Free Web NovelLinhart hurried along the Silver River path that was the shortest route to his next course. The cool morning air and the sound of rushing water worked well to clear his head. After the intense sexual encounter with the two Fighter girls, his thoughts were racing.
Just before parting ways, he had bound both of them. A wonderous event bonding both of them at once, that had sent them into another round of wild love-making. That also brought the total number of girls he had mutual connections with to three.
Now as he jogged along, he tuned in to each in turn. The freshmen were both feeling overjoyed, with a little jealousy and annoyance popping up in between the two... Were they fighting again? He'd have find some way to put an end to their rivalry.
This time around he had not limited the range he could detect them or they could detect him. He wanted the peace of mind of knowing that they were safe wherever they went at the Academy. A distant sensation indicated that Octavia was busy at her role as Binder Stratega. Her emotions were all confidence and focus.
Leaving Serapha behind after he'd bonded with her had been difficult. He was surprised at what an animal his lifelong friend had turned into with just a little help from his love spell. Leaving after bonding the gorgeous freshman Fighter Giselle… well that had been nearly impossible. The two of them had practically been fighting over his dick. Gods, it took all his willpower to push them off of him.
“No, no more…” he had said, “I have to get to my next course... I can’t miss it.”
"Come on, Lin," Serapha begged, "Just one more time. I can finish really quick!"
"If anyone gets another round, it's me," Giselle said, lustfully hauling his face in for a deep tongue kiss.
But he had promised himself that he would be the perfect student, or at least have better attendance, in this loop and he had meant it. So despite the fact that these two could’ve kept him busy for hours longer, he grabbed his uniform and excused himself just as the ninth bell was ringing.
The girls had been understanding. Both of them had given him a parting kiss and promised to meet again in the afternoon Fighter courses. How exciting would it be for him to go against these girls in the wrestling ring! Still, he did feel bad leaving two beauties for… Men’s Studies.
He arrived at the building that was indicated on his list of courses. It was a stone longhouse half-sunken into the bank of the river, a short hike away from Fighter’s Green. The lecture hall didn’t have a door. It was a wide intricately carved archway that echoed with the voices of what was being said inside, so Linhart ducked his head down as he entered, hoping he could sneak inside and take a seat before being noticed.
Linhart paused in the archway.
He was only a few minutes late, but the students in the lecture hall were sitting motionless. Tension hung in the air. Something was wrong.
A young Magister with a broad chest and striking dark features and hair was standing behind a huge granite podium. On Linhart’s course studies, he was listed as Magister Vale. The Magister’s eyes registered Linhart’s late arrival, as he slid into the unoccupied desk nearest to the entrance, but then flashed back to the student who stood in front of him.
“…I’m asking whether you understand how your presence might affect classroom openness,” he was saying firmly. His voice contained no heat but was filled with accusation.
The student he was addressing was facing away from Linhart, but the long hair and feminine robes marked her as a female, and most likely a mage. Looking around the hall at the small cliches of students scattered across the large lecture space, Linhart guessed she was the only female enrolled in Men’s Studies. There was no sign of Drystan. Had he not come here after he left the theater?… Where was he now?
The girl tilted her head. “My presence?”
“You are the only girl here.”
“And that’s a problem?”
Students around Linhart shifted uncomfortably in their seats. A majority of his new classmates were upper-classmen. Two of them he recognized as Healers that he’d met before, though not in this timeline. The kind one with the bushy beard, and the other, studious looking boy wearing rose-colored glasses… What were their names again?
Vale adjusted his blue Magister robes, pulling them defensively around his chest. “This course requires male students to speak candidly on some sensitive matters that are personal to them. We’ve had incidents before with students enrolling for inappropriate reasons.”
A murmur spread through the room.
The girl’s response was cold. “Are you accusing me of something in front of my peers, Magister Vale?”
“I am not accusing you. I am saying that your presence may inhibit discussion.”
“Because I’m female.”
The room went perfectly still. From where he was sitting, Linhart could see Vale’s dark eyes appraising the student. Linhart had still not seen her face, but there was something familiar about this girl’s hair.
Something in the Magister's eyes changed, and he exhaled sharply, “...All members of the Academy can benefit from interdisciplinary study. As long as you’re enrolling in the spirit of openness and understanding, you may stay. Have a seat with one of the groups.
The girl, unabashed by the tension she had played a part in causing, turned to face the desk groups and surveyed the students around her. Linhart got his first good look at her.
The deep purple hair, the haughty way of speaking… it was all very familiar. And now as she looked in his direction, her mouth opened in a smile and he could see her teeth were sharpened to a point. Linhart’s breath caught in his throat.
It was Vivian… the girl of his nightmares!
He looked away, afraid that even a moment of eye contact would draw her attention. He had broken out in a cold sweat. Maybe it’s not too late… He could run for the door and never come back. She didn’t even know who he was yet. If he left now, she never would.
“We will start with a discussion focusing on the males of the Academy, rather than men's role in society in general.”
When he looked up, Linhart noticed that the girl had taken a seat with a group of three freshmen, across the hall from him. Magister Vale had come out from behind the podium and was circulating among the students.
“We will begin with small group discussions, and then open up the sharing to hear from all students,” Magister Vale seemed to be sizing up each member of the group as he walked around. His crisp voice carried easily to all parts of the hall. “Welcome to all the seniors in the room! You are indeed a rare group in the Academy these days. Why is it that only 10% of graduates from the Academy are male, and a majority of those are the Healers? Why are senior gender numbers so one-sided, and what can be done to remedy this imbalance? Discuss.”
Linhart found himself in with a group of four other students. Two of which were the senior Healers, Sorin with the beard, and Elias with the glasses. They all showed great interest when they discovered that he was a Fighter, drilling him with questions.
"Why are there no senior males in the Fighter class?"
"Aren't you afraid of facing girls physically?"
"How do you keep them from grabbing your wiener while you're fighting?"
He answered with as few words as possible. All four boys were Healers, and they explained that Magister was a Healer as well, though his main focus these days was the mental health of all males in the Academy. He could tell by the way they talked about him that his groupmates held Vale in the highest regard.
Linhart would've taken the opportunity to learn more about the Magister, except that his focus was elsewhere. His eyes kept wandering off to the group which Vivian had joined. Was she the same girl that had put him through hell day after day in his freshman year? Or, like so many other students, had her personality been altered with the Time Slip?
Minutes later, Linhart got his answer.
A nerve-wracking shriek rose up, causing him and every other student in the room to jump. It was a member of Vivian’s group, a student had fallen off his chair and was twisting on the floor. A freshman mage by the looks of his burnished robes. Magister Vale rushed over and helped the boy to his feet. freёweɓnovel.com
“By the Gods, young man,” he held the boy’s shaking form in his arms. “What is it? What has come over you?”
The boy was white as a sheet, as though he’d experienced a great scare. “A beast, Magister…” he shuddered. “It was here just now! Did no one see it?”
Every boy in the room was on his feet now, crowding around and offering help. Linhart listened as the young mage described what could only be called a nightmare come to life. A beast, ripping at his clothes and biting into his flesh. Everyone looked doubtfully, as the boy's clothes were untouched and there was no sign of any wounds on his body. Linhart shook his head sadly, knowing the pattern. They were wondering if the poor boy was not completely sane, but Linhart knew what he'd just been through.
Looking over at Vivian, Linhart saw her cheeks were flushed and she was fighting to keep a smile off her face. She held her hands between her legs, and was practically quivering with energy.
The look on her face was like a girl who had a new doll to play with. A doll that she would do whatever she wanted with. Yes, Vivian was the same monster as she’d been in his original timeline, but would she gravitate towards him again?
