CHAPTER 93— Exploring the academy(1)
Rowan sat cross-legged on his dorm room bed, carefully unfolding a stack of weathered letters sent by his elder over the years, As his eyes traced the familiar handwriting, a sudden wave of realization washed over him.
'It's already been almost 4 months since I arrived at the academy.'
Rowan thought, his thumb brushing against the edge of the paper.
'And I still haven't been able to find anything about Bhaiya. After the rune island, i locked myself up and because of the exams i was too busy to look around but... I'm sure I will definitely find something in this academy, afterall Bhaiya was in this academy too there's no way there won't be any traces of him here."
He rested his chin in his hand, looking past the parchment toward the window.
'Come to think of it. This academy is massive. Yet I've been stuck shuttling back and forth between my classes and this room, I've barely seen anything outside the immediate sector. Tomorrow, I'm going to properly explore every corner of this academy. Maybe I would be able to find something, Even the smallest lead will be enough.'
Rowan's gaze drifted back to the text of the letter, specifically focusing on a few distinct names his brother had scrawled in the margins.
'And I need to find the people Bhaiya mentioned here. If anyone knows what really happened to him, it'll be them.'
Carefully slipping the letters back into his bag, Rowan glanced down at the empty lower bunk across the room.
'Ritvik still isn't back. Usually, he's the first one to retreat to the dorms after a long day.'
Rowan stared blankly for a second, his lips pressing on thin line.
'Don't tell me he ran into that girl who he calls the red haired Tyrantness.'
Knock... knock...
Before he could finish the thought, a sharp knock echoed against his door room.
'Ah, must be Ritvik. Wait—since when does he actually knock?'
Rowan hopped down from the upper bunk, crossed the floor, and swung the door open.
Standing in the doorway, arms crossed in her signature posture, was Sarina.
Before Rowan could utter a single word, she leaned casually against the doorframe, fixing him with a sharp, assessing gaze.
"Just checking in," she said smoothly. "You didn't lock yourself inside and start brooding again after seeing the rankings, did you?"
"Ugh... no," Rowan let out a dry, defensive chuckle. "I told you, I'm not doing that crap ever again."
Sarina glanced past him into the remarkably neat, orderly room, nodding in quiet approval. "Good. Because the real semester hasn't even started yet. The first exam was nothing more than an introductory warmup."
"I know," Rowan replied, his eyes shifting past her toward the courtyard window overlooking the quiet academy grounds.
"Next semester... we're aiming for the top ten."
Without missing a beat, Sarina reached into her pocket and tossed a small foil-wrapped packet straight at him.
Rowan caught it clumsily, staring down at the item in confusion.
"To keep your mind fresh, and to make sure you don't lock yourself up again." Sarina said, deadpan.
"Wh—what? Hey!" Rowan protested, his face heating up slightly.
Sarina just gave a casual, dismissive wave of her hand and turned away down the corridor. "See ya."
Rowan watched her go, then looked down at the candy in his hand. Tearing open the wrapper, he popped it into his mouth. A rich, sweet wave of flavor melted instantly across his tongue.
Alright, he thought, clenching his fist as a fresh wave of clarity settled over his mind.
'Alright, Tomorrow, let's look for the clues.'
---
The next morning arrived much faster than expected. Rowan sat near the back of his lecture hall, tapping his pen against the desk while mentally willing the clock hands to spin faster so he could begin his campus-wide search.
Drrinng...
Finally, the bell rang. Instructor Valeria slammed her heavy tome shut with a loud thud and gathered her notes.
"Alright, everyone. Make sure to thoroughly review everything covered in today's lecture," she announced, turning toward the exit before pausing abruptly. "Oh, and one more thing: your class will be rotated onto another mandatory practical field trip soon this week, so be prepared for that."
With that, she swept out of the room.
"Another field trip already?"
"Man, wonder where they're dragging us this time..."
Murmurs rippled through the classroom, but Rowan paid them no mind. He stood up immediately and strode out the door, ready to kick off his investigation.
'Yeah... today I'm definitely going to uncover something.'
Rowan walked with a purposeful stride down the grand academy corridors, his fists clenched tight with determination and a grim, fixed resolve on his face.
Suddenly, a familiar figure stepped out from an intersecting hallway, freezing in his tracks. Ritvik stared at him with wide, intensely worried eyes.
Rowan didn't slow down, walking straight past him.
"Whoa, hold on—are you going to pick another fight?" Ritvik blurted out.
Rowan stopped dead in his tracks and pivoted around. "What? No! I'm just looking around the academy."
"Really? because the last time you walked around with that exact same look on your face, you marched straight into the Sanctum Club and started pissing Ashwin off. What would you have done if he had actually started beating—"
"I told you, I'm not doing that! I'm just exploring the campus!"
"Oh yeah... sure you are."
Rowan sighed and turned back around to resume his walk, though he felt a sudden spike of awkwardness when he realized Ritvik was falling right into step behind him.
"Um... Why are you following me?"
"To make sure you don't get into another unnecessary argument."
Ritvik deadpanned and So... they walked—Rowan in the lead, Ritvik trailing close behind like an anxious shadow.
Down in a parallel corridor, Sarina was casually strolling along, laughing and chatting with a group of female classmates.
Suddenly, her gaze snagged on a familiar figure marching purposefully down a side hall with an absurd level of intensity, followed closely by a nervously pacing Ritvik.
'What on earth are those two up to now?'
Sarina wondered internally, peeling away from her group to intercept them.
"Hey, where are you two headed?" she asked, stepping directly into their path.
Both Rowan and Ritvik visibly flinched at her sudden appearance. Rowan turned and offered an innocent shrug.
"Nowhere special. Just exploring the academy."
"Exploring?"
Both boys nodded in unison.
"Really? Because the last time I had seen you two walking around like this you both had picked a fight at the Sanctum club." Sarina retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm telling you, I'm not picking a fight! I'm literally just walking around to see the campus!" Rowan groaned.
"Oh, really?"
Rowan nodded vigorously.
"Then carry on," Sarina said, stepping right beside them.
With a collective sigh, Rowan and Ritvik resumed their march, though the atmosphere grew exponentially more awkward now that Sarina had joined the escort detail.
"Um... why are you following us?" Ritvik asked, squinting at her.
"To make sure you iditos don't get into another unnecessary fight." Sarina replied smoothly
'Wait a minute, didn't I say something like that just moments ago too?' Ritvik thought, blinking in quiet betrayal.
"Zephyr! you bastard!!!"
All three of them slammed on the brakes as a booming roar of pure rage echoed out from an open doorway just ahead of them.
"What's going on in there?" Rowan muttered, stepping cautiously toward the open threshold to peek inside.
Peering into the room, they were greeted by absolute chaos.
A furious, red-faced student was lunging forward with a fist aimed squarely at Zephyr Stormholt's jaw. With effortless, irritating grace, Zephyr casually caught the boy's fist in his palm, flicking his immaculate golden hair back over.
"Hey now, calm down. Why are you so worked up? Let's talk like civilized people."
Zephyr purred, his voice dripping with smooth, unbothered arrogance.
"You motherfucker! How fucking dare you steal my girlfriend?!" the boy shrieked, struggling against Zephyr's grip.
"What in the world...?" Rowan muttered, staring at the sheer absurdity of the unfolding drama.
"Looks like he did it again," Ritvik sighed, shaking his head.
"Did what?" Sarina asked, crossing her arms with a scowl.
"You guys really haven't heard? I figured everyone on campus knew by now."
"Know what? Spit it out." Sarina demanded.
"Well, you know how that guy Zephyr treats campus like his personal dating pool? He used to just collect single girls like he was trying to complete a pokedex,"
Ritvik explained, counting on his fingers.
"Except lately, he stopped caring about relationship statuses. The bastard has started deliberately poaching other guy's girlfriends, flirting them away right under their noses. People are seriously calling him the campus 'Girlfriend Stealer' now."
"Ew... what a total trashy womanizer," Sarina muttered in visible disgust. "What in hell do girls even see in a guy like that?"
"Well—he's filthy rich, unprecedentedly handsome, insanely popular, the heir to House Stormholt, and one of the core powerhouses of the new-gen mages. What more checklist items do you need?" Ritvik deadpanned.
Meanwhile, inside the room, the confrontation was rapidly escalating.
"Come on, man, think about it rationally. I didn't steal anyone—she came to me because you clearly weren't giving her enough Love," Zephyr countered with a teasing grin.
"Shut your trap, you lustful pervert!" the heartbroken boyfriend roared back.
"If he is like that then I bet every single boy in this academy secretly hates him." Rowan whispered.
Both Ritvik and Sarina nodded vigorously in absolute agreement.
"Hey! Bro! Did you find him?!"
Suddenly, a second student with striking light-blue hair—purportedly the best friend of the enraged boyfriend—burst into the room from a side door, panting heavily.
"Bro!" the best friend shouted, pointing an accusing finger.
"Zephyr Stormholt! You made a fatal mistake messing with my best friend's girl. Prepare yourself, because you're about to face your ultimate nightmare!"
Zephyr chuckled darkly, lifting his chin and flipping his hair with the dramatic flourish of a dark-fantasy anime protagonist.
"Hah... please. There has never been anyone or anything in this world, capable enough to ever become this Zephyr Stormholt's nightmare."
The light-blue-haired student smirked sharply, snapping his hand outward.
"Oh really? Then try handling this. With this sacred treasure I summon... Lyren Aerilon!"
Zephyr's cocky smile instantly vanished, his eyes widening in sheer shock as he whipped his head around. Standing right at the entrance of the room was Lyren, radiating a chilling, murderous aura.
"Ah... Lyri—"
"Just how many times do I have to remind you to keep your ridiculous antics under control before I snap you in half?" Lyren's voice dropped into a low, terrifying register.
Instantly, powerful gusts of wind began howling around him like loyal, furious servants, gathering into a dense, swirling sphere of compressed air right in the palm of his hand.
Zephyr swallowed hard, though his trademark smirk quickly returned.
"Hah... alright, looking for a round, are you? Since you love fighting without your wand so much, I'll honour you."
Zephyr dropped into a low combat stance, extending one hand like a striking tiger claw while pulling his other fist back to his hip.
The unmistakable visual aura of a shonen anime protagonist materialized around him as crackling bolts of golden, high-voltage thunder surged violently across his skin.
Lyren's sharp, hunter eyes locked onto his target, while Zephyr's gaze remained playfully unbothered.
Everyone in the hallway held their breath in sheer anticipation, waiting for the cataclysmic collision between two supernovas— the wind versus thunder.
And then—
Tastttss—CRACK!
Instead of throwing a punch, Zephyr harnessed his thunder magic to propel his entire body like a human cannonball straight through the glass window of the corridor, shattering it into a million glittering shards as he launched himself out of the building.
"What the hell?! He's running away!" Rowan yelled.
"What did you honestly expect? Who in their right mind wants to actually fight Lyren when he's pissed?" Zephyr's cheerful, echoing voice floated back from the courtyard below as he bolted across the lawn.
Naturally, Lyren wasn't about to let him escape. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he propelled himself forward on a cushion of high-speed gales, diving headfirst right through the same shattered window to chase him down.
Rowan, Sarina, and Ritvik stood frozen in absolute silence, staring blankly out the empty window frame where the two supernovas had just vanished.
"This academy sure is filled with way too many weirdos." Rowan muttered slowly,
Sarina and Ritvik silently shook their heads in complete agreement.
---
CHAPTER ENDS