Not the Time

It's been two weeks since the rumors about me started. People point and look away when I glance in their direction. I fear all the rumors so much that I've skipped several lessons, not that it matters as long as I pass my exams. My plan should be foolproof for today.

I've gathered quite a few different supplies for this; all of them would be needed to take down Vesper. Of course, I also planned to save her since she hadn't physically harmed me, but she and Selene have become best friends, and I suspect they are the ones spreading the rumors.

Zayne and I still talk, and he seems rather concerned for me. It doesn't matter, though, since I'm moving toward a semi-life of crime—not really. I folded the plans and destroyed them, as I had memorized everything. 

I grabbed my bag and jumped out of my window. No one thought it suspicious anymore since I only left through the windows nowadays. I made my way into the forest where Vesper commonly trained, as her entire training room had already been destroyed due to her aura. 

It was actually pretty far into the forest, so I had to stop multiple times to take a short rest. But once I got there, it was evident she trained there; the entire section of the forest was now a desert. I rummaged through my bag for a small trap device that she would set off, and of course, she wouldn't know about it at all. 

The nice thing about being a Chaos Warden was the fact that the 20% damage bonus included status effects, making them 20% more effective. I was banking on that with the sleep potions. I set a few up underground and in the trees and found a spot to hide. Another advantage was that the 20% resist-all also included visibility, so if someone wasn't looking for me, they would likely overlook me.

I had brought books, homework, and a few other things. Of course, I had to stay a good student—just because my reputation was as dead as an ant after being nuked doesn't mean my grades had to suffer. Most of the assignments were easy to complete.

She was taking longer to get to her training than usual, but I didn't mind much since it gave me more time for my homework. Then I heard a branch snap, probably a couple hundred feet from where I was. I put my stuff away and hid on top of a tree. 

She appeared angrier than on any other day. She didn't even bother to preserve the forest at all; there was a line of trees that were now pure ash. Her aura was flaring up everywhere, which wasn't like her since she usually kept it in check. I almost felt bad because whatever bad day she had before this was about to get ten times worse. 

But then again, her best friend was also ruining my reputation with that stunt of saying I raped her. So I thought it was a fair trade: I ruin her day, and her friend ruins my life. 

I clicked a button and moved the lever just enough so that the sleep potion would slowly disperse throughout the area; she wouldn't notice. Slowly, she would get more and more tired until, boom, she would just collapse. I watched her sitting on a log with her head down—yeah, now I do feel a little bad, but I guess some payback is needed, and what I would gain from this would be more than enough. 

I still had a plan to save her anyway. It should take about eight minutes for the sleep gas to take effect, and during that time, I watched her cry until eventually, she fell forward asleep. About ten minutes later, the group that was originally going to kidnap her arrived, and I needed one of their special skill books named "In Chaos There is Order." Only they had it, and only one copy existed. It would be used later if I couldn't steal it now. Of course, the Brotherhood of Chaos wasn't just going to hand it over easily since it was one of their treasures. 

I planned to steal it or earn it. I jumped down from my tree and greeted the group. "So, can I join, or is my work not good enough?" They all wore masks, so I couldn't discern any identifying features. "The boss will decide that. All this got you," he pointed toward Vesper, "was a meeting. She makes the call." He sounded bored or angry; I couldn't really tell. 

I joined their group, and of course, they made sure I couldn't see where we were going, so I was blindfolded and carried. What they didn't know was that my eyesight was so good I could still make out the surroundings, albeit barely. So I knew we were still in the capital city. Eventually, I gave up on tracing our steps since I would almost certainly be granted entry.

We came to a stop and I was set down. I could tell we were underground just by the difference in air quality. "Follow me; I'll bring you to the boss." The man I was following looked like your average goon—big and muscular, resembling someone who had lost their last two brain cells in a rock fight.

We stood in front of a massive wooden door, decorated with amethyst and sapphire. "You may enter." The door slowly opened with a squeak.