Chapter 119: Club Affairs (2)

A winding iron bar was mounted in front of Shani. It was fitted with sensors, meaning any leaked energy would be immediately detected, resulting in instant failure.

Shani raised her hand, resting her fingertips against the start of the bar. Before beginning, she turned to the booth staff member. "Can I use essence instead?"

She wanted to use this opportunity to practice her essence control.

The upperclassman was caught off guard for a moment before giving a nod.

"The sensors on the bar can detect essence too, but controlling it is much harder. You’d probably be better off sticking to energy."

Noticing that the upperclassman was genuinely offering well-meaning advice, Shani offered a polite smile. Still, she chose to use essence anyway.

The tip of the iron bar glowed soft white, signaling that her current was in position.

She then began channeling her essence through the metal bar. The first bend wasn’t particularly sharp, requiring minimal fine-tuning, and Shani navigated past it with ease.

Watching her, the staff member frowned slightly, a frown that deepened when Shani’s essence successfully rounded the second, considerably sharper curve.

Several students from nearby booths noticed her progress and gradually gathered around to watch.

"I tried this yesterday and cleared it, but that final turn is insanely narrow, it’s the hardest part," an upperclassman from an adjacent booth remarked.

"That’s incredible! I tried earlier and failed at the fourth turn," a first-year beside him replied, just as Shani cleanly rounded the fourth bend, leaving his jaw hanging open.

Unlike the astonished first-years, the upperclassmen remained unimpressed.

"That iron bar wasn’t designed for freshmen to beat anyway. Even second- or third-years rarely make it to the final turn," another upperclassman chimed in.

Mini-events like this were usually designed merely to boost foot traffic to the booth, drumming up interest in the club even if the club itself had nothing to do with the game.

At that moment, Shani’s current was inching through the fifth turn.

Her pace was remarkably slow, making the upperclassmen realize how she had managed to get this far. Had she sped up, she likely would have failed back at the third turn.

It looked rather monotonous, yet they kept watching, eager to witness the potential failure of Prince Jeryon’s partner.

Most were genuinely curious about Shani, but a few harbored quiet hostility, waiting for the right moment to spit venom.

Slowly but surely, Shani cleared the fifth turn, then the sixth, and finally the seventh. The eighth turn was the home stretch.

"Shani, you’ve got this!" a familiar voice cheered.

Shani stole a quick glance to see Cyrus waving at her enthusiastically.

She remembered that in yesterday’s evaluation, Cyrus had once again landed at the bottom of the rankings. Although she studied diligently, her low beast energy rank dragged her overall score down significantly.

Putting thoughts of Cyrus aside, Shani refocused on the iron bar. At the target end stood a circular board with a small bullseye marked in the center.

As the crowd gasped in anticipation of her clearing the eighth turn, Shani let an intrusive thought win.

She locked her eyes onto the target’s center and... zap! She released her essence in a concentrated burst, causing a tiny crack to appear on the surface of the target board.

Everyone fell dead silent, utterly dumbfounded. Shani had already cleared the sharp turns, all she had needed to do was guide her current straight out of the bar to hit the target.

Instead, her current had flared outward right at the exit, triggering the end sensor to detect a leak and flash bright red.

Yes. Shani had lost right on the threshold of victory.

Shani blinked in surprise, not anticipating that in the split second she shifted her calm essence into a blast, it would disperse slightly before gathering back into a shot.

’I guess I still can’t transition it smoothly,’ Shani thought to herself, feeling a tinge of regret for overestimating her control.

Shani was about to bid farewell to the booth staff when a snide voice chimed in from behind her.

"Is the energy control of a Direct Student candidate really this atrocious? Her energy moved at a crawl, only for her to completely lose control at the very end?"

Shani turned around to find a female student wearing a prefect badge on her arm standing amidst the surrounding crowd.

The girl scoffed. "I bet anyone could become a Direct Student candidate just by piggybacking, so long as they have the right backing."

She made no attempt to hide her blatant hostility or malicious tone.

Shani was already in a foul mood after losing out on the exercise wheel. She was about to give the upperclassman a piece of her mind when the girl spoke up again first.

"Wait! You do have one special talent, Shani Rowan!" she drawled mockingly. "You’re exceptionally lucky! Though it seems you stole all that luck from... your dead par—"

"Maya, it isn’t your place to insult underclassmen!" Another voice cut in, sharply shutting down the toxic prefect’s tirade.

The crowd of students on the left parted immediately for another female student wearing a prefect badge. Judging by Maya’s sudden stillness, this newcomer clearly held a higher position.

"Are you familiar with the conduct expected of a prefect?" she asked. Her voice was calm, yet carried a firm weight that reminded Shani of Noella.

At the same time, the new prefect’s face looked vaguely familiar to Shani.

Called out in public, and right in front of the very freshman she had been insulting, Maya went completely silent, her aggressive demeanor vanishing instantly.

"Apologize, and see me after this event concludes," the senior prefect commanded.

Maya bit her lower lip, utterly unwilling to comply. She shot Shani a glare oozing with hostility.

Shani simply shook her head. ’She reminds me of Lara, far too emotional.’

Feeling belittled by Shani’s subtle reaction, Maya refused to apologize.

"Just give me a punishment," she spat at the prefect, her voice dripping with resentment, before turning on her heel and storming off.

Shani approached the senior prefect and offered her thanks.

In truth, she could have handled the situation herself, though doing so might have sparked fresh rumors labeling her as harsh or confrontational.

But with the prefect stepping in, she didn’t have to get her own hands dirty.

The prefect gave a slight nod, offering a faint, strictly professional smile before departing without another word.

’If Ella ever becomes a prefect, is that how she’ll handle problems?’ Shani mused.

Her train of thought was broken as Cyrus walked over, inviting her to check out the other booths together.

"That prefect back there was Yvonne Larrlyng’s older sister," Cyrus mentioned cautiously.

Shani paused, sifting through her hazy memories to recall who Yvonne Larrlyng was. Then, she remembered that Yvonne was one of Jeryon’s former resonance partners.

"Her name is Rosaline Larrlyng," Cyrus added, which finally sparked Shani’s memory of where she had met her before.

"So she’s the one who reprimanded Lara Bennett when she came to confront me back then?" Shani murmured. "Does she really hold no grudge against me?"

"She’s the Deputy Head Prefect, famous for being exceptionally righteous," Cyrus confirmed.

"That’s a relief," Shani muttered. Nobody wanted to be hated by someone they barely knew.

They continued strolling past the club booths, making small talk about the various displays. Cyrus slowed her pace as they passed the Feed Cultivation Club.

"Do you want to join this club?" Shani asked, noticing the longing look on her face. She recalled how enthusiastic she always was in Cultivation class.

Cyrus nodded, then gave a soft shake of his head.

"My family’s business is in baby beast feed, so I know how expensive raw ingredients can be. That’s why I’ve always wanted to learn how to cultivate feed ingredients myself ever since I was little."

"Joining this club would be a huge help to you, even after Cultivation class ends," Shani pointed out.

Cyrus nodded. "It would, but... I’m not even sure if I’ll still be a student at the Grand Academy next month."

Shani instantly understood her concern. As Cyrus fell silent, she found herself at a loss for words, unsure of how to cheer her up.

Shani herself was naturally adept at learning, so after the first month, she no longer found the curriculum daunting. In fact, she thoroughly enjoyed it.

It also helped that she possessed immunity from academic expulsion, meaning she didn’t share the same crushing pressure as the others.

Sensing the heavy silence between them, Cyrus quickly spoke up. "You’re amazing, Shani. You truly deserve everything you have now."

"And you didn’t just get lucky. You earned it. It’s all the result of your hard work. Don’t waste your energy on words from people who know nothing about you. They’re just jealous because they can’t match up to you."

Shani chuckled. "Why are you the one encouraging me all of a sudden?"

Still, a warm feeling bloomed in her chest, knowing someone truly believed in her efforts.

...