As Ken sat in his dorm room, the system messages continued to pop up before his eyes, each one a stark reminder of his growing unease.
[Hunger: 50%]
[You need to consume blood to fill your hunger]
The persistent alerts had been appearing every few minutes since his arrival at the academy. Despite eating before boarding the bus, Ken could still feel an unrelenting emptiness in his stomach, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.
The worst part was the uncontrollable urge to glare at Tyler's and Scott's necks, imagining the thrill of sinking his teeth into their veins. Ken forced himself to look away, shutting his eyes to shake off the disturbing thoughts. But no matter how hard he tried, the visions persisted.
Relieved when the tour finally ended, Ken retreated to his dorm room, which was neither too big nor too small, but perfectly suited for a single student without any roommate. Collapsing onto the bed's edge, he buried his face in his palms.
"What's wrong with me? Do I have the flu?" Ken muttered, wincing from the pounding headache.
Yet the system messages won't stop popping up above his face.
While he was in this position, a certain alarm had gone off in each and every room of the students. After which the voice of a female was heard coming through the built-in speaker in their rooms.
"Welcome to the academy first levellers, we are glad to have you here. This is just to inform you that the cafeteria is now open, you can proceed to obtain your lunch at the cafeteria shown to you during the tour. Good luck, and have a nice meal."
The message ended right there and then. But there was a certain person who was glad about this news, and that was Ken. His relief was palpable as he sprang from the bed and rushed out of his room.
Springing out of his room, he rushed to the cafeteria, which laid mere meters from the bustling school park.
He passed through the crowded school park filled with 1st level students taking pictures and stuffs, and eventually, he arrived at the cafeteria firstly before anyone else.
Unbeknownst to Ken, Brandon and his cohorts were lounging in the park, their eyes scanning the crowds. And that was when they spotted him.
Brandon grinned. "Look at that. He's all alone. This is a blessing in disguise."
Brandon's gang shared the sly smile as they closed in on Ken.
At the cafeteria, Ken hastily selected his meal which was served to him by one of the workers. His stomach growled in anticipation, until finally, with a tray in hand, he settled at an empty table.
Just as he raised his spoon to take the first bite, a hand snatched the utensil and his food away. Ken's gaze locked onto the familiar face before him, but his hunger-addled brain struggled to register the features clearly. All he craved was the food.
"My food… give back!" Ken growled, his voice barely intelligible.
Without warning, Ken lunged at the person, driven by an insatiable hunger. He snatched the food from the student's hands, his movements swift and primal.
When the student attempted to retrieve the meal, Ken reacted with unsettling ferocity. With an incredible burst of strength, he pushed him backwards, sending him crashing into the table behind.
The force was so immense that it sent the student flying, his back scraping against the floor. Brandon's gang, witnessing their companion's sudden misfortune, sprang into action.
One of Brandon's men, fueled by anger, swung a punch at Ken. But Ken, driven by instinct, dodged to the side with eerie agility. In a swift, fluid motion, he grasped the attacker's wrist, twisting it sideways with a wrenching force.
A pained shout echoed through the cafeteria as the man struggled to free his hand. Ken's grip was unyielding, his eyes blazing with a feral intensity. Until finally, he let go and sat back in his seat, seemingly resuming his meal.
The commotion in the cafeteria drew the attention of the head chef, who stormed into the scene, his voice thundering across the room.
"What in the world is going on here?! Are you students insane?" He yelled.
The chef's eyes scanned the area, taking in the sight of Brandon's group surrounding Ken, who sat calmly, devouring his food. He could only assume that Brandon's gang were bullying Ken for extra food, after finishing up theirs.
All students were allowed to take meals once, no special privileges. Seeing the group trying to bully Ken into giving up his food, the chef's expression had darkened as he walked over to challenge them.
Ken, oblivious to the tension, continued eating, his focus solely on the food. Brandon, however, watched him with growing unease. Ken's strength, behavior, and character seemed off, it was as if he was possessed by something.
The chef marched to Ken's table, his gaze locked on Brandon and his men.
"Didn't you read the rules? No fighting in my restaurant! If you want to brawl, then take it to your classes or do it somewhere else. Not here!" The chef roared.
Brandon's men hastily apologized, bowing deeply, but the chef's anger remained unsoothed.
"Take pictures of these individuals." He instructed his staff. "They're banned from the cafeteria for a week. Notify the board, and make sure they face the consequences."
As the chef's staff snapped photos, Brandon's men slunk away, their tails between their legs. They picked up the wounded member and walked out of the place.
Though they were met with the confused and curious gazes of their fellow students who had come to receive food from the cafeteria.
The chef turned to Ken, his expression softening. "You, young man, are you alright?"
Ken looked up, his eyes brightening up slightly. It was after he was done eating that his hazy mind started clearing up. He looked around him and could notice the damaged chairs and tables surrounding him.
Feeling the man before him staring daggers at him, he had decided to reply.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah... I'm fine, thanks."
The chef's gaze lingered on Ken before nodding.
"Good. Next time something like this happens, don't forget to press the report button on your mobile device. The cafeteria is one of the places bullying isn't tolerated in the academy."
Ken nodded, acknowledging the chef's words.
Though the chef wanted to elaborate more, he decided to refrain himself. He fought so hard to implement this rule, knowing how frequently students were bullied over food.
This usually results to a damage to the cafeteria's property which costs a lot of money to repair and refund back. It took him a lot of convincing to have the board place such a rule in the cafeteria.
The board's apathy towards student conflicts had been a significant obstacle. Left to them, they didn't care if a student was bullying another student.
"In fact, they'd rather worsen the situation till one or both of them dies," the chef thought to himself. "One less problem for the academy to deal with, since they needed many of them gone in the first place."
But he realised telling Ken all about this wasn't really necessary, instead it will make it look like the academy is a bad place to be.
With the chef's intervention, the tension had dissipated, but Brandon's suspicion about Ken lingered.
"What's going on with that punk?" Brandon wondered.