ShadowBound: The Need For Power-Chapter 586: He Was Right

After returning to the academy, the students had gradually made their way to the infirmary, each one bearing varying degrees of exhaustion, scrapes, and bruises earned from the grueling trial of the day. The infirmary was crowded, not just with first-years but second-years as well, many of whom had been dispatched to equally harsh exercises elsewhere only teh instructors knew about.

Once treated, most students retreated to their dorms to wash off the grime and sweat that clung to them from the morning’s exertions. By the time everyone converged on the cafeteria, the room had transformed into a hive of energy, buzzing with students carrying trays stacked with food, some searching for seats amid the chaos, others already seated and digging into their meals with lively chatter. Conversations rippled through the hall, everyone eager to recount their first day of rigorous training—the small triumphs, near misses, and unexpected challenges that had defined the day.

At one of the larger tables, Liam and his group settled, their trays laden with steaming food. They chatted casually among themselves, voices mingling with the general hum of the cafeteria, yet carrying that peculiar intimacy of shared hardship and camaraderie.

"Honestly," Dylan began, leaning back slightly with a smug air as he munched thoughtfully on a piece of bread, "I believe I was the hero of the day today."

Instantly, the table shifted, heads turning toward him with skeptical glances. Charlotte raised an eyebrow, her lips pursed, and Max mirrored her expression, leaning forward slightly as if to interrogate the audacious claim. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"The hero of the day?" Charlotte questioned, tone flat but edged with amusement. "Do you even realize what you just said?"

Max added, crossing his arms, "Yeah, really. You actually believe that?"

Dylan, however, remained unbothered, chewing deliberately before speaking with the air of absolute certainty. "Yes. I was the hero of the day. I mean it. I saved Sheila from the mudslide, didn’t I? And then, come up with the plan to descend the mountain safely afterward. That’s hero-level stuff right there. No one else did what I did, so yeah—hero of the day. Undeniable."

Charlotte blinked at him, disbelief slowly twisting into incredulity. "The mudslide? You mean the one where you were the one in need of rescuing?" she asked, her voice tinged with both exasperation and amusement.

Dylan waved a hand dismissively, his grin widening. "Doesn’t matter. I still saved the Princess, didn’t I? That counts. That’s all that matters."

Charlotte huffed, throwing up her hands in mock frustration, while Max interjected, his tone more incredulous than angry. "You really think that’s enough to call yourself the hero?"

Charlotte leaned forward, voice rising slightly with the passion of her point. "Let’s be honest here—if anyone deserves that title today, it’s me. I was coordinating, observing, making sure nothing went catastrophically wrong. I kept us on track when the rest of you were panicking."

Max nodded in agreement, adding, "Exactly. I was holding the rear, keeping watch over terrain shifts and hazards. We all contributed. To single out one person is ridiculous."

Dylan, unfazed, leaned back with a satisfied grin, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he continued to eat. He ignored their pointed arguments, letting them escalate while he savored the moment, enjoying the way Charlotte and Max struggled to assert their claims over him.

The bickering stretched on, Max, Ariana, and Charlotte trying to emphasize on each member’s contributions.

After a long while, Sheila chimed in gently, her voice was calm, firm, and resonant, carrying the authority of someone who had witnessed the day unfold in its entirety. "Why don’t we just accept that we’re all heroes today?" she said. "Every single one of you played a significant role. Picking just one as ’the hero’ doesn’t reflect the reality of what we accomplished. It’s not about one person’s moments—it’s about how we functioned together."

The group paused, absorbing her words. Even Dylan’s triumphant smirk faltered slightly as the weight of Sheila’s perspective settled in. Then he leaned back, whistling softly and tilting his head in mock contemplation. "She’s right," he admitted, though his grin returned almost immediately. "We were all heroes today. But...," he added with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I’m still the main hero."

A ripple of laughter spread across the table, each member shaking their head at Dylan’s audacious claim but unable to suppress their amusement. The tension eased, the rain of competition and ego giving way to camaraderie, and the group finally allowed themselves a moment of light-hearted relief.

Ariana, ever the calm and reflective presence, took advantage of the moment to steer the conversation toward a more serious note. "So," she said quietly, stirring her drink, "what does everyone think about what Sir Kaelen told us earlier? About how we won’t be allowed to operate as a unified team in the upcoming days... or even this entire month?"

The group fell silent, mulling over her words, each processing the implications in their own way. Asher was the first to break the thoughtful quiet. "Honestly?" he began, leaning back slightly in his chair, "I don’t particularly care if we’re allowed to team up the way we are now or not. At the end of the day, I’ll get my work done. But there’s no denying the fact that the seven of us—working together—we’re effective. We cover each other’s weaknesses. Sir Kaelen is right, though. We can’t rely on just being as one forever. Eventually, we’ll need to learn to integrate with others, to compensate where we’re lacking. Otherwise, stagnation is inevitable."

Dylan’s eyes widened theatrically, and he whistled, tilting his head toward Asher in mock shock. "I never knew the hothead could actually say something so... intelligent," he said, voice dripping with dramatic astonishment.

Asher’s expression twisted instantly from thoughtful seriousness to irritation. With a sharp motion, he grabbed a fork and tossed it toward Dylan. Dylan dodged deftly, leaning back with a laugh. "There’s the Asher I know," he quipped, grinning cheekily.

The brief altercation passed, laughter diffusing the tension, and Sheila nodded slowly, her eyes thoughtful. "Asher isn’t wrong," she admitted. "I agree with Sir Kaelen. We need to work with others outside our circle, learn to adapt and intermix. We can’t always rely on one another exclusively. That’s just reality."

As the group absorbed her words, Sheila’s gaze shifted naturally toward Liam. "What do you think, Liam?" she asked, her tone calm and genuinely curious.

At the sound of his name, Liam’s eyes lifted slightly, as though he had been pulled back from somewhere far away. For a brief moment, it was clear he hadn’t been fully present with them at all, his attention lingering on thoughts only he could hear.

"Hm?" he hummed quietly as his focus finally settled on Sheila.

"About what Sir Kaelen said to us," Sheila clarified, her voice still composed, though a flicker of surprise crossed her expression at how uncharacteristically distracted Liam seemed.

Liam remained silent for another moment, simply looking at her, his expression unreadable as ever, as though he were weighing his response—or perhaps something entirely unrelated.

"C’mon, man, since when do you start spacing out like that?" Dylan chimed in with a grin, leaning forward slightly. "Don’t tell me you’re sitting here daydreaming about someone." His eyes slid pointedly toward Sheila, and his grin widened. "You daydreaming about Sheila, huh~?"

Sheila immediately flinched at the teasing, her posture stiffening as warmth rushed to her cheeks. "Wh–what are you talking about?" she blurted out, clearly caught off guard.

"Nothing," Dylan replied innocently, though his tone betrayed him completely. "Just stating the truth." He nodded as if proclaiming some undeniable fact known only to himself.

Liam watched the exchange for a brief moment before shaking his head slightly, his expression settling back into its usual calm neutrality. "No," he said evenly, "I wasn’t daydreaming about anyone." He paused before adding, "I just remembered there’s something I need to take care of tonight before it gets too late."

"Hm?" Dylan hummed again, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Oh really...? I know that look. You’re definitely planning to do something very inappropriate with a certain someone this evening, Liam boy." He wiggled his eyebrows exaggeratedly.

"Enough, Dylan," Sheila said quickly, attempting to sound firm, though her voice wavered despite her best efforts. "Can you stop? We all know there’s nothing between Liam and me."

"Thank you for clarifying that," Liam said flatly, his tone perfectly even. "Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I need to head back to my room." He stood up, lifting his tray as he did so.

"See you all tomorrow," he added calmly, already turning away as he began to leave the table.

As Liam walked off, the others watched his retreating figure for a moment.

"Well," Dylan said with a shrug, breaking the silence, "guess some things never change, huh?"

"That was basically your fault, dude," Max replied, shooting Dylan a sideways glance. "I doubt that would’ve happened if you didn’t keep running your mouth."

"Me?!" Dylan exclaimed in mock offense. "What did I do?"

As Dylan and Max continued their bickering, Sheila’s attention lingered elsewhere. Her eyes followed Liam’s form as he disappeared from the cafeteria, a faint crease forming between her brows as unease settled in her chest.

’Is it because of his duel with Percy?’