The Remnant Star Society's Little Moves

!!!

When Mo Bai opened his eyes again, he saw neither the pink-haired girl with the lightsaber nor the imposing Impermanence Heron.

He was sitting inside the simulation pod.

"Did I leave the hologram...?"

Mo Bai shook his head and looked at the display beside him.

It showed that he had passed all six stages of Holographic Strategy.

Luck had played a part, but if his domain had not malfunctioned at the end, he probably could have beaten the Impermanence Heron.

That was only a guess, though. Right now, he was more curious about the pink-haired girl who had appeared before him.

I'll ask Lynae about her later.

Muttering to himself, Mo Bai opened the pod door.

Click—

The moment it opened, Mo Bai realized something was off.

"Hey! He's out! The person inside came out!"

"Oh my god, that new student actually passed stage six under those conditions?!"

A crowd of students around the pod were excitedly discussing what Mo Bai had done.

They had come to use the simulation pods for class and happened to catch Mo Bai challenging Holographic Strategy.

That meant Mo Bai had spent around two hours in the hologram.

Their excitement was not just because Mo Bai was one of the few students brave enough to attempt stage six.

More importantly, he had passed Holographic Strategy despite the malfunction during his attempt.

"Are you feeling all right, student?"

A teacher approached Mo Bai, looking worried.

Mo Bai was still trying to get his bearings. He had not expected so many people to gather just because he had run a holographic simulation...

But seeing the teachers' expressions, he guessed it had something to do with the malfunction he had encountered inside.

After rubbing his chin, Mo Bai told the teacher about the sudden jump in difficulty and how his abilities had abruptly been affected.

As soon as he finished describing the malfunction, a familiar voice called out from nearby.

"Mo Bai!"

It was Lynae. She squeezed through the crowd and came up to him.

"Whew! Are you okay? I went to get a teacher the moment the hologram malfunctioned!" she asked, her face full of worry.

Seeing her feelings written all over her face, Mo Bai could not help smiling.

She usually liked to bicker with him, but when it mattered, she took things seriously right away.

"Stop smiling. Come on, I'm taking you to Doctor Lu for a checkup."

With that, Lynae took Mo Bai's hand and led him out of the crowd.

"Lynae! Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

Only then did one of the teachers notice the Academy's resident troublemaker.

"I'm taking an injured student to the Infirmary, teacher!"

Lynae looked back, flashed a toothy grin, and waved before dragging Mo Bai off at a run.

Tap, tap, tap.

"Heh, we've arrived safely!"

At the Infirmary door, Lynae planted her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly proud of herself.

Beside her, Mo Bai shot her an aggrieved look.

"Hey, what's with that look? I personally brought you all the way to the Infirmary."

Despite her retort, Lynae looked a little guilty.

"Are you sure you weren't using me as an excuse to skip class? If you dragged an actual injured person along like that, you might kill them..." Mo Bai complained.

Tap, tap.

A tall man with blond hair and red eyes stepped out of the Infirmary.

"Students turning up during class is nothing unusual, but few are this lively when they get here."

Lu Hess spoke gently, his arms folded across his chest.

This time, though, Lynae had a perfectly good reason for being there.

"I came with Mo Bai so he could get checked out..."

It sounded reasonable, but Lynae still looked guilty.

After all, she was not the one whose health was in question.

Mo Bai gave Lynae a helpless look, then walked up to Lu Hess.

"Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Lu."

"Not at all. It's my job."

With a smile, Lu Hess ushered Mo Bai into the Infirmary.

Lynae settled into a seat outside and started playing on her phone while she waited for Mo Bai's checkup to finish.

She had known on the way over that Mo Bai was fine. Now she was privately delighted to have escaped another class.

After putting Mo Bai through a series of tests, Lu Hess concluded that there was nothing wrong with him.

But Lu Hess did not let him leave just yet. Instead, he struck up a conversation.

"By the way, I heard you ran into some trouble while attempting Holographic Strategy just now," Lu Hess said.

"News travels that fast?"

Mo Bai felt as if word of his simulation run had already spread to every corner of the Academy.

"Haha. You're quite the celebrity here now, Voidworm Knight."

Mo Bai's mouth twitched at the title.

There was no other reason. It was just painfully embarrassing to hear.

Earlier, he had laughed at Lynae when she complained to him about it.

Someone had asked Lynae for an autograph because of the Voidworm Knight title, and the way they had addressed her had embarrassed her.

He had not expected it to sting so much when the tables were turned...

"By the way, Mo Bai, you don't have a soundmark, do you?" Lu Hess asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Mo Bai narrowed his eyes slightly.

After spending so long at the Academy, he understood that he was something of an oddity on Solaris.

Usually, he could bluff his way through by letting people assume his clothes covered his soundmark. That would never work on the Doctor who had just examined him.

"Don't be nervous. I just have a word of advice for you."

Lu Hess smiled and walked over to Mo Bai.

"Watch out for the Remnant Star Society."

The Remnant Star Society again?

Hearing Lu Hess bring it up left Mo Bai speechless.

An organization with a name that sounded like a student club seemed to be everywhere.

But judging by Lu Hess's tone, had they set their sights on him?

That made sense. There did not seem to be any other outside faction at the Academy.

Still, Mo Bai hated the feeling of being watched. All he wanted was an ordinary student life at the Academy.

"Don't worry. The Academy hasn't been infiltrated to its core, so they'll play it safe and quietly collect data on unusual people like you."

Seeing the worry on Mo Bai's face, Lu Hess offered him a reassuring smile.

Mo Bai looked up at Lu Hess's closed eyes and smiling face.

For a Doctor, Lu Hess knew a little too much.

"Relax. I'm on your side." With that, Lu Hess took something from his pocket.

A piece of candy.

"Have some candy. It'll help you relax."