Chapter 150 Volume III - Chapter 71: Back to the Academy
We entered the academy through the south gate as if nothing had happened to us.
We didn't look like we came out of a dungeon, we were completely clean and we didn't have any visible injuries, so there were no problems. It was just... the gate was a bit crowded.
Everyone was coming back to the academy, especially today, because the break announced by the academy ends exactly tomorrow. That's why the gates were all packed.
After passing through the gate, we moved a little further to a place where there were fewer people and we were now at the place where we were going to leave.
Alex bowed his head in gratitude before leaving.
"I... cannot express myself with a simple thank you. In the future, when you open that research facility you mentioned, contact me directly and I will join without any problem."
I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder.
"It was just an offer, if you think you can find a better job, that's entirely up to you. For now..."
I hesitated for a moment. Because a sudden thought occurred to me...
Should I invite Alexander to this group of ours?
I thought for a very short time and then sighed.
No... as much as it would help me to get him involved with the others, he probably won't even have time to come to our meetings. I'll put that aside for now.
"You don't have to do anything. Go to your mother, I know you still haven't informed her to surprise her. Spend time with her, start her treatment. And then we'll talk about what to do afterward when you're really free."
Alex opened his mouth again but couldn't say anything. He fixed his brown eyes on the floor and bowed his head.
"Thank you... Thank you really, I won't forget this."
With that, I lowered my hand and turned around.
"You're welcome. Then... goodbye until next time, Alex."
So I took my first step and started to move forward, though I could tell Alex hadn't moved. Other people's voices were coming from everywhere, but... I could tell.
I paused, turned around, and saw that Alex was still facing me, bowing slightly.
I smiled as Alex straightened up. He was looking in my direction, but he wasn't exactly focused on me. It could be that he couldn't see me and was only doing it symbolically because his vision was extremely blurry as a backlash of his skill. And it was going to stay that way for a while.
A smile like mine appeared on his face and then, without a word, he turned away and disappeared into the crowd.
I took a deep breath, then sighed.
'Looks like he really accepted you, huh?'
Sith appeared in front of me again after a long time. He was looking at the spot where Alex had disappeared.
"Yeah, I guess so."
I kept my smile on my face and turned away from the crowd.
The first thing I want to do is of course to go to my room. Even though I have washed and put on clean clothes, I definitely need to rest. Because quite literally my whole body is aching. I'm still pouring mana into the Absolute Mind to suppress the pain and the last potion I drank is wearing off.
Even though I can walk, I might lose my balance and fall if I try to run... I better be fast.
*******
The first thing I did when I got back to my room was to lie on my bed and just 'sleep' for about five hours. It was a sound, dreamless, comfortable, and beautiful sleep. When I woke up, even though my body was still aching, I felt a little better than before.
As I got up, with my refreshed mana, I again used the Absolute Mind to suppress my pain. I opened my watch, went into the contacts, and made a video call to a number without thinking.
The call kept ringing and ringing. I frowned for a moment, since it was the weekend, it should have been a holiday for her too...
Why isn't she answering the call?
Just then, the holographic screen on the watch expanded and the camera turned on. A girl with light brown hair appeared in the image. She had gray eyes like mine and a surprised expression was written on her face.
I smiled.
"Hi, Clara. Well... I'm back."
"When did you get back?"
"Not long ago, I was asleep for a couple of hours because I was tired. But I called you as soon as I woke up."
Clara paused for a while. She seemed to be talking to someone but I couldn't hear the other person clearly.
"Hold on, I'm talking to my brother."
I heard the other person respond to what Clara said, but I couldn't make out anything in the other person's voice.
"Was that your friend?"
"I mean... sort of."
My eyebrows suddenly furrowed.
"What do you mean 'sort of'?"
"He helps me with my studies."
My brows furrowed even more when I hear her saying 'he'.
"A boy, you mean?"
Clara's face suddenly turned ugly.
"Really?"
"What? It's every brother's basic right to be curious about his sister's relationship status!"
Clara sighed deeply.
"There's nothing like that between us."
My hand involuntarily went to my chin and I focused on emptiness.
"Homm..."
Clara looked uneasy.
"There is nothing between us, you say... so it's one-sided then?"
Even though I said it, I said it in a whisper, so Clara didn't understand, but her uneasiness increased.
"What did you say? I don't understand... What do you really think?"
"Nothing, nothing important."
I took my hand off my chin and put a smile on my face.
"I'd still like to meet all your friends sometime."
"Suit yourself..."
Clara immediately moved on to something else in an attempt to change the subject at hand. I realized that, but decided to ignore it. That much teasing was enough.
"Did you get what you wanted?"
I replaced the smile on my face with a proud one.
"Of course, I did. Do you think there's a way I didn't get what I wanted?"
Clara sighed, but her lips curled upward.
"It's good to see you're still the same person."
There was a brief silence between us for a moment.
"How are you settling into your new school? You've made friends, but... If there's anyone who annoys you, just let me know."
I lowered my smile, took a serious stance, and narrowed my eyes.
"I'll make them regret they were ever born."
"We just changed the subject..."
I corrected my statement as quickly as possible and smiled again.
"Then it looks like we don't have a problem for now."
"It's scary how fast you change your attitude..."
I talked to her for about five more minutes, joking and sometimes asking serious questions.
It felt good to hear her voice after a long time, in the real world.
"Got it... I'll hang up then, I have a few more things to do before the day is over."
"Okay."
I raised my hand, waved it toward the holographic screen, and smiled.
"If you run into any problems, you can call me and I'll be right with you. Goodbye, for now.."
"Okay, okay..."
Clara waved her hand in the same way. With that, the call ended. Silence fell over the room once again.
I took a deep breath and opened the notes app on my watch.
<<------------------------------
1-) Investigate the Tenebra Family.
a. Find out why you keep forgetting the images you see.
b. Find the researcher named Jared Huffab.
2-) Heal Celine.
3-) Find Alexander and arrange a trip to the dungeon.
4-) Talk to Ulka about the Maluses and future research.
5-) Delve a little deeper into the Alice matter.
6-) Keep an eye on Paul Demens.
7-) Find a way to suppress the Wiera side.
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Of the things I've already bought and added, I've already taken care of numbers three and four... Of the remaining five, the best thing I can do now is... to visit Celine. After all, I promised her I'd come back safe and sound.
I'll do something else first, though...
With a brief thought, I thought of dungeon rewards and a tab opened in front of me.
<<------------------------------
Rewards earned from all the dungeons you have entered so far, not yet materialized in the world:
Items: [Runic Obsidian Sword] -- [Skill Enhancer] x2 -- [Flame Elementalist (D-) Mastery Orb] -- [Phoenix's Soul Orb]
The items you earn are stored in the system's inventory for the first time only. You can materialize any of them in your world at any time, but once you do so, you will not be able to bring that item back into the system's reward inventory.
------------------------------>>
As I read the list, I closed my eyes and imagined one of the items materializing, then a brief white light filled the room.
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