Chapter 160
Student Council
IAM left the room after saying his thanks and goodbyes. As he closed the door and turned around, he noticed a familiar figure walking past.
There, just a few steps away.
It was Zara.
She froze on the spot like a bunny caught mid-hop by a spotlight. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, it looked like her soul had leapt out of her body and was halfway down the corridor. Then, as if snapping out of hypnosis, she made a noise—something between a yelp and a hiccup—and promptly spun around and began speed-walking away.
IAM blinked.
He could barely make out her muttering as she retreated down the hallway.
"Keep away... stay away... creep, creep..."
He stood there for a second, rooted in place, a subtle tilt of confusion on his face.
Creep?
He raised a hand and slowly caressed his neck. What was her problem? Had he done something? Did he accidentally insult her and not realise it?
...Was he actually creepy-looking?
IAM turned toward the nearest reflective surface—one of the tall black-glass panels lining the hallway wall—and peered at himself. He started rubbing his face, pressing and tugging at the skin like it was made of putty, dragging his cheeks down and lifting his eyebrows, trying to see what she might've seen.
He stretched his jaw, frowned... Then grinned. Nothing helped. He looked the same.
Maybe that was the problem.
He sighed, shoved the thoughts into a dusty corner of his brain labelled "deal with later (maybe)", and forced his focus back to the information still lingering fresh in his mind.
At his stage, he was supposed to focus on emotions… He had been using his path wrong this entire time. No wonder he would always end up with a bloody nose—he had been overstepping, reaching beyond what his core could safely handle. It was misaligned. He had been trying to run before learning how to speak.
He needed to practice. In speech. In speaking properly. IAM couldn't really picture himself standing in a room full of strangers, delivering some grand monologue with charisma oozing from his pores—he didn't even know if he had the charm to pull that off.
But then again… a speech didn't have to be for a crowd.
It could be aimed at just one person.
IAM was beginning to settle on a concept, one that revolved around influencing others based on his intent. If he failed to properly influence the person he was talking to, or if he somehow failed to clearly convey his intent, then there was a very real risk that it would cause a backlash—a shock to his understanding, the kind that could shake the foundation of his concept and even affect his core if repeated enough.
So he had to do it properly. He had to pull on emotions like strings of others, not as a performance, but with sincerity. He had to learn how to mean every word.
It was ironic, really—the guy who could make his own emotions disappear was the one now tasked with drawing them out of others.
Still, IAM felt he was close. He had reached a point of understanding. He could make the breakthrough to the next stage soon—maybe even tomorrow. Maybe even tonight.
And for that, he was grateful. Deeply so. Vanessa's insight had helped him more than he'd expected.
Despite the first impression she gave off—the cold, unreachable exterior—she had been ready to help. Ready to teach. If everyone had someone like her… maybe the world would be a little less cruel.
Curiosity shouldn't be punished. It should be Nurtured. Watered like a young plant, until it spreads its branches wide enough to catch the light.
And for that, he was truly grateful to Vanessa. Her help, despite her cold manner, had given him the clarity he needed.
...
The discussion had only taken about twenty minutes, and IAM ended up only slightly late to his next lesson—which happened to be battle strategy. Nothing too practical, mostly theories and hypothetical.
The teacher gave him a quick disapproving look but said nothing, and IAM quietly took a seat next to Reuel.
Reuel didn't waste a second.
"So what naughty deeds were you getting up to with Vanessa?" he said immediately, a grin stretched across his face like he had been waiting the entire lesson to let it out.
IAM stared straight ahead, as though the question hadn't landed in his ears at all.
Reuel kissed his teeth. "You're so boring."
Henry leaned over from the other side. "Leave him alone."
Reuel didn't miss the goal. "Do you want me to help clean your knees?"
IAM cleared his throat to evacuate the laugh from his lungs. Henry gave Reuel a sharp side-eye, clearly confused by the reference, while Yohan offered a quiet nod in greeting, as if trying to keep the peace.
By the time the lesson ended, their conversation picked up again as they made their way to the cafeteria for lunch. The group settled into one of the tables near the window, their plates were steaming but it wasn't nowhere as heated as their conversation.
"I'm telling you," Reuel began, pointing his fork like a weapon, "I heard the rumours. They make people clean toilets. And sometimes… even their asses."
Yohan paused mid-chew, face twisting in pure disgust. "I am trying to eat…" he whispered, almost pleading.
Henry stared at Reuel with disbelief. "There's no way that's actually what you think they'll make us do."
Reuel shrugged, hands raised as if to say, Don't shoot the messenger. He still had food in his mouth. "Oh yeah? Since you don't believe me, what do you think they'll make us do?"
"Literally anything but that," Henry replied.
"You mean," Reuel grinned, "they will make us—"
"You—" Henry started, but the rest was lost in the sounds of the cafeteria and Reuel's evil expression.
As their voices rose in chaotic debate over worst-case scenarios, IAM's phone buzzed softly. He glanced down and saw a notification pop up on his panel.
You have received +50 HP from Instructor Vanessa.
He stared at it for a second longer, then let out a small smile...