Chapter 165: Starlight University!

In Luminaurora, the disappointment and anger among a group of young magjistars intensified. They had once believed in Zoey Winters when no one else did, trusting her claims about an imminent daemon invasion. Their dedication to her words had been unwavering, as they saw it as their chance to become famous magjistars and protect Luminaurora. Climbing the ranks in an instant and outclassing all of their peers as magjistars.

But the truth shattered their hopes like fragile glass. The promised daemon attack never came to pass, and Zoey's credibility crumbled with it. They felt betrayed, and their dreams of fame and heroism shattered into pieces. They had risked everything for her cause, and she had let them down. As the weight of the deception bore down on them, the frustration within the group grew into a wave of uncontrollable anger. They saw Zoey Winters as the reason behind their shattered dreams, the one who had manipulated their trust in the first place. It was time for them to take matters into their own hands, to teach Zoey a lesson for playing with their lives and ambitions.

In a dimly lit hideout, away from prying eyes, the once enthusiastic group gathered with solemn expressions. Jacky, her fiery spirit now consumed by a vengeful rage, spoke with an intensity that reverberated through the room, "That bitch made a fool of us. Spouting all that bullshit… And for what?!."

Tara added with a hint of bitterness, "I never trusted that bitch in the first place." Timmy's face contorted with frustration as he clenched his fists, "We were ready to become big damn heroes, and she freaking lied to us! Why would she do that?! What did she gain about lying about a daemon invasion?!" Kara, known for her level-headedness, couldn't hide the frustration in her voice, "I was willing to give her a chance to prove that she was innocent. That the government we grew up with was wrong in this case, but they were completely right. There was no invasion, Zoey was a liar, and we're stuck here still treated like dumb kids at the bottom."

Tristan, the voice of reason among them, interjected cautiously, "I understand your anger, but resorting to violence won't solve anything. How about we just confront her and ask her exactly what happened at the trial? All we know about what happened at the trial was that Victor Kahn went crazy, became a traitor to magjistars everywhere, and Zoey Winters was exiled from the magjistar community."

Lea, who had always remained stoic, now spoke with an uncharacteristic intensity, "If we think her answer is satisfactory, we accept it and do nothing. However, if she lied just to save her own skin, we'll deal with the famous prodigy of the late Victor Kahn together. As talented as she is, there is no way she could take all of us on at the same time. We're the best in our generation!"

The group unanimously agreed that Zoey needed to be held accountable for her actions. However, their plan was not to inflict harm but to confront her and get the truth out of her. Although some members might want to cause violence first and then ask questions, ultimately, more members thought it would be best if they didn't have to fight with Zoey. Memories of the Prodigy Hunt still flowed through their minds. Who knows how strong she has become since then?

"If need be, we should invite some of the Connate Faction prodigies she hunted in case things do turn out wrong, just as a backup," Timmy suggested.

"The less chance we have of getting beat up sounds good to me." Cassie laughed in support of Timmy's plan.

As they left the hideout to prepare, their emotions were a tangled mess of anger, betrayal, and disappointment. Even if Zoey had an acceptable explanation for her actions and words, it still wouldn't eliminate their grievances at being denied fame and status among their peers. If there was one thing every teenager dreamed about was rising past their status as dumb teenagers and becoming famous or popular. Someone denying them a chance to reach that position in life would inevitably be seen as their worst enemy. Because now they have to live out reality as they always did. Unspecial and completely ordinary.

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Zoey arrived at Starlight University with her parents to see if this was the college for her. She was excited despite the neutral look on her face. If she decided to stay here, Zoey would no longer be living with her parents but on her own. For the first time, she'll be staying on her own, caring for herself, and living by herself. No one at all but Zoey Winters and whoever she may or may not invite inside her PRIVATE dorm room.

She's read some five-star reviews online and was secretly excited at the thought that the walls were very soundproof. Starlight University was one of the top universities in the world. The campus seemed like a haven for athletes, a paradise where she could have all the fun and excitement she wanted without having to study her ass off to keep it. All she had to do was make sure she did good while on the track team.

As Zoey and her parents continued their tour of Starlight University, they were immersed in the stunning array of state-of-the-art facilities and luxurious amenities. Each stop brought something new and impressive, leaving Zoey and her family in awe. First on the list were dorms that looked like five-star hotels. The individually keyed bedrooms with solid wood doors and designer carpet caught Zoey's eye immediately.

There was so much room for activities, furniture, her weight-lifting equipment, computer, tv, and anything else she wanted to bring! Zoey could tell from her parents' reaction that they were just as amazed as she was. They came from the lower middle class to be able to get something like this… a sight they figured was only for the exclusively wealthy.

They were then taken to the rooftop of the dorms. When Zoey thought about a rooftop, she certainly didn't think about a fucking infinity-edge swimming pool with a sun deck and poolside cabanas on it. There was even a separate area for hot tubs. Where she was from, roofs were typically empty. In this fancy-ass place, roofs were just another area for fun activities. She could see men and women enjoying themselves in the pool, playing around, or just talking while listening to loud music. It wasn't her environment, but she liked having more than one option.

Then there was this building on campus that the tour guide took them to on a cart. It was called StarHub, a giant building complex with an indoor gym, game rooms, and study rooms. After seeing all of the amazing gym equipment, Zoey wasn't sure about bringing her equipment at home to campus anymore. They had better stuff than her. Although working out in front of a bunch of people would be a new experience, imagine the gains her body stat would get inside this place!

The game rooms were a big miss for her, though, despite her love for games. You would be gaming in close proximity with other gamers. Something that Zoey only had to do a few times for some gaming tournaments her brother signed them up for. It wasn't an experience she liked. Gaming was most comfortable in the comfort of your own room with no one around. She'd have to pass on the game room. And for the study room? Hahahahaha!

As they moved on to Starlight University's dining options, Zoey was amazed by the wide range of choices, from fast food to health-oriented restaurants. They had so many delicious fast food places here. More places than what Zoey could order back home through delivery services like DashingService. The gang violence really scared off a lot of service dashers from delivering to Krey or in Krey. And Zoey couldn't just ask her parents to drive to the places and pick up food for her. What if they got involved in gang violence just because she was a little fucking hungry? She'd feel fucking bad for like the rest of her life, probably.

The tour guide then mentioned that the 500,000-square-foot indoor and 40-acre outdoor recreation facilities were open to any and all students. The on-campus bowling alley also caught Zoey's attention. She wasn't really interested in bowling, but like she said before. Having a lot of options was a good thing in her opinion.

Then came the worst part of the tour for Zoey. They learned about the gigantic library on campus and explored it despite Zoey's hesitance. Her mom just seemed eager to explore each and every inch of this fucking place when Zoey was the one coming up here, not her. She didn't wanna be trapped in some funky-smelling library for half an hour while she flirted with the tour guide. Sure, he was a little handsome, but this tour wasn't about him. It was for Zoey! And Zoey hated, no wait, hate is too strong of a word. She did not find studying or reading enjoyable. Unless they were like comics or manga or something. Pictures just made everything better. Sorry, it was just a fact of life. Zoey was sure the bible would be far more popular if it had more pictures in it instead of just words.

But once the most boring part of the tour was over, they still had goodies at this university to show or explain. The tour guide mentioned something about safe rides on campus.

"Our university offers a safe ride program to ensure the safety of our students, especially during late-night hours. The program operates using marked vehicles and trained drivers. You can request a ride by calling a dedicated phone line or using a mobile app. The program runs from evening until early morning, and you may share the ride with other students heading in a similar direction." Miguel explained. "Most students tend to use our safe ride program after returning from the on-campus movie theater, the arcade, or weekly massage sessions.

Zoey was already convinced when she saw her dorm room. There really wasn't any need to throw even more luxuries at her to try and convince her to stay. Fuck, at this point, did she even care about the track and field team? Miguel did not need to try as hard as he did in showing them the good parts of Starlight University. A robot could have done the same thing, and Zoey would still have been seduced.

…

"Thank you for the great tour, Miguel. We'll certainly send a reply back to your university with our answer." Bruce shook the young man's hand.

"Thank you for coming out and giving us a chance. I hope to see you in the future on campus, Zoey! I'm a big fan!" Miguel waved as they left to go to their car.

"Thanks for supporting me." Zoey felt a little awkward now.

'Do you think he was a fan of your fighting or a fan from track?' Inner Zoey snickered.

'Shut up…' Zoey knew her fame in track was entirely thanks to her fighting career. The only famous people in track were those that won the Olympics, and even then, it was hit-or-miss.

"Zoey, I understand that you're a grown woman who can do whatever she wants, but I'm pleading with you. Please practice safe sex while you're up here." Alicia felt the need to mention.

"Oh my goddd…" Zoey groaned.

"I'm just saying. This is important, you know. Bruce, tell her." Alicia felt the need to throw her dad into it.

"Don't do anything you'll regret!" He smartly responded.

"I won't… Can we please stop talking about this now?" Zoey did not want to have a sex talk with her parents.

Somehow she has luckily avoided that conversation growing up. Maybe it was because she never had friends before high school. She was going out with James for a while, but they didn't say anything to her about it during that. Well, whatever! Zoey knew enough about sex. She's seen more than enough of it, growing it on the internet and reading about other people's experiences of it. That was good enough, right?

'We're going to get our brains fucked out!' Inner Zoey shouted in celebration.

'Shut up. No, we're not.' Fantasy and reality were different. Having a bunch of wild platonic sex in college sounded fun and exciting in her head, but adding the realism of her personality ruined that almost immediately.