Jenna slammed her fist against the bedboard, producing a dull “thud” that startled her more than anyone else.
Clutching her chest to calm her nerves, she took a few deep breaths before continuing to think.
“Now’s not the time to get lost in thought. Tomorrow… tomorrow, I’ll look for Keli. See if she’s willing to help.”
“But what if she refuses?”
The night grew deeper. The candlelight in Jenna’s room stayed bright the whole night.
Early the next morning, Jenna arrived on the sixth floor of the west tower.
She lived on the seventh.
Jenna didn’t know how to start the conversation with Keli, and she was afraid someone might see her lingering outside Keli’s door and start asking questions.
So all she could do was keep a distant watch on Keli’s room, waiting for her to come out.
“Jenna?” A slightly surprised voice rang out beside her—it was Rocky.Jenna jumped, caught off guard by the sudden interruption.
“Rocky.” She came back to her senses, greeting him blankly.
Rocky had just opened his dorm door and found Jenna standing outside.
His eyes were full of joy, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t come up with anything else to say.
“Rocky,” Jenna knew Rocky liked her, and seeing him now, she couldn’t help but ask, “Rocky, could you… could you come with me…”
“Hm? What?” Rocky’s eyes lit up, hopeful for what she might say next—he was practically on tiptoe with excitement.
“No.” Jenna suddenly regretted it. “No, it’s nothing. Forget it. Thank you.”
She forced a radiant smile but once again pushed away the eager Rocky.
Rocky felt both curious and disappointed, but he didn’t want to make things hard for Jenna, so he forced a smile and said, “It’s fine. If you ever need anything, you can always come to me.”
Jenna nodded, but thought to herself, What help could you possibly give me?
At that moment, Keli’s door finally opened.
Jenna couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed over. “Keli, let’s go to class together today.”
Keli narrowed her eyes, her suspicion rising.
She hadn’t forgotten the last time Jenna had approached her—it was to invite her to join the mutual aid society.
Could it be that because I’ve skipped a few of the meetings, she’s here to drag me back in again?
“No.” Keli rejected her without hesitation.
“Keli…” Jenna took a step forward to say more, but Keli clutched her books and darted past her in a flash.
By the time the dumbstruck Jenna turned around and tried to give chase, Keli had already run up the ramp and vanished.
Saul didn’t show up for class today. It wasn’t the first time he’d skipped a public lecture entirely.
Many new and older apprentices thought Saul had given up on his studies.
Given his magical aptitude, it was almost impossible for him to pass the third-month freshman exam.
As for the consequences of failing—it would depend entirely on his mentor’s mood.
Once praised for his powerful mental strength, Saul had now gradually faded from everyone’s attention.
Except for a few people, no one cared anymore about this class-skipping apprentice.
Keli wasn’t sure about Saul’s current progress, but there was one thing she knew for certain:
Even Second Rank apprentices sought him out to ask about the construction of compound runes.
And thanks to his methods, Keli had made significant breakthroughs in her own rune research.
For that alone, Keli believed Saul’s skill in spells far surpassed the vast majority of their classmates.
But that was a secret. Saul never talked about it, and of course, Keli wasn’t going to spill it either.
Still, on days when Saul didn’t show up, she often found herself a little bored.
Today, however, she longed for her boring routine again.
Because the very same Jenna she had just rejected came and sat down right next to her.
Keli immediately got up and switched seats, but Jenna followed her like a shadow.
The Second Rank apprentice who was there to lecture on Noah's script had already stepped onto the podium—Keli couldn’t very well keep running around inside the classroom.
She shot Jenna a fierce glare, clutched her books, and walked straight out of class.
Jenna stared in disbelief at Keli’s back. Then her face turned bright red with anger and embarrassment.
“That Keli—doesn’t she have any sense of camaraderie at all?”
But Jenna held back her frustration. She stood up and chased after her.
This is a matter of life and death—how could she give up so easily?
To escape Jenna’s sudden and relentless pursuit, Keli slipped out of the classroom right after meditation class. She didn’t return to her dorm, instead heading straight into Mentor Gudu’s lab.
She didn’t dash back until it was nearly eight o’clock.
“Keli!”
“Ah!”
The two girls collided in the hallway on the sixth floor and tumbled to the ground.
“You again?!” Keli sat up, pressing against Jenna’s stomach, staring at her in disbelief.
Is this persistent, clinging girl really the same one who used to blush so easily?
“Ugh!” Jenna winced, clutching her chest—Keli had just crushed the bug on her chest.
It hurt—badly.
“What do you want from me?” Keli stood up angrily, crossed her arms, and looked down at Jenna.
Tears welled up in the corners of Jenna’s eyes, but Keli remained unmoved.
“Spare me the drama. Even my father’s mistresses can fake-cry better than that.”
Jenna was stunned once again.
She had known Keli was proud and aloof, but she hadn’t realized just how sharp her tongue could be.
With no one else around, Jenna bit her lip hard, then suddenly dropped to her knees and clutched at Keli’s pant leg.
“Keli, please… Please tell me how you got rid of the bug!”
“What bug?” Seeing Jenna kneeling, Keli frowned but didn’t kick her hand away.
Jenna thought she was just pretending not to know. She lowered her voice and mumbled, “The… mutual aid society…”
Keli’s face instantly paled.
The bug from the mutual aid society?
She thought back to what Senior Byron had extracted from her brain.
Was that the bug from the mutual aid society?
But how did Jenna know?
“How do you know about that?” Keli asked, looking down at her.
Jenna hesitated, unwilling to speak, and Keli immediately turned to leave.
Jenna quickly scrambled forward, grabbing her pant leg again, and whimpered, “It—it was a senior who helped me.”
“Who?” Byron’s image flashed through Keli’s mind.
“He didn’t want to give his name… said he didn’t want to go up against the mutual aid society.”
“Then why not ask him for help?”
“He said he’s not good at dealing with curses.”
Curses? Byron said it was a parasite… Was it not Byron?
Seeing that Keli didn’t speak or walk away, Jenna thought she was hesitating and felt a flicker of hope. She kept pleading.
“Keli, you’re the only freshman I know who went to the mutual aid society and never went back. You must’ve… You must know how to get rid of the bug! Please help me! I’ll pay you magic crystals or credits!”
But even Byron hadn’t wanted to mess with the mutual aid society. Keli certainly didn’t want trouble either.
And she didn’t have the strength to interfere.
Keli had gotten out of the mutual aid society’s grasp—maybe they didn’t care about losing one freshman. But if she helped others and stuck her neck out again, wouldn’t they start targeting her once more?
Going against an entrenched, powerful group was extremely dangerous.
“I really can’t help you,” Keli said stiffly, trying to shake Jenna’s hands off. “I’m just a freshman, too.”
“Keli, Keli!”
Seeing Keli still refusing to help, Jenna’s tears finally spilled out. She abruptly pulled back her hands and yanked open her collar.
“Look at me.”
Wow, great figure.
Keli’s first reaction was to notice Jenna’s fair chest.
But at the second glance spotted something even whiter—a fat bug squirming lightly on her chest.
“Ugh.”
Keli instinctively stepped back, goosebumps prickling all over her arms.
If Byron hadn’t saved her back then, would she have one of those crawling on her, too?
Taking a deep breath, Keli calmed herself. “You should tell your mentor about this.”
“My mentor?” Jenna gave a bitter smile and shook her head. “My mentor is the same as Senior Lokai’s—Mentor Anze.”
Jenna had chosen Anze not because their elemental affinities matched but because she thought Senior Lokai seemed warm and friendly.
Now, her mentor had only met with her once and hadn’t even spoken a single word to her—only had connections with Lokai.
And those connections… were all tied to the mutual aid society.
Now that she knew how dangerous the mutual aid society was, how could she be sure her mentor wasn’t involved too?
Wouldn’t that be like walking into the lion’s den?
(End of Chapter)