Read Novel Full Vol 9. Chapter 71: Sinking
Vol 9. Chapter 71: Sinking
Late at night, Saint Heath Academy’s Adult Dragon Division dormitory. Tucker stood by the window, staring out at the silent campus scenery, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
The voice in his head had been tormenting him for days.
During this period, he had not slept soundly even once. Every time he fell asleep, that enormous, gloomy, grotesque eyeball would appear in his dreams.
It kept instilling the same thought into him.
Take revenge on Noa.
But Tucker did not actually harbor any so-called desire for revenge.
He admitted that he was highly competitive and deeply jealous, and that he strongly disliked those prestigious heirs with powerful backgrounds like Noa.
Yet he had lived more than twenty years. As a specially recruited member of the Adult Dragon Division, he had also perfectly completed many missions in the past.
After witnessing Noa outperform and surpass him again and again, it was impossible for him to keep insisting that she was unworthy.
And yet, the massive eyeball in his mind seemed determined to stir hatred toward Noa within him.
Should he hate her?
Just because she was too outstanding—was that really reason enough to hate someone?
What kind of logic was that?
At this moment, rather than jealousy, Tucker felt a desperate urge to become stronger—to prove himself again in front of Noa, the academy, and everyone else.
He did not know what that eyeball truly was, nor why it kept urging him to seek revenge on Noa.
Everything about it was inexplicable.
Tucker drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
“What the hell is wrong with me…”
Thump!
His heartbeat suddenly skipped.
Tucker instinctively clutched his chest, frowning deeply.
“Damn it… again.”
Heart palpitations were the warning sign—the prelude to that eyeball “requesting a conversation.” Tucker had already figured that out.
Sure enough, moments later, the voice of the Magic Eye echoed inside his head once more.
“Have you thought it through, dragon boy?”
Bang!
Tucker slammed his palm against the windowsill, then struck his own head hard.
“I told you to stay the hell away from me. Stop bothering me!”
Fortunately, the Adult Dragon Division used single-occupancy dorm rooms. Otherwise, the way Tucker was being driven half-mad by the Magic Eye would definitely have drawn attention.
“Then it seems you still haven’t figured it out,” the Magic Eye said coldly. “Don’t you realize that your remaining time is running out?”
Tucker froze.
“What remaining time?”
“The time you have left to surpass Noa.”
The Magic Eye continued, “That girl’s rate of progress is astonishing. You must have already noticed it. If you keep hesitating here, then once she advances again, you will never become stronger than her. She will leave you completely behind.”
Listening to its words, Tucker clenched his fists and ground his teeth.
He suppressed the strongest impulse rising in his heart and forced himself to respond instead:
“S-so what if that’s true? Even if I’m inferior, even if Noa surpasses me, I still won’t listen to you and take revenge on her. This is… this is absurd!”
“Absurd? Heh… how shortsighted.”
The Magic Eye’s voice dripped with contempt.
“No wonder that after your clan was wiped out, all you could do was crawl around here and survive. You exhaust yourself trying to prove your worth, yet you still can’t compare to a girl who appeared out of nowhere. Don’t you think that’s laughable? And you dare call me absurd?”
“…Shut up,” Tucker forced out between clenched teeth.
“Think about the praise and admiration from everyone out there. Think about the final honors ceremony,” the Magic Eye said softly. “Those should have been yours. But now they’ve all been taken by Noa, and here you are talking to me about absurdity. As a dragon, you’re pathetically spineless.”
"Shut up! I told you to shut up!"
The tangled emotions buried deep inside Tucker were finally ignited.
His desperation to surpass Noa, his jealousy, his resentment, and the fury provoked by the Magic Eye’s mocking of his origins—all of it twisted together into a single storm.
With his mind in chaos, Tucker slammed his head straight into the nearby desk.
Thud!
After a brief ringing, the world fell silent.
His body toppled backward, collapsing onto the floor.
The Magic Eye’s voice vanished.
Blood flowed from his forehead, sliding past the corner of his eye, mixed with something warm as it ran down his face.
Before losing consciousness, he seemed to hear the door open—as if someone from the neighboring room had heard the noise and come to check.
“Tucker? Tuck? Damn, man, you smashing your head into the desk in the middle of the night?”
This guy’s been driven completely insane.
…
…
Tucker slowly opened his eyes.
Above him was the white ceiling of the academy infirmary.
It was a familiar sight.
For members of the Adult Dragon Division, coming back from missions with injuries was nothing unusual.
He slowly sat up and found that only one person was keeping watch—the neighbor who had discovered him “using his head to attack a desk” the night before.
They usually got along fairly well.
“Yo, you’re awake,” the man said. “What kind of madness was that? You’re probably paying damages this time, huh?”
Tucker froze. “If I hurt myself, the academy compensates me?”
“Are you stupid? You broke the academy’s desk. You’re the one paying!”
“…Alright.”
“Relax, relax. I’m kidding. No fine.”
The man walked over to the bedside.
“So what actually happened?”
Tucker opened his mouth, wanting to tell him about the eyeball that had been haunting him these past days.
But the words stopped in his throat.
If he spoke, Noa would inevitably be brought up again.
He did not want to mention her in front of his companions anymore.
“…Nothing. I was homesick.”
“You express homesickness by headbutting furniture?”
Tucker laughed faintly and changed the subject.
“By the way, Ael, where is everyone?”
Normally, the Adult Dragon Division infirmary would not be this empty.
Ael shrugged.
“You forgot what day it is?”
Tucker raised a brow. “What day?”
“End of the academic year. Headmaster Wilson is personally awarding honors to the outstanding trainees of our division.”
Ael explained, “It’s afternoon right now. Everyone’s at the auditorium waiting. The ceremony starts in a few hours.”
“So soon already…”
Tucker murmured dazedly.
“No wonder I heard them talking about awards yesterday. About Best Newcomer…”
“Best Newcomer? I heard through the grapevine that this year’s Best Newcomer is that girl named Noa.”
Noa.
Again—Noa.
The emotions that had only just begun to settle surged violently once more.
Tucker lowered his eyes and said quietly:
“Go ahead and leave, Ael. I’m tired. I want to sleep a bit more.”
Ael waved his hand.
“Alright. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
Ael left the infirmary.
The empty room was left with only Tucker.
He stared at the blank wall, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the bedsheet.
Soon, the white fabric tore under his grip.
His hand began to tremble from emotional upheaval—then his arm, then his shoulders, and finally his entire body.
In his ears echoed the words spoken by Ael and by the Magic Eye.
【The Best Newcomer is Noa】
【Your remaining time to surpass Noa is running out】
His breathing quickened. His vertical dragon pupils slowly constricted.
After struggling for a long time, he finally closed his eyes and searched within his mind for the voice he had once loathed beyond measure.
“Tell me,” he whispered, “what do I need to do to gain the power to surpass Noa?”
At that moment, it was as if he heard a cold laugh rise from the darkness.
And along with it—something precious deep within his heart, slowly sinking into the shadow of the abyss.