After sacrificing a bit of his sleep, Yoel had finally decided on his extracurricular classes.
[Enigma Utilization Research]
[This extracurricular class is meant for those with Enigmas that don't do set things, such as only boosting their physical attributes, or are based around forming a specific object or shape. It explores a wide variety of uses to different aspects of an enigma, allowing the user to become more in-tune with their enigma. An extremely popular class that most new and old students tend to pick.]
Yoel was quite hesitant about sharing his ability with others, especially because he alone knew its potential.
Well, more than he knew its potential. At least those who were close to him during the fight with that oversized monkey. Many had not been able to see his face during that chaotic event.
He partly believed that Consequence was covering for him, but he could not be quite sure yet.
He has long since learned that trying to understand matters that transcend the human mind was a useless endeavor, after all.
The second extracurricular class he picked was quite a surprise, even to Yoel…
It was a really unpopular class, that many students opted to sit out on.
[History of Earth]
[This class provides detailed explanations of many historical events that transpired on our planet, allowing for not only a deep understanding of our history but also a good mental image of the geographical structure of many popular sites for Lannister Academy students. In some instances, it may even provide hints as to how to progress one's Enigma.]
This was due to Yoel's vision when that horde of abominations invaded the teenager's alliance camp.
He still vividly remembered it, replaying it in his mind over and over.
That scene, where a black sun was falling over his head and the people that stood in front of him…
He had to find out more about it. He felt as if that was a clue to his missing memory.
After analyzing his choices a bit more, he went ahead and confirmed the choices, pressing the big green button under both of them.
It would be a long and arduous year, that was for sure.
Could he really survive, in this academy of mystical wonders and strange phenomena?
This was his chance to learn more, and he was not going to let it slip away from him.
Not when such an opportunity was presented to him so early.
Of course, he would bite!
Yoel closed his eyes, his ambitions pushing him onto paving a better path for himself, in the future.
I will take what is rightfully mine.
And so, he fell into the sweet embrace of dreams, crushing the nervousness he had accumulated like water…
Until morning.
***
Cole was performing his usual set of stretches before heading to sleep, casually observing the moon as he did so.
His mind had been all over the place, recently.
Firstly, after interacting with Yoel a few more times after the dungeon incident, he noticed that his dreams had been slightly changing over time.
This apparent change had come to a halt after he stopped interacting with Yoel.
This led him to many different theories, most of them clashing with each other…
For one, Cole began believing that Yoel might've been the one to instill this weird curse upon him, but if he really was the one who caused it, he was really good at acting.
During the entire duration of the dungeon incident, Yoel never seemed particularly strange… except when the situation was nearing its climax.
Yoel's awakening, and his eventual victory over the ape.
He had been acting quite strange back then, and he had been making terrible grimaces occasionally.
It was unnatural, but Cole did not consider himself to be trusted considerably by Yoel, so he never asked him about it.
Despite his healthy stretches and routines, his mind was preoccupied with many thoughts.
What if Yoel was the supposed infiltrator?
It was a plausible story, at first glance.
And that power he used…
But it was all too convenient, he acted like he knew nothing, suddenly stumbled upon a dual-wielding handbook, and unleashed some extremely powerful enigma when things were looking bad and saved everyone.
But if he really was the supposed infiltrator, what kind of goal did he have here at the academy?
And if he really was connected to all those schemes, then maybe the group behind all of this is connected to his dreams, and not Yoel individually?
This was all hurting his brain a bit too much.
Whatever the case was, Cole would somehow find a way to face it, like he always dealt with problems.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
I really wonder though, what will you prove to be, Yoel? An enemy, or an ally?
***
Vasil was sitting on his bed, his face hidden by the absence of light in his room.
He hadn't touched the room much apart from sleeping in it, so it mostly remained the same.
His bags were still filled with clothes and other necessities, half opened.
The coffer the academy provided in each dorm room was completely empty.
Somewhere in the corner of the room, stood a leather suitcase with a weird symbol on it.
It had been untouched for a long time now, letting dust coat its black leather skin.
Vasil however, did not pay any mind to it. He had been deep in thought about a lot of things, since coming back alive from that dungeon incident.
Ever since they had gotten out of the dungeon, he hasn't spoken much with his former comrades.
Not that he wanted to.
He had way more important matters to deal with.
One such matter, being…
He had no idea how to activate his enigma!
While he could clearly sense his core, and his core pathway… he could not bring out his enigma's ability no matter what.
How was he supposed to learn how to expand his enigma and control avon if he wasn't even aware of what kind of enigma he had?!
Not even the administration team was able to figure out the cause behind this and simply labeled him as unawakened.
Even though he really had awakened.
Sparing a single glance to the leather suitcase at the corner of his room, he shook his head and laid down on his bed.
He wondered why he still had that suitcase out in open view.
He didn't like seeing it, and it wouldn't be good if others found it, either.
I should probably do something about that soon…
If only there was a bit more time.
***
Lilith found herself sitting on top of a fluffy, luxurious king-sized bed, all by herself.
Her parents had been quite rich and even beyond that, had an incredible web of connections, allowing her to enjoy a leisurely life even here, in Lannister Academy.
A lot had been on her mind, not only did a lot of promising people awaken enigmas, but with everything that had been going on, she was essentially being threatened on all ends.
No matter how talented she had been, she always required guards around her at all times.
For someone like her, she had experienced many kinds of assassination attempts, eventually coming to the conclusion that she was a burden to the people around her.
And this negative thinking only managed to grow stronger, after the announcement of the principal and the initial theories she had made up.
Perhaps this time around, they sent someone strong enough to finish the job, once and for all.
It was really unrealistic, for someone to target her this much, going through the effort of hiring some kind of mysterious organization capable of invading even this place.
It was mostly her paranoia and her feelings acting, taking over her logical thinking.
But, could anyone blame her?
She might've been a skilled enigma user and a person with many skills in her arsenal, but that's that. She was just a person.
Humans are and always will be bound by their emotions.
And she too, was a human.
Undeniably, this had been the result of swallowing her emotions and shouldering many expectations, sacrificing her life to become what others wanted her to be.
Suddenly, she remembered the last battle during the dungeon incident.
Even though Yoel's face seemed cold and indifferent, she felt as if he had been smiling behind that protective mask of his.
She also recalled how she felt back then.
Resentful... angry, but most of all confused.
She had sacrificed precious moments of her life to reach the stage she was on, and Yoel had reached her and even surpassed her in a span of a few minutes.
She tried to ignore these feelings, but the negative feelings she had built up over the years could not be ignored any longer, and she didn't like it that they had managed to impact her life to such a degree.
They were the reason she viewed Yoel in a negative manner.
I really am a terrible person, aren't I?
She stuffed her head into a soft pillow, and the feeling of wetness soon spread over it.
***
As for Loki, he had spent the last week practicing various combat techniques, many including heavy weapons… but most required spiked or heavy gauntlets.
On top of that, he had been trying to incorporate his enigma into his combat style, and if he succeeded his skill and ability would be in an entirely different league.
His mind was as good as it could get, he had made sure to be in prime physical condition and mental condition.
After all, there was a saying that if you wanted your body to be healthy, your mind had to be healthy first.
He was preparing for his academy life and also preparing for any sudden and dangerous confrontations.
He thought back to the dungeon incident, specifically to all the times they fought.
Even in the last battle, he did not manage to contribute as much as he had wanted to, and it made him want to strive for more.
My former companions… I wonder what they're doing right now.
There wasn't much point in pondering it, he would see them at the academy, after all!