Chapter 60

William groaned as he rolled over on the bed, his entire body protesting the movement.

’My body hurts like hell,’ he thought while trying to convince himself to actually get up.

Every muscle screamed at him. His back felt like someone had used it as a punching bag, his shoulders were stiff, and his legs weren’t cooperating at all. The dungeon run yesterday had seemed like a good idea at the time. Right now, it felt like the worst decision he’d ever made.

"You look terrible," Kai said from his desk.

William cracked one eye open. His roommate was already dressed and reading, looking completely normal. Like he hadn’t spent yesterday fighting poison tentacles and plant monsters.

"How are you fine?" William asked, his voice coming out rough.

"I took care of myself last night. You passed out in your clothes still covered in dungeon sap."

That explained why William’s shirt felt crusty and uncomfortable. He forced himself to sit up, ignoring his body’s complaints, and looked down at the dried plant matter stuck to his sleeves.

"I need to wash this off."

"You think?" Kai didn’t look up from his book.

William stumbled to the washing facilities and spent way too long under hot water, scrubbing away the evidence of yesterday’s adventure. By the time he finished and got dressed in clean clothes, he felt slightly more human. His body still hurt but at least he didn’t smell like dead plants anymore.

The dining hall was already busy when he arrived. Students filled the tables, conversations and laughter echoing off the walls. William grabbed food and found an empty spot near the windows where he could eat in peace.

He was halfway through his breakfast when someone sat down across from him without asking.

Victoria Ashford.

The same girl who’d approached him with that condescending invitation weeks ago. Her black hair was perfectly styled as always, her pale blue eyes watching him with that same unsettling intensity.

"William Cross," she said like she was greeting an old friend. "I heard you went on a dungeon run yesterday. How did it go?"

"It was fine," William said, not really wanting to have this conversation.

"Just fine? I heard you cleared two floors with your group. That’s quite impressive for first-years." Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Though I suppose having Liam Hemsworth along helps considerably."

’Why is she here again?’ William thought while taking another bite of food.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"I’m simply being friendly," Victoria said, her tone suggesting she was anything but. "We’re both students at this academy. It’s natural to check in on each other after dangerous activities."

"Right."

"You know, if you’re interested in more advanced dungeon exploration, I could introduce you to some upperclassmen who run deeper floors regularly. They’re always looking for promising talents to mentor."

There it was again. That subtle condescension wrapped in fake helpfulness. Like she was doing him a favor by acknowledging his existence.

"I’m good," William said flatly.

"Are you sure? The connections alone would be—"

"I’m sure."

Victoria’s smile tightened slightly. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

She stood and left without another word, her departure as sudden as her arrival. William watched her go and felt genuinely confused about what that whole interaction was supposed to accomplish.

’What does she even want?’ he wondered while finishing his breakfast.

He was clearing his tray when someone else approached. A girl he didn’t recognize, with shoulder-length brown hair and bright green eyes. She looked nervous, fidgeting with the hem of her uniform.

"Um, excuse me?" she said quietly. "You’re William Cross, right?"

"Yeah," William confirmed, already bracing himself for whatever this was going to be.

"I’m Maya Sinclair. Second-year from House Valoris." She was definitely nervous, her words coming out rushed. "I saw you at the training grounds a few weeks ago and I wanted to ask if maybe you’d be willing to spar sometime? For practice, I mean. Not anything weird. Just training."

’Why is everyone suddenly interested in training with me?’ William thought.

"Uh, sure?" he said, because refusing seemed unnecessarily rude. "I’m usually at the grounds in the afternoons."

Maya’s face lit up. "Really? That’s great! I’ll definitely come find you then. Thank you!"

She hurried off before William could say anything else, leaving him standing there wondering what had just happened.

Two random interactions in the span of ten minutes. That felt suspicious.

William headed to his first class of the day, trying to shake off the weird feeling from both encounters. Combat Training with Valdris was lighter than usual since it was the day after the weekend, giving students time to recover from whatever they’d done.

He went through the drills mechanically, his sore muscles protesting every movement. Sara noticed him wincing during a particular stretch and walked over.

"You look like you got hit by a cart," she observed.

"I went for a dungeon run yesterday," William explained. "Everything hurts."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. You went with Liam, right?" Sara started helping him stretch properly. "How bad was it?"

"Two floors cleared,we fought a Poison Bloom Guardian, nearly got crushed by tentacles. Standard dungeon stuff apparently."

"That’s not standard at all," Sara said, looking impressed. "Most first-years don’t even attempt dungeons. You’re either brave or stupid."

"Probably stupid."

They continued through the warm-up exercises while Sara peppered him with questions about the dungeon. William answered when he could, though honestly a lot of yesterday was a blur of combat and pain.

Class ended and William headed toward Magical Theory. He was walking through the main courtyard when another unfamiliar girl appeared in his path.

This one was tall with red hair pulled into twin braids. She had an energetic expression that reminded him a bit of Astrid.

"You’re William Cross!" she announced like she’d just discovered something amazing.

"That’s me," William said cautiously.

"I’m Iris Valen, third-year from House Luminara. I heard you’re training with the Inter-Academy team and I wanted to ask about your cultivation methods because you’ve improved really fast and I’m trying to figure out how to break through my current plateau and—"

She was talking so fast William could barely keep up.

"Uh," he said intelligently.

"Sorry, I talk a lot when I’m excited," Iris said, not sounding sorry at all. "But seriously, how did you improve so quickly? What’s your secret?"

’There’s no secret,’ William thought. ’I just train a lot and try not to die.’

"I just train consistently," he said out loud. "Nothing special."

"There has to be more to it than that," Iris insisted. "Come on, you can tell me. Is it a special technique? A unique cultivation method? Some kind of essence affinity trick?"

"It’s really just training."

"But—"

"I’m going to be late for class," William interrupted, seeing an escape route. "Sorry, I have to go."

He left before Iris could protest, picking up his pace to put distance between them. What was going on today? Why were random girls he’d never met suddenly approaching him with questions and requests?

’This is weird,’ he thought while climbing the stairs to the theory classroom.

Magical Theory passed without incident, though William caught two different girls staring at him from across the room. When he made eye contact they quickly looked away, but he definitely hadn’t imagined it.

After class, he headed to the training grounds for Inter-Academy practice. Maybe Reylan’s brutal training schedule would distract him from whatever weird energy was following him around today.

The eastern facility was already occupied when he arrived. Liam was there looking none the worse for yesterday’s dungeon run, which was typical. Seraphina was going through warm-up forms, her movements as precise as always.

And Claire was there, looking at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read.

"William," she said, walking over. "How are you feeling after yesterday?"

"Sore," William admitted. "Really sore."

"I heard you went dungeon diving with Liam. That’s pretty impressive." Claire smiled slightly. "You’re taking on more dangerous activities lately."

"It wasn’t that dangerous," William said, downplaying it.

"You fought a Poison Bloom Guardian on your first dungeon run. That’s definitely dangerous." Claire’s dark eyes studied him. "You’re getting stronger."

’Why does everyone keep saying that?’ William wondered.

"Just trying to keep up with everyone else," he said.

"You’re doing more than keeping up," Claire replied. "You’re exceeding expectations. People are starting to notice."

Before William could respond to that, Instructor Reylan called everyone to attention. The training session began with coordination drills that made William’s sore muscles scream, but he pushed through it.

The training session continued with paired combat exercises. William ended up sparring with Patricia, both of them going through combinations while Reylan observed and made corrections.

"Your footwork is sloppy," Reylan called out. "Cross, adjust your stance or she’ll sweep you."

William adjusted and immediately Patricia tried exactly what Reylan had predicted. He managed to avoid it but barely.

They reset and went again. This time William focused more on positioning, using what Liam had taught him about maintaining balance while staying mobile. Patricia was good—better than William in pure technique—but he had more combat experience from all the random situations he’d ended up in.

His sword came in low and Patricia blocked it, her water-enhanced blade meeting his fire-enhanced one with a hiss of steam. She countered with a quick thrust that William deflected, then they separated and circled.

’She’s really good,’ William thought while watching her movements.

Patricia smirked like she knew exactly what he was thinking. William clicked his tongue. She was even smug about it.

They exchanged a few more strikes before Reylan called time and rotated partners. William found himself paired with Claire next, which made things immediately more complicated.

"Ready?" Claire asked, her sword already raised.

"As I’ll ever be," William replied.

They began and William immediately noticed Claire was fighting differently than usual. More aggressive, taking risks she normally wouldn’t take. She pressed him hard from the opening exchange, her strikes coming faster than he was prepared for.

He blocked and countered but she was already moving, her blade coming from a different angle. William had to give ground, his defense barely keeping up with her offense.

’When did she get this fast?’ he wondered while deflecting another strike.

They fought for several minutes before Reylan called time. Claire lowered her sword and gave him a look he couldn’t interpret.

"You’re getting better," she said. "But so am I."

"Noticed that," William replied.

The training session finally ended and everyone dispersed, exhausted and sore. William headed back to his dormitory, his body complaining about the additional workout on top of yesterday’s dungeon injuries.

He was walking through the courtyard when he spotted Victoria again, this time talking with two other girls near the fountain. All three looked up when he passed, their conversation stopping mid-sentence.

William kept walking, not making eye contact. Whatever that was about, he wanted no part of it.

’Today has been so weird,’ he thought while climbing the stairs to his room.

Kai was already there when he arrived, organizing what looked like combat equipment again.

"You’re going out?" William asked.

"Library," Kai said. "Midterms are next week."

"You’re bringing your sword to the library?"

"Can’t be too careful."

William didn’t have the energy to question that logic. He collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

He gazed at the ceilling for sometime before he closed his eyes and let exhaustion pull him under, hoping tomorrow would make more sense than today had.

It probably wouldn’t.

But a guy could hope.