Chapter 325: Late birthday present

Noah felt a familiar flutter of discomfort at being the center of attention. Lucas had been one of the Academy’s star students, someone Noah had looked up to from a distance. The idea of directly challenging him felt presumptuous, even with everything that had happened since their graduation.

“I don’t know,” Noah said slowly. “That’s a lot of attention for something that doesn’t really matter.”

“Doesn’t matter?” Kelvin looked personally offended. “This absolutely matters. We’re talking about establishing baseline performance metrics for the team’s primary speed assets.”

“And it would be fun,” Lyra added, though her tone suggested she was confident in the outcome. “I mean, Lucas has years of experience with high-speed combat. No offense, Noah, but you’ve been doing this for what, six months?”

“Which is exactly why we need to test it,” Kelvin fired back. “Experience versus raw capability. And Noah’s been consistently exceeding expectations since day one.”

Sophie looked between them with growing concern. “Are you seriously considering racing around a track like academy students?”

“Why not?” Lucas was practically vibrating with competitive energy. “The training course has a speed track specifically designed for velocity testing. Full sensor suite, safety protocols, the works.”

Diana finally spoke up, her voice carefully neutral. “It would provide useful tactical data,” she admitted reluctantly. “Understanding our actual capabilities versus theoretical ones.”

Noah could feel everyone’s eyes on him. Through the window, he could see other teams moving through the base, going about their evening routines. The thought of drawing that kind of attention, of having people talk about him more than they already were, made him uncomfortable.

But Lucas was looking at him with genuine excitement, not the competitive edge Noah might have expected. His upperclassman had always been generous with encouragement, even back when Noah was just another struggling recruit.

“Come on,” Lucas said, his grin infectious. “What do you say? Time to see what you can really do.”

The challenge hung in the air between them. Kelvin was practically bouncing in his seat, clearly anticipating vindication for his faith in Noah’s abilities. Lyra looked confident that her research would prove correct. Diana maintained her careful neutrality, though Noah suspected she was more interested than she let on.

“Alright,” Noah said finally, earning an excited whoop from Kelvin. “But we do this properly. Official timing, full monitoring.”

“Deal,” Lucas said immediately. “Tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Noah agreed, already wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

Noah caught Sophie’s eye. Her expression was equal parts exasperation and fondness, the look of someone who’d grown used to the chaos that seemed to follow him everywhere.

Kelvin immediately began pulling up specifications for the speed track and Lyra started calculating odds based on tournament data. But as soon as he started, he suddenly paused, his fingers hovering over his tablet.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said, his expression shifting to something between excitement and calculation. “I’ve been running the numbers here, and based on their current records…” He gestured between Noah and Lucas. “We’re talking about a margin of maybe three percent difference. That’s basically neck and neck.”

Lyra looked up from her own analysis. “Three percent? That’s within the margin of error for most sensor equipment.”

“Exactly!” Kelvin said, warming to his theme. “So how do we get a definitive answer? How do we separate two racecars that are basically identical?”

“Better sensors?” Diana suggested dryly.

“No, no, no,” Kelvin waved his hand dismissively. “You introduce a buffer. A benchmark. A control variable to really test the limits.”

They all looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Oh, Kelvin,” Sophie said with fond amusement, “you’re such a genius.”

“Really, you are,” Lyra added, grinning. “But maybe leave the speed competition to the actual speedsters?”

“Yeah, buddy,” Lucas chuckled. “I appreciate the confidence, but—”

“Sweet summer child,” Diana interrupted with mock sympathy, “bless your heart for thinking you could keep up.”

Kelvin’s face went through a rapid series of expressions—shock, indignation, and then theatrical embarrassment. “Wow. Just… wow. The faith you all have in me is truly overwhelming.” He clutched his chest dramatically. “I can feel the love and support just radiating from this group.”

“Kelvin—” Noah started.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Kelvin continued, waving his hand. “I’ll just sit here with my wounded pride and my perfectly reasonable suggestion that was clearly misunderstood because apparently you all think I have the aerodynamic properties of a brick.”

Lucas was trying not to laugh. “Okay, what did you actually mean?”

Kelvin’s expression shifted to pure mischief. “I wasn’t talking about myself.” He paused for dramatic effect. “The question isn’t who. The question is what.”

Noah’s head immediately dropped into his hands. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Kelvin said with gleeful determination.

“What are you two talking about?” Sophie looked between them, confused.

Kelvin’s grin widened. “Think about it. What would really test their limits? What could serve as the ultimate benchmark for speed?” He turned to Noah with the expression of someone about to deliver the punchline of the century. “Storm.”

Sophie’s eyes went wide. “Are you insane? You want Noah and Lucas to race Storm?”

“Storm?” Lyra perked up immediately. “Who’s Storm?”

“Not who,” Kelvin corrected, clearly enjoying himself. “What. Storm is Noah’s other summon. And while Nyx is the absolute unit powerhouse that turns Harbingers into paste, Storm is basically what happens when you take speed and give it wings and a really bad attitude.”

Lyra’s analytical mind immediately latched onto the concept. “Another summon? What class?”

“Hollow Blizzard Monarch,” Noah said reluctantly.

“A Hollow Blizzard Monarch?” Lyra’s eyes lit up. “Well that sounds like something straight from a comic book. So he or she is like supposed to be stupidly fast? Like, break-the-sound-barrier-for-fun fast? You guys are so cool!!”

“See!” Kelvin pointed at her triumphantly. “Lyra gets it! We’re talking about a creature that probably considers Mach 2 to be a leisurely cruise speed.”

“This is ridiculous,” Diana said, but there was a hint of interest in her voice.

“Is it though?” Lyra was already pulling up data on her tablet. “I mean, from a pure research standpoint, it would give us incredible baseline data. Plus, imagine the tactical applications if we could coordinate speed-based attacks with that kind of velocity differential.”

Kelvin nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly! It’s like… okay, imagine you’re trying to figure out if your car is fast, right? You could race it against another car and maybe learn something. Or you could race it against a fighter jet and really find out what you’re working with.”

“That’s a terrible analogy,” Diana said.

“It’s a perfect analogy,” Kelvin shot back. “Besides, I’m like ninety percent sure that both Lucas and Noah at their absolute top speed would get completely humiliated by Storm. And wouldn’t that be educational?”

“Educational,” Lucas repeated slowly. “You want to humiliate us for educational purposes.”

“For science!” Kelvin declared with mock solemnity.

Lyra was fully onboard now. “Think about it—we could gather data on optimal formation flying, understand the tactical advantages of mixed-speed units, maybe even develop new coordinated attack patterns.”

“Plus,” Kelvin added with a wicked grin, “it would be absolutely hilarious to watch.”

Diana was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. “I mean… it would be pretty cool to see.”

All eyes turned to Sophie, who was looking increasingly conflicted. “I… you know what? I kind of want to see this too now.” She turned to Noah with pleading eyes. “Please? I promise I’ll patch you up if Storm embarrasses you too badly.”

Noah looked around at his teammates—Kelvin practically vibrating with excitement, Lyra already making notes about data collection, Diana trying to hide her interest, Lucas grinning like this was the best idea ever, and Sophie giving him puppy dog eyes.

He sighed and smiled. “Alright. Fine. Tomorrow morning, Lucas Grey and I will race the Hollow Blizzard Monarch.”

The cheer that went up could probably be heard three rooms over.

This was definitely going to be both interesting and embarrassing.

The group eventually dispersed, with Kelvin and Lyra heading off together, still animatedly discussing data collection protocols and sensor placement. Diana departed with a casual wave, though Noah caught her muttering something about “actually looking forward to this” under her breath. Lucas clapped Noah on the shoulder with a promise to “try not to make it too embarrassing for Storm” before heading to do his personal training.

Noah and Sophie walked down the corridor toward their rooms, the base settling into its evening quiet around them. The comfortable silence between them was broken when Sophie suddenly caught his arm, pulling him to a stop near an alcove between two maintenance panels.

“Sophie, what—”

“I never gave you your birthday present, did I?” she said, stepping closer until he was effectively cornered against the wall.

Noah blinked, caught off guard by both her proximity and the sudden change of topic. “My birthday present?”

Sophie nodded, her eyes searching his face with an intensity that made his pulse quicken. The corridor lighting cast soft shadows across her features, and Noah found himself very aware of how close she was standing, how her hand was still resting on his arm but drifting dangerously towards his groin area.

They stared at each other, neither of them moved.

Neither of them looked away.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick,” she whispered before dropping to her knees in front of him, fingers working his zip while she stared up at him with a seductive smile.