From the moment Tobias walked inside the campus, he could feel everyone's eyes on him. He found their reaction strange because judging from his diary; he wasn't a big shot or anything.
Maybe it's because I haven't been there in a while? That could be it.
Even though Tobias thought that he wasn't so sure himself, something kept nagging him.
"Look who is back from the dead," someone called out, prompting Tobias to turn.
He noticed a guy with blonde hair and pale skin walking towards him. But he wasn't alone. There were a dozen guys following him.
If Tobias had not met Carmila, he would have thought the guy was malnourished because of his skin color. But now he knew he was a vampire.
Vampire walking in bright daylight. Interesting. Now that I recall, Carmila could also walk in the light. Aren't vampires supposed to fear the light?
It seemed Tobias's pop culture knowledge was as usual as a toothpick when fighting a bear. Oh well, it wasn't like he was going to fight them or anything.
"Are you talking to me?" Tobias asked, looking around.
The guy looked around, and everyone burst out laughing. Tobias didn't get their reaction, but he would not waste his time on them. After all, he wanted to get to the library and learn what he could about their world.
"I'm glad I could make you all laugh," Tobias said, turning around. "Now if you'll excuse me--"
From the corner of his eyes, he saw a person throwing something at him. Tobias ducked, evading the stone, which ended up hitting someone else. However, it seemed to make that blonde guy angrier.
"Get that bastard and this time do your job properly!" the guy roared, and the boys began chasing Tobias.
"Right Sam, don't worry about it." One of the burly guys replied before joining the chase.
***
"I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't swing that way!" Tobias exclaimed, running up the stairs.
"You bastard! Just stop and I'll show you how to swing!" someone yelled from behind, brandishing their wooden stick.
"Yeah, I'll pass."
Tobias continued climbing the stairs while the angry crowd followed him, panting crazily. As for Tobias, he was having quite fun.
Finally, Tobias reached the terrace door and pushed it open. Instead of continuing to run, he casually strolled to the center of the terrace and started stretching his legs, waiting for the chasers to catch up.
A minute later, the group of brutes finally caught up, panting and red-faced. They thought Tobias would hide, but to their surprise, he was right there, waiting for them.
"Good thing... you gave up... running—"
"Yeah, I thought you guys wouldn't catch up to me otherwise," Tobias shrugged, rolling up his sleeves. "Now then, what do you guys want to do?"
"Beat the shit out of you, that's what!"
"...really? Couldn't think of something... less cringe to say?" Tobias rolled his eyes before gesturing for the boys to come at him.
Tobias wouldn't have been so confident in fighting them if he hadn't seen their stats through [Gaze]. But if he could take on level 15 demonic humans, then fighting a bunch of level 4s and 5s wasn't a big deal.
Besides, it's a good time to learn how to fight without using my skills. It's not a good idea to advertise that I'm... different.
One of the boys lunged at Tobias with a wooden stick. Tobias sidestepped, grabbing the boy's arm and twisting it, causing him to drop the stick.
"Take this!"
Another boy swung a metal rod at Tobias's head, but Tobias ducked, the rod whistling harmlessly over his head. Unfortunately, the rod hit one of the guys right in the face, cracking his nose.
"Watch where you swing that damn thing, you moron!" someone yelled.
Tobias took advantage of the situation and kicked out. His foot connected with the second boy's knee, sending him crashing to the ground.
Another guy lunged at Tobias with a metal pipe. He sidestepped and grabbed the pipe, yanking it from the attacker's hands, and used it to block an incoming strike from behind.
The baseball bat clanged against the pipe, sending vibrations up Tobias's arm. But he pushed the man off himself as two more people charged at him.
He kicked one in the chest, sending him to the ground, and swung the pipe at the other, catching him in the shoulder. The boy cried out in pain and fell back.
But the numbers were against him. While Tobias was dealing with one attacker, another came at him from behind, hitting him hard on the back. Tobias stumbled, pain flaring up his spine, but he managed to stay on his feet and swung the pipe, hitting the attacker square in the face.
So far, he had been intentionally avoiding hitting anyone in the head, but Tobias realized he didn't have that luxury anymore. If he wanted things to get under control, he would have to fight more aggressively.
Two more rushed him simultaneously. Tobias grabbed the arm of one, using him as a shield against the other's stick. The stick hit the attacker's back, and Tobias used the moment to elbow the second guy in the face.
He then pushed the first one away, sending him crashing into a wall.
The other one hesitated for a moment, seeing their friends being taken down so quickly.
"Get him, you idiots!" the burly guy shouted, growing frustrated.
"Damian, why don't you try it?"
"Shut up and fight him!" Damian retorted, cracking his knuckles.
He wondered what had changed in a year. It had been too easy to beat Tobias before, so why were they failing now? They hadn't grown weak, but the thought of Tobias getting stronger than them was equally bizarre.
Something is off... Tobias doesn't seem like his usual self.
They had the numbers and weapons. Yet they were failing to deal with a single guy. It didn't even make sense. Slowly, Damian realized Tobias had become a capable fighter.
Why am I praising him!? If I didn't beat Tobias here, Sam would get mad at me and I can't afford that. Not when he is paying my tuition.
By then, three more charged at Tobias. He dodged a swing from the first, then delivered a swift uppercut that sent him sprawling.
The second swung a bat at his legs, but Tobias jumped, kicking the guy in the chest in mid-air. The third tried to grab him from behind, but Tobias twisted out of his grip and flipped him over his shoulder.
Thud!
Suddenly, Tobias felt a sharp pain in his side and saw one of them had hit him with a pipe. He gritted his teeth against the pain and swung a fist at the guy, knocking him out cold.
Despite his efforts, Tobias only managed to knock out nine of them. The other three, including Damian, slowly got to their feet. They appeared hesitant to attack him, but were back on their feet, regardless.
Suddenly, the guy with a chain swung it wildly at Tobias, who caught it and pulled it, causing the boy to stumble forward into a knee to the stomach. Tobias spun around, slamming the chain into the side of another attacker's head, taking both of them down in a flash.
Finally, Tobias stood alone among the groaning bodies of the chasers scattered around him. Damian looked at his mates and spat out in disgust. It should have been an easy fight, but they lost horribly against Tobias, of all people.
"Fine, I'll do it myself--"
Just as he said that, Damian felt someone was standing behind him. He turned around to see Ms. Michelle, their sports coach, standing there with a vein popping out of her head.
"What on earth is happening here?" she shouted. "All of you, report to the dean's office right now!"