The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203: 203 | Twenty Heroes-In-Training

"Pancakes adjacent." His pen moved across the page with the focused intensity of someone documenting a natural disaster for future analysis. "Caden’s interpretation of the recipe involved creative substitutions. The results have been characterized as ranging from acceptable to structurally concerning."

Across the room, Eden was eating something that looked vaguely circular from a paper plate while Maribelle watched with the horrified fascination of someone witnessing a car accident in slow motion.

"He’s on his fourth one," she said when she caught me looking. "I don’t understand how his digestive system is processing this."

"Fire powers," Eden answered through a mouthful of alleged pancake. "Burns off everything. Can’t gain weight, can’t get food poisoning, can’t die from whatever unholy chemistry is happening in this batter."

"That’s not how Aspects work."

"That’s exactly how my Aspect works." He took another bite with the confidence of someone who had tested this theory repeatedly and emerged victorious each time. "Flame Forge, baby. Everything burns eventually."

The morning passed in a blur of social navigation and protein bars because I was not eating whatever Caden had created no matter how many people insisted it was actually pretty good if you didn’t think about it too hard.

By one-fifteen, the common room had emptied as students headed to their rooms to change into proper training uniforms and mentally prepare for whatever Steele had planned. By one-thirty, small groups had started forming near the entrance, comparing notes about what they’d heard from older students and what they expected from an assessment that apparently warranted a Saturday afternoon scheduling.

By one-forty, I was walking toward Field Epsilon with Percy on my left and Finn on my right, both of them matching my pace with the comfortable silence of people who had already decided we were worth walking next to.

"Route C saves approximately four minutes," Percy offered without being asked. "Though Route A provides superior visibility of the athletics complex, which may be tactically relevant for future navigation purposes."

"Route C sounds good."

The faculty garden shortcut was exactly as Percy had described. A winding path through carefully maintained greenery that somehow felt both institutional and inviting, with small benches placed at regular intervals and a fountain that was almost certainly too elaborate for a simple garden pass-through. We emerged on the far side of the athletics complex with thirteen minutes to spare.

Field Epsilon was a rectangle of immaculate grass bordered by white lines that suggested it could be configured for multiple training purposes. Bleachers lined one long edge. Equipment storage buildings lined the other. The space felt empty despite being technically occupied by the scattered arrival of Class 1-B students who had apparently chosen similar timing strategies.

Camille was already there, stretching near the center of the field with the focused intensity of someone who took warm-ups seriously. Rina had found a spot near the bleachers where she could sit with her back against the metal supports and watch everyone else without being directly in the social flow. Felicity was doing something that might have been yoga poses or might have been an elaborate excuse to present her flexibility to anyone paying attention, and given the way her shorts rode up every time she bent forward, several people were definitely paying attention.

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