[QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE]No, this is not a mistake lol. Enjoy.
//////////////////////////Freddy’s first day at the university was going about as well as expected.
He stood there, face buried in the palm of his hand, wishing the earth would simply swallow him whole and get it over with.
The three watchdogs marched up to them, with a lanky man taking the head. “We’ve received a report of badge forgery?”
“Right here, officer,” the rude bastard pointed at Freddy.
The watchdogs looked like they were going to arrest Freddy for all of a moment, and then, they appeared to realize what was happening. The man in the front coughed. “Ah. Mr. Stern. Apologies. It was unavoidable you would arouse suspicion. Not to worry, however. We were alerted of your arrival beforehand. Sorry for the disturbance."
“Well, it’s not like I didn’t expect this to happen, honestly.”
“Huh?” The redhead blurted out, his two brain cells rubbing really hard together as he tried to process what was happening.
“This aside, we would like to offer you a warm welcome. If there is anything you need help with, an assistant can be arranged for you.”
“No… no, I’ll just… figure it out. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“You’re welcome, Sir.” The man bowed a little. “Now, if that’s all, we should be on our way.” They turned and left.
The silence in the room was so thick a pin dropping would sound like a bomb going off. The insanity, however, was off the charts. One girl in particular was losing her fucking mind in the crowd, and Freddy tried his best not to glance at her. I could swear I’ve seen her somewhere.
With a two-star’s memory, he often came across people he was sure he had seen before, but usually, it was probably just someone he had walked past on the street a few times.
“What’s your name?” Freddy broke the awkward silence as he faced the red-haired young man before him.
The man gathered himself, squaring his shoulders. “I’m Shane Lawman.”
Freddy wagged his finger as he worked his memory. “Ah, you’re Overlord Lawman’s kid, right? I saw you in the arena a few times, you’re pretty good. Look, dude, I can see you’ve got a strong sense of justice, and to be fair, you did first offer me a chance to take the badges off without having the cops called on me, so props for that. But if you’re done being a nuisance, I’d like to go on my way. Okay?”
Shane snorted kind of aggressively, a dark look crossing his eyes as he turned around wordlessly.
“Wait,” Freddy said, causing the man to halt. “What’s with that look?”
“What look?”
“You know what look. The ‘I’ll get you back for this’ look. Do you have a problem with me?”
Shane scoffed. “Severed powerhouses usually know better than to flaunt medals like that. It’s just common courtesy.”
“Huh?” Freddy scratched his head. “Severed? Buddy, I’m not sure who you think I am, but I assure you, this is my first time at the second star.”
“Hah!” Shane cackled, and he was joined by a number of laughs from the crowd.
Freddy frowned. “What?”
“Sir, there’s no need to embarrass yourself like this,” Shane jabbed with a smirk. “You’re evidently quite accomplished, and there’s no shame in giving ascension a second try. But pretending to be a young two-star is kinda creepy.”
Freddy’s anger bubbled up, and he revealed a grin as he wagged his finger again. “Okay, you’re really starting to piss me off now. Isn’t it enough that you embarrassed yourself once already?”
“I’m the one embarrassing myself?” Shane asked, putting on a mock surprised look.
Freddy looked around, and judging by the looks the others in the room were shooting at him, everyone thought Shane was in the right. “I’m twenty five years old!” he shouted in indignation. Everyone in the crowd winced in cringe, as if he’d said the most embarrassing thing ever.
The urge to pull his ID out and show it to everyone nearly overwhelmed him, but he took a deep breath instead. “You know what? Believe what you want. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.” He tried walking away, but the muttering and muted chuckles pricked at him something ungodly. Suddenly, he stopped, taking his ID out of his storage ring. “Here you go!” He flashed it, showing it to everyone. “See the birthday? Twenty-five! I turned twenty-five just recently! So there you go. Show’s over, folks!”
“That’s fake!” someone from the crowd shouted.
“Fuck you mean ‘that’s fake’!? Who just said that!?”
A scrawny woman raised her hand, stepping forward. “I have a talent that lets me see certain information about people. And you, uh… You are over 125 years old.”
Freddy cringed. “That’s… technically sort of true.”
The crowd broke into laughter.
“I just spent a lot of time in time-dilated dungeons, okay!?”
The laughter grew louder.
Shane chuckled, pulling his phone back out. “What do you think the watchdogs would say about the fake ID?”
“That it isn’t fake!” Freddy said. “Call them and see!”
“Look,” Shane put the phone away. “You are no doubt an incredible individual. But what’s with this strange complex? Get yourself together, man. There is literally nothing wrong with being a geezer.”
“I’m not a geezer, you dumbass; call the watchdogs and you’ll see what they’ll tell you!”
“I don’t feel the need to waste any more of their time on petty nonsense.”
Freddy guffawed. “Now that’s fuckin’ rich. You know what, I’m starting to think I hurt your pride.”
“Nah.”
“Nah? You called them and looked like an idiot. Now you’re trying to salvage your reputation by basically bullying me.”
“I would never bully the elderly.” Shane grinned.
“Okay.” Freddy clenched his jaw. “I think I’m gonna kick your ass.”
“Whoa, threatening violence, now?” Shane raised his hands and backed away. “That’s not very cool of you, gramps.” His grin widened. “Besides, I’d be careful where I’m stepping if I were you.”
A crisp vein showed itself on Freddy’s neck as he worked to calm down. “What? Scared?”
“Of you? Why would I be?” Shane leaned forward. “Let us be real here, champ. Those badges of yours are impressive, but all I’m smelling a whole lotta cheeeeeeeeeeeese,” he dragged the last word out as he bared his teeth at Freddy. “Over a million confirmed kills in under 10 battles? It’s obvious you either used a talent or a spirit ability to empower someone from outside the battlefield. That’s the only way to get credit for kills without getting credit for direct participation.
“And look at you. I don’t see anything even resembling a scar anywhere. How much time could you have realistically spent in action?”
“I have a healing talent, moron.”
“Of the supreme quality? Sure.”
Freddy gave the guy a flat look. Then, he pointed at the Solo Dungeoneer badge. “How’d I cheese this one, genius? Did I stand back and let a ghost of myself delve or something?”
“Hah! At your age, it would have been embarrassing if you hadn’t delved at least that many!”
“I already told you, my guy. You want proof of what I can do? Let’s take it to the arena.”
“And why the arena specifically?” Shane asked with a quirked eyebrow.
Freddy looked at the man like he was an idiot. “So you don’t die for good?”
“Oooh”-s echoed through the hall, with Shane balling his fist up, putting it to his mouth, and sucking air in. “Them’s fighting words, gramps. If you’re confident, then”—he bumped into Freddy with his chest—”let’s fight outside the arena.”
“Sure.”
“Hah. As if you’d really dare.”
“No, I’m serious. Let’s do it, then. Come on.”
“Look here…” Shane suddenly grew serious. “Out of respect for your service to the country, I won’t push things any further.”
“Are you fucking stupid? I said let’s fight.”
“You’ve had a rocky start today,” Shane continued. “I will do you a favor and let you save the last of your reputation. Stop bringing shame on those medals and show that you’re worthy of them.”
“Buddy, were you dropped on the head as a kid?” Freddy asked just as Shane turned around and started walking away. “Hey! You’re literally just running away!” Freddy laughed. “Look at this loser! You’re full of shit, Shane!” But Shane ignored him.
Freddy turned to face the room full of onlookers, where a blend of second-hand embarrassment and jeers welcomed his attention. “All right… Okay… You know what? I don’t even care. Why should I? You’ll all know you’re wrong soon enough.” He raised both middle fingers to the crowd as he maneuvered towards a nearby hall.
***
Madame Morleppe smacked her forehead repeatedly, a deep frustration bubbling inside her.
A screen before her had a paused video, the last frame of Freddy Stern walking away from a crowd of university students with both middle fingers raised in the air.
“What the hell is wrong with him!?” she shouted. “Why is he out there with all his badges in full view!?” The shock she was feeling could barely be described with words. “And lord have mercy what was that?” Groaning, she leaned her forehead on her hand. “Not that I’d expect him to handle the situation any better, to be honest…”
Something was fishy here. Freddy was a bit dumb at times, sure, but this was just baffling. He had to have been forced into this. And realistically, given the recent happenings with him, there was only one person who came to mind. “Kaiya…” Madame groaned. “I’m gonna have to pay him a visit.”
***
“I’m telling you, this guy has to have been part of some kind of secret special forces.”
“No shit.”
“Everything about the dude is kind of weird, tho, no?”
“Yeah, those badges don’t really add up.”
In a small cafe located inside the university building, Anya sat beside three of her colleagues, nervously sipping on an ice latte. The urge to spill the beans was overwhelming.
Freddy Stern was apparently 125 years old. But that ID of his was 100% legit. She had used her talent to confirm it. It had gone through the exact same process as every other legitimate ID in the empire, which meant he had indeed been born 25 years ago. He was telling the truth! He had actually just delved into a ton of time-dilated dungeons!
And he was Lobotomizer! Gah! Healing talent! It makes so much sense now!
She sipped her latte harder, and a bit of it went down the wrong hatch. She burst into a coughing fit, and the others turned to face her.
“You good?” Kale, one of her assistant colleagues asked, his ear-length dark hair swaying as he turned his tall frame to look at her.
“Yeah… I’m fine. Guys, look…” She straightened her back. None of her colleagues knew she could use her talent on people. As much as she really wanted to say who he really was, it would spark the inevitable “And how do you know?” She wasn’t a very good liar, so she would no doubt be
“Hm?” Pamela, an alchemy student in many of the same classes as her, perked up. “You have some tea?” She playfully twirled her blonde locks as she practically bounced in place from the expectation.
“Uh…” She scratched her temple. “No, I just… Actually, yeah, I do.” She took another, smaller sip of her drink. “I used my talent on his ID, and I’m pretty sure it’s legit.”
“Oh, come on!” Henry, one of the older resident alchemists, scoffed. Even though he was 60 and still a two-star, he didn’t look an inch out of place among them. Alchemists loved their anti-aging tonics. “What, did he live inside time-dilated dungeons since he was a toddler or something?”
Anya shrugged. “We’re all suspecting that he’s from some kind of special forces, right? I wouldn’t put it past the empire to have access to a couple instance dungeons with extreme dilation. Hell, the Tower of York has some pretty crazy dilation, and they have to have a lot of weird stuff they keep secret.”
“That’s…” Pamela slowly nodded. “Honestly, I could see that being the case.”
“And…!” Kale raised a finger. “Hol’ up. I’ve been wondering why his Expert and Veteran badges are so low-ranked. It would make sense if they were trying to keep most of the battles he participated in off the record.”
“And why would they confirm the kills from those fights, then, genius?” Henry asked, rolling his eyes.
“I don’t know, man, get off my ass.”
“I do wonder, though,” Pamela tapped her lips with a finger. “How old is he actually, then?”
“You heard the chick with the info talent,” Kale shrugged. “125.”
“Yeah, but he looks like an actual teenager,” Pamela noted. “That kind of youthful look isn’t easy to keep up for that long at the second star. And Shane unintentionally made a pretty good point. Where the hell are his scars? I don’t care how skilled he is, one doesn’t simply delve over a thousand dungeons solo without ever suffering a single injury.”
“What if his healing talent is supreme-quality?” Henry suggested.
“That would be wild, though,” Kale said with a grin. “Would love him to stop by the department one of these days. Imagine the experiments we could run on the guy. Bro is the perfect guinea pig.”
“A bit off topic, but did you guys notice the Entrepreneur badge?” Pamela noted with a wide grin. “That boy is rich.”
“There she goes,” Kale rolled his eyes. “Do you feel no shame?”
“No.” She blew him a kiss. “Ugh, I just can’t shake this feeling I’ve met him somewhere before.”
“Probably in a club somewhere,” Anya said with a grin. “Maybe you’d remember if you toned it down with the whiskey.”
Pamela suddenly shot up. “Oh my god I just remembered.” She pulled her tablet out of her storage ring. “Ohmygodohmygod.” She cackled. “It’s him!”
“Him who?” Kale asked.
“Him!” She turned the tablet to show them a video.
It was the recording of her filming herself at one of the premium booths in a club somewhere. She drunkenly made duck faces and raised peace signs at the camera. In the background of the video, one of her friends was basically throwing herself at a guy—who they all instantly recognized.
They all gasped collectively.
The video played out, with Pamela’s friend getting a little too touchy, earning herself a splash of cocktail right to the face.
They all burst out laughing.
“It’s actually him,” Kale said, putting his hand on his mouth. “Oh my god, that’s actually him.”
“This man is a riot,” Henry said with a grin.
Anya was boiling at this point. Drink Guy was Lobotomizer!?
“Guys,” Kale started with his typical shit-eating grin. “We gotta get this guy in the department.”
“On what merit?” Anya asked, curious.
“His talent,” Henry said. “Self-healing talents are highly sought-after in alchemy. Besides, if he really is a fighter, he won’t say no to cutting edge steroids. Probably.”
There it was. The bad feeling that had been haunting Anya all day.
I think I really am cursed.