Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Paragon Zev
The next day, Jareth woke up very early before the sun could rise and swiftly prepared for the test.
Admiring himself in the mirror, Jareth blinked his sharp hazel eyes and nodded in satisfaction.
His burgundy hair, already reaching his chin, was neatly slicked back with gel, flaunting his sharp and calm features.
Jareth was clad in a black, form-fitting, full-body armored suit with a matching dull design, flaunting his athletic frame.
Nodding one final time, Jareth checked his shock bracelet for his comm band and badge.
He mentally peaked into his badge, seeing water, dry rations, and his dark red sword floating in the dark space, Jareth nodded again.
He went downstairs and saw only Esta, dressed in casual clothes with her car keys in her hands.
"Morning," Jareth greeted.
"Morning. Looking sharp," she complimented before warning sternly, "And one more thing—you’re no longer a kid who should trust strangers, especially during this test. You are not only going against beasts."
"Is killing allowed?" Jareth questioned in a whisper.
"No. But ’mistakes’ happen. This is a crucial step to building a solid foundation for future ascension. When the future is at stake, you can’t imagine what some arcanists do."
Sucking in a deep breath, Jareth slowly nodded in realization.
He heard the door slam from above. Angling his head, he listened to the girls’ footsteps coming down.
A moment later, Jareth spotted the girls descending the stairs—Liana in her fiery red armor, her fiery red hair bound in a high ponytail, and Nadia in navy-black armor, her short black hair sweeping left and right with each movement.
"Great. You guys are here. I was just speaking with Jareth. Remember, you are never to trust strangers. You hear me?" Esta warned grimly, with a steely expression.
"Yes. You don’t have to glare at us like that," Liana answered, rolling her eyes.
"I am specifically talking about you; you trust everyone," Esta retorted sternly.
"Oh..." Liana replied weakly and turned to Nadia. "Do I trust easily?"
Nadia nodded.
"Hey!"
"Okay. Good luck. And I’ve sent your pass to your comm band, Jareth," Esta interrupted as she strode out.
Jareth quickly opened his comm band and checked it. He saw the message from Esta. Opening it, he saw a well-designed gold invitation card with ’Jareth Idren’ boldly written in the middle.
In the corner was the symbol from the arcanist badge—four hands jointly raising a staff—but with an additional open book beneath it.
Esta’s voice suddenly jolted him from his screen:
"Come out, guys. I’ll drop you at the gate."
Jareth walked outside with the girls. Liana pushed him to the front seat while she sat with her friend in the back.
Nadia and Liana chatted idly while Jareth kept to himself after noticing the lazy and curt replies when he tried to converse with Esta.
’She only speaks when it’s important? Another workaholic. I wonder what her rank is. Let’s just let her be. I should focus on my situation. Which spell should I blend with my close combat? I think Fire Cannon should do. Infernal Torrent is like a dragon spitting fire, so if I just converge it into a beam, it should work...’
Soon, Esta parked in the lot close to the gate, which was uncommonly bustling and filled with vehicles of different types.
Liana and Nadia alighted. Just as Jareth opened the door, Esta grabbed his arm.
Jareth turned to her and arched his brow. But she merely returned a plain stare until the girls shut the door behind them.
"Remember, you have to perform to your best to show the person in charge of your test that you’re worth their investment," Esta said calmly and released his arm.
Jareth quieted for a second before replying, "You mean I should try to stand above the rest?"
Esta nodded.
"Okay. Thanks for the heads-up," Jareth answered as he opened the door and got out of the car.
"You were wasting so much time. Let’s get going before they start without us," Liana chided and pulled Nadia, quickly weaving through the crowd that was slowly moving toward the large gate.
Jareth swiftly trailed behind so as not to lose her.
Many yelled at them while others grumbled.
Liana just kept responding, "Sorry! Sorry! Coming through! Sorry!"
Soon, they made it out of the gate and saw a very large crowd of teenagers and young adults not too far away. The trio quickly rushed to join them.
Upon reaching them, Jareth noticed everyone staring ahead at a man hovering in silence. An oppressive silence loomed over the dense crowd.
"Oh shit! It’s Paragon Zev," Liana mumbled under her breath.
Before Jareth could ask why, she squatted and changed her comm band to phone mode, then called Nathan. But he didn’t pick up.
She switched to calling Alven."Where are you?" she asked in a whisper.
Jareth turned to Nadia. "Is he bad?" he questioned quietly.
Nadia peeked at the hovering man before turning to him. "His tests are always difficult and have the highest disqualification rates. He’s very strict, the vice principal of our college, and oversees battle education. People call him a warmonger."
Jareth quickly got the gist. ’Is he the reason why I’ll die?’
After a short talk on the phone, Liana stood up and silently moved through the crowd, with Nadia and Jareth behind her.
Nadia tried to call her back in very tiny whispers, but Liana kept going.
"Keep your heads down; don’t stare at Paragon Zev," she warned them.
Despite their silent movement, they stuck out like a sore thumb as everybody else stood in place.
Jareth peeked and caught Paragon Zev staring at them, but swiftly lowered his head. They quickly made it to the area near the front, where Jareth spotted the dashing boy, Alven, standing in tense silence beside his gloomy, messy-haired friend, Nathan.
Jareth also saw Zelda and her brother beside them.
They all had their gazes glued to the hovering Paragon Zev, their expressions stern.
That was all the confirmation Jareth needed to determine the strictness of Paragon Zev—a teacher no student wanted to cross.
Liana quickly went and stood beside them.
Nadia and Jareth did the same.
Raising his head, Jareth caught Paragon Zev’s sight fixed in their direction.
Jareth’s acting skills instantly kicked in.
His expression flipped to his most serious, his body language fluidly blending into the solemn atmosphere, like a soldier standing at parade rest.
The man’s gaze concentrated on them for a few minutes, as if willing them to break character under his stare.
Nadia grew fidgety under his gaze, while Liana... just stared at him, wide-eyed and unblinking, as if it were a staring contest. Jareth wouldn’t doubt if she took it as such.
As for Jareth, his acting level was too professional to break character under a mere dignified gaze, despite the oppression within it.
Jareth’s gaze took in the man’s robust frame, sheathed in form-fitting purple armor, a shade perfectly matched by the bright, striking purple of his hair. Yet it was his wild and oppressive eyes that commanded attention, even as he simply hovered in place.
The man finally retracted his gaze. Nadia released a soft exhale while Liana finally blinked. Jareth remained in character—stern and solemn.
"Okay, gremlins!" The man’s deep and loud voice thundered from above. "Guess who’s in charge of your test? Me! And you know what I like? More action; less theory! I hope you gremlins know what you’re getting yourselves into, right?!"
"Yes, Sir!" everybody chorused.