Chapter 22: Chapter 22 - A promise unchecked
Zefer was intrigued to know that he could raise his Charm Stat not solely through sexual encounters and seduction but by pure intimidation. He wondered why it never grew when he successfully intimidated the other students before today and even that ref, but he had an idea considering the scene before him.
It was probably similar to gaining EXP. He needed to intimidate them so much that they passed out purely from fear. Whereas with his seduction, it was the complete opposite, where they needed to pass out from pure pleasure.
Still, this came with its own set of problems. If someone passed out from fear, he couldn't get the EXP for knocking them out. Sure, he knocked all twelve of these students out, but it wasn't like he personally attack them or anything. So, the system never gave him any EXP. It was a trade-off, gain Charm Stat points through intimidation and pleasure, or gain EXP through knockouts and possibly killing. He had yet to kill anyone with his system, so he didn't know if he gained extra EXP or not.
Regardless, this was an interesting concept since it allowed him to train his Charm Stat. By this logic, he wondered if he could increase Luck through gambling at a casino or playing the lottery. Something that was purely luck-based or relied heavily on Luck.
For now, though, he decided to turn his attention towards Ms. Veronica. The teacher was looking at her students when she felt Zefer's gaze, so she looked at him. Her body trembled in fear, and her hands shook since she didn't know what to make of everything.
She was a B Rank Hunter, one of the few strongest in the city; however, she knew Zefer before all of this. He never once seemed like the kind of person to do evil acts or cause mayhem. Even when he appeared to give up, he never did criminal things. Yet, his statement and the pressure he gave off caused her to shiver in fear and question if she knew him or not.
She debated if she should report this to the Guild or even Principal Gill, but then something hit her like a truck. It was guilt; an enormous sense of responsibility slammed into her face. If she reported this, she would be no different from those that treated Zefer wrongly.
She never partook in the bully, but she never stopped it either. If she reported this, she would be no different from the bullies. Zefer's words also caused her heart to ache, not the ones she heard now, but the ones she heard yesterday. Suppose she reported this, then what he said was true. She would genuinely be no different than them.
Ms. Veronica swallowed deeply and took several deep breaths to calm her nerves and body. The reason she was so frightened wasn't that Zefer held power. It was the power itself that he owned. She knew what the energy he had was Rune Energy.
How did she know?
Because she had borne witness to someone who had possessed the same type of energy signature as Zefer, not necessarily the same energy itself, but the feeling she gained from it was similar. It was back when she had graduated from the academy and became a Hunter. She encountered a woman who used powerful Dark Magic.
This woman was part of the Demon faction. She used her power to wipe out nearly all of her party members, and the only reason Ms. Veronica survived was that the woman retreated. Not because she was wounded, but because she had been called back for whatever reason.
The Demon woman flaunted her power, saying that her Rune Energy far outclassed those of Mana Users and that she would one day rule over everything and no one would stop her.
When Veronica got back, she researched Rune Energy. She found old documents far before the war with the other races saying that people known as Rune Warriors came forth to help humanity battle against an enemy like none other. There were six Rune Warriors in total, and each held a specific Rune.
The Rune of Destruction.
The Rune of Salvation.
The Rune of Light.
The Rune of Darkness.
The Rune of Life.
The Rune of Death.
Although Veronica tried to research more into Rune Warriors and Rune Energy, she came up short as if all the documents had been erased or forgotten. Truthfully, she was lucky to find any records on Rune Energy or Rune Warriors, considering how old the papers she found were.
Nevertheless, this was where her knowledge came from and how she knew about Rune Energy. Because of this knowledge, she reacted the way she did during Zefer's battle. Still, she felt like instead of reporting this, she could guide Zefer onto a better path.
So, Veronica gulped heavily to steel her resolve. She told herself that she would make sure Zefer returned to who he once was. A happy, smiling boy who did his best at everything. The Zefer back then was warm, but the Zefer now felt cold. She vowed that she would make sure Zefer stayed on a righteous path, no matter what it took.
"Ahem, yes. Here you go. The Ring of Fortification allows the user to use Mana more freely and even heal minor wounds." Ms. Veroncia said as she offered Zefer the small box. Zefer nodded and took the box, closing it with the ring inside then pocketing it before returning to his seat.
"Thank you for your statement." Ms. Veronica added as Zefer sat down. She looked over her class once more before sighing internally and calling for a Medical Team to come to escort her students to the medical bay. She informed them that they had all passed out. Of course, Ruth was the only one still awake, aside from Ms. Veronica.
However... his consciousness faded to black as his eyes followed Zefer, and he passed out as well. Another rich Ding sound alerted Zefer, and another message popped up.
[Charm Stat increased by 1]
Zefer smirked inside as he side-eyed Ruth before opening his apps on his bracelet and doing the homework that Ms. Veronica assigned. Since classes were over, all students were allowed to do as they pleased. Zefer decided to finish any assignment for the time being.
Doing his homework masked what he was doing, looking over his inventory as he slipped his hand into his pocket. He wondered how storing things inside of his inventory worked. For now, he decided to try and think about the box and ring, thinking about storing it into his inventory. Then not even a second later, he saw an object appear in one of the many boxes.
"Oh?" Zefer thought as he tapped on the object, which prompted a second window.
[Open Accessory Box?]
[Yes] [No]
Zefer hit yes.
The box and the ring inside split, in one of his inventory spaces, was the box that looked open, and in another right beside it was the blue-banded ring. Zefer tapped on the ring once to bring up another window.
-----------
Ring of Fortification
Grade: D Rank Accessory
Description: When worn, it gives the user better control of their Mana, reducing the cost of spells by 5 Points and increasing the recovery rate of Mana by 10 Points.
-------------
Zefer wondered if this ring would work on him. It clearly said it had to deal with Mana, but he didn't have Mana. Instead, he used Rune Energy. So, if this ring did not work for him, it was useless. Of course, he would put it on when there weren't prying eyes, but until then, he decided to close out his inventory and finish up his homework before leaving the classroom.
The medical team arrived soon after he left, and even though Ms. Veronica wanted to talk with him, she had to stay until the medical team left. Zefer made his way to the library to increase his knowledge and finish that part of the quest.
Sadly, just as he was about to enter the library, a commotion caused him to stop. His eyes glanced towards the source of the noise only to see a trio of boys messing with a single petite raven-haired girl with a fair skin complexion. She looked uncomfortable and timid as she shied away from the boys that had her surrounded against a locker down the hallway.
Instantly, an image of his sister flashed over the girl, and rage boiled inside of him. Ever since he was forced to watch his sister be violated and killed, his mental state became unstable. He was scarred from that scene, and things like slavery or enslavement, in general, seemed to tip him off. However, what drove it home was stuff like this.
His mind always replaced the girl with his sister and reminded him of that day. It was a mental scar, one that he would never recover from, lest he ever gets the proper help. Sadly, that help was probably never going to come.
"Ben Cortez, Frank Miller, Francis Monroe... I challenge all three of you to a 3 on 1 knock-out battle. Condition type, enslavement for a day." Zefer's cold words echoed down the hall towards the three boys.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
R_V_R
R_V_R Ooookay... Aside from that cringy speech, Ina made our man's say. It seems like our teacher here thinks she can prevent Zefer from going down the wrong path... Oh, man, if only she knew... haha.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone