The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 211: Chapter 207 — Bars

The water might as well have been ice. An intense chill seeped into Zephyrion’s bones. His teeth clattered, his body trembled, yet he swam.

The scrambler was still active.

It was hard.

The current fought against him, forcing him to exert twice the effort. His arms and legs churned through the freezing water. He had no idea how fast he was moving, nor how much farther it was to land.

Gradually, his limbs grew heavier. His strokes slowed. He lost sight of the instructor as the raging current battered his face. Whether he was still heading in the right direction or not, he had no idea.

Yet he kept swimming.

He couldn’t help but think about the others. They must be in hell.

He remembered how uncomfortable last night had been. The bed had been too small to fit two people. They had slept so close together he could feel Lumi’s soft breaths throughout the night. But it had been necessary. He had to keep a close watch on her because of her condition.

He paused, suddenly apprehensive. If her episode happened now... would she drown?

Zephyrion increased his pace, ignoring his aching limbs. He swam faster and faster until eventually his arm struck solid ground. He threw himself onto the shore, panting. Then he quickly rose and stared into the water.

Its surface was veiled in mist, but he listened. Any sound. Anything. His heart sank deeper into the silence.

He curled his fists.

’I have to go in.’

Stepping to the edge, he froze as a splash echoed across the river.

He squinted, catching sight of a petite figure flailing her tiny limbs with determined persistence. Somehow, it seemed to work, carrying her steadily toward the shore.

Zephyrion felt the knot in his chest loosen. He waited until she was close enough that it would no longer be dangerous before moving.

He quickly caught sight of the instructor in the far distance, already crossing the plain. Despite his burning lungs, Zephyrion accelerated, keeping him in sight.

The cold from the river still stung, his limbs trembling from the icy water. Soon, however, the warmth from the run returned, and the numbness gradually faded.

Eventually, he stopped beneath a high cliff. He looked up. The instructor was already climbing, and from where he stood, Zephyrion couldn’t even see the top.

He exhaled, steadying his breathing. Then he began climbing.

Ensuring every foothold was secure, he steadily ascended. Reaching a certain height, he caught sight of Lumi climbing behind him. The apprehension returned. If she fainted now, she would fall. From a height like this, with the scrambler activated, it was instant death.

But he shook his head, telling himself he was being paranoid. Being distracted wouldn’t help anyone. He increased his pace, reaching the top after an hour.

By then, dawn had come. The sun had begun rising in the east, painting the horizon gold. He fixed his eyes on the instructor running ahead and continued after him.

By now, every part of his body ached, yet it was still manageable. They crossed the earlier plains and eventually came to a halt at the fortress gates.

Ingrid, along with a couple of other soldiers, was waiting atop the wall.

Were it not for his exhaustion, and the fact that he lowered himself to the ground to catch his breath, he would have seen the smile of approval in her eyes.

But it was gone by the time he rose.

The tier one instructor gave him a single nod. Though he didn’t smile, Zephyrion could still see the approval in his eyes.

Several moments later, the other cadets began arriving one after another.

Lumi was second. She dropped down beside him, breathing heavily, then looked up at him and smiled brightly.

The next to arrive was, surprisingly, Kaelith Korrath. He avoided Zephyrion entirely, settling elsewhere. Then came Kaelion, Fiona, Kaiden, Tobias, several Calderalth cadets, then Draven, who arrived puking, followed by Vaelor, Nedra, and Lucien.

It took them a long while to catch their breath, and Zephyrion felt more than a few glances thrown his way.

Soon after, the other instructors and tiers arrived, along with soldiers carrying multiple cadets in their arms. The cadets’ heads hung low in shame, while others openly wept.

They had failed to finish the training, Zephyrion realized. Minus twenty points.

They were out of the academy.

A gloomy silence settled over the field at the sight. They were soon asked to line up before the wall, Ingrid looking down at them.

”I believe I don’t have to tell you what happened to the cadets who failed to complete the training.” Her voice was cold. ”They’re gone. Sent home. They’ve disgraced themselves and their houses. If you don’t want the same fate, then start taking every second you spend here seriously.”

Many cadets clenched their fists, their heads lowered. Ingrid hadn’t said anything about it directly, yet they knew she was talking about yesterday.

They had eaten, drunk, and partied. They had let their guards down, and many had paid the price.

”Understood?”

”Yes, House Commander!”

The response thundered across the courtyard.

Ingrid nodded.

”I’ll now announce the rewards. Tier one. First place... Zephyrion Calderalth. Fifty Temper Points.”

Zephyrion felt every eye turn toward him, yet he remained unfazed.

”In second place... Lumi...”

Second and third place for tier one received forty and thirty-five points respectively. For tier two, thirty, twenty-five, and twenty. For tier three, fifteen, ten, and five.

Soon after, they were dismissed. They trudged back into the fortress like walking corpses.

After a few moments of freshening up, they were called for breakfast. The soldiers, just like yesterday, offered food and drinks to the cadets, only to be met with firm refusals.

The soldiers chuckled among themselves as they left the mess hall.

”How did you know?”

Seated at the table, Kaelion fixed him with a steady stare. The others did the same. It was Zephyrion who had warned them not to overeat, so they couldn’t help but wonder how he had seen everything coming.

Zephyrion shrugged.

”We’re here to be tempered, not pampered.”

The entire table blinked, staring at him in silence.

He frowned.

’Why are they looking at me like that?’

Then, a moment later, Lumi excitedly tapped his arm before flashing him a double thumbs-up.

What was she doing?

”...Damn...” Tobias blinked. ”Didn’t know you had bars like that, my lord.”

Zephyrion frowned.

”Seriously.” Fiona laughed. ”Someone hand him a mic.”

Her words drew a few laughs from around the table.

”I’m trying so hard not to imagine my lord on a stage right now. I’d die laughi—”

Tobias met Zephyrion’s stare. He immediately cleared his throat.

”Haha... terrible joke. Awful joke. Forget I said anything.”

Several others struggled to hold back their laughter at his misfortune.

Shaking his head, Zephyrion looked away. He hadn’t been trying to make a joke in the first place. Of them all, only Kaelion and Kaiden seemed to take his words seriously, both falling strangely into thought.

Zephyrion glanced around the mess hall. The cadets looked worn out from the morning’s training, yet they were otherwise fine.

Still... there was a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

Many narrowed glances were directed his way. Others subtly gestured toward him before scoffing beneath their breaths. It came from every side. The tier ones. The tier twos. The tier threes.

Something had happened.

Zephyrion focused on the chatter, letting the surrounding conversations drift into his ears.

”...he seriously kept it to himself?”

”Yeah... only looked out for his own people.”

”Must be nice growing up with everything handed to you.”

”Selfish bastard.”

”Figures.”

Every table seemed to be centered around the same discussion. That he had known about the Instructors plot and kept it to himself.

Zephyrion held back a frown. The training had barely ended, yet the entire fortress was already talking about it.

Clearly, this had been engineered.