A Bully’s Warning

A few days after Dante opened his bank account, he was at NU's campus with Sophia, Victoria, and Zac.

The four of them had created their own little group who would hang out in between their lessons, and while they were having lunch together, Dante expressed his wishes to buy a BeamDeck.

Sophia offered to take him to the store, but Victoria and Zac wanted to tag along, as they were free for the rest of the day.

When the group was leaving the campus, Dante felt a slight fluctuation of umbra coming from behind, making him turn around and notice Turner staring at him with a hateful look.

'Oh, it's just the same guy…' the warlock thought, ignoring the bully and catching up with the group.

It was the first time that Dante attended a mall, which surprised both Victoria and Zac, as it was rare for someone living in an urban city to have never visited a mall.

"Man, sometimes it feels like you have experienced the wildest things except for the most basic stuff…" Zac commented.

Once Dante bought his new console, they all went to an ice cream place to have dessert, and the warlock noticed that Zac was hesitant to order.

Remembering the story about him being from a poor family, he understood that his friend didn't have the money to spend on frivolous things—and while ice cream wasn't exactly a luxury item, it was for Dante.

He knew that Zac had to work two jobs for months to be able to buy his BeamDeck, and not wanting him to spend more, Dante thought about ordering an ice cream for him.

The warlock could tell that Zac was attracted to Victoria since he extruded a crazy amount of positive energy any time her attention was directed toward him.

Nevertheless, he could feel a little umbra flowing from him, which stemmed from embarrassment.

'I guess he feels shame for not being able to afford it…' Dante thought, turning around to order dessert for his friend.

Still, before the warlock could speak up, Victoria went ahead and ordered a second strawberry tart ice cream for him.

"You should try this one, Zac—ah, but since I'm making you try it, it's on me!" said Victoria, making the redhead man blush awkwardly.

At that moment, Dante inspected the flow of energy that oozed from Victoria, and he realized that the girl was lying.

She wasn't paying because she wanted him to try her favorite ice cream flavor but because she knew about his financial situation.

'I see. She didn't want Zac to feel shame, so she used that excuse to buy it for him…' the warlock thought with a smile.

Victoria didn't expel the same amount of positive energy when talking to Zac as he did, so it was clear to Dante that she wasn't in love with the man. Even so, it wasn't pity either.

'Admiration? —yeah, that seems likely…' Dante pondered as he kept reading the flow of energy from Victoria.

That night, when Dante returned home, he added Zac to his friends list on his BeamDeck and played his first online game.

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The following day, Zac woke up early in the morning inside his small studio apartment with a smile on his face.

He felt happy about his time at the mall, and even though he had only known Dante for a very brief period of time, he was grateful to have met him.

His scholarship paid for the rent of his apartment, but it was much further from the campus than any of the other students' residential areas, so he had to take the subway early in the morning to get to his classes on time.

When he arrived on campus, he was making his way to his first lesson when a hand pulled him by the shirt into an empty classroom, locking the door behind him.

Turner and three of his buddies were facing Zac with their arms crossed and threatening gazes, making the environment entirely uncomfortable for him.

"Did you have fun yesterday?" the bully asked Zac with a condescending tone.

"Wh-what?" he nervously said.

"Are you playing dumb with me, you poor loser!?" Turner shouted, getting face to face with Zac, who held his backpack apprehensively in silence.

"Stay the fuck away from Victoria, that's my bitch. Got that?" he continued, making Zac clench his fists with frustration.

"I've been saying this to the other students, but I didn't think I would have to say this to a fucking loser like you—stay away from Dante and the blonde bitch he works for, too," said Turner, stepping away from Zac's face.

The redhead man felt angry and frustrated, wondering why someone would deprive him of the new friends he had made in college. "What if I don't?" he muttered, making Turner gaze back at Zac with disgust and anger.

"Are you trying to join your mother in the hospital?" he angrily said, grabbing Zac by the collar of his shirt and pushing him to the side, making him tumble to the floor as Turner's friends laughed and left the classroom.

Later that day, Dante arrived on the campus with Sophia and met with Victoria by the entrance, where they made their way to the classroom.

Before getting to the building, the three spotted Zac walking just a short distance away from them.

"Heeey, Zaaac!" Victoria shouted while waving her hand, but the redhead didn't acknowledge her and kept walking without looking back.

"Huh, maybe he didn't hear me…" Victoria muttered.

However, Dante felt an abnormal amount of umbra coming from his friend, and he knew that he definitely heard Victoria's voice. Still, he decided to keep that to himself.

When the two girls entered their classroom, Dante went back into the courtyard, holding his BeamDeck in hand and searching for Zac, who was sitting alone on a different bench that they never used.

"What's up, Zac? Wanna play some games?" the warlock casually said, ignoring the umbra that flowed from his friend's body, thinking that some entertainment could cheer him up.

"No, sorry…" replied Zac, picking up his backpack and promptly leaving the area.

'Hmmm, that umbra wasn't directed at me…' thought Dante, pondering about what could have happened to Zac that left him so depressed.