Chapter 5 This Time I Was Not Afraid

Evelyn's POV

Looking at their shocked expressions, I explained.

"You say he burned down the training grounds - did you see it with your own eyes? You say he seriously injured a student who provoked him - do you know what that student did to make him fight back?"

The three girls were speechless.

"Let me tell you something. Yesterday at the training grounds, three guys from Lycan Clan cornered him alone, and he didn't fight back, not even once. Do you think a real 'psycho' wouldn't fight back when cornered by three people?"

The Lycan Clan girl's expression changed.

"You hate him not because he's bad, but because he's too strong - so strong that he scares you. So you use words like 'bad omen' to comfort yourselves - 'it's not that I'm weak, it's that he's the problem.'"

I paused, watching their expressions shift from contempt to discomfort.

"I've seen this trick plenty of times. Growing up without my parents around, I've been gossiped about more times than I can count. You think a few words can destroy someone's reputation, but what really gets destroyed is your own character."

I turned and walked away.

Kane was still standing there, those deep golden eyes watching me, but the look in them remained distant.

"Let's go, we're going to be late."

After we'd walked a dozen steps, he spoke: "Aren't you afraid of being isolated?"

"Afraid of what? I've been alone my whole life, I'm used to it." I glanced at him. "Besides, I'm not alone anymore."

Kane turned his face away, and I couldn't see his expression.

But that was okay. I was happy - this time, I had defended my friend without hesitation.

At the classroom door, Emma was leaning against the wall waiting for me. When she saw Kane, her expression instantly turned cold.

"Evelyn, I need to talk to you." She pulled me into a corner of the hallway. "What are you thinking? Did you not listen to anything I said yesterday?"

"I listened."

"Then why are you still hanging around with him?"

"Because he needs a friend."

"Needs a friend?"

Emma let out a cold laugh.

"Do you know who he is? Do you know what he's done?"

"I don't know. But what I do know is that those things have nothing to do with him. He's just a student isolated by everyone, just like I used to be."

Emma looked at me, something complicated flashing in her eyes:

"If you do this, you'll be rejected by everyone else. Not just him - you'll be treated as an outcast too."

"So what? If I don't be friends with someone because I'm afraid of what others think, then how am I any different from the people bullying him?"

Emma stared at me for several seconds, then swore:

"You're fucking crazy. Fine, do whatever you want, but don't expect me to speak up for you. I don't want those people targeting me."

Her tone was harsh when she said this, but I saw a hint of softening in her eyes.

The bell rang.

This class was Magical Creature Healing with Professor Mia Wilson.

She drew an anatomical diagram of a wolf on the blackboard:

"When a Lycan Clan shapeshifter is injured in beast form, how does wound treatment differ from treatment in human form?"

The classroom was quiet for a few seconds. I hesitated, then raised my hand.

"In beast form, Lycan Clan members have faster metabolism and healing abilities than in human form, so the primary goal of wound treatment isn't stopping bleeding, but preventing infection. Because in a high-metabolism state, bacteria also reproduce faster."

Professor Mia paused, then smiled:

"Very good. Are you a freshman? Have you studied animal care before?"

"I studied at a regular nursing school for a while."

"That explains it. If you're interested, you can take my advanced class, though that won't be until second semester."

I was in an inexplicably good mood when I left the classroom.

Not because of the praise, but because I'd finally found a direction.

A direction that connected my past and future.

When I returned to my Starflame Tower dorm, it was almost dark.

I pushed open my door and noticed more books on the shelf.

I randomly pulled out a book called "Rare Shapeshifter Species" and flipped to the table of contents.

Phoenix, ancient dragons, Steldeer, unicorns... But when I turned to the phoenix chapter, I froze.

That page had been torn out cleanly from the spine, leaving only a rough paper edge.

I checked several more books.

The chapter about Phoenix Clan in "Thornwick Academy's Century of History" was torn out.

The Phoenix Clan introduction in "Shapeshifter Power Genealogy" was blacked out.

Every mention of phoenixes was either torn out or covered so thoroughly the text was unreadable.

I gripped the pages, my fingertips turning white. Someone didn't want me to know about Phoenix Clan, about Kane.

I took out my phone and sent a message to "K":

[Has someone tampered with all the library materials about Phoenix Clan?]

Three seconds later, a reply came: [Starflame Tower, top floor.]

I didn't immediately go find Kane, just suddenly fell into thought.

Anyone with the power to tamper with the academy's library system would either be administration, or someone even higher than administration.

The motive would either be protecting secrets or covering up the truth.

But why specifically anything about phoenixes? Or did it involve something so significant that even just knowing about it would put you on a certain path?

The next morning, I was woken by my phone alarm.

I suddenly noticed an extra note on my schedule that I hadn't written: [18:30, Dinner, Location: East section of cafeteria, window seat.]

I suddenly remembered that yesterday when Kane and I ate in the cafeteria, I'd casually said "same time tomorrow?" and he'd nodded.

The magic system must have automatically added it to my schedule.

I was starting to find this a bit creepy.

This room, this academy's magic system - it wasn't just "adapting" to me, it was "predicting" me, maybe even "monitoring" me!

I sat on my bed and calmed myself down. Either way, it wasn't something I could deal with right now.

Today's class was Shapeshifter Energy 101.

When I got to the classroom, it wasn't Ambrose who walked in, but someone I'd never seen before.

He was tall and thin with a hooked nose, wearing a dark gray robe with a silver brooch pinned at the collar, engraved with a bird with spread wings - identical to the crest on my key.

"I'm Professor Klein Davis. Professor Johnson is off today, so I'm substituting."

He opened the roster.

"Evelyn. You're that 'late awakening' shapeshifter?"

"Yes."

Klein closed the roster and walked to the front of the podium:

"Shapeshifter awakening typically occurs between ages five and fifteen. Those who haven't awakened past fifteen either have bloodlines that are too weak, or have no shapeshifter bloodline at all."

He paused.

"Of course, there's one other possibility - the awakening was deliberately suppressed, but that's extremely rare."

As he said this, his eyes stayed fixed on me. Some people in the classroom started laughing quietly.

"Evelyn, can you tell me what you sense from your core energy right now?"

"I can sense it, but it's very weak."

"Weak." Klein's mouth twitched.

"Do you know what happened to shapeshifters in Thornwick Academy's history who didn't awaken until after eighteen? Nothing. They never awakened in the end, or if they did awaken, they couldn't transform - they became what we call 'Dud shapeshifters.'"

"Dud shapeshifter."

The term pierced my ears like a needle.

"Professor Davis, are you talking about me?"

"I'm simply stating facts. Thornwick Academy has a reason for admitting every student, but sometimes that reason doesn't necessarily come to fruition."

With that, he looked at me coldly.

"Being admitted doesn't mean you'll definitely graduate, and it certainly doesn't mean you'll definitely be able to transform."