Chapter 89 Face mask

Words : 786 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Noah leaned against the wall outside the dormitory, watching the repair crew at work. Their abilities made quick progress – one guy literally rewinding damaged sections back to their original state, while another seemed to reshape concrete like clay. The evening's chaos felt distant now, almost surreal. "Your cuts are gone," Kelvin observed lazily, not looking up from his tablet. "Quick trip to the med bay and back while I was gone?" Noah touched his face reflexively. The scratches from his window exit had indeed healed, along with most of his other injuries. His ribs still ached, but even that was fading faster than it should. "Yeah," he lied, trying to sound casual. "Easy fix for them," He couldn't exactly explain his B-ranked self-regeneration ability – that would lead to questions he wasn't ready to answer. "How bad was the damage, anyway?"@@@@ Kelvin finally looked up, an oddly disappointed expression crossing his face. "Building's still standing, unfortunately. I expected better, honestly. Was hoping for total structural failure." "What?" Noah turned to stare at his roommate. "Why would you want—" "Think about it," Kelvin cut him off, setting his tablet down. "What happens when a dorm becomes uninhabitable? Where do those students go?" "They'd have to..." Noah's eyes widened as understanding hit. "The upper-class dorms. The ones with actual amenities." "Exactly." Kelvin's smile was unnervingly proud. "After what happened in Cannadah few weeks ago, there are seventeen empty spots in the top twenty five housing block. Prime real estate, just sitting there empty." Noah felt his stomach drop. "Kelvin... what did you do?" "Started a little rumor here, dropped a few hints there," Kelvin shrugged, as if discussing the weather rather than admitted to orchestrating mass chaos. "Been laying the groundwork for about a week. Just needed the right spark to set it off, and this morning, someone finally took the bait." Noah stared at his roommate, trying to process what he was hearing. The casual way Kelvin described manipulating people into violence was somehow more disturbing than the fighting itself. "All this... just for a chance at better housing?" He turned to see Raven jogging up to him, looking apologetic before he even reached him. Noah already knew what this was about. "Sorry man," Raven said, falling into step beside him. "I came up short again with the cores. Mr. Vain's been watching us like a hawk lately – no field expeditions at all." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "But I've made some contacts in the city, hunters who can get us what we need. It'll take time, but they're reliable." Noah nodded, keeping his expression neutral. His dragon and wyvern could wait a little longer in their dimensional space, but not indefinitely. Not that Raven knew anything about that – as far as his ally was concerned, Noah just had an odd interest in beast cores. "Did you hear about the dorm fight?" Raven continued. "Lucky I was at Master Anng's for evening practice. Would've hated to get caught up in that mess." Noah felt a twinge of irritation. 'Was I the only one who didn't have somewhere better to be?' "Yeah, lucky," he said aloud. "Listen, I need to go see someone. We'll catch up later, yeah?" Noah said. Raven's expression turned serious. "Any leaps with finding your core, mine is stressing me the hell out!" "Still practicing. Nothing substantial yet. I'll let you in on any breakthrough." "Right." Raven seemed to sense Noah's mood. "I'll let you know when I have those cores." Noah watched him go, adding another mental note to his growing list of revelations. Everyone was playing their own game, running their own schemes. Kelvin with his manipulation, Sophie and Lila with whatever they were planning, and here he was, trying to keep interdimensional beasts fed while investigating frame jobs. 'And they all make it look so normal,' he thought, heading toward where he might find Lucas. 'Just another day at the academy.' The irony wasn't lost on him – he was doing the exact same thing, after all. Playing it cool while hiding abilities that would raise far too many questions if anyone knew about them. Maybe that's what the academy was really teaching them: not just how to fight, but how to wear masks so convincing that even their friends couldn't see behind them. He just hoped he was getting as good at it as everyone else seemed to be. 'Let's go see if Lucas has anything on Micah's case,' he thought taking the turn to the top 25 building

Chapter 89 Face mask

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