The rest of the time leading up to the exam flitted by, but not in the way Noah had expected. Every single night, the vision of the Hellreaver’s eye ripped Noah from his sleep. He wasn’t one that felt he needed a lot of sleep, but it was starting to get to him. Sometimes, when he looked into the vision of the eye, he could actually feel the Hellreaver’s amusement radiating out of it.

By the time he got the vision pushed away and could breathe properly again, his heart was thudding and adrenaline coursed in his veins. It was starting to escalate far more than just an annoyance. The hatred Noah had for the monster grew with every night, but there was nothing he could do about it – yet.

Unfortunately, the Hellreaver wasn’t content with simply striking at night, and Noah found out exactly how petty the monster could be while he trained with his students in the Scorched Acres.

The first vision struck Noah during the day, while he was demonstrating some ways to dodge Slasher attacks. The eye ripped out of the darkness in the forest with such force that Noah nearly yelped in surprise. His momentary hesitation nearly got him cut in half, but he managed to throw himself to the side and shatter the vision.

Noah dispatched the Slasher immediately with a spike of ash, then spent the next several minutes telling Isabel and Todd that there was nothing to worry about and he’d just tripped on a protruding root.

Neither of his students had seen the eye, nor did they seem to be affected by it in any way. That confirmed the Hellreaver was targeting Noah specifically. And, throughout the rest of their training, it continued to periodically try to catch Noah off guard whenever he was demonstrating anything.

It made everything considerably harder and Noah nearly got killed a multitude of times, only managing to survive by his honed instincts against Slashers.

Luckily, unlike him, his students were making fantastic progress. Every meeting, both of them improved by leaps and bounds. They’d gotten used to the Slashers’ moves, just like Noah had – although it had taken them considerably longer. He didn’t blame them. Death was a very good motivator.

Noah also spent some gold on buying a collection of considerably less expensive clothes that he could go through while he was training. He wasn’t sure how the thought hadn’t struck him before, but buying some plain suits was less than half the price of a proper outfit and worked just as well while he was in the forest.

Several days before the exam, both Todd and Isabel were capable of handling Slashers entirely on their own – and Noah was so weary and worn down by the Hellreaver that he was a step away from stalking over to it that very day to kill the monster or die trying. Most likely, the latter.

Even with the Hellreaver’s constant interference, Noah was pleased with both of his students. Part of him had been worried that Isabel’s performance was going to suffer because of the threat of losing to Edward, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. If anything, she threw herself at the Slashers with even more gusto, pressing to push herself to her limits.

Todd kept pace with her, his superior range giving him a large advantage against the Slashers. Even though he couldn’t kill the monsters in a single blow, he was ending many of the fights before they even started.

And, most important of all, Noah no longer had to step in at all. In the end, the most important thing was that they survived the exam, and Noah was now certain that they’d have absolutely no difficulties doing so.

He’d yet to see a single other professor or student practicing in the Scorched Acres, which confused him to no end, but he wasn’t about to question it. Noah had come to enjoy their relative privacy within the blackened trees and had no desire to share it with anyone else.

While Noah replaced one more of his Lesser Wind Runes with a Greater Vibration Rune as well.

All the monsters they’d killed had filled all his Wind and Ash Runes, and his lone Vibration Rune was rapidly growing close to full as well. Replacing one of the Lesser Wind Runes didn’t do much to reduce his strength, but it made sure that he didn’t waste any power from killing monsters – and he wasn’t entirely sure what would happen if he filled all his Runes.

Nobody had said that they’d combine the moment they were all full, but Noah wasn’t willing to risk it, even with the powers of Sunder. He hadn’t tried touching it since his first attempt, but the last thing he wanted was to find out he still couldn’t use its powers and end up with a worthless combination. Thus, he focused on practicing his magic and terrorizing the monkeys of the forest. If they had any sort of local legends, Noah suspected his face now belonged to the bogeyman that the monkeys used as a threat against misbehaving children.

Before long, the day of the exam was upon them. He slept poorly that night as well, visions of the Hellreaver’s eye ripping him awake twice. When the morning finally came, he was grateful.

But, to Noah’s surprise, before he could leave his room, there was a sharp knock at his door. He glanced over his shoulder at it, still midway through pulling his coat on, and frowned.

Noah tugged at his pants, adjusting his belt and awkwardly shuffling over to the door while throwing the rest of his outfit on. By the time he reached it, he’d managed to weasel his way into everything and was trying to tame the unruly mess that was his hair.

“Who is it?” Noah asked, shifting a few papers into the doorway with his foot as he grabbed the door handle.

Hey, the paper trap worked once already. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“How many people actually speak with you?” Moxie’s voice came from the other side.

Noah blinked. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, nudging the papers away. Moxie raised an eyebrow, following the motion.

“What do I owe the pleasure?” Noah asked, throwing a glance out the window to make sure he hadn’t somehow slept too late. The sun had yet to even rise over the campus, and it was still dark out.

Moxie stepped past Noah, practically shoving him out of the way as she entered his room. Noah went to call on his Ash magic, then realized he didn’t actually have any Ash to work with and summoned Vibration instead.

“What are you doing here?” Noah asked, closing the door with his foot. If Moxie was about to attack him, he preferred not to have any witnesses. It would make things a lot more difficult to explain.

Moxie leaned against Noah’s bed and let her eyes roam over the room. Her scowl deepened.

“What magic is it that you’ve got readied, Vermil?”

“Why do you ask?” Noah countered. “It would be hypocritical of me to complain about you showing up at my room, but I don’t recall quizzing you on what you were doing in your spare time.”

Moxie grunted. “Sure. Just on everything else.”

“If I recall correctly, we had a deal. Also, while you're here, how'd you know that Allen and Edward would show up at the transport cannon?”

“I keep tabs on Allen for my own reasons. When I found out he was going after you, I thought I'd have some fun and tag along. And we did have a deal,” Moxie agreed. “Yet one of the many things I’ve never seen you do since before about a month ago. Before then, you would have just tried to demand what you wanted. Granted, even you weren’t stupid enough to try and demand things from me after the first time you tried that shit, but this is something else.”

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” Noah said, giving her an awkward smile and rubbing the back of his head – taking absolute care to make sure not a speck of his actual thoughts came through the carefully crafted mask on his face.

“Cut the crap, Vermil. I’ll list it out if you’re going to make me. After years of stagnation, your magic grows strong enough for you to break a Rank 2 Shield. You’re speaking to others with respect and some actual intelligence rather than being a greasy slimeball. You started showing up to your classes. Your students actually respect you – and you’re putting your own comfort at risk to protect them.”

“I told you that I had a head injury. Those can change a man, you know. Completely twist his personality.”

“Change, sure. But you aren’t changed,” Moxie said, narrowing her eyes. “You aren’t Vermil at all.”

Noah burst into laughter. “Oh, man. If I’m not Vermil, then who am I?”

“You know what?” Moxie rose to her feet. Noah’s laughter stopped and he readied himself to dive out of the way of a spell. Moxie caught the change in his posture and cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t care.”

“I’m sorry?” Noah asked. “You can’t just accuse–”

Moxie blurred. She slammed into Noah, pinning him against the wall. He instantly released the Vibration magic into her, but a bright green sheen flared around her body and his magic dissipated into it.

“And so decisive. You actually tried to use that spell on me. Vermil never would have had the balls to do that. Vermil also would have remembered that I’m a Rank 3. I beat that into him.”

“I–”

“Stop. I’m not an idiot. I’ll be honest, I doubt many others would notice your change – Vermil did a great job of alienating just about everyone, but I had the misfortune to be the instructor that was charged with showing him the ropes around Arbitage.”

Noah gave her a wide-eyed, dumb look. A blade of wind swirled around his hand and Moxie shifted her stance. Then he sent a violent pulse of Vibration magic into the floor beneath Moxie’s feet and flicked the Wind magic, sending it over Moxie’s shoulder. The ground bucked and her grip on Noah lessened for an instant while Moxie tried to catch her balance.

That was all he needed. Noah shifted his weight and drove his fist into Moxie’s stomach. He thrust his shoulder into her collarbone and slammed her to the ground. The air burst from her lungs in a grunt and Noah pressed his knee against her chest.

A vine whipped past Noah, coiling around his neck in a split second and he froze. They stared at each other.

“Mutual loss,” Noah grunted.

“Catching me by surprise doesn’t break my Shield. You can’t hurt me with your magic, but one squeeze and I have you begging for your life. That’s your loss, not mine.”

Noah cocked an eyebrow. Moxie’s eyes flicked to the side, where his sword floated in the air pointed in her direction, held by the Wind he’d thrown past her.

“I didn’t know if your vines wouldn’t reflexively tighten if I killed you,” Noah said through clenched teeth. “I don’t think you were ready for the sword. I’d call that a tie.”

“You were going to stab me?”

“Why do you all sound so surprised at that? How is that any worse than using magic?”

“It’s so – oh, nevermind,” Moxie snapped. To Noah’s surprise, the vine uncoiled from around his neck and slithered back into her clothes. “I told you. I don’t care what you did to Vermil.”

“Attacking me is an odd way to make your point.”

Moxie pressed her lips together and turned her hands palm up. “If I had seriously attacked you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. That was just to force your hand.”

“Well, you forced it. Care to share why?”

Moxie shifted uncomfortably. “Get off me. Then we’ll talk.”

“No, I don’t think so. Even if your Shield can block magic, I’ve seen them break. I don’t trust you, but you can’t dodge my sword and deal with my magic at the same time. If you’re standing, that isn’t the case. Thus, I’m not moving.”

Moxie’s eyes narrowed in anger. Then she sighed.

“Fine. I–”

Vines erupted from behind Moxie, launching her up and into Noah’s chest. She grabbed onto him, locking her arms around his before he could react. The vines swarmed around them, opening behind her like a blooming flower before slithering away.

Moxie released Noah and took a step back, raising her hands.

“Happy? If I were trying to kill you, you would have been dead.”

Noah rubbed his arms and studied her for a moment. Then he flicked his hand, allowing his flying sword to lower back to the ground.

I don’t have any good way to fight her. She’s right. Despite everything I told Todd and Isabel, that Shield is really annoying. Is there really that much of a difference between Rank 1 and 3?

“Happy isn’t the right word, but I’ll settle. What do you want?”

Moxie dropped her hands and sat back on Noah’s bed as if nothing had happened and ran a hand through her hair. “Can you just confirm it? For my own sanity?”

“Confirm what?”

Moxie looked up at him. “Just… stop. We both know you’re lying, and it’s not going anywhere. You’ve all but said it already, and I’ve told you that I don’t care about what happened to Vermil.”

“Then why do you need me to confirm anything?”

“Just… please.”

Noah drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wasn’t sure what Moxie’s angle was, but he’d never seen her look that sincere – although he hadn’t exactly known her for very long.

“How about you tell me why you came here,” Noah said, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.

Moxie grimaced. “Because I looked into your students yesterday, after you spoke with Edward and Allen. Maybe I’m just sappy, but you showed so much faith in them that I almost believed that you could actually win that bet.”

“Almost, huh? How kind of you.”

“Don’t get caught on words,” Moxie said irritably. “I was wondering what students would have been unlucky enough to get assigned to you – or Vermil, rather. So as I said, I looked into it.”

“And?”

“Isabel has no last name.”

Noah stared at Moxie. She’d said that as if it were supposed to mean something to him.

“…okay.”

“You have no idea what that means.”

“Let’s pretend I don’t.”

“Her family was blacklisted by the noble houses. All of them. And, when I tried to find out why, there was absolutely no evidence. That means someone covered it up. Do you realize how serious that is? Only a very, very powerful person would have the pull to do that. Isabel was assigned to you because she’s meant to fail.”

“Don’t care,” Noah replied flatly. “Is that all you came here to tell me? I’m going to teach my students no matter who they are.”

“I came here to warn you that there’s no way Isabel will be allowed to pass this exam, idiot,” Moxie snapped. “Are you too stupid to realize that, the moment it looks like she might succeed, she’ll be sabotaged?”

Noah snorted. “Right. You think I didn’t think of that already?”

“What?” Moxie asked, blinking.

“We’re dealing with a bunch of powerful assholes. Of course they’re going to get pissy if things don’t go their way. I’ve already taken steps to ensure Isabel’s exam isn’t tampered with.”

Moxie stared at Noah. “You knew about her background?”

Well, I mostly got worried because I thought Edward was an asshole. I didn’t realize that blacklisted thing was this big of a deal. All’s well that ends well, though.

Noah just shrugged.

“And you really think you can stop what they’ve got prepared?”

“How much would they prepare? She’s a Rank 1.”

“So are you,” Moxie pointed out.

“Good. They’ll underestimate us. Is that all you came here to tell me?”

Moxie inclined her head.

“Then thank you,” Noah said. Moxie glanced up at him in surprise. “I might have had an idea already, but I appreciate you caring enough to warn me. Especially when you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” Moxie said, pushing away from the bed. “You aren’t Vermil. Come on. The constant questions about completely obvious things. The complete lack of knowledge on topics that even a child would have known – there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you aren’t Vermil. Just let me hear you confirm it. If you really aren’t him, I have no reason to hate you. Maybe I can even help you.”

Noah studied her face closely for several seconds. Even though it had been thousands of years ago, he’d always prided himself on his ability to tell when a parent or student was trying to bullshit him. He was certain of two things. First, Moxie was sincere. And second, she really hated Vermil.

“Let me tell you something,” Noah said. “Picture a ship for me.”

Moxie frowned. “What?”

“Just play along.”

“Fine. I’m thinking of a ship.”

“Now imagine that ship goes out on an adventure. Its crew fights some pirates. There’s a storm. The navigator is drunk and they sail into a rock. Piece by piece, they have to repair parts of that ship and replace old, damaged wood with new planks.”

“Okay?” Moxie asked, squinting at him. “I don’t see how this matters in the slightest.”

“Over the course of many years, this keeps happening,” Noah continued, ignoring Moxie’s complaint. “The sails are torn and swapped out. The wheel falls apart and so on – until, one day, every single part of that ship has been replaced. And, finally, that ship sails back into port. Is it still the same ship?”

“Of course it–” Moxie’s sentence died before it could pass through her lips. Her brow furrowed and she tilted her head to the side. “I’m not sure. It’s got the same name.”

“So it does. But is it the same ship?”

Moxie studied Noah. A smile slowly started to stretch across her lips. “No. I don’t think it is.”

“That’s something many people debate. But I think I have to agree with you,” Noah said. “It shares the same name, but it has been changed, utterly and thoroughly.”

Moxie didn’t respond for several moments. “I’ve got some questions about the ship. Just to make sure I actually understand the lesson you’re sharing here. I think my student would enjoy it.”

“Go ahead,” Noah said with a wry smile.

“What if the old parts of the ship were all saved? Sure, they were damaged, but couldn’t they be put together and remade into that very same ship that originally left the port?”

“That’s an interesting question,” Noah allowed. “I think that it would be the same ship, yes. However, finding those pieces would be quite impossible. They were all destroyed, after all.”

Moxie let a small smile pass over her features. “That’s a very interesting story, Vermil. Thank you for sharing it with me. I’ve never seen you in such a light, but I’m glad for your students. You aren’t the ship you once were.”

“I have decided to always seek the light of self-improvement. It’s been an arduous journey, but I do my best.”

Moxie smirked. “Maybe it’s time that you finally repaired that reputation of yours. Especially since it belongs to the old ship, not the new one. If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to hear more of your newfound wisdom – you aren’t the man I once knew.”

“I might be willing to exchange information. It won’t be cheap, though.”

“I guessed as much, but I’m much more willing to give a deal to you than–”

A knock on the door interrupted Moxie. Noah frowned. Nobody ever swung by his room, and now there were two people in less than an hour. He grabbed his sword and held it behind his back, walking up to the door and opening it before Moxie could speak.

Richard’s bored gaze met Noah’s eyes. The healer looked every bit as disgruntled and annoyed to see him as he had the first time Noah had arrived to Arbitage.

“I’m here to collect you for today’s exam,” Richard drawled. He opened his mouth to say something else, then trailed off as he looked past Noah and into his room – where Moxie stood beside his bed, her clothes badly ruffled from their fight.

“I’m over here,” Noah said curtly.

Richard choked, then cleared his throat, disbelief clouding his eyes. “I – uh, right. Report to the transport cannon within the hour.”

“Sounds good,” Noah said. “Anything else?”

Richard tore his eyes away from Moxie and swallowed. “No.”

Noah shut the door in his face.

“Whoops,” Noah said, turning back to Moxie. “I don’t suppose he knows how to keep his mouth shut?”

Moxie let out a groan. “He’s the biggest loudmouth on campus.”

“Ah, lovely. Well, at least I won’t be fixing my reputation too much.”