Lyra's face turned a deep, burning red. She looked away, her hand trembling in his, but she didn't pull back. "H-how? How can I possibly help a Mundane defeat a Duke's son who will crush both of us before the blink of an eye?"
"Meet me in my room tonight. Don't let anyone see you," Lucien instructed.
"What!?" she squeaked, her head snapping back to him. "Why am I meeting you in your dorm you pervert? I thought perverts were done with this school after that impotency seal."
"You'll know soon, I'll text you the room number and what floor." he said, releasing her hand and standing up. He didn't wait for her to agree, he walked out of the classroom, the whispers following him like a tail.
Silas, who had been watching the whole scene from the corner with his mouth hanging open, let out a heavy sigh and scrambled to catch up with him.
"Vilor! Wait!" Silas shouted, running down the hall. "Are you actually suicidal, or did that Apathy Seal hit your brain instead of your... you know?"
Lucien kept walking, his mind already weaving the illusions he would use to tear Theodore apart, he had read many books so he knew many things about any type of skill and abilities including this illusion. "Neither, Silas, his got a foul mouth and I hate it and I want to start levelling up."
Silas scurried alongside Lucien, his footsteps echoing nervously in the high-arched corridor. "Vilor, listen to me! We haven't even been assigned our first trip to the Forbidden Forest or the Rifts yet. You can't gain Essence within the academy walls. So how are you planning to level up before tomorrow?"
Lucien didn't slow his pace. "You'll see. The system has more than one way to provide power, Silas. But forget me for a moment. What skill did you have I never asked?"
Silas looked a bit surprised, then tapped his wrist to bring up his glowing blue system interface.
"Well, I'm a sophomore, so I've had some time to build."
----------
Host: Silas Blue (Level 8 Mage)
MP: 400/400 MP
HP: 1000
Ability: Gravity
Skill: Kinetic Pulse
------------
He held out his hand, and a small, vibrating distortion appeared in the air above his palm. "It's not much, mostly just pushes things away or deflects light projectiles, but it's saved my neck a few times and with this ability I could do more."
"That's impressive," Lucien said, his eyes scanning the data. "A versatile skill in the hands of someone who knows how to use it."
Silas beamed, puffing out his chest. "I know, right? Most people in Class D just have 'Enhanced Sight' or 'Thermal Sense.' At least I can actually hit something."
As they turned a corner toward the central plaza, the atmosphere suddenly shifted. The noisy chatter of passing students died down as a group of three girls walked toward them. They moved with a grace that made everyone else look clumsy.
At the front was a girl with flowing, cherry-blossom pink hair and eyes the color of a clear summer sky. Her uniform was pristine, adorned with gold trimmings that seemed to catch the light even in the shadows.
"Who are they?" Lucien asked, his voice low.
Silas grabbed Lucien's sleeve and pulled him toward the wall, bowing his head slightly as they passed. "Keep your voice down! The pink-haired one is Noctelle Thorne. She's the undisputed queen of the S-Rank class a Level 120 Mage and head of the school council. Some say she's already stronger than some of the instructors."
Lucien's eyes narrowed as he watched her. Level 120. The sheer density of mana rolling off her was enough to make the air vibrate. "And the two behind her?" Lucien pressed.
"Her inner circle," Silas whispered. "The one with the rapier, Proxy is Level 95, and the girl with the scrolls Bethany is Level 92. Both S-Rank and part of the school council. They don't even look at people like us, Lucien. To them, we're just background noise."
Lucien blue eyes trailed them until the last flash of pink hair vanished around the bend. He thought about his [Resonance Bond].
If he could sync with someone like her, the 60% amplification would turn her into a goddess capable of leveling the entire academy, perfect.
"I'll get going now," Lucien said, turning back toward the dorms. "I have a guest to prepare for."
"A guest?" Silas blinked. "Wait, you don't mean Lyra? Vilor, if a girl is caught in a boy's room after hours Seal or no Seal the Inquisitors will..."
-----------
A/N: If an Inquisitor walks into his room while Lyra is there tonight, they won't just look for "perversion", they will scan his vitals. If his heart rate is too fast or his blood is too "warm," they will realize the Goddess's Seal has failed on him and will personally report to the authority before sending him out.
----------
But Lucien was already gone, his silhouette disappearing into the gloom of the Class D dormitory. "What for? Well no arousal so I shouldn't think of something else." Silas said to himself before walking away.
Later that same evening. Just as he turned toward the boys dorm, he caught the sound of muffled voices and heavy breathing.
He stepped back into a darkened alcove, his presence naturally fading into the gloom. A few meters away, a female teacher from Class B and a male S-Rank instructor were parting ways.
The woman was leaning against the wall, her breathing shallow. Her blouse was pulled dangerously low, revealing the deep curve of her chest, her large breasts almost bigger than the Class D teacher, heaving under the strain of the fabric.
Her hair was a chaotic mess, and her skirt was twisted. The male instructor looked no better, his collar torn open and his face flushed with a lingering heat as he straightened his belt and hurried away in the opposite direction.
The Apathy Seal was meant for the students, but the staff? They were clearly exempt, and clearly corrupt.
Lucien stepped out of the dark just as the female teacher began to smooth her hair. Her green eyes went wide, her face draining of color as she realized a student had been standing in the shadows the entire time.
"So," Lucien said, his voice a cold, dry rasp. "You do those kinds of things on school premises. I wonder what the Inquisitors would do about teachers....you know."
The teacher stumbled back, her hand flying to her throat. "You... you're that Vilor boy the mundane. Did you... how long were you standing there?"
"Long enough to hear everything," Lucien replied, walking toward her with predatory slowness. "Long enough to see the hard sex you two had," he teased.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the far end of the hall a group of students returning from the library. If they turned the corner, they would see a disheveled teacher and a D-Rank student in a compromising position.
Before she could speak, Lucien reached out, his hand gripping her waist and pulling her into the deep darkness of the corner. The move was so sudden she didn't have time to gasp. He slammed her back against the cold stone, his body pressing firmly against hers.
Her large breasts were crushed against his chest, the warmth of her skin radiating through his uniform, "shit." he muttered when he noticed his arousal.
But as the proximity increased, the teacher's eyes suddenly bulged. Her breath hitched, and a look of pure, unadulterated terror crossed her face.
Beneath the fabric of his trousers, she felt something that shouldn't exist in Aethegald. Something hard, something potent, he wasn't affected.
"You..." she hissed, her voice trembling. "The Seal... why aren't you—?"
"The Seal didn't take," Lucien whispered into her ear, his grip tightening on her waist as the group of students passed by the alcove, oblivious to the two figures hidden inches away. "I am the only 'man' left in this graveyard, Professor."
He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, his blue gaze burning with a terrifying clarity.
"The Inquisitors are looking for anomalies. If I tell them about your little 'session' with the S-Rank instructor, you're finished. But if they find out about me... I'm dead."
He leaned in closer, his voice a silken threat. "So, how about I make you a deal? I keep your secret, and you give me something I need."
"I can give you what the instructor never gave you and well you could stop seeing the instructor and start coming to me."
"What are you talking about and what deal." Her face was painted with raw primal anger with gnashing teeth.
He bent his head towards her ears and whispered, "I want you to submit to me and not to that instructor again, don't worry our little secret will go unheard." Her face turned crimson the anger clearly disappearing from her face.