Chapter 921 - Hello, Vega (Patreon)

Reflexively, I pick up Vega and hold her in my arms while she rests her head against my chest. She is taller now, and it is sadly becoming more difficult for me to hold her this way. Though I could live without the sound of her horns scraping against my bony chin.

“Do you realize how dangerous this could be for her? Why would you bring her in, you lunatic?” I say as I make my way toward the table where Sneaky sits.

“You did it,” he says smugly.

“Master, I don't like his tone. Burn him!”

“Hello, Vega,” Sneaky says with a smile.

That causes Vega to observe him in fascination, likely finding some familiarities in him.

“Hello!” she says back.

Before I can grab Sneaky or tell him to meet me after school behind the gym, Elian interrupts us.

"I have tolerated your disruptions to my lecture for the very last time, Skeleton Gwyn. You will report directly to the Director’s office to reflect upon your total lack of academic discipline." The Magi snaps his fingers.

After that, I am teleported away without Vega. I find myself in a long hallway, sitting on one of those mass-produced black plastic chairs lined up against the wall.

Nearby, there is a wooden door with a golden plate saying: “School Director.”

With a groan, I rest my head against the wall and torture my mind to make sense of all this. Just what happened? Why is the real Vega here? I mean, it's obvious I probably used one of the disciple summon tokens, but why? Why would I... I pause. Could it be? Maybe? Possibly? Would that even work? And just what happened for me to be forced to use it?

What a fucking mess.

Then, for the first time, I look to my right where another student is sitting. Morwag. This version of him has short white hair, almost a buzz cut. Otherwise, he is exactly the same, a massive, muscular demon wearing a school uniform that is far too small for him.

“Want to get beaten?” he asks the moment he notices me looking at him.

“Not really,” I answer.

He snorts at that and, crossing his arms over his chest, turns away. The cloth of his shirt stretches and rips slightly as it fights for its life, but he ignores it entirely, just as he ignores me.

Both of us wait in silence until a voice from inside the office calls out.

“Skeleton Gwyn!”

I stand up obediently, pass by Morwag, and open the door. Before entering, I take a deep breath, quickly slide in, and close the door.

That entire room is completely filled with a huge black ant.

His carapace is pressing against the walls, and he barely has enough space to fit or turn around, even reaching the ceiling and having to stand with his legs slightly bent. The furniture that is normal for a human, some shelves, drawers, and cabinets, is all gone, and what remains is a single human-sized table beneath the ant.

The director is also wearing a suit with a yellow tie that has many black ants embroidered into it.

“Please, take a seat, Skeleton Gwyn,” he says somewhat gently, and looking behind me, I pick up a single unbroken chair.

It is a white, plastic monobloc chair.

I sit down, and the ant lowers his head to match my height. In his compound eyes, I see many reflections of myself, and the silence in the office stretches.

Up close, the Director does not radiate the predatory presence you would expect from a creature that easily takes up an entire large office. Instead, he feels strangely patient.

"I have been reviewing your file," the Director begins. His voice is surprisingly soft. He tilts his head slightly, a gesture so human it catches me off guard. "And frankly, I am disappointed. Not angry, disappointed."

He slowly shifts his weight, his black carapace sliding and scraping against the wall, destroying the already broken furniture as he adjusts himself to fit the tight space.

"You possess an extraordinary gift and a rather unique set of talents," he continues, lowering his head further. "Yet, here you are. Causing a scene in Professor Magi Elian's class, and always doing things that jeopardize the safety of your peers. At some point, you will have to accept the fact that some things are your fault and due to your decisions."

I open my mouth, but he holds up a single, polished black antenna. The gesture is soft, almost paternal.

"I am not interested in defensive rationalizations," he says gently, his eyes reflecting dozens of tiny versions of my skeletal face. "I know how overwhelming this environment, this situation, and these feelings can be, especially for someone with your... irregular family background. But self-sabotage, and the self-destructive path you take, is a tragic look for a student with so much potential. You are walking down a very foolish path, and you are doing it with your eyes wide open."

He taps one antenna lightly against my head.

"Tell me," the Director asks softly, and looks towards the door. "Why are you trying so hard to ruin your own future?"

All these words catch me by surprise, yet there is still only one answer I can give.

“Because when I do something, I give it all my effort,” I say.

The black ant looks at me for a long minute before he says, “Very well. This time I will let it slide, but be careful not to repeat today's mistake. You can leave, and please, as you do, send in Mister Morwag.”

Before leaving, I take one more glance at the ant, who already isn't paying me any attention and instead uses his antennae to hammer something onto the keyboard on the small table beneath him, staring into the CRT monitor there.

Once outside, I pass the message to Morwag, who stops using the tip of his finger to carve his stylized name into the wall, stands up annoyed, and heads to the office.

Unlike before, the long hallway isn't empty, and a girl with tanned skin, black hair, and green eyes rests there against the wall. From how she stands, it's obvious she has been listening in on my conversation in the office, and Morwag just ignored her entirely.

“Nat…” Sophie whispers.

“Yes?”

She forces her eyes shut and sobs a little as a few tears escape.

“Who, what… that voice,” she mutters through a voice that almost makes her choke.

I reach her, grabbing her arm and pulling her along to walk with me. Currently, Sophie looks even younger than Izzy was during the third floor when we spent so much time together.

“He looked like Diligence, you know, the huge black ant, but his voice was different. Behavior, too,” I say.

I let go of her, and we continue to walk away as I tell her, “On his table, he had a plate with text that said: Director Diligence Martinez.”

“He… he sounded just like my dad.”

“Do you want to go and see him?”

“No. NO. All of this is pulled out of our subconsciousness, and our twisted imagination. None of this is real in a way that truly matters.”

“To me, it looks like you really want to go.”

“I… I still do.” Sophie wipes her eyes. “If you mention that I cried to the others, I will kill you.”

“Sure. Did you get sent here by Elian?”

“I did, almost right after you. He just said he doesn't like mind mages.”

“Huh.”

“Stop huh-ing me. I bet you would laugh if you could. And Vega, it's the real her, isn't it? She feels too different from everyone else.”

“It seems like it. I have a few ideas of what might be happening, but let's not speak them out loud in case we might be listened to. And you?”

“I have a plan, but I need some time to prepare. Until then, I will keep it all to myself.”

“How cool.” I ruffle her hair and ignore her kicking my skeletal leg. “Well, until then, let's do what we came here to do.”

We rejoin the rest of group 4 fairly soon. While heading their way and watching Vega playfully fight with Sneaky, I wonder about this acceleration training. I feel much calmer now that a plan seems to be in place, likely a solid one, which finally gives me room to think back to our original objective.

I'm aware that this is the kind of training that won't be perfect for everyone. Some people might gain something out of it, while for others it is just a waste of time and effort. Though not that much time will pass outside, so it isn't truly wasted.

This session was always meant to be our first proper thought acceleration run to gather information and decide what to do about it later. If it resulted in a few levels in [Mana Manipulation] for everyone, then good. Even if all of that would work the same as it did with me, where no leveling happens during our time here, but only once outside.

Maybe I'm just destined to never have proper thought acceleration training. What with the mental defenses of the Champion trapping us, the mess of ten or so years of thought acceleration under Liss, and now this debacle. But I will keep trying, I'm just stubborn like that.

As Vega rushes toward me, I lift her up and spin her around to a burst of giggles before setting her down on a nearby bench. Framed against the backdrop of blooming sakura trees, it makes for a picture-perfect moment.

“Minion, I'm sorry to tell you, but I used you and the token that summoned you here to mess with Tariel the Undying or whoever caused this mess. But you are in no danger at all.”

“Master, I want to be in danger! And fight bad guys together with you!”

“Minion, are you okay? You might be a little bit sick.” I put my bony fingers on her forehead to check her temperature, and then flick her nose. “Tell me, my silly disciple, what is better: to be in danger and having to fight-”

“Yes!”

“Just let me finish. To be in danger and have to fight, or to not be in danger at all and make a joke of your opponent?”

Only that causes her to widen her eyes as she muses over the wisdom I'm attempting to pass to her.

Satisfied, I flick her pointy horn. “Think about it deeply, minion.”

There is a flash of pale red, and I move quickly, catching the blanket tied around Sneaky’s neck before he can disappear.

Still, he continues to attempt to escape, but I pull him closer and closer, putting my bony fingers around his arm. “And you, tell me where Nerdthaniel is.”

Our journey to visit the wise sage so he can bestow his wisdom onto the undeserving members of Group 4 is brief, but eventful.

We pass through the campus beneath the sakura trees. I meet a few more people from my past, and when I recognize a few of my bullies, I throw them into the river.

Near the dock, we meet a corgi wearing a suit. Unlike Biscuit, he is of a darker color. He even wears round glasses as he patiently sits at a desk placed in the middle of the otherwise empty dock.

(Pay,) his thoughts pass to every one of us.

Sneaky steps ahead, taking out a small plush toy of a corgi with purple tentacles and tiny deer antlers, placing it on the table.

The corgi in the suit looks at the plushie and then at us. He sniffs a few times at the toy before giving a short nod.

After that, one of the many wooden ships with flames painted on the sides comes closer, and we board. It begins to move across the lake toward the airship without any input from us.

The surface of the lake is very clear, showing many things buried below: huge monsters, piles of gold, and thousands of trees growing from the bottom of the lake.

In the middle of our trip, a storm comes out of nowhere, rocking the ship and throwing Dennis into the lake. He gets grabbed by one of the monsters, which animates the next moment.

Most of our skills fail to do anything, offering just bare whispers of the power they carry outside of the tutorial. But when Izzy uses her flames, they burn brighter than ever.

They grow to ten times the size of whatever she has shown me outside. They cover us entirely in a flame that doesn't burn, spreading across what feels like the entire horizon while reaching high toward the sky. Moving as if in a gentle wind, they burn only the monster and free Dennis, who uses the opportunity to swim and jump up from the water like he's some sort of mermaid.

Izzy seems shaken, looking at her hand and at the flames surrounding us entirely, towering much higher than the enormous ship we are approaching. Only then do they disappear, pulled back to her, and for a moment she seems truly lost.

The aircraft carrier soon fills the entirety of our vision, and from its deck hangs a single rope ladder that we all use to climb up over the next ten minutes.

There, at the top, we walk among autumn trees that grow all over, piercing through the ship and between patches of grass. Some entirely cover jets still sitting there, others grow from them or through them.

In the middle of all that, in a circular meadow, is the person we came to visit.

A young, slim man with long black hair and brown-and-gray eyes with a golden circle around the pupil. On his head is a black, wide-brimmed wizard hat, and his staff rests against one of the trees.

Floating with his legs crossed and black robes drifting, he looks up at us with an expression so blatantly modeled on Lissandra's that he's clearly just practicing her signature look.

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