By the time the sun set, my stomach was trying to digest itself.
"I'm starving," Tobias moaned as we trudged toward the cafeteria. "I hope they have steak. My mom said the Academy feeds you like kings."
We entered the Dining Hall, a massive chamber with long tables. The smell of roasted meat and spices wafted through the air, making my mouth water.
But then I saw the Service Counter.
Above the food lines, huge magical holographic boards displayed the menu.
Dragon-Newt Steak (Str +0.2) ....... 100 AP
Mana-Infused Salad (Int +0.1) ........ 75 AP
Stamina Stew (Vit +0.2) ........... 80 AP
Clean Water ....................... 5 AP
Standard Slop (No Buffs) .......... 0 AP
"Zero AP for the slop," Tobias read, his voice trembling. He pointed to a vat of grey, lumpy gruel being ladled out by a bored golem. "That's... that's pig feed."
"It's calories," I said, getting in the free line. "Eat it, or starve."
We took our trays of grey mush and found an empty table in the corner. The texture was gritty, like eating wet sand, but I forced it down. In the trenches of the Void War, I had eaten rats that tasted better, but I needed fuel.
"Well, well. Look at the trash eating trash."
I didn't look up. I took another spoonful of gruel.
Three shadows fell over our table. It was Jax Thorne's lackeys. The leader was a boy named Torben—Rank D, built like a barrel, with fists the size of hams.
"That's my table," Torben rumbled.
Tobias looked around. The cafeteria was half empty. "B-but there are twenty empty tables right there..."
Torben kicked Tobias's chair, sending him sprawling to the floor. "I want this one. The view is better."
The cafeteria went quiet. Everyone loved a show.
Torben looked at me. I was still eating.
"Are you deaf, F-Rank?" Torben slammed his hand onto the table, sending my tray jumping. "Move."
I slowly chewed, swallowed, and set my spoon down. I wiped my mouth with a napkin.
"You spilled my water," I said calmly.
Torben laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did the little cripple-lover want an apology?" He leaned in close, his breath smelling of the expensive steak he'd just eaten. "I saw you talking to Vane. Trying to ride her coattails? Two defects sticking together?"
I sighed. "System command: Challenge."
The air shimmered. A holographic window popped up between us.
[Duel Requested] Challenger: Kaelen Vance (Rank F) Opponent: Torben Kross (Rank D) Wager: ???
Torben stared at the screen, then burst out laughing. "You? You want to duel me? I have three times your mana density, idiot!"
"Then it should be easy money," I said. "I bet my enrollment token."
Gasps rippled through the hall. The enrollment token was worth 500 AP. If I lost it, I was expelled immediately.
"You're on," Torben grinned, his eyes greedy. "I bet 500 AP."
[Contract Sealed. Commencing in 10 seconds.]
"Kaelen, no!" Tobias cried from the floor. "He's an Enhancer! He can punch through stone!"
Torben cracked his knuckles. His skin began to glow with a dull orange light—Stone-Skin reinforcement. A basic D-Rank spell. Increases durability and striking power.
"I'm going to break your ribs," Torben sneered, winding up a massive haymaker.
I stood up. I didn't cast a spell. I didn't have the mana for it.
Torben roared and swung. It was a powerful punch, but it was telegraphing so loudly he might as well have sent me a letter three weeks ago explaining where he was going to hit.
I didn't block. Blocking requires strength.
I stepped into his guard.
As his fist whistled past my ear, I pivoted on my left heel. I grabbed his outstretched arm by the wrist and the elbow.
Leverage point.
I pulled his wrist down while driving his elbow up, using his own forward momentum against him.
CRACK.
"ARGH!" Torben screamed as his elbow joint hyperextended.
I didn't stop. I swept his legs out from under him. As he fell, I drove my knee into his solar plexus.
Thud.
The air left his lungs instantly. His Stone-Skin flickered and died as his concentration broke.
He hit the floor, gasping like a fish. I stood over him, my foot hovering over his throat.
"Yield," I said.
"S-screw... you..." he wheezed, trying to scramble up.
I pressed my heel down, just enough to cut off his air. "Yield, or I crush your windpipe. The Academy infirmary charges 200 AP for throat reconstruction. Can you afford that and the loss of the bet?"
Torben's eyes bulged. He tapped the floor frantically.
[Winner: Kaelen Vance] [+500 AP Transfer Complete]
I stepped back. The cafeteria was dead silent. Jax Thorne was watching from the balcony, his expression unreadable.
I reached down and offered a hand to Tobias, pulling him up.
"Come on," I said to the stunned boy. "Let's go buy some steak. I need protein."
As we walked toward the food line, I felt a gaze burning into my back. I glanced toward the corner of the room.
Elara Vane was sitting alone at a table in the shadows. She wasn't eating. She was watching me, her fork suspended halfway to her mouth, a calculating look in her storm-grey eyes.
I gave her a small, curt nod.
She didn't return it. But she didn't look away, either.