A Sub Student's Job

Heian Ciemnosc entered the area of the Fauna-housing, his medallion shone in his pockets as he did, and the pretty young woman addressed him before he could go any further in. Her voice was amicable, and she was already half-turned around with her left arm and buttcheek showing, her face turned. "I'll leave you here. Transport is free for Sub Students, as long as you go to any route within the transporting vehicle permission. Don't dwell too much, and start working hard. The first year is always the most important."

"Mn, thank you." Heian Ciemnosc nodded, and the girl nodded back, and as he said his thanks, she smiled brightly before stepping away. Heian Ciemnosc held his sack with his several set of clothes and Academy's identifications and started to walk into the Fauna-housing area. The entire place was perhaps tens of kilometers long, but its width was much smaller. It was also a rectangle that spanned over a long distance. There were wooden, large buildings every several hundred meters, each having its own perimeter for the Fauna's activities and leisure.

Walking into it Heian Ciemnosc sighed. Looking around, he could tell these houses were huge and had about 5 or even 8 floors each, without counting the underground’s floors. Meanwhile, the first floor already held several hundred different Fauna. Some were bigger than others or simply with a larger enclosure but small Fauna, so there was bound to be a differing number for each housing.

Looking at his note in which it had written the housing registration of his Cloudless Eagle, Heian Ciemnosc sighed once more as he began walking. For 3 hours, he stepped forward without stopping to see the Fauna or the other floors, walking through housings until he found the one where his Cloudless Eagle awaited him and had been treated well since months ago.

‘It has been some time. I wonder how stronger it had become… Hong Mei said she had it well fed and cared for until I entered the Academy.’ Thinking so, Heian Ciemnosc began to wonder about the costs of maintaining his Cloudless Eagle while following the note’s registration information and went to his Cloudless Eagle’s enclosure on the 3rd floor.

Flap, tek tek. Wheesh.

“Eyyy, that’s right. Your last examination is complete. Your owner is coming here today, you know? I mean… tonight.” A dark orange haired young woman had her back against Heian Ciemnosc as she spoke to the Cloudless Eagle flapping its wings and walking on its enclosure. It looked proud and at ease with the young woman, not even noticing Heian Ciemnosc right away.

“You’ve done well, boy. Now, you’ll have to go hungry and broke. That’s life, you know?” The young woman continued as Heian Ciemnosc stepped towards her back, “But you are strong, eh. Good determination and a very good attitude as well. Even the other birdie girls look at you obscenely, but you can’t mate without your owner’s permission. Maybe- ah!”

The young woman turned around and faced Heian Ciemnosc with some papers in her hands and wrists, pushing them against her body so they wouldn’t fall off. She looked at Heian Ciemnosc and rapidly opened the gate to the enclosure, which was no more than a fence. But Heian Ciemnosc could smell and instinctively feel the array formations’ pure energy around this and any other enclosure.

“Sorry! You must be his owner, right? I’ve seen your portrait from your backer. Nice to meet you. This is your Cloudless Eagle, and he has been an exemplary Creature in the housing. He even won a few races when the Fauna-housing did these events. Hehe.” She was relatively easygoing and greeted Heian Ciemnosc enthusiastically. Heian Ciemnosc walked into the enclosure and nodded at her, then looked at the Cloudless Eagle, who was teary-eyed as soon he looked at Heian Ciemnosc.

Chirp, chirp chirp. Heian Ciemnosc’s right hand went over its beak, rubbing it slightly, sliding upwards to meet below its eyes, and softly rubbed it left and right. Saying nothing, Heian Ciemnosc and the Cloudless Eagle looked at each other, knowing and understanding exchanged across each other. Heian Ciemnosc looked at the young woman with a gentle smile upon seeing the scene and asked. “Can you help me with the pact? With him.”

The young woman nodded and walked forwards to join them smoothly, “Mn, sure.”

Afterwards, Heian Ciemnosc was to say a few words, of his choice, to the Cloudless Eagle he knew the Cloudless Eagle would be in harmony with. Speaking some words of their past a little and reassuring the Cloudless Eagle he would never abandon him, the first step quickly passed. And Heian Ciemnosc’s promise became the Cloudless Eagle’s promise.

Later, Heian Ciemnosc was to fuse his blood essence with the Cloudless Eagle’s bloodline. The most important factors of their lineage became one together as they finished that step with their forehead meeting the other’s.

Lastly, Heian Ciemnosc and the Cloudless Eagle had to share a link until they had the same thought, image, emotion, and longing in their hearts, minds, and Souls - formed or not. Heian Ciemnosc saw gramma Jing Zhu right before she detonated herself and her cultivation base for his sake as the Cloudless Eagle helped him fly away. Finally, their connection surged. Thus the link was made, and the pact was complete.

“... Thank you,” Heian Ciemnosc softly spoke while the Cloudless Eagle ‘destroyed’ and ‘mangled’ her face with its beak, caressing her and making her smile big time. She said amidst giggling, which sounded like chuckling and adorably choking simultaneously, “No problem. I may be a mere human, but my lineage once had a famous Titan-Elf ancestor. I vowed to become a good Craftsmaking caretaker before becoming the best.”

“Wish you the best, then.” Heian Ciemnosc nodded at her, then separated from the Cloudless Eagle, gave it a look, and said, while keeping eye contact. “So, he can mate if I permit it?”

“Ah, yes! He’s pretty old already, and if he doesn’t mate, in case he doesn’t make it to the next Step, then he would die infertile. That’s a very likely common end for Fauna where… their owners don’t really get any idea how to take care of them, or not care.” The young woman spoke tactfully but frankly, trying not to show a wrong word or expression out of care.

“Mn, so tell me, big boy. Do you want to start making families here?” Heian Ciemnosc asked the boy after slightly smiling, slightly moving his face to the left and negligibly nodding back at her. The Cloudless Eagle kept looking down, its watery eyes telling Heian Ciemnosc all. In return, Heian Ciemnosc looked at him and sighed through his nostrils ever so slightly.

“Then alright,” Heian Ciemnosc looked at the Cloudless Eagle with a known meaning before turning his head to face the young woman, who smiled brighter than the moons in the skies of the Blackotia Kingdom at times. “Can you make it happen? Pick whoever he wants, and if he’s picky, teach him a lesson.”

Looking back at the Cloudless Eagle, Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes were ‘ruthless’ as he added. “If you don’t dare make many babies, I will cut off your balls in offerings to gramma’s efforts.”

Gulp. After the Cloudless Eagle heard those words, he sat on the ground with his belly and closed his legs. The young woman squinted her eyes, content. Heian Ciemnosc then looked at the young woman and calmly said, “How can I keep renting this place for him and have him have the same treatment as before? In terms of food and resources.”

“Ooh!” The young woman’s eyes brightened with a glow other than because of the affection Heian Ciemnosc showed to the Cloudless Eagle. It was… greed! She immediately looked at her papers, her eyes working with a speed faster than Heian Ciemnosc could think of, and then said after a few seconds, her lips no longer muttering noiselessly. “The Academy and Fauna-hosing can let you ‘borrow’ for 3 months your Cloudless Eagle stay and keep his previous maintenance records the same.”

“In return, when those 3 months are over, you will have to pay up 5 months’ worth of your Cloudless Eagle accommodations.” For everything she did in a few seconds, the young woman had peculiarly a simple answer to Heian Ciemnosc’s question. After saying that much, then added, hugging her documents dearly and eagerly looking at him. “Don’t worry. You can get more than enough money for your cultivation if you work hard, even as a Sub Student.”

“What about Craftsmaking?” Heian Ciemnosc asked the young woman, who pouted to the left corner of her mouth before answering him. “Not possible. Unless you’re willing to let your cultivation speed slow down a lot. And even then, you would barely be able to progress in some Craftsmaking. It’s really costly.”

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“For example, and let me aid you here,” the young woman had a solemn aura surround her as she began some management brief introduction. “Sub Students get paid from a few hundred to several thousand silver coins. These aren’t made of silver, but you’ll get to know them later on. Any job can range between that amount, and it is difficult to not expend all of one’s coin for Craftsmaking. When I was a Sub Student, I was broke my whole year. I wasn’t the brightest, and no Fauna-housing would believe in me, so I worked hard to get the coins.”

“You are bright and incredibly powerful, Heian Ciemnosc. But you are a Sub Student, and even though it isn’t against some sort of rules and regulations, nobody would aid you out of hand and status just to form connections. Not here, not in most prosperous organizations.” The young woman continued. Eagle and pale teenager listened attentively and looked at her, self-absorbed. “Powerful Stones are required up to the last little step to enter the Second Step, and even a bit afterwards, and silver coins are all for the uses of a cultivator in the first step.”

“I, a Student nowadays, can get paid from a few tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand silver coins, or above it, in the jobs I can do. This job right here,” the young woman looked at the ceiling and pointed at the floor, “It pays me 400,000 coins every month. Additionally, every week, I receive an extra payment of 60,000 coins. With that, I can get tens and tens of thousands of Stones to cultivate. But I only exchange it for several thousand Stones monthly and about 1 or 2 hundred thousand every year. Why? Everything else, discounting the commodities and weapons, armor, or tools, is for Craftsmaking. And that’s only as a Caretaker. Word travels, and I take it you are an allrounder?”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc was left flabbergasted and silly, silent as he looked at the young woman telling him so ‘little’ but with so much behind every phrase. She lifted her left eyebrow at him, and he understood. This place was so enormous he couldn’t be lazy even if he wanted to. Could not for himself and his cultivation and Craftsmaking progress, not for the Cloudless Eagle and his beauties waiting for his graduation. Definitely cannot be so for his Mommy.

“I understand,” Heian Ciemnosc looked at her and said, almost like a kid being shown the world by his big sis, and the young woman even placed the back of her hands on her hips. “Good then. Now. Can you imagine the tens and tens of millions of Students getting paid like that; every year? Can you imagine how many resources are moved into the Academy from all around the Blackotia Kingdom and the rest of the world? Let’s talk a little bit about it while I walk you out. Your Cloudless Eagle needs some rest…”

The manager-wanna-be big sis brought Heian Ciemnosc out as the Cloudless Eagle bowed its head to say goodbye. But Heian Ciemnosc stopped her horses as he halted and looked back, “That sounds nice, but I have been thinking about this matter a lot. And I think my little Cloudless Eagle over here needs… a name.”

“Oooh, great!” The young woman softly exclaimed, naturally liking where this was going. She then took some papers out her Covert Space bag and readied herself to scribble down on them. She awaited as Heian Ciemnosc looked at his Cloudless Eagle and calmly spoke.

“Pal, we’ve been together for some time, would you l- ah, not that bullshit. I know you will.” Heian Ciemnosc stopped his ‘nice’ words halfway there, changed his tone, shook his head, and looked into the Cloudless Eagle’s energetic eyes for a slightly long time. “How about Evan?”

“...” The Cloudless Eagle looked at Heian Ciemnosc in a different way. His head and beak lowered, and his eyes became dull and mal-humored as they looked back at Heian Ciemnosc, his name giver. Heian Ciemnosc bitterly grimaced with a grin and scratched his head with his right hand. “Jing Evan.”

Chiiiiirp! Wooaaahrr, roaar, chiiirp~!~!~!

As soon as Heian Ciemnosc added that surname, not even his, the Cloudless Eagle was just beyond words as it sang to its heart’s content. Right then, the nearby Fauna on the 3rd floor responded in unison as if they were all bosom friends with the Cloudless Eagle, and he had told them of his adventures before being Heian Ciemnosc’s Creature. Everyone seemed cheerful, and… was a loud yet pleasing sound in the deep of the night.

“Mmm~,” the young woman hummed, seemingly in response to the other Fauna and to accompany them in their joy. They began to ease up after she started humming until they were silent. Heian Ciemnosc finally felt the last couple of days’ tiredness and exhaustion. Nodding at Evan, Heian Ciemnosc turned around and told the young woman, whose eyes became greedy again. “Now, about that talk…”

. . .

Night, Sub Student dormitories. The pale teenager, Heian Ciemnosc, walked through the sidewalk of the houses-looking building with their own gardens; and backyards, yards, and even garages before finally arriving where the general dormitories were.

It was night, and there was no light. The ground was a seemingly ordinary concrete for roads. But it was very tough, and even after Heian Ciemnosc ‘tried it’ out, it didn’t even lift dust with 20,000 kg of bodily strength. When Heian Ciemnosc stepped on such concrete. Somehow it made him feel safe. He liked walking under the night sky as the lights from too far away and the stars’ reflected slightly at particular areas here and there.

After leaving the house-like buildings, Heian Ciemnosc entered through the gates, where a machine would need his medallion in order to let him in. Heian Ciemnosc flashed his medallion at a little panel, which even a child could understand how the machine would work, and then he went through it as the door was opened.

There was a bigger entrance for vehicles and Fauna, terrestrial or flying-type. No flying could be done above the Academy’s sections, such as the Sub Students' dormitories. As for the civilian cities and Cities, there was never a need to employ such regulations. If anyone dared to mistreat anyone, especially a civilian, the Academy would lunge towards the perpetrators and effectively distribute punishment. Immediate execution was just one of the worse results.

After going through the door, Heian Ciemnosc yawned a little, but he could not believe it. Did he just yawn? He actually felt sleepy? Would he sleep tonight?! Would he be dreaming? What would he dream of? Mommy? The Sinvonnia Kingdom? The strange, unknown force? His one and sole remaining old pal, Jing Evan? Beauties Alyona and Hong Mei? Or would he just see darkness once again?

Either way, Heian Ciemnosc would feel content as long as any of those happened because that would mean he would sleep. He did as Mommy told him, always. Brushed teeth, ate well, and was nice and polite as much as possible. Studied and trained hard. He also didn’t deny love or his desires. And when it came to those he lost… he lost… He honored them in every way he could. Baths were, agh, troublesome, but he also did them every now and then. Even if just passing his dark Power Energy around his body, inside out, when there was no way to properly shower or bathe himself.

Walking to the door, which his medallion showed him which one was his, just by sending Spirit Sense into it, Heian Ciemnosc flashed it again towards it, and it seemed to have become vulnerable towards him. As soon as Heian Ciemnosc felt that, his right hand went to grab the doorknob, which smoothly opened with his motions.

The dormitories were pretty damn gigantic. It was supposed to host hundreds of thousands of Sub Students each, so they had to be long, and each personal dormitory had to be big but also not too big. There were over 12 floors for each dormitory building, and in between 2 dormitory buildings, half a hundred meters distanced each other, with black fences separating them. Though that was more for the sake of differing each dormitory other than half a hundred meters’ distance between them. There were no regulations for visiting other dormitories, and girls could even share individual dormitories with boys, even if it was 1 to 20, so to speak.

It wasn’t like the Wrath Nihility Academy was the perfect place, or they were always observing each and every Sub Student closely. Instead, the medallions are one way to prevent the dismay of a student or any staff member of the Academy, for that matter. And they indeed have methods to watch over the Sub Students' behavior. There were array formations that could work with nature, meaning that one’s emotions and intents could be read. Such things… according to Alyona, Hong Mei, and many more of the Crimsonbreaking Faction, are things nothing nor no one could ever go against or change.

Those were helpful, but the most helpful thing for these situations was the connection every staff member had with the Academy. The reactions of one’s self when being raped, about to be murdered, killed, crippled by cutting off one’s limbs, and in severe distress, such as cultivation deviation, Soul breaking apart, and even Spirit dying. It could all be sensed, which the Academy could then react to adequately.

Most of the time, the Academy just had to save a Sub Student, Student, or Leading Student from a mistake, if in time. But there was still some little petty crime happening here and there. After all… not every single head is a different world.

The door opened without making a cracking noise. Heian Ciemnosc looked around and saw another 20 guys, wasted and fat asleep. After seeing the one bed left alone, he walked to it. This was an all-male individual dormitory, and he won’t be experiencing the standard communication between girls and boys in the same bedroom as if they were all the same sex, somewhat and to a certain degree.

Heian Ciemnosc walked to his bed. Which was on the floor and not up. Heian Ciemnosc looked at it for some time before directly turning his body around. Letting his left leg fold and become weak, his back made a sonorous white noise while the hard but comfortable mattress left him speechless.

‘Holy sh…’ Heian Ciemnosc was trying to think as he pedaled his legs and baby-motioned his hands around, moving the blankets to place them above him. When he suddenly fell asleep. Zzzzzzz.

…

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Let It Rain's Note: These 2 chapters... I wrote them exhausted and tired, sick. Couldn't sleep, and ended up having nausea. For hours, I was in the bathroom, trying to throw up. I'm not a kid, and have had a decent amount of throwing up. In the end, 26-27 hours after I woke up yesterday, it all ended. My throat hurts when talking, my body's state reminds me of that time I had dental surgery and well... let's say that staying in bed for 2 weeks with just one's lips moving hurting your entire body is painful. No fever though, and what's best, I could write today's 2 chapters. I'm tired, but oh, did I enjoy getting to reveal a bit of the management and things this entire universe has to offer. I feel joy...