The next morning, Luke spent his time forging the rest of the armor pieces for the insect army. He had only 3,800 pieces left, so he kept working until the sky was clear.
After the last piece, Luke was so tired that he fell onto his bed.
"I hope Amigo has already started distributing them to the colony," he said aloud. "The Insect Princess must be really happy."
〖Ding!〗
〖Congratulations! You have forged a GT of 12,000 armor for the Insect World〗
〖You have earned 250 Reputation Points〗
〖Workshop |D|: 410/500〗
〖XP Gained: +7000〗
〖Congratulations! You have leveled up to LV. 20!〗
〖Success! Forge Slot refreshed!〗
"Wow. I guess it was all worth it," Luke said as he looked through all the notifications.
He checked the time and realized it was already many minutes into school hours. According to his schedule, he had Hunter Grammar and Tether Physics today.
He could afford to miss the first class, but Tether Physics was too important to skip.
Luke quickly got dressed and grabbed his things. He didn’t forget the parcel for Lucy Blackstone either.
Soon, Luke was out of the fortress and back in the academy’s halls. Vrrzz... Vrzzz...
While he was walking, the merit token attached to his chest vibrated. Luke looked at it and studied the runes glowing on its surface.
The first vibration confirmed that his Combat Bracket swap had gone through. The second one meant his daily supplies had arrived. The third one was for Ryan’s supplies.
Luke grinned. Double the rations, double the fun.
He opened the door to Class B and arrived just in time before class started. For once, the spotlight wasn’t on him. Everyone was too busy watching a different drama.
A Rubverton student was standing in front of a Montclair student, pointing at his skull.
There was only one reason someone would do that: A challenge.
With the Trials getting closer, everyone was becoming desperate. It was open season now. Everyone wanted to take points from someone else and secure their own position before the real competition began. And if you were weak? You were just a stepping stone for someone stronger.
Luke saw Scarlett sitting by the window, reading a textbook. That wasn’t her seat. She had intimidated the boy next to her to swap.
Luke waved at her, and she waved back. She watched him walk down the aisle toward his seat. Only then did everyone start paying attention to him.
Ryan Razael’s seat was empty. Luke tried to pretend he didn’t notice.
"Are you happy now, Kingsley?"
"Who gave you the right to take Ryan’s daily supplies?"
Some Rubverton students started defending their missing friend, pointing their fists at Luke.
"Look at him acting like he didn’t just ruin someone else’s term."
"Seriously, what is a beastless guy even going to do with all those rations?"
Luke ignored them.
They had plenty to say when they were together in a crowd. If even one of them had half the confidence they were shouting with, they would have already challenged him.
But they didn’t.
They just kept barking from a safe distance.
Luke stopped by Lucy Blackstone’s desk with the parcel in hand. Unlike Scarlett, Lucy was checked out, listening to music through her headphones while playing with a Prism-shell Snail, most likely a tertiary beast. She didn’t notice Luke coming, which explained why she jumped when his hand suddenly reached out.
"Hello, Lucy," Luke said, offering a handshake.
Lucy accepted it nervously. Her skin was ice-cold and pale as yeti fur. Around them, the rest of the class held their breath.
"My name is Luke. You are Lucretia, right? Daughter of Loki Blackstone?"
"Y-Yes," Lucy stammered, though her violet eyes had already given her away.
"Great," Luke said as he handed her the parcel. "I was told to give this to you."
Lucy took the parcel but looked at it like she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Even she didn’t know what was inside.
Getting random packages wasn’t anything strange for Lucy. Guys sent her gifts and love letters all the time. But after seeing Luke with her father earlier, she knew this must be authentic.
Lucy couldn’t help but wonder if her father’s dream of marrying her to a Kingsley was still alive and well. Why else would he have Luke be the deliveryman?
Nonetheless, she was grateful for his help.
"Thank you, Luke," she whispered before bowing.
Luke bowed too and walked back to his seat. He didn’t look at the two harlots beside him because he wanted them to know he didn’t have their time.
Soon, the instructor, Professor Mary, arrived. She started the lecture with an interesting question.
"Can anyone tell me why summoners need to learn the physics of Tether?"
A student in the second row raised his hand.
"Because if you don’t understand the mechanisms and interactions between a summoner and their beast, then you don’t really understand the foundation of summoning—or how far it can go."
"Precise answer!" Professor Mary praised.
"You can know everything about your own biology and your beast’s biology, but without understanding the physics behind it, your knowledge is incomplete. During this term, you will take two physics courses: Aeon Physics and Tether Physics. I’ll be teaching the second one.
Throughout this week, we’ll cover Tether Tension, Load, Multi-Interference, Resonance, Severance, and Recovery. But today, we’ll start with Tension."
Professor Mary picked up a marker and drew a human figure on the left side of the board. On the right, she drew a four-legged animal. Then she connected them with a line.
Under the line, she wrote n, representing the distance between the two subjects. Above it, she wrote t, representing the tension active.
"A Tether isn’t equally strong at every point, for every person, or at every moment," Professor Mary explained, tapping the board. "So, what determines its strength? There are a few important factors: your stamina, your Aeon reserve, your mental focus, and your physical distance from your summon.
But there is one parameter the Tether is completely independent of. Who can tell me what it is?"
The classroom became silent.
Professor Mary looked surprised that nobody knew the answer. Before she could give it herself, Scarlett raised her hand.
"Contract quality," she answered.
"Fantastic answer, Miss Scarlett! Contract quality! Whether your beast is your closest partner or a rebel, it does not affect the strength of your Tether.
I’ll give you an assignment to research exactly how each of these factors affects the Tether. Now, let’s move on to Tether Load and Severance. This will explain why it can sometimes be so difficult to maintain a summon’s presence—and why they can disappear without your permission."
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