Chapter 16: Ch 16: A Close Save

Noah’s eyes flashed and he raised his hand to strike Ethan’s back. He felt like this was the only choice he had left...but then the classroom doors slammed open and a pair of loud footsteps headed their way.

Before Noah knew it, someone had dragged Ethan back and thrown him away.

"Huh? Did I get...saved?"

Noah asked, only to see Ethan’s suspicious face replaced by Daniel’s.

"Noah, what are you doing? Didn’t you hear the teacher telling us to head to the hall? Is it that hard to follow instructions?"

Daniel sounded pissed but suspicious at the same time. His eyes kept glancing at the S-class esper he had thrown away as if he weighed nothing. Even now, he was glaring at Ethan, daring him to do anything foolish.

But instead of getting angry, Ethan only looked annoyed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sheesh, what is with the guides these days? Are all of you super strong or something? Or have we espers gotten too weak? I feel insulted being thrown around like this."

Ethan complained, but his suspicion had started to lessen considerably. Somehow, being thrown around by Daniel had knocked some sense into him...?

’At least he’s no longer looking at me with the same suspicion as before. But honestly, even I would find myself suspicious given the circumstances...I will need to be more careful from now on.’

Noah sighed and Daniel quickly grabbed his wrist.

"Let’s go. I will help you get to the training hall. And since your partner looks incompetent, I will stay by your side during this assignment."

Daniel assured Noah and he felt a little better. But he had his concerns as well.

"I don’t think the teacher would like you abandoning your partner to stay with me. And I cannot abandon my partner either."

Noah pointed out, only for Daniel to scoff.

"Somehow, I don’t think Alan is going to mind this arrangement. And as for your partner...he can stay back with Alan when we enter. We don’t need them anyway."

Daniel sounded far too confident about his chances of surviving inside a dungeon, but he was far too fragile to survive as a civilian-raised guide. They were born in the same lab, but Daniel did not receive the same training Noah did.

Somehow, Noah doubted Daniel would be any help while facing bigger threats unless he awakened his dormant power...

But that could and should never happen. It was Daniel’s fate to be saved by Alan and help him awaken his powers, not the other way around. And Noah was here to make sure of it.

For now, he allowed Daniel to drag him out, and his eyes met Alan’s right outside the classroom door.

"Hey, be useful for a minute and grab Noah. He’s having a hard time walking around by himself."

Daniel pushed Noah into Alan’s arms and the esper made a startled expression. But his eyes held an amused smile behind his mask of surprise.

"I...are you sure about this? His partner esper might have an issue with it-"

"Then he can take it up with us later. But frankly, I don’t see a point in handing Noah over to someone who cannot even bother accompanying him to class."

Noah felt uncomfortable as he was picked up by Alan and thrown over his shoulder like a sack. His injured leg was secure in this position, but Noah’s dignity had taken a huge hit. So he immediately buried his face against Alan’s shoulder to hide his embarrassment, only to hear the esper let out an amused chuckle.

"Well, looks like we will be borrowing you, Noah. And if you like us enough, why don’t you just abandon your assigned esper and form a group with us? Frankly, I would like you much more than my Daniel-"

"Shut up and get moving."

Daniel kicked Alan and they started walking. Noah felt his dignity crack with each passing step. But he gathered enough courage to lift his head and look back at the classroom door.

His eyes met Ethan’s, and the lazy esper was frowning as he watched Noah being dragged away by another esper. His eyes were dark and held something...unexplainable.

Noah was not afraid...but he was not comfortable with that stare either.

Rather, he had a feeling that he should avoid being alone with Ethan for the foreseeable future if he wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life.

...

Luckily, nothing happened until they reached the training hall, and Alan finally let Noah down once he spotted a chair for him to sit on.

He had to admit that the treatment was a nice change from his daily routine...but Alan’s behaviour still made him suspicious of his true intentions.

Noah kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to annoy Alan or make Daniel any more pissed off. Luckily, Ethan followed them to the hall this time as well. But when they arrived, there was no other group around.

Their teacher looked at Noah with an expression that seemed ready to eat him alive. Somehow, it made Noah feel as though she was waiting to blame him for everything that had gone wrong with her plan.

"Where were you until now? I am going to deduct your team’s points for being late and having to get another team to fetch you. Ah, don’t worry, Alan. Your team won’t get a deduction because you were just helping the other team out."

The teacher changed her tone when she spoke to Alan, becoming far more polite. She also looked at Ethan with a fond expression, which made Noah doubt that he would receive a deduction.

’So am I the only one who is going to get a deduction here? This feels so unfair!’

But life was unfair and Noah had no patience left to argue with the teacher. He was just about to nod and agree with her when Daniel decided to fight for him.

"That doesn’t seem right. Both our teams are late, so shouldn’t we both get a deduction? Giving it to just one team feels like discrimination."

Daniel’s words made the teacher freeze and she suddenly looked at Alan with a startled expression.

"Student, that is not what this is about. Your team was here on time but decided to go and get the other team. It is not the same. Now, let’s not talk about it anymore. It is time for you to enter the dungeon as well."

The teacher made it clear that she had no intention of changing her mind and Daniel looked ready to argue. But Noah grabbed his hand and shook his head, telling him there was no need to do this.

He did not want Daniel to lose the teachers’ support over something this small.

Once again, Daniel showed his frustration, but decided not to push the matter any further. That did not mean his mood improved, however.