Chapter 183: A Quiet Intermezzo
At the main building of the Body Transformation Faculty, Drai sat quietly outside the Dean’s office.
After calming Flo down and exchanging a few words with her earlier, Drai parted ways with the girls to head to his faculty. Although Flo wanted to talk with him more, she still reluctantly left with Auri, as the two had to deal with some matters. Angel of course followed the one she was in charge of.
Following that, Drai headed straight to the administration. He had expected to fill out a report or something, but the staff merely informed him that the Dean wanted to see him. And upon arriving here, the Dean’s secretary told him to wait outside, as the Dean was currently with someone else.
While Drai was pondering whether he should go through another essence assimilation soon, the nearby door suddenly opened, and a figure stepped out.
"Professor Kino?" Drai blurted as he stood up.
The weary-looking man eyed Drai in puzzlement for a few seconds before he somewhat recognized him.
"Drai?" he doubtfully muttered.
Drai nodded and offered a handshake, which Kino accepted while asking, "Where have you been? I thought something happened to you."
"It’s a long story. Anyway, how have you been, Professor? Are you still teaching the Combat 1 Class?"
Kino sighed before replying, "It’s been really hectic for the professors, Drai. Our schedules are full, since we have to fill in for those who... you know. And yes, I’m still in charge of the Combat 1 Class, but now it’s just me. Unfortunately, both Professor Samara and Lorin are no longer with us."
Drai fell silent. He was aware of Samara’s passing, but hearing the news of another associate’s death still troubled him.
At this moment, the secretary appeared at the door and said, "Drai Varz, the Dean is waiting for you."
Hearing this, Kino patted Drai and said with a weak smile, "Anyway, I’m glad you’re fine, and looks like you’ve progressed a lot too. Well, I’ll be around if you want to talk more. Take care, Drai."
"You too, Professor Kino," Drai replied with a wry smile, doubting he’d be around long enough to have another talk with the departing man.
Drai then entered the office and walked a bit until he arrived at a wide room, complete with a set of sofas surrounding a coffee table. On one of the sofas sat a plain-looking man that greeted him with a smile.
"It’s been a while, Drai. Please, take a seat," Herg said, gesturing at the opposite sofa.
"Thanks, Dean Herg," Drai replied before sitting down.
"Sorry for the lack of refreshments," Herg remarked. "As you might’ve known, our faculty has been quite a mess since the invasion."
"I’ve heard that you’re unfit to teach practical classes, Dean. Were you injured badly that night?"
Herg shook his head amusedly. "It’s not that bad—everyone’s just exaggerating. I only lost a chunk of my right chest and broke a few bones. My bones are healed already, so I can move around fine. Our staff just worry too much about me."
"But what about your chest?"
Hearing this, Herg sighed and tugged at the right side of his shirt, revealing a metallic implant.
"The healers couldn’t restore it, so they patched me up with this stuff. My right lung is also artificial now. It doesn’t affect my routine much, but since I can’t apply my transformation skill to these implants, I’m not as versatile in combat anymore."
Although Drai was pretty baffled by Herg’s condition, he still felt relieved, as he had previously thought Herg’s injuries had left the man pretty disabled. Considering everything, the Dean’s current condition wasn’t too bad.
"Now, enough talking about me—what about you, Drai?" Herg said.
"Me? Honestly... I feel better than ever, Dean," Drai replied with an apologetic look.
Seeing Drai’s expression, Herg chuckled and said, "Why are you feeling bad, Drai? If anyone comes out a winner after that unfortunate incident, that’s something worth celebrating."
"Personally, I would rather not put it that way," Drai replied rather grimly as the image of his parents and Ravi surfaced in his mind, along with the others who had departed due to the incident, both from the academy and from the world.
"Forgive me, Drai," Herg hurriedly apologized upon noticing Drai’s change of tone. "I shouldn’t have been that insensitive knowing what you’ve gone through and what you’re dealing with."
The Dean’s words caused Drai to raise an eyebrow as he asked, "You know already?"
Herg nodded. "Just recently, Irina came here to talk. It was then that she told me everything regarding your circumstances. From that, I inferred that you must be the source behind the recent report mentioning Wilfred’s betrayal and Paul’s identity, along with other details—am I right?"
Drai nodded in acknowledgment, thinking he had no reason to hide this matter. However, he still questioned, "So Dean Irina is still active here? But why did she go out of her way to inform you about me?"
Herg contemplated briefly before answering, "Yes, she’s still in charge of the Magic Faculty, although rumors say that the general sentiment of the Velles is for her to resign and handle some family business instead from the safety of their estate. I wouldn’t assume too much though, since this might be untrue.
"And regarding your second question, I’m not too sure. That day, Irina also mentioned that I likely have to let go of you due to your recent growth spurt. Is it true that you’re now a second-stager?"
Drai was slightly taken aback by the sudden inquiry, but since he had mentally prepared himself for such questions, he was able to calmly reply, "Yes. I’m now level ten."
"Hmm, no wonder your appearance has changed quite a lot in just two and a half months. When Irina told me about this, I thought she was joking, but there’s no reason for you to lie as it can easily be disproved. However, your case is an entirely new precedent, Drai, so I’m quite at a loss on how to deal with you. Of course I’d rather have such a multi-generational talent remain our student, but I’d be too selfish to force that on you."
Listening to the Dean, Drai understood what was implied. "I guess it’s up to me then," he said, to which Herg nodded.
Drai had deliberated the matter over the past days, so he immediately said, "In that case, Dean, here’s what I’ve been thinking..."
***
In the campus café that Mango Seekers used to frequent, Drai sat at one of the tables, quietly sipping his coffee as he watched a YouPipe video on a virtual screen projected from his comm. Nested in his ears were wireless earbuds that came with his new comm. Although there was currently no other customer aside from him, Drai didn’t want to bother the few employees there with loud smashing sounds.
A few minutes later, the door chimes tinkled, and two young ladies entered and headed straight to the counter, with a larger lady following behind. After they were done ordering, both of them walked to Drai’s table and took a seat, whereas the third one stood on guard nearby.
"Oh—you girls done?" Drai asked as he took off his earbuds.
Looking at the video, Auri replied, "Yeah. What are you watching? Random shirtless dudes sparring?"
"Just some barehanded techniques," Drai replied. He immediately shut off the screen before putting away his earbuds. Glancing at the ever-stoic Angel, he reflexively tidied himself a bit.
"Are you still not interested in using weapons?" Flo chimed in.
"Other than projectiles, no. Maybe I’ll think of it again if I get a suitable skill," Drai said while eyeing Flo curiously. He wondered why the girl had calmed down completely. Only her slightly reddened and puffed eyes indicated her previous outburst.
Noticing Drai’s stare, Flo smiled faintly and said, "Auri already explained everything, Drai. Now I know there’s nothing to grief about. I mean—you even returned much stronger."
Drai simply shrugged, not wanting to delve too much into the topic lest his friends pry deeper and force him to fabricate more details during his time in the wilderness.
"So how did it go? Did you resign?" Auri asked.
"No, but I’m on an indefinite academic leave now," Drai replied. "I already received permission from Dean Herg."
Auri and Flo suddenly chuckled, puzzling Drai, who immediately asked, "What’s wrong?"
Stifling her chuckle, Flo said, "Nothing, Drai. It’s just that we’ve both been dealing with that too."
"Yeah. That’s the main reason I came here today, to apply for a longer academic leave," Auri added. "I’m now on leave until the end of the semester, and if the situation here doesn’t improve much by then, it’ll automatically extend until the end of the academic year."
"Hmm... What about you, Flo?" Drai asked.
"I consulted the matter with a few professors, and they all suggested that I remain here, though they were also not opposed to me taking a leave. Although the overall situation here is pretty bad, my faculty wasn’t too impacted by the attack, aside from the missing upperclassmen, of course," Flo explained. "In the end, I followed their suggestions and didn’t apply for a leave. But that’s fine—it’s not like my parents can afford private tutors or classes like the ones Auri and Nat are currently attending."
"Hey—I said I can bear your expenses, and I’m sure Nat will gladly chip in too," Auri exclaimed, her face concerned.
Yet, Flo sternly shook her head. "It’s fine. My family aren’t too worried about me staying here. My classes have continued as usual too, so there’s no downsides studying here—well, other than you guys not being around and VV’s hiatus."
The mention of their student group cast a somber mood on the table, as most of their seniors there had been taken away by the Crimson Order, leaving only a meager amount of members that couldn’t handle running the group by themselves, prompting the group’s inactivity.
Before coming here, Drai had intentionally passed by their headquarters, only to find that the building had been completely abandoned, with its front yard engulfed in overgrown shrubbery. Drai had mournfully stood there before eventually leaving, wondering what Max would think or feel if he ever saw what had become of his beloved group.
