CHAPTER 826: THE COMMON HALL RANKING

Seated on the comfortable sofa, Adam tucked his fingers around his chin pensively.

"Chaotic unpredictability," he muttered.

Was he to distort his fighting style into something without meaning or form to defeat the golem?

He shook his head.

"The protocols." He tapped his cheek, frown deepening. "Use spells in manners they hadn’t accounted for, then blast the golem’s armor open with Qi. Easy, really, considering it’ll likely update its protocols after each failure." He rose from the sofa, stretching his neck with a groan. "Well, eleven days to figure out as many methods as possible."

Grinning, he went to his room to fetch Quintella and Bao for lunch. Yet the desk—where his sister’s quill would slice letters into parchment like a conqueror claiming territory—sat vacant.

He squinted at the stairs leading to the girl’s floor before shaking his head. Too risky to check her room with the threat of Isolde’s curses.

With a sigh, he left the dorms, knowing she should be as safe as any student and would likely head to the Common Hall once hungry.

And he didn’t take long to find her. As soon as he entered the Hall, she rose from the long table of the House of Exorcism, her small hand clutching the tablecloth.

"Big Brother!" She waved at him, her smile turning into a pout as she puffed out her left cheek.

For a moment, he observed the parchments strewn in front of the steaming magical beast steaks. Scent of ink blended with savory meat and bread fresh from the oven. Bao sat on a scroll, dipping her tiny paw in a bottle of ink before swinging it wildly on the paper, as if she too wanted to learn how to write.

"Did you study here?" He chuckled as he sat beside her, noticing only two other students from his House. "I guess it works between classes."

"It wasn’t by choice." Quintella crossed her arms over her chest, blond hair swinging as she snapped her head to the side. "Isolde refused to open your room. We kind of got into an argument since she repeated that it was against the rules..." She lowered her face. "I ran here with Bao to escape that old witch. I can’t believe she threatened to deduct ten points if I talked back."

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn’t know you couldn’t enter my room without me. How did you do yesterday, though?"

"I asked Manager Magna. He said he would allow it because you annoyed Isolde on the first day." She chuckled. "Even if they try to hide it, they look a little like rivals. Anyway, studying here is not that bad. I had an unlimited supply of honeyed tea, delicious lemon tarts, and creamy macarons until an hour ago. Then, everything disappeared for lunch."

Adam ruffled her hair. "Be careful not to get a stomachache with all the sugar—"

The crystal chime of the college bell interrupted him. And as soon as it did, footsteps drowned his voice.

Students emerged from the corridor like starved wolves finally freed from their classes. They stormed their House’s tables, relaxing only once seated on their padded chairs beside friends with whom they instantly engaged in loud conversations.

The other two tables filled in a heartbeat, while the exorcists spread into groups of close friends. Sarah sat with Quintella, her two other friends poking Bao’s soft belly, while Desmond gestured for Adam to move seats with him.

"See you later, Quintella." With a gentle head pat, he moved to Desmond, who instantly grabbed him by the collar.

"What have you done, you traitor?!"

Adam glared at the teenager’s solemn frown and narrowed purple eyes. "What do you mean?" He yanked Desmond’s hands away, his voice icy.

"Don’t play with me, Adam." Desmond slammed his fist on the table. "I always check our House’s points. You left the boat of the outcasts. You’re abandoning me!"

"So what?" Adam shrugged. "Acting like a jealous girlfriend because I earned a thousand points?"

"A thousand? You earned double! And who’s your girlfriend, you blue bastard!" Desmond’s fist slackened to turn into a trembling palm on the table.

Adam rolled his eyes before the news settled. "Wait, two thousand points?"

"You didn’t know?" Desmond’s eyes widened.

Adam raised his palms and shook his head. "Anyway, how do you know how many points I earned?"

Desmond blinked, confusion creasing his brow. He pointed at the wall beside their table. "Don’t tell me you missed that..."

Adam followed the finger to a list of glowing names framed in golden mana, too far from his usual spot to read. He walked in front of it, realisation dawning on him. "So that’s how everyone knows. There is a ranking board."

Out of the eighty-three names, he passed Trevor, Nadia, and Jonathan, the top three, to zoom in on rank twenty, where his name glowed softly: Adam, three hundred and twenty points.

Desmond massaged his brow beside him. "We have the same rankings in the lounge, right above the fireplace. Now tell me what you did for the stingy Teacher Viktor, who only speaks about children of the forge while starving his students, to not only wipe your debt clean but leave you with three hundred and twenty additional points."

Before Adam could answer, Elliot rushed toward them, his small golem tucked against his chest. Hot on his heels were a handful of students from the House of Transmutation. "I told you we could speak after lunch. Why are you even following me to my House’s table?"

When his eyes fell on Adam, relief replaced worry, and words slipped out of his mouth. "Ah! Big brother, help me shake these leeches off!"

"Big brother?" Adam and Desmond exchanged a glance, sharing the same thought. Since when?

When Elliot halted in front of him, the few students chasing him recognised Adam. They offered solemn nods before one of them approached. "Please forgive us for our excess of zeal. I hope we’ll have the chance to see you craft artifacts in Viktor’s class soon." He turned to his comrades. "Alright, guys. Let’s give Elliot some space."

Adam watched the students leave. "The price of fame?" He chuckled as Elliot panted over his knees.

"Something like that. They’re harassing me with their questions about the golem. Oh, by the way, big brother, three ladies asked if you were single, and five wondered what type of woman you favored. What do I answer?"

Desmond glared at Adam, tapping his foot and muttering, "You really are a traitor." Then, he crossed his arms over his chest, focusing on Elliot. "The dimwit. Famous? What sorcery is this?"

"Desmond..." Adam exhaled heavily. "Points or girls won’t change anything. We’re friends. But don’t call Elliot a dimwit."

He nodded at the boy. "And you—don’t smear your new reputation by staying around us in public."

"I don’t care. You helped me more than any big brother would with the golem. You even refused Viktor’s apprenticeship for me. I’m sticking with you."

Elliot stomped the ground, his arms tightening around the inactive golem. "And Desmond, don’t you dare call others names when you’ve been collecting them like medals before I even enrolled. Want to talk about last year, when you earned the sweet moniker of the human scourge during Diane’s field course? Listen, big brother. That fool shouted "yahoo" in the middle of the Creepthorns’ territory. We almost all ended up in their stomachs or poisoned because he drew them right to us!"

Adam glared at Desmond, while the teenager shifted his gaze as if he had seen the most interesting bird fly by the Hall. Then Desmond coughed and changed the subject with all the subtlety of a cat caught stealing fish. "Okay, okay, can we talk about something else? What did Viktor say about..." He paused to glance at Elliot before leaning closer and whispering. "The golem’s weakness."

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AN: I suffered writing this one :/. A pity the average reader count for this week is... 5. But don’t worry. I’m cooking with the college. I’m sure you’ll love the final twist.