25TH GEAR - IT WAS ME, JONATHAN! ME!

“I was just kidding!”

The bomb was dropped and it was no other than Vincent himself. He has this playful smile on his face, and I saw Levi and Justine chuckling behind him.

“Wha-What did you just say?” Ericka asked.

“As I said, it was just a prank.” Vincent looked at me with a toying smile. “Jonathan may have given smart advice to you Speedmages, but there is no way a magicless person can be allowed to join Eaglecrest!”

I, Prez, Flu, and Cruzo were depressed upon this sudden development. They got scared of something that did not exist in the first place. However, I got wounded because I was never qualified to join the Eaglecrest from the start just because I’m magicless.

It’s not like I wanted to join them anyway.

Not.

Actually, I would have joined them if the perks are awesome, such as a free scholarship in the academy for four years, lunch and transportation money allowance, or even just a “Sure Pass” card for subjects taught by Miss Terror. So I got heartbroken when the Eaglecrest discriminates against the magicless.

Prez let go of my elbow and sighed. “You got us there, Vincent.”

“You’re misunderstanding something.” Vincent held his hips confidently. “I just have business with your coach, so I wanted to talk to him. Privately.”

“Fine, we will give you space,” Prez said lazily. She started to walk away in a sickly manner with Cruzo and Flu assisting her.

Side Note: During Flu’s hyped moment in the middle of the Speed Battle, Prez sat that one out and grabbed a sick bag. She spoke some inaudible words and blew out blasphemous things coming from her esophagus, so she is in a much more sorry state than Flu. I guess the pressure of fighting the Speedmage Champion is too much for her. Hey, at least she held out that long.

Anyway…

There are only two of us on the outdoor stage as even his lackeys gave him space. We are completely alone now and nobody else can hear us.

Vincent grabbed something from his pocket and showed a titanium sword accessory a size of a regular pendant.

“Do you remember me now?” Vincent asked.

“I-Is that…”

The titanium pendant. It was originally mine! I remember it was stolen by my friend back in the Western Village. Images that should have been erased by the medical amnesia spell fourteen years ago started to flow toward my brain.

“Do you remember that time you fell down the stairs and got your face dumped into a pile of cow shit?” Vincent glared.

“N-No!” I denied.

I took three steps backward in fear. I now have a rough idea of who Vincent Shadowseek is, and I will not admit it!

“It was me, Jonathan. I was running around at superspeed and pushed you down the stairs!”

“No!”

“Remember back when you were trying to fart in class, but a shit came out?” Vincent continued to torment me.

“Stop!”

“It was me, Jonathan. I shat your pants at superspeed that you didn’t even realize it!”

“Shut up!”

“Remember when you were making out with your first crush, and you came just as she touched your hand?”

“No…” I held my aching head and curled like a helpless scared armadillo. “No!”

“It was me, Jonathan. I jerked you off at superspeed so it seemed like you nutted in just a woman’s touch!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Noooooo!”

“Muhahahahaha! It was me, Jonathan! It was always me!” Vincent spread out his hands and the skies darkened like it was the end of the world.

I finally met the bane of my existence once again- Vincent Shadowseek, my long-lost friend-slash-bully!

Back in the Western Village, I had a friend since I was two years old. I remember two brown-haired kids as my playmates, and since those two are years older than me, they often played pranks. I was the runt of the litter, and it was worse when they discovered I became magicless.

The reason why I could not remember him or his little brother well is that I had magic-induced amnesia for health reasons when I was aged four or five, I cannot remember pretty well. I was a victim of an incident I could barely remember and prefer not remembering. We also moved to the eastern part of the empire so that I can completely forget whatever happened to me back then.

All I know is that I suffered a massive mental trauma that the only way to cure my mind was to have me forget bits of my memories before a grim incident. That is why I can only make out familiarity from Vincent Shadowseek.

“Vince.” I finally said his nickname from the tip of my tongue.

“You finally remembered, Jon.” Vincent laughed.

“Well, it’s been fourteen years. Everything about you changed.”

“Yeah, but our personalities are still the same. You’re still the aloof silent bastard who’s always scheming in the dark. Look how you outsmarted me during that Speed Battle.”

“And you’re still that teasing prankster who grinds people’s gears. Look at how pissed off my president is during the fight.”

“And look at you, joining a Speedmage Guild even though you are magicless.” Vincent laughed.

I laughed too. “Yeah, right. Those three idiots kept recruiting me even though I cannot use magic.”

Both of us chuckled under our breaths. We leaned on the rails to look at the Speedmages readying the Checkpoint Towers.

“So, you still have that dream? Becoming that Speedmage Champion?” Vincent suddenly turned to a stern glare.

Back when we were a kid, we idolize Speedmages we saw on magical kids' TV. We would often race around the farmlands pretending to be Speedmages, doing mock tag battles and the like. I stopped playing with them when the impossibility of being a magus slapped me, but they continued to play with me otherwise, just on different games.

“We both dreamt of becoming Speedmage Champions,” I said as I looked at him. “Look at you, you are living the dream now.”

“Heh!.” Vincent snorted. “If only I knew your whereabouts, I would have shared the glory with you. You would have become my personal coach.”

“Don’t worry. A certain someone pledged herself to attain my impossible dream. She promised that she will become the Speedmage Champion in my stead.” I smiled as I put my hands in my pocket.

“You’re talking about Fluonessia Asahime?” Vincent asked.

I did not answer him. Instead, I rested my face on the rails and looked downward. I had a good view of the Speedmages who are chatting on the ground. I saw Flu talking energetically with Ericka and Cruzo. She’s too hyper that she even spilled her mana potions while doing some hand actions.

“You know, Miss Asahime has what it takes to become a Speedmage Champion. You saw how comprehensive she is during our battle, and she figured out how to strike me. Over the five years of my career as a Speedmage, I have never been struck on the back.” Vincent said with a serious face.

“It’s just one point. Your teleportation skill is so broken that you massacred my team.” I said.

“No, you better believe me. I know a super genius if I found one.” Vincent said. “Say, if I had a second match against Miss Asahime, who do you think will win?”

“You, of course,” I said.

“If we fought the third time, who will win?”

“Still you. You’re the Speedmage Champion, duh.” I said with a smart-aleck remark.

“Let me rephrase my question then.” Vincent cleared his throat. “How many Speed Battles will it take before Fluonessia Asahime beats me?”

I was taken aback by his question. Sure, Flu was able to deal the first ever back strike on Vincent the Teleporter, and she managed to do it while still being inexperienced. She figured out the best way to counterattack a teleportation spell with just two tries. I’ve seen Flu play Speedbattles, and her learning curve is exponentially high. She managed to replicate some spells into her own versions because of her intuition and creativity.

Nobody could deny that Flu is improving at a stupidly rapid pace.

“I’m sorry, that question entirely depends on you.” Vincent sighed.

“M-Me?”

“Yeah. I saw how you gave smart commands to Miss Asahime. I saw how your eyes counted and timed for my teleportation, and you also accounted for your speech delays when giving advice. You two are a perfect pair.”

“You sounded like you’re shipping both of us.” I chuckled.

“Yeah, that too.” Vincent started to walk towards the exit. “But promise me this: I want you to make Miss Asahime the fastest magus alive. I would love to have a proper rematch with her.”

I replied with a fiery gaze and a determined smile.

“Wilco.”

I looked at my pocket watch and realized that it was now almost an hour past lunch, so I guess I’ll go back to our tent.

When I went down the outdoor stage, I saw Flu greeting me with a cheerful smile. She is holding a packed lunch in a carton box.

“Jon! I mean, coach!” Flu jollily waved her hand. She approached me while hopping and skipping. “Captain Tezza told me to deliver your food to you. We went ahead and ate already, and it was almost time for practice! I hope you forgive me for not waiting for you!”

“No, it’s okay.” I happily accepted the packed lunch she gave me. “It’s time for your practice already? It's not even two o'clock yet!”

“Yes!” Flu said while pumping her fists. “The exhibition match earlier made people fired up, so Captain Tezza will start the training a little bit earlier!”

“How about you, are you ready to go?” I asked worryingly. I know it was about an hour ago that Flu seemed to be drained in that Speed Battle with the champion, but I can’t help but think about her condition.

Flu raised her hand and clenched her fists. With a sparkling smile, she said with full energy:

“I’m perfectly good to go!”