The scholarship dorms were located on the "East Wing" of the campus, a polite name for the rundown brick buildings near the waste disposal units. It was a stark contrast to the gleaming glass towers where the elites like Damon lived.
Ren walked home alone under the streetlights, the heavy canvas bag slung over one shoulder. He was humming a low tune. He felt good. The [Void Mana] inside him was settling, integrating into his bones.
He turned into the alleyway leading to his building.
"Stop right there."
Ren stopped. He didn't turn around immediately. He recognized the voice. It was dripping with entitlement and suppressed rage.
Ren sighed, adjusting the strap of his bag. "Damon. Don't you have a victory party to attend? I heard you hit a B-Rank score today."
"Turn around," Damon commanded.
Ren turned slowly.
Damon wasn't alone. He had brought two of his lackeys—Kenton (a muscle-bound Earth mage) and Jace (a nervous-looking Tracker). They blocked the exit of the alley, creating a dead end.
Damon stepped forward, his hands in his pockets, but the air around him was shimmering with heat.
"I saw the way she looked at you," Damon spat, his voice trembling slightly. "President Vanessa. She looked at you like you owned her."
Ren leaned against the brick wall, looking bored. "Maybe I do."
The silence in the alley was deafening. Jace gasped. Even Kenton looked shocked. Nobody spoke about the Ice Queen like that.
Damon's face twisted into an ugly snarl. "You lying piece of trash. I don't know what kind of blackmail you have on her, or what trick you used in the jungle, but it ends now."
Damon pulled his hands from his pockets. Twin fireballs ignited in his palms, lighting up the dirty alley with an orange glow.
"I'm going to burn that smug look off your face. And then you're going to tell me exactly what happened in Sector 4."
"Kenton, hold him down," Damon ordered.
The Earth mage stomped his foot. The pavement beneath Ren's feet rippled, and stone shackles shot up, clamping around Ren's ankles to lock him in place.
"Got him," Kenton grunted.
Damon grinned. "Target practice."
He hurled the first fireball. It wasn't a warning shot. It was aimed directly at Ren's chest.
Ren didn't struggle against the stone shackles. He simply watched the fire coming.
Too slow, Ren thought.
Compared to the Razor-Beak Matriarch, Damon moved in slow motion.
Ren raised his right hand. He didn't dodge. He swatted.
[Passive: FROST BITE (Active)]
Ren's backhand connected with the fireball. But instead of burning his skin, the fire met a wave of unnatural cold.
HISS.
The fireball was extinguished instantly, turning into a harmless puff of steam.
Damon's grin vanished. "What?"
Ren looked at his hand. "Is that it? I thought you were a B-Rank prodigy."
"You... you nullified it?" Damon took a step back, panic flickering in his eyes. "That's impossible. You have zero mana!"
"I did," Ren corrected. "This morning."
Ren flexed his legs. The stone shackles around his ankles shattered like glass. He stepped over the debris, walking toward them.
"Get him!" Damon shrieked, panic taking over. "Hit him with everything!"
Kenton roared, pulling a stone spear from the ground and charging. He was big, heavy, and used to bullying smaller students. He swung the spear at Ren's head.
Ren ducked under the swing effortlessly. He stepped into Kenton's guard and placed his palm flat against the big guy's chest.
[Skill: MANA DRAIN]
"Argh!" Kenton screamed.
It wasn't a push. It felt like a vacuum cleaner had been attached to his soul. His knees buckled instantly as his mana—and his stamina—were ripped out of him. He collapsed face-first onto the pavement, unconscious.
Jace, the tracker, took one look at his fallen friend and bolted. "I'm out! I'm out!"
Ren didn't chase him. He kept walking toward Damon.
Damon was backing up now, his back hitting the alley wall. He frantically threw two more fireballs, but Ren just slapped them aside like annoying flies. The [Void Mana] protected him; fire couldn't burn the void.
Ren stopped inches from Damon. He towered over the rich boy.
"Stay back!" Damon stammered, his voice cracking. "My father is on the Board of Directors! If you touch me—"
Ren grabbed Damon by the throat.
He lifted him off the ground with one hand. Damon clawed at Ren's arm, his legs kicking uselessly.
"Your father isn't here," Ren whispered, his eyes glowing with that terrifying violet light. "And neither is Vanessa to save you."
Ren tightened his grip.
[Mana Drain: 10%... 20%...]
Damon gagged as he felt his power draining away. The heat in his body vanished, replaced by a deep, terrifying cold.
"Please..." Damon wheezed, tears streaming down his face. "Stop..."
Ren stared at him. He could drain Damon dry. He could turn him into a husk right here. It would be easy XP.
But a husk raises questions. A terrified servant is useful.
Ren released the drain, but didn't let go of the throat.
"Listen to me, Damon," Ren said softly. "You want to know what happened in the jungle?"
Damon nodded frantically, desperate for air.
"I ate the monster," Ren lied, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "And if you ever cross me again... or if you ever look at Vanessa with those disgusting eyes again... I'll eat you too."
Ren dropped him.
Damon hit the ground, coughing and retching, clutching his throat. He looked up at Ren with pure terror. The arrogance was gone. The bully was broken.
"Get out of my sight," Ren said, turning his back on him.
Damon didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet, leaving his unconscious friend behind, and ran into the night.
Ren watched him go. He checked his hand. The faint residue of Damon's fire mana was swirling there.
[Mana Absorbed: 150 Points]
[XP Gained: 50]
Ren clenched his fist, dispersing the energy.
"Human mana tastes terrible," Ren muttered, wrinkling his nose. "Weak. Diluted."
He thought of Vanessa's mana—pure, cold, and intoxicating. He thought of the way she tasted in the cave.
"I need a better source," he said to the empty alley.
He walked into his dorm building. He needed sleep. Tomorrow was the Guild Selection Ceremony, and he had a feeling the Ice Queen would be looking for him.