Chapter 113: On The Verge of Passing Out (Bonus 100 PS)

Kai finally arrived at the main gate.

He thought that after resting for a moment, before departing, he would recharge enough stamina for him to drag the three leather sacks fine, but it’s not enough. Not to mention, the fireballs that slammed into him also didn’t help.

But throughout all of that, he managed to make it back to the academy.

As he walked through the main gate, he could feel the eyes of the guard Angels watching.

Just a minute ago, their shouts and banter had filled the air. Now—silence. He lifted his gaze and found every single one of them staring at him, their eyes holding a tangle of emotions he couldn’t quite name.

One that was prominent enough to be visible was shock.

Kai wanted to nod, to acknowledge, but he had no strength to do any of that right now.

Slowly, he made his way through the main gate.

Behind was the thick stench of blood and mud; a testament of his struggle to gain these three leather sacks filled with mana ores. He had fought tooth and nail for them, and everyone could tell from looking at him alone.

As soon as he stepped onto the main street, he became the center of attention again.

Early bird students stopped mid-motion. Conversations die. They stared at Kai—broken, and still bleeding on some cuts, dragging three sacks of mana ores. The rough, grating sound that was made by the sacks grinding against the street stunned them in place.

Inside, their minds struggle to reconcile Kai’s appearance with what they know about Lesser Angels.

Some who snapped from their dazes faster than the others looked down at their own leather sacks. Most of them carried two, and the second one was barely filled. A few carry one. These are the favoured Angels, the strong ones.

But Kai carried three.

A Lesser Angel shouldn’t be able to do this, yet here he was, dragging them across the street.

Some students lifted their chins and narrowed their eyes in spite.

None of them, though they all have at least two Divine Locks, would have the confidence to gather that many mana ores and succeed. Seeing Kai wounded made it all the more obvious that he must have ventured into the newly cultivated clouds the academy had only opened for them.

The cultivated clouds had only been entered by the two strongest freshmen groups.

Even the seniors were in the same position.

None of them could believe that Kai was a Lesser Angel; there must be a mistake.

However, among the few students who were on their way to the levy post, there was a small minority that looked at Kai with something else entirely. Their eyes did not widen in surprise, but with dawning realization.

The realization that they hadn’t gotten it worse.

Kai had gotten it worse.

And even though he was battered and pressed down by the academy, he’s still determined.

Had that not been the case, he wouldn’t even have attempted to gather this many mana ores.

A lean student with curly brow hair and bruises across his arms clutched his leather sack with more strength than he intended. Another student, petite with black bob cut hair, squeezed her pants, almost like she could feel the pain Kai was feeling right now by looking at him alone.

Every single reaction from the students was caught by the grey-masked Angels.

All of them were fixated on the eyes that showed a glimmer of hope, and frowned.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Angels should remain miserable. Oppressed. Encouraged to kill themselves. And yet some of them sparked the desire to keep on living, and that observation made their gazes dangerous, bordering on killing intent.

Kai didn’t feel the light of hope, but the murderous gazes were glaring.

He didn’t know why, but decided to ignore them.

Just submit the quota and return to my room. Just do that. No more. I can’t go on anymore.

Eventually, he arrived at the levy post. It was nearly empty. Students are still sleeping or preparing themselves for the day. Some students cast him a surprised glance, but Kai did not stop at all.

He went and stood in line; there were two students in front of him.

Kai felt like he was going to drop at any moment. Even the slightest nudge would’ve probably sent him to the ground. His world was spinning, and the desire to shove the two students in front of him aside to reach the receptionist faster was overwhelming him, but he held on.

One more second. Just another second.

He kept repeating that mantra over and over again, tricking his mind and body.

It was extremely silent inside the levy post.

Only the soft murmur of conversation between the student and the receptionist filled the air, accompanied by the quiet clinking of mana ores. With practiced ease, the receptionist took the submitted quota and marked the student by hand. It was routine, nothing more.

He’d only need to register one sack or two sacks per student at most.

"Next."

Eventually, Kai stepped forward.

For a second, the man behind the receptionist desk waited, rubbing his throbbing eyes as he had barely slept and had been woken up when someone rang the bell, electrocuting him. But even after he finished, the next student still hadn’t placed his sack on the desk.

A frown crept to his face.

He stood up to check and realized that Kai was struggling to bring it up.

"Oh, young man!" the man exclaimed, recognizing the student. "Let me help you with that."

"I’m sorry," Kai smiled sheepishly.

Together, they hefted three sacks and dropped them onto the desk with a loud, echoing thud. The man returned to his place behind the desk and inspected the contents curiously. Then his gaze drifted to Kai’s battered condition, and he shook he let out a small chuckle in disbelief.

"You really did it, huh?" He sat down. "Gathered your weekly quota. That’s impressive. Do you have your student badge with you?"

Kai didn’t answer.

He was burying his face against the desk in exhaustion.

"Hmm?" He forced himself to raise his gaze. "Did you say something?"

"No, it’s fine," the man raised and shook both hands, not wanting to bug Kai with the formal procedures. He was already exhausted as he is; no need to make it worse. "I remember who you are, so don’t worry about it."

Unlike earlier, the man moved even more quickly.

He finished counting using a machine under the desk and marked Kai’s weekly quota as fully filled in a minute. Once he was done, he patted Kai’s shoulder, waking him up, "It’s done. You can go now."

"Thanks," Kai gave a weak thumb-up and walked out.

At this point, the edges of his vision are already shrouded by darkness.

And everywhere he looked was blurry.

Kai quickly made his way back to the dormitory, hoping that nobody would mess with him right now. Students are still looking at him, and through the blur, he saw an odd expression in their eyes.

An expression that looked like panic.

Just then, Kai stopped when he saw two polished shoes right before him.

Someone was in front of him, and he almost crashed into whoever this person was.

Slowly, exhaustedly, Kai raised his gaze to look at the person before him. And almost like his mind was electrocuted awake, his eyes widened when he met with a pair of pale red eyes that were looking down on him.

An eight-foot-tall man with business-cut black hair, draped in a neat and clean black suit with red accents. Every single student was looking at this man with either respect, reverence, or fear.

The dark gold owl mask alone made his identity clear—the Chancellor.

Kai straightened his back instinctively, stepped to the side to make way, and placed his only working hand on his chest. "I greet the Chancellor." He said, though his voice was weak and hoarse.

No answer; the Chancellor remained standing on his spot, watching Kai with his red eyes.

He inspected Kai from top to bottom, registering the wounds and bruises.

And then, his eyes trailed to the levy post, which was where Kai was coming from. An evident frown formed behind the mask. Like the others who caught a glimpse of Kai, he must also be surprised that Kai fulfilled the quota.

Against all odds, he fulfilled the three-thousand mana ores weekly quota.

But Kai didn’t see the frown or the sharp look.

His eyes remained fixated ahead, and his mind was focused on keeping his balance.

For a long moment, the Chancellor simply stared at Kai. He could see the boy was on the verge of collapse—and perhaps that was precisely why he remained still, waiting for him to fall. But nearly a minute passed, and though Kai swayed unsteadily, he stayed on his feet.

A condescending scoff escaped his lips.

And eventually, the Chancellor walked past him, heading straight for the main gate.

Almost as soon as the sound of his footsteps echoed, Kai dropped to his knees.

Nothing was left inside him. Standing before the Chancellor had wrung him dry—hollowed him to the marrow. He was empty. Spent. Then a touch found him. It was light, unexpected, and strength rushed back as though it had never left.

Kai pushed the person back, keeping whoever it was at an arm’s length.

Naturally, he thought it was Bree again.

He didn’t want her to be punished, so he wouldn’t take her help anymore.

Not now, when everyone was watching.

But it wasn’t bree.

"Master Kai..." Talitha’s voice combed through the air gently as she cradled Kai’s larger hand in both of hers—her thumbs brushing softly over his knuckles, an anchor to pull Kai back to the present. "It’s me. Talitha. I’m going to help you to your room, alright?"

"Talitha...?" Kai reached out his hand for her face as a blind man would.

He touched the side of her face, checking to see whether it was really not Bree.

At this point, his vision was already dark, ants of darkness already covered everything.

Bree had a mark that ran down one side of her face. He knew this. He trusted this. His fingers rose, searching, tracing the skin where the mark should be, and found nothing. Only a smooth surface. Unmarked. A smile crept onto his lips at the realization.

"Talitha..." Her name left him like a breath held too long. Only then did he let her close. "Help me."

"Yes..." Talitha quickly used her entire body to support him to stand up. "Hold onto me."

Kai was heavy.

Really heavy and large for her small frame.

But it was nothing; compared to what Kai was feeling right now, her burden was nothing.

"Let’s walk slowly, okay? And don’t pass out."

"Slowly... Okay. I’ll try."