She's Actually Mute?!

Zion decided internally to make friends with Allen but he didn't go right to him, instead, he went inside his room to take a look at it.

"Well, it's not bad," he muttered and placed his sword beside his bed.

There was particularly nothing for him to do so he laid down on his bed and started staring at the ceiling..

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, and soon, it was time for then to assemble at the hall. He came down from his bed, picked his sword and left his room.

As he passed by Allen's room, the door was still open so he peeped inside and saw Allen still sitting at the same position.

'Huh? How is it possible for him to sit for hours without changing position? Does he not feel sour?' He thought as he watched Allen.

While he was still peeping from the corner, he saw a black snake slide in from the open window behind and made its way to allen who seemed oblivious.

'Holy shit!' Zion exclaimed. Black snakes were known to be very dangerous, their poisons were ten times deadlier than ordinary snakes. If nothing was done, Allen could be bitten and when that happens, he might end of dying before treatment comes. He couldn't let that happen, could he?

He grabbed his sword and began to tiptoe inside the room, not wanting to alert the snake which seems to be aiming for its prey— Allen. He watched the snake's movement carefully and calculated when to pull out his sword and strike. When the snake was an inch away from Allen, it prepared to launch its attack but Zion was mlre ready than it. He pulled out his sword, ready to slice the snake but shockingly, Allen moved

His sudden movement caused Zion to halt forcefully and that caused him to lose balance and fall butt down. There was no time to grunt in pain as he watched the next scene unfold before his eyes.

Before the snake could bite Allen, the latter who was thought to be unaware of the intruder grabbed the snake by the head and tossed it aside. The snake was forcefully flung to the wall but before it could land on the ground, Allen moved again and this time, only the bright light of his sword could be seen in the dimly lit room as he sliced the snake into tiny pieces. Blood spilled and scattered all over the wall but that was not what bothered Zion who had been watching him.

What shocked him was the fact that Allen still had his eyes closed.

This marveled Zion because he had never seen someone as strong as the boy, he felt that not even Elijah could do what the kid did. He got up from the floor and made to approach Allen but the latter spoke up.

"Move any closer and I'll cut your legs into scruples."

Zion halted and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by scruples?" He asked Allen.

"Tiny pieces just like that," Allen mumbled and turned his head in the direction the pieces of snakes had scattered.

'Hmmm'. Zion backed away slowly but did not entirely leave the room. He wanted to know how Allen did the magic he did so leaving was not an option for him.

"How did you do that? I mean, you can see everything with your eyes closed. How did you do that?" He asked Allen.

"I am not telling you anything, leave!" Allen replied.

"Even if —" Zion spoke but before he could finish, Allen grabbed the head of his sword.

"I said leave or I'll —"

"Fine," Zion mumbled. "I'll leave but don't think I'll give up simply because you act all powerful and cool."

Zion left the room after glancing at Allen for the last time and when he was far gone, Allen finally opened his eyes.

He gazed at the door with mixed feelings and after some time, he stood up from the ground.

Meanwhile, after Zion had left their quaters, he headed to the hall which wasn't far. On his way, he met Elina, the most quiet of them five seniors.

"Hello, senior Elina," he called out to her.

She seemed to be going to the hall as well so upon hearing her name, she halted and turned around. Seeing Zion, she smiled faintly.

Zion smiled back at Elina, feeling a sense of warmth towards her. "Hey, are you heading to the hall?" he asked, falling into step beside her.

Elina nodded, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Zion expected her to respond verbally, but instead, she simply smiled and gestured for him to follow her.

As they walked, Zion tried to engage Elina in conversation, asking her about her interests and hobbies. But to his surprise, she didn't respond with words. Instead, she used a combination of gestures, facial expressions, and nods to communicate.

As they entered into the hall, Zion felt a sense of gratitude. Having her by his side made him feel warm and happy. It was like having Aria close to him.

"Big brother," Aria suddenly called from afar and ran to his side. Seeing Elina close to him, she pouted and went to stand at the same position, thereby pushing her away.

"Big brother, why are you with her?" She asked, a slight noticeable frown on her face.

"She showed me the way to this place," Zion replied and raised his eyebrows. "Why do you ask? Or can I not be with anyone I chose to?" He asked her.

"I'm sorry big brother," Aria apologized and lowered her head. How could she behave that way in the presence of others?!

Zion smiled faintly. Though upset, he didn't let her notice it. "Next time, be more composed," he leaned and whispered to her ears.

"Y-yes big brother, I will," she stuttered. After some seconds, Aria glanced at Elina who was already walking toward the other seniors. "I heard something about her," she whispered to Zion.

"And what could that be?" Zion asked.

"She's actually mute," Aria whispered to the surprise of Zion.

"Are you sure?" He asked Aria and she nodded with a serious look on her face.

Zion's eyes widened in surprise as he realized that Elina was mute. He felt a pang of embarrassment for not noticing earlier. 'So this is why she didn't say a word to me all those while we were talking.'

"If that is true, then I'll adjust my method of interacting with her," he mumbled.

"Big brother, will you still be close to her?" Aria asked and Zion gazed at her before answering.

"The earlier you accept her as your big sister, the better for you," he whispered while pulling her on her cheeks. He did this playfully so that he would not hurt her feelings for him because he was aware that she liked him.

Aria on her part knew when Zion was being playful and when he was being serious so at this point, she knew he was being serious despite the smile on his face.

"O-okay," she mumbled.

"That's good," Zion and together, they went and joined the others at the front.

"Let us begin," Nux who had carried himself as the senior said. He didn't bother to start with greetings as he felt they were highly unnecessary. "Outside the hall, you are going to see a board hung up on the wall. Go through the board and you will see your names written boldly on the it, now under your names are the activities assigned to you. Each one of you is required to complete those activities daily and failure to do theirs will attract punishment from us. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

"Senior Nux, I have a question!" The same small student who had spoken up yelled.

"Yes, what is it?" Nux asked him.

"Can we help each other?" He asked.

"Well, there is nothing wrong in trying to help each other but bear in mind that the day you don't help that person again and we wish to punish them, you also will be punished," Nux replied and some kids gasped. "So it's better not to help at all."

"Understood," the boy mumbled.

Nux smiled at the boy before continuing. "Another thing, we undergo training every day so make sure you take parts in those trainings. It is for your good."

"Yes!"

"Another thing is that—"

"Hey, can we now go and eat?" Layla who was obvitired of waiting for Nux asked. "Enough of your long sermons and let's go eat, can't you see that they are starving?"

"Can you be more polite?" Nux whispered to Layla who pretended like she wasn't the one he was talking to. Facing the students, he cleared his throat. "Sorry everyone, let's settle down so that dinner can be served."

The students nodded and they began to settle down immediately. Zion and Aria hadn't eaten anything much so they were pretty much hungry. They quickly found a spot and sat down.

After everyone had finally settled down, two women entered the hall carrying two trays of dish in both hands. Each one of the students carried a plate of food and helped themselves with it.

While Zion and Aria were eating, Elina walked to them and gestured to the empty seat besidesl Zion.

"You want to join us?" Zion asked, quite surprised. She had left where the other seniors were sitting separately and came to join him which seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Nonetheless, she nodded her head and sat down.