The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 275

Chapter 275: 275 | The Knock at 11:47

Felicity and I finished dinner in comfortable silence after that, neither of us pushing the conversation further into territory that might require explanation. She excused herself around seven with vague mentions of unpacking and skincare routines, leaving me alone at the table with empty plates and a brain running too hot to settle.

The cafeteria thinned out as evening approached. Students drifted toward their dorms in pairs and clusters, comparing notes on the day’s disasters. I caught fragments of conversation as people passed. Someone describing how their constructs failed mid-exercise. Someone else complaining about their team assignment. A lot of nervous laughter and the particular exhaustion that comes from spending eight hours having your fundamental assumptions about your own capabilities systematically dismantled.

Percy found me before I could escape.

"Lukas." He appeared at my elbow with his notebook clutched against his chest. "I wanted to discuss something before curfew."

"That sounds ominous."

"It’s not ominous. It’s logistical." He sat down across from me in the seat Felicity had vacated, his brown eyes intense behind the frames of glasses he kept pushing up his nose. "Our performance today exceeded baseline expectations for a first match. I’ve been analyzing the factors that contributed to our success."

"We won because Camille and Petra hate each other and I’m willing to do unhinged things."

"That’s a reductive summary that ignores several key variables." Percy opened his notebook to a page covered in diagrams and annotations. "Your construct range exceeded your registered specifications by a factor of three. Your lift capacity exceeded registered specifications by a factor of five. Your movement speed during the bathroom approach demonstrated acceleration that should be impossible for someone without a mobility enhancement Aspect."

My stomach did something uncomfortable that had nothing to do with the short ribs.

"Percy."

"I’m not accusing you of anything." He looked up from his notes with an expression that was harder to read than usual. "I’m observing patterns. That’s what I do. And the patterns suggest your Aspect file contains significant inaccuracies."

The cafeteria felt suddenly emptier than it had a moment ago. The background noise of conversation faded into white noise. Percy’s eyes stayed fixed on mine with the focus of someone who had been running calculations since the moment he watched me punch through Petra’s crystalline barrier.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing." He closed the notebook. "I don’t need an explanation. I’m not going to report you to anyone. I just wanted you to know that I noticed, because operating under the assumption that nobody noticed would be a tactical error on your part."

I sat back in my chair and studied the kid across from me. Navy blue hair slightly too long. Dark brown eyes that processed information faster than most people could speak. A face that looked younger than eighteen despite everything he’d seen today.

"You’re smarter than you let people think."

"I’m exactly as smart as people think. I just don’t translate well into formats that most people find accessible." Percy stood up and tucked his notebook under his arm. "Thank you for the match today. It was educational."

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