Chapter 80: Sophia's Failures
His current self was so pitiful that he could not even feel himself standing, as even the sensation of weight bearing down on his feet was completely gone.
He felt like he was weightlessly floating in space and having no vision to neutralize that feeling, Rocky really did feel like he was suspended freely into the air.
"Oh no… oh no, please tell me you did not lose your sense of touch?" Nubi said in a voice filled with panic, however, Rocky only nodded his head in response, or at least he thought he did as without any sort of sensory response reaching his brain he wasn\'t really sure anymore.
"Did the hall administrator provide you with echolocation at least?" Nubi asked, as Rocky once again nodded his head and said "Yes\'\'
"Okay, try making guttural sounds from your throat, think you\'re a cricket and make weird noises from your throat" Nubi instructed as Rocky made weird noises from his throat.
*Grrrrr*
*GRRR*
*BRRRR*
It took him a while, however, once he figured out the right frequency, he suddenly gained a new form of vision as he could sense his surroundings through echolocation.
It was like a built-in sonar had been planted in his head and when he made those weird noises he could clearly understand the outline of objects around him as while he could not see faces or features, he could still make out shapes!
"I think I\'ve gotten the hang of it, you can let me go" Rocky said, as Nubi sighed in relief and let Rocky go.
Thankfully the ancestral hall administrator had not been too cruel and having taken Rocky\'s vision and touch, granted him temporary echolocation ability so that he did not become a complete charity case.
"Hang in there Rocky, you\'re coming days are about to get a lot more difficult and I think you will be forced to go to the torture chamber a lot, however, the worst part is you won\'t even feel it" Nubi said, as she began guiding Rocky back to his dorm.
"How is that a bad thing for me to not be able to feel it though? Haha, it\'s sort of the best thing-" Rocky said thinking that he had just found a way to beat the system, however, unfortunately he was thinking wrongly.
"Since you can\'t feel, you will be subjected to torture of the mind. A form of torture that\'s much worse than the physical one" Nubi said as now Rocky finally felt frightened.
He still had to survive in this hell-hole for 75 more days and life was about to get even worse now that he had lost his sense of touch.
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( Meanwhile back at the university )
Rocky\'s absence was sharply felt by the entire university.
He was one of the focal points of all the classes he was a part of and a regular for talks over the lunch table.
Since nobody except Erin, Buhara and Sophia really knew that Rocky was taken to some special training camp by principal Liam, the theories of his absence became pretty wild.
Some believed that he was performing some urgent mission for the Gemini gods, while the others doubted that he was killed and replaced by Sophia who was now a member of his team.
Students who supported Rocky over Sophia often harassed her during classes regarding questions about Rocky, however, Sophia never gratified them with a response.
She herself was trying to figure out where he had disappeared to as his family was very pissed off that she did not follow him to wherever Liam wanted to send them.
Sophia thought she had made the right choice, but her brother and father disagreed and expressed their strong disappointment in Sophia for leaving Rocky\'s side.
Unfortunately for her, no matter how many times she tried to ask principal Liam about where he sent Rocky, the madman refused to answer as even after 15 days had passed she had no information as to where he could be.
"I\'m so pissed, the principal won\'t tell me where Rocky is. This is ridiculous, what if he is in some big trouble?" Sophia said angrily as she munched down on her food alongside Buhara and Erin.
"Well, with respect ma\'am Sophia, Rocky will be fine. We should only worry about him after 3 months if he still does not show up.
Since the principal says he will be back before the big midterm raid, we should patiently wait till then" Erin said as Sophia grit her teeth at his response.
Over the past few days Sophia had realized that no matter how hard she tried, while he could become really close friends with Buhara, she could not do the same with Erin.
He wasn\'t awkward to talk to like the first time they met. However, even after being teammates for two months, he kept his distance from her.
The difference in his treatment when he talked to Rocky and Buhara was evident compared to when he talked to her, as it was almost like he was wary of her, despite her having never done anything wrong or suspicious to him.
"I know…. I\'m just worried for Rocky, that\'s it…" Sophia said, agreeing begrudgingly to Erin\'s words as somehow he felt like the same kind of man like her father and brother to Sophia.
The kind of man that was hard to please, which was why she had this unconscious need to win his approval.
"I like puny Sophia, she is a very caring girl, whoever boinks her in the future will get a good wife. Buhara approves" said Buhara as Erin laughed out loud to his comment while Sophia turned red.
"Buhara it\'s impolite to talk about shaboinkin in front of a woman. A gentleorc wouldn\'t do it" said Erin as Buhara made an \'O\' expression with his lips as if feeling enlightened.
"Buhara had no idea! Buhara thanks Erin for teaching him this, it seems like gentle Erin is a true gentle orc" Buhara said as he complimented Erin who immediately turned red.
"No… no, it\'s all nothing much, you on the other hand Buhara are a very strong orc! I\'m sure your future mate will be very happy with you" said Erin as he compulsively returned the compliment with another.
"Buhahahara- yes, I will marry Brisella, she will make for a good matriarch! She has those wide hips all orcs want" said Buhara as he made obscene gestures with his hand that made Sophia feel flushed.
\'Why do I even hang out with these dudes?\' she wondered as she looked around the lunch hall in embarrassment, hoping that no-one was looking at their table and thankfully no-one really was.
"Brisella and Buhara sitting on a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G" Sophia singed softly, trying to get in on the fun, however, her joke went over Buhara\'s head.
"The branch would break if Buhara and Brisella sit on it together, we are not small like puny humans" said Buhara, as Erin burst out laughing listening to his retort as Sophia choked on her food.
Her humor was really wasted here.
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/// A/N - This bonus chapter is sponsored by patron Cervantez91, please thank him in the comments for the same ///