FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 2: The Fourth Kind of Contact (2)**

"Forget those lunatics. Let's go into town for a drink tonight," Phil said, slinging an arm affectionately around Chen Yi's shoulder after the three had left.Chen Yi looked puzzled. "Drinks? Is today special? Didn't we just celebrate for Mendes?""Do we need a special reason to drink? Carl already booked a place. We can discuss tactics for next month's Special Competition while we're at it.""We're teaming up again?" Chen Yi asked."What else? Though without Mendes this year, it won't be easy. I'm thinking of bringing my sister in." Phil spoke casually, as if he didn't notice Chen Yi's expression.The Special Competition was an annual event at Rongqi Academy. Any trainee could form a squad of up to four and sign up.All the trainees of the same year would be dropped into a wilderness area outside the academy.Squads would encounter each other at random within a limited zone and fight.The last squads eliminated ranked the highest. All members of the top-ranked squads would receive prizes like staves, magic cores, rings, robes, and the like.Chen Yi's dorm also housed Phil, Carl, and Mendes. The four of them were in the same year, so they'd always teamed up for the Special Competition.In the early years, led by Chen Yi, they'd taken first place twice and won generous prizes.But as their peers gradually experienced Divine Communion, Chen Yi went from being the leader of the squad to the one holding them back.Now, Phil and Carl were advanced trainees. Mendes had even become a junior professor at the academy. Only Chen Yi remained an intermediate trainee.Because Chen Yi had been allowed to stay despite the rules, his opponents in this competition would all be his peers—all advanced trainees.Still, over the years, the other three had never looked down on Chen Yi. They kept teaming up with him. Even if the results weren't great, no one complained.As Mendes once put it: *"You carried us before. Now it's our turn to carry you. If we can't, that's on us. Besides, your spellcraft and tactical planning are still top-notch."*Chen Yi had already planned to drop out this year so he wouldn't hold them back. But Phil hadn't even asked him.And Carl—who never went into town without a good reason—had booked drinks, most likely to cheer Chen Yi up over not advancing to advanced trainee.Since things had come to this, if Chen Yi still insisted on going solo, he'd be the one not treating his brothers of eight years as family.At that thought, Chen Yi felt both ashamed and grateful.Then he realized Phil was right. Mendes had just become a professor and couldn't compete in the Special Competition anymore. Without his healing magic, they'd indeed be in trouble."By the way, where is Mendes? I didn't see him," Chen Yi asked."Who knows? He's not moving out," Phil said. "Ah, forget him. We already told him where. He'll show up on his own tonight. Let's head over."Mendes had become a junior professor. According to academy rules, he could move into a single-room faculty dorm.But the man was notoriously stingy. Faculty dorms cost slightly more than student dorms, so he flatly refused to move.After the last sliver of daylight vanished from the sky's zenith, Mendes walked alone to a modest wooden cabin on the academy grounds.*Knock, knock, knock.*"Closed. You selling swords?" came the gruff voice from inside.Mendes touched his nose, hesitated, and finally said the embarrassing code phrase:"No... I'm a *staff*-obstacle."He'd spent the entire day familiarizing himself with faculty work. To bother the cabin's owner after closing time, this was the only way.The cabin was the workshop and home of Leik, the academy's staff-maker.The door swung open. Leik, his face full of beard, looked Mendes up and down. "You?"Mendes didn't waste words. He pulled a magic core and some materials from his storage ring. "A high-grade protective shield staff.""Aren't you a professor now? What do you need that for?" Leik grumbled as he took the materials."For a friend," Mendes said flatly.Leik's eyes flickered. He understood who Mendes meant. He set the materials on his workbench and sighed. "Huh. That core isn't common. You'd fetch a good price for it on the market. Never thought you had it in you to be generous."Mendes didn't reply. He pushed up his glasses above his goatee and asked, "How long?""Don't worry. It'll be ready before the Special Competition," Leik said. "But let me give you some advice: even the most devoted child tires of a long vigil at a parent's sickbed. You've got to think about yourself once in a while.""You just don't know him. I believe that one day, Chen Yi will stand again where he belongs." Mendes spoke with certainty.---Kanter Town was about two kilometers from Rongqi Academy. Thanks to its proximity, the townspeople had turned it into the wealthiest town in the region by trading in magical materials and gear.The town had every kind of eatery and entertainment venue. Many academy faculty and students came here to unwind after class.At a tavern called the Fizzing Frog, by the west gate, Chen Yi and the others sat in a corner by the window."Are you sure you want the Dreamweed Cider?" the server asked."Yes. Four bottles.""We sell it by the glass.""That's fine. Four bottles.""Dreamweed is rare, so the price reflects—""Money's not an issue. I just want to see how your Dreamweed compares to what grows on the east bank of the Divine Radiance River."Chen Yi, Phil, and Mendes watched awkwardly as Carl chattered away with the server. They'd already been scared by the prices on the menu.They never imagined this new tavern would be so expensive, especially the priciest item—Dreamweed Cider. One bottle cost nearly as much as a top-tier mage robe.For Chen Yi and Mendes, who came from commoner families, that was almost a year's living expenses.And Phil, though from a general's family, had been raised strictly and never spent so lavishly on food and drink."Ahem, Brother Carl," Chen Yi couldn't help but say, "let's just get something cheap. No need for this.""Don't worry. My treat.""Won't your father find out?" Phil said with concern."I broke an entire cabinet of Dreamweed Cider in the wine cellar when I was six. Dad didn't do a thing to me," Carl said breezily.Carl Sedek was the only son of Duke Sedek of the Duchy of Haisen. The duke was the lord of the Central Plains of the Divine Radiance River—the most fertile land in the duchy.So it was no exaggeration to say the Sedek family was wealthier than many nations.