Royal Dominion’s Lab Room
Kian Hall continued to stretch, the tension in his shoulders easing as he glanced over his notes. The glow from the screen illuminated his tired features. The room was filled with the hum of computers, a faint clicking of keyboards, and people walking here and there.
"I’ve almost got it," he replied, not tearing his gaze from the intricate calculations spreading across the screen. "Just a few more adjustnts on the mana density fluctuations and I’ll have a clearer picture of the anomalies. This is crucial for the upcoming expedition. If we can pinpoint the traps and unstable areas, we can avoid casualties."
As he focused on the equations, a colleague approached him. The sound of footsteps interrupted his concentration, and he glanced up to see Dexter. "Having a hard ti? Why don’t you just give that to our coworkers below?"
Kian shook his head, brushing aside the suggestion. "No need, I just need to solve this last equation. Besides, I don’t believe they could easily solve this."
Heroes were superior to ordinary people in every aspect. He was regarded as one of the best in the field of Domain Anomaly Analysis. That’s why he won’t give this work to soone who’s ordinary.
"Your solving for the fluctuations in a large-scale Dungeon, right?" Dexter inquired, his eyebrows raised in acknowledgnt of Kian’s intense focus.
"Yep," Kian replied, narrowing his gaze back to the screen as he adjusted his calculations.
"And you’re doing that alone? You’re really sothing," Dexter said, half-smirking while leaning against the table.
Dexter was about to go back to his table when he spotted a piece of paper on Kian’s desk. Hey, what’s this?" He reached for the paper, flipping it over to examine what was written on it.
Kian simply glanced at the paper. "Dunno, just throw it away."
His colleague stared at him weirdly. "Isn’t it yours?" Then he thought of sothing. "Ah, I just rembered, you don’t usually write your calculations."
This ti, Kian raised his eyebrows as he snatched the paper back from Dexter. "Oh, soone else wrote this."
"Who?" Dexter asked, intrigued.
"So kid who’s claiming to be ranked one in analysis. I’m impressed she wrote sothing and didn’t just scribble on it."
"You should take a closer look at it. Her calculations seem pretty reliable," Dexter suggested, leaning in to get a better look at the paper.
"Oh please," Kian said with a dismissive wave of his hand, ready to dismiss the entire thing. He was cynical about the abilities of the younger generation, convinced that most cadets were blowing hot air about their talents.
However, as he began to read the paper closely, his confidence faltered. Her calculations were clean and concise, and every deduction she made was flawless and persuasive. But what caught his attention the most was her creative thod of approaching the problem.
"D@mn it!"
He could only mutter those words, frustration boiling beneath the surface. The final conclusion and the critical step to reaching that conclusion were missing. It was as if he was already on the climax of the story but then it was abruptly cut off because the author decided to go on hiatus.
"Where the f*ck’s the rest of it?" Kian flipped the paper over and over, searching for answers as if so hidden text would magically appear. But he knew better; the solution wasn’t going to materialize from thin air.
"See?" Dexter chid in, leaning closer, clearly enjoying Kian’s dismay. "That kid has got serious talent."
"Go away," Kian shot back, shoving Dexter’s hand away in annoyance. The praise only made his frustration simr. The nagging feeling that he was missing out on sothing important gnawed at him.
Dexter smirked, undeterred. "Co on, I’m just saying. She might surprise you when you finally read the whole thing."
Kian rolled his eyes and carefully put the paper in his pocket, hoping that by keeping it close, maybe the missing pieces would sohow unveil themselves to him. But the emptiness of that last step felt like an anchor weighing him down.
"Hey, you said to throw it away so basically it’s mine," Dexter whined, trying to yank the pocket from Kian’s grip playfully.
"Please," Kian replied, shooting him an incredulous look. "She wrote this for in the first place."
"Okay, okay, chill out! But why don’t you go find the girl instead?"
Kian paused, the suggestion tilting the scales of his thoughts. "You know... that’s not a bad idea."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
10:30 PM.
I slumped imdiately on my bed once I reached my room. Macaron was startled at first since he had been sleeping soundly at the foot of the bed. But once he saw , he cald down—a little too calm, actually, before he decided to nag nonstop.
I threw a pillow at him in an attempt to silence that incessant chatter. "Okay! I’m going!" I relented, my voice muffled by the pillow.
I was about to enter the bathroom when my phone beeped. It was a text from Cypher.
{Remi you still awake? Just want to say sorry about my actions earlier.}
I replied, "That’s okay. I understand why you got a little angry. Even I would scold you for being careless like that."
Cypher’s ssage popped up almost imdiately after sending my response, and I couldn’t help but feel a mix of curiosity and concern.
{Thanks for understanding. It just frustrated seeing you put yourself at risk. I care about you, you know?}
I pondered for a mont, wanting to keep the tone casual but also show that I appreciated his concern. My fingers hovered over the screen as I crafted my reply.
"I know, and I appreciate that. Just trying to keep things interesting, I guess. But I promise I’ll be more careful next ti."
As I hit send, I felt a small rush of satisfaction. Hopefully, that would lighten the mood and reassure him a bit.
I was in the middle of removing my clothes when my phone beeped again.
{A shareholder eting for the Sapphire Blood Guild will be held at Saturday.}
Sweet. I’ll just wait a little more to achieve my dream swimming in money.
I was about to hop in the shower when my phone beeped again. This ti, annoyance flared up within . Seriously, why was I flooded with ssages today?
Furrowing my brow, I noticed that this ssage was from an unidentified number. Judging from the tone, I could practically see that annoying guy’s smirk in my mind.
{This is Kian Hall, we t earlier. Can we talk right now?}
I sneered at his text, the audacity of this bastard completely agitating . He wouldn’t even start with an apology for his earlier behavior.
"Go to hell, you bastard!" I typed angrily, ready to send my reply, but before I could hit ’send,’ my phone buzzed again. Kian was calling.
I ignored the incoming call. Why would I pick up? I had no interest in what he had to say, especially after our last encounter.
Just when I thought he’d take the hint, another ssage popped up.
{I guess you’re asleep already, but I know you’ll be coming tomorrow to the guild anyway, so let’s talk then.}
This cocky bastard. Did he really think I was so assistant he could just order around? It was his fault for underestimating and I guess the reason why he wants to talk to was only because he wants to know the answer of the problem I solved earlier.
Without a second thought, I opened a new ssage and wrote to Ivan. We had exchanged numbers since we were supposed to work together frequently, but I had my limits. I didn’t want to deal with Kian again, and I already had the basic understanding on how to run a guild. Besides, I still have so other work to do.
"Sir Ivan, thank you for letting experience the program but I quit."
Not a minute longer, I quickly received a text from him. "But why? You were doing well with the others."
I wanted to say, "for personal reasons," but then a spark of mischief hit . This could be my chance to get back at that arrogant guy, Kian. Ivan already heard Kian’s opinion of so I might as well use that to pin Kian was the one who pushed to quit.
"Soone told to quit and I can’t help but think that maybe he’s right. How could I join the guild when I’m only ranked 925? I thought I should give the opportunity to another cadet if I was only going to be a burden during my ti there. Please don’t bla that person since he got a point, sorry."
As soon as I hit send, a strange sense of satisfaction washed over .
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