"I'm just talking with a friend from school." I said, but I knew what was bound to happen if I didn't obey him.
Only that I wouldn't leave it be without confronting him this time.
"Oh, a friend, that is?" He asked, sarcastic. "And how old is he?"
"I turned sixteen today, sir." Nikolai answered, making me wish he didn't.
"That's what I thought, you didn't awaken, did you?"
Nikolai looked down. He probably didn't know who my brother was, yet.
And things were already going to get ugly.
"You shouldn't hang out with filthy regulars, little brother. Or else you'll get in trouble, not just with me. You know that, right?"
The system then beeped in my head.
[WARNING]
[THREATENING MANA LEVEL ACTIVITY]
What?
My brother was going to attack Nikolai right in front of the association building?
"BROTHER!" I shouted, getting between him and Nikolai, right before he unleashed a telekinetic wave that made me stumble backwards.
"Huh?" Quintus raised a brow. "What rank did you get? And I mean really."
I recomposed myself, and looked straight into Quintus' eyes.
It seemed that he had already forgotten about Nikolai behind me.
"How about we talk about it at home? Let's say, while we have a brotherly spar?"
Quintus squinted his eyes and exhaled a bored sigh.
"Don't think I'm done with him. But you make a fair, silent point."
Thank goodness he understood that it would be a bad idea for him, to attack an innocent teenager right in front of the building where he worked.
Quintus turned around, and I followed him, looking over my shoulder to see Nikolai.
He had an intrigued expression, so I waved at him, signaling that it was all good, and left.
When I got in the car, Quintus turned on the ignition, and I was surprised.
"You driving?"
Quintus frowned at the question, and I went right to justifying myself.
"It's just that we have drivers, you know?"
"Yeah, but I had a special errand I needed to run for the guild, so yeah, I'm driving today."
'A special errand, huh?'
Which guild was this errand for?
But I couldn't ask myself for long, as Quintus started talking again.
"Now, would you tell me what the hell was that about an inconclusive result on your awakening test?"
Of course, he worked for the association, so he wouldn't be in the dark for long.
But I didn't expect him to know about my results that soon.
"I don't know, either. Maybe the machine was malfunctioning or something like that."
"Hum. Let's see your true results when we get home." He replied, with a grin that sent shivers through my body. "Don't expect me to go easy on you."
His reaction to my scream earlier, almost made me forget how much he enjoyed bullying me when we were home.
"I never thought you would." I murmured, and I'm sure he heard it, because right after that, his face became an evil grin, almost beast-like.
And I knew I had to be twice as careful.
We got home, and father had already left, so we went right to the training room.
Quintus was already entering the ring, and I asked, raising a brow.
"Won't we use any gear?"
"Oh, you can use every gear piece, you won't lay a hand on me..."
And there it was.
That grin again.
Was he wanting to kill me?
I was ready to get geared up when the system beeped, and a notification appeared in the quest window.
[QUEST UPDATE]
[UNIQUE QUEST: FINDERS, KEEPERS]
[REQUIREMENTS: STEAL QUINTUS BLAKE'S GUILD BADGE]
[ADDITIONAL: SURVIVE 10 MINUTES IN AN UNGEARED FIGHT AGAINST QUINTUS BLAKE; EARN HIS RESPECT]
[REWARD: UNIQUE SKILL; CLASS UPGRADE]
[ADDITIONAL REWARD: UNIQUE SKILL]
Two skills for the price of one?
It sounded good, but surviving ten minutes, with no protective gear, would be a pain in the ass.
Quintus was almost as strong as our father, which made me even less than a match for him.
So I tried to level the game a bit.
"Okay, if you go without protective gear, I'll match up. Will you use your abilities?"
"Do you really think I need them to beat you senseless?"
'Fair enough.' I thought, going into the ring.
"You ready?"
Quintus weren't smiling anymore, so I guarded myself as best as I could, and braced for the impact that I knew would come.
I just didn't expect him to be that fast.
His fist aimed for my chin.
The punch felt like being hit by a truck all at once, and my body stumbled backwards.
But luckily, I felt it, somehow, and adjusted my body to receive even if a hairbreadth less of the impact.
I saw stars, though, and after getting kicked in the legs two times, I managed to get some distance between us.
"You're way sturdier than I thought, little brother. I really didn't think you'd last more than ten seconds against me, but you're getting to the thirty seconds mark. I'm impressed."
His voice sounded like a compliment, but his face showed something completely different.
Quintus really wanted to kill me, and it had been only thirty seconds.
But I was doing something wrong there, and my thoughts raced back to the awakening test...
The treadmill!
The ring wasn't wide enough for me to use my full speed, but it had enough space for me to dodge his attacks by gaining distance.
"aren't you tired of just running away?"
Quintus approached from below, with both his arms wide open.
He was going to bear-hug me, since he didn't want to use his telekinesis.
I had less than a split second to react to his assault, and it wasn't enough time to think straight.
So I closed my eyes and let my body do the job, hoping it was enough.
I felt my legs jumping hard, pushing me towards Quintus.
I kept one knee up, and it connected, somehow.
After opening my eyes and inhaling my adrenaline back, I saw what I just did.
It had been three minutes since we started fighting.
And Quintus had blood on his lips.