Next Day.
"Everyone already submitted their list of mbers, and thankfully I don’t need to randomly assign you with each other," Instructor Jude said, his voice echoing across the lecture hall. "Oh, by the way, there will be squad tests for lecture classes as well. That’s it, you may now proceed to your next class."
I sighed in relief as I turned my head and glared at my schoolmates, who imdiately averted their gazes away from . I couldn’t shake the mory of how I had safely went my way back to my dorm room after the previous day’s events.
Cypher had decided to finish his training that ti when our conversation ended, so we both walked back to our dorm together.
"So, have you finalized your mbers?" I asked, trying to keep the mood light as we strolled through the forest.
"I still need one mber, and I know it’s late, but I wanted to approach you and ask if you want to join my group," Cypher said, pausing as he glanced at the ground, a hint of seriousness in his voice. "But I was surrounded by our classmates that ti."
I smiled at him. "That’s okay. I already tead up with Zeke and a transferee, but—"
Suddenly, I noticed that he had stopped walking. I turned back, concerned. "Why did you stop?"
He shook his head as if shaking off a daze and hurried to catch up with . "Who’s this Zeke?"
My brows creased before smiling. "Oh, I forgot to tell you! Zeke is in short for Ezekiel. He told to call him that, and I said okay since calling his full na is so tiring."
What I missed wholly was the way Cypher’s expression shifted, a deeper intensity flickering in his eyes. "What if you join my squad instead?" he asked seriously.
I laughed, thinking he was only joking. "Silly. You know that once I join you, everyone would complain, and besides, I already said yes to Zeke. I can’t just go back on my word, can I?"
As we entered the building, I suddenly felt a wave of tension in the air. Our classmates were already waiting for in the lobby. My eyes widened, and I was about to run again when sothing strange happened. Instead of dashing towards , they quickly looked away and pretended to do sothing else entirely.
I didn’t realize that Cypher was silently glaring at them.
One student, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere, attempted to call out. "There she— mmpf!" His voice was abruptly silenced as another student quickly covered his mouth, hissing, "Shut up! Can’t you see who she’s with right now?"
"What’s wrong with them?" I muttered under my breath.
Just monts ago, they looked like a pack of hungry hyenas waiting to pounce on , and now they resembled like obedient puppies with their heads down.
"Are you seeing this right now?" I looked at Cypher who quickly wore a smile. "They were the ones who was chasing a while ago."
When the students overheard , they imdiately muttered random excuses as they bolted toward their dorms, seemingly desperate to put distance between us until the lobby is completely empty.
"I think I left the oven open."
"Didn’t our Professor said that we have a project to work on?"
"I forgot to put my shirt on."
Cypher chuckled at my question. "Maybe they got tired of chasing you."
I shook my head, still bewildered by the sudden shift. "Let’s just go to our rooms. Today is really tiring for ."
And that’s how my night ended, peacefully... I supposed.
I was walking to my next class when Ezekiel walked up to , "By the way the other two mbers are Alena Mordue and Hannah Rustov."
I nodded, trying to rember their nas when soone shouted from behind, "Ah, they’re over there!"
At that mont, the other team mbers arrived. Hannah and Alena were chatting loudly as Adrian was silently behind them.
"Since we’re in the sa team now, let’s go get so food together!" Alena spoke excitedly, a wide grin on her face. I couldn’t help but wonder if her enthusiasm had sothing to do with being on a team with Ezekiel.
"So where are we going?" Ezekiel asked, looking between us.
"Mmm... well, what do you want to eat, Ezekiel?" Hannah inquired, her interest piqued.
"I’m fine with anything," Ezekiel replied.
I could sense that "anything" didn’t include just any random choice. I knew him well enough to know he had an exact preference.
"Let’s just go to Mcdoodles," I suggested.
"Mcdoodles? A fast-food restaurant?" Alena raised her eyebrow at my suggestion, clearly repulsed by it.
"Yeah! Why not?" I glanced around for their response. "Is everybody okay with that?"
...Sure," Ezekiel said, shrugging slightly, but there was a spark of excitent in his eyes at the ntion of the fast-food restaurant.
With the decision made, we all started walking when Hannah ca up beside , her expression a mixture of excitent and nervousness. "Remillia, rember ? I was the one who invited you to go to an auction this Friday. Do you still want to co with ?"
I hesitated before politely declining her. "There’s no need for that." The truth was, I was really curious about the daggers but I didn’t want to go all the way to Sylphora just to stare at it.
"But why? Those dagger collection are the last of its kind! It’s much better for you to use them since you’re amazing at utilizing daggers," Hannah argued, her enthusiasm undeterred.
Ezekiel, who had been listening silently to our conversation, interjected with a quiet, "Dagger collection?"
I could feel the weight of Hannah’s expectations pressing down on , but I forced a smile. As much as I wanted to join her, I was a bit tight on money. "It’s fine. I still have my previous daggers." Thankfully, we arrived at the restaurant just then, and I felt a rush of relief. I didn’t want to continue the conversation.
Ezekiel went in first, clearly unable to contain his excitent any longer. I followed him, silently laughing at his enthusiasm as the scent of fried food wafted towards us like an irresistible invitation.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The rest of the week passed by silently, and now it was Monday again. Our first class was Combat Training, although today we would just survey dungeons.
Normally, when Heroes find a dungeon, their guild would dispatch Vanguards in advance to gather information about the environnt, enemies, and any potential obstacles. In our training, we would act as the Vanguards.
"Ah, it’s so hot in here," Alena complained, wiping a sweat from her brow.
"We should have bought fans in here," Hannah suggested, clearly uncomfortable in the sweltering heat.
"Anyone here who has a wind attribute?" Ezekiel asked but we only shook our heads.
We are currently inside a Dungeon covered in lava, the heat radiating off the ground making it feel like we were walking through an oven.
After about half an hour of navigating the intense heat and the winding pathways, the road forked into three separate branches.
"I think this is the right path," Adrian suddenly declared, pointing toward the left path with a serious face.
Sothing about his deanor struck as suspicious. I activated my ability, focusing my senses. As I suspected, there was a trap set there, the signs glowing ominously just out of sight.
"No, that’s the wrong place," I said firmly, pointing toward the middle path. "This is the right path."
"What? No, it isn’t," Adrian disagreed, his tone dismissive.
Adrian was intentionally trying to lead us into a trap. He must have a set so sort of a life-threatening trap for Ezekiel.
"In a squad, it’s pretty natural to listen to your scout," Hannah chid in, her voice dripping with uncertainty as she glanced between Adrian and .
"...." Adrian ignored Hannah as he stared at Ezekiel. It was clear he was attempting to sway him.
Too bad for him, Ezekiel was also on my side.
"Let’s go where Remillia says." Ezekiel said.
"...Don’t regret it later." Adrian muttered, his deanor shifting to a mix of annoyance and begrudging acceptance.
I sneered lightly at him, a sense of satisfaction filling . "Of course, now shall we go?"
We advanced forward, keeping our guard up.
Adrian, however, was not finished. He continued to suggest wrong paths, attempting to lure us toward traps, especially aiming at Ezekiel. However, I was always there to prevent him.
"Guys, I think it’s this way, for real this ti," Adrian insisted. "There aren’t traces of monster here..."
"No, it’s not," I interrupted sharply, irritation bubbling within .
"Trust just this once. Ezekiel, co with . Wouldn’t it be more efficient to split into two groups?" Adrian suggested, feigning friendliness.
"Like I said, NO. It’s much faster to find the exit as a group," I retorted, not giving in.
While I had to comnd him for his persistence, it was clear that he was intentionally trying to disrupt my focus in finding the exit faster.
The annoyance bubbling to the surface, I grabbed Ezekiel by the hand, eager to keep him close. "Just stay by my side." Then I turned to the others, "The rest, follow closely..." My gaze lingering on Adrian for a brief mont. "Especially you."
I watched as his face grew increasingly irritated, but that was no concern of mine.
"Um..." Ezekiel began, but I ignored whatever he was about to say, refusing to let him distract from finding the right path through this maze-like Lava Dungeon.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we caught a glimpse of our instructor waiting at the exit, relief washing over . I could see him leaning casually against the entrance.
"Team Ezekiel!" Instructor Jude spotted us and called out in a thunderous voice. We hurriedly ran up and lined up in front of him, anticipation mingling with the adrenaline still coursing through our veins.
"What are your findings?" he asked, his gaze sharp as he looked at each of us in turn.
Ezekiel stepped forward, a confident glint in his eyes as he recited the results of our exploration. The instructor listened intently, occasionally glancing down at a list he held. A few monts later, a faint smile spread across Jude’s face.
"Based on the rank of the monsters distributed in the Dungeon, the Dungeon’s level is most likely Standard Grade 4."
"You’ve got perfect score," Jude’s approval filled with a sense of pride, and I could see that Ezekiel’s face illuminated with joy, while the rest of the team shared in the celebration. However, Adrian stood to the side, arms crossed and a sour look etched on his face.
Ezekiel’s face turned bright sa with the other mbers only Adrian had a sour look on his face.
"Oh and... this is a training site not a dating place. I don’t want the two of you to lose focus on your studies." Instructor Jude said seriously before leaving us.
I looked down and realized I was still holding Ezekiel’s hand. "Oh sorry, I forgot to let go because of Instructor Jude shouting at us." I imdiately released my grip, but to my surprise, he didn’t let go.
"Zeke?" I said softly, slightly puzzled.
Ezekiel was covering his face with his other hand, the tips of his ears turning a shade of crimson.
"Zeke, you can let go of my hand now." I whispered close to his ears.
"S-sorry!" he stamred, startled as if he had just woken up from a dream. He quickly released my hand and backed away at least 10 steps away from .
I looked at him questioningly. Does my breath sll bad?
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