Pre-time skip [4]

"Can you tell me your relationship with our Evan?" Rossy asked with a straight face.

The whole area was silent until the silence broke.

"Huh?" Fionna and Evan were as confused as could be.

"Oh great, she did what I feared," Jason muttered and walked away to feel less embarrassed.

"What do you mean, ma'am?" Fionna asked with a stuttering voice.

"I mean, what is your relationship with our Evan? How close are you both?" She inquired with a plain, sweet smile.

"Oh, that's what you meant. Well, ma'am, I was his homeroom teacher when he first joined our school, and now I'm just a regular teacher," she explained, dashing the expectations of Rossy, who simply nodded with a sad look.

"What's wrong, ma'am? Was my answer not satisfying to you?" Fionna asked, noticing her gloomy expression.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought you were his friend or something, but I didn't expect you to be a teacher at this age. Well, good for you," she said with a forced smile.

"Okay then," Fionna replied, unsure of what Rossy expected from her.

"Let's go; many of my friends are calling us over," Jason, who was standing at a distance, said to Rossy, who nodded and started walking away with him.

"Listen, Evan, if you get sleepy, go to your room, okay? And don't stay up too late, dear. Make sure you go to your own room, not someone else's," Rossy called out in a loud voice as she walked away, drawing the attention of everyone and causing Evan a bit of embarrassment.

"So, now I see why Sir Rick gave you admission into Section-A, huh?" Fionna said with a knowing smile.

"Yes and no. Uncle wanted him to put me in an average class, but he pushed me into A, so there's nothing I can do," Evan replied with a shrug.

"What are you going to do now?" Fionna asked, noticing some friends at a distance. She waved at them, and they gestured for her to come over.

"I'm just going to roam around and try to find James if he's here," Evan said, glancing around.

"Okay, bye then," Fiona replied as she walked away to join her friends.

"Bye," he responded and began wandering through the hall.

He observed many teenagers engaged in conversation.

He chose not to mingle with them, knowing it would be fruitless.

As he walked past one such group, a snippet of their conversation piqued his interest.

"Hey, did you know there's a guy who's been playing non-stop in the game arcade and has won all his matches?" one of them exclaimed, prompting surprise from the others.

"Yeah, let's go check out this pro," another suggested, and the whole group headed towards the game arcade.

Evan, intrigued by the mention of the game arcade, followed them discreetly.

Arriving there, he was amazed to find numerous PCs and gaming setups, surpassing even the gaming parlor he frequented.

While looking around, he discovered an area crowded with players forming a large circle around something.

He joined the circle and saw a player engaged in a duel with another in a game.

His opponent was a large, bulky character with an extreme hit stat, while the familiar player chose an average street fighter with balanced stats.

As the match began, everyone expected the bulky character to win, but against all odds, the other player executed a cool combo that depleted more than half of his opponent's HP. He didn't stop there; he continued to press forward, pummeling the character mercilessly, and with a final combo, he defeated his opponent, securing another victory.

"It's his fifty-eighth win streak," someone shouted as the victor raised his hand in triumph.

Upon standing, Evan caught a glimpse of the player's face and was stunned to recognize his friend James, who was smiling broadly.

Evan approached him, and many noticed his movement, chuckling as they too attempted to approach the gaming pro. But James spoke to none of them, leaving them to wonder who he would speak to.

"Hi, where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere," Evan said. James, hearing his voice, turned around, his expression one of confusion as he recognized the voice but not the face.

"Mmmm, have we met before?" James asked, stepping back slightly.

"Hey, you forgot me, you dumb donkey," Evan retorted, at which point James finally recognized him.

"Oh, Evan, I didn't expect to see you here, buddy," James replied with a smile.

"Yes, and why did you have trouble recognizing me? It's not like I've changed much today," Evan said, playfully punching James on the elbow, a gesture that felt like a child's hit to James.

"Oh, it's nothing, but seeing you in those clothes didn't ring any bells, and I thought some other smart-ass guy had come to meet me," James said, glancing at the others who were shocked to see that the two were friends.

"But still, bro, you can't expect that a friend won't recognize his friend just because he changed clothes," Evan retorted, clearly in a bad mood.

"Okay, sorry brother, let's go and play some duo matches," James suggested, clasping his hand and leading him away from the crowd.

They found two unoccupied PCs and settled in to play the game.

They logged into their IDs, selected the duo matches, and joined a team.

They both started playing, unaware that someone a short distance away was watching them intently.

A few minutes later, their match ended, and they secured 2nd place.

James was venting his frustration after being ambushed by the enemy team.

"Okay, relax, we can play another one," Evan said, trying to lighten the mood.

His mood was sour too, but what else could they do now?

His character stood in the lobby, his element pulsating behind him in a large display.

They were about to start another match when someone interrupted them.

"Hey kid, over there, is that a shadow element on your ID?" someone called out from behind them, their loud voice drawing all eyes to them.

Everyone was astonished to discover that someone possessed a shadow element ID in the game, a rarity among even the unique elements. 

They gathered in a circle to witness this element, confirming its authenticity. Some began taking photos. 

"Hey, stop it," James protested upon noticing. The crowd retreated. An individual approached, offering, "Hey brother, would you consider selling me this account? I'll give you 100,000 dragon points," a proposal that surprised many.

[100 Dragon point/100 Phoenix point/100 Turtle point/100 Peak points/100 Heart Points= 1 Dracins 

100 Dracins = 1 Blue Coins.]

"No brother, don't listen to him. I'll give you 150,000 points; just sell it to me," another said.

The chatter escalated as the price of Evan's account surged like a tsunami, reaching 960,500 points.

Everyone was eager to see who he would sell it to. After all, who would let such an opportunity slip by? And if you think the buyers are insane, remember that everyone here is a rich kid from a prominent family, always eager to snatch up the shiniest thing before them—and this account was just that.

Evan said, "Stop, my answer is..."

___

Tell me what he's going to say. And I think all of you know it, right?