Chapter 26: Painting bad
The students looked at each other and nodded. Kera muttered under her breath, "Well, it is expensive..."
"But it's worth it," Selin said firmly. "I mean, this realm is the best I've ever been to."
Calien raised both hands. "Right? Unlike other Arcane Realms where you need to go through stupid synchronization sequences and imagine yourself in tune with your teacher's visualization like some weird shared lucid dream. That stuff's slow, clunky, and completely lame."
"Exactly!" Erik agreed. "In your realm, sir, we just enter. No mumbo jumbo. No six-minute channeling. Just raw, high-intensity survival training. It's perfect."
Nolan made a humble, gracious nod—but inside, he was internally grinning like a devil with a winning hand.
"See, even if it's expensive," Selin went on, "it's absolutely worth it. We actually learn something. Not like those other instructors and their idiotic riddle lectures."
But then, Ruvin tilted his head again, squinting thoughtfully.
"...That's all, sir? That's the reason?"
Nolan froze, only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.
He knew he needed to deepen the bait.
No, he needed to set the hook.