Kinsey couldn't get the scene from last night out of her head.
The student who had defeated her so casually during the test… the same one who walked out of the gym casually without even looking back at the mess he made. She had watched him from the shadows as he used his ability on the dummies.
She waited until he was gone before stepping out.
The sight made her stop thinking for a moment. Every training dummy in front of her was melted. Not burned or scorched, melted. Like wax left too close to a furnace. She crouched down, running her fingers along the warped material, trying to understand what she was looking at.
"Was it fire?"
It looked like it and it also felt like it, but she knew better. Only people from a certain bloodline awakened fire abilities. Axel Vaelon certainly wasn't one of them.
So what was this?
Whatever it was, if he had used that power on her during the testing, she knew for a fact she wouldn't have stood a chance. It wasn't normal or safe for that matter.
It was dangerous… and completely unheard of. Right there in that empty gym, Kinsey made up her mind.
Axel Vaelon was now a person of interest.
---
The next morning, after barely sleeping, she found herself standing near the male dorm complex. She didn't have a real reason to be there but her instincts told her to just watch him and see what he was up to. The female dorm was just a short walk away, and both sides shared the same four building layout, one building for each student year so it wasn't hard for her to blend in.
She waited and watched as male students came out in groups. Some walked alone though none of them were who she wanted to see.
Then, just when she was considering leaving, she spotted him. Axel stepped out of the building, wearing the same expression he had, like he didn't just destroy the school gym last night. Another student with a thin frame walked beside him and she recognized him immediately.
He was the one who got knocked out first during training. A complete pushover.
If she could beat anyone here with her eyes closed, it was definitely him. He didn't even do well in the test, so he would be a piece of cake.
Kinsey kept her distance as she followed them. Axel didn't walk fast, but he didn't stroll either. He moved like someone who always knew where he was going at every time and the other boy beside him, she didn't know his name, seemed to asked a lot of questions, waving his hands around as they moved down the path leading to the library.
She made sure to walk behind a group of students to blend in. She didn't want to get too close and risk being noticed. She didn't even know why she was doing this. Maybe curiosity... or the underlying urge to figure out someone.
All she knew was that something about Axel bothered her, and she needed to understand it.
When they approached the library entrance, she slowed down.
Axel and Rick went inside through the left wing. Kinsey waited until a small crowd passed through the doors, then slipped in behind them. She tapped her collar tag against the scanner, the device beeped and the doors unlocked.
She stepped in and muttered under her breath, "Guess this thing isn't so useless after all."
As she walked deeper inside, her eyes went up to the scoreboard projected above the hallway and her name flashed for a moment.
'K. Kit — Lumina 3'
She stared at the scoreboard like she wanted to shoot laser beam from her eyes and destroy it. She was the same level as Axel Vaelon… But nowhere near his strength.
She let out a quiet sigh and pushed the thought away. Thinking like that wouldn't help her. She straightened her posture and continued forward.
As she walked deeper inside, she spotted both of them ahead and she decided to hang around near the back wall, watching from a distance.
All of a sudden, he walked straight into a group of students who were sitting and chatting around a simulation table. He joined their little circle and eased his way in like he belonged there.
Kinsey raised a brow at that and watched him talk for a few seconds. Even from a far distance, she could hear them. His tone was easy and calm, but the other boy stood awkwardly beside him, trying to keep up. It didn't take long for her to figure out what Axel was doing.
He was creating a diversion.
"Smart…" she whispered to herself.
And just as she expected, it happened.
Axel slipped out of the group when their attention shifted, leaving the other boy stuck in a conversation he clearly didn't want to be in at first, but now he was enjoying it.
The boy didn't even notice Axel walking away until it was too late.
Kinsey followed Axel with her eyes as he moved, avoiding crowded spots, taking the side corridors… and heading toward the first year digital library.
Watching all of this happen. She knew that he was definitely up to something and whatever it was… he didn't want anyone to see.
Kinsey hesitated for a moment outside the digital library doors. She knew Axel went in there to get away from everyone, but curiosity pushed her forward. After thinking it over, she decided to walk inside.
The library was quiet and surrounded with computer pods. It didn't take long to spot Axel, he sat on a booth, clicking on one of the holographic keyboards, while she kept her distance. She didn't want him sensing her presence, so she took a seat at another computer behind him. From there, she peeked a little, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was searching.
But he hid his screen, well... she couldn't see a single word.
Still, something happened that made her sit up straight.
Axel's monitor glitched. Not a small type glotch but a full on distortion, like the system froze and then snapped back into place. His posture didn't even change. He kept typing and scrolling like nothing happened, which suggested he wasn't really surprised.
"Is he… hacking the Oval network?" she whispered under her breath.
It sounded ridiculous, but what else could cause that? Nothing about Axel made sense anyways.
She was still watching when four students suddenly walked up to him. Their stance said everything. They were obviously threatening him. She recognized the one with the red hair almost instantly.
"Dane Cornwall... always feeling like the prince of the world."
Could Axel defeat all four if he used that dangerous ability of his again? No. Dane was a Spectra 5.
Axel eventually stood, said something small, and walked away from them like they were nothing.
She didn't follow him yet, she stayed put, pretending to browse the system. She didn't want to make it obvious she had been watching him this whole time. She needed to give him enough time to get far ahead.
Several minutes passed and she finally logged off her terminal and stood. She walked calmly to the doors, pushed them open, and stepped outside ... only to stop dead in her tracks.
Axel was standing right there.
And he wasn't alone.
Rick was beside him, looking confused. Ares stood on Axel's other side with his arms crossed, then he took one step forward and stared right at her.
"Wanna tell me why you've been stalking my buddy here..?"