Chapter Eight: What To Wear
The night passed quickly for Zenith, and it was weird because before, the night had always been too long for him when he had nothing to do the next day. Purposelessness made the night longer.
The only things his agency could conjure for him after the war were fan meetings that always ended with him walking away, meet and greet that ended with a minor villains presence, or boring interviews.
Now, he actually had a job doing and while it's not compared to the life-threatening job of a Mage, at least life-threatening few years back when he wasn't the SSSSS-Rank Mage, the job he had excited him.
But as every job, Zenith found himself being drained. He had marked and corrected twenty-four books belonging to twelve students, their classwork and assignments.
It made him connect a bit with the students as he now knew how they thought and how they viewed life, it was too happy but realistic, they now lived in a happy world so it was no harm to have slight delusions.
He didn't have a favorite student as none really impressed him, but there was a seemingly smart student, Alez Zander, who never made him use his red ink on any of his books. He had earlier thought he was dumb but the boy had a unique view on life, only.
Zenith finally rolled out of bed after staring at the ceiling for an hour, without blinking. That's a lesser feat compared to the battle of golems he fought three years ago. He had to stare at an SS-RANK statue for three hours so it'd not kill the villagers, while his squad tried to sneak up into the enchanted palace and kill the Dark Mage controlling it.
To say he missed those times would be wrong as there were many who died then, but those times were definitely interesting. He doubt anything this school could provide will match the intensity of battling three Dark Mages at once for two nights.
Yesterday's evening, his agency successfully brought in what he demanded but in a smaller scale as his Manager had to rebuy the things he needed as the ones he already had were too big to fit the room.
The minimalism in the room had itched him at first but waking up to it now, it made his mind less busy so he planned to skip his usual morning jog to clear the mind. He opted for a cold bath, he'd been going for that more often since he crossed the SSSSS-Rank ten months ago.
He gently took off two of the bands, it was still early so many people wouldn't be in the school yet, but he still needed to be careful in removing four more bands or an innocent person could get affected by his aura.
He couldn't take off all eight bands for many reasons including his health, many didn't understand it but truly, with great power came great backaches.
He couldn't manage his SSSSS-Rank essence well and it had a physical toll on him. It'd take more time to get used to it and he usually adjusted to his rank increase during war, but with no war, he didn't have playthings to help him adjust to the rank.
He could only tap into that rank for twenty hours. That's why the 'handicaps' were brought to him initially, to keep his essence level at SSSS-Rank so he'd not breakdown in battle.
After much contemplation, he left the other six bands on his arms. They were metallic and made to withstand battle so a little shower on them wouldn't corrode it.
The next battle in his mind was choosing what to wear. Surprising as it look, but since he got taken by the government at ten, his clothing and feeding had been their business. He had a personal taste but his mind pulled a blank when thinking of casual clothes.
Would the gold and black hanfu gifted to him from the Teminise Dynasty be okay to wear for his proper first day as a teacher? The excessive diamond stones in it wouldn't be distracting, would it?
He ended up settling for a black t-shirt and striped trousers he found in the closet. He remembered his manager wearing something similar, in an attempt to blend to the surroundings and keep the spotlight on him. Zenith knew he couldn't, but he hoped a little.
"All set." he looked at his reflection in the nine-foot, many meters wide mirror. "I look normal." Preparing for a day without wearing a neon leather suit felt too abnormal. "Normal is good." He convinced himself.
He stepped out with his favorite black coat over the black short sleeved shirt that stuck to his torso, and the striped trousers that reached his ankle. He left his silver wrist watch to spot a black leather watch that'd not get attention and tied his hair with a black rubber band behind him, keeping his face clear.
He looked at the mirror again. The level of normality began to annoy him but he persisted and used a slightly cheap perfume and resisted wearing the gold chain giving as a gift from the King of their realm. All in a bid to look normal.
Zenith sucked his teeth, hissing in irritation. An SSSSS-Rank Mage was nothing normal and he wasn't one to be humble either but… he had to find an interesting life to live again so this were little sacrifices.
Finally, he stepped out of his room which was hidden in the section that served as his office. He sighted Sir Bennett seated on his desk, he had also moved in last evening. "Good morning."
Sir Bennett jolted slightly and turned to him, the teacher's eyes were sleepy as he didn't get a wink all through the night. Good morning? The teacher felt like crying as he had a fragile heart.
He had been telling himself he'd stop by the next thirty minutes and it was already morning. His new class was Class 10 and they had no A or B and were forty students in all. He had to mark there class works and assignments, eighty books in total. He didn't know when tears rolled down his eyes.
"I'd be going to say hello to the class. Will you come with me?" Zenith asked, while gathering the students assignments. He turned to Sir Bennett on getting no response and saw his eyes closed. "Have I been talking to a sleeping man?" he left the office.
The sound of the door closing snapped Sir Bennett from his sleep and he looked around for the young Mage. He glanced down to the time on his wristwatch. It wasn't time for class and no student had arrived.
Was the young Mage excited to be a teacher that he left early? Sir Bennett forced an exhale and adjusted himself in his seat. "I have to give my all in being a teacher too!" His eyes became wider and he began working like a zombie.