CHAPTER 9: WORK HABITS
A young woman walked down the halls of the academy with an angry expression evident.
“Did you dare to take my chips and then stomp on them? Damn idiot,” a young woman growled as she devoured some fries with an expression of obvious anger.
Anyone who heard her grumbling like a child would feel sorry for being bullied, but such a feeling would change when someone saw her directly.
On her back was attached a shadow that covered her entire back, and from there, black arms were reaching out everywhere like tentacles.
Two of those arms were dragging two severely injured individuals, but not enough to be teleported.
The young woman seemed reminiscent of a recognizable comic book villain who had four mechanical arms and fought a man who received powers from a spider.
Only here, the black arms were multiple and came out of her back like strange tentacles.
The young woman who was walking stopped in the hallway when some masked men stepped in her way.
“You guys want to steal my chips too?” The young woman asked, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
From behind her back, more arms appeared and moved toward the criminals who had not responded.
Those criminals were a dime a dozen, but each one of them...
“What chips?!”
“No, no!”
“Who the hell is she?”
The criminals could only scream before the long arms grabbed and slammed them against the wall or each other like toys.
Some were able to punch one arm away, but that got the attention of the others, and then dozens of arms were beating them out.
Each of them quickly disappeared, one after another.
In less than a minute, the young woman’s path was clear, and she continued to head towards the entrance, oblivious to the enormous black barrier that covered the entire school and the dozens of gazes of unseen criminals who were stunned to see her.
The arms went back to the shadow on her back, only leaving two arms dragging the two thugs who suffered the misfortune first.
“Oh, a vending machine,” said the young woman, when she came across a gleaming vending machine.
She kept her bag of chips in her pocket and walked over to the vending machine.
As she did, she noticed that in the window in the classroom behind the vending machine was a criminal spying on her.
“...”
The gaze of the young woman and the criminal met.
The criminal’s eyes screamed for her not to do anything to him but for his regret...
“Do you want to steal my chips?” Asked the young woman, taking her chips and standing on guard.
The next moment, dozens of arms came out from the shadow on her back.
These black arms broke the glass and caught the criminal who had tried to flee, then pulled him out the window and threw him against the wall before disappearing.
As if the young woman was not satisfied with that, the arms began to spread out, breaking the windows of the halls, attacking trees or places where someone might have been hiding.
“How did you know where I was?”
“Retreat!”
“Don’t run away, stop her!.... Ahhh... Run away, you better run away!”
The screams were heard one after another, whether in a classroom far away or on the second floor; the young woman’s arms came and pulled out the students who could only defend themselves with their truncheons.
The scream of the last student was more prominent because he fell from the third floor, where he had hidden for the ambush.
While the criminals were being crushed like ants, the young woman bought a drink from the vending machine.
When it was all over, she continued on her way to the door while dragging the miscreants whose skin was acquiring bruises and scrapes.
However, perhaps it was because the hand of the black arms that had them trapped were so fixed on them, both of them could not teleport.
The young woman continued on her way, and this time no one stopped her or even tried to spy.
With a quick trip, she arrived at the academy entrance, which was protected with a solid black barrier.
That barrier covered the entire academy as if it were a dome.
The young woman ate some chips, and arms began to extend from the shadow behind her back.
Three, five, ten, twenty, thirty.
Thirty arms came out from behind her back and headed for the thick barrier.
Those black hands reached into the barrier, and as if someone was opening an elevator in a movie with their hands, the arms began to split the barrier.
The barrier opened, leaving a path to the outside where the sun was shining.
The young woman ate some chips and looked at the people waiting outside in disbelief at the sight of her.
“Teachers, there are some students fighting with other students,” said the young woman to the stunned teachers who were watching her.
******
“Teachers, there are some students fighting with other students,” Alice said to the stunned teachers watching her.
Then the video cut out entirely, and the entire auditorium went silent at what they had seen.
A single student fought her way through the dozens of ‘criminals’ patrolling the path to the entrance and then not only defeated them without even breaking a sweat but also broke through the thick barrier and could escape.
The students’ eyes glowed.
Aurora let out a sigh as she saw Alice continued to eat chips as if she didn’t care about the gaze of the other students.
She seemed indifferent to being treated as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ during the test.
This video ran for several days after the test, but now that the Director himself showed it, it made the students’ eyes sparkle with excitement.
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“We have delayed the start of classes because of the destruction caused by this test, however, I am proud of you!” declared the Director of the hero academy.
Now that middle-aged man had left his calm gaze and looked at the students with shining eyes.
“This was the most brilliant ‘Test’ I have ever conducted as Director and I have to praise your skills and performance,” commented the Director and stopped his excitement in his voice.
Returning to his calm gaze, he looked at the students and stated. “To you, this may seem like a simple test to grade your performance, but that is not entirely correct.”
At the Director’s statement, all the students began to look at each other and whisper amongst themselves with interest.
Aurora was also someone who watched the Director with interest.
“This test was to remind you that your enemies will not always be monsters or powerful, irrational beasts, but monsters in human skin,” stated the Director, surprising those present with his words; he looked at the students and reminded them. “Hero Academy prepares students to face all kinds of enemies and it doesn’t matter if your skills are not focused on attack or only focused on defense and support... Each of you has a way to show your ability and skill.”
Aurora agreed with the Director’s words.
No one taught her that humans could be as evil as ‘monsters’, and she had to learn that the hard way.
“Remember that, if in this test you have not found a way to demonstrate your skill, if you have failed out of fear, nervousness or simply your own recklessness... Remember that the academy is there to help you fill in your shortcomings and push you to improve,” said the Director, and with a smile, he looked at the students for a long moment and stated. “You may proceed to your classes.”
With those words, the Director disappeared like a gust of wind.
As soon as he was gone, the assembly hall became noisy because of the conversations.
Aurora and Alice were the first to leave the assembly hall.
It had been several days since the test, that was because the teachers needed to check the skills of each of the students and give the students a break, as well as fix the broken places during the test.
Even so, Aurora could feel the stares on both of them as they walked.
These were not newly admitted students, but mostly sophomores or juniors.
“Is that them?”
“They say the one eating chips is someone with A-Rank strength... And she’s just an entrant.”
“It’s unbelievable. I heard she beat up dozens of upperclassmen, including an A-Rank fighter.”
“Have you seen the video? She was dragging two students all over the academy...”
Aurora could hear them muttering to each other as they gave Alice exciting looks.
It wasn’t that there were people who didn’t feel jealous because of their friend’s excellent skills and outstanding performance, but the way Alice beat the upper-level students made everyone look at her with surprise.
Of course, it was very different among the newly admitted students.
Each of them looked at her with fanaticism for having that kind of a unique companion in their year.
Aurora sighed as she watched her friend continue to eat chips with no regard for others.
She had sent her to call for help but ended up beating up upper-level students disguised as criminals.
That young woman eating chips was nothing like that gluttonous girl who betrayed her for a bag of chips.
“What’s wrong?” Alice asked, tilting her head.
Aurora’s lips twitched, trying to hold in her laughter, but she answered. “Nothing...”
Her shaky answer made Alice, who was eating chips, stop.
“You don’t need to make a big deal out of those rumors about you... I know you’re great,” Alice said, nodding to herself. With those words, she handed her bag to her to pull out some chips.
This time Aurora’s lips truly quivered with stifled laughter, but since her friend was speaking seriously and many people were watching, she sighed and accepted her kindness.
“I don’t really care what they talk about,” Aurora muttered, munching on the chips.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll take care of you,” Alice said, patting her shoulder as if to comfort her.
Aurora almost choked on her chips, but restrained herself from laughing, knowing that Alice was talking earnestly.
She finally sighed and walked into her classroom.
“How is someone A-Rank with a scaredy-cat?”
“That girl left her group knowing it was a test and then was found scared in a closet...”
“Tch... Abandoning her group on a test. How scary can she get?”
Aurora had excellent ears so that she could hear the murmurs among the students outside.
When she entered her classroom, some of the students present looked at her with scorn and derision, very different from the look of respect they gave Alice.
Aurora didn’t care about the opinions of others; if she had cared, she would have long ago stopped doing things that others saw as useless.
Sitting next to Alice, waiting for the first class of the academy, a senior student entered the classroom and addressed Aurora.
“The Director requires your presence, student Aurora,” announced the young man, and without waiting for a response, he quickly left.
Aurora swallowed at those words, but leaving Alice alone; and she headed towards the office.
“Is she going to be scolded?”
“Yes, she deserves to be scolded.”
“I think she’s going to be expelled...”
Ignoring the students’ comments who had nothing better to do, Aurora made her way to the Director’s office by the path she recognized.
—You don’t need to be nervous.
Aurora didn’t respond, just thought about the course of action she would take from this point on.
The assistant let her into the office, and Aurora, looking at the Director, who was signing some documents, nervously sat down across from him.
Being so close, Aurora could see that the Director was not as old as he looked.
He looked elegant and solemn in his late forties, giving a suffocating pressure just by his presence.
“Why?” Director Vincent asked suddenly.
Aurora didn’t know what to answer, and as the principal was still signing some documents, in the end, she explained. “I didn’t want to ruin your plan, but I followed my instinct, as I felt there was something wrong with that teacher.... And well, when he started talking about murders and revenge, I thought he was crazy and like any sane student.... I hit him.... I mean, I stopped him.”
Director Vincent raised his head and looked at her strangely.
“I had never thought that old man was so weak and fell so fast... I thought he was as dangerous as he appeared,” Aurora stated after a fake cough.
Director Vincent, seeing that Aurora was speaking sincerely, sighed.
“No, my question is... Why did you hide in the closet?” the Director asked, then snapped his fingers.
At the office table between the two, a young woman with the same features as Aurora appeared, entering a room near the Director’s office and then left an object in the closet.
When she left, the object glowed and revealed another young woman with the same features as Aurora, only this time she looked slightly frightened and was huddled in the closet.
Minutes passed, and a group of students entered the room looking for other students. Then someone in the group detected something in the closet, and they approached only to find a young woman.
The students wanted to help her by commenting that it was all a test and that it was all over, but the young woman was still afraid and seemed to hear absolutely nothing, as if she was panicking.
Another student told her to come out and lead her to a larger group, but the young woman stubbornly did not respond and stayed in the closet.
The students generated a bit of scorn at seeing an incoming student like them act in such a frightened manner, but they were well behaved and went off to find someone who could convince and help her.
When everything was empty, Aurora’s figure appeared and took the object away, breaking the illusion.
“...” Aurora was shocked to see those images.
—I tried to warn you that it was useless to hide, but you were so interested in that ‘old man’, so you didn’t listen to me.
Reading the words her system had communicated to her, Aurora was half stunned.
She looked at the Director with a bit of embarrassment and sincerely commented. “Well... I thought it would be strange for me to be discovered by the other students when I was hanging around your office, following another teacher, so I thought I’d create an excuse.”
Was it her nervousness or embarrassment?
Her words sounded like a professional criminal who had prepared in advance for a very well-organized robbery.
“I mean... I’d like to keep a low profile,” Aurora said honestly after another slight fake cough.
Director Vincent was an SS Rank mage, and Aurora was sure he knew her profession and had some knowledge of her past.
Aurora didn’t see herself as someone significant, but she believed it was normal for someone like her to attract attention... After all, it wasn’t so typical to stay in Africa since the age of fifteen, helping people in that chaos and war-torn place.
“I can’t do anything about the rumors about you and the bad image you created, but I think you can change it if you work hard in combat classes and show parts of your true abilities,” declared the Director shaking his head with a sigh.
With those words, he motioned for Aurora to leave the office.
Leaving the office, Aurora sighed in relief.
She hadn’t expected to be expelled; instead, she had expected something similar to what they did with Alice... Demonstrate her abilities to everyone to reveal the capable future heroine she could become.
It was far from simple to have chased a teacher following her instincts that told her something was wrong, then find an infiltrator and stop him before he was about to steal an ‘important book from the Director’s secret area.
If that wasn’t a real fact and had been part of the test, Aurora was sure she would score very well.
“Do you think he’ll reveal anything?” Aurora asked, her system in her mind.
—No, as he mentioned, he won’t do anything with the rumors about you. Hence, he has most likely hidden the part where you entered the classroom and left the illusion.
“I don’t think he’s helping me. I think he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself because he has enemies to deal with,” Aurora commented in her mind.
That old man who had infiltrated to steal the book was weak, and that was the reason why he couldn’t have gotten it alone.
After all, that disguise had fooled her and her system at the same time it had allowed him to get inside the academy and discover the Director’s secret area.
However, this was good for Aurora.
She didn’t want to meddle in the conflicts between humans who sought to devour each other.
—If you had wanted that, you wouldn’t have followed that old man, and you wouldn’t have hidden yourself like you always do either.
Aurora froze at the words of her system, but....
“It’s work habits,” she muttered faintly as she returned to her classroom.