Skyler burst into laughter—loud and full of amusement. His eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief as he stared down at the man in front of him, who flinched at the sight of the imposing figure stepping toward him.
He wasn't only taller but also noticeably more muscular than Charles remembered. Even his ash-brown hair had grown slightly longer, now brushing the nape of his neck.
"Who am I?"
Skyler drawled the words.
"Why don't you take a guess?"
Charles's eyes widened even more.
"Impossible...! How could you have grown so much taller in just, like, two weeks? We saw each other barely a fortnight ago!"
Skyler hissed at the loud voice.
"Stop shouting so loudly, will you? I can hear you just fine without all that noise."
He folded his arms, his expression sharp.
"And why can't I grow taller? My growth hormones just kicked in the Battle Royal. Anything's possible in that otherworldly place full of unknowns—you know that."
He took a step closer.
"And shouldn't you be grateful I didn't come looking for you while I was being chased by a dragon? Talk about being ungrateful."
Skyler snickered, eyes narrowing.
"What kind of friends are we, huh? I had to go through everything alone! Do you even realize how much I suffered? Weren't you supposed to suffer together with me?"
Charles was speechless, his eyes blank with disbelief. The person before him was truly Skyler—the same one he had known.
He proved it with his shameless words.
Charles could only stare at him as Skyler continued to complain about being chased by a dragon, alone with no one to help him.
A surge of irritation bubbled inside Charles as he thought back to how he ran for days to escape that dragon, while this bastard—who had the audacity to call himself his friend—was the one who had woken the dragon!
He stole the dragon's jewels, yet everyone on the first level—including Charles—ended up paying the price for his damn actions!
Thinking about all he had suffered, a vein throbbed on Charles's forehead—and then all hell broke loose. He kicked Skyler in the knee with all his strength, making him hiss and nearly lose his balance. Anyway, they were both 10-star; a few kicks were okay.
Skyler's eyes widened as he saw another kick coming his way. This time, he dodged. The first one had caught him off guard—he was rambling and hadn't bothered to react. He pointed an accusing finger at the man.
"Why the hell did you kick me??"
Charles straightened his shirt and scoffed, a smirk breaking through his emotionless exterior, however briefly. Honestly, now that he had kicked Skyler, he felt much better.
"You said friends suffer for each other. Well, I suffered alone, and you weren't there. That kick was for you not suffering with me."
Skyler blinked, taking a moment to process his words. When he did, he realized that his own words were being thrown back at him.
"Huh...?"
He watched as Charles walked toward the stairs and began descending, then hurriedly followed him with a wry, amused chuckle.
"Wait for me!"
Riruru slumped her head on his shoulder, watching as the duo sat down at a table on the first floor to have breakfast, surrounded by other first-year elite class students who kept casting curious glances their way.
Skyler kept trying to feed her, despite her faint protests. She had just experienced a breakthrough and wasn't all that hungry.
Charles's eyebrow twitched at the scene. Were they a couple or something? Why the hell was Skyler coaxing a snake to eat like some doting lover...? Was he the only one seeing the imaginary pink bubbles floating around them? Seriously weird. Then again, Skyler had always been that kind of weird.
He choked on his water when one of their classmates—a girl with long, flowing golden hair, a cute round face, and striking phoenix eyes—suddenly appeared at their table with her friends, wanting to get Skyler's number.
The three girls acted like he was invisible.
Charles rolled his eyes. Like he cared.
'What the hell. Just let me eat in peace! I haven't had a proper meal in days!'
Still, he couldn't help but wonder why they suddenly wanted Skyler's number. He hadn't forgotten how their entire class had ignored them on the first day at the academy, with a few even going as far as to be hostile.
Was it because Skyler had returned from the Battle Royal earlier than everyone else, making history? If he had bothered to check online, he would have known why. The girls simply wanted to cozy up to the royal who had become the center attention lately.
Charles hummed and focused on his breakfast, ignoring everything else.
However, Skyler's next words made him choke again—this time on his own breath.
Skyler glanced at the phone being pushed toward him, then looked at the blushing girl—and casually dropped a bombshell.
"I'm married."
The girls froze. Yet he paid them no mind as they scattered, pouring a glass of water for Charles, who had started coughing.
Skyler's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Hah, why are you so shocked? Can't I get married? I mean, I'm handsome—finding a pretty wife wasn't exactly hard, you know."
Charles wiped his mouth with a tissue, glaring at him. So, this bastard even got married? In just two freaking weeks?? But then he deadpanned at his next words.
"Relax. I'm just joking. It's the best way to make sure the girls don't bother me again. I know I'm handsome, but I'm already taken."
That was when Zack appeared, wearing a smile. He entered the building and instantly waved at Charles, who ignored him, unable to see Skyler as his back was facing him.
Striding over to their table, Zack casually dragged out a chair and settled down. He could tell that Charles had grown closer to him after they spent days fighting together, even though the man always ignored him—not to mention his expressionless face.
"Hey, Charles. I thought we were grabbing breakfast together before class. Why didn't you message or call me..."
He trailed off as his eyes finally landed on the man sitting across from Charles, and Zack froze in place, his face sinking.
"You're back as well?"
Skyler's gaze narrowed, flicking between Charles and the silver-eyed young man.
"Well, clearly I'm back—I'm sitting right in front of you. Or did you think you two were the only ones who made it back? And since when did you two become so close?"
Charles stood up, brushing off his uniform.
"I'm running late for class. It's Saturday—and my first day in the talisman class. I'm out. You two can fight or do whatever."
Skyler followed Charles, completely ignoring the man still frozen in place.
Zack finally snapped out of it once the two were already on their way out and rushed to catch up. But just as he did, Skyler shot him a sneer and deliberately matched his stride to Zack's—to confirm he was indeed taller.
Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, he muttered with a smirk.
"Shorty."
Zack blinked in disbelief, wondering if his hearing had malfunctioned or something. He hadn't expected Skyler to be this petty.
Who would have thought this bastard still remembered that snide remark Zack made when they met during the preliminary test?
Now, he was getting back at him.
Wow.
Regardless, let's make this clear.
Zack wasn't short by any means! He was taller than everyone his age, except Max!
Was it his fault that Skyler turned into a freaking giant in just two weeks, probably munching on who-knows-what the hell?
But surprisingly enough, it wasn't Zack who responded to Skyler—it was Charles. And to his shock, the usually emotionless iceberg snapped, his voice sharp with irritation.
"You got a problem with that?"
Skyler was dumbfounded.
"Wait—I know you're short, but this time I didn't mean you! I meant him! Really!"
Charles, the shortest of the three, shot him a dark look before striding away, done with both of them. Truly. His pride was bruised. He wasn't that short. Just… a little short.
He facepalmed at his own thoughts.
Spending time with Skyler had rubbed off on him in all the wrong ways. Seriously, he needed to stay away from him. From Zack too. At this rate, he might end up losing his sanity—one of them was shameless, and the other was just downright annoying.
Skyler slowed his pace, his gaze narrowing as he watched Zack follow after Charles.
"What's his game? Trying to get close to Charles when he called him a villain? Does he have ill intentions? He knows the story like I do. I guess I'll watch him. It's smarter to let the variable stay close so I can keep tabs on him—and on the Keeper of Time."
He hummed softly, then gazed into the distance, his smile completely fading. He was usually a bit chatty and playful, but he wasn't the type to let his guard down even a little around someone who also possessed the knowledge of the story he had read.
Or maybe Zack knew more than him.
Who knows.
"How very annoying. It's a good thing he didn't take the treasures described in the story, and I got them instead. Otherwise, I would have been really pissed."