Chapter 89: Evasive Skills

Aurelius let out a sigh and pulled away from the wall. He walked forward and stopped before Adam, who had turned around to face him.

"..."

The two held each other’s gaze for several moments, as though they were in a staring contest.

"I could leave, you know?" Lenora joked from the side, smirking as she remarked. "I wouldn’t want to interrupt whatever bromance you’re cultivating."

"W-would you shut up." Aurelius glared at the emerald-eyed loudmouth, his lips twitching.

"Hehe." Lenora grinned. "You two can have at it then."

She turned around and walked away, waving as she did. "Do try to stay out of trouble, Adam. It would be a shame to see you leave."

Adam watched as the girl disappeared at the next turn. Truth be told, he was a bit nervous facing the Spencer boy. They had no feud and no previous interactions outside Student Council business.

"Don’t mind that loudmouth." Aurelius broke the awkward silence, his eyes meeting Adam once more. "And you don’t have to pretend with me."

The boy extended his right hand forward, introducing himself. "You can call me Aurelius."

"Adam."

Adam took the offered hand without hesitation, finding no reason to refuse the gesture.

"As for Lenora..." His gaze trailed the wide corridor the girl vacated and added. "...Well, her personality is growing on me. So no, I don’t mind her words. Though what she said..." He looked back at Aurelius.

The boy revealed a subtle smile and began to walk, casually tucking his hands in his pockets. The gesture seemed to be a trait of his personality.

Adam naturally walked alongside the boy as they made their way through the corridors.

"Would it be strange if I challenged you to a sparring match?" Aurelius asked out of nowhere, prompting Adam to glance at him.

Feeling his gaze, Aurelius added, "Don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to undermine your capabilities or anything like that. It’s just that..."

"You’re curious." Adam cut in, taking the words out of the boy’s mouth.

"Ah, yes."

Adam could sense the hesitation in the boy’s voice. He could tell Aurelius was being careful with his words. The boy didn’t want to end whatever was going on before it even began.

’Did he not have friends growing up?’ Adam wondered to himself. ’That can’t be it. I’ve seen him with others. It must be something else.’

He had expected a lot of things. But seeing a boy like Aurelius hesitate to express his intentions widened his horizons. They all had their troubles.

"Yeah, I can spare an hour for a sparring session. Though it would have to wait." He added a moment later.

"There’s no rush, Adam. Take your time. And you just got exonerated, so you need your rest."

The two took several turns along the way, their strange pairing turning heads. Aurelius was someone who was hardly approached because of his background.

"Since when did those two become friends?" A passing student asked no one in particular, looking back to be sure he saw right.

When the two arrived at the lobby, the staring and murmurs got worse, but they ignored it. Adam, in particular, was done with the lot of them. They were the same people who had looked at him with disgust no longer than a few hours ago.

Turning to face Aurelius, he said, "It was nice making your acquaintance, Aurelius. And I respect your will to approach me when everyone else seems to be keeping their distance. You know where to find me."

Aurelius nodded at Adam’s words, silently watching as he exited the building. A subtle smile tugged at his lips. Had Lenora not done what she did, their interaction might have been very different.

The bright light of the day shone on Adam as he descended the stairs. He took a moment to look around, appreciating the view that had been denied him for the last couple of days.

’I’m not really liked here.’ The thought settled with absolute clarity.

He was targeted simply because someone deemed him unworthy of his talents and status he had. And somewhere out there was someone or a group desiring him for reasons that still eluded him.

Had his master not been in the way, he might have had it a lot more challenging than what it currently was. There were more out there he didn’t know about, enemies who were biding their time and patiently waiting for the right moment to attack.

Staring at the drifting clouds, Adam clenched his fists.

’My current strength isn’t enough to fight them all. My best bet now is to create skills geared towards hiding and escaping. The rest will naturally follow.’

Snapping out of his thoughts, Adam unzipped the bag and took out his phone and key fob. The moment the phone came alive, he performed a thorough scan, searching for any spyware.

He put the phone in his pocket when he found none.

A few meters to the left of the staircase was a small parking lot where his car was parked. With a soft press of his key fob, the car roared to life, humming like a beast ready to pounce.

Hopping into the car, he ran another scan of the vehicle’s system, aggressively killing off all traces of tampering that had been done earlier. He would not be playing ball with anyone.

But make no mistake.

All those who targeted him would sooner or later be put in their place. For now, however, he would keep to himself. The setup had taught him a very important lesson about people and their intentions.

’I’ll have to also polish my ability to read people and their emotions; those never lie.’

Adam pulled out of the parking lot and drove off the Council space. The moment he got onto the main road, he took off with a screeching launch, leaving a smoking trail behind.

As for what happened to that vice-principal and all those involved, he couldn’t care less. He already knew everyone involved would get expelled, so there was no point in him going to their trial.

There were better things to do with his time.