Wearing an emotionless stalwart expression honed over years of playing poker, Nox hid his anxiety perfectly.
He was in a fatal predicament. If Nox handled the situation poorly, his Nickname would most likely change permanently to that degrading thing. So how could he save himself from being degraded to such an extent?
Thinking back, he had tried fighting back when she came up with Nox as a Nickname, but how did he do that again?
He quickly recalled images of himself vehemently forbidding Trisha from using that name and constantly protesting, but how did Trisha react to his objections?
Well, he didn't have anything solid against her, so in theory, she could simply ignore his complaints, but what was the intention behind it all? On the one hand, she seemed to enjoy his reaction, and on the other hand, it could be seen as a form of probing his bottom line, or at least what he would react to especially strongly.
Basing his further progression on these assumptions, what would be the best way to get out of the situation?
Considering that he had tried fighting it last time, maybe the best way forward is to simply ignore it and not give her a sense of success by provoking a reaction.
"I have just been falling into thought, after you completely and utterly destroyed all my future hope of building up connections with other students, and now threw me into your dumb scruff."
Having said the latter part a bit louder in the hopes of dissuading Reinhard from the fight and making sure that he and Trisha would be seen as different individuals and not as a whole. To his disappointment, Reinhart seemed uninterested in the conversation, firmly staying on his rigid ways, not giving Nox a way out
"Ohh, so you weren't just staring at a girl for the last few minutes?"
Thank the gods, it seems that she forgot all about the nickname!!
A bit flustered by her comment, Nox decides not to hide his fluster in an attempt to further distract Trisha from the bigger Issue. Giving up a small part to protect the bigger whole.
"I- I was not, that is a complete coincidence, but dont you find her to be a bit different than usual?"
Raising an eyebrow and nodding sarcastically, showing the little faith she had in his words, Trisha looked towards Siana as if analyzing every delicate little part of hers.
After a few moments of silence, she tilted her head slightly, as if confused.
"Well, you definitely were staring at her for quite a while, considering that you noticed that."
Inwardly shaken, Nox justified himself. That's only because I might be a part of the reason for the change! I was definitely not staring! Of course, he found it unfitting to say that, out loud.
"Maybe I simply have a better eye for such details than you."
Mockingly smiling at her as he spoke, Nox tried to end the conversation by turning his head toward the front of the class and teacher Anderson.
He did not believe that continuing the conversation would be good for him, given the difference in their social skills and, more importantly, that the class was coming to an end soon, which meant he would attain his share of Notium in a few minutes.
He might not have had the greatest need for this resource because of his rank, but money is money, and only an Ideot would reject it.
Coming to the part of the day he had been most excited about, the first person was called up.
"Elisa Weak"
Standing up, the boy started walking to the front of the class. He was seated in the front, making Nox not have to wait long to see the bestowal. The boy had dark eyerings, seemingly grown over the past days, as his skin began to take on a weak, unhealthy color.
Speaking for all to hear, Anderson said in a very formal tone.
"For your further development, and the future of Abyss city, we support you, so that you may one day protect our city with the strength you gained through OUR support."
Handing an empty, small, hand-long, translucent vial to Anderson, he then took out a similar vial, the only difference being that it was dark, so one couldn't clearly see its contents.
Holding his own in his right and on the left, Elisas. Anderson started opening both, one at a time, starting with the left one. The opening mechanism was fairly simple: a snap of the lid with his thumb opened the vial, with the lid hanging there, motionless.
Having opened both, Anderson tilted the darker vial and let a half drop slide out, falling directly into the translucent empty one. No longer empty, a tiny amount of some kind of substance was flowing around, hard for the eye to distinguish.
The substance was similar to the vile tanclucent, but it also looked a bit cloudy and white, giving it a misty feel. Unlike mist, however, it was clearly a liquid, with a... mystical quality to it.
As Elisa took back his vial, he turned around, walking back towards his seat. In his eyes, there was obvious joy at receiving the Notium; at the same time, however, there was a certain sense of disappointment.
Well, this was only logical considering that this amount was merely the bare minimum of what one could gain, with the top being 3 droplets. This meant that Elisa had not placed among the top three in any of the categories: Strength, Intelligence, or Adaptability. Naturally, this would lead to a certain sense of loss.
"Irrvogel Brecht"
This time, an older man started standing up and walking forward. He was presumably in his late 30s, having the same process occur, but this time with a different amount received and a shorter speech.
Two drops?
That meant that he had to have gotten second in one of the categories.
Two more students were called up, both with the bar minimum of resources allocated.
"Raef ekaf"
Hearing the name Noxs, ears pricked up; he had quite a bad impression of this young boy. He had intimidated him quite thoroughly after all, and he seemed to be quite far up there, when it came to class standing, unlike him and Trisha.
Standing before Anderson, one drop fell into his vile, then two, and then... a third one.
Not surprised by him placing among the top; however, still a bit startled by him taking first place in a category. Wondering which category it was, a few more students were called up.
By the time the tenth student went up, most of the top prizes were already distributed.
Some students were not surprised, as Brutus got three drops, because he was the top fighter of the class, as far as he was aware, with Reinhart taking second place. What surprised Nox, however, was Trisha; she got three drops and, after pestering her for answers, she simply said she was academically well off and started acting all offended that Nox didn't believe it.
Seriously, how!!?? What kind of pararmeters do they use to test the academic knowledge? I have prided myself on not judging people on their appearance, but her character was the problem in this case. She seems like a total slob, constantly not paying any attention to the classes. Sure, she picked up on many things, but could that really explain it?
Trying to wrap his head around that, he heard something snatching him out of his stupor.
"Noctis Raveth"
"Noctis Raveth"
Having not reacted in time, his name was repeated once again, in a more annoyed tone.
Quickly standing up and walking over, Nox now stood in front of Anderson, like all of those who came before him. Anderson took out a vial from his pocket. Unlike the one Anderson himself used, this vial was like the ones other students received. Having already poured three drops before class, Anderson simply handed it over to Nox without saying much.
This was his advance. Whenever someone first comes to this academy, they start with two drops in their first bestowal to help them catch up with the others.
A bit confused by the amount, Nox started doubting his memory. Shouldn't it only be two drops?
Why were there three? Standing in front of Anderson with a question in his eyes.
Noticing this, he looked at the vial and answered in a calm, friendly tone.
"The regulation is to give new students two drops of Notium as a start-up. Additionally, those who reach the Assymilater stage receive an extra drop, as a reward, for encouragement, to quickly start their service to the state."
Nodding once to show that he understood, Nox turned around immediately, walking back to his seat.
A bit confused by the idea of giving an individual who has less need for something more of the resource, yet at the same time delighted over getting more, which could be essentially considered currency. Staring at the vile, lost in thought for a few seconds, considering what to do with it, I could finally buy some new things of my own. Taken out of his musings, Nox looked towards Trisha, who was staring at his vial. Is it greed, or something else showing in her eyes?
Hearing Anderson call out Siana Vale, Nox would have redirected his attention toward her. Simultaneously, Trisha tilted her head slightly to the left and asked.
"You are already in the Assimilation stage?"
The thoughts before were flushed away in an instant. Looking back at the Vial, he instantly understood how she found out. Trisha definitely knows more about the rules than I do, and since I'm new, she should know I should only have two drops. Adding to that, I got one more drop; it could mean only one of two things: either there was a mistake, or he was rewarded an extra drop. Why would he be rewarded like that?
So it wasn't difficult to come to such a conclusion.
Calming himself down, as she had told him once that it was public knowledge which stage everyone was in, what made her finding it out inconsequential, as everyone would know soon enough.
Sighing a deep sigh of relief, he answered in a hushed but nonchalant tone, mirroring her casualness of being first in academics.
"It seems that way."
Suddenly feeling a pain in his cheek, Nox was bewildered as he found Trisha pinching and pulling at his cheek in a matter of seconds.
Instinctively pulling back the intensity of the pain increased.
"Why didn't you tell me, you little schemer?"
Answering in a lisping tone as his cheek was stretching unnaturally.
"I-shhh didn't know if I shhhhould tell anyone. Didn't you allllready guessss?"
Frowning slightly, she let go of his cheek, turning away as if offended.
Rubbing the now-red cheek, Nox shook his head and saw Riven sitting back down, seemingly the last student to receive his allowance.
This marked the end of class; some students simply left, such as Trisha, Siana, and Reinhard, while the rest gathered in a circle to do something.
Slowly walking out, watching this from the side, Nox saw Elisa handing over this vial to Riven, who sat in the midst of all of this, with Brutus standing to his left.
Seeing this, Noxs' forehead wrinkled slightly as he left, understanding the class's hierarchy a bit better.
Or, more precisely, what one gained by being at its peak.