Eli’s Envy

"It doesn't hurt anymore." 

Sylvia had tears in her eyes as she laid on Eden's bed. 

She looked up into his beautiful golden eyes and a smile blossomed on her face.

He was in between her legs, his long silver hair hanging down the sides of his head as they looked at each other.

Her happiness reached its peak as she was in his loving embrace.

"Ahh..I hope this never ends~ I love you, Eden!" Sylvia spoke, awaiting his response.

"I-"

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Hey! Wake up!" 

Knocking could be heard as Sylvia was awoken from her dream.

She heard the shouting and knew who it was as he'd been bothering her relentlessly for days now.

Annoyed, she closed her eyes and wanted to go back into the dream because reality was cruel.

It set back in that Eden's dead and she'd never have that moment.

*Knock Knock Knock Knock*

The continued pounding on the door was drowned out as she became used to this. 

She looked around the room, it wasn't the one she'd been originally assigned. 

It was Eden's room, she'd been staying in it ever since.

*Knock Knock Knock Knock*

"It's almost time! Come on!" 

Looking at the clock it was 7:30am, close to the time to meet up for training so she began preparing.

Quickly finishing up she exited her room and saw the boy who was waiting for her.

Of course It was none other than Kei. As soon as the door opened the displeasure on his face vanished and was replaced by a smile as he waved at her. 

"Good morning Sylvia! I figured we should walk together!"

A slight nod was given and they began walking.

Kei looked at the door of the room, anger boiling in his chest as he clenched his fists.

"You shouldn't stay in his room, you know? It'll only bring back those memories." Kei spoke in concern.

"I know! Why don't you stay in my room? Like when we were kids! We had sleepovers all the time." 

Sylvia rejected the offer but Kei continued to insist. She was getting a little uncomfortable but with how long they'd been friends she just assumed he was trying to be helpful.

"Sorry sorry. It's just, Eden's final words to me were that I should take care of you and make you happy. I just wanted to honor my friend's wish." Hearing those words only served to further discomfort Sylvia.

"No thank you, I'm fine staying there." 

She kept these feelings bottled up and eventually they made it to the training grounds.

Many students were present and energetic despite the early hours. 

Today's training was about applying their ability theories they learned in class. They were tasked with finding innovative ways to use their skills in battle.

Soon the students would be sent on another mission, the contents currently unknown.

Everyone lined up and prepared to start.

~

Hours have passed and classes were over for the day. Eric was invited to have dinner with the royal family so he left a little earlier. Kei couldn't find Sylvia after training so he ran off with Mike to go drink.

Eli on the other hand was returning to his room upset. 

"Damn bastards… No one's invited me out for a drink!" 

His anger rose with each step he took.

'Why me?! Eric gets to marry a princess, Kei gets to have Sylvia, even Mike has started dating multiple women!' Eli's jealousy was reaching its peak as he envisioned his friends.

Mike had three beautiful women close to him. One was a girl from their class and the others were natives of the world. Every day Eli would see them and envy would fill his body.

Kei didn't get anywhere yet but he felt it was only a matter of time.

Then there's Eric. He's loved by everyone in the kingdom and held as a saint. Though the princess still kept quite a distance, their marriage was already decided by the King and Queen. Once that was finalized Eli knew he was going to use his status to forcefully marry Alycia. 

Truly everyone was living their dream lives, except him. This fact drove Eli mad with jealousy. 

These feelings persisted for the next few days until eventually they reached a boiling point.

After a long day of training Eli was again left alone as his friends went their own ways.

His eyes were unusually fixed on Sylvia. The way her clothes stuck to her sweat covered body made his mind numb. He was confident in his plan. Sylvia is strong, but his secret Drain skill is stronger. 

Slowly he approached her and put on a scared expression.

"H-hey Sylvia…I know something about Eden you might want to hear." He looked down as he spoke, trembling a little to sell the bit.

Sylvia looked at Eli vigilantly. She didn't know him well but she was desperate for any more clues she could get. Besides, he was Eden's friend.

So with that in mind, she agreed to listen to him.

"Thank…thank you! We can't talk here…they may be listening!" Eli began walking in a certain direction and Sylvia followed. Unbeknownst to both of them there was another figure lurking behind.

Eli was inwardly nervous as he went to the previously scouted location. It couldn't be too far because she'd get suspicious, but it couldn't be too close because she'd get help. So before approaching her he made sure to find a spot that was relatively close but also secluded. 

They were getting closer and while he walked he kept bringing up how scared he was in order to keep her attention.

…

"Okay, we should be far enough now. What did you want to say? Who are you scared of?" Sylvia spoke first.

"All of them! Eric, Mike, and Kei! They tried to keep it a secret but they caused Eden's death! It was…*sob*…so sad. T-they forced me to keep quiet!" Eli began his story, bringing forth whatever acting skills he had. 

He even managed to conjure up some tears which impressed him.

Sylvia looked at Eli and was shocked. Even though she was suspicious of the circumstances behind Eden's death, she wanted to reject the idea of it being so devious.

Her guard dropped as her mind went blank. 

"No…they wouldn't…What—why they would do this?… what was there to gain?"

Then she began thinking about Kei's behavior lately. Yeah he's always liked her, but the intensity of his care for her has gone through the roof since the dungeon incident. 

He was always speaking about 'being there for her in this hard time'. He'd sit outside her room in the morning banging on her door, not wanting her to feel alone. Even this mornings weird comment about Eden's final words. 

Her head began to hurt as her mind spun, but that pain was nothing compared to what her heart felt. If this was true, then Eden was betrayed by his own friends. She thought of the pain he must've gone through and it broke her heart. 

While she was in that state, she failed to notice Eli's shift in demeanor. He went from a crying mess to eerily calm as he slowly approached her.

"Sorry about that guy, but he had it coming." Eli mumbled before placing his hand on her shoulder and activating his skill.

Sylvia revolted at his touch but before she could say anything she felt her strength rapidly leave her. 

She looked up at Eli and saw the grin on his face and her body went cold.

"Eli…what…you..?" She couldn't fully form a sentence and slumped against a tree.

"Finally! I can't believe I actually succeeded! All it took was a few tears!" Eli rejoiced.

"You..lied?" He laughed at her words.

"Not really. I was more than happy to get rid of Eden. Though he was nice to me I couldn't stand how much everyone liked him! None of the girls would even look at me whenever he was around!" Eli thought about Eden and got angry before remembering he got his revenge.

"Now, nobody's looking at him anymore! Haha! You should've seen his face after I used my skill on him! He looked a little like you right now." Eli laughed before using his roots skills to bind her to the ground. 

Sylvia felt the cold reality of everything. She hated this place. The people she thought were her friends changed drastically since coming to this world. The man she loved was killed, and none of his killers are facing justice.

Refusing to believe the Kingdom had no clue, she finally understood why she wasn't allowed in the dungeon. 

"Hehe, Kei wanted to have you first but unfortunately for him, I took the easier route." 

Her hatred for everyone sprouted but she was currently powerless. She tried to muster up any aura she could and was ready to try and fight back. 

*zzzz*

Eli smiled at her attempts at resistance and approached her. Unfortunately for him, before he could take another step something unexpected happened.

*Krack!* 

"AAGH, Fuck!!!"

He felt something hit his leg and immediately his entire body tensed up. He fell to the ground as his muscles constricted and cramped. 

It took everything he had just to look down and find the cause of his pain. 

There was a gaping hole in his thigh but strangely no blood poured out. Looking closer you could see that the edges of the wound were cauterized. 

*tap* *tap* *tap* *tap*

His pain and confusion quickly turned into fear as he heard the approaching footsteps.

Sylvia watched the scene in front of her in shock. Just a few seconds ago she was preparing to attack and now Eli's on the ground screaming.

She turned her head towards the sound of the approaching footsteps, thinking one of the kingdoms guards were here.

In a breath of time, the person became visible and it was someone they knew well.

"Y-you?! Why are you doing this, Alycia!?" Eli was angered by seeing her, but his fear didn't decrease. 

While he mainly considered her as nothing more than Eric's future concubine, he was still aware of her status as the second strongest in the class.

He felt her cold gaze upon him as she stood there with the same emotionless expression as always.