Chapter 10: Study Sessions & Monkey Business
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The Art of Not Failing
Axel Mercer had faced lightning-wielding wyverns, insane mentors, and a lifetime of people telling him he’d never be strong enough.
And yet, somehow…
Cipher Theory was still his worst enemy.
“You’re not even trying,” Iris sighed, resting her chin in her hand as she watched Axel blankly stare at the text in front of him.
“I am trying,” Axel groaned, slouching back in his chair. “It’s just—look at this!” He gestured at the floating textbook projection, currently displaying a detailed breakdown of Evolutionary Probability Matrices.
“The hell is an Algorithmic Growth Divergence Index supposed to mean?” Axel whined.
Iris adjusted her glasses, looking genuinely baffled. “It’s… the percentage chance of a Cipher Beast developing non-standard evolutionary traits.”
Axel squinted. “Yeah. Still not helping.”
Iris sighed, muttering something under her breath about “impossible boys” before flipping to another page.
“Alright, what about battle classifications?” she asked. “At least tell me you know those.”
Axel smirked. “Oh, yeah. That’s easy.” He held up a finger and started counting. “Striker, Tank, Assassin, Support, Elemental, Hybrid, and—uh…” His voice trailed off.
Iris raised an eyebrow. “Tactician.”
Axel snapped his fingers. “That’s the one.”
Iris tilted her head. “...How are you this bad at theory?”
“I have a great memory for important things,” Axel said. “This just doesn’t happen to be one of them.”
Iris sighed deeply. “You’re lucky I’m nice.”
Axel grinned. “I am extremely lucky.”
Tempo, sitting on the desk between them, nodded sagely, tapping his tiny fingers against the table like he agreed completely.
Iris giggled.
Axel blinked.
Wait.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Did she just—
Oh.
That was… actually kinda cute.
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The Disaster That is Tempo
The library was quiet—a massive, multi-floor building where only the soft hum of holographic displays and the occasional whispered conversation filled the air.
And then there was Tempo.
Who had absolutely no respect for the concept of silence.
Halfway through their study session, he started boredly drumming on a stack of books.
At first, it was just light tapping.
Then it got faster.
And faster.
And before Axel could stop him—
Tempo went full percussion solo.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM—
Heads turned. Students glared. A librarian visibly twitched.
Axel grabbed Tempo’s tiny arms. “Dude. No.”
Tempo grinned. Then, very slowly, he tapped one last time.
BAM.
The librarian appeared out of nowhere.
"Silence," she hissed.
Axel nodded furiously. “Yes, ma’am. Absolutely. Won’t happen again.”
The librarian narrowed her eyes, then vanished back into the aisles like some kind of ancient predator.
Tempo, utterly unfazed, snickered.
Iris giggled into her sleeve.
“I can’t believe you actually have to deal with that all the time,” she whispered.
Axel sighed. “Yeah, he’s a menace.”
Tempo stuck his tongue out.
Iris just smiled. “I think he’s… kinda adorable.”
Axel raised an eyebrow. “You say that now. Wait until he starts throwing stuff at people.”
Tempo gave her a thumbs up.
Iris giggled again.
Axel caught himself watching her a little too long.
Huh.
That was… interesting.
<hr>
The Topic No One Talks About
After a while, Iris leaned back in her chair, absentmindedly twirling her stylus between her fingers.
“Hey, Axel?”
He looked up. “Yeah?”
She hesitated. “You don’t… talk about your family much.”
Axel stiffened slightly.
That was a loaded topic.
Most students at Helix Academy came from high-ranking families—powerful lineages with legendary Cipher Beast users going back generations.
Jace was the heir to the Stroud legacy. Sienna’s family was a top-tier Tactician bloodline.
Axel?
Axel had nothing.
He glanced at Iris. “You really wanna talk about this?”
Iris hesitated. “S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“No, it’s fine,” Axel said, forcing a smirk. “It’s just a short story. Parents were nobodies. Didn’t have much. Barely made it into the academy on a long-shot application.”
Iris studied him carefully. “But you did make it.”
Axel exhaled, leaning back. “Yeah. Somehow.”
There was a long pause.
Then, softly—
“I think that’s kinda cool,” Iris murmured.
Axel blinked.
She flushed. “I mean, you’re here on your own ability. You didn’t have some famous family to back you up. That’s… really impressive.”
Axel stared at her.
Most people either looked down on him for not having connections—or treated him like a novelty act.
But Iris?
She actually meant it.
“…Huh,” Axel said. “That’s new.”
Iris turned red. “I—I wasn’t trying to be weird—”
Axel smirked. “Nah. It was kinda nice.”
Iris fidgeted with her stylus. “…Well. Good.”
Tempo, watching the entire interaction like a soap opera, slowly leaned forward—
And wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Axel shoved him off the desk.
Tempo landed with a thud, screeched in protest, then scurried back up onto Axel’s shoulder.
Iris laughed.
Axel sighed.
This was shaping up to be a very interesting day.