"So..." Lewis replied.
She had a rough understanding of the situation through the conversation just now. James and Liam would soon be accompanying her to Risarden Academy. Either way, she felt glad to have more companions. In this town, she was the only one between 13-15 years old, which made her feel lonely without peers her age. But, there were things to resolve first. She turned to Jackson and asked,
"What's the situation out there?"
Jackson sighed and replied,
"It's pretty bad. We've searched the entire town and the surrounding lands, but haven't found any traces."
"What does he look like?" Liam asked curiously.
Jackson stroked his chin, recalling what he'd seen last night.
"He's a rank F guy with black hair. Other than that, his body was deformed, so we couldn't really tell much else."
Upon hearing this, Lewis immediately looked at Liam with a hint of suspicion. The information seemed to match 99% with what was related to Liam.
Realizing the way Lewis was looking at him, Liam sighed helplessly. He could already imagine being detained here until they caught the culprit, Vecna.
Seeing this, James quickly explained:
"I can vouch for him. I've been with Liam for two weeks straight."
Jackson laughed and replied,
"Actually, you are indeed the most suspicious, because from what we've seen, Vecna used an earth-element spear. In this town, only two people use earth elements: old man Green and the guy who died yesterday. So, It should be certain that he's from outside the town."
That spear was a crucial clue, as earth-element spears can only be created by those who wield earth elements. Though he might have used someone else's spear, Jackson quickly ruled out this possibility, as the spear could only maintain its form for an hour at most. He couldn't have carried it around for days. This further confirmed that the culprit must be the one who created it.
Jackson looked at Liam and added,
"I don't think you're him, but just to be sure, can you tell us what element you use?"
Everything happening to Liam was purely coincidental, but there was one thing Jackson was fairly certain about—James. To him, the boy seemed innocent and honest. Based on what James had told him about their journey, he was likely telling the truth. However, if Liam had traveled alone, Jackson might have had doubts, as the boy seemed sharp and cunning.
"Haaa..." Liam sighed, feeling lucky there was a way to prove his innocence. If he had to wait until they caught Vecna, he might have considered running away. He relaxed and then reached for the iron cup on the table.
Everyone looked at him with curiosity, not understanding what he was doing. Only James sat casually drinking water as if he already knew. Without prolonging things, Liam let his energy erupt from his body. A red energy gathered and focused toward his hand gripping the iron cup. Gently, with two fingers, he squeezed the cup.
"Crack... Crack..." The sound of iron being compressed filled the room as he crushed it. In the end, all that remained in his hand was a small ball the size of a pea. For a regular rank F, this would have been difficult, but for Liam, the iron cup was like a piece of paper. He placed the iron ball on the table and scratched his head apologetically.
"Sorry for ruining the cup."
He knew very few people knew about Force energy, so he used this method to make it seem more convincing.
"Well done, boy. Looks like I underestimated you," Jackson smiled brightly at Liam. He admired brave, gutsy young men—people like that were real men.
Lewis widened her eyes as she stared at the iron ball on the table. Initially, she had been suspicious when Liam picked up the cup and crushed it. A rank F could certainly do that, but she was quickly amazed at how easily Liam did it as if crumpling a sheet of paper. Even though she had reached rank F+, she wasn't sure she could do that with sheer strength alone. She glanced at Liam and asked.
"What was that?"
Sensing his moment, James immediately chimed in,
"Don't you know? This is Force energy, a kind of energy that enhances strength and recovery."
Lewis frowned as soon as she heard James say that. She didn't bother paying him any attention and instead turned to Jackson, waiting for his explanation.
Liam shook his head when he saw this. It seemed like James was trying to show off to Lewis to impress her but went about it the wrong way. Liam looked at James and thought,
"Maybe I'll have to take over from Mr. Michael and teach this kid a thing or two about this stuff."
Jackson added:
"What James said is true, but he missed a bit. Force energy can also enhance your senses and protect you from intangible elements like cold, fire, lightning..."
"What! How can it be that amazing?" James exclaimed in surprise. Based on what his grandfather had told him, it wasn't supposed to be like that. Maybe his grandfather was wrong or hadn't told him everything.
"Heh," Lewis chuckled, just loud enough for James to hear. She said,
"So, the know-it-all doesn't know this, huh?"
James realized he was being teased, his face flushing red like a tomato. With his hot-tempered nature, he glared at Lewis, who was mocking him, and replied,
"At least... I know more than some people!"
Jackson noticed the kids were getting along better, which made him happy. He added, to prevent the argument from escalating,
"People tend to notice the more prominent things. Very few people can activate Force energy, so not everyone knows about it. Except for the Carter family."
After that, he explained more clearly to the three of them about Force energy and the conditions to activate it. It wasn't much different from what Michael had said.
"You're amazing. If it were me, I'd never dare to do such things," Lewis began to look at Liam with a different gaze. She admired those who were brave and always risked their lives. With a fiery fighting spirit rising within her, she looked at Liam with burning eyes.
"I want to challenge you."
"Ugh..." The sound of water spilling interrupted Liam, who had been drinking, when he heard it. He wiped his mouth, wide-eyed. He was exhausted from this journey and now just wanted to finish up the situation in the town of Martin so he could head to the academy. In his head, countless ideas popped up on how to avoid this fight, and when he looked at James, he immediately relaxed.
"Hmm," Liam cleared his throat, looking at Lewis with a mock-serious expression and said,
"If you want to fight me, you'll have to beat James first."
James panicked and looked at Liam.
"What? Why drag me into this?"
Lewis looked at Liam, sighed, and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she smiled and said:
"If that's the case, then you better get ready. I'll deal with that weakling in no time."
James, hearing this, gritted his teeth and glared at Lewis. This was the first time James had met a girl his age. Initially, he thought she was kind and sweet, like her mother. But now, to him, this girl was a fierce, mean-spirited, and combative person.
The two stared each other down for the rest of the conversation. Just as Liam and Jackson were about to step in to defuse the situation, footsteps echoed in the room.
It was a young man, around 17-19 years old, with silver eyes. If you didn't look closely, you could mistake him for Jackson, as they looked like clones of each other. It would be hard to tell them apart if this guy were just a bit older.
"Hmmm..." Liam stroked his chin as he assessed the young man with cold eyes staring back at him.