Chapter 13
This is a fictional story by realTensai
"Is it true, Lia? Are you really going to stop?"
"Yes, it's just like I said at the entrance ceremony. I will stop being the student council president."
Lia shocked everyone, Alvis included, when she announced she would retire as student council president. Alvis had thought she would keep this position for at least one more year. But now she said she would drop out of this position within this year.
"B-But why?"
"We only have two years left, and this year already counts for our final diploma. I want to focus more on school."
Alvis peeked at her from a distance, observing her every move. Her smile didn't waver, and it didn't seem as if she was lying. Yet it made no sense. What she said sounded like a valid reason, and if any other person had said it, Alvis wouldn't even blink an eye. But this was Lia they were talking about. One of the best students.
The discussion went on while the other students seemed to realize her decision wouldn't be changed. Alvis turned his gaze away, not wanting to have anything to do with this mess.
Why do they even care this much?
Maybe it had some benefit for the class Alvis didn't know about. He just shrugged his shoulders.
"What do you think about Lia's decision, Alvis?" his seat neighbor asked him out of the blue, kinda surprising Alvis.
"I respect her decision and I think the others should, too. I don't even understand why they care so much."
Alvis' seat neighbor just chuckled. Alvis furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing what caused Sekki to chuckle. As Sekki saw that, he stopped and spoke up again.
"They care so much because it is Lia. Isn't that obvious?" Sekki said, still chuckling.
Alvis opened his mouth but stopped halfway through and sighed instead. Having Sekki as his seat neighbor for one year now was enough to know he wouldn't elaborate on that, even if Alvis asked. That was just the kind of person Sekki was. The elf did whatever amused him, and seeing Alvis not being able to understand him definitely did.
Alvis also didn't really care and shifted his attention to Dane. He had to wake him up because the teacher would soon be in class.
How annoying.
Before Ms. Myth entered the class, Dane was awake again. Still half asleep, a bit of slobber dripped down his mouth, making him look even goofier than he actually was. It was only because Alvis knew how to wake him up; he managed it in time. Though it still was pretty close.
My skills became rusty over the summer break.
With Ms. Myth now in class, everybody went to their seats, and the classroom became silent. The first lesson in Alvis' third year would start now.
——
The lesson with Ms. Myth took longer than usual. That was because they talked about how the school year would be and what would change for them. There was a lot of important stuff they had to know, so Alvis listened carefully.
"With that, I conclude the lesson," Ms. Myth said, turning off the hologram with which she had explained everything. "If you still have questions, then you can come to talk to me now."
A few students took her up on her offer and approached her. Alvis, though, didn't think that was necessary, as he was sure he understood the most important things. Putting his digital pad back into his bag, he raised up. One light punch was enough to wake up Dane, who had fallen asleep again.
"Let's go."
"Huh, what? School is over?"
"Idiot, we have a break."
Dane stood up, yawning and stretching. However, Alvis just turned on his heels and began his march. Dane would follow eventually.
Passing one corner after the other, Alvis rushed through the stacked hallways. He didn't have to use his school map to get to the place he wanted. He had gone there so often, there was no way he would forget where it was. Even Dane remembered the way. After all, it was that place where they became friends.
It took them about ten minutes to arrive there after leaving their classroom. However, as soon as they stood before the door, Alvis couldn't wait anymore and opened it. He fumbled with the key Mr. Lewis had given him, his hands shaking.
With the door opening, a familiar scent welcomed Alvis. The metallic smell of gadgets and items tickled Alvis' nostrils. With closed eyes, he breathed in the scent that was a blessing for his soul. A wide smile formed on Alvis' face as he then opened his eyes again and saw all the tools he was so familiar with.
This place was his heaven.
"You look like a creep."
"Shut up."
They laughed and entered the workshop.
"Do you already wanna start creating your stuff?" Dane asked, sitting down on one chair.
Alvis checked out the tools, searching for the things he needed.
"Yeah, half of my inventions burned down after all."
A tear almost escaped Alvis' eye as he remembered the enormous sacrifice he had to make so he could beat the assassin. Luckily, he still had the blueprints for all of his inventions saved, so recreating them would only take some time.
"Oh shit, almost forgot that. Did any assassin attack you after that incident?"
"No, and I hope it will never happen again. Fighting against an assassin isn't my favorite way to spend time."
"Ha, you are right. The police interrogation was annoying as shit!"
A shiver ran down Alvis' spine just remembering the interrogation. He shook his head, praying to never get into such a situation.
Dane made himself comfortable while Alvis took out the tools he needed. He knew he wouldn't finish the gadget he wanted to create during this break, though he at least wanted to start. However, before he could, someone entered.
"H-H-haha! I found you. One can always count on Victor's information."
Alvis and Dane looked at their classmate, who burst into the room and was visibly out of breath. His ears and tail were hanging down while he buckled forward, clutching his legs. For a dog beast man, his endurance sure is trash.
"What are you doing here, Joel?" Alvis asked.
Joel still breathed heavily, though when he had calmed down a bit, his tail started wiggling and a grin formed on his face.
"We need to talk!"
Joel closed the door and then sat next to Dane. Alvis rolled his eyes, knowing damn well Joel wouldn't have to say something important, so he kept working on his gadget. Joel just looked at Alvis but continued, anyway.
"I already asked the other guys in our class, and you two are the only ones left."
"What is it?" Dane asked, interested.
Seeing Dane's enthusiasm, Joel's grin got even wider. Then, after building the anticipation, or at least that was what he thought he did, he spoke up again.
"Who is your crush?"
"P-P…PUAHAHAH!"
Dane burst out into laughter, holding his stomach while doing so. Alvis' lips trembled as he bit his tongue, trying his hardest to contain his laugh. Joel just looked at them as if they were the strange ones.
"Hey stop laughing, this is a valid question! We don't want to risk a battle between us. So I'm asking you which girl you like so we can avoid trouble!"
"PUHAHAHAHAH!"
Now Dane couldn't control himself anymore. Tears started rolling as his laugh was so loud probably the entire school heard him. It took some time before he could speak up again.
"Puha-haha, ha, you are way too funny, Joel. Talking about which girl we like. We all know damn well you ain't getting no girls. Hahahaha!"
"P..Puhahahhaha! Come on Dane, that was mean," Alvis said, even though he couldn't suppress his laugh.
Joel looked at them, his brows furrowed and his tail standing up. He clenched his fists, barking. However, he wasn't intimidating at all. It just had the opposite effect and made them laugh even more.
"You guys will see. If you don't want to tell me fine, but don't be mad at me if I get the girl you want."
They just smiled, which made him as red as a tomato. However, before he could burst out of the room, Alvis asked him a question.
"Which girl do you like?"
"Lia."
"PUHAHAHAAHAHAHAH!"
——
Classes were over for the day and Alvis had to meet his mentor. His palms were sweaty, his heart beating fast. This would be the first time he would meet him as his official apprentice. He already knew him, even though he never had lessons with him. This was because he once came to the workshop Alvis always hung out to get some utensils. However, having him as a mentor was something completely different.
This was one thing that changed with becoming a third-year student. One would get a mentor. At the end of their second year, they could choose the mentor they would like to have. If they would get the mentor, though, wasn't for them to decide. It was the teacher who could choose whom they wanted to teach. That was why it was rare that a student got the mentor he wanted, especially if they wanted a popular teacher.
However, Alvis got the mentor he wanted. How, you may ask? The answer was simple: no one would voluntarily choose Mr. Zweistein as their mentor.
All his upperclassmen had warned him about Mr. Zweistein, but Alvis didn't listen. Mr. Zweistein was probably crazy beyond the realms of imagination, but this craziness let him become one of the biggest inventors in the entire world. As someone who was an inventor himself, Alvis just had to choose Mr. Zweistein as his mentor.
But he yet had to find out if he would regret his choice.
Alvis arrived at his workshop, which was in a separate building solely created for Mr. Zweistein's experiments. Far and wide, no one was to be seen, as this building was isolated from the rest of the school. This fact alone was rather worrisome. They had to create a separate building isolated from every civilization just so he could experiment.
Alvis shook away the odd feeling that spread within him, not wanting to regret his decision now. He stood before the door, had a deep breath in and out, and said his last prayer before entering.
May god be with me.
As soon as he opened the door, two rockets flew at him.
What?
"BOOOM!!!"
The two rockets hit him, creating an explosion with the impact. The shock alone was enough to let Alvis fall, hoping he would somehow survive this.
No, I don't want to respawn just because of that!
However, Alvis didn't feel pain. As he opened his eyes again to glance at his health bar, he noticed it didn't change.
What happened?
"Well, well, well. If that isn't my new apprentice. How did you like my hologram rockets?"
With his body still shaking, Alvis stood up again and turned his focus toward the person who was talking to him. However, what he saw wasn't a human. His eyes widened as he saw this humanoid thing. Its silver metallic skin reflected the light, its blue intelligent eyes staring right into Alvis' soul. Its human voice didn't add up to its robotic appearance.
"Y-You… aren't my mentor."
The robot just looked at Alvis as if he were stupid.
"You failed the test. You failed to distinguish between a hologram rocket and a real one," the robot said with a way too human voice. "Of course, you wouldn't get to meet the master."
A test? No one has told me anything about a test.
Alvis furrowed his eyebrows, his blood boiling.
"B-But that was way too unexpected."
"Master doesn't care."
Alvis opened his mouth, but the words got stuck in his throat. He lowered his head, reality catching up to him.
Shit, I never felt this stupid before.
For him, who was so proud of his intelligence, this situation had his cheeks burning. He couldn't tell a hologram rocket apart from a real one. Because of his lack of abilities, he now couldn't learn from the genius Mr. Zweistein. Alvis clicked his tongue, suppressing his disappointment.
"If I won't see Mr. Zweistein, what will I do then?"
"That is simple. Master created me so I could teach you!"
What?
It took Alvis a few seconds before he realized a robot would be his mentor.