Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 218: Elara Frost

"Should I prepare some tea for you?"

Hearing this question, Xinbei could only smile and shake his head.

The woman in front of him sat in at the operating table without turning around.

Her hair, a chaotic mess of untamed grey strands reached beyond her waist and almost touched the ground. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew that she had her signature eyepatch that covered her right eye, changed via beast blood.

Her singular golden eye stared unblinkingly at the beast pinned down on her operating table by strange appendages that reached out from beneath her lab coat.

She had sharp teeth, bestial in nature. Another change brought forth by the blood which flowed through the Abyss while bandages covered the stitches and defects that were more visible across her body.

Draped over her shoulders is a worn lab coat, stained with countless samples of blood belonging to different beasts, a symbol of her dedication and enthusiasm.

"I don't think I'll be staying long enough for tea." Xinbei replied, grabbing himself a chair in this dimly lit room and sat down.

"Aww~ But the beast blood tea I've brewed up recently is rather good for the body. It's rather rejuvenating once you look past the aftertaste." Elara snickered before twirling a scalpel between her fingers.

The beast strapped to the operating table had long died but that didn't stop her from continuing her experiments until she's gotten as much value as she could from said beast.

"So are you just here to see the cutie known as me or are you here for other reasons? I'll be disappointed if you're here just to take advantage of my maiden heart~" She asked, glancing back briefly before turning her attention back to the beast in front of her.

"I'll have to disappoint you then. I'm here to ask you to partake in the Special Exams after all." Xinbei shrugged. He knew that despite her whimsical attitude and disposition, she was probably the most dangerous person on this campus if you got on her bad side.

A single look at her experiments told you everything you needed to know.

"Boo~ You know I don't like to deal with official matters. They're all so boring, I'd rather find some cuties to play around with." Elara waved her hand dismissively.

"You're the Department Head of Theory. Unfortunately, it's part of your payroll to attend these kinds of events. As it is with me. Otherwise, do you think I'll have the motivation to go?" Xinbei laughed.

Both of them only took this position because of how useful it was and how it allowed them to get the resources they needed for their research topics.

"Should I give my job to Runi then? She usually takes care of all the boring stuff anyway. It's not something a maiden like me should be dealing with~"

"If you give it to Runi I'm pretty sure you'll get more work than before and have less time for your own entertainment. Plus, I think you'll be pretty interested in this round." Xinbei chuckled as he brought out a small crystal ball.

A recording of the trial that he conducted for Alice and Ria.

"Interesting? For my standards? Xinbei~ If you lie to me I'll be heartbroken you know? The last time you forced me to leave my lab for the boring exams was for your assistant. You promised me it would be interesting as well but in the end, it was boring as usual.

"There's only so many times you can play around with a maiden's heart before she loses interest in you." Elara replied with a sad tone while one of the appendages aimed a scalpel at Xinbei's neck but he didn't react.

"Ahaha, sorry sorry. But this time I'm being serious. I even managed to convince Garret after only showing him the recording. Didn't need further persuasion."

"Ohya? You've managed to convince that gorilla to take part?" Elara paused in surprise as Garret, the Department Head of Combat wasn't one that could be convinced easily.

If he agreed to take part in the exams from just one recording then the person doing the trial must be rather talented.

"But you know… You can't loop me and the gorilla together. One's a maiden and the other is a brute~ What makes you think I'll be interested?"

"Because I think she might be your kindred spirit." Xinbei smiled, throwing the orb at Elara who caught it with ease using one of her appendages.

"If you tease a girl this much she's bound to be interested. Alright, let me have a look then." Elara sighed.

As she peered into the recording, she watched in silence.

To others, she may seem composed as always, but Xinbei noticed the change in emotion within her.

Her eye focused solely on Alice.

Her hand trembled slightly as she watched Alice unleash the violet flames that tore away at Xinbei's summon and her pupil constricted.

Blood rushed to her cheeks as her lips curled up into a bewitching smile, revealing her sharp teeth.

Unable to contain herself, Elara bit on her finger as her gaze never left Alice.

"Alright~ You've convinced me. I am rather… no. Saying I'm interested may be an understatement aha~ What's her name?" Elara asked, rolling the orb back and forth on her table.

"Alice Agnelia. Just like you, it seems like her hair and eye are byproducts of Abyss Blood. She's rather smart too. After just one interaction with the training rooms, she's figured out the basic theory between how I connected my pocket dimension into a training room."

"Oh~ Smart and cute… I like her. Ah~ If only she was a beast. Then I can open her up and study her as much as I want. What department is she going for? I hope it's Theory." Elara smiled. Her eye was still fixated on Alice.

"She's going to be a student of the Combat Department. I doubt you'll have many interactions with her. That and also maybe you shouldn't say that out loud. If others heard you, they might get the wrong idea." Xinbei sighed.

"I know~ I can't help it you know? Just like Abyss Beasts, Alice has captivated my maiden heart~ When is the exam happening?" Elara giggled before finally turning to look at Xinbei.

"It'll happen roughly two weeks from now."

"The same time as the Student Advancement exams?" Elara raised an eyebrow.

"Mnm. The principal suggested that they should also go through the Advancement Exams before going for the Special Exams. Think of it as their enrolment test. They're already skipping a large queue."

"Two weeks? Alright~ I'll have to doll myself up for this cutie then. I'm sure the Hunter's Guild will have plenty of information on her right? I wonder what kind of beast did she kill for those flames." Elara mused to herself.

"Since I've got your confirmation I'll take my leave now. I have plenty of other things to do." Xinbei smiled and stood up.

"Take care on your way out~"

Making his way out of the lab, he was about to close the door when it was slammed shut behind him and then locked.

*Sigh…

"Seems like Elara has found her new target of focus. I'll have to apologize to Alice if Elara causes any trouble but she was bound to find out eventually since I need her." Xinbei shrugged and walked away.

Meanwhile, Elara continued to analyse the recording in the crystal.

Her mind brought forth all of her knowledge regarding the Abyss to prove the phenomenon that she was witnessing yet her mind could not comprehend this paradox.

The flames that seemed to eat away at the powers of the Abyss with ravenous hunger… belonged to a Sigil.

Through her understanding of this realm, her experiences and the years of effort she had put in, the scenario in front of her should be impossible.

Yet this impossibility was proven through the actions of this girl in the recording.

While she didn't understand Xinbei's summon and dimension fully, she still had a good idea of how strong it was and how it worked.

What she witnessed had flipped her understanding of how Sigils worked. Their powers, their limitations and the gap between Hunters.

It's as though her lifelong understanding of 1 plus 1 equals 2 was suddenly changed to 1 plus 1 equals 11. What Alice performed defied their knowledge of Sigils on a fundamental level of which Elara couldn't take her eyes off.

"Ah~ How do the flames work? How does she feel wielding these flames? What beast did she kill? What power do the flames originate from? How does it feel… To get burned by the flames?" Muttering the countless questions that flowed through her mind, Elara found it hard to retrain herself.

Slowly, her hand slid down between her legs as she moaned out softly.

Holding her fingers in front of the light she could see a sticky fluid drip from her fingers, her body shivered with anticipation as she brought it to her mouth and gave it a lick.

It's been so many years since she felt like this. Never did she think that something other than her experiments would invoke this feeling yet her first sight of this girl caused exactly that.

"Fufu~ Is this what they call love at first sight?"

This exam, she had to witness it no matter what. She had to get her hands on Alice.

###

"!?!?!" Feeling a chill down her spine, Alice couldn't help but pause mid-step as she looked around in confusion.

She didn't know what had just happened but her instincts were warning her of something. She could feel her hairs stand on end, warning her of something dangerous.

"Are you alright?" Ria raised an eyebrow.

"I think so. I just got a chill… Look, I even got goosebumps." Alice furrowed her brows, rolling up her sleeve and showing her arm to Ria.

"Are you cold?"

"I… Don't think me being cold is the issue. Especially when we're at the blacksmithing district. If it's from the cold then I'll be more concerned." Alice frowned since they were practically surrounded by fire.

"That's true. Well I'm sure it's nothing." Ria reassured since there was no danger around them.

Hesitating for a moment, Alice sighed and nodded her head.

They were here to get Ria a better pair of gauntlets after all. One that could help with her new fighting style of mixing ranged attacks and close quarters combat.