(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Fast like a field guide

The room that Casper had taken Kellen to was on the higher levels of the tower. It wasn't quite classified as a space for just Espers, but Kellen knew that most Guides wouldn't dare to step foot in here. Fortunately, Kellen wasn't most Guides.

It was like a giant play room. An obstacle course built just for those who had awakened powers. To the left of the entrance were a bunch of cubbies for outside shoes, while to the right was a large space with mats on the ground. Kellen assumed it was a warm up space so you didn't sprain anything. Tucked to the right was a doorway marked for change rooms and bathrooms. In the far distance Kellen could see a large old school board with names scribbled and ranked. He couldn't read the names from this far away, but he could guess. He bet either Gunther or Ms. Hill was on those lists. But the main focal point of the space was the obstacle course itself. _{ƒгeewebnovёl.com}

It was giant, and made Kellen's mouth water. With rope swings, rock walls, pits of foam under long stretches of climbing...Kellen was in dreamland. It was unconscious, him kicking off his shoes and shoving them in a cubby. Casper watched the Guide, a smile playing on his lips as the man's blue eyes lit up from within. He hadn't seen him this excited before. He was sure that when he told the Captain about how excited the younger Guide had been, he wouldn't be very pleased that he'd missed it.

"You look like a kid in a candy store. I can tell you'll be back here." Casper chuckled as Kellen nodded.

"Why didn't you show me this place yesterday?" His tone was slightly accusatory as he began to notice others in the room too. Realising they weren't alone, Kellen pulled himself together slightly. He took his time removing his socks and jacket, rolling up the sleeves on his shirt underneath before adding them to his shoes. Casper's faint smile had become a real one as he watched the Guide move.

"Well, I can see that I made a mistake now. I didn't know you'd be this excited." He stared in the direction that Kellen was looking. The giant boards. "Shall I time you?" He asked as the Field Guide dropped into a few stretches, warming up his muscles.

"Not on the first run." He told him, and Casper laughed. The two heard laughter from nearby and realised that some Espers had been listening into their conversation. Casper stiffened at the sound, since he knew that the Espers were making fun of them from the tone of their laughter. It wasn't good intentioned like Casper's had been. Kellen, who'd been brought here to work off some steam, grinned. "Why? Is it a hard course?" He asked Casper, hoping one of the fools bit the bait.

"Well, it might be hard for Guides, but this is a B Class obstacle course. For us, it's easy." The Esper who approached them boasted. Casper, who hadn't even seen Kellen in action because he was one of those Guides who never left the city, snorted.

"I hear only Hill, Gunther and Jason have completed this course. Are you saying you can but you just haven't?" He demanded and the Esper scoffed. He either knew who Casper was and didn't care, or had no idea and assumed we were two dumb Guides. Kellen couldn't wipe the grin from his face.

"Of course. I can do anything they can." The Esper puffed his chest, clearly bragging to the two Guides. Casper turned and rolled his eyes, while Kellen, who had been stretching this whole time, finished and got to his feet.

"Alright Casper, time us. Whoever gets the best time wins, right? And then you have to admit that a Guide beat you." Kellen told the Esper, who smirked at him.

"Why would I race against you?" He asked. Kellen could tell Casper was going to explode soon, and could feel the sternly worded email in his bones. His lips turned up slightly.

"Because of your pride, obviously. Or are you afraid I am going to get a better time than you?" He taunted, and the Esper fell for it hook, line, and sinker. His face even turned purple at the taunt. He stormed towards the beginning of the course.

"You're not even going to make it a quarter of the way, Guide!" He shouted and Kellen watched as Casper's hands shook. He was vibrating, his was so angry. Kellen placed his hand over the others, giving it a squeeze. When Casper met his gaze, he gave a wink. Kellen had dealt with these kinds before, and they were his favourite type too. Kellen was in a great mood as he was about to wreck this man's whole month.

"You can use my phone as a timer." Kellen offered, handing over everything in his pockets before moving towards the angry Esper. Kellen was in a great mood, while the man next to him was furious. "Count down for us, Casper!" He shouted. The Esper shot him a dirty look, but Kellen grinned in response.

"Three, two, one!" Kellen shot off, scaling the wall in front of him in seconds. He wasn't thinking about his next move, instead letting his body take control. It was times like this where he was glad he'd put in all of his training. He was able to trust himself as he scaled, climbed, jumped, crawled, swung and ran through the obstacle course, leaving the Esper in the dust. He felt exhilarated as he moved, his muscles contracting and releasing, dust kicking up in his face. It wasn't like being in a gate, but Kellen felt that without building a simulation room, this was the closest he was going to get. Kellen couldn't stop his face from splitting with a stupid grin as he used a rope to throw himself at the next platform. There was a point where he almost lost his grip while high up in the air and he could hear people gasping below him. Kellen was able to get to the next platform safely and clapping filled the air. Kellen absorbed their praise and ran with it, finishing the course by reaching the final platform and ringing the bell. Cheers and clapping filled the air as Kellen took a minute to gather his breath, grinning wildly. He was up on a higher platform, and he found the ladder down easily, but instead turned his gaze further, towards the small crowd that had gathered. Casper stood there, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses while Kellen did a sweep and couldn't even find the Esper who had originally challenge him. Casper raced forward once he realised Kellen had seen him.

"You beat Gunther's record!" He told him excitedly before gesturing wildly behind him. Kellen turned his head and didn't see anything at his eye level, before dropping his gaze and realised he now had a clear view of the boards. They were clearly score boards dating back to the first obstacle course. The most recent was erasable, but the others must have been redone in permanent marker showing the top three from the previous course. Kellen noticed that Gunther and Hill's names covered the boards. Gunther's was more often than not at the top, with Hill either trailing or topping him in some courses. Well well well. Kellen had no idea that this would ignite his competitive spirit, but here he was. Kellen, having caught his breath used the ladder to get down, meeting the excited Casper at the base. "That was amazing! I've never seen someone move like that before. How the hell did you manage that?" He asked quickly, and Kellen pushed his hair out his face, grinning.

"I like moving." He told him simply, and Casper shook his head. Casper grabbed Kellen's arm, dragging him towards the score board and methodically moved everyone's name down until Kellen's took the top place, along with his time. He was surprised. He hadn't realised he'd beaten Gunther by such a wide margin. He had no idea that Gunther was so slow.

"Hey hey hey, what's this? I heard something was going on here and I find that a fucking Guide has dethroned me?" Kellen turned and found both Ms. Hill and Gunther making their way towards the two Guides. Both of the Espers were still in their work out clothes provided by the Guild, and Kellen wasn't sure if they had just come from teaching a class or not. Gunther was grinning, taking the sting out of his words.

"Well if you weren't so slow, Gunther, a Guide wouldn't have dethroned you." Kellen said, grinning and Gunther shook his head.

"Not fair. I wasn't even here. I demand a rematch. I worked hard for that title." He protested and Kellen scoffed.