Nights have never felt as long as it did now.
Andy didn't know how long he had remained in the position, unaware that his sides were hurting.
He had stayed hours, only deciding to move when the first light of dawn seeped past his window's blinds.
Everything that happened last night still played clearly in his mind, occasionally causing his body to jerk in fear. Even now that the sun was rising, Andy still didn't feel safe.
Thoughts were running through his mind, questions that seemed logical, but only served to break his sanity some more.
Was that really Principal Ganaf last night? What was that monster and why did it kill Zeladin? Was that the same fate that others, who had been expelled, faced?
If that was the case, Andy knew that it would be announced that Zeladin and Selena had been expelled from the Academy for breaking the rules.
What did it truly mean to graduate? He wondered.
For the umpteenth time since returning to his room, tears threatened to roll down Andy's face, but the fear that he was secretly being watched drove them away.
He couldn't afford to act out now. Even though he had questions on his mind, he needed to preserve his life to be able to answer them. And that meant acting normal…
As though his best friend didn't die last night.
"I've got to go to class." He muttered with a grieving tone underneath his breath. Andy sat up and was about to get up from his bed when the thought struck him.
What was abnormal in his case?
Andy had long been known as the lazy student among his classmates. Though he wasn't a total failure, he had great grades when it came to the theory aspects of their lessons.
As for the practical, or physical side, he failed in most of them as many of them required him to at least be a First Rank Mage.
Due to this inability of his, Andy didn't see the need for him to attend lessons that would yield the same results. Rather, he spends most of his time looking for quiet, shaded spots in the academy grounds to sleep.
The last practical class he attended was a combat training class, where, without the inclusion of Mana, he dominated most of his classmates. But since then, Andy had rarely been seen in class. And if he was, he usually attended late, only to come sleep in class.
Now, especially since they were months away from graduation, Andy's class had little-to-few lessons to attend.
Should I just stay back?
However, right after that thought, he recalled Principal Ganaf's comment from last night.
Coward.
The word seemed to tear deeper than he realized as his heart ached.
With little resolve, he went to freshen up, taking his bath and dressing up to go to class.
After getting dressed, Andy stopped by a mirror and took in his reflection.
Dressed in black trousers, a white collared shirt, and an ash blazer, he looked refined. The breast pocket of his blazer carried the insignia of the academy in red.
Everything was in place, looking normal, as if nothing had happened. But, there were bags below Andy's eyes.
This too was a bit normal… however, they looked darker than usual. Even his eyes had lost a bit of their light as he stared into his reflection.
Suddenly, those words from last night seemed to appear again.
[Daily Quest!]
[Run 5 kilometers – 0/5]
[100 squats – 0/100]
[100 pull-ups – 0/100]
[100 push-ups – 0/100]
[100 sit-ups – 0/100]
[Rewards: +1 Strength. +1 Agility. +3 Endurance. +1 Will.]
[Penalty: None…]
Andy read this and frowned.
Naturally, he was curious about where these words were coming from. And through the night, he had been able to see his stats, however, he wasn't in the mood to indulge in the strangeness of his condition.
He ignored the writings and put his red tie on, letting it slack a bit.
Coward.
Those words of the principal echoed in his mind again.
Was there any place he could hide and be completely safe on this academy's grounds? Andy highly doubted that. Hiding wasn't truly a solution to his current predicament.
Andy forced a neutral expression, practicing for the day ahead. The light in his eyes didn't return, but his jaws tightened slightly with resolve.
"Okay," He whispered to his reflection. "Let's go."
…
Naver Academy was truly a mega institution with a massive land, encompassing a few mountains and rivers, housing the thousands of students they had in place.
Though over the years, those who had been in the academy for more than a decade, have been able to visit almost 80% of the academy's land.
They were allowed to, even encouraged to do so. However, they were not allowed to set a foot out of the academy's territory.
Breaking this rule would lead to immediate expulsion.
Many of the students failed to understand why this rule's punishment was so severe. However, many tried to come up with explanations for it.
Saying that; the same way the school didn't let those big corporations that come for the graduating students during graduation, poach the underclassmen, is the same way the academy didn't want their students venturing outside and getting poached outside of their watch.
After all, the academy was investing a lot of resources in them, all for their own good, they in return, can't be ungrateful.
But with all Andy had heard last night, his notions about the reasons why they weren't allowed off the academy's grounds changed.
Before he knew it, Andy had arrived before his class.
13A.
From behind the door, he could hear many voices, all portraying different emotions.
"Come on guys, we can't possibly let the school go on with this. How could they so easily expel Zeladin? He was on track to be the best in the school's history!"
Jessie?
Andy recognized the voice. It was the student representative of his class.
"Yeah!"
"Yes!"
"I agree."
Andy heard several of his classmates respond to Jessie's words.
"Let's all go to the Principal's office and plead with the academy. Rules are made to be broken. We have to get the academy to relent or else, it will be unfair on us and Zeladin too… we have all known each other for seventeen years. We are no different from siblings, even if we do not carry the same blood, so we cannot give up on our brother so easily." Jessie uttered emotionally.
And the class agreed with her once again. "We'll have to get the other classmates in other classes to join us. If all the graduating students protest together, they wouldn't be able to expel all of us at once." Another person suggested.
"Has anyone seen Andy to tell him the news?" Someone asked.
"No. Not yet…"
This is my cue, I guess.
Andy knew that he had to react properly… like his usual self would if he wasn't aware of all that he knew.
Sliding the wooden door open, the entire class turned to see who it was that had arrived.