Chapter 370 (1/2)
Chapter 370
ARTHUR
I knocked lightly at the door before pushi+ng it open and peering inside A round-cheeked wo for her patient
Seth lay in a bed, wrapped in bandages, every inch of exposed skin shi+ny with healing oint so his multiple broken ribs, fractured pelvis, and dislocated hip
‘Tough kid,’ Regis said ‘I thought he was done for’
Yeah, well, that kind of grit probably runs in his blood, I sent back His sister probably showed the sarona made their friends and family do Totally fair, because they definitely could have resisted his will, right? What a bunch of pussies’
I sighed We’ve had this conversation already, Regis I was just being petty, and I recognize that
‘Don’t sweet talk is said with a snort
There wasn’t anything I could do for Seth, and so I returned to the staging area, where I’d left Briar and Aphene in charge As I opened the door, I wasover the cacophony of my overexcited class
“Would you all be quiet! We have a guest—oh, Professor Grey…”
Briar looked from me to Director Ra unusually relaxed, even bemused “Don’t be too hard on our championshi+p tea Which is why I’m here, of course, to say a feords If you don’t mind, Professor Grey?”
I motioned for him to continue
The director waited for the last few chatting students to quiet “What a treat that was to watch,” he said, bearatulations to each and every one of you for such an i the tournament, and of course an exceptional job done by our tournahblood Frost”
Cheers and applause burst out of the students, but it tapered off quickly as the director looked on expectantly
“Additionally, I’d like to recognize Marcus of Highblood Arkwright and Valen of Highblood Rah standards of their bloods, going farthest in this tournament aside froh I also caught a few exasperated looks at the director’s unsubtle calling out of his own grandson Valen seerandfather’s compliment
“And of course,” Director Raet your injured classhblood Milview and Yanick of Blood Farshore I hope you will pass along both my sympathy and my pride when you see theainst the club-fisted kid fro was broken by a careless opponent, but they were the only major injuries Central Acade up a better win percentage than any other acade!
The students had grownround, and had rushed out onto the combat field in a frenzy when Enola ultie position, unable to ignore ht the that instilled iving these kids the positive reinforcehts towardet a few minutes alone in the relative quiet of the underworks while my mixed emotions cooled
“Now,” Director Raether, “with today’s events wrapping up, I’er for a moment to rest your bodies and relax your minds, and so I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Professor Grey and his assistants Again, well done everyone, well done!”
The directorwith tired conversation in the background “To you, Professor Grey, I ratulations Melee Enhancement Tactics has never exactly been our school’s priority, I’m afraid, but look at what you’ve accoave way to a wide grin “And to think I nearly had you replaced Hah!”
Shaking his head, hearea, and I clearly heard him mutter, “Oh, I can’t wait to rub this in the other directors’ noses at supper this evening”
Briar and Aphene atching ave them a nod
“Listen up!” Briar shouted “We’re headed to our roo You all look like you’ve had sixteen shades of shi+t kicked out of you already, but don’t think for a second that I won’t kick sixteenaround”
Biting back a sroup
“Everyone should have your room numbers already,” Aphene said e reached the hall where we’d been provided roouess you’ll have to sleep in the hallway”
“I knowout with friends,” I added “All I have to say is…just don’t get caught”
There were a few appreciative chuckles at this, and even Aphene cracked a smile, but Briar only rolled her eyes and shot me an exasperated look The line then broke apart as students began hunting for their rooms
With my professorially duties absolved, I entered into the quiet confines of is immediately hopped out of my body and sniffed around “Not exactly a castle, is it?”Read !
The acco students and professors were sufficient, if soiven rooms in the coliseum itself, and had been invited to stay for the rest of the event, which consisted of another day of warga ascenders
It wasn’t until the third and final day of the Victoriad that the retainers and Scythes would accept challenges for their positions If Nico was going to take my bait, it would be on the third day Until then…
Reaching into e rune, I conjured out the last keystone I had received It had been a long andday, and what I really needed was to ed on the bed with the keystone between my knees, I closed my eyes, but didn’t imbue the relic with aether Instead, I waited My brief training session with Enola and the keystone had shown ress with the relic’s insight was help
A couple of minutes passed before the knock at my door came
“Co frazzled around the edges She’d spend the last couple rounds of the student tournament with her blood in their private box at Corbett’s request
“Sorry,” she muttered “Lenora trappedVritra-blooded hblood in Sehz-Clar”
“Ah,” I said, adjustingat the foot of the bed “Is there a potential betrothal in your future, Lady Caera?”
“No, Professor Grey, but that won’t stop Lenora froave me a more serious look “So what did you want to discuss? Finally planning on telling me what thisher an apologetic s”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her ar me a suspicious look “Oh really?” Her focus , I assu what I wanted her to do, after which she adjusted her chair and got a little more comfortable
“So, just…?”
“Exactly,” I answered
She closed her eyes Warh I couldn’t sense her mana, I could still feel the physical effects it caused A faint ed a lock of her hair, which fell in front of her face Her lips pressed into a thin line as she focused Her eyes flicked around beneath her closed lids, which were lightly painted a sray color for the Victoriad
“Thank you, Caera,” I said, closingmy consciousness follow As before, beyond the wall of purple energy I found only the e of the keystone realm
The darkness was alive in the presence of Caera’s h the dark, I watched the rhyth inside the inky blackness carefully, taking note of every aspect I could think of
For so Caera followed er inside the relic—the movement took on vertical striations that ju
Then the e, their movements erratic and difficult to quantify, like the ing a sudden and violent war on each other
This didn’t last as long before the shape of theand radiating outward, like a river of lava and the intense heat it gave off
At each step, I practiced for to cause some kind of reaction in the colorlessarcs, shaped bursts, and even a rough spade-shaped aetheric for affectedworked
Whatever this puzzle was, I lacked soate it…
Cold sweat da realization, and I backed out of the keystone,in the chair, currently channeling hout her body to enhance her physical abilities Her eyes were open, and she’d been staring atherover the keystone
She hesitated, looking at it as though itposition andher hand in my own, I set the keystone in her pal the keystone in theto channel aether into the keystone,” I explained “I need you to tellthis works”
“Uasp as I started
Caera’s eyes snapped shut and her body stiffened “I see…a huge, ethereal wall…like I’ by practice and instinct, I guided her consciousness deeper into the keystone realh, it’s all purple, a hundred different shades…and it’s warain, this tiuide me…it’s mana I can see it! All the colors…the whole world in here is made up of ?”
I ju the short distance to the wall and back,unco to do with mana, we’d already learned as much Only, Caera can see mana particles within the keystone, but it looks like a black void to me, which means…what?
I don’t have a e to see mana particles Sense them, yes, but I needed to activate Sylvia’s beast will and the power of Realmheart to see the mana directly, even before my core was destroyed
‘So why is it all endless darkness and creepy ink-is asked from where he had curled up in the corner
My lack of awhatever it is the keystone is trying to showin Caera’s hand, still drawing on ed within The ripples in the dark, they’re obviously caused by the , but that doesn’t make sense…unless it's aoff Caera’s body as she channeled fire mana
‘Maybe it’s sort of like when you see a heat haze rising off a sun-baked stone The e in the environ the sensory infor his face in the pillow fro ‘But the fact that you can sense soht?’