The moment he asked that question, the entire place turned even colder as if someone poured ice in there. Even the people around the tall boy frowned visibly as if they didn’t expect such an exchange.
“I said… Add ‘please’ at the end and I might consider it. It’s the bare minimum, friend.” Arthur replied as he dismissed him with his hand. ‘I’m such an arrogant bastard, haha.’ He thought to himself secretly.
He never got any opportunities to actually act haughty around someone so this felt really good. Even if it was going to put him in trouble with whoever that person was, he didn’t frankly care. He felt like this was a lot of fun and wherever fun went, he was ready to follow it.
A few moments passed before the boy finally did something. He slowly started walking toward Arthur. His steps echoed in the lounge. Eventually, he stopped right in front of Arthur and looked down on him.
“Say that again.” He said. “To my face.” He added.
Arthur opened his eyes again and slowly looked up. “Are you deaf or something? Ok, let me spell it for you this time so you can hear it well.”
With a small groan, Arthur stood up and looked at the boy. “I said add ‘please’ at the end and I might cons-”
Before Arthur could even finish the sentence, all his eyes could see was a flying punch aimed at his face. It was a sudden, unannounced attack that seemed to carry a lot of power and considerable speed. The old Arthur would’ve been completely taken by surprise when such an attack was launched at him.
However, the current Arthur was a little different. For some reason, his eyes could see the punch rather well. It wasn’t in slow motion or anything, but it was almost as if his body and senses were faster.
Without realizing it, he tilted his head to the side, letting the punch pass him casually. The room was submerged in silence again. Then, as if he didn’t have enough, he launched a punch forward that smashed against the boy’s nose, staggering him and pushing him back.
Everyone was shocked at what just happened. Even Arthur was shocked. He blinked slowly before he looked at his hand. ‘… How did I…?’
His reaction speed was just so surprising and his ability to counterattack that fast was also shocking. Granted, this wasn’t that big of a difference from before as Arthur knew how to brawl to a certain extent.
Since he had a small stature and a visually skinny body, he was a good target for bullies across all years of school. So, to defend himself, Arthur learned to fight. It was safe to say he fought other kids his age dozens of times.
He lost many and won many but he learned from them. Still, this particular interaction should’ve not been possible with his abilities. ‘Was that the effect of the serum? No, not just that. My senses feel slightly sharper. Barely enough, but still a change.
Could it be my fight with the fetus that made it easier for me to perceive his attack? Possible. I need to look into this.’
As he was discovering more about his newfound power, the boy was still in pure shock. Lifting his hand, he touched his nose, only to notice droplets of blood left there.
“You…” With wide eyes, he looked at Arthur. “You’re dead, you are so dead.” He said.
“I’m sorry man. I genuinely didn’t mean to punch you like that. Is your nose ok?” Arthur asked as he rubbed the back of his head. “You were the one to attack first you know. I simply reacted.”
“Wha-”
The rest of the group were speechless. They couldn’t believe the boy had just said that. ‘Is he insane?! What’s wrong with him?! Jack will lose it!’
The boy named Jack slowly stood up as he stared at Arthur. “Looking at your attire, you aren’t from any rich family. What the hell are you doing here?”
“… I got an invitation, obviously,” Arthur replied.
“Hmph, how did he receive one? He doesn’t look like he can even afford a capsule.” One of the girls scoffed arrogantly.
“That… You’re goddamn right I can’t afford one.” Arthur pointed at the girl without looking at her. “That’s why I stole one. Tsk tsk.”
“…” (x4)
“Of course, I didn’t, idiots. I just received one as a gift from uh… my dad…” For a second, Arthur struggled to find a good lie. ‘Well, if the dead can give gifts that is.’
Jack frowned visibly before he stepped toward Arthur. “Do you think you’re funny, little shit?”
“Little shit?” Arthur blinked in surprise. “We’re the same age, man. It’s not nice to insult someone’s height.”
“Do you even realize who you just hit right now? All I need is one single word and I can ruin your stupid life forever.”
“… Oh no. No, no, no, how can I miss this?”
Seeing the panicked look on Arthur’s face, the boy grinned coldly.
“How can I miss where this was my problem?” He facepalmed.
“…!” Those words seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. He then started rushing toward Arthur, ready to punch him with even more power. However, at that moment, the door to the lounge opened again, taking everyone’s attention.
Then, a tall man clad in a black suit walked in. Arthur immediately recognized him as the man who gave him the letter earlier that day. Standing at the entrance, he gave everyone a cold glance before he slowly strode inside as if he didn’t realize that a fight was about to break out.
He passed every single one of them until he stopped at the end of the lounge and turned around. “Please, take a seat.” He said in a respectful yet stern tone.
Although he only said three words, their weight fell down on everyone’s shoulders. They didn’t understand why, but they felt a strong urge to simply follow those words without asking a question.
“Who are you?” The other boy asked with a nervous look.
“I shall explain everything, Mr. Jacob. Please, take a seat.” The man replied.
Nobody could retort to those words and saw, one by one, they started taking a seat. Even Jack stopped his intentions to fight Arthur and turned around to walk away. “I’m not done with you.” He whispered to Arthur as he moved away.
The latter simply shrugged and sat down again in his spot and focused on the man.
“First of all, I would love to introduce myself. You can address me as ‘Mr. X’.”
“Mr. X?” Arthur muttered. “What a unique name.”
‘It’s probably not his real name. A nickname or a code name perhaps.’ He mused.
Meanwhile, Mr. X continued speaking. “As you all have read in the letter, you were all chosen from a select number of players to be invited to the Blue Crest Academy.
This institution has been in the work alongside Divinity Online for the past 20 years and we are happy to announce that it is finally ready to accept inspiring students who look to make Divinity Online an integral part of their future and the future of this world.
A//N: Hand me all your PS!