Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 992

Eleanor's gaze held steady, her posture not shifting a fraction. She had been waiting for this moment—or rather, for this angle. It was only a matter of time.

So it begins.

She didn't show it on her face, but she knew the question beneath Amelia's civility. The way her voice softened when mentioning the mentorships. The way her tone lingered just a second longer on personally.

It wasn't curiosity.

It was positioning.

"Yes," Eleanor replied, her voice cool and unbothered. "I have."

Amelia tilted her head ever so slightly, as if in admiration, but Eleanor knew better. "They must be… interesting students," she said lightly. "To merit your personal oversight."

There it is.

Eleanor didn't flinch. "They are."

Amelia's expression didn't waver, but her eyes sharpened ever so slightly, the warmth in her voice now edged with something colder—curiosity dipped in subtle challenge.

"Why?" she asked, tone still polite. "Why them, Eleanor? You could've chosen any number of promising second-years for mentorship. Instead, you picked two first-years—raw, unpolished, unstable by most standards—and took them under your wing personally."

Eleanor met her gaze without blinking. "I have my reasons."

The silence that followed wasn't long. But it was heavy.

Amelia's smile thinned.

"I see."

She held Eleanor's gaze for a breath longer—just long enough to signal that she didn't buy the vague answer—but not long enough to confront it outright.

Then she smiled again. Soft. Perfect.

As if she hadn't asked the question at all.

"Well," Amelia said lightly, "on the subject of oversight, I've been meaning to ask…"

Eleanor's shoulders didn't shift, but she felt the tone change immediately. This was no longer about Astron and Ethan.

This was about the infrastructure.

"The facility," Amelia continued. "The one you've been using for private instruction."

Her words were carefully chosen. Not accusatory—just factual.

Eleanor didn't answer right away.

Amelia continued.

"The advanced training center you've been managing access to—quietly, but not secretly. I was curious. It doesn't appear in the official facilities budget. So I looked into it."

A small tilt of her head. Still smiling.

"Some of the regulators you installed are flagged as pre-market prototypes."

Eleanor's voice was even. "That's correct. Most of the equipment is still in the development stage. I worked with two of the Federation's adaptive tech providers under discretionary approval."

Amelia nodded slowly. "I see. And the rest?"

Eleanor's gaze sharpened. "What about the rest?"

"The parts that aren't developmental. The foundational tech. Full reinforcement matrixes. Psion tracking rings. The manual resonance trainers. None of those are prototype models."

A pause.

"You used standard-grade training infrastructure. Quietly acquired."

"I did."

Amelia's smile widened just slightly.

"Which means the center wasn't just a test bed, Eleanor. It was a choice. You built it with intent."

Another pause. One heartbeat longer.

And then, Eleanor's voice cut through the space like a clean blade.

"And what are you coming at, Vice Headmaster?" she asked calmly. "Spit it out."

No hesitation. No softening.

Just steel.

The corridor stilled.

And for a moment, Amelia's smile was the only thing still moving.

Amelia's smile remained intact, but her eyes sharpened—finally cutting through the surface as Eleanor had commanded.

"Very well," she said with a breath that carried the faintest hum of satisfaction. "Since you asked so directly…"

She took a single step closer, voice lowering just enough to keep it between them.

"After the mid-terms, the Hunter Association is planning to host an Inter-Academy Tournament."

The words dropped like a stone in still water.

Eleanor didn't react immediately.

Not physically.

But her gaze narrowed—sharp, focused, dangerous.

"…What?"

It wasn't a whisper.