"I AM SORRY!" Ashara shouted, bowing her head deeply in apology as Victor brushed the dust off his clothes.
After the explosion caused by Victor's team, the professor, already annoyed by Victor's antics, promptly threw them out of the laboratory.
"I really am sorry, Victor. I shouldn't have poured so much energy into it," Ashara mumbled, her face clouded with sadness and guilt as she noticed Victor wasn't responding to her apology.
Victor sighed, shaking his head. "It's not your fault," he said, trying to reassure her.
In truth, it was mostly his fault.
When Helena's crystal broke, it was due to the arcane energy within his body. The energy had disrupted the circuit when he handled the crystal, leading to its malfunction when Helena tried to power it... That's what he concluded after reading the details.
Similarly, after he finished etching the circuit into the crystal this ti, he assud it would be fine as long as he didn't rub it against his body. However, the mont he touched it, the circuit broke. Ashara, wanting to test it, poured her energy in, causing the crystal to explode.
Still,
She believed it was her fault, but Victor knew otherwise.
"I'm really sorry," Ashara repeated, her voice pleading.
Victor sighed again and walked away silently, heading toward the restroom to clean the dust from under his mask.
Ashara bit her lip, misinterpreting his silence as anger directed at her.
She felt a pang of disappointnt; To be honest, she had been genuinely happy when Victor insisted on teaming up with her.
She wasn't particularly close with the others, and due to her nature, people tended to keep their distance. Though they didn't treat her badly, there was always a barrier. It wasn't entirely their fault; they were wary of her uncontrollable power.
Ashara was thrilled when Victor showed her the crystal, but her curiosity had led to this ss. She glanced back into the laboratory, where the others were working, and with a determined expression, she re-entered the class.
...
....
After cleaning up, Victor headed back to the laboratory, musing to himself, 'So, I can't even touch those things... How am I supposed to manage my building-up energy?' He looked at his hands, contemplating the situation.... He needed to do sothing about this otherwise he might beco a balloon-filled Arcane energy.
As he approached, he noticed Ashara peeking out from the classroom door. "Victor!" she called out, her eyes bright with excitent.
"Hmm?"
"Co inside! I spoke to the professor, and he said he'll allow us back in if we can impress him," Ashara said, her voice filled with pride and a childlike eagerness, clearly expecting praise.
"Impress him?" Victor repeated, his eyebrow arching higher in mild surprise and amusent. The idea seed absurd, especially given the professor's obvious dislike for him. 'Should I walk in naked to impress him?' he thought with a wry smile, amused by the thought.
As they entered the lab, the professor, catching sight of Victor, wasted no ti setting the terms. "If you don't complete the task I assign, you won't be allowed back in my class until the sester ends!" he declared, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
Victor blinked, then glanced at Ashara, who quickly looked away, avoiding his gaze.
/Selene?/
He telepathically reached out to Selene, asking for clarification,
/Well, she actually begged the professor to let you back in. She claid the explosion was all her fault and.../
/And?/
/She even offered to withdraw from the class if he allowed her only friend to stay./
Victor paused, blinking a few tis in surprise. He looked at Ashara, then at the professor. "You'll be surprised, professor," he said confidently.
The professor snorted, not particularly interested in allowing Victor back, but he had relented because of Ashara's plea..... A succubus, after all!
Of course, He didn't express his thoughts openly, but he was intrigued; he'd never encountered a succubus before, if he played his cards correctly, he might taste a succubus and the prospect excited him.
As they returned to their station, Ashara showed Victor a complex circuit diagram. "He wants us to create... this," she said.... The complex circuit diagram was surely going to take a lot of ti and concentration which was not available as the period was about to end.
"Compressed air?" Victor frowned.
It was a simple basic concept but filled with complexity which might take a long ti to even itch it on the crystal and most of all.... that was professor hadn't even covered in class. 'That bastard...' Victor thought, gritting his teeth as he glanced at the professor, who was watching them with a smug grin.
At that mont,
"Hehe..." Victor let out an uncanny smile, one that sent a shiver down the professor's spine. He quickly skimd through the book material, "We are doing this," he declared with a smirk.
"Huh? This? Victor, this is advance--" she stamred.
"Yes, it is an advanced concept, but it's a simple circuit, that we can finish before the ti runs out," Victor assured her, his voice steady and reassuring.
Ashara wasn't convinced. She knew that this task was far beyond their current level of training. She nodded weakly, still unsure but willing to follow his lead.
Victor carefully selected a crystal, going through the sa ticulous checks as before. Just as he was about to begin etching the circuit, he paused and looked at Ashara. "Take this side," he instructed, pointing to the crystal. "Just etch the part where I say."
"?" Ashara blinked in surprise, her uncertainty palpable.
"Who else then?" Victor replied with a raised eyebrow, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
"W-Well, I'm not sure..." Ashara hesitated, clearly afraid of making another mistake.
"We are a team, right?"
"Yes"
"And you are my friend, right?"
".... Yes"
"Then co on," Victor encouraged, giving her a reassuring nod.
Ashara awkwardly scratched her head before slowly leaning towards the right eye side piece, while Victor took the left. Their faces were re millitres apart, and the proximity made Ashara's heart race.
Determined to prove herself, Ashara focused intently on her task. As they worked in tandem, Victor whispered softly, "Thank you, Ashara."
Ashara flinched at his words, her heart warming at the unexpected gratitude.
A gentle smile curled on her lips.
[ 1 AP]
Just as they were about to finish the etching process, Victor added so additional knowledge he had gleaned from an old book, refining the circuit even further. The professor, making his rounds, finally arrived at their station. "Ti's up, pretty boy," he announced, amusent evident in his voice as he glanced at Victor, expecting failure.
"J-Just give us a minute?" Ashara pleaded, but the professor was not inclined to wait. "Either show it to now or get out," he said, turning to move to another group.
"Finished," Victor declared, just as the professor was about to leave.
The professor frowned, clearly sceptical, 'He must have done it half-heartedly,' he thought, ready to dismiss their efforts.
Victor, however, gestured to Ashara. "Do the honours, Ashara," he said, indicating the crystal they had prepared.
"? I-I don't think it's a good idea..." Ashara hesitated, her anxiety rising. The last thing she wanted was to cause another mishap, especially after they had worked so hard.
But Victor insisted on her.
Ashara reluctantly picked up the crystal, which had turned a deep blue after the etching process. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she concentrated on channelling her arcane energy into the crystal. 'Please work, please work, please work...' she repeated in her mind, bracing herself for the worst.
"Open your eyes," Victor said gently.
Ashara slowly opened her eyes, and her breath caught in her throat.
Sssshhh
A small, beautiful blue fla danced atop the crystal, its colour a srizing, ethereal blue.
"Wow..." Ashara whispered, her eyes wide with wonder.
"What 'Wow'?" The professor's face twisted into a scowl, "I asked you to make compressed air, not fire! Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"W-Well..." Ashara stamred, looking to Victor for support.
At that mont, a voice cut through the tension. "It's a blue fla, which is considered the highest level of heat and is very rare to create..." The voice was feminine and authoritative.
Everyone turned to see a dark red-haired woman, wearing sunglasses despite being indoors... Victor frowned seeing that woman.
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