Shang sat down in one of many chairs inside one of the rooms on the third floor of the main building.

Several other students were with Shang in the room, and a couple of them threw worried glances at him while whispering to their neighbors, who then also shot a look at Shang.

Shang tried to ignore it, but it was way too obvious what they were talking about.

All the students in the room were 16 and 17 years old, except for Shang.

A couple of minutes of whispering later, the teacher entered.

She looked to be in her late twenties, and she had long black hair, her eyes detached and distant.

She inspected everyone present, and her gaze lingered a bit longer on Shang.

"Let's start class," she announced.

Everyone quieted down.

Then, Teacher Niria began her lesson.

This afternoon, she was teaching the class about the northeastern forest.

She talked about Swamp Millipedes and Vanishing Snakes, but most of all, she talked about the Empress Cobra Zone. The northeastern forest was adjacent to the Empress Cobra Zone, and there was a high likelihood that the students would find some beasts from there in the northeastern forest.

She talked about the climate and how the beasts behaved.

And that was already it for the lesson.

There was so much to learn about the northeastern forest that it couldn't be covered in just one lesson. Today, she had only talked about the special things one could expect to come across in the northeastern forest. The local flora and fauna would be taught in different lessons.

After the lesson was finished, several students walked up to teacher Niria to ask questions, which she very quickly answered with the least words possible.

Several minutes later, all the students had left.

That was when Shang walked up to her.

"Do you have a question?" teacher Niria asked with practiced ease.

"My question would be if it is safe for me to speak right now," Shang said.

Teacher Niria's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Follow me," she ordered.

Shang and Teacher Niria left the room and then the building.

After walking towards the north, past nearly all of the training fields, teacher Niria stopped. At the moment, Shang and teacher Niria were directly beneath the northwestern wall.

"Ask," teacher Niria ordered. "No one can hear us."

Shang took a deep breath.

This was it.

He hoped that he hadn't made a mistake in his deduction.

"I have a Darkness Affinity," he said.

"And why would I care?" teacher Niria directly asked, like she had seen Shang's words coming.

"Because we are connected," Shang said.

"How so?" she asked coldly.

"You also have a Darkness Affinity."

"What makes you think so?" she asked.

"Several things," Shang said before he started rattling down his thoughts.

"Back when you inspected the corpse, you said that we are connected. However, you and I met for the first time back then. That means that the corpse told you something about me."

Teacher Niria let Shang continue without interrupting.

"You even helped me far more than is to be expected of a teacher."

"However, that isn't the only reason I have found out. The clerk in the Curio Trinket also made an interesting comment based on the corpse."

Teacher Niria frowned. "What did he say?" she asked.

"I only told him that you have sent me, nothing more. Yet, when he inspected the corpse, he said, of his own volition, that this snake has definitely been killed by you. He said your handiwork is unmistakable."

"Of course, I know that I have killed the snake. However, how can he be so sure that you killed it, not me?"

"Are we two the only ones in the entire city that use swords? I don't think so."

"Do you have access to call upon the progeny of the Storm Eagle? I don't think so."

"So, if the cut on its side and the killing blow were not the giveaways, that only leaves one thing. The weakened tail."

"Nearly the entire tail was cut off, but there is still quite a bit of weakened flesh near its back. An experienced eye will notice it. You noticed it, and the clerk noticed it too."

"Alright," teacher Niria said. "That's nice and all, but why did you want to talk to me? Did you only want me to listen to your ramblings?"

Shang took a deep breath.

"I need your help," he said.

"For what?"

"Middle Rank Two Darkness Affinity ore," Shang said.

"How much?" teacher Niria asked.

"Two units."

"Impossible," she answered.

That threw Shang for a loop.

He was sure that she was the person he should contact.

Back in the Exchange Hall, the clerk had given him several hints.

He had said that it needed someone in the Commander Stage to get the ore. On top of that, it would be a major risk. So, the person should have a strong connection with Shang.

With that sentence, the clerk had told Shang that he needed to get a Commander Stage warrior he could trust.

Then, the clerk had said that he had to keep the information of both students and teachers a secret.

With that, he was telling Shang that he should go to a teacher.

Adding the teachers into the sentence was useless. He could have simply said that the students' information would be hidden from everyone.

Lastly, he said that only the dean could check up on information in the Exchange Hall.

That meant that Shang only needed to get the Darkness ore from the teacher, and he could buy anything he needed from the Exchange Hall.

Well, as long as the dean wasn't Shang's enemy, but if he were, Shang would have bigger problems.

In short, the clerk had indirectly told Shang that there was a teacher in the school that was willing to do something like that. However, it was up to Shang to find them.

"Why is it impossible?" Shang asked.

"You haven't shown me the basic amount of respect required for asking me for help," she said.

"The basic amount of respect?" Shang asked in confusion.

What did she mean by that?

He had been polite, hadn't he?

What did she mean?

She looked at Shang for a bit longer before slowly walking away.

"You can come talk to me again when you are serious," she said.

Shang's mind was going wild.

What did she mean?

Did she want a bribe?

No, she didn't seem like a person that wanted to be bribed.

She also didn't seem like a person that liked to play political games.

She also didn't seem like the deceiving kind.

'Wait, she doesn't seem like the deceiving kind?' Shang thought.

'If someone weaker than me asked for my help, and I were theoretically willing to help them, what would be the least I would want them to do?'

That's when it hit Shang.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ However, it was risky, very risky.

That also explained teacher Niria's earlier words.

When Shang had said that he wanted Darkness ore, she hadn't immediately said that it was impossible.

No, before that, she asked how much he needed.

Only when he stated the amount did she say that it was impossible.

Shang took a deep breath.

"I have more than only a Darkness Affinity," Shang said.

Teacher Niria stopped.

Then, she walked back to her previous spot.

"Continue," she said.

The least Shang would want from such a person was honesty.

They should at least be honest with him.