Chương 97: Chapter 92-Chosen Rager

Sploosh. The ball sinks into the mug of ale. The crowd cheers. Clint sighs as he downs the ale. With a devilish smile, I ready my next shot. Ah, the beauties of playing a game you know you can't lose. There's nothing better than this. Actually, I would enjoy it more if there wasn't a subtle burning rage in the back of my head, but beggars can't be choosers.

"You're a barrier expert. How would you get past an [Exclusion] barrier without anyone noticing?" I ask as I aim my next shot. Clint wipes the remnants of ale from his mouth.

"Why would you like to know that, Chosen One?"

"Ah, you know the rules of Ale Pong Truth. You either answer the question, or you have to down another mug of ale. So, your choice," I say with a devilish smile. Clint sighs.

"I would usually say to get somebody from the inside to drop the barrier long enough for me to get in, but there's another easier way. You just need to not fit the exclusion criteria." I [Throw] my ball and sink another shot.

"Uh, what? How's that easier? If [Exclusion] bans a certain race, what are you supposed to do then?" I ask as the room swells in volume. Clint makes a disgusted noise.

"Yeah, you could exclude a whole race, but that would be wasting resources. The more specific you get, the more complicated and therefore mana-heavy a barrier becomes. For example, when I created that barrier to lock in the Second Years the criteria were simple. I had it set so that anyone older than eighteen couldn't pass through the barrier." I nod along.

"So, if you had set it to let's say 'Viola and CJ are the only ones who can pass through,' the mana cost would be too much?"

"Exactly, the more specific you get, the more mana it costs to hold that barrier up," he says as I [Throw] and sink another shot.

"Interesting. So, let's say I wanted to get past this barrier. How would I do it?" I ask as I point to the barrier around Azalea Hall. Clint downs the next mug.

"Oh, I didn't set it up in a way to block people. I set it up to block noise. Nobody should hear us, but they can see us, hence the curtains," he explains.

"Huh. Interesting. By the way, are you regretting accepting this challenge?" I ask as I [Throw] and sink another shot.

"I'm starting to see why nobody was playing with you, but you've got to miss eventually," Clint says as he downs his next mug. Hopper walks over with a box of supplies.

"CJ, we need your help back in the kitchen."

"Like now? I'm kind of in the middle of something," I say as I [Throw] without looking and sink the shot.

"How?!" Clint asks as he goes to down the next mug.

"Yeah now. We got an emergency that we need your help with," Hopper says with a knowing look.

"Ok. Ok. I'll wrap this up," I say as I rapidly [Throw] and sink the last seven shots.

"You don't have to drink all those now. Pace yourself." Following Hopper, we pass the various First Years who are enjoying the food and drinks at a volume that most people would consider annoying. Unluckily, I'm one such person, but I'm not going to hold it against them. I need them to be loud. Rumbustious even. The more the better. A small fire erupts as one of the drunk First Years does a party trick. Which, based on how it's looking… It shouldn't take very long to get to that level.

Hopper leads me into the staff kitchen to be met by Penelope and Helia.

"Hiya there. I don't seem to remember inviting any Fourth Years, but you're more than welcome." Helia cracks a sarcastic smile.

"I'm not here to hang out with a bunch of drunk First Years. Princess Penelope asked me to come for a consultation." Penelope nods.

"Yes, thank you again, Lady Helia. I was wondering if you could take a look at a symbol for us."

"Symbol? Sure, I can do that. Although I don't see why we had to do it in the middle- Oh, that's why we had to do it in the middle of the night," Helia says as she looks the Wrathborn symbol over.

"Anything you can tell us about it?" Penelope asks.

"A lot. If you look carefully, this symbol is filled with runes. It's less a symbol and more a magic circle. Thankfully for you guys, I'm an expert at magic circles," she says with a hint of pride.

"Oh, great expert, please tell us more," I say with more than a hint of sarcasm. Helia doesn't catch it or shrugs it off. Hard to tell with how focused she is on the symbol. As she focuses, a deafening cheer roars to life from the common room. Seems like somebody caught the mongoose I let loose. I was hoping Gary would last longer than that.

"Hopper, can you check on Gary for me? Make sure nobody eats him," I say.

"Yeah, I'll- Did you say eat and who's Gary?" he asks.

"Gary. Gary the mongoose. Can you check on him? He has an anger problem," I say, not at all helping to clear up the situation. Hopper leaves more confused than ever.

"Ok. You have a problem," Helia says.

"Yeah, Gary's going to get eaten if Hopper doesn't hop to it," I say with a serious face.

"No, not to do with your mongoose. This symbol is radiating rage."

"We know that part," I interrupt.

"And it's collecting and sending mana somewhere." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Penelope gives me a worried look.

"We didn't know that part. Do you know where?" she asks.

"No idea, but it's far from here. I can tell that much from the rate of transfer," Helia explains. Penelope nods.

"Thank you, Lady Helia. This will be helpful."

"No problem. Although whatever you guys are involved in… do be careful," she says as she goes to leave.

"Are you going to stick around?" I ask.

"As much as I would like to hang out with a bunch of drunk First Years, I have some studying to do. After all, Prince Heath is always hoping to snatch my spot as Rank 1. So, I can't afford to take these Finals any less than serious," she says with a hint of annoyance.

"Finals? Didn't we already take an exam?" I ask. Helia gives me a look and then turns to Penelope.

"You have fun explaining that, Princess Penelope," Helia says as she leaves.

"Ah, I love her jokes sometimes. I don't understand them sometimes, but by the Gods does she crack me up. She had me scared for a second. Thought we actually had another exam coming up," I laugh as I turn to Penelope, who isn't laughing.

"Charlatan. Take a seat. I have something to tell you," she says dramatically. I take a seat.

"If you're going to tell me you love me… I'm sorry, I just don't see that working out. I have a normal fashion sense, and you have those drills for hair," I joke. Penelope gives me an annoyed look.

"Yeah, well, I have integrity, so no. Charlatan, you do know that we have multiple exams in a school year, right? One of those, Finals, starts in two weeks," she obviously jokes. My smile drops and then quickly comes back.

"You had me there. Stop pulling my horn. What did you really want to talk about?" Penelope shakes her head.

"I'm being completely serious. We have a week of exams in two weeks."

"No. I refuse to believe this. It… can't be. I… How do they expect me to do this? I can't do this twice a year," I say dramatically.

"Uh… Sorry to break it to you, Charlatan, but it's more than twice a year," she says, holding back a smile.

"Three times a year? They must be working for the forces of evil," I accuse.

"We have exams twice every quarter. So, that ends up being six exam periods a year," she explains, now with a big old smile.

"SIX!? I take back what I said. Not even the forces of evil would be this cruel. How do they expect me to do this? The mortal mind was not meant to handle this many exams in one year. Can't we just stop at one?" I ask as I experience what can only be explained as the second and third stages of grief. Angry Bargaining. Penelope nods.

"Take that argument to the Headmaster. I'm sure he would be glad to hear you out."

"I will. I can't stand for this injustice! This inhumane treatment!" The door nudges open as Gary the mongoose saunters in and chitters.

"Thanks, bud. I'll take care of it," I say to Gary. Penelope looks down at Gary.

"Where did you get a mongoose?"

"First off, he has a name. His name is Gary. Also, I borrowed him from the Animal Research Club. Isn't that right, Gary?" I ask Gary the mongoose. Gary the mongoose. Chitters back.

"That's a good one, Gary," I say absentmindedly.

"Have you been taking cookies again?" she asks.

"No. I honor my bets. Why would you even ask that?" I ask as Gary looks between us.

"You do know that Gary isn't speaking a language, right?" Penelope asks in complete confusion.

"Well, that's rude. Just because you can't understand the language doesn't mean it isn't a language. Gods, Penelope," I say. Gary the mongoose. Chitters rudely. Penelope gives him a nasty look.

"Did Gary just say something rude about me?"

"No," I [Lie].

"He did, didn't he?! You little-" Hopper crashes through the door with his tie tied around his head.

"They're here!"

"What happened to you?" I ask. Penelope shakes her head.

"We can worry about that later. Security is here. Time to get to work." Rolling my eyes, I place my hands on their shoulders, and Gary places a paw on my foot. Expanding my mana around the four of us, I use [Diguise]. Gary looks like a regular dog. Penelope is Sam, an older brunette lady who works as security. Hopper is Snarl, an older Coyote Beastkin man. I am Mitch, a heavy man. Hopper looks at his hands.

"This is weird."

"You can say that again. How long does this last, Charlatan?" she asks, as Gary barks.

"An hour or until you get hurt. So, don't even bump your little toe," I warn.

"Security! Run!" A First Year yells from the common area.

"Stop! You know you can't have alcohol on campus! Round them up!" a man with an authoritative voice says as multiple footfalls can be heard. Suddenly a human with tan skin enters. He's wearing dark blue colors and the insignia of the school. Based on what Penelope told me, that's the Head of Security, Joseph Brunt, also our main suspect.

"Sam, Snarl, Mitch? I thought you guys were off for the night?" he asks with a gravely voice.

"We were, but we heard that these kids were up to no good. Thought you might need some help," I [Lie] as naturally as I breathe. Joseph looks between us.

"Good. We're short-handed as is. I saw some kids running down this hall. Check it out and then come back to report."

"Will do, Joe. Come on, you heard him. Down the hall," I order Penelope and Hopper.

"Wait." We freeze in place. Shit, does he have a [Skill] that lets him see through [Disguise]? What do I do now? Taking him out and then questioning him doesn't sound terrible, but the whole point of the plan is to investigate him without letting him know we're investigating him.

"Come on, Mitch. Don't forget Doug," he says, gesturing to Gary.

"Oh, my bad. Doug, let's go," I say to Gary the mongoose who's disguised as Doug the dog. He barks and then walks over. As we leave the kitchen and head down the hall, we let out a collective sigh of relief.

"This plan better work, Charlatan," Penelope says.

"Don't worry. It's foolproof."

"Can I be the one who says that didn't make me feel better about the plan?"

"Yes." Penelope sighs.

"We're going to end up in so much trouble."