"Ah, you are awake. Have a drink," Sal's voice rang out amidst the seemingly endless silence.
Neraxis did not remember what happened. One moment, he was counting upwards, and the next, he was being offered a cup of water.
Or at least, he hoped it was water.
Nonetheless, he proceeded to drink it all in one gulp and took a look around.
His head slightly hurt, though not as much as when he first got here. But that did not matter, as all of his injuries were practically healed, and his clean, scarless skin had returned once more.
[Oho, you should have seen that girl earlier. She... never mind,] Evangeline spoke teasingly.
She what? Neraxis asked, to which she responded,
[It's nothing. It would ruin the fun if I told you.]
He rolled his eyes at her antics and tried to stand up. It was a bit difficult, but after a couple of seconds, his body adjusted itself.
Sal noticed this and brought over another cup of water, handing it to him.
"The headmaster finished up the healing on you. It seemed like your injuries were a bit more severe than I had anticipated. Did you fight the boss monster or something?" he questioned.
Shit.
Neraxis stared at him for a moment before replying, "I did not fight the boss. Anyways, am I done here?"
"Almost. I need to talk to the headmaster, so you should wait here for a couple of minutes. Get used to walking and all that," Sal said as he took his leave, closing the door behind him.
He nodded and lay back down; however, there was one thing he managed to put together: William had come to heal him personally.
That also meant the entrance speech was probably already over. He'd slept through all of it.
Just how long was I unconscious for...
[It's been a couple of hours,] Evangeline said before appearing before him in her sword form and speaking once again. [You've done something stupid, and now I can scold you. That's fine, right?]
A shiver ran down Neraxis's spine as he heard those words, but before he could protest, she interrupted him, her voice laced with clear anger.
[Why did you do that? Risk your life for what? A small increase in power?]
I knew I wouldn't have died. I alread-
She suddenly interrupted his next words, causing his eyes to momentarily widen. [Already what? You already fought those monsters before?]
[I can see bits and pieces of your memories every single time you think of them. Do you think your past experiences would have gone unnoticed? Especially when the two of us are connected at a soul level?]
He felt guilty as he spoke. I never tried to hide it from you. I just never had the chance to explain. What if you thought I was crazy?
[Neraxis, I've seen people be revived before, some even having abilities that defied reality entirely. I would never think you are crazy,] Evangeline said, her voice calming down.
[I won't press you now, but I hope you can tell me everything once the time is right. In exchange, I will share some of my experiences with you as well. How does that sound?]
It sounds good, Evangeline. Neraxis replied as the sword began floating toward him, landing on his lap.
[Promise me you won't do something stupid unless you are well prepared.]
I promise.
[Good,] she replied, her voice sounding satisfied.
The two remained in silence for a few moments. That was until she went back into his tattoo, and suddenly, the door swung open.
In view were William, Sal, and, of course, Celina, the furthest one in the back.
William walked up and took a seat across from him before crossing his legs and looking at Neraxis as if he were some sort of bug.
But he paid it no mind. William was the type of person who had a naturally condescending look.
However, as the silence grew loud, he spoke. "You are an idiot."
"...What?" Neraxis replied with a tilt of his head.
"I said you are an idiot. Did you think your little stunt would go unnoticed?" William said with a small frown as, all of a sudden, he pulled out a remote and pressed it. Immediately, a TV descended from the ceiling, landing in view for all of them to see.
He did not waste any time and pressed the remote once again. This time, it was turned on, and it displayed a certain video, one that made Neraxis flinch.
It was a long-distance shot of him fighting the weaker Scrapfang, edited in a way where it would only showcase each kill.
That was until the mini-boss, Scrapfang Sentry, appeared. It showcased the close-up fight in perfect detail, down to how he got all of his injuries, all the way to where he finally killed the thing.
However, as the video played on, it showed how the sword was moving around by itself before eventually going into the tattoo on his wrist.
[Hm... Well, that's to be expected,] Evangeline commented, but Neraxis merely kept looking at the screen.
It would have been all right for the most part, up until the sword went into his wrist. People would think it was an artifact.
Yet there was one more bunch who would think worse, perhaps even experiment on him.
That being the rotten part of the government.
He scowled inwardly as the TV was finally turned off, and William spoke up once again.
"I assume you understand the problem now?"
"I do..." Neraxis nodded.
"Now I do hope you understand that your actions have caused me a great headache. I even had to lie to the press, as well as the government," William suddenly said, causing Neraxis to grow slightly confused.
He added, "Neraxis, the story is this: you performed extremely well in the practical exam, to the point where it warranted a reward, that being a custom-made sword."
He's covering for me? His eyes narrowed in realization.
"Now I have a question for you, and I hope, for both our sakes, the answer is a no. Did you have the sword before the practical exam?"
"I didn't," Neraxis replied, letting out a small breath of relief.
But before he could revel in the fact that he was safe, William decided to up the stakes.
"Perfect. Now, as someone who did extremely well and was even personally given a gift by the headmaster, I assume you can guess your role now?"
He thought for a moment before replying sourly, "You want me to be a figurehead?"
"Are you unsatisfied? If your skills are as you showed off in the video, then the task shouldn't be very difficult for you. At most, only a few first years are stronger than you in Class Special," William replied matter-of-factly before standing up.
However, his words struck a chord with Neraxis. "Class Special?"
"Precisely. There will be 19 other people there with you—the best of the best, including Celina, of course," William said while walking up to Celina and ruffling her hair, earning a fierce glare from her.
Wait... Class Special... As in the S class? The one that is above A? Neraxis's mind was running in overdrive as he couldn't help but ask, wanting to confirm his thoughts.
"Wi-Headmaster... Am I being admitted into the Special Class?"
"Did you expect something else? Your performance and potential in the entrance exam were enough to land you in at least Class A. Your stunt, however, proved you were worthy of Class S," William said before making his way to the door, Celina grumpily following after him.
"I expect great things from you, Neraxis. Make sure thoughts about you are not wrong." With those words, he left. Celina managed to sneak a wave in as she followed.
But Neraxis ignored it, he was stunned. His past dreams of getting into Class S were achieved just like that?
It seemed unreal—it was unreal.
However, Sal's voice broke through his stupor, casual and tinged with amusement.
"Uhh… Neraxis, I didn't hand you alcohol, did I? You're sitting there with your mouth hanging open like some kind of fish…"
[Pfft...]
Shut up.