Chapter 56: Ch95. The eye of the storm
"We know that what happens inside a Nest, stays in the Nest." Chief Leblanc said, looking at Kurt with a nonchalant expression. "But we also know that something that shouldn’t have happened, happened. And you will tell me what it was, boy."
The chief arrived a few hours after Evellyn and Nikolai left Kurt’s infirmary room for their classes. He was told that once he had answered the chief’s questions, he would be dismissed from the infirmary and would be able to go back to class.
But Kurt wasn’t expecting chief Leblanc to act so straightforward like that.
In fact, he still remembered what the chief said before he passed out.
About Zaval having done a good job.
Getting rid of a regular for him.
But the thing is that Kurt wasn’t thinking of killing him right away.
Nikolai’s words still rang through his ears, sticking in his mind like glue.
’vengeance only leaves us hollow.’
And Kurt felt that, still lingering in his mind, in his bones.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, chief." Kurt answered. "All I know is that when I came back from fighting the boss of that floor, Zaval was already there, dead, and the Nest’s bubble was already closing. If it weren’t for Caleb, God knows what would’ve happened to us in there."
Leblanc shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
"You’re telling me that you don’t know who killed Zaval?"
"Yes, but more importantly..." Kurt looked straight in Leblanc’s eyes. "Aren’t you at least a bit curious for why the Nest closed after he died, and not the boss on the supposed final floor of the Nest?"
The chief smirked and snapped his fingers.
"You seem to be one of the only three students to have made this correlation. And yes, this idea had occurred to me already, but I’m in no position here to make any assumptions, since the Ishir are allies to the Association. So, for now, I’ll take my leave, but be warned..." Leblanc stared darkly at Kurt. "Not only I, but the Association also knows that you were the target of that Ishir, Zaval, when he got here the first time. So I’d be careful and mindful of what I say and how I act from now on."
And as Leblanc turned to leave, Kurt suddenly raised his voice a little bit.
"Why do you hate regulars so much, chief Leblanc?"
He couldn’t see Leblanc’s expression, but when the chief turned to face Kurt again, the man was smiling.
"I don’t. Why do you ask?"
Kurt fell silent for a second.
"Nothing, I just... Felt certain animosity coming from you in a given occasion. Don’t mind me, I’m probably just overthinking things."
"Yeah, you probably are." Leblanc smiled towards Kurt, turning to leave again.
And as he left, there was an ominous smile on his lips.
Kurt sighed in relief as he felt that everything was finally over, or at least everything related to the incident during the test.
But he still had a lot of questions, like what happened after that, and what was their time score.
So he got up and left the infirmary, hoping to find some answers with his classmates, Evellyn and Nikolai.
And before he could even think about it, he felt the smile sprouting through his lips.
It felt good to think of them as friends.
***
As soon as he opened the door to the classroom, and everyone saw him crossing the threshold, Kurt heard several rounds of applause, and when he turned to face the professor, he saw that not only the professor of Nest Theory was there, but also the headmaster, that mysterious woman from the return ceremony, was there.
And she looked at him with greed.
However, the rounds of applause themselves didn’t sound so enthusiastic, except for Evellyn, Nikolai, and the few other students who survived.
And it wasn’t the only thing that felt strange to him.
There were students of other classes there, not just the Irregular Indigo students, as it would be more likely.
But Kurt couldn’t think of it more deeply, since the headmaster began speaking.
"It’s good to have you back in one piece, Mr. Kurt Blake." She greeted him. "I suppose you’re feeling better, since you decided to join us?"
Kurt felt uncomfortable by the way she was looking at him, but he chose not to show it, answering right away.
"I’m feeling pretty well, thank you. What did I miss?"
"We had to postpone the announcing of the test results, since there was an anomaly that made the Nest close before we could finish the readings." The way she moved her fingers, almost like fidgeting with them but not, made Kurt feel like his thoughts were blurring, but he focused on what she was saying.
"After that, several students from your group came to my office to ask me to postpone the results a bit longer, because they didn’t want to know it without you, since, according to them, you saved them from... A great threat that lived inside the Nest, which we were completely oblivious of. So I decided to wait for your arrival."
’A great threat?’ Kurt raised his brow ever so slightly. ’She did notice that Zaval disappeared, right?’
"... The Association’s chief of the Monitoring Division came to ask you some questions, and he told me that as soon as he was done talking to you, you’d be coming back to class, so I decided to wait here with your classmates."
The way she talked made everything feel suspicious, but Kurt just nodded, going straight to his place, which Evellyn and Nikolai had saved for him, between the two of them.
Kurt sat down, and the professor, a middle-aged man with grizzly hair, narrow glasses, and a soft smile that made Kurt feel uneasy, began speaking.
"It’s common knowledge that the time runs in a different speed inside the Nests, and that’s why Wielders find it so hard to synchronize with the earthly time zone, once they’re back. Which means that the longer you spend in a Nest, the more time will have passed here on Earth." He gave it a brief pause. "But for everyone’s surprise, I’d say, Mr. Kurt Blake and his group of newcomers made it exceptionally fast, breaking the record of ten days, and shortening it by nine."
All the remaining Indigo students fell speechless, jaws slack and eyes wide before the professor’s announcement, but only Kurt just paid attention to what was to come.
"However, as a few among you have told me, it was thanks to Mr. Kurt Blake, who saved all of you who are still standing here..." He paused for a moment, looking straight at Kurt. "Since rules are rules, all of you will remain as students here at the academy. But..."
The smile on the professor’s lips made Kurt understand why he felt uneasy before.
There was cruelty in his eyes, even if only slightly apparent. And he kept speaking after the brief moment of pause.
"We will hold a combat tournament in one month, to make sure that you, survivors, are truly fit for the academy. In the meantime, let’s give you all a round of applause for breaking the test’s record!" The professor finished, giving that wholehearted smile again.
The students from the other classes clapped their hands enthusiastically, like vultures looking at a deer on the brink of death.
Kurt thought of when he used his original skill, and how he felt like dying until he turned it off.
He looked at Evellyn and Nikolai, and the two of them had the same expression on their faces.
"I guess we’re not completely safe here." Evellyn said, with a grim look at the other students, who looked uneasy and uncomfortable.
"It just means we gotta strive to grow stronger, right Kurt?" Nikolai winked at his friend.
"Yeah. It’s good to know that you guys are with me."
’But I do need to get stronger...’ Kurt thought, slightly smiling towards his two friends.
They were the ones who helped him to get out from the Nest, after all.
But when Kurt thought of that, the system beeped in his head.
[TO GET STRONGER]
[NEED TO CONVERT SYSTEM]
[INITIATING SYSTEM CONVERSION]
[TIME REMAINING FOR SYSTEM CONVERSION: 28 DAYS]
