Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 208: Head Of Department

After relaxing for a while, Luke decided to take his leave since he needed to arrange a meeting between these two and his department head.

Only through the recommendation of his department head could Alice and Ria skip the process of proving themselves and immediately go on taking the trial to become an Honoured Student in the academy.

With Luke leaving, Ria decided to change into a set of pyjamas while relaxing in Alice's room.

"So what do you think of Luke?" Ria asked with a smile while looking at the sculpture that Luke had carved out.

It was rough around the edges and lacked a lot of detail since he didn't have much time, but it was a sculpture of Alice where they first met at the port before Ria appeared. A gift for their first meeting.

"Hmm… How do I put it? I guess you can say he's a man of responsibility and stability. He deals with the main things first before allowing himself to relax and takes his role seriously." Alice replied after a brief pause.

From the way he worked on the sculpture, Alice understood that Luke was a man of focus and dedication. Since they've only just met, Alice didn't have a concrete impression of him but as it stands, he showed the impression of stability.

"Hehe~ Yep. Luke's definitely become more mature as time went on. Though to be fair, he was always kinda like this. Not surprised though since he was another victim of the Cult like me. It's hard to act normal after going through that kind of ordeal when you're young. Which is why I'm surprised he dropped a lot of his walls despite this being your first meeting." Ria nodded with a soft smile.

"I mean he did say he didn't want you to feel awkward and disrupt the atmosphere. It's more about you rather than me." Alice dismissed with a wave of her hand.

She could see clearly that Luke favoured Ria and focused on making sure she was comfortable despite his words against her.

"Ehhh I doubt that."

Spending the time chatting with one another, the two decided not to do anything for the day and just rest up as they were mentally fatigued from travelling. Anything else will have to wait till tomorrow.

###

Waking up the next day, Alice and Ria wanted to take this time to explore the city. However, upon going downstairs, they saw Luke having some breakfast by the canteen and waved towards the duo.

"You're here so early. Don't you have your studies?" Ria asked curiously as she got some breakfast as well as sat next to him.

"Don't worry, missing a day or two won't affect me since I'm studying pretty much every day." Luke chuckled before turning to Alice.

"I've talked to the head of department. He said he has some time to take a look at you and see if you're fit for the trial. The combat department head is currently away on an expedition within the Inverted World so he won't be available and the Theory department head doesn't care and doesn't want to bother with it.

"We can meet with him whenever you want since he's pretty free today. As for what's in the trial… He hasn't told me so I don't know." Luke shrugged his shoulder.

"Already? It hasn't even been a full day since we told you that we wanted to enrol. What the f*ck." Ria blinked her eyes in surprise as she didn't think Luke was able to arrange it so quickly.

"Like I said, passing the special exam gives you quite a few privileges. But the department head also looks at me favourably so that helped." He smiled in response while Alice contemplated for a while.

"Well if the department head is ready then I don't see a reason not to go now. The sooner we pass the trial the faster we can arrange for the exam right?" Alice asked.

"Indeed."

"Then let's finish up here and go quickly." She smiled and began to finish her breakfast with a side of mead.

Seeing that she was drinking this early, Luke was a little surprised but didn't comment on it since it didn't look like she was getting drunk.

As the three finished their food, they left the Inn and made their way up the mountains with Luke taking the lead.

The main transportation around the city was actually through trains that go through the mountains. Each carriage was controlled by Abyssal Engineering and had dedicated drivers ensuring that everything was working as intended.

Not only that, there were mechanics and students on standby ready to repair the trains should anything go wrong.

As they approached, several students would greet Luke with respect while the mechanics did the same.

Both Alice and Ria said nothing and only looked on as Luke was far more well known than they had expected.

"Seems like passing the special exam is a big deal." Ria whispered over as Alice nodded her head.

"When the number of people passing the special exam hasn't reached beyond three digits since the inception of this Academy, it's only natural that people will remember you if you pass." Luke interjected before signalling for a train.

"Department of Handiwork. Building 1."

"Of course sir. We will be arriving in 10 minutes." The driver nodded, allowing the three to sit down comfortably inside the train.

Sitting down, Alice could see that they were the only passengers in this carriage while other trains were filled with civilians and students.

"Let me guess, special privilege?" Alice asked with a smile as Luke nodded his head.

"Before we arrive, I'll tell you a little about the department head. He's a little eccentric but he means no harm. Likes to slack off but can be provoked very easily. If you want anything from him you usually have to make a bet to get him to work. The final point would be that he loves an inquisitive mind so don't hesitate to ask him any questions.

"But aside from that, he's a pretty laid back person and won't take offence to pretty much anything. Of course, if you go out of your way to insult him then you're asking for a slap." Luke explained with a shrug.

"I see…" Nodding her head, Alice couldn't help but wonder what Luke meant by eccentric.

Arriving at the Department of Handiwork, Alice was surprised to see a lack of students walking around but Luke explained that they were working either in their rooms or at the workshop. It was natural that the students here wouldn't walk around often.

Guiding Alice and Ria through the building, they arrived at an inconspicuous room far away from any light source as dust piled up to the point it was visible to the naked eye.

Knocking on the door, Luke cleared his throat before opening his mouth.

"Lazy sack o' sh*t, we're here."

""?????"" Both Alice and Ria widened their eyes in shock as they didn't expect Luke to address the head of department like this.

"Alright alright~ No need to call me that when we have guests." A lazy voice rang out from within the house as the head of department opened the door.

He had messy long black hair that was tied into a lazy man bun and a pair of tinted blue glasses. He wore a baggy white tank top, a large jacket that hung off his shoulders and oversized pants with a pair of slippers.

Scratching his leg with his foot, he yawned and welcomed them in while both Alice and Ria were speechless at his appearance.

"Alice, Ria, this is the head of department, Xinbei. Lazy sack o' sh*t, this is Alice and my friend Ria that I mentioned before." Luke introduced as he stepped into the house without care.

"I know I let you get away with it but I'm still head of department, Lulu." Xinbei sighed before giving both Alice and Ria a small wave.

"Pleasure to meet you two. Please don't mind the mess, it's been meticulously handled to ensure I remember where I placed everything." He smiled before gesturing for the two to enter his house.

"It translates to he couldn't be bothered to tidy things up so he just left them as it is."

Luke's voice rang out from inside the house as he retrieved two pairs of slippers for Alice and Ria.

"Pft… Thank you Lulu~" Ria grinned, holding back her laugh as she didn't expect Xinbei's nickname for Luke was actually Lulu.

"Shut it." Luke frowned, scratching his hair in annoyance.

"Please sir can you have some professionalism? We're handling actual business now." Luke sighed a Xinbei nodded his head.

"Fine fine. Help me clean up a bit while I talk to these two okay?" Xinbei asked as they entered his living room.

"I don't see the point when you're just going to make a mess of it anyway." Luke complained.

"I can get you more research materials for your project." Xinbei offered.

"With pleasure." Luke replied without hesitation. Going to the closet to get a broom and dustpan, Luke started to clean up the house with surprising efficiency as though he'd done this hundreds of times before.

"Ah~ life just isn't the same without having someone to help you out. Now then, my teaching assistant has told me that you two want to attempt the special Exam through a trial. If you don't mind, can I ask what department you're signing up for?" Xinbei asked, sitting down on the sofa.

His gaze was focused on Alice who hadn't said anything yet but her eyes were fully focused on him.

After all, he had six Sigils above his head!

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Xinbei asked, seeing that Alice wasn't responding.

"Ah… sorry I was thinking about something. We're going for the department of combat." Alice replied after realising that she had just been staring without a word.

"Just like what Lulu said then. And it's for the both of you right?"

"Yep." Ria nodded.

"Then let's see what you can do." Xinbei narrowed his eyes with a smile.

Tapping his finger against his knee, the world around them transformed into a white canvas as splotches of ink splattered against the realm, transforming into a painted scenery with beasts slowly manifesting from the gaps.

"I have high hopes for you since my dear assistant spoke so highly of you two. Don't disappoint me now."