Chapter 351 – Tackle the Unexpected

Chapter 351 – Tackle the Unexpected

Wakefulness hit Kai like a wave smashing a kid against a steep shore. He groaned as the first icy breath clawed at his lungs.

Where… am… I…

His head throbbed, senses dulled and hazy. In the dark, he could make out nothing but blurry shadows—with just enough awareness to tell something was wrong.

How… did I…

Rough ground pressed into his cheek, the cold seeping into his skin, numbing him from head to toe. Was he lying down? Trying to grasp memories felt like groping through a muddy seafloor with touch alone. Had he hit his head? Fallen out of bed? With his Constitution, he must have tripped off a balcony to justify his current state.

Nothing seemed broken. He dragged his hands up beside his head and pushed himself up. The rough rock beneath his fingers wasn’t the smooth planks of his room, or any place he recognized. With effort, he eased into a sitting position, brushed sharp pebbles from his cheek, and rubbed his jaw to coax back some warmth.

Squinting at his surroundings, it wasn’t completely dark. A bluish glow cast the shape of blurry shadows. Faint groans tickled his ears.

Beasts…?

Urgency jolted him into a crouch, hands patting at belt and boots for weapons that weren’t there, then he raised his clenched fists—his ring gone too. The sudden movement made his vision swim with vertigo. Yet even in his confusion, the sounds didn’t match any beast he knew. They were too soft, almost… whiny.

Humans?

Kai rubbed his eyes. How had he ended up in a circle of unconscious teenagers? Had Rob or Flynn convinced him to join one of those parties to celebrate the end of the exams? The students’ Codex forbade alcohol and recreational substances on academy grounds, though rumors said that was Raelion’s most broken rule.

No, that wasn’t it. He wouldn’t have let himself get roped in before the mid-term Trials. And it still wouldn’t explain where he was.

What the hell did I do last night?

With each breath, the fog in his mind rolled back. He had been heading back from his meeting with Professor Thornwyn, lost in thought over her offer. Two months at Raelion, passing the basic and voluntary qualifications, had only highlighted the depth of his ignorance.

The pouring rain had soaked the gravel paths through the dormitories. Despite the risk, the crushing amount of subjects he needed made the free mentorship offer tempting. In no hurry to choose, he had planned to relax on his bed and strategize for the upcoming Trials in two days. And then…

Did I not make it to my room?

Hallowed Intuition should have warned if he were in danger, but he could recall no struggle. His memories simply… cut off.

That makes no sense. Unless… could they— No, they wouldn’t…

An annoying suspicion began to take form. His senses snapped into focus like a bubble had popped. A cavern arched overhead, water dripping from stalactites. Bluish moss draped the rocky walls. His hands ached from the cold, and the rising murmurs around him confirmed his worst predictions.

“I’m cold,” a girl stated with a tone that expected someone to solve the issue. “Where am I? Why is it so dark?”

“…not funny, Karvyn! Fetch a healer. My head hurts.”

“Who took my pendant?” A high-pitched voice grated on his ears. “Give it back now. Do you know who my grandaunt is? She sits on the Azure Council!”

“…can’t treat us like this. Why am I wearing a bracelet? Silver is not my color. Ungh! How do I take it off! My dress is already ruined! Do any of you know how much Dorman silk is worth?”

The jumble of confused mumbles soared as more students came to their senses, most speaking with the patrician clipped accent.

They actually did it… those bastards. This was supposed to be a cushy academy. I want my first free weekend back. I still had one day, you monsters!

Grinding his teeth, Kai suppressed the urge to curse and pushed himself to his feet. Within minutes, he had gone from washed-out dizziness to sharp and alert.

At a glance, fifty students lay curled or sprawled across the mossy cavern around a square block of stone. Several in brightly colored, feathered, and furred suits and gowns—likely leftovers from a party—the rest donned the familiar burgundy uniforms. Under the bioluminescent moss, there were a couple faces from shared lectures and several more that he didn’t recognize— probably from Fall Intake. The gold, silver and black trims divide them into Mana, Artisan and Martial Studies.

Did they combine the courses?

That shouldn’t have happened till the end of the first year.

As the chorus of demands and complaints swelled, he debated stepping forward to state the obvious and gain some silence. But a flaring light near the stone table solved his dilemma.

“Could you all shut up? It’s obvious we’re in the Trials,” a husky voice spoke. The blinding Light hid his tall figure, though his attempt at order only prompted more arguments.

“What? The Trials? They shouldn’t—”

“Tell me how to take off this ugly silver bangle.”

“Calm down, Patricia. It looks fine. I have one too.”

“It’s ugly!”

“The Trials weren’t supposed to begin till First-Day,” the high-pitched girl said. “I can’t do them like this. I don’t even have my wand.”

“Clearly, the professors thought it’d be amusing to start early,” another snarked.

“There is precedent.” A scrawny boy from Artisan Studies staggered to his feet. “Thirteen years ago, the third-years started their Trials a week early. And nine years before that, the—”

“Ugh! Nobody cares, Norton! We’re already here. We have to deal with it.”

“Quiet,” Lantern-boy growled. The Light spell pulsed with painful intensity, causing more than a few angry mutters. “Let’s figure out the rules of the test and then you can do whatever you want for all I care.”

“Why? Who put you in charge? Do you know who— ah! Turn off that light!”

“What should we even do? They gave us no—”

“Maybe look at the huge square stone and the enchanted band on your wrist?” The snarky boy snapped, the eyeroll obvious in his tone.

“Has anyone seen my pendant?”

“Obviously not. They must have confiscated any spatial artifacts for the test.”

“Why would they do that? That’s so unfair. I demand—”

Groaning out loud, Lantern-boy reached for the stone. His fingers barely brushed the square block when he jolted back with a curse, as if burned.

Where he’d touched, chains of purple runes flared across the block. A low rumble, almost like a cough, shook the cavern and silenced even the most obstinate bickering. The script spread over the polished rock until it glowed with power. Unable to contain the thrumming mana, wisp-like fireflies lifted from the arrays and coalesced into the figure of a man in an elegantly embroidered robe and a tasseled hat lined with silver clear.

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What the… Have I seen him before?

“Welcome, students.” The man brushed his lush beard with a bony hand as he surveyed the assembled group; only the faint purplish tint betrayed him as a projection.

Dumbledore’s twin? Have you returned?

Kai froze as the professor’s gaze landed squarely on him before sweeping the rest of the group amidst awed murmurs.