Seth opened his eyes and found himself on his bend partly wrapped in bandages.
The last thing he remembered was being slammed against a wall.
"Ugh…" Seth groaned in pain as he tried to move his upper body so he could sit.
With great willpower against great pain, he sat up.
"He really went and did it, huh?" Seth said, wincing in pain.
After slightly getting accustomed to the pain wracking his body, Seth sat lotus style and picked up a pocket watch near his bed. "Let's get ready for class then. Don't wanna be late. I'll have to heal myself to avoid annoying questions but I can't do it completely to avoid even more annoying ones."
Seth began circulating his mana from his mana core, leading them to areas that ached on his body. He could've simply used healing magic but that would be obvious if someone of a level high enough checked him out.
So instead, Seth decided to heal himself from the inside out. "Half treatment should do." Seth decided to only do half the needed treatment to get him fully back to normal.
Woooonggg…
A low humming sound rang through the room, one so low that it required utter silence to even notice the sound.
The dorm wasn't noisy but it wasn't totally quiet either. From time to time, a conversation could be heard, some walking through the hallway and shouts could be heard too.
After a few minutes of treatment, Seth felt like he was halfway there so he stopped.
"Should be enough to get me through the rest of today." He rose from his bed and walked into the bathroom. The class would begin twenty minutes from now and he had to be there before the teacher.
♠♠♠♠♠
"Where the hell's Seth? He hasn't been this late since he began." Taro asked the girl seated close to him who was none other than Liz.
Although they'd only known Seth for less than a week, it already felt like a few years to them. Taro to be precise.
"Didn't you say he was brought back to the dorm in bandages late in the evening? You expect him to arrive despite how badly you described his state to be?" Liz asked with a confused expression.
"He'll be in class without fail. The problem is… I don't know how late it'll be." Taro said, having abnormal confidence in Seth arriving anytime soon.
"But it's almost time already…" Liz wasn't completely convinced.
Taro's confidence was founded upon Seth's previous achievement. Although Taro had acted ignorant, he knew Seth had somehow managed to speed up his natural healing the last time he returned with body pains, and somehow, he expected this time to be the same.
He was mostly wrong in his assumption but his confidence wasn't wrong as in the next moment, the door opened up and someone walked in.
It was the teacher they had been waiting for.
The only difference was… Seth entered at the same moment as the teacher.
There was a rule that stated that students were to be punctual always. No student was to arrive after the teacher. In a good scenario, they wouldn't be allowed in and in the worst-case scenario, they'd be punished by the teacher.
But… What if a student entered at the same time as the teacher?
It hasn't happened before so there was no such thing as a penalty for such an event.
Seth was well aware and so he dared to do it. An act that would make them add another rule to the already long list of rules in the academy.
The teacher didn't speak. Seth didn't speak and so the other students didn't speak either.
While the teacher walked to the rostrum, Seth walked to his seat beside Taro, a space reserved for him by Taro himself.
Seth arrived at his seat at the same time as the teacher but before he could sit down…
"You're late!" The teacher's masculine voice stirred the whole room. The words were directed at Seth, the only one standing in the room apart from the teacher.
"Pardon, but I don't think I am." Seth replied as he took his seat, not even taking a glance at the teacher.
A single vein popped on the teacher's head. "You arrived after I got here. Don't you think that's considered late?" The teacher asked, trying to remain calm.
"I'm pretty certain I arrived at the same time as you."
Many students sucked in cold breaths. Yes, they were from huge families. Yes, they were geniuses. Yes, their families were rich.
But not one of them was brave enough to speak to a teacher the way Seth was doing currently.
Why?
Because teachers in this academy had authority over students in a way that their families couldn't interfere so much.
Although Seth's replies looked rude, they had to nod inside. He was correct as all of them knew he arrived at the same time.
"Seth Samiel. You're new here but I'm sure you've gone through the rules and late coming is not tolerated in the slightest." The teacher was getting angry and the students all knew it.
"Yes sir. I read the rules and it indeed states that late coming isn't to be accepted at all. That's precisely why I'm saying I'm not late. I arrived exactly the same time as you did." Seth answered.
"Stop beating around the bush and face your punishment. For arguing with a teacher despite being wrong, you'll remain standing through the class.
It wasn't a bad punishment since anyone here could stand through the two-hour class. Everyone heaved as if a heavy load left their chests.
Seth on the other hand wouldn't just accept such a punishment when he committed no crime. "I'm sorry sir, but I won't be standing since I broke no rule." Seth shook his head, still seated.
'Ah, shit!'
'Just take it!'
Everyone had different thoughts in their head but none could voice out their thoughts.
"I think you'll need to be punished." The teacher said with squinted eyes that seemed to want to stab Seth to death.
"I can't be punished, sir. I'm injured and if we investigate the issue after your 'punishment' and I was deemed to not be at fault, you'll be in trouble for punishing an injured student despite knowing he was injured." Seth gave an explanation that made all the others nod their heads silently.
"I suggest we both head to the principal's office." Seth brought up an idea that made the students suck in cold breaths.
"He won't reply over a matter as trivial as this." The teacher shook his head.
"How about we make a bet?" Seth questioned the teacher with his white teeth visible to everyone in the room.
A kind grin that made them shiver for a second.
"And what's the content of the bet?" The teacher asked, seemingly interested.
Seth's grin only grew wider. This teacher might as well be damned.
Author's Note:
Hi guys... I'd really appreciate it if you can donate powerstones. It'll go a long way in helping the book.
Thank you guys.