For the rest of the day, Lancet lived the exhausting, hyper-visible life of a celebrity—or at the very least, an incredibly infamous one.
Word of the Higher Dungeon clear had spread through the Academy faster than a wildfire, as all kinds of rumors did. Everywhere Lancet walked, the corridors fell into a hushed, suffocating quiet, followed immediately by a tidal wave of frantic whispering the second he passed.
By the time the lunch bell rang, Lancet was thoroughly over it.
He met up with Kasto and Anita in the massive cafeteria, but he didn't even bother sitting down properly. He practically inhaled his tray of chicken legs and lemon stew — the best he could afford as he was still trying to keep his debt low.
Lancet ate faster than he ever had in his life.
"Dude, breathe," Kasto said, watching him shovel food into his mouth. "You're going to choke if you keep this up."
Anita bopped her head. "Maybe he needs food for energy to create those ladders. Right, Lancet?"
