Chapter 29: Meeting In The East Grounds

Lila woke up the next morning, and realized that she was the only one left on the bed.

For a few seconds she stayed still, staring at the ceiling of Ethan’s room while the events of the previous night replayed in her head.

The confession, the way she had climbed onto him, and the fact that she had fallen asleep against him afterward.

She sat up slowly, pushing her disheveled hair aside. The other side of the bed was cold. Ethan had left some time ago.

Lila dragged a hand through her hair and exhaled.

"I must be crazy," she muttered.

Strangely though, she didn’t feel even the tinest of regret. If anything she felt...happy.

She remained on the bed a while longer, before finally standing and pulling her clothes back on. Her body still felt warm, like she could still feel him on her. She ignored that detail as best she could and stepped out of his room.

She closed the door and her gaze landed on the Beowolf that was lying on the floor in front of her.

She blinked. The undead wolf rested its head on its paws, its eyes closed as its chest rose and fell steadily...

Ethan must have summoned it before leaving and ordered it to stay, she thought. A small smile formed at the corner of her as something warm settled in her chest.

"Asshole."

***

The east grounds was empty when Ethan arrived.

He walked towards it slowly, his mind drifting back to the beauty back at his dorm. He had left the Beowolf there on purpose, he didn’t know why....

His Death Energy sat at a comfortable level and the remaining gap to the next level still lingered like a task waiting to be completed...

He looked forward, and saw that Nora was already there.

She stood near the center of the open space with her hands in her blazer pockets, her red eyes watching him approach. She didn’t wave or call out, she simply waited until he stopped a few steps away.

"You’re late," she said.

"It’s not even noon yet." Ethan replied. "I didn’t think we discussed a time to show up."

Nora’s gaze moved over him once, then she spoke again. "You left your undead behind."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "How do you even know that?"

"You’re shadow," she said, pointing at the darkness beneath him. "It’s not as dense."

"Meaning?"

"Whenever an undead is stored, the thickness of your shadow intensifies. So the more undead you have in your legion, the thicker it gets."

Ethan listened quietly. If he hadn’t found out that her brother was a necromancer he would have been shocked by how much she knew.

Silence settled between them for a moment before Nora spoke again.

"Restricted classes don’t last long if they stay too visible," she said. "The academy tolerates us while we’re useful and contained. The MCA however, is less patient. Once you leave these walls, the monitoring gets heavier. Special files, periodic evaluations, restrictions become more rigid." She glanced at him. "Most restricted users either learn to work inside those limits, or they try to outrun them and disappear."

Ethan listened without interrupting. None of it contradicted what Professor Crane had implied during the MCA lecture.

Although he was a little annoyed. Whatever force was behind bringing him here really wanted to make life hard for him...

"My family has a history of this," she said. "Every member who awakened here ended up with a taboo ability. The academy noticed after the second generation and by the third, they stopped treating it like a coincidence."

"And your brother."

Her posture tightened. "So you’ve heard..." A pause, "SS-rank Necromancer," she said. "He progressed faster than the instructors were comfortable with. He had High-quality undead, clean control and Capabilities that shouldn’t have been possible at his official standing."

Her gaze narrowed a fraction before she spoke again. "He was a prodigy...."

"They sent him into a high-risk dungeon under MCA observation, but he never came back. Official record says he died inside. But—"

"You don’t believe that, do you?"

"I don’t," she said, "I also believe the MCA doesn’t like growth in classes they can’t fully predict or control."

The implication sat heavily in the air as Ethan studied her.

"And you’re telling me this because...?"

"Because you’re moving in a similar direction." Nora’s tone remained calm. "You’re F rank, but already have ranked undead under stable control. Your improvement speed stands out. You’re not loud about it, which is smart, but the pattern is still visible."

Ethan kept his face neutral. "So this meeting is a warning?"

"Partly." She took one step closer. "It’s also an offer. We stay close. You don’t have anyone else with a restricted class who will talk to you honestly about what comes next. I don’t have another Necromancer that I feel comfortable around. My brother is gone, you are here."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You’re comfortable?"

"Partially. I still don’t fully know you, but knowing that you have the same abilities as my brother is enough for me to want to stay close."

Ethan exhaled. He didn’t like where this was going. "And if I refuse?"

Nora shrugged. "Then you keep progressing alone until the academy or the MCA decides you’ve become enough of a problem that they have to deal with you." She looked him dead in the eye. "Trust me. It never ends well..."

Ethan was quiet for a few seconds. The smart move was to give her very little information when needed, the practical move was to stay as far away from her was possible...

He had to admit that some of what she said aligned with pressures he had already started to feel.

She spoke again after a while. "You’re advancing quickly, faster than most restricted users at this stage. That kind of growth draws attention eventually. I’d say close with people like me... your choice"

Ethan weighed his options, then he replied. "Before I decide, tell me about your ability..."