Chapter 5

Slave

The girls' piercing gazes were daggers, full of disdain and smirks. I shifted my eyes away, gritting my teeth.

"Hey! What's that about a slave?" Tylon asked, breaking the silence in the entire cafeteria. Everyone looked at me, like vultures waiting for a food toss.

"That's nothing—"
"She is," Zeus interjected, his gaze fixed on me since a while ago.
"No—"
"What kind of slave is that?" Jorel asked with a laugh. "Maybe a—"
"Jorel!"
"Oh, rude!"
"Seriously!"
I blushed and quickly looked away, catching Zeus's expression. His lips curled up, forming a sexy smirk. I was momentarily stunned before I cleared my throat.
"What? You mean a sex slave?" Minoa interjected, and the guys burst into laughter.
"Minoa!" Zam scolded. She rolled her eyes at him and glanced at me.
"Come on, Verian," she stood up and pulled me along. I breathed a sigh of relief as we escaped that group. Seriously, that Jorel guy is something else! And Zeus even laughed at that?

I replayed his laugh, blushing again before I placed a hand on my chest. Why are you running so fast? Can't you stop that pounding heart? Please?
I sighed and composed myself. I knew this anger I'm feeling is normal. It's okay. Nothing to worry about. Nothing.

I followed Minoa to our room on the third floor. Many eyes were on us, whispering all around. I ignored them and sat down at my desk.

I was surprised when she sat next to me. Her usual seat was at the back, aligned with Zeus's chair.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at her. She scowled and glared at me.
"I don't want to sit next to him."
"Tsk." Soon, the room buzzed with the arrival of our classmates. Tylon and the others laughed as they took the seats behind us.

It was noisy because our teacher had not arrived yet. I stared out of the window and saw the serene field. The early morning sunlight bathed it, and with the window open, a gentle breeze from the north entered, caressing my face. I closed my eyes and raised my hands to catch the warmth.

"They killed your father!"

I quickly folded my arms and clenched my fists. I suddenly noticed a group of guys pushing each other towards me.

I eyed them and unconsciously licked my lips. My vision darkened as I looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Verian! H-Hi!" James blushed as he waved at me. I just looked at him and averted my gaze.
What am I doing? I should be full of wrath right now. That's what I should feel because that's what Mama feels. I should spend my life in darkness, mourning for the life I've wasted. My life should be void of light, and it should stay that way.

"Woah!" I blinked and looked coldly at the group of guys who were staring at me and making jokes.
Just look at them, playing the fool. I shook my head and looked at them coldly, and they suddenly fell silent, turning their gaze behind me. I looked back and saw Zeus playing with his enchant. He conjured wind daggers, twirling them in his palm. I sighed and faced the board.

Our teacher, Sir Conrad, arrived just in time. He greeted us before announcing our activities for the three-hour class.

"Alright, Class Ten Auckus, change into your Type A P.E. uniforms and proceed to the training room. We'll have our archery class today with Class Bartels."

We all stood up and headed to the locker room. I changed into my P.E. uniform. There were three types of uniforms for P.E. class.

Type A: Fitted shorts and a comfy shirt. Type B: Jogging pants and the same shirt. Type C: A combat uniform with a device to count points. It's fitted and long-sleeved. All types of uniforms were plain white, with colored linings depending on your enchant.

I looked at myself in the mirror of the locker room. Not to brag, but my body was well-developed. Every curve was in the right place. I blinked and pulled down the white shorts, paired with white sneakers. My forehead creased as I noticed the color difference in the linings.

The linings on my shirt are violet, while my shorts are somewhat black, paired with colored sneakers. I scoffed and sighed.

"Hmmm... you got a nice buttock," Minoa grinned. I rolled my eyes, and we headed to the training room.

I stood quietly in line. The queue was based on alphabetical order by last name, so I found myself at the end.

From here, I could see my noisy companions. To my right, Tylon was in line, facing the guys. In front of him was a classmate, then Zeus. On the other side were the boys from section B. I could feel their eyes on me from the corner of my eye.

Their gaze was repulsive, almost wanting to devour me whole. I sighed deeply when I heard one of them trying hard to get my attention.

"You're Vion, right?" he asked. I didn't look at him and just nodded. He seemed unsatisfied, so he turned his whole body towards me, raised an eyebrow, and looked me up and down. "You're beautiful and sexy, want to be my girl?"

I straightened up, glancing at the guy with annoyance. "I'm not interested."

"Feisty, huh?"
"I believe she already said she's not interested," a cold voice interrupted. I stood up straighter and looked at the source.

I watched his jaw move, arms crossed over his chest. He didn't even glance at me when he said that. His tall and proud nose and long eyelashes were quite visible.

"I see," the guy said, scanning me again before turning his attention forward.

I heard Tylon burst into laughter. "Why are you so attractive, Vion? That's why many are looking."

I furrowed my brow but didn't pay him any attention because Sir Conrad arrived. He seemed to be searching for someone, and when his eyes found me, he took a deep breath before starting.

I was confused but chose to ignore it. Sir gave the instructions.

"We'll start by fours. Two from section A and the other two from B. The approximate time is ten minutes. All targets move and rotate around you—up, down, side. You need to shoot them in order to gain points. The highest scorer will be exempt from the quiz." He clapped his hands and called the first four in line. They picked up bows and arrows while we sat on the bleachers in a queue.

An invisible field surrounded the four in the middle, and more than fifty targets appeared. When Sir pointed, the targets, as well as the four, began to move.

I just observed those participating. I admit that Gustav, Zam, Jorel, Vino, Rio, Eauzi, Ramzior, Minoa, Shaun, Luwen were amazing. They were skilled and earned high points. I swallowed hard when Zeus and the other three took their positions. The two girls with him seemed giddy while stealing glances at him.

He arched his brows at me, giving me a menacing look. I scoffed and glared at him. He then gave me a small smirk before I turned away to start the activity.

My face heated from what he did. I blinked twice when I felt his gaze on me after ten minutes. His companions gasped, but he just stood there, as if he hadn't broken a sweat.

After that group, another one went before Tylon's. The girls screamed as they didn't go straight to the bleachers with the guys but headed toward us!

I avoided eye contact, calming my rattled nerves. I blinked twice when I felt his presence nearing. Everything seemed to quiet down as he placed his hand behind my chair and the other on the chair behind me.

I swallowed when he leaned over me. I was attacked by his pleasant scent, and I almost went cross-eyed trying to look at him.

"W-what?" I wanted to slap myself for stuttering. Come on, Verian Vion! Get a grip!

His lips twitched sexily as he opened the water bottle.
"Thanks," he said, bringing the bottle close to my ear. "You looked cute when blushing."

I let out a breathy laugh before he returned to his seat. I avoided looking at him, even though he hadn't taken his curious eyes off me, even while talking to his companions.

I calmed my rebellious system and tried to focus on the activity. Damn it, Zeus, it's hard to concentrate with you being so distracting!

"Last group!" I took a deep breath before standing up. I tied my hair into a bun before heading to the middle. I took a deep breath, tranquilizing my system.