Stim [3]

Asa Galen.

He was staring at me with his sky-blue eyes. The way he looked at me was like a king looking at a disobedient servant.

"Come with me to the Student Council Office."

He suddenly said with a stern voice.

After speaking, he turned his head to the other two people situated behind me and made a friendly expression.

"Afternoon Kiran, Fukuyo."

"Afternoon Asa."

Fukuyo and Kiran said at once.

They seemed to be on friendly terms, but the looks on Kiran's and Fukuyo's faces said it all. They didn't like his presence at all.

'I wonder what is going on with those two?'

"Let's hurry up Keir. I'm on a tight schedule."

Asa said.

I didn't enjoy the way he treated me. It was like I was nothing to him, like I wasn't even worth his time.

I waved off Kiran and Fukuyo before stepping out of the building with Asa. We headed towards another building that was located near the professor's offices.

It was a windy day, and the clouds had broken up to reveal the bright sky. Asa and I walked through the corridors of the campus until we approached the student council office.

'He hasn't spoken a single word.'

Ever since we left Fukuyo and Kiran for their lunch activities, Asa hasn't spoken a word to me.

Not even a gesture or noise, he simply asked me to follow him and that's it.His eyes only ever faced the direction in front of him and he walked with very good mannerisms.

"We're here."

We were both standing in front of a large wooden door that didn't seem like it fit with the surrounding architecture.

The building was separated from the rest of the school, but it was somehow located in the very center of the campus.

We made our way into the building and it was very antique with its decor and colors.

It seemed high class yet ancient only for the most tasteful of wealthy people to understand. We walked up a flight of stairs before nearing a room with a table that seated around 6 people.

"Hey look who it is!"

As I entered the room, a girl waved to me with a smile.

"Oh, hey Jenna."

"I see you've met Asa. Isn't he great?"

She said with a cheeky smile.

Asa walked into the room and took a seat at the large table situated in the middle of the room.

"Why are you so cheery? It's a pain."

He said as he sat down.

"Awhh why not? Brighten up a bit like your family."

Asa's veins could be seen bulging through his forehead as he cringed.

"Just talk to him and get it over with, please."

Jenna put on her glasses and took out her tablet.

"Okay then, here Keir. Take a look, you might like it."

Jenna handed over the tablet in my direction and I took it from her hands in a smooth motion. Located on the screen was an image of a stim shot with the Galen Corporation logo etched onto it.

My eyes widened and my eyebrows raised as I read the brief description of the item. Seeing my expression, Jenna nudged Asa to start explaining things.

"Tsk- What you're looking at is a highly experimental drug developed by the Galen Corporation, it is meant to give you a boost in abilities but only for one of the stats you choose."

Asa paused before continuing his explanation.

"We managed to engineer the chemicals inside of the vial to react and respond to certain RC levels, so if you wanted to say increase strength, you would have to be using your max strength while injecting yourself with this serum."

I looked at the stim with disbelief in my eyes. If I could use this, then I could solve my problem of low stamina.

I can finally break the barrier to entry with this item. I was ecstatic and happy about what I just heard but then a thought suddenly entered my mind and my brows furrowed.

"What if this gets in the wrong hands?"

"That's why only the Scion families know about it so far. We can guard the serum without issue."

Jenna spoke up.

"Then why'd you decide to show this to me? Wouldn't it be a higher risk to break the silence between the families?"

"Well, you said you needed something in order to join the study group, and you aren't really seen as a high risk no offense, plus you're good friends with Kiran so why not?"

I looked down at the tablet and thought to myself before giving continuing the conversation.

"When can I get one?"

"Ah- hold your horses don't keep your hopes up, it'll cost you around 150,000 CR for one dose."

Asa suddenly said while sitting up proudly.

"150,000???!?"

"That's right."

Asa kept smiling with his eyes closed while naming the price. Who did he think I was, some sort of rich, influential kid like he was?

I barely had 2,000 CR to my name since I didn't have a job and I haven't been able to go visit Jonathan at the bounty guild.

I had to go visit as soon as I could, or else I really will go broke from just spending it on morning coffee.

'I could probably head out in a week or two.'

After a couple of weeks, all of my classes would be sorted out and we should be entering winter at that point. I needed to check when winter break was as well, so I could use that time to train and find other ways to get stronger.

I could contact Jonathan ahead of time and see if he had any bounties available and I could also try selling some belongings.

'I could sell the Onyx.'

This was the perfect chance at getting some quick money.

Although it wasn't a gurantee, it was worth a shot. I couldn't decipher its value alone, so I needed another opinion and luckily enough, I could get two right now.

"Ah guys, do you think this could cover some of the cost?"

I pretended to reach into my pocket before the Onyx appeared in my hand from the glyph carved onto the bottom of my wrist.

I pulled it out of my "pocket" and presented it before Jenna and Asa. Both of them leaned in for a closer look at the eclipse pendant.

"What is it?"

Jenna asked.

"It's a necklace I got from my family. Think of it as a valuable memento."

Jenna and Asa stared intently at the Onyx. Maybe they'll buy my story of it being a memento.

They had no reason not to believe me. Suddenly, Asa got up from his seat and gestured to see the necklace up close.

I put it in his palms and he picked it up with it being between his thumb and index finger. He put it up to a light and closely observed it with his bright blue eyes.

"Hmm- this should sell for quite a lot, it could probably cover 80% of the cost."

My face brightened up at the sudden revelation, and I smiled at his statement.

"Well that's good news."

Jenna said with a sigh of relief.

Asa then handed the necklace back to me and headed back to his seat next to Jenna. I slid the Onyx back into my "pocket" and continued on with the conversation.

"Well I'm glad we got that sorted out now that I have a way to pay for it, will that be fall?"

Jenna looked at Asa and they made eye contact before looking in my direction, giving a synchronized nod.

'I'll be off then, I'll contact you when I'm ready to pay."

I nodded them off and made my way out of the room.

It was finally time to get stronger, and to stop being looked down upon.

****

"What do you see in that guy?"

Asa suddenly interjected.

Jenna looked in his direction after taking her glasses off and her nose out of the book she was reading. After briefly looking at him she went back to being a bookworm and spoke to him while reading the wall of words in front of her.

"I see the makings of somebody strong. When we dueled, I saw him use RC at the end before collapsing. He told me he couldn't, but that's probably because he didn't know himself. His combat skills are top of the line and his strategic thinking is handy."

She explained to Asa.

"Well, why do you want to help this random guy? You barely know him."

Asa clearly had a look of disbelief and confusion. He couldn't understand why she would choose to help someone that was practically a stranger.

He saw no benefits of helping him and he didn't want to believe that Jenna simply did this out of the kindness of her heart.

He knew her better than that.

"So we can be strong allies in the future, so he'll owe me eventually."

She said with a wink.

Asa looked at her with his mouth open. He now understood why she helped Keir.

****

CURRENT STATS

===STATUS===

Name: Keir Licht

Overall Rank: F

CL: 10

RC Level: E

Strength: E

Agility: F

Stamina: F

Charm: E

===SKILLS===

- Advanced Swordsmanship: Mastery of the blade

- Advanced Martial Arts: Make your body the weapon

- Free Running: Extreme affinity with running over obstacles and escape tactics