.
Two hours passed when the group finally called it a day. Seth told all of them to meet up at Camp Lostvale since they had a lot to talk about. Only Seth was at Lostvale. The others were in different camps, so it would take a while for them to band together.
On his way home, Seth stopped his car when he noticed a lonely figure strolling along the walkway.
'I forgot he isn't like the rest of us.' Seth sighed.
The figure was Kayne. Kayne didn't have a car. He was an orphan with barely enough money to take care of himself, unlike the others, who were immensely rich. Still, Kayne held his head high and was not shaken by that.
Opening his car window, Seth yelled. "Kayne, hop in."