"It truly is nothing, Professor," Kaeden said after composing himself, though his voice still carried a slight tremor.
"It is my duty to know when a student is in critical condition, so tell me... what is the problem?" the professor asked with practiced patience.
With a sigh, Kaeden began weighing his options. Telling the professor the truth was never an option in the first place. He was certain the reason the professor was giving him this much attention was probably connected to the incident—they'd never believed his statement about what happened anyway.
After all, for a student who was unawakened and utterly unremarkable save for his intellect, it was strange that he would survive the level of explosion that had completely vaporized the lab and several buildings. The only reason there weren't more casualties was because Kaeden had conducted his experiments during an excursion to a Nethorian world. He'd informed the class rep beforehand about his "overwhelming illness" that day, which led to him being excluded from the trip. With the labs unused, he'd been able to sneak in and commit those... well, let's call them scientific atrocities.
Due to all those factors, casualties had been avoided. However, nothing could explain why a student who couldn't manipulate ether had survived such devastation.
Kaeden was beyond confident that the results of the scans taken that day had been forwarded to the administrators, and they were probably still keeping an eye on him. So yes, he had to tread very, very carefully.
One wrong step, and it was over.
"I think it's stress, sir. I haven't really had time to rest since... the incident," he said carefully.
Most students frowned, glancing at him once again. After all, students of high standing and considerable influence were aware of the incident, which had been kept under wraps by the academy while they investigated what could cause that level of destruction. Other students, unaware of the details, stared with interest—and some with disgust for various reasons. Why was the professor even sparing this unremarkable young man such attention? If something was wrong with him and he refused to say it, then let him suffer in silence. Barely anyone cared, and that was how the academy worked: the weak bowed to the strong, and the strong to the overwhelmingly cunning.
"That doesn't explain why you are this... pale," the professor said, leaning forward slightly.
Instinctively, Kaeden leaned back. He was sure the professor was trying to get him to spill something that would eventually doom him, but he wasn't stupid. Never was.
"I can assure you, sir, it's nothing unnatural. I just happen to be having some temporary spikes in my NPN levels," he said, more coordinated than before. At this point, he'd managed to regain some level of control over his body, though whatever was happening to him hadn't ceased. He just didn't like how the professor looked at him, and instinctively his body followed his will not to show weakness.
"But NPN levels don't affect the body in such superficial ways. I believe you know what is wrong with you, and this is advice: a problem shared is a problem half solved. There's no reason—"
No reason to be scared? Kaeden would rather drink poison than believe that truck of BS. The most stupid thing he could do right now would be to reveal what these bastards wanted him to.
"I have no idea what you're insinuating, sir. Nothing is wrong with me. Perhaps it's just... skin allergies due to a cream I recently started using," he said shamelessly, ignoring the bewildered gazes from even Liam and some girls who couldn't believe the nerd Kaeden was actually a self-conscious, superficial person.
But who was he even trying to impress?
"Hmm... head to the infirmary after this. Get some scans done and bring the results to my office," the professor said. Then, in an instant, he was back at the elevated platform. "Now, as we all must know, the ether chamber is directly connected to the ether core right below the left ventricle and just beside..."
Once again, he droned on, but Kaeden didn't bother listening. Even if he would have listened on normal days, he didn't need to. After all, he'd covered most of the syllabus during his time in the library. Unlike students with resonance with ether who had to hone their skills to avoid being left behind by their peers, he'd never had ether resonance. He wasn't some idiot who would pointlessly train when it was worthless, so he'd dedicated that time to his studies. Through academics alone, he was able to stay afloat, though his lack of combat prowess hindered his growth tremendously.
They're growing more suspicious, damn it. I hope those scans don't show anything, he thought. He considered manipulating the scan results before showing them to the professor, but it was useless. There was always the chance the professor wouldn't even look at the results he handed over directly and would instead retrieve the originals from the infirmary itself.
Kaeden sighed, then his gaze moved down to where he spotted the class rep staring at him.
Tsk, I forgot... He cursed himself for handing himself such a huge pain in the butt with his very own actions.
...
...
"Dismissed," the professor announced, and many students rejoiced at being freed from the torture that was today's lesson. Understanding the intricacies of mana was so frustrating that many students barely realized when they'd fallen asleep.
The infirmary, Kaeden thought with a bitter sigh and stood up.
"Yo bro, how about the cafeteria?" Liam suddenly draped his arm around Kaeden's neck, startling him.
"Nah, I'll pass," Kaeden replied.
"My treat,"
"Still a no, thanks but no thanks. I still have to get to the infirmary." Kaeden slung his bag over his shoulder—it wasn't a normal bag, but had special properties that made it ridiculously light despite the number of books inside.
"Oh, that!" Liam slapped his forehead as though surprised by his own forgetfulness. "Seems the professor has taken a... liking to you," he grinned stupidly.
Kaeden rolled his eyes. "Well, unlike you, I prefer the opposite gender," He began walking down the steps.
Liam's smile remained in place, but only for a split second as he suddenly understood what Kaeden was implying. Looking around to find girls giving him reproachful looks, he roared, "WAIT! I DON'T SWING THAT WAY!"
But Kaeden didn't pay him any mind, already halfway down the steps.
"Mr. Kaeden." A smooth, sharp voice reached him, and his heart dropped.
"Miss Natasha," he responded, turning with what he hoped was a composed smile, though he was sweating bullets inside. After all, he'd tricked the high-ranker that day, and she'd surely been punished after it was discovered he wasn't really sick and had faked his own lab results. What actually terrified him was that he was acutely aware of how dangerous, petty, and extremely volatile high-rankers could be if you stepped on their toes.
"I believe you have something to say?" She looked... pissed.
Well, that was expected.
Blue hair and strangely attractive almond eyes—that was her most notable description. Ample chest, supple skin, and a commendable figure that didn't lack in comparison to the top girls in class. In fact, she was one of them.
"Sighs...," he sighed, an apology won't cut it.