"Okay, class, you have a new classmate..." Mister Nocty’s voice silenced the class—except for the finger-snapping, which had been a natural background noise for their class. He then turned to Zira and nodded at her.
"Introduce yourself," he said as he stepped aside.
Zira bead at everyone, her mood at an all-ti high. She then twisted on her heel and approached the board. Picking up a chalk, she wrote her na.
The chalk made a tapping noise against the board, drawing everyone’s eyes to the white letters. Once Zira finished, she turned around and bead at everyone.
"Hello, everyone! My na’s Zira and I’ll be your classmate!" She raised a hand and sweetly tilted her head to the side. "I already feel like I know you all! I hope we all get along!"
"Zira, why don’t you take a seat in the vacant seat over there?" Mister Nocty kindly offered, making Zira happily nod.
She searched for the vacant seat, only to find it was the one in front of Ran. As she started skipping toward her seat, Mister Nocty stood at the front.
"Zira was accepted into the academy despite being late, due to special circumstances, so be nice to her," the teacher told their class. "Now, get your book and open it to page..."
As Mister Nocty moved on and most of the students took out their books, so others couldn’t help but glance at Zira’s seat. So young male classmates frowned, seeing that Zira was now beaming and chatting with Ran.
"Why did she have to sit there?" one classmate muttered. "That failure red stripe—tch."
"Wonder if she has a boyfriend," another one joked quietly, smirking as interest flickered in his eyes. His gaze then fell on her exposed legs, and he licked his lips.
Another one was just quietly staring at her, and then suddenly, she turned her head and t his eyes. Zira flashed him a smile, and his breath hitched, his face flushing.
But not all of them gazed at her with such perverseness or attraction. Others were simply curious about what Mister Nocty ant by "special circumstance."
anwhile, so young ladies in their class only looked at Zira for two reasons: they found her beautiful and wanted to invite her to lunch, or they simply disliked her for no reason.
"She’s not even that pretty," one girl hissed, staring at her male classmate before settling her gaze on their team’s red stripe. "Tch!" she glared at Zira. "...that bitch."
"Just ignore her," one girl told the seething one. "She’s not worth it."
"She’s not that pretty... right? Wait, am I the only one who sees how fake she is?"
Another small group, on the other hand, said, "I wonder if we could be friends...?"
"So pretty," another whispered, unable to take their eyes off her. "Our class’s overall score compared to the other sections might be low, but I think our class might be able to cinch the Campus Belle title."
Tak! Tak! Tak!
"Stop talking now," Mister Nocty tapped his stick against the desk to get their attention. "Students, eyes here."
anwhile, Zira lowered her head and placed a hand on the side of her mouth, whispering, "Big Brother Ran, isn’t it nice? We’re together again."
Ran frowned as he lowered his head, whispering back, "I told you not to call that."
"Why not?" Zira pouted dejectedly. "Fine, I’m sorry, classmate."
A deep sigh escaped Ran, his head throbbing due to lack of sleep, and also because having Zira around was giving him a headache. He watched as Zira slowly turned to listen to their lesson, but she didn’t succeed.
When Zira turned, her head stopped mid-turn. Her eyes locked on the two high chairs placed side by side right beside her desk. She blinked and blinked so more before her eyes started to twinkle.
So—so cute!!
Zira dramatically covered her mouth to muffle a squeal. But she couldn’t take her eyes off the twins and just stared at them as if her eyes would soon be glued to them.
But unlike Zira, another person was also staring at the twins—Mikel.
When Mikel heard that Zira would go undercover as a student—the academy’s way of adding extra layers of protection for their students—he didn’t think it would affect him that much. After all, Ran was the one dealing with her and her request to sleep in their room.
But lo and behold, when he reached their classroom, Boom’s chair, which was originally placed in front of Ran, was now in front of his. Now, he had two toddlers ready to run their mouths once he napped.
Great.
Mikel cupped his face, his boredom written across it.
"Do you think she brought snacks?" Boom leaned in beside Blitz and whispered.
Blitz whispered back, "She slls like strawberry shampoo. I like her."
Mikel from behind them comnted in his mind: Of course, you do.
From his peripheral vision, he caught Zira staring in his direction. But when he glanced at her, his face twitched.
She’s just going to stare at the twins like that?
If this were him, Mister Nocty would’ve called him out already. However, their horoom teacher was just ignoring her, even when it was obvious he saw Zira wasn’t listening.
[Master, I believe you should apply to Zone Zero to have the sa privileges as her. You are more than qualified.]
This privilege is different, Doom. It’s called pretty privilege.
[Master, would you like to adjust your facial symtry by 5%? For fairness.]
Don’t. You. Dare.
"So, for our next activity, you will be working with each other for the second trial of this class," Mister Nocty stopped at a few desks in the class, scanning their faces. "Since you’ve already had your group, I’ll explain the chanics. So, listen very carefully."
Upon saying that, Mister Nocty imdiately explained their next group activity. As expected, all students paid attention to his instructions for different reasons, not just because it was a school activity. Others simply wanted to earn more points and not beco the bottom feeders, while those at the top of the list were determined to stay at the top.
Once their horoom teacher finished explaining, he snapped his eyes at Eli.
"In this round, Eli will not be able to join mainly because it would be unfair to others," Mister Nocty added. "And with that, Zira may replace Eli and join his team instead. Is that alright with you?"
"Yes, teacher~!"
Mister Nocty nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. If you understand everything, clear your desk and et at the Academy’s Old Building."
*
*
*
Their group activity for today was simple: they had to find their way out of the building. There weren’t any spirits to catch or hurt; they just needed to get out of the building.
Soon, their class stood before an old building just on the outer layer of the campus structure.
"This should be easy," one of the red stripes of their class snickered. He held his hands behind his head, showcasing his confidence in this group activity. "We just need to get out of this creepy building, right?"
Just like many other students, they chuckled and were quite relaxed. After the first group activity, this one should be easier. Although the first one was already easy, this didn’t involve dealing with spirits.
Even the group that ca last—Mikel’s group—wasn’t as tense as in the first activity. Even though they fought the Ruminant King, there was nothing to make them think another incident like that would occur.
But Mikel had far more reason not to think much about this group activity. He had Haleth’s passive skills that enhanced his Night Vision, so he would easily find his way out.
"We might get out of here first," he whispered, looking at everyone and gaining their attention.
Surrounding him were Zira, Ran, and the twins. They all looked at him with wide eyes. Mikel just smirked slightly as he shrugged.
"Just saying," he said. "Let’s just stick together."
The twins bead, and with Zira now with them, Mikel had three faces beaming at him. Ran, on the other hand, nodded.
"I think that’s the best thing to do," Ran uttered.
"Should we hold hands, then?" Blitz opened his little hands, one already holding Zira’s. Boom held her other hand.
Ran just opened his mouth when Mikel’s dry answer ca out.
"No."
Blitz frowned while Ran bit his tongue. After all, Ran was thinking of holding hands just so they wouldn’t get separated.
Suddenly, Mister Nocty’s clap echoed to get their attention. Everyone turned to face their horoom teacher, who was standing on the steps leading up to the building.
"This building used to be the academy’s main building. However, because of its special and unique structure, the academy decided to use it as part of its education program," he added in a knowing tone. "Once you get in, you’ll understand why."
He then paused, his expression becoming more serious. "Rember my instructions and warning. This group activity might seem easy, but it’s easier said than done."
"Now, you may all go."
With that, he stepped aside and gave way to the students. But as he observed his students walking past him, none of them seed to take his warning seriously. If anything, they were just casually strolling into the entrance of the building.
Mister Nocty shook his head and sighed.
Just because they had it easy in their first trial, they’d grown confident—too confident.
Although confidence was good for young shamans like them, they also needed to learn a sense of alertness. After all, complacency had claid many shamans’ lives.
But as the last group entered, Mister Nocty’s brows rose. Mikel was just standing outside.
"What are you still doing, Graves?" he called. "Go inside. Your ti is starting."
"Uh..." Mikel rubbed his forehead and looked back at him. "Mr. Nocty, for so reason, I can’t get in."
"What do you an?"
Mikel then poked the invisible barrier, eyes on his teacher. "See?" he shrugged. "I can’t even get my finger in."
Silence followed his answer.
Mister Nocty blinked as he blurted out, "That’s... impossible."
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