NOVPUB"Teacher Rocky, do you truly stand by your words from the lecture?"
Xido smiled, a hint of fatigue peering through that smile.
Lanci nodded, his gaze far away.
The two were walking along a stone corridor, a few petals floating on the surface of a small pond in the green garden that lay aside the balcony of the corridor.
"As per my personal research, I honestly believe that the entities in the video don’t resemble the Demon Race I know."
Lanci responded truthfully.
Though he might not necessarily be correct, subjectively those figures seemed to lack the qualifications of the Demon Race.
"..."
Xido meditated for quite a while.
"I can share something with you."
He gently spoke as he looked at the pond.
"Please speak, Teacher Xido."
Lanci currently perceived Xido’s position as quite delicate.
Based on Lanci’s previous understanding, Xido Allendale is in the academic faction of the Grand Sage Isis in the Protoss Empire, and has always maintained an absolutely neutral attitude towards the turmoil in the empire.
As far as positions are concerned, neither of them mentioned a word during their exchanges, but they had a general idea of each other’s inclinations.
"During this month’s evaluation, someone might attempt some brutal actions against Zestira, such as removing her Dragon Horn or eyes."
Xido’s hesitant voice was filled with uncertainty.
"Why?"
Upon hearing those words, Lanci paused briefly before asking.
"It’s merely a speculation."
Xido spoke as far as this and then stopped speaking.
A brief silence ensued between the two.
Lanci roughly understood what Xido meant.
Some things were just not convenient to be said outright.
Xido also suspected that some forces in the Northern Continent were attempting to create a perfect disguise using demon spells, heightening fear and instigating war.
Such experiments and refinement processes would inevitably require samples.
In the Protoss Empire, most individuals belonged to the Demon Race with relatively low degrees of racial mixing.
Zestira’s latest enrolment exam report indicated her pedigree to be close to that of pureblood Demon Race.
Obtaining materials from Zestira might be something of significance.
Xido must know something else, for him to come to such a conclusion.
As the two approached the History Department Office Building, the exterior wall was slightly eroded by time. However, the texture of the brick and stone appeared particularly rich after the melting of the winter snow.
"Thank you for your warning, Teacher Xido."
Upon stepping over the threshold, Lanci finally began speaking at a slow pace.
Warm, dull-yellow light shone from within the building past the door. The faint light from an ancient wrought iron chandelier at the end of the hallway accompanied the shadows on the wall, illuminating the space.
It would be the day after tomorrow, on a Wednesday, the day for this month’s evaluation.
If he could protect Zestira and corroborate Xido’s speculations by identifying suspicious individuals, Xido would likely reveal more intelligence known to neutrals.
"During this time, I would appreciate it if Teacher Rocky could help me manage classroom discipline a bit."
Xido offered a slight smile and sincerely spoke.
The conversation he had with Lanci seemed to naturally dissipate as if it was passing cloud.
"Rest assured, I promise that I’ll duly supervise the academic environment."
Lanci nodded vigorously, showing his sense of responsibility.
...
The sun set, and darkness enveloped the earth, only for dawn to break and illuminate the world once more.
And thus, two days passed in the blink of an eye.
The day of the monthly evaluation at the end of February in Herram.
A gentle pink hue began to disperse the silence and darkness of the night. In the quiet residential district of the Protoss Royal Academy, a single dormitory quietly awakened.
The outer wall of the house was covered with climbing vines, revealing cream-coloured walls within the emerald green. From behind the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window, Zestira slowly sat up in bed.
Her sleepy and bewildered eyes looked somewhat fierce as she scratched her messy hair.
She had to get up early today and arrive at the Boundary Assessment District before seven fifty in the morning. Otherwise, she would be counted as absent, not only losing the chance to earn a large amount of study points available only once a month, but also being deducted many study points as a penalty.
There were already canary chants from the courtyard outside the window.
"..."
She knew that the teacher had probably gotten up long ago and was now feeding the birds in the garden.
Zestira lit up her student bracelet, looked down at it in confusion, and saw that in addition to the time, the dim red text on the bracelet showed that her study points had become [172 (+10)].
"Why did I get so many study points yesterday?"
She mumbled to herself.
There should have been a new study point credited at midnight today, making her total study points 182.
The points appearing in parentheses meant that Teacher Rocky McCarthy had earned the study points for her.
Although 10 study points may not seem like much, even though she is among the top of the preparatory students, she couldn’t get double-digit study points in a single day from regular classes.
Generally speaking, the main way for preparatory students and first-year students to earn study points is on the monthly assessment day.
On the monthly assessment day, getting 100 study points based on performance is considered high already.
If performance and luck are both excellent, it’s even possible to get close to 300 points. For preparatory students, once their total study points reach 1000, they are eligible for early promotion to the first grade.
"I’ve clearly told him he didn’t need to do anything."
Zestira mumbled, stepping off the bed and walking on the soft carpet.
But she was still somewhat moved in her heart.
To earn 10 study points in a day is not even an easy task for upperclassmen.
She hadn’t seen the teacher much these past two days.
He would leave early in the morning and only come back to his room very late. He couldn’t be seen in the lower-grade areas at all, he must be very busy.
The main house was surrounded by dense green plants and vibrant flowers. In one corner of the garden, there was a tall eucalyptus tree, its canopy like a large umbrella, providing plenty of shade for the plants and small creatures below.
Zestira left the house and quickly spotted Lanci in the garden.
She gently approached his direction underneath the large tree.
The garden path was paved with exquisite pebbles. Various flowers were planted on both sides of the path, blooming shyly under the morning light. A pair of white butterflies danced among the flowers, their wings shimmering with a delicate glow in the morning light.
Zestira stopped in front of Lanci.
"Teacher, what’s with these 10 study points."
This time was different from usual. Even if the birds were startled and flew off, a few hesitated before flying back shortly.
It seemed like they had heard from Lanci telling them that Zestira was also a friend. Or maybe they truly realized that this Demon Dragon posed no threat.
"It’s a normal work reward. For the next three days, there will be 10 study points credited each day. As long as I come to school, I can earn study points for you. I was quite busy yesterday and didn’t get to tell you."
Lanci smiled as he put down the bag of grain in his hand.
He completed his employment procedures on Monday and officially started working on Tuesday. Therefore, what Zestira received should be yesterday’s study point reward.
"Teacher, you haven’t been bullied by the upperclassmen in school these past two days, have you?"
Zestira glanced at her bracelet and asked.
She still was a bit worried about Lanci, who spent all his time hanging around the upperclassmen’s area.
"No."
Lanci shook his head naturally.
"That’s good."
What Zestira worried about most was that the teacher might be targeted by upperclassmen.
In the upcoming monthly assessment day, there will be a bounty system.
If you’ve offended someone in school, you might get a bounty.
And if you’ve offended a bunch of people, this figure could multiply.
However, it’s generally impossible to offend that many people in this school.
