Chapter 13 – Sus Levels Rising

Rael Astoria was still staring at me. 

 Not in a casual, "hey, we're classmates now" sort. 

 No, this was a "I just saw you warp space-time and smack a dude with a stick" kind of stare. A narrowed-eyes, faint-smirk, probably-already-devising-a-theory kind of stare. 

 I tried to meet his stare with the naïve smile of a man who had never even heard of time-based nonsense. 

 "Nice match," he murmured, tilting his head. 

 "Thanks!" I chirped a little too quickly. "Totally didn't almost faint the entire time." 

 Elara strolled up behind him, looking curiously un-sweaty for someone who just fired thirty explosive spells in a row. 

 "You blinked," she murmured, folding her arms. 

 "I—what?" 

 "During the team phase. You were by that tree. Then you weren't. Then someone was unconscious. But you didn't move." 

 I blinked innocently. "Ah, yes. Strategic blinking. Very underappreciated technique. Helps with spatial…uh… repositioning." 

 Elara stared. 

 Rael stared. 

 Commander Velhart, thankfully, did not stare—he was too busy berating Gareth Bite-a-Lot for trying to suplex someone into a hospital tent. 

 "Anyway!" I laughed, trying to change the subject with the skill of a man tap-dancing over a minefield. "I think I left my soul on the battlefield. Gonna go look for it now, ha ha—" 

 "Manjil." 

 Rael's voice was calm. Too calm. 

 "Yeah?" 

 "You're not… hiding anything, right?" 

 "Nope!" 

 "Because if you were, say, able to teleport short distances or accelerate your movement temporarily, that would technically still be allowed under the academy's abilities clause. They'd just want it registered." 

 "Wow," I responded, voice cracking. "Imagine having something like that. Wouldn't that be wild?" 

 He raised an eyebrow. 

 I could already hear the funeral bells in my thoughts. They were playing a pretty dramatic organ solo. 

 "I just practice," I blurted. "A lot. In private. Very private. Sometimes in a forest. Alone. While crying." 

 Elara nodded slowly, like she was collecting all of that into a mental folder labeled Suspicious But Harmless. 

 Rael smiled. "Then I look forward to seeing more of your… tactics." 

 Great. Fantastic. The protagonist of the world's most dangerous literature believes I'm a mystery. That's not going to bite me in the butt later at all. 

 — 

 Back in the dorm, I sank into my bed with the theatrical flop of a man who has escaped death via stick and blind luck. 

 My roommate, Carvis, peeked his head out from the bathroom, toothbrush still foaming. "You live?" 

 "Barely." 

 "Nice. You scream like a squirrel." 

 I grumbled and rolled over. 

 Rael's look tormented me. That small smile. That terrible knowing twinkle in his eyes. The dude was too smart. And dangerously genre-savvy. 

 I needed to be more careful. 

 I needed to be subtle. 

 I needed… munchies. 

 Ten minutes later, I was creeping through the corridors in my pajamas, en route to the student pantry. 

 And that's when I saw it. 

 The announcement board. 

 New updates had been posted. And one of them had my name. 

 Combat Evaluation: Top Performers List 

 Rael Astoria 

 Elara Vaelmont 

 Manjil Roy 

 I choked on my own spit. 

 Who in the name of time-bending physics authorized this? I was supposed to be average! Not top three! Not ahead of those with fire lances and shadow wolves and serious training! 

 There were already students gathered close, whispering. 

 "Manjil? Isn't he the person who struck people with a stick?" 

 "Yeah, and he teleported or something, right?" 

 "I heard he's secretly from the Eastern Shadow Sect." 

 I froze. Oh no. No no no. 

 One of the senior students glanced over and squinted. "Hey… isn't that him?" 

 Run. 

 I bolted. 

 — 

 Back in my room, I locked the door and stared at the ceiling in existential panic. 

 There was only one reasonable next step: Intentional failure. 

 I had to sabotage myself. 

 Drop ranks. Be a firmly ordinary background character. Blend with the crowd. Stay far, far away from protagonist radar. 

 Yes. Brilliant. 

 That was the plan. 

 … Until the door creaked open again, and Carvis held up a scrap of paper. 

 "Yo. You got summoned." 

 "To the infirmary?" 

 "Nope. Special training group. With Astoria and Vaelmont." 

 I yelled internally. 

 Then externally. 

 And potentially in different time streams. 

 I was so doomed.