Chapter 55: Eclipsor Department

[Buff has been removed!]

[Congratulations! You have completed your first attempt of elimination!]

[Rival: Raphael Huliet]

***

"Ugh, that was exhausting," Verena groaned, slumping dramatically onto her desk during class.

She stared at the mountain of paperwork in front of her, eyes glazing over.

She had to fill in the candidate slots.

Great. Just one little problem. Who the hell would actually join them?

"Oh my god, I really am just like the Eclipsor Department students... A loser."

Her only real friend was Beatrice. Everyone else?

Either suspicious, indifferent, or actively plotting against her. Fantastic.

She sighed, rubbing her temples.

As if things weren’t bad enough, she’d been elected as the first-year representative of Eclipsor in the POLARIS party.

It was a pity nomination, she could feel it.

Each year had one representative, with the actual power positions locked away: only third-years could run for vice governor, and only fourth-years could run for governor.

As of now, she had to go visit the Local Government Unit (LGU) of the Eclipsor Department.

Which, of course, was located in the creepiest part of campus.

She hesitated outside the hallway leading to their so-called "office." The air felt colder here, the dim lighting casting eerie shadows along the cracked stone walls.

"Why does this look like the setting of a horror novel?"

With every step forward, her paranoia grew.

Was that a draft or a whisper? Were the walls just old, or were they breathing?

By the time she reached the door, she was certain of one thing.

This place was cursed.

And unfortunately, so was she.

The Eclipsor Department’s so-called "office" looked less like an administrative room and more like a lair.

The lighting was dim, shelves were stacked with suspicious artifacts, and the air smelled vaguely of old parchment and... was that incense?

Oh no. Oh god. Was someone actually performing a ritual here?

Verena had barely stepped inside when three pairs of eyes snapped toward her.

The occupants of the room stood frozen, as if they had been caught mid-crime.

Which, given the general vibe, was a very real possibility.

"Ah! The first-year representative has arrived!" A lanky man with wild, unkempt hair and half-moon glasses pushed himself off the desk. His grin was manic. "We’ve been expecting you."

"Okay, no. Absolutely not. I refuse to be part of whatever secret society meeting is happening here."

"Wait!" A second figure. This one a girl with dark circles under her eyes and an unsettling, twitchy smile, rushed forward. "You don’t understand! We need you."

The third person, a massive guy with a face that looked permanently done with life, just sighed. "We’re doomed."

"What?"

The lanky man pushed his glasses up. "Introductions first! I am Cassian Vell, fourth-year, and I am running for Governor of the Eclipsor Department." His smile was unnervingly wide. "This is Elara Duskwood, our vice-governor candidate. Third-year and chronic insomniac."

Elara gave an enthusiastic wave, despite looking one missed nap away from death.

Cassian gestured toward the massive guy. "And that’s Soren Vale. He doesn’t actually want to be here, but he’s the treasurer."

Soren grunted. "They forced me."

"Uh-huh. And? What does this have to do with me?"

Cassian clasped his hands together, eyes gleaming with something close to desperation. "You’re the only representative! The only first-year! We need your help to actually fill the department’s LGU or we’ll be disbanded."

Elara grabbed Verena’s hands.

"Please. We’re already known as the department full of outcasts and weirdos. If we lose our LGU, we’ll be downgraded to an unofficial club. Do you know how humiliating that would be?!"

"Is that bad?"

Soren groaned. "It means no funding, no official representation, and worst of all—"

Cassian leaned in, whispering like he was sharing a dark secret. "No room privileges."

"You’ll be homeless?!"

"Yes!" Cassian threw his arms up. "Do you know what happens when students don’t have an official department? They get absorbed by the others!"

Verena took a deep breath. "Okay. So what do you actually need me to do?"

Cassian, Elara, and Soren all dropped to their knees in perfect unison. "Help us fill the LGU!"

Verena took a step back, staring at the three pathetic, desperate figures in front of her.

She sighed. "Why do I always attract the weird ones...?"

Slumped over her desk, Verena groaned at the overwhelming stack of paperwork before her.

She needed to fill out candidates for the Eclipsor Department’s Local Government Unit.

She sighed and scanned through the list of her classmates, hoping for at least one competent name to jump out at her.

Instead, she was greeted with an entire cast of misfits.

One guy who tried to summon a demon during a written exam, another who spoke exclusively in riddles, and a girl who swore the school was run by lizard people.

Truly, an elite force.

Then it hit her.

Beatrice. Sweet, dependable Beatrice.

Technically, she could just beg her to be a board member. And so, without another second of hesitation, she stormed off to find her.

Beatrice was in the library, quietly reading, when Verena not-so-subtly slid into the seat across from her.

Beatrice barely glanced up. "No."

"You didn’t even let me speak!"

"Because I know that you might ask for something impossible!" she pouted.

Verena clasped her hands together like a desperate merchant peddling cursed goods. "Come on, Beatrice, dearest friend of mine, my shining star in this cruel, cruel world—"

Beatrice slowly closed her book. "...What do you want?"

"I need a board member for the Eclipsor Department’s LGU," Verena admitted, eyes pleading. "And you’re, like, literally the only sane person I know."

"But I’m not confident for that! Look at me, I’m a loser!"

"PLEASE! I’m already dealing with people who think reality is a government hoax! If I don’t get someone competent, I’m going to be eaten alive!"

"Hmph..."

"So is that a yes?"

Beatrice groaned. "Fine. But if this turns into some kind of disaster, I’m throwing you to the lizard people first."

"That’s fair!"

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