Athanasia: My Hacker System-Chapter 26: Luke’s Suggestion

John didn’t wait. He went straight to the infirmary. When he arrived at Luke’s room, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Dammit, Luke! You look like someone who was this close to really dying!"

Luke was lying on the bed, and he was a harrowing sight. His entire body was covered in bandages from head to toe, bound so tightly and thoroughly that he looked more like an Egyptian mummy than a student. Only his eyes and his mouth remained uncovered, peering out from the gaps.

"Hehehe, I heard what you did to that arrogant Ricky. Good payback, big bro."

Luke’s body might have been broken, but his spirit remained stubbornly intact. He spoke with his usual vigour, even managing to joke about the excruciating treatments he had endured since yesterday’s clash. Despite the pain, he seemed genuinely energised by the news of John’s victory.

"Damn! You picked the Vice already?" In the middle of a string of jokes about the nurses, Luke had asked if John could appoint him to that position. When John revealed he had already selected Cissel, Luke was visibly startled, though he didn’t seem bitter.

"Actually, she is quite capable! It’s also great that you didn’t lose your head and pick Ricky just to appease his gang. That would have been a disaster."

"I’d never do that," John sighed. "He... He isn’t that simple at all, Luke. I’ve fought him, and I’ve seen the way he carries himself. I believe there is something big hiding behind that arrogant, cold mask of his. Something that doesn’t add up."

"My thoughts too," Luke coughed twice, the sound muffled by the straps around his chest, before adding, "the doctors said I can get out tomorrow morning. I’ll make sure to be at the class and tease those bastards! Hehehe, I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces. I’m going to pay Bernard back double, no, triple... No, tenfold for all the shit he talked while I was down!"

"Do whatever you wish, but don’t cause a mountain of trouble for me," John warned, though a small smile played on his lips. He paused, his expression turning serious as he shifted to the real reason for his visit.

"By the way, I once heard a few students speaking about that miraculous potion teacher Nikolas brought to our class. They mentioned it can open our attributes and even give us more than one superpower if we consume enough of it... Is that true?"

Luke was startled by the sudden shift in the conversation. He stared at John through the gaps in his bandages, trying to process the question.

Since John was now the Class President and was responsible for preparing a team to fight against the formidable Year Two class, Luke guessed that this was part of his battle plan research. He assumed John had caught wind of a multi-ability user in the upper class and was trying to understand everything behind it.

"That’s a hard question to answer," Luke said, pausing. He saw the look of intense concentration on John’s face and mistook it for an urgent need for answers for the upcoming fight. "You know, we’ll take a few years to study this thing thoroughly in the higher years. It’s not common knowledge for freshmen."

Luke sighed, his brow furrowing as he tried to be helpful. Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind. "Why don’t you go and visit the library? Our academy has an ancient collection. There must be dozens of books there speaking about the history of opening one’s attributes and the documented cases of unlocked special powers!"

"Oh, the library. That’s a good suggestion," John’s face brightened up instantly.

"Thanks, Luke. I’ll head to it tomorrow after classes. It’s already too late to get in there today."

"Anytime, big bro!"

John stayed for another half hour, letting the youth ramble about different matters and useless gossip. He listened patiently as Luke described the various ways he planned to annoy Bernard and the gang before finally excusing himself.

’Going to the library is a great choice,’ John thought as he stepped out of the infirmary and into the cool evening air. ’I need to visit it immediately after classes tomorrow.’

Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, something on the edge of his vision attracted his attention. It was a familiar silhouette, moving with a strange, jittery steps. John stopped mid-way, his body tensing as he focused his eyes.

’Ricky?’

He spotted Ricky walking in the distance, heading in a slow, overly cautious way toward the dense foliage of the garden. The boy was looking over his shoulder every now and then.

’Why is he giving me the vibe that he’s trying to sneak around, without anyone noticing?’ John’s curiosity was piqued. Ricky should have been in bed or with his gang, yet here he was, acting like a thief.

John couldn’t help himself. He changed his plans and decided to follow Ricky from a distance. To ensure he didn’t lose the trail, he activated his Wireframe Sight.

Yet, an hour later, John found himself standing alone, staring at a wall of bushes. He had lost the trail. Ricky had vanished as if he had simply stepped out of existence.

’He must have noticed my presence,’ John thought bitterly as he began the long walk back to his dorm. ’I need to find a way to conceal my presence. First, it was Cissel sensing me, and now Ricky... I can’t sneak up on anyone like this!’

The frustration was severe. This wasn’t the first time his targets had sensed him. He was certain that whatever Ricky was doing, it was directly related to the hidden secret the system had hinted at. Why else would he be moving in such a suspicious manner?

’I’ll go back and research how to write a program to conceal my presence from this world,’ John decided, his steps steadying as he reached his dorm.