"Ignore them. You could hold my hand if you want." The guy turns around and offers his hand to her.
Kassandra looks intently at his right hand. Then a flashback crossed her mind. The exact thing happened before, but she could not think of where and when did she experience it before.
She slowly reaches her hand toward his but because she has trust issues, she immediately retrieved it back.
"I'm sorry but guiding me to get out of this place is really big help and enough for me. I could walk without giving me any support." Kassandra turned down the help of the mysterious man.
"I understand. Just stay focus and ignore anything you heard or saw." Then he turns around and started to walk again.
"Thank you. I'll keep that in my mind."
_________________________
"Thank you for a very detailed discussion, Ms. Bastiaan. You may take your seat now." Prof. Gunnar teasingly smiled at his student before he proceeds to their main topic. "Understanding the core of your power will be a great help to defend yourself against any danger. So, for our actual application, please be in the open field in 15 minutes." Prof. Lennard said before he went out of the classroom.
All the II-Class C students stood up and followed the professor. In the hallway, Mraz bumped into Kassandra who seems still lost in the depth of her thoughts.
"Hey, Kassandra!" Mraz taps her shoulder that makes her jumped due to shock.
"Oh…Mraz." She uttered in a very low voice.
"What happened to you?" Mraz seems worried.
"Oh…About that-" She paused and remember what the guy said to her before they parted ways. 'Never tell anyone what happened to you. You will be put in a great danger if you tell this to anybody.' "Uhm. I got lost on my way here."
"Really? I was really worried about you. By the way, do you have a smartphone? I should get your number to prevent this kind of things to happen again."
"Smartphone? I think I don't have any."
"Oh, you should get one. The moment you get your allowance from the management, you must buy one from the market. It will be a great help for both of us." Mraz suggested. As the II-Class C Representative, he must be responsible for any of his classmates. Anything bad happens to them, it is his accountability, especially Kassandra since she is new to their Academy.
"Oh, we have allowances?" Kassandra was more interested in the allowance and the fact that she could get some money to spend.
"I'll explain it on our way to the open field. Let's move now since everyone is almost gone." He dragged Kassandra down to the stairs.
"Ok. So, Mraz, tell me more about the allowances." Kassandra did not let the topic change. She did not even care to ask Mraz why they are going to the open field.
"Alright. You really would not let it pass." Mraz chuckled before he continues. "About the allowance, every end of the school term, the management rewarded each Noel Academy's student with gold coins based on their school performance. The higher your grade is, the higher the number of coins you received. You could get a minimum of one gold coin per subject." Mraz's detailed explanation.
"That's not bad. So, where could I spend the coin?" Kassandra's inquiry. Her eyes are now shining like she is seeing gold coins in front of her.
"Good question. Noel Academy was built like a big community. Inside the Academy, you could find our very own marketplace, farm, park, and even church and convents. So even you are not able to go outside the Academy, you could still buy some necessary things inside the vicinity."
"That's interesting. About the smart-" Kassandra was unable to finish her sentence because they were already in the field and Prof. Gunnar is now explaining their practical exam.
"Listen, everyone. I will just say it once. So, stop doing or thinking about something else and listen to what I am going to say." He paused to see if he caught everyone's attention before he proceeded. "Please look at the dummy in front of me. This dummy has an ability to transform into something or someone that makes its opponent shivers because of fear or to those that make you burst into anger. But one thing you should remember, you are blessed with abilities to defend yourself, so make use of it. Good luck. Don't worry I will be here to protect you if you could no longer handle the situation" Prof. Gunnar's long explanation.
"The first student will be Mraz Mauro. Good luck Class Rep."
Mraz Mauro moves forward to face the dummy that Prof. Lennard prepared for their practical exam. In a few seconds, the dummy transforms into a giant tarantula. At first, Mraz Mauro got stunned because of so much fear. He closed his eyes to alleviate his fear so he could focus on what he should do to defend himself. After a few seconds, the ground begun to shake, a gigantic snake emerges from beneath it.
"I did not know that Class Rep is an animal summoner." One of their classmates mutters.
"No, you got it wrong. That snake is just an illusion. I heard that class rep is an Illusionist or rather he is an illusion manipulator." The other II-Class C student replies.
Kassandra overheard their conversation. She got no idea that Mraz has great power within him. He seems kind, calm and cheerful on the outside, but a terrific power is covertly hidden by those smiles.
The giant tarantula got scared by the giant snake that is made with pure illusion. It immediately turns back to its original form indicating that Mraz overpowered it.
"Good job, Mraz!" Prof. Lennard Gunnar claps his hands.
"Thank you, Prof. Gunnar," Mraz bows his head before he moves back to where his classmates are standing.
"Next would be my favorite student for today, Antoinette Bastiaan." Prof. Gunnar peevishly grins.
"I knew it." Antoinette was very excited to show off her skills since she is confident that she could finish this exam with flying colors. She moves closer towards the middle of the field where the dummy is waiting for its next opponent.
"Show me what you've got dumb-ass!" She shouted at the dummy. In a few moments, the dummy started to transform into someone. Everybody got surprised, especially Antoniette. All of them look intently at the dummy then eventually turn their heads to check if Tehmo Ruprecht is still standing behind them.
"What?" He was busy playing with his smartphones that's why he is not aware of his surroundings. When he noticed that all of his classmates turn back their eyes in the middle of the field, Tehmo got a little curious. He followed their gaze and got even more shock than them. "What the hell am I doing there?!"
"Oh…I am not aware that Ms. Bastiaan feared Mr. Ruprecht the most. What are you going to do now?" Prof. Lennard teases the female student.
"Of all people, why my Prince?" Antoinette steps backward. The dummy raises his hand and it started to ignite some fire. Without any trace of hesitations like how the original Tehmo Ruprecht would possibly do, he started to launch some fireballs towards Antoinette's side. Antoinette can't do anything but to dodge and run. "Help me, professor! I can't fight back against my prince!"
"If you concede, your grade will be equivalent to zero." Prof. Lennard clarifies what will happen if she did not even fight back.
"It does not matter to me, just help me stop that dummy!" Ms. Bastiaan almost screamed.
"Alright then." Prof. Gunnar snapped his finger. In a few seconds, the dummy paused from throwing fireballs and then, it eventually returns into its original form.
"Thank you, Ms. Bastiaan. You really adore Mr. Ruprecht."
Antoinette Bastiaan turns red as a ripped tomato. She walks towards her peers while her head is bending down.
"It's alright Ms. Tonette, we fully understand your decision. Even us, we cannot afford to fight against the prince. It is a mortal sin to us." One of Antoinette's minions comforted her.
"Ok, next will be Alyza Frigore." Prof. Lennard announces.
A beautiful, shy-type girl moves forward. She slowly walks toward the dummy. In a minute, the dummy turns into a lady with the same face as her.
"What is going on? Does she fear herself?" One of the II-Class C students can't help to make some comments.
"Or maybe, she hated herself." The other student commented back.
"I hated you the most." Alyza Frigore whispered to herself before she formulated a water blast shaped like a water dragon that engulfs the dummy in front of her.
Because of the strong force, the dummy was pushed towards the wall and eventually returned into its original form. Alyza turns around and moves back to the crowd.
"What a nice move Ms. Frigore. Thank you. Next will be, Kassandra Grinch."
"Oh. The new student, I did not know her last name is Grinch. Does she really hate Christmas?"
She heard one of her classmates.
"If that's true, too bad for her. Our city celebrated Christmas every day." Another student commented.
Without saying anything, she moves forward and walks toward the dummy which is still seated against the wall.
Prof. Gunnar snapped his finger. The dummy slowly transforms into someone without a face. The faceless human form is wearing all black clothes while an orange-colored fire is encircled his body.
Kassandra remembers the past that she has been trying to forget. The image of her grandmother in the rocking chair while she was surrounded by the inferno like fire, the tall man in black emerging from the burning house, and the house that slowly turning into ashes.
The faceless burning man in black slowly walks towards Kassandra. But Kassandra did not step back or run. She just stands there and did not move at all, as if someone nailed her feet on the ground.
"Kassandra! Run!" Mraz shouted at her.
But Kassandra still did not move. As if she is currently immersed in a deep nightmare and does not hear anything.
"Kassandra! What are you doing!? Don't just stand there!" Mraz is now in a panic because the faceless burning man was just half a meter away from her.
The faceless burning man raises its right arm, aiming for Kassandra's neck. The fire almost touches her skin but she still does not move away.
"Hey! Do you want to die?!" It was Tehmo. Still no response from her. Without any choice left, Tehmo Ruprecht unexpectedly created a flame thrower, aiming towards the faceless burning man. At the same moment it hits the dummy, Mraz Mauro pushes Kassandra away from the explosion.
When Kassandra hits the ground, she was pulled back to reality. She noticed that Mraz was lying on top of her.
"Mraz, what happened?" Kassandra asked Mraz Mauro.
Mraz moves his head up to meet Kassandra's eyes. "I think that is my line. You almost get yourself killed. What happened to you? Why did you not move or run?" Mraz was very worried about her.
Kassandra did not know what to say. Because she also did not know what really happened.
"Sorry, I got a little excited. The new student is kind of dumb. I just wanted to finish this crap." He moves his eyes towards Kassandra and Mraz before he moves away from the scene.
"Are you two alright?" Prof. Gunnar offered both hands to Kassandra and Mraz to help them get up. "Since the dummy has been destroyed, we will resume the practical exam at our next meeting. Please go back to your classroom silently."
Without any commotion, all II-Class C students walk back to their classroom.
__________________________
"What made you visit me? I did not ask you to come over here."
"Mr. K. I know you are aware of what happened earlier. I just want to clarify some things with you." Kieran Vladimir asked the director.
"Happened earlier? What exactly are you talking about Kieran?"
"You did not feel her presence? There is this new student in the academy that was able to activate the elevator going up here. She successfully gets on this floor and she was about to open the big black door when I noticed a strange presence, and that's when I saw her." Kieran iterated his encountered with Kassandra.
"She successfully activated the elevator? How is that possible? Only you and Tehmo are permitted to do such a thing." The director was surprised by what Kieran has told him.
"That is what I am confused about. How come a new student and not even a Class A student was able to get on this floor."
"Observe that new student and report anything suspicious that you could find." The director commanded Kieran.
"Yes, Mr. K."
"You may leave now."
Kieran turns around and immediately left the room.