“Luka, what do you mean by playing along for now?” Luiz spoke to Luka. He could not understand what Luka was saying all of a sudden.
Luka rolled his eyes. “Zachariel must have lost his memories, or he could not clearly recollect them, leading to him not remembering who we are. Anyway, just introduce us to him now. There’s no harm doing it. Asking him about how he lost his memory would just be futile.”
`The way he lost his memory must be confidential. I don’t think Zachariel would just disclose the reason behind it. There’s also the possibility that he might not even have the slightest idea about it. It’s best to play along for now and slowly investigate this.`
Luka thought carefully about this matter. Losing one’s memory out of nowhere was definitely strange and asking the person themselves may not even bring any useful information.
“Uh, is that so? Very well then!” Luiz scratched his head.
“Hey, Zachariel!” He looked over to Zachariel. Lia distanced herself away from Zachariel with a sad expression. She put her arms in front of her as she thought.
`Is he acting or does he genuinely not remember me?` If it was genuine, it would be okay, but if it was not…
Luiz started to introduce himself and Luka to Zachariel.
“I’m Luiz Carrico and he’s Luka Alaze. If you don’t remember, we used to hang out with you on every break between classes!”
Zachariel nodded. He whispered to himself, “Luiz Carrico and Luka Alaze, huh?”
“What about her?” He pointed to Lia.
“Ah, she’s Lia Milelli. She’s the curious type and would usually stick with you all the time.”
Luiz had a hard time trying to put himself to act in front of Zachariel. “Luka, I’m not cut out for this! Help me out!”
Luka approached Zachariel. “Ah Zachariel, you were absent earlier and there were some announcements in our classes.”
“Announcements?”
“Yeah, for our weaponry class, we’ll be having the second round of the test matches 3 days from now. We’ll also be going to the Mage Guild for our mana cultivation class on the same day.”
“Second round of test? Mage Guild? I see. Thank you for telling me.”
The three people were dumbfounded. `Isn’t he a bit too social for today?`
If it was another time, Zachariel would’ve just looked at them plainly and they would never know whether he received their message or not.
“Luka, you’re right. There’s definitely something wrong with him today.” Luiz affirmed what Luka said earlier.
More students entered the classroom. It was Iria and the others.
Iria was stumped when she saw Zachariel. `He’s here now?`
She went to her seat and started to cultivate again.
“Lia, what’s wrong?” Zachariel saw Lia rubbing her hands together. `Does she want to say something?`
“Uh, Zachariel, I wanted to invite you out to train with me tomorrow in the public training area. You… you won’t mind, do you?” Lia was embarrassed. `Oh no, dumb me! I confessed to him, I confessed!`
If Luiz and Luka heard what she told herself right now, they might yell at her for being a bit slow.
“Training in the public area?” Zachariel deeply thought about it. `If I remember, there should be a training area inside the school, and also at the central part of the Imperium Capital City.`
“If you don’t want to, it’s okay! I can understand!” She panicked and waved her hands at Zachariel.
“No, it’s okay. I just don’t know in what way I could help you out though.” The doubt in his mind remained. `Can I really help them train?`
He didn’t know whether he was powerful or not. There was a chance he would embarrass himself during their training and he did not want that to happen, but he didn’t have a choice about that matter either.
`Damn it, Zachariel! Why are you doubting yourself now?!`
Lia was shocked about Zachariel’s reply. `Finally, I could train with him!` She struck a victorious pose in her mind.
Meanwhile, Luka and Luiz were dumbstruck again. They took a while to recover from their stupor.
“Luka.”
“Luiz.”
The two of them looked at each other and nodded.
“Brother Zachariel, can we join you tomorrow with your training with Lia?”
The two of them started to act in a feminine way, trying to plaster a cute look on their faces. Luiz even started to slowly unbutton his uniform in a flirtatious way.
“Yeah, but what’s wrong with your faces?” Zachariel could not understand why these two suddenly changed their character.
“Ah, nothing.” The two of them backed away and discussed something. Lia had already returned to her seat.
“Luka, it looks like Zachariel wouldn’t accept it if it’s guys asking him out.”
“You’re right, Luiz. We need to put a girl in front next time and let her do it on our stead.”
“But who? It’s not like we have a lot of female classmates here anyway.”
Luka tapped Luiz’s shoulders and pointed to a certain classmate.
“Luka, do you want to be impotent too?”
“Luiz, as a man, we have to brave very difficult things in life. Losing our potency is nothing when a greater cause is at risk.” Luka tried to bullsh*t his way out.
Luiz was caught in the trap. He thought that Luka looked admirable when he said that. “Got it, Luka. Leave it to me next time!” He put a thumbs up and smiled.
Luka smirked inside his mind. `Luiz, I’m sorry about this but we have no choice. You’re the only one who can do it.`
On the other hand, Zachariel didn’t know what to do next so he simply went back to his seat and sat down.
Time passed by and the afternoon classes started. This time, Zachariel listened curiously to the topics being discussed by their instructors.
However, he was dumbfounded during their qi cultivation class.
“Yeah, yeah, it was so funny!” The instructor laughed so hard after telling a ‘joke’.
The students were getting annoyed about this.
`Can somebody replace him as our instructor for this class?!`
The instructor rubbed his eyes and continued his nonsense during their qi cultivation class.
`Is this a class or is this a stand-up comedy session?`
Zachariel could not believe what he was hearing just now. “Hey, is it always like this?” He tugged a student near him and asked a question.
“Ah, yeah. I don’t know why you only knew this right now but it’s been always like this from the beginning.” The student was confused. `Aren’t we in the same class? Just where were you from the beginning then?`
It continued until the end of the class.
“Class dismissed.” The instructor left the classroom, his laughter resounded in the hallways.
The students sighed.
“Argh! That damn instructor! When will he teach us something relatable in his class?! All I could hear is either a damn joke or a part of his past!” Luiz complained. How could they become good fighters in the future at this rate?
“Ah, Zachariel! We’ll go to the training area tomorrow at 10:00. See you there, okay?!” Luiz reminded Zachariel.
Zachariel nodded at him. Luiz and Luka quickly left the classroom.
Iria approached him. “Zachariel, I’ve got something to tell you about.”
“Uh, you are?”
“You-!” Iria stumbled and immediately regained her balance. “I’m your class president, Iria Usenko. Anyway, we will go to the Mage Guild three days from now for our mana cultivation class. Take care, I’ll go now!”
Iria left with Kaela and Ksenia. `How come he doesn’t know me at all? Something must’ve happened during the lockdown. I’ll ask Luka about it tomorrow.`
…
Matthias sat on his chair. “He’s already changed?”
Cody reported to Matthias again.
“Yes, Sir Matthias. Furthermore, he even lost his memories and they seemed to have come back after a few moments of waking up. Though it’s probably incomplete after I observed his behavior.”
“Intriguing, something like this shouldn’t happen just because of feeling guilty or passing out.” Matthias tapped his fingers on the table.
“Anyway, at least it’s better now.”
“Sir, I feel that he might have trouble coping with society due to him being unattached for so long. He might not know how to act in specific situations and may doubt himself on whether what he is doing is right or not. This could be a problem in the long run.”
“Doesn’t matter. That’ll be fixed over time. As for adapting to society, Zachariel has no problem with that. You should’ve already noticed how observant he is when he fought with Edward a few days ago.”
“Okay, sir. About the practice, tomorrow, are we going to let them go to the public training area?”
“Yes, they’ll need some exposure. Although Rainald and Cassia are good mentors, it isn’t enough. Those two are soft when it comes to teaching their juniors and will always set a limit on their training. They might’ve thought that it was hard enough, but it isn’t actually what it looks like.”
Matthias continued.
“However, those guys in the public training area are combat freaks and won’t back down even in front of a Prospect. You already had experienced that a long time ago. How was it, though?”
Cody scratched his head in embarrassment.
“Fighting them was both annoying and refreshing. They would always mock you first before they have a go at it.”
“I agree that they really are combat freaks, though their experiences are proven to be beneficial if one could have a go against them on the fighting arena.”
Matthias smiled. In the past, he would always get beaten up by those old fools and smelly bastards in the fighting arena. `I wonder if that old guy is still alive?`
He remembered a special person who would always curse at him for being a weak Prospect. Even when he became a titled Prospect, that old man could still beat him without a sweat.
Unfortunately, when he returned from the Supreme Academy after 10 years, he no longer saw the old man.
“Gather the rest of the Prospects tomorrow in the training area. The others seemed to have been busy in the last few days, and the others are preparing for their class selection for the next 2 weeks. You could let the freshmen have a go with their seniors or other people in the arena. Just make sure to consider their safety. After all, not everyone in the arena is the good guys you’ve mentioned.”
Cody nodded.
“Sir, what about Zachariel?”
“If he’s there, let him join in the fun, but don’t force him. About Scarlet and Jean, you can also ask them out. Jean has a special talent but I will let you experience it first-hand. He will prove useful when it comes to giving remarks out after each fight. That will definitely help the freshmen and possibly even the seniors. After all, he’s the grandson of one of the Higher Elders in the Circle”
Cody was shocked. That freshman had a huge background and an overwhelming special ability?
“Sir, if this is the case, how come-?”
“It’s a long story, Cody. You’ll find it out soon.”
“Okay, sir.”
“You may go now.” Matthias waved his hand. Cody bowed and left the room.
`Hmm… Zachariel Strom.`
`If I remember correctly, Cody said that Cassia’s life essence was absorbed out of nowhere when she tried to put Zachariel to sleep.`
`Something or someone must’ve interfered during that time, and the interference must’ve cost Zachariel a part or all of his memories. I don’t know if it could affect his behavior and personality, though.`
`Unless he’s…`
Matthias stood up and approached the bookshelves. He placed his hands over the books and slowly read their titles one by one.
`Nervadellir: An Introduction`
`Ancient Ruins Excavation`
`Void Mysteries: Void Conception`
`Not this… not this…`
He roamed around. `The books here are lacking. If only I could get back in the Academy and read more about the Voids and Nervadellirs.`
He sighed and looked outside.
`Jean Anders. I hope you could unravel a part of Zachariel’s mystery tomorrow.`
…
Zachariel walked back to his dormitory. Solus had already set a long time ago and the magic lamps on the side were the only source of light he could use.
“Tell me, why are you following me to my dormitory, Lia?” He stopped walking and looked back. Lia was secretly following him.
She jolted and walked in front of him with an awkward smile on her face. `Oh no, he found out!`
“Uhm, I just want to know which dormitory you are so that I could wait in front of here tomorrow and go along with you together to the public training area.”
“Well, couldn’t you have just asked for me about it instead?” Zachariel couldn’t understand why she had to go this far for knowing which dormitory he stayed.
“Ah! Yeah, yeah, yeah! I forgot about that!”
`Damn it, you big idiot! He must be hating on me right now!`
Zachariel massaged his temples.
“Ah! I’ll go now. I’ll wait for you here tomorrow! Bye!” She dashed to where her dormitory was.
Zachariel watched as she ran away.
`What was that for? I wanted to ask her if I could take her back to her dormitory.`
He sighed.
`Anyway, time to go back.`
He went to his room and slept soundly that night.
