Chapter 23: The Hole

In the dean's office now, it was in quite a festive mood.

"Looks like I was worried about nothing," said the dean. An aged figure, with worn-out white hair and shaved face. "Who would have expected we would get four in the top ten this year?"

"Aren't you are the one showing off your grandson, that he would take a spot there, Rathel," the middle-aged looking lady Murphy asked. She was in a good mood too.

"Of course, Of course," Rathel, the dean of institute, laughed, not minding Murphy. "I have high expectations for Leroy and he did not betray my expectation. But the other three was a pleasant addition. Who could have thought we would get another top runner just after a couple of years?"

"It's a time for celebration then," Murphy said. "Bring out some good wine from your collection."

"Don't worry, I won't cheap out now," the dean said. "Roan would be arriving soon."

Just as he said it, a knocking came at the door.

"Come in."

Roan came holding two good glass bottles of wine. Beside him were two other men—Ford and another male. His name was Aleister, a man in his forties. Fair-skinned, and short dark hair. He was in charge of the teaching department.

"Just in time." Rathel laughed.

"I expected the old woman to be here," Aleister said, looking at Murphy. "There was no way she would miss the chance of ripping off the dean."

"Shut up," Murphy snorted.

Aleister laughed. The three of them sat as Roan prepared the glass for them.

"Ford, did you see the boy?" the dean asked the Ford—the only young man in the group with Roan. "Elior, our Top runner."

"I saw, '' Ford said, "but then I did not know the result, and the boy was quite nonchalant, did not say a thing about it."

"Right," Roan joined. "I asked him on the bus how was his trial, and he only answered by saying, I passed. He did not seem to think of this as an accomplishment."

"Maybe he was tired," Murphy added, taking her glass of wine.

"I should ask Leroy about his experience in the trial," the dean said. "There is finally someone he could compete with."

"We should all go now," Aleister said. "It is almost the time of the debriefing."

. . .

"Good evening to all the students present here," said the Dean, Rathel said from the high podium looking down at the hundred-something freshmen below. "And congratulations on getting your admission here. The Institute of Earth's Guardian—the finest place that every youth desires to be. But not all could get an admission.

"Only you, the most excellent of the elites, get a seat here. You had gone through countless sleepless nights preparing and succeeded in the hellish test and trial and finally here. But I'm saddened to tell you, your suffering has just started."

The students who were feeling proud after the first part of the dean's speech turned speechless. Some even shivered in fear, recalling the creatures they fought in the trial.

Elior stood with his friends, Shin and Ileana. Shin was not even a single bit impressed or frightened by the speech and gave a sigh of sleepiness. While Ileana was listening with her entire focus. She had always been an excellent student in this regard. Elior had never seen anyone work harder than her in school.

The dean continued. "You are all diamonds that needed carving, us the teacher, and staff are the carver. We will do our best to carve out your greatest potential that even you are unaware of. I won't waste much of your time now. The head of the Teaching department, Aleister Scriber, will take it from here."

The dean left the stage as another man of younger age appeared before the student. He wore a white shirt and a black overcoat over it, spine straight as a spear and eyes narrowed as if always focused. This was Aleister Scribe, the one in charge of the teachings.

"Students," he said in a stern tone that made many nervous. "I won't congratulate you again as the dean already. But what I will do is make sure you are all on the right path. This year's seeds are more talented than the previous year. I expect great things from you. "

Elior looked at the tall man on the podium and recalled how he had taught him many nights, rejecting sleep. He had three great teachers in his previous life, and Aleister was one of them. He may not be a high levelled guardian, but he was the best teacher earth could offer. That was why he was in charge of teaching all the students, be it freshmen or upper class.

"The institute runs on a very strict reward and punishment policy. The better you perform, the more facilities you will enjoy. While the poorer your performance becomes, the fewer facilities will be there for you," the head of the teaching department continued. "And we very much adore the law and regulations here. No one is exempt from it. Not any students or staff."

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Aleister licked his lips and continued. "Here in the institute, you will learn many things from compulsory subjects such as History, geography, Applied science, Mana training and Theory, Spell Theory and Practice, weapon training to auxiliary classes Artifacting, Smithing, mana engineering, Healing, Alchemy, Research and many more.

"You will get to choose some of the classes according to your path. Suppose you are a mage or want to be a mage, then you can get exempt from some classes such as weapon training or other class regarding Warriors. You will get a better idea about it from the pamphlet." Alester gestured towards where a few staffs were, with their uniforms, books and study guide. "Remember, you need to return the form after deciding what class you want to take."

Aleister left, saying a few more things. Then other staff told them to collect their stuff one by one in line.

Elior and the other two waited at the last of the lines, conversing among themselves. Shin was already complaining just hearing about studying, while Ileana had the exact opposite mood.

"Elior, are you one of the studious people?" Shin asked.

"No," Elior said, but his eyes were somewhere else. "But I never had a problem passing."

Shin followed his gaze and saw a boy of their age approaching them. The newcomer was tall like them, but he was way more handsome than Shin or Elior. Seeing him, one had to admit, genes do matter.

"Do you know him?" Shin asked in a softer tone.

Elior did not answer, waited for the newcomer to approach them. Many kinds of different emotions swirled inside him, just looking at him.

"Hello, I did not meet you in the trial," the newcomer said with a pleasant smile on his good-looking face. "Nice to meet you, I'm Leroy."

"You are that Leroy from the trial?" Shin was surprised to hear the name. He already knew the name from the Trial. The first runner-up in the trial, but Shin did not know he was an earthling, just like them.

While Ileana seemed a little overwhelmed by the handsomeness of the newcomer. She flushed a little and looked down, shaking her head.

"Yes," Leroy said sincerely, "Congratulations on your achievement on the Trial."

"Thank you," Shin said civility. He gestured at Elior and continued. "It was all because of brother Elior here."

Even when Shin finished the Phrase, Elior was looking straight at Leroy with an expression of regret, sorrow, disappointment, pity and, most importantly, Hatred. Leroy was no enemy, yet an unknown hatred swept over him.

'I do not want to kill him, yet why do I hate him so much?' Elior questioned in his mind. As far as he recalled, Leroy had saved his life more than once and even sacrificed himself at the last war, yet Elior felt a deep-rooted hatred the moment he laid eyes on him.

'Why? Why?' Elior questioned as his mind drifted on those clouds of memory. He went deeper and deeper, standing still. He could not hear Shin calling him, Ileana nudging him. He was drowned by the overwhelming amount of memory, but what alarmed him was that all the memory he saw was not his. There was something he could not make sense of.

Elior did not find the answer he was looking for, instead, his mind flooded with strangling memories of the past. His spine shivered in chills and he had problems breathing.

Quick gasps of breath escaped from his mind while the insanity drove him.

Then he returned and felt his head spinning.

[Eye of Genesis restricts Apprentice Elior from accessing the memories.]

That was the first time the [Eye of Insights] activated and it was on its own.

"Brother, are you alright?" Shin asked.

"El, El, can you hear me?" Ileana cried, rubbing his chicks.

"I'm alright," Elior said, exhaling a deep breath.

"What happened to you?" the two of them asked at the same time.

"I am . . . tired." He said and noticed Leroy was not present in the group. "Where did the fellow go?"

"He went to call for help, noticing your ailment."

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