CHAPTER 18
RYAN IS MOST DEFINITELY SOME KIND OF PROTAGONIST
A handful of students were gathered in the main hall of Central, eagerly looking up from the base of the Leaderboard’s enormous display. At the top, the timer was about to reach zero, signaling the end of the current phase and the start of the next one. The Halo Tour was a little less than halfway done.
Among the students were Ryan and his growing group of friends, which were predominantly (if not somehow exclusively) female. Erika and Crystal stood beside him in keen anticipation, as usual. His posse had also gained one more notable party member on his rise to stardom. A young woman with dark skin, curves as enviable as Professor Belle’s, and thick ringlets of forest-green hair that hung down the side of one shoulder. She also happened to be another among the top candidates in the Tour’s Top Eight.
She shot Ryan a sly grin, reaching towards him and delicately caressing her slender fingers along the underside of his chin. “I think you’ll be in for a big surprise today after you purged the movie theater from that sizeable chaotic menace.”
Mori Oobayashi. Fourth-year student at Halo Ridge University. Status: Certified Star. Although she didn’t need to anymore, this was her third time competing in the Tour (due in no small part to her friend Ciara’s influence).
Ryan just let out a self-conscious heh. Without looking, he could feel Erika and Crystal leering daggers at him from his other side.
The timer ticked down to zero. The eight names on the Leaderboard spun and shuffled in a slot machine-like blur. When the shuffling ceased, eight names emerged clear once again. Zoe Kampfer remained at the top, with Mori’s name staying at Number Two as it had been in the previous phase. However, there was a noticeable change at the bottom of the Leaderboard this time. Sitting at the Number Eight spot was a brand-new name—Ryan Belmont.
Ryan had made his debut in the Top Eight.
The golden-haired boy stood there dumbfounded for a moment, the female friends at either of his sides sharing in his moment of shock. Despite entering late, there he was on the Leaderboard before they even reached the halfway mark of the Halo Tour.
The crowd surrounding Ryan erupted in a chorus of surprised and amazed cheers—none louder than his candy color-haired party.
Erika threw a fist in the air. “That’s right! His name is Ryan Belmont, everyone! Don’t you forget it!”
Crystal’s expression was as monotonous as it usually was, but she waved a little handmade flag with Ryan’s name on it in her excitement. “He’s so handsome. He’s so cool.”
Mori smirked slyly and murmured to a random peer, “I’d like to take a climb his Belmont, if you know what I mean…”
And then, there was Bastian de Oro, who had the complete opposite reaction to the majority of people present. He had dropped to Number Six this time. There could be no doubt that duel he lost to Ryan in the previous phase was absolutely part of the reason for these new ranking results! More so than the movie theater incident, of course! After taking a moment to fume that his self-proclaimed rival was now on the Leaderboard a few ranks below him, he clicked his tongue and tossed the dark red locks of his hair defiantly.
“I’ll have you know I won’t lose to you next time, you peasant! Feel free to challenge me to a duel anytime! I’ll…!”
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The students dispersed from the Leaderboard, leaving Bastian to blow off his hot air on Ryan. Mindie and Ciara came down the double-staircase just in time to see the end of everything.
“Looks like we just missed the update.”
Mindie skipped the last few steps and plopped her feet down at the bottom landing. Curiously, she turned and took a good look at the Leaderboard, scanning where the Top Eight names stood. But she didn’t see what she hoped and let out a sigh.
“Looks like I’m not on the Board this time either. I kind of wish they’d show the ranks of all the Stars on Tour. At least I’d get an idea of how much harder I need to work.”
“I don’t think it’s so bad.”
Ciara joined her at the bottom of the stairs a moment later. She crossed her arms over her chest and followed Mindie’s gaze to the display screen. “Showing only the Top Eight is a good way to see who’s serious about becoming a full-fledged Star. Obviously, competition is tough on the Board itself, but those who aren’t on the Board either get discouraged or get fired up to do better. Self-selection.”
The younger sister nodded idly. No arguing with that.
Having finished listening to Bastian’s latest tirade, Ryan and his party made their way away from the Leaderboard. Mori split off from the crew to hail Ciara. They were both seniors and had bonded through their university years, and together they walked off to their next class. Meanwhile, Ryan unintentionally approached Mindie. He had an uncomfortable smile on his face as he humored Erika on one arm and Crystal on the other. The two girls glared daggers at each other, but Ryan’s uneasy expression vanished upon seeing a friendlier face.
Mindie placed her arms akimbo and beamed. “Congrats on making it onto the Leaderboard, golden boy. It’s even more impressive that you’re on there now even after starting late.”
Ryan tilted his head with an appropriately modest grin. He would have scratched a self-conscious itch in his hair if his arms were free. “Heh. Thanks TC. I think that duel we had at the beginning was what really gave me the boost I needed though.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I don’t know about that. I’ve been working pretty hard myself, but you don’t see me up there. Just how many Shades have you put to rest since you joined?”
“Hm…” Ryan averted his blue eyes thoughtfully. The question mark over his head was practically tangible. “I’m not sure… There was that big one in the theater, the one that attacked Erika a while back, the one Crystal and I stopped from causing road damage… that wolf-like one prowling around the western side of campus, a bunch of small ones by the lake…”
He continued listing several more, causing Mindie to shrug and heave a sigh in halfhearted amusement. “For some reason, I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised. Looks like I need to up my game…”
Then she recomposed herself, flashing him a cocky grin. “Don’t get too comfortable. I’m not on the Board yet, but I’m hot on your heels. Remember, you’re competing with the girl who’s gonna be the brightest Star.”
“You can try.” He adjusted his arm enough to display a fist to his fellow brightest Star. “Looking forward to seeing your name up there below mine.”
Erika and Crystal were too occupied leering at each other to notice the new potential threat to their game of vying for Ryan’s attention. Or maybe they didn’t see how someone ranked beneath them could ever be worthy of the golden boy’s long-term awareness. In either case, a lapse in their own awareness allowed Mindie to share with him a courteous fist-bump.
“Ha! Right back at you.”
Ryan grinned. He found Mindie’s confidence endearing, but he knew she had a long way to go to catch up to him. He had made it into the Top Eight before she did. His rise through the ranks had been smooth sailing. It looked like becoming a Star was easier than he thought.
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Suddenly, the glow in Ryan’s luminescent aura vanished. The simplistic, black-and-white view of his special vision transitioned back into the real world, and he was once again seeing the basketball court in full detail. Well, as full in detail as he could with the lights out.
And while he was more hard-pressed to see it now, he could see the vague, rippling haze of the Shade that he hadn’t yet finished off.
He panted heavily, staring at the rippling air above him. “What the… What just happened to me?”