Chapter 82: Who cares?
Nolan frowned, trying to read Lirazel’s shifting expression. "What do you mean... my students? The ones from earlier?"
Lirazel nodded once, slowly, almost uneasily. "Yes. Them."
She crossed her arms, the weight of her words suddenly heavier than before. "After I moved the dungeon dragon den earlier today, I tried to come meet you. But something stopped me." She tapped her temple. "I could feel it—your students. They were still here, surrounding this place. I couldn’t see them clearly, but something in them... noticed me. Not fully, but close. Close enough that I didn’t want to risk appearing."
Nolan remained silent for a moment, his thoughts swimming through the possibilities. She wasn’t prone to paranoia. If she said she felt something off, she probably did.
He exhaled through his nose and rubbed his chin. "Makes sense, honestly. Maybe because they are connected to me now in some way."
Lirazel blinked. "Connected? How?"
He shrugged with a hint of resignation. "I have this inborn cheat ability that I’m not going to tell you about. But this ability of mine has made my students stronger. It altered something. Whatever energy I pumped into them through the simulations and those weird metaphysical classroom systems... it’s probably changed how they perceive magic or beings like you. They’re not normal students anymore."
Lirazel pulled her head back. "What? What? I don’t understand," but then her eyes immediately widened. "Wait, so they really can sense me?"
"Probably," Nolan replied, deadpan. "Why do you think my machete can hurt you or killed the spawn earlier so easily?"
Her lips parted slightly, caught off guard. "I... never thought about it. It always confused me and made me wonder why."
"I bet it confused the spawn too," Nolan said. "Those things weren’t supposed to be hurt by anything not made from dragon essence or demonic blood rituals, right?"