Free Web NovelChapter 10: First Skill.
Afternoon.
Aldrus walked up the stairs of the academy complex with Alice beside him, seemingly in a good mood.
The sun was already starting to set, and its warmth bathed the white marble walls.
Behind them, Aldrus counted at least twenty students apparently making their way to the same classroom. He dodged one or two subtle glares cast in his direction, not sure if they had recognized him from his match with Miss Leona, or were simply drooling over Alice.
After a minute, they all arrived at the top floor. There, right in front of them, was a dark wooden door leading inside a classroom. A single number was engraved on its surface.
[Class 5]
Here we are...
Half of the room was occupied by rows of tiered seats. Each row had a rectangular wooden desk in front of it, seemingly large enough for three people. The other half was mostly empty, save for a single desk and a large whiteboard that almost entirely covered the wall behind it.
Opposite the entrance, five large windows lined the wall, each framed by thin white curtains embroidered with beautiful, delicate patterns. The faint sun rays streamed through them, casting the room in shades of purple and red.
Most of the students looked around in awe, while others didn’t seem impressed. As for Aldrus...
It smells like... like an old library, in the best way possible.
He was simply taking in the sight, trying to fill his senses with anything other than fear.
Soon, he sat near the middle of the available seats. Alice was beside him.
And beside her...
"Hi... um, sorry to barge in... mind if I sit here? I couldn’t find another spot."
A lean silver-haired boy asked shyly.
"Sure, we don’t mind."
"Sure, we don’t mind."
Alice and Aldrus answered in unison.
"Ha-haha..."
The boy let out an awkward laugh and finally took a seat.
Aldrus studied him for a few moments before he grimaced thoughtfully and asked,
"Hey... umm..."
"—Ah, s-sorry about that, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Aiden, nice to meet you," he said.
"Nice to meet you. I’m Aldrus, and this is Alice. We’re roommates," Aldrus answered, a hint of pride in his voice.
"Nice to meet you, Aiden," Alice added with a polite smile.
Their casual greeting seemed to help, Aiden looked a little more comfortable now. He smiled and nodded gratefully,
"Ahh, man. I owe you one. Both of you. Everyone else is sitting with their roommates too, so I didn’t know who to ask."
Aldrus tilted his head,
"Hmm? Why didn’t you sit with your own roommate, then? Are they sick or something?"
Aiden shivered at the mention of his roommate. His face paled like a ghost,
"I-I... Well, you see..." His voice faltered. "The thing is, m-my sister is my roommate, and... well, let’s just say she doesn’t like me much..."
I know the feeling, Aldrus thought to himself.
Well, it’s not like Claire hated him. Quite the opposite, in fact. But he knew just how scary she could be. He shivered too, recalling the times when his sister beat him to a pulp over the most mundane reasons.
Sigh... I wonder how you’re doing now.
Noticing his expression grow bitter, Alice turned to Aiden and said with a chuckle,
"Don’t mind him. He had a pretty rough day."
"Hey! I heard that, you know?" Aldrus protested, "Besides, my day has been perfectly fin—"
"Silence."
He got cut off by a deep, heavy voice.
As soon as that single word came out, the whole classroom fell dead silent.
Right in front of them, a middle-aged man stood with a serious frown. He wore a black leather jacket similar to Miss Leona’s, but noticeably larger. His black hair was slicked back, with a single bang falling over one eye.
He was leaning forward, his mighty hands firmly gripping the edges of his desk as he looked over the wave of students paralyzed under his presence.
No one had noticed his arrival.
Rank 3...
Aldrus wasn’t told beforehand, but he could tell. The man standing in front of him gave off the same impression as Ludwig—just the way he announced himself, the way he stood.
He glanced at the two beside him. Alice and Aiden seemed to have noticed too. They had their eyes fixed on their apparent new teacher.
Suddenly, the man shifted his gaze in his direction and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Don’t tell me...
That stare was all he needed.
D-Damn you, Ludwig!
It made sense. If Ludwig had a problem he couldn’t solve, the first person he’d tell about it would be someone at least as capable as himself. That most likely meant that Aldrus’s secret was already known—to some extent—among the top six.
"Good. If you are done chatting with each other, let’s begin the lesson," the teacher said, "My name is Zorum, I’m your head teacher. Now, look here."
Sir Zorum turned to the whiteboard behind him and started drawing something. Soon, the sketch began to take form.
Aldrus’s face grew somber as the familiar shape of a small crystal appeared under Zorum’s strokes.
"This right here—is a Time Fragment," Zorum said, turning to the students, "I suppose all of you already know this, so let’s talk about it in depth."
As he said that, Sir Zorum dropped to one knee, rummaged beneath the desk, and stood up holding an empty wine glass in his hand. He calmly raised it for everyone to see...
And then hurled it at the ceiling with inhuman strength.
!!!
Before anyone could react, the glittering shards shot in every direction at full speed. And just as they were about to hit the unluckiest few, they stopped dead in place.
Looking beside him, Aldrus saw that Aiden was mere centimeters away from a lifelong scar.
Zorum continued,
"And that right there—is the first skill you’ll learn."
Aldrus gritted his teeth and grinned nervously. For some reason, he remembered the sleepy-looking man who gave him the keycard for his bedroom. The same one who supposedly had access to the data of every student... including their schedules.
T-That bastard... You could’ve warned me!
