Trash: Chapter 171 Fitting In (Patreon)

Chapter 171

Fitting In

(Lelia Volica)

“This is so stupid,” Junior complained.

Lelia for her part just nodded, knowing that seeming agreeable would be the easiest way to get Junior to stop complaining. At least that was the thought, as that is how most people were. The more they spoke without hearing feedback, the more likely they would be to stop talking. At least that is how most people Lelia met before meeting Junior.

“I mean, we have to go out and Forage first thing, without even being told what Foraging is, or what exactly we are trying to find?” Junior continued.

Lelia again nodded, her eyes glowing as she tried to find things that interested her. These were things that would most likely be able to be turned in for credit in the class, and therefore fulfill the task provided.

“But not only are we foraging for ourselves, but we now must forage against the rest of the class that supposedly knows what foraging is? I mean who makes us forage within a college campus? Doesn’t this make us effectively no better than thieves?” Junior complained.

“Only if we are caught,” the five words that Lelia spoke, and immediately regretted saying. Not because she was wrong, as she was well versed in the art of thieving, and no one labeled you a thief, until they proved you committed the act of thievery. Thus, it was known that not getting caught was the one true way of not getting labeled as a thief. The only problem with her comment, namely that it gave Junior the ammunition he needed to continue talking.

“Exactly! What if we are—” Junior began but then seemed to catch himself as his eyes almost glowed with malice. “Actually, I hope everyone else gets caught thieving.”

As he spoke, thick wisps of dark smoke left his mouth flying off in all directions. Just feeling the power pass by Lelia, caused a chill to run down her spine as she realized that this power was a bit too much. While the power had been concentrated, there was little indication of how far these powers could go.

With her eyes still glowing, Lelia saw a few dozen more items light up, indicating that Junior’s Crow Mouth Skill might have opened more possibilities that were previously closed off. Realizing that this was their chance, Lelia decided to try to keep the team together. Not that she particularly wanted to work with Junior, as he seemed rather loud and noisy compared to the true goal of this test. But Lelia knew that being a member of a team was ultimately what this entire school was designed to facilitate, thus their staying together was ideal.

“Come on,” Lelia said, moving and gesturing for Junior to follow her in the direction that the other students just went.

“That’s where everyone else went, meaning that if we go, everything valuable will have already been scavenged. Remember, only the top student can keep the items they forage, everyone else will have to have their items returned,” Junior commented.

“I know,” Lelia replied, not wanting to argue too much.

“Well, I wish you luck, but I will try to find the bare minimum needed to not fail this course,” Junior said. Then before he knew it, the last surge of dark energy soared out of Junior’s mouth and coated Lelia in a tarlike film that quickly dissolved into her skin. Just feeling the odd power at work made Lelia’s skin crawl and caused her to stare angrily at Junior.

“Oh, sorry, I’m still not used to it,” Junior let out sheepishly as Lelia just stared at him. Fortunately for Lelia it was good luck, at least that is what she hoped the odd filmy slime meant. For a second she thought nothing had happened, then after a second of scanning the campus, Lelia realized that there might be a bit more power behind Junior’s Skill than originally thought, for now she could see the outline of a few more items that were not available during her initial scans.

Seeing Lelia’s intense stare off into the distance, at a spot just past Junior’s right shoulder caused Junior to feel slightly uncomfortable due to the intensity of the stare.

“Right, well I guess I should let you get going to your foraging, while I will do the same, over there,” Junior stated pointing off in the exact opposite direction that Lelia was now staring. Pausing from her intense gaze at what her mind was now telling her was available, Lelia stopped and looked at Junior, only to see that he was clearly unnerved. Then as if her own eyes were telling her that Junior was seemingly bad luck, the moment he said he would go away, more and brighter options became available to Lelia’s sight.

Nodding in agreement, Lelia began walking away, leaving behind a very confused and flustered Junior, who stopped to gather himself for a second, before trying to forage for items the honest way.

Finally free of all hinderances, Lelia opted to use her Karmic Vision to is absolute maximum potential.

***

(Florence Livanathan)

“How are the new recruits going?” Florence, head professor of Unity University’s Healing Department, asked.

“As well as can be expected. We have all five enrolled in individual classes now. As per our standards, all students are currently engaged in the class assessments to see where they rank amongst their peers and if they are enrolled in classes that they are worthy of,” Portia, Florence’s top secretary, replied.

“Anything I should be aware of?” Florence asked. This was a standard question and one that would normally be met with an immediate no. Which was why the sudden pause by Portia immediately drew Florence’s attention with a demanding stare that all but dared Portia to not answer truthfully. Feeling the pressure of said stare, Portia trembled for a moment before ultimately replying.

“Well, there are two things that you might already know. But just to recap, your top recruit, she not only cleared Widow House, but she also had an immediate reaction to the site,” Portia responded.

Hearing the update, Florence paused as she individually understood each word spoken, but there seemed to be some context missing, until she thought about them.

“Wait, Widow House? The one with the Black Widow that lured students to their deaths? The one that was used as a test place to fortify mental resistances?” Florence asked, trying to make sure she understood the context.

“Yes, your newest healer candidate not only went there, but apparently cleared out the Black Widow from her hidden lair,” Portia clarified.

“Now that is interesting,” Florence replied. While the place had been dangerous, the uses it offered as a training site far outweighed the potential dangers it posed. Particularly as no one ever dared to go to the lower floors where the Black Widow stayed. It had been a budget item for a while, setting aside funds to either permanently destroy the house and bury the widow, or cleanse it out entirely with a full ROW company to enter and deal with the ghost directly.

“To think that one team of students could clear that infestation out, is impressive,” Florence said, speaking her thoughts out loud.

“Actually, from what I can tell, it was just the Healer. Two of her team members did join her, but they stayed on the top floor, while Healer Candidate Bloom was listed as the sole entrant to the hidden lair below,” Portia corrected.

“Interesting,” Florence thought for a moment, before she gave her order, “get me a full report on the process and what was found in there.” The thinking was simple, as there almost had to be something of scientific importance left behind from close to a hundred years ago. At the very least, they might be able to find the source of corruption and either replicate it in smaller more manageable doses, or find ways to prevent such hauntings in the future.

“Very well,” Portia replied, then pausing for a second she seemed to realize that Florence might have forgotten the other keynote of interest about the new healer candidate. “What would you like me to do with the information about the candidate’s reaction to the source?”

At this, Florence wasn’t too impressed as almost every Healer Candidate had a reaction to the source. At least they would have a reaction once they were well on their way to being a fully qualified healer. In fact, that reaction was the only thing that proved a Healer was capable of being at the center of a squad. A few feet would be more than enough to check any boxes needed.

“Just do the standard, get the report, note it in their file,” Florence declared, not really too concerned with minor details. It was already clear that this would be an exceptional healer, one that Florence was already writing to her home country about trying to procure the services of. At the dismissive comment, Portia realized that there might be a bit of miscommunication going on, that was why she tried to clarify.

“So to be clear, you want me to also authorize her to have the scouting pin awarded?” Portia asked, referring to the scouting pin that was awarded to exceptional healers who could detect sources of corruption from over a hundred yards away. Hearing the question, Florence paused as she tried to understand exactly what was being implied here.

“Wait, just how far away was she, when she first reacted to the source?”

***

(Catarine “DiVoratore” Bloom)

“You know what the great thing about history class is?” I ask Marcus, the student who is walking next to me and therefore the direction that I vent all my frustrations out at.

“That you get to understand past mistakes and get to avoid them,” Marcus responded, actually answering my question, but not in a satisfying way. Or at least not in a way that helps me vent out my current frustration from music class, the one class that should have been fun.

“No, the great thing about History class is that I will not be forced to compete against the other students to show off who is better at the past,” I reply. As so far, in every class I have had to compete for a spot. As if I needed to prove that I deserved a spot in both Advanced Weapons Training and my Advanced Musical Theory classes. Then a thought hits me, “wait, I won’t need to compete for a spot here, will I?”

Hearing my question Marcus chuckles lightly, “no. This is a mandatory class. Which means even if you wanted to, you would not be able leave. The only reason you had to compete in those other classes was due to them being Advanced classes.”

“Good, I could use a break from being judged,” I reply.

“Are you still angry about the tie in Advanced Weapons Training?” Marcus asks, hitting the nail on the head. I still feel stupid for throwing my weapon away, and just being reminded of that makes me feel incompetent. Worse, that was the first class of the day, which makes me feel like I have been treading water all day, only makes this so much worse.

“Yes,” I hiss out.

“Don’t be. You did well, and proved you were worthy of a spot in class. Nothing more needs to be done, you are in,” Marcus states reassuringly. Hearing his condolences, I relax slightly and try to get myself in a better mindset.

“Well what do you think they have for us in history class?” I ask, apparently loud enough for the professor to hear.

“Welcome, and you are?” The professor who is wearing old brown tweed jackets and horn-rimmed glasses asks.

“This is Healer Candidate Bloom,” Marcus replies coming forward and providing a class registration slip to the professor on my behalf. Again, just having Marcus here as my secretary makes his entire cost a completely justifiable.

“Oh, good, today we will be going over ancient weapons and why we have adapted to metal swords, spears, and bladed weapons,” the professor began. Then as if to showcase just how far we have come as a society, he gestured to a large display case housing many weapons.

Yet, just seeing the weapons caused my heart to race, for the earliest weapons were crude flintlock pistols, the kinds that would be shown in pirate movies. Then going from there were muskets, and finally the weapons that seemed to be most relevant to me, pistols that glowed with a silver hue, and finally automatic assault rifles, and what looked like a rocket launcher.

Seeing the weapons, I felt my heart racing as I once again wondered just what happened to this world.