Novel Full Chapter 200 | Because Lukas Is Here
Chapter 200: 200 | Because Lukas Is Here
I ignored the system for now. Making my teacher a rival before meeting her is not smart at all. I’ll decide after this meeting at 2pm.
"Because some of us did basic research about our instructors instead of assuming we’d figure it out as we went along," Camille’s voice carried the edge of someone who considered preparation a moral imperative.
"Research is cheating."
"Research is survival."
Eden grinned at her with the kind of enthusiasm that suggested he enjoyed being told he was wrong by attractive women with strong opinions. "Fair point. What else should I know?"
"That you’re going to get your ass kicked if you show up unprepared," Vivienne said without looking up from what appeared to be a fashion magazine. Her voice was crisp, professional, and delivered with the casual authority of someone who’d spent years in environments where performance mattered more than effort. "Steele doesn’t grade on curves. She doesn’t give participation points. She evaluates capability and eliminates weaknesses."
"Eliminates how?"
"By making them expensive to maintain." Rook spoke from where he’d been silent in the corner, his voice carrying the flat affect of someone who’d processed the institutional dynamics and reached conclusions he wasn’t sharing. "Academy instructors have broad discretionary authority over student evaluation metrics. Underperformance can result in remedial programs, extended training requirements, or program dismissal."
The room went quiet for approximately three seconds while everyone processed the implications.
"Program dismissal meaning they kick us out?" Eden’s enthusiasm had shifted to something more serious.
"Program dismissal meaning your Hero career ends before it starts," Sloane’s voice came from the entrance as she stepped through the door like she owned the building. Her pink hair was still slightly messed from sleep, and she wore a Halloran Academy t-shirt that fit her in ways the designers probably hadn’t intended. "Advanced Track students don’t get second chances at different schools. You wash out of Halloran, you find a different career."
Every conversation in the room stopped.
Sloane Fitzgerald commanded attention the way gravity commanded objects. Not through effort or performance, but as a fundamental property of her existence. She moved through the space with the confidence of someone who’d never encountered a situation she couldn’t handle through superior firepower and strategic aggression.
"Morning, princess," Caden called out with the casual friendliness of someone who either didn’t recognize the social hierarchy or had decided it didn’t apply to him. "Come to check on the common folk?"
"Come to see if any of you are worth worrying about." She settled onto the arm of the couch next to where Petra was sitting, apparently unbothered by the fact that she was wearing pajamas in a room full of people she’d never met. "Jury’s still out."
The interaction between Sloane and Petra was interesting. Both were recommendation track students. Both carried themselves with the confidence of people who’d never been told they weren’t good enough. But Petra’s authority came from wealth and institutional connections, while Sloane’s came from raw capability and the kind of presence that made people step aside without being asked.
"You’re Advanced Track," Rina observed from her corner, her quiet voice somehow carrying across the room despite the competition from multiple conversations. "Why are you here?"
"Because Lukas is here." Sloane’s eyes found mine across the room with the precision of a targeting system. "And because I wanted to see who he’d be spending time with."
The temperature in the room seemed to rise by several degrees. Sloane’s Aspect was apparently responding to her emotional state, creating ambient heat that made everyone suddenly aware they were in a confined space with someone whose power output could probably level the building.
〘 Sloane Fitzgerald’s proximity detected. Demigod trait bonus activated. All physical attributes increased by 5%. 〙
The boost was minor but noticeable. Reactions felt sharper, balance more stable, awareness more acute. Combined with the base multiplicative bonus, I was now operating at roughly one hundred and five across all physical stats.
"Oh." Felicity’s voice carried a note of understanding that suggested she’d connected several dots simultaneously. "You’re the girlfriend."
"I’m something." Sloane’s smile was sharp enough to cut glass. "What I am specifically depends on who’s asking and why they want to know."
The social dynamics in the room had shifted completely. What started as casual morning conversation had become something that felt like territorial assessment. Twenty powerful teenagers sizing each other up while maintaining the pretense of civilized interaction.
Camille was watching Sloane with the focused attention of someone evaluating a potential competitor. Petra appeared to be conducting her own analysis, though her expression suggested she was filing Sloane away under ’interesting but not immediately relevant.’ Nyx had abandoned any pretense of not staring, her analytical mind clearly working to process how Sloane fit into whatever models she’d constructed about social hierarchies and power structures.
Maribelle looked like she was enjoying the tension. Eden appeared confused but interested. Theo seemed to be calculating whether the room was large enough to contain whatever was building between the various alpha personalities currently occupying it.
And Felicity was looking back and forth between Sloane and me with the expression of someone who’d just realized she might have accidentally stepped into the middle of something significantly more complicated than she’d anticipated.
"So." Sloane’s voice cut through the various side conversations that had started up as people tried to pretend they weren’t all listening to every word. "Field Epsilon at two o’clock. Anyone know what you’re walking into?"
"Combat assessment," Lukas answered from where he’d been reading over Percy’s shoulder. His voice carried the confidence of someone who’d done actual research instead of speculation. "Standard protocol for Class 1-B orientation involves individual Aspect demonstrations, basic capability evaluation, and preliminary combat group assignments."
"Meaning Steele wants to see what we can do before she decides how much of our time she’s going to waste on remedial training," Vivienne added, finally looking up from her magazine. "Smart. Efficient. Exactly what I’d expect from someone with her record."
"Combat assessment on day one seems aggressive," Rina’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the concern in it was obvious to everyone in the room.
"Combat assessment is the point," Sloane’s response was matter-of-fact, delivered with the casual certainty of someone who’d never considered combat assessments something to be concerned about. "We’re training to be Heroes. Heroes fight things. Steele needs to know whether we can fight things without getting ourselves or our teammates killed."
"Some of us are better at support roles," Rina tried again, her tail curling around her leg in the way it did when she was anxious.
"Some of you need to get better at combat roles." Sloane’s tone wasn’t cruel, but it wasn’t particularly gentle either. "Support Heroes still fight. They just fight differently."