Chương 83: Chapter 80-Chosen Newspaper

Eating lunch is my favorite part of the day. Food that doesn't taste like the floor. A relatively safe space where I don't think I'll get stabbed. Also, Spoons! I used to use moldy bread as a spoon, and that's if I was lucky. Speaking of bread, this shit is exquisite. I've actually been expanding into other baked goods recently. I'm still experimenting with cookies, but I've also added cakes and bread to my daily regimen. Anyway, back to lunch. The best thing about lunch is the warmth. It's so warm and filling.

Gods I love food. Penelope flips through a newspaper with an exasperated look. Hopper eats his carrots as he hums. Garus isn't here today. Seems he had some business to attend to. For the most part, it's a calm and relaxing lunch. My favorite type of lunch.

"You've got to be kidding me," Penelope says as she slams the newspaper on the ground. Hmm. I feel like I'm going to regret this.

"What's wrong, Penelope?" I ask.

"You remember that little interview you did?" she asks.

"Yeah. What about it?" I ask fully knowing that something's gone wrong.

"Read for yourself," she says, handing me the paper. Putting my fork down, I look down at the newspaper. The Wright Truth The Chosen One. A figure with powers that can rival even the strongest Demon, but what do we really know about him? Well, for one, he's the 11th Chosen One and the first Vashrin to ever be a Chosen One. Many people naturally have doubts about him. Especially with so little information about him being available. So, why don't I tell you all about him?

Carlos Juárez is a First Year here in Sylvian University and is considered 1st Rank for the First Years (Although he shares that title with Princess Penelope). From my information gathering, I've been able to discern much about his abilities, personality, and history. Let's start with abilities.

He is the first Chosen One in recorded history to have affinities with at least five types of mana, he also has a wide assortment of [Skills] that are considered too powerful to use in public, he has even been able to scare away The Blitz Demon, and last but not least his win against the Undefeated King of the Second Years was nothing short of Miraculous. To put it bluntly, he may be strong enough to rival The First Chosen One's title as the strongest. Now onto his personality.

To get a big picture of his personality, I interviewed a wide assortment of people who have had interactions with The Chosen One. To start, a Second Year who wishes to be anonymous had this to say, "He saved me. I was scared and alone. I thought I was going to die, but right when I thought all hope was lost, he swooped in and told me everything would be alright." William Dull, a First Year, had this to say, "..."

Cliff Baker, a Third Year and interim President of the Cooking Club, had this to say, "He taught me the error of my Cooking. Without him, I would have forgotten the main reason I started cooking. He actually stops by the Cooking Club every now and then to talk shop. Thank you, The Ultimate Chosen Baker." A certain Club President had this to say, "Unless you're here to help with the weeding, get out!" Julian Brodero, a First Year and self-proclaimed rival to The Chosen One, had this to say, "He's my rival.

His elegance is second only to mine, and I will not stand still for anyone who dares slander him." Based on these accounts, we can tell that The Chosen One is a well-liked and influential figure amongst the school. He also seems to be a humble and overall respectful person, but not everyone thinks this. This is what a certain Second Year had to say, "Everyone thinks he's this good guy? Yeah, right. You know he's working with the forces of evil, I mean, he has to be, he is a D***l."

A pair of former First Years had this to say, "He got us kicked out. Yeah, kicked out. We didn't cheat. Didn't we? Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that he's a liar and a cheat. You can't trust him." So, with these conflicting opinions, which one is the truth? To get to the bottom of this, I personally interviewed him (You can find the full interview on page 3). From this interview, I was able to learn a lot. For one, he is a commoner. Not uncommon for a Chosen One.

Two, he has not let the power get to his head, as expected from someone chosen by the Gods. Three, he holds no grudges against the good people of this Empire and wishes to assure us that he does not work for the forces of evil. There's obviously still a lot of mystery clouding who The Chosen One is, but at the very least, we can tell he has good intentions. After all, considering his connections to the Royal Family, it would be foolish to think otherwise.

Speaking of the Royal Family, I also managed to get a comment from the Princes! Prince Valerian, Sixth Year and Student Council President, had this to say, "From what I've been told, he seems like a respectable person with a good heart. I would even go so far as to say that he would be a welcome addition to any family out there." Prince Heath, Fourth Year and Knight, had this to say, "Oh yeah, that guy. He's strong. Strong enough that I recognize him as a worthy sparring partner.

My sister usually doesn't have good taste, but sometimes she gets it right." Overall, I want to end with this. The Chosen One is on our side, and we have nothing to worry about with him on our side. May we wish him luck in his fight against the forces of evil.

"I see no problems," I [Lie].

"No problems?! Did you not read it?! That little… he more than implied that we're courting. When I get my hands on him, I'm…" Penelope threatens. I pass the paper over to Hopper, who quickly reads it.

"I mean… it's not like he outright said that you guys are courting. If anybody is to blame, it's the Princes," Hopper says. Penelope lets out a sigh.

"You're right. The ones I need to get are them. If you'll excuse me," she says as she leaves the table.

"Do you think that was a bad idea?" Hopper asks.

"No. I'm sure it's fine. What's the worst that could happen?" Hopper and I think in silence.

"CJ, I think I messed up."

"Probably, but it's not our problem, and if it is, we can deal with it after the weekend. You doing anything fun?" I ask, changing the topic. Stolen story; please report.

"Nothing much. I was planning to go into the city with Lu and Luna. We're going to send some letters back home."

"Oh, that's nice." Thinking, I realize something. When does she get back? It shouldn't be for a couple months, I think. Jobs like those are usually finicky with time tables. So, I can't be entirely sure. Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine. She can't get angry at me. I left a letter. Shit, I really didn't think this through. Well, she can't find me. So, I guess I will worry about that later.

"What are you planning?" Hopper asks.

"Going to go see Mateo. We're going out and about for some brotherly bonding. Nothing too exciting." Technically true, except the brotherly bonding is more me training him how to work a crowd than fishing, I guess. Yeah, that's brotherly bonding. What else would a brother do? What else does a brother do?

"Well, maybe we'll run into each other," Hopper says as he takes a bite of his carrot.

"Maybe. Let's hope for that. A nice, peaceful weekend."" What are you dawdling for?! Run, Kid!" I yell in the language of the sands. Mateo runs beside me as we navigate the dark alleys of the capital." I am running!"" Run faster! They're going to catch up with us," I say as I [Throw] a rock at our pursuers." Who's fault do you think it is that we're getting chased to begin with?" he asks between breaths." You better not be blaming me for this.

I'm not the one who failed to pull off a simple snatch and grab," I accuse." Damn it, Horned One! You're the one who said that guy was an easy target!" Mateo says as he jumps over a pile of boxes." He was an easy target.

Who could've guessed he was part of the local gang around here?" I ask, deflecting blame. The group of thugs slowly catches up.

"Stop! You son of bitches! You think you can steal from the Hornets and get away with it?" the lead thug says." What did they say?" Mateo asks." They said they wanted to serve us cookies and tea. What do you think they said?" I ask, sarcastically. Looking ahead, I see a solid wall blocking our route. A dead end? No. That's our way out. I pick up Mateo like a bag of potatoes." What are you doing?" he asks.

"Getting us out of here," I say as I pray that a 22 in [DEX] is enough to pull this off. With a single leap, I barely crest over the wall. Hells yeah! It worked!" Horned One?!" Mateo yells. Looking down, I realize what he means. It seems the other side of this wall leads down, and by down, I mean a straight drop. I can probably survive this fall, but Mateo can't. Taking my Uneven Blade, I stab into the wall, slowing our descent and leaving a nasty groove in the wall. Landing on the ground, I let go of Mateo."

All according to plan," I [Lie] as I pull my sword out of the wall." All according to plan, my ass. We almost died," Mateo says.

"But we didn't. Now, do you have what we [Stole]?" I ask as I look back up at the wall. Mateo pulls out a small pouch and hands it to me." What is it?" he asks. Opening, I see something familiar. The bag is filled with pink herbs. I drop the bag immediately, grab Mateo, and get as far away as I can from the bag." What are you doing? You know how much trouble we just had to go through to get… whatever that is?" he asks." That's Blight Herb. We want nothing to do with that.

In fact, we want more than nothing to do with that. Forget we even saw that, okay?" I say as we go to leave this little park area."

Uh, I think they might have something to say about that," Mateo says as he points at the thugs who've found us again. Dropping Mateo, I let out a sigh." Whatever you do, stay behind me, okay?" I ask." Ok, but we're kind of cornered here, Horned One. What are you going to do?" he asks as seven- scratch that nine thugs start to encircle us." Win, obviously, I'm The Chosen One after all," I [Lie].

"Lookie here, boys. Wasn't that your boy, Victor?" one of the thugs says to another as he points at Mateo. That's the asshole Mateo and I beat up when we first met. What luck.

"I've been looking for you, Vashrin. I owe you a beating for what happened last time," Victor says as he cracks his knuckles.

"Well, if it isn't his lordship himself. Let me guess. You also own this park?" I ask, getting a couple of laughs from the other thugs.

"You just don't seem to understand, do you? This isn't going to end well for you," he spits.

"We'll see about that," I say as I dodge out of the way of a random thug's attack. Another thug goes to attack me from behind. I grab the hand of the thug I just dodged and pull him into the attack. Five thugs rush at me with an assortment of pipes and boards. I [Throw] a barrage of rocks their way. Each rock finds its target as they break each of the thugs' wrists. Victor rushes forward with a knife. That crazy son of a bitch! The knife stabs forward. I kick Victor hard in the stomach.

The knife grazes me as he stumbles backward. Another thug throws fire at me right as two other thugs go to attack me from behind. Ducking out of the way, I watch as the bolt of flame clashes against the other attacks. My eyes flicker to the one in the back. That one has a useful [Skill]. He needs to go. The moment I move to attack him, I'm blocked by another thug. Forced to stop, I barely manage to turn my head as a wooden board comes barreling towards me. Tilting my head, I'm able to block the attack with my horn.

Pulling back, I dodge out of the combined attacks of the thugs. These guys aren't the problem. I can dodge most of their attacks without breaking a sweat. The real problem is the knife-wielding Victor and Mr. Fire Bolt in the back. I could throw caution to the wind and take some hits, but then I would leave Mateo exposed. Another thug attacks me from the side. No time to think. Just act. I slip backwards as the group of thugs swings down towards me. Falling, I take every rock in my bag and [Throw] them.

The landslide of rocks bounces off the boards and pipes, leaving each of them with nasty welts. Rolling backwards, I stand up to admire my work. A bolt of fire suddenly freezes in midair, mere moments from my head. Damn that was close. The ice-covered arrow falls to the ground.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Hopper says from a nearby rooftop. With a devilish smile, I laugh.

"You? Never."