The Punishment

[This chapter is like a filler chapter but it contains the introduction of an important character.]

"We cultivate our spiritual energy to develop and strengthen our core," The female master mentioned.

Master Wrath was busy after the incident in the headmaster's chamber and was not available for lectures. They sent another master to give lectures in the newbie classroom.

"We have noticed it in the times of crisis that our core develops the most," She continued.

The new female master's name was Calliope. She was a good-looking young woman with big deer-like eyes, smooth silky brown hair tied in a bun, smooth and fair skin, rosy pink lips, and a body with (almost) perfect measurements. A lump of hair kissed her cheek which seemed to multiply her raw attractiveness several folds.

Although, Alan was not interested in these things he commended Nigrosia for having perfect women according to looks.

Miss Calliope wrapped a reddish scarf around her neck and wore a blue-ish overcoat. She seemed to come from a wealthy family as her body language and way of speech seemed formal and polished.

"What happened to Master Wrath?" Alan asked Gunther while whispering even if he knew Master Wrath was busy because of the incident earlier. Miss Calliope noticed him speaking but ignored him.

Alan met Master Wrath earlier outside the classroom and he told him they permit him to stay in the academy. Although he knew they never planned to throw him out, he still faked his joy and gratefulness.

"I don't know," Gunther answered. "I was with you all the time."

"Oh, right?" Alan gave an awkward smile.

"We meditate to cultivate our spiritual core, but meditation is a normal process and takes a lot of time to reach another level," Miss Calliope lectured. She could see lost faces, half-asleep faces, drooling and creepy faces that stared at her, and attentive faces. The classroom had a variety of expressions as if they were served in a buffet.

She pointed at Alan who seemed to be lost and stared outside the window at his left. He stared at the tree outside on which various birds chirped and played around it. "You," She said. Alan turned his face and looked at her. He noticed she pointed her finger towards him.

"Me?" He asked as he tried to confirm.

"Yes, you."

All the students turned to look at his face when he stood up. He could not understand why everyone could notice only him in a classroom of over two dozen students.

"I noticed you were not attentive to my words," Miss Calliope mentioned and crossed her arms.

"It is not like that. I was listening to you, my face was just…" Alan paused amid his explanation as he foreshadowed what was about to happen.

"So you were attentive, huh?" She raised a brow. Alan knew he was about to get lectured if he could not answer her bombardment of questions. "What did I tell last?" She asked.

Alan scratched his cheek while his eyes rolled around as he searched his memory for the answer. Suddenly, a mischievous idea came into his mind. He smiled internally and answered, "So you were attentive, huh?" He perfectly enacted the tone and body language of Miss Calliope when he spoke.

All the students laughed hard at his answer. Alan noticed Miss Calliope's glare as if she wanted to prey on him. He didn't want to make fun of a sweet woman like her, but he wanted to ease the classroom mood.

They all seemed bored and tensed for quite a while, except the creepy and drooling ones. They enjoyed the lecture more than anyone else.

"What is your name?" She asked with her arms still crossed.

"Alan Booney, miss," He replied.

"A commoner, and still has such nerves to make fun of me," She mentioned with a frown. "You lack manners, kid."

Alan squinted at her words. "What a commoner has to do with making fun of her?" He thought.

"Where are you from?"

"The First Province."

Miss Calliope sneered when she heard he was from the first province. He was in touch with Alabusian masses, no wonder he was uncivilized.

"I forgive your this mistake for the sake of the first time," She said. "I would not tolerate it the next time."

"I am sorry," Alan apologized and sat down after she signaled him to sit.

"Hey, you should not piss her off," Gunther mentioned. His voice sounded more of a warning than advice.

"Why?" Alan asked.

"She is close with the headmaster. If you make her mad at you, she might take harsh decisions against you and no one would complain about her for it."

Alan sighed. "The headmaster has given too much freedom to the people close to him. If something needs to change, it is his attitude towards the students."

Gunther tried to comprehend what he said. "What do you mean? What did he do wrong?"

He took a side glance at Gunther and answered, "How ethical was to send little children to fight that bloodthirsty creature while he rested in his cozy chamber?" Gunther listened to it carefully and somewhat found his point logical. "If he is a war hero, he should take responsibility in times of crisis."

"You are saying as if you, a mere child, could manage the academy better than him," Someone said. Alan and Gunther both got startled as they found Miss Calliope standing near them.

They both looked at each other and then smiled awkwardly at her.

"I am sorry again, miss," Alan apologized again, but this time she was not in the mood to let him go.

…

Gunther sighed. One could hear the sigh clearly amidst the meditative silence in the grassy fields outside the newbie academy building.

"She made us stand outside the classroom now," He mentioned. His face showed some signs of strain as he raised his hands high in the air at a right angle from the ground. "We got punished." He sweated as the sun was high in the sky.

In contrary to Gunther, Alan showed no signs of strain on his face, rather Gunther noticed his eyes were closed and he titled his head down.

"Alan?" He said, but Alan did not reply. He understood the guy beside him was again in a deep sleep. "Hey, don't sleep again!"

After some time, the bell rang which meant the classes were over. Miss Calliope exited the classroom and headed towards them. Gunther noticed it and stepped on Alan's foot to wake him up.

"Ah!" Alan moaned in pain and woke up.

Miss Calliope crossed her arms after stopping in front of them and looked at both of their innocent faces. Although both children tried to make an innocent angelic face for her to show mercy on them, she could see the drool on Alan's face which resulted from his sleeping.

"Miss, my arms are in pain," Gunther mentioned in a strained tone.

"You can go," She said. When both the children walked ahead, she stopped Alan. "Not you, commoner boy." Alan stopped mid-way with a confused face and turned to her. Gunther stopped as well but Calliope signaled him to go. He showed hesitation at first for leaving his friend but left anyway and watched from a distance to not get caught by her.

"Were you asleep?" She asked with a frown when Alan stood in front of her.

"Me? No," He denied blatantly but wondered how she came to know. He woke up before she could reach him.

"Wipe the drool off your face," She said.

He wiped off the drool awkwardly from the back of his arm before she asked, "Alan Booney, how did you get entrance into this academy?"

He tried to comprehend what she tried to say.

She added, "You know this is a prestigious academy, not everyone can study here. I heard you can't use spiritual energy. How come you are here?"

'She must have given thought into this,' He thought, and answered, "Even if I don't have spiritual energy, I am skilled in physical combat. I can even combat with various weapons. A high-ranking officer witnessed my skills and referred me here, to the headmaster."

She still seemed unconvinced, but let him go. "No matter how good you are, you still have to obey your masters here or you won't be able to stay here longer," She said and walked away.

…

"What did she say to you?" Gunther asked while they both walked on the street to their accommodation amidst the woods.

"Nothing, she just scolded me," Alan replied.

"Oh, you are always in trouble." Gunther went for a futile approach to tease him. "I thought she took a liking to you."

A strange person wearing a shady hood that covered half his face walked past Alan from the front. While he crossed, he whispered something into Alan's ear.

Alan's eyes expanded in surprise and he spun quickly to look at the person, but could see no one, only the sound of the wind flow.

"What happened?" Gunther asked.

"How did the man disappear?" Alan blurted with a disbelieving face.

"Which man?"

"The one who just walked past us, he suddenly disappeared," Alan mentioned but his eyes expanded more in shock when Gunther said—

"Nobody walked past us since we took the forest route. What are you talking about?"

"How can this be?" Alan thought. "Was I hallucinating? He whispered that into my ear. It felt too real to be a hallucination."

"He wore a hood that covered half his face," He mentioned, hoping for Gunther to remember the person who walked past them.

"No one like that passed by us," Gunther said. "I think you got a heatstroke from standing that long under the sun, and are hallucinating now."