NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20: The Bet on The Table
"Logan, what are you doing!" Sabrina yelled, pushing her upper torso over the table's edge. "This is absolutely ludicrous! If you're really lying, just say so. I won't hold it against you!"
"It hurts me to hear those words come out of your mouth, Sabrina." Logan's mouth was as straight as an arrow. "But no, I'm not lying, and I'll prove it right now."
Sabrina staggered back. "Woah, you seem more... straightforward than usual..."
"Okay, that's enough! You shouldn't be making these type of deals, Emily!" Jasmine was the one to intervene, tugging on the end of Emily's dress. For a moment, it seemed to be working, but with one swift kick, her arm flew back in the air. Like a cat licking its wounds, she gripped her wrist, eyeing it up and down for any injuries.
"Emily, don't you think this is a little much? Please, stop this." Amelia urged, dropping her eyes just half an inch. Emily cracked a small glance in her direction, even softening her expression, but she didn't yield.
"Sorry, Jasmine, but I won't let you interfere. And you, Amelia. This is something I must do." Stomping her foot into the table just once, The metal legs creaked—even screamed at the force. "Come on, Logan. You're not a liar, right? Then come up! Meet the challenge!"
Carefully, Logan used his chair as a stepping stone to rise up to the top. Dusting himself free of food particles like a girl, Logan stood firmly in place—even against the intense presence of the woman in front of him.
Mutually, they met each other at the table's center, staring daggers into the other's eyes. Even though Logan had to look down to attack her gaze, it didn't lessen the sheer volatility of her malice.
"Well then, tough guy. Show us what you've got," she said, turning away to relieve herself from the table's top.
In the distance, Logan could barely make out rows of the cafeteria staff walking in his direction, vesting white cooking gowns. Momentarily, he jolted his hand back to prepare his retreat, but once a single figure intervened—inconspicuous due to having their back turned—he breathed a sigh of relief as the wave subsumed.
"We don't have all day." Sarcastically, Emily pointed to her wrist, then waved to all the students surrounding him. Their expressions only grew more scrutinizing, some even beginning to inch out of their seats. "Unless, of course, you're all talk. In which case, you can just give up early. Might save you from an extra beating or two."
Logan crossed his arms, taking the moment to look around to all the students present. "Alright! Then, since you all are so curious, I'll show you just what my Gift is!"
Mixed murmurs spread through the students. Emily, confident as she was, also began to crack. Her face fell, and the strong striations in the air representing her mana begun to waver.
"For this one, though, I'll need someone behind me to catch my fall. Using this power takes a lot out of me, and I don't think that I'll be able to stay awake afterwards." He looked down to Sabrina, motioning his head to the left repeatedly. She narrowed her eyes.
"Logan, what are you talking about—"
"Don't worry about it, just help me out here," he whispered. Reluctantly, she obliged, walking around the round table to stand beneath his shadow.
"Alrighty, then," he said, licking his bottom lip. Reeling his foot back, he pulled his tray of food just in front of him. Then, without wasting a moment, he slammed his foot right into its contents.
Slam, slam, slam!
"Okay, have you lost it!?" Sabrina hissed, deciding to take it upon herself to climb up the table using her left foot as a first step, but all it took was a single gesture from Logan to stop her in her tracks: an open palm in her face, followed by a sincere smile.
"You see, my Gift is the ability to rewind time in an area. If I concentrate enough, I can even go so far as to rewind an object's time—at the cost of all of my mana."
The cafeteria air crackled against the insanely loud cries of the entire room.
"Rewind time? He lies!"
"Yeah! There's no way he could use an A-grade Gift like that! That's an ability you would see a Paladin possess, not this trash!"
The voices piled on more and more, fueling into Logan's amusement more and more. At the same time, he witnessed the way Emily's limbs bursted forth with all the unbridled fury of a toddler. "The ability to affect time? There's absolutely no way you could possess that. Get down from there now and accept defeat before I get angry!"
He didn't listen, instead, crouching down to the floor. He looked most intensely at the burger entrenched with lattice-shaped dirt engravings. Then, to the room. The way the air grew heavier with each passing moment. "Behold, my power to rewrite fate itself. Hrrnngghh!"
Enveloping himself in dark, his eyelids creased. With the hopes that the mana would make itself known, he drew his attention towards his core, beckoning for its activation. It thrummed a single time.
Then was the moment to utilize his Gift. With all the intentionality in the world, he directed the mana's focus to his hand, pounding this very simple mantra into its core: "Materialize as my Gift!"
Air tossed around, space cried, and his hand pulsed as he felt it. The culmination of his intent!
Nothing. There was not a single speck of mana vibrating in the air.
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
The entire cafeteria broke into a fit of laughter, watching the way Logan looked to his own hand, defeated. As the skin running along his forehead went to an almost deathly pale, his pupils rolled back into his head.
Losing all strength in his limbs, he moved back and forth in the air like a worm, eventually shrugging all his weight back. Without control, he fell into Sabrina's arms. "Oh, Logan..." she muttered, rubbing her fingers along his cheek.
"Oh my god, did he pass out from holding his breath for too long? That is SO utterly pathetic!" Emily's seat crashed against the floor as she jumped to her feet, hands attached to her waist. "In the end, he really was all talk. Is this really who you wanted to defend, Sabrina?"
Glaring at Emily, Sabrina clung to Logan tighter. "Emily, what was the point of all this? Did you gain anything by ridiculing him?"
"Hm, well, I suppose it must be my dignity. While I respect you, Sabrina, I can't have you messing around with someone who's going to be a bad influence on you—it'll look bad for me, your friend. I know you'll understand in just a few days, once you see what'll happen to Logan after he just proved himself a liar in front of all these students." Emily fanned her nose like she was wafting in a smell. "But man, does it feel good to win. I mean, I would've had to serve as his slave if he really did awaken his Gift."
Jasmine stood up, tapping Emily's shoulder. "No, you still have to keep your end of the deal."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Jasmine? His Gift clearly didn't work," Emily responded, stepping away from her physical touch.
Meanwhile, Jasmine didn't even acknowledge her words, simply pointing forward. Confused, Emily looked at her focus of attention, gasping once she saw what stood before her. "As you can see, he was telling the truth."
Following Jasmine's words was the tray of food—fresh and renewed down to the last fry.