Knowing who and where the danger was, Andy felt a lot less agitated. However, he didn't dismiss the warning of the system to not be isolated outside of his hostel.
Even though his strength has increased, apart from struggling a bit to control his body's balance and force he exerts when making simple movements, Andy had nothing to weigh his strength against.
With a strength of 89, was that comparable to a First Rank Mage's battle strength?
He had no idea.
And until he's able to figure that out, Andy wasn't going to confront Melinda.
Packing his things, he quickly rushed back to his hostel to freshen up and go have dinner. Working out had made him quite hungry.
That didn't take long as he was done within fifteen minutes.
Heading for the cafeteria, Andy came across some of his classmates. Many of them hadn't seen him since the Senate building meeting.
A lot of stares went his way, which wasn't unusual, he was infamous. However, the gossip he eavesdropped on was totally unexpected.
Now that his will had increased so much, the range at which Andy could see, feel, and hear things outside of his immediate surroundings had increased.
He range could expand as far as twenty feet. And while these students thought they were far enough to gossip, to Andy, it was no different from whispering into his ears.
"Haven't you heard? He's the one who caused the academy to expel Zeladin." A girl whispered to her friend.
"But, I thought they were best friends. There were even rumors going around that they had some kind of bromance going on."
"It was only a rumor. From what I heard. He was jealous of the relationship that Zeladin was having with the Academy's belle and then he reported their tryst to the authorities. Otherwise, how would anyone know that Zeladin and Selena were doing it in the boys' hostel region?"
Andy almost stopped in his tracks when he heard this. He was stunned by what he just heard.
Before he could think much of it, he heard another group talking about him.
"That's the school's number one loser." A guy said while throwing a tennis ball into the air and catching it in his hand.
The group of three boys and two girls laughed at his comment.
"I can't believe Zeladin used to defend this guy. Not everyone you consider a friend is truly your friend." Another one said.
"Cock blocker,"
"You mean cock sucker." One of the girls mocked.
They burst into laughter again.
"I hope he falls into a ditch and dies."
With a frown, Andy looked in the direction of the group. He was somewhat pissed and irritated by their words.
More importantly, they were all his juniors, underclassmen. What gave them the audacity to talk about their seniors this way?
All of them paused, wondering if Andy heard them. For a second there, they were shocked.
Though they didn't care to hide their voices or speak in hushed tones, they were indeed far enough for Andy not to hear what they were saying.
"Why is he looking at us?"
"He's probably trying to get into our pants too. Fucking freak!" The guy with the tennis ball pitched the ball at Andy, infusing a bit of Mana in it. He wanted to harm him.
Andy had already sensed this projectile the moment it was hurled his way. But because it was infused with Mana, its speed was a bit too much for him to react properly.
After all, his agility was merely 10 points.
Nonetheless, Andy moved his hand to block the ball. The moment the ball struck his forearm, it exploded.
The sudden attack and loud sound caught many more attention.
"Shit! You damn fool, you put too much force in that. Let's get out of here before someone reports you for aggression with Mana." The group gathered their things and ran.
As for Andy, apart from the spot the ball touched on his sleeve and left a hole in, he was alright. He was strong enough not to even feel a thing from that collision.
Two things were going through his mind. The first being the rumor and who the perpetrator was. The second was his agility being behind.
The imbalance in his stats became apparent to him now. Despite his being aware of the attack, even sensing it feet away, he wasn't fast enough to move out of the path of the attack.
"He seems to be alright. I thought they said he was a weakling below the First Rank, how did he come out unscathed from a First Rank Mage's attack?"
"When you've been Zeladin's close friend and been in such a prestigious institution as such, you'd be a total loser if you don't learn a thing or two."
Andy took in a deep breath and calmed his heart down. Something was definitely wrong. The collective hate towards him wasn't normal.
How did they come to blame him for his friend's expulsion?
He too was a victim, how and when did he turn into a snitch?
Heading into the cafeteria, Andy used his merit points to buy a lot of protein-based foods, taking them with him and back to his room.
There were too many stares, too much being said.
What he needed now was peace of mind to grow, not a distraction that could land him in more trouble.
Setting his dinner up, just when Andy sat to eat, the system came up.
[Quest! Difficulty: Low-Threat]
[Get to the bottom of the rumors against you. There are many hands pulling different strings from the shadows, and you have been placed in the middle.]
[Penalty: Mass social outrage. Possible attacks from fellow students. Sacrificial lamb. Possible demise.]
[Rewards: +10 Intelligence. +10 Agility. +3 Endurance. A Skill (???)]
[Hint: The truth has a stubborn way of remaining true. Isolation isn't the goal, reaction is.]
Andy's spoon dropped to his plate as he read this. While doing so, another quest popped up.
[Quest! Difficulty: Low-Threat]
[Kill Melinda in two days…]
[Penalty: Failure to kill her would spell your demise.]
[Rewards: +10 Strength. +10 Agility. 1 Key (Common). A Wesen's heart.]
There was no hint of the second quest