Chapter 40: Sports Festival [2]

Lucian and Stella explored the colourfully decorated school grounds as he looked around for anyone even remotely suspicious.

As they walked over to the entrance of the school building, Lucian heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Yo, Lucian! Over here!"

"Ethan, stop screaming so loudly; you're going to rupture my eardrums. The guy's only like 10 metres away anyways."

"Ah… My bad."

Hearing the familiar banter of his good friends, Lucian turned around to greet them.

"I see you two are as energetic as always," Lucian lightly smiled.

James lightly frowned in response.

"Don't lump me with this guy; I don't act like I've just downed 5 cans of energy drinks."

"Hmm? I didn't drink any today, But my sister gave me a can in case I need a quick recharge mid-day."

The colour drained from James and Lucian's faces; even Stella's eyes widened.

"E-Ethan p-promise me you won't ever drink that," James stammered.

"Y-yeah, I heard they're terrible for your health… I heard they can increase your risk of heart attacks and that you should avoid them!" Lucian added.

Ethan frowned slightly.

"Isn't that only for children, people with heart problems, and pregnant women? It said that on the back of the can."

"Um… Either way, it isn't good, trust us."

"Okay?"

The three of them internally sighed in relief.

After seeing Ethan the last time he drank energy, the three of them were left traumatized.

Lucian and James silently cursed Ethan's sister in their hearts.

Knowing the personality of that she-devil, she probably gave it to him to see all hell break loose.

She was already in college but still loved pulling childish pranks like this.

The two of them only met her once when they visited Ethan's place, but they swore to stay as far away from her in the future.

They felt an intense pity for their friend who had undoubtedly suffered at her hands for countless years…

After confiscating the energy drink in Ethan's backpack, the group of four made their way to their respective classrooms.

However, before they parted, Lucian patted Stella on the back in encouragement and wished her luck.

While surprised by his sudden action, Stella smiled brightly and wished him the same, despite knowing that Lucian didn't have much chance of winning.

Upon parting with her, the three stooges entered their classroom and sat idly chatting as the rest of their classmates trickled in.

"By the way, did you hear? Countless groups of thugs near the school were found dead; the cops think it's the work of a new gang or something," Ethan pulled out his phone to a news article covering the recent string of murders.

"Or it could also be just one person, the people that died were all E and F-class ability users. A couple of D-rank ability users, or even a single C-rank ability user, could pull it off independently," James countered.

Lucian internally frowned.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the press would pick up the recent murders and write an article about it, but he was still irked when it happened.

With his targets aware of his existence, it would be a lot harder to farm exp incognito now.

Given his time constraints, he had done his best to grind exp, even to the point where he almost levelled up again.

He was now only twenty experience points away from level 3.

Name: Lucian Sanguinis

Age: 15 years old

Race: Vampire

Lv.2

EXP: 480/500

HP: 30/30

STA: 4/15

ABILITY ENERGY: 25/25

THIRST: 0/65 (Gain one point in thirst every 30 minutes. WARNING: DO NOT LET THIRST REACH THE MAXIMUM VALUE)

DEF: 9

SPD: 16

STR: 14

CHAR: 25

Free Stat points: 5

It seemed that he wouldn't be able to get stronger unless Stella's grandfather came back or the perpetrators behind the attack on Stella were caught.

Having to hold back when he was getting closer and closer to his goal made Lucian feel restless, but he didn't have any other option.

Revealing himself and his powers now would only cause future headaches.

While Lucian was lost in thought, he felt Ethan tap his shoulder.

"By the way, Lucian, I was sure you, of all people, would have tried to skip today, so… Why did you come?" Ethan asked.

Lucian forced a smile.

"Try and take a guess…"

"Don't harass our brother; he has enough henpecking from his 'wife,'" James smiled.

"By the way, I've seen her drop you off daily for the past few days. Did something happen? Wait… Don't tell me… You got laid???"

Ethan's impulsive words were seemingly loud enough to be heard by the entire room, causing the students to turn to Lucian with venomous expressions of anger, jealousy and hate.

Lucian felt a strong and compelling urge to bonk his 'dear friend' on the head.

He knew that no matter what he said, rumours would spread.

Seemingly realizing his mistake, Ethan hurriedly covered his mouth, but unfortunately, it was a tad too late.

"Idiot…" James chastised.

Lucian kneaded his head while thinking of something he could say to diffuse the situation.

As he was trying to formulate a plausible enough excuse, Andrew exited the crowd and stopped before Lucian.

"There's no way trash like him would have the guts to do something that-" Andrew began with a slightly smug expression.

"Balsy?" Ethan interrupted.

Andrew's face went as pale as a sheet.

Instinctively he felt a sharp pain in his crotch, causing him to cross his legs defensively.

"I'm sure you know all about lacking balls, eh buddy?" James added with a slight smile.

Unable to hold back their laughter, some students in the class burst into fits of laughter.

Even Lucian's face broke into a smile.

Getting up, he walked over and whispered in Andrew's ear.

"Thanks for having my back, buddy! But even if you no longer have your family jewels, I still can't see you as a woman… So I can't accept your feelings… I'm sorry."

Lucian bowed slightly with a sorrowful expression.

Andrew took a step back and put some distance between himself and Lucian.

It was wrong to mess with this bastard… It was better to leave handling him to others.

If there was one person who could handle Lucian, it was definitely 'him.'

Thinking this, Andrew threw Lucian and his friends one last glare before returning to his seat with a defeated look.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the laughs and murmurs that resounded through the room.

Instead of whispering about Lucian and Stella, Andrew became the new center of attention.

Lucian smiled brightly as he once again thanked Andrew in his heart.

The saying "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" seemed right after all…