CHAPTER 241: WATER BOTTLES

"...And that’s 11 to 4! Julien wins the first game!"

Felix let out a heavy sigh, plopping down on the chair in the corner. The first game... had been intense. He had tried his best, but he had still barely managed to score any points against Julien.

Well, that was to be expected. Even if he was strong and fast, that didn’t necessarily translate into his table tennis skills. The occasional matches he had played with Tyler in the past, and one proper lesson with Cael, weren’t enough to suddenly turn him into a table tennis master. If it were fighting or hunting, then he had a feeling he would win against Julien, but with table tennis... Against the more experienced Omega, he hardly stood any chance.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was going to give up. Even if he was going to lose no matter what, he should at least give it his all. Losing the match wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, but forfeiting would have been.

He grabbed the towel hanging over the backrest of his chair, and wiped his face. Although the temperature in the game room was rather cool, during an intense match it was impossible not to get heated up...

"Young Master Felix, would you like a drink?"

All of a sudden, one of the Omegas from the audience popped right by his side, holding a water bottle in their outstretched hand.

Felix scanned them quickly. He had all of the higher-ranking Omegas more or less memorized (although he still didn’t fully understand all of their social connections), but when it came to the lower-ranking ones, he still didn’t know most of them. Not because he didn’t care, or anything like that, but there were simply way to many people in the Bloodmoon Pack for Felix to remember them all so quickly. And this Omega, he didn’t recognize...

Which was a good thing. That meant that he wasn’t hanging around any of the major groups that were against Felix.

"Thank you," Felix smiled at the Omega, and accepted the bottle. He had his own water bottle prepared in his bag, two bottles in fact, but there was no need for him to reject a drink that someone else offered him. It could have been seen as rude - ’Why didn’t he accept the drink?’ ’Was he looking down on the lower-ranking Omegas?’ And so on... There were plenty of unfavorable narratives that could be spun even from such a simple action.

He unscrewed the cap of the water bottle, and took a large sip...

Only to start choking immediately after.

It wasn’t water that was in the bottle, it was hard liquor! Judging by the color, the taste, and the smell, it seemed to be vodka...

"Damn it," Felix muttered under his nose, wiping his mouth. He was so thirsty that he had taken a sip without any hesitation, without even sniffing the contents of the bottle first... How stupid of him! He was already struggling, unable to hold his ground against Julien, and now they wanted to make him drunk on top of that?!

At least it was just one sip... Or, well, more like one gulp. A rather large gulp. And Felix was more of a lightweight. While one gulp wouldn’t be enough to make him drunk, it might make him a bit lightheaded and flushed, which could affect his performance...

What was done, was done. It was his mistake. If he complained, he would only make himself a laughingstock. The tournament was ending the very same day, it’s not like his match would be postponed just because he accidentally drank some alcohol... If he refused to play, then he would have no choice but to withdraw.

He glanced up, but the Omega was already gone, merged with the crowd. Well, whatever. Felix remembered his face. As for what he was going to do about it... He would think about it later. For now, he put the ’water’ bottle aside, and reached into his bag, to have some actual water, mixed with electrolytes, which he prepared for this match...

"Huh?"

As he unzipped his backpack, he noticed that there was something off. His water bottles were still there, and so was the spare hand towel he brought... But they weren’t the only ’thing’ inside. In the backpack’s main compartment, curled up into a ball, there was... a fox! A real fox!

So that’s why his backpack seemed to be oddly heavy! It was because Remi had sneaked in!

Felix stared blankly at the furry creature in his backpack for a moment. Then, he snapped out of it, abruptly pulled out one of the bottles, and quickly zipped the backpack close again, leaving only enough opening so that Remi could breathe, but without any risk of being spotted.

He couldn’t reveal his ’pet’ fox in front of the room full of not-so-friendly werewolves, after all!

Holding back his sigh, he opened the bottle, and took a large sip.

Only for his eyes to widen in surprise. It... wasn’t the electrolyte water he had prepared for himself. However, this drink was tampered with by Remi - this fox of a witch seemed to have added some potion to it, which made Felix instantly refreshed and energized. It was also still pleasantly cool, despite being kept inside the backpack, squeezed in with Remi’s warm body.

"The break time is over. Let the match resume!" Just then, Lyla announced. Since she wasn’t taking part in this match, she had resumed the hosting duties.

Felix took one more sip of the potion-enhanced water, and stood up, rolling his shoulders. After the drink, he was feeling much better. Even better than before the match.

Was that cheating? Perhaps. But, it wasn’t intentional on his part... And no one would find out. The other Omegas had no intentions to be fair towards him either. If they could, then they surely would have used magic as well. And they were using their social connections to their advantage... So why shouldn’t Felix use his connection with the witch?

The second game started. It was just as intense as the previous one... Except that this time, Felix’s efforts were far more effective. The potion might have given him enough edge to stand his ground against Julien...

But it still wasn’t enough to gain advantage. They were going head to head.

10 to 11...

11 to 11...

15 to 14...

15 to 15...

21 to 21...

Neither of them could gain more than a point advantage.

And Julien was starting to grow frustrated. Even the audience was starting to grow restless. Just how long was this match going to last?

Julien gritted his teeth. At this rate, he wouldn’t have any energy left for the final match against Lyla. He glanced at the smug woman watching the match from the sidelines...

And this moment of distraction cost him another point.

It was now 32 to 31 for Felix.

Both players took deep breaths, as Felix lightly tossed the ball in the air. It was his turn to serve now. He tossed the ball again, and hit it with his paddle, sending it Julien’s way.

Julien received the ball, and hit it back. Felix returned it, and then so did Julien... The ball was flying back and forth at increasing speed. The tension was reaching its limits. If Felix scored this one, they would have to play another game. If not, then Julien would still have a chance to end this match with this game...

Their eyes briefly met.

And, all of a sudden, Julien froze.

PANG!

The ball flew right next to him, and bounced off the wall.