章節 16: 16. Melanin Beauty

The gym was also located in the Eastern Wing of the Cube and about fifteen to twenty minutes walk from our dormitory.

Such served as a good distance for cardio exercise in preparation for whatever workout routine or sports one would choose to do in the gym.

A good jog to the place would get one's blood flowing properly and priming their muscles for a hard grind.

The gym was the one place where a lot of Hunter Trainees would be guaranteed to gather under the same roof and at the same time.

Although I'd been late heading there, I was sure I'd meet a reasonable number of Hunter Trainees.

But for me, it was about the number that I could meet at the place.

It was more a quality over quantity situation.

Arriving there, I slot in my ID in card mode, allowing the machine to run a quick check on me before raising the entrance door for me to enter.

[Checking…]

[Check Complete]

[Luxane Enstar]

Creak–!

The giant steel doors creaked apart, creating a path for me.

Passing through between the doors and walking in for some seconds worth of distance, I found myself in one of the grand halls of the four levels inside the gymnasium.

This particular floor was the second grandest hall and belonged to the Third Year Hunter Trainees.

Only a small number of them were present.

Even among the few present, it was either they were preparing to leave the venue or actually working out.

I looked around and made a quick observation of the whole place.

A smaller group among them were engaging in other sports: table tennis, volleyball, badminton, swimming et cetera.

The hall was that massive, and it was just one of four.

Perhaps, calling this a hall was even an underestimate but I'm not the guy who makes the name.

I looked around again before heading toward the staircase that led upstairs.

The Third Year Hall had limited options for me to observe and select from and so, I went up to the next hall that belonged to the Second Years.

Getting there, there were a good number of them working out and doing sports as well.

A few, however, were chatting and laughing while they kitted for their sessions and rested from a recently concluded one perhaps.

While the Third Years didn't consider me significant enough to bother about, it was different with the Second Years.

As expected, it didn't take more than a few seconds before all their eyes turned toward me, even those who shouldn't have seen me from where they were.

'Hmph,' I breathed and chuckled inwardly, slowly lifting my left hand as if trying to wave.

Of course, I was not surprised that they could pick up my Essence almost instantly.

It was a given since they were Second Years with a larger capacity of [Focus] than I had, while I was a measly First Year Hunter Trainee who had only just discarded his Virgin Body Constitution some hours ago and had only started on the path to learning how to control Essence.

I could tell from their critical gazes that they were making a thorough assessment of me.

They were trying to seek out any vile or malicious intentions since my face was unfamiliar to all of them.

I scratched my head and feigned nervousness, letting out a wry laughter.

I did this to give them the false impression that I was afraid and threatened by their presence.

I couldn't afford to get into a fight with anybody just yet.

Worse off, a senior in training. That will definitely be bad news.

My acting was beginning to pay off and after some seconds of enduring their intense gazes, they started averting their eyes from me.

They could see that I was starting to act a bit awkward and posed no threat to them in any way.

Thus, they returned to their training, affording me the opportunity of a quick inspection.

As my eyes moved, at a natural pace across the room, to avoid raising any suspicion, I noted the few skills that were active inside the Second Year Hall.

'That's good. At least, their Essence would umbrella mine, making me insignificant.'

A subtle smile appeared on my face.

'Super strength. Super speed. Body Transformation,' I took a mental note of all the abilities that were displayed in front of him.

Those were some of the abilities I had noted and seen play out from the start.

The rest were either a bit more complex or already in motion before I came, so I could not afford them.

I was like an art enthusiast glaring at several pieces of beautiful artworks.

As I observed the scenery, I felt a gentle tug on my black hoodie.

'Huh?' I instinctively let out before turning around to see a gorgeous lady standing behind me with a smile on her face.

'He shifted?' the gorgeous girl thought as her fingers managed to clutch the helm of the hoodie.

She was a tall, beautiful figure of melanin.

Her dark skin was the best anyone would set my eyes on within the Second Year Class.

…A smooth blend of chocolate.

I recognised her and sure as hell, nothing had changed about this lady.

Her low-cut hair that was dyed in golden colour, along with a set of sparkling white teeth that flashed a warm smile at me, made her look even more adorable.

I knew her.

…Everyone knew her.

By the end of a recruit's first few days at the Cube, there was a near hundred per cent chance that one would have heard about her or at least seen her face somewhere around.

One of the three prodigies of the Second Year Class and their Class President.

A representation of melanin beauty

…Lauren Austraborn.

"Hey there," she greeted me with a soft-spoken voice.

"I don't think I've seen you around here. Do you need help? You seem like you're lost or something?"

Her gentle, soft-spoken voice was still ever enchanting and as her words entered my ears, I felt a soothing feeling inside of me.

With her hand pressed to her chest, she introduced herself.

"I'm Lauren. And you are…?"

Before I knew it, I felt Lauren's body pressed against me as she raised her head to look into my head.

I glanced down, noticing her left hand already curled into my right.

'Fuck!' I expressed inwardly, unable to show any visible reaction to avoid rousing suspicion from the Second Year.

…I have just fucked up.