After an hour of silence, only broken by the rustle of the lush grass beneath him, he rose to his feet. His eyes clear and sparkling after the short rest, a grateful smile crept on his lips as he gazed at the waiting youths.
"Thank you for your dedication."
He said, emptying his pouch of the last gold coins he possessed.
One of the dwarfs moved to take the glinting coins before his eyes narrowed in a silent question.
"There are five more than we agreed," he said after counting twenty-two.
"I'm satisfied with your teaching. Accept the extra coins for your efforts."
He nodded, a warm light illuminating his eyes.
"No, no. If anything, we are the ones impressed by your tenacity. Seventy hours non-stop? I've never heard of anything like that!"
The dwarf's voice cracked as a hint of terror flashed in his eyes. He had never seen such unwavering focus. The others nodded, remembering the lengthy and numerous pauses they took to teach him while he kept going strong.
"You deserve the money."
He pried the dwarf's hand open and shoved the coins into his trembling palm.
"Time to leave now. I need to prepare and look for a problematic girl."
Catching the clue, they bid goodbye, waving their hands before jumping out of his soul sea.
Left alone, he picked up the sprawled metallic items littering the ground and placed them on his makeshift anvil. Then, a blinding veil of milky white light engulfed his hands like gloves as he clutched them one by one. Faced with the heat, the iron reddened before melting like ice under the sun.
Without paying too much attention, he shaped them into rough ingots before putting everything in the bag.
'I can recycle it. No need to throw the metal.'
After sweeping the area and nodding at its cleanliness, he grabbed the bag and closed his eyes to return to the real world.
When he reopened them, he jumped in fright as panicked yells filled his ears.
"AHH! A man suddenly appeared!"
"Prepare your spells, girls!"
Before his enlarging eyes, the dwarven ladies jumped to their feet, toppling the wooden table. Glasses and pots shattered in loud noises as liquid covered the floor.
With twitching eyes and jaw clenched, they drew their rough wands. Their voices reverberated as they chanted various elemental spells to punish the daring intruder.
"The heck! This is my room!"
His voice cut through the chaos as his eyes landed on the ethereal beauty sipping her tea and caressing her cat.
Nova slammed her teacup down, smirked, shrugged, and glared at him. The silent message was crystal clear: serve you right for your three days disappearance.
A knot formed in his gut at the realisation. Although he didn't want to babysit Nova, leaving her alone in the foreign academy wasn't the best idea, making her resentment understandable.
As he pondered, low tiered spells crashed on his frame, engulfing it in a colourful firework. Despite their anger, the ladies' spells weren't fueled by the desire to kill. Not that it mattered with how resilient he was. Still, since their attacks stemmed from a misunderstanding and they didn't aim to end his life, he shrugged them off.
With a swift swipe of his hand, he dismissed the rising dust and lingering elemental energies, shocking the ladies.
His immaculate red coat swirling, he stepped to Nova, eyes glinting with a calculative light.
"Nova," he started, eyes firmly peering into her gray eyes. "I found a name for your cat."
Instantly, her strong facade crumbled and she rose. Her usual cheerful smile returned and reached her ears as her robes fluttered with her movements.
Her melodious voice, a soothing song, calmed the dwarven ladies' frantic movements, their worried gazes now fixed on her.
He patted the cat's soft head, hearing its purr of contentment before Nova raised her at eye level with a joyful smile.
"You finally have a name. Stella! Do you like it as much as I do?"
"Cough... Can you dismiss the misunderstanding now?"
He pointed at the glaring ladies, a hint of pleading in his eyes.
She turned toward the teenagers.
"It's his room. I don't know how he does it, but sometimes, his body disappears for a while. Since you wanted to play with Stella, I invited you during his absence. See? Nothing wrong here."
Of course, she didn't mention that his soul had been floating in the middle of the room the entire time.
With a wronged grimace, they glared at Adam, sparks dancing in their eyes.
"Even if it's your room, doesn't your family teach basic manners? Barging into a room full of ladies?"
A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he clutched his forehead in frustration.
'Did I mess up my puppet's engravings and add an unreasonable people magnet in the enchantment?'
"Alright, ladies. It's my fault for everything you mentioned."
His defeated voice resounded as he moved to the door and left, unwilling to waste time bickering with kids.
Basking under September's pleasant sun, he searched for Moira to show her his training results.
He passed by the village's facilities, drawing the teenagers' attention with his height. A moment later, ignoring them all, he reached the alabaster tower housing the academy's Manacore Heartgem.
A teacher's wary voice resounded in his ears as he knocked on the large door frame.
"I'm here to see Dean Moira. We have an appointment."
After a momentary silence settled, a frustrated scold resounded.
"I don't see any student's name on the appointment list. Return to class before the afternoon pause ends!"
He instantly understood what had happened. His jaws clenched, and his bony teeth cracked as his fists trembled. Did he waste time and resources for nothing? Just because the arcanist judged people on their characters? Did she never consider that the arrogance she perceived was self-confidence and huge effort behind the curtains?
'She deemed I would fail before the challenge even started!'
Fueled by anger, his mana-boosted roar reached the village.
He didn't know about her intentions but perceived them as blatant disrespect. Her high tier didn't give her the right to dismiss him so thoroughly since the first day.
His eyes enlarged as an inferno of defiance danced in them.
'Let's see how you'll act now that the entire academy is involved!'
As his voice thundered in everyone's ears, a blatant provocation to their esteemed dean, Moira's elegant response echoed.
"I don't like your forceful manners, but if you want to humiliate yourself publicly, be my guest."