Exposed Already?!

When she opened her eyes, Aayla first noticed the pure white walls, ceiling and floor. She sat up and winced in pain. Her arms and legs felt stiff while her brain throbbed with a horrendous headache. As Aayla dazedly looked around the room, the door opened and a tall woman dressed in a long white coat with short, frizzy brown hair stepped into the room.

"Good afternoon, Miss Glowery. We are currently in the medical wing of the Nafriton Residence Hall. I'm Alicia Rouse, the newly appointed head nurse. How are you feeling?"

Wait, Alicia Rouse? That name sounds strangely familiar.

"Like I got trampled by an angry herd of elephants."

"That's to be expected considering how you tried to take on a magically enhanced wild animal with your bare hands. Really, you resemble your godmother in many ways."

Nurse Rouse rolled up the papers in her hand into a tube then whacked Aayla on the head with them.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Hmm. A slowed reaction. That was for being an idiot who tried to get herself killed. I swear, both you and your godmother just love getting into all sorts of trouble. Stop pulling stunts that could get you killed!"

Aayla rubbed her aching head and sighed. Nurse Rouse wrote down a few more things on her clipboard.

"Right now, you're mostly experiencing physical exhaustion and mana depletion. You'll be perfectly well in a couple of days. Until then, you'll need to get plenty of bedrest. I understand that your mana depletion may also be related to a previous medical condition. Could talk a bit more about that?"

"I can't. All that I know is that I can't use mana and I'm healthy otherwise. I've never found someone that could explain the exact cause."

Nurse Rouse frowned and scribbled a few more items down.

"All right then. We'll need to run a few tests then for your medical records here."

Oh. This might be bad. Are Tellans internally different from Terrans? A knock that sounded on the door conveniently saved Aayla for now.

"The tests will be pushed off for later. Deputy Heston and Headmaster Marin want to talk with you, so I'll let them know that you're awake. A meal should arrive for you shortly."

Nurse Rouse promptly left the room and closed the door. Several minutes later, her door slammed open and she was engulfed in a tight hug. Aayla tapped frantically on Ramona's back as she squeezed tighter and tighter. Ramona finally let go just when Aayla felt like she was going to pass out from a lack of air.

"Are you crazy? What were you thinking fighting that bear without magic or weapons? You could have died. I'm so glad that you're alright. What exactly happened after I left? We have a few minutes before the headmaster gets here so skip to the part about the bear."

Aayla quickly recounted how they found the carnage at the carriage station and dealt with the bear menacing the horses in the stable.

"…and that's how we got back to campus. I fell asleep on the way back. By the way, do you know what happened to the stuff we bought? And the collar. I can't remember if I took it when we left."

Ramona nodded and took a brass key with a tag that said 'W-101' out of her pocket. She handed Aayla the key.

"Daren gave me your things, so I put them in the single room on the first floor. You slept in that room last night. By the way, you've only been out a few hours. As for the collar, the headmaster confiscated it for the authorities. Do you remember anything at all about how you unlocked it? That was a special lock that required magic to open."

Aayla thought for a moment and shook her head.

"Not really. I was kind of busy trying to not be mauled by a bear at the time. I remember feeling like it was shocking me. Then I just really, really wanted to take off the collar before I was smashed into paste."

Ramona scratched her head then her eyes lit up.

"Could you show me your bracelet artifacts again? I want to check something."

Aayla lifted up her wrists for Ramona to check the bracelets. First, Ramona closely examined the silver cuff, but nothing appeared to have changed. However, when examining the black bangle Ramona noticed that one of the five gems had a faint purple tinge.

"Aayla, was this gem always slightly purple?"

"Hm? I don't think so. From what I know they were always clear."

"Oho. Looks like you're recovering well and have a talent for channeling Ms. Glowery. How interesting. Since you've left the door wide open, I hope that you don't mind if I let myself in."

Ramona and Aayla jumped in fright. Headmaster Marin entered the room with a calm smile. He strode over to Aayla to examine the bracelets himself.

"Hmm… Yes, definitely an interesting pair of artifacts. Ms. Glowery's extreme emotions and focus coupled with the energy of the collar most likely kickstarted this one during her bear riding escapade.

So this is why you really requested for access to the restricted library last night. How could you keep such interesting little toys from me Deputy Heston? Hehe."

"Channeling, sir?"

"Acting as a medium for raw mana instead of absorbing, refining and then using it to manipulate external mana like normal wizards. This talent is especially important for manipulating certain artifacts. Your talents appear to be purely channeling. I've never heard of anything quite like that.

According to some of Nafriton's ancient records m, those rare individuals who can channel mana but not actively manipulate it have Terran ancestry. That's a fun little historical tidbit, isn't it?"

Aayla's face drained of all color. Ramona closed her eyes. If the old man didn't suspect Aayla's heritage before, he most certainly does now.

"The authorities stopped by earlier for statements. The university handed over the collar that you removed from the bear. Since both Mr. Forolan and Mr. Vear have given their statements, yours won't be necessary. Due to security reasons, no one is allowed off campus at all without express written permission. If you need anything, just let your godmother know or file a request with the university.

Deputy Heston, I look forward to your updated and highly detailed reports on the incidents from today and yesterday evening. Take it directly to my office when you're done. Do not send it through my secretary."

Headmaster Marin gently patted Aayla on the back and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, Ramona shut the door and Aayla collapsed on the bed. She couldn't even keep her origins a secret for two days. After several minutes of awkward silence, Ramona sighed and massaged her temples with her hands.

"Well, d*mn. At least the headmaster has decided to cover for us. Since he's not acknowledging it openly, Headmaster Marin should be keeping his eyes shut towards your origins for now."

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The next couple of weeks went by in a flash. Since she had literally nothing else to do, Aayla spent that time learning common sense knowledge and planning for the grand re-opening with Ramona's help. Though "with Ramona's help" turned out to actually mean "Aayla deals with everything while Ramona runs around to the other dormitories so the last-minute construction is hopefully completed by move in".

Using the keys from Headmaster Marin, Aayla found a library with no books and a music room with no instruments. She spent a solid week battling the gremlins in the basement storage rooms to pull out enough books to put together a decent library. Those evil little brats don't even like books. They just love watching others frantically try to escape their little pranks.

Chris and Daren never showed their faces at all. Aayla became truly thankful for the dormitory's artifact spirit, which she has affectionately named 'Dormi' based on the word 'dormitory'. She never would have finished preparing in time if it wasn't for Dormi.

With Dormi's help, the dormitory slowly cleaned itself up. Broken or outdated furniture and fixtures mysteriously vanished only for new replacements to appear the next day. The wild overgrowth outside receded to reveal lush outdoor gardens. Crumbling walls and rusted fixtures regenerated to look brand new. Naughty gremlins were tossed out of windows.

By the end of two and a half weeks, the dormitory looked almost brand new. After the book incident, the gremlins had also come to an understanding and temporary truce with Dormi. Truly, magic is a wonderful thing.

With move in starting the next day, Aayla once again went over every little detail from top to bottom. Every resident welcome package has a rule book, events schedule and other items. The storage rooms were clean, full and gremlin free. Each dorm room was ready for move in. Even with the gremlins contained by Dormi, Aayla still had a nervous feeling in her heart.

Tomorrow might very well decide how the next school year is going to be for Aayla at Nafriton Residence Hall.