"Haaa- haaaa-."
I was running with all my energy, all the strength I had physically and mentally. I needed to process the situation and find the best way to escape.
I was barely a foot away from the lamppost and I had no time to avoid it.
'Out of the way.'
The voice rang out once more.
After this, my body began to emit a hue of white energy and I instantly dodged the obstacle. My body felt strong and fortified yet light as a feather when I dodged the lamppost.
"Haa- holy shit. What was that?"
I looked behind me only to see the four men closing in quicker on my position.
"Run faster you two! Get him!"
The man with tattoos yelled at the two guards to run after me faster. His brows were furrowed and his glowing blood red eyes could be seen behind his dark glasses.
I instantly turned my head around and focused on running. The breeze and air hit me back in full force and my black hair was flowing through the wind.
The wind was especially chilly tonight but thankfully the mask covered my face making it warmer. I was still in the market so there was a good chance of me being able to lose them.
I needed a route, I needed something they could lose me in. My eyes suddenly widened at a thought that had popped into my head.
I don't have to run, I just have to outmaneuver them.
'Free running.'
I could lose them in the large black market by using one of the skills my sister taught me. They'd be too distracted by me to even notice the environment I'd have them in.
"You won't catch me!"
I said with a grin, but of course they couldn't see that.
"Fucking bastard! Get him!"
I sharply turned left in order to funnel them into the marketplace. I ran past all of the vendors and customers and even went as far as to throw merchandise at my pursuers.
Crash-
"Hey watch it kid!"
"Sorry!"
I threw down a box of potions in order to halt their steps and it worked perfectly.
BOOM-
The potions exploded into small bursts which stopped two of the men. The original two were still in hot pursuit as I ran my way past the crowds of people.
I slid and vaulted underneath and over various things like benches, people, or boxes. In order to get the smoothest run possible.
Soon after blasting through the market with high speed I came across a gap. It was a large ditch that was 15 feet deep, if I fell in it would be over.
Although I said 15 feet deep it was likely even deeper as it was filled with water due to the sewers running back here.
"Shit."
'How the hell am I supposed to get across this?'
The gap was not only deep, but it was another 15 feet until I could reach the other side. Unless I wanted to swim in shit below me.
I was far from the market now but the men were still following closely behind and encroaching upon me quickly.
'Use it.'
The voice again.
"Use what dammit?!"
'You know what.'
I was nearing the gap and thoughts raced through my head as quick as lightning until I understood.
RC.
I had to use RC to fortify myself like I did with the lamppost. I tried to recreate what happened but to no avail.
'Haa- useless.'
Was the voice calling me useless now?
After I heard it ring out, my eyes started to glow with intense white light. My body became enveloped in white energy and the I felt stronger than ever.
Crumble-
The ground cracked at my sudden increase of power and I bursted forward with the force of a jet. White lightning enveloped my being and I instinctively ran towards the wall situated to the right of the ditch.
'Tempest Rush.'
I was in a daze and could barely hear the voice speaking the skill name. I felt magnetized to the wall as I ran across it with speeds I could've only dreamt of before.
"FUCK! HOW DO WE GET ACROSS?!"
"Erm we could uh- swim?"
The two men behind me were stumped at the predicament I put them in. They'd have to go through plenty of shit to get to me.
Quite literally.
Woooosh-
I rushed my way back to a bus station in order to head back to the campus. As soon as I arrived on a bus my energy instantly drained and I fell into my seat gasping for air.
"Haaa- what a rough day."
I ripped off my mask and bought a bottle of water before we left to the Aethra Station.
"You run a marathon or something?"
An old man was sitting across from me scrolling through his tablet.
"Haa- yeah, sure I guess you can say that."
The man looked at me weirdly and continued to glue his eyes onto his screen. After I caught my breath I decided to rest a little.
****
11:00 PM, Aethra Station, Haneul City
"Thanks for the ride."
After I thanked the bud driver, I stepped out into the cold dark night. It was a full moon and the city lights shined through the darkness. I was one of the few people at the stations currently.
It made sense due to the time but it was really ominous. The train should be arriving in 5 minutes to take us back to campus.
"Hey kid I'm not done with you."
I froze.
A voice rung out from behind me. It was the man with tattoos. I slowly turned around before I saw his overwhelming bloodlust.
"You look like shit, smell like it too."
I pinched my nose and pointed towards him. He must've taken a dive into that sewage water in order to get to me.
The smell was so overpowering I completely ignored the bloodlust he gave off.
"Come here, I'll fucking kill you!"
"Ah, about that sir I'd rather not. You see here I'm just a poor young man trying to get back to his daily studies so would you please leave me be?"
I said with a forced smile.
If this man didn't hold back at all he could easily kill me right where I stand.
I had to play this mentally.
"You can't kill me."
"Why not?!"
The man with tattoos said with animosity.
"You need me. You need me in order to live."
"What do you mean?"
"Aren't you chasing me since I stole the package your boss wanted? If I'm dead you won't ever find that package; and if you don't find it, you're dead."
I presented him with reasons to why I should live.
"In short if I die, you die. I don't think your boss is willing to even hear you out knowing his reputation."
"Good point."
The man went deep into thought before continuing.
"Well is the package safe? I'll call it a day here if I know it's safe."
"It's safe."
'I sold it you dumbass.'
I don't think Berith knew about that object's shapeshifting abilities but other than that the situation wasn't for me.
It wasn't my issue, I just needed to survive.
My strength was drained from earlier and I was so close to home. If I could smoothly play out the rest of this confrontation I'd be free.
"Good, this won't be the last time I see you."
"Don't say that like we have any sort of acquaintanceship, just leave dumbass."
The man with tattoos stopped walking away for a moment before he slowly turned his head around at me. The atmosphere instantly changed and a dark aura surrounded the man.
Bloodlust.
"What the hell did you just call me?"
'Shit I should've just kept my mouth shut.'
"Wait wait! Calm down think about this rationally sir!"
BOOM-
As the man was about to strike me a boom rang out and the ground exploded with dust. When it cleared I could see 4 shadowy figures surrounding the man.
"Get back student Keir."
The 4 people in front of me were part of the Umbra Clan. The family led by the Umbra Scions, they were also employed by the school to be its guards and protectors.
The man with tattoos froze in place with 4 swords placed at his throat.
"Leave this place, and don't you ever return."
Said one of the shadow guards. Her sword was directly on his throat ready to cut at any time.
"Tch- fine."
The man backed up and left the premise running off into the city. The 4 guards sheathed their swords and bowed to another person approaching from the shadows.
"We greet the young miss."
"It's fine, get back to your posts."
The girl had dark amethyst eyes and long flowing black hair. She was wearing a black leather jacket and turtleneck and the combination of her eyes and hair made her look like an Angel.
An Angel of darkness.
"I'm Lilith Umbra, nice to meet you Keir."
"Ah uh- nice to meet you too."
We shook hands with each other before she continued.
"The headmaster would like to see you."
The headmaster wanted to see me? For what reason all of a sudden? I've only ever interacted with him once during my first assignment but that was it.
"Lead the way."
I nodded in Lilith's direction before we made our way onto the train.
It was time to meet the headmaster once again.
But why?
*****
CURRENT STATS
===STATUS===
Name: Keir Licht
Overall Rank: F
CL: 10
RC Level: E
Strength: E
Agility: F
Stamina: F
Charm: E
===SKILLS===
- Advanced Swordsmanship: Mastery of the blade
- Advanced Martial Arts: Make your body the weapon
- Free Running: Extreme affinity with running over obstacles and escape tactics