Chapter 190: Dingus
Chapter 188
There was no room for argument. No room for negotiation. And neither was there any room for deliberation.
The decision had been finalized, so they simply had to live with the consequences of that decree.
The leaderboard had been updated, and everybody’s current position was displayed for all to see.
Kai’s squad had earned two hundred and twenty points for both the defeat of the forest beasts and the diligent scanning of flowers and plants within the woods.
But unfortunately, despite their efforts, they were unable to climb any higher in the rankings.
Out of all the squads from both merged classes, they stood within the top five—number five to be exact—while Berg’s squad sat comfortably at number one.
When Trish had seen this, she fumed to no end.
It was as if the world were ending, and she stomped to the room angrily, her footsteps echoing her displeasure.
Ray couldn’t care less about any of these statistics.
Honestly, he had no energy to expend on these trivial games.
All he wanted was for this whole Aspirant nonsense to reach its conclusion so he could finally join the Vanguard order and slay tons of Aberrants.
That was his primary goal and all he truly cared for at the moment.
Anything else could just go to hell!
Hours flew by quickly, and soon enough, it was morning. Or so they thought.
That was because the entire world was now blanketed in deep, suffocating darkness.
According to the militants stationed here, the planet endured forty-eight hours of scorching sunlight followed by twenty-four hours of nighttime.
This meant it would be another full day before they could witness the sun again.
Since nobody could see effectively in total darkness, the bulky instructor decided it was best they utilized the day to rest up and push the trauma of the deaths of their fellow Aspirants the day before out of their heads.
... If one could even call it a trauma, though.
That was because the majority of those present had already witnessed the deaths of fellow students during the gate incident with the Aberrant.
And the sheer amount of casualties back then was far more than what they had endured the day before.
Trish, Kai, and even Van were nowhere to be found in the room.
This left Chloe and Ray sitting on their respective beds without speaking to one another.
Honestly, the boy actually enjoyed the silence as he just lay motionless on his mattress with his eyes wide open.
If it wasn’t for the occasional rise and fall of his chest, one could have easily mistaken him for a corpse.
Chloe could be heard sighing once in a while due to how bored she was at the moment.
Turning to stare at Ray again, she groaned loudly and then shouted:
"Honestly, I can’t take this anymore! What’s up with you? You barely speak."
Hearing the sudden shout, Ray was jolted back to reality.
Turning his head to face her, he lifted an eyebrow in a silent question.
"What?! What’s with that look?!" Chloe shouted as she shot up from her bed.
"You are just like Trish. In fact, I don’t see any difference between you both. You rarely talk to anybody and act mute all day long.
I wonder if you both were partners in your previous lives, though. Except for Van and sometimes Kai, you have never spoken to anybody for long. What’s wrong with you?"
Ray listened to the girl’s tantrums with a completely blank look on his face.
Seeing as the girl awaited a response, her hands crossed over her chest while she tapped her foot impatiently on the ground, the boy finally sat upright.
"What did I even do?"
Chloe’s mouth hung open in disbelief as she stared at the boy.
"Seriously? What’s with that question? I have been trying to strike up a conversation with you for a while now and you keep ignoring me?"
Ray pinched the bridge of his nose in sheer exhaustion.
"What do you want, girl? I’m not in the mood."
"Of course. Have you ever been in the mood? You keep acting coldly just like Trish. Honestly, I would hate to be stuck with you both in an enclosed space for long.
I will really lose it. Just imagine being stuck in a room or worse... a cave with you both. I will go crazy within minutes."
Ray kept staring at the chattering young girl with a blank look on his face.
Honestly, he didn’t even know what she was yapping about repeatedly.
The stream of words seemed endless, filling the small space of the room with a frantic energy he wasn’t prepared to match.
’How do men endure this? Forget men in general, I feel like married men have it worse. How do they manage their nagging wives? Funnily, I don’t even know her that well for her to berate me like this.’
"Hello? I’m talking to you!" Chloe shouted, drawing Ray out of his wandering thoughts.
Ray sighed and then collapsed back on his bed with a defeated groan.
"I’m having a headache now."
Chloe glared daggers at him, her face flushing with irritation.
She opened her mouth to say something when Ray interrupted her before she could start another tirade.
"... If you don’t like the silence, need I remind you that there’s a door in this room? I’m not forcing you to remain here with me. You can just leave and go rant with someone else. At least the others have gone out of the room already."
Chloe blinked repeatedly before glancing at the wooden door.
"Huh? Right! There’s a door." She facepalmed herself almost immediately as the obviousness of the solution hit her.
’... Why had I been willing to remain stuck with him for so long when I could have just left? What is wrong with me? Ugh...’
With a sharp scoff, Chloe began stomping away in frustration until she stood before the door.
She was just about to yank it open when Ray uttered:
"By the way; I saw what you did for everyone out on the field yesterday. No one appreciated you because they didn’t really notice, but I did. You are a good girl with potential, only if you keep honing yourself."
Ray paused for a second as he finally turned around to stare directly at Chloe’s surprised face.
"... Keep honing yourself and growing better. Soon enough, you wouldn’t need to think about becoming a werewolf again before you can take care of yourself. I believe in you."
Chloe froze as her eyes widened at the last thing the boy said to her.
’I believe in you.’
Someone believed in her?
She—she had actually been able to catch the eyes of someone?
A strange warmth blossomed in her chest, replacing the annoyance that had been simmering there just moments ago.
It was the first time someone had acknowledged her effort without she herself having to point it out first.
"Before you begin yapping, you can leave now. I want to sleep." Ray cut through the girl’s thoughts and turned away from her, pulling the blanket up.
The small smile on her face dimmed almost immediately as a deep frown reappeared on her features.
Angrily, she yanked the door open.
"Why did I even think you could be nice for once? Tsk. What a rude dingus!"
Chloe stomped out almost immediately, furiously slamming the door shut behind her with a loud bang—!
Inside the room, Ray simply closed his eyes, finally embracing the return of the quiet he so desperately craved.