The Dinosaur Lunchbox and the Sweet Trap
"Jeff. You need to eat your cucumbers and broccoli too."
"Ugh..." I grimaced deeply at Amy's words.
The salad on the small plate was tolerable, but the broccoli and cucumbers were absolutely impossible to choke down. Rain had bolted the moment Amy started preparing the salad.
"Jeff."
"Yeah...?"
"Do you really hate broccoli that much?"
"Yes."
"Should I eat it for you?"
"Really?" My eyes sparkled at Shine's offer.
"Jeff. Shine."
But Amy's voice immediately cut in. Shine gave an awkward smile and shook her head.
"Amy says no."
I pouted and let out a long sigh.
"Jeff. It's not good to be a picky eater."
Amy was right. Being picky was bad. I squeezed my eyes shut and shoved the cucumber and broccoli into my mouth.
"Blegh..."
The taste was atrocious. But that wasn't the end of it. Normally, after finishing my snacks, I would gulp down a cold glass of cola.
"Drink up."
—Dun-dun!—
With a dramatic imaginary sound effect, a mug filled with a thick green liquid appeared. The rabbit illustration on the mug looked like it was crying.
"Amy, the rabbit says green juice tastes bad."
"Rabbits prefer grass anyway."
It was Shine who answered. Squeezing my eyes shut at her words, I chugged the green juice in one go. The viscous liquid slid down my throat. Neither the texture nor the scent was to my liking.
Having survived the worst snack time of my life, I immediately collapsed onto the bed. My stomach felt queasy from consuming things so far out of my usual diet.
Ugh, my stomach is churning...
As I lay there limply, Shine approached me.
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes..."
Shine looked down at my pathetic state and giggled.
"Sorry, Jeff. There's nothing I can do to help with this."
I whimpered. I knew Amy didn't have bad intentions; she was just looking out for my health. But what could I do? My childish heart couldn't help but feel a growing resentment toward Amy for taking away all my delicious food.
After snack time came massage time. Amy approached the bed where I was lying. Shine lay down right next to me, waiting for Amy's touch.
"Amy."
"Yes, sweetie?"
"How long... do I have to eat like this?"
"Until you pass all your tests?"
I buried my face in my pillow with a groan. Amy let out a soft chuckle at my dramatic reaction.
"Did you work hard today?"
"Yes."
"Mhm."
"It wasn't too hard, was it?"
"No, it was manageable."
"Mhm."
"I see."
Her soothing touch began. As her hands gently kneaded my shoulders, back, and waist, the tension melted from my face, and a soft, involuntary groan escaped my lips.
"Jeff collapsed today."
At Shine's words, Amy's hands froze. She pressed down slightly on my back and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well... during training..."
I began to explain what had happened at the training ground. The more I explained, the more embarrassed I felt about my own foolishness. What kind of idiot thinks it's a good idea to shock their own heart with electricity? If I hadn't possessed the high-tier resistance of an ability user, I would have been in serious danger.
"You aren't hurt, right?"
"Yes. Rabin said there was absolutely nothing wrong with me."
Amy let out a massive sigh of relief. I felt guilty for making her worry.
"Shine, you don't have any problems, right?"
"Nope. Everyone is weak, so it's fun."
Shine seemed to thoroughly enjoy her current training. Watching her, I couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. I wanted to finish my training with Victor as quickly as possible and take the test.
The next morning.
Once again, I headed to the training ground. Recalling yesterday's events, I resolved never to do anything so stupid again.
"This is for Jeff, and this is for Shine."
"What are these?"
Before we entered the training ground, Amy handed us two small backpacks. Mine had a dinosaur on it, and Shine's was shaped like a shark.
"I packed your lunches."
"Lunches...?"
"Don't go to the cafeteria. Eat those instead."
I clutched the bag to my chest, my mouth twitching. I was already in a bad mood because I had to choke down a bunch of tasteless cucumbers instead of delicious pork cutlets for breakfast. Amy's words meant I had to eat a tasteless salad for lunch too.
I immediately opened the bag to check the lunchbox. The container, clearly prepared with me in mind, was covered in dinosaur illustrations. Normally, I would have been touched by such thoughtful detail, but the contents of the lunchbox were more than enough to shatter any warm feelings.
Lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli.
The lunchbox was packed with so many leafy greens that it looked more fit for a rabbit than a human. The only saving grace was the generous portion of chicken breast.
"Uuuugh..."
I barely held back my tears. Seeing my despair, Amy smiled warmly and patted my head.
"Are you that moved?"
She was teasing me on purpose. But I wasn't about to give up. I shook my head and wiped my eyes.
"I'll eat every bite!" I yelled energetically, stepping into the training ground. The little dinosaur backpack on my back bounced with every step.
"See you later, Shine!"
"Mhm."
After saying goodbye to Shine, I ran straight to where Victor was. He was sitting in the exact same spot as yesterday. Seeing him yawn lazily, it looked like he hadn't slept well last night.
"Victor!"
"Welcome."
As expected, Victor was kind. Remembering what Rain had said about him, I shook my head and approached him.
"I'm sorry about yesterday."
Victor blinked in surprise at my apology. Scratching his cheek and looking away, he let out a small sigh before speaking.
"No. It was my fault. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off you for even a second..."
I sat down next to Victor and set my dinosaur bag aside. Victor's gaze drifted to the bag.
"What's that?"
"A lunchbox Amy made for me."
"Amy did...?"
"Yes."
Victor seemed intrigued by my lunchbox. Sensing his interest, I pulled it out and showed it to him.
"What do you think?"
"Looks delicious."
"Right?"
"It's a bit lacking in chicken breast, but it's a perfectly balanced meal."
Victor nodded in approval. I didn't miss the way his eyes gleamed.
"Hey, Victor. By any chance..."
"If you're proposing to swap meals, I must decline. That is a lunchbox Amy prepared specifically for you."
"Ah..."
I shut my mouth. He was far more disciplined than I thought.
"But... sharing it doesn't sound like a bad idea..."
Victor muttered softly, looking away as if testing the waters. I nodded vigorously.
"Right? I think I'd really like some pork cutlet."
"Pork cutlet is indeed a fine meal."
An agreement was reached. I packed the lunchbox back into my bag.
"Let's start training!"
And so, training began. Victor lined up the paper cups on the small desk once again.
"You remember what I told you yesterday, right?"
"Yes."
"Even if two people share the exact same ability, their paths of development will inevitably differ. The advice I can give you is minimal."
I nodded. Victor's advice was always like that. Rather than teaching me direct techniques, he only showed me how to apply my abilities. Making it my own was entirely up to me.
I immediately channeled my power. Putting a direct load on my body was the wrong approach. My body wouldn't be able to handle it. I had to find another way.
The answer was surprisingly close. This training wasn't much different from the dodgeball training. Keeping an eye on Victor, I projected an electric field around my body. A crackling blue light became almost visibly distinct, wrapping around Victor and me in a sphere.
"You finally figured it out."
Victor took a candy from his pocket and dropped it into a cup.
The training began. Victor's hands moved with blinding speed. Although the distracting blue light made it hard to see, I was confident I could get the answer right even with my eyes closed. The electric field I had deployed could read the movement of every single object within its bounds.
"Where is it?"
"Right here!"
A blue spark flashed from Victor's hand. He handed me a candy for getting it right. This time, it was apple-flavored.
I was about to pop it straight into my mouth, but after a moment's hesitation, I slipped it into my pocket instead. Candy was a rare luxury now. I had to save them for when I absolutely couldn't hold out any longer.
Once I got the hang of it, the training became incredibly easy. No matter how fast Victor's hands were, my electric field read every single movement. The candies in my pocket were rapidly multiplying.
"You're getting these too easily."
"I'm not going to lose a single one from now on."
"Hmm..."
Victor paused, stroking his chin in deep thought. I looked up at him with a confident, triumphant expression.
"Fine. How about a bet?"
"A bet?"
"For this next round, I'll wager all the candies I have left."
Victor said, picking up a massive bag of candies. I swallowed hard. The bag looked like it held well over a hundred candies.
"In return, you must wager all the candies you've won so far."
"My candies?"
I counted the candies resting in my pocket. There were a little over ten. If I rationed them, they could last me until tomorrow. Ten versus a hundred. And the game was incredibly easy. My eyes shone as I nodded.
Victor was definitely a good person. He had prepared this gift for me because he knew I couldn't eat delicious candies whenever I wanted. He must have chosen this method because he was too embarrassed to just hand them over.
Rain, you were wrong. Victor is incredibly nice.
"Deal!"
I pulled all the candies out of my pocket and piled them on the desk. Victor placed his massive bag of candies next to the desk.
"No backing out."
With those words, Victor's hands began to move.
Crackle!
A brilliant blue light erupted. At the same time, an anomaly registered in my electric field.
"Huh...?"
I couldn't read Victor's movements at all.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
His hands moved at a speed completely invisible to the naked eye. Victor looked at me and flashed a devilish grin.
