“Wait for me.”

“What are you doing now?”

Upon entering the room, I was supposed to tell Antonio about what had just happened, but…

After letting me in, he immediately returned to his laptop. He grabbed his headset and his mouse and ignored me who sat on his bed.

“We are winning.”

“You’re winning what?”

“This match.”

“Wait, what?”

I stood up and looked at his screen.

Only to find him playing a shooter.

“Ehhh?”

I nearly shouted, but I managed to hold my voice in. I did let out a little sound, though.

“What is wrong?”

He casually said as he took a kill with his sniper. He didn’t even look behind. Another enemy appeared behind the wall, further away from him. With great speed, Antonio readjusted his aim and took the enemy out, managing to hit a headshot.

“I don’t know you play games! And you’re good at it as well!”

“Is there something wrong with that? Even a researcher needs some rest every once in a while.”

He said after jumping from his camping spot. He ran through the bridge and grabbed a grenade that the enemy dropped. Being on the bridge, he came under fire from below. He kneeled and reloaded his sniper. The enemy marched closer to him, going up the hill on the other end of the bridge. He switched to his pistol and took the enemy out with one well-placed shot.

“I… I…”

I found myself speechless. If someone like him could play a game, why couldn’t I… at least that was what I thought before remembering that I couldn’t afford a good PC nor phone powerful enough to play those kinds of games.

I waited patiently for his match to end. He managed to win the MVP title by getting the most kills. He exited the party and turned his body back toward me.

“You’re playing with friends?”

“No, online matchmaking.”

“I see… anyway, I was attacked.”

“...”

He fell silent. He must be surprised.

“Is it really an attack if the person attacking you is this incompetent?”

“Huh?”

“Look at you. You did not suffer any scratches.”

“Yeah, I guess your brother is incompetent.”

“He indeed is. If he had any competence, he would not lose to a teacher throwing rocks at him, would he?”

“Is he even inside that tornado?”

“At that state, with that power, unlikely. Still, the tornado needed to be pretty weak if all it did was damage the school and harm two teachers and a student.”

“The three were severely injured, though.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“That is because they stood on the open field. The tornado didn’t harm them, a flying plastic bag probably did.”

“You have a point… I mean about the open field, not the flying plastic bag. Still, there was an attempt at attacking me. I was at the fountain, trying to find clues, when this weird figure appeared out of nowhere. Unlike normal, where the shield gave a colored outline, this one had his entire body colored light green. None of his features remained, only the general shape of the body was visible. It lifted its hand and fired a spell at me. I managed to dodge, but the spell hit someone else. It was strong enough to push the person over, but not to harm her.”

Antonio fell silent again. He stared at me, scanning me from top to bottom.

“Someone took the downfall for you, how cowardly.”

“He’s your brother, isn’t he? You should be the one blamed for this.”

“I do not remember attending an audition to be born in my family. Being there was not my choice, thus I will not be taking any blame for this accident.”

“Whatever. But based on the way they’re acting, it seemed like they couldn’t see the attack nor the shape, only I could.”

“... I think I understand what that person is trying to do.”

Antonio said while nodding.

“Remember the thing about being one of the elements, thus you can see but not use them?”

“Yes.”

“To put it simply, a blood-infused is like a king who rises to power thanks to his nobility. This king could control the element, his people, but could not gain their trust. He could rule over most of the people, but they wouldn’t show their true selves.”

Antonio said while pointing to himself.

“You, are a sight-infused. You are like a person who stood at the rearmost of the formation. The elements would not follow your orders, as they could not see you, but you could see them. You see their backs, the thing that they don’t show to the ones leading them in front.”

Antonio pointed to me as he said that. He then lowered his index finger and looked out the window.

“My brother… While technically he counted as a blood-infused, he trained himself and endured harsh times to be an element-infused. He gained a greater rule over the elements, but his ‘training’ cost him his body. He then sensed someone who could see the other side of the elements, the side that even after all his training he could not see. This person may prove to be a threat to his plan, and thus, he must investigate, and if possible, eliminate him. ”

Antonio jabbed a finger at my chest.

“He wants to kill you.”

“That’s probably the most anticlimactic threat I have ever witnessed.”

“Should I get a knife, then?”

“No, you should not.”

Antonio pulled his finger away from me and stood up. He looked at the window, which was blocked by the school walls.

“What are you even looking at?”

“That snail on the wall.”

I got up and looked at where he pointed, only to find a small snail crawling on the walls. I didn’t pay the snail any more attention and returned to my position in bed. Antonio eventually closed the curtains and sat back down in his chair.

“So, what should I do now? Also, shouldn’t he have killed me when he had the chance?”

He did shoot an attack at me once.

“This is something that you probably did not notice because of your ability, but for us, the stronger the magic attack, the stronger the glow. The fact that only you could see it probably meant it was a weak attack, added by the fact that the victim was unharmed. He wanted to see if you truly were the person he sought. I guess even after all that happened, he still has some honor left in him.”

“You say that after he nearly hurt everyone in that tornado?”

“Maybe he regretted it? But now he knows for sure that you were the one he sought, the one that could foil his plans. You must be careful. No, we must be careful.”

Antonio shook his head.

“We?”

“There would be two ways this could end. The first meant taking you out and then going after the target. This would take a lot longer, but it may mean lesser casualties. If he really does have some honor left, this would be the option he chose. But…”

Antonio trailed off for a second.

“... if his patience runs out, he may do something similar to two years ago. A quicker way to end it all.”

I gulped. Suddenly, it felt like a huge threat loomed over the school. Antonio reached for his phone and opened something. Seeing him, I couldn’t help but feel worried.

“Should we ask the other two for help?”

I rarely saw him interact with others as well. From my point of view, he only talked to the others when necessary. I did remember him nearly getting into a fight with one of our classmates because of his tactless comments.

“Mina and Aliya?”

“Yes.”

I remember them showing quite the amount of strength during Keeper’s training.

“Or do you have any other friends that could help?”

I expected him to mention some names, but to my surprise, he shook his head.

“I only spend time with you, as you are the only one who can keep up with my insults.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”

Antonio shrugged.

“I personally do not mind if you tell Aliya and Mina, just don’t mention my name yet. I have my suspicions about two dates and two locations. The first would be the sixteenth this month at school, and the eighteen to nineteenth this month at my home.”

“Got it. I’ll find a way to ask them to keep guard during those dates.”

“Alright.”

I stood up, intending to return to my cave.

“Ranold.”

Antonio called my name. I looked back and found himself smiling at me, without the hint of smugness that usually comes with it.

“Thank you.”

“Umm… no problem.”

I waved my hand and left his room.