CHAPTER 241: SET UP (2)

"Gara, the gnome who built the machine in the lab won’t be available anytime soon," Ambar informed him as they walked together down the marble corridor of the Alchemist Association building. "He’s busy fulfilling other commissions."

"I understand, Chief. That’s only natural," Gara replied, not minding at all. "Anyone capable of building such complex machines must be a real genius."

"Oh, by the way," Ambar added, "he’s actually the uncle of one of your classmates."

"My classmate? He’s from the Forgearsly family, then?" Gara immediately guessed that Ambar was talking about Jett, the only gnome in his class.

Ambar nodded. "That’s right. The Forgearslys are well-known for crafting intricate tools and devices for various associations. Honestly, they’re probably the only family I know that still trying to creates weapons capable of fighting mist monsters."

Gara’s head turned sharply toward her. "They build weapons that can fight mist monsters?"

"Yes," Ambar replied, then sighed. "But of course, they’ve failed so far. Only those with Talent that come from Bloodline can actually kill mist monsters— and even then, it’s not a true annihilation. Only a handful of people in this world possess Talents powerful enough to make a difference."

Gara exhaled softly, a hint of disappointment in his tone.

He had expected that kind of answer —Ambar was never the type to look on the bright side if it was about mist monsters— but at least it was good to know there was still some hope left, even if it came from just one family.

"Are you close with Revan Soren?"

Gara shook his head, puzzled by the sudden mention of the vampire boy.

"They say his Talent could become our main weapon in the future," Ambar continued, her voice thoughtful. "An attack with a massive range. Let’s just hope he doesn’t end up like Commander Gavin."

"The one who was killed by a mist monster?" Gara asked casually, though his chest tightened at the mention of his biological father’s name.

Ambar didn’t answer right away. Her gaze drifted forward, and a heavy sigh slipped past her lips.

"What’s wrong, Chief?" Gara asked, noting the unusual expression on her face. Does she know what really happened? The incident with the druid?

"It’s nothing," Ambar finally said, her tone distant. "It’s just... Commander Gavin’s death felt like such a waste. He could’ve..."

She trailed off again. Gara waited for her to finish, but the middle-aged woman instead changed the subject.

"Oh, right. There’s the Class S Duel next week, isn’t there? If you need time to rest after that, you don’t have to come here next week."

Gara still wanted to ask about his father, but pushing further would only make things awkward.

So he simply nodded. "I’ll let you know if something comes up and I can’t make it, Chief."

"Good. Don’t worry too much, alright?" Ambar smiled warmly, the kind of smile that always reminded Gara of a mother’s care. "Keep training hard. I’m sure you’ll continue holding your place in Class S."

"Thank you, Chief."

They finally reached the front of the association building, where a staff member was already waiting.

After saying goodbye, Gara took the staff’s hand and whoosh! his surroundings instantly changed.

Just like the academy, the association’s building was heavily guarded by barrier. No one could enter or exit using a spatial-type Talent.

Within seconds, Gara and the staff appeared in front of the academy gate. After expressing his thanks, Gara walked back inside.

The sky had dimmed to a warm orange hue, painting the horizon with streaks of fading sunlight. The quiet evening view soothed his mind.

Moments like this, peaceful and undisturbed, were rare for him.

As Gara was quietly watching a butterfly land on one of the flowers by the path leading to the dorm tower, a familiar voice drifted from behind the trees beside one of the towers.

"You guys want to get into Class S, right? I know which Class S student is the easiest to beat."

That voice —no doubt about it— belonged to Vania, the tiger girl.

Another girl’s voice responded curiously, "Who? One of the human boys? But aren’t one of them awakened with the Giant Bloodline?"

"No, not them. They’re actually strong, definitely worthy of being in Class S. I’m talking about the ghost girl."

"Ghost girl? The one you made carry your bag the other day?"

"Yeah, that one. My advice? Be her last challenger. Trust me, it’ll be easy."

"Last challenger? So you’re saying she defeated nine people before?" The other girl sounded unconvinced.

"Maybe. She is from Class S after all," Vania said seriously.

That seemed to make the girl reconsider. "So how am I supposed to win?"

"When she suddenly pops out of one of her rifts, don’t act surprised. Instead, pretend to be scared. Start talking about how ghosts are terrifying."

"Huh?"

"Do that enough times, and I guarantee she won’t use her Talent again."

"That’s ridiculous. Why would she stop using her Talent just because of that?"

"I don’t know. She’s weird."

From where he stood, Gara could only shake his head. So, not only was Vania bossing Mona around, now she was plotting to humiliate that poor ghost girl too.

Gara kept walking. He wasn’t about to jump out and play the hero when nothing serious had happened yet, just two girls whispering nonsense that sounded more petty than harmful.

When he entered the dorm tower, the first-floor lobby was crowded with students. It was Sunday, and since classes would resume tomorrow, everyone had already returned.

But this time, the students weren’t simply chatting after a long weekend. They looked gathered around, talking about something serious.

Gara moved closer. From the middle of the crowd, he caught Miki’s voice, dripping with gossip.

"I’m not lying. I saw it myself. What I said about Professor Langga is true. I really think you guys should report this to an instructor, an assistant professor, or even the professor in charge of your class. People need to be aware of what’s going on."

Miki sounded completely self-righteous.

Gara’s ears burned. Before he could stop himself, he shouted, "Professor Langga isn’t like what you’re saying!"

...