Chapter 31: The Shadow in the Arcade

“Can you tell me your relationship with our Evan?”

Rossy asked with a straight face.

The surrounding air froze for a moment.

“Huh?”

Both Fionna and Evan blinked in utter confusion.

“Oh great, she did what I feared...” Jason muttered, turning away as he quietly slipped out of the frame to escape the rising secondhand embarrassment.

“What do you mean, ma’am?” Fionna asked, her voice slightly unsteady.

“I mean...” Rossy leaned in with an innocent smile, “What is your relationship with our Evan? How close are you two?”

“Ohhh, that’s what you meant. Well, ma’am, I was his homeroom teacher when he first joined our school. Now, I’m just a regular teacher.”

Fionna’s calm reply instantly dashed Rossy’s internal fantasy.

“Oh…” Rossy pouted slightly, her face falling with a flicker of disappointment. “So, not a friend… I didn’t expect you to be a teacher at this age. Well, good for you,” she added with a forced smile.

“Um... Was my answer not satisfying to you?” Fionna asked, puzzled.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Rossy said, trying to act unfazed, though the defeat was written all over her face.

“Let’s go, many of my friends are calling us,” Jason called out from a safe distance, waving her over.

Rossy gave Evan one last motherly shout across the hall, “Listen, Evan! If you get sleepy, go to your

own

room, okay?! Don’t stay up too late—and not someone

else’s

room, alright, dear?”

Heads turned. Murmurs spread.

Evan froze on the spot, visibly dying inside.

“…So now I

see

why Sir Rick gave you admission to Section-A, huh?” Fionna said with a knowing smile, raising an eyebrow.

Evan sighed, “Yes and no. Uncle wanted to put me in an average class, but Sir Rick forced me into A. Not my fault.”

“What are you going to do now?” she asked, waving back to some friends calling her over.

“I’ll just roam around. Try to find James if he’s here,” Evan said, scanning the crowd.

“Alright then. Bye~”

“Bye.”

He began wandering through the massive party hall, eyes trailing over the students chatting in groups.

He didn’t bother to join them.

Instead, he walked past one group—

—and paused.

“Hey, did you hear? There’s a guy in the arcade who hasn’t lost a single match!” one of them exclaimed.

“Yeah! Let’s go see that pro!”

Evan’s interest piqued.

Without a word, he followed the group quietly.

The game arcade was a whole different world.

Rows of premium PCs and futuristic gaming pods lined the walls.

It put his regular gaming parlor to shame.

But what caught Evan’s attention was the crowd gathered around a large screen.

He weaved through the players and peered in.

A duel was in progress—

One character was a massive, muscle-packed bruiser with insane HP.

The other? A slim street fighter with average stats.

The match began, and to everyone’s shock, the street fighter chained together a brutal combo, slicing the tanky opponent’s health in half. Then another—

And another.

KO!

The crowd erupted.

“FIFTY-EIGHT WIN STREAK!” someone screamed.

The winner stood up, raising a fist—

And Evan’s jaw dropped.

James.

A familiar smile on his face.

Evan pushed through the crowd toward him. Some people laughed, thinking he was another fanboy.

James, however, looked confused when he noticed Evan.

“Hi, where’ve you been? I’ve been looking for you,” Evan said.

James tilted his head. “Mmm… have we met before?”

Evan stared.

Then squinted.

Then frowned.

“You dumb donkey—it's me!”

Recognition hit James like a brick. “Ohhh Evan?! Man, you look different. I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Evan mock-punched his arm. “You seriously didn’t recognize me because I changed clothes?”

“Well—yeah! You looked like one of those VIP tech guys!” James laughed.

The people nearby watched in awe.

The pro gamer had a friend?!

Evan rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go play some duo.”

They found two open PCs and jumped into a match.

Their teamwork was solid—until a random ambush wiped them out, leaving them with 2nd place.

James grumbled under his breath, but Evan shrugged it off. “Relax, we’ll go again.”

Just as their characters stood in the game lobby, someone shouted from behind:

“Hey kid! Is that a

Shadow Element

on your ID?!”

All heads turned.

Gasps erupted.

Shadow Element.

A rare—almost

mythical

—element in the game world.

Players swarmed.

Cameras clicked.

Someone took a selfie with the screen.

“Yo, stop it,” James growled. The crowd backed off slightly.

Then came the inevitable—

“Hey, I’ll buy your account for 100,000 Dragon Points!”

“150,000!”

“300,000!”

Offers flew like bullets.

And it didn’t stop.

It rose.

And rose.

And rose again.

960,500 Dragon Points.

Everyone waited with bated breath.

Would he sell it?

Would he cash out?

These weren’t just numbers. Every kid here came from a powerful background. To them, burning hundreds of thousands on a game account was child’s play.

Evan raised his hand.

“Stop. My answer is...”

__

Tell me what he's going to say.

And I think you

all

already know it, right?