Chapter 759: Enjoying The Free Time
Two days passed after the second years returned from Nalim, and by the end of the second day, the academy had begun to feel alive in a way it had not during the assessments.
The first years had already returned from Vlardia days before the second years, and most of them had spent their own recovery time whispering about what they had endured, comparing injuries, laughing at their own mistakes, and pretending they were far more composed than they actually had been.
When the second years returned from Nalim looking half-dead and carrying the kind of exhaustion that made even walking through the halls seem like a task, the first years quickly understood that their three-day assessment had been mild compared to whatever nightmare the second years had survived.
Then, by the second day after the second years’ return, the third years also came back from whatever assessment the academy had prepared for them, and although no official details were given immediately, their condition alone suggested that their own test had not been gentle either.
With all three academic years back inside the academy, the entire school entered a strange little period of loosened discipline and shared recovery. The breaks given to each year were not exactly the same, but since all students were expected to resume academic studies together afterward, the atmosphere across the academy softened for a while.
Students filled the courtyards, lounges, dining halls, bathhouses, and shaded walkways with the kind of restless relief that only came after surviving something difficult. Some students trained lightly despite being told to rest, others slept through half the day, and many spent their time retelling assessment stories with details that grew more dramatic every time they were repeated.
Among the second years, the ranking announcement remained the center of most conversations.
Sheila’s return to rank one had already begun settling into the academy’s social rhythm, and many students seemed more comfortable now that the top of their year belonged to someone they could accept without fear or resentment clouding every thought.
Asher’s rise to second was also discussed with interest, though many did so carefully because Asher himself looked like the rank gave him more frustration than pride.
Charlotte’s leap over Chris became a favorite topic among those who enjoyed gossip, especially because Charlotte herself did nothing to discourage the stories. Chris’s fall, naturally, created quieter and more dangerous conversations, with some students enjoying it, some defending him, and others wisely choosing not to speak too openly when Tempest loyalists were nearby.