Chapter 46: You’ve Been Suspended!
Zane tried to straighten himself, forcing the strange fluctuation of energy back beneath his skin as though sheer willpower could make his body obey him.
"I’m fine," he said, his voice remarkably calm considering the state he was in.
Riley stared at him as though he had just said the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.
"You’re obviously not fine."
Before Zane could respond, his knees suddenly buckled.
Adrien reacted instantly, rushing forward and catching him by the arm before he could hit the floor.
"Zane!"
"Don’t touch me!"
The sharpness in Zane’s voice made Adrien freeze.
Zane clenched his jaw, his breathing still uneven as he forced himself upright. "My spiritual energy is unstable. If you touch me while it’s fluctuating, you could get contaminated."
Adrien reluctantly released him, his expression filled with worry.
Riley, however, wasted no time. She immediately turned toward Zane’s belongings and began searching through them.
"Where is it?"
Zane swallowed, still leaning heavily against the desk. "Wardrobe."
Riley hurried over, opened the wardrobe and began searching through the neatly arranged belongings until her hand finally landed on a small golden box tucked behind several folded clothes.
The box was plain except for a strange inscription carved across its lid, its surface looking almost too pristine compared to everything around it.
She pulled it out and opened it.
Inside sat several pale violet fruits, each one giving off a faint spiritual glow.
Riley immediately picked one up and handed it to Zane.
He did not hesitate.
The moment the fruit touched his lips, he consumed it, and within seconds, the violent fluctuations rippling through his spiritual core began to settle.
The strange crimson-gold glow beneath his veins slowly disappeared, his breathing gradually returning to normal as the pressure in his chest eased.
Adrien finally released the breath he had been holding. "Another relapse already?" he asked, his brows drawing together. "I recall you took one just a few days ago."
Riley closed the golden box, her expression grim. "His spiritual core is becoming less stable. The fruits aren’t lasting as long anymore."
Zane looked toward the box. "How many are left?"
Riley hesitated before answering.
"Seven."
Silence fell over the room.
Seven.
That was all that remained.
Zane’s expression barely changed, but Adrien’s face immediately darkened.
Zane had never possessed an ordinary spiritual core. His body produced an unusually large amount of spiritual energy, far more than what an ordinary Sentinel of his level should have been capable of producing. Under normal circumstances, that would have been considered a blessing, but his spiritual core was incapable of stabilizing the energy his body constantly generated.
Instead of circulating smoothly, the energy repeatedly fluctuated inside him, sometimes becoming so violent that it began attacking his own life force.
That was also the reason Zane had never been successfully guided.
Ordinary Guides could not handle his spiritual core, and even the few exceptional Guides capable of handling S-class Sentinels would struggle to stabilize something as complicated as his.
Years ago, the problem had nearly killed him.
During one particularly severe episode, his own spiritual energy had spiraled completely out of control, consuming his life force little by little until even the people around him had begun to believe there was nothing they could do.
Then, almost miraculously, a spiritual fruit appeared on the market.
No one knew where it had come from. No one knew the Guide who had created it.
Adrien had found the mysterious seller online and, desperate to save Zane’s life, purchased the fruit without even knowing whether it would work.
It had.
The moment Zane consumed it, the violent instability within his spiritual core had settled.
It had saved his life.
After that, Adrien had done everything within his power to find more.
He bought almost every fruit the mysterious seller released, desperate to keep Zane alive for as long as possible.
But the seller eventually disappeared.
Years passed without another appearance, and the fruits Adrien had painstakingly collected slowly dwindled until only a handful remained.
Now there were seven.
"Time is really running out," Adrien muttered. "They’re almost finished, and the mysterious seller disappeared years ago. There’s no hope of refilling them."
"I know that," Zane replied quietly.
Adrien’s expression tightened.
"That’s why we came here in the first place. Leon is the only Guide we’ve heard of who has successfully stabilized an S-class Sentinel with a spiritual core as complicated as yours."
Zane scoffed lightly. "He isn’t here."
"No," Riley agreed. "But he will return eventually."
Zane’s gaze darkened slightly. "I heard Drey went into a rampage a few days ago."
Both Adrien and Riley looked at him.
"He was apparently guided," Zane continued. "I didn’t stay long enough to hear who did it, so I don’t know whether it was Leon."
Riley immediately shook her head. "There is no need to doubt it. It was most likely Leon."
Adrien nodded in agreement. "Who else could have stabilized Lord Drey during a rampage?"
Zane did not answer.
He merely looked toward the door, his thoughts becoming increasingly complicated. If Leon had truly managed to stabilize Drey, then perhaps there was still hope.
They simply needed Drey and Leon to finish the rift mission and return to the academy. Then they could complete what they had come here to do.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the situation unfolding inside his dormitory, Ethan had already navigated his way toward his first class.
He had spent the entire walk trying to convince himself that today would be normal.
The moment he stepped inside, however, he immediately felt the weight of everyone’s attention. The previously quiet classroom seemed to come alive the instant his presence was noticed.
Whispers spread through the room.
Several students turned around.
Others leaned toward their friends, murmuring behind their hands while staring at him with unmistakable curiosity.
Ethan sighed inwardly.
Of course.
Apparently, his little performance during the assessment and the incident involving Drey had been enough to again make him the academy’s latest topic of discussion.
He ignored the stares and prepared to walk toward an empty seat.
He barely took a step before a voice stopped him.
"Ethan."
He looked up.
Instructor Cass stood several feet away, his expression unusually serious.
Ethan frowned.
"Yes?"
Cass glanced around the classroom before looking directly at him. "You can’t attend classes."
Ethan’s expression froze. "What?"
"We’ve all been informed," Cass said, his voice firm. "You’ve been temporarily suspended from receiving lectures until further notice."
Ethan stared at him. For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he had heard wrong. "What do you mean... suspended?"