This isn't really an update, but rather a rewrite/change of Chapter 17.

As many have pointed out, I did end up deviating from Kelp's original personality in order to further along the story. That was my mistake, sorry about that. Believe it or not, fluctuating character personalities are one of my pet peeves, so you can imagine the serious face palms I had upon realizing my mistake. Honestly, I was so caught up in developing these next sequence of events (the whole necromancy thing will eventually lead up to the end of the first volume), that I hadn't notice the error I made.

So to those who complained, don't worry, your comments did not fall onto deaf ears.

Hopefully with this chapter, I can fix that issue.

For those who have already read the previous version of chapter 17, and can't really be bothered with rereading my wall of texts, don't worry. Honestly, I kept the first sections of the chapter identical (since they satisfied me). The rewrite is at the last section, after Clarence's second pov.

With that said and done, I hope this is more enjoyable than the original version.

The Thing about Clarence

Clarence Medley was a rather bitter person.

He wasn’t exactly likable, and coupled with the cynical personality he possessed, it caused quite a bit of distance to develop from his peers. Hence the reason why this young man remained friendless despite how long he had been enrolled in Newgrounds.

Yet, Clarence didn’t care about any of this. He never believed companionship was of any importance in the first place. The boy had a “Me, me, me” mentality. Everything was about him, and he was the only thing that mattered in his life.

So it was quite natural for Clarence to develop an abnormally high amount of pride.

Clarence sweeped the autumn leaves away with the foot of his boot. By the intensity of the act, and the subsequent stomp he performed on a poor, already mangled leaf, it was clear that the young man was quite angry.

Clarence was currently wandering Setohanda forest. He had no apparent goal. He simply liked the forest. The smell, the noise, the atmosphere, he liked all of it. But most importantly, he liked the quiet.

He loved the fact that the forest was a place without any people. Clarence didn’t like people. He considered them below him, rather, he considered everyone below him. In a perfect world, everyone would be put to work, with Clarence as the only exception.

Reminded of his bitterness, the young man scowled and grumbled as he made his way deeper into the woods. His face contorting even worse as his mind once again recalled the past month’s “excitement,” as his classmates so aptly called it.

"New students... New damn students everywhere. " He spat below his breathe.

The boy hated all the excitement. To him, not only were the new addition of students bothersome and annoying, after all, it meant that the number of people he disliked merely increased, but they also served to worsen his own standing within the academy.

Clarence fiercely took out a slip of crumpled paper. The paper was creased and torn not from age, but from the work done on it.

He reluctantly moved the paper close and read out loud the contents to himself.

"... Clarence Medley... 1st year student... Current ranking..."

Clarence paused, he already knew the contents of the piece of paper beforehand, after all, he had read through it almost a dozen times, but still, he couldn't help but form a cold sweat as he gulped in anticipation.

He coughed to clear his throat before he once again continued,

"...C-current ranking....."

As his eyes gazed over the unchanging number, he let out a sigh of exasperation.

"...1998”

Roughly, there were currently about 4000 students in attendance. That placed Clarence within the bottom half of the student body.

For such a prideful person, it would come as a surprise that such a man held such a low ranking. Yet this was natural, after all, in no more looser terms, Clarence was a bad magician.

“Agh! Damn it!” He ruffled his fire red hair in visible frustration.

“My ranking went down again!”

Surprisingly, Clarence had held a relatively higher ranking than his current, but due to the influx of new students enrolled this semester, his rank went down by 120 positions.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! If it weren’t for them… if it weren’t for all the new students!”

His scowl deepened as his misplaced anger exploded. Clarence wasn’t the type to admit his own weakness, so instead, he blamed it on others, when he really should have faced the fact that Clarence was just a below average magician.

“I blame this whole school…” Clarence grumbled as he made his way even deeper into the thickets of the forest.

“If only… if only everyone knew my true strength!” He yelled to no one in particular.

There was also another factor that contributed to Clarence’s excessive pride, and that was the fact that he blamed others for his misfortune. Clarence wholly believed that he was a man who should be placed within the top of the top, yet, as he loved to believe, due to misfortunate circumstances, he is currently within the bottom.

“One day, damn it! One day, I’ll show everyone my true strength!” He shouted a rather cliche line into the wind as he pumped his fist in the air.

Doing so seemed to relieve some of Clarence’s pent up stress, as his face calmed down and his body naturally flowed into a hunched back pose, one which was quite natural for the bitter redhead.

“Well, everyone will rue the fact that they don’t respect me…” He paused as his droopy eyelids scanned the vicinity of the forest, looking out for any straggler students.

He pulled out a rather ornate, and old looking wand. It was shaped and resembled the wand which magicians and wizards of fantasy used. The 1.5 ft stick, was made of polished wood and despite its antique feel, it had a sheen that gleamed in the sunlight.

At the wands core was a menacing deep purple stone, which stood prominently at the tip of the wand.

Clarence gripped the wand with one hand as he stretched his arms out.

He then scanned the forest once more, this time, looking for a different sort of creature, before he leisurely stated.

“...For now, I’ll practice.”

*****

I entered the student council room as lethargically and unwillingly as I did the first time around.

I was unpleasantly surprised to find that the musky smell of paper had disappeared, only to be replaced by an insidious odor which vaguely smelled like rotten tomatoes drizzled over garbage.

I gagged rather loudly as I hurried to pinch my nose.

“W-what in the world is this smell?!” I moaned, through gritted teeth.

Ami who was entered the room was calmly wearing a surgical mask.

I stared at her incredulously, while she stared back. I was pretty sure under that white mask of hers, she was grinning a cat like grin due to my misfortune.

Trying my best to ignore the stench, I made my way to the front of the room, where I was met with a man who stood with his back to me, like someone from an old mafia movie.

Without a word, I took a seat in the same couch which I sat on last time.

“Hu hu hu…” The man in the chair laughed mischievously.

He suddenly swiveled in his chair, revealing a pale face, panda eyes, and a mess of glossy black hair.

He looked down at me with closed eyes.

“Why don’t you take a seat- Oh...I see you’ve already have.”

He suddenly opened his eyes only to be met with my figure comfortably sitting down on the couch.

It seems his fierce introduction was ruined by my actions.

“Ahem…” He cleared his throat to dispel the awkwardness which he only felt.

“I bet you are wondering why I called you here today?” He leaned on the table, pressing his elbows to the desk.

I absentmindedly glared at him.

“Who is this scrub?” I asked harshly to Ami.

The pale faced boy’s face contorted into a sad expression, as if he was hit by lightning.

Ami nodded as if she agreed with my earlier statement.

“This Scrub-forgive me-- This person is the Vice President, Cadbye Wilhelm Borrow.” She stated calmly.

with a voice to quite for Cadbye to hear, yet enough for me to make out, she also added, “And he is also responsible for this horrid smell.”

“Hu hu hu…” He laughed once more. “Indeed, I am Cadbye! The amazing vice president, who is second in command of this whole school! Pretty amazing huh? I am the great Cadbye!”

He exclaimed with outstretched arms, showing of not his status, but his own overly flamboyant personality.

“Yeah, yeah.” I spoke with an uninterested tone. “ I don’t care about any of that. Why is it exactly that I am here right now, even though I don’t want to be?”

Cadbye once again flashed a smile.

“Oh, that’s simple, it’s because I need a favor.”

*****

Once Clarence was satisfied that nobody was around, he ran off even deeper into the jungle, in search of magical beings and monsters.

He used a simple detection magic, that even someone like him was capable of utilizing to locate the leftover magical residue from the various magical beings in the forest. Although Clarence would have a hard time searching for monsters, if it were magical beings, then it was a whole different story.

After 10 minutes of quiet searching he finally stumbled upon a small Magical being [Henceforth dubbed Magical beasts and shortened as Beast(s), since the author likes calling it this better]. It resembled a small monkey, with the exception that unlike its body which was clad in white fur, its tail was scaled and green, like a lizard’s. This monkey was no more than a two feet in height.

The beast was most commonly referred to as a Whip monkey, due to its signature move of snapping its tail out like a whip.

“Hah...Hah...F-finally, I found one…” Clarence declared with a triumphant smile plastered to his face.

He was currently panting like a rabbit in heat due to the frantic searching he had recently done.

Clarence took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He smirked a rather bastardly smirk, while taunting the magical beast who in the most likely scenario, probably didn’t understand a word he said.

“Ha ha ha, you sure are lucky you damn ape. To be the first monster of the day that the this great Clarence-sama will be exploiting, really, quite an honor.”

He smirked once more, this time, while waving his wand around. He chanted a few incantations and set up a rudimentary [physical enhance].

Clarence then returned his wand into the crevices of his grey robe, and took out a bowie knife. It was stained and had a camo green handle.

His eyes flashed as he got into a fighting stance.

Although Clarence’s physical enhance was much weaker, almost about a half as weak as a normal mage’s he still had a confident gait as he scooched ever closer to his prey.

“Whip monkey… it’s a bit big though… aren’t they usually about a foot and a half? This one’s like almost two feet…” Clarence mumbled as he moved closer to the vigilant Whip monkey, who, by now had noticed the looming figure of the cynical red head.

The monkey flashed its canines, which caused Clarence to jerk back in surprise, before he steadied himself once more.

He scowled.

“Damn it, it’s just a rank g beast, I’ve already experienced fighting these things, I can beat it, no, I can kill it!” He quietly declared.

He bent his back, finally poised to strike.

“It’s time for the hunt to begin.” He ridiculously stated as he lurched forward, knife in hand, and screaming at the top of his lungs, like a tone deaf banshee.

He swung the knife diagonally, narrowly missing the monkey as it moved to the left.

As the monkey calmly patted the soft ground with its paws, he looked at Clarence and made an almost human like sneer.

This action caused Clarence’s face to visible redden in anger.

“H-how dare you mock me...y-y-you mere ape!” He lunged at the beast once more. this time, stabbing out with the knife.

The monkey, much faster than Clarence expected, jumped on top of his arm, and rushed his face, sharpened claws at the ready.

The monkey scratched and prodded Clarence’s exposed face.

“Aaaa! Aaaah!” Clarence shook and struggled, dropping the knife, as he grasped the monkey’s waste with both arms in an attempt to pull the thing off.

The monkey responded by smacking his tail towards Clarence’s left hand.

He recoiled the hand in pain, as he still desperately fought with the monkey, who by now, was probably toying with him.

“Die! Stupid Monkey!”

After what felt like 5 minutes of struggling, Clarence made a desperate move and headbutted a nearby tree.

The impact sent him reeling backwards, but fortunately, without a monkey strapped to his face.

Such an impact would have caused him a mild concussion, but thanks to the flimsy protection provided by the [physical enhance] spell, it was barely enough to avoid any serious injury.

The monkey though, wasn’t so lucky. It wriggled and squirmed on the ground, like an inchworm. During the impact, it had unfortunately broken a part of his spine, leaving the poor beast in a half paralyzed state.

Ignoring the several scratch marks on his face, Clarence stood up and smirked.

“Serves you right ya stupid ape! Now, Die!”

With practiced swiftness (lol), Clarence put an end to its life in one clean strike.

Once the deed was done, Clarence drooped down to the floor, panting even heavier than last time.

“haah...hah...That damn monkey, I don’t remember them being that fast or strong. It even got my face…” He winced as he felt around his cheeks with an open hand.

“Damn that creature, I’ll make sure to put its body to good use!” He stated as he sprang back up on his feet.

He placed the bowie knife snugly back into the inner pockets of his rope, and once again pulled out the wand.

He moved to stand directly in front of the lifeless corpse.

“Now, time for the real practice to begin.” With a swirling sinister aura suffocating the atmosphere, Clarence’s incantation began.

It was a long incantation, made even longer by Clarence’s inexperience.

As Clarence repeated the words like second nature, his thoughts wandered as his lips perfunctorily incanted.

‘It’s thanks to this that I’m so below the rankings!’ He face contorted bitterly as he continued chanting.

‘But I know… I know one day this will be my saving grace-!’

His incantations grew louder as the surroundings grew quieter.

‘I can’t openly use this now, but eventually, eventually-!”

Clarence neared the final verse of his complex spell.

“It may not be the time now, but soon, soon, no…”

The very air seemed to shake (in Clarence’s mind) as his spell approached completion.

“NOW!”

He ecstatically yelled out, marking the end to his incantation.

He looked enthusiastically at the dead monkey before him.

“....”

After two minutes of lifeless silence, the monkey twitched.

“Oooh~!” This elicited an excited exclamation from Clarence.

The Whip monkey, shook and convulsed, like it previously did, before its head snapped back up at attention and looked longingly at Clarence’s brooding, yet enthusiastic face.

The monkey was brought back to life as an undead.

Clarence Medley had used necromancy.

****

Rewritten From this point onwards.

“Haah~?!” I stared perplexedly at Cadbye. “A favor?”

Before he could continue I abruptly stood up.

I chuckled ruefully, while making my way towards the exit. I’d already been bossed around into doing something by the President of this damn council, there was no way I’d be doing anything for this second in command.

“This brief interaction was nice and all, but I don’t really like where this conversation is heading.” I stated. “...So with that said, I’ll be going now.”

I continued walking only to be stopped by a carefree voice originating from Cadbye.

“Eh~? You haven’t even heard the favor, come on sit back down~.” He loosely stated with an assured expression plastered on his face.

This irritating appearance of his kind of annoyed me, so I decided to ignore him and continued walking towards the doorway.

Unfortunately, blocking my way was a regrettable looking Ami.

“I’m sorry Mr. Kusanagi, as much as I’d like for you to leave this room, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

I flashed a scowl, which surprisingly, caused Ami to jerk back.

From behind, I could hear the quiet chuckling of Cadbye.

“You’re a first year aren’t you, Kelp?” He suspiciously inquired. “I happen to be a third year myself.

So why don’t you listen to your superior, and sit back down? Hmmm?”

Upon hearing his words, irritation upon irritation continued build up inside me. I seriously didn’t like hearing this guy’s voice. It was even worse than his permeating odor.

With a deep sigh, one I made sure was loud enough for Cadbye to hear, I briefly looked over my shoulder disdainfully before wordlessly continuing onwards.

I faced down Ami, who was hesitantly holding her ground.

“Hey...Kelp~” Cadbye’s voice rang from behind me.

“Oi~ Listen to me…” I ignored him of course and moved ever closer to the door (and Ami).

Unfortunately, his sing song tone continued regardless.

“Won’t you sit down Mr. 1st year~?

step step

“Oh, I really would like to talk to you..~

step step

“Stop walking away now~”

step

Finally, as if he finally understood that such trivial speech wasn’t ever going to persuade me, his tone of voice, as well as the atmosphere around him, did a 180.

With authority and command that would have been odd placed to originate from such a lanky teenager, he uttered,

“Sit down.”

Cadbye’s words oozed out like black goo.

His tone had a penetrating ring to it, one that would stop almost any normal person cold in his tracks.

I gathered that he had somehow infused mana into those two syllables. Going by how in an instant, Ami rigidly shot up, while a severe cold sweat dampened her pale, flushed face. She quickly began shaking, as if a massive trauma had overtaken her body and mind.

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, his magic didn't work on me. Normally, attack magic or debuff spells were as effective on me as it was on normal people, but his particular magic held no effect this time around. I assume this was because, rather than working as something like a debuff, it worked on the same principles as healing magic (something which unfortunately, had no effect on me).

Healing magic worked by revitalizing a person’s innate mana to heal, through either the addition of an outside force or by enhancing the already existing mana. It was basically using your own energy to fix yourself, but in the context of Cadbye’s magic, it was more like using your own energy against you.

While, to normal people, this special characteristic made his particular magic much harder to defend against than a normal debuff spell, luckily for me, they're stroke of bad luck was my godsend.

I had no mana, so obviously his magic had no effect on me.

Although the pompous way he spoke did only contribute to further irritate me.

For a moment I stood there transfixed, contemplating my options. Whether I should just leave the room, or turn around, punch Cadbye in his smug face, then leave the room. Eventually, I slumped my shoulders down and dejectedly sighed. I moved back to the empty chair.

There was one thing that stopped me from leaving, and that was the pale faced girl who stood in front of me.

I couldn’t stand seeing Ami like this. She looked frail, and vulnerable. Her expressions flashed from one after another. All of them shared the same characteristic of fear. The poor girl looked like she was afraid of anything and everything.

I don’t know whether it was because the exaggerated facial expressions she made influenced my mindset or something, but at that instant, I harbored a deep worry that, if I just left right here and now, Cadbye would keep Ami in such an abnormal state indefinitely.

I was afraid that Ami would remain in such a fear ridden and vulnerable state for god knows how long.

And there was simply no way I was going to let that happen.

With alot of regret and worry locked away in my mind, I sat back down, not even attempting to hid my dissatisfaction.

Luckily, it seems like my fears were unnecessary. Upon seeing my resignation, the tense atmosphere and magic Cadbye had maintained, dissipated just as quickly as it appeared.

To further comfort me, I heard a sigh of relief from behind me.

Somewhat satisfied, I faced Cadbye once again.

“Fine, what do you want?” I stated rudely.

He ignored my uppity attitude and merely continued to pick his nails with a mechanical pencil. Annoyingly, I had to watch him do this for a good three minutes before he finally decided to begin explaining.

“You see, Kelp, I need a certain favor…”

“Yeah, I heard you the first time, now hurry up and explain.” I hurried him along.

He shrugged. “Very well then Mr. Grumpy. Simply put, I need you to go back to Setohanda forest and.... investigate.”

“Setohanda forest?” Thinking back to my past experience, I unconsciously frowned and sighed. For me, that sectioned off piece of nature was just a place where I had to do something rather troublesome. Nothing but weary memories.

Without a word, he rummaged around under his desk before pulling out a new and pristine manila envelope. He slid the slim package across the wood surface until it came to a convenient rest in front of me.

“...”

“Open this and read, then you’ll understand.” Cadbye spoke as he leisurely reclined back into his chair.

“....”

I grabbed the envelope and looked at the cream colored casing. For a second I just stared, silently willing this package to disappear, before I slid it back across the table.

“I can’t really be bothered to read anything not on a computer screen.” I yawned. “Just tell me what the issue is, or better yet, let me leave right now, going by the way this conversation is heading, it’s probably something really troublesome.”

Cadbye looked at the package disdainfully, a look of disatisfaction clearly written on his face. Strangely, as his scowl continued to grow, the permeating smell that filled the room bittered and worsened.

I covered my nose with a cupped hand in reaction. Through my peripheral vision, I could see Ami doing the same.

Just as quickly as the stench intensified, it quickly dissipated to normal levels.

In a lazy tone that I would normally sport, he rolled his tongue and said,

“Ah jeez, I don’t really want to explain, truth be told, I haven’t really read up on the whole issue. I was just hoping I could push the problem onto you….”

Letting his true intentions leak out and revealing himself to be a man very similar to me, I glared daggers at Cadbye as he continued to remark.

He eventually noticed my anger as he jumped back and exaggeratedly winced at my glare.

“...Okay, okay! No need to look at me so crassly, I get enough of that from Scleri…” He scratched his head in frustration as he attempted to recall information he didn’t have. “...I don’t know, man... I guess just investigate the area and see if anything abnormal is going on in the woods.”

After some quiet contemplation, I finally came up with what I deemed a suitable response.

“...This sounds like a serious pain in the ass.” I sighed through tired eyes.

“I’d bet it is.” He smirked while leisurely stretching out into a yawn.

“Why can’t you get someone else to do it.” I half pleaded.

“Everyone else is busy. Everyone remotely trustworthy or capable has their hands full. And seeing as how you're quite free, I thought you’d be the perfect man for the job.”

“Okay, sure, that makes sense, although I don’t see how you came to the conclusion that I was at all capable...but whatever. Now, here’s my last and most important question--” I paused for dramatic effect.

“--Why me and what exactly makes you think that I’d actually do it?”

Cadbye flashed a toothy grin, to reveal a pair of canines that would have fit better on a rottweiler.

“Simple. I saw your fight with Kiryat the other day, and although you did lose and suffer quite an unfortunate injury…” His eyes flickered to my broken arm currently nestled on a sling. “...You are still quite strong, incredibly so. So I figured you’d be a good man for the job.”

He stated simply as he leaned back into his chair.

“Now as for why you’re actually going to listen, well let me put it this way; Kelp Kusanagi, you are a delinquent. Recent observations show you slacking off in class, sleeping during lessons, and non compliance to participate… quite a serious offense for a school that strives for self actualization of its students.”

Not having anything to refute with, I solemnly nodded in agreement. It seems like my reputation this time is the thing that brought trouble to my door.

If I knew something like this was going to happen, I would have tried harder to not seem like such a delinquent.

“ And what’s more…” Cadbye continued in unabated breath, “...Surprisingly, you are our only delinquent. Isn’t that quite an impressive feat?”

Cadbye laughed at his own statement.

I solemnly stood there, fully taking in what was currently happening. They were using my battered reputation to force me to do their bidding. Truly, what a contemptuous student council.

Cadbye played with his mechanical pencil like how he played with his words.

“As the student council, it is our obligation, no our right, to guide students towards the right path. This right becomes even more important in the face of trouble makers like you…” He pointedly stared at me.

“So think of this as community service, ne?

We are the community, and you are the service.”

He smiled wide, and leaned in close, anticipating my reaction.

I sighed dejectedly.

“If I knew things were going to go like this, then I would have tried acting more like a model student…” I muttered under my breath, regret washing over my face.

“Too late for that now, isn’t it?” Cadbye stated through a grinning face. The look of success almost completely dominated his expression.

Seeing this expression, I couldn’t help but sigh again.

As if to further drive his point across, Cadbye then emphasized in an annoyingly reprimanding tone,

“Kelp, actions have consequences, and right now, if you don’t do what I’m telling you, I think I have enough evidence to expel you, or at the very least, send you to our very own ‘Delinquent Reformatory.’”

“....”

I absentmindedly stared at the ceiling as I contemplated my bad luck.

“Well? What do you say, old chap?” Cadbye inquired, again with that self assured expression on his face.

“Well….”

I elongated my words, stretching out that one syllable.

“...I guess I don’t have much of a choice now, do I?”

“Yup, its this or expulsion.”

“I see…”

“Yeah, pretty serious stuff. Personally, I would Sooo hate to be expelled. It just looks bad on job applications you know?”

His words rang in my head, like a gong, revitalizing my orignal spirit, prior to my arrival at this hated school.

“....”

“...So, what do ya say?” He irritatingly questioned.

“...’..”

“...”

In a small whisper, I muttered to myself.

“..-ETs don’t………....ions…”

A look of interest sparked across Cadbye’s dull eyes.

“What was that, old chap?” He inquired.

Taking a deep breath, I planted my foot firmly on the ground and stood up like a rocket. While staring directly at Cadbye’s lax expression, I said with as much conviction as my tired little self could muster,

“I said, NEETs don’t have job applications.”

“...eh?”

A look of confusion flashed across his face.

I pinched my nose firmly and smirked for the first time since I entered the room.

“So sorry, Vice Prez, I’m afraid I’m a bit busy.” My half hearted excuse came out in a rather nasally tone. “Unfortunately, I can’t do your little request.”

“B-busy?! We’ve checked your daily schedule, you're as free as a dolphin in the pacific!” He retorted, rather emotionally. His original bravado gone, unable to manifest itself in the face of this unexpected development.

Hearing this, I could only shrug while a weird “meh” sound escaped my throat.

"Umm...I have a job..."

His eyes squinted in suspicion. "A job? ...What pray tell, is your occupation?"

I looked him square in the eye, and with confidence, I said, "As a NEET."

"...neet..."

"Well, it's more like an apprenticeship right now, I'd be a fool to say, I'm a true and blue NEET at my current stage, but I am working hard on achieving my dream!"

"...."

"Someday, I hope I can be an unproductive person who spends days and weeks at a time confined in a small 6 by 6 apartment room!

I'd spend the rest of my life surfing the web, and playing video games! Hopefully, this sort of reality won't only be a dream!"

"....."

I sighed over dramatically.

"So I'm sorry to say this Vice Prez, but I simply don't have the time to do this request of yours. After all, being a NEET is a full time occupation."

"..."

"..."

"You can't be serious?"

Hearing this, I laughed ruefully.

“I get that you don’t buy it, it was a pretty lame excuse in the first place.

At most, I'd be a shut in, I would never go full hikikomori.”

“T-that’s not the point here!” Cadbye scratched his head wearily. “This was suppose to be the part where you unwillingly agreed to my ridiculous orders!”

I chuckled to myself. “Mr. Vice Prez, let me ask you something…”

“What?”

“You’re not very good at adapting to changes, are you?”

“....what are you trying to say?”

I laughed once more, this time in an even louder tone.

“What I’m saying, is that contrary to your original intentions, there is simply no way I’m doing any of this.” I exaggeratedly pointed at the lonely manila envelop on the table.

“No, no, no, no.” He frantically shook his head. “That’s impossible, there’s no way my plans will change. My plans are always perfect, and never change. You will do what I say, I mean, why wouldn’t you?.”

“Huh?” I made a dumb expression at his words. “Are you an idiot or something? Learn to live and let go, dude. I ain’t doing it.”

I turned away from Cadbye as he made yet another dumb looking face and began to walk towards the exit, where I was met yet again by the still stoic faced Ami who guarded the doorway.

I ignored her, and instead flashed a glare towards Cadbye from behind.

In an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice, I said, “I’m not doing it, get some other gopher to do your bidding.”

It was one thing being bossed around and forced to do menial training by Kiryat, I could accept that, but it was a whole ‘nother situation regarding Cadbye. I’d sooner bite my tongue and die, than let that pale faced, sunken eyed, ghoul order me around.

Dazed by my statement, Cadbye quickly recovered and fired off a desperate retort.

“Tch! Life isn’t that simple Kelp, things don’t just disappear just because you don’t like it!”

I ignored Cadbye’s remark and instead, I promptly continued onwards, inching my way ever closer to my doorway to freedom and its gatekeeper..

From behind, I could hear Cadbye frantically call out in a worried tone, “Whu, what--Wait! We’re not done here yet! S-stop! This isn’t suppose to be how things-- Ami, stop him for christ’s sake!”

Maybe it was due to his inability to cope with change, but I garner to think that Cadbye totally forgot about that one magic he used earlier. Going by his tone of voice, he was probably too anxious to think straight.

Upon her superior’s command, Ami got down and bent her knees, entering a solid stance. She fully prepared to block my departure through any means necessary. This was evident by the yellow glow her body began to emit, which signaled the activation of a physical enhance spell.

“Kelp, let me just say this once, Sto-- huh?”

Without waiting for her to finish, I sidestepped the blocking body with the fruits of my unwanted labor.

Using a slight rendition of Kiryat’s [Shadow Step] technique, I managed to slip past the pesky secretary.

By following her movements, I matched my pace with her body’s. At the exact moment she spoke out and involuntarily blinked, I used my own version of [Shadow Step], prompting myself to move at the exact moment she closed her eyes. In her view point, it would look like I vanished and teleported directly behind her.

In all honesty, this task was extremely difficult to accomplish, considering I had to rely on my own dynamic vision, and reaction time in order to properly time my steps with hers. Without my already faster than normal reflexes, carved through the countless use of [Monochrome], I’m afraid utilizing [Shadow Step] would have been nothing short of an impossibility.

Although, I guess such hard work did pay off.

In my wake, was a fluttering piece of paper, blown away by the speed at which my body moved. Dumbly looking at the paper, with a frozen face of shock, was Ami, who still had not noticed I was behind her.

“--Huh? What the… Where did he go?” She looked left and right. Although I couldn’t see what type of expression plastered her face, I could imagine her sporting the same look of confusion and bewilderment which Cadbye was currently expressing.

“Well, then…” I spoke, while gripping the door handle with a firm hand.

My sudden outburst caused Ami to jump, and she turned around and to face me.

“....I’ll be going then.” I casually walked away out into the hallway.

The receding throngs of protest filled my ears as Cadbye repeatedly warned me of the ‘consequences’, such as Expulsion or the Juvenile Rehabilitation Center.

To these desperate screams, I replied with a rather lackluster response, of “Yeah, whatever.”

The threats didn’t really worry me all that much. While that Rehabilitation Center bit was a kind of worrying, expulsion was something I welcomed with open arms. If they kicked me out of school, then I’d be that much closer to my ideal shut in life.

Although I’d hate to face my parents if that ever happened….

“...”

I shook my head, dispelling these worrying thoughts.

I was too tired to deal with all this Student Council business, or my parents, or anything in general. So whatever threats, or circumstance I’d be faced with for denying such a troublesome task,well, that can all wait tomorrow.

For now, I’ll go home and take a nice, long, peaceful, nap.

With such a mindset, I walked home, free from worry and responsibility.

Chapter 16

Chapter 18