The eyes of the other youths followed him as he walked, but Malakai ignored them. He soon arrived at the next discipline: combat conditioning.
Despite leaving before anyone else from the previous class, several youths were already present, having come from the lower rank classes.
Malakai joined the slowly forming semicircle around the field, waiting for the class to begin, when suddenly, a voice called out from the side.
“Um, n-ninth Vein…”
Malakai turned, raising an eyebrow the moment his eyes landed on the boy before him.
There was just no way he could forget him. On his first day at this training camp, not even the other Veins had made an impression as strong as this boy had.
Renlo.
“What do you want?”
Even though Malakai hadn’t meant to, his words still came out cold.
As he heard them, Renlo visibly flinched. He averted his gaze and began nervously twirling his fingers.
But then, he clenched his fists. His expression hardened with sudden resolve, and he reached into his clothes, pulling out something that made Malakai’s bafflement spike.
“H-here! T-thank you for yesterday. I-I brought you food in return!”
Renlo blurted out, cheeks puffed and turning red with embarrassment.
Malakai stared at the so-called “food” in Renlo’s arms. If he could even call it that.
It was a half-eaten loaf of bread wrapped in thin nylon, held tightly like Renlo didn’t actually want to let it go.
If Malakai didn’t know better, he’d say Renlo was secretly hoping he’d refuse it.
‘You have to accept it, Malakai! It’s a gesture. He’s obviously trying to be friends.’
‘I thought you said you wouldn’t interfere in things like this anymore.’
‘But—’
‘What if the bread is poisoned? Starting anything new right now is dangerous. Even any kind of relationship. You never know who’s who.’
Valentine paused for a moment before replying.
‘C’mon Malakai. Just look at the kid and tell me he stands even the slightest chance of being a spy.’
Malakai glanced at Renlo again.
The boy was still in the same oversized clothes from yesterday, now covered in even more dirt and grime.
Mud streaked across parts of his face and cheeks like he hadn’t bathed in days. His entire body was visibly trembling just from standing in front of Malakai’s cold presence.
Then Valentine added,
‘Considering what you need to achieve in the future, you’ll need people. How will you ever connect with anyone if you can’t respond to gestures like this? You don’t have to eat the bread, just accept it.’
Malakai said nothing.
‘D-does he not want it!?’ Renlo thought, his chest sinking. ‘I should’ve known. He’s a Vein… and you’re… well, you’re you.’
A few more seconds passed in silence. Malakai still hadn’t responded.
‘I should just apologize and leave,’ Renlo thought, eyes glued to the ground. He shakily looked up.
“I’m sorry, Ninth Vein. I—”
But before he could take it back, he suddenly felt a firm grip, and a cold touch.
Renlo’s head shot up, eyes wide as they saw Malakai take the bread from his hand.
“W-what? You actually collected it?” he stammered, utterly stunned.
Malakai raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want me to?”
Renlo frantically shook his head. “No, no, no! I’m just surprised that you collected it. It’s just… you’re a Vein and all…”
“So we don’t eat bread?”
Renlo nodded instinctively. “Yes.”
Then he quickly shook his head. “No! I mean no, no! It’s just… I didn’t think you’d collect it. From me.”
He scratched his head awkwardly.
Malakai looked him up and down. “Yeah. You’re very dirty.”
Renlo froze, completely caught off guard by the bluntness. “Ha ha… I’m not that dirty…”
“You are.”
Renlo cleared his throat awkwardly and had no response.
A few seconds of silence passed before Malakai added, “Thanks.”
Renlo’s eyes widened. Speechless. To think he would ever hear that from a Vein…
Then he nodded, a sheepish smile spreading across his face, clearly delighted.
Many of the nearby youths had witnessed the interaction between the Ninth Vein and what was considered a “waste,” and their mouths hung open in disbelief. What in the world was happening?
Moments later, once the rest of the class had gathered, the instructors began the session.
Just like the day before, Malakai found himself paired against Renlo once again.
As the latter stood in front of him, there was a hint of hope in his eyes. Now that they had somehow ‘bonded,’ surely Malakai would go easy on him… right?
‘He even said thank you! I’m sure he’ll take it easy on me.’
Renlo hoped as he shakily got into a stance, only for his entire thought process to freeze the moment he met Malakai’s gaze.
The boy standing before him looked like he was ready for war. There was no sense of familiarity in his eyes, only cold, unfeeling focus.
‘Shit! My rotten luck…’ Renlo cursed just as the instructor’s voice rang out.
“Begin!”
A gleaming blade filled Renlo’s vision, Malakai’s scythe splitting straight toward the center of his forehead.
His eyes widened, and just as his spear whipped up to block, the blade abruptly flipped direction, tearing toward his right shoulder instead.
Before the attack could land, the instructor’s hand shot forward, intercepting it in the nick of time.
“Keep it up,” the instructor said casually before retreating to his position, while Malakai calmly backed away, giving Renlo a few seconds to gather his bearings.
‘This is the perfect opportunity.’
While Renlo fought to steady his trembling legs, Malakai’s mind calmly drifted back to something he had considered yesterday.
‘They’re not that far apart. It’s possible.’
His eyes locked onto Maximus and Aurelia, the Seventh and Sixth Veins.
He had wanted to learn where they had formed their nodes so he could plan for the upcoming hunt accordingly, and this class was his best shot at figuring it out.
‘I only need to get within five meters.’
His range for sensing vita was currently five meters. With how chaotic the field was, Malakai was confident he could do it. But to pull it off, he would need to shift the fight in that direction.
Which meant…
‘I’ll have to kick him around a bit.’
As Malakai’s gaze sharpened and settled on Renlo again, the latter couldn’t help but tremble.