"How do you feel?"
Hunter Zol asked the moment Alex's gaze fell on him.
"Lord Zol?"
Alex was surprised to see him there. Coupled with where they stood, his confusion only grew. He looked around the place and noticed that they were on a rooftop.
He also noticed the principal approaching them from the back.
'Did something happen?'
He began to wonder as his gaze moved to look at his pod. There had to be an explanation for why his pod was out here. That and the presence of Hunter Zol couldn't be a coincidence.
Noticing his wandering and confused actions, Hunter Zol gestured for Alex to step out of the pod.
"Oh yes." He nodded and placed his feet on the hard roof, but the moment he stood up, he fell face first.
'Huh?'
His vision spun and he felt slightly dizzy with a bit of a headache.
Expecting something like this, Zol quickly caught him before he hit the ground.
"Easy there… You're completely drained."
He heard Zol mutter before he was gently placed on the floor.
"What's wrong with him?"
Principal Seraph asked with concern and although she had a guess, it was best to hear it from Alex himself.
"…"
Zol remained quiet and waited for Alex to regain his bearing.
"Are you alright?" He asked again.
Alex shook his head to dispel the dizziness and looked up at the two adults. The pounding of his head didn't help either.
"… Not really… My head heads like hell and my vision is still blurry." He briefly explained how he felt at the moment.
"It's to be expected. There is no mana in your cells. Not even a bit." Zol stated. He explained that what Alex was feeling was the effects of a complete mana drain.
A phenomenon that occurred when a hunter used all their mana.
Alex was still confused. Of course, he knew about the phenomenon. However, his confusion stemmed from the fact that he couldn't use mana like everyone else. It was stored in his cells, full to the brim and unused.
"I understand your confusion boy.
"But right now, you need to rest. Once you've recovered, we'll have a chat."
Hunter Zol proposed and looked at the principal, his gaze informing her of what he wanted.
"Oh... of course." Coming out of her thoughts, she accessed her system and called for a few bots to carry Alex to his room.
Class meetings would have to wait till then.
...…..
Julia and Ross woke up from their pods once they had made their choice, and they both chose to keep their memories of what had happened.
It was a good lesson to learn from as it hardened their resolve even in the face of many deaths. It was a trait every hunter must have; the sooner they did, the better for them.
"Wait, where's Alex's pod?"
Julia instantly noticed Alex's missing pod and panic began to set in. She frantically looked around and began calling his name.
"Relax Julia, I'm sure he's fine. We're on academy grounds. No harm would come to him." Ross tried to calm her down.
As if on cue, one of the bots noticed the panicking Julia and explained what happened to Alex. The principal had already sent the prompts to the bots to inform them of what happened to their friend.
"Oh okay…"
Julia breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up and made her way out of the combat systems.
Her destination? The dorms.
"Ha… Can't she give it a rest?"
He said and went after her.
In the back roll of the lining pods, Zen observed what transpired around Julia and Ross. While he was not entirely sure what happened, he did notice that Alex's pod was missing from its spot.
'Did something happen to him?' He wondered.
"Yo, let's head back."
Amon spoke bringing Zen out of his thoughts. He was one of the few that made it to the top floor. Collins, Menz and Phell got eliminated on the third floor and their pods were already empty, indicating they had already returned.
"Yeah," Zen muttered and followed behind Amon and Oscar. On their way to their dorms, Zen could hear the murmurs of what transpired in the Convergence Maze and this brought a small victorious smile on his face.
His goal of taking the spotlight was partially achieved. Now he was on the lips of every student. Everyone would wonder who he was and what dispute he had with Alex.
'Huhuhu… With the other events, my place would be solidified.'
Amon looked back a bit and saw the smile on his face. He knew what was going on in his head.
'You're close to achieving what you desired. The only thing remaining now is your challenge.' Amon mused with a slight head shake.
Whatever his friend wanted, he sincerely hoped it would bring him joy.
.....
"Alex!"
Julia called out the moment she entered Alex's room.
"I'm in here."
She heard Alex's voice from his bedroom and quickly rushed over.
"Are you alright? Do you feel pains anywhere?"
She began bombarding Alex with questions the moment she spotted him lying on the bed and sat by his bedside with a concerned expression.
Chuckling at her behaviour, Alex reassured her of his well-being as he just needed rest. He then turned to Ross who stood at the entrance.
They exchanged a nod before Alex went ahead to tell her what Hunter Zol told him.
"I see… So, all you need to do is cultivate to regain your lost mana and you'll be fine." She stated and her worried expression relaxed.
"More or less…"
While he wasn't sure how it happened, he was certain Hunter Zol had seen everything that happened with his body while he was in the simulation.
They were answers he was desperately itching to have. Only then could he make some theories about how what he did happened.
"Well, I'm sure my uncle will explain everything in due time. Rest well, the events aren't over yet."
"Right…"
It had escaped his mind. There were still three more events to partake in.