Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 19: Worth It

Reinhard’s foot struck the same spot as before. Felix’s eyes bulged before he opened his mouth and screamed. He doubled over and collapsed to his knees.

Then he sprinted straight at the gap Felix left. Darius lunged for him, but Reinhard ducked under the reaching arms. Ruth swung a fist that cut through empty air.

Behind him, shouts exploded.

"Get him!"

"Don’t let him escape!"

"He’s heading toward the old buildings!"

Footsteps thundered after him as angry voices filled the evening.

Reinhard ran at exactly the pace he needed. It was fast enough to stay ahead, but enough to have them still keep up.

He hurled over the wall. The grease he’d applied to the upper edge earlier caught the first two pursuers perfectly. He heard the scrambling and the cursing without looking back.

Between the two buildings he used the narrow path to his advantage, keeping to the center where his smaller group size mattered. He grabbed the trash can at the corner without breaking stride and sent it spinning back into the pack behind him.

A crash.

Someone went down and he heard them shouted.

He crossed the open yard and then paused for a second to let them catch up. Then the fastest students tried to lunge from his left and he simply dropped down. The student screamed as he passed over Reinhard before he continued.

The disciplinary building was exactly where he’d left it.

Reinhard took the front steps three at once. The door was already open, which was by his own doing and planned. He pulled it open and slipped inside. It closed behind him just as the first bullies reached the steps.

Inside, the hall was dark and quiet. But there was enough light from the outside to see where he was going.

Footsteps crashed through the door behind him. The building was filled with angry voices.

"Where did he go?"

"Down the hall!"

"Split up! Find him!"

Reinhard ran deeper into the building. His footsteps echoed off the walls. He knew every turn, having spent three hours memorizing the layout.

The first trap waited around the next corner.

He rounded it and jumped. His feet cleared the thin wire stretched across the floor ankle-high. Behind him, the first bully didn’t see it. The wire caught his shin before making him fall and hit the floor. Two more came right after, tripping like him and crashing down onto the boy below them.

Reinhard kept running with the hallway opening into a wider space. His boots thumping in perfect rhythm, one-two, one-two, knowing with a growing thrill that he’d reached the first convergence point of his little game.

Behind, the noise of pursuit grew louder. Four of the bullies, the biggest ones with faces set in masks of fury and hands balled into fists, barreled down the corridor in a tight pack. Their conversation had devolved into a chorus of insults and pep talks.

"Get his legs!"

"Cut him off!"

"I swear I’m going to punch him in the face!"

Their feet hit soap mixed with water, and made them slip. Their arms pinwheeled, legs splayed, and all four went airborne together and collided mid-fall. Groans filled the air. Someone cursed. Another one tried to stand and fell again.

Reinhard climbed the stairs to the second floor as he heard more footsteps below. He reached the second floor and ran down another hallway, which had doors on both sides. Although most of them were closed but some of them were still wide open.

The next trap was set up perfectly.

A rope stretched across the hallway at chest height. Tied to handles on both sides. The first of the new pursuers screamed as the rope caught him just below the neck and flipped him over backward.

He landed on his back while the second bully tried to duck at the last instant and instead caught the rope square across the face. He landed in a heap directly on top of his companion, the two knocking skulls repeatedly.

Reinhard laughed, not even bothering to keep it quiet and took the next corner at full speed.

This hallway was darker since there was no light or open windows. No emergency lights. Just shadow.

He heard footsteps behind getting closer, but it was only two this time. They were moving carefully now, cautious from the spectacle their friends had made of themselves. That was exactly what he wanted.

They reached the dark hallway and slowed down. Hands reached out, touching walls while whispering.

"Watch out, he probably has a trap here-"

"It’s just a piece of rope, don’t be a baby—"

"Dude, look at those guys back there, they got wrecked—"

One of them stepped on something soft. The man looked down, perplexed, and tried to wrench his foot up. It didn’t budge. The more he pulled, the deeper the sole of his boot was sucked into the glue. And he lost his balance when his other foot came down on another glue patch.

Now both feet were stuck. He flailed his arms trying to stay upright. His friend reached out to help, and both grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Hey."

Reinhard appeared close to them, making them scream and then fall down onto the glue.

He laughed at the sight of them unable to move. "Remember guys, the moments you call on your magic. The Disciplinary Department will notice."

His words made them freeze before they groaned and continued trying to escape.

Reinhard checked the time from the window. It was an old habit, knowing exactly how long an operation had run.

Forty minutes since the ambush began.

Move faster, he noted to himself. The system had flagged Yor’s condition as deteriorating. Forty minutes spent playing with fifteen students who hadn’t thought their plan through was forty minutes he couldn’t spend elsewhere.

I have to hurry and wrap this up.

He found the room with the chair. But before sitting down he look out the window and light a match. The fire burn on it before he dropped it down in the trash bin below.

Then he glanced back at the chaos.

He saw Felix finally appear at the bottom of the stairs. He was limping badly, but when Felix saw him. It was as if his injury was a lie as he released a roar before charging up the stairs. But he ends up not seeing the wire and tripping it over.

Reinhard chuckled as he saw Felix crashing into the stairs and then letting out a groan.

From another side came Darius, who had waited before walking up slowly and stepping into the open space. But then his foot hit the last soap spot before he also fell down and crashed into Ruth, who was walking behind him.

Reinhard chuckled and moved to sit down and then noted the smoke that was finally rising. The thin column of smoke would be seen by the disciplinary staffs or guards on patrol.

They would follow the smoke, and everything will come to a close.

He kept smiling at the students on the ground. Some were hurt, others were stuck, others were groaning, and the rest were trembling.

But overall, all of them were crushed.

Groans filled the halls as they were cursing but then footsteps came from outside.

Oh? The teachers are already here... A pity, I wanted to watch the show a bit longer.

A whistle blew sharp and loud.

"What is going on here?!" A teacher’s voice boomed through the building. "Everyone freezes!"

Reinhard had made sure of that. The smoke from the small fire he’d set in a metal trash can outside had done exactly what he’d planned.

He stood up from his chair slowly and brushed off the imaginary dust.

Then he walked calmly toward the voices with a calm and innocent expression.

A teacher met him in the hallway. It was a tall woman with purple eyes and long curly black hair.

It was Professor Chen from the discipline office.

"Wait, I know you... Reinhard?" She looked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Running for my life, professor." He gestured behind him at the groaning pile of students. "They ambushed me on my way back from the library. Fifteen of them tried to get me to do something, but luckily, they were distracted, and I ran."

Professor Chen’s eyes went wide before looking past him and at the chaos.

"They chased you through all this?" she asked.

"Yes, professor. I was terrified and confused about where all of this came from..."

More teachers arrived, and they started pulling students free.

Professor Chen looked at Reinhard again.

"You ran through all of this." She said slowly.

"I was looking at where I was going, professor. They, on the other hand, weren’t. Reinhard’s smile was innocent and bright.

Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded. "We’ll need statements from everyone. Starting with you."

"Happy to help."

Behind them, Felix was being pulled out of the stairwell. His face was filled with rage when he saw Reinhard standing calmly with the teacher and screamed.

"He did this! He set us up! It’s all a trap!"

Professor Chen turned to look at Felix. Then, in the chaos, and then back at Reinhard.

"Did you set traps in this building?" she asked.

"No, professor." Reinhard’s face showed nothing but confusion. "How could I? That would mean I plan this... But how could I even know I would be attacked by them."

"He’s lying!" Darius shouted. He was being helped to his feet by another teacher. "He led us here!"

"You chased him here," Professor Chen corrected. "And he is correct. How would he prepare all of this?"

Darius fell silent with a speechless look.

Professor Chen pulled out a crystal radio. "It seems we all need to take a trip to the Disciplinary Office and sort this out."

Her words made the fifteen students pale while Reinhard inwardly chuckled. He took a look at them before thinking only one thing, even if it did get him in trouble.

Totally worth it.