Incubus Awakening: The More I Lust, The Stronger I Become

"Hey, could you stop hovering over me like that?" Logan asked, half-asleep. He was slumped on the table, resting his head on his arms. There was collective prattle amongst a number of students encircling his table, inundating his mind as he rubbed his ears, almost trying to pick out the sharp ringing in his head.

"But we really want to get to know you," the voice pried, basically leaning on Logan's left shoulder.

Sabrina stepped in the way of the student, putting her arms out straight to act as a shield. "Roman, what do you think you're doing?"

Awkwardly, Roman scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's just that Logan's performance was so jaw-dropping that I thought, 'I have to know this guy!' It feels like the gods themselves ordained for me to be in this cafeteria, in this moment, to witness the dude."

There were a couple of agreeing nods hidden in the crowd of students behind him, fists pumped in the air. Sabrina's face stayed unchanged.

"I'm sorry, Roman, but I just don't buy that. I know of your rumors, especially how it's said that you like to pick up new guys just so you can build them up, then steal all their merit points." While Roman's mouth hung open, she pointed to his right pocket—a black ID card sticking out of it. "Pull out your student ID right now; show me your win-loss record, and we'll see if you truly deserve being a B-rank."

'Merit points?' Logan blinked twice, letting the knowledge strike him like thunder. It was the point system that determined your eligibility for ranking up, earned through a number of tasks ranging from class games and beast hunts to, of course, official duels.

Shaking his hands, Roman looked to the mob behind him. They just stared, some even looking scared.

"Don't worry about that guy, Logan. Anyway, that performance was great! I mean—reversing time? You may very well go on to become a Spirit Executioner with a gift like that!" This time, the voice came directly from Logan's right. A girl.

"Gift...?" Logan asked under his breath. Nobody batted an eye at his inquiry.

"Annabel, you too?" Sabrina, sighing, hopped from Roman to Annabel to grip her by the collarbone, shoving her away.

"H-hey!? Sabrina, what do you think you're doing? Sabrina!?! Stop!" Annabel yelled, getting swept off her feet by her collar. She did try to fight back, but despite her hands crashing into Sabrina's arms and chest repeatedly, she didn't flinch—not once. It was surreal for Logan, seeing someone so gentle project such force without yielding.

As the voice grew quieter from distance, Logan shook his head, looking down to his arm. There was a slight bump right above his armpit, shifting through the shirt's material rapidly.

'What is Pixel doing? Could it have something to do with my gift that they keep talking about...?'

Eventually, it moved out of sight, leaving his strained brain even more disoriented. Then, unexpected pressure along the back of his neck.

"Logan—buddy, I can see that that girlfriend of yours is quite protective over you," Roman said, grinning. His arm was wrapped around Logan's neck, pulling him in tight into his chest.

Logan rolled his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend," and then, carefully, he pushed Roman's arm off of him, "and, though I don't know what I did, I'm not sure I could meet your expectations."

"You don't know what you did? Come on, friend, going and using a time reversal gift is something worth praising for entire generations. You're an exemplary talent, and I like keeping exemplary talents around." Roman—feeling comfortable enough to get up in Logan's personal bubble—tugged on his shoulder to direct him to the field of students that followed him. One by one, he pointed to them.

"That there is Connie. She was shy like you as a D-rank nobody but quickly rose to C-rank with my help. Then there's Kevin, who was already C-rank when I found him. Still, I helped him rise up all the same to B-rank. Then there's..."

While the names blended together, Logan found himself drifting to the two girls behind him—Jasmine and Amelia. Jasmine just stared blankly while Amelia returned his eye contact with a bright smile. Embarrassed from being caught, he looked forward again, but it wasn't ignored.

"Roman, don't you think that's enough?" Jasmine proclaimed, waving her hand. "Everyone knows what your true intentions are."

Roman maintained the pure grin on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't play dumb. Say, you there," Jasmine said, pointing to a dark-skinned girl with a buzzcut, "when you received Roman's help, what is it that you had to do in return?"

Stepping back from the sudden spotlight, she pointed to herself as if to ask if she'd been who Jasmine was referring to. Jasmine nodded. Quickly, the girl cleared her throat. "Well—um... I suppose I had to give him some of my merit points the moment I entered C-rank. Ah! But it was a small price to pay since—"

"And you?" Jasmine asked, directed at another student. This time, his hair is a dark brown.

"If you're talking to me, then it's the same thing. I ranked up, and then I gave Roman some of my points. A fair deal, no?"

Jasmine shook her head. "No, not a fair deal at all. Don't you two feel it—the way you're trapped inside the palm of his hands? Neither of you could ever think of rising above Roman, even if you grew stronger, right?"

Both of them shone with all the luminosity of a kid learning their times tables for the first time, though the boy's gaze was a hinge more jagged. "Even if that was the case, Roman is the reason that we're here to begin with. There's nothing wrong with us staying below him in rank if that means we get to be strong," the boy spat. "Isn't that right, boss?"

Roman chuckled, one half of his lips beginning to crack into a frown. "Jasmine, why are you saying all this? Don't you see that I'm just helping students advance up the ladder? Not everyone fits your pessimistic world view, "Queen of Ice."

Amelia raised herself to a gasp, covering her mouth. At the same time, Jasmine's eyebrows knit together—lips curved down. "Roman, you of all people know not to call me by that name. I'll let this one go just once, but do better in remembering your place."

In the distance, Logan caught wind of quick footfalls. It was Sabrina, face slightly muddled with purple in the shape of a hand. Stopping just short of the table, she looked directly into Logan's eyes, grabbing him by his chest. "Logan, no matter what, you absolutely can't go near Annabel! I won't allow it!"

Roman whistled at the sight, seeing how Logan's and Sabrina's faces were separated by only a couple inches. They both went blush, swiftly turning away from each other.

Suddenly, a buzz went off in Sabrina's pocket. Once, then twice, then thrice. Each time, the time between grew shorter.

Somewhat perplexed, she reached for the source, pulling out her phone with a background bright from activity. Immediately, her eyes widened.

"Logan, you have to get away from here!" she roared, curling her fists with such passion that Logan could've never attested to witnessing before. Her concerns would soon be met, however, as just seconds after, the issue would make itself clear.

"I see you two have gotten very close," the voice joked, looming over them like a great shadow. It was Zack—his two buddies in tow.