The whole arena plunged into absolute silence. Not a single word was spoken the moment Bobby fell to the ground, clearly unconscious. The entirety of the students spectating the fight were utterly stunned at what they were seeing. Chuck, a living proof that the term "weak" was worthy enough to be in the dictionary had just defeated a mage two stages higher than him.
Everything that Chuck had just displayed was nothing short of impossible. He was always seen as the true definition of useless, making the feats he just performed seemed out of this world.
Was he hiding his powers all this time? Not wanting anybody to know how strong he truly was. Or did he just happen to grow strong overnight? None of the questions that enveloped the mind of each mage present had a plausible answer.
Standing amidst the crowd was Kaiden, who was absolutely shocked at what she witnessed, "I can't believe he exposed himself just like that. Didn't he want to keep it a secret? Why the fuck did he decide to reveal his powers right in front of everybody?" Kaiden's mind spiralled in confusion, not knowing what Chuck's true motives were.
Standing right in the center of the chaos was Chuck. He stood there, silent, still, and filled with a little bit of surprise, not caring about the raging attention he just brought upon himself.
"I really did it. I actually managed to defeat him," Chuck thought in astonishment, "I know I caught him off guard with the whole boomerang thingy, and if we were to fight again, he'll definitely defeat me, but a win is a win…"
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?"
Chuck's reverie was cut short by the deafening voice that came from the crowd. Turning around, Chuck could see countless eyes staring at him. He realized that the aftermath of the fight wasn't something he had prepared for, so he decided to do the only thing he could think of.
Quickly dismissing the infernal shroud, and the infernal craft, the golden glow on Chuck's figure died down, making him seem like a regular mage. The intense glow on his eyes vanished, and the scorching wings of fire on his back bursted into tiny golden particles.
Chuck, pretending not to notice the enormous crowd that circled around him, tried to make his way through, but he didn't get far.
"Hey you! Where the fuck do you think you're heading off to? You just knocked the shit out of Bobby! Aren't you supposed to be weak?" A mage stepped In Chuck's way, blocking his path.
Beads of sweat formed on Chuck's temple. He knew that he didn't have the energy to fight against another mage. Using multiple abilities at once took a huge toll on him.
"Ohh no. This is what I was scared of. I have to find a way to get past these crackheads," Chuck thought, feeling even more nervous.
"Do I look weak to you? If you don't get out of my way, I'll make sure you meet a fate worse than Bobby's," Chuck said, trying his best to look intimidating.
The mage in his way was unfazed, not ready to let Chuck leave. "Yeah I'd like to see you try, cunt!"
Chuck couldn't waste any more time, as he had more important matters to attend to.
"activate infernal craft"
[ Infernal craft has been activated ]
[ Weapon crafted: wings ]
[ Harelm energy pool: 0/100 ]
Large flaming wings sprouted from Chuck's back once more, except this time, they were a less hotter than before. This was due to the little amount of energy Chuck used to create the wings.
Now covered in the warmth of the golden essence, Chuck flapped with intensity, shooting his figure into the sky, directly heading for the male's dorm building.
"Hey get back here!" The mage yelled, watching Chuck vanish off into the distance. He could have used his wind magic to chase after Chuck, but Chuck was moving at an incredible speed, making it seemingly impossible to catch up to him.
The rest of the students were short of words. They didn't know how to react, or what to say. But one thing was clear, Chuck had just created a difficult path for himself, and things were either going to be better… or worse.
—
After a while of surfing through the air, Chuck arrived at the entrance of his dorm room. He occasionally turned around just to verify if anyone followed him. Opening his door, he entered the room and immediately collapsed on the worn out chair close to his bed.
The chair creaked, sounding like it was going to crumble at any moment, but thankfully, it didn't.
"Alright," Chuck sighed, "I'm safe now. Now I can breathe."
Chuck was beyond exhausted, all he wanted to do was drift off into the subconscious…
But before he had any chance to rest, he heard a sound that seemed to have come from his head.
*Ding*
[ Quest defeat the enemy has been completed ]
[ Exp>> 140/200 ]
[ The system detects that this is the first victory the user has ever achieved ]
[ Additional reward gifted… ]
[ HP: 7/10 >> 7/15 ]
[ Harelm energy pool: 0/100 >> 0/150 ]
[ Mana pool: 100/100 >> 100/150 ]
Chuck saw the series of messages on the transparent screen hovering in his line of sight, "ohh this is much better than I expected."
"Although, I don't know why the system chose to increase the amount of mana I can hold. It's useless when I can't even control it," but Chuck couldn't complain. The results were still promising.
With his Harlem energy and HP tank increased, it meant Chuck could fight for an even elongated period of time.
[ Quest failed: kill the enemy ]
Chuck immediately felt a hint of regret. If he somehow killed Bobby, he would have leveled up instantly, saving him the stress of having to increase his exp.
But also, Chuck wasn't stupid. Killing a fellow student in the academy grounds was a huge crime. If he somehow managed to kill Bobby, his journey would have ended before it even got the chance to start.
Chuck remembered that the system gave him an additional skill back in the sandy field. He didn't have the time to check it out due to the announcement that was being made. But Chuck was alone, free, and relaxed. Opening his skill tab, Chuck proceeded to know what the system had in store for him.
[ Skill ]
[ Infernal shroud: LV 1 ]
[ Infernal craft: LV 1 ]
These were the skills that Chuck was familiar with. He had a good idea of their stats, and their strength, so he decided to skip them and read even further.
His eyes rested on the new skill, and it seemed different from the rest of his skills.
[ Skill ]
[ Forced absorption technique ]