The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Vernon woke up with a start, it was dark and everybody was fast asleep. He couldn't tell what the time was but he figured out it was pretty late. He has woken up an hour after taking a nap to find the room half empty. A few were sleeping while most were just talking, he couldn't help but feel that was what woke him up.

He had sat on his bed for a couple of minutes unsure of what to do. There was basically nothing for him to do in the room as Dev wasn't here and he was the only person he could think about as a friend. Nevil was out of the question, he didn't know what was wrong but he didn't need divine intervention to figure out that Nevil would rather be by himself.

However, before he could give it much thought, the bell rang and for a couple of minutes, Vernon could not figure out what was going on and stood dazed. He had absolutely no clue what the bell meant. It was at least three full hours before dinner so he was certain that's not what the bell was for.

Thankfully, somebody was nice enough to yell, "It's time to eat!" Before they all filed out. Apparently, this was the first dinner but since he had slept through the last one, he had not been aware of it.

He had gone for it but mostly kept to himself, he didn't want a situation where he would become the center of attention so he ate as slowly as he could, barely saying anything. After that, they spent their time talking and interacting but Vernon wasn't interested and went back to the room.

He spent the three hours he had before the last meal of the day just lying in bed staring at the huge ceiling with weird drawings and as soon as the meal was over, he returned to the room again.

Now, he was awake and he couldn't figure out why. He stood up and headed to the bathroom, not because he felt the need to do so but because he thought that was why he woke up. If this was about to become a habit, he wasn't going to be pleased.

"Who is that?" He heard on his way back. It was the boy Devant had called Jay, the voice was quite distinctive. He hated that he recalled the name.

"Vernon!" He replied, only because it would just be weird if he didn't.

"What? Without a lamp? How in the blazes can you see?" Jay asked, his surprise was quite evident. Vernon didn't bother replying but just returned to bed, Jay must have fallen asleep because he didn't say anything else either.

The morning came and Vernon couldn't decide if he was excited to see another group in action or he just wanted to stay in bed all day. Turned out to be the latter but there was no way he could skip training and he had to report to Captain Robbin before training started.

When the bell finally rang that they could leave the cafeteria, Vernon found himself to be one of the children running down the hall, and even when one of the Madame screamed at them to stop, he didn't.

He arrived at the shade, panting. Captain Robbin wasn't sitting as usual but rather, she was nowhere to be seen. After about two minutes of wondering if he should stay or leave, the end of the shade opened and Vernon yelled in fright. He would have sworn it was a dead end.

Captain Robbin frowned, "Are you good, Venom?" She didn't miss a stride as she walked, putting each leg directly in front of each other with each step.

She didn't stop until she was beside her chair that seemed rooted to the stop and she flopped onto it. Vernon could hardly hide his expression as he feared she might break something but she looked so tough, he doubted she broke easy.

Today she was wearing leather boots, a pair of shorts that she tied with some kind of material around her waist. Her top on the other hand was no different from what she had worn the day before except the fact that it was a different material. Vernon thought she looked really pretty and the only person that was prettier than the Captain was his mother.

He nodded after she sat but only because she was staring at him weirdly. "Good, good! We hope for results today, Vernon!" She cried out just as called his name, clapping her hands together.

Vernon felt himself jerk, he wasn't really scared of her but he couldn't help but feel anxious around the Captain and it made him really jumpy.

"Come closer!" She had a really strong voice and even though she wasn't yelling, it sounded like she was. He did, taking each step one at a time, he was in no hurry to meet his end.

She leaned forward and dipped her head to his ear, "If you're faking, not that I think you are just if you are…" She chose this moment to pause and sigh. "Let me just say you're not leaving this place any time soon, don't even think your lack of magic would help. So, I will have more than enough rein to make your life miserable."

Vernon's mouth fell open and a gasp escaped. Captain Robbin leaned back and rested her back in her chair. "What group would you like to observe today?"

"W-what?" He stuttered, the fact that he had a choice came as a shock.

"You heard me. What group?"

"I get to choose," he added, still shocked.

"Obviously," he was wasting her time but she indulged, he was nothing but a child after all.

"But I don't know what other groups there are…" He replied, looking down to his feet again.

"What?!" It was her turn to be surprised. "You're joking," but Vernon wasn't and he shook his head to show her he wasn't.