CHAPTER 234: THE RUMOR (2)

Gara realized the nasty rumor about Langga was spreading fast, reaching almost every student. Yet, many students still defended Langga, refusing to believe the gossip.

"I need to act as suspiciously as possible," Gara mumbled, then drew an extra cloak tight around himself, covering his head.

He paused before his mirror, looking first at his still-flat belly, then at his suspicious appearance.

A smirk spread across his face. "I’ll show everyone how beastly the academy’s proud professor truly is."

He left his dorm, making sure Madha or anyone else didn’t see him go. Then he strode toward the Clock Tower.

His eyes scanned the area, searching for Miki. He wanted to give his classmate the exclusive gossip.

Near the tower, he spotted the Ratfolk boy hiding behind a pile of fall leaves.

"He truly is a Ratfolk, preferring to hide underneath rather than on top of the tree," he whispered to himself, amused.

Before Gara walked in front of Miki’s hiding spot, he chanted to himself, "I’m a Beastfolk girl. I’m a Beastfolk girl."

Then, with sneaky steps, he approached the tower while covering his face. Anyone who saw him would perceive his body as that of a girl— a Beastfolk girl, to be exact.

It wasn’t until he started climbing the stairs that he chanted again to turn his body back to its normal form and lowered the hood that covered his face.

At the top, Langga was already waiting for him. His smile greeted Gara’s arrival.

’He didn’t suspect a thing. Even though the rumor started right after I asked him for this special training,’ Gara mused.

With the giant clock and the night sky as the background, their training began.

"I’m going to attack you, and you just need to focus on your defense. Use your Water Shield or anything that can defend you," Langga said, taking a distance back.

The young man nodded. When it came to training, he was always serious, and soon, he forgot all about Miki. Whether his classmate saw him or not no longer crossed his mind.

A Water Shield formed as a dome, protecting Gara’s entire body. He knew how strong Langga was. It was better to go all out from the start.

Boom!

A dagger suddenly flew toward Gara with extreme speed. It violently collided with the water dome.

Gara heaved a sigh of relief. That attack was truly strong. Despite his calm façade, his water dome trembled.

But just as he thought he could rest a bit, the fallen dagger levitated again and struck his water dome once more.

"Woah!" a startled cry escaped his lips.

"Focus."

Gara could hear Langga’s voice, but the professor had vanished. Only the dagger kept relentlessly striking his dome.

Since the first time he created this Water Dome, nothing had ever broken it. But at this moment, he felt it would soon fracture.

And he was right...

Crack!

The water dome was breached. The dagger shot straight toward his face.

Panicked, Gara quickly formed a much thicker Water Shield right before his face, but it sacrificed the stability of the rest of his dome.

The dagger bounced back.

But...

"You lose."

Langga reappeared right behind Gara. He pointed the dagger in his hand at Gara’s neck.

Gara’s breath hitched. He was completely surprised by Langga’s sudden appearance. "How could you..."

"You’re a talented fighter, Gara. Your Talent has no limitation, your stamina is top-notch, and you truly focus in battle. Your only flaw is..." Langga spoke right behind Gara’s ear.

His breath tickled Gara’s ear, causing Gara to subconsciously shiver. But he didn’t feel bad. It felt oddly familiar.

"What is my only flaw?" Gara asked, wanting to push the professor away, but the dagger was still at his neck.

"Your only flaw is that you’ve never truly felt defeat because you know how strong your Talent is."

"Huh?"

Langga’s words truly hit the spot. It was the truth.

’Am I overconfident because I know that Unlimited Water is the maximum level Talent granted by the Goddess?’

Gara began to think seriously. ’And did that unknowingly become my flaw?’

"Now that you know it, I’m going to give you this as a gift."

Suddenly, the dagger floated away, replaced by a necklace with a transparent hazel crystal as its pendant. Langga fastened the necklace before Gara fully processed the professor’s actions.

"What is this?" He looked down at the necklace. Inside the hazel crystal, there was a familiar bead.

Gara’s eyes drifted to his wrist, where the wooden bracelet Zana, the yellow-dressed girl he had met in Falopo Town a year ago, had given him.

"Did one of the beads fall out?" Gara wondered.

Langga nodded. "This happened after I grabbed your hand. I accidentally snapped it. It turned out one bead was still left behind."

The bead made Gara feel reluctant to take the necklace off.

But first, he had to free himself from Langga. With a large step, he managed to pull away, moving away from the familiar scent emanating from Langga.

Before, Gara hadn’t known this professor had a special scent. But after meeting him a few times, he recognized it.

And that scent was too familiar. It was the scent of the triplets. The scent of a Devil, to be exact.

He really wanted to ask, what Devil was Langga? He couldn’t even smell a scent from Mona, the Ghost girl.

"That necklace matches your ring and your eyes. That’s why I picked that crystal," Langga said.

The young man in front of him couldn’t say a word. The mention of his rings reminded Gara that he was Madha’s fiancé.

His hand rose to touch the necklace, intending to remove it.

But Langga’s next words stopped him cold. "I know that you’re the one who spread the rumor about me doing nasty things with a female student near the Clock Tower."

Gara’s body froze. He completely forgot about the necklace.

’Should I be honest or deny it?’ Instead, his brain was occupied by this sudden development.

...