Nanomancer Rising: Divine Alchemist Reborn as Academy's Worst Teacher
Chapter 89: Waking up (2/2)

Chapter 89: Waking up (2/2)

For Lukas, the process of waking up always came like a test of his will.

To cast aside the warm sheets, the soothing nothingness of the dreams, and expose himself both to the elements of the real world and all the challenges that came with lucidity.

A test he never failed but often struggled with.

Today was no different.

With the well-practiced effort, he cast aside whatever it was that shielded him from the cold of the day, rising up only to stare blankly at the situation before his eyes.

It took Lukas a good few moments to finally SEE what was in front of him, rather than seeing it all only for his brain to refuse to register it.

’Those doors...’ Squinting his eyes hard, Lukas stared at the simple, almost run-down doors that appeared to be more fitting to an animal’s shed than to any place a human could visit... or wake up in.

For a moment, he remained weirded out, only for his confusion to turn into fear when he managed to pinpoint just why he found those doors weirdly familiar.

The rotten-away parts, replaced with wooden patches. The crude reinforcement of wooden beams strapped across the doors to keep them in one piece. Even the small marks of the soot deeply embedded into the wood that marked where the old, pre-fire part of the doors ended, and where the fixed parts of it began.

He could never forget those doors, not when they always held the greatest mystery he learned about while back under Julius’ tutelage. One of the very few doors in his teacher’s mansion he wasn’t allowed to cross.

But now? Those doors were extremely weird. The same, yet unlike the form he was rather used to seeing by now. And while just the sight of those doors was enough to fill his heart with fear, when he realized their weirdness came from how all of their details were... mirrored, his fear instantly turned into simple terror.

’WHAT?!’

Stunned by his remaining drowsiness and then all the feelings he managed to experience ever since waking up a mere moment ago, Lukas outright trembled at the thought of invading Julius’ sacred land, a shed he never cared enough to renovate yet one he never allowed anyone to visit.

Thankfully, with the first wave of this primal fear passing, Lukas finally recalled the next few elements necessary to put his fears to rest.

He was no longer Julius’ student. Not ever since Julius lost it all after being found guilty at the bogus trial, Lukas’ academy tokens included. Now, he was a proud disciple of teacher Theo, who eagerly rushed to prove his worth as a teacher.

’Oh right, my strength...’ Lukas squinted his eyes as his attention drew to his fist that he then squeezed shut and then opened up, only to repeat the process a few times as he took a moment to get a feel of his new might.

Even though his cultivation hardly changed from what it was before the whole ordeal with his teacher’s formation and teachings, the difference he could feel at his fingertips was simply massive!

If he could crush wood in his palm before, right now, not even rocks could resist the pressure he could bring forth with just his hand alone!

Yet, now that Lukas finally gained some understanding of the important bits that happened, he finally allowed himself the freedom to look away, only for his eyes to land on the person most likely to be by his side... but one that also filled his soul with a fresh dose of responsibility-born-terror.

’Don’t tell me...!’

For a moment, Lukas freaked out. Yet, as soon as his hand slammed against his chest, almost making him tear a hole in his academy student’s robes...?

’Wait, I’m clothed?’ he thought, only for his eyes to dart up to his one and only companion on the path of Theo’s discipleship.

And just as Lukas hoped, Tesh was dressed. Heck, her clothes, while all mangled and bent, lacked the features of the girl putting them all up in a panicked rush! In other words, her robes appeared to exactly fit the circumstances of the two of them going through Theo-orchestrated ordeal of redoing their entire cultivation, only to then end up being dragged around for a while and finally tossed down in this place to get some well-deserved rest.

"What the hell...?"

Before Lukas could stop it, his mouth produced the words that perfectly reflected what he was feeling. A sense of mixed relief, fading fear and... a bit of disappointment?

’So that’s how my first time waking up to a girl is forever going to look like, huh?’ he thought, now lucid enough to ensure those words never left his mouth.

"I spoke the very same thing when I woke up," Tesh admitted, relaxing down a little as she finally confirmed Lukas was back to his senses. "But judging from your face," she looked around, "do you recognize this place?"

Lukas opened up his mouth, his first instinct to just reveal all that he recalled. Then, however, he hesitated.

’Should I really tell her?’ he thought, quickly considering his options. ’Is there any point in making her aware just how insanely protective Julius was of this place?’

A moment of consideration later, Lukas threw away all thoughts of holding the information back.

What right did he have to protect Tesh from the consequences of knowing? Or rather, why would he protect her like that to begin with?

With his mind set, Lukas shook his head and opened his mouth to speak after all, only for the doors to the shed to burst open... and an unlikely person to come in with a bright, albeit slightly tired smile to come inside.

"Good morning, kids!" Celeste called out in a loud, energetic voice as her hands dropped on her hips while she stood directly in the doorframe, allowing the bright rays of the sun coming from behind her back to bask her in their golden aura, elevating her beauty from high nine slash low ten to an almost divine, inhuman rank. "Did you two sleep well?" she asked, only to put on a mischievous... and slightly worrying grin. "To be honest, it doesn’t really matter. But since you two are finally awake, it’s time for you to leave this place," she announced, only to step out from the doorframe, revealing the truth about the world outside of the shed.

"You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to convince your teacher not to start while you two were still asleep in the middle of it all!"