Extra's Abyss-Chapter 27: Banquet[5]

While the battle event was taking place and her brother was receiving gifts on her behalf, Clara finally reached the table with her friends.

Clara smiled at them. "Hey guys, it's been a while since we last met like this."

Lena was the closest to Clara when she arrived; she quickly stood up and gave her a hug. "Oh my god, you are so gorgeous, Clara. Are you planning on leaving us in the dust?" She teased her.

"Haha, of course not, and Lena, you look stunning." Her face turned red hearing her words before she complimented her friend back.

"Lena, post the video later in our group", she murmured near Lena's ear. It took a while for her to understand her words before she smirked and sat down.

Clara took a seat next to Lena, greeted everyone casually, and finally her eyes landed on Noctis who was avoiding her gaze.

Everyone stayed silent as they felt the tension in the air; Trisha gave a quick jab to Noctis.

He winced at Lena's jab, finally meeting her blue eyes.

"Hmm, Hii C-Clara."

.....

"Happy Birthday?"

....

"I'm sorry, Clara."

....

....

By now, Noctis was sweating bullets as he glanced around trying to seek some support or help, but all he saw were his so-called new friends staring at the ceiling as if they had found something interesting.

Noctis heard a sigh; turning his head to look, he saw Clara close her eyes and rub her forehead a few times before she glared at him.

"Do you know how worried we were about you, Nox? not a single message for a year." Her sharp voice softened slightly as she continued, "This will be the last time, but this doesn't mean I forgive you!" She decided to let it go.

Her eyes glared at him as he nodded quickly. "Thanks, that's enough for me".

"You can earn your forgiveness later on; for now, let's forget about that and talk about something else." Clara crossed her hands and glanced at them, nodding at her words.

Ethan tapped his fingers on the table. "I almost forgot, once again happy birthday, Clara." He took out his gift from the ring and slid it across the table.

The other four followed as they wished her and presented their gifts.

"Thanks, everyone." She accepted the gifts and placed them in her ring to open them later on.

Trisha glanced at Clara. "So Clara, what rank are you at?"

"I reached E+ just a week ago. What about you guys?" Her reply came quickly.

Rain answered her question, "Except for me and Nox, who are at E-, the others are at E rank," crossing his hands on the table, laying on them.

"Tch, I lost my bet!" Trisha glanced at Lena, who was grinning and snickering beside Clara.

Ethan asked, "Are you going to try to rank up to D- before the exam?"

She thought about it before she said, "Probably no, I don't think I am ready to do the linking just yet."

Lena interjected, "Yeah, you would likely need more time." Clara nodded at her.

"It's quite hard to believe that we are all going to university; it still feels like yesterday when we all met years ago." Ethan Looked at them all and reminisced about when they were young.

Lena let out a giggle while teasing him, "And you looked much older than us when we first met, hehe."

Trisha joined in, "Remember how Rain was—" Rain quickly stopped her with his hands over her mouth, "N-not another word about that incident, please."

"You mean that bath incident? Hahaha, that was a crazy one," Lena laughed at her brother.

Rain glared at his sister, who was provoking him. He turned his head slightly and said , "Sister, want me to tell Nox and Clara about the cooking incident?"

At the mention of the cooking incident, Ethan's expression broke as he began to laugh, Trisha copying him.

Only Clara and Noctis who didn't know about it, looked at each other as Noctis shrugged his shoulders.

As for the person behind the incident , Lena's face paled instantly; she lunged forward and grabbed him in a headlock, glaring at him. "How dare you talk about that incident? I will kill you, idiot".

She glared at both Ethan and Trisha, her face flushed red, as she let go of her brother.

"You little shits, you better be prepared," she murmured to herself, sitting back.

Noctis raised his hand a little. "So what was the cooking incident?" He was genuinely curious about it. In spite of her adorable appearance, which concealed her devil-like nature, Lena was the most mischievous character among the group in the game.

Ethan beside him whispered to him, "It was when we were all 8 years old and she trie— glug glug". He was cut off suddenly when a water blob formed around his head, drowning him.

Noctis blinked, confused about what just happened, when he noticed Lena's hand was glowing light blue.

"I dare you," Her voice cracked a little as she dispersed the blob around his head.

Ethan shut his mouth instantly, while Clara and others were trying hard to hold in their laughter looking at Lena.

They continued to bicker with each other, pulling out past stories and various stuff. Noctis occasionally chimed in, getting along with others.

Noctis didn't forget to bring up Clara's status, but when he had finally looked at it, he was stunned, shocked, and flabbergasted.

'Holy damn, what am I looking at? t-two Transcended Unique skills.' He began to stutter in his thoughts. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

[Status]

Name: Clara Estelle Novastris

Rank: E+

Resonance Elements: Eonix (S), Gravos (S)

Unique Skills: Chronos Epoch (T), Horizon Collapse (T)

He remembered from the game she only had one transcended unique skill.

'Transcended skills aren't cabbages; even in the game, every player, including me, could only find one law shard carrying a skill of that rank.' He considered many possibilities, and yet none of them answered his question.

'I don't know how much this will change; she's much stronger than her self from the game.' Noctis let his thoughts wander, looking at the stage where the guests were showing off their mastery of spells. He watched them for a while, comparing his strength to theirs.

An hour or so passed, and the party was coming to an end as a few guests had already left early.

Ethan spoke up as he glanced at his watch, "Time's up; I should get going. My mother's already waiting at the exit, and let's meet again at the university. Bye, guys. Also, wake up Rain when you leave, Lena." He called out Lena on her plan and walked off.

"Tch", Lena clicked her tongue, Annoyed that her plan was seen through by Ethan.

She was planning on getting her revenge on her brother by leaving him here and calling him when she had boarded the train.

Trisha stood up, chuckling at her friend. "You've got to level up your pranks, Lena", She gave them all a quick hug before she ran off before she said, "See you guys later. I will miss you all."

Noctis looked at the three of them sitting opposite to him, staring at him. He tensed up. "W-what?"

Lena leaned in, rubbing her chin and staring intensely at his face. "Nox, you should cut your hair, the ones covering your eyes."

"Uh-huh, not doing that." He said, shaking his head, Denied.

"Ughh, fine anyways, hey pig, wake up, we are leaving", Clara giggled at them as Rain mumbled while sleeping.

"N-No, I-I don't want to."

"Shit, you owe me one for this." Lena slung Rain's hand over her shoulder as she gave Clara and Noctis a smile.

"Well, see you at the university, and you—you better answer all of our texts!" She said the last part to Noctis before she walked off with Rain, who seemed like he was having a nightmare, mumbling some stuff.

Noctis looked at them walking away before he glanced back at Clara, who stayed silent.

"S-so, it's getting late; you should go take a rest, Clara." Noctis said softly while he stood up, planning to leave.

As Clara saw him stand up, she let out a sigh and stood up as well, her lips parted. "Nox".

Hearing his name, he stopped and glanced at her with a confused expression before he felt a warm body envelop him in a hug.

Surprised by the unexpected embrace, it took him a moment before he hugged her back.

Clara stepped back first as she smiled brightly at him, her cheeks a little red. "You better call me frequently from now on."

He nodded as he waved his hand, "I will. See you later, Clara".

"Also, one more thing, Nox," her hands flashed with silver light, and she waved her hand quickly.

Before he asked about it, he felt his vision becoming a little clearer, realizing his few strands of hair covering his eyes were sliced off.

"Huh w-",

"You should show your face more. I like it this way. Bye, Nox!" Clara interrupted him with a mischievous grin before turning and running away.

Noctis touched his face as he whimpered, "M-My hair". He slowly walked away towards the exit and, after a while, saw his aunt waiting for him near a vehicle.

"Hahaha! We came here to attend a party, not a hair salon. Where did you get a haircut"? Ericka laughed at him, watching as he tried to cover his face quickly getting into the car.