[Vorn's POV]
I don't know how long I waited in my dorm room. But I haven't given up hope. I'm sure they could do this sooner or later.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knocking sound. Instead of coming from the room's door, the sound came from the window. I quickly got out of bed and opened the curtains.
"Eddie?" I lowered my chin and found a man with undercut brown hair hanging outside using a rope. "This is the third floor!"
"Hurry up and open the window, Ethan!" He desperately held on to the rope. "I don't know how long it will last like this!"
"What a stupid idiot." I opened the window and helped my friend inside.
That young man breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he stepped onto my bedroom floor. "Well, that's pretty scary."
"Why are you doing this?" I popped my head out and found that the rope was coming from the room above mine. That room's occupant, a man about my age, waved from the window. I didn't respond to him and pulled my head. "Now go. Leave me alone."
"Don't say that." Eddie shrugged. "Anyone would be worried if one of their friends never came out of their room again and didn't reply to chats or calls. You didn't even open the door when I came to you. So, I did this way to check on your condition."
"Now you can see I'm fine," I said fast. "You don't need to do anything else. Now go."
I have to fully concentrate on Ayre. There's no point in doing anything else.
Eddie shook his head. "Why are you being like this? Just so you know. I noticed this since more than a year ago. You hang out less and less. In fact, you rarely attend class. It's only natural that we're worried about you."
"That is none of your business." Feeling lazy to argue with him, I threw my body on the bed, not saying anything else.
Better to wait for him to get tired and leave.
"This is no good, Ethan." Eddie's voice came from the corner of the room. "You've only been eating instant noodles lately, huh?"
I glanced at my friend, who was crouching and tidying up the cups of instant noodles scattered near the trash can.
"You should eat real food once in a while." Eddie continued. "Let's go. I found a good Indonesian restaurant. You've never eaten Indonesian food, have you?"
"I am not interested…."
Eddie grabbed my hand before I could finish.
"Oh, come on! You must be hungry, right? It's on me!"
***
I walked through the small shopping center with Eddie. Because he was so annoying, I followed his will this time instead of him continuing to annoy me.
"This is it." Eddie stretched out his hands in front of a small building with dominant red and white exteriors and statues. "You'd be surprised by what's in here, and it's not just the food…."
I entered the place before Eddie could speak at length. It's better to finish this shit right away and get back to focusing on what's important.
"Okay, then." Eddie chuckled and followed me.
"Welcome…." A waitress in a brown dress with a complicated pattern gasped when she saw me. "Ethan?"
Yes, I know her. She is someone from the same campus as me. But then again, I don't care. I didn't reply to the greeting and chose a seat near the glass wall, looking at the humans passing by outside.
"Hey, Cindy." Eddie greeted the rather tan woman. "Sorry to bother you again."
"I'm glad you're back again." She put the menu book on the table.
"Ah, I want that salad with peanut sauce as usual, and please don't make it too spicy." Eddie sat across from me. "And avocado juice. Ah, I also want one martabak for dessert."
The woman named Cindy turned to me. "Then, for you…."
"Anything is fine," I answered without looking at her.
She was silent for a moment, then said. "Okay. I will give you one of my favorites."
As the girl left, Eddie leaned over to me. "Really? You ignore Cindy, an idol of the whole Uni? You often talked about her in the past because you had a crush on her. Now she is clearly showing interest in you. Why are you so cold?"
"Times have changed," I answered without care.
Eddie took a deep breath. "If you really don't have feelings for Cindy anymore, you can choose another hot girl on our campus. You've become famous, after all."
I finally looked at my friend. I can't deny it. His words pique my attention. "Me? Famous? I never even cared about how I looked."
"From what I heard from the girls, they sensed a different aura from you. Well, I don't know what they mean, but I do feel that you've changed."
Really? I never noticed it because I was too focused on my empire. How could being Vorn have such an impact on me in this world?
Eddie continued the conversation, but I paid him no further attention.
"Please. We hope you both enjoy it." Cindy returned with our order after a few minutes. "I picked this for you, Ethan. It's called soto and guava juice."
As soon as she put the yellow soup in front of me, I ate it like crazy, not because I was hungry or really enjoyed it.
Again, I want it to be over quickly.
"It's still hot, Ethan..." Cindy didn't continue her words.
Yes, the food did burn my mouth, but it was nothing compared to the pain I used to feel in that other world.
"Dude," Eddie said again. "Seriously, what exactly happened to you?"
I continue to devour the food.
"Ah, welcome." Cindy left when several young men entered the restaurant.
"Those bastards again?" Eddie hissed. "If one of them wants to flirt with Cindy, why come with so many people during working hours? They looked like they wanted to gangbang Cindy."
I raised my head and found those four men were my upperclassmen in college. One of them, a blonde with a somewhat buffed body, put his arm around Cindy's waist while the other giggled.
"Well, as much as I hate their behavior, I can't do anything about it." Eddie stirred his salad. "We are cowards who don't want to get battered."
I finished the rest of my food, downed my juice, then stood up.
I was already very pissed off, and seeing their behavior, I became even more irritated.
I may need a little exercise.
"Come on, we'll be waiting for you after your shift ends." The blonde-haired man kept pressing Cindy. "We're going to have fun after this."
Cindy looked even more uncomfortable. "If you don't want to order, we'll have to ask you to leave, Tom."
"Hey!" I shouted.
The men looked at me with frowns. Tom, who seemed to be the leader of the small gang, let go of his hand from Cindy, then approached me.
"What the fuck do you want?" He asked so close to my face.
"Let's talk outside." I gave him a sharp look, feeling no fear at all. They were nothing compared to my opponents in that other world.
"Ah!" One of them pointed at me. "He's Ethan, the kid the ladies are talking about!"
Tom chuckled. "Well, all right. We'll talk outside. I also want to hear tips from you to be famous among the chicks."
"Ethan!" Eddie tried to grab my hand. "Are you crazy? You better apologize to them."
I pushed him down between the chairs instead. Then, I started walking out without saying anything else.
"Hey, we're already outside," Tom said as we stepped foot on the street. "If there's something you want to talk about, do it now…."
I turned my body around, grabbed that man's hair, then smashed his head against one of the stone statues in front of the restaurant. Instantly, the other men gaped, looking at their boss, who was lying there with his face covered in blood.
"Come on!!!" I backed away, holding out my hand. "Fight me! Or are you scared of me!?"
I can feel my adrenaline rising. This would be an excellent exercise to get out some steam.
"You motherfuckers!" One of them came running at me, ready to punch me. But I swiftly kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to tumble backward.
The others then followed to attack.
The punches from those three kept coming, but I could block or dodge them all, then give counterattacks in the form of fists or kicks.
However, now that I'm just an ordinary human who never trained, I can't take them down right away. It took several attacks until, one by one, they fell bruised.
I gasped for breath, looking at the men writhing in the streets, groaning. My fists were also seized with pain. Even the muscles and joints in my body are so sore. I've never done such intense moves in this world, after all.
And I still need more.
"Come on!!!" I screamed with all my might to them. "Fight me!!!"
Seeing they still couldn't stand up, I approached one of them, then stomped his face.
"Get your ass up! Fight me!" I kept stomping the man's face no matter how much blood came out. "Is this all you have!!??"
"Enough, Ethan!" Suddenly Eddie pulled my body.
But I persisted and kept stomping that man, even though he wasn't moving anymore.
I only stopped when the audience began to block me. Not because I really wanted to stop but because I couldn't move anymore. There were so many people holding me.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢