In the familiar, spacious dorm, Stare could be seen pacing about frantically, already dressed in the academy's uniform.
In the three days he had spent within the academy's walls, this was the first time he had managed to wake up before the morning's alarm, and he had none other than his immense hunger to give the credits to.
All residual effects of his punishment from the previous day had vanished, such as his fatigue or had become more manageable, like the bruises on both his palms – all except his unrelenting hunger.
He had fallen asleep early last night due to sheer exhaustion but was also forcibly awakened early this morning by the persistent gurgling and discomfort from his stomach.
He tried to distract himself from his hunger by taking a bath and getting ready for the day, as well as observing Joel, who was also up and immersed in the fief training Imma had supposedly given them.
However, after observing Joel's repeated grimaces, clenched jaw, furrowed brows, squinted eyes, and tense facial muscles as his skin alternated between gray and his natural caramel complexion, Stare grew increasingly uncomfortable with the sight. He then turned his attention to Bobby, who was engaged in a similar activity.
It seemed he got references from Joel.
With closed eyes and a continuous rhythmic movement of his mouth, as if he were lip-syncing to an unheard tune, Bobby's intense focus truly painted a comically absurd scene.
Stare would have already burst into laughter under different circumstances, but the discomfort in his stomach due to extreme hunger kept him in check.
It appeared that both Bobby and Joel were highly motivated to activate their fiefs, after Stare's progress, especially Bobby, who seemed completely engrossed in his strange mouth activity. He had even neglected preparations for today's class, remaining on his bed with closed eyes, moving his mouth in rhythm.
However none of this seemed to completely take Stare's mind away from his current predicament and as such he resulted in pacing about the room frantically, eagerly waiting for an announcement he hadn't given much thought to before.
After Stare's assumed many minutes of waiting, the words he had been waiting for graced his ears.
[15 Minutes Left For Commencement Of Breakfast Dispensation]
This was their cue to leave for the Dispensation Hall.
After forcefully getting both Bobby and Joel to quickly bathe and dress up in preparation for the day's activities, all three of them made their way to the Dispensation Hall.
.
.
.
Once more graced with the immensely wide Dining hall, Stare and his companions made their way to a free table not too far away from the end of the hall.
The hall was already unsurprisingly filled with students and Stare observed there were a lot more activities today in the hall than the previous two days.
It seemed everyone had progressively familiarized with their new environment.
He could now spot new groupings and denominations in the academy.
Apart from the group of Elites and students with Main Hero Status, there were now numerous groupings of students with Supporting Hero Status. These were students who had no clear standing within the academy, and for many, not even outside the academy's walls.
Unsurprisingly, the number of students with Supporting Hero Status far exceeded those with Main Hero Status, allowing them to form multiple groups.
As more students entered the hall, Stare noticed a few students from these various groups approaching their peers. From their interactions, he overheard that they were offering protection to these students, either from a specific Elite student or, in some cases, from a group of Main Hero Status students, in exchange for joining their group and basically being lackeys for their future supposed benefactors.
With this, the main issues of bullying, discrimination, and the desire for power and protection officially began in the academy. Stare had expected this to happen on the second day, especially after the distinctions of Main and Supporting Hero Status were announced on the first day.
He already felt sorry for those without a commendable status or a way to defend themselves in the academy. They had no choice but to ally themselves with the Elites or Main Status students, automatically becoming their lackeys, even if it meant following orders against their will and there still was no complete guarantee they would be shielded from bullying, as the extent and duration of protection depended on the power or status of their benefactors.
Moreover, the academy lacked specific rules against bullying; instead, it focused on avoiding direct harm to fellow students and there were definitely plenty of other ways to harm someone without physically hurting them, especially if you had influence, connections or the strength.
Then again, Stare knew the academy wouldn't let things get too out of hand as he was sure all activities were being monitored by the academy's management.
As Stare and his companions made their way to a free table, he noticed something peculiar. Despite the recruiters approaching virtually every student with Supporting Hero Status, they seemed to avoid all three of them and stared at him in an odd manner. This unusual attention extended to almost everyone in the hall who noticed his presence.
Stare was already accustomed to being stared at due to his not-so-good reputation, but this time, the looks were different. They weren't filled with the usual hate, but rather, they seemed pitiful, as if they were observing someone trapped in an unsolvable predicament.
Stare eventually ignored all their gazes and walked toward the free table together with Bobby and Joel.
What was most paramount to him at the moment was settling his raging hunger that threatened to swallow him at any moment.
After a while, and a few more late entrances which were majorly composed of Elites amongst Elites, the food was finally served.
Stare without the slightest ounce of decorum or concern for the people around him munched into the food that had been served.
He never was so happy as today that the academy wasn't stingy in the amount or variety of food they served.
The duration they were to spend in the hall was soon to elapse and as such students had begun making their way to the first class, Hero Theoretical Knowledge.
Stare together with Bobby and Joel had also joined this cue of students after Stare had eaten to his satisfaction.
Just like yesterday, the trio decided to opt for seats close to the end of the class even though Stare knew he would be eventually be asked to change seats immediately Kali Linux made his entrance into the class.
The classroom soon filled up, and the incessant and annoying staring at Stare continued.
Amongst Stare's onlookers were also Elites amongst Elites like Ares, Xel and even the likes of Riley Equan and Charlotte Witsworth who had generally remained neutral toward him with the only exceptions being Eleanor who stayed focused on the front of the classroom with her usual stoic expression, and surprisingly Ava who seemed uninterested in him or the class all together.
It seemed she had lost interest in her feud with Stare, which Stare was truly happy about, that at least meant one less chance of him suddenly waking up without a head or missing parts of his limbs.
As Stare continued getting assaulted by the stares of almost everyone in the classroom, a familiar handsome white haired boy made his entrance into the classroom, immediately dragging the attention of everyone on him.
It was Raziel Erebus.
The expressions on most faces became cautious and expectant as they shifted their gazes between Raziel's signature dull and gloomy look and Stare, who surprisingly also appeared wary of his presence.
Everyone anticipated a reaction from Raziel the moment he stepped in, including Stare but to the shock of all and the disappointment of many, Raziel simply walked past Stare, taking a seat at the very end of the classroom without acknowledging Stare or anything else for that matter.
It was as if none of the events from yesterday had occurred – the fight or even the faint smile Stare swore to have seen.
Stare breathed a sigh of relief at Raziel's current indifference towards him. He wasn't sure if Raziel was genuinely unbothered or simply pretending, but he was undoubtedly relieved that there was no immediate confrontation, considering his current weak state.
To be honest, if Y-204 had decided to pick a fight with him over yesterday's events, Stare had no plans of backing out either, despite knowing he currently had close to negative chances of winning.
Maybe it was a matter of his pride or maybe it was just the effects of the Oracle Path.
Stare knew if he really had any plans of carrying on with his plan of forcefully putting off Y-204 from his role in the Oracle's Path then he'd need to definitely work on his fief and overall battle state, this was more evident with what had just transpired.
He could no longer rely on just his vast battle knowledge and experience especially if it turned out that Raziel had also unsealed his memories as well.
But first things first, he planned on working on his fief as it could serve as a very helpful tool in his plans and at the moment was basically the fastest way to catch up to Y-204 in terms of battle state.