Chapter 31: Fever
By the next morning, news of Jeryon and Shani successfully resonating had spread to nearly every student in Feline Tower.
The rumor quickly reached the upperclassmen in the other buildings, especially after word got out that Lara Benett and Rosaline Larrlyng had appeared at the Panther Building cafeteria the day before.
As a result, the two fifth-year students, who happened to be classmates, became the center of attention.
Rosaline remained calm, as though she had nothing to do with the incident.
Lara, on the other hand, clenched her fists tightly. "I won’t let them keep fooling everyone," she muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile, the first-year students were on the sixth floor of Panther Building, attending the theory class for Essence Combat.
Standing before them, a blond instructor began his lecture. "Combat class isn’t just about fighting on the battlefield. Don’t underestimate the theory lessons."
He looked across the bored faces of his students.
Combat classes were divided into two sessions: theory in the morning and practical training in the afternoon.
They were treated as separate classes, each with its own exams and grades.
The instructor continued.
"You need to understand the theory so you’ll know how to fight properly. For beastmen, combat styles differ depending on their stage of beastification."
"There are three stages of beastification. The first is the Non-Beast stage, which is the state we’re all in right now. Every beastman is born in this stage."
"The second is the Half-Beast stage, where a beastman can manifest beast traits such as ears, tails, wings, or claws. Each trait offers different advantages in battle. To reach this stage, a beastman must be at least D-Rank."
"The final stage is the Full-Beast stage. As the name suggests, beastmen at this stage can completely transform into their beast form. Naturally, their strength increases many times over. However, reaching Full-Beast requires at least a B-Rank."
"Those rank requirements are only the minimum. Before you can reach either the Half-Beast or Full-Beast stage, your baby beast must first convert your beast energy into beast essence."
Sitting near the middle of the classroom by the aisle, Shani nodded in understanding.
’So even though Jeryon is A-Rank—No, he is SS-Rank now. Even with a rank that high, if his baby beast hasn’t converted all of his beast energy into beast essence, he’ll still remain in the first stage, Non-Beast.’
’At most, he’d just have greater stamina and physical durability than lower-ranked Non-Beasts.’
Shani actually enjoyed theory classes more than practical ones. Partly because her F-Rank body was too weak for intense training.
But also because theory classes revealed things she couldn’t easily learn through practice. There was always something new to discover.
Today’s class held another surprise as well. The instructor was someone she recognized. Damon Cross.
’Didn’t he say he taught second-year students? Or do first and second years share the same instructors?’ Shani wondered.
Lost in thought, she heard a heavy breath coming from the person beside her.
Turning her head, she found Jeryon struggling just to sit upright.
He had rested his head on the desk and was supporting it with one hand while trying to keep his eyes on the front of the classroom.
Looking more closely, Shani noticed that although his face was flushed, his lips had turned pale.
’Is yesterday’s energy potion still affecting him?’
She recalled another side effect of the healing process for Conscious Abyss Syndrome.
’If it lasts too long... it can develop into a fever.’
Without a word, Shani placed the back of her hand against Jeryon’s forehead.
It felt like touching a burning stove. She immediately pulled her hand back.
At the same time, Jeryon straightened up in surprise, startled by her sudden touch.
"Your fever’s really high. You need to go back and rest," Shani whispered, leaning closer so only he could hear.
Jeryon had felt a headache and body aches since the previous night, but he hadn’t thought much of it.
He had experienced this after every failed resonance with his previous partners.
By the next morning, he would always recover on his own. He hadn’t expected it to be this severe this time.
"I’ll... wait until class is over," Jeryon muttered, his words already beginning to slur.
Shani could tell how serious his condition was. Ignoring his objection, she raised her hand.
Damon immediately stopped his lecture and waited for her to speak.
Shani stepped past Jeryon, who was seated at the very end of the row, and walked down the steps toward the front.
She quietly explained Jeryon’s condition to Damon, keeping her voice low enough that only the students in the front row could hear.
Damon nodded in understanding. "You have my permission."
Shani hurried back to her seat and helped Jeryon to his feet.
"Hey, here’s some fever medicine. I get fevers easily during my period, so I always carry some with me." Kiran held out a single tablet to Shani.
Shani accepted it before supporting Jeryon as they slowly left the classroom. Although he could still walk, he leaned heavily against her.
Their departure immediately sparked whispers throughout the room.
"He’s sick? Did his curse finally backfire on him?"
"Serves him right for draining all his partners’ beast energy."
"That’s punishment from the Beast God."
"Or maybe he took some forbidden elixir just to force the resonance, and now it’s backfired."
The classroom quickly descended into noisy speculation.
"Enough!" Damon’s voice boomed through the room, instantly silencing everyone. "Do you know what kind of beastmen die first when fighting wild creatures?"
The room fell silent. No one answered. Every eye turned toward Damon.
"The ones who think they’re better than everyone else. The ones who jump to baseless conclusions instead of asking about the things they don’t understand."
"Outside the protective walls, beastmen survive by working together and trusting one another."
"But how can any of you do that if something that could be settled with a simple conversation becomes nothing more than groundless rumors?"
Damon wasn’t shouting. Yet every word he spoke carried unmistakable authority.
...