30 - Carin City [2]

"Ready your blade, Remington."

My eyes narrowed at her. That was odd.

For the duration of our journey from the academy down to this city, Eris had said nothing to me. Not even a hello.

To approach me now and speak in a manner that looked like she was giving me friendly advice, that was odd.

Things had been awkward since the previous night after the encounter with Wendy.

I merely assumed that she wished to avoid me entirely just to keep Wendy at bay but that didn’t seem to be the case now.

I smiled and took the whetstone off her palm. "Thank you."

Afterwards, I unsheathed my sword and started to sharpen the edges as she stood there, silent and observing.

At intervals I looked at her. Eris looked like words were trapped in her throat, unable to escape and be voiced out.

It was as if she had a lot to say but didn’t want to for whatever reasons best known to her.

As I brushed the runed stone against my blade, Eris’ face slowly contorted into an expression of disgust.

"Have you done this before?"

I was thrown off. Another batch of unexpected words from her.

Scratching the back of my head, I drawled, "Not exactly—"

"I can see that..."

She cut me off, raising her sheathed weapon and pointing it to the body of my sword.

"It’s clear you don’t care for your sword. From the looks of it, it won’t last much longer."

My gaze shifted from her to my blade, examining it to see what it was that she noticed to make that statement.

I saw nothing.

Tch! Heck, I wasn’t a sword expert. Give me a damn break!

If Eris said this weapon of mine now had a shorter lifespan then there was certainly a solid reason behind that.

Amongst other things, I took it as a warning to be careful how I handled it.

I wouldn’t want to be in a scenario where I will have to be fighting with a sword that’s been broken in two.

"Do you need anything?" I drawled.

I’d caught staring absentmindedly at me again. This time, it was longer than usual.

With a calm shudder, she tried to play it off coolly while shaking her head in denial.

Without uttering another word, Eris turned and walked away.

’She really is weird,’ I concluded in my mind but at least I was satisfied with this short interaction.

’At least I’m still in her good books even if her bond value did not shift one bit.’

In the moment of thinking, my eyes swayed around my surroundings, catching Cecilia’s gaze.

She had been watching Eris and I with a neutral expression on her face.

Rather than just plain observing, it felt as if she was critically studying us from a distance.

Meeting my gaze for what was not more than three seconds, she averted her eyes to Eris who was walking away and then returning to what she was doing. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

****

The twenty minute period had come to an end.

I and the rest of the group stood, all geared up for our first actual Gate raid, in front of the gate.

It was nothing like what I recalled Link’s old memory, and this was simply because the academy had only allowed them access to Dummy Gates until today.

Dummy Gates were merely mimics of the real deal.

As much as they built it to look as close to the real world Gates as possible, the experiences inside were sure to be different.

In the Dummy Gates, they were imitations of injuries, exhaustion and all that happened in real battle but none of it were real.

One never truly got hurt or tired. The system behind it only granted the illusion of such.

Compared to the real Gates where injuries remained with you and pain was as real as anything, Dummy Gates could only offer so much.

Looking at the vertical portal of pure Essence, it felt surreal.

The Gates was a mix of white and purple energy, with its central core being white and the latter colour gracing its edges.

We remained in front of the Gate waiting for the green light from the awakeners, recalling the final instructions from Professor Kenivale to stick close together.

Our chances of scale through with the lowest possible casualties depending on how well we worked with each other.

Agreeing to watch each other’s backs, we stepped into the portal after the go ahead signal was given, vanishing from Carin City into another realm that was in no way simple to our world.

****

After they had all gone through the portal, Professor Kenivale’s crimson eyes couldn’t help but linger in the path.

"I’m surprised Ivory went for a level 0 Gate this time around," the head of the awakeners squad, who was in charge of the verification earlier, pointed out as he approached Professor Kenivale.

"You lots are always so careful, you see. Not ones to play into the hands of variables that you cannot directly control," he added. "So tell, Kenivale..."

The man’s voice turned serious. "...What changed this time around? And don’t give me any of that trying out new things bullshit."

The vampire said nothing. His face was neutral and he didn’t waver one bit.

He remained still, rooted to his spot as he listened to the awakener talk.

This person presented facts.

Indeed, Ivory Academy — being one of the best academies in the world, if not the best — never liked to deal with uncertainties.

Level 0 Gates were one of such uncertainties. A phenomenon that no one could predict what the final outcome would look like.

It was too much of a risk and usually, they wouldn’t have permitted such an expedition but there was a reason.

The vampire recollected, brooding over his conversation with Dean Ambrose Wells, which eventually ended with him returning to the academy to teach the final year class.

He also remembered the real reason behind the call — Dr Grace’s report and the cadet who had possibly reawakened.

Could he forget? One did not simply forget such world-shaking information.

However, for now, it was not public information until a confirmation of it has been carried out.

Kenivale’s lips finally parted and he spoke, much to the awakener’s irritation.

"It’s just like you’ve said. The academy is reworking its curriculum. The world is changing. Gates are metamorphosing daily. Abilities are being spawned here and there. We would be foolish to not adapt to it."

The awakener sighed. He was disappointed.

He was already preparing himself for a juicier answer but then things did not always go how we wanted them to.

He reached for the inner pocket of his jacket, took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

Leaning forward, he snapped his finger and a tiny flame formed with which he lit his cigarette.

After a few puffs of smoke that were blown into the air, he cast his eyes on the vampire, shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"Still the same as I remember you, Kenivale..."