Since Erik had nothing more to do, he decided it was time to have breakfast and make his daily quests. If everything went well tomorrow, he could level up again.
So, Erik went to the kitchen and prepared something to eat. He made a plate with some bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, gravy, and toast. The food tasted good as always, and after having finished eating and having cleaned his plate, a notification rang inside his ears.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE.]
"Good"
Erik waited half an hour before he started training; it was useless for him to go to the school's gym to do so since it was still early in the morning, there was no one there, and it was probably closed.
The young man spent two hours training the Kyokar-style moves on his own until another notification signaling he had just completed his second daily quest.
"Good..." the young man said.
Erik looked at his clock; it signaled it was already 08:33 in the morning, so Erik decided he had enough and went to shower quickly. He knew that would be useless since he planned to spar with Amber, Gwen, and Floyd, but it was clear that he couldn't go to school smelling bad.
After he was done, Erik quickly left his house and headed towards the train station. It wasn't far from where he lived, only about fifteen minutes away by foot. After the young man took the train and arrived at school, he immediately headed to the gym, but once he arrived, there was still no one. So, he took his phone and texted Amber.
-----------------------
E: Where are you?
A: On my way.
-----------------------
As Erik waited, the other top students started to come, one by one. Nathaniel was accompanied, as usual, by Natasha and Karl, while Anderson came with Mickey and Aaron. They walked in as if they owned the place, especially Nathaniel, while Anderson was slightly more reserved. Their domineering attitude didn't bother Erik too much since he understood they had every reason to put up airs.
Nathaniel and his friends were pretty focused guys, and they started sparring 1v1v1 as soon as they got into fighting clothes. Then, something greatly surprised Erik: he saw Mickey, Aaron, and Anderson walk his way.
"Hello!" Anderson said while looking at Erik from head to toe. "I heard you won your match against Zakir. I'm astonished, he was a pretty tough guy from what I could remember, and his power had a lot of potentials..."
Erik understood that Anderson was trying to compliment him. Still, he found it very weird since this was basically the first time he dared to talk to him. Until now, the young man behaved as if Erik didn't exist. Yes, he helped once outside of school when he talked back to the students who verbally assaulted him, but besides that...nothing!
Then, Mickey joined in the conversation, he was also staring at Erik.
"Yeah, he was a pretty strong guy," Mickey said. "He was a freak, and I guess he still is, but besides that, he was an amazing fighter!"
"That's right!" Aaron exclaimed. "This speaks volumes about you! I didn't think you would be able to win against him, but I have to give credit where it's due."
Mickey smiled at Erik.
"Well, the fight wasn't easy. I was on the receiving hand most of the time. To be honest, I do think I was lucky." Erik said.
"I wasn't there to see you fight, but regardless, a win is a win," Anderson said.
Aaron and Mickey nodded.
It was then that Amber, Floyd, and Gwen entered the gym. As soon as Anderson saw them, he quickly said goodbye, and he and his two friends prepared themselves to start sparring before for the upcoming matches.
As Erik saw them go, his mind went to Anderson's fight; he didn't see it, but he was curious to know how the hell the young man was able to use his power. Everything Erik knew about Anderson's power was something he heard from other students; he never saw it in action.
"What were they doing here?" Floyd asked Erik.
"They just complimented me about the duel against Zakir. Nothing much..." Erik replied.
pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ "Believe me when I say you must pay attention to those three guys..." Gwen said.
"Why? As much as I know, Anderson is a sort of defender of justice..." Erik said. "He even helped me out one time..."
"That is mostly true, but I can assure you that they do those things not because they really believe in them but just because they like other people's attention."
Erik was surprised by the sudden revelation but said nothing.
"Why are you spouting bullshit?" Gwen chimed in.
"Don't listen to him; it is well known that Floyd and Anderson had a beef in the past..." Amber added.
"Really?"
"Yes, they were childhood friends, but apparently, once they both started high school, Anderson met Aaron and Mickey and stopped going out with Floyd. He got mad, and the two got into a confrontation that ended with them fighting."
"SHUT UP!" Floyd said with a red face, and Erik could do nothing but laugh at his reaction.
After having talked a little bit, the four friends started their sparring routine, and as usual, Erik was trained by Amber. The young man felt a little bit ashamed since he thought he was dragging Amber down.
Still, the truth was that Erik was improving by leaps and bounds under her, and she started taking things a little bit seriously. She was clearly much better than him, yet, with his strength, speed, agility, and reflexes, he wasn't an easy opponent to fight.
***
Time passed, and it was now almost 15:00. The time for the next matches to start was approaching, and all the students who still remained in the competition gathered in front of the school entrance to hear the teachers' usual speeches and to find their opponent.
88 students were still in the competition, and aside from Adam, every top student was still participating. As things progressed, the spots assigned were going to be the same as before, with the only exception of Adam out and the possibility for Erik to have one.
Of course, Erik was surprised by the strength many of the non-top students showed. Zakir was a fantastic fighter; even people like Allan Grimes and Aamina Mcdonald were strong opponents. Erik didn't dare to underestimate them.
The teachers made their usual speech. Soon after, all the students got a notification on their phones, showing the healer assigned to his match and his opponent.
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MATCH: ERIK ROMANO VS PRIYA FOLEY
HEALER: HALIMA O'REILLY
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Erik got assigned the same healer as the last time, though he had no idea who his opponent, this Priya Foley, was nor what her powers were. Erik sighed; starting from the next match, he was going to look at the tournament participants' information. He couldn't fight his matches unprepared.
Soon enough, the bell rang, and everyone searched for their opponent. Once he spotted the girl, he was left astonished. The girl was the same one who started insulting him just because he was smiling at school. One of the very same people that Anderson reprimanded in front of the gates for having verbally ganged up on him.
This happened the very same day he decided to tell everyone he was an awakener, the very same day he made Logan, Conal, and Orson end up in the infirmary, the cafeteria incident.
Once the girl saw who her opponent was, she was immediately overjoyed. This was a huge opportunity to get revenge for the humiliation Erik put her through, but without receiving any punishment.
Priya immediately went toward Erik, and once they met, Erik didn't say anything, but Priya unleashed her forked tongue.
"Well then, Mr. Romano," she said, faking a smile. "It will be my pleasure to fight against you today. Though, don't come crying to me once you will lose!"
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