Chapter 1667: Bruce Wayne and the Magic Stone (Eleven) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

"Bruce Wayne!"

The students at the long dining table were shouting his name in succession, like a flock of sparrows chirping when they landed on a windowsill in early winter. The noise would be particularly annoying in the morning, but this man seemed accustomed to being the center of attention, and it didn't affect him in the slightest.

"I hope I didn't bump into you. Sorry." Bruce nodded slightly at Little Bruce and immediately averted his gaze, turning to face Constantine, who was approaching him with big strides.

"You're finally back, Bruce. The teacher who's been teaching your class has changed shifts already. If you hadn't come back, I'm afraid I would have had to attend that dreadful mathematics class."

"Don't listen to him. He's not going to die." Zatanna appeared from behind Constantine, pulled back the sleeves of her magic cloak, and gave Bruce a brief hug.

"How have the students been doing lately? You'd better remind them that the mathematics class they hate the most is about to start again."

"Oh dear, I'm more worried than they are," Zatanna said with a roll of her eyes. "Mathematics and physics are my lifelong pain, but you, on the other hand, excel in them. That's more impressive than our past history... not that I want to bring it up. Did you have breakfast?"

"Not yet. I don't have time now. I'm looking for Professor Strange. Is he here?"

"He's over at Strangecollege." Constantine pointed towards the end of the long table, where a group of students in golden robes were seated. Professor Strange's figure was vaguely visible among them.

"Thanks. I'll go over now." After saying that, Bruce was about to walk away quickly, but Zatanna turned her head and glanced at Little Bruce, then hastily caught up with Bruce. "Wait – he... "

"Oh boy, look who's here. Your lifeline's back." Constantine shrugged at Little Bruce. "Your good days are about to arrive."

Little Bruce, on the other hand, stared blankly at Bruce's back, feeling a huge shock. He couldn't understand why his future self was completely different from what he had imagined.

Was he too trendy?

Yes, this Bruce looked young, full of energy, and very modern. His robe appeared extremely expensive. The material wasn't the usual thick fabric but a light silk with a subtle Eastern-style pattern. The tailoring was extremely fitted, making him look neat and elegant. To achieve this effect, Bruce must have had ten tailors surrounding him.

Moreover, he seemed to have good relationships with the professors. Little Bruce himself had interacted with Constantine, but he couldn't imagine having common topics with this dilapidated, rotten person. And it seemed that Constantine had had a past relationship with the director of Zatara Academy.

What was more important was that Bruce was very popular among the students. As soon as he approached the Strangecollege side, a group of people gathered around him. They probably were the third-year class leaders and their friends, who had obviously interacted with Bruce before.

A person who kept others at arm's length wouldn't receive so much attention overnight, no matter how special their status was. People would usually whisper that he was strange, but the situation with Bruce was the complete opposite. Most people openly discussed him, surrounded him, and even showed affection for him.

"Isn't he really handsome? Right?" Spencer Miss said with one hand supporting her head. "I heard from my aunt that Bruce Wayne was an incredible super-handsome guy, even more handsome than a magazine cover model. His blue eyes are like a love potion."

"Enough of that. Guess what he brought us?" Kaine laughed. "I bet it's a gift from the Wayne Family. I heard their butler had a birthday recently."

"There's no need to guess. I saw it," Lawrence said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "A carriage full of bat plushies arrived at the warehouse earlier. We'll get one each before long."

"Was it the kind with the huge Bat pillow we saw at the Director's office?" Spencer Miss beamed. "That one was more than ten times bigger than the little Bat toys we got with our admissions letters?"

"It looks like it's the same kind. That's the most popular Batman toy in Gotham now. They sell for 20 US dollars each at the Pier shop."

"Oh my god! That's so expensive!"

"Because it uses a new kind of stuffing material that's really soft. I heard it's a type of synthetic animal hair that doesn't shed easily."

"Let's hurry up and get our gifts! We should get back to the communal lounge."

The news that Wayne brought new gifts spread quickly across the colleges. The dining hall was quieter than ever before. Everyone was gulping down their food and rushing back to the communal lounge excitedly.

When they arrived, they saw several large boxes of Bat plushies. The girls were the first to see them and immediately started screaming. Spencer Miss rushed into the boxes with an incredible speed, hugging four or five of the plushies.

"Oh my god, they're so soft. I never thought I'd fall in love with this Batman toy. Shouldn't I prefer something like little rabbits instead?"

"You'd be foolish to think that! Those are last season's trend. It's the era of Batman now."

"I heard they use fake animal fur, and the stitching is almost invisible. This is just perfect as a hug pillow. Can I take one now?"

"Wait, stop!" Kaine yelled. "Only take one. Line up and come to get your gift!"

The new students didn't know what was happening, and they were swept away by Harley, who grabbed Barry's and Little Bruce's arms and pulled them to the side.

"What's going on?" Barry asked, confused.

"Whenever the Director of Waynecollege comes back, he brings gifts for us. You know he's really rich, but more important is that he manages to get us these new gifts before they are released on the market. They might even be samples he produced for Gotham tourism."

Harley explained to the two of them, "You know that Gotham tourism has been very popular lately, right? Every time they release a batch of merchandise, it gets snatched up quickly, and then those items become rare collectibles. If you've got the money, you can collect them; after all, the quality of the products made by Wayne is trustworthy. If you need the money, you can even sell them online, and that's a pretty decent income too."

Barry nodded, accepting the explanation, but Little Bruce was still in shock, and his biggest surprise could be summed up in one sentence: "Where did this carefree, sunny guy come from?"

Little Bruce never thought of himself as a cheerful person, neither before nor after his parents' death. Even during his happy childhood, he was never a lively and cheerful kid. Simply put, Batman was born a dark, oppressive figure who never gives up.

But the Bruce he saw recently looked like he came from another dimension; he appeared truly happy, and even a bit too happy.

Little Bruce was shocked by the fact that he would become this kind of person in the future, and he was so stunned that he didn't even notice when someone put a huge Batman plushie in his hands. The plushie was extremely soft and fluffy.

When Little Bruce managed to stuff the plushie into his room and finally showed his face, he saw Barry and Harley fighting over the plushie, and the others were no better.

He must have put some kind of spell on it; otherwise, why would everyone like his gift so much? Was there any other logical explanation?

How could Bruce Wayne be likable?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Little Bruce had a very clear sense of himself, and he was quite pessimistic about his personality. He had never thought he could fit in with the crowd; he'd rather use his sharp, hurtful words to push away those stupid, brainless people he despised.

But was fitting in a choice anyway? What was the point of that? What could these silly, always-happy people possibly bring him?

Little Bruce lay in bed thinking about this, and the Batman plushie was too big to be stuffed under the bed. He had to put it on his bed.

The next morning, he found that he didn't kick the plushie off the bed, as he would in his dreams; instead, he was hugging it in his sleep.

Little Bruce got up, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and chased the fatigue away. He was still a bit groggy, but he quickly got up and heard someone knock on his door.

He opened it to find a strange girl, who looked a bit flustered but still managed to say in a somewhat nervous tone, "You need to get up quickly, or you'll be late for class. The first class is with Professor Pamela, and she's got a bad temper."

"Do you know me?"

"I know you're Wayne, probably the relative of that Wayne Director. He sent my family two plushies that helped us out for a bit with our economic situation. If it's okay, can you thank him for me?... You need to go to class. I'm leaving!"

After she hurried away, Little Bruce thought about this and wondered if this was the benefit of fitting in with the crowd? Was it to pretend to be happy, please everyone, fake understanding for these brainless people, and satisfy all their demands just to get some interest-driven attention?

Little Bruce didn't say a word and went back to his room. After washing and getting ready, he nearly walked into the classroom on time.

Professor Pamela adjusted her hat and began, "The subject I'll be teaching is the basics of Magic Plants. We'll be discussing which Magic plants are most common in magic and how to identify their characteristics."

"Next, take a look at this." Professor Pamela brought out a potted plant with spiral-shaped fruits, which was exactly the one they had seen in the backyard garden.

"Spiral Grass is the most typical magic plant that grows in areas with strong magic energy. You can find it in the eastern part of the Malt Swamp...".

The magic plants class turned out to be more interesting than expected. Professor Pamela introduced them to three types of common plants in the magical realm and shared many funny stories about some useless wizards who had mishaps with these plants.

After the class, the others left, but Little Bruce caught Barry and Harley and said, "We need to ask Professor Pamela about that Tree Demon."

Just then, Professor Pamela was walking by their side, apparently intending to leave via the corridor. Little Bruce explained, "No matter why the professors set all this up, we need to go and check it out. If it matches our prediction, we can let them know there's more to this school than just stupid people."

At that moment, Professor Pamela had reached the corner of the corridor and seemed to encounter someone. She paused for a second.

The three students immediately rushed into a nearby classroom and eavesdropped on the conversation from the corridor.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter =>Chapter 1668: Bruce Wayne and the Magic Stone (Twelve)