Chapitre 38: Chapter 38
Kaden laid on his bed in the academy dorm, staring at the ceiling. He had returned to the academy after reaching the shelter, but the weight of the day still hung heavy on him. The dorm was eerily quiet; Jace was not in the room, and Kaden had no idea where he was. He hadn't seen either Jace or Lira since returning to the school. He had assumed they'd made it back, but he didn't encounter them on his way to the dorm, and now, with Jace's absence, unease settled over him. Still, he wasn't going to look for him—not yet, at least. He had left the door unlocked in case Jace returned while he was asleep.
Kaden's body ached. Hours of running had left his legs sore and numb. All he wanted was to sleep, to escape the turmoil in his mind and the exhaustion in his muscles. But no matter how much he craved rest, his thoughts refused to settle. Mr. Duke. The man's name lingered in his mind like a venomous snake coiled around his thoughts.
Reporting him to the academy would be the logical thing to do, but the problems with that option were glaringly obvious. Mr. Duke was a teacher, and Kaden was just a student from the outskirts. It didn't take much to figure out who the academy would believe in a situation like this. Even if, by some miracle, the academy decided to be fair, Kaden had no evidence to prove what had happened. The paralysis poison Mr. Duke had used had conveniently left his system, and the man could easily fabricate a story—claiming he had searched for Kaden but couldn't find him.
More importantly, though, Kaden didn't want justice handed down by the academy. He wanted revenge. He wanted to see Mr. Duke pay for what he'd done. But even as his anger simmered, doubt crept in. Could he actually defeat Mr. Duke? The man was a Tier Two ability user with years of experience and training. Kaden, on the other hand, was just a Tier One, with basic footwork and fighting techniques taught at the academy. The odds were stacked heavily against him.
"Oi, oi, oi," he muttered to himself. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I need to sleep."
Kaden woke up groggily, his body still aching from the previous day's ordeal. The first thing he noticed was that Jace was still not in the room. Now, his concern began to morph into worry. Pushing himself out of bed, he decided to go out and find him.
Stepping outside, Kaden was greeted by the bustling activity on the academy grounds. The academy had given the students a two-day holiday after the test on another planet, and the mood among the students was mixed. Some walked around with bright smiles, likely having collected a good haul of beast crystals during the test. Others looked dejected, perhaps having failed to achieve much. But what struck Kaden the most were the hollow, lifeless eyes of some students. These were the ones who had witnessed the horrors of the world. They had seen friends torn apart by beasts, the cruelty of the hunt laid bare. It was a sight no teenager should ever have to endure. Kaden knew it would haunt them forever, just as he had his own to face.
Making his way to the cafeteria, Kaden's stomach growled in protest. He hadn't eaten since the day before, and hunger gnawed at him relentlessly. Grabbing a tray, he served himself without restraint, piling his plate high with food. Meat, vegetables, rice—anything he could grab. "I need more protein," he thought, adding two more pieces of meat to his already overflowing tray. If every student ate like him, the academy would definitely reconsider its self-serving method.
He stopped only because his tray was full. Any more, and the food would start spilling. "Why don't they make larger trays?" he thought as he searched for a place to sit. That's when he saw her—Lira, sitting at a table with her silver hair shimmering under the cafeteria lights. Her gourd sat on the seat beside her, a silent marker of her presence.
Kaden made his way to her table and sat across from her. She raised her head, her expression softening slightly. "I see you're alright," she said.
"I got lucky, that's all," Kaden replied, his tone neutral.
"Do you know where Jace is?" he asked.
Lira's expression darkened. "He's in the school hospital."
Kaden's heart sank. "What happened to him?" he demanded, leaning forward.
Lira hesitated, then began to explain. "When Jace transformed into a bull to carry me to the shelter and inform the teachers about you, he ran out of energy. He transformed back into a human and couldn't move. I… I had to leave him there to get help. But while he was there, a beast attacked him."
Kaden's jaw tightened, his fists clenching.
"It's my fault," Lira said, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked down at her hands.
"It's not your fault," Kaden said firmly. "You did your best."
He stood up abruptly. "I'm going to see him."
"Wait," Lira said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a beast crystal and handed it to him. "This is from the Ratogores we killed. We managed to carve out three crystals. Each of us gets one."
Kaden took the crystal, nodding in gratitude. Without another word, he ran out of the cafeteria. Once outside, he stored the beast crystal in his system inventory, where it disappeared from his hand. He had no immediate use for it other than selling it for $10,000.
His stomach growled loudly as he sprinted toward the school hospital. The feast he had prepared for himself in the cafeteria remained untouched. "The person washing the trays will definitely curse me," he thought grimly as he pushed forward, his focus entirely on reaching Jace.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone