Chapter 74 - Back to Class

Once Alex is done patching us up, he returns to the others and they engage in a private conversation. Thanks to him, all of my shallow wounds have neatly closed up without leaving any scars. Additionally, because all of my bones were in one piece, the healing process was a lot less draining. Even though I trust Alex's skills completely, I still stand up to fully inspect my body in case he missed a wound. Unexpectedly, I find nothing, his work is flawless.

A few minutes pass, and Adam finally announces their collective verdict. "After much deliberation with my colleagues, Zora, Alex, and Ivana. We have decided that the winner of this duel is….. Alden!! Congrats!"

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "I would have died at the end if you didn't stop her though?"

Adam inhales to reply, but Zora interrupts him. "Yes! But the point of the duel was ta subdue yer opponent, not kill 'em!! And we decided yer attack was the least dangerous of the two, so ya win today by default! Congrats!"

"Yeah, that was honestly really dangerous Vivi." Ivana says with a condemning glance towards Sylvia.

In response, Sylvia sighs, she has no choice but to agree with the result. "Yes, sorry everyone, I was testing out a new aspect of my [melody] and found myself having difficulty maintaining control."

She turns to face me and bows. "I'm really sorry Alden, please find it in yourself to forgive me!"

The sight takes me by surprise, and I beg her to raise her head. "I-It's fine, please don't bow to me like that!! Anyways, I also somewhat lost my sense of reasoning there… "

She raises her head and smiles. "If you say so…Would you be alright with doing this again next week then?"

'What a battle junky…'

I grin. "You bet." 

Despite their clear cut decision, I'm not certain I even want to count this as a win in my book to be honest. Sure, Sylvia went beyond the purpose of the duel, but had this been a real fight, she would most likely have won. Perhaps I may have been able to twist my body to avoid immediate death, but I would have still suffered an incapacitating injury. There is also no guarantee that my attack would have taken her out since it was slightly less lethal. As such, I am more comfortable with calling this a draw instead which would make my score against her: 1 victory, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Clearly, I haven't quite caught up to her yet. To avoid being demotivated, I glance at my chart to visualize my progress.

Name - Alden Thorne

Wins - 20

Losses- 1

Strength - Splendid

Speed - Great

Reflexes - Excellent

Logical thinking - Outstanding

Accuracy - Satisfactory

Defense - Sublime (2)

Rank - 19th seat

A few of my traits have seen improvement such as strength which went from excellent to splendid and defense which went from sublime (1) to sublime (2), though I'm unsure how far the sublime rating goes. Even my rank itself saw an increase, officially putting me within the top 20. In the weekly showdowns, I've also managed to increase my win count up to twenty with only one loss. I've estimated that If I do not suffer another setback, I should be able to reach the top 10, either before or shortly after next month's real-world event.

After the first week's battle royale, Showdowns returned to their regular format which is a series of one on one battles at the end of the week. Unlike my first Showdown against Peregrine, whose arrogance was his downfall, none of the battles I've won after were easy. It appears that DaiKar matches students based on relative skill, which creates a much more competitive and challenging scene. As a testament to that, the one Showdown I lost was especially dreadful. I had to fight against Sophia, who really showed me the extent of her skill. My skin shivers just remembering our battle. Although extremely close, I ultimately fell victim to an attack she accurately titled 'Ice Maiden'. Though I'm still unsure if naming attacks out-loud is accepted or not, I must admit its name was fitting. She managed to immobilize me by having me step into a trap, and then I was impaled from all sides by sharp pillars of ice which led to my instant death. I was already certain that she was exceptional even among other [enlightened], but she proved it to me further during our battle. I'll have to rethink my strategy if I want to defeat Sophia in the near future. 

Thanks to her, however, and everyone else I have come across, this past month I have felt that there is so much more I can do with my ability, so many unexplored facets of it. While I am currently focusing all of my efforts on its maneuverability and practical uses, I am sure that what I am currently doing is merely the tip of the iceberg. In fact, I've had this budding feeling within me, I can't exactly put it into words or really explain it, but I feel like the more I use and modify the Song of Discord or crescendo to fit my needs, the closer I get to figuring out what it is. Recently, I get the sense that I just need some sort of extra push to really grasp that feeling. 

Regardless, there is no use in rushing. As Maestro Lauren said when I mentioned it to her, 'all comes in due time'.With a sigh, I look down at my rugged and calloused hands.

'Still, hopefully that push comes soon.'

Pulling me out of my thoughts, my watch rings and a message pops up.

[High importance - To all students registered for INST M2-1 and PURE F2-2, please note that your Professors have arrived on DaiKar premises. You are now expected to attend all courses as per your schedule.]

Zora's eyes widen and she jumps with joy.

"Finally! I was waitin' on this for so long!!"

Alex frowns. "Hm, if we are to attend as per schedule, then our next class is in fifteen minutes."

"Ah, you're totally right." I say as I look at the time.

In a rush, we bid farewell to the others and head towards our class without even changing out of our battle uniforms. While I am the only one to have fought, Zora and Alex are also wearing theirs, just like Ivana and Adam. That is because they were all supposed to duel today as well. Zora was supposed to go against Adam, who has somewhat fallen back into her graces while Ivana on the other hand, was supposed to face off against Alex. We've all realized that while simulation battles where everything is permitted do allow for more intense situations and the freedom to really go all out, real battles are just as important. They ground our minds and prevent us from forgetting that once we've graduated, we will not be fighting in the virtual world anymore. 

As I run through the trees, I raise my warm and take a whiff of my armpits.

I reel back at the smell. "I stink! Should I really just go to class like this?!" 

Zora chuckles at my shock. "It's okay turtle, ya don't got any girls ta impress in there. Goldie is more than enough for ya!"

"I know she is but I sti- Wait! what did you just say?!" 

Before I can question Zora further, Alex places his hand on my shoulder, plays his [melody], and the smell gradually disappears, until my armpits become odorless.

Perplexed, I ask him: " What did you just do?"

He takes a second to finish what he was doing, and answers. "The smell, it's caused by bacteria. I stopped bacterial growth with my [melody], so there is no longer any smell." He says with a stoic face.

'That's pretty handy. More importantly though, how does he even know this stuff?!'

He lifts his hand and adds: "You still need to shower later, you're quite dirty."

"...Right." I reply with a dejected expression.

We finally arrive at DaiKar's main gates, enter and head towards the first of the two classes. The one I must take today is INST M2-1, which is supposed to explore the development and manufacturing of instruments. Wasting no time, we cross the classroom's main entrance, and find seats towards the center. It doesn't take long for various other trainees to arrive, all appearing to have been in a haste. It is evident that no one expected this sudden change in schedule. Some of them are panting, while others are also donning the battle uniform. 

Even less than a minute before the class's official beginning time, there are still much fewer attendees than there are in the core classes, which makes sense since there is a long list of complementary courses. Including Alex and Zora, there are maybe thirty or so trainees here whom I imagine are also interested in the manufacturing process of instruments.

We are all chatting away when finally, a woman steps on the front stage reserved for the Professors. She appears to be middle-aged, well into her forties with thick glasses covering her eyes. Her head is adorned by long straight ashen hair decorated with multiple ornaments of unknown meaning. From looking into her soul I can tell that she has barely stepped foot into the second stage, which may mean that her physical appearance does not reflect her age at all. It's still uncertain as to how much because [enlightened] tend to not die of old age, but it is documented that progressing further on the path of [enlightenment] somewhat increases lifespan, or at least makes one look younger.

When I look more intently through her soul , however, something bothers me. Beyond the fact that she has just barely reached the second stage, something else is amiss. In theory, there is nothing wrong with her soul, it looks the way it should and bears no difference when compared to that of other Professors. Nonetheless, my intuition is ringing alarm bells, something is fishy about her. The more I look at her, the stronger my suspicions grow.

As my stare intensifies, the Professor scans the class. At one point, though it is hard to tell behind those thick glasses, I can swear our eyes meet. Then, for a split second, I see a smile form on her face, which promptly disappears as she scans the rest of the class.

'Something's not right but I don't know what…'