Abyssal Awakening

She didn\'t want to keep replacing her outfit and thus decided to buy something simply while saving up money to get Hunter\'s gear similar to the one that Sera had given her all the way back in the Slaughter Docks.

The outfit she settled on for now was a simple black dress with a pair of black stockings and knee-high boots. Along with this dress was a large white jacket with the edges reaching down to her thighs and a hood to cover her crown if needed.

Of course, Ria had questioned why Alice didn\'t just use some of the clothes she had already bought but her response was that these were cuter.

###

Finishing the final experiment with Runi, Alice gave her body a big stretch as this experiment was a lot longer than what the others were.

"Good work as usual today." Arunya spoke in her usual monotone voice but after a week, Alice could tell when Runi was happy or upset based on the slight variations in her body language and tone.

"Today\'s the last one. You\'ve got your student exams to prepare for right? Is there any difference between the Theory tests and the Combat tests?" Alice asked curiously.

During this week, Arunya found out that Alice was taking the Combat exams, which she thought was a shame due to Alice\'s talent in the Theory department.

But regardless, she was going to respect her choice since it was Alice\'s life and not hers. At most, they could be considered acquaintances during this week of bonding.

"It depends on the topic during the exam. Usually, it\'ll just be a bunch of students crowded into a single room and show off the knowledge they have acquired and how they can put it to good use. As long as you study well and show off your intelligence, you can pass the Theory exams. Rarely would it require us Theory students to actually fight anything." Arunya shook her head.

"The last time that happened, the teachers wanted us to hunt down beasts using only Abyss blood and our understanding of their biology. It\'s also the exam that I failed when I tried to become a Special class student.

"As for Combat exams… I only saw one personally. That was the Special class exam for the current top student in the Combat Department. Though his situation is a little special, he\'s known as the Paladin. His exam required him to lead an exploration team into the depths of the Inverted World and find out more about it.

Some of the dangers he faced that day even garnered some respect from me." She explained while Alice nodded her head.

She found herself a seat and leaned back while taking a sip from her flask.

"Is he just called the Paladin? Does he not have a name?"

"I never bothered to learn his name. It\'s not like we have any interactions so it\'ll be a waste of my energy. I\'ve already done plenty by remembering his nickname. Speaking of which, have you prepared for your exams? Some of the Theory students mentioned that this time was going to be a little different. There\'s been some last minute changes." Arunya asked curiously.

"Well… I didn\'t get told much. They just said to do my best and it\'ll be okay." Alice smiled remembering her second meeting with Xinbei.

He told her that her Special class exams would be taking place at the same time as the other students and that she should just try her best. He couldn\'t divulge any of the details or else he\'ll get into trouble with the principal.

Naturally, he knew about her little scuffle with the Hall of Champions and expressed his confusion as to why she still had to take the exams. Perhaps it was to keep it above the table as the students would be displeased if she was to be given the role of Special class without them knowing.

But he wasn\'t the person organising the exams so he didn\'t have much of a say in it.

"If the exams go bad, I\'m pretty sure I can ask my Department Head to give you a free pass. With your talent in the Theory Department, she\'ll be glad to take you in." Arunya offered.

"I\'ll keep that in mind." Nodding her head, Alice received her final payment before giving Arunya a wave.

There was going to be a small party tonight as Luke sent them a letter saying that he\'ll be coming back from his special mission. He wanted to cheer them on for the exams and thus wanted to prepare a party for the three of them.

After Alice had left, Arunya cleaned up her lab and made her way to see Elara as per usual.

Today was going to be the final check up for a while since the Exam was just around the corner.

Arriving at her house, Arunya was mildly surprised that she wasn\'t hearing any strenuous sounds coming from the inside today.

Opening the door, she saw Elara sleeping by her desk. She was dressed up properly and had even cleaned her lab coat which was usually stained with blood.

Blinking her eyes in surprise, she couldn\'t help but wonder if this was a clone.

"Professor, if you\'re going to sleep you should do so in your bed." Arunya nudged as Elara furrowed her brows and slowly opened her eyes.

*Yawn~

"Oh Runi~ Have you finished your experiments for today?" Elara asked, stretching her body.

"I have. Though seems like you\'ve been busy since last night. Doing your job this time too." Arunya praised, taking a quick glance around the house and saw that it was clean for once.

"At the end of the day, I\'m still the Department Head of Theory. I still have responsibilities otherwise I would\'ve been replaced by now." Elara shrugged.

Hearing this, Arunya squinted her eyes sceptically.

"Did the principal scold you?" She asked.

Seeing Elara freeze up momentarily, Arunya could only sigh.

"She didn\'t scold me. Erm… Merely a suggestion regarding disposition fufu~ She didn\'t want me to scare off the new students that we\'ll be getting." Elara forced a smile.

"So she didn\'t want you to be a bad example. Understood. By the way, I was wondering if you\'ll be able to maybe take in an examinee on the off chance they fail the exams." Arunya asked while placing some food she bought on the table.

"Are you talking about the assistant that you hired?"

"Yes. She has a lot of talent in the Theory department. If it wasn\'t for her, my experiments wouldn\'t have gone so smoothly. Though it seems like she\'s focused on joining the Combat Department." Arunya nodded her head, sitting down opposite Elara since there was no cleaning for her to do today.

"Hmm~ I could consider it if Runi dressed up a little cuter the next time you bring some food." Elara chuckled while unpacking her dinner.

"Please stop messing around professor otherwise I\'ll get the cheapest meal set from now on."

"Boo~ no fun. But fine~ I\'ll stop playing around. With my relationship with the gorilla, it might be a little annoying to have him accept the examinee if they fail but not impossible. But even a favour can only go so far if they\'re not capable enough. But if her talent in the Theory department is as good as you say then we have another option we can go for." Elara smiled while crossing her legs.

"We can enrol her in the Theory department while taking lessons from the Combat Department. I\'m sure the gorilla wouldn\'t mind since he\'s a freak when it comes to helping people realise their potential. As long as they show dedication, he\'ll be satisfied enough to accept them into his classes.

"Do you have their details? I\'ll make a note about them so I don\'t forget. I\'ll be meeting the gorilla later so I\'ll bring it up to him then."

Reaching into her bag, Arunya rummaged through her belongings before pulling out the commission report that needed to be handed to the Hunter\'s Guild.

Handing it to Elara, Arunya watched as Elara\'s expression froze up.

"Something wrong?"

"Ahem… Your assistant has been… Alice Agnelia for the past week?" Elara asked with a forced smile.

"Yes. Was there an issue I didn\'t know about?"

"There is a big issue. Why didn\'t you tell me!? One whole week! One whole week that I could\'ve spent talking to her but I didn\'t even know she was your assistant. Ahhh~ I could\'ve prepared something nice for her too~" Elara lamented as her face started to turn red.

Looking at the way Elara was twitching and squirming in her seat, Arunya couldn\'t help but feel happy that she didn\'t say anything until now.

"Was… Was she the one you\'ve been interested in?"

"Yep~ You\'ve been with her for a week. What was she like? How did she act during the experiments? How did she look at the subjects? I want every detail! Actually, you might even have some of her hair on you hehe~" Elara giggled as she placed down her utensils.

Seeing this, Arunya decided to evacuate the building. If Alice was indeed the one that Elara had been infatuated with, then she was sure that Alice would have no issues regarding the exams.

Meanwhile, Alice who was walking home with Ria felt another chill down her spine, warning her of danger.

\'Are my senses out of whack? Side effect from my resonance?\' Alice frowned in confusion as she\'d been sensing danger several times throughout the week despite nothing happening.

Once again, danger didn\'t show up near her as she could only shake her head and continue her journey back to the inn.