Slowly, Vernon opened his eyes as the bright light hit his face, blinding him. He glanced around, taking in the strong smell of antiseptic.
"Where am I... Argh!" The blue-eyed man winced as pain shot through his whole body, like all his bones had been broken at once.
"Vernon! Are you okay? You shouldn't move yet, Vernon." Ellen suddenly appeared, approaching him with a worried expression.
"You? Why am I here?" Vernon's voice sounded a little irritated.
"You suffered serious injuries to your ribs and head from a heavy blow."
"Injured?" Vernon's memory flashed back to the moment when Owen brutally kicked and attacked him. The trauma hit him hard, making his body shudder.
"How long was I out?"
"Two days."
"What?!" Vernon's eyes widened. That meant the Vagon Tournament was only two days away.
"Damn it!" He quickly threw off the blanket covering him and made a move to leave.
"Wait, Vernon!" Ellen stretched out her arms to block his path. If she touched him, he'd probably push her away, like before.
"You're not fully healed. You can't go anywhere—"
"Get out off my way!"
"Never!" Ellen firmly refused. "I won't let you go."
Vernon walked right past her, ignoring her completely. But Ellen didn't give up, she chased after him and grabbed his arm.
"Why are you risking yourself for such a fucking fight, Vernon?! Don't you understand the risks if you enter that tournament?" Ellen warned, her voice full of worry.
Vernon shot her a sharp look. "Stop meddling in my business. You're not family or a close friend, so you have no right to tell me what to do! You're just a stranger to me!"
His words cut Ellen deeply, like a knife. It hurt.
Vernon continued walking, showing no remorse, while Ellen didn't try to stop him anymore. Tears started to fall, rolling down her cheeks. Didn't Vernon understand how hard she fought to save his life?
On the other hand, Vernon hurried outside and hopped into a cab. He had to get back to Vagon BootCamp as soon as possible so he could finish the quest and gather System Coins and System Cards to face the tournament.
The fight against Owen had shown him he couldn't win without the help of the System.
During the ride, Vernon groaned in pain, clutching his ribs.
"Shit! Why isn't the pain going away, even after two days in the hospital? Was my injury that bad?"
He pounded the taxi seat in frustration, tearing it. "I can't fight like this!"
Before long, the taxi pulled up in front of Vagon BootCamp. He quickly got out and walked inside, limping. Instantly, all eyes were on him as he limped in wearing hospital clothes.
"Isn't that Vernon? What happened to him? Is he hurt?"
"That explains why he's been missing for two days. He was in the hospital."
The whispers among the Vagon fighters didn't slow Vernon down. He stepped into the elevator, heading to the training room to meet Mico.
When the elevator doors opened, he bumped into Mico and his two trainees just as they were about to enter.
"Vernon?!" Tony and Antonio shouted excitedly. "You're back?!"
THWACK!
Vernon staggered as Mico punched him.
"What the hell, Coach?! Vernon's still recovering!" Tony protested.
"Who gave you permission to fight in the ilegal fight?!" Mico barked, the veins in his neck bulging with anger.
"I—I'm sorry."
"I don't want to hear your excuses! You're disqualified!"
"What?!" Vernon's eyes widened, and so did Tony and Antonio's. "That's not fair!"
"It's the decision from Vagon's higher-ups, Mr. Margon! They believe you can't fight with such serious injuries!"
"I can!"
"No! You can't!"
"But—"
"Only Tony and Antonio will represent Group F in the Vagon tournament."
Vernon clenched his fists tightly. The disappointment pierced his heart like a thousand arrows. He stayed silent, realizing he couldn't change the decision.
Tony and Antonio felt bad for Vernon, but they couldn't do much to help. They were afraid to go against the decision of Robinson's trusted advisor, Margon.
Mico looked at Vernon with a touch of pity. He could feel the strong disappointment radiating from the man. Especially since Vernon was so obsessed with winning the tournament to fulfill Tian's dream.
Mico patted Vernon's shoulder, trying to comfort him.
Mico, Tony, and Antonio stepped into the elevator and left, leaving Vernon alone in silence.
"Is this a dream?"
Vernon's chest tightened with deep disappointment. He couldn't stop cursing himself for following Colin's advice.
"That bastard…!"
He immediately headed to Group B's training room, where Marino, Adam, and Oliver were practicing.
"Where is that bastard?!" Vernon cursed, not caring anymore if the top-ranked fighters ganged up on him.
"Who are you calling a bastard, huh?!" Oliver stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, ready to beat Vernon up. However, Adam stretched out an arm to hold Oliver back.
"Stop causing trouble," Adam said sternly, then turned to Vernon. "He's not here."
"So, where is he?!"
"You really don't know, or are you pretending to be clueless?" Marino sneered, his eyes burning with hatred, though he tried to hold it back.
"Cut the crap! Just tell me where he is!" Vernon snapped.
"Oliver isn't with Vagon BootCamp anymore," Adam explained.
Vernon's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"He joined another BootCamp."
Vernon didn't respond right away, trying to process the words.
"He had to leave because you lost the fight two days ago," Adam continued.
"Why would he do that? That doesn't make sense." Vernon still wasn't satisfied with Adam's explanation.
"He made a bet with the owner of the illegal fight arena that he would join his BootCamp if you lost."
Vernon froze, realizing that everyone close to him was facing bad luck because of him.
"Colin trusted you to win, but he ended up trapped in his own stupidity," Marino laughed coldly, mocking Vernon.
'I'm very useless!'
Vernon had failed to fulfill Tian's dream, and now, he had caused Colin to leave Vagon BootCamp.
Vernon clenched his fists tighter. 'I can't give up! I have to talk to him!'