Chapter 37: Enemy in sight
Rocky enjoyed the rest of his first day at the university by just lurking aimlessly alongside Buhara and Erin as they toured the campus grounds together.
The orientation was supposed to be the next day and there was not much to do at the academy on the first day.
It was indeed a very different place compared to Earth and a slight culture shock for Rocky who was not accustomed to being around a myriad different species.
Apparently -
Werewolves hated vampires
Beastmen hated Fishmen
Dwarves hated Goblins
Goblins hated Orcs
Elves hated everyone
And humans were considered too weak to be hated.
There was a heavy racial stigma on campus grounds and apart from a handful of mixed race trios, it seemed like most had chosen to form a team with their racial mates compared to roommates.
There was some fraternizing going around amongst different groups as well, however, nobody approached Rocky's team for holding a talk.
With the 9 foot tall Buhara standing behind Erin and Rocky, nobody really dared to approach the group, as Buhara scared everyone off.
This was the way both Rocky and Erin prefered it to be as they did not wish to idoly fraternize either.
Rocky still felt a little uncomfortable under the enhanced sensory effect of the tower's ambient mana, however, he was feeling much better compared to when he first entered the tower.
It was almost like his body had automatically learnt how to get attuned with the ambient mana in the surroundings, and apart from a mild headache, Rocky felt fine as a bird.
The trio visited the university's grand arena, the various special lecture halls, the swordsmanship hall, the library, the canteen and many other important places as they took a thorough survey of the campus grounds feeling awed by its grandeur.
The university for nourishment of young talents, was most definitely the best university to enroll in and its environment matched its reputation.
The students here walked with their noses held high and with a spirit under their step as looking at them one could easily determine that everyone here was brimming with confidence and not shy of fighting at all.
If one made accidental eye contact with another student, then the eye contact was not broken for a long time as both would smirk and try to intimidate the other, trying to establish their dominance early before the true geniuses left the normal ones in the dust.
Rocky too often faced a staredown while he was touring the campus, however, he laughed the fools off instead of humoring them.
In a way, he was more mature than teenagers his age were supposed to be.
He was not easy to agitate or taunt, however, on the other hand, he was his own worst enemy.
The amount of time he took to reflect upon his own actions and future was not healthy, underneath the facade of confidence that he maintained, he was a fragile child who was far from becoming a man.
However, unlike him, Buhara did not shy away from any staredowns, in fact he initiated most of them.
Also, unlike him, when Buhara stared someone down they flinched and looked away, as noone wanted to mess with that beast.
Amongst all the other orcs in the academy, Buhara was by far the largest and most ripped looking one as apart from a handful of Hobgoblins and Minataurs, nobody was even close to his size.
And almost a complete opposite to Buhara, Erin did not even look up into the eyes of other people as he kept to himself and kept staring at the ground below.
If someone made a mean face at him, he hid behind Rocky, as Rocky quickly realized that Erin was going to be the pampered princess of the group.
**********
While the trio were almost approaching the end of their tour. They noticed a large crowd having gathered at one spot, crowding over someone or something.
There seemed to be some excited chatter going around as Rocky's interest was piqued as to what might be going on?
"Hey brother, what's going on? Why is everyone gathered here?" Rocky asked a fellow human who seemed to be heading out of the crowd with shock evident on his face.
" Oh? A champion of gods has appeared! She's showing off her mark! It's really cool" Said the human, as a smile immediately popped up on Rocky's face as he pushed through the crowd to take a look at the champion.
As he reached the front of the crowd, he saw a beautiful woman with sea green eyes, standing with a dazzling smile and an exposed arm.
She appeared to be very gentle, and Rocky was almost captivated by her charm for a second, until he noticed the exposed tattoo on her arm.
A mermaid holding a trident, the mark of the Olympian God Poseidon.
Almost instantly, Rocky pushed back away from the crowd, dark thoughts entering his mind as he walked furiously back towards his room.
" Rocky?"
" Puny human?"
Buhara and Erin called out to him, but he ignored them as he kept walking without a response.
He was excited to meet the champion when he heard there was another from the admissions clerk, however, never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that it would turn out to be a champion of the Olympian Gods.
Someone destined to be his foe.
—-----
/// A/N - This bonus chapter is sponsored by patron allcat_gaming, please thank him in the comments for the same///
Chapter 38: No funny business
Complicated thoughts clouded Rocky's mind after he caught a glimpse of Sophia's tattoo.
He wondered if kidnapping Sophia to barter with her patron god for the release of Riva was a sensible idea?
He wondered if kidnapping a fellow student from the University was possible or not?
He wondered if she had any involvement with the disappearance of his sister at all, or was he hating on someone innocent?
"Damn it, damn it, damn it-" Rocky cursed as he paced around his dorm room with no control over his emotions as somehow the presence of Sophia itself riled Rocky to a point which Rocky could never have expected.
Usually, Rocky was a calm and composed individual, however, at this moment he felt anxious as he could sense that something was amiss.
Could her presence in the university at the same time as Rocky be coincidental?
Was this some sort of a high level game being played between gods?
Rocky had no idea as to what the answer to these questions was, however, his guts told him that the champion of Olympian gods being at the same university as him could not be a coincidence.
" Puny human! What happened? Why did you become so upset?" Asked Buhara as he and Erin also reached their dorm room, chasing after Rocky who left them in the dust.
" Sir Rocky? Are you okay? You don't seem like a gentleman who would be riled up easily, would you perhaps like to share what happened? Orc Buhara seems like a good listener" said Erin as he calmly gestured Rocky to take a seat, as the presence of others around him prompted Rocky to regain his composure as he let out a deep sigh and smiled once again.
" I'm okay! I just felt nauseous from the crowd. Felt like returning to the dorm fast" Rocky lied, as Erin picked up on his lie immediately but chose to remain silent.
" Puny human became nauseous? Puny human truly puny. Orcs like Buhara never become nauseous, Orcs strong" Buhara said, as Rocky's lie went completely over his head as he believed it to be true.
" It's okay sir Rocky, it happens to the best of us" Erin said, comforting Rocky as he did not press for answers that Rocky did not wish to share.
Nodding affirmatively towards Erin, Rocky thanked him silently for letting the matter go, as he returned to his normal state of mind.
His gut told him that the Champion of Poseidon being here could not be a coincidence and that he needed to beware of her, which was why Rocky decided to take a cautious approach while interacting with her in the future.
************
Sophia had already seen a photo of Rocky before coming to the university for nourishment of young talents, so she already knew who he was.
As Rocky made his way from amidst the crowd, Sophia recognised him in an instant, as she noticed his facial expressions in extreme detail as he gazed upon her.
His expression changed from one of awe at being mesmerized by her beauty to that of disgust as he observed her tattoo as he immediately pushed back and left the crowd once he realized the patron god supporting her.
'What a cutie' thought Sophia as judging by his reactions she could already make out that Rocky would not be amiable to conversing with her directly.
Should he be mesmerized by her beauty, being influenced by the charm artifact that she wore, Sophia would have tried a more proactive approach to entering his good books, but after judging his reaction today, she realized that a direct approach would fail miserably.
Rocky was wary of her and to break into his good books under these circumstances needed more nuanced 'coincidences'.
'Hmmm, this should be fun-' she thought, as with a soft smile she plotted her future plan of action.
************
( Meanwhile, somewhere on the academy grounds )
A humble man with curly hair, a long entangled beard and a monocle walked through the academy grounds with his hands behind his back and a slight hunch forward.
*mamsbxjsmss*
He seemed to be mumbling something imperceptible under his breath as by his cadence and demeanor, it seemed like he was extremely angry.
" Revealing her identity so soon? How narcissistic does one have to be to do this….. this is not good, not good" he mumbled to himself as he clutched his hands and grit his teeth.
" I don't care about gods. I don't care about your internal fights. This university is MY domain and I am it's sole operator" he murmured to the heavens, seemingly taunting the gods to test his wrath if they dared.
" Gigolo, Pigolo" he said, as two ghosts materialized themselves beside the man, awaiting his instructions.
"Keep an eye on the two champions. Knock them out unconscious the second they try something funny.
I will not tolerate any funny business in my university" he said as gigolo and pigolo vanished from his sight, fading into the air as if they never existed.
While the students were yet to meet him, the man ordering the ghosts was none other than the principal of the university and the madman who was feared throughout the first fifty floors of the tower.
The Ghost Whisperer, Liam Hartley
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
21 Power
stone 
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