Chapter 115. You Must Be Having a Good Dream
Early in the morning, I put on my academy uniform and left the inn that had been my lodging.
The night before, Rayleigh had drunk herself into a stupor and was sprawled on the floor, plastered drunk, yet with a smile lingering on his lips.
‘You must be having a good dream.’
Yes, a dream that you couldn’t fulfill in reality. At least, let it be realized in sleep.
“Heading out now?”
“Don’t follow me.”
Shine, who had been gazing out the window, shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s up to me, isn’t it?”
“And beating you up would be up to me, right?”
“Do it if you can?”
Shine’s red eyes gleamed. That confident gaze made me chuckle.
Is that really the same guy who got thrashed back at the 4th Base Camp? Brimming with confidence, now.
‘Well, I guess it makes sense.’
From the 4th Base Camp until reaching the city of Hazen, Shine had regained a considerable amount of her strength.
A vampire’s power is replenished by drinking blood, and wouldn’t you know it, like a true parasite, she sucked monster blood like there was no tomorrow. But then again, I had also regained much of my strength.
“Whatever. Just don’t cause any trouble and stay quiet.”
“As if I’m scared.”
Leaving Shine’s pointless provocation behind me, I stepped outside.
‘I’d better form a circle quickly.’
Transcendence.
In my past life, I had never managed to cross that wall. But now I had. Still, the road ahead was long. The state was magnificent beyond compare, but the vessel to sustain it was lacking. To fully unleash Transcendence, the body, or rather the vessel, also needed to be elevated to a level equal to it. And that was a process with no telling how long it would take.
‘Well, it won’t be as grueling as breaking through the wall of Transcendence…’
At any rate, until I raised the vessel, Transcendence was sealed.
But even so, there was no need for despair. Perhaps because I glimpsed the final stage of Red Flame’s secret technique, Living Flame, during Transcendence?
My Imagery had advanced from this stage’s Completed Flame to the third stage, Calamitous Flame.
At last, I had caught up to Kalahan’s realm.
And what does that mean?
‘It means I can now trample Kalahan without any lucky breaks.’
Truly, an achievement worthy of tears.
Up until now, my survival wasn’t due to my high realm or some extraordinary secret art.
It was simply because I was good. Because I threw myself at every moment like it was my last, I managed to take down Kalahan, and, huh? Even the Ruler of the Swamp, huh?
If it had been anyone else, they’d have been long dead.
‘Yeah, I really am good at fighting dirty.’
Some might call it sly or cowardly, but slyness is a skill too.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could relax.
Just as the Ruler of the Swamp, who had terrorized adventurers in the Hamern Great Forest, was crushed by me, there is always such a thing as unfavorable matchups.
Finally, I arrived at the dormitory.
‘…Not yet?’
For the first time in a while, I stepped into the lobby and took a glance around. Students, rubbing their sleepy eyes, were dragging themselves about to get ready for class, but the faces I was looking for were nowhere to be seen. Usually, around this time, they’d already be down here…
And then, I encountered a familiar face descending the stairs.
A student froze upon seeing me. The same cold face as always, it was none other than Paula.
“Yo.”
“……”
My roommate Paula gave me a complicated look, or rather, an annoyed one, before brushing past me.
“…The letter was delivered.”
“Good.”
“And my service is expensive. This was the last time… mm.”
Ting!
“Fair enough?”
Paula, who had snatched the coin I flicked to her, confirmed the silver gleam before shooting me a glare.
“Make use of me again anytime.”
A simple fellow.
Her loyalty to money was something I quite liked.
Anyway, as I silently let Paula pass, a voice drifted from above.
“Listen, Chenbi. Promises exist to be kept. And I kept mine. I studied hard for the midterms and made it into the top 16. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“So, Mom has the obligation to make both Blood, Sweat & Tears No. 1 and No. 2. You follow?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“But then she tells me to choose. To make No. 1 or No. 2. How is that fair?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Even in the morning, that high-energy voice rang out. Despite the halfhearted replies, he stubbornly kept talking.
The two faces coming down the stairs were rather familiar.
“This is a blatant breach of contract… huh?!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The one who spotted me first was Demian. Eyes wide, he blinked several times, staring straight at me.
Chenbi, with his half-detached gaze, noticed me just a moment later.
“…Friend?”
“…? …!”
Eyes flung wide open.
“Friend?!”
“…Aster?”
“Really a friend?!”
“Aster…?”
They exclaimed in turn, as if they were seeing a dead man alive before them.
I greeted the two with a warm smile.
“I’ve returned.”
And yet, why was it?
The light in Chenbi’s eyes turned cold. With a stiff expression, he turned away from me, dragging Demian along.
“Demian, that’s not Aster.”
“What do you mean, it is though?”
“Dead people can’t come back.”
“No, but he’s not dead?”
“No. Aster is dead. That’s just an illusion. We’re seeing a mirage.”
“Is that true?”
The two walked past me.
Demian, still disbelieving, kept glancing back at me, but Chenbi’s attitude was unshakable.
In the end, Chenbi grabbed Demian by the collar and dragged him away.
“Friend, are you really dead?”
“…..”
To that question, I couldn’t give any answer. It had been barely over a month. Hardly enough to call a long time. So what on earth had made Chenbi change so much?
I couldn’t begin to fathom it.
* * *
The academy classes weren’t much.
Midterms were already over, and the close-combat exams were finished too, so most classes were review sessions.
At the end of the semester, in that loose atmosphere, the students were buzzing with excitement for the upcoming vacation.
Of course, not me.
“…So, you’re saying you went for training and lost track of time?”
“Yes, I got lost…”
“Hm.”
The interview with Professor Jayla was rather cold. She looked at me with clear suspicion but nodded lightly.
“Fine. I understand. Either way, your attendance days are not acknowledged. And in this case, there will be no make-up exams. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes, understood.”
It seemed she had plenty more she wanted to ask, but she didn’t press further.
For a flimsy excuse, the alibi was pretty airtight. Leaving the faculty office, I ran into Assistant Professor Yorbi carrying documents.
“Aster, long time no see. You certainly took your time. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Ah, yes.”
Was that supposed to mean he was glad I was alive, or was he chiding me for being late?
Either way, a consistently unpleasant fellow. Come to think of it, I wondered what became of Ivelin, the golden daughter of the Goldrin Merchant Guild.
If I were Ivelin, I’d have chewed him up by now.
‘Judging by his unruffled face, looks like nothing happened.’
For the record, Ivelin was still quite busy these days. Officially, with merchant business, but in truth, she was running around smoothing over the noble houses after that black market incident.
Anyway, after finishing with Professor Jayla, I headed to the student cafeteria on the first floor.
There, I began a second round of talks with Chenbi and Demian.
“…So, that’s why you were late?”
“…Well, yeah.”
I loosely retold my journey in the Hamern Great Forest.
Of course, I left out touchy words like ‘Hamern Great Forest’, ‘Destrou’, and ‘Golden Horse Mage.’
Just that I went traveling for training, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a monster-infested forest. And then, on top of that, I got lost and barely made it back alive. Something like that.
“…Hmm, any injuries?”
“Well, I was hurt, but it’s all healed.”
“You mustn’t get sick.”
Maybe it was because I said I’d nearly died? Chenbi’s stiff demeanor softened a bit.
Or so I thought.
“I figured you ran away.”
“…”
“I thought you were hiding somewhere having fun. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t think you were slacking off under the guise of training.”
Yeah. That’s exactly what you did think.
“Me? I just lived comfortably at the academy. Very comfortably. Eating three square meals a day with Demian. Dragging him back every time he tried to run away.”
“…”
“I’m not saying anything, mind you. Definitely not. Just, I wasn’t worried about you getting into trouble or anything. Nope, definitely not.”
“…”
Did he have a lot bottled up?
Now that I thought of it, it had been barely over a month.
Demian looked taller and chubbier in the cheeks, while Chenbi seemed sharper, more on edge.
At this point, I had only one option.
To bow my head, apologize, and wait out the quiet storm. And how long did I endure that tirade?
“Anyway, Aster. I’m glad you made it back safely.”
“I’m glad!”
Finally, the mood softened.
I was fine.
Chenbi’s calm, cutting words may have shredded me, but I was still breathing.
Though I spat blood a hundred times on that bed of nails, in the end, I survived.
Once that hearing was over, we could at last greet each other properly.
“By the way, what about the close-combat exam?”
“I got 2nd! Chenbi got 22nd!”
“2nd?”
“Yeah. Dalia got 1st. But really, I let her win. I could’ve beaten her, but if I did, she’d have gotten hurt.”
Seems Dalia must’ve thrown herself in with no regard for anything.
And Demian, lacking desperation, yielded just enough for her to seize victory. Even so, Dalia’s performance was rather surprising.
‘Looks like she’s picking things up faster than I thought.’
Otherwise, such results wouldn’t have come.
And so, we spent time catching up. The main topic of conversation was Blood, Sweat & Tears No. 1 and No. 2, that is, the lake and the statue.
“She’s telling me to choose between them!”
“Then obviously go with No. 2.”
Because that one takes more effort. And naturally, our conversation shifted toward the upcoming ‘vacation.’
The first vacation, now right around the corner.
“This time, I’m going to the Blando family estate with Demian to greet Lady Of the House. My parents are already there.”
“I’m going to make No. 2.”
Chenbi planned to visit Lady Bianca and spend time with his family.
Demian, on the other hand, intended to make Blood, Sweat & Tears No. 2, the dragon statue.
Though of course, the stonemasons would do all the real work, while Demian just bossed them around.
Anyway, Demian, brimming with excitement, suddenly turned to me.
“Friend, you’re coming too, right?”
His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
I scratched my head at that gaze.
“…We’ll see.”
Honestly, I wanted to go to the Blando estate too and form a circle. But I still had a mountain of things to do at the academy.
Visiting Lapiter, for one. But more importantly…
‘Professor Parun.’
Professor Parun had been looking for me.
Crack, snap!
From a few days ago until today, one summoning orb had broken each day.
First, I needed to meet Professor Parun.
