novelraw Chapter 190: Get It Together
Chapter 190: Get It Together
***
Just how hard was the assignment?
Well... when even the best students in the class were being told they’d probably need the full ten days, the regular students weren’t sure if they should even bother trying.
Some of them didn’t want to find out and instead decided:
"Future me will suffer. Present me will pretend everything is fine."
Mer leaned over to Gaia, who was scribbling so aggressively that her paper looked like it was trying to escape.
"This is just... insane. They’re basically asking us to become mini Inquisitors."
Gaia stopped writing only long enough to sigh.
"Honestly? Isn’t that the whole point? They want to see who can keep up."
"I know~! But still. Mini Inquisitors? In ten days?"
Mer lifted her hands.
"This is abuse!"
John, finally tired of all the murmuring and hopeless whining, crossed his arms.
"If you’re done freaking out, I’d suggest you start figuring out where to start."
Aur raised her hand, looking too calm.
"Is it really possible to get it exactly like yours?"
John shrugged, as if the question were adorable.
"Maybe, maybe not. Some of you won’t get close; some might surprise yourselves."
Lykos leaned back in his chair, tapping his foot.
"Great. Deep in a river with weights tied to our legs."
John’s smirk widened.
"Exactly, but look on the bright side. By the end of this, none of you will drown."
He paused.
"...hopefully."
Nervous laughter rippled through the hall.
And he meant that literally, as failing badly here could result in death.
Ignotus, being Ignotus, casually pointed a thumb toward himself.
"So it’s fine for me to finish early?"
"Yes, but don’t half-ass it. Extra points don’t matter if the work is trash. I’d rather see you struggle for ten days than turn in some scribble after two."
Ulv shot Ignotus a side eye. Ignotus nodded at him.
In that moment, they both silently agreed:
’Do not help the little wolf.’
John looked around again and asked:
"Any more questions? Complaints? Creative excuses about why you’ll fail?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Unsurprisingly, no one spoke.
"Good."
The Inquistor clapped his hands once.
"Since I have nothing else to say, I’ll take my leave."
He turned toward the door.
"W-wait!"
A random student shot up.
"So that’s it? You’re just going to leave?"
John answered while barely turning his head:
"This is a test. You’ll learn more suffering through it than listening to me spoon-feed you."
He paused for a moment at the doorframe.
"Good luck. You’ll need it. I hope you impress the headmaster."
And with that, he left.
The class stared at the projection of the twisted Rune like it might come alive and strangle them.
Ignotus let out a low whistle.
"Well, we’d better get started~."
***
A while later, in the dorms, in an incredibly massive room, Aurelia could be seen sitting at her massive desk.
The desk was a gift from her father, a rare occurrence that happened once in a blue moon, which was why, though she hated him for it, she couldn’t help but feel attached to it.
Sitting by it usually gave her a sense of authority, a feeling that she could tackle anything thrown her way.
Today, however? It did nothing.
Her entire desk was covered in paper—sketches, notes, half-drawn spirals, and a few pages she’d crumpled in quiet rage.
Most of what she’d redrawn so many times she could hardly tell them apart. She was on attempt seventy-six, and each one looked worse than the last.
She felt like there was no system in place, which went against everything she had learned about Runes, a fact that was meant to trip them up at every turn.
Aurelia pulled out her latest sheet, spreading it flat.
It revealed her latest attempt at copying the Rune... understanding it.
Unfortunately, it only took two seconds to see the problem.
There was barely any progress, if at all, with the recent attempts.
But she didn’t pout or throw a tantrum like Merlin probably would have.
She inhaled slowly, grabbed her quilt, and dove in again.
’Focus.’
Aurelia traced the Arcane flow again, following the twisting paths as they looped, split, folded, and merged.
"Attempt seventy-seven."
She tried drawing it again.
And again—
"...what is this?"
The design fought her in every possible way.
Each twist seemed malicious, Hell-bent on making her fail and experience backlash that would bring her close to death.
It was a challenge that demanded she either understand the tiniest details or be left six feet under.
As John had said earlier today, it wasn’t enough to just know the Rune; she had to feel it, experience it, understand it, and make it her own.
For the past however long, she sat hunched over her notes, her eyebrows knitted in concentration, trying to decipher how the headmaster had made the Path feel alive and free, yet so... resistant and restrained.
She tried to memorize the movements once again, mapping each step in her head, thinking that she might’ve messed up a few parts. And then, once she was sure she had it all down, she resumed drawing.
But nothing changed.
Aurelia had hit the same roadblock.
Every time she attempted it, she would hit this snag.
The line would stutter, refusing to follow the same flow that Ignotus could no doubt flawlessly demonstrate. It felt malicious, almost mocking her in a way. Inviting her in halfway through before the lines broke apart again.
It was maddening.
"Why?"
Her knuckles pressed white against the wood.
"Dammit!"
With one sweep of her arm, she pushed every paper off the desk.
The entire workspace clattered to the floor.
Aurelia slumped back in her chair and exhaled shakily.
"...what am I missing?"
Despite how disciplined she acted, her arrogance always hovered beneath the surface.
Yes, it was quiet and controlled, but it was never not present.
Aurelia had honestly believed she could finish it today.
But reality didn’t care about her expectations.
Sure, she worked hard and went through a hellish amount of training to keep her rank in the Academy, but she wasn’t the only one.
Her fellow students weren’t slacking.
And they weren’t normal either.
Their entire batch had become monstrous, every one of them stronger than second-years by a mile. That led to competition, true competition; even the weakest nobody was of note.
Dante’s assignment reflected that.
He’d raised the ceiling so high it scraped the Heavens.
Whether that made a difference was up for question, but it still was a notable fact.
"Get it together."
She forced herself upright.
Aurelia couldn’t fall behind.