Ch 19: A fateful meeting [pt2]

/‘The world did not abandon me, but I abandoned this flawed world. There is nothing worth living my life for, so why don’t I call it quits now? Humans are just not a specie worth letting live.’ - and extract from ‘A legendary hero’ spoken by the villainess, Bloodhound.

And as soon as Howard Spencer heard those words, he felt pity for the broken soul.

Reed Whinstone might have been a powerful individual but she was also a rather lonely one. But no one knew where her loneliness came from and where it led her./

As soon as Horas noticed the red hair and black eyes, only one name came to his mind - Reed Whinstone, the notorious villainess who had a bitter rivalry with the original hero of the book because of their clashing ideals.

She was someone who was shunned due to her blood-related skills and often feared from a young age. She was often misunderstood by people around her as well.

And all this led to her isolation during her academy days. It also forced her to become a villainess and one of the worst people in the original novel.

The same villainess stood in front of Horas right now, and everyone froze at her presence.

“What is going on here? Fighting outside the combat class is prohibited.”

Horas was surprised to hear a melodic voice coming out from the infamous bloodhound’s mouth. He had often described her voice as rough and broken.

But obviously, it had happened years after she had left the academy. Currently, that famous bloodhound was all but a child as well. And she was still as feared as she was in the future.

“You stay out of it, bloody. Or, are you here to beat the kid up as well? Well, you are more than willing to do so.”

The child who had been trying to hit Horas until now suddenly backed down like a puppy. All other troublemakers were looking at Reed with an expecting look.

They looked up to her and her ways, but Reed looked uninterested in their feelings. She looked at Horas and his small body before turning away from him.

“Yeah, no thanks. I am not interested in picking up on someone one-fourth my size. And you all should hurry up and head to the class as well. I saw principal Marble coming this way.”

Reed Whinstone sounded bored when she spoke but her words certainly caused a small buzz. Everyone else looked at the outer corridor and footsteps could be heard for real.

“Oh shit, she’s right. The principal is coming.”

People ran to their classrooms as soon as they heard the footsteps coming their way. Those who had classes on the other end of the school building bolted away as well. They needed to be in their class on time.

In the end, the only ones left in the corridor were the people who were supposed to be there.

“Thanks for your help.”

Horas tried to offer his gratitude to the redhead in front of him but the girl looked uninterested.

“Fuck off kid. I don’t like bothersome things so I decided to take care of the mess. You better not cross paths with me again if you know what is good for you.”

Horas was planning that already and he did not need a reminder.

He was not overly thrilled at the lack of response he got but he was not complaining as well. He was just uninterested in knowing more about Reed than he already knew.

‘She might be a character I write but that does not mean I am responsible for Reed Whinstone’s future life. She can make her own decisions.’

…………………..

‘To think that I just view not to get involved with Reed Whinstone. How did things come to this?’

Horas looked at the red-haired female in front of him and he could not help but curse his luck. How did his life come to this point?

“Pay attention kid. Now, try and hit me if you can.”

Reed Whinstone taunted him as she raised a shield of blood around her. It was made up of artificial blood made especially for people with blood-related powers. It was a far more common ability than one could imagine.

Especially since the skill for it was available on the black market.

“Hey, I am trying. It’s not my fault that my legs are not long enough to dodge yet.”

Horas complained as his feet were swiped out from under him once again. Reed was not taking it easy on him despite him being a literal kid. It was annoying but also regarding being treated as his ‘actual’ age.

As for how it all came about? It was rather simple - combined training.

Once a week, there was a combined combat class held with the upperclassmen and the first years. It just happened to have both Horas and Reed partnered up for today. And the culprit for it had been Instructor Harris.

He had seen Reed Whinstone look at Horas with interest and that had sparked the seed of inspiration in his mind. And that was how this dreadful training session had started.

“H-Hey, can we take a rest? I have not hit you in over an hour.”

Horas complained as his legs began to give out. His stamina was also at his limits and his chest was heaving painfully all because of his physical activities.

Until now, Horas had trained himself to withstand shooting for longer times and his accuracy. This was a new form of training he was not ready for.

“You are tired already? But it has only been an hour since we started. How will you ever-hey!”

Horas lost his stepping due to a leg cramp during Reed’s next attack. His leg throbbed painfully as he clutched and tried to move it.

“Are you alright? I’m sorry, I did not mean to push you so hard. I had no idea what your limits were and-just wait here, I’ll go and get help.”

Reed looked shocked and panicked but Horas expected it to happen. It was not the first time Horas’s leg had shut down due to overwork. It happened periodically and often enough during his training.

Mostly because his muscles were developing and practice stressed them out.

“No need. It happens often to me and the doctor showed me stretches to make my aches better. There is no need for you to feel guilty for having injured me.”

Horas assured Reed but she did not look reassured. If anything, she looked even more agitated. But she did not say anything to Horas’s reassuring.

Horas recovered pretty quickly and he took his position in front of Reed once again. He was ready to fight with Reed again but Reed stopped him.

“I don’t think we should be fighting again so soon. You need to give your body enough room t breathe if you want yourself to recover.”

Reed looked conflicted but she also knew that their progress was being recorded. They could just not take rest the whole time because it would reduce their overall points.

“You know Reed, you are needlessly kind. Anyone else would have not cared about my injuries and kept on going. Thank you for caring about me.”

Horas tried to make light of his situation but Reed look uncomfortable with his gratitude. She was not used to such genuine comments coming her way.

“There is no need to thank me since I did not do anything. B-Besides, I am sure anyone else would have done the same as me.”

Reed tried to deflect the praise she was getting and Horas let her do so. He could tell that Reed was trying hard to distract herself and now was not the time to change her mind about herself.

“Anyway, since we cannot take part in physical training, should we try doing some stimulation training? I’ve found that it counts toward the overall training time.”

Horas had written the story so he knew about the cheat that was stimulation training. It helped one heighten their reaction time and overall knowledge but did not come into play until one went pro.

Reed looked surprised and suspicious as she heard Horas’s words so she decided to test it out. But her expression melted away in relief once she noticed Horas’s words to be true.

“Thanks for the tip kid. I will use this knowledge well.”

For people like Reed who were blessed with exceptional physical powers, stimulation training was the best way to improve control and overall knowledge. And now she had appropriate resources to practice them as well.

Horas only realized that he helped out a ‘future villain’ when he was halfway done with his training for the day. But it was too late to take back what had happened.

‘I guess it’s not too bad to be in this position for now. Reed Whinstone can certainly use a friend.’

There was no guarantee that Reed will go down the evil path or not, but there was still a year left until her dissertation. Maybe Horas would be able to change her fate.

One good thing that came from this encounter was their tentative friendship. And people generally left Horas alone once he ended up being friends with one of the most notorious person on the current campus.