Haochen winced as he walked up to the door with a portrait of himself next to a portrait of some other person he didn't recognize or see in the hall earlier on.
His body really hurt more than he thought it would. He did end up defeating Kol and Cloud, but he felt like he'd been put through a mincer.
With a glance around, he opened his door and walked into a blue, gold, white, violet and black themed room. It smelled of cocoa and coffee beans.
The roof was quite high and had a blue and white marbled effect. Twinkling crystals were embedded in it, almost giving the illusion that it was the sky. Delicate white drapery hung all around, gold ornaments and crystals were mounted on the cream walls along with paintings of forests and snowy mountains. The living area was connected to the kitchen, and a wooden arch adorned with flowing curtains led to a passageway with two doors.
Haochen walked towards them and looked at them both.
"Xavier Arachnis…" He said out loud. The door was purple, gold and white, and didn't seem to match the name at all. His door on the other hand was periwinkle, black, and silver.
He opened his door to reveal a fairly large bedroom. It was neat, with a desk, a meditation corner, floor cushions, a single bed with small tables on each side, a book-shelf, a weapon-wall, and a door on the other end. Placing down his weapons, he moved towards the door and opened it carefully, lest the test wasn't over, and some strange creature jumped out at him.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
Inside there was a large porcelain tub and a washbasin both held up by intricate silver stands, the basin sat on top of a neat cupboard, and there was also a toilet near a floating tray of white towels. There were black glass squares next to each of them. Haochen had seen this before. It was similar to the plumbing system in the Zhang sect: Everything was controlled with spiritual power.
To use the tub, you'd have to place your dominant cultivation hand on the black squares, and within seconds, your soul flare would be detected, and the tub would begin to fill or drain. The same with the sink, and with flushing the toilet.
Noticing another door in the bathroom, Haochen began to walk towards it curiously, wondering where it led to. Reaching forward, he turned the knob, but it was locked.
After a moment, he concluded that the bathroom must have been a shared bathroom, so the door must have led to his dormmate's room.
Where was his dormmate anyway? Maybe he was still fighting...
Dismissing the thought, he left the bathroom and walked towards his bed to look at the robes they'd been asked to change into. There were three layers that he could see, but when he began to pick it up, a small note fell out.
"Zhang Haochen, congratulations on making it back to your dormitory. We hope that you find your living space comfortable. Please change into the robes provided immediately and follow the map on the back of this letter to the hall. There will be a lecture and the students will then be guided towards medicinal and healing springs to freshen up and heal any wounds sustained during their fights.
Kind Regards
Headmaster Opaque"
Haochen flipped the letter over and looked at the map. He didn't like the idea of putting fresh robes on his sticky and bloodied body, but he knew better than to ignore the Headmaster's instruction if he wanted to gain his favor.
And so, he began to peel his dirty robes off himself and put the new ones on. They weren't very thick, which was a relief, and they were comfortable, but he still felt disgusting with all the dirt and perspiration on him.
Once he was done, he picked up the map, put his bow and arrows on his back, and walked out of the dormitory.
As he exited, his eyes trained on the map, looking at the easy path towards the hall, but he didn't notice the other person also staring at his map and not at the path in front of him.
The other person bumped into Haochen. "Ow! Hey, I'm trying to walk he- Oh. Haochen!"
Haochen sighed and turned to walk away from Cloud.
"Hey wait up!" Cloud said, running to catch up with Haochen's large steps.
"Haochen, you're walking too fast!!"
'That's my intention.' Haochen thought, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.
"Hey, hey, don't you wanna know what interesting thing just happened in my dorm room?"
Haochen shot him a revolted glare then turned to face the path, walking faster.
"Haoooochennnnn! It involves Prince Calibri!"
Haochen paused mid-step, then turned to Cloud with narrowed eyes.
"Did you do something to him?" He asked.
Cloud caught up and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his new robes. He shook his head.
"Not me, and now that I think about it, I don't think they were doing anything with him either." He said, not properly explaining what had happened.
Haochen blinked at the statement. "Who?"
"Ah, let me explain this better. So I got back to my dorm, which is about five rooms down from your dorm, and when I walked in I thought I could go talk to Calibri. But then when I go to open the door, some other pretty little thing popped out from his sect, and this one was visibly a male, mind you. Anyway, he looked like he'd been caught doing something bad, so I thought they were getting a little freaky in there, especially when I heard a female squeak in the room. I kept asking and I was convinced they were doing something naughty, but then I heard what I'm sure was Calibri vomiting."
"Vomiting?" Haochen asked. Cloud nodded. "Now we both know Kol can't make talismans that strong. He did put one on Calibri, but why did he start vomiting?"
Haochen pursed his lips. "Maybe he's got a weak stomach."
Cloud thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that may be true... but that wasn't the weirdest part. I was getting really worried because I figured Kol must have made a bogus talisman with really terrible repercussions and that was why his friends were with him. But then the girl in the room popped out, and the two of them leave. Get this, Calibri wasn't in the room, and there were no windows in the room either. I know the person vomiting was him, so where the heck did he go?"
Haochen frowned.
"Did you tell anyone else about this?"
"Of course not, this is my roomie. I'm just worried." Cloud said.
Haochen thought for a moment.
"Perhaps he teleported straight to the hall." He said.
Cloud blinked a few times. "I didn't think of that." He said after a while, sheepishly.
Haochen sighed. "Don't go around assuming something peculiar is going on all the time."
Cloud rubbed the back of his high ponytail.
"But… If he was throwing up, how did he have the strength to teleport?"
"Do you really want to ask that question after watching him take down that Golem?" Haochen asked rhetorically and turned to continue walking to the hall.
"I just found it weird."
"Drop it." Haochen said.
"But don't you find it weird?"
"What?"
"How did Calibri know how to do a time-warp?"
"It's a lost technique. Not an impossible technique. There's nothing strange about it."
"But he's 17. People who've been alive hundreds of years still don't know how to do it. I heard rumours that only those in Heaven can do it. Does it mean Verbatium has ancient scrolls that we're unaware of?"
"Does your sect openly share their library with others?" Haochen asked as he began to walk up the stairs to the hall's courtyard.
"Well, no, but we at least have general knowledge of how every sect cultivates."
"General knowledge is not the same as 'finer detail', different sects keep much of their techniques and their unique powers to themselves. You'd have to be part of or join the sect to acquire the knowledge. Undoubtedly, Verbatium is the same, and there's nothing strange about that."
"I suppose there's some truth in that." Cloud said, more to himself.
Haochen stepped into the hall and looked around. From what he could see, everyone looked severely bloodied and beaten.
On the opposite side of the hall, he could see the small huddle of Verbatians. Contrary to their normal vibrant expressions, they looked quite… Worried? They kept glancing at a passageway near the stage and then back at each other.
Haochen tilted his head slightly and continued to stare at them. Then, Felix appeared in the passage they were staring at and moved towards the group. He handed the two girls, Korra, and Tea, something small. They looked at each other and then back towards the passageway, saying something as they looked.
Felix nodded and went back in.
Haochen wondered what they were talking about.
"Haochen, you massive asshole. You really hit me hard." Kol said from behind him. He'd just entered the hall. Haochen spared him a glance and then moved away from the entrance.
"What were you looking at? And where's that creep?" Kol asked, glancing around, almost frightenedly.
Haochen suddenly noticed Cloud was no longer with him. "I'm not sure where he went." He said, then looked back at the passageway. Kol shrugged.
"I'm so sticky. They should have at least let us wash up. So itchy, ugh." Kol spoke, starting to rant. Haochen tuned him out and watched Flora coming out with a smile, making the others visibly relax.
Then Kreia, Kreian, and Felix came out looking bright and happy. Although the group had slightly disheveled hair and a few cuts, compared to everyone else in the hall, they looked like they'd just been in a minor fight. Kreia paused and looked back at the passageway, saying something. And out came Alexei and Calibri, looking like they didn't have a single care in the world, completely fine.
If anything, Calibri looked like he hadn't fought anyone.
Haochen wondered if what Cloud had said was true, about hearing Calibri vomiting.
He looked at Kol. "Kol, what sort of Debilitating talisman did you put on Calibri earlier?"
Kol raised a brow. "A five-minute dizzying spell. Why?"
"Was it supposed to make him nauseous?"
Kol made a face. "I haven't got there yet." He said and reached into his robe to pull out one of the said talismans. After scanning it for a moment he nodded and looked at Haochen.
"It's a dizzying spell, doesn't last long. But it makes you disorientated. Most people won't be able to think with this on them, which is why it was annoying that he could use his brain just fine after I put this on him." Kol said, his nose twitching. His eyes flicked around the hall and then found Calibri.
"Look, it's worn off. Princess seems fine."
Haochen looked at Calibri, laughing with his friends, all dimples and sparkling eyes. He did seem fine. So why did Cloud say he'd heard otherwise?