Unfortunate Reunion and a Dream

Shay stayed up through the night, figuring out how to regulate his power. Although it would take several days until perfection, he should be able to pretend weakness.

Cold sweat drenched his old high school uniform. He leaned against the window parapet, gasping while thoughts of success filled his mind. 'I think this should suffice.'

He punched the air one last time to ensure his strength wouldn't explode. A feeble breeze swirled around as his arm moved through space, but it wasn't forceful.

Growl.

A gnawing emptiness twisted in Shay's stomach and hunger overwhelmed his vision, as his eyes became blurry. Shay had forgotten to eat anything. Thus, he stepped toward the fridge next to the kitchen unit.

As he opened the latter one's door, a gentle stream of icy air touched his drenched clothes. Shivers engulfed him, closing the refrigerator with a swift circular motion.

'I guess the shower won't hurt.'

Although his stomach shrank and begged for food, it had to wait. He noticed a small wardrobe across from his bed before going to the bathroom.

Since he brought nothing from his previous school, leaving as a 'naked' man, he believed the rooms would be equipped. He checked its contents, unfurling it. He uncovered 10 triple-buttoned, thin, trench coats, black, white outlining the edges. All of them hid dark shirts and pants with the same outlines. When he looked down, three different pairs of boots rested at the bottom.

Shay grasped for one set, heading for a wash. Upon opening the door, a small room revealed itself: shadowy, yet contents inside were recognizable from the outside light. It had enough space to fit a washing machine below a sink and a heated rack beside it, holding a few towels. The toilet was placed at the room's far end, before the shower.

At that time, he knew the full layout of his dorm room, proceeding to wash up, throwing the Academy's clothes in the basin, then switched the singular light on.

'I can't focus my eyes and my body aches like hell. Perhaps my training was excessive.' He sighed.

Warm water soaked his long black hair and cascaded down his body, relieving the stressed muscles as a steam blanket started enveloping him.

Finally, he was done with everything. He wore his new attire and checked himself out, stretching his arms and crouching to test the fit.

'So cozy and thin, I shouldn't feel hot when it's blazing outside, neither my movement should be limited.'

When he looked at the clock above the room's exit, it showed '7:40.'

His mind raced as his heartbeat quickened. 'Oh shit, I still have to make it to the teacher's room!'

Shay rushed, extinguishing the illumination, headed out of the dorm. Its hallways were nothing special. Small, yet efficient, wall lights illuminated the surroundings with soothing yellow light. The ceramic tiles were freshly cleaned, leaving of a flower-ish fragrance.

'Why does it have to be sparkling clean now!' he thought.

He reached the end of the hall, descending through the rounded stairs from the highest floor to the ground one. The five-story concrete dormitory further constricted his time. Multiple students obstructed his path, slowing him down yet again.

However, when he got outside, there was no chance he could make it to the teacher's office while pretending to be weak. Shay gritted his teeth and flexed his leg muscles, preparing for a quick dash.

Whoosh.

Dust appeared above his previous position, dashing straight to the Academy's entrance. All the students around glared at the sprinting shadow, while some scrutinized him, being capable of tracing him with a gaze.

But, as he reached his destination, the control he lacked was troublesome. Several steps ascended, leveling the altitude for the floor height, leading to the glass doors.

Thus, he used one of them as a stopping point.

'Yes, ha ha! I knew I had it in me!'

Before he could continue, his balance leaned back a bit, causing him to fall from the corner of the stairs.

Another student passed by, oblivious to her surroundings.

Crash!

Shay fell on the poor girl passing by, not knowing this might be his second grave mistake. At least he shifted his fall to the side, avoiding the fallen figure.

Catherine looked around, striving to process what had just happened. As she turned her head, Shay was already trying to stand up from his four.

Blaze of fury flamed inside her heart, as she recognized the guy beside her, eyes locking onto his opened weak point.

Thanks to his training, he sensed an attack flying toward his stomach, but he didn't have any time to dodge it. So, the only thing he could do was to embrace it with strengthening that part.

The moment her fist connected, his body shaped into a half moon, flying three meters high, slowly turning on the apex. The pain traveled throughout, while the world was spinning for him. Falling down, he felt the air brushing his back.

Even though she hated him, she positioned herself below Shay and caught him in an embarrassing princess carry. He paid his utmost attention to his stomach, hugging it with both of his hands, pain trying to rupture through inside out.

"Could you… give me… some water?" he said.

Smirk appeared on her countenance as she retorted. "After you apologize to me, you scoundrel!"

Unlike him, she had a backpack packed with study material and a socket for her plastic, custom made bottle.

He was about to make amends, but after clenching for so long, he wanted to know who he spoke with, noticing the familiar face at close distance. While shivering, he parted his lips to release a faint voice. "I… I'm sorry for falling… on you for the second time."

Catherine then allowed him to fall to the ground and handed him water. Rough handling of the situation, but he couldn't complain about it. After all, he had gotten close to her tools.

He took it, opened the lid, and poured half of the liquid over himself. The moisture on his head and the top of his clothes disappeared in a moment, green particles flying around his stomach.

"Ah, I thought I was a goner. Thanks for handing me the bottle." He said, stretching his arm with the container.

Although she was stunned to see his health improve, she acted like a child, grasped for her drink, stomping on her way inside the Academy.

'Fuck, what a strange person.'

Shay got up and headed indoors, noticing the clock read '7:53' through the transparent doors. He didn't hesitate and went through the school grounds, asking around for directions. Luckily, the office was close to the entrance. When he arrived, he knocked at the entryway, waiting for a response.

A familiar voice resonated through the door. "Come in."

He entered and recognized the person in front of him.

"You are a bit late, but it doesn't matter that much." Blarken said.

It was the same guy that had let him sign the contract in the Guarded Forest. Warmth dwelled inside Shay's heart as he continued to listen.

"Here are the keys for your dorm room and the map of the school. Since you missed out on the inspection, you will need it. Also, take the bag beside the table. For some reason, Galia thought it was a radical idea to hand out books and other study materials." He said, letting out a sigh while finger tapping the desk.

"Thank you, sir!"

He was glad that at least someone had some consideration for him.

"Before you leave, your class is on this floor, right next to this cabinet, Class-E."

Shay nodded and exited the chamber, walking to his period with a ringing sound traversing through the hallways.

As he slid open the door, everyone turned their heads, expecting a teacher to come, as a deafening silence filled the room. He reached for the handle with his hand and closed behind him. When he sensed everyone's gaze was locked onto him, he brushed it off his mind and continued. There was one spot that was still vacant that interested him. A seat in the furthest row to the right, far from the entrance, and the teacher's table. He walked to the desk and put his bag beside it, even if he could hang it on the hook for a single purpose.

The class comprised 30 desks, a whiteboard, a teacher's work surface, and a projector that bended light, aiming at the white glimmering area.

When he sat down, his eyelids drooped as his energy reserves depleted, sending him toward the abyss of sleep.

******

"Arthur! Why should I leave you to fucking death!! Don't you understand we all agreed to this!!!" Zoe shouted, tears flowing from her eyes while she shot rays of light in front of her.

"I know we did! But do you think all of us should die here?! At least—"

While Arthur continued to fend off one of the red dragon's claws, a fire ball swept through the air, hitting him to the side. He was sent flying towards the other claw, pointed talons aiming to chop his body.

"No!!!"

As Zoe shouted, sharp blinding light came from her spark shaped amulet, with a white crystal embedded in the middle.

Arthur blew up with strength, pressure thrusting from his presence. He struck his flaming sword to the ground, leaving a 20 meter long crack trailing him. Although he frowned at Zoe, it would be a waste not to use the power. Engulfed by the heat of might, he left a crater behind as he flew to sever the closer dragon's head.

Deafening screeches shouted through their ears. More and more blood gushed from the scales.

"Aaargh!" Arthur roared and gave this strike his full force, piercing through the thick hide, beheading the enormous creature. When the other dragon, smaller, saw the skyrocketing strength, to flee was its only option.

"Fuck, I am glad the other one ran away."

Pant. Pant.

He waited for his breath to stabilize and walked toward Zoe.

"Why did you use the amulet?"

"To save y…"

"We agreed to use it when the 'whole' party is in danger! You know the consequences of using it, right?! At least Luden—"

Slap!

******

Bang!

A marker landed against his forehead, making Shay to jolt out of his seat. While he felt a burning sensation on his forehead, his heart raced, not only because of the dream. Heat entered his head as he checked his surroundings, trying to avoid everyone's gaze, some even letting out a faint sound of laughter.

'That seemed surreal,' he thought as he shook his head to reawaken his senses.

"If you want to doze off, sadly, this isn't the place for it. Now stop clowning around and introduce yourself. We don't have all day to do so." She said.