Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20. Class Test
Simon woke slowly, dragging himself up through the last layers of sleep. He rubbed his eyes, looked around, and needed a moment to remember where he was.
Right. The Academy dormitory.
His gaze drifted across the room and found Necrotize sitting in the chair beside his own bed, dressed in a comfortable pajama set, reading a book with one hand and holding something cup-shaped in the other. Not quite tea. Simon couldn’t identify it.
Necrotize glanced over. Simon’s hair was still flattened on one side, his eyes not fully open. Something about it made Necrotize smile.
"Good morning, Simon."
Simon’s brain, operating well below its usual capacity, responded the same way it would have to one of his younger siblings at home.
"Good morning."
Then his brain caught up.
Oh no. I just casually said good morning to the God of Destruction. He’s definitely going to kill me.
Necrotize closed his book and set it on the table with a quiet exhale.
"There’s no reason to panic. Talking to me casually won’t get you hurt. I don’t make a habit of killing mortals over small things, so you can stop worrying about that."
Simon felt the awkwardness of the situation compound itself. He knew the thought hadn’t been reasonable but what was a normal person supposed to feel, waking up and accidentally greeting the God of Destruction like a family member? ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
A question surfaced before he could stop it.
"My lord ... how did you know what I was thinking?"
Necrotize looked at him mildly. "It was on your face. I didn’t need to do anything special to read it."
"Oh."
Necrotize considered, briefly, whether to mention that he could actually hear people’s thoughts directly. He decided against it. His presence already made everyone around him anxious enough adding and I can hear everything in your head to his list of qualities seemed unlikely to improve matters. He filed it away for another time.
"Let’s get ready for class."
Simon climbed out of bed. "Of course, my lord."
He changed into his uniform in the dressing area and came back to find Necrotize still in his chair, the cup still in his hand. Then Necrotize stood, and the cup simply vanished no gesture, no ceremony and he started toward the door. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Simon wondered, but didn’t quite dare to ask, whether Necrotize planned to attend class in pajamas.
The answer came on its own.
Necrotize put one hand in his pocket and kept walking. From his feet upward, a violet light moved quietly across his body, and the pajamas dissolved into the Academy uniform as naturally as a tide coming in. By the time he reached the door it was done.
He turned the handle and looked back.
"Let’s go."
They left the room together, Necrotize a step ahead.
Simon glanced at his back as they walked — and stopped.
His eyes caught something. Not quite a memory, more like an image surfacing unbidden: a corridor, a corner, a figure with one hand in his pocket walking away without looking back. The same unhurried gait. The same silhouette.
It clicked into place all at once.
That day. It was him.
Something settled in Simon’s chest quiet, certain, and warm in a way he hadn’t expected. A loyalty that didn’t need to announce itself.
Necrotize caught the shape of it and smiled privately, saying nothing.
***
The other dormitory residents stared as they passed. The sight of someone walking casually alongside the God of Destruction not trailing behind at a respectful distance, not visibly terrified apparently required extended observation. Necrotize paid them no attention whatsoever. Simon kept his eyes forward and his hands clasped in front of him, projecting a composure he didn’t entirely feel.
They made it outside without incident.
At a three-way fork in the path, Necrotize slowed.
"Magic Department is this way."
"Understood, my lord." Simon dipped his head in a small, respectful bow. "My department is in the other direction."
He turned and walked away toward the Alchemy building.
Necrotize stood at the fork and watched him go in silence. Then he turned and headed toward the Magic Department.
***
The first class of the morning was being held on the Magic Department’s training grounds.
Students filtered in gradually Lyra, Carlos, Arisa, and the rest until the training ground held a full class. Necrotize arrived among them without ceremony, spotted Lyra, and raised a hand in a small wave as he made his way over.
Surprisingly, she greeted him first this time.
"Good morning, Lord Necrotize." A small bow accompanied the words.
Yesterday he greeted me three times. That can’t continue.
Necrotize caught the reasoning and found it slightly unnecessary, but he was quietly pleased nonetheless. She was loosening, little by little.
"Good morning, Miss Lyra." He glanced at the sky. "What a lovely morning we have today, don’t you think?"
"Yes, it is." A small smile.
He turned his attention to the training ground itself. It was markedly different from the Combat Department’s the entire space sat within a protective barrier, and there was no weapons rack anywhere in sight.
Before he could observe further, the professor arrived.
Dark hair, long coat. Nicholas Joldick.
The moment he stepped onto the grounds, the class went still. A few students didn’t fully understand why, but something in their bodies responded before their minds could a low, instinctive unease settling across the group like a change in air pressure.
Necrotize watched Nicholas with open interest.
Death’s energy. Spreading from him in every direction. Too subtle for any ordinary person to detect consciously, but it was there and it was affecting everyone present.
Nicholas surveyed the assembled students with both hands clasped behind his back, unhurried.
"Good morning. You already know who I am, but I’ll say it once more Nicholas Joldick, Head of the Magic Department. This is your first class with me." His gaze moved across the group, sharp and even. "You will do what I say. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir."
Carlos answered with the rest of them, but his eyes were lit with something the others weren’t carrying. Nicholas Joldick. Rank Eight Mage equal to my father, and only one rank below Chancellor Eric. One of the most powerful individuals in the entire Empire. He straightened almost imperceptibly. And one day I’ll surpass every single one of them.
Necrotize caught the thought and felt a flicker of private amusement.
I’m exponentially more powerful than Nicholas but he hate me, and yet he’s the one Carlos looks up to. Strange fellow.
"Before we begin...an announcement." Nicholas’s tone didn’t shift. "In exactly one week, you will take your first practical examination. All departments, together. The format is simple: you’ll be placed into mixed groups and tasked with a monster hunt. The exam will reflect everything covered in this week’s classes, and you’ll operate as a proper party alongside students from other departments. It will test your teamwork as much as your ability."
The silence that followed had a different quality to it. Several faces had gone noticeably pale. A few students were sweating. Fighting monsters wasn’t an abstract exercise — it was genuinely dangerous, and everyone in the room knew it.
Nicholas read the room and exhaled quietly.
"Your safety is not your concern — it’s ours. If we determine that your life is at risk, we will extract you. Your score will take a hit, but a score is not worth your life." He let that settle. "The exam has been part of this Academy’s curriculum for many years. It works."
Some of the tension eased. Those who already knew about the exam had stopped worrying; those who hadn’t were beginning to.
Necrotize, for his part, was barely containing his excitement. He’d read about this exam. It had sounded interesting on the page.
I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.
"Now," Nicholas said quietly.
"Let’s begin."
