Chapter 39: Bloodworm
Shani opened her smartwatch and checked her latest chat with Damon.
"Headmaster regrets your decision to refuse the Beast Energy Elixir. But in the end, he agreed to give it to Leah Benett instead, and he also asked me to thank you."
"Headmaster has already met with Leah Benett. She drank the elixir, and she’ll be returning for this afternoon’s class."
"One thing, kid. This isn’t your fault. You don’t need to feel responsible at all. Besides, the royal family has already compensated the Benetts. Do you think that family would stay quiet if they hadn’t received anything?"
"And since Leah only lost around a hundred points of beast energy, the elixir will actually increase her energy instead. There won’t be any more problems, so don’t worry."
According to Damon’s messages, Leah had actually come out ahead because of the incident.
So why didn’t what Leah said earlier match that?
Shani had a feeling another round of drama was coming.
...
After a short resonance session, Shani headed to her next elective class, Beast Food Cultivation.
Since, Kiran and Jeryon hadn’t chosen this class, they parted ways.
Inside the class, there were far fewer students than Shani had expected. Only seven.
Kiran had told her that this class was basically about becoming a farmer or breeder who specialized in growing ingredients for baby beast food.
For Grand Academy students, who mostly came from respectable families, it was considered a lowly class.
Shani had no intention of judging them. After all, she’d chosen it herself to save money on feeding her baby beast.
"Alright, welcome to class. Don’t regret signing up for this course. If you do regret it... just live with it." The long-haired male instructor smirked, clearly aware of his class’s reputation.
Before he could continue, the classroom door suddenly swung open.
A female student stood there, panting heavily as though she’d run all the way here.
"I’m sorry, Instructor. I’m really sorry for being late on the very first day." Her apology sounded gentle and completely sincere.
"Take your seat." The instructor simply pointed toward the classroom, not looking particularly bothered.
As the girl passed by to sit behind her, the scent of her perfume nearly made Shani throw up.
It was a familiar smell, and Shani struggled to keep a straight face, especially now that she had to listen to the pretentious voice of none other than Nora, Vivienne’s maid.
"Why are you late, Nora?" the male student sitting beside her asked.
"I had something to take care of."
Then she lowered her voice. "It wasn’t because of her."
The boy still heard that last sentence. He frowned. "Her? Were you late because of Vivienne?"
"No. It was my fault. I wanted to help her," Nora hurriedly replied, sounding slightly helpless.
Her answer immediately made the boy furious on her behalf.
"That’s too much. Just because she’s a Night Panther, she treats her mother’s cousin however she wants."
Forced to listen to the overly dramatic conversation behind her, Shani frowned.
Then a mocking smile appeared on her lips.
’Seriously? Nora told her classmates she’s Vivienne’s cousin on her mother’s side. Well... technically she is...’
’The daughter of Vivienne’s mother’s maid, to be exact.’
From her previous life, Shani knew Nora was an expert at putting on a kind face while lying through her teeth.
But she hadn’t expected Nora to tell lies this outrageous even at the academy.
Shani shook her head and focused on the instructor instead.
A 3D hologram of a bloodworm floated above the classroom.
"Bloodworms are one of the most nutritious ingredients used in beast food and have been successfully cultivated..."
"Although they look plumper and resemble leeches, bloodworms are actually segmented worms. They possess both male and female reproductive organs. However, they still require a partner to reproduce. They cannot fertilize their own eggs."
While the holographic image alone made the students shudder, especially the girls, Shani was certain they’d jump out of their seats if they saw the real thing.
Fortunately, she’d already seen live bloodworms during her previous elective, so she was getting used to them.
’Looks like my two electives are connected...’
Her thoughts were interrupted when the instructor’s assistant opened a large cabinet along the side of the classroom.
Inside were glass containers. Each one held live bloodworms.
The entire class gasped.
"Don’t get too excited, class!" The instructor chuckled, completely misunderstanding the situation. His students weren’t excited at all.
"You’ll each be getting one..." He flashed a broad smile.
Everyone immediately recognized it as an evil grin. This instructor clearly enjoyed tormenting his students.
"Your assignment for this semester is to breed bloodworms. Your grade will depend on how many of your bloodworms are still alive by the end of the semester. If none of your bloodworms survive, you automatically receive an F."
"Remember, class. An F can’t be erased unless you retake this course and improve your grade. Otherwise, it’ll stay on your academic record forever."
The students stared at the instructor in horror. Some even glared at him resentfully.
’He must’ve been cursed out by his own students all the time when he was younger. That’s probably why he turned out like this,’ Shani thought, shaking her head.
The assistant distributed a glass container to each student. Everyone received one box containing two bloodworms.
Each container had a temperature display, a fingerprint lock, and the name of the student responsible for it.
Shani observed the two wriggling creatures inside.
The other students leaned in as well and realized the real bloodworms weren’t nearly as horrifying as the hologram had made them seem.
The instructor then explained what the worms ate, their feeding schedule, and everything the students needed to pay attention to while raising them.
Several hours later, class ended. By then, the students no longer shuddered quite as much whenever they looked at their bloodworms.
Shani walked out of class, leaving her bloodworms behind. If students wanted to feed or check on their worms, they had to return to the classroom themselves.
...