Chapter 79: Dorm News

Returning to his dorm after picking up his wristband, Steven changed back into his student uniform, placing the headband back on the nightstand.

It was already late outside, but Steven wasn’t bothered by the time. After all, it was at night that his job really began, and the Fingers didn’t like latecomers.

But first, he had to deal with Syno, who was already back at the dorm, trying to rest on his bed while staring at the wall.

"It took you pretty long to win, didn’t it?" Syno spoke, still staring at the white wall, barely sparing him a glance.

"News travels this fast to the Sapphire dorms?" Steven asked, sitting down on his bed.

"Nope. Didn’t hear anything yet, but you being unhurt and here could only mean it ended recently." He answered casually, finally turning towards Steven.

Steven stared at the young man, uncertain what he was trying to accomplish with this conversation. "Maybe I lost and got home early," he finally added.

But Syno’s laugh could have been heard throughout the whole building. "Yeah, right. You’re losing... Good joke."

The laughter sounded so genuine that Steven felt a little embarrassed.

Scratching his head, Steven waited for Syno’s laughter to die down before speaking. "It wasn’t that easy. Number six is truly dangerous with his spirit."

Something in Syno’s eyes changed as he stared at him, his mouth slightly open. "He used his spirit against you? I don’t think he had ever done that before."

"Yeah, he used it for fusion. It was really annoying to get past it while it was inside his body," he answered casually, grabbing some water from the air.

"A spirit fusion?!" Syno yelled, jumping up from his bed. "Can Qwenz use a spirit fusion? Wait, and you still beat him?" He was already going in circles around the room.

But now it was finally Steven’s turn to laugh.

"He couldn’t really use it properly. If they had been separate, it probably would have been a lot harder to deal with."

Syno seemed to understand his reasoning, finally sitting back down while still shaking his head."I still can’t believe it."

"He was just a bit stupid. That’s why he lost," Steven tried to downplay it slightly so he wouldn’t draw too much attention.

After all, he had acted throughout the fight to make it look at least somewhat close to the spectators.

Just thinking about everyone screaming at him to surrender was perfect proof of that.

Even the teacher didn’t think he had a chance of winning until the very end.

Maybe restricting himself to using only one hand had been a little overkill, but he had to teach the guy a lesson somehow.

"Well, your day also seemed kind of interesting from what I’ve heard," Steven said, changing the topic from himself. "I heard your class is going to have a big event soon."

Syno looked at him in surprise as he pulled a sheet of paper from his desk. Steven had already seen it during his meeting with Alem.

"How did you hear about that already? We were only told about it like an hour ago."

"Heard some people talking about it on my way here. That’s all," he lied, not expecting Alem to hand the information out so late in the day.

"Makes sense. A few of us are really excited about this opportunity." Syno tried to sound casual, but the happiness in his voice was unmistakable. Though it was mixed with a hint of disappointment as well.

"Well, if you perform well, you might be able to gain a Diamond spot. After all, there are a few free ones right now." Steven pointed towards himself.

"Don’t think I’ll be able to do that. We still have a few Diamonds in our class too." Syno sounded unmotivated, which Steven could perfectly understand.

Competing against stronger and more talented people was always a pain, especially when there was so much to lose if they didn’t perform well.

The concentration and performance of the Diamonds had only increased after Steven’s demotion back to the Sapphire class because nobody wanted the same thing to happen to them.

"But I met Ami today on the main street. She seemed to be buying something." Syno changed the topic too.

Steven’s brow furrowed. "Really? Did you try talking to her?"

He didn’t mind the change of topic at all. He had already gotten all the information he needed from Alem himself, except for the time the event was going to start.

But he didn’t believe Syno would know that either. The students would probably only be told one day in advance, or perhaps dragged out of their beds when the time came.

A small chuckle escaped Steven as he imagined Syno being grabbed from his bed and forced into some kind of event. He simply couldn’t hold it back.

"Only a bit. I don’t really know what to say to her," Syno admitted nervously as he started playing with one of the pens on his desk.

"Can’t help you with that. Just be yourself, and I’m sure she’ll like you." Steven could only answer honestly. He wasn’t exactly a master when it came to love himself.

"I’m trying, but it’s just like I can’t speak when I’m close to her," Syno answered, lying back to stare at the ceiling.

Steven could only shrug, not knowing what else to say.

As their conversation slowly died down and night fell, the room was swallowed by darkness, with only a few rays of moonlight illuminating parts of it.

Steven waited for Syno to fall deeply asleep as usual. The guy really needed to relax more, or else he would work himself to death.

Once he was sure Syno was asleep, Steven silently left the room, turning invisible thanks to June’s artifact. He made his way outside, checking whether V was still in the bush.

To his amazement, the idiot had actually managed to escape without being noticed like a creep.