Axel chuckled, his expression turning serious for a mont. "Don't worry, it was just a little test," he assured them, his tone light. "You should probably get back to training."
With that, Axel turned his attention back to the drone.
"Well, that's it folks," he announced.
"Doesn't seem to be anything special about this group. Neither curious nor observant, otherwise they would have noticed the little detail about the monsters lacking shadows. Holograms, people, holograms!"
Axel continued, "So, it seems these newbies weren't geeks or geniuses but were just lucky."
Comnts started rolling in:
"I knew it!"
"T..T no fair!"
"Just bad luck for us, I guess."
"Those guys had no chance!"
"They must have used connections or sothing."
Blitz, still amused by the prank, nudged Axel. "Hey, there are plenty of other teams to ss around with. Let's go!"
Axel agreed, his eyes lighting up with excitent. "Sounds like a plan!"
With that, the prankster duo turned and walked away, leaving Team Vortex standing in stunned silence.
"I've heard rumors that they're troublemakers, well-known around the guild," Aria said.
Leo took a deep breath, trying to calm his team. "Let it go. They're our seniors, and we need to respect that."
Jax clenched his fists. "Respect? They're just making fun of us!"
Mira sighed, shaking her head. "It's not worth it. Let's just go get sothing to eat."
Aria nodded. "We have bigger things to focus on, like our test raid tomorrow."
Leo smiled, appreciating their support. "Exactly. Let's stay focused on what's important. We'll prove ourselves where it really matters."
Jax then let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly then he said, "Alright fine, let's go." With that, the team headed to the café.
They stepped through the café doors, the enticing aroma of freshly cooked food wafting through the air. The team found a cozy corner table and settled down, their minds still buzzing from the earlier prank.
Using the nu, they ordered their als. Mira picked a chocolate and caral dessert, Leo went for a balanced al with grilled chicken and vegetables, Jax ordered a massive steak, and Aria opted for a light salad.
As they waited for their food, the conversation naturally drifted to the upcoming wasteland display event.
"This event tomorrow is a big deal," Mira said, her eyes twinkling with a mix of excitent and nerves.
"Yeah, although I've seen so of them in the past when they were stread online, but this year I heard the participants are going to be wearing body cams! Combining that with the drones to make it even more epic!" Aria said.
Jax leaned back in his chair, a mischievous grin on his face. "Hey, Leo, do you know that Alister guy? The summoner they say is gonna be representing our guild? You were in the sa class back at the academy, right?"
Leo shrugged awkwardly. "We might have been in the sa class, but we never talked. I don't even know the first thing about the guy."
"Although I ain't gonna lie, he was really amazing back then, the way he made hard things look easy, acing tests and demonstrations left and right."
"A part of actually even idolized him." he smiled slightly.
While Leo was talking, Mira gently nudged his shoulder, her voice soft. "Leo, look."
Leo turned to her, curious. "What is it?"
She simply pointed, directing his attention to the far side of the café. Everyone seed to be gazing in that direction with looks of awe on their faces.
Following her gaze, Leo's eyes landed on a table where a man with black hair was scarfing down a bowl of food at an astonishing speed.
Towers of empty bowls were stacked up all around him, and the sheer quantity of food and the speed at which he ate was far from human.
Jax's eyes widened in disbelief. "Who is that guy? How is he eating so much?"
Mira giggled. "He's like a human vacuum cleaner!"
Aria, observant, whispered, "He's probably soone really powerful. Look at the way people are staring at him."
Leo paused, eyes wide. "That's him," he said, voice barely above a whisper.
The others turned to look at him, confusion written on their faces. "What are you talking about?" Jax asked.
"That's my classmate," Leo continued, pointing slightly. "Alister Hazenworth."
"Really?" they all asked, turning back to gaze at the man devouring his al.
As they watched, Alister finally dropped another empty bowl onto the towering stack beside him. Murmurs started to fill the air as several people wondered.
"How can he eat that much?"
"He has to be so sort of monster or sothing?"
"Or maybe summoning drake's gives you drake level appetite?"
"Are you dumb? If that was the case all summoners would either die of starvation or beco human boulders."
"He ate like a fighter or warrior. Maybe he is that strong."
"Na, I'm sure he's just wasting cash, I heard he got a massive down paynt!"
Alister raised his hand, signaling the waitress. She walked up to him awkwardly, clearly
unsure of what to expect.
"Do you want more?" she asked hesitantly.
"No, I'm full," Alister replied, his voice calm. He slowly rose from his seat, his black hair covering almost the upper half of his face, making his eyes barely visible.
"I'll help myself out now," he said, turning to leave.
The waitress nodded awkwardly. "I hope to see you again," she said, stepping aside.
As Alister moved through the café, more murmurs erupted around him.
"He's a total beast."
"He gives off such a powerful aura."
"Is it ? Or did you guys also notice he seems taller?"
"Did he have a growth spurt?"
As Alister walked past their table and headed for the exit, Leo and his team couldn't help but
complint him.
"He's incredible," Mira said.
"Yeah, I've never seen anyone eat like that, he's got a bottomless stomach I'll give him that."
Jax added, nodding his head.
Aria nodded, her eyes still wide. "He's definitely soone to watch out for."
Leo was the last to speak, his tone quiet but sincere. He smiled then said, "Yeah, he's really
aweso."
...
Outside the café, Alister let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging slightly. His thoughts raced, feeling exhaustion weighing heavily on him.
'Damn, I'm so exhausted. I haven't been able to sleep for an entire week.'
He rubbed his temples, raising his hair with his right hand and revealing his tired eyes, trying
to clear his mind. The upcoming wasteland display event lood large, and he knew he needed to be at his best. But he had been having nightmares lately. All in red. About that mory the system claid to have re-assimilated.
'I thought the system had my best interest at heart, making do daily quests every day regardless of whether I slept or not. It sounded more like a death sentence than a hope for my
improvent.'
The nightmares were a real problem. The strange part was that he knew exactly what would happen in them, yet the anger and despair would always be just as strong as the first ti he experienced the mory, causing him to wake up right after.
'Make a deal, huh? What the hell was that monster even talking about?'
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