Chapter 138: Observations and Asking For Assisstance

Iola was enjoying the muffin. If nobody was going to bring her food—then she'd bring it to herself. Following the guy who visited Timothy's door did indeed bring her to the dining hall. Except she realized that there was something strange about the people here. And no, it wasn't said guy who had brought himself food but wasn't eating. She glanced at him. He was staring into thin air and muttering to himself... she'd acknowledge that it was odd—although that wasn't what she was referring to.

It was the mere fact that there were a lot of Nobles in the area.

Even now, she'd notice one of them, a young man with golden hair and blue eyes. He was looking around with a bothered expression on his face. Perhaps he was the highest leveled person in the Noble Class now? Not necessarily. His family name must have been in the higher peerage for him to be aggravated now. She picked out a few red haired people and identified them from the Primrose House—and there were three of them.

She rolled her eyes and swallowed the remnants of her muffin.

It was an unprecedented notion for her. Nobles were now leveling up in other Classes beside their Noble Class? Then again, she assessed the first aggravated man and picked out the details. His persona, how the people around him reacted to his obvious distress. He wasn't wearing his family's insignia. She stood back up and walked over to one of the tables where the Students were distracted with the blond man. She picked up another muffin, hiding it back into her cloak.

She considered the possible reasons.

Well only one reason. She took another look at him, he was handsome but that wasn't enough to distract her from her point. He wasn't the first born son. And some Noble families had their philosophies of their children as pawns. There was no use investing much in other children. As cruel as that may sound. But it was their eldest child that was going to take up the family's name—and so this young man decided to be an Adventurer. No, perhaps a General. Either it was him or his family but the reasoning stayed the same. If they weren't going to be the inheritor of the family name... at least they'd still be prestigious in a way and still serve the Throne.

If the young man had been a woman, then she would have been decent for a political marriage.

As for the redheads, she could admire the lady in her suit of armor. The Primrose House. She could tell it from a distance away with their looks. One of the Nobility that weren't that influential but still identifiable for key traits. Magic was one of their key traits. Most Nobles had a bigger mana pool or well than the common folk, so having that redhead in a suit of armor meant that she—

Iola shook her head. There was no use to these thoughts but to stave away her boredom. And yet she had no use being around here when she already had her fill of food… the young woman stepped away. She once again noticed that Timothy's friend was still staring in thin air. Was he stricken by some disease? The young woman decided to head back to her chambers, she had already been reckless far enough.

.. .

Han Jing had nearly called it a day—until he received the message screen in front of him. It had popped up in front of his face and nearly knocked him backwards as the message of his sole Ally appeared:

Wood Elf: What did you do to my daughter!

Han: I didn't do anything?

Wood Elf: And that's why something happened to her, you didn't do anything!

Han: Can you explain it from the start? Calm down dude.

Sometimes it felt like the guy was overreacting that much, then again what if he was in their shoes? Would he have reacted the same if he had a daughter in this world? He didn't want to answer that as most games he had played with—he ended up not deleting them to take care of his virtual pet.

And yet that wasn't the point.

He sobered up when he considered that it was Ellynn.What exactly had happened? He looked around the dining hall and found her missing. She probably should have been here right? Even if she was in one of the corners of the room. Had he been too ecstatic with his daggers that he didn't pay much attention to anything else? He rubbed his face until the new message from his Ally appeared.

Wood Elf: A Member of my family got captured—and that's Ellynn. I don't have any other kids, not that I know of, but even if I didn't know, the Creators would have let me know but she's only my girl. She's trapped somewhere in that Academy of yours and I want you to save her.

Han: I… do you have a map?

Wood Elf: [ Sent an Image ]

Han: You can track them down?

He had asked but he was still in disbelief. By being the parent, the Wood Elf had access to the whereabouts of his child? Han glanced at the image in front of him. It was a layout of the entire Academy and there was a green dot. Representing his child no doubt, in an area that was… underground of the Academy? He stared for a moment and realized that he would never—there was no time to be hung up about this.

Han resumed looking at the screen in front of him.

Captured and not trapped.

That meant there was somebody here who could capture a powerful Half Elf? Only a couple people came to mind. Who else but the Professors or the Headmaster themselves could do something like that? He considered the nuances behind this situation… would he still take it if he was risking his stay here? He didn't think the faculty here were racist enough to capture her... but he was pretty sure that she would have managed to protect herself if it were a bunch of students.

She had that barrier thing.

And yet he could also be wrong, he waited for more information.

Wood Elf: Of course I can track them down, I can track Allies and Members of my family! You can do it for people here who you formed a specific bond with.

Han: So hypothetically, I can even find my Companion?

Wood Elf: Yes, but there is no time for that. I want you to free my daughter immediately

Han: And this is something that is in accordance with our Alliance?

Wood Elf: Are you looking for payment or something in exchange? What do you want?

Upholding an Alliance between them was one thing but risking his neck… even for a friend? Han still felt inadequate about his levels, even tempted with the reward, so he had to ask.

Han: Can't you come here?

Wood Elf: It would take too long—find my daughter and I'll reward you

Han: Fine, fine. I'll do what I can

There was a certain amount of risk he would take here… or could he just screw it with this Academy and go back home? He wasn't sure if he was willing to stay here if they were the ones behind this kidnapping? Han sighed. He would have to deal with the consequences later as he considered his options. Did he need someone to assist him? No, he couldn't risk his friend's stay here either. Glancing at the image of the map, the young man stood up and began to track them down.

.

.

.

And he was faced with a wall. An actual wall.

Han grumbled to himself about hidden doorways. The young man began to grope around the walls for a hidden switch of some sort. After some time he stopped—the Academy wouldn't do something as simple as a switch. And he had already tried the floors and didn't find any pressure plates either. So it only meant one thing—

"What are you doing there?"

Han spun around and came face to face with Professor Owen Liddell. He gulped for a moment and considered his chances with facing them off... "I'm trying to get through the secret doorway."

"Secret what?" Professor Liddell raised a brow at him.

His face was a genuine look of surprise that it made Han frown. Did he not know that one of their Students was trapped inside of here? Or was the man bluffing with him. It didn't matter right now though, Han glanced at the wall and stared at it hard. His [ Mana Sense ] took a bit of effort to actually use. But after a few moments, he began to notice that mana was in the walls and floors as usual…

… and he glanced back once again and noticed an influx of mana around Professor Liddell. Although they didn't look like they were going to kill him. He warily stared back at the walls, the mana was flowing well and there didn't seem to be anything amiss. So it wasn't magic either? Did he need to—in one of the bricks, it seemed to have less mana than anywhere else. He looked back at Professor Liddell and grinned, motioning to the brick. "There it is isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" The Professor asked him with a blank expression.

Han huffed,that face of ignorance wasn't going to work for him. "This is the entrance to the underground portion of the Academy and I figured it all out on my own. Are you going to stop me?" That was a lie but he wasn't going to admit that he had some help.

"... Do what you like?"