499 Chapter 499: Waking Nightmare (1/2)

I woke up when the alarm in my smartphone screeched, and jolted upright, almost hitting my head against Rossetti's bunk above.

”What the hell was that?” I gasped, blinking in confusion. Reaching for my glasses, I glanced around and saw that everything was still normal. My clothes were on, I had the blanket pulled up above me. On top, Rossetti was peacefully snoozing atop her bunk, her breathing steady and rhythmic. Not on top of me, but on her own bed above mine.

…yeah, the whole thing was a dream. Well, what did you expect from a chapter titled ”Wet Dream”? Sorry for trolling you guys, readers, but I just couldn't resist. Also, I was a healthy young man who currently possessed a teenage body. It was only natural to have dreams like this from time to time.

Speaking of which…ugh…looked like I was going to have to wash my underwear later. This was embarrassing. Fortunately, we staff had been provided with our own private showers, allocated bathrooms that we didn��t have to share with the middle school students.

Since my alarm clock had chosen to go off at this moment, it was time for me to wake up. Kicking off the blanket and gingerly hopping out of my bed, I went to wash up. As for Rossetti, I left her where she was. if she couldn't wake up on her own, I wasn't going to bother with her.

*

”Why didn't you wake me up?!” Rossetti complained as she rushed out of the dorm room, still frantically tying her long, auburn hair into a side ponytail. I shrugged as I strode down the corridor, unable to meet her gaze or even look at her.

”Sorry.”

”Don't sorry me…” she paused to stare at me curiously. ”You know, you've been acting strangely since this morning. What happened?”

”Nothing,” I insisted stubbornly, but I was still unable to make eye contact. Seriously, what was I supposed to say? Tell her that I had a wet dream about her last night? That would make things a lot more awkward between us.

”Hmm…��� Rossetti regarded me suspiciously, but thankfully she didn't press the issue. Most probably because she knew I wouldn't say anything even if she persisted. Really, she didn't have to know. She would regret ever asking me about it if I told her every single detail of the stupid dream I had.

”Sensei!”

I smiled when I caught sight of Melina, and then Adrian beside her. The middle school students were already preparing their meals, having to cook their own breakfast. I was ready to help, of course, which was why I woke up so early. Actually, I already helped earlier, and was sent back to wake Rossetti up when the camp manager realized that one of the security staff was missing.

”You didn't do anything weird to her, right?” she had asked me sternly, and I vehemently denied it. It was the truth, after all. I really didn't do anything to her in reality. Dreams didn't count. And besides, in the dream it was Rossetti who came on to me.

Honestly, I doubted she was that bold to approach me like that in real life. Another reason why I should have realized that it was a dream. It was one thing if it was Miura La Noir, but Rossetti Picket? Nah. Surely not.

By the time I had returned, with Rossetti in tow, the students had already finished prepping their meals and were distributing them out. Rossetti and I stood in line to receive our share, and I noticed that I had a larger portion than Rossetti's. Not because I was a guy and she was a girl, which generally meant she ate less, but because…

”You didn't help out,” the girl handing out portions told poor Rossetti bluntly.

”Ah, ha ha ha…” Rossetti could only laugh sheepishly. ”Sorry, I overslept.”

”That's not an excuse!”

Yeah, especially since the middle school students woke up earlier than she did…plus, she didn't join the training like I did yesterday, yet I somehow woke up before her.

Anyway, we joined Adrian and Melina at their table, along with their friends Iris, Ivan, Edward and Isabella. Iris watched me and Rossetti curiously, her eyes curious. Even as she poked at her bacon with a fork, she opened her mouth to ask.

”Are you two…?”

”No,” I said immediately, simultaneously refusing to remember last's night dream and knowing what she was referring to.

”What do you mean no? You didn't even allow her to finish asking her question!” Rossetti protested. I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. Rossetti then turned back to Iris with a friendly smile. ”Sorry, what were you about to ask?”

”Are you both dating?”

Rossetti almost spat out her orange juice when she heard that, her face turning very red.

”Of…of course not! What kind of question was that?”

”See?” I muttered, rolling my eyes. ”I was trying to save you the awkwardness, but you had to go and trample on my kindness.”

”A…anyway…” Rossetti hurriedly wiped her blushing face with a napkin. ”There's nothing of that sort.”

”Then why are you sharing a room?” Ivan asked innocently.

”Because there aren't enough in this camp,” I replied wearily. He nodded in understanding.

”That's too bad.”

After we finished with our breakfast, we gathered on the huge field outside the building, when Xun Lian Jia took center stage. He clapped his hands to draw our attention over, and swept his stern gaze across the middle school students who had gathered.

”All right, you worms!” he shouted. ”We have a full-day combat course for you, so make sure you don't fall behind! And it's going to include night training! I'm sure you've seen the schedule – if so, you should have expected this. If you didn't, then too bad! Now, warm up! Time to run!”

There were groans and complaints from the middle school student, but they knew it would be futile, so they just went along with it. Just like yesterday, I joined in and ran with them, and then accompanied them as they went through obstacle courses, combat with actual monsters from the wilderness. As promised, the camp staff only lured weak monsters toward the camp – monsters that the middle school students could actually handle with their current level. I stayed back during combat – it would defeat the purpose of the training program if I went and killed all the monsters for the trainees. Besides, Mandrakes and Mini Boars weren't that big a threat. I watched proudly as Adrian and Melina got high scores.

The two of them had faced Cyclops Rats in the past. Mandrakes and Mini Boars were nothing compared to those. Not only that, it seemed that these F-ranked monsters had been nerfed heavily, which was good for the other middle school students. I guess.

The day dragged on, and after dinner, there was some simulated combat against Night Owls and Forest Moles. Again, they didn't pose much of a challenge…or shouldn't have, but since the trainees were middle school kids, they had a bit of trouble. Nothing they couldn't overcome through sheer tenacity and perseverance, of course.

”They're shaping up well, aren't they?” Rossetti asked as she stepped up beside me, watching the students cast spells to fire off into a flock of fleeing Night Owls. The both of us had continued doing our duty, keeping a vigilant eye out for any stronger monsters that might have somehow bypassed our security and barriers and snuck up on the students. So far, there were none.

”Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. ”It's different from Jing Tian Academy.”

I recalled the training camp held during the summers when I was still a middle school student. They were more fun than training, and usually involved ranking matches and the like. Lots of competition. Apparently Saint Teresa Academy had done the same last year, for a long time, but the changing curriculum and needs of the present had caused the schools to revise their training programs and summer camps.

Before I could remark on the change to Rossetti, however, I suddenly sensed an ominous presence. The atmosphere changed, and a swell of darkness expanded over the horizon, filling the entire space with dread.