novelzi Ch 2.8: Hidden
Ch 2.8: Hidden
Ch 2.8: Hidden
“Disappeared?” Elaina asked. “You mean it got transported?”Fôllôw new stories at novelhall.com
“That is unlikely,” the System—Temmie—said. “I almost certainly would have sensed the energy buildup to perform such a feat, even if I am not at full processing capacity. It is more likely that the subcore has been masked in some way, hidden by either another crystal device or someone’s aspect.”
“Hey, uhm, just a reminder,” Flora said, still clad in only her flower crown, “I’m kind of out of the loop here.”
“Long story short, Temmie here is what gives us our powers. There are other crystals like this one, and the things that attacked the school are after them. We had a lead on another one, but it sounds like we lost the trail.”
“Miss Strask is precisely correct. I can tell you at least that the last location of the subcore was in the castle town, but specifics are now beyond me.”
“Hey, while we’re talking about crystals going missing, shouldn’t we do something about those?” Carline asked, pointing to the red crystals shoved up against the cave wall.
Flora squinted, looking over at the blades and gems. “Wait, aren’t those...”
“Yeah. Tira and I fought one of them up in the grove above.”
“Gods,” Flora said, walking over and examining them. “They’re huge, way bigger than any of the ones I saw.”
“And powerful,” Temmie added. “Carline is right to be concerned about them.”
“They should be safe enough here, right?” Elaina asked. “I mean, this cave was hidden for nine hundred years before I just happened to fall in.”
“That is not necessarily the case. Should any student who was already Awakened have stumbled in here by chance, the System would not have activated, even if they touched the core. We cannot be sure this cave is as hidden as it seems. I can remain shut off if someone wanders in, but the blades cannot be safely left here for an extended period, and they are just as dangerous in the wrong hands as my subcores.”
“Well, there’s always my room,” Tira said. “The automatons come in to clean, but no one else does.”
Elaina tried imagining fighting for the first time, without a class. She could picture herself fighting without skills of course, but she had always had the enhanced capabilities a class provided, ever since she had her aspect at least. “We need to do something about that, but if these missions don’t usually happen until break weeks we have a bit of time at least. For now we’ll focus on the poachers, getting the subcore back. Temmie, are there any other subcores you know about right now?”
“Not at present. I presume most are dormant, and they won’t activate unless they have a reason too. If we have the option to improve my scanning subsystem, then I may be able to locate even dormant ones.”
Flora started rubbing her head, frowning. “Okay, I’m pretty easygoing normally, don’t really mind surprises and stuff, but this is a lot.”
Tira nodded. “I have patrol soon too. We can reconvene in my room later if Temmie has more she needs to say.”
“Negative. That is the only pressing matter. It was a pleasure meeting you though, Flora.”
“Likewise,” Flora said, clapping and running over to the pedestal. She leaned over, giving Elaina and Carline both a direct look at her still exposed ass as she actually patted the crystal. “Hope I can see you again soon.”
“I— ah— Hmmmm... You may visit Elaina’s room if you like. I can communicate through the subcore we have there as well.”
“Great! Alright, up we go, everyone!”
The group climbed out of the cave, taking time to wash their hands in the pond before heading off. Tira went on alone, while Carline and Elaina stayed behind, Carline intently watching Flora get dressed while Elaina tried to not make it obvious she was doing the same. It was odd, seeing Carline stare so unabashedly. She was getting more confident with looking at Elaina, but staring at Flora seemed almost second nature to her.
The trio left back for the school, Elaina and Carline explaining how they’d first found the System, how they obtained the first subcore, more about the Red Order. Despite already learning a lot of knew things all at once, Flora stayed attentive, seemed to understand everything. And she really did take it in easily, far easier than Elaina had taken in everything. She hadn’t reacted at all when they walked in on her swimming either. Is she fazed by anything.
“We should go back to the clearing sometime, just you and me,” Flora whispered in her ear as the entered the school. Elaina blushed as the girl backed away, giggling and running off. “My room’s this way. I’ll see you two later!”
Elaina and Carline slowed as they watched Flora run down the halls, seemingly no cares in the world. “She’s always been this way,” Carline said. “Strong, able to take anything that comes her way.”
“I like her...” Elaina said, still blushing, still feeling unsatisfied from before. Maybe Carline can help me take care of that. The two made their way back to their room, thoughts of carrying on the fun they’d had before lunch dancing in Elaina’s head, but when they opened the door and Elaina was about to ask about it, she noticed something on her bed, a letter addressed to Elaina Weaver.