Chapter 118: Club Affairs

Elias was utterly baffled. He didn’t even want to continue speaking to these two students and their baby beast, but as a professional, he could only take a deep breath to steady himself.

"In the Tower Competition, the baby beast division only consists of two events: the beauty show and the bond show. Your baby beast will be participating in the bond show," Elias explained, finally revealing why he had ordered them to bring Nyx.

Shani had already looked into the baby beast competitions herself, so the Bond Show wasn’t unfamiliar to her.

In that event, the baby beast was placed inside a maze or a designated area and tasked with finding its parents. The winner was whichever baby managed to locate its parents first.

"The event is called a bond show, but the bond between parents and baby beast isn’t actually the most crucial factor," Elias continued.

"What matters most is the intelligence and temperament of the baby beast itself."

"Year after year, the Feline Tower has failed to win because even our most intelligent baby beasts can’t match the cognitive abilities of the Primate Tower’s baby beasts."

"Your goal isn’t to take first place, that’s practically impossible. But you must at least make it into the top three."

Shani and Jeryon nodded automatically. Elias’s brows furrowed, and he scoffed.

"From what I can see, your baby beast is prone to throwing tantrums. This event is far better suited for beasts with milder temperaments. You two had better train it well."

Once again, Shani and Jeryon nodded in unison. Nyx let out a meow as well, though it clearly wasn’t a vocalization of agreement, but rather its signature meow of protest.

Despite Nyx’s protests, Elias proceeded to run it through a few quick tests while questioning Shani and Jeryon about its daily habits.

The clock already read past eight when Elias finally dismissed Shani, Jeryon, and Nyx.

Shani had spent far longer in Elias’s office than she had anticipated.

Considering the late hour, she doubted she would be able to head back to the apartment to continue her resonance session, especially since she had yet to request permission from her new head instructor.

The instructor offices were located in the Lion Building. Carrying Nyx in her arms, Shani walked out of the Tiger Building alongside Jeryon.

"You can go ahead without me. I need to report to my new head instructor first," Shani told Jeryon.

Jeryon nodded, his gaze noticeably downcast.

Shani didn’t pay it much mind, quickly veering off toward the Lion Building.

On the way, she patted Nyx ten times to complete her Daily Mission.

[Daily Mission: Pet Baby Beast Nyx 10 times. Reward: +10 Baby Beast Energy (Limit-Breaker Baby Bed detected: Reward x2). Punishment: None. Status: Done.]

Truthfully, this was only the second time Shani had completed the Daily Mission, as she hadn’t taken Nyx with her over the weekend.

She had originally planned to introduce Nyx to her second baby beast after the egg hatched, but Jeryon had already spilled the beans to Nyx ahead of time.

’Maybe I can bring Nyx along to the apartment next weekend,’ she thought to herself.

...

The next day, Shani and her friends were still hanging around the classroom after hours, waiting for Noella, who was busy chatting with Garth.

Sonny walked over to them. "Haven’t you guys headed down to the cafeteria yet?"

"Noella still has something to take care of with Garth," Kiran replied, gesturing toward the door with her chin.

Sonny nodded along with a knowing smile. He then excused himself to head to the cafeteria ahead of them with his Class 2 friends.

As he passed Noella and Garth at the doorway, he even offered them a quick greeting.

Sonny’s appearance seemed to remind Noella that her friends were still waiting.

She quickly wrapped up her conversation with Garth, bade him farewell, and called over to Shani and the others. "Let’s head to the cafeteria."

Noella failed to notice, but her friends clearly caught the drastic shift in Garth’s expression. His bright, beaming smile dissolved. Not into anger, but into visible disappointment.

"How are things going between you and Garth?" Shani asked as they made their way down the hallway.

"We’re going to start regulation for our second baby beast right after the club entrance tests wrap up," Noella replied matter-of-factly, without making any further assumptions.

Shani glanced at Kiran, who exchanged a knowing smile with her. Both of them knew that wasn’t what Shani was asking about, but neither pointed it out, letting the topic drop there.

Besides, the moment they stepped into the cafeteria and witnessed the bustling crowd inside, all other thoughts evaporated.

The Panther’s cafeteria, reserved for first- and second-year students, was suddenly flooded with unfamiliar faces, upperclassmen.

After Shani’s group carried their trays to an empty table, a familiar upperclassman approached them.

"Flora, did you come down alone?" Eric asked casually.

The upperclassman, none other than the president of the Athletic Ribbon Club, flashed a cheeky grin.

"I wanted to meet a certain underclassman in person," she said, stealing a glance at Shani.

Shani caught her look and could only offer a slightly awkward smile in return.

"You should all head over to the front of the Tiger Building after dinner," Flora invited warmly. "We’re holding Club Affairs there. You can ask questions and look around to see which clubs you’d like to join."

All five underclassmen at the table, Jeryon included, nodded in agreement.

Flora didn’t linger. After shooing away a few other upperclassmen who were attempting to approach their table, she took her leave, allowing them to finish their meal in peace.

"So all that commotion in front of the Tiger Building the other day was preparation for Club Affairs," Kiran murmured, turning to Shani.

Shani nodded. "It looked really interesting even when they were just setting up. Imagine what it’ll be like once the event actually starts."

Club Affairs wasn’t just a registration drive, it was a grand showcase for clubs to vie for the first-years’ attention.

Each booth was elaborately decorated, and many clubs were even preparing special events right out front.

Kiran bounced in her seat with excitement, practically bursting at the seams to check it out.

"What clubs are you all planning to join?" Noella asked in her usual calm tone.

"I want to join a music club, something related to piano, guitar, or singing," Kiran answered quickly, having clearly already thought it through.

Beside her, Eric chimed in with equal speed. "I’m in the Athletic Ribbon Club." He didn’t even use words like "want to" or "planning to," speaking as though he were already a registered member.

Shani was still mulling over her options, while Jeryon showed no intention of answering.

Seeing their hesitation, Noella answered her own question. "I’m joining the Environmental Protection Club, as well as one of the combat clubs."

"You’re joining two clubs?" Kiran gasped in surprise, imagining how hectic that schedule would be.

Noella simply gave a nonchalant nod.

"I’m also planning to sign up for a combat club, though I’m not sure which one yet. I’ll take a look around first," Shani offered.

In truth, she wasn’t particularly eager to join one, but to be eligible for the combat division in the Tower Competition, membership in a combat club was mandatory.

Jeryon, who had remained silent, was in a similar boat, he needed to join the Ribbon Club to compete in his designated division.

None of their friends pressed Jeryon for an answer, already well aware of his situation.

After dinner, they retreated to their respective dorm rooms to freshen up before regrouping in the lobby to head to the event together.

On the way to the Tiger Building, Shani pulled out her smartwatch to send Aster a message, postponing their resonance session yet again.

Even from a distance, the area in front of the Tiger Building was brilliantly lit and buzzing with activity.

As they drew closer, they could see rows of booths adorned with unique banners and colorful string lights.

Upperclassmen were enthusiastically acting as impromptu salespeople, doing everything they could to hook the incoming first-years.

"Someone’s playing guitar over there, looks like the Acoustic Instrument Club! I’m heading over," Kiran said, taking her leave.

"The Ribbon Club is over that way. Come on, Prince!" Eric declared, dragging Jeryon along with him.

Shani and Noella strolled casually past the various booths until Noella spotted the Environmental Protection Club.

Left to her own devices, Shani wandered through the rows of club booths on her own.

She didn’t mind in the slightest, the upperclassmen were exceptionally welcoming tonight, even toward a freshman like her whose name had trended on the student forums multiple times.

Instead of focusing on finding a club to join, Shani quickly got distracted by the mini-events hosted at almost every booth.

"Come try our mini-event, Energy Tracing! The winner gets an exercise wheel!"

Shani froze in her tracks. She had been planning to buy an exercise wheel for the apartment anyway. If she won this, she could save some money.

A booth staff member noticed Shani approaching and immediately welcomed her with a warm smile. "Would you like to try Energy Tracing?"

Shani nodded.

"Great! Stand right here. The rule is simple: you need to channel your beast energy through this winding iron rod. You have to control your energy so it doesn’t leak out before reaching the very end."

Shani nodded. Controlling energy shouldn’t be too hard for her...

...