Alex shook his head apologetically, indicating that he didn't recognize them.
Neil pointed to the overweight guy who was standing in his left. "This is Max Harrison," he said.
"Nice to meet you," Max greeted with a friendly smile.
Turning to his right, Neil gestured towards where the so-called enthusiastic couple were standing. There was a short blonde girl and a weary-looking boy. "They are Alice Collins and Milo Bennett," Neil said.
Alice and Milo warmly reciprocated Alex's greeting.
Finally, Neil introduced himself, extending his hand and stating, "I'm Neil Shad."
Then Alice asked, "Jokes aside, isn't there a class right now? It's surprising to see another person ditching class like us."
Max added, "Maybe he is really depressed after last night."
Alex decided to fix the misunderstanding, so he gave a short version of what happened in class and why he was here.
After concluding his speech, Alex overheard Neil say, "Mana dynamics, Professor Gabriel." Neil paused, gathering his thoughts.
Confidently, Neil continued, gently nudging his glasses upward, "It must be the job of the organization."
Alex saw both Milo and Alice touch their heads and sighed, "Here we go again."
Max shook his head in Alex's direction and advised, "Don't ask, man, don't."
After seeing their reaction, Alex felt something was wrong, but he couldn't contain his curiosity after hearing 'organization' so he asked, "What do you mean?"
Alex witnessed all three of them collapsed on the ground, their faces filled with dejection as though they were about to endure a torture.
Nevertheless, he disregarded them and directed his attention towards Neil.
Neil began explaining with enthusiasm, "There exists an organization in this world, a sinister and corrupt sibling of the current High Council."
"They operate in secrecy, manipulating the world from behind the scenes."
Alex grew intrigued and responded, "Tell me more."
The trio on the ground glanced at him with expressions that silently asked, 'Are you serious, bro?'
Alex simply brushed them off, thinking that he had encountered someone who was aware of the existence of BW.
Neil's excitement grew as he noticed Alex's genuine attention, unlike his friends.
So, Neil continued, "This organization wields control over every aspect of the world without leaving a trace. It doesn't discriminate between major or minor events, whether it's a child's early education or a merchant's first transaction."
Alex could agree with this because it awakened the same feeling in him that the organization did. So, Alex nodded and asked, "So, are you saying my being kicked out of class was the doing of this organization?"
Neil assumed a thoughtful attitude and nodded to himself, saying, "Yes, there's a strong possibility that Professor Gabriel is an agent of this organization."
Before Neil could continue, Max intervened, saying, "Neil, just because that annoying old bastard threw us out of his class in the second week doesn't make him an agent of some nonexistent organization."
Neil was going to argue, but Max quickly added, "Come on, bro. We were playing poker during his lecture. What did you expect him to do? Join us and raise the stakes?"
Neil replied, "Even if that's true, you can't deny that there is something suspicious about that old man."
Alice and Milo exclaimed, "Neil, you're just too paranoid."
Neil retorted, "There's nothing wrong with being paranoid. Only the paranoid survive."
Shifting his focus to Alex, Neil continued, "Where was I?" He paused momentarily.
"Ah, yes," Neil continued, "I was explaining the correlation and connection between your being kicked out of class and the organization."
As Alex observed the interaction between Neil and the others, he was slowly losing interest, but still nodded his head to Neil. 'There's no harm in hearing the rest of Neil's deduction.' alex thought.
Neil explained, "The purpose of Professor Gabriel and his mission is to isolate certain students and make their lives in the academy miserable."
"By subjecting these students to such treatment, the intention is to force them to drop out of the academy, leading to feelings of depression, self-hate, and self-blame as they go through the worst phase of their lives."
"This is where the organization comes into play. They exploit the weakened mindset of these individuals and manipulate them into signing illegal blood contracts, recruiting them into their ranks."
Alex didn't quite believe Neil's deduction, but upon further thinking, he realized he still didn't know how the original Alex made contact with BW, whether through a person or online.
Alex thought, 'So there is a possibility that there might be a person who knew he became an agent of BW and has become corrupted now.'
Alex shuddered after thinking this and reflexively looked around to find a person who might be watching him, but he didn't find anybody.
Upon seeing Alex's reaction to Neil's words, Max asked unbelievingly, "Bro, do you really believe his craps?"
Neil heard Max deeming his words as crap again, so he replied, "It's not a matter of belief. This is real. They're everywhere. If we hadn't grown up in the same neighborhood, I might have doubted you guys too."
Letting out a weary sigh, Max retorted, "Not this again. Show me the proof then, if they really exist as you claimed."
Neil replied, "Just last week, a paper company acquired a significant amount of real estate in Larov City, and they're constructing underground facilities."
Alex suddenly froze after hearing about Larov City and asked, "Where did you hear about this?"
Instead of Neil, Max answered, "Bro, he probably read some conspiracy theory on a blog or forum."
Alice added, "Yes, he just has a lot of free time and reads conspiracy theories all the time."
Neil vehemently denied, "These are not the ramblings of lunatics. Unusual events are unfolding worldwide, and those who have witnessed or heard about them firmly believe they are orchestrated by a sinister organization."
Neil paused, his voice filled with intensity, "People refer to this organization as 'Hive.' A quick internet search will yield numerous articles detailing its existence."
Observing Neil's defensive demeanor escalating, Milo swiftly intervened, abruptly ending the argument, "Guys, it's nearly time for our combat class. We should get going."
After confirming the time, they extended an invitation to Alex and proceeded together to the combat class.