《Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem》


 Chapter 1: Entrance Exam

    "Young Master!"


    "Quick, get the physician! The Young Master has fainted!"


    During his fifth birthday, Zacharia Evandiel tripped and hit his head. He knocked himself out and remained unconscious for three days. Contrary to everyone''s worry and to everyone''s delight, he was completely okay when he finally woke up.


    However, something had changed.


    The first five years of Zach''s life had been as ordinary as can be. He was born. He ate, slept, and played like any ordinary young noble''s son. He continued doing that, even after he woke up. That wasn''t it. What had changed wasn''t something as superficial as his behavior.


    Half a year later, he slipped and fell into the pond in the backyard, almost drowning. But in the process, he found an ancient bracelet decorated with priceless jewels. A few months later, in the same pond, he found a matching necklace after almost drowning when a dog pushed him in.


    A couple of days after his seventh birthday, some bandits broke into the mansion. Despite the heavy security, there was an opening that let them kidnap Zach.


    Zach wasn''t the only one kidnapped. Several other young nobles had also been kidnapped and brought to a warehouse. There, Zach tripped again and set off a domino-like effect of knocking the kidnappers against each other.


    The kidnappers stabbed each other, fell over, released the captives, and set off the fireworks stored in the warehouse, alerting the various noble houses of their location.


    Following this and a few other incidents, Zach''s family did their best to keep him safe and out of harm''s way. But even when he spent most of his days in his room, he managed to almost get the ceiling collapsed on him.


    A beam had rotted without anyone noticing. Coincidentally enough, this beam happened to be right above Zach''s room.


    But the ceiling wasn''t the only thing that almost fell on Zach. A box containing records of the ancient times that the person who built the mansion during the dawn of the Evandiel family hid also fell down.


    It seemed that wherever Zacharia Evandiel went, he would be accompanied by unbelievable luck and misfortune.


    That was why his family couldn''t immediately say no when he, at fourteen years of age, wanted to attend the empire''s Academy of Summoners. And a year later, he was ready to take the entrance exam.


    ***


    Zach stood in front of the impressive academy gates. They were more grand than the ones to the family mansion.


    "Let''s hope for a peaceful academy life," Zach said with his hands on his hips as he admired the stream of hopeful new students swarming toward the exam hall.


    "...Is that him?"


    "I think so. Look at that orange hair. Only the Evandiels have that."


    "Be careful, or you''ll get caught up in his bad luck."


    "Yeah, I heard he got five other kids involved in a kidnapping when he was younger."


    "Five? I heard it was at least a dozen."


    "Don''t forget about the family of dogs that drowned trying to save him when he fell into a lake." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach ignored the voices of his possible schoolmates and headed toward the examination hall to take the first test of the day. With the Academy''s resources, they had no trouble organizing everything.


    Zach took the first theoretical test, and when he had just started taking a look around the campus, the results were already posted. He was a little disappointed since he wanted to inspect the place where he would live for the next four years.


    However, since that wouldn''t happen if he didn''t pass both the theoretical and practical tests, Zach followed the stream of talkative and nervous students to the next examination hall. Already, the number of people had decreased to a fraction of the initial test-takers.


    But the grounds outside the hall were still cramped.


    After all, unlike the first test where everyone had been assigned to different classrooms where they had just needed to answer a string of questions about all kinds of subjects, the next test was the real deal.


    There was only one Chamber of Ceremony in the Academy, so only one student could take the test at once. It was a tedious process. Fortunately, it didn''t take long for each student to undergo the test. Most people entered the stone doors, which barely had time to close before opening again to let the dejected youth out.


    But there were also several who stayed inside the Chamber for up to several minutes before leaving. And when they left, they were no longer alone.


    Although Zach was excited, he couldn''t be bothered to keep track of everyone who came out with summoned familiars unless they were extraordinary, like the guy who came out with a big, black dog as tall as him or the young lady who came out with a floating block of ice. They caused enough of a ruckus to stir Zach out of his daydreaming daze.


    The other thing that woke Zach up was the voice of the instructor calling his name.


    It was finally his turn.


    ''Shoot, I should have asked Nora to pack me lunch.''


    Since so much time had passed, Zach''s stomach had long forgotten the breakfast it had and was beginning to desire more food.


    Zach passed through the stone doors and entered the dark room. It wasn''t just dark. When the doors thumped shut, it was impossible to see anything inside. It didn''t make a difference whether Zach''s eyes were open or closed.


    A few moments later, a ring of light appeared on the floor a couple of steps into the room.


    Zach''s face lit up in a smile. The ring''s appearance meant he had the talent for summoning. However, he had only passed the first part of the test, so he couldn''t relax yet.


    Zach walked over and stepped into the ring. As he did so, the ring rose into the air and enveloped him in a veil of light before sinking back into the floor. As it did so, another, much larger ring of light appeared in the center of the room.


    The large ring grew brighter and lines of similar golden white light spread through the room like the threads of a spiderweb, gradually encasing the entire room in a golden sheen. The light grew brighter and brighter until Zach could no longer keep his eyes open.


    Still, Zach wanted to see, so he tried to keep looking until tears welled up in his eyes, and he had to close them and cover them with his hands until the light finally faded to reveal a mysterious figure.

 Chapter 2: Rank

    Zach frowned and blinked several times before being able to open his eyes.


    "Woah¡­"


    He knew he had summoned something what with the flashing lights and all. But he hadn''t expected a tall, blonde, maid beauty to appear instead of something like a dog, bird, or block of ice.


    But the show didn''t end there, even as the maid opened her eyes and looked at Zach with a solemn expression.


    [Zacharia Evandiel]


    [Level 1 Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skill: Blessed Defense]


    [Contracts: Yanael]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Rank Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    Zach''s eyes widened as he took in the information on display on a bronze-colored, holographic window. He skimmed through most of the information before his gaze lingered on two things.


    The name of his summoned familiar and her rank.


    Zach was curious about the skills, too, but he had people waiting for him to leave the Chamber, so he waved away the window and looked at Yanael.


    "Hello, uh, and thanks for accepting my contract. It''s very nice to meet you."


    Yanael responded with a slight bow, her hands clasped in front of her. The maid dress reaching her ankles didn''t even sway as she moved. At a glance, Zach could tell that she was the epitome of grace and elegance.


    Zach was excited, and he couldn''t keep himself from smiling as he turned around and waited for Yanael to catch up before pushing open the doors and leaving. He took a moment to bask as he left the Chamber, waiting for the ''oohs'' and ''aahs'' of awe from the crowd still waiting for their turn.


    Zach didn''t get the reaction he expected.


    Instead, he got¡­


    "Huh? What''s that?"


    "A doll?"


    "A homunculus, maybe?"


    "Don''t care. She''s pretty. I hope I also get something like that."


    "In your dreams. I won''t let anyone else have her."


    "Dude, she is already that guy''s contracted familiar."


    "Don''t care."


    "Still¡­To think an Evandiel would only summon a homunculus. What a letdown."


    "Letdown? Are you blind? So what if it''s D-rank or whatever? With a face and body that beautiful, you don''t need to be useful."


    Zach glanced back at his angel. He scanned her up and down real quick.


    Sure enough. Not a wing or a halo in sight.


    "If you''re done, get moving. Since you have passed both tests, you can settle down in the dorms or go to the cafeteria."


    The instructor also gave Yanael a couple of intrigued glances, but he had a job to do. And the Academy wasn''t lax on people who didn''t do their jobs since they had more people trying to be instructors than they had students.


    Zach nodded and turned to walk to the dorms, ignoring the looks from the crowd.


    Fortunately, his reputation as a walking misfortune magnet prevented anyone from asking him about his supposed homunculus. Zach was free to wander around until he found the cafeteria on his own, all the while Yanael trailed behind him like a loyal servant.


    Zach wasn''t the only one who decided to visit the cafeteria, but there weren''t as many as he had expected, and he easily found a place to sit down after grabbing his food. Zach narrowed his eyes as he looked at his familiar.


    ''I wonder if she wants something to eat.''


    But before Zach could ask or offer Yanael some food, a person Zach had no memory of seeing before sat down in front of him. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Zach Evandiel, right? Nice to meet you. I''m Julius Hersko." Julius reached out and grabbed Zach''s hand, forcefully shaking it.


    Since Julius was so brave, Zach didn''t mind the rushed attitude. It was way better than avoiding him like the plague like others did.


    "Can you stop staring?"


    Zach did mind, however, the way Julius ogled Yanael. All throughout the greeting, he hadn''t moved his gaze away from Zach''s battle maid.


    "My bad. I just had to check for myself."


    "Is that why you''re here?"


    Julius nodded.


    "And to make friends. I figured since we have similar familiars, we should stick together."


    Julius gestured to the wooden, faceless mannequin unsteadily walking over.


    "I rushed over as soon as I saw you, but I didn''t think it couldn''t keep up if you''re wondering why it''s all the way over there."


    "I just figured you left your familiar in the hallway like most others do."


    "Ah. No. Anyway. D-rank Mannequin. That''s my familiar."


    Julius looked at Yanael again, pushing up his glasses with two fingers.


    "As for yours¡­?"


    Zach glanced back and met Yanel''s eyes.


    "I''m sure you heard the rumors since you came. But setting that aside, do you know what the highest-ranking familiar summoned this time is?"


    Julius stroked his chin and raised his eyebrows in a teasing smile.


    "I see¡­ It''s not a D-rank homunculus, is it? But forget it. Even if it''s something better, you''re still far from the top. We had three A-ranks with us this year."


    Julius was smug as if he was one of those three.


    Zach frowned. That meant he was the only S-rank. If he revealed the rank of his angel, he would end up the center of attention. It wasn''t necessarily a bad thing.


    But Zach was aware of his own natural inclination for trouble.


    "Well? C''mon, tell me. Is it a C-rank something? There''s no way is B-rank, right? I mean, it could be, considering the details and its beauty. Hey.


    Hey. Hey."


    Julius was so impatient he even started tapping Zach''s shoulder, startling him out of his deep thoughts.


    "Even if you don''t tell me, I''ll find out tomorrow when we do the rank assessment to determine what classes we should take."


    ''Ah.''


    Zach sighed in relief. He didn''t have to make a choice.


    He leaned in like he was going to tell Julius a secret. Eagerly, Julius also leaned in and pointed his ear at Zach.


    "...S~o not telling."


    Zach stuck his tongue out and grabbed his plate, disappearing before Julius could react.


    "You bastard!"


    Julius sighed after hollering at Zach''s back. He looked at his mannequin.

 Chapter 3: Who Is She?

    Zach continued wandering around campus after eating until he found the dorms. He was looking forward to finding out more about his angel. He had dreamed of becoming a summoner for a long time, after all.


    As the young master of one of the great noble houses of the empire, Zach was naturally entitled to more than a shared dorm room. There was also the fact that the Academy was aware of his uncanny relationship with accidents, so they happily put him in his own suite. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach looked around the room where he would be spending his next four years unless he got expelled or graduated early. It wasn''t that different from his room at the mansion since it was decorated with the same furniture.


    He had his bed, desk, wardrobe, towels, and his favorite mug. However, his wardrobe was empty, so he had been a little faster than the servants in charge of moving things from the mansion to the dorm.


    Only a moment later, the door to Zach''s suite opened up and a silver-haired maid let herself in while carrying two heavy suitcases.


    "Oh, Young Master, you''re¡­" The maid who looked too small to be handling two such big suitcases with ease froze and dropped the cases on the floor.


    She slowly raised a hand and pointed at Yanael before speaking with an icy voice.


    "Young Master, who is she?"


    "Oh, she''s¡ª" Zach didn''t even have time to answer before the maid interrupted him.


    "No, I don''t want to hear it! After all that I went through for your parents to let me accompany you¡­! How could you?" The silver-haired maid turned around and began storming off.


    "Nora!" Zach sank to his knees and reached out with a hand toward Nora''s back.


    "It''s not what it looks like!" Zach tearfully cried out and hung his head in despair, looking like a beat dog with all fours on the floor.


    "Master, am I alone not good enough?" To Zach''s surprise, the golden-haired angel maid knelt next to him and placed a hand on his back while looking at him with worried eyes.


    Zach and Nora looked at Yanael in surprise. Nora hurriedly reentered the room and closed the door behind her after making sure the hallway was empty.


    "Y-you can talk?" Zach''s eyes were wide open in surprise. As far as he knew, not even S-rank familiars could talk.


    "Yes? Do you not want me to?" Yanael was slightly confused and tilted her head. She didn''t quite understand what Zach and Nora had been up to.


    "No, of course, I want you to! It''s great!" Zach smiled at Yanael and stood up before asking her to stay there while he brought Nora to a corner.


    "Looking at your reaction, that is your summoned familiar, right? I mean, I heard the rumors, but you''re not pranking me, are you?" Nora glanced at Yanael before removing the arm Zach had wrapped around her shoulders and jabbing him in the ribs with a finger.


    "Yes, that''s her. No, I''m not pranking you. Are familiars supposed to talk?" Zach also glanced at Yanael before looking at Nora with a questioning expression.


    Nora shook her head. "I''ve never heard of anything like it, even from other humanoid familiars. Granted, you''re the first summoner in a couple of generations in your family, and I''m sure it would be a pretty strict secret if it''s happened before."


    "Do you think you could ask someone about it?" Zach narrowed his eyes.


    "I can send a letter to the family, but does it matter?" Nora tilted her head.


    "I guess not." Zach hesitated for a moment before nodding, but Nora grabbed him before he could return to the confused Yanael.


    "Hey, hey, hey, Young Master. You can''t leave yet, you know?" Nora held back Zach with a firm grip on his shoulder that he couldn''t escape from.


    Zach sighed.


    "Fine¡­Her name''s Yanael. She''s an S-rank battle maid angel."


    "That''s not what I meant, and you know it." Nora tightened her grip and leaned in close to Zach''s face.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about. I do know that I''m the master and you''re the servant in this master-servant relationship, though," Zach obstinately said while trying to wrench away Nora''s sleek and calloused hand without success.


    "Ah, ah, ouch! That hurts! If you don''t let me go, I''m telling mom." Zach glared at Nora while clutching his shoulder.


    "Try it, your mom loves me." Nora shrugged but still let Zach go.


    "I never said my mom." Zach rubbed his sore shoulder.


    Nora looked at Zach with alarm.


    "You don''t mean¡­?"


    "Behave or I''m asking your mom to retrain you from the ground up."


    "You wouldn''t¡­!" Nora took a step back and dramatically held her hand on her chest while looking at Zach as if she couldn''t believe he would say something like that.


    Zach crossed his arms.


    "Wanna bet?"


    "Tch." Nora crossed her arms with a click of her tongue and looked away from Zach, signaling her defeat.


    "You will tell me about your maid obsession one day, though."


    Zach smiled triumphantly as he ignored her final words. He was tempted to tease Nora even more, but it wasn''t worth it when she didn''t have anything more to lose. So, he contained himself and turned around.


    Zach focused on the angel maid who had now composed herself and waited patiently for the two to finish whatever it was they were doing.


    "Yanael."


    "How may I be of assistance, Master?"


    Zach was giddy just hearing such a beautiful woman address him as her master while wearing a maid dress.


    "Well, you can begin by telling me more about yourself, where you''re from, why you''re a maid, and how summoning works."


    Zach was looking forward to uncovering the secrets of both Yanael and the ancient art of summoning familiars, which was something the empire''s scholars could only theorize about. With a talking familiar, couldn''t he get all the answers he wanted?


    "No."

 Chapter 4: Greatness

    Zach stared blankly at Yanael after her curt answer.


    "...What?" Eventually, he managed to open his mouth and question his familiar.


    Since she could talk, was sentient, and had her own thoughts, it was obvious she could say no if it was something she didn''t want. But Zach didn''t see why Yanael wouldn''t want to answer his questions.


    "My apologies, Master, but I can not answer those questions."


    "Can not or will not?" Zach squinted as he looked at Yanael''s apologetic face.


    "I can not answer."


    "Why?"


    Yanael just shook her head.


    Zach looked at her for a few more moments before relaxing his gaze and sighing.


    "So, it''s all a secret and it''s a secret why it''s secret."


    Yanael nodded.


    "Can you at least tell me how to unlock those secrets?"


    Yanael hesitated at Zach''s question.


    "Yes?" Zach noticed her hesitation and prompted her to open up.


    "I''ve heard leveling up can give you more authority." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach tilted his head.


    "Leveling up?"


    Yanael nodded.


    "If you take a look at the summoning interface, you will see that you are currently a Level 1 Summoner. It is almost the same as having no authority. The only reason I can even say this much is due to my rank boosting what little you have. But with every level and every familiar you gain, your authority increases little by little."


    Yanael''s jaws snapped shut as soon as she finished. Zach''s eyebrow rose slightly.


    "I guess that''s the limit of what you can tell me for now?"


    Yanael nodded.


    It wasn''t much, but Zach wasn''t disappointed. If anything, he was more excited than before. He had a pretty solid goal to work toward. He didn''t know how much he had to level up to be allowed to learn about the secrets of the art of summoning or Yanael''s secrets.


    But secrets were the tastiest when they were well-kept.


    Zach turned to Nora, who had started and almost finished packing his clothes into the wardrobe.


    "Nora, any ideas on how to level up?"


    Nora frowned at Zach as if she couldn''t believe he was asking her that.


    "Why the f¡ªWhy do you think you''re attending this Academy, Young Master?"


    "To make friends."


    Nora scoffed.


    "Good luck with that."


    "I''ve already made a friend, actually." Zach didn''t let Nora''s skepticism get to him.


    "A real one?" Nora didn''t even look at Zach as she finished up and closed the suitcases before sliding them under the bed.


    "Yes. You also saw him, right, Yanael?"


    "If you''re referring to Julius Hersko, then yes, I also saw him, Master."


    Zach turned to Nora.


    "See?"


    "Whatever." Nora shook her head slightly. "Go to bed, Young Master, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."


    "Fine, but I''m bringing Julius over tomorrow after class so you better have some snacks ready."


    "Yeah, yeah."


    "Great." Zach smiled and got ready for bed.


    "Yanael, come here." Zach raised his duvet and patted the bed next to him, gesturing for Yanael to lie down next to him. She began walking toward the bed, but Nora stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.


    "Nope."


    "Tch. Cockblocked by my own maid."


    Nora scowled at Zach.


    "Don''t harass this poor girl you''ve known for less than a day. Besides, it''s not like she would let you do anything."


    "I wasn''t going to try anything, either. I just wanted her to lie down next to me."


    "Yeah, that''s not happening. Yanael, you''re coming with me."


    Nora grabbed Yanael and hauled her off before Zach could protest. Yanael looked at Zach while Nora carried her. If he had given any signal, she would have fought back.


    But Zach just gestured that it was fine and that she should follow the pushy silver-haired maid into the servant''s quarters next door. They were close enough that the only threat to Zach that the two maids couldn''t react in time to was Zach''s own misfortune.


    ''Divine Luck, my ass.''


    Zach fell asleep while grumbling about the inaccuracy of his innate skill. Like always, his fortune and misfortune came hand in hand, but he was still left feeling like he lost out. He summoned an otherworldly beautiful angel in a maid dress but he couldn''t even have her sleep next to him without Nora getting in the way.


    It was a tough world to live in. He had greatness in front of him, but he could only look at it from afar.


    Zach eventually fell asleep. He dreamed of maids.


    The next morning, Nora and Yanael woke Zach up with breakfast ready to eat and a bath already heated. The luxurious life of having two maids was beginning to show.


    Zach scarfed down breakfast and got dressed before he and Yanael wandered around until they found the classroom where he would have the first of countless classes in the Academy.


    "Being late on your first day is not a good sign, young man." The dark-haired instructor glared at Zach as he entered.


    Zach bowed apologetically.


    "My bad. I got lost on the way here."


    The instructor hummed lightly.


    "Alright. I''ll be lenient since the Academy is big and it is your first day, but I expect you to be on time from tomorrow onwards."


    "Of course."


    "But your servant will have to stay outside."


    Zach glanced back at Yanael before looking at the others in the class who had brought their familiars along. The classroom was large and the desks were placed far from each other to allow even larger familiars to fit inside.


    "Instructor, this is my familiar." Zach looked at the instructor with an honest expression.


    "Nice try. If you want special treatment, find it somewhere else."


    One of the students raised their hands.


    "Excuse me, Instructor, but that maid is his familiar. We saw him summon her yesterday."


    The instructor looked at the student for a moment.


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes."


    The instructor shrugged.


    "Well, we''re doing a rank assessment today, so we''ll be able to tell for sure whether she is a familiar or not. Now, take your seat, young man."


    "Sure thing:"

 Chapter 5: Rank Assessment

    Zach sat down in the only available seat in the classroom, which happened to be in the frontmost row next to Julius, who nodded in greeting. Zach politely returned the nod before turning his gaze to the Instructor.


    "Ahem." The Instructor cleared his throat.


    "For those of you who missed it, my name is Jarron. You all may address me as Instructor Jarron. During the four years you will be spending here, setting aside unforeseen events such as early graduations, expellings, or deaths, I will be your homeroom teacher. I will also be teaching you the basics of summoning." Jarron looked out at his class and made eye contact with all the students.


    "As some of you have already noticed, I am a lenient teacher, and since it''s your first lesson of the first day, we won''t be doing anything complicated. As some or most of you already know, we will only be assessing the ranks of your familiars today." Jarron turned and pointed at a seemingly ordinary glass orb lying on his desk like a paperweight.


    "We''ll be using this projector. It''s as simple as you and your familiar touching it at the same time. It will project the familiar''s rank. Any questions? No? Good.


    Let''s get started." Jarron rolled the projector to the front of his desk before grabbing a list with the names of all the students.


    Jarron didn''t waste any time and immediately started calling down students and their familiars.


    "Violina Systine." Eventually, Jarron reached the name of one of the more famous people in the class.


    Zach looked up and followed the blue-haired young lady''s graceful descent to the front of the classroom. He recognized her. She was one of the descendants of one of the other ducal families in the empire, the daughter of the Systines of the South.


    She and her floating block of ice, which was surrounded by visible cold air, touched the projector. It didn''t take long before a dazzling blue ''A'' popped up in the air above the projector.


    Jarron nodded. After all, it was already known that Violina and two others had summoned A-rank familiars.


    "Would you like to share or keep your familiar''s identity a secret?"


    "I won''t bother concealing something so obvious. It''s an Ice Spirit."


    "I see." Jarron nodded again and wrote down Violina''s rank and contracted familiar before gesturing that she could return to her seat.


    A few students after her came the next A-rank.


    Anerias Corom wasn''t as graceful as Violina, but he was twice as cocky, seemingly to make up for it. He and his oversized dog with matching black color schemes confidently made their way to the projector. After the black ''A'' popped up, Anerias didn''t even wait for Jarron to ask before loudly announcing his familiar''s identity.


    "Blackfire Hound."


    "Okay."


    However, he didn''t cause much of a stir since most already knew about it. However, Zach looked at the large, black, sleek-furred dog with a thoughtful gaze. He wasn''t sure what, but he could feel something from the dog.


    It also seemed like the dog could sense something from him.


    ''No¡­''


    Zach followed the dog''s large black eyes as it looked in his direction. It wasn''t sensing something from Zach. It was focused on the angel behind him.


    Zach frowned for a moment before shrugging. He could just ask Yanael about it later when they were alone since he didn''t want anyone else to find out she could talk just yet. It would be too much of a bother if it came out that she was an S-rank, a variant, and she could talk at once.


    Fortunately, the Blackfire Hound didn''t seem more than interested in Yanael, and it happily trotted back to its seat with its master.


    Zach glanced around the room. There weren''t many left, and it should be his turn soon. But he was curious about the third A-rank. He had an idea of who it might be since only one familiar stood out the same way the Blackfire Hound and the Ice Spirit had done.


    But the person who had summoned that familiar seemed pretty indistinctive in comparison, so Zach wasn''t sure.


    "Dukiel."


    However, he would soon get his answer. The unremarkable young man with short brown hair made his way to the front of the class with hunched shoulders and a nervous look in his eye. In stark contrast, his familiar, which was a floating elliptical something made of a strange pale grey material, seemed unfazed by everything. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the familiar bumped against the projector at the same time as Dukiel, a light grey ''A'' popped up, confirming Zach''s suspicions.


    "That''s an interesting familiar, Dukiel. Do you mind sharing it''s identity?"


    Dukiel shook his head.


    "I don''t mind. It''s a sentinel."


    Jarron nodded thoughtfully while writing it down.


    "A sentinel, huh. There aren''t much information on them, but I''ll make sure to find out as much as possible to help you."


    "T-thank you."


    Jarron nodded again and sent Dukiel and his sentinel back to their seat.


    Next up was Julius and his D-rank mannequin. Zach wasn''t sure what he had expected, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.


    Then, finally, after the rest of his classmates had gone, it was time for Zacharia Evandiel to take the stage with his maid.


    ''Did he put me last because I was late?''


    Zach didn''t mind, but he gave Jarron a quick look before reaching out and grabbing the projector with Yanael doing the same.


    Surprisingly enough, Yanael''s rank didn''t pop up at once like it had done for almost everyone else. It took enough time for Zach to start worrying that his so-called luck was interfering again.


    He had just started looking forward to the easy life with an S-rank maid, regardless of the attention it got him.


    However, after around ten seconds, a golden ''S'' glowed in the air above the projector, calming Zach but stunning Jarron and the rest of the students.


    Jarron had been a little worried when the projector was slower than usual, but it was within the error margin. However, he had never expected to see an ''S'' appear just like that. The other students weren''t any better, especially since they were expecting a dull ''D.''


    What happened to the beautiful but useless homunculus that the unlucky youngest son of the Evandiel ducal household had summoned?

 Chapter 6: Holy Cow

    "Holy cow."


    "Makes sense."


    "That''s gotta be an error."


    "Wasn''t this the guy who was a walking disaster? How the damn did he get an S-rank familiar? And why is it so beautiful?!"


    "Alright, everyone, calm down!" Jarron slammed his hand against the desk, forcefully shutting everyone up. It wasn''t like he didn''t get it. Three A-ranks in one year was almost a fairytale. Someone summoning an S-rank in their first year was practically unheard of. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Jarron had been a student and not an instructor, he would have also contributed to the fuss everyone made. But since he was an instructor, he had to keep order.


    Jarron sighed. He wondered if it was good or bad that he put Zach last. He shook his head and turned to Zach. The orange-haired kid would have known the rank of his familiar since yesterday, so it made sense that he wasn''t surprised.


    Still, he should know that S-ranks as first summons were exceedingly rare. Jarron wondered what was going on in the young summoner''s head.


    "Zacharia Evandiel, are you interested in divulging your familiar''s identity?"


    But Jarron couldn''t exactly pry open Zach''s skull, and he had a job to do, so he did it.


    Zach glanced at his classmates before looking back at Jarron.


    "Uh¡­It''s an angel."


    Jarron began writing it down before looking at Zach and then at Yanael. He sized her up with a piercing gaze.


    "...Are you sure about that?"


    Jarron wasn''t the only skeptical one. Yanael didn''t have either wings or a halo, which angels, despite their legendary rarity, were famed for having.


    Zach nodded.


    "She''s a variant, ''s all."


    "Do you mind me asking what kind?"


    "...Battle maid, I guess."


    Jarron gave a slow nod.


    "Got it."


    Yanael didn''t look like she was equipped for battle, but she certainly was a maid, so it was very likely that she could bring out weapons or use magic to fight. Well, it was an S-rank familiar, after all. It only made sense that it was powerful and versatile.


    "Go back to your seat now."


    Zach nodded and returned to his seat while Jarron finished noting down.


    Jarron put down his notes and leaned against the desk as he looked at his class.


    "Everyone got a turn, right? Perfect. As you can tell, regardless of rank, you will all be in the same class for now. That''s because your familiar''s rank doesn''t affect what you need to learn or your abilities as summoners. Later on, you will all get to choose electives based on what you want to do in the future and your familiar''s abilities.


    "But before we get to that point, I''m going to teach you all a bunch of stuff, and you are all going to have to learn more about your familiars and what it means to be a summoner. We''ll begin with basic theory of summoning and relations after lunch. Dismissed."


    Jarron stayed leaned against the table as his students started getting up and leaving the classroom while chatting. However, almost everyone''s attention was still on the S-rank angel and her master.


    Zach wasn''t especially hungry since it felt like he had just eaten breakfast, but lunch was a good opportunity. So, he stood up and turned around to face his classmates before too many could leave. Fortunately, the important people were still in the room.


    "Hello, everyone! I know I''ve summoned an S-rank angel and that I am therefore better than you all, but don''t worry, I''m still human. Feel free to talk to me whenever about whatever. If you want, I can even offer you advice, though, if you want personal tutoring, it depends on the payment. That would be all. Right.


    If anyone wants to eat lunch with me, feel free to just join or sit at my table. Laters."


    "..."


    Zach nodded after his classmates looked at him in stunned silence.


    ''Perfect.''


    No one accepted his fake offer. Hopefully, no one would bother him about his S-rank Yanael from now on.


    Zach tapped Julius on the shoulder and turned around to leave. Although he had intentionally scared away everyone else, Zach wasn''t going to eat alone, even if he wasn''t technically alone with Yanael by his side.


    Julius was still looking at Zach with a stunned expression until Zach tapped him.


    "Ha!" Julius laughed and got up. He walked next to Zach, and his mannequin walked next to Yanael.


    However, they had barely taken a few steps outside the classroom before Dukiel and his Sentinel caught up to them.


    "U-um, would you mind if I joined you?" Dukiel nervously fiddled with his fingers and looked at the floor behind Zach as he spoke.


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly. He hadn''t expected anyone to take his offer seriously. But then again, from the looks of it, Dukiel was a commoner and didn''t have too much experience with the intricacies of social interaction. He was also a little awkward.


    ''Doesn''t look like he''s interested in Yanael.''


    "Sure. Dukiel, right? I''m Zach. This is Julius."


    "Thank you. Yes, my name is Dukiel. It is an honor? that you remembered it. Hello, Julius."


    Dukiel was a little nervous, but Zach and Julius accepted him into their group with a smile. Setting aside how he was a little cute, he was one of only three A-ranks in the class. By the looks of it, his familiar was also a little more interesting and maybe more powerful than the fiery dog and floating ice block.


    Aside from Zach, Dukiel had the potential to be the greatest summoner in the class if one looked only at the familiar.


    Zach and Julius had nothing to gain from making such a connection, especially since Dukiel wasn''t affiliated with another noble household. It wasn''t a guarantee, and it would be a matter for the future, but he could be a valuable connection to have.


    After Zach, Dukiel, and Julius left, the rest of the students also started moving. Anarias and Violina glanced at each other, acknowledging the other as a competitor. But both of them still had Zach as a common target.


    Other groups and cliqu¨¦s also started forming based on the ranks, appearance, and attributes of their familiars.


    By the time the next lesson began, the seating arrangement had completely changed.

 Chapter 7: Crude

    ***


    "Heya, Principal, did you hear?"


    "What, specifically, should I have heard this time, Instructor Kami?"


    "That we have a very special student this year."


    "I heard that we have many noteworthy students this year. It''s almost a record."


    "No, it is a record. They just finished their rank assessment."


    "And the results?"


    "One S-rank, three A-ranks, and I didn''t care about the rest, but that''s still a record. How many S-rank first-years have there been?"


    "Two. You and one other person."


    "And I didn''t even have any A-ranks! Principal, isn''t this crazy!"


    "It sure is. So, who is going to be our lucky charm during these upcoming trying times?"


    "Zacharia Evandiel."


    "...That''s worrying."


    ***


    The lesson after lunch was, as Jarron promised, light and basic. But it wasn''t unnecessary.


    All the students who came, applied, and entered the Empire''s Academy of Summoners knew about as much as each other when it came to actual summoning. They knew how the entrance exams would be performed. They knew that familiars could have different ranks.


    Families with a history of summoning might have passed down more information. But there still wasn''t a lot of information about how the summoning process actually worked and how life as a summoner looked.


    That was because no one''s summoner looked like any other''s. Even summoners with almost identical familiars could go about raising, training, and fighting completely different ways.


    The shortest explanation for that was personality. Different familiars have different personalities.


    Familiars aren''t summoned things that the summoner can order around as they wish and treat like a tool. They are beings with thoughts, emotions, and will.


    They are subservient to the summoner. But if the summoner breaks the contract by going against one of the many still-unknown clauses, the familiar can return to where it came. It''s a rare occurrence, but summoners who have lost one familiar that way have an exceedingly hard time contracting another.


    Jarron''s lesson boiled down to learning to treat your familiars with respect, learn to communicate with them, and make sure their needs are met. But don''t become pushovers. The summoners are still the masters.


    Zach paid attention the entire lesson, even if he felt like he had an unfair advantage. After all, he could actually talk with his familiar using words. He didn''t have to rely on guesswork and reading reactions. He could just ask Yanael what she wanted and if she was displeased with something.


    "Great. That''s everything for now. We''ll continue with theory the rest of the week. Then we''ll begin with practical lessons next week, after the entrance ceremony. Remember to pick up your books and uniforms sometime before the weekend. If you''re going into the city, you''ll need to wear it."


    With those words, Jarron dismissed the class again, most of who were more focused on their familiars rather than their fellow students this time.


    One of the exceptions was Zach. Rather than his own, he was looking more at Dukiel''s sentinel and Anerias'' dog. Those two didn''t have anything in common, but the Sentinel was interesting, and there was something with that dog.


    "Dukiel, are you doing anything after this?"


    "I was planning to look for a job in the city or apply for a scholarship."


    "Alright. Let me know if you need help with anything. As humble as I am, I''m still the youngest son of a duchy. I can get you a job if you want."


    "I-I appreciate the thought but¡­"


    "No worries. It''s understandable that you don''t want to be indebted to me or whatever. But in that case, remember to flaunt your familiar''s rank. A-rank summoners are almost as good as me."


    Dukiel nodded earnestly while Julius just shook his head. Dukiel took his leave after saying his goodbyes to Zach and Julius.


    Zach turned to Julius.


    "What about you?" Zach had told Nora that he would be bringing a friend over for refreshments when classes ended, after all.


    Julius glanced at his mannequin.


    "Well, Manny here is made of wood, so I was planning on getting some wood oil and treating him to a spa day."


    "...Good idea. See ya tomorrow then."


    After Julius also left, Zach finally turned to one of the few other remaining students in the classroom, Anerias.


    "You noticed it, too?" Anerias questioned as he approached Zach.


    "How could I not with your dog looking at my maid like she was covered in peanut butter."


    "That''s¡­a crude way of putting it." Anerias frowned at Zach''s way of talking. It wasn''t befitting of his status as a duke''s son.


    "To the training grounds?" Zach stood up while giving his suggestion.


    "I was thinking the library."


    Zach shrugged.


    "That works, too, I guess. So, what do you think we''re looking for?"


    Zach got up and started walking. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...Wrong way."


    "Right."


    "I''m not sure. My family hasn''t had many summoners, so I don''t know much about different familiars. But it could be something about maids liking cleanliness and thus not liking dogs, who are usually associated with, well, being not clean." Anerias had a thoughtful frown as he spoke.


    Zach tilted his head.


    "Could it be something about a deeper sense of service and protection that what other familiars are known for? Like, regardless of familiar or not, dogs and maids serve, aid, and protect their masters." Zach glanced at the overgrown black dog after he finished talking.


    Anerias nodded slowly while scratching his chin thoughtfully.


    "Could be."


    With Anerias leading the way, the two students and their familiars made it to the library without getting lost or getting into any trouble. Zach took it upon himself to enter through the large double-doors first. He stopped to take in the sight of stories upon stories and shelves upon shelves of books spreading out in front of him like a mountain range.


    "Damn."


    "...Yeah."


    Calling it an impressive collection of books was far from enough. It was an insult to the effort and results of the principal and the librarians who had put together it all.

 Chapter 8: Library Visit

    After getting over their shock and awe at the library, which fit inside a building smaller than it, Zach and Anerias walked up to the empty front desk. No, it wasn''t empty.


    "A fairy?"


    Zach tilted his head slightly as a tiny human-like figure as tall as his outstretched hand with translucent green wings and pointy ears appeared on the desk. However, as Zach spoke, she stomped her foot and glared at Zach while angrily pointing at a sign next to her.


    "A pixie. Ok. My bad."


    ''What''s the difference anyway?''


    Zach put the matter of the pixie''s identity to rest.


    "We''re here for books about variant angels, Blackfire Hounds, and any relation between the two."


    The pixie nodded and pointed Zach and Anerias toward the tables just next to the desk, indicating for them to sit down. While they did that, she flew away. Zach and Anerias sat awkwardly in silence for a couple of minutes before the pixie returned with two stacks of books and one lone book hovering behind her.


    One stack ended up in front of Anerias, the other in between the two, and the lone book landed in front of Zach.


    Zach looked at the book.


    ''Records of angel and angelic variants.''


    It was thinner than his finger and wasn''t much bigger than the pixie. Zach didn''t have high hopes. Yet, he was still let down when he opened the book. The pages were thick and empty, save for two entries.


    One discussed the existence of fallen angels and whether they were variants of angels or separate existences. The other entry was a brief record of an existence with a fiery red halo and wings of fire instead of feathers. There wasn''t even as much as a name, only the acceptance of the being as an angel variant.


    "Well, that''s disappointing."


    Zach closed the book again. Angels were rare, variants were rarer, angel variants would be very rare. Zach knew that much already. But the information available in the Academy''s library was disappointingly little. It was to the point he couldn''t believe it.


    He glanced at Anerias.


    "Did you find anything promising?"


    Anerias slowly shook his head while flipping another page in the picture book.


    "...Not yet. Only a bunch of illustrations and theories so far."


    "Well, I lost motivation, so I''m doing something else. Good luck and let me know what you find. See ya."


    "Mmhm, sure."


    Anerias didn''t even look up as Zach returned the book and left the library. Since the library didn''t have anything useful, Zach decided to ask the source closest to his angel instead. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After returning to his suite, where Nora waited with a tray of refreshments, two cups of tea, and a suppressed grin, Zach turned to Yanael.


    "Can you tell me what the deal with that dog is?"


    "If you are referring to Anerias Corom''s Blackfire Hound, then yes, I can, Master. The Blackfire Hound is a distant descendant of one of the prominent beings of Hell. I, on the other hand, am a prominent being whose origin is linked to Heaven. Heaven and Hell are, for the sake of conciseness and limited authority, against each other."


    Zach nodded in understanding.


    "So, it''s like an underling of one gang seeing the executive of a rival gang on the street. There''s some tension due to the rivalry, but the difference in position and the fact that you''re both not acting on the gang''s orders make it difficult for anything to happen."


    Yanael''s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Zach. It wasn''t because she was surprised that he understood. She was taken aback by the explanation.


    "...I am not quite familiar with gangs, and while I would never put them on the same level as Heaven or Hell, that could be an apt comparison."


    Zach sipped his tea as he looked at Yanael.


    "Does fighting or killing beings from Hell do anything for you? Training or growth-wise, I mean?"


    "...I can only say that I am not overly concerned about other beings or their origins." Yanael tilted her head slightly forward as if to apologize.


    Zach squinted.


    Not caring about other beings meant she cared about some being or beings.


    ''Me?''


    Zach paid thorough attention to Yanael''s wording. Since there was a limit to what she could say, he had to get as much as possible from how she said it. And Yanael''s top and only priority being him made sense, given the fact that she was a maid.


    ''But why did she look at the dog like that?''


    Or, the being Yanael thought of while speaking was the Blackfire Hound. Rather than beings of Hell, the Blackfire Hound was special.


    Zach was skeptical. But he also couldn''t explain why Yanael cared about the dog in the first place if she wasn''t concerned about other beings, regardless of where they came from.


    ''Well, whatever.''


    Zach shrugged and leaned back in his chair, indulging in the refreshments Nora had prepared. As he did so, he briefly acknowledged how great of an advantage it was to have a familiar that could converse.


    While Anerias was stuck flipping through stacks of books for a single clue, Zach could just ask Yanael, and she would answer. It wouldn''t work if he asked something she didn''t know. But Zach had a feeling that Yanael knew a lot, maybe even enough to fill up a library.


    The only problem was his low authority, which limited how much of that information she could tell him.


    ''Maybe I should have stayed at the library, after all.''


    The library didn''t have much information about angel variants, but it should have at least some information about how to level up.


    Since his level was related to his identity as a summoner, his summoning should be related to his level. But he had already summoned an S-rank familiar. What more did he have to do? Summon another one? Could he even summon another one at level one? Why would he want another when he already had Yanael?


    One angelic battle maid was already more than one man could possibly ask for, even if they saved the world in a previous life. Just looking at Yanael was enough for Zach to feel content, happy, at peace, and satisfied with life, despite all the incidents during his childhood.


    "Do you want some tea, Yanael?"

 Chapter 9: Entrance Ceremony

    As Jarron had promised, the rest of the week was filled with theory lessons to introduce the students to the world and art of summoning, which was not as simple as many first thought. It was more than just having the affinity for summoning, summoning a familiar, and becoming famous all over the empire.


    It took a lot of hard work, dedication, patience, and will to go from a person with a stronger or rarer-than-average pet to a real summoner.


    After all, without the right know-how, experience, and control over their familiars, summoners were walking time bombs. Familiars were usually more docile and friendly than their wild counterparts. Usually.


    But even the kindest man has a breaking point, much less familiars raised for combat.


    To secure the students'' future and the continued welfare of the empire and its citizens, the Academy''s teachings were strict.


    On the flip side, as long as one lasted at least two out of the four years, they could be set for life if they wanted. The additional two years were for those who loved summoning or wanted more than a simple life in a countryside mansion.


    ''I mean, a countryside mansion with a bunch of servants doing all the work doesn''t sound too bad to me.''


    Zach bobbed his head along with the long-haired principal''s speech and introduction to the Academy and life as a summoner in the Empire. Retiring early at least sounded a lot better to Zach than working so hard his hair turned white before wrinkles appeared around his eyes like what had happened to the principal.


    The principal wasn''t the only one suffering from hardship, either. Several of the instructors, who were lined up behind him or in the seats in the grand hall, looked tired with bags under their eyes or messy hair.


    ''If this is what they look like during important events, how bad is it usually?''


    The only clear exception was a tall person with glossy, short purple hair, shiny cheeks, and a radiant smile. They looked like they got at least eight hours of sleep every night and ate three rounded meals every day while also getting proper exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction.


    "I feel like I will have a few more white-haired compatriots if I continue talking, so I will end my speech here and instead welcome the freshman representative to the stage. Please give Zacharia Evandiel, our first-year S-rank summoner, a warm applause."


    "...Shit."


    ''Huh?''


    "Huh?"


    Zach looked at the principal with his mouth agape for a second or two before looking at Jarron, who Zach was confident he just heard swear even across the distance between the rows of seats and the stage behind the principal.


    The principal, as astute as he was, caught both Zach''s confused expression and Jarron''s cursing. He quickly put together the pieces. He didn''t even need to ask to know that Jarron had forgotten to inform Zach.


    When the principal looked at him, Jarron felt like he could hear the promise of a stern scolding even when the former didn''t say anything. The principal then turned to Zach with a hopeful gaze.


    Zach met the principal''s eyes. He glanced from side to side before directing his gaze at his hand, which was positioned so that only the principal would see it. He rubbed his thumb against his fingers real quick.


    The principal nodded.


    Zach got up and made his way to the podium under the gaze and dying waves of applause. He waved to the crowd as he took to the stage.


    He placed both hands on the stand and looked at the crowd.


    "I''ll begin with a greeting. Hello, fellow freshmen, seniors, instructors, janitors, familiars, faculty members, and dust bunnies. It''s a pleasure. And by that, I mean it is your pleasure. You all have the great fortune of attending, teaching, or working in this great academy at the same time as me. Be honored.


    My presence alone will be enough for all of you to go down in history.


    "I don''t have a humble background. I don''t have a humble familiar. I don''t have any reason to be humble. I''m not going to pretend to be something I''m not. But I''m not delusional. I''ll live up to it.


    I won''t stop at being the S-rank freshman representative. This¡­"


    Zach looked out at the crowd of hundreds of people, all of whom were looking at him with bright, piercing eyes. Even the familiars inside the hall, including Yanael, looked at him like he was the only thing in the world. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...and all of you, are just stepping stones."


    As his words rang into the calm amphitheater, Zach took his hands off the podium stand and stepped back.


    At the same time, in the ceiling high above, the sole chandelier affected by a rare termite fond of metal, specifically the metal in the chains holding up the chandeliers, had enough.


    The chandelier''s weight was too much for the hollow chain, with a silent creak, the chain crumbled and the hollow shell tore, allowing the chandelier to drop and descend through the air like a sparkling, glowing gift of instant death to whoever was lucky enough to receive it.


    That was Zach.


    The design, architecture, and acoustics of the amphitheater had lined up to place the sole affected chandelier right above the center of the stage, where Zach had stepped back after finishing his speech.


    Since everyone was looking at Zach, no one saw the chandelier. Everyone who looked at Zach did so because they couldn''t quite believe what they had just heard.


    However, there were at least two people who had no trouble believing Zach could or would say such a thing. Nora was a servant and not affiliated with the Academy in any way. She wasn''t in the hall.


    The other was Yanael.


    She had gotten to learn Zach well since the summoning. It wasn''t just that she knew him well. As a maid, it was her duty to remain composed, especially during important events.


    That was why she was the first to see and only to react to the change in lighting from the plummeting chandelier. She dashed forward.

 Chapter 10: Lamb To Slaughter

    Radiant semi-translucent wings unfurled behind Yanael''s back. That took one step. During the next, a golden halo lit up above her head, showering her golden locks in a glorious light. Time seemed to slow down as Yanael strode through the hall toward the stage, stepping over the seats, students, and familiars toward Zach.


    Yanael''s maid dress rode up as she extended her legs, showing off smooth ankles and the base of her calves.


    The sleeves on her dress also slid back slightly, revealing two simple golden bands around her wrists that looked like they were part of her skin. The golden bands lit up for a moment before transforming into a sword and a shield.


    Yanael lowered her sword and, as she got closer, began slicing upward at the chandelier. The shimmering, razor-sharp edge of Yanael''s sword cut through the air before parting the chandelier in half like it was originally two separate pieces.


    With a slight, imperceptible twist of her sword, she pushed aside the two halves of the chandelier. After all, cutting it in half wouldn''t do anything if both parts still fell on Zach.


    Yanael then wrapped Zach in her arms, protecting him with her body and shield. A faint golden barrier also appeared around them, making the defense against the rain of crystal and chain and metal fragments airtight.


    Almost the entire hall froze. It had happened too fast. One second, everyone was reeling from Zach''s speech, the next, a chandelier fell on top of him. In the third second, a light purple wave spread out and caught all the fragments flying toward the nearby spectators before disappearing like it was never there.


    The shattered remains of the chandelier rested on the broken stage without having inflicted as much as a scratch on anyone in the auditorium.


    Zach''s mind had blanked about the moment Yanael flashed forward. It was only a few moments after the dust settled that his thoughts started moving again.


    ''Uhh¡­?''


    He looked around as much as he could with Yanael''s arms and shield wrapped around him. The golden barrier didn''t obstruct his vision even before it faded.


    ''I knew things had been too calm lately.''


    Zach sighed and shook his head slightly. He had almost died by suspicious accident for what felt like the thirteenth time since his fifth birthday.


    "Thank you, Yanael. We can get up now. It usually doesn''t happen more than once per incident, so it''s fine now."


    Yanel nodded but still looked around and toward the ceiling with a wary gaze. However, as Zach had said, things were fine now. Her sword and shield became golden bands around her wrists again and the wings and the halo faded. Yanael became an ordinary maid again.


    The crowd and most teachers were still shocked but no one was injured.


    The principal quickly took the stand by jumping over the broken chandelier. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It seems like there''s been an accident, so we''ll be cutting the entrance ceremony short. I don''t think anyone got hit, but if anyone is worried or injured, feel free to take the rest of the day off or visit the infirmary. Thanks for coming and for remaining calm, everyone! See you around campus."


    The principal waved and dismissed everyone. Since it was so silent, the principal''s voice was enough to get everyone moving, though, people immediately burst into lively chatter as soon as the shock cleared.


    Gradually, the rumors of Zacharia Evandiel, the misfortune magnet, spread around campus. With his ostentatious and boastful speech, people started calling it divine punishment to try and get him to learn some humility.


    Meanwhile, Zach followed the principal and the purple-haired instructor, who had saved the bystanders, to the principal''s office. Jarron also had to tag along.


    Zach was curious about the other instructor and what he could squeeze from the principal. Jarron felt like a lamb on its way to slaughter, even if he was only responsible for forgetting to tell Zach about the speech he had to give and had nothing to do with the accident.


    Jarron endured the bitter chill of walking in silence behind two of the strongest in the Academy. It felt like ages, but it only took a few minutes to reach the principal''s office.


    The principal sat in his fancy leather armchair. The purple-haired instructor stood on his side, slightly behind him. Jarron stood in a corner, facing the wall. Zach sat opposite the principal with Yanael at his shoulder.


    The principal leaned forward and clasped his hands together as he looked at Zach.


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but I got the impression you were unprepared to deliver a speech during the entrance ceremony today."


    Zach nodded.


    "The first I heard of this place even having a freshman representative was when you mentioned them giving a speech."


    "Hmm." The principal''s expression was serious as he hummed. Jarron felt a chill run down his spine.


    "Well, we can settle that later. For now, how are you feeling, Zach? Is it okay if I call you Zach?"


    Zach nodded.


    "I''m as well as can be, given the circumstances. As you can see, no physical harm done, thanks to my lovely angel." Zach held out his arms to show that he was as untouched as the day he got the uniform.


    "Yes¡­ Your angel is certainly capable." The principal glanced at Yanel, who stood with a composed expression on her slightly angled downward face. It was like she was a doll with how little she seemed to care for the conversation.


    "However¡­"


    Zach leaned back slightly and rested the back of his wrist against his forehead in anguish.


    "...My heart, it ails. I''m not sure I will ever overcome this deeply frightful and traumatic incident. I may never be able to stand beneath a chandelier again, much less hold a speech or stand in front of a crowd beneath one." Zach uttered his worries as if he was merely venting or complaining out loud.


    But he was fully aware of his audience.


    The principal nodded with a grave expression to match Zach''s. The instructor behind him wasn''t as skilled at controlling his facial muscles.


    "Certainly. Add to that the burden of having to come up with such an impactful speech on the spit, I have put you through a lot of trouble today, Zach. Please do tell me if there''s anything I can do to alleviate your concerns."


    Zach glanced at the principal from behind his hand.


    "Really?"


    The principal nodded.


    "I am not in the habit of lying, especially to young students."

 Chapter 11: Preview

    Zach was silent. He wasn''t quite sure what to ask for, even if he had gone into the situation with the plan to make the principal owe him. After all, he hadn''t expected it to work against one of the premier figures of the Empire. Even as the son of one of the dukes, Zach was as far from the principal as the ground was from the sky.


    ''Maybe¡­''


    "I¡­would like unrestricted access to the library for being forced to give a speech without notice. If I can stock up on knowledge ahead of time, maybe I''ll be better prepared next time, even if no one tells me."


    The principal looked at Zach for a moment before nodding.


    "It won''t be unrestricted since there are things in there that no one, especially young students, should interact with. But if there''s anything special that you want to read or see, just tell Kami here, and I''m sure something can be arranged." The principal smiled as he pointed at the purple-haired instructor, who gave a slight nod to Zach.


    Zach returned the greeting and then looked at the principal again.


    "As for the matter of almost dying to the Academy''s lacking maintenance¡­"


    "You want more?" The principal raised his eyebrows, interrupting Zach.


    "Pardon me if I don''t think getting to read more books is worth more than my life."


    The principal looked a little taken aback at Zach''s words as the latter began to slowly stand up.


    "Nonsense! Sit back down and tell me what you want right now."


    "Well, if you insist." Zach raised his hands in defeat and sat down again.


    "I was thinking of giving you the chance to earn back my trust in you and the Academy, principal."


    The principal''s eyebrow shot up again.


    "Oh?"


    Kami was starting to have difficulty controlling his expression and the urge to laugh.


    Zach nodded.


    "If I ask you for help or a favor in the future, please answer positively."


    The principal simply looked at Zach with a blank expression for a moment or two before speaking.


    "Is that it¡­?" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Of course. Do you want me to ask for more?"


    "No, that''s not necessary. It''s just that¡­I can''t make such a promise. Although you can hold me responsible for what happened today, I have priorities that supersede the life of a single student. Although regrettable, I am in a position where I must choose the life of the many over the life of the few."


    "That''s a given. You can rest easy. I''m not going to ask anything of you that you won''t be able to handle. And if one day a situation where you must choose between me and the Academy should arise, all I would ask then is that you look for a third option. Why choose the life of the many when you can save everyone, am I right?"


    "Understood. I will do my best to fulfill any one request or favor you ask of me in the future. Of course, you''re also free to come see me if you have anything else to discuss. Setting everything else aside, you''re a student, and I am the principal. It''s my duty to hear you out."


    Zach nodded.


    "Sure thing. That''s all, right?"


    "Yes. Make sure to rest up and prepare for the practical lessons. Since you''ve gotten a preview of what to expect, I''ll expect great things from our freshman representative."


    ''Preview?''


    Zach was curious about what the principal meant but the meeting had already ended, so he gracefully took his leave with Yanael.


    As soon as the door closed behind Zach, Kami bent over with laughter.


    "Pahaha! Oh, man, what a guy! How long has it been since someone treated you like that, principal? Not only did he give you some advice, he also said¡ªHa!¡ªHe also said he''s giving you a chance! The balls on this kid are larger than the Academy!"


    Kami steadied himself with a hand on the principal''s chair as he continued chuckling.


    The principal swiveled his chair and broke Kami''s balance, but even as he fell to the floor, Kami continued laughing.


    The principal sighed and glanced at Kami before answering the question.


    "I stopped counting the years, but I''m pretty sure I haven''t been treated as nonchalantly by anyone like that ever since I became a summoner."


    "Haha! Doesn''t he know who you are? This is great! Thanks for making me an instructor at this place Principal."


    "It''s certainly refreshing, albeit worrying. What if he treats the emperor or something the same way he talked to me?"


    "Oh, he''d die for sure. The emperor is such a brat."


    "Heh. Calling that guy a brat¡­It doesn''t fit, but it fits. Seriously, though, Kami. Pull yourself together. We still have another matter to deal with."


    "Right, right."


    Kami slowly got up and stopped laughing like a maniac. He and the principal turned their attention to the dark-haired corner decoration. Jarron had failed to blend in with the wall and become one with the building. The principal and Kami had not forgotten him.


    ***


    Since no one was actually affected or injured by the incident during the morning''s entrance ceremony, classes continued as scheduled with the only late arrival being Zach. But everyone, including the instructor, saw the principal bring him away, so they waited the few minutes he was late.


    Well, it was more than a few minutes since Zach didn''t know where the class was held or how to find where it was held.


    But before long, Zach arrived at the training grounds where his classmates and a short instructor with a large robe but small body were idly chatting.


    "Ah, there he is! Welcome, Zacharia Evandiel, to Skills in Theory and Practice."


    "Sorry, I''m late."


    "It''s no biggie. We''re just happy you could make it after this morning, especially me. After all, what happened was an excellent example for today''s lesson."


    "It was?"


    "Of course! I''m not sure you saw it very well, but everyone else did. That golden barrier that appeared around you and your maid was a skill, most likely the contract skill you got when summoning her."


    "I see."


    "Yes, and until you master it," The instructor looked at the other students, too. "I will have you keep putting yourselves and each other in danger."


    The instructor put their hands together and gave a brilliant smile that clashed with the chills running down most students'' spines.

 Chapter 12: All Kinds

    Instructor Drupesch hushed everyone before their chatter at her threat turned into resistance.


    "Now, now. You''re first years, and this is your first practical lesson. I''ve done this more than a couple of times by now, so I know what you''re thinking. There''s no way I would actually put you all in danger, right?" Drupesch took charge of the class with a calm but strong voice, forcing everyone to listen to her.


    "Wrong!" The instructor took a quick pause for dramatic effect before continuing.


    "You see, in any given situation, a person has a set of tools they can use to solve the problem in front of them. Your skills are tools like that, but so is your knowledge, any previous training you might have, or simple talent. However, unlike everything else, your contract skills are new additions that are sometimes rather complex to use.


    "As with everything related to summoning, it varies from person to person. But one thing that remains constant is the fact that when you empty out your toolbag, you have no choice but to learn how to use the difficult tools.


    "That''s why mine and the other instructors'' lessons will mostly revolve around putting you all in positions where everything but your summoning, whether it be your familiars, contract skills, or cooperation is useless. Unfortunately for you, that means danger."


    Although her words were ominous, Drupesch had a friendly smile as she looked at Zach and the other new students, most of whom had expected an ordinary student life during the academy, filled with studying, tests, bullying, young romance, and friendship.


    Instead, if they were to assume based on Drupesch''s words and the picture she painted, it would be a school life filled with danger, danger, and more danger.


    Dukiel nervously raised a hand. Drupesch pointed at him.


    "Instructor, when you say danger, what kind of danger are you talking about?"


    "All kinds. The life of a summoner isn''t necessarily as peaceful as some make it seem. And while some of you will actually never have to risk your lives after graduating, it''s better to know how to survive in dangerous situations, no matter what they might be. That is, after all, what we''re doing here. We''re preparing you for a life as a summoner."


    Another student raised their hand.


    "Can you give us some examples, Instructor? So we know what to expect."


    "The point is that you''re going to be facing the unexpected, but sure." Drupesch thought for a moment as she crossed her arms. She uncrossed her arms and looked at the student who asked and then glanced at the others.


    "Direct combat, both in group and duels. Ambushes. Wilderness survival. Poison. Natural disasters. Sieges, where you will be doing the sieging and defending. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Guarding a stationary or moving target. Self-defense. Defending against wild monsters. This is only for those who go all four years, but warfare. I guess that''s the gist of it. But as I said, if you can prepare for it, it won''t be a good lesson."


    The students'' faces paled as Drupesch continued listing various sources of trouble and danger where they would have to rely on nothing but their summoning abilities to survive and perform.


    Weren''t they at the Academy to summon cute beasts to feed and play with until they became bigger cute beasts? What was all this about things that sounded more like tasks from a military academy?


    Most importantly, why hadn''t they been told about this before they entered the academy?


    Drupesch smiled as if she could read the students'' minds.


    "I can see that it''s the first time hearing about all of this for many of you. Let me ask you this. Would you have applied for the Academy if you knew what it entailed? No? Understandable. Now then, let''s get started.


    All of you can take a few moments to double-check your contract skills and try to feel what it can do. After that, we''ll get started."


    Zach had a bad feeling about Drupesch''s last sentence. For some reason, he didn''t think that they would get started with something unrelated to what Drupesch had just warned them about.


    Still, he couldn''t do anything but prepare. Fortunately, it seemed he had a relatively useful skill. He glanced at Yanael before taking up the summoning interface.


    [Zacharia Evandiel]


    [Level 1 Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skill: Blessed Defense]


    [Contracts: Yanael]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Class Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    Unsurprisingly, nothing had changed. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the line with his contract skill, wondering if he could get some more information. Alas, it was a failure.


    Since he hadn''t been in a position to spectate and admire his skill in action when the chandelier almost dropped on him, he wanted to know more about what it did and how it worked. Maybe if he could activate it again, he wouldn''t have to go through Drupesch''s promised suffering.


    It didn''t look like that was happening. But maybe he could delay it. He raised a hand.


    "Yes, Zacharia."


    "What about innate skills?" Zach asked innocently.


    Drupesch stiffened for a moment as she gave Zach a proper look.


    "You have one? Well, since you asked, it''s obvious you do. Uh¡­That''s not my area of expertise. I don''t think it''s anyone''s, actually. But innate skills are, as their names indicate, innate. They most likely had an effect before you got the summoning interface, though, it''s likely the interface will make them more active, I guess you can say.


    "Oh, and you should keep them secret. You don''t get anything from telling anyone about it. All you do is reveal private information that can lead to others finding your openings or weaknesses. Just¡­Yeah, just treat it like a decoration for now."


    "Okay¡­"


    ''Well, she answered my question at least.''


    Drupesh had been pretty short about it, so it wasn''t the great delay Zach had hoped for. But he at least learned something new. He turned to look at his classmates.


    "I didn''t ask because I have an innate skill if that''s what you''re all thinking. I asked because I heard someone else talk about it."


    A few of his classmates looked at Zach before looking away and focusing on their own interfaces or familiars to try and figure out what their skills did.


    Before long, it was time to get started, not that Drupesch was going to tell them that.

 Chapter 13: Soft

    Yanael stood just behind Zach''s shoulder as usual. But she suppressed her presence so that unless one looked straight at her, it was easy to forget she was there, even with her beautiful appearance. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes almost closed, immovable like a statue and elegant like a painting.


    However, when Drupesch took three steps back and away from the class, Yanael looked up and opened her eyes. She looked at Drupesch before taking a step forward and in front of Zach.


    Zach barely had time to question Yanael''s actions before a tiny pebble the size of a marble shot into the arm of the student next to him.


    "Julius!"


    Zach called out to Julius, who let out a stunned gasp before clutching his arm in pain as he hissed between his teeth. Zach grabbed him and helped him hide behind Yanael.


    Zach didn''t even have time to feel strange about hiding behind his delicate-looking maid before the rain started properly, and pebbles whizzed through the air, striking the sitting ducks that were the students.


    Shouts, screams, and squeals rang out as the students ran around like headless chickens, trying to avoid the indiscriminate attack with minimal to no success.


    Some people were quick enough with their heads to lay down and crawl instead. But that was only smart until the pebbles started curving through the air and descending like miniature meteors, peppering everyone, regardless of prone, supine, or vertical position.


    The only one who avoided the pebbles was Zach. Julius was also on a streak after the first hit. However, it was rude to Yanael to claim that Zach avoided any pebbles. He didn''t even move. Yanael used her shield to intercept and block the pebbles that came their way.


    Julius took inspiration from that and used his mannequin as a shield. Since the mannequin was far from as competent as Yanael, he had to move it himself to cover up the gaps Yanael left since she only prioritized defending Zach.


    Zach, who was crouched to reduce his surface area, glanced up at Yanael.


    ''Woah.''


    Yanael was staring daggers at the smiling Drupesch. She had even brought out her sword and was cutting down the pebbles in their paths.


    Zach glanced around.


    ''Ah.''


    Since Yanael was busy protecting him, she couldn''t do anything about Drupesch. She was locked in place.


    Even if she was fast enough to cover the distance between her and Drupesch before the instructor could react, she couldn''t guarantee that Zach wouldn''t be struck by any of the pebbles flying around at an incredible speed.


    The pebbles were far from fatal, but that didn''t mean Yanael could let Zach get hit. He would still be hurt.


    And Zach''s safety was higher than Drupesch''s subjugation in priority.


    ''The instructor mentioned a golden barrier thingy, right? Something like that would be perfect for situations like these.''


    If he could activate his contract skill to defend himself, Zach wouldn''t have to watch Yanael restrain herself to protect him.


    Zach crossed his arms, tilted his head, and closed his eyes, ignoring the chaos around him as he thought about how to use his skills. It had activated when Yanael protected him against the chandelier.


    But since it didn''t activate now, it was clear she couldn''t activate it by herself.


    ''Was it subconscious?''


    That meant he had been involved in its activation. But he didn''t remember anything like that. He felt Yanael''s warm and soft embrace as she wrapped him in her arms. He felt a sharp sense of alarm when he realized something was wrong from Yanael''s actions.


    Zach frowned. How did he even notice what Yanael was doing when she was moving that fast? How did he have time to process that something was wrong?


    ''Wait¡­''


    Why, afterward, did it seem like he felt the danger before Yanael even moved? No, not quite before she moved. At the same time she moved, he was hit with a pang of anxiety.


    ''No way, right?''


    An idea hit Zach, but it wasn''t quite relevant to his current situation, so he set it aside. Instead, he focused on what he felt.


    He felt something warm, something soft, and something dangerous. He was scared and worried that he would be harmed, hurt, in pain, or killed. It wasn''t the first time he felt that fear.


    After all, he had been in quite a few stressful and potentially dangerous situations since he was young.


    But it was the first time he could do something about it.


    His proverbial toolbag wasn''t empty or useless anymore. He was no longer at the mercy of his cursed luck. He had a tool he could use to defend himself.


    And in his current situation, it wasn''t only to protect himself. It could also liberate Yanael.


    Zach focused on the feelings he had experienced during the entrance examination.


    ''Soft¡­''


    That was the wrong feeling.


    Zach looked at the hailstorm of pebbles that had turned his classmates into sobbing, bleeding, crying, fetal messes on the ground, huddled up with their familiars for protection. There were a few exceptions, such as Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina, and a few others, who were doing marginally better than the rest.


    But Zach ignored them.


    Instead, he focused on what it would be like to be hit by a pebble¨Cwhat it would be like to be hit by three, four, five, ten, or a hundred pellets.


    His skin crawled at just imagining the pain.


    That was just what Zach needed. He needed something to spur his need for defense.


    He just felt too safe with Yanael next to him. She was too good at her job, even if her tea could use some work.


    A weak, translucent golden dome appeared around Zach and most of Julius, protecting them and the mannequin from the pebble storm.


    Yanael noticed and glanced back at Zach. Zach nodded. Yanael moved.


    Zach had trouble keeping up as Yanael dashed through the field toward the sadistic instructor. But he saw when Yanael approached. However, he wasn''t the only one, which he also saw.


    Drupesch faced Yanael without so much as a seed of concern on her face. The pebbles didn''t shift a millimeter from their paths as Yanael stepped into Drupesch''s personal space.


    Yanael swung her sword.


    A flat stone the size of a palm blocked it. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You''ve still got a long way to go, little birdie."

 Chapter 14: Cheating

    The stone that blocked Yanael''s sword didn''t budge as much as a hair, and Drupesch shook her head condescendingly.


    "Tututut. You aren''t an S-rank for nothing, but you still have a long way to go."


    Yanael gritted her teeth and raised her shield as Drupesh sent a stone the size of a fist toward her. Even when she successfully blocked it with the shield, the stone pushed Yanael backward two steps. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Even so, you pass. The master is successfully protected and the familiar isn''t succumbing to the panic around them and even fighting back. Zacharia even activated the contract skill. Top marks."


    The pebble storm ceased and all the little stones dropped to the ground. Drupesch stopped pushing back Yanael with powerful rocks that also blocked her sword and any attempt she made at advancing toward the instructor.


    Slowly, the students began to realize that the forewarned danger had passed. For now. Clutching bruised and perhaps fractured limbs, putting pressure on bleeding skin, and moaning in pain, the students slowly got up, all the while, looking at Drupesch like she was an incarnation of torment.


    Drupesch didn''t care. She pointed at Julius.


    "You only survived because Zacharia helped you. You still get second-best marks since you only got hit three times, but think about what would have happened if you had been alone."


    Drupesch''s finger moved to Violina.


    "You didn''t empty your toolbag, and you still got hit more than you should have. But you worked well with your Ice Spirit. Imagine how well it would go if you used your skill."


    Dukiel.


    "Your Sentinel is more than a moving piece of stone. It can do more than defend."


    Anerias.


    "Your Hound is tough, but it''s not meant for defense. It''s also sentient. Don''t use it as a meatshield if you want to keep up your contract."


    Drupesch went around the class, pointing at everyone and giving them feedback on their performance during the class.


    Zach was more amazed than anything. Even while controlling all the pebbles and holding off Yanael, Drupesch had still managed to accurately identify each of the students'' faults and areas they could improve.


    Setting aside how she seemed to take pleasure in causing her students pain, she was capable.


    That was as much praise Zach was going to give her.


    "That''s all. Feel free to go to the infirmary. Of course, if there''s anyone with a skill that''s useful for recovery, go ahead and take this opportunity to practice. No? See you all tomorrow."


    Drupesch''s last words invited a feeling of painful dread into the students'' hearts.


    But it was too late to regret.


    They had come this far, and unless they were expelled or graduated, they weren''t going anywhere. Graduation was far away and getting farther away seemingly by the day. Expulsion was tantamount to forfeiting their lives as summoners.


    The only option was to endure.


    That was why the students didn''t complain. Well, they complained as much as they could. But they didn''t only complain. They hauled their sorry asses to the infirmary to get themselves patched up before refueling so they could handle another tough lesson.


    It wasn''t Drupesch holding the lesson, which had the students hopeful. Unfortunately, they had been warned, and they had taken the warning to heart.


    So, when the friendly-looking Kami showed up at the training grounds, the students didn''t relax. If anything, those who knew about Kami were even more worried.


    "I heard Instructor Drupesch went at it a little hard this morning, so, since I remember how that felt, I''ll cut you all a little slack. There won''t be any of the danger she warned you guys about today. I''ll just talk a bunch and then we''ll put my blabbering to practice tomorrow. Sound good?"


    Zach skeptically narrowed his eyes as Kami started talking about the intricacies of combat between summoners and other summoners. He was expecting a sneak attack to come at any moment. Zach hadn''t forgotten what Drupesch did.


    But nothing happened the entire class.


    It was only when Kami rounded off the lesson with a clap that Zach slowly relaxed.


    That was until Kami pointed at him.


    Fortunately, however, it wasn''t to launch a sneak attack.


    "Top marks to Zach for this class. Can anyone guess why?"


    The other students look at each other and at Zach at Kami''s sudden declaration. Was there something they could have done to earn marks other than pay diligent attention to Kami''s teachings?


    No one could even guess what Zach had done.


    Kami sighed, shook his head in disappointment, and placed his hands on his hips.


    "Goodness me, what are the kids these days coming to?"


    Kami raised his head again and looked at the students with a stern face.


    "He was wary of me."


    The students were still confused.


    "He was on alert, waiting for a sudden attack, much like the one Instructor Drupesch delivered when you were busy trying to learn more about your skills. He didn''t relax just because I told you all to. Being wary and staying on alert even in situations where one shouldn''t need it is what saves lives, you guys. Reflect on this and I''ll see you all tomorrow or something."


    Kami dismissed the students before taking his leave.


    Julius took a step closer to Zach and looked around conspicuously before whispering,


    "Zach, my man, are you cheating? Or did you somehow bribe the instructors?"


    Zach raised his eyebrows as he looked at Julius, stupefied.


    "...No."


    "You hesitated."


    "Because it''s a ridiculous question."


    "You got top marks on the two first real lessons with minimal effort. If that ain''t cheating, I don''t know what is."


    "I''ll tell you what it is. It''s me being better than everyone else. Simple as that."


    Zach didn''t wait for Julius to continue pestering him about how to get top marks on the next lessons as he walked away. However, he didn''t get far before three people stopped him.


    They were the only ones in the class who would dare stop him, given his current fame and infamy.

 Chapter 15: Helping A Friend

    Dukiel stood a little more to the side than Anerias and Violina, but he still ensured Zach knew he wanted to talk to him. Still, Dukiel was one of Zach''s friends, so he wasn''t as rude as the other two, who crossed their arms and almost glared at him.


    They probably would have been even ruder if not for Yanael''s performance during Drupesch''s lesson and her looming presence behind Zach.


    Anerias was the first to speak.


    "How did you activate your skill?" He didn''t beat around the bush.


    Zach snapped his fingers.


    "Like so. Next." He turned to Violina.


    "Did the principal tell you what to expect as a way of apology for the entrance ceremony?"


    Zach tilted his head slightly. That was actually a smart guess, at least many times smarter than Julius'' claims of him cheating. In a way, it was also true. But the principal had only hinted that his suffering wasn''t over.


    Zach shook his head.


    "Nope. I got something else. If you''re wondering how I got top marks it''s simply because I''m better. Stop thinking with your nose and listen to the teachers. Although Drupesch launched that sneak attack, she never lied."


    Violina huffed and stared at Zach, unsatisfied. But she had at least gotten more than Anerias. At the thought of the big black hound next to Anerias, Zach turned back to him.


    "By the way, did you find anything in the library?"


    Anerias stopped trying to intimidate Zach and awkwardly shrugged while rubbing his neck.


    "I mean, a couple of things, but nothing useful. I got the feeling that the pixie didn''t give us all the information." S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No shit. Well, if you''re ever interested in finding out more, let me know¡ª"


    "Are you kidding me? Of course, I want to find out more. Don''t tell me that booklet you got held the answers. Is that why you left so soon?"


    Zach held up a hand.


    "Don''t interrupt me again."


    "...Right."


    "If you''re ever interested, let me know, and I''m sure we can make a deal. I''m not giving you the information you want for free."


    "Tch. Fine. What do you want?"


    Zach shrugged.


    "Dunno. I''m pretty set."


    Zach pushed through Violina and Anerias, brushing them aside as he grabbed Dukiel by the shoulder and headed off.


    "You''re curious about something, right?"


    Dukiel nodded.


    "Just ask. I consider you a friend. I wouldn''t hesitate to ask you something if I was curious. It would be nice if you were to treat me the same."


    Dukiel hesitated. He remembered how Zach had answered Anerias'' question just now.


    "T-then¡­Do you think you can help me train?" Dukiel glanced at Yanael as he spoke.


    Zach didn''t even need to follow Dukiel''s gaze to know what he was looking at.


    "Are you thinking about having our familiars duke it out?"


    Dukiel gave a hesitant nod.


    He wouldn''t have worded it like that, but he wanted to figure out what Drupesch meant when she said his Sentinel wasn''t just for defense. Naturally, it meant it could fight back, too. But Dukiel wasn''t sure what to think more than that without seeing it for himself.


    Zach glanced at Yanael, who gave a slight nod. She wasn''t against the idea of fighting. After all, she wasn''t a maid. She was a battle maid.


    Although her purpose was to fight for her master, not simply fight whenever he wanted her to, Yanael wasn''t averse to the opportunity of fighting a Sentinel. Her encounter with Drupesch and her pebbles had shown her that she might need a little more experience in cutting down stones.


    The Sentinel wasn''t made of the same kind of stone as Drupesch''s attacks had been. But it would still be great practice for when Yanael sought revenge against the instructor who attacked her master.


    Zach and Dukiel, followed by their familiars, walked around until they found an available part of the training grounds where the familiars could fight. It was an open spot of dirt that was wide enough for the two to move around. And there weren''t any buildings or anything that could get caught in the crossfire.


    Zach didn''t think anything would cause damage to the surroundings but he had no idea what the Sentinel could actually do.


    He hadn''t seen much of what Dukiel did during Drupesch''s lesson. But it sounded like the Sentinel had acted like a defensive shield, either on Dukiel''s orders or by itself.


    Zach didn''t think the Sentinel would destroy much of anything. He also trusted Yanael.


    Still, Zach and Dukiel stood a bit away from the open spot of dirt so that nothing would happen. They looked at each other before turning to their familiars and urging them to spar.


    Yanael pulled out her sword and shield but not the halo or the wings. Those were unnecessary for something like a spar.


    Zach was curious about what the Sentinel would do. Honestly, Dukiel was the same. At least until he felt his command connect with the Sentinel.


    As soon as it received Dukiel''s order, the Sentinel changed. First, perfect circular cracks appeared on its side and at the top.


    Up top, a section of the Sentinel slid out like a round slab with eight glowing dots. Out of the four circles, two on either side, on the Sentinel''s sides came arms.


    Two of the arms ended in simple, double-edged blades. Those two arms were at the front.


    The other two arms sat more on the Sentinel''s shoulders and instead of hands or swords, ended in claws that cradled tiny red orbs.


    Zach frowned and glanced at Dukiel. The Sentinel looked a lot more dangerous all of a sudden.


    Dukiel''s mouth was slightly open and his eyes held nothing but the Sentinel''s new form. His lips started to curve.


    Zach returned his attention to Yanael. He could tell that she grew a lot more serious as the Sentinel changed. She tightened the grip on her weapons and moved one foot back.


    Zach was curious why she did that until she raised her shield and one of the orbs in the Sentinel''s claws started glowing.


    Zach''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 16: Permission

    A bright red laser as thick as a young man''s slender wrist poured out of the Sentinel''s orb and onto Yanael''s shield, splattering the ground and air in vivid pink sparks. The force behind the laser was enough to push Yanael''s feet backward, creating shallow trenches in the hardened soil.


    The laser stopped after a couple of seconds. Yanael''s shield had a scorch march at the center but was otherwise undamaged. The only thing hurt by the laser was Yanael''s pride.


    Even when she had anticipated and perfectly defended against the laser, it had still been enough to push her backward.


    It had nothing to do with their respective ranks.


    Yanael didn''t care too much about being an S-rank or that the Sentinel was A-rank.


    She was an angel. She wasn''t going to let a flying stone push her back.


    What if she had been in a position where she stood in front of Zach and was under attack?


    Logically, he would be able to back away since the laser wasn''t that powerful and only pushed her back less than a step each second it was active.


    But the mere fact that the laser pushed her back was the problem.


    What if it had been more powerful?


    Yanael couldn''t guarantee a perfect defense and the safety of her master.


    She was tempted to go all out and show the Sentinel what would happen if it attacked her or Zach for real. But above all else, Yanael couldn''t lose her composure.


    So, she took a moment to calm down before raising her shield again and sprinting toward the Sentinel, her feet disappearing beneath her dress.


    The Sentinel''s head spun, and its glowing eyes blinked as it met Yanael''s charge with raised swords and orb-carrying claws.


    Yanael acted like she didn''t even see the Sentinel and rammed straight into it with her shield knocking it back. Before it could right itself in the air, Yanael lunged forward with her sword sweeping through the air like a swift breeze.


    The Sentinel''s arm twisted and raised one of its sword arms to block the strike. The position would have been impossible for a human or anyone with bones and muscles to maintain in the face of Yanael''s powerful strike.


    But the Sentinel''s strength wasn''t bound to anything like the tensing and relaxing of muscle fibers strapped to a flimsy skeleton. It could use its full strength in any position.


    Yanael pressed her sword against the Sentinel''s to gauge its strength and durability. She then used the rebound to hop back and deflect another laser. She raised her sword¡­


    "Stop! Cease this fight right now!" Instructor Jarron shouted while running over from a nearby exit.


    As Zach looked around, he noticed that they had attracted a minor crowd of spectators. Yanael and the Sentinel hadn''t fought for long, but they had made enough of a ruckus for the students nearby to hear and come watch.


    "You two! With me!"


    Jarron walked up to Zach and Dukiel and picked them up by their collars before storming off with them. The crowd quickly dispersed.


    Jarron dragged Zach and Dukiel into his office before throwing them into separate chairs.


    "What were you two doing?! What were you thinking, having your familiars fight like that?! I thought you two got along!"


    Zach and Dukiel glanced at each other, more than a little confused.


    "Aren''t we here to become stronger summoners? What''s wrong with asking our familiars to spar?" Zach voiced his doubts as soon as Jarron was silent long enough for him to speak.


    Jarron looked at Zach like the young noble was an upside-down ghost.


    "Where does it say that you have to fight your friends'' familiars to become stronger summoners?!"


    Zach shrugged.


    "I don''t know. But I was just helping him understand his Sentinel and maybe learn how to activate his skill." Zach turned to Dukiel.


    "How did that go by the way? You looked like something happened right at the start."


    Dukiel nervously glanced in Zach''s direction, still very much aware of Jarron''s stewing anger.


    "I¡ª"


    "Idiots! So you weren''t settling a dispute or anything? You were just training?"


    Zach tilted his head and looked at Jarron.


    "Of course. Why would we be fighting?"


    Jarron sighed and leaned back in his chair. He rested his hand on his palm as he closed his eyes and seemingly aged another year after what the principal had put him through.


    "Idiots. You need permission to fight. And unless the two of you noticed, your familiars are pretty high-ranking. Even without much training, they can cause significant damage to the surroundings, each other, and anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby."


    "Oh¡­" Dukiel answered meekly and hung his head in shame.


    Zach was not the same. He leaned forward in his chair and looked at Jarron.


    "Then, can we get permission or whatever so that we can pick up where we left off?"


    Jarorn''s face was frozen as he turned his creaking head to look at Zach.


    "No!" Jarron''s outburst spooked Zach back in the chair.


    "You''re forbidden from sparring! Both of you! Three weeks! You are banned from sparring or asking for permission to spar for three weeks!"


    "But¡­¡ª"


    "Four!" Jarorn interrupted Zach before the latter could even try to make excuses or complain.


    Zach bit his tongue.


    ''Unfair.''


    He wanted to complain that no one had told them about the rule that said they had to ask for permission. But with Jarron being so obstinate and bossy, Zach could only grieve in silence.


    Jarron ground his teeth for a few more moments while looking at Zach and Dukiel, only one of whom seemed apologetic or remorseful.


    "Dismissed." Eventually, Jarron had enough. He still had to get through all the work the principal had saddled him with.


    "Next time, read the student handbook before doing stupid shit."


    Zach slowly turned around with his hand on the doorhandle to look back at Jarron in disbelief at what he had just heard. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "There''s a student handbook?"


    "...Ah."

 Chapter 17: Field Trip

    It took some effort on Zach''s part, but he managed to haggle the ban on sparring down to two weeks. More than that, Jarron wouldn''t let up. There were too many who had seen them spar unsupervised and without prior permission. They had to receive some kind of punishment.


    Otherwise, Jarron would be in even more trouble.


    Zach and Dukiel weren''t too affected by Jarron''s possible fate, but, come rain or shine, Jarron was their homeroom instructor. They gave him some slack and accepted the two weeks. In exchange, they would get the permission as soon as those two weeks were over without having to go through any paperwork at all.


    After they settled the first deal, they also made another. In exchange for Zach and Dukiel handing out the student handbooks and telling them the delay was because of an error in production, Jarron would personally look for things their familiars could find useful.


    All in all, despite the suspension, Zach was satisfied. Dukiel didn''t quite know what to think.


    It was worrying that their homeroom instructor was a scatterbrain who had forgotten something as important as the student handbook. Dukiel would have been even more worried if he knew Jarron also forgot to inform Zach about the freshman representative.


    But as if that wasn''t enough, Jarron also made a deal with a student to cover up his misdeeds. Twice.


    Dukiel glanced at Zach on the way out, unsure of what to think or say. He wasn''t sure if Zach earned his respect or another bout of worrying.


    Zach noticed Dukiel''s glance and looked at him.


    "Well, it sucks we won''t be able to spar for a while. But you got what you wanted, right?"


    Dukiel nodded.


    "I-I think so. I''m pretty sure I used my skill to get Sentinel to fight. I''m not entirely sure what it does, but I did something."


    "That''s good. It''s like riding a horse. If you can do it once, you can do it again. I''m sure you''ll figure it out."


    "Yeah, thanks."


    "Wanna come to my place for dinner?"


    "...If you''ll have me."


    Two weeks wasn''t a long time, especially at the beginning of the semester when time seemed to pass like the grains of sand in a broken hourglass. It also helped that Zach had a merry group around him to entertain and keep him entertained.


    Nora was still regularly rubbing her eyes in disbelief at the existence of something like Zach''s friends. Zach''s plan to rub the fact that he had made friends in Nora''s face backfired quickly after Dukiel''s visit.


    Making his first friend at fifteen years of age wasn''t something to brag about. And pointing at Nora while laughing and telling her that his friends were, in fact, real did not sound as good in reality as it did in his head.


    Fortunately, Zach had someone on his side, no matter what. Whenever Nora laughed at him, Yanael didn''t make a sound of mockery. When Nora was too busy giggling to prepare snacks, Yanael would do it.


    She brought him tea and sweets as often as he wished. She massaged his shoulder, helped him write his assignments, talked with him, combed his hair, pressed his clothes, caught the bugs that entered his room, and even brushed his teeth when he was too lazy to do it himself.


    She was the greatest support Zach could imagine.


    However, as time passed, Yanael began to cut not only the fruits and food she prepared, but the cutting boards and desks beneath, too. She insisted nothing was wrong and that she was truly sorry for making such mistakes.


    Yanael promised she would do better, and Zach wanted to believe her. But Zach didn''t forget that she wasn''t a simple maid. She was a battle maid. If she didn''t get to stretch her muscles a bit, she would start to get restless.


    However, there wasn''t much Zach could do for her until the two weeks passed.


    That''s what he thought, at least, until Jarron announced a practical lesson and exam that would put everything they had learned since the beginning of the semester to the test. It was time for the year''s first field trip.


    Although Jarron and the other instructors called it a field trip, Zach wasn''t so sure he could agree with that definition.


    None of the teachers went into detail about what the students were supposed to do or where they were going. But all of them agreed on one thing. The students should not let their guard down, no matter what happened.


    Naturally, the students, Zach included, were worried.


    Drupesch''s initial lesson, where she bombarded them with pebbles, was still in their minds, only overshadowed by successive lessons with similar themes.


    The instructors weren''t messing around. If the students weren''t on guard, they would be in deep shit. Even if they were vigilant and prepared, they might still end up in trouble and pain.


    Just like that, the day when the class was to set out on their adventure came.


    Since they were supposed to go to the forest, most of the students had prepared camping equipment and survival gear to the best of their abilities.


    Technically, Zach was one of the students who hadn''t prepared anything. He had asked Nora and Yanael to do it for him.


    They didn''t disappoint.


    When the class gathered at the entrance to the inviting forest located right next to the campus Yanael came carrying a backpack twice the size of her, filled to the brim with equipment and food.


    Since only students and their familiars were allowed, not servants or assistants of any kind, Yanael carried everything she and Nora had prepared.


    "You got everything, Yanael? I can carry some of it, you know." sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This much is not enough for me to burden you, Master. It will make it difficult to display my full strength, but I''m confident I will still be able to protect you and maintain a standard of living worthy of you while in the forest."


    Zach nodded. It didn''t look like Yanael was struggling with the weight of the backpack, so Zach didn''t press. Instead, he followed the gazes of his classmates and looked into the trees, trying to figure out what was awaiting them over there.

 Chapter 18: Leaders

    As the homeroom instructor of the first years, Jarron was naturally the one in charge of the class''s first field trip. However, given his recent oversights with his administrative work and the value of a class with one S-rank and three A-ranks, Drupesch had helped him organize everything. She also helped prepare the students.


    Jarron stood in front of the students, most of whom looked like they were going camping, with mixed feelings. He remembered when he had to go through this during his time at the Academy. He didn''t miss those times.


    "Ahem." Jarron cleared his throat, gathering everyone''s attention.


    "For the purpose of this lesson, I will not be giving you any details or unnecessary assistance. This is survival training. Your goal is to reach a camp a certain distance into the woods where I and a couple of other instructors will be waiting. You have two weeks. Good luck."


    The students were¡­not as surprised as they would have been a couple of weeks ago. But they were still disappointed.


    For an academy that was supposed to teach them and instructors that were supposed to instruct them, it seemed like a lot of it was left for the students to solve on their own. The Academy and the instructors were only there to provide an environment where they could learn. It didn''t feel like they were doing much more than that.


    Still, no one could say it wasn''t effective. Almost all the students had managed to learn more about their skills to the point where only a few had yet to activate them. With Zach''s performance on the first day of practical lessons as well, the students also learned to remain vigilant a lot of the time.


    Something else the students had picked up during their lessons was the fact that they could work together to overcome their weaknesses. Or rather, they could rely on the strong people in the class to have an easier time.


    Some of the students glanced at Zach while most turned to Violina and Anerias. Dukiel was also an A-rank, but he wasn''t sociable enough for the other students to know how to interact with him.


    Violina and Anerias glanced at each other before nodding and stepping up in front of the rest of the classmates.


    "Although Instructor Jarron didn''t give us any details. As usual. He did tell us everything we needed to know. Our assignment is to find the camp. For that, we need to enter the forest. If we look at it like that, it''s simple.


    The problems are the dangers we will face." Anerias spoke with a calm voice that showed he had already analyzed what Jarron had told them.


    Violina nodded in agreement.


    "One such danger that we can anticipate from the start is the forest''s residents. The wild beasts probably won''t be too welcoming. We''ll also stand face to face against the forces of nature, whether it be harsh weather or cold nights that we''ll have to spend sleeping under the stars."


    "However," Anerias picked up where Violina left off. "As long as we work together, we''ll make it. With a group this large, we''ll scare off most beasts. We can work together to build shelter and gather firewood. And if someone like an instructor ambushes us, we can work together to defend and counterattack."


    Although Jarron had said they would be waiting at the camp, Anerias and the others didn''t trust him for shit. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that the instructors would be causing all kinds of trouble for the students as they made their way toward the camp.


    Violina''s gaze sharpened at Anerias'' final sentence. And she wasn''t the only one who was holding a grudge against the instructors for all the pain they had caused during their so-called lessons.


    "We also shouldn''t forget that Jarron gave us a two weeks deadline. There are three things we can get from that. We shouldn''t rush and tire ourselves too soon. It will take at least two weeks to get to the camp. And our grades are most likely related to when we arrive." Anerias had a serious expression on his face as he spoke.


    At this point, most of the students had somewhat given up on getting exemplary grades. It was fine as long as they passed, which, most of the time, meant that they simply survived. However, Anerias, Violina, and other descendants of powerful households or students who dreamed of greatness wanted or needed good grades.


    There was also the fact that Zach was miles ahead of everyone else in terms of grades. Several students, Anerias and Violina included, had a hard time accepting him as the class''s number one.


    At the thought of Zach, Anerias looked around. At first, he glanced at his classmates, but after sweeping across them a couple of times, he didn''t find what he was looking for so he looked a little more closely.


    "...Shit."


    "Anerias?" One of the students asked cautiously when Anerias suddenly cursed.


    Anerias didn''t answer. Instead, he turned to Julius only to discover that he was also missing. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Anerias turned to his side. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dukiel was also gone.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius had already set off into the forest while Anerias and Violina were busy talking and rounding up the students to get them to cooperate and work with the same intentions.


    "...That motherfucking bastard."


    Anerias glared at the forest. It was obvious that it was Zach''s idea. Dukiel wouldn''t make a move alone, and Julius was too smart to enter the forest with his D-rank Mannequin without sufficient protection.


    Anerias turned back to the class and fought to put on a calm expression.


    With Violina''s help, he divided the class into different groups so that they could keep watch on their surroundings in shifts as they moved through the forest. They didn''t mention Zach''s absence, but they didn''t need to. He was the kind of person whose absence didn''t go unnoticed. The atmosphere was much calmer when he wasn''t around.


    However, since it meant his familiar wasn''t around, it was also less colorful.


    But no one let Zach''s decision to leave the class affect them, and Anerias, Violina, and the rest of the class entered the forest.

 Chapter 19: Academy Forest

    Dukiel glanced at Zach and Julius. They had already walked far enough that the treeline and the campus outside the forest were impossible to see.


    "Are you guys sure about this?" Dukiel couldn''t help but be worried when they had left the rest of the class behind without saying a word.


    "Pssh. What''s there to worry about when we have the class''s three strongest summoners?" Julius was the complete opposite of Dukiel. It was like he couldn''t be any more relaxed.


    Julius'' comment earned him two doubtful looks, but neither Zach nor Dukiel said anything about that.


    "A lot of things." But Dukiel was still worried.


    To ease Dukiel, Zach pointed at his Sentinel.


    "With your Sentinel scanning our surroundings like that and its combat ability, what''s there to be scared of?"


    The Sentinel wasn''t in combat mode, but its head had popped up, and its red eyes were blinking and spinning to show that it was watching their surroundings like a hawk.


    Zach could tell Dukiel was still worried, so he put a hand on his shoulder.


    "You should trust your familiar more. But even if something that your Sentinel can''t handle comes at us, we still have me and my angel. If something she can''t deal with occurs or attacks us, it''s not something that we can change by worrying. Thus, there''s no need to worry." Zach wasn''t as flippant as Julius, but he was still calm. He trusted Yanael.


    Although Zach didn''t know what lived inside the forest other than bugs and mosquitos so far, he knew that the instructors wouldn''t put them through something impossible to handle or survive.


    And if it was something that even someone like Julius, who had a D-rank Mannequin, was supposed to make it through, Zach shouldn''t have anything to worry about.


    The only obstacle Zach and the others encountered during the first day of trekking through the woods was deciding what to eat. Dukiel was worried that a campfire would attract attention.


    Zach and Julius were worried that it would be cold without one. It would also be easier for Yanael to prepare a tasty dinner with some heat. Zach also wanted to use up the fresh ingredients before they spoiled in Yanael''s backpack, which was easier to do with cuts of meat when you had a fire.


    So, without much actual trouble, the three boys settled on roast meat skewers with some vegetables.


    It wasn''t the kind of delicacy Zach was used to. But they had built up a robust hunger after walking through the forest''s harsh terrain for an entire day. All three of them ate until their bellies burst out of their shirts before collapsing into the tent Yanael had pitched for them.


    They slept like logs inside the tent while Yanael, the Sentinel, and the Mannequin kept watch. The three familiars weren''t tireless, but their masters had ordered them to stay vigilant, so that''s what they did.


    The breakfast consisted of still-soft bread. The day was spent trekking through the rough vegetation. They stopped for rest and snacks now and then but only ate proper food when they stopped for the night and Yanael cooked dinner for them.


    It was first during the third day that something changed. Dark grey clouds covered the sky. However, the weather remained calm until the early afternoon when the first few drops of rain started hitting the leaves and splattering to the ground.


    "This isn''t good." Dukiel turned to Zach and Julius after looking at the sky with his hand cupped over his eyes.


    "With clouds this heavy and a rainshower that''s starting gentle, it''s going to rain for several hours at least." Dukiel''s voice was somber.


    "...What should we do?" Asked Julius hesitantly. He wasn''t looking forward to spending the night soaked, drenched, and cold.


    "Find shelter or higher ground."


    Dukiel and Julius turned to Zach, who had just spoken. He said it with such confidence they couldn''t help but wonder if he had experience.


    Zach shrugged.


    "What? I read. Didn''t I tell you guys I have basically unrestricted access to the library?"


    "...You did. But we¡ªI, at least¡ªdidn''t take you for the guy to read anything that might be useful." Julius took the opportunity to tease Zach.


    "Rude. Anyway, we should start looking. It''s hard enough as it is to see anything with all these trees. It''s only going to get worse when the rain starts really coming down." Zach started walking.


    "Right. We shouldn''t forget which direction the camp is in, either." Dukiel reminded the other two about one of the most important things to keep track of during this field trip.


    "Weren''t you the one doing that?" Julius looked curiously at Dukiel.


    "I mean¡­Not really. I''ve been using my skill to have Sentinel watch our surroundings. Didn''t you have the compass, Julius?" Dukiel answered hesitantly before growing slightly worried as he questioned Julius.


    "No. I''ve just been following you two." S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And I''ve followed the two of you¡­" Slowly, Dukiel and Julius turned to look at Zach. The realization hit them like a stream of cold water.


    Since neither of them had been leading the way, it meant Zach had been doing it. And they hadn''t seen him or Yanael touch a compass or a map during the entire trip. Though, considering Zach could get lost in his own back pocket, a compass or map wouldn''t help.


    "Zach¡­" Since Zach didn''t seem to have noticed Dukiel''s and Julius'' looks, Julius grabbed his attention.


    Zach glanced back at his two companions with a curious expression.


    "Yeah?"


    "Do you know where you''re going?"


    "To the camp that Jarron mentioned, obviously."


    "...Do you know where the camp is?"


    "Of course, I do."


    Zach raised a hand and began pointing it forward. But before he could fully extend his arm, he hesitated. He tilted his head and looked at the trees before glancing around with eyes like slits. He made a couple of full turns with his hand still raised.


    "Zach¡­?"


    "Bad news, guys. I think we''re lost."

 Chapter 20: What Happens On The Field Trip...

    Dukiel and Julius looked at each other, the despair in their eyes mirroring their realization that they were screwed. They were lost in a forest they had never been before. It was starting to rain. They had already wasted three out of the fourteen days they had to find the camp.


    They would be lucky if they ever got out of the forest at all or even saw another living person before they died.


    But Dukiel and Julius couldn''t blame Zach, only each other and themselves. They knew Zach hadn''t even heard of a sense of direction. They had helped him walk from the classroom to the cafeteria multiple times already.


    Yet neither of them had thought to take the lead. They had just followed behind the S-rank with the highest grades in class.


    Was that it? Was it some kind of natural law about balance? Zach excelled at everything and to balance it out, he couldn''t find his way.


    Dukiel and Julius lamented how much sense it made. It was better than Zach being perfect in every aspect other than his personality, at least usually. Right now, Dukiel and Julius wouldn''t have minded if Zach''s sense of direction was perfect, as well.


    "...I guess I''ll take the lead. Give me the map and compass. I''ll try to find out where we are."


    Julius sighed before stopping Zach from walking in front again. He wasn''t contributing with anything else, whether it be on his own or with his familiar. Dukiel''s Sentinel was scanning their surroundings for threats, and Yanael cooked and kept watch during the nights. She also pitched the tent and carried all the equipment.


    Julius'' Mannequin was busy enough trying to keep up and not get stuck in the vegetation or protruding roots.


    However, he hadn''t used either a compass or a map before.


    "Duke, maybe you can take the lead while I study the map and look for shelter or higher ground." Julius had already buried his head in the map as he stepped aside and let Dukiel walk in the front.


    "Sure."


    "And Zach¡­Don''t wander off."


    "What do you think of me?"


    "I think you might get distracted and wander off."


    "Rude. I at least know how to follow you guys."


    Julius looked up after Zach''s audacious statement and stared at Zach for a moment before turning to Dukiel.


    "Should we just tie ourselves together with a rope?"


    "Honestly? That doesn''t sound like a bad idea."


    "Good. Let''s do it."


    Zach made a show of protesting since it was a blatant insult to his character. There was no way he was so bad that they needed to tie him to them with a rope. But he only made a show of protesting since, deep down, he was aware of his own poor sense of direction.


    He hadn''t noticed it when he lived at the mansion. But that only spoke about how bad it was.


    Besides, Yanael was the one carrying the rope. If Zach really didn''t want to, Dukiel and Julius couldn''t force it.


    After a few minutes, the tied-together trio started walking again. Dukiel''s eyes wandered around the forest, which was quickly growing darker, looking for a place where they could seek shelter from the rain. While doing so, he also made sure to choose paths and animal trails that led upward.


    It looked like Dukiel''s prediction about the rain lasting four hours was worryingly accurate. Even in the late afternoon, the rain made no signs of stopping or running out of water. If anything, the clouds only grew in size and darkness.


    It would be a long night.


    It was a long night.


    None of the three young men wanted to stop for the night and try to set up camp when it was still pouring down. Light streams had already formed on the ground from all the water coming down. If they didn''t find someplace higher up, they could wake up in the middle of a lake if they were unlucky. And that''s if they woke up at all without drowning in their sleep.


    That probably wouldn''t happen, thanks to the familiars. But Zach and the others wanted a place to sleep where they could rest. It would be even better if they had shelter to dry themselves and their clothes.


    Fortunately, Dukiel was a much better guide than Zach, not that it was difficult.


    Still, thanks to always looking for the path leading upward, Dukiel led the group to a hilly area. The ground was wet mud mixed with roots, bushes, and sticks, which made it difficult to climb without slipping.


    But the rope worked wonders, and the group continued upward and forward until they found a mountain range.


    They hadn''t seen it before, even when the weather was clear. Granted, the trees had been in the way. Regardless, they had walked a fair distance and were exhausted and tired to the point they couldn''t be bothered to untie themselves. Someone had secured the rope tightly.


    However, they got out of their soaked clothes and hung them up inside a cavern they found on the mountainside.


    They were dead tired and wetter than fish. But they were also hungry. Unfortunately, it was impossible to start a fire. So, they made do with simple snacks and soggy bread. It was a depressing meal and one of the worst things Zach had eaten, but it filled their stomachs nonetheless.


    Surprisingly, Zach was too tired and hungry to complain, and he was the first to fall asleep, though the difference was only a few seconds. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He went out like a light before even lying down. The others went out as soon as they laid their heads down. The main source of this difference was the fact that Zach hugged Yanael for warmth. Dukiel and Julius cuddled up to each other for warmth.


    The two would have complained more than they did if they could get their teeth to stop clattering.


    Like so, the three youngsters fell asleep, blissfully unaware of how deep the cavern they found was and what lay hidden inside the mountain.

 Chapter 21: Foxhole

    After a few hours when Zach had gotten enough sleep, Yanael woke him up. Zach had asked her not to talk when others were around, but for his and his friends'' safety, she had to interrupt his rest. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...No, Nora¡­I didn''t take your cookies¡­"


    "Master, I must ask that you wake up."


    "Yanael? Where''s Nora?" Zach looked around while rubbing the sand out of his eyes and yawning.


    "At the Academy, I think." Yanael couldn''t say for certain since Nora might be out shopping or on a trip. But that wasn''t important.


    "Good." Zach nodded between yawns and got up to stretch.


    "What''s up?" asked Zach since Yanael wouldn''t wake him up for nothing.


    "I couldn''t perceive an immediate threat, so I didn''t warn you before. But I sense activity deep within the mountain, Master." Yanael got to her feet while speaking and helped Zach put on the still-damp clothes. But he was still tied to the other two with the rope.


    "What kind of activity?" Zach looked at the knot on the rope with a frown. Did they not trust him at all?


    "...It is too far away for me to discern any details. My apologies, Master."


    "Well, I would like to say no worries, but I am pretty worried. Any ideas?"


    "...You are the master, Master."


    "Huhu. I guess that''s true. Then¡­ I kinda want to investigate?" Zach crossed his arms and looked into the cavern. He could barely see his surroundings thanks to the weak ambient light sneaking in through the cave''s entrance. But he saw only darkness ahead.


    Investigating would be difficult.


    For multiple reasons.


    Yanael gave the rope around Zach a pointed look. That look was enough to tell Zach that she thought Zach investigating was a bad idea.


    "Hmph." Zach let out a puff of air but didn''t say anything. He glanced at the Sentinel, which was silently floating next to Dukiel and Julius. He turned to Yanael.


    "Hey, can''t you lead the way?"


    It was a very late question, considering how many times Yanael had accompanied Zach on his confusing trips around the campus when he was looking for the right classrooms and the cafeteria. Why hadn''t Yanael helped him find the way even once? She didn''t even need to speak. She just needed to point Zach where he needed to go.


    Zach wouldn''t have minded her doing something that might look like she was ordering around. She had no problem doing it with certain other things, even if she didn''t take as many liberties as Nora.


    "..." Yanael was silent. She looked down and avoided meeting Zach''s gaze.


    "Yanael?" Zach took a step closer and bent down slightly to get a peek under Yanael''s tilted face.


    "..." Yanael remained silent.


    "Could it be¡­?"


    "I apologize for hiding it from you, Master, but my sense of direction is not one of my strong suits." Yanael''s cheeks blushed slightly as she admitted the embarrassing truth.


    Zach''s eyebrows rose slightly.


    "That''s¡­certainly interesting."


    What were the odds that his perfect, S-rank, named, angel variant familiar with the ability of speech had the same non-existent sense of direction as him?


    "My apologies." Zach wasn''t listening to Yanael as he was too busy with his thoughts.


    "...soulmates¡­" Zach''s thoughts slipped out at less than a whisper.


    "Pardon?" Yanael looked up, unsure of what to make of Zach''s mumbling.


    "Oh, it''s nothing." Zach pretended like he hadn''t said anything and turned around.


    "..."


    "I guess we won''t be investigating anything tonight, then." Zach nodded decisively.


    "I think that''s a great idea, Master." Yanael nodded in agreement and sat down again. She leaned against the cave wall and opened her arms.


    Zach didn''t decline and crept into Yanael''s embrace, quickly falling asleep again, despite¡ªor perhaps thanks to¡ªthe softness, warmth, and delicate sunny smell of her figure.


    Yanael continued looking toward the cavern''s depths while Zach rejoined the other two in the land of dreams. Eventually, all three of them slowly woke up, still cold and tired but somewhat rested.


    The cold had turned them apathetic and Dukiel and Julius wanted nothing more than to continue lying down until things just got better. But that wasn''t going to happen without them doing anything. They also needed to move to get their blood flowing and body heat working again.


    Dukiel and Julius also didn''t want to continue cuddling if it wasn''t necessary, which helped them get up.


    When everyone was up and dressed, Zach told them about Yanael''s discovery. They were skeptical, especially Dukiel since the Sentinel hadn''t alerted him about anything.


    But Yanael was S-rank, so it made sense she was better than the Sentinel. It would also be easy to confirm Zach''s words. They just needed to venture deeper into the mountain. If they were lucky they might even be able to escape from the wet chill the rainweather had brought to the forest and the cave.


    Now that Dukiel was awake, one of the hurdles of investigating the dark cavern was gone. The Sentinel''s eyes could provide a light that, while weak, was enough for them to see where they were going.


    Dukiel took the lead. Julius tried to find a mountain on the map. Zach covered the rear with Yanael by his side.


    All three of them were a little worried about venturing deeper into the mountain when it was pretty clear the camp wouldn''t be there. But it was still raining outside, and they didn''t have anything better to do. Julius and Zach also trusted Dukiel to lead them right. He had done a good job finding both higher ground and shelter. He would do a good job with this little side quest.


    ***


    "Great Ugor, I need to report something."


    "Yes?"


    "We have detected three students loitering around one of the foxholes in the mountain connected to the Academy''s forest."


    "...Is there a reason you have yet to dispose of them? Students get lost and disappear all the time in that forest. The Academy won''t suspect anything."


    "...We have identified two of the students as Zacharia Evandiel and Dukiel the Commoner. The S-rank and one of the three A-ranks of this year''s recently admitted students."


    "We have a base in that mountain, right? Capture them and try converting them. If that doesn''t work, turn them into nutrition for our forces."


    "Yes, Great Ugor."


    "You said three students. What about the third one?"


    "He appears to be Zacharia Evandiel and Dukiel the Commoner''s underling."


    "Capture him, too."


    "Yes, Great Ugor."

 Chapter 22: Exciting

    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius walked mostly in silence. For some reason, the darkness and knowledge of something existing within the mountain created a tense atmosphere that made it difficult to keep a conversation going. Dukiel and Julius were also focused on their tasks.


    Zach was the only one who didn''t have to keep track of where they were going or study a map and compass while they walked. He was free to let his mind wander and look at the cavern walls in the Sentinel''s dim light.


    It was because the light was low and they were constantly moving, which caused weird shadows to crawl along the walls, that Zach was slow to notice it.


    "Hey, guys?" Zach slowed down after calling out to the others, and he stepped closer to the cave wall.


    "What is it this time, Zach?" Julius didn''t look up from his map as he questioned Zach.


    "These walls¡­I don''t think they were like it at the entrance, but they are very smooth."


    "So? These tunnels have probably been created over countless years by the erosion of water, wind, and dust. I don''t think it''s strange." Julius didn''t entertain Zach''s train of thought and quickly dismissed it with a reasonable explanation.


    Zach glanced at Julius.


    "Dukiel, what do you think?" Zach turned to Dukiel.


    "...I don''t know much about that. But this cave is very straight, or rather, the floor is flat. It doesn''t feel like a random cave. It''s more like a tunnel." Dukiel gestured at the floor that, while sloping, wasn''t curved like the rest of the cave.


    The three young men looked at each other. Julius couldn''t ignore what Zach had been trying to bring up anymore now that Dukiel had also made a point.


    "This tunnel is man-made."


    The other two didn''t refute Zach''s statement.


    "Should we turn back?" Dukiel glanced at the other two, his shoulders slightly slumped in nervousness.


    Julius looked at Zach. He was the freshman representative, S-rank summoner, top of the class, and the one who gathered the three to set out without the class and as friends. He had taken upon himself the burden of choice when he did all that.


    Zach looked at the other two. He could tell that both of them were both curious and worried. Since it was man-made, they might encounter people. But if it was someone who had spent a lot of effort to dig out this tunnel into the mountainside, would they be happy about visitors?


    On the other hand, maybe the rain had stopped, and they could continue looking for the camp, which was, after all, their assignment.


    Zach glanced at Yanael. He played it off as looking back up the tunnel when she didn''t show any reaction. He turned back toward the depths of the cave.


    "I kinda want to continue. But if two are against it, I don''t mind getting back on track and trying to look for the camp again if it''s stopped raining."


    Dukiel and Julius looked at each other before turning to Zach.


    "I''ll follow you." Dukiel nodded decisively.


    "Well, not follow you, but¡­"


    "We get it. Me too. Since you want to continue, let''s continue. Who knows? It might be the camp we''re looking for. If not that, it could be some secret, underground organization.


    Or treasure. If we''re lucky, we''ll find treasure at the bottom of this tunnel." Julius'' eyes shone as he imagined the possibilities.


    It was no longer just a long and deep cave leading into a mountain. It was a tunnel someone had made. That meant secrets, intrigue, mystery, and adventure. It stirred a thrill in Julius'' heart. And his excitement rubbed off on the other two.


    However, they didn''t get to enjoy much of their excitement while walking before the ground opened up beneath them. Six holes big enough to swallow each target with relative ease suddenly appeared beneath the feet of every person and familiar.


    Yanael reacted quickly, but her backpack weighed her down, and she was already in the hole when she tried to pull out her weapons and bring out her wings. By then, the hole was too narrow, and she could only try to hold herself up with her hands and feet.


    She took one hand off the wall so that she could take off the backpack when the stone around her turned soft and slippery, like it was covered in a thick layer of oil. Before she could even get her arm through the strap, she lost her grip and dropped into the darkness.


    There wasn''t even a need to mention Julius'' Mannequin. It fell without being able to put up resistance.


    Strangely enough, Dukiel''s Sentinel also dropped into the hole, despite its ability to fly. It was like the hole sucked it in with greater power than the Sentinel''s propulsive force.


    Unlike their familiars, Dukiel, Zach, and Julius were tied together, so they didn''t drop further than a couple of steps, regardless of how slippery the hole was or how much it tried to suck them in. It did hurt when they first dropped and their fall yanked on each other''s rope, slamming them into the walls, though.


    Dukiel even hit his head hard enough to make him hover on the line between consciousness and unconsciousness.


    Julius was relatively fine since he ended up in the middle, pulled on by both Dukiel and Zach. And Zach had his Blessed Defense, which he managed to activate just in time to protect his body.


    "Guys, hold on! We''re going to get out of here! Just stay where you are, and I''ll climb out before pulling you guys up, okay?" Zach called out to his friends while grabbing the rope and beginning to pull himself upward.


    "It''s not like we can go anywhere," Julius answered sarcastically. He was in a bad mood from hanging upside down and being unable to turn around. He didn''t even know how he had managed to flip around in the tight space.


    "Dukiel?" Zach ignored Julius and shouted since Dukiel hadn''t answered.


    "..."


    "Dukiel!"


    Dukiel still didn''t answer.


    "Julius, is Dukiel''s rope still okay?"


    "I think so. It feels like it. But it isn''t moving like yours is." sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Shit. Come on, pull on my rope and help¡ª"


    The holes closed up, cutting off the ropes and sending the three youths plummeting through the bottomless darkness again.

 Chapter 23: Cell

    "Urgh¡­!" Zach groaned when he hit the bottom of the hole that swallowed him. The impact shocked and hurt him even when he had the golden barrier of Blessed Defense''s protection. But he didn''t have any severe injuries. At most, a bruise or four.


    After making sure he was intact, Zach looked around.


    ''A cell?''


    He was in a square room of stone with one wall made of metal bars, and when he looked up, the hole was gone.


    ''The others¡­?''


    Dukiel and Julius were not in the same cell, and neither were any of the familiars.


    "Yanael!"


    Zach had stopped himself from using Yanael''s name when he was with others since he didn''t want to cause too much of a riot by showing off how special she was. But he couldn''t be bothered with that right now.


    He didn''t care if anyone else heard him.


    However, Yanael didn''t respond. Zach tried to get a peek at the hallway outside his cell. The torch''s dark brown light let him see at least some details. But he couldn''t see anything beyond a cold, perfectly cut corridor of the same stone his cell was made of.


    "Yanael!"


    Logically speaking, even if he was inside a mountain, a cell along a corridor wouldn''t be alone. Maybe the others, Yanael included, were right next to him, only stone walls between them.


    Zach had trouble staying calm and logical right now since Yanael wasn''t next to him, but it wasn''t his first time being kidnapped and separated from everyone he knew, so he could at least think a little.


    Still, no one, not even Yanael, responded to Zach''s shouts. Either they weren''t there, they couldn''t hear him, or they weren''t in a position to respond.


    Zach sighed and retreated until he could rest against the wall opposite the metal bars.


    ''Man, this sucks.''


    Zach rested his arms against his knees and dropped his head into his palms. It wasn''t his first time being abducted, but it was the first time he felt like he didn''t have a chance of getting out.


    When he was younger, he had only been abducted to a warehouse in the same region by a bunch of amateurs, and his family, the Evandiel Ducal family, had wasted no resources tracking him down and bringing him home.


    Zach had been able to take it easy knowing his family''s full force was coming for him.


    But now, no one would be looking for him, at least not yet. Even if he was the first S-rank in years and one of the valuable seedlings of the Academy, he was supposed to be lost in the forest.


    It was only when the deadline passed and there was still no sign of him that people would start looking. By then, the rain would have long washed away their traces. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even with the Academy''s resources and finicky familiars, it would be difficult to scour the forest for Zach and the others. Even if the instructors and faculty found the mountain and the tunnel, it might already be too late by then. His current situation was a lot more dire than any of the previous times he had been kidnapped.


    Two weeks was a long time, especially when trapped in an underground cell with no sign of another living being in the vicinity.


    Yanael had said there was activity, and it was probably related to the holes that had swallowed the team. But if the source of the activity was responsible for imprisoning Zach, it was clear it wasn''t benign.


    "Shit¡­Stupid Jarron."


    With nothing else to do, Zach blamed the instructor who had arranged the field trip. Things always ended up a mess when Jarron was supposed to do things.


    "...Surface dweller?"


    A hoarse voice seemingly from the cell next door stirred Zach out of his pity party.


    "Uh¡­?" Zach looked up in confusion. "Is someone there?"


    It wasn''t the voice of any of his comrades, and it certainly wasn''t Yanael.


    "Ye¡ªAhem¡ªYes." The person coughed to clear their throat while answering.


    "I''m¡­¨CIt looks like I''ve forgotten my name, but I''m a prisoner here, same as you, though I guess for opposite reasons." The more he spoke, the more clarity returned to the man''s name. He was speaking for the first time in a long time, and it showed.


    "What do you mean prisoner? And opposite reasons? Wait¡ªYou called me a surface dweller. What does that mean?" Zach had too many questions and couldn''t control himself.


    "Um¡­One question at a time, please. I haven''t¡­I haven''t used my thinking a lot recently."


    "...Okay?"


    ''Does he mean his head?''


    "Let''s start with surface dweller, then. What is that?"


    "Since you don''t know it, it means you are one."


    "...That doesn''t explain anything."


    "I''m getting there. Just sorting my thoughts a little."


    "Sure¡­"


    Zach waited a couple of minutes until he heard something he was pretty sure was a snore.


    "Hello?"


    "Right. Uh, a surface dweller is someone who dwells on the surface."


    "Like, above ground?" Zach clarified with a frown. He couldn''t say he was fond of the implication.


    "Yup."


    "You are not a surface dweller."


    "Nup."


    "What are you, then?"


    "I am¡­was a first layer miner."


    "I¡­¨C"


    Zach was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. They were soft but spread far anyway. They also sounded slightly like the person with the feet didn''t have any shoes.


    Instinctively, Zach and the miner shut up.


    As the footsteps got closer, Zach''s heartrate rose, and he couldn''t help but squeeze himself tighter to the wall, pressing against it. He didn''t even know why he was scared.


    After a few moments, the source of the footsteps appeared in front of his cell. He really did not understand why he had been scared when a person as tall as a chair with a comical appearance showed themselves.


    They had neck-length, slightly unkempt hair, long ears pointing right out, a short and stubby nose, a worryingly wide mouth, whiskers, and small, piercing eyes. They were also dressed in a butler''s suit.


    Zach did not know what to make of them.

 Chapter 24: Prison Mate

    "Oho, not even a scratch from that fall. You are as impressive as the rumors suggest, Zacharia Evandiel. Welcome to the Giupusta Locale. I am a tasker of the second layer sent to entertain and invite you. If you would?"


    The tasker stepped aside and invited Zach to come with him. Zach hadn''t even noticed the metal bars disappear.


    ''...What the fuck?''


    Zach was more confused and scared than he had ever been. This wasn''t something he could remain calm because he had been through something similar before. After all, he had never even heard of anything like it.


    "Well?"


    The tasker looked at Zach with a questioning tone. Zach was pretty sure he wasn''t supposed to be threatening or appear dangerous. If anything, the tasker was trying to be welcoming for whatever reason. But Zach still got chills.


    "...Right."


    Zach slowly got up and walked toward the cell''s open wall. The tasker smiled.


    "There''s no need for this here shield now. But you can keep it up if you want. I don''t mind."


    The tasker knocked on the shield when Zach got close. Zach saw the tasker''s hand move. It wasn''t so fast that he couldn''t avoid it. That wasn''t the problem.


    What raised Zach''s heart rate even more was how the simple-looking knock made the barrier shake more than any of Drupesch''s stones had done. There was a mountain of strength behind that tiny hand with six fingers, two of which were thumbs on either side of the palm.


    The tasker was telling him that it didn''t matter if he had the shield up or not. If the tasker wanted him dead, the barrier wouldn''t be stopping him.


    Zach sighed. Even if it was comforting to have some kind of defense, it was a false reassurance. It also drained his energy and concentration unnecessarily. It would be better to save it for a time when it would actually be of use.


    They started walking after the barrier disappeared, and after a few steps, they were outside the cell next to Zach''s.


    Through the dim light, Zach saw another small person-like being. They were bald, had narrow, deep-set eyes, two nasal cavities instead of a nose, whiskers, and a small mouth. There was some resemblance to the tasker, but only in the same way orangutans and gorillas are similar.


    Unlike the tasker, the miner''s arms were burly, and most of their length seemed to be concentrated on their upper body as his legs were the same length as his hands, which looked like two blocks of stone when they were curled up and rested on the ground next to him, chained to the wall by his wrists.


    Unlike the tasker, who gave Zach an unsettling feeling, the miner had an appearance that made Zach think it was interesting.


    He wondered what this people was. Where did they come from? Why had he never heard of them? Why were they inside a mountain in the Academy''s backyard? What did they want him? Why was the miner imprisoned?


    Zach felt like it was the first time he had so many questions about the same subject.


    ''Where''s the library when you need it?''


    Zach shook his head in slight disappointment. He had a feeling he wouldn''t get the answers he wanted, even if he dared to ask the tasker any of the questions he had, which he didn''t. He followed behind the tasker in complete silence, filled with worry.


    After a few minutes, they made it out of the hallway with cells and into a hallway of hallways. After walking there for another few minutes, they made it to one of the few rooms or hallways that had a heavy door or set of stone doors blocking the entrance.


    The tasker pushed the doors with ease and stood with his back against one as he bowed and gestured for Zach to enter.


    Zach slowly walked into the room while looking at the large table carrying an incredible weight of what looked like food. There was a seat at the short end of the table.


    Zach looked at the tasker and pointed at himself with a questioning expression. The tasker nodded, indicating that the feast was indeed for him.


    "Don''t mind if I do¡­"


    Zach was a little skeptical about the food. If it was sourced from underground, it only made sense it was completely different from anything he had seen or tasted before. But food was food, and he was hungry.


    He sat down on the surprisingly comfortable stone chair and started reaching for something that looked like a grilled chicken wing.


    "Wait a moment, please, Zacharia Evandiel." The tasker spoke up after closing the doors behind him as he walked toward one of the walls in the room, which was, aside from the table, feast, and chandelier hanging from the ceiling, completely bare.


    Zach froze with his hand hanging in the air right above the food. It looked strange but smelled good. But he wasn''t going to antagonize the tasker, so he waited and watched the short figure knock on the wall.


    After the knock, a section of the wall disappeared and revealed a shelf with a singular object inside.


    Zach frowned. It looked somewhat like a skull.


    ''That can''t be good.''


    The tasker pulled out a pair of black leather gloves from his pockets and put them on before carefully grabbing the skull with an expression of reverence. He gently carried the skull over to Zach''s table and put it down near Zach.


    Zach was uncomfortable, but as long as he didn''t look at it, he could ignore it and focus on his food.


    "Zacharia Evandiel, please pay your respects to the Great Ugor before partaking in the feast the Great Ugor has prepared for you." The tasker took a step back after putting down the skull and took off his gloves while looking at Zach.


    "I¡­" Zach hesitated.


    "You simply need to express your gratitude."


    Zach looked between the skull and the tasker. Eventually, his gaze settled on the skull. It wasn''t like he could do anything else.


    "Thank you, Great Ugor, for this feast?" Zach hesitantly turned to the tasker, who nodded. It was an acceptable show of respect. It would suffice.


    S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 25: Totem

    Zach barely had time to look away from the skull and focus on his food again before the three eye sockets lit up with a dark brown flame, eerily similar to the torches shedding light on the underground tunnels and rooms.


    The tasker kneeled toward the skull with both fists and one knee against the floor. Zach looked at the tasker with raised eyebrows and retracted his hand as he looked at the skull.


    "...I greet the Great Ugor?" Zach spoke hesitantly. The only reason he could think of for the tasker''s reaction was if the skull wasn''t just a symbol of this Great Ugor character. The flames in the three eye sockets also swiveled and moved like eyes trying to orient themselves.


    "Ah ah hah!" A cutty laughter rang out from the depths of the skull and sent shivers down Zach''s spine.


    "There is no need for such nervous formalities, young Zacharia Evandiel. I am a great being, but unlike the stuffy surface dwellers, I do not need the ass-kissing of others as confirmation of such a fact." The Great Ugor''s voice sounded slightly hollow due to the skull, but it still carried incredible weight. Zach didn''t have a choice but to listen to it.


    It was similar to how everyone had been forced to hear the principal''s every word when he held his speech during the entrance ceremony. The power behind the words forced them straight into the listener''s brain, whether they wanted it or not.


    Of course, Zach wasn''t planning on not listening to the person who seemed responsible for his current situation.


    Zach glanced at the kneeling tasker.


    "Kaha! Of course, if someone wants to show their loyalty and respect, I won''t refuse it!" The Great Ugor spoke as if he saw Zach''s look.


    ''I guess those flames aren''t moving for nothing.''


    Zach carefully looked at the Great Ugor''s totem for a moment before finally building up enough courage.


    "...Where is Ya¡ªWhere is my familiar?"


    "Yes, the angelic battle maid. We separated you from it. But don''t worry, it is intact and unharmed. Well, we had to restrain her a little. But it is an S-rank familiar, so it will be fine." The Great Ugor spoke dismissively of Zach''s concerns.


    Zach frowned. The Great Ugor didn''t answer his question. He also had a very disrespectful attitude toward Yanael. Zach didn''t like it. Alas, there wasn''t much he could do.


    "Are you going to let us go?" Since the Great Ugor seemed up for conversation, Zach decided to try and get as much as he could by talking.


    "Haka!" The Great Ugor''s strange laughter rang out again before abruptly cutting short.


    "The short answer is no."


    "What?"


    "Well, I know you don''t know anything about us, but we''re technically enemies. Opposing sides, I guess you could call it. You come from above the surface and I am the leader of those who live under it, in the Underworld. You''re a smart lad, I''m sure. Think about why you haven''t heard of us before."


    Zach didn''t need to think when the Great Ugor had already given the answer.


    "Those great beings of the surface you mentioned are keeping your existence a secret to prevent widespread fear and panic."


    "That''s the reason I was looking for. Now, why would they do that?"


    "Because you''re dangerous and your existence or goals threaten the lives of the people on the surface."


    "...A biased way of looking at it, but it''s not incorrect. Now then, the final question! Or questions.


    "Why would I let you go if what you said just now is true? And in the same vein, why am I keeping you alive and even giving you my valuable time and our precious resources?" S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach was incredibly doubtful. It could all be an elaborate trial or test by the academy. But it seemed too far-fetched. At the same time, why would the Great Ugor reveal everything so easily? He was sitting there on the table claiming to be an enemy of all humanity.


    Well, he was asking questions to let Zach make those claims. But he said Zach''s guesses were correct.


    However, he also hinted that it wasn''t that simple.


    The biased answer and the words about the precious resources. Zach also felt there was something else.


    But there could be another reason why the Underworld''s existence was a secret. What if they weren''t kept secret because they were dangerous but to prevent them garnering sympathy?


    If it really was a matter of conflicting opinions between the kind of great beings the Great Ugor was talking about, violence was certainly involved, and violence meant death.


    "You mentioned opposing sides¡­" Zach spoke after a few moments of silent thought. He had a guess as to what the Great Ugor wanted, but he still had to confirm it.


    "Yes, I did."


    "You''re trying to bring me over to your side."


    "Well, you certainly aren''t humble. Yes. Although you have a long way to go, as proven by how easily you were captured, an S-rank summoner is wanted wherever they go. I also can''t let the surface raise another loose cannon."


    Zach''s spine grew cold at the Great Ugor''s last sentence.


    "...And if I refuse?"


    "I''ll give you some time to think about it. Eat your fill, rest, and ask the tasker next to you any questions you might have." The Great Ugor''s voice didn''t allow another expression of refusal. Zach nodded.


    But before the Great Ugor could retreat his consciousness, Zach spoke,


    "What about my friends?"


    "Mm. That depends on them. Of course, if you join the Underworld, I will spare them even if they do not join us. They will have limited freedom, but they will be intact."


    Zach gulped.


    "C-can you¡­hold off on doing anything to them until I make up my mind?"


    The Great Ugor was silent and the dark flames flickered slowly. Zach wondered if he had been too slow and the Great Ugor had already left. However, the air around Zach slowly grew colder until something thudded against the wall.


    The tasker went over and knocked on it to open a shelf.


    Zach''s eyes clearly saw what had made the sound.


    "My time is expensive. Another poor attempt at stalling and your friends will pay the price."


    The hollow eyes of the miner from the prison met Zach''s horror-stricken ones.

 Chapter 26: Privacy

    Zach looked at the miner''s severed head, frozen stiff in shock and fear. He couldn''t move for what felt like hours as he locked eyes with the head. Eventually, he just nodded.


    The Great Ugor''s totem lost its light.


    Zach slumped in his chair and slid down until his back was on the seat.


    ''Fuck.''


    Zach didn''t even know what to think other than that he was in deep shit. No, that didn''t even begin to describe it. He was in an impossibly sticky situation.


    Zach held not only his life but also the lives of Dukiel and Julius in his hands. They probably weren''t dead since the Great Ugor wouldn''t have tried to use them as bargaining chips if they were. His lie would be exposed as soon as Zach asked to meet them if he accepted the deal.


    Zach frowned.


    The Great Ugor had said their lives were also up to them.


    ''Does that mean he asked them to join the Underworld, too?''


    Dukiel, he could understand. He was an A-rank summoner, after all. He was just one step below Zach. There was a noticeable difference between them outside the ranks, as well, considering the performance Zach had displayed so far during his time at the Academy.


    But Dukiel was still a valuable asset.


    However, Julius¡­


    He was Zach''s friend so he wasn''t sure what to think. But Julius honestly wasn''t anything to poach from the surface''s side. He wasn''t bad, by any means. He was even performing well in the theoretical subjects.


    But that was it.


    Julius didn''t stand out, and he wasn''t a rare resource with his D-rank mannequin. If he was, it was because there were so few summoners with familiars as weak as him.


    ''Shit.'' Zach slid down even further until he sat on the floor below the table.


    Julius was probably not in the process of being poached. It would be fortunate if he was still alive, regardless of what the Great Ugor had promised.


    Once Zach made his choice, it would be too late to turn back, even if the Great Ugor had lied.


    Zach sighed and lay down on the cool stone floor to gather his thoughts.


    After a few moments of not thinking, he got up. He glanced at the table of food. Needless to say, he didn''t have much of an appetite anymore. But he still grabbed some of the food that was easy to eat while walking.


    He used the chicken wing to point at the tasker.


    "You. Can you give me a tour of this place? Just show me any and everywhere I''m permitted. Before I make a choice, I need to know what kind of place I''ll be joining. So far, I''ve only seen a prison, a severed head, a skull, and¡­beings I''ve never even heard of. It''s not a lot of things that make me want to devote myself to the Great Ugor."


    The tasker had left his kneeling position as soon as the Great Ugor left. But he had remained silent and immovable like a statue until Zach spoke to him. He smiled and put one arm behind his back as he gave a slight bow.


    "It is my honor to be your guide, Zacharia Evandiel."


    Zach was unnerved by the sudden politeness but didn''t let it bother him as he gestured for the tasker to lead the way. First impressions and appearances aside, Zach was used to people doing things for him. He just had to pretend he was visiting a family acquaintance''s mansion or dungeon and treat it like a game.


    Of course, it was a game with his life, Yanael''s life, and his friends and their familiars'' lives at stake.


    The tasker showed Zach around the place, but the most he was allowed to see were the entrances to various places, such as the prison, the mine, the center¡ªwhatever that was¡ª, the dorms, where the miners lived, the mess hall, and the entrance to the second layer. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach figured his companions were either in a different section of the prison than he had been or in the center. He was a little confused about why there was such a significant need for a prison. It didn''t speak well to the Underworld''s character and state of living.


    "Hey, what''s the deal with these first and second layers?" Unlike the prison or the center, Zach figured the layers were less suspicious to ask about.


    The tasker didn''t even look back before answering.


    "The Underworld is divided into different layers. This first layer is the one right below the surface. It is the weakest layer with the least amount of Underworld energy and the fewest and poorest resources. Below us is the second layer.


    And all the way down at the sixth layer is where the Great Ugor recides, protecting us from the overwhelming devastation of the world''s core." The tasker''s voice filled with reverence as he started talking about the Great Ugor.


    Zach gulped. He wasn''t sure how big the world was or how deep it ran. But it sounded like the Great Ugor was far away, and he had still managed to connect with the totem to communicate with him. It also looked like the Great Ugor had decapitated the miner and delivered his head to the dining room.


    Of course, it could be that he had asked another tasker or whatever to do so, and that''s why he seemed a little absent from the skull.


    But Zach didn''t make any assumptions.


    "Wow, the Great Ugor is impressive. It sounds like he is very far deep down, yet he still managed to talk to me like he was in the room. I don''t know anyone who could do something like that." Zach tried to sound sincere. He wasn''t sure how well he did, but it seemed the tasker took it like honest praise toward the Great Ugor.


    "Of course! The Great Ugor is the Great Ugor! There is nothing he can''t do!"


    "Really? So, he''s even omnipotent and omniscient?"


    "...Well, no. But he''s mighty and you shouldn''t underestimate him!"


    "I won''t. I was just worried that I wouldn''t be able to go to the bathroom without him seeing me, you know?"


    "There''s no need to flatter yourself. Even if he could, the Great Ugor is too great to intrude on someone like you''s privacy."


    "Even if he could?"


    "...Well, the Great Ugor is a busy person. He can''t afford to waste energy keeping watch of everything. Not to mention how many totems that would require. But he has us! His trusty taskers to act as his eyes, ears, and limbs."


    "Great. That''s great. Hey, do you think you can take me to the center again?"


    "Even if you ask, you are not permitted beyond the entrance."


    "I know, I know."

 Chapter 27: Center

    "Here we are." The tasker stopped in front of the chain and sign hanging in front of the tunnel leading to the center.


    Since Zach had almost lost his way and gotten separated from the tasker several times during the tour, the tasker had no choice but to begin to lose his temper. After all, the tasker didn''t know about Zach''s lack of a sense of direction, so it only looked like Zach was trying to wander off on his own.


    "Thanks. You said access was restricted here, right?"


    The tasker nodded.


    "Yes. The center is an important place where unauthorized personnel are forbidden entry."


    "Are you authorized?"


    "No. My duties lie in the general management of the Locale and dealing with events such as your arrival."


    "I see. Well, laters~"


    Zach started toward the chain hanging between the tunnel''s entrance walls. The tasker instantly realized what Zach was trying to do and began moving to catch up. But instead, he caught Zach''s foot to the side of his head.


    Zach had feinted trying to break into the center to mislead the tasker and ambush him. Since he couldn''t beat the tiny butler with brute force, he had to resort to the same cheap tricks he used against Nora when they were younger.


    He hadn''t been very successful in any of his escape or retaliation attempts against his current maid. Fortunately, however, the tasker was much shorter than Nora, and Zach''s foot clocked him.


    Zach felt like something broke, whether it was the tasker''s jaw or skull. Whatever it was, it was enough to turn the tasker''s body limp.


    Zach sighed in relief. When the tasker had displayed his strength earlier, Zach had been worried that even a perfect hit wouldn''t be enough.


    But even if he was unconscious, the tasker might not stay unconscious for long, so Zach tied him up using his clothes as best as he could before dragging him along inside the tunnel to the center.


    ''Fuck, why is this tiny guy so heavy?''


    The tasker wasn''t even up to Zach''s waist, but he was heavier than a wet sack of potatoes. Eventually, Zach found a corner and dumped the tasker.


    It didn''t seem like the tunnels were very well-traveled. So, hopefully, he would manage to break the others out before anyone caught on or found the tasker''s unconscious body. Well, as long as he could find and free Yanael, things would get easier.


    Zach walked along the tunnel, which fortunately didn''t have any branches that could make him lose his way. His steps were gentle and barely made a sound against the stone floor.


    As he got closer, he felt a simultaneously warm and cold breeze around his legs. The closer it got, the higher it climbed on his body. It was both worrying and soothing.


    Strange noises soon began escaping the center and into the tunnel Zach was following. He had to pause in case it was the sound of beings of the Underworld approaching.


    When it became clear the sources of the sounds were stationary, Zach continued moving. Eventually, he could confirm that some of the sounds sounded like breaking wood. Another sound was the clinking of stone against stone. And a third stone was the distinct clang of metal against metal.


    ''Yanael!''


    Zach could guess what those three sounds were. He started running with worry and excitement.


    Before long, a brighter light than the torches lining the walls spilled into the tunnel. Zach slowed down as he adjusted to it.


    Zach''s eyes scanned the large cavernous hall. The first thing he saw wasn''t any of the familiars. No, the first thing he saw was the center.


    In the middle of the room, straight ahead from the tunnel, there was some kind of pool or fountain with strange tubes leading into it from the ground. It looked like there was mud, tainted with ink in the pool.


    But what caught Zach''s attention was the glossy, brown orb floating in the air above the pool and below a stalactite. Every few minutes, a tear of light brown liquid would escape from the stalactite and flow along it before dropping onto the orb. Some of it stayed and some of it continued into the pool.


    As the orb spun, Zach also identified the source of the gentle wind around the room and in the tunnel. It was enough to snap him out of his distraction, finally finding what he was looking for: Yanael.


    She had a half-torn straitjacket of some kind of metal around her upper body and the remains of chains around her feet. One of her wings had sprouted from her back, and her halo shone with a faint light.


    She was ragged from fighting the tall, muscular, hairy creatures surrounding her. Their fists were large like cinderblocks and completely solid. Zach figured they were the security in this place.


    Yanael''s sword was bent, and her shield was torn in half. It didn''t look like she was winning the fights, even if two of the Underworld fighters had lost their heads.


    Zach looked around to see if he could help her in any way. He found the Sentinel bound in a set of stone chains that clinked every time it tried to break itself or any of its four limbs free. Despite not having any facial or otherwise expressive features, Zach could tell it was enraged.


    Strapped to a bench not far from the Sentinel with tubes plugged into it, the same kind leading to the pool in the center, was Julius'' Mannequin, writhing in apparent pain as its already dark wood darkened even further. Whatever the tubes were pumping in was not good for the Mannequin''s material.


    ''Damn it.''


    Zach couldn''t break stone with his hands, certainly not the kinds even the Sentinel couldn''t break. So, his only option was the Mannequin. He ran up to it, nervously looking around for any workers or more intelligent Underworlders than the seemingly single-minded fighters.


    He didn''t see any, but he found another entrance or exit, so he set that aside and focused on pulling the tubes out of the Mannequin, quickly freeing it. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Quick, help her!"


    Zach helped the Mannequin to its feet before shoving it in Yanael''s direction.

 Chapter 28: Plan

    Zach''s face was twisted with worry as he looked at the Mannequin.


    As if the Mannequin understood him, it glanced back at Zach before turning to Yanael and the fighters around her. Its first couple of steps were unsteady like it was a newborn foal. But as it walked and the scars from the tubes began to fade, the Mannequin''s steps gained more confidence.


    Although the hall was large, it didn''t take long for the Mannequin to arrive at the first fighter. The Mannequin extended its hand into what looked like a very dull blade and poked the fighter in the thigh.


    It did nothing to the fighter. The Mannequin''s hand just bumped against the fighter''s bristle-like hair without less effect than a mosquito bite on an elephant.


    However, it was enough for the fighter to notice the Mannequin. It raised its battering ram of an arm and whacked the Mannequin into the stone wall. The impact created cracks and a Mannequin-shaped indent.


    Zach winced as the Mannequin also had cracks running along its body.


    But the Mannequin''s sacrifice wasn''t in vain. The distracted fighter revealed a gap in Yanael''s encirclement.


    Yanael didn''t let that opportunity go to waste. She stepped on the fighter''s knee before leaping up and stabbing the distracted fighter in its thick neck. She climbed over the fighter, escaping the encirclement and drew out her crooked sword with a spray of muddy blood at the same time.


    The fighter reached up to clamp its wide hand over its wound to stem the bleeding.


    Due to how thick and tough their necks were, the fighter would probably survive even that kind of injury.


    However, by raising its hand, the fighter''s lower body was unprotected. On her way down, Yanael severed the tendons in the fighter''s knees and heels with a few quick slashes of her sword.


    The fighter sank to its knees with a cracking thud.


    ''The bigger they are, the harder the fall¡­''


    As if to support Zach''s thought, Yanael kicked the fighter in the back. Unbalanced due to its top-heavy and front-loaded build, the fighter toppled over and buried its face in the ground. Before it could use its muscular arms to do anything, Yanael jumped up and stabbed it in the back of the head.


    It died.


    The other fighters reached to grab or attack Yanael, but she swiftly stepped away and moved between the thick arms like a puff of air with the help of her wing. The fighters'' fists slammed into their fallen comrade, creating large dents in its body. But they didn''t care and moved to chase Yanael.


    Zach frowned and looked at the fighters.


    It was strange.


    It didn''t seem like they were acting with a lot of thought behind their actions. But they moved to surround, intercept, and wear down Yanael. That should have required some degree of intelligence beyond knowing how to move one''s limbs. It also required cooperation, but Zach couldn''t see any of that from them.


    It was like they were moving on instinct to apprehend or secure the threat that was Yanael.


    Zach crossed his arms and rubbed his chin.


    ''Can''t I take advantage of that?''


    Zach took another look around the room to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. But he didn''t find anything he could move.


    ''Well, it''s not like I need a weapon.''


    Even if he had a sword as good as Yanael''s, he wasn''t strong enough for it to do any damage to the fighters'' tough bodies. Instead, it would be better if he didn''t have anything weighing him down since he would be risking his life.


    Zach took a bet.


    "Yanael, I''ll grab a few and run around! If I''m right, they''ll follow me without caring about their comrades. I''ll also use them to break free Sentinel."


    The bet was that the fighters didn''t understand what he was saying.


    Yanael didn''t respond, but Zach saw her nod, so he wiped his palms against his pants to get rid of the sweat before starting up in a light jog. He came up behind the flock of fighters trailing behind Yanael, chasing her around the room.


    Zach picked up the pace and in quick succession, jumped up and smacked three fighters on their buttocks. One by one, they turned around, their hairy faces following Zach''s every move as he backed away.


    He had secured the attention of three fighters and distracted them from Yanael.


    He didn''t know why it was so easy to change their target when they should be focused on Yanael, but he couldn''t be bothered with such a trivial question when he had three lumbering giants who could kill him with a flick of their fingers after him.


    Zach turned around and began running like his life depended on it.


    The fighters were only a couple of times bigger than him, and they didn''t look like they were made for speed, only strength. But they were still fast enough to cling to Yanael.


    Zach, who was not an S-rank angel with a wing to help him, had a hard time outrunning the fighters. No, he didn''t have just a hard time. He couldn''t do it.


    The fighters were gaining on him as they bumbled through the hall. It wasn''t entirely outside Zach''s expectations, but it was too soon. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He needed to make it further before letting them get in range to attack him.


    Zach stopped glancing back and focused on his target. The Sentinel wasn''t far away now.


    Zach felt the heavy footsteps of the fighters in his feet. Each step they took made Zach wonder how they were making solid stone sound like that.


    Finally, Zach arrived at the Sentinel''s prison of chains right when the nearest fighter raised its fist midstep.


    Zach quickly laid down and slid on the floor under the Sentinel as the fighter''s fist rammed into the chains tying the Sentinel up.


    ''I hope Sentinel is tougher than those chains.''


    His plan would be for naught if the Sentinel broke first. But Zach was hopeful.


    Zach hurriedly got up and looked back to see how effective one strike had been.


    But before he could look for any damage to the chains, the smelly breath of the fighter next to him forced Zach to turn his head.


    The oversized stone-like fist of the fighter was the only thing that filled Zach''s vision.

 Chapter 29: Moment

    Time seemed to slow down as Zach saw his life flash before his eyes, mixing with the approaching fist. A fraction of a second before the fist made contact with Zach''s head, Zach''s life in review caught up to the present.


    Zach hurriedly activated his Blessed Defense in front of him.


    Unlike the previous times when Zach activated his skill, the golden shield didn''t come into existence as a dome around Zach. It was a limited rectangle slightly bigger than the fighter''s fist.


    Zach concentrated all of the defensive power of his skill into the smallest possible area.


    The fighter''s heavy fist crashed into the golden shield, smashing it to pieces. But the shield absorbed enough of the blow for Zach that the fist only sent him flying without turning him into a stain on the floor and walls.


    "Ack!"


    A splatter of blood escaped Zach''s mouth as he flew.


    He hadn''t died instantly, but the hit had still left him with serious injuries, both internal and external.


    Yanael blanked when she saw it. It was her turn to have time around her slow down as she watched Zach''s body sail through the air before landing with a bounce and coming to an absolute halt. Zach''s body wasn''t moving. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael froze, but the grip on her weapon and shield tightened until her knuckles were bone-white. Her teeth ground against each other as her jaws locked tight.


    In the beginning, Yanael hadn''t thought much. She had been summoned. That was what her existence was. Naturally, she was loyal to her master. That much was basic.


    What her master would do with her after summoning could alter that loyalty. Zach''s initial impression on Yanael had been strange.


    But it didn''t take long for her to grow fond of that strangeness and see through it for the caring and thoughtful person Zach was. He didn''t ask for anything twice if she had already given an answer, whether he was satisfied with the answer or not. Even if it was an answer he wanted but couldn''t understand, he thought until he did understand.


    He made sure Yanael was never bored but didn''t overwork her. He treated her as more part of his family than a lesser being brought into existence only for his convenience. He respected her.


    Yanael didn''t know what would happen to her if Zach died. Would she cease to exist entirely? Would she fade into darkness until another summoned her again? Would she remain as she were, a servant without its master? A disgrace?


    She didn''t care.


    The answer to that question didn''t matter.


    It didn''t matter because Zach wasn''t going to die.


    Yanael would make sure of it.


    Heat like lava flowed from Yanael''s heart as she broke free from the slowed time and began moving while the world remained still.


    The boiling energy inside Yanael coursed through her veins like a raging river before bursting out.


    Golden light filled the room for less than an instant before returning to Yanael.


    Her halo was fully restored and shone even brighter than when she saved Zach from the chandelier. Both her wings were fully extended and one of them brushed against the wall, leaving behind a deep scar.


    The iron straightjacket had turned to splinters lodged in her surroundings, regardless of material. The fighters, floor, ceiling, and walls carried the traces of an unforgivable crime.


    The straightjacket had obstructed and crinkled Yanael''s maid uniform.


    The shackles around her ankles received a similar punishment for the crime of touching Yanael.


    Unfortunately, Yanael''s weapons were still tattered, but they wouldn''t remain that way forever.


    With a fierce expression, wildly unbefitting of Yanael''s position as a calm, benevolent, and beautiful maid, Yanael raised and swung her sword.


    Time caught up as Yanael''s sword stopped at the end of its arc and a yellow line lingered in the air. As the faint proof of Yanael''s slash faded, the heads of all the fighters around her fell in a pile in the middle of the encirclement, where Yanael had been standing a moment ago.


    Now, she was already next to the fighters around Zach''s body. Only one of them received a fate different from its comrades.


    The one who struck Zach wasn''t beheaded.


    Yanael''s sword flashed dozens of times.


    At the end of the light show, the fighter was nothing more than a pile of diced meat and bone on the floor.


    Yanael spat on it, disgusted and filled with loathing toward the lousy creature that harmed her master.


    With the fighters dead and the threats gone, Yanale turned to Zach.


    "Master!"


    She knelt and grabbed both sides of Zach''s face to get a better look at his condition.


    Zach''s eyes remained closed, but his lips moved slightly.


    Yanael leaned in closer to hear what he was saying. It could be his last words, after all.


    Instead, Zach went for the kiss.


    Yanael dropped his head back on the floor and stood up to free the Sentinel and check on the Mannequin.


    "Sorry, I thought we had a moment."


    "What was that?"


    "I thought we had a moment."


    "What?"


    "I thought¡ª"


    "What?"


    "I¡ª"


    "What?"


    "Nothing."


    "That''s what I thought."


    With the Sentinel out of its chains and the Mannequin on its feet somehow, Zach and the familiars stood in front of the floating and rotating lump of what looked like polished dirt.


    "Anyone know what it is?"


    Zach looked at the mute Mannequin and silent-as-stone Sentinel. They didn''t say anything.


    He turned to Yanael.


    "Not quite. But if you don''t mind, Master, I want to take it."


    "Go right ahead."


    Yanael stepped onto the stone ring around the pool and reached out to grab the orb. As soon as she touched it, it fell into the pool with a splash and a worrying crack.


    Zach''s eyes widened as a shower of mud tainted with black streaks splashed against his Blessed Defense. Yanael''s empty hands were still holding the air as she looked at the orb at the center of the pool.


    It had split in half.


    The Sentinel, which had swiftly avoided being splatter flew over next to Yanael and pointed at one half and then at itself.


    "...Sure. I don''t think I can use both halves."


    The Sentinel didn''t hesitate and immediately flew down to the half it chose and touched it. Like a mirage, the orb melted into the Sentinel''s body.


    Yanael sighed before summoning her sword. She raised it over her head with both hands. She even summoned her halo and wings again so she could unleash her full power.


    After taking a deep breath, she brought it down.

 Chapter 30: Jumpscare

    The edge of Yanael''s sword glowed golden as it cut through the air with a squealing sound. In a flash, it had already arrived on top of its target.


    Yanael''s attack struck the remaining half of the orb of polished soil and crashed into it surprisingly silently. Yanael lifted her sword and exhaled. She had put all her strength into that strike.


    Still, the half orb looked intact. It was only after a couple of seconds that it finally fell apart, much like it had done initially when it struck the floor. Yanael sighed in slight relief and let her sword return to its bracelet form before kneeling down and pulling up her sleeves.


    Yanael touched both quarters of the orb with her bracelets. Similarly to how the Sentinel had absorbed its half, Yanael''s bracelets slurped up the quarters without leaving as much as a trace behind.


    Yanael stood up while adjusting her bracelets. She pulled down her sleeves again and looked at Zach.


    "I will not be able to use my weapons for a short while as they recover and adjust, Master. Please pardon me."


    "I would love to say it''s fine, but if more of those fighters come, I''m not sure how to deal with them if you don''t have a weapon."


    "Don''t worry, Master. I''ll protect you."


    "Should we¡­" Zach trailed off as he glanced around the room and saw the Mannequin rolling around on the floor in the puddle of dirty mud-like liquid. He frowned and tilted his head.


    ''Is it jealous?''


    The Sentinel and Yanael had gotten something useful from that polished orb of dirt. But the Mannequin hadn''t. It hadn''t seemed like it wanted or could make use of it, either.


    Zach looked at Yanael for guidance. Maybe she knew what the familiar was doing.


    "I can only guess. But if possible, I would like to refrain from giving you a false impression of the situation, Master."


    "Well, I''m sure it''s not anything bad. Julius can probably figure it out¡ªAh! We have to save those two before it''s too late!" S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael noticed the alarm in Zach''s voice and expression and grabbed the Mannequin before following him with light steps.


    Zach sprinted through the tunnel, doing his best to ignore the pain of his injuries. Surprisingly, he chose the same tunnel he came from.


    However, when he arrived at the corner of the turn, the unconscious tasker he left there was nowhere to be seen.


    ''Shit.''


    Zach increased his pace by ignoring the burning in his lungs and legs and the stinging in his chest, arms, and face.


    Soon, he came out of the tunnel and looked from side to side. There weren''t any signs of anyone or anything else that indicated the tasker had alerted anyone.


    But Zach didn''t know which way to go. If his friends'' lives hadn''t been on the line, he would have just taken a gamble. But he couldn''t do that now.


    Zach was beginning to panic as he looked down both tunnels. One of them looked more familiar than the others. Zach was about to pick it when a wooden hand tapped his shoulder.


    It was the Mannequin.


    Zach looked back at it, despite being jumpscared, and looked calmly, albeit impatiently at it.


    The Mannequin pointed at the tunnel Zach hadn''t been about to choose.


    "That way?" Zach asked, stupefied.


    The Mannequin nodded.


    ''Was it always this smart?''


    "Okay. I''ll trust you."


    Zach wasn''t sure how good the Mannequin would be at finding its way through a place it had never been before since Zach couldn''t see how or why any of the familiars would have been outside the Center.


    But Zach was at least somewhat aware of his horrible sense of direction. Even if he tried for days, he still might not find the others. And by then, it would be too late.


    It was like he was made to get lost, rather than being slow at finding the right way.


    Every time they came to a crossroads, the Mannequin pointed them in the right direction. The Sentinel flew in the lead, and Yanael carried Zach in the back since he was too tired and injured to run.


    After a while, they came to the entrance to the prison. This time, Zach actually recognized it. It didn''t just feel like he did.


    It was also the place the Mannequin had been searching for, so they entered.


    The place reeked more than the last time Zach had been there, but he didn''t pay much attention to it and just buried his face in Yanael''s neck, enjoying her scent instead. He did look up occasionally.


    But if the familiars couldn''t find anything, he doubted he would.


    After seeing the remains of a couple of other prisoners, Zach also decided it would be best not to watch too much.


    However, the Mannequin stopped moving, so Julius and Dukiel were probably still alive.


    Or the Mannequin was looking for a corpse or revenge.


    The group traveled through the corridors lined with cells as quickly as possible.


    Finally, they heard noise ahead. The prison that had been as quiet as death was no longer silent.


    Zach got out of Yanael''s arms as they approached, both for the sake of his dignity and to let Yanael fight.


    The noises they heard were clearly ones of violence. It sounded like someone, someone strong, was trying to break the metal bars of a cell.


    As the group of familiars and Zach turned a corner, they saw a figure shorter than a leg ramming its fists against the broken lock of a cell.


    Zach also saw a skull-like thing on the floor on a mat next to the tasker. He gulped and slowed down. He wanted to ask the other familiars to take it easy so he could explain what he had discovered earlier.


    But the Mannequin wasn''t interested in listening and stumbled forward as quickly as it could with outstretched hands.


    The Mannequin wasn''t subtle, and the tasker noticed its approach. The tasker clicked its tongue and turned to the mannequin. It unleashed a punch toward the Mannequin''s arms.


    The tasker''s hand barely reached, but it broke through the wooden arms with worrying ease. Still, the Mannequin didn''t stop for even a second and ran into the tasker, falling over the tiny butler.


    Surprisingly enough, the tasker didn''t fight back.

 Chapter 31: Guys

    After a couple of moments, the Mannequin slowly stood up, revealing the tasker''s unconscious body.


    The tasker lay with his arms spread out, a flush on his face, and his eyes deliriously wide open.


    "Is he¡­" Zach looked at the tasker before shifting his gaze to the Mannequin and the others, both inside and outside the cell.


    "Is he drunk?" Zach tilted his head as he studied the tasker''s expression again.


    "..."


    Zach didn''t get any answers, so he looked at the cell, where Julius lay curled up in a corner.


    "Julius?"


    Slowly, the curled-up mess unfurled, and Julius'' fuzzy hair popped up.


    "Is that you, Zach?"


    "No, this is Jarron. You never arrived at the camp, so you''re expelled."


    "...What the shit, man? Get me out of here."


    Zach shrugged and pointed at the lock while looking at Yanael. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Can you¡­?"


    Yanael nodded and grabbed the lock, tearing it apart and freeing Julius.


    ''Is this why the tasker attacked it?''


    Unlike his cell, where the bars disappeared, and there was no lock, Julius'' cell seemed less magical. Without a key, the tasker had been forced to try to break open the cell to get to Julius.


    Unfortunately, a second-layer tasker wasn''t as strong as Yanael. He had still been stronger than Zach, far stronger. But the tasker wasn''t meant to be strong. He was meant to be useful.


    The only question was why he had gotten so drunk he passed out by having the Mannequin on him.


    Zach looked at Julius, who needed the Mannequin''s help to stand since he had broken a leg during his fall.


    "Any idea where Dukiel is?"


    Julius frowned and looked at Zach like he was stupid.


    "How the fuck am I supposed to know that?"


    Zach shrugged.


    "I was hoping you would have done something while I was busy saving our and our familiars'' asses."


    "Piss off. Let''s just get out of here."


    Zach let it go with a shrug and let Julius hop out of the cell and be on his way with the Mannequin''s help while he hung back with Yanael. He looked at Julius'' back for a moment, and when he was far enough away, he glanced at the tasker and the totem next to his body.


    "Great Ugor, I''m sure you can hear me. I don''t know what tricks you played to scare me, but it''s evident you bluffed. I''m leaving now, but I will come back in the future. And I''ll give you a lesson when I do.


    "I''ll teach you how to execute a proper threat."


    Zach started walking without looking back.


    "Kill him and crush the totem."


    Yanael obeyed.


    Julius didn''t question why Zach had stayed behind when he finally caught up since he was too busy whining about his broken leg.


    And after proceeding further down the prison corridors, they found Dukiel, splayed out on the floor, still unconscious from when he fell into the hole and hit his head. The following drop to the stone floor probably hadn''t helped.


    Well, since he was snoring, it could be that he was just asleep. All of them had been tired from the hike.


    Yanael picked Dukiel up and let the Sentinel carry him as they started looking for the way out of the Underworld''s first layer. They found the canteen, which had been abandoned with plates and stores of food left behind.


    It seemed the Giupusta Locale was deserted now that Zach and the others were on the loose and they had taken what was most likely the goal of the Locale. Without that stone orb in the center, there probably wasn''t much reason for the Locale to exist anymore.


    Most importantly, there wasn''t anyone who could stop Yanael now that all the fighters were dead. It would be better to count their losses and retreat.


    They even walked past the collapsed entrance to the second layer. Zach barely recognized it since it had almost become an ordinary stone wall.


    If Zach and the others ever got out, they would inevitably tell the Academy, which would send qualified people to investigate or root out the Underworld''s inhabitants from the Academy''s turf.


    "Guys?" Dukiel raised his head groggily and looked around. He had been mostly out of it since the hole swallowed them up. He had come to once and then promptly fallen asleep again.


    "Duke! How''re you feeling?" Julius excitedly greeted Dukiel.


    "...My head hurts, and I''m hungry. But otherwise, I think I''m fine. What happened?"


    Zach helped Dukiel stand on his own two feet before getting him to sit down as Yanael handed over one of the plates they took from the canteen to give to Dukiel.


    "Here it this. It''s kind of a weird story." Confused, Dukiel slowly started eating as Zach gave him a brief version of everything that had happened when he was out cold.


    "...That''s crazy. There''s a whole civilization living underground?"


    "That''s what you''re worried about? Not how we three almost all died?" Julius asked.


    Dukiel shrugged.


    "I mean, I''ve been ready to well, maybe not ready to die, but I''ve started preparing to lose a couple of classmates since Drupesch''s first lesson. It only makes sense it could happen to us, too," Dukiel said nonchalantly.


    Julius pulled back slightly.


    "Woah. You''re¡­"


    "Very smart." Zach interrupted Julius before the latter could say anything too mean.


    "I''m impressed, Dukiel. Though, I think you might have needed to see things for yourself to understand how close it was."


    Dukiel nodded but didn''t say anything as he finished his food. He left the plate where it was and got up.


    "So, how do we get out of here?"


    Zach and Julius shrugged.


    "We''ve just been wandering around looking for an exit," answered Zach.


    Dukiel nodded slightly before freezing. He was silent for a couple of moments until he spoke up.


    "Guys¡­"


    "Yeah?"


    "Mm?"


    "We were brought here through holes in the ground that closed up behind us, right? And this place belongs to a civilization that lives underground without making any contact with the surface, right?"


    "Yeah?" Julius asked curiously.


    "..." Zach was silent since he realized what Dukiel was getting at.


    Why would the Underworld need a path leading to the surface if they never went to the surface?

 Chapter 32: Drop

    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius were silent as realization sunk in. They were trapped beneath tons upon tons upon tons of solid stone. They had an entire mountain between themselves and the open air.


    It was hard not to feel claustrophobic even in the spacious corridors with such a weight bearing down on their hearts.


    "Wait, what about the tunnel that brought us into the mountain?!" Julius burst out with hope and looked at the other two. Zach and Dukiel''s eyes also shone for a moment.


    "...That tunnel could be unrelated, not lead anywhere, or a trap." Zach''s words were like cold water down Julius'' back.


    "...But it doesn''t hurt looking for it. It''s better than sinking into despair." Dukiel''s words were like a towel wiping up the cold water Zach had spilled.


    Zach and Julius happily grabbed and held onto that towel as they systematically moved through the Underworld''s Giupusta Locale in search of an exit. Since there was no daylight, it was impossible to track the time.


    They rested when they were tired and ate when they were hungry. They didn''t eat or sleep much due to stress, but they did as much as they could since they had to continue moving.


    The Locale was both bigger and smaller than the group thought it would be. Since everything looked the same, it felt like they weren''t making any progress, no matter how much they walked.


    But eventually, they started finding places they had already discovered, even when they took other paths. It was like a maze.


    However, they still didn''t find an exit. Every path that led to a dead end or circled back sank them deeper into hopelessness.


    Zach started wondering if Yanael and the Sentinel could maybe dig their way out if they cooperated. The Sentinel''s lasers were powerful, and Zach didn''t doubt that Yanael could cut through stone with her sword and strength. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The problem was how deep in the stone they were and where under the mountain.


    If they were unlucky, Yanael and the Sentinel might have to dig until they reach the mountain peak, which could take ages.


    Even if that didn''t happen, Zach had freefallen for several seconds through solid stone before he ended up in the cell. It wasn''t a long time. But it was a fair distance.


    Zach sighed just thinking about it. It was loud enough to grab the others'' attention in the lonely silence, otherwise only broken by the sounds of their footsteps and the rustling of their clothes.


    As Julius looked back to question Zach on his morale-stealing behavior, he stumbled. He didn''t fall but quickly caught himself with a hard step instead.


    Still, Zach and Julius looked at him.


    "You okay?" Zach looked worryingly at Julius. It had been some time since they had proper rest, after all. He was also starting to feel like falling down and passing out.


    "Y-yeah," Julius answered without looking at Zach. Instead, he was focused on the floor. He even knelt and swept his hand over it.


    After a couple of passes at the ground, Julius looked at Dukiel.


    "Can I borrow some water?"


    Dukiel raised an eyebrow.


    "Okay?" Dukiel grabbed one of the water bottles they had taken from the canteen and gave it to Julius, who proceeded to pour a little on the ground where he had tripped on nothing.


    Julius'' eyes slowly lit up as the water ran away from where he poured it. The water flowed in the direction they came from.


    Julius looked up at the other two. They met his gaze. All three of them had excited expressions.


    Julius stood up and they burst into a cheer before engaging in a group hug.


    They had found a tunnel leading upward. It was the way out.


    Dukiel cleared his throat.


    Well, it could be the way out.


    "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves. Let''s celebrate when we''re out of here, okay?" Dukiel looked at the other two and had them stop jumping around.


    "...Okay."


    "Yes."


    Both Zach and Julius agreed, but there was no way they couldn''t feel hopeful when they had found the first path with any kind of slope aside from the entrance to the second layer. Even if it didn''t lead all the way to the surface, just coming closer would make it easier to dig their way out.


    Zach and Julius were tireless as they continued walking, at least for the first hour or so. Then, the incline had their legs burning enough to triumph over the hope of seeing sunlight again.


    Dukiel repeatedly told them it was fine to rest for a moment. So, they did. By having their familiars carry them.


    There was no way they were stopping when they were this close to finding a way out.


    Eventually, to keep up, Dukiel also had to ask the Sentinel to carry him.


    It was a little uncomfortable and embarrassing, but it was so much more efficient that they wondered why they hadn''t done it from the start. The Mannequin stumbling and dropping Julius quickly answered that.


    The pain in his leg that he had forgotten for a moment quickly resurfaced and forced them to take a proper break.


    After a while, they continued.


    And finally, they arrived at a dead end.


    Zach and the others weren''t bothered.


    "Go all out." Zach pointed at the wall in front of them and ordered Yanael.


    "You too." Dukiel urged his Sentinel to help.


    Unfortunately, the Mannequin would only get in the way, so it sat this one out while the Sentinel brought out four lasers and Yanael transformed her bracelet into a sword.


    It was slightly different from before this incident. Zach couldn''t put his finger on it, but something about it had changed.


    Dukiel could feel something similar from the Sentinel, but he didn''t know what.


    However, they soon got their answers.


    Both the familiars were stronger.


    The Sentinel''s lasers were thicker and brighter than before, and they burrowed into the stone, melting and pulverizing it. As soon as the lasers cut off, Yanael stepped forward with both hands on her sword and unleashed a blow that could split stone.


    The already-softened stone wall didn''t stand a chance against the combined assault.

 Chapter 33: Frowns And Shrugs

    Zach''s angel and Dukiel''s Sentinel worked double shifts to attack the stone wall and bring their masters out of the despair-filled Underworld. The Sentinel unleashed laser upon laser, and Yanael swung her sword like it was someone else''s.


    The Mannequin dabbed Julius'' sweat away.


    Although the group should have been close to the surface or an exit leading to it, it still took the familiars several hours of digging and drilling to bust through the stone and earth to finally reach the next tunnel.


    Zach and the others felt defeated when they realized they weren''t out yet. They had to continue walking uphill for what could very well end up being another several hours or days before seeing even a hint of the sun.


    But the only way was forward, so they walked. And they walked.


    Their exhaustion made the flow of time seem slower than it was.


    But after a while, the dark tunnel finally became visible to their weary eyes. They no longer only had the Sentinel''s red light to guide their way.


    Zach''s head rose, his back straightened, and he put a hand over his eyes as he looked ahead.


    There was a light at the end of the tunnel.


    "..."


    No words could express their relief, joy, and exhaustion as the three tired young men hobbled, walked, and hugged their familiars over the finish line. The light forced them to squint or close their eyes that had gotten used to the darkness. But they found each others'' arms and hugged with tears streaming down their faces.


    "You guys know what would be horrible right now? What if this is another big cavern, just well-lit?"


    "There''s no way that''s possible."


    "Yeah, shut your damn mouth, Zach."


    Despite their strong rejection of Zach''s idea, Dukiel and Julius forced their eyes open to confirm that they were not in another area of the Giupusta Locale and, in fact, outside. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Their eyes stung, and more tears welled up. But Dukiel and Julius saw the mountain around them, the forest below, and clouds around the piercing sun.


    They were outside.


    "Fuck you, Zach."


    "I did not like the feeling your words gave me, Zach."


    Dukiel and Julius turned to glare at Zach after their eyes finally started to adjust a little. But he wasn''t there.


    Instead of standing right next to them, Zach had sneaked over to the side of the tunnel and sat down, leaning his back against the mountain. His eyes were closed, and Yanael stood in front of him, blocking the light from hitting his face directly.


    "Is he asleep?" Julius asked Dukiel in disbelief.


    Dukiel narrowed his eyes and looked at Zach.


    "...I think so."


    "Heh." Julius scoffed.


    "That''s a damn good idea." Julius hopped over and carefully sat down while massaging his intact leg. He had clung to his Mannequin the entire way. But he had still only used the muscles in one leg, and it ached like it was broken. He would know.


    Dukiel let out an airy sigh before also plopping down and falling asleep.


    The three young students slept like babies with their familiars protecting them.


    "What the fuck? You three ran off ahead like you couldn''t wait to get away from us, and all you''re doing is sleeping?"


    Yanael and the Sentinel noticed and reacted to the arrival of the source of the voice. But they recognized it and determined it wasn''t a threat. Still, Yanael glared when Anerias woke up Zach and the others.


    Zach had gone through too much for such a rude awakening when he was in the middle of resting.


    "Shut up, Anerias Corom. If we wanted to listen to your annoying voice, we wouldn''t have gone by ourselves." Julius didn''t even open his eyes as he responded. He did, however, shoo Anerias and the ones who followed him up the mountain with his hand before turning over and indicating that he was trying to sleep.


    Dukiel opened his eyes, but he didn''t say anything and just looked at Anerias and the others.


    Zach yawned and stretched his entire body like he had slept in a bed for a perfect eight hours and was ready to seize the day.


    "Oh, Anerias, fancy meeting you here." Zach smiled and got up, greeting Anerias like they had run into each other in town.


    Anerias ignored Julius and turned to Zach.


    "I¡­I was about to ask why you didn''t want to work with the rest of the class, but I think asking what happened to all of you is more important." Anerias looked worryingly at Zach and the others'' torn and dirty clothes. They were even worse off than the group that had struggled through rain, mud, swamps, thorny thickets, and monster battles.


    "Oh, boy, that, my dear buddy, is indeed important. But it''s also not something just told like this. Let''s grab a beer when we get back." Zach patted Anerias on the shoulder.


    "...We aren''t allowed to drink." Anerias'' voice was strict.


    "Oh, pssh. I didn''t take for such a ruler. Who''s gonna tell? Not me."


    Anerias removed Zach''s arm from his shoulders.


    "So? Do you guys know where the camp is, at least?" Anerias changed the subject.


    Zach''s eyebrows rose.


    "Huh? No, why would we? We''ve been stuck in the mountain for a while now."


    Anerias frowned.


    "How soon did you find this mountain?"


    Zach shrugged.


    "After a few days or so. Why?"


    "...It''s not on the map, but when we started getting closer to the camp, it suddenly appeared next to us. We figured it was hidden until we got close enough and that we could use it to try and spot the camp from afar."


    It was Zach''s turn to frown.


    "...When did it appear?"


    And it was Anerias'' turn to shrug.


    "A few days ago or so. Why?"


    Zach pursed his lips.


    "...I think that might have been us."


    "What?"


    "Ugh, I can''t be bothered to give the full explanation. Just¡­Let''s just find the camp. I want my bed."


    "...Right."

 Chapter 34: Stay Or Go

    Anerias was still curious about what Zach and the others had been through in such a short time, especially when he saw Julius'' broken leg and the Mannequin''s new appearance. But it was also those three he was dealing with. He wanted to be done with it.


    So, after asking one of the few in the class with a familiar that could help recover, tend to Julius, Anerias, Zach, Dukiel, and the others continued climbing the mountain.


    While climbing they also went in a spiral since their goal was to find the camp, not get to the top. Anerias'' group went in one direction, and Violina''s group started from the other side and went in the same as they climbed to cover all sides.


    Anerias told Zach that they would regroup with the rest of the class at the base of the mountain before nightfall, and the group that found the camp first was supposed to fire a flare before descending in the camp''s direction.


    It was a simple plan, but it highlighted the cooperation and trust the class had built with each other over the last week and a half.


    The group that remained at the base protected most of the supplies and secured a camp for the night. The two groups wouldn''t advance ahead without the others, even if they found the camp first.


    However, Zach and his two good friends hadn''t built up or earned that trust with the rest of the class. If anything, they had lost some of what they had simply from being in the same class after they set out on their own.


    As he climbed and watched the forest below, Zach wondered what to do.


    Should he accompany the class? Or should he rush off as soon as they found the camp?


    Zach figured it would be less work to go with the class since they should be begging for him to join them. He also wouldn''t have to struggle to put food in his belly since they would be gathering the resources for him in exchange for his and Yanael''s presence.


    But the only one Zach wanted to be pampered by was Yanael. He also didn''t look forward to how noisy his classmates would be or how many monsters they would be fighting. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the others, Anerias especially, weren''t as ragged as Zach, Dukiel, and Julius, they and their clothes were still worn and covered in stains of dried blood.


    A large group worming through the forest had attracted more than a few monsters. On the other hand, Zach and the others hadn''t encountered much of anything moving other than mosquitoes.


    As long as Yanael was next to him, Zach was confident he could deal with anything, but if he joined the rest of the class, he would inevitably have to contribute with something. And the only thing he could contribute with was Yanael.


    Zach frowned.


    ''I''d rather not.''


    He didn''t want Yanael to help others, only him.


    With that, Zach had decided. As soon as the camp was found, he would set off. Naturally, he would bring Dukiel and Julius, at least Dukiel.


    Zach wasn''t sure Julius wanted to come with since he had been a little grumpy lately. But Zach was pretty sure Dukiel would come. Zach hoped he would. Otherwise, he would have no chance of finding the camp.


    However, even when nightfall approached, there was still no sign of the camp.


    Anerias and Zach''s groups could only descend to the base and take a break for the night before either climbing higher tomorrow or going around the mountain and looking for the camp by using the map.


    Zach stuck around for a night, much to the annoyance of those who had gathered food and prepared the tents since he took advantage of their hard work and gave nothing in exchange after abandoning the class on the first day.


    Even if he had never been obligated to lead the class or anything, Zach was the class'' only S-rank, and he had the highest grades. It was only natural that the class wanted to rely on him, even if he was unreliable.


    But when Zach left, the class took it as an insult and a betrayal. He didn''t care for his classmates. So, why should they care about him?


    However, they were still classmates, so they couldn''t just ignore him, especially when it became clear that he and the other two had already suffered for their choices.


    Besides, it would be fine as long as he made up for it from now on by having his maid contribute to the group''s operations. No one knew how strong or combat capable Yanael was.


    But most had seen how fast she was when she saved Zach from the chandelier and how easy she had cut through it. Some had also seen the beginning of Yanael''s and the Sentinel''s spar.


    Of course, compared to the powerful familiars of Anerias and Violina, no one thought too highly of Yanael and the Sentinel.


    Over the last week and a half, Violina''s Ice Spirit and Anerias'' Blackfire Hound had repeatedly led the charge against the monsters, freezing or shredding them. They had overwritten the impression and understanding of power the rest of the class had.


    On the other hand, Zach and Dukiel had snuck off with their familiars with no one to witness their strength or ability to traverse the forest.


    Still, an S-rank was supposed to be stronger than A-ranks, and a Sentinel was supposed to be one of the strongest in the A-rank, so the class still had high hopes for the two classmates and their familiars.


    However, before dawn, when everyone started waking up other than the last watch shift, three people were missing.


    The others swore Anerias'' face and head were burning when he discovered that Zach had grabbed his friends and taken off during the cover of the night, sneaking past the perimeter without anyone noticing.


    On the other hand, the ground around Violina had frozen solid.

 Chapter 35: Pissy

    "Are you sure about this?" Dukiel glanced back at Zach as they walked.


    Zach got d¨¦ja vu.


    "About what?" Zach asked.


    "...About leaving the class behind again. It seemed like the others had gotten the hang of this. It also kind of feels like we just took advantage of them." Dukiel felt a little guilty. The rest of the class had sheltered and fed them. They had also helped Julius with his leg so he could walk with nothing but a limp until he healed completely.


    Even if they arrived at the camp first, Dukiel was worried that it would be harder to spend time with the class in the future.


    "Eh, it''s fine." Zach waved off Dukiel''s worries. "Don''t you want to be first? This is a competition, no more, no less. And the one who pities his competitors is the one who loses. Let''s just focus on finding the camp and put everything else behind us."


    Dukiel sighed but didn''t continue questioning Zach''s decision.


    Since none of them said anything, the trio walked in silence. Dukiel had taken up all guiding efforts and carried both compass and map. He had already displayed his skills in that regard, so the other two happily let him handle it while they focused on walking and keeping watch over their surroundings, looking for edible fruits and berries.


    With such a boring adventure, it didn''t take long before Zach got bored. So, he looked at Julius.


    "Hey, Julius, how''s the leg?"


    "Fine."


    "...And Mannequin? How''s it doing after that Underworld stuff got into its system?"


    "It''s okay."


    "...So, is there a reason why you''re this pissy? Or do you have something you want to tell us two guys?"


    Julius stopped walking and glared at Zach. He looked like he wanted to say something but held himself back. After a few moments, he exhaled and continued walking.


    Zach wasn''t satisfied with that.


    "If you''ve got something to say, just say it."


    "...You''re asking if I have something to say?" Julius slowly turned around and looked at Zach with anger filling every corner of his face.


    Zach crossed his arms and raised his chin.


    "What."


    "Guys¡­" Dukiel cautiously tried to intervene, but he was too scared to step foot into the hot air between Zach and Julius.


    "Is that all you have to say? ''What''?"


    Zach shrugged as Julius took a step closer and got all up in Zach''s face.


    "What else am I supposed to say when you''re acting like a brat?"


    Julius took a deep breath and got even closer to Zach.


    "...How about a fucking apology?"


    "An apology? Me?" Zach pointed at himself as if he couldn''t believe what Julius had just said.


    "Yeah. You don''t need to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness, but you need to take responsibility."


    "For what, exactly?" Zach frowned.


    "Tch. Seriously. It was your fault we ended up on that mountain. You wanted to separate from the rest of the class. You wanted to go down that tunnel. You wanted to explore.


    It''s your fault I broke my fucking leg and Manny got corrupted by those Underworld bastards. It''s your fault we almost died, you fucking psycho!" Julius shouted with suppressed anger and frustration.


    Zach wiped the saliva that flew from Julius off his face with a scrunched-up nose. He held up a finger, which he used to signal Yanael not to do anything before pushing Julius away from him.


    "First of all, you two willingly followed me away from the class, twice, considering you''re here now. Why is that if I''m such a psycho? Don''t answer. I don''t care. Second, I only remember Dukiel being reluctant to enter the tunnel. You are at least as responsible as me in that regard.


    I didn''t even lead us to the mountain in the first place. If I''d continued walking in front, we probably be back at the campus or in a lake somewhere.


    "I''m not blaming you, Dukiel." Zach took a break and spoke to Dukiel to ensure there weren''t any misunderstandings on that front before turning back to Julius.


    "Thirdly, I saved all of our asses, including your stupid Mannequin! It was hooked to a bunch of tubes when I found and unplugged it. I also helped Yanael defeat those fighters. Didn''t you see those corpses?! While you lay in your cell crying about your stupid fucking leg, I took a fucking wrecking ball to the face!" This time it was Zach''s turn to step all up in Julius face and shout.


    Zach pushed Julius back with a finger to the scrawny guy''s chest.


    "And you want me to apologize?! How about you apologize for being useless? You can''t do shit. Your Mannequin is more useless than you, and that''s only because it can take a hit and make Underworld midgets drunk. What can you do, huh? Eat shit?" Zach pushed Julius so hard he stumbled over a root and fell on his ass. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach towered over Julius and looked down at him.


    "You should be showering me in gratitude if you actually cared about your precious little life. But I guess that''s the problem. That''s the only thing you care about." Zach scoffed and turned away from Julius.


    Zach glanced at Dukiel when he started walking.


    "...I won''t make you choose. Stay here with him. He won''t make it out of the forest, otherwise."


    Dukiel hesitated and reached out toward Zach''s back. He even took a step after Zach. But then he felt Julius'' gaze. He wanted to call out to Zach and ask him to come back so they could settle this and he and Julius could talk it out.


    They were friends, for fuck''s sake. Why were they acting like this in the middle of an important exam?


    In the end, Dukiel didn''t say or do anything. He knew it was futile. They were both too emotional to do anything other than continue building their rage. He had to let Zach go and cool off a little.


    And like Zach had said, Dukiel had to stay with Julius. They had been lucky so far.


    But Julius'' fighting power was at the lower end of the class.


    On the other hand, Zach had the strongest angel battle maid by his side. It was clear at a glance who would be fine without Dukiel.

 Chapter 36: Similar Sounds

    It didn''t take long for Zach to cool down enough to realize and, most importantly, admit that he might have made a mistake. It wasn''t just that he let Julius'' anger get to him and that he lost his temper enough to insult one of his few friends.


    He was lost.


    Without Dukiel''s help, Zach had no idea where to go or how to find his way. But he still didn''t regret telling Dukiel to stay with Julius. It was the one shot at redeeming himself he had.


    Besides, Zach felt that things would work out one way or another. Sooner or later, he would find the camp or someone else that could help him find the camp just like how he always found his way to the right classroom.


    He was usually late, but he still arrived.


    Zach had set out with the goal of arriving before his classmates since it¡­He couldn''t say since it seemed like a good idea when it had already failed once, and he had just done it again.


    But he wanted to act alone.


    "...Like a dark and mysterious lone wolf."


    Zach narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin in self-admiration while murmuring to himself.


    "Did you say something, Master?" Yanael, who was half a step behind Zach, asked curiously.


    Zach blushed, realizing he had said his thoughts out loud.


    "N-no. Why? Did you hear something?"


    "I¡ª"


    "Schh!" Zach interrupted Yanael and put a finger to his ear. He narrowed his eyes and looked around.


    "I think I hear something."


    Yanael gave a subdued smile and clasped her hands in front of her as she watched Zach focus.


    After a while, Zach turned in a specific direction and sharpened his hearing even further. As the seconds passed, he could hear the sounds more clearly.


    He wasn''t sure what the sounds were, but it sounded like a lot of trees breaking, shouting, and fierce roars. It was a cacophony of powerful sounds. It was similar but different to the sounds Zach heard when Yanael fought the fighters in the center of the Giupusta Locale just a few days ago.


    It was the sounds of battle.


    Zach turned to Yanael.


    "I think there are people fighting in that direction."


    Yanael nodded.


    "I think you are correct, Master."


    "Is that what you were about to say?"


    "It could have been."


    "I''m sorry for interrupting you, Yanael."


    "Don''t be. It would be impolite of me to take offense when your word precedes mine, Master."


    Zach nodded. Yanael had put up a facade he couldn''t see through. She looked calm, friendly, and benevolent. But her eyes were pointed downward and her eyelids were almost fully closed. It was impossible to tell whether her smile reached above her mouth.


    "Well, let''s go."


    Zach would be lost in the forest if he didn''t grab someone''s coattails to cling to. He had already messed up by leaving behind Dukiel and Julius. He couldn''t let go of this opportunity to get another guide.


    He had a feeling it was his classmates, who would be less than pleased if he came and asked them to show him the way, but it would solve itself, or he could bribe them.


    Zach started to wonder what would be a good bribe for the influential people like Anerias and Violina.


    "This way, Master." Yanael gently grabbed Zach''s shoulders and steered him toward the fighting again before he got sidetracked and lost. Although her sense of direction wasn''t anything to write home about, she at least had the capacity to follow the sounds without going astray.


    "Right." Zach focused.


    But then he started wondering what was causing the trees to break and snap so loudly Zach heard it even as far away as he was.


    "Here, Master."


    "Right."


    ¡­


    After a while and several instances where Zach was about to turn in the wrong direction, they finally got close enough that they could make out the details of the fight.


    As Zach had expected, it was his classmates embroiled in battle with one of the residents of the forest.


    Zach had not, however, expected the size of said resident.


    It was an ape almost as tall as the trees. It had light tan fur to cover its rippling muscles that looked like they were about to burst whenever it swung its long, thick arms or picked up a tree to throw at the students.


    Its head was two or three times the size of a human, and it could easily swallow one with the way it opened its mouth wide to roar and show off its glistening, bronze-colored teeth and tusks.


    ''Is it the boss of this place?'' Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach frowned and looked at the ape.


    He turned to Yanael.


    "What do you think?"


    Yanael retracted her gaze from the battle and faced Zach.


    "It''s only strong because it''s big." There was an air of superiority around Yanael when she spoke as if she was telling Zach that it was not a threat to her.


    "Great." Zach nodded. "Please go ahead and kill it."


    "As you wish, Master." Yanael nodded.


    Although the ape wasn''t a threat to Yanael, it was because it would never land a blow on her. It was still powerful.


    So, against the other students, who couldn''t avoid the ape''s attacks, even if some of their familiars could, the ape was an unprecedented threat. The students were on the losing side and could only delay the inevitable by having the two strongest familiars intercept the ape''s attacks.


    However, both the Ice Spirit and Blackfire Hound were reaching their limits.


    If nothing changed in the battle formation, the students would inevitably lose the fight and, most likely, their lives.


    It was a golden opportunity for Zach.


    If he saved his classmates, they would have a harder time holding a grudge for him taking advantage of their kindness before leaving them in the dirt. Like so, he would have secured a reliable guide to the camp.


    Zach stayed at a safe distance as he watched Yanael transform her bracelets and sprint toward the bronze-toothed ape.

 Chapter 37: Last Stand

    The first to notice Yanael''s addition to the brawl was Violina. Since her Ice Spirit wasn''t as strong upfront or as durable as Anerias'' Hound, so she was in charge of dealing with the debris and broken branches coming their way. That meant she had to keep a wide perspective and watch the entire battlefield and not just the ape.


    However, Yanael was far away, and Violina frowned at first since she couldn''t tell what it was. But when two translucent wings unfolded and a bright halo appeared, Violina''s eyes lit up.


    She glanced around at her classmates. She grit her teeth.


    "Split up! Half to the right! Other half to the left! Provide cover and irritate the bastard!" Violina''s shout reached all the ears of her fellow students. Some listened, even if only to the part where she wanted them to split up.


    Others stopped and turned to Violina with confused expression.


    "Wha¡ª" Someone tried to question her order.


    "Shut up and listen if you don''t want to die!" Violina barked at the person, scaring them into obedience.


    Anerias wasn''t sure what was going on, but he didn''t have the room to hesitate. He knew better than anyone that they were only delaying the inevitable.


    "Listen to Violina!" Anerias'' support of Violina''s orders caused the few remaining doubters to begrudgingly follow suit.


    Anerias led one half of the class to the oversized ape''s left, and Violina led the other half to the ape''s right.


    As quickly as they could, they set up a simple barricade with the defensive skills they had before starting to use whatever offense they had to attack the ape.


    Most of the students were still confused since even if they put up their defenses, all the ape needed to do was sweep its arm or stomp its foot to wreck them. And their attacks were barely enough to trim its fur. The only ones doing damage beyond a much-needed haircut were Anerias and Violina.


    But even those two and their familiars weren''t leaving behind wounds that could ever take down the ape, even if it stood still and let them hit it without retaliating.


    However, as the seconds passed, the students gradually realized that the bronze-toothed ape wasn''t attacking them. It was attacking itself¡ªNo, it was swatting a figure that looked like a fly in comparison to the ape as it flew up the ape''s body.


    Even with her wings, Yanael technically wasn''t flying. She took great strides and propelled herself upward with great speed. It looked like she was ascending.


    Long after she had passed by the ape''s shin, thigh, waist, mid-section, and chest, blood spurted out of long gashes across its body, both vertical and horizontal.


    Yanael, as a proficient maid, excelled at multitasking. Climbing the ape and attacking at the same time wasn''t a big deal for her. She wasn''t even troubled by the stray attacks from the students that occasionally came a little too close to her.


    The students were new to combat as a whole, considering they had their first real experience less than two weeks ago. They were tired, the ape was far away, and the ape was moving like surrounded by wasps. The students were having a hard enough time as it was getting their attacks to reach and hit the ape.


    It was too much to ask of them to have any accuracy, regardless of whether they used their skills or familiars to attack.


    Yanael didn''t blame them. After all, more of the students'' attacks were helpful than not.


    She would have been fine even without any help or cover. But the attacks disoriented the ape and made it impossible for it to keep track of Yanael as she raced over and around its body, making great strokes with her sword, peeling the ape''s skin.


    After only a few minutes, Yanael had turned the previously fearsome great ape into a horrifying, blood-drenched monster with flaps of its skin hanging from its muscles and skeleton.


    The ape had lost a lot of blood and strength, and its arms didn''t move as often or with as much vigor as before.


    The bronze-toothed ape stumbled and sank to a knee. It slammed a fist into the ground due to its fall and tried to hold itself up. But once it started falling, it was already too late to stop.


    With a loud thud and blast of air, the giant ape crashed into the ground and shook it enough to make several students fall. It made a deep indentation in the ground with its body, regardless of whether there were trees or stumps in the way.


    To secure the kill, Yanael raised her sword before plunging it into the base of the ape''s skull, much like she had done to the fighter in the Underworld Locale. It was an effective method to kill large beings after bringing them to the ground.


    Yanael let out a deep breath and sheathed her sword by transforming it into the bracelet again. She looked down.


    "Tch."


    She had gotten blood on her dress.


    After barely being able to get it clean after they left the mountain, it was dirty again. It was at least fortunate the blood didn''t soak in and stain the mysterious material of the dress, and she just needed to wash it.


    But it was a disgrace for a maid to be dirty on the job, even if they were a battle maid. A proper battle maid could maintain perfect grace, elegance, and poise even in the midst of blood-boiling battle.


    "Thank you, Miss Maid!" Violina called out cheerfully with a raised hand as she approached the fallen ape.


    Yanael looked at Violina and nodded once before jumping down from the warm corpse and lining up behind Zach''s shoulder.


    Violina''s gaze grew frosty as she looked at Zach with narrow eyes. Anerias glared at Zach, angry at how he up and left the class. Twice. But still thankful for the help Yanael had given them.


    It was just that it was easy to separate Zach''s betrayal and Yanael''s help since they were clearly separate beings. Yanael was a beautiful woman, who, while she tried to have a composed demeanor, often showed expressions. And since she was so like a human, it was easier to read her expressions than it was to understand others'' familiars.


    Rather than thinking of her as another classmate''s familiar, it was easy to think of her as Zach''s maid.


    As such, it was easy to think of Zach''s rude behavior as Zach''s rude behavior and of Yanael''s help as Yanael''s help, even if he ordered it.


    "Hey, guys! Fancy meeting you here." Zach smiled and greeted his classmates, those who could get up and meet him at least. There was still a pile where they had made their last stand who were too injured or tired to confront Zach. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sure. So, what made you come crawling back this time?" Anerias scowled.


    "Funny story, actually." Zach scratched the back of his head. "I wasn''t planning on leaving this time. I was just going to take a fat¡­"

 Chapter 38: Misfortune Magnet

    Zach hesitated as he looked at his female classmates.


    "...I mean, I had to powder my nose. I got lost on the way back. I did reunite with Dukiel and Julius, who came looking for me. But we didn''t know how to find you. Thankfully, this ape came and made a ruckus¡ª"


    "''Thankfully''?" Anerias repeated the word Zach used with incredulous anger as he took a step toward Zach.


    "We almost died, Zach. There''s nothing to be thankful about." Anerias spat out the words with a scowl.


    "...Well," Zach paused as he looked at all his classmates. "Did someone actually die?"


    Anerias stopped and glanced at a guy next to him with short green hair, who shook his head.


    "No," Anerias admitted.


    "Then, I don''t know what you''re blaming me for." Zach shrugged. "I could have thought that all this¡­" Zach pointed at the wreckage around them. "...Was due to a fight between monsters and continued in the other direction."


    Anerias didn''t budge.


    "If you hadn''t left the class in the first place¡­"


    Zach held up a finger and stopped Anerias from continuing.


    "Are you sure that would have been better?" Zach asked. And before Anerias could answer, Zach continued,


    "I am more aware than anyone else about my¡­tendency for less fortunate circumstances. Hello? Does anyone remember when I held my speech during the entrance ceremony? I also got kidnapped by a strange underground civilization and almost died just a few days after this field trip started."


    The first half of Zach''s words made Anerias reluctantly admit that he had a point. But when it came to the second, it was just confusing.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "That doesn''t really matter, does it? It doesn''t change the fact that I am a misfortune magnet. Yes, I know you guys call me that behind my back. You aren''t subtle." Zach glanced at a group of classmates.


    "Shit. Does he have super hearing?"


    "No way. Someone snitched."


    "Sorry, guys, I told his maid. I was hoping¡ª"


    "Fool!"


    Zach turned back to Anerias.


    "Anyway, what''s done is done. I left, and now I''m back, and I''m bringing my S-rank battle maid with me. Do you want to continue bickering until I leave again?" Zach asked like he was getting sick of this, which he was. That was why he leveraged his only advantage.


    Anerias stubbornly held Zach''s gaze until Violina broke his concentration by kicking his ankle.


    "Ouch!" Anerias cried out in pain and hopped on one foot while clutching his ankle. He glared at Violina, but Violina ignored it and focused on Zach.


    "You are of course more than welcome to join us. Regardless of anything else, you are our classmate, Zacharia. Your familiar would also be of great help to maintaining our lives as we proceed through this perilous forest." Violina reached out a hand and shook Zach''s.


    Zach raised an eyebrow and Accepted Violina''s cool handshake.


    "...Great."


    After maintaining eye contact and nodding at Zach, Violina looked behind him, first at Yanael and then at the forest further away.


    "Did you get separated from Julius Hersko and Dukiel?" Violina asked with suspicion in her voice.


    Zach took back his hand and used it to awkwardly rub the back of his head as he also turned to glance at the forest behind him.


    "Something like that. I''m not sure if they''re coming here."


    "I see. Let''s not wait for them any longer than it takes us to get ready to move." Violina turned around and started assessing the damage to the students.


    Some of the students were proficient in first aid. Some had skills and familiars that could heal injuries directly. But none of it was instantaneous. The class needed some time to regroup, recover, and rest before they could begin moving through the forest again.


    There were also some students who weren''t injured but weren''t of help in recovery. Violina ordered them to butcher the ape''s carcass and salvage as much useful materials and food as possible. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since it wasn''t the first monster they encountered, it wasn''t the first time they had meat during this field trip.


    But meat from such a muscular and powerful monster was sure to be a nutritious delicacy. There was also more than enough to go around for everyone in the class.


    It was time to arrange a feast to celebrate their survival. But not right now, right here.


    If they didn''t get away from the corpse, scavengers would swarm them and make it impossible to recover.


    So, as soon as the students were ready and had packed up as much meat as they could carry, Yanael included, they set off.


    The green-haired student Zach had seen next to Anerias led the way, and he did it without either a map or compass.


    ''If he can do it, why can''t I?''


    Zach grumbled and kicked a stone lying on the ground.


    Except, it wasn''t a stone. And it wasn''t on the ground. What Zach kicked was only the top of something in the ground.


    Yanael hurriedly grabbed Zach as the ground started shaking beneath him and retreated.


    ''Shit.''


    Zach barely had time to curse before the soil shifted and a stone-clad crocodile with a size that could match the bronze-toothed ape rose from the ground.


    "Shit."


    "Aah! Watch out!"


    "Get back!"


    "Defensive formation!"


    At once, chaos broke out. Violina did her best to control it, but there was only so much she could do when her troops were students still lacking in experience, and the crocodile managed to turn, swinging its heavy tail around before she could do anything.


    The crocodile''s tail swept through the class, sending students and ape meat flying.


    Fortunately, there weren''t any injuries.


    Zach had thrown up a barrier. Since it wasn''t around himself and pretty far away, much farther than any other barrier he had cast, it was very weak. But it was enough to soften the blow and prevent any casualties before Yanael could step in and make use of her mountain-digging experience to chop through the crocodile''s thick stone skin.

 Chapter 39: Abundant Energy

    Zach looked at the stone crocodile''s bloody corpse


    "Huh. Would ya look at that?" Zach stood with his hands on his hips and admired Yanael and his classmates'' handiwork. After the initial panic faded, the students managed to put some dents and cracks in the monster. Yanael had still done the most, but it wasn''t as bad as it had been with the bronze-toothed ape.


    Zach turned around after booping the crocodile''s nose. He faced his classmates'' stares. He raised his eyebrows in confusion and was about to question what was going on when he realized.


    "Okay, there''s no way you''re blaming me for this. Anyone could have woken this bastard up."


    "But you did it." Anerias stepped up and glared at Zach. Zach was beginning to wonder if Anerias had been hit with a paralyzing poison or something since he hadn''t seen his facial muscles do any other moves.


    "Now, that''s just not fair or reasonable," protested Zach.


    "You were walking behind everyone. If you hadn''t woken it up, no one would have. That thing was trouble, Zach." Anerias continued blaming Zach, regardless of the latter''s protests.


    "That''s¡ª"


    "You called yourself a misfortune magnet." Anerias crossed his arms and looked down his nose at Zach. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach sighed and slumped his shoulders.


    "Fine. But what do you want me to do? I haven''t seen any four-leaf clovers around."


    "Oh, I have!" The student with green hair bent down and picked up a four-leaf clover, which he handed to Zach.


    It withered as soon as Zach grabbed it.


    Zach threw it away.


    "That didn''t happen."


    His classmates exchanged glances, worriedly wondering what the fuck it was supposed to mean when Zach could make a symbol of luck wither just by touching it. But it was something they didn''t want to think about, so they agreed with Zach.


    Anerias relaxed his arms but didn''t know what to do with them so he crossed them again.


    "Just¡­Be careful, okay?" Anerias hung with his head in resignation. He wanted to blame Zach for the crocodile and maybe a couple of other things, too, while he was at it. But he had to admit that there wasn''t much Zach could do when it was a matter of luck, or rather, a lack thereof.


    Although the situation was still tense, it was better than before after Zach promised he would be careful and try not to bring disaster to the group. Once again, the students set out in search of the camp. They only had a few days left now.


    However, Zach''s attempts at reigning in his bad luck were futile. It was like he wasn''t even trying.


    The first monster after the stone crocodile was a large snake wrapped around a tree with perfect camouflage. It was asleep and completely unnoticed until Zach took a rest and put his hand against its eyelid.


    It wasn''t as fierce as the bronze-toothed ape, but it was more slippery and harder to kill than the stone crocodile since it slithered around and used the trees as cover, striking from its perfect cover.


    Zach''s Blessed Defense and Yanael''s strength greatly helped the class defend against and bring the snake down.


    The students made it almost an entire day after that before entering a different part of the forest where spiders as large as skulls swarmed them.


    Several students passed out from fear. Zach was almost one of them. But the spiders that didn''t die passed right by. It was like they weren''t even attacking the students.


    The students soon found out it wasn''t far from the truth as they proceeded in the direction the spiders had come from.


    There, they chanced upon another gigantic spider with legs disguised as tree trunks and a body that looked like the trees'' canopies from below. It was as still as a mountain until Zach tried to climb one of its legs to get a higher perspective.


    Maybe if they got up above the trees, they could find the camp.


    Needless to say, they didn''t find the camp, only a big spider with an appetite for smaller spiders and humans. It probably ate other things as well, but the students only saw the remains of smaller spiders on its legs as it tried to skewer them.


    Almost as if Zach''s misfortune thought they had a too-easy time with the spider because they just needed to chop its legs, it didn''t take long before a herd of smaller monkeys with pouches for stones came hopping from branch to branch.


    Unlike the spiders, they were cute, so no one passed out.


    But the monkeys stopped being cute as soon as they started throwing the pebbles from their pouch at the students.


    Reminded of Drupesch''s lesson, the students went all out and left neither hair nor hide behind.


    The students had several more encounters along the way with barely enough time to rest and eat their fills. As soon as they relaxed or felt like they could relax, Zach stumbled, bumbled, fumbled, or rumbled forth another dangerous monster, which, if they weren''t careful, would take casualties or leave injuries.


    It was a week of non-stop hell. It was to the point where the students didn''t care or worry that they had missed the deadline to find the camp. All they wanted was safety and a comfy bed. That was all.


    The food they got by butchering the monsters was more than delicious enough when paired with the flora they found nearby. The monster meat was also highly nutritious. So, despite feeling like shit, the students and their bodies were actually in a great state of abundant vitality.


    That abundance of energy, however, wasn''t a good thing. It happened more than once that people tried to take their anger, tiredness, and frustration out on Zach, the perceived cause of all the troubles they ran into without pause.


    It had been nowhere near this bad before Zach joined.


    The morning after he stayed the night with them, they ran into the most dangerous monster yet. And with every passing day that he stayed with them, the number of monsters attacking them only grew.


    However, the slight possibility that it could be a coincidence kept anyone from asking Zach to leave.


    After all, he and Yanael especially were the only reasons they were all still alive. That fact also made it difficult to leave Zach with more than a few angry words.


    Zach was tired.

 Chapter 40: Already

    Zach had been through a tremendous amount of suffering these past two weeks and a half, more than he had ever been. He was starting to feel done with it and just wanted to go home. He wasn''t alone. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His classmates were even more done since they knew how easy it could have been if they hadn''t allowed Zach to join. It hadn''t been a breeze before Zach''s misfortune spread to them, especially not at first.


    But it was manageable and almost enjoyable as soon as they got the hang of setting up camp, finding food, and keeping guard in shifts.


    Then, monsters appeared around, under, above, and among them almost around the clock.


    It wasn''t supposed to be this difficult. No other group of students would have made it this far without dying, much less arrived at the camp before the deadline. They had only survived until now thanks to Zach and Yanael, even if it was Zach''s fault.


    It didn''t make sense to many of the students.


    This was a field trip, exam, or practical lesson that was supposed to be a culmination and test of all the things they had learned back at the campus ever since they first started at the Academy. They had learned more things during the field trip than all other classes combined. They had been in more danger, gotten hurt more, and almost died more times than all the other classes combined.


    It wasn''t a test of all they had learned as the instructors claimed. It was a crash course in survival and monster hunting with their lives on the line.


    However, suddenly, as if to taunt the students for preparing to spend the rest of their would-be short lives in the forest, the camp spread out in front of them.


    "A mirage?"


    "Wouldn''t it be a hallucination since we''re not in a desert?"


    "If you can also see it, it''s a mirage. Hallucinations are personal."


    "Doesn''t it mean it''s neither. Isn''t it the camp?"


    "Don''t talk nonsense. There''s no way it''s the camp. The camp doesn''t exist. It''s a fairytale."


    "I think it''s the camp."


    "The camp! We''re here!"


    The students had arrived at the camp after almost three weeks. It was one week after the deadline, so they had failed the exam part of the field trip.


    But not a single student cared. They were overjoyed and filled with relief at finding and arriving at the camp, as sudden as it was.


    Zach looked around with narrowed eyes before jogging up to Anerias and Violina.


    "Anerias. Violina." Zach grabbed their attention,c careful not to alarm the other students in case he was just overly suspicious.


    The two turned around and looked at Zach. They noticed his watchful attitude as he glanced around the camp.


    "You noticed it, too?" Anerias wasn''t as surprised as he thought he would be. He had been forced to admit over the last week and a half that Zach wasn''t as incompetent as he appeared.


    Zach nodded.


    "The camp is empty. Too empty." Zach spoke with a grave expression.


    "Yes. Aside from all the tents and fire pits, there''s nothing else. It also doesn''t look like there''s been anything or anyone else here, which is odd. Is it a trap? Or a monster disguised as a camp to lure us in?" Violina grabbed a sword she had made from the fang of one of the monsters they had killed. Frost slowly crept over its surface as she prepared for battle.


    "...I don''t think so." Anerias shook his head. "I mean, we''re all already inside the camp''s perimeter. Wouldn''t we have sprung the trap by now? Would the monster have swallowed us up by now?" questioned Anerias.


    "...Maybe it''s waiting for us to let down our guard?" Violina''s counterpoint was sound until Anerias pointed at their classmates kissing tents, cuddling tentpoles, worshipping sleeping cots, and bathing in the firepits.


    "It''s safe to say we already let down our guard," Anerias said with some reproach, but he couldn''t blame his fellow students.


    "...What if something happened to the instructors?" Zach''s question made the others go from suspicious to concerned.


    "...Don''t you fucking dare jinx it." Anerias glared at Zach to hide his fear.


    "If that''s the case, isn''t it more likely they are out in the forest looking for us since we''re late?" Violina''s very reasonable suggestion was much better than Zach''s.


    "Shouldn''t they have someone here in case we arrive when they''re out, though?"


    "A familiar or a skill could do that."


    "True. Still, let''s take a look around and make sure there''s nothing dangerous. Try poking the ground a bit and the trees around here. Zach, use your talents." Violina''s final command made Zach sigh, but he obeyed.


    If anyone in the class could verify whether it was a trap, a monster''s disguise, or any other kind of trouble, it was him. After all, he just needed to be near it for it to activate or attack them. If nothing happened, it was safe to say they didn''t have anything to worry about.


    However, Anerias'' Hound had barely started digging a hole in the center before Jarron walked out of a fancier tent on the other side of the camp, still drowsy and in pajamas.


    "Huh? You guys are here already?"


    Jarron''s presence and words cut through the student''s clamoring instantly, silencing the camp. Slowly, the students turned to look at Jarron.


    Even as an instructor of the Empire''s very prestigious Academy of Summoners, Jarron got chills from the combined stares.


    ''Already?''


    No one had missed the word Jarron used to note their arrival.


    What was so already about them being late?


    What was so already about them spending three weeks fighting with their lives on the line?


    What was so already about them being unable to relax even after arriving due to the absence of instructors and lack of supplies in the camp?


    And why the fuck was Instructor Jarron wearing heart-print pajamas in the middle of the day?

 Chapter 41: Two Weeks

    Instructor Jarron held up his palms and slowly backed into his tent, one step at a time, like he was carefully dealing with a scary predator or trying not to scare a rare animal. A dangerous predator was more fitting for the situation, however.


    After a few moments that felt unbearably long in the silent-as-death camp, Jarron left the tent again, this time wearing his usual instructor''s jacket and clothes. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jarron clapped his hands together with a smile on his face.


    "Welcome and congratulations, class! I hope you didn''t suffer too much, considering you''re, what? A week past the deadline?"


    "..." Some of the students glanced at each other or Anerias and Violina, but none of them said anything.


    "Ahem." Jarron cleared his throat and took a closer look at his students. Their clothes were ripped, worn, ragged, and dirty with mud and blood. But they looked like they were fine, physically speaking. It was like looking at a group of savages.


    "So, uh, I can''t help but notice that Julius Hersko and Dukiel are not here. Did they, uh, die?" Jarron hesitantly asked. It would be the class'' first deaths. It was only natural if the students weren''t used to the feeling and wouldn''t know how to handle it.


    Jarron remembered how distraught he and his classmates had been when they first went through this trial and how supportive and caring the instructors had been while sharing the wisdom of survivors. It was an inevitable step on the path upward in this world.


    Dying was rare, but even the safest profession had accidents or encounters with life-hostile people or situations. A summoner was, at its most basic form, a being of combat.


    The students could either get used to their comrades dying now when they were students and the only ones affected were the deceased''s families. Or they could freeze up in shock on the battlefield or during assignments where failure meant the death of tens, hundreds, thousands, or more.


    It was a blood-freezingly cold decision by the principal to put this harsh method into practice. But it was necessary.


    Jarron prepared to offer his shoulders for the students to cry on before they processed this fact.


    "Ahem." Zach awkwardly cleared his throat under the weight of his classmates'' gazes. "No, they''re not dead. Due to some circumstances, they were just operating on their own, separate from the class."


    "Oh¡­I see." Jarron sounded more disappointed than he should have when hearing that his students were most likely alive.


    And, almost as if to confront Jarron for his disappointment, Dukiel and Julius burst out of the bushes and into the camp not far from Jarron.


    Jarron jumped and turned around.


    "Dukiel! Julius! Welcome to the camp!"


    Dukiel looked at Jarron with his hands on his knees and his ribcage moving like bellows. He didn''t bother with an answer.


    Julius didn''t even bother to look up as he lay on the ground, his chest moving just as quickly as Dukiel''s. They had sprinted like madmen to escape a fierce monster that even the Sentinel struggled with.


    Catching their breaths came before entertaining Jarron, who had a strange expression.


    "Well, uh¡­" Jarron awkwardly scratched his arm as he turned to face the entire class at once.


    "You''ve all been through a lot, I see. Still, you can listen since there are a couple of things I need to tell you.


    "First of all, good job. Good job, every single one of you, for surviving this trial. It wasn''t supposed to be easy. The harder it was for you, the better." Jarron made eye contact with each and every student as he spoke. Then, he moved on.


    "Secondly, the deadline of two weeks was set without any expectations of you ever meeting it. It was to teach you that deadlines don''t mean shit in the face of monsters. What''s more important? Dying but arriving on time or not dying but arriving late? Of course, in this situation, you would have died without arriving at all¡­" Jarron trailed off, and his gaze grew distant.


    Jarron faced his students again, deciding to get sidetracked for a moment.


    "There will, however, come a time in each of your lives when that particular lesson means nothing. There will come a time when something more important than your lives comes for you. I¡­I can say a lot of things about that, actually. But all I''m going to say is that you should make choices you''re comfortable living with." Jarron moved on with a nod.


    "Thirdly, arriving this soon is pretty much a record, I''m sure, especially with these numbers. Once again, great work. But, in case you''re wondering, that''s also why the camp is a little unprepared and why you all caught me in my comfort wear. I''d be happy if you all forget at least that part of this field trip and remember everything else."


    "Not gonna happen, Instructor Hearts." Zach winked at Jarron.


    "Two weeks detention, Zacharia Evandiel." Jarron''s friendly attitude as he asked his students for a favor disappeared like a ghost. Instead, a steely veteran took his place as he punished Zach for his insubordination.


    "Wha¡ª"


    "You''re being a poor pupil, Zacharia Evandiel. Two weeks, and you''re cleaning the boards." Jarron added to Zach''s punishment without so much as blinking.


    Zach slumped his shoulders and gave up. When Jarron was like this, there was no discussing it. He would just have to find Jarron in private and negotiate a more favorable punishment.''


    And by ''negotiate'', Zach was planning to blackmail his instructor again. Jarron had freely handed over another piece for Zach to use, after all. He would be a fool not to take advantage of it.


    "...Setting Zach''s behavior aside and returning to the matter at hand¡­" Jarron returned to the main topic as he looked at all the students other than Zach.


    "...It''s still a week left until all the supplies are delivered. I must regrettably inform you all that, if you want to eat, you need to gather the food on your own."

 Chapter 42: Freedom

    As soon as the students heard what Jarron said, they almost burst out in tears of anger and frustration on the spot. After all their hard work, they had just barely managed to make it to the camp. But their struggles weren''t over yet.


    Jarron was making them continue struggling for survival just because he hadn''t prepared in time.


    It was horrible.


    The students considered their odds of taking revenge on Jarron or otherwise expressing their outrage with what they had learned these past weeks.


    However, like a sage, Zach stepped forward and faced his classmates with a ray of sunlight reaching through the canopy and bathing him in radiance.


    "Fellow students, I can sense your discontent. I feel your anger. Your hurt. Your exhaustion. But¡ªand I''m not saying this half-heartedly¡ªconsider this: If we do it on our own, we do not need to rely on Instructor Jarron for food."


    Zach put his hands together with a benevolent expression and almost-closed eyes.


    Slowly, his words sank into the hearts of his classmates.


    Jarron was unreliable. In just the span of an hour, he had already shown as much several times over.


    The need to continue hunting monsters for survival wasn''t a burden Jarron placed on them. It was freedom. Freedom from the restraints of food handed to them by another. Freedom from the oversight and control Jarron would have, intentionally or unintentionally, over them.


    Freedom from Jarron''s influence.


    It wasn''t a continuation of their suffering. It was an opportunity.


    One by one, the other students stood up properly and saluted Zach with one clenched fist on their chest and the other to their sides. They ignored Jarron completely.


    Zach felt a twisted sense of satisfaction. It was revenge for the unjust detention.


    After they had saluted Zach, the students didn''t waste time. They prepared the tents, fire pits, and sleeping areas. After all, everything they needed other than food was already in place. Well, they didn''t need anything else, technically speaking.


    But a place to grill the food without worrying about starting a forest fire and tents to sleep in was a blessing to their weary bones.


    The students split up and focused on their various tasks.


    The main fighting force of the students, namely Zach, Anerias, Violina, and Dukiel, gathered in one place. They also brought a couple of others with them to help carry the haul.


    Anerias was the first to speak, and he did it when looking at Dukiel.


    "You were chased by something before you found the camp, right?"


    Dukiel nodded. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yeah. It''s strange. After¡­Well, after we got separated from Zach, we didn''t encounter anything. It was like the forest was empty. But when we got close to here, all kinds of monsters surrounded the camp. We almost made it all the way without being discovered.


    But this, I think it was a tiger, discovered us."


    The others nodded in sympathy as Dukiel remembered the threat to his life. Then, they all looked at Zach.


    "...It''s just a coincidence¡­" Zach''s murmured attempt at expressing his innocence was ignored.


    Instead, Anerias, Violina, Dukiel, the green-haired student, Rierdan Loret, and a student whose familiar was a large millipede, Nessa Koche, started talking about the tiger Dukiel and Julius ran from.


    Dukiel''s Sentinel was strong and sturdy. Dukiel didn''t bother mentioning it, but it was even stronger after absorbing its half of the polished dirt orb from the Giupusta Locale.


    They could have decided to flee because they weren''t confident the Sentinel could protect them against the tiger¡ªthat the tiger would be too quick and kill one or both of them before the Sentinel could stop it.


    That was what Anerias and the others thought when they heard Dukiel, one of the class'' three A-ranks said they had to run.


    It could have also been because there were other monsters around, which would have made it even harder for the Sentinel to protect both Dukiel and Julius, Mannequin included.


    That was not it.


    Dukiel hadn''t chosen to run because he was worried the Sentinel couldn''t protect them both.


    He and Julius ran because the Sentinel expressed some kind of feeling that it couldn''t protect even one of them against the tiger. It wasn''t even confident it could protect itself.


    The other students weren''t shocked to hear that the Sentinel had expressed its feelings or warned Dukiel since their familiars had done similar things, especially during the field trip. The only surprising thing was that the Sentinel did so when looking like a floating, emotionless stone.


    What was surprising, however, was the fact that the Sentinel, rumored to be one of the strongest familiars in the A-rank and one of the four strongest familiars in the class, wasn''t capable of standing up to this tiger.


    Zach narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ''How did they escape?''


    But Zach didn''t voice his doubt. It would do no good since it was clear what they were doing. The fact that Dukiel and Julius had escaped with their lives intact meant that the tiger wasn''t invincible.


    It was just strong.


    It didn''t change the fact that they needed to take it down if they wanted to get food during their stay in the forest.


    Jarron hadn''t said anything about how long they were staying in the forest. But based on the tents, the camps, and the supplies that were supposed to be on their way, the field trip wasn''t over yet.


    Jarron had also made it clear they couldn''t rely on him.


    So, even if only to secure a route back or make it possible to gather berries, leaves, or meat without worrying about never making it back, they had to kill the tiger.


    It wasn''t like they would get any stronger by waiting, either, other than resting and recovering to their peaks.


    Besides, with Zach, Yanael, Anerias, the Blackflame Hound, Violina, the Ice Spirit, Dukiel, the Sentinel, Rierdan, the Runic Moss Butterfly, Nessa, and the Snakelong Millipede, what was a single tiger going to do? Even if it was strong, there was no way it could eat them all without getting a stomach ache.

 Chapter 43: Apex Predator

    Zach and the others rested and ate some provisions as they talked strategy, plans, and responsibilities.


    Since Rierdan and Nessa wouldn''t be fighting, they would deal with and focus on the less dangerous tasks, such as keeping track of where they went and looking for the tiger''s tracks. They would also be in charge of carrying any necessary resources like weapons and tools for dismantling monsters and starting fires.


    They weren''t planning on being away from the camp for long, but it was better to be prepared.


    Zach and Anerias were in charge of the close-range combat and defense since the two of them and their familiars were no good at distance. Violina was good at melee combat, too, thanks to her sword and contract skill. But her familiar was better at long distance than Yanael and Anerias'' Hound.


    It was the same with Dukiel''s Sentinel. It could fight at close range, but it was better to have it focus on distance and scouting to fill out the areas the group was lacking.


    With two units prepared to fight at a distance but capable of close quarters, two units on melee defense, one unit on tracking, and one on transporting, the group was ready to hunt any ferocious monster in the forest.


    It seemed like a lot of preparation against one monster when they didn''t know how strong it was other than Dukiel''s biased retelling of a vague non-encounter. But the others took Dukiel seriously.


    It was better to be overly prepared than to die, after all.


    Anerias gave the other students a briefing about the situation and asked them to wait for their return before they ventured into the forest. Jarron''s credibility aside, the camp seemed safe enough, at least. It didn''t seem like monsters would overrun them if they stayed there.


    There should be enough provisions to last them a few days if they rationed a little.


    When Anerias was done and had designated someone to take the lead while everyone else was gone, they set out.


    They were worried, especially Nessa and Rierdan, since they wouldn''t be able to assist much in the fighting. They would be totally powerless in the face of a monster that even the four strongest in the class had to prepare this much against.


    "Lovely weather we''re having, huh, guys." Zach admired their surroundings in peace as they strolled through the forest. Well, Zach strolled. The others marched toward where Dukiel and Julius first felt the tiger''s presence.


    "Don''t you dare fucking jinx it, Zach." Anerias didn''t stop as he turned his head and growled at Zach. He was sick and tired of Zach''s misfortune, especially after hearing how peaceful Dukiel''s and Julius'' trip had been after they ditched Zach.


    If anyone could change the weather with a few empty words, it was Zach.


    Fortunately, it seemed like they would be fine for now.


    Other than Zach''s attempt at conversation, there wasn''t any talk, and the group walked in silence, taking in their surroundings, looking for traces, or daydreaming about desserts, tea, and warm beds.


    Dukiel looked like he wanted to say something to Zach. But he didn''t want the others to hear since it was a private matter. For that same reason, it also wasn''t the best time to talk about it. So, Dukiel stayed silent.


    The next time someone spoke, it was Rierdan.


    "Hold. I think I''ve found something."


    Rierdan had everyone else stand back as he knelt and investigated the grass and soil next to the animal trail they were following.


    Zach wasn''t sure if it was actually doing anything, but Rierdan''s hand-sized butterfly with its wings covered in thin mossy squiggles, flew around him and the place he inspected. It certainly didn''t look like it was doing anything useful.


    Regardless of whether the butterfly was doing anything, though, Rierdan looked up at the others with a serious expression.


    "Now, I''m not an expert, certainly not on monsters. But this¡­" he gestured over an area of flattened grass.


    "...Should be a paw impression of a feline monster." Rierdan let the others take their time to look at it without saying anything. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...It looks big." Anerias'' said what everyone was thinking. None of them had studied the size of tiger paws. But the paw impression in the grass was bigger than five hands. With ease.


    They turned to Dukiel.


    "How sure are you that it''s a tiger?" Violina asked, not because she was doubting Dukiel''s words but because she hoped it wasn''t true.


    It wouldn''t be the first monster that was an oversized version of a normal animal. But it would be the first to gain anything from it.


    A large snake that relied on stealth wasn''t that scary. A crocodile on land. Not scary.


    A big ass spider. Scary, but again, its size was more of a hindrance than an improvement to its hunting capacity.


    But what about a tiger that relied on a combination of stealth and strength to ambush its prey? That too when it wasn''t so big it couldn''t hide.


    The monster was beginning to feel like an apex predator in a bracket of apex predators.


    Dukiel hesitated and shrugged.


    "...I only saw a flash of black and orange. Without Sentinel, I wouldn''t have been able to identify it as anything at all." Dukiel glanced at the Sentinel while he spoke as if asking it to give its own statement. Needless to say, the Sentinel was silent.


    Zach and the others looked at each other.


    "Hmph. So what if it''s a tiger? It will end up a rug in my bedroom anyway." Zach crossed his arms and spoke with confidence.


    "Your bedroom?" Violina also crossed her arms and looked Zach up and down in defiance.


    "Of course. Or are you saying I, as the main contributor, shouldn''t get my pick of the spoils of war?"


    "Mm, you''re the main contributor alright." Anerias'' voice dripped with sarcasm and implied meaning.


    "What''s that supposed to mean, Anerias?" Zach turned to Anerias only to see the latter staring at the forest behind him with a stiff expression.


    "What? If you''re trying to distract me, it won''t work," Zach said as he turned around, almost instantly forgetting what they were talking about. And then he saw what Anerias was looking at.


    The tiger had come to say hi.

 Chapter 44: Adrenaline

    Zach felt like the tiger''s green eyes pierced his body and locked it in place as he looked at its head, which appeared to float in the darkness of the surrounding trees.


    Slowly, the tiger walked forward, its tall, muscular, furry body exposing itself to the light, one black strip at a time. It walked around the group of students, never breaking eye contact. It was like a wolf at a sheep buffet, taking its time deciding which piece of meat to taste test first.


    But the tiger had already made its choice long ago.


    Why go for the weakest piece of meat when it could go for the juiciest?


    Without any warning other than a twitch of its long, fluffy tail, the tiger lunged, soaring through the air toward Zach, the human who looked like he was glowing in the tiger''s eyes.


    The tiger was large. It wasn''t as big as the bronze-toothed ape, the stone crocodile, or the tree-legged spider. But it was big enough that one bite with its jaws opened wide would turn Zach''s upper and lower bodies into separate entities.


    That was also what it tried to do.


    But it didn''t take long for something, or rather, someone, to thwart its plans.


    Yanael stepped in front of Zach and blocked the tiger with her shield, smacking it in the face. As the tiger''s front paws touched the ground, Yanael lunged forward to try and stab it. But the tiger had pushed away before its back paws caught up to its front ones.


    The tiger bounced to the side with its upper body and turned around, kicking against Yanael and her shield like a horse, using her as a stepping stone and springboard to shoot into a tree.


    The tiger was deceptively agile.


    It moved like a tiny bird as it snaked among the trees'' branches. But it had been strong enough to send Yanael flying.


    She didn''t fly far and didn''t receive any injuries. But the tiger''s body contained more strength, weight, and explosive power than its moves suggested. It also moved through the trees without making a sound.


    But the tiger had made a mistake.


    It hadn''t just attacked Zach. It had pushed back Yanael when she was trying to defend Zach.


    Yanael grit her teeth, and her brow deepened in an angry frown. Angry at herself and at the tiger, she tightened the grip on her sword as she scanned their surroundings. Since the tiger was so quick, decisive, and agile, it wasn''t worth trying to rely on the Sentinel or any of the other familiars.


    Even if they saw it in time, they wouldn''t be able to do anything, at least not until they stopped being frozen in fear by the tiger''s intimidation and killing intent.


    Zach felt something like cold water run down his back as his mind cleared and the image of the tiger''s green eyes gradually faded from his vision. He shivered. He tried to swallow since his throat was dry but his mouth wasn''t any better.


    Zach came out of the state of being frozen in fear like he was bursting out of a cold bath.


    The colors of the forest around him were clearer than ever. He could see the lines and veins on the leaves and flowers. He could count the individual strands of hair on Yanael''s head in front of him. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could smell her, the dried blood and smoke on his clothes.


    Like a rush of air whizzing past and through him, Zach took in everything, including the tiger''s attempt to harvest his life.


    Zach let out a cold breath. His heart finally caught up to the situation and started beating at a pace only matched by the thunderous stampede of a herd of wild horses.


    Like the forest itself was talking to him, Zach whipped his head to the left.


    He couldn''t see, sense, smell, taste, or hear anything out of the ordinary where he looked. Maybe that lack of anything strange was what was missing.


    It tickled a sense Zach didn''t even know he had, and he reached out with his hands, erecting a large golden barrier like a wall.


    A moment later, the tiger crashed into the wall with its face first, squishing its nose flat.


    Yanael didn''t let go of the opportunity Zach made, even if she was curious how Zach sensed something even she missed.


    In less than an instant, her wings and halo came out, unleashing her full strength and speed. Yanael flashed over the ground and cut diagonally through the air toward the barrier and the tiger on the other side.


    The moment before her sword clashed with Zach''s barrier, it disappeared and exposed the tiger, which, unfortunately, had overcome the shock from crashing into the golden barrier. The tiger''s muscles were already tense like springs as it extended its legs and paws and shot off the ground again.


    Yanael was moving in a straight line at full speed. The tiger had to turn around and start moving from a standstill. Even if it was faster, it still needed time to accelerate, however little it was.


    The tiger couldn''t fully escape Yanael''s sharp blade. But instead of losing a limb or head, it only lost a tuft of fur and a strip of skin.


    The tiger returned to the trees and stood on a branch, glaring down at Yanael and Zach. It growled before turning around with a flick of its tail and disappearing into the forest like a ghost.


    Zach let out a deep sigh, and all the energy holding up his body vanished. He sank to the ground, his eyes and heart tired and throbbing. The others were still in a state of shock and only barely making it out after the tiger''s presence disappeared.


    Zach knew he shouldn''t let down his guard, but he could tell that the tiger''s last growl had been a warning that this wasn''t over yet, that it would be back. But that meant it would leave before returning.


    Zach and the others could breathe and regroup, though they had to wait for Rierdan and Nessa to wake up since they had passed out.

 Chapter 45: No Choice

    Rierdan and Nessa weren''t the only ones affected by the tiger''s intimidation, but they were the only ones that passed out. The tiger only stunned and froze Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina in fear, rendering them barely better than statues. It also affected the Blackfire Hound.


    The Sentinel and Ice Spirit weren''t affected by the tiger''s intimidation. They were just too slow to react in time to the tiger''s movements. By the time they started to move and charge lasers or conjure shards of ice, the tiger was already on the other side of the group.


    It would be impossible for the familiars to strike the tiger. If they were lucky, they wouldn''t hit anything. If they were unlucky, they would hit the students.


    And before the familiars could try anything else or their masters could wake up and give them any commands, Yanael and Zach had already chased away the tiger.


    Zach looked at his classmates.


    "You guys alright?"


    Violina glanced at Zach before sitting down next to him.


    "Nope. That shit was scary." Violina rested her arms on her knees and looked at the ground in front of her with a blank stare.


    Anerias sighed and also took a seat next to Zach.


    "...I''ve never liked cats." Anerias patted next to him, and his Hound curled up and pressed against him.


    "I think that the tiger intentionally didn''t kill me and Julius to lure us out." Dukiel''s voice was apologetic as he also sat down after checking on Rierdan and Nessa. It was his judgment that led to them heading out into the forest in pursuit of the tiger. If it weren''t for him, they wouldn''t have almost died, and Rierdan and Nessa wouldn''t be lying on the forest floor, out cold like two ice cubes.


    "The same trick would have worked on all of us. The bastard''s clever." Violina raised her head and glared into the darkness between the trees.


    Zach and Anerias nodded.


    After what the tiger had just shown, it was clear it wouldn''t have struggled to prey on Dukiel and Julius.


    "Do you guys think it''s something the instructors arranged?" Anerias glanced around while patting his Hound, comforting and calming it.


    "Could be." Zach shrugged. "Doesn''t matter, though."


    The instructors had already made it clear they wouldn''t interfere. It didn''t even seem like they were supervising or keeping track of anything other than when they arrived at the camp and what the students did there.


    Jarron had also made it seem like he fully thought Dukiel and Julius were dead before they arrived.


    He could be a good actor and it was all part of a test meant to make them take this seriously.


    But it could also be serious.


    It didn''t matter. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the killing intent the tiger showed them, none of them doubted that the tiger would kill every last one of the students if it got the chance, and it would start with Zach, Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, Rierdan, and Nessa.


    "So, should we go back?" Zach asked as he glanced at Rierdan and Nessa. If the tiger hadn''t gone for him but one of the others instead, it would likely have succeeded.


    "Fuck no." Violina didn''t hesitate. "I''m not leaving this forest until that bastard''s dead."


    Anerias also glanced at the other two before answering. He then looked at his Hound.


    "I don''t think me or my familiar will be able to sleep without knowing it''s dead."


    "...Let''s wait and hear what Rierdan and Nessa have to say. But what do you think, Zach?" Dukiel looked at Zach. So did Anerias and Violina, curious to hear what he would say since he was the only one who had managed to fight back against the tiger''s killing intent.


    "Personally, I can do whatever. More realistically, that tiger isn''t letting us go. It''s coming back, whether we want it or not. What we can decide, however, is if it''s coming when we think we''re safe or if we come for it." Zach''s words made them realize that it didn''t matter what their choice was.


    The tiger had already set their sights on them.


    "Then why¡­?" Anerias wanted to ask Zach why he asked them if they should go back in the first place. He couldn''t quite find the words for it.


    Zach met Anerias'' eyes and understood what he wanted to know, but Zach just shrugged and played with a leaf he picked off a flower, tearing it into tiny pieces.


    Dukiel looked between Zach and Anerias, wondering if either of them were going to say anything. The last they needed was another heated discussion, which the two of them had shared on occasion. Fortunately, it didn''t seem like this was one such time, and the two remained silent until Rierdan and Nessa woke up.


    When they did, Dukiel told them what happened and their current situation.


    The two were understandably scared since even their familiars had been unable to withstand the tiger''s killing intent.


    "I say we hunt it down and show it who the real predators are." Ness clenched her fist tight and spoke with a strong voice that fit her spirit more than her small stature.


    Rierdan hesitated. He was scared out of his wits, even after waking up and escaping the tiger''s killing intent. It still felt like his heart had stopped beating.


    Eventually, he just sighed and accepted his fate. It was kill or be killed. It was already too late.


    "...I don''t want to die." Rierdan hung with his head, and his voice was weak. But he still set out to fulfill his task and guide the others through the forest, helping them track down the tiger.


    Zach patted Rierdan on the shoulder with a friendly smile.


    "Don''t worry, Rierdan. Nobody''s going to die with me here." Zach''s words were warm and would have raised the group''s spirits since they sorely needed and wanted some hope. It was also the person who had just saved them from the tiger who said it. The strongest in their tiny group.


    But it was for that very reason that the group couldn''t find any hope in what Zach had said.


    It was Zach who said it.

 Chapter 46: Tired

    With everyone finally resolved to see the hunt through to the end, the group of hunting students set out with Rierdan and the Blackfire Hound in the lead, looking for and finding traces of the bleeding tiger.


    The drops of blood the tiger left behind as it moved were few and far between, and the distance grew while the size of each drop shrank. But the blood wasn''t the only trail it left behind in its hasty retreat. They just made it easier for the Blackfire Hound to track it.


    The Blackfire Hound looked for the blood with its sensitive nose, and around the drops of blood, Rierdan and the others looked for physical traces of the tiger''s passing like paw prints, scratches from its claws when it leaped from branches, and strands of fur caught on prickly thorns.


    The tiger was a stealthy hunter that could go unnoticed as it lurked around its prey before launching an ambush when its target least suspected it.


    But it wasn''t experienced with covering up its tracks.


    The tiger was a predator in a world where predators hunted and prey was hunted. It hadn''t been hunted like this before.


    It was only natural it didn''t think to cover its tracks. It was only a matter of time before Zach and the others gained on the tiger.


    They were humans. Persistence hunters. The tiger relied on its explosive strength and speed when hunting. It didn''t have the right kind of endurance to continue moving for hours and hours on end. It also needed to eat, rest, and tend to its wound.


    Zach and the others could eat while they walked. They weren''t injured. They could walk for an entire day without stopping if necessary. And with the threat of the tiger still sharp in their hearts, Zach and the others were more than willing to walk without rest.


    It was to the point where Nessa''s C-rank Snakelong Millipede started lagging behind. The other familiars were strong or could rest on their masters, like Rierdan''s Runic Moss Butterfly or Violina''s Ice Spirit.


    The Snakelong Millipede was also carrying all their luggage. It was understandable that it couldn''t keep up with the tiger or Zach and the others.


    This put them at a crossroads. They couldn''t leave the Millipede or Nessa behind while chasing the tiger for obvious reasons. But if the Millipede continued dragging them down, they might lose this chance of pursuing the tiger and chasing it into exhaustion.


    Still, they decided to take a break while coming to a unanimous decision. It was a well-needed one, and the students felt the build-up of fatigue simmer inside their bodies like mold. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Forcing themselves to go on while relying on a sense of anger, vindication, revenge, and need for survival had led to them ignoring their exhaustion. If they found the tiger like this, they wouldn''t be able to raise much resistance. They would be completely reliant on their familiars, which wasn''t necessarily a bad thing since their familiars were reliable.


    But they would need all the power they could get, even if it was something as inconsequential as Anerias glaring at the tiger or Dukiel trying to hit it with a stick.


    Zach and the others picked through their remaining provisions and sat in silence while eating and letting their familiars keep watch.


    ''Was it really that rough?''


    Zach looked at the others with slight confusion. He understood why they needed to take a break since the Snakelong Millipede wasn''t the only one tired. But were they so tired they needed to eat with their eyes closed and leaning against the trees like they were about to fall asleep?


    Zach wasn''t that tired. Sure, he happily accepted the rest. But he could keep going for at least a few hours.


    What made Zach''s frown deepen was that Dukiel was noticeably more tired than the others. It shouldn''t have been that much of a difference when he had been active with various jobs and the life of a commoner before attending the Academy.


    Anerias and Violina had received training since they were from reputable noble families. It even seemed like Violina had received combat training. But both Rierdan and Nessa seemed more like the bookish, indoorsy type. Still, they were holding on better than Dukiel, even though Dukiel was an A-rank, though Zach didn''t know if that mattered.


    Zach tilted his head and looked at his classmates. The only thing he could say for certain was that Dukiel was worse off than the others, even if he didn''t seem to be in a poorer physical condition.


    He wondered if Dukiel was more stressed or worried and that was what was affecting him. But he just seemed exhausted, and he was still just breathing heavily without looking too worried or scared.


    ''Maybe he didn''t sleep well.''


    Zach shrugged and put that out of his mind as he looked into the forest. He wondered how far away the tiger was and what it was doing.


    But then his gaze sank, and he saw something move among the bushes. It wasn''t so much as something as Zach looked at it, which made it move.


    A dagger flew at Zach''s face. It was quick, but it was a reaction to Zach noticing it, so Zach had time to cast a barrier in front of him and block the dagger. Yanael flashed behind Zach and blocked another two daggers from hitting him.


    ''Whoops.''


    Zach had gotten used to casting flat barriers to save energy and make them harder that he left himself open to attacks from other directions. He quickly put himself and his classmates, who were waking up due to the ruckus, inside a large dome, leaving Yanael on the outside.


    He protected and she attacked, pursuing the attackers who tried to assasinate him.


    Yanael was a little worried about leaving Zach behind when there were unknown attackers who evaded her detection in addition to the tiger. But he had already shown that his shield could stop the tiger''s movements, even if only momentarily.


    She trusted him. And it would be fine so long as she didn''t take too long.


    Yanael''s wings and halo came out and she turned into a golden, frenzied light flashing through the forest.

 Chapter 47: Dragged Into

    Zach stared at the three leg-length corpses Yanael had brought back with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. Even if it wasn''t for the creepy, sticky air around the corpses and their dark clothes that hid their appearances, Zach could guess what they were based on their size.


    They were tiny humanoids out for his life. What could they be if not assassins from the Underworld?


    ''I wonder what layer they''re from.''


    Zach knelt and poked one of the corpses with a stick. They were powerful and stealthy. If they had waited for Zach to fall asleep or close his eyes, they could have injured him, if not outright killed him if they were lucky.


    The three assassins certainly weren''t from the first layer. But Zach couldn''t decide if they were from the second or third layer. They seemed more powerful than the tasker. But they were made for combat. The tasker wasn''t. It was a difficult comparison to make.


    The others wondered what Zach was looking so closely at about the three corpses when he hadn''t been noticeably surprised or confused when Yanael brought them back. They also wondered what the three corpses were since monsters didn''t use daggers or weapons at all for that matter.


    The three assassins weren''t monsters. Or were they? The others couldn''t tell.


    However, Dukiel recognized the air from them. It was an earthy, damp smell. It was stronger and a little different, but it smelled like the Giupusta Locale.


    "Zach, are they¡­?" Dukiel hesitantly asked, unsure of how to phrase the question. He was needlessly worried about what Zach had told the others regarding the Underworld. But since it seemed like he hadn''t told them anything, Dukiel figured he might want to keep it secret for whatever reason. So, he intentionally didn''t finish what he was saying.


    Zach stood up and turned around. He looked at Dukiel.


    "Yup. Assassins from the Underworld. They''re after me, but I don''t think they''ll get any stronger than this, so we should be fine. For now." Zach shrugged and glanced at the assassins again.


    If the Great Ugor could have, he would have sent subordinates that could guarantee Zach''s death. For whatever reason, there was a limit to the troops the Great Ugor could assign to kill Zach right now.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and looked in a random direction he imagined was the Academy.


    ''The Great Ugor made it seem like he was in a stand-off against the surface''s great beings. Maybe the principal or Kami noticed the Locale?''


    It was far-fetched, but Zach didn''t think it was impossible. Instructor Kami was one thing, but the principal was old, powerful, and mysterious. Zach wouldn''t put noticing what happened inside the mountain past him.


    Of course, it could also be related to the underworld energy the tasker had talked about. Maybe the beings of the Underworld needed underworld energy to survive just like humans needed oxygen to breathe.


    Or all other troops were busy elsewhere, engaging in a cold war against the surface.


    Zach had no idea. He did know it wouldn''t be the end, though. Hopefully, the Great Ugor would try to save resources or remain as covert as possible and send more weaklings Zach and Yanael could handle.


    ''Maybe wait a few days, though.''


    Zach was busy with the tiger. He would prefer it if the Great Ugor didn''t send any more assassins.


    Anerias, Violina, Rierdan, and Nessa just looked at Zach in even more confusion. So, he did know what was going on?


    "What kind of fucking mess have you dragged us into this time, Zach?" Anerias couldn''t even be bothered to glare this time. His brow was tired from doing it every time he spoke to Zach.


    Zach glanced over his shoulder at Anerias. He shrugged.


    "I doubt you''d believe me even if I tell you."


    "Try me."


    Zach tried him. He told Anerias and the others about what had happened in the mountain and what the Great Ugor had talked to him about. He also shared some of his own thoughts on the matter.


    "Did you eat shrooms or something?" As expected, Anerias didn''t believe a word of what came out of Zach''s mouth.


    Violina raised her hands and stopped Anerias from continuing to make a ruckus. She pointed at the three assassin corpses.


    "What you''re saying is that there''ll be more of those, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "Can you handle them and the tiger at the same time?"


    "Well¡­¡ª"


    "Yes or no."


    "Yes."


    "Good. That''s all I need to know. Let''s find better shelter before it gets too dark."


    No one protested against Violina''s words. They had gotten sufficient rest during their break and then when Yanael ran a circle, grabbing the assassins, who, while stealthy, weren''t great escapists.


    Dukiel, Rierdan, and Nessa''s millipede were still tired. But they made it work by ignoring their fatigue.


    Finally, the group found a clearing with a protruding cliff that offered them complete cover in one direction. Unless the tiger learned to fly, the night watch only needed to keep their eyes in one place.


    And since the light from a fire would make it hard to see anything but darkness, they braved the night''s chill without one.


    Zach and the others huddled up close and shared body warmth and comfort.


    They could die this night.


    If the familiars or any of them didn''t catch the tiger''s presence or the assassins, they wouldn''t see the light of dawn again.


    It was a grim belief that made sleeping hard. Fortunately, exhaustion made sleeping easy again, and everyone but Zach fell asleep almost instantly.


    Zach looked at the stars.


    It was a late realization, but life was hard. He hadn''t expected the life of a student at the Academy of Summoners to be this dangerous. He had thought it would be filled with boring classes, friendly friends, stressful exams, and romance.


    Well, the exams were stressful and the friends were friendly, so it wasn''t completely wrong. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But fearing for his life only a matter of weeks and months after starting didn''t bode well for what would come next.


    ''And what''s the deal with my luck?''


    For someone with an innate skill called Divine Luck, Zach felt like an incredibly unlucky person.


    But there had to be a reason. An explanation.


    He just had to level up and gain the authority to receive the answer he wanted.


    ''How do I even level up?''


    Zach sighed and decided to look at his interface for the first time in a long while.

 Chapter 48: Starry Sky

    Zach''s eyes widened slowly.


    [Zacharia Evandiel]


    [Level 4 Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skill: Blessed Defense]


    [Contracts: Yanael]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Rank Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    At first glance, it looked like nothing had changed, not that there was much that could have changed. But Zach''s level had risen by three.


    ''No way, is that it? Is that why I''m feeling so energetic?''


    Zach wasn''t wrong. It was a slight improvement, made noticeable by his quick repeated level-ups and S-rank familiar. But he had become stronger, at least a little, in a different way from merely training and lifting weights.


    ''Uh, but why did I level up?''


    Zach had done a lot of things since he last checked his summoning interface. What was it that had led to him leveling up three times? Did it have anything to do with the field trip and how it brought him and Yanael closer?


    They hadn''t gotten many opportunities to talk since Zach still didn''t want anyone to know Yanael could do that. But after the Giupusta Locale and the events there, Zach felt like his connection with Yanael was stronger than before. Even when they weren''t talking, as long as they wanted to, they could sense what the other was feeling.


    It was far too vague to be useful or as a viable method of communication. But Zach could tell when Yanael was upset or happy as long as she wanted him to. He could also feel alarm and anger when they were under attack by something powerful enough to invoke such feelings.


    The incident with the chandelier during the entrance ceremony hadn''t been a coincidence.


    There was a supernatural connection between a Master and their familiar.


    Zach narrowed his eyes.


    ''Maybe even talking with our thoughts will be possible in the future.''


    With one clue about what had happened during his rise to level four, Zach had already started guessing what would happen if he continued progressing in the future. Since his body had already achieved a better condition than before, Zach also looked forward to what would happen in that department in the future.


    ''How many levels are there?''


    Zach looked toward the starry sky again in wonder. He was curious.


    Now, he wasn''t just looking for answers about summoning and his so-called Divine Luck. He was curious about what lay beyond the stars.


    ''What if there isn''t a limit?''


    As Zach imagined the possibility of endless levels, he was hit by the realization that even if each level only gave him a grain of strength barely noticeable, he would become endlessly strong.


    He didn''t even know what it would look like since he had never seen any real displays of strength beyond what humans could achieve.


    The knights in the mansion had been impressive. Nora''s mother was impressive. Zach was pretty sure his own family was impressive, even if he hadn''t seen any of them in action. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But nothing screamed endless strength or the capability of reaching the stars.


    "...I love this¡­"


    Zach had a light smile as his eyes reflected the stars. However, his murmur had alerted Violina.


    Violina glanced at the others to make sure they were still asleep. She carefully shifted so she wouldn''t disturb them when she talked. She walked around and sat next to Zach.


    "Are you serious?" She whispered. The others needed their rest.


    Zach nodded.


    "Maybe not this whole dancing a tango of death with a scary tiger. But summoning, learning new things, watching the starry sky, and living. I love it." Zach''s eyes didn''t move from the stars as he answered Violina.


    "Heh. I think I know why you managed to summon an S-rank familiar."


    "Yeah?"


    "Only someone who can sit in our current situation with dangerous monsters and freaky assassins after their life and look at the stars with a smile on their face, thinking they love this, deserves an S-rank familiar." Violina shook her head incredulously and joined Zach in looking at the stars.


    They were beautiful, but Violina would have never thought to admire them in their current situation.


    Zach gave a slight nod.


    "What about you, then? It doesn''t seem like you hate this. And you have your A-rank Ice Spirit."


    Violina shrugged.


    "I don''t hate it. I even find it pretty exciting. But it''s not got anything to do with summoning. It just makes me miss home." Violina''s gaze grew distant.


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly. He hadn''t thought Violina would open up like that to him.


    "It''s also a nice change in scenery from the boring classrooms and dull lessons. Other than Drupesch''s first lesson and some of the others, it''s kind of boring."


    Zach raised an eyebrow and glanced at Violina.


    "Pardon?"


    Violina looked at Zach and realized he didn''t hold the same sentiment.


    "Oh, I thought¡­Since you get top marks basically every lesson¡­You don''t think it''s boring?" Violina''s brow furrowed slightly as if she couldn''t understand it.


    "I mean, boring is boring. But I wouldn''t call Drupesch''s lessons the highlight, even if the other lessons could be a little more entertaining."


    "Huh."


    "Yeah."


    Violina just kind of looked at Zach with a blank face. Zach shrugged and returned to looking at the stars as the conversation faded.


    Then, Zach realized he had to ask Violina something.


    "Hey, Violina, when did you last check the summoning interface?" Zach looked at Violina.


    Violina shrugged and looked at Zach.


    "I only looked at it when I summoned my familiar. I figured it was useless to look at it more than once. It isn''t like it''ll change by looking at it, and I already memorized everything the first time."


    Zach shook his head.


    "It''s not useless. Look at it."


    Violina questioningly raised an eyebrow, asking for an explanation. But Zach just looked at her encouragingly.


    Violina sighed and listened to Zach''s request. At first, she wasn''t sure how to open it up again, but it solved itself just by her thinking about wanting to look at the interface. She frowned since it felt like it read her mind, with it being something foreign.


    However, that thought faded, and her eyes widened as she looked at it. She looked up at Zach.


    "I-I''ve leveled up? Is that the right expression?"

 Chapter 49: Theory

    Zach nodded excitedly. Violina had also leveled up. It would be easier to figure out what exactly made them level up since there were two of them now.


    However, Violina''s expression quickly cooled.


    "So what?" Violina cocked her slightly.


    "What do you mean ''So what''? Aren''t you excited?" Zach was dumbfounded. Didn''t she understand what it meant?


    "Why would I be? It''s not like I''ve gained a new skill or anything. It''s just a new number." Violina shrugged, slightly confused about why Zach was so excited.


    "Ah, you haven''t noticed, have you? I am pretty sure leveling up makes us stronger."


    Violina raised her eyebrows and looked


    "Makes us stronger?"


    "Yeah." Zach nodded. "Didn''t you notice how Dukiel was significantly more tired than us others, and how I wasn''t nearly as tired as you guys?"


    "I wasn''t exactly paying attention to any of you." Violina shrugged.


    Zach sighed.


    "Well, that''s a shame. Ah, I''m completely fine right now, and I haven''t slept yet. But you guys took a nap earlier and fell asleep as soon as you closed your eyes."


    Violina just looked at Zach. That wasn''t a solid argument.


    "Um¡­" Zach looked around their tiny camp, eventually setting his sights on a big rock. He pointed at it.


    "That rock. Can you lift it?"


    Violina narrowed her eyes and looked skeptically at Zach. She glanced at the rock.


    "Don''t think so."


    "Try it."


    "..."


    "For my sake."


    If anything, Violina wanted to do it less when Zach begged like that. But she was curious about why he was so insistent. Reluctantly, she got up and walked to the rock. She bent down and wrapped her arms and hands around it, looking for a proper grip. It was about as big as her torso.


    It would be heavy, but not necessarily impossible. It depended on if she could get a good handle and if it was stuck in the ground.


    Violina grabbed the rock and tried to lift it.


    It didn''t budge.


    Violina felt foolish for even trying. She shook her head like she couldn''t believe she had let Zach talk her into it. She knew Zach well enough to know he tended to spout a lot of bullshit.


    However, to her surprise, Zach looked shocked and disappointed when she couldn''t lift the stone, not like someone who had just pulled a prank.


    Violina wasn''t sure what to think.


    "Well?" She looked at Zach and waited for him to say anything.


    Violina''s voice startled Zach out of his disappointment.


    "...My theory still stands. I guess a few levels just aren''t enough to show any significant increase."


    Violina''s brow creased.


    "A few levels?"


    "Yeah. A few levels." Zach frowned in confusion.


    ''What''s her deal this time?''


    "What''s your level, Zach?"


    "...Four."


    Violina''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. She took a deep breath.


    "Mine''s two." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oh¡­"


    ''No wonder.''


    Violina glared at Zach like she heard his thoughts. Or maybe she just read his face.


    "How are you level four?"


    "No idea, though, considering my theory of strength acquisition, I think it has happened during this field trip." Zach crossed his arms and entered a pose to reflect his deep thinking.


    Violina frowned and sat back down with crossed legs.


    "So, something both you and I have done since entering the forest caused both of us to level up. But you have leveled up more. You''ve either done more, or you have an easier time leveling up."


    "Or both."


    "Or both." Violina nodded. She didn''t like the way Zach said it since he sounded unnecessarily confident and boastful, but it was whatever. It was more important to figure out how to level up.


    Violina glanced at Zach and then at his battle maid angel familiar standing guard only a few steps away. She recalled the times the maid had unsheathed her sword, unfurled her wings, and conjured her halo to slay their enemies. Just earlier during the day, the maid had hunted down those strange assassins.


    The thought of those assassins made Violina remember Zach''s story about the Underworld.


    "Assuming your story about the Underworld is true, did you and your familiar kill a lot of things in the mountain?"


    "...I wouldn''t say a lot. But are you thinking it''s related to killing? Me and my familiar have killed more so we''ve leveled up more?"


    Violina shrugged.


    "Just a theory without any credible evidence."


    Zach ignored the obvious double meaning of Violina''s answer and seriously considered her theory.


    Yanael had killed a bunch of powerful fighters in the Giupusta Locale. Then, she had also killed the tasker and the Great Ugor''s totem, though Zach wasn''t sure that counted.


    And after they left the mountain and rejoined the class, Yanael had been the major contributor in every fight against all the monsters they encountered. If he had to point out one person or familiar responsible for the successful and casualty-free hunt of all those monsters, enormous or small, it would be Yanael.


    She had killed the most in the class during this field trip.


    ''That''s kind of grim.''


    It was a weird realization.


    But it fit with Violina''s theory that they leveled up by killing monsters or other beings.


    Zach''s spine crawled with a nasty chill as he had a horrifying thought. He turned to look at Violina.


    "...What about humans?"


    Violina was about to question Zach on what he meant by that when realization dawned on her.


    Would killing humans count?


    But Violina''s expression cooled down quickly.


    "So what?"


    "What? How can you be so calm? If both of us are right, then being a summoner and having this interface means you will be rewarded by killing humans!"


    "Schh!" Violina hushed Zach to get him to quiet down and not wake the others.


    "Zach, did not knowing about it making you level up stop you from killing the monsters or the Underworlders?"


    "No¡­"


    "This summoning interface won''t change anything. People who kill other humans are going to kill them regardless. I doubt the interface is trying to turn us into genocidal maniacs."


    "Are you sure?"


    "No."

 Chapter 50: Maybe Not So Unlucky?

    "Can you guys shut up? I''m trying to sleep." Anerias'' angrily hushed voice scared Zach into retracting his head like a turtle.


    "Sorry," Zach apologized.


    "If you''re energetic enough to complain, take over and keep watch. No? Didn''t think so." Violina was not apologetic.


    But Anerias didn''t say anything and just put his head back down to continue sleeping.


    Violina looked at Anerias as if she had realized something. She turned to Zach again.


    "...Setting aside whether killing other people makes us stronger, if both of our theories are correct¡ªAnerias isn''t going to like this¡ªisn''t it good that we fought all of those monsters? As in, with how close our encounters with the tiger and those assassins were, what would have happened if you hadn''t leveled up, Zach?" Violina asked uncertainly. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach''s eyes widened slowly as he considered the possibility of what Violina had said.


    If his levels had only affected his physical strength, they probably wouldn''t have changed anything.


    But if they had done more than that, which they most likely had.


    Yanal had said that increasing his level would raise his authority, which would let her tell him more information. It wasn''t as simple as giving him more muscle or steroids.


    It wasn''t unlikely that Zach had managed to snap out of the tiger''s intimidation, thanks to his increased level. His increased level could also have affected his skill and helped him block the tiger''s leap.


    "...there''s no way¡­"


    "Also, no one died or get permanently crippled. All the monsters that found and attacked us were just barely within our limits and helped us learn how to deal with new enemies. If Dukiel and Julius had also encountered something after you guys split up, I would have guessed it was the instructors'' arrangement."


    Zach was silent.


    If Violina''s guess was true, then was Zach''s Divine Luck more like being fortunate enough to receive the trials he needed to grow stronger so that he could handle worse trials in the future?


    ''How the fuck is that supposed to be luck or fortunate? I get to suffer so that I can suffer more in the future instead of dying? Won''t me becoming stronger or tougher just lead to me running into even more trouble? Fuck this.''


    Violina noticed Zach''s deepened frown and apparent anger. She did not understand. Wasn''t it a good thing?


    Violina shrugged, shook her head, and sighed.


    "It''s too early to say anything about everything, anyway. But just consider that you might not be purely unlucky. If you had been, we would have run into this tiger on the first day and died without being able to fight back."


    "...I guess that''s true, at least."


    "Just¡­Don''t take Anerias'' words to heart. Or what the others say, for that matter. No sane person would hold you responsible for everything we went through."


    Zach''s frown eased, and he looked at Violina with eyes wide of surprise. He had not expected to receive genuinely comforting words from her.


    Zach frowned again.


    "Didn''t you also blame me, though?" Zach questioned Violina.


    She hadn''t been as vocal as the others, and she had focused more on dealing with the monsters and making sure everyone was alive and following orders. But Zach had felt several accusatory glares coming from her direction, too.


    "Yeah. Still do."


    "What?"


    "I never said I was sane." Violina shrugged.


    Zach was stunned. He decided to stop talking to Violina and focus on his mental well-being. He looked at the starry sky again.


    However, only a few minutes passed before he got a bad feeling. He felt watched.


    Zach looked at the others. They were all asleep, including Violina. She had fallen asleep with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting on her knees, still next to him.


    Zach turned toward the forest. He squinted as he tried to see anything through the forest''s darkness. But he couldn''t see anything. Helpless, he turned to Yanael.


    She had unsheathed her sword and shield. It looked like her wings and halo were about to pop out as well. She was looking around with alarm.


    Just like Zach, she had also sensed something, but she couldn''t pinpoint it.


    With the crescent-shaped cliff wall behind their backs, they only needed to keep watch over the forest.


    As time passed the bad feeling only deepened without any signs of anything happening.


    Zach slowly reached out with his hand to poke Violina and wake her up so she would be ready in case something happened.


    At this point, especially with Yanael''s reaction, Zach was convinced it was not just a bad feeling. Something was creeping up on them.


    Zach was ready to cast a barrier to protect them all at a moment''s notice.


    Right when his hand touched Violina''s shoulder, he heard something. He turned around. It sounded like one of the others had shifted on some gravel or dislodged a pebble from the cliff wall.


    Zach frowned. The four of them were sleeping like babies, still.


    Zach''s eyes widened in realization. He looked up for the first time.


    There, in the darkness, Zach saw a silhouette against the starry night sky, blotting out a section of the stars. On a night without a moon like the one they were under, there was no way Zach would have noticed the dark silhouette if he hadn''t gazed at the starry sky for several hours.


    Zach gulped.


    The silhouette moved.


    There were two new green stars in the sky, and they were looking right at him.


    Zach felt like he saw the tiger smile at him.


    Zach didn''t freeze up in fear, even if he was scared shitless.


    He cast a flat, circular barrier along the cliff wall like a ceiling above them. Less than a second later, the tiger moved and shot down the cliff wall.


    With the same sharp claws it used to crawl up the wall, it sprinted down and threw itself at the barrier.


    Something cracked.


    It wasn''t the tiger.


    A moment after the tiger''s collision with the barrier, the barrier vanished in a quick rain of golden sparks.


    Zach almost puked from the feeling of his internal organs trying to escape his body through his mouth. It was like he had been uppercut-sucker-punched right below his ribs.

 Chapter 51: Ambush

    Zach crumbled and braced himself against the ground with one hand. But through the uncomfortable feeling of his insides revolting, Zach forced himself to look up and see what the tiger was doing.


    Fortunately, Zach wasn''t alone.


    His barrier, while it had collapsed almost instantly, had bought Yanael enough time. She had also noticed the tiger when Zach did, so she moved as soon as it did and caught it right before it landed on Dukiel, Anerias, Rierdan, and Nessa.


    Yanael crashed into the tiger, slamming it into the cliff and stunning it long enough to push against the wall and fling away the tiger, bringing the fight away from the students who would undoubtedly die if they were caught in the crossfire.


    However, the tiger wasn''t a plushie, and it wasn''t going to let Yanael treat it like one without consequences. As soon as it landed, it bounced to the side to avoid her sword. It swept out with a paw that Yanael barely managed to block with her shield. Her arm stung from the impact, but it was bearable.


    She slashed with her sword while ignoring the pain, but the tiger had already pushed back by using the rebound from hitting the shield.


    After putting distance between itself and Yanael, the tiger prowled and walked to the side. Yanael followed it with her gaze as she slowly turned to match it.


    Yanael looked at its eyes and muscles, ready to move at a moment''s notice as soon as the tiger did something.


    It was unfortunate. The tiger was stronger and faster than her, so she couldn''t make the first move. She had to wait for the tiger to do something and then react.


    Yanael wasn''t sure if the tiger knew that and was intentionally being patient to wear down her nerves or if it just enjoyed seeing its prey fight for its life.


    Since the tiger most likely held a grudge against Yanael for the scar she had left it, Yanael wouldn''t be surprised if the tiger wanted to see her roll around on the ground like a stranded eel.


    She wasn''t going to let it see anything like that even in the afterlife.


    The tiger continued circling to the side, looking for openings. Yanael continued not revealing a single opening.


    However, unlike the tiger, Yanael wasn''t alone.


    The tiger walked into a translucent golden wall. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since Yanael was the only threat to its life, the tiger hadn''t bothered about the others, especially Zach, who had crumbled to the ground.


    That was a mistake. But at the same time, if the tiger hadn''t focused solely on Yanael, it would have revealed an opening for Yanael to take advantage of.


    But that still ended up happening.


    Zach couldn''t make a strong barrier or a dome to trap the tiger. The wall was his limit after the previous one broke. And even that one, he could barely hold up for more than a few seconds before his insides started protesting.


    It was enough.


    Yanael stomped against the ground and shot forward. Her sword flashed diagonally. But the tiger dodged it with ease. Yanael continued chasing it. She held up her shield and pushed it forward, letting it go.


    By using the moment the shield blocked the tiger''s view, Yanael stepped to the side and prepared a two-handed thrust.


    But the tiger was quick to react and bounced aside, out of range for the tip of Yanael''s sword.


    The Sentinel''s lasers crashed into the tiger''s shoulder.


    The tiger growled in surprise and stumbled from the hit. It turned toward the Sentinel and snarled. The lasers hadn''t left a deep wound, but they had scorched the tiger''s skin, revealing burned muscles.


    It hurt.


    The tiger wanted to pounce toward the Sentinel and crash it into the ground. It tried to.


    But when the tiger pushed against the ground, its paws slid on the ice that had formed. The tiger lost all of its footing and sank to the ground, slamming its jaw and chest against it.


    Before the tiger could pull itself up again, Yanael had already arrived and, like an executioner, was bringing down her sword toward the tiger''s neck.


    The tiger''s claws sunk into the ice and it pushed away.


    It was too late.


    Yanael''s sword didn''t reach the tiger''s neck, but it did reach its front leg. The strike was not clean due to the tiger''s frantic movement, but Yanael cut almost all the way through.


    The tiger howled in pain and flopped back on the ground. The surge of pain shooting through its limb as it did so gave it sudden clarity.


    The tiger rolled to the side, away from the mirror of ice on the ground, earning another scar from Yanael.


    The tiger got up, ignoring the dangling remains of its leg. It stood on three legs with hunched shoulders and glared at Zach and the others.


    Before Yanael or any of the familiars could attack it again, it turned around and fled.


    "Don''t chase it."


    The tiger was injured. They could probably catch up to it sooner rather than later. But a cornered beast is the most dangerous. It was also fast.


    The students would have to spend the few hours remaining of the night chasing the tiger. Those hours were the absolute darkest and most dangerous. They wouldn''t be able to see any of the tiger''s traces.


    The tiger, on the other hand, would be able to see, hear, and smell them coming from a mile away.


    It wasn''t worth the risk when they could pick up the hunt as soon as dawn broke.


    They also had another threat to think about.


    The others had adrenaline running through their bodies, and their hearts beat quicker than what was healthy.


    Although they had missed most of it, Violina and the others had still woken up to see the bloodthirsty tiger right in front of them, baring its fangs and fighting against Yanael. It was the worst awakening, second only to a similar situation but where Yanael lost.


    When they saw the tiger flee, they wanted to pursue it. It was instinct.


    But as soon as Zach spoke, the adrenaline faded and their heart started to slow down.


    They looked at Zach and then took several long minutes to accept and process the situation in silence.

 Chapter 52: Hungry Wolves

    Violina, Dukiel, Anerias, Nessa, and Rierdan rotated keeping watch while Zach slept and rested. They did it without needing to discuss it. To all of them, it was more than obvious that they would let Zach sleep.


    None of them could be sure of what exactly had gone down. But Zach had been keeping watch while the rest of them slept. During that time, the tiger had ambushed them.


    Dukiel and Anerias also had faint memories of hearing and seeing the tiger above them right before they woke up. A moment later when they had woken up enough to think, Yanael was wrestling the tiger in the air away from the cliff wall.


    Whether it was partly Zach or all Yanael didn''t matter. Zach and his familiar had saved their lives.


    Anerias also couldn''t forget what he overheard Zach and Violina discussing.


    Like Violina, he was skeptical of Zach''s theory that each level meant strength. But like Violina, he also had to accept the possibility since it meant that was what had saved their lives from the tiger.


    If Zach had grown stronger by all the monsters that came for him, and that had led to him becoming strong enough to stand against the tiger, it was all thanks to Zach that all of them were still alive.


    Anerias didn''t like it. He didn''t like owing Zach his life or even acknowledging the fact that Zach was right. It irked him.


    But Anerias wasn''t stupid.


    He knew it didn''t make sense to blame Zach.


    Even retrospectively, was Zach even unlucky?


    He had a reputation for being dragged into or dragging others into numerous troublesome incidents.


    Not once had Anerias ever heard of or seen Zach get injured aside from when he and the other renegades rejoined the class after hiding in the mountain that Zach said was connected to the Underworld.


    Anerias frowned.


    There was no doubt Zach had been injured there. But he had recovered quickly and only first become injured again this night when the tiger broke through his barrier.


    Even during the continuous onslaught of monsters on their way to the camp, Zach was the only student who avoided injuries.


    Wasn''t he more lucky than unlucky to pass through such circumstances completely untouched?


    Anerias wouldn''t apologize or take back his words. But he wouldn''t call Zach unlucky again.


    Minutes before dawn broke, Anerias and the others woke up Zach. He deserved his rest, but he could get more after they caught up and made sure the tiger was a goner. If the tiger somehow recovered and caught them unawares, they could give up ever resting again. Or they would enter eternal rest.


    Zach didn''t mind.


    He was tired as shit, but he was itching to kill that tiger more than anything.


    They set out as soon as everyone was awake and ready. They didn''t even eat anything. The only thing they had an appetite for was the tiger''s flesh and blood.


    Rierdan led the way since he was the best at tracking. However, this time, the others didn''t have any trouble following the tiger''s bloody tracks, either.


    They kept a fast pace to make up for the time they lost when waiting for the light of dawn to reach the forest. With how much blood the tiger had lost and the tracks it left behind, they also wanted to get to it before anything else in the forest did. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It would be great if it died. It would be better if it died to their hands.


    The group moved through the forest like a pack of hungry wolves.


    As if the forest could sense the imminent death of one of its great champions, it was both quiet and loud.


    The birds and insects cried. The monsters cheered, roared, or stayed silent, but they all did so far away.


    Even if this king of the jungle was on its last leg, it was still a fearsome beast. The other monsters were cautious.


    The group didn''t encounter anything even after several hours. They did, however, see one extra large puddle of blood and the signs of the tiger finally losing its leg that Yanael almost chopped off.


    All the running the tiger had done when fleeing had been enough to tear the remaining tissue holding it in place.


    However, there was no sign of its leg, only where it had dropped and splattered blood. It didn''t matter. The tiger could have taken it. Another beast could have taken it.


    Zach and the others continued pursuing the tiger without rest.


    They were close now. They could feel it. The blood was getting fresher and fresher, no longer as dry or deep in the soil. It wouldn''t be long until they could kill the tiger and get rid of it once and for all.


    They were practically running through the forest.


    Suddenly, the trail stopped. It forced Zach and the others to do the same.


    They spread out and scoured the forest floor and the trees for any trace of the tiger.


    But no matter how much or where they looked, they couldn''t find anything. It was like the tiger had vanished into thin air.


    Zach and the others were confused.


    They were convinced they hadn''t missed anything, but then again, they had been moving quickly. They backtracked and basically crawled on the ground as they looked for any signs of the tiger doubling back and tricking them.


    But they didn''t find anything even then.


    The tiger had disappeared.


    Zach had a bad feeling that he couldn''t put into words.


    The others were frustrated and confused.


    Unwilling to give up just yet, they continued searching the forest. They even risked spreading out to cover more ground. With how much blood the tiger had lost, there was no way it could still be a threat.


    Still, they spread out in groups of two for safety.


    But even after several hours, they still hadn''t found so much as a hair.


    Eventually, they had to accept the possibility that something else got to the tiger first.


    It was more concerning than frustrating since whatever monster had snagged the tiger had done so without leaving a single piece of evidence of doing so.


    It also meant that there was another powerful monster in the forest that could threaten their lives.


    Zach and the others exchanged looks before deciding to return to the camp.


    The tiger was gone. The other monster didn''t seem interested in them.


    They should be somewhat safe for now.

 Chapter 53: Sudden

    It took them a day and a half, but Zach, Dukiel, Violina, Anerias, Rierdan, and Nessa all made it back to the camp in one piece. They had been unable to suppress a lingering dissatisfaction and worry the entire trip, but it ended as nothing more than that.


    Their frowns when they arrived, however, had the class worried that they had failed. It wasn''t a big deal since they all made it back. But it could mean they would have to go without food for a while more.


    The rest of the students were a little confused about their frowns when they explained that the danger of the tiger should be gone. But as long as they could hunt without dying, they weren''t too caught up in the rafters about it.


    They still had to be careful since the forest still crawled with dangerous monsters. But the possibility of death was different from certain death.


    The students had also discovered that some of their levels had risen while Zach and the others were gone.


    They had also quickly pieced together that the ones who contributed the most to killing the monsters were the ones who had leveled up. Interestingly enough, as long as they were useful, even those who could only support and not deal damage could also level up.


    It had only happened to one of the supporters in the class, but that was all the proof they needed.


    The discovery had made the class excited. They didn''t know what leveling up meant more than a change to a number on their interface. But that was part of the excitement. They wanted to find out. If they hunted more monsters, they would level up again.


    Like so, they could confirm their theory and the effects of leveling up.


    Zach considered telling the rest of the class about his level and the theory he had drafted. But he decided not to.


    He remembered how Violina had reacted. She had been skeptical.


    Besides, after the tiger hunt, Zach just wanted to take it easy for a while. He missed the comfort of his dorm. He missed the calm of the campus academy and the peace that let him roam around without a single worry on his mind.


    In the camp, it was all bustle and hustle, even during the night. He couldn''t leave the camp without monsters or Underworld assassins coming up to him and asking for an autograph. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It sucked.


    Well, it sucked for a couple of days. Then, the boredom of not doing anything set in. That sucked even more.


    After going around sighing for another day, Zach eventually decided he could help his class and stop freeloading. He joined the hunts and helped secure a stable supply of food. He also went out of his way to find dangerous monsters and hunt them with Yanael and the A-ranks.


    All the while doing that, Zach and Yanael kept an eye out for the Underworld''s assassins. Since Dukiel and Julius had also stopped by the Giupusta Locale, Zach asked Dukiel to be careful. He also asked Dukiel to warn Julius so he didn''t have to do to talk to Julius personally.


    It didn''t seem like Julius needed that warning since he didn''t leave the camp at all and instead focused on doing what he could for the other students, whether it be supervising the campfires, cleaning up, or washing clothes. But Dukiel still told him about the assassins and that he should be careful.


    He didn''t get much of an answer from Julius after he told him that the assassins were most likely targeting Zach and Zach alone.


    Zach and the other students committed to the life of camping in the Academy''s forest. As soon as they got used to it, it became easy. But they didn''t let down their guards that easily. They had already learned that lesson several times, both before the field trip and during it.


    So, even when the monsters suddenly became more ferocious or stronger, the students didn''t lose more than some skin and blood. No limbs or sensory organs were lost in the process of adapting to the forest.


    It happened twice more during the field trip before it was time for the students to return to the life of civilized people at the Academy. The students didn''t know what to feel about the sudden end of their field trip.


    It felt¡­sudden. They had never been told how long they would spend in the forest or if there were any conditions they needed to fulfill other than to arrive at the camp on time, which they didn''t even need to do.


    Some even suspected that Jarron was up to something or had forgotten something again. But no one said anything since, at the end of the day, they were looking forward to sleeping in their beds again.


    Although they wouldn''t be going home, the dorms at the Academy were still better than the cots and the sleeping mats they had in the forest.


    As an added bonus to that, the students didn''t have to find their own way back to the Academy. Jarron would lead them.


    It didn''t inspire great confidence in the students, so they still kept track of where they went. But Jarron didn''t lead them astray and safely brought them back to the Academy all without another monster encounter.


    It seemed like another mercy from the benevolent instructor.


    It wasn''t.


    They had hunted enough monsters to be covered in a cloud of blood and killing intent.


    It wasn''t much, and it certainly wasn''t enough to deter the monsters sensitive enough to notice it when they went out hunting in small groups. But when the entire class gathered and moved, they scared off the monsters.


    Coincidentally enough, Zach and Yanael had also hunted in the direction of the Academy. The route the class took toward the Academy was almost scraped clean of monsters.


    It was a stroke of luck that let the students relax on the final stretch of the field trip. Most of them didn''t relax, but it was still a relief that nothing happened.


    And suddenly, they saw the end of the seemingly endless forest and the Academy campus that lay beyond it.


    The forest line seemed like the gates to heaven to the students leaving the hellish forest. Some even collapsed to the ground. Others cheered and hugged the comrades they had gotten close to over the last month and a half.


    A few were silent and looked at the forest with complex gazes.

 Chapter 54: Unused Bed

    Jarron had led the class back to the Academy, so he only needed to take a step and a half and turn around to face the entire class.


    "Students! We have returned to the Academy. Tomorrow is a day off for you all, so relax, rest, and eat as much cafeteria food as you like. After that, it will be business as usual according to schedule.


    "Before you go, I just want to say again how proud I am of you. If I could, I would give you all top marks. But I can''t do that. I''ll go through everything and have your scores posted tomorrow. They will be a little more detailed than you''re used to.


    "If you want, we can go through them on homeroom the day after tomorrow. But we''ll also need time to talk about levels.


    "I won''t hold you longer than this. Off you go! Except for Zach, Dukiel, and Julius. If possible, I want you three to stay behind a moment."


    Zach looked at Jarron. Dukiel glanced at Zach and Julius. Julius crossed his arms stubbornly. The three stayed in place as the rest of the class dispersed toward their dorms to sleep and wash up.


    When the others were gone, the three students walked closer to Jarron.


    Jarron cleared his throat and looked at them.


    "Now, I heard you three encountered the Underworld?"


    "That''s right. What¡ª" While Dukiel nodded and Julius stayed silent, Zach confirmed Jarron''s words and was about to ask for more information about it when Jarron held up a hand and stopped him.


    "No questions. I don''t have much to say, and there''s even less I am allowed to say. That''s why I''m going to ask the principal to talk to you. I''m not sure when he''ll be free or you''ll get the answers you want to the questions you have. But this is a sensitive matter. The information won''t leave the Academy, and I''ll make sure to talk to your classmates as well.


    Understood?"


    Zach and the other two nodded.


    Zach was a little disappointed since he hadn''t gotten the opportunity to talk to Jarron about it during the field trip and wanted to know more. But he wasn''t disappointed enough to insist or question Jarron''s decision, especially when it could earn him more detention.


    Besides, compared to Jarron, the principal would know more and be willing to share some of that information with them. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, Zach just wanted to dust off his bed and make up for the time it had gone unused.


    Dukiel looked at Zach''s back as he wandered toward his dorm. It looked dark.


    He glanced at Julius only to find that he had already left. Dukiel sighed and left for his own dorm room. He was tired.


    Zach frowned as he got closer to his dorm.


    ''Where is she?''


    It was understandable she hadn''t been there to greet the students when they returned from the field trip since she would have no way of knowing when they would return. It would also be improper to have a maid attend to him when the class was technically still ongoing. It would also be unfair to the other classmates, but that didn''t bother Zach much.


    However, Nora should have heard that the first years had returned from the field trip by now. She should have come to greet him with refreshments, a warm towel, and praise for how well he had done.


    ''She better not be slacking off¡­''


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he stopped in front of his door and opened it with gusto. Yanael was a little confused by Zach''s violent door opening but didn''t comment on it. She figured he was just eager to go to bed.


    Zach stopped right inside the doorway and looked around the room.


    No sign of Nora.


    He glanced toward the kitchen. Maybe she was preparing snacks or food.


    Nope. No sounds or movement from the kitchen.


    Zach frowned again. The only place she could be if she was in his dorm was his bedroom.


    Zach put a finger to his lips to signal to Yanal to be quiet. He snuck over to the door and carefully cracked it open.


    He wasn''t sure what he had expected. He was pretty sure he was just being paranoid and that Nora was out on an errand somewhere else in the Academy or in the campus city.


    That wasn''t it.


    No, Nora had taken it upon herself to make sure Zach''s bed remained dust-free and warm, ready for his return.


    She was sleeping on it, curled up with one of Zach''s shirts tightly clenched in her hands and pressed against her face.


    Zach exhaled and looked at Nora with his hands on his hips for a moment.


    ''What a disgraceful maid.''


    He shook his head and walked up to the bed. He made sure to be silent as a mouse as he grabbed the edges of the cover Nora was sleeping on.


    Before Nora could wake up or react, Zach had flipped the edges over and wrapped Nora in a cocoon, leaving only her head exposed.


    "Uhh¡­Zach? That you?"


    "Nope."


    "!"


    Nora''s eyes shot open and she looked at Zach.


    "It''s not what it looks like!"


    Nora tried to hide the shirt behind her back only to discover that she could barely move. She was wrapped in a thick duvet with her arms pressed to her chest.


    "H-hey, what''s going on, Young Master? I-I can''t move like this you know?"


    "I know."


    "H-how am I supposed to serve you tea like this, Young Master?"


    "It can wait."


    "Not at all, Young Master! You have just returned from what must have been a taxing field trip. Please let me serve you tea!"


    "Schh." Zach shushed Nora before leaving to quickly wash himself.


    "Zach! I mean, Young Master! Please don''t leave me like this!"


    Zach brought Yanael with him and left Nora like that.


    "Zach, you bastard! Get me out of this right now!


    "Zach!"


    It took a while for Zach and Yanael to get all the warm water he needed for a bath. Then, under Yanael''s supervision, Zach took a quick nap in the bath.


    The plan to quickly wash up went out the window and Nora was left to suffer for several hours.

 Chapter 55: Late-Night Encounter

    Zach returned to his bedroom with his hair still slightly wet and in clean pajamas. He stopped in the doorway again and looked at Nora''s sleeping figure, still wrapped in the cover. She had tear streaks running down her cheeks and puffy eyes.


    Zach gently walked up to the bed and human burrito. He put a hand on Nora. He put both hands. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With a sudden and quick motion, Zach flipped Nora off the bed. However, before she even got past the edge, she was already out of the cover and standing on both feet, glaring at Zach.


    "You''re the worst Young Master I have ever served!" Nora shouted.


    "I''m the only Young Master you have ever served." Zach shrugged.


    "How could you be so cruel to me, Young Master?" Nora sniveled.


    "It just happened. Can you stop bothering me now? I''m trying to go to sleep." Zach shrugged.


    "Tch." Seeing her crocodile tears had no effect on Zach, she stopped trying to squeeze more out. She also wiped away the tear streaks and makeup around her eyes.


    "Heartless bastard. How come you never believe me when I cry? You even tried to throw me off the bed. Even if you knew I was awake, that''s a shit thing to do, Young Master."


    "You were awake?" Zach raised his eyes as Yanael prepared a new cover that he happily grabbed and hopped onto the bed with.


    "Ha. Ha. Did you seriously think this blanket roll could hold me?"


    "No. I just figured you fell asleep again after trying to prank me." Zach shrugged and snuggled up against the pillows. He closed his eyes.


    "Seriously? You didn''t know I was awake? I don''t believe you, Young Master."


    "..."


    "Young Master?"


    "..."


    "You knew I was awake and wouldn''t hit the floor, right?"


    "..."


    Zach didn''t answer, and his breathing soon turned slow and regular. He had fallen asleep.


    Nora''s mouth hung open as she looked at Zach''s sleeping figure. She couldn''t believe this guy. They reunited after a month and a half, the longest they had been apart, and the first thing he did was trap her in a cover and then leave her for several hours.


    And when he returned again, he fell asleep right away?


    "Unbelievable¡­"


    Nora glared at Zach in dissatisfaction.


    Was she the only one of them who had missed the other?


    "Tch."


    Nora clicked her tongue and left Zach''s bedroom. In the doorway, she stopped and glanced at Yanael.


    "Welcome back, Yanael. Thanks for taking care of him."


    "Thank you. It was my pleasure."


    Nora nodded and gestured for Yanael to follow her out and let Zach sleep. Yanael followed and closed the door behind her. Nora didn''t need much from the angel maid. She just wanted a report on what had happened during the field trip.


    Yanael already knew how much Zach trusted Nora, considering she was the only one he didn''t mind knowing about her name and ability to talk despite being a familiar. She told Nora everything important. She didn''t tell her unnecessary details like how close to dying Zach had been on multiple occasions. Or how she had realized how much she appreciated Zach as a master.


    However, Yanael still wasn''t an expert at concealing her inner thoughts. She had a long way to go.


    Nora, on the other hand, had been raised alongside Zach. That in itself was eventful enough that she had picked up a few things regarding other people and their behaviors. But she had also received training from her mother, one of the Duchess'' personal maids. She also knew Zach well enough to know that it hadn''t been quite as peaceful and straightforward of a field trip as Yanael made it sound.


    But Nora didn''t press. It wasn''t like Yanael had held back any of the important details, like the existence of the Underworld, the fights with the tiger, or the students'' treatment of Zach when they suspected his bad luck to be the source of all of their misfortune.


    Nora''s frown deepened the more Yanael talked and the more she listened.


    The two maids continued talking while Zach slept. After a few hours, there was a knock at the door.


    It wasn''t loud, powerful, or banging. It was a gentle knock. Still, it managed to wake up Zach several rooms and doors away.


    Zach felt like he had just fallen asleep when he woke up again due to the knocking at the door to his dorm room. His head was groggy, and his eyes were grainy.


    But it didn''t feel like it was something he could ignore. With a sigh, Zach got up.


    When they heard that, Nora and Yanael split up. Nora opened the door and invited the guest while Yanael helped Zach get dressed.


    In proper attire, Zach greeted his late-night visitor.


    "Instructor Kami?"


    Kami looked up from his cup of tea with a smile.


    "Ah, student Zacharia. I hope I didn''t disturb you."


    "Well, you did."


    "My apologies, though, you aren''t supposed to be that frank about it. Or so I''ve heard."


    "Right. Do you care?"


    "Nope."


    "Thought so. So, is this about¡­?"


    Kami nodded and put down the tea cup.


    "That''s right. The principal sent me to pick up you and the other two as soon as possible." Kami''s tone turned slightly more serious as he stood up.


    Zach nodded and gestured for Kami to lead the way. Outside his dorm, Dukiel and Julius were already waiting with their familiars.


    Zach glanced at Kami.


    Kami saw and understood Zach''s glance.


    "I figured you wouldn''t need as much time waking up and becoming clear-headed."


    "That''s¡­an assumption, I guess."


    Kami shrugged.


    "I was right, though. These two are still too groggy to hold a conversation."


    ''Isn''t that more because they don''t want to or aren''t very good at talking?''


    Zach doubted Kami''s reasoning but didn''t comment on it.


    While they walked through the campus at night, Kami asked them about the field trip. But as if he was saving the best for last, he avoided any questions that might lead to the topic of the Underworld.


    Eventually, they were at the principal''s office.

 Chapter 56: Firm Handshake

    The principal, who had been standing in front of his window and looking at the view, turned around when Kami barged in with the three students in tow.


    "Hello, students. I apologize on Kami''s behalf for dragging you all out of your beds at this hour, but I thought it best to waste no time. And¡­" The principal paused as he looked closely at Julius and the Mannequin.


    "It seems that was a good decision." The principal narrowed his eyes as he looked between Julius and his Mannequin.


    Zach, who had been about to say that the principal didn''t have anything to apologize for, and Dukiel, curiously followed the principal''s gaze and looked at Julius. He didn''t seem any different from his usual grumpy self.


    The Mannequin still had black spots from where the tubes connected to the ground in the Giupusta Locale had pierced its wooden skin. But other than that, it didn''t seem like anything strange was up.


    However, Zach frowned.


    Julius hadn''t been grumpy or a brat before the Giupusta Locale. If anything, he had been the opposite. he wasn''t necessarily overly joyous or energetic. But he was good-mannered and talkative.


    Zach turned to the principal


    "...Are you saying Julius is a brat because he came in contact with the Underworld or whatever?" Zach asked without bothering about being polite.


    The principal nodded.


    "That''s right, though, to be exact, it''s his Mannequin. And it''s the underworld energy that the underworlders pumped into it that''s the problem." The principal turned to Zach as he finished confirming Zach''s question.


    "Give me all the details, please."


    Zach nodded. The principal had asked politely and even had a smile on his face as he did so. But there was something deep in the principal''s eyes when he asked for the details that startled Zach.


    He wasn''t sure what it was, but it felt slightly like a distant storm on the horizon. It was far enough that the breeze had barely picked up. But it was possible to feel the static in the air, and it gave rise to an army of goosebumps.


    Zach gave all the details, including the trip leading up to the discovery of the mountain. The principal had asked for all the details, and he received them happily.


    After all, the mountain hadn''t been on the maps handed out by the Academy, and the students said it had just popped up.


    It had been hidden by some kind of mechanism or underworld magic. But Zach and the others had still found it.


    As Zach finished detailing the trip, the principal''s eyes widened slightly.


    "...I see. I don''t know if you''re lucky or unlucky. But if my guess is correct, what you three encountered was a double-layered misdirect. It was probably weak since we or Jarron didn''t notice it. But right at the border between the two layers is when you switched from wandering around to Dukiel leading you straight. That''s how you arrived at the mountain without getting lost again."


    After explaining that, the principal urged Zach to continue talking, even if he was curious about that whole thing that they hadn''t even noticed. But now wasn''t the time for questions.


    So, Zach told the rest of the story, including the miner, the tasker, the Great Ugor, the buffet, the dead miner, the guided tour, the ambush, the tussle with the fighters, the polished stone orb¡ª


    "That was most likely a mountain essence."


    "A what?"


    "The essence of a mountain. It''s a physical manifestation of a mountain¡ªIt''s heart, if you will."


    "So¡­"


    "It''s a good thing for your familiars. It''s also not something everyone can take and use. I''m especially surprised your angel could use it, Zach. But that doesn''t matter. You said the Mannequin drank the water below the essence?"


    "Yep."


    "And you''re sure the water was tainted by the underworld energy?"


    "If the underworld energy is the same thing they pumped into Mannequin, then yes. It bathed, rolled around in, and absorbed it."


    The principal frowned at Zach''s words and looked at the Mannequin again.


    "Huh."


    The principal got up and walked over to the Mannequin.


    "Pardon me." He grabbed the Mannequin''s hand and inspected it closer before grabbing it in a handshake. He squeezed it until it cracked.


    The principal pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows slightly. He was a tad surprised.


    "This guy was a D-rank, right?" The principal turned around and looked at the students.


    "That''s right." The one who answered him was Kami. The three students were too surprised at the principal''s display of strength.


    The Mannequin wasn''t an incarnation of sturdiness or strength. But it was still as hard as common stone, and since it bent before splintering instead of cracking, it could even be called more durable.


    The principal ignored that and, seemingly as easily as breathing, squeezed the Mannequin''s hand until it let out an audible crunch and a crack ran along its palm.


    "Well, I don''t think it''s a D-rank anymore. Julius, do you mind looking at your interface real quick?" The principal politely asked Julius, the one who showed the least emotion regarding the Mannequin''s quickly healing injury.


    "Why should I?" Julius glared at the principal. Zach had a feeling it wasn''t related to the principal crushing the Mannequin''s hand. Julius was just being obstinate.


    "Right. We should do something about you first. While your Manneqiun apparently can handle the underworld energy to some degree, you still can''t." The principal narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin while looking at Julius, unbothered by his glare.


    "Kami."


    "Got it." S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before any of the students noticed, Kami was already standing behind Julius with a hand on the poor boy''s head. A moment later, a purple light escaped from Kami''s palm and lit up Julius. Light escaped from Kami''s hand and Julius'' orifices. After a few moments, it seemed like even Julius'' skin glowed violet.


    Finally, a puff of black smoke escaped from all over Julius'' body before gathering in the air above him. Before it could escape, Kami removed his hand from Julius and directed the light at the black smoke, erasing it.


    Julius fell to the floor.

 Chapter 57: Poisonous Nectar

    "Julius!" Dukiel cried out and hurried to catch Julius. He was a little late and just ended up picking up his upper body after he had already fallen to the ground.


    "Don''t worry. He''s fine. His body is just very exhausted. After sleeping for a bit, he''ll be right as rain." The principal helped Dukiel put Julius on a couch while he explained to Zach and Dukiel.


    "It was just some underworld energy that had escaped from the Mannequin into his body during the absorption process. It might happen again. It might not. For now, he''s probably more than alright since his familiar has evolved."


    Zach and Dukiel''s eyebrows shot up as they looked at the Mannequin and Julius.


    "When you say evolved¡­?" Zach had a suspicion, but he still wanted to confirm what the principal''s words meant.


    The principal nodded.


    "It''s exactly what you think. I can''t be sure of the details, of course. But Julius'' familiar has reached a new rank. I''m guessing C since going up two ranks in one go is practically unheard of.


    But if what you guys told me about it absorbing underworld energy is an indication of its new abilities, I would say this is just the beginning." The principal looked at the Mannequin with shiny eyes as he spoke.


    Zach and Dukiel looked at each other. They would tell Julius everything the principal told them later. But before that¡­ sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "''Does that mean our familiars can also evolve?''" Zach and Dukiel asked at the same time.


    "Of course." The principal nodded as if he had expected the question.


    "But it''s not that easy. Finding the right conditions for evolution is mostly guesswork, and it''s always different, even for similar familiars. It also gets progressively harder for each rank. So, for you two¡­" The principal looked at Zach and Dukiel and their familiars, the battlemaid angel and the Sentinel.


    The principal stayed silent long enough for Zach and Dukiel to start becoming seriously worried.


    "...I would recommend you be patient, especially you Zach. You probably won''t have an easy time, either, Dukiel, since I''ve never heard of a Sentinel or golem-like familiar evolving above A-rank. But I also urge neither of you to ever give up. I''m sure that if someone can do it, it''s you two.


    Well, the other two students with A-rank familiars also look promising, so you might have some competition." The principal''s gaze wandered for a moment when he mentioned Anerias and Violina, but he looked at Zach and Dukiel again with a bright smile.


    Zach and Dukiel nodded, their excitement curbed but not put out. Just the idea of evolving their familiars was exciting.


    It probably wouldn''t have been as exciting before the field trip. But during it, the difference between ranks had been made abundantly clear. Even when he or his familiar didn''t take it seriously, Zach and Yanael were still on top of the class without a shadow of a doubt.


    Yanael was the strongest, smartest, fastest, and most loyal familiar in the class. There was a clear gap between her and the A-rank familiars. It was also clear that it was due to rank since the three A-rank familiars were similar in terms of usefulness and strength.


    Even Dukiel''s Sentinel, which was rumored to be among the strongest A-rank familiars, didn''t bridge the gap between A and S-rank.


    The differences between the successive lower ranks weren''t as great, but they were still there.


    Another difference that Zach wasn''t sure many of the other students had noticed was the growth rate. Zach hadn''t leveled up beyond level four, and neither had anyone else. But that wasn''t what he had noticed.


    Yanael was stronger than before the field trip. She had seemingly grown stronger in the middle of combat just by earning fighting experience.


    Dukiel''s Sentinel had gotten better at controlling its lasers and switching between its different weapons and modes. Anerias'' Hound was better at igniting its claws. It also seemed more muscular and stronger than before the field trip.


    Zach couldn''t pinpoint any differences in Violina''s Ice Spirit''s appearance since it still looked like a floating block of ice. He also hadn''t had much contact with it before the field trip. But during the field trip, Zach had noticed how much more it could freeze and encase its targets in ice.


    At the start of the field trip, Violina had been limited to asking it to freeze the ground and make the monsters slip. Gradually, the Ice Spirit started making the ice travel up the monsters'' legs or appendages and coat them in thin ice, slowing them down and dulling their senses.


    At the end of the field trip, she could even flash-freeze the weakest monsters. Unfortunately, stronger monsters, especially the tiger, could resist the Ice Spirits attacks.


    Zach had a feeling that this was the true reason the familiars were separated in different ranks. It was how quickly and how far they could become stronger. It was also what excited Zach.


    What if Yanael evolved? What came after S-rank? How strong would she be?


    The only thing that Zach was worried about was if Yanael would be the same afterward. But the Mannequin didn''t act any different from before its evolution, so Zach wasn''t that worried. It was just that he didn''t understand the mechanism behind familiars evolving.


    But then again, he didn''t understand the mechanism behind summoning familiars in the first place.


    The principal gently clapped his hands and brought Zach and Dukiel back down to the ground and out of their daydreams.


    "I think we got a little sidetracked. I asked you here to talk about the Underworld, after all."


    Zach immediately waved away any dreams of what a higher-ranking Yanael might look like and focused on the principal. Dukiel did the same. After what had happened to Julius, they needed to learn more about it.


    "I think I got most of the important details from your story, right, Zach?"


    "Where was I?"


    "The mountain essence."


    "Right. After that, me and the familiars started looking around the Giupusta Locale. Thanks to Mannequin, we found Julius and Dukiel pretty quickly. The tasker was in front of Julius'' cell, trying to break it open by force. I don''t know if he was trying to make good on the Great Ugor''s threat or what. But it couldn''t get into the cell.


    "Oh, the Mannequin knocked the tasker out by hugging him. I don''t know if that''s important."


    "It''s interesting but not important. It was probably due to the underworld energy in its body flowing into the tasker. While it''s like poison to us, it''s like nectar to them, especially if it''s concentrated enough to try and blend with a mountain essence. Continue."


    Zach nodded.


    "After picking up Julius, we picked up Dukiel in the next cell over I think. He was close, anyway. After that, we started making our way around the Locale¡ª"


    "Wait, what happened to the tasker?"


    "...I had my familiar kill it. I also had her stomp on the Great Ugor''s totem."


    The principal was silent and looked at Zach with a scrutinizing gaze. Dukiel was also silent as he looked at Zach with wide eyes.


    Kami was the only one who smiled at Zach''s confession.

 Chapter 58: Whack-A-Mole

    Unlike the monsters in the forest and the mindlessly violent fighters who were aiming for Zach''s and the familiars'' lives, the tasker was a sentient being who could talk, feel, and express their feelings to others.


    Aside from its appearance, it was no different from a human. It was both a good and a bad sign that Zach could kill it with ease and seemingly without feeling too much guilt. The one thing that made it a tad bit more worrying was that the tasker had already been knocked out.


    Technically, there was no need for Zach to kill it.


    But the tasker and the Great Ugor had already expressed their hostility. Sometimes, killing people who could be reasoned with in other situations was necessary.


    Zach also carried the responsibility and burden of being a summoner with a highly combat-capable S-rank familiar. He was the son of a Duke, too.


    Sooner or later, he would come in contact with the action of ending another''s life with his own hands.


    What mattered was how it happened and how it affected Zach.


    Fortunately, Zach seemed aware of the weight of life. Even if the tasker had been an enemy and the representative of someone who threatened Zach''s life and the lives of his friends, Zach wasn''t nonchalant about it.


    That was all the principal needed to know.


    As long as Zach didn''t turn into a genocidal maniac or bloodthirsty murderer, there was nothing to worry about. Even if he did turn into a monster-like human, they just needed to control him and send him to the enemy and keep him away from people that they didn''t want dead.


    Easy.


    "Good. It is as you told us the Great Ugor hinted about. The surface and the Underworld are at odds. It is more than a matter of resources, but that is one of the main reasons, and it''s the only reason you guys are allowed to know. What matters is that the conflict is already too far gone to reach a peaceful conclusion."


    "What exactly is the Underworld?" Zach asked.


    "Are you done with the story?"


    "After that, we walked around until we found our way out, so yeah." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The principal nodded.


    "Simply put, the Underworld is a civilization underground. They have clearly divided roles based on birth as you might have noticed. Only underworlders from the fifth layer have names personally bestowed on them by the Great Ugor. Those with names also have more agency and freedom to do what they feel needs to be done."


    "Are we just in an ongoing secret war with them?" As soon as the principal paused, Zach asked what he was curious about.


    "...I guess you could say that."


    "Hmph. It''s more like we''re playing whack-a-mole with them. Just like they were trying to corrupt the mountain essence into something more suitable for them, the underworlders continuously try to steal from or corrupt the surface. Whenever we discover them doing anything, we send someone to beat them down again." Kami spoke with disdain as he gave a straight answer to Zach''s question.


    "Wouldn''t it be better to tell people about it then, so they know what to look for?" Zach looked at Kami. But the principal answered this time.


    "While the underworlders certainly appreciate the surface not knowing about their antics, everyone who needs to know on the surface knows. The reason why children like you, commoners, or lesser nobles don''t know is for two main reasons. Revealing it now would lead to needless panic that the Empire doesn''t need."


    The principal took a quick pause as he glanced at Julius and the Mannequin before continuing.


    "The second reason is that we stand to lose more than we gain by exposing the Underworld to the surface. While the underworld energy certainly can have negative effects on humans, it is, in essence, not a lethal energy. Most people have fates similar to Julius where they''re affected both physically and mentally. However, some people have an affinity for that kind of change.


    "A change in temperament and personality is almost always unavoidable. But some have the innate ability to absorb and adapt to the underworld energy with minimal drawbacks."


    "You mean¡­?"


    The principal nodded as he could tell what the realization in Zach''s eyes meant.


    "That''s right. Humans can become underworlders. And with how the underworld energy works, it''s one of the easiest ways to grow stronger. As long as you can handle the energy, that is. If we tell the world, the Underworld and the Great Ugor can freely start recruiting humans who are desperate, out of luck, hateful, ambitious, or whatever else might make a man turn his back on his home."


    "Then¡ª"


    "The Great Ugor isn''t doing that because he can''t afford it. He already has an army and a people to keep afloat with the resources he can find underground. He would lose more than he would gain by recruiting humans. Just like we would lose more than we gain.


    That''s why we have come to a tacit agreement to continue like this for now." The principal calmly interrupted Zach before he could ask an unnecessary question and finished his explanation of the Underworld and the current situation.


    The situation wasn''t overly complex. If anything, it was too straightforward. But Zach already knew there was more to the story than what the principal had told them.


    The principal hadn''t even told them much. He had said a lot and given some much-needed details. But the situation with the Underworld wasn''t far from what Zach had already surmised based on the Great Ugor''s words.


    The difference was that Zach could trust the principal. He couldn''t trust the Great Ugor as far as he could throw one of his totems.


    "Any more questions, boys?"


    Zach and Dukiel glanced at each other and then at Julius.


    They shook their heads. They weren''t curious about much more. They were still tired. Julius deserved a better place to sleep than the principal''s sofa, even if it looked comfortable.


    "If you do have any new questions, just go to the library. Now that you know about the Underworld, you know what to ask for. You will need to accompany Zach, though, Dukiel. The same goes for Julius. This isn''t information first years have access to, originally."


    Dukiel nodded. He already knew that Zach had gotten improved access to the library in exchange for the disastrous entrance ceremony.


    After saying their goodbyes to the principal and instructor Kami, Zach and Dukiel picked up Julius, handed him to the Mannequin, and left the office.

 Chapter 59: Curriculum

    The principal followed Zach and the others out of his office with his gaze before sitting down in his chair and turning to Kami.


    "So, what do you think?"


    "A lot of things, some of which you don''t want to hear."


    "Nothing like that, Kami. About those three and the Underworld. Are any of them or their classmates, for that matter, going to betray us?"


    "How am I supposed to know?" Kami shrugged.


    "What does your gut tell you?"


    "...Of those three, Julius is the most likely. He suffers from feelings of inferiority and he''s gotten a taste of power now. Dukiel will be fine as long as he has someone to cling to. Zach probably won''t ever join the Underworld. Underworld energy isn''t very compatible with his angel, after all. I don''t think he''s the type to die than submit, but you never know."


    "I see. And the Underworld?"


    "They''re already watching Zach. If they can''t have him, no one can."


    Zach hadn''t gotten to the part of his story where the assassins attacked him during the tiger hunt. But Jarron wasn''t so irresponsible he didn''t notice the second and third-layer underworld assassins moving around the camp and looking for opportunities to attack Zach. He also hadn''t missed when Zach killed them and brought them back to the camp to show off.


    The assassins also moved alongside them as they made their way back to the Academy. However, the assassins weren''t reckless enough to try and attack Zach when he had an instructor and the rest of his class next to him.


    It was one thing to be prepared to throw their lives away when there was even a slight chance of killing Zach. But it was completely useless and a waste of their lives and the Great Ugor''s grace to try and assassinate Zach when it was clear they didn''t even have a sliver of a chance of success.


    It was an even more reckless endeavor to try when Zach was close to the Academy or on campus. So, as long as he stayed inside the Academy, Zach would be safe.


    "So, he''s getting free experience and training by one of the world''s best this early. I''m almost envious." The principal smiled and looked out through the office window again.


    "Didn''t you have it even worse when you were young?"


    "Oh, I sure did. That''s why I''m going to change the current first years'' curriculum."


    "...What are you planning?"


    "Oh, nothing too dangerous."


    "Principal, you''re one of a kind. Don''t kill off too many students by thinking they can compare to you."


    The principal waved away Kami''s warning with a lazy hand.


    "Don''t worry. It''s fine as long as a few of them survive."


    Kami sighed at the principal''s nonchalant attitude. After living as long as the principal had and seeing as many students die as he had seen, it was only natural he had grown distant. Kami knew the principal still cared about each and every student in his academy. He wanted what was best for them.


    But at the same time, the principal also lived in the future half of the time. The students would die sooner or later. In that case, he might as well arrange trials to make sure those who die later die as late as possible, even if it means some of the students who will die sooner die even sooner as fertilizer.


    "...What are you going to do this time, Principal?"


    The principal flashed a bright smile, showing off his sharp, pearly white teeth.


    "Ugor has been running rampant long enough, don''t you think? It''s about time someone puts him in his place."


    Kami shook his head and sighed.


    ''This guy.''


    He couldn''t believe what the principal was suggesting.


    The Great Ugor and the Underworld, who had been a thorn in the Empire''s side and an enemy of the surface for several decades, if not centuries by now, would be set as the current first years'' graduation exam.


    Kami''s lips slowly curved into a twisted grin.


    He was getting fucking excited.


    ***


    Since Julius was still completely knocked out, Dukiel brought him with him to his own dorm. Although the principal had revealed some astonishing information, especially the part about evolving familiars, talking about it and telling Julius everything could wait until he was awake.


    And while they had gotten an answer to why Julius and Zach clashed in the forest after leaving the mountain, it was still awkward. It would be best if Julius stayed with Dukiel until and when he woke up.


    Zach returned to his dorm, deep in thought. He was a little worried about how it would go with Julius.


    Julius now had an explanation and reason for the way he acted, which wasn''t like his usual self.


    Zach didn''t. He had just responded in kind and said some mean things.


    Julius was Zach''s first friend. He didn''t want to lose him just like that.


    ''I guess I''ll have to be the bigger person.''


    Zach sighed lightly and glanced at Yanael as he took a seat in the living room of his dorm while Nora prepared some tea. Without him knowing, the day had already started breaking up the miserable darkness of the night.


    Still, Zach considered going back to sleep. He wasn''t any less tired than before, after all. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, he held off on that and looked at Yanael.


    "Yanael."


    "Yes, Master?"


    "You said I would gain more authority as I leveled up, right?"


    "That''s right, Master. And like how my rank increases your authority, so will any additional familiar''s rank."


    "...I will get back to the matter about my authority later. First, familiars. I''ve heard other, older summoners can have several. How do I summon another familiar?"


    Yanael''s eyes grew wide and she coquettishly innocently placed her hand on her chest as she looked at Zach.


    "Am I not enough for you, Master?"


    Despite Yanael''s adoring, cute, and pitiful appearance, Zach sensed he had made a mistake.


    "Of course. You are more than enough for me, Yanael. You''re more than I could ever wish for. I was just curious. That''s all. I am not planning on ever summoning another familiar."


    "Really, Master?"


    "Of course."


    "Can I get that in writing, Master?"


    "Sorry, Yanael, I never learned how to write."


    "..."

 Chapter 60: Evolution

    "Anyway, how much authority do I have now?" Zach quickly changed the subject before Yanael could press him further.


    Yanael''s eyes narrowed, and she gave Zach a long tense look before relaxing.


    "Authority is not something that can be easily quantified. But you don''t have much, Master."


    "Even when I''m already level four?"


    "I''m afraid so, Master." Yanael nodded regretfully.


    "...But it''s still more than when I was level one, right?"


    "Yes."


    "So, you can tell me at least something that you couldn''t tell me before?"


    "What do you wish to know, Master?"


    "What do I need to do to help you evolve?"


    "..." Yanael was silent and had a blank expression on her face after Zach''s question.


    "...Yanael?"


    "My apologies, Master. Your words made me remember something."


    "What?" Zach tilted his head curiously. Yanael''s voice had been surprisingly deep and filled with emotion. Zach didn''t know what kind of emotion, but it didn''t seem like she had recalled any happy memories.


    "...I don''t know. It was just a flash, and it disappeared instantly."


    "I see. Well, it was probably nothing important." Zach could tell it had affected Yanael, so he tried to comfort her.


    "I''m sure it is so, Master. As for your question¡­" Yanael paused.


    "Yes¡­?"


    "I have no idea."


    "What?"


    "I have no idea, Master."


    "No, I didn''t want you to add formality. I asked for clarification. What do you mean you don''t know? Is it different from how you can''t tell me since my authority''s lacking?"


    Yanael nodded.


    "If I may be so rude, Master, evolving is not as simple a matter as you appear to think it is. It is more than simply growing stronger or reaching another rank. Reaching a new rank is merely a side effect of evolution."


    "Okay. So what does evolving mean and why don''t you know how to do it? I don''t mean to blame you or anything. I''m just curious as to why you don''t know it when you know other things that you can''t tell me."


    Yanael gracefully and patiently nodded with her hands overlapping in front of her.


    "Due to your weak authority, Master, I can''t tell you much in terms of what evolution is when it comes to familiars. But are you familiar with the theory of evolution?"


    Zach frowned.


    "No."


    Yanael hesitated.


    "I can''t say much about this, either, but it''s the theory that life, all life, comes from the same source. Over countless years, that life has grown, diverged, spread, and adapted to its surroundings. Birds in one place are different from birds in another place despite having common ancestors from a third place due to living in different environments with different needs of survival and struggles."


    "..."


    Yanael and Zach were quiet. Zach needed to think, and Yanael didn''t want to disturb him. Nora also didn''t make a sound as she put down a tray with tea and snacks in front of Zach.


    Zach mulled over Yanael''s words and the theory of evolution for a while. Eventually, he hesitantly opened his mouth.


    "...What about humans?" He didn''t fully understand the theory of evolution. He even doubted it. He wouldn''t have believed it at all if it hadn''t been Yanael who told him about it.


    "Do you mean if humans are products of evolution or are you asking what humans come from?"


    "...Both." Zach hadn''t really thought that humans came from something else. Weren''t humans humans? What else was there?


    "There are few beings unaffected by evolution. Humans are not part of those beings. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If it helps, think of evolution as an equation of time, life, and environment. Life can also mean change. Only existences untouched by all three are immune to the effects of evolution. Of course, there are strange powers in the world that can have unpredictable influences, but that''s another matter."


    "And human evolution?"


    "Primates. More than that, I can''t say. Even that gave me a headache, Master. I ask that you don''t pry for more details."


    Zach nodded slowly.


    "Wait! Primates? You mean monkeys?! Humans are monkeys?!"


    Yanael gently began shaking her head before simply looking at the floor and avoiding Zach''s gaze. Before Zach could question further, Nora slapped the back of his head.


    "Relax, idiot. Monkeys and primates are different things. Stop torturing Yanael and focus on your original question. This is getting interesting."


    Zach''s eyes shot wide open and he turned to glare at Nora while holding the back of his head. His gaze softened as he realized something. He looked between Nora and Yanael.


    "Wait a moment! How come you can tell her all this when she isn''t a summoner? Shouldn''t that mean that she doesn''t have any authority?" Zach looked at Nora as if asking her if she had secretly become a summoner and leveled up while he was on the field trip.


    Nora just shrugged and didn''t say anything. She didn''t know.


    Zach turned to Yanael.


    "I¡­I don''t know."


    Zach looked between the shrugging Nora and the slumping Yanael several times before sighing.


    "Fine. Whatever. Let''s get back on topic. Evolution or whatever. You don''t know how to evolve since you don''t know how to finish that equation you mentioned, right?"


    Yanael''s eyes widened in surprise. She wouldn''t have used that way to explain it, but it was exactly it.


    "T-that''s right. A familiar''s evolution substitutes the different variables for materials to facilitate the process." She nodded.


    "Mm." Zach hummed in deep thought as he leaned back in his chair after grabbing a cup of tea.


    He understood why Yanael didn''t know how to evolve. It wasn''t just a matter of solving a strange equation or finding the right materials.


    If it was related to the theory of evolution, it was much more complex.


    According to Yanael, humans were related to primates. He wasn''t sure how or why, but he didn''t doubt Yanael. It made sense, after all.


    Just at a glance, it made a lot of sense. Both humans and apes looked similar. There were differences like posture, facial and skeletal structure. But the differences weren''t as great as those between humans and spiders. Some humans even looked like apes with broad faces, long arms, and proportionally shorter legs.


    The problem was transforming any ape into a human. That was what the evolution of familiars was about. If Zach had to guess, they probably had the help of the mysteries of summoning, such as the interface.


    But Zach had no idea how to go about making an ape evolve. It was the same for Yanael.


    In the first place, what were angels even related to?


    Humans? Birds? Something else? What was the next step?


    Too many questions. Too little sleep.

 Chapter 61: True Friends

    Zach stopped thinking about everything. He had asked Yanael what he wanted to ask. He hadn''t gotten the answer he wanted. But he had learned more about the world. That was enough for now. He didn''t know how to make Yanael evolve, but it wasn''t something he needed to rush.


    Sooner or later, he would make progress in that area, either by coincidence or by learning more.


    For now, Zach''s priority was leveling up so that he could grow stronger and gain more authority. Yanael had already hit the limit of what she could tell him. There were still things Zach wanted to know, but they weren''t much different from the things he had first asked Yanael.


    He was still far away in terms of authority. He didn''t know how far away, but it was another thing that didn''t matter. Sooner or later, he would make progress in that area as well.


    For now, Zach was going to sleep. After that, he was going to sit down with Julius and have a proper talk.


    Then, after the mundane matters were settled, it was time to start working hard.


    Zach had made an enemy of the Great Ugor.


    He knew he would be safe as long as he stayed in the Academy. But field trips, holidays, other excursions, and so on aside, Zach had at most four years of safety. Afterward, the Academy''s protection would cease. He would be a young bird without its parents or the safety of the nest.


    Well, there was still his family. But they weren''t as reliable as the Academy since the Academy had the principal and instructor Kami.


    The only one Zach could truly rely on outside the Academy was himself and, by extension, Yanael. And Nora.


    The Great Ugor probably wouldn''t come for Zach himself. But the more time passed, the more of a threat Zach would become. The Great Ugor had already expressed his intentions. If Zach didn''t join him, he wouldn''t have much of a future, and neither would his friends.


    The Great Ugor had been limited by time and place in what resources he could mobilize to kill Zach during the field trip. He had probably thought the assassins were enough. They would have been enough if Zach and Yanael hadn''t grown stronger through hunting monsters.


    Zach had to be prepared. He also had to bring the fight to the Great Ugor if he wanted to protect Dukiel, Julius, and the others.


    Zach sighed in his sleep, the weight of great burden and responsibility settling firmly on his shoulders.


    Zach naturally woke up around noon and stretched his arms before rolling his stiff shoulders. He didn''t waste any time and immediately asked for a massage. Yanael obliged while Nora prepared something for him to eat.


    As soon as he was done with that, he went to look for Julius. He didn''t have to look long. Julius was in his dorm. He looked ragged, much more so than when they had brought him back to Dukiel''s place last night.


    "Zach!" Julius exclaimed and hurried to wrap Zach in a hug. Just as quickly, he let go with an apologetic expression and stepped back.


    "S-sorry. I was just¡ª"


    Before Julius could finish what he was saying and take another step back, Zach grabbed him and gave him a much-needed hug. Julius had clearly worn himself into a homeless shoe with worry. Zach didn''t need to guess about what.


    "There''s no need for you to apologize, Julius. I''m the one who should say sorry."


    "N-not at all! I accused and blamed you for all kinds of horrible things. You, on the other hand, only spoke the truth! And you were right. I am grateful. I was grateful.


    I just couldn''t show it. Argh, I''m so angry! It was like someone else was in control of my body¡ªI''m not trying to make excuses, but I can''t believe I acted like that!"


    "Julius." Zach grabbed Julius by the shoulders and stopped him from pulling on his hair. He forced Julius to look at him.


    "It''s fine, Julius. Have you ever heard of friends who don''t fight?"


    Julius'' brow knotted.


    "Yes. Multiple times, actually."


    Zach frowned.


    "No, you haven''t. Whatever. True friends fight and make up. That''s what we''re doing now. We''ve talked about it, admitted our faults, and apologized. Now, it''s time to move on and buy Dukiel some food as thanks for putting up with us."


    Julius nodded. And that''s what they did as soon as Julius freshened up a little. He couldn''t go to the cafeteria looking like he was fresh off the ground after a scuffle with a dog over a piece of bone.


    Dukiel was relieved. Zach and Julius were friends again.


    Together, the three enjoyed the rest of the day talking about everything the principal had said and the field trip. The day was long, and the night was longer.


    But they seemed to never run out of things to talk and laugh about. One of the things they talked the most about was Julius'' C-rank *Corrupted Mannequin. They did it mostly out of awe at the Mannequin''s evolution and what it might mean for its future. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although they had encountered it themselves, the scale was too big for the three youths. The Underworld and the war between the Underworld and the surface were just too far away.


    So, even if they knew that absorbing more underworld energy was most likely the easiest way for the Mannequin to grow even stronger, it wasn''t something that seemed feasible. But that wasn''t necessarily a bad thing.


    All three of them remembered how Julius had changed due to the influence of the underworld energy. He hadn''t absorbed it personally. It could only have come from the Mannequin when it absorbed it due to the master-familiar connection.


    Until they could figure out how the Mannequin could safely steal underworld energy, it was best to hold off on even looking at the ground.


    Eventually, the next day came and it was time for lessons again.


    Jarron greeted the students in their classroom. And it seemed he wasn''t satisfied with how the students had rested and recovered since he was bringing shocking news.


    "Students, I''m sure you''ve all heard about the Underworld that your fellow classmates Zacharia, Dukiel, and Julius encountered during the field trip, right? Those three didn''t hallucinate anything, even if that would have been for the best."


    "Ahem."


    "Right. Well, the Underworld is at war with the surface. Finding and destroying their Locales will earn you bonus marks this year. I think it''s a little early, but the principal told me to tell you all will only be allowed to graduate in four years if the Great Ugor, the King of the Underworld, is dead."


    "..."


    "!!!"

 Chapter 62: Shifting Blame

    "WHAT?!" Zach''s outburst made all the other students and Jarron gawk at him. Jarron understood where Zach was coming from, especially now that he had heard about the Great Ugor in more detail.


    But the rest of the class didn''t know much about the Underworld at all. They were first confused at Jarron''s announcement and then at Zach''s outburst. What was this Great Ugor character they needed to kill, and why was Zach so shocked about it?


    Jarron took a deep breath.


    "Calm down, Zach. The principal isn''t giving you all an impossible task. He believes you can fulfill the graduation requirements. So do I. It''s just going to be difficult."


    Zach sat back down, mouth agape from shock. He wasn''t listening to Jarron.


    Anerias raised his hand.


    "...Excuse me, but what is going on?"


    "Do you need me to repeat?" Jarron asked.


    "Not so much as repeat as clarify. What is the Underworld? Why are we at war with them? Why did you make it sound like we are the ones who need to kill their king when we''re only students?"


    Jarron clasped his hands together and smiled brightly.


    "Great! I don''t even need to tell you the questions for this year''s final exam!"


    "What¡­?"


    "It''s just as I said. Questions like those will be part of the theoretical portion of the final exam. As the curriculum and homework have changed, following your classmates'' discovery of the Underworld, it''s only fitting the final exam does as well. Although I said it has changed, it''s not very different from before.


    "Where you would have combined practical learning in the field with practical and theoretical learning on campus before, now Underworld discovery is part of the field practice. You''ll be asked to investigate potential Underworld hideouts and bring back proof of extermination, resources, or information. It''s much how you would have been asked and will be asked to bring back the same for monsters."


    The students gradually processed Jarron''s annoyingly cheerful words and slowly turned to look at Zach, Dukiel, and Juluius, but mainly Zach. They weren''t sure what was going on. But they weren''t stupid most of them. They had also built up a keen sense of danger.


    Even if they didn''t understand, they could tell, based on Jarron''s words and Zach''s reaction, that their school life had suddenly become a lot more difficult and dangerous. Worst of all, it was Zach''s fault.


    This time, unlike the continuous monster assault during the field trip, it wasn''t a matter of pure luck or misfortune, either. They knew the three troublemakers well enough to know that Zach was their leader. Even without knowing the details, the other students knew without a shred of doubt that it was Zach who had led the other two to find the Underworld.


    If he hadn''t done that¡ªIf he hadn''t discovered the Underworld, they could have gone their entire school life without knowing about it.


    As students, their mission was to learn. But there were some things, such as the discovery of a foreign civilization at war with the surface, that could wait. Conspiracies and discoveries like that were much better as ghost stories to tell late at night during sleepovers.


    No one was grateful to Zach for bringing the Underworld to light. No, it was the opposite.


    "H-hey! There''s no way you''re blaming me again!" Zach felt the buildup of angry gazes pointed in his direction and angrily glared back. He couldn''t stand this injustice!


    "First the monsters and now the Underworld. Are you saying it''s not your fault?" Anerias stood up and took Zach''s gaze upon himself. His resolve not to blame Zach in the future had faded pretty quickly at the mention of a new threat, one that didn''t seem related to Zach''s luck, but his decisions instead.


    "Tch. Yeah. Who''s the one deciding all this? The principal. I didn''t ask him to set the Underworld as a subject just because I discovered it. And, to make things perfectly clear, I didn''t discover shit.


    It was the Underworld that kidnapped me first, okay?"


    "Are you seriously shifting blame to the principal, you shameless runt?"


    "Alright, stop, stop, stop!" Jarron waved his hands and walked in between Zach and Anerias, pushing them apart before things could escalate further. It didn''t look like they would fight since they were too busy posturing and flexing their muscles, but Jarron had duties to uphold as their homeroom instructor.


    "That''s enough you two! That''s enough all of you. Zach is right. The only one you can try and hold responsible for this is the principal. If it hadn''t been the Underworld, he would have found something else for the first years to do. He does it every year.


    You guys just got hit a little harder since you have an S-rank and three A-ranks. The principal has high hopes for you. All of you."


    Jarron pushed Zach and Anerias back to their seats while speaking to and chastising the students who had gotten a little heated at the news and its meaning. He couldn''t honestly claim he didn''t understand the students as they blamed Zach.


    But this time, it actually wasn''t his fault. That was unless one could attribute the entire class'' misfortune of catching the principal''s ambitious eye to Zach''s reputation as a misfortune magnet.


    Once the students had calmed down and were willing to listen to him again, Jarron continued. He talked about the details and what it would mean for the rest of the school year. Since the students were supposed to find a lot of information on their own to earn credit and scores, there wasn''t much Jarron could say about the Underworld itself.


    But he could tell them that their first year would be filled with a lot of practical learning. There would be open assignments regularly posted in the classroom about information and goals that the students could provide or complete in exchange for extra credit. There would be days set aside for tasks like this.


    The students could apply for permission to venture outside the campus and into the forest in search of monsters or traces of the Underworld. They had to work in teams. They had to go where they said they were going, and they had to go to places where they might find what they were looking for. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The students couldn''t just go home and take a vacation before coming back with monster parts their families picked up for them.


    Zach despaired.

 Chapter 63: Ants

    Zach was the only student feeling despair. The rest were, contrary to their initial reactions, excited.


    Setting aside the increased level of danger coming in contact with the Underworld meant, wasn''t this a chance for them to excel? If they did well and found out a lot about the Underworld, couldn''t they get a lot of extra credit and scores?


    If things ended up being as violent as it sounded they would, it was also a great chance to farm levels.


    It would be dangerous to match the level of opportunity. But so what?


    The students had already brushed up against Death''s hairy ass multiple times during the field trip. Danger was no stranger.


    The students were confident in themselves. Their self-confidence was slightly inflated since Zach and Yanael had done a lot to keep everyone alive and safe in the first half of the field trip.


    But during the second half, Zach hadn''t helped more than when he stumbled upon classmates in trouble when they were outside the camp hunting monsters.


    The students knew how to take care of themselves.


    However, their self-confidence also stemmed from ignorance. They didn''t know how powerful the Underworld was or what threats lay below the surface.


    All they knew was that the Underworld had kidnapped Zach, Dukiel, and Julius. The three had made it out with minimal injuries. That had also been the trio''s first encounter with real combat, so it was understandable they were injured.


    Jarron had said it himself. He and the principal believed the student would be able to graduate in four years. They believed the students could kill the King of the Underworld.


    If the principal believed it, it was possible. But for the students to be able to kill the King of the Underworld in just four years¡­It could only mean that the King of the Underworld wasn''t as great of a threat as Zach made him out to be.


    He would be powerful, no doubt about it. But if a bunch of students could catch up to him and kill him in four years, the King of the Underworld was certainly a chum.


    The students were ignorant.


    But they were hardworking and dutiful. As soon as they could, they started teaming up in the groups they had moved in during the field trip. They applied for permission to enter the forest.


    Some started looking for clues about the Underworld by following the only lead they had, the Giupusta Locale''s location. Others focused on hunting high-value monsters and bringing back precious materials the Academy could use or trade with the outside world: the more dangerous or precious the monster, the higher their scores and results.


    The students were diligent and checked the board in the classroom for information on what monsters were precious or sought after. They also looked at what information about the Underworld would be valuable, but no one had even gotten close to finding an answer to the simplest question about the Underworld.


    The only exception was Zach and his two buddies.


    They had learned a bunch from the tasker and the Great Ugor directly. Then, the principal also confirmed and told them things about the Underworld. They answered as much as they could with that before moving on to the library.


    Zach''s greatest advantage in the class'' race and battle for information about the Underworld wasn''t Yanael''s superior strength. It would have been the greatest advantage if he was on the field.


    But that would have been reckless and short-sighted.


    Zach''s greatest advantage was his mostly unrestricted access to the Academy''s library. Now that he knew some higher-classed information, it was easier to look for more.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius were continuously awed at how much more he could access than the other students, who had noticed Zach monopolize the questions about the Underworld by now.


    The other students were continuously rebuffed by the pixie in the reception and could only look for standard information about the monsters in the forest instead.


    The other students thought it was unfair.


    Zach offered to drop a chandelier on their heads whenever they complained within earshot.


    The students still thought it was unfair. But they kept those thoughts to themselves.


    Secretly, Zach also thought it was unfair.


    He had gotten access to all this information because he almost got crushed by the chandelier. He almost got crushed by it because he was chosen as the freshman representative. He was chosen as the freshman representative because he was the only S-rank. He was the only S-rank because of extraordinary matters the other students could do nothing about.


    He had received the privilege because he was better. It was as simple and unfair as that. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Zach learned more and grew stronger, he also realized that it wasn''t quite that simple.


    If the principal or another instructor had stepped in, which they very well could have done, Zach wouldn''t have gotten to ask for such a useful privilege. It was only because he dealt with it himself that the principal didn''t refuse the request.


    Zach wasn''t sure why they didn''t, but the principal and instructor Kami could easily have stopped the chandelier from falling on him. His only guess was that they had noticed Yanael move almost as soon as the chandelier started falling, and they didn''t do anything but stop the crashed chandelier from harming any of the other students.


    It was impossible to tell why they did that, but Zach couldn''t complain, even if he had been scared half to death. The gains far outweighed the losses, and not only when it came to information about the Underworld.


    Thanks to his special access, Zach also got to read about more secret information regarding the monsters. He could read detailed bestiaries telling him how to hunt, dismantle, and extract the most worth out of even the most secretive monsters in the nearby forest.


    The other students had to make do with vague descriptions of the monsters and their possible whereabouts before they set off.


    Weeks and months passed as the students worked like ants and grew like bamboo shoots.


    Finally, Zach, Dukiel, and Julius had located the likely coordinates of another Underworld Locale in the forest.

 Chapter 64: Sure Of It

    "It has to be here!"


    Zach stabbed his finger at the map hanging on the wall, narrowly avoiding all the strings going from one point to another on the map. He grabbed a pen and drew a circle and an ''X.''


    Dukiel sighed and grabbed the pen from Zach to stop him from doodling more than necessary on the map.


    "You''ve said that like four times already."


    "Well, this time, I''m sure."


    "You''ve said that three times."


    "Bullshit. I''ve never been this sure before. This is where we will find traces of the Underworld, if not an entire Locale."


    Julius put a hand on Dukiel''s shoulder and stopped him from objecting again.


    "Let''s hear him out," whispered Julius to Dukiel before turning to Zach.


    "It''s just a swamp. What makes you so sure?"


    "Glad you asked!" Zach happily grabbed another pen and drew a larger circle by connecting the dots of several pins they had put up.


    "This area is where the assassins have come and gone from. Since five years back, this area has seen a gradual decrease in the quality of the wildlife and plants. The number of birds, insects, and flowers in bloom during summer has lowered year by year. It indicates a lack of nutrients."


    Zach pointed at the places around the swamp.


    "However, the neighboring areas are not showing any such signs. They are as healthy as ever. Why?


    "I''ll tell you why! Someone''s draining or using the swamp''s nutrients for something else! Who would be capable of doing something like that? The Underworld, of course!"


    Dukiel and Julius glanced at each other. Zach had been working hard ever since the field trip. His vigor wasn''t anything new. But he might have been cooped up inside his room a little too long this time.


    It wasn''t strange since the assassins constantly roving about in the forest made it impossible for Zach to take a walk without suffering an ambush. The worst part was that the assassins never got caught.


    They stopped him from hunting monsters. They tried to kill him. They refused to get caught.


    It had been especially bad lately.


    Anerias had reached level five just a few days ago. Violina did it several weeks ago. A couple of other students, including Dukiel and Julius, had also hit level four some time ago.


    While Zach couldn''t hunt, Dukiel and Julius could. So, they made full use of the information they could get thanks to Zach''s special access to the library. Since they only did so well due to Zach, they shared the profits, results, and scores with him.


    But Zach didn''t get any of the levels they got from hunting monsters.


    Zach could only start hunting and surpass his peers once the assassins got the fuck out of his face. But it wasn''t that easy hunting assassins.


    His best bet would be to find and destroy their base of operations. He would have to be prepared to fight an army once he found it. But an army wouldn''t run away. Even if it did, it couldn''t hide like the assassins.


    Zach had worked himself like a farm animal to look for clues and piece together information about the possible coordinates of the Locale the assassins were working from. He had found several locations already by looking at the history of the terrain and the behavior of the monsters found in those areas.


    He had also asked Dukiel and Zach to look for inconsistencies between the terrain and the map. Maybe they could find another hidden mountain. If they did, they would have also found the next Locale.


    "Couldn''t something else be the source of the swamp''s poor health?" Julius asked, careful not to trigger Zach.


    "Like what?"


    "Maybe someone''s dumping waste? Or a monster of some kind is monopolizing the place."


    "Someone dumping waste? In the middle of the Academy''s forest? Highly unlikely. And I''ve cross-referenced the books. Any monster capable of leaving traces like this would make a dozen other marks on the land as well."


    "And it''s not just something as simple as the natural cycle of nature? It flourishes for a period before entering a period of rest. Or something." Dukiel hoped Zach had simply not thought of everything and would accept one of their ideas as a possibility. Otherwise, he would make them go and investigate.


    Alas, much to Dukiel''s disappointment, Zach shook his head.


    "Nope. It''s like I said before. Something like that wouldn''t be limited to just the swamp. If anything, the swamp would be fine even if the surroundings started dying out. It''s a resilient place, packed with natural nourishment and fertilizer from dead plants and animals getting stuck and broken down to become part of the swamp."


    Dukiel sighed and glanced at Julius. He gave up.


    Julius was quiet for a moment.


    "...What about the assassins we tracked down to places outside the swamp?"


    "Intentional misleads to make it harder to find where they are working from. Or entrances further away. Or I''m wrong."


    "So¡ª"


    "But I don''t think I am." Zach looked at Dukiel and Julius, his eyes clear and his will firm. He didn''t just think he was right. He knew it in his heart.


    There was something about the swamp calling out to him.


    "Don''t worry, though. I''m not making you guys go alone this time."


    "You don''t mean¡­?" sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach nodded with a smile at Julius'' half-finished question.


    "I''m coming with you this time!"


    Zach and Dukiel exchanged looks of trepidation and worry.


    The kind of treatment Zach got as soon as he stepped into the forest wasn''t sustainable. No one else suffered from it unless they worked with Zach. How did they know?


    Dukiel and Julius had tried to accompany Zach into the forest and help him fight off the assassins so that they could hunt monsters or look for traces of the Underworld.


    They never got more than a dozen steps into the forest before retreating.


    The onslaught of flying daggers, sneak attacks, traps, arrows, and all kinds of hidden weapons, poisonous or not, was just too much.


    Dukiel and Julius had even been forced to drag Zach out of the forest after his golden barrier broke twice in a row.


    Zach noticed his two friends'' worry and smiled as he comforted them.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure we''ll find it this time." He completely missed what they were worried about, though.

 Chapter 65: Lets Go

    Zach stood with his hands on his hips, his chest puffed out in a display of confidence. He looked at Dukiel and Julius, waiting for them to say something. They glanced at each other before looking at Zach.


    "Cough. Cough. Sorry, Zach, it seems I''ve gotten sick. I might have to sit this one out. I''ll cheer for you, though." Dukiel made up an excuse. Poorly.


    "Did you just say the word ''cough'' twice instead of coughing?" Zach threw Dukiel a gaze of mixed upset and confusion.


    "...I don''t know how to cough."


    Zach and Julius gave Dukiel two blank stares.


    "Are you two scared or something? Do you think it''s going to be a repeat of last time?"


    "..."


    Their silence was all the answer Zach needed.


    "Well, it won''t be. Only crazy people do the same thing under the same circumstances and expect a different result. And I''m many things, mostly good things, but I''m not crazy¡ªHey, what''s that look? Whatever. Just get prepared, write your wills, say your goodbyes, and get permission. We leave at dawn." Zach finished his speech by striking a glorious pose with his foot on the chair.


    "No boots on my chairs, please."


    "Right, sorry Dukiel."


    "No worries. It didn''t leave a print, right?"


    "No." Zach wiped away the dirt.


    The three students looked at each other. Dukiel and Julius sighed. They looked at each other. They sighed again. They slumped in their chairs.


    "Fine."


    "You''re paying for my tombstone."


    "Of course!"


    "Wait, doesn''t that mean he''ll live and you won''t¡ª"


    "At this point, I don''t mind."


    "Okay, now you two are just too much. Can you leave my room?"


    "This is my dorm, Zach."


    "But it''s mine after you die, right?"


    "Get out."


    "What about Julius?" S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "He''s obviously staying. He needs to help me prepare."


    It was Zach''s turn to sigh and hang with his shoulders as he trudged his way to the door, where he mournfully turned back with tears in his eyes.


    "All the way, Zach."


    Zach sniveled and tried to look as cute as possible. It wasn''t enough.


    Dukiel threw a pen at Zach. Zach caught it and drew a sad face on the door before opening it and leaving the room and the door open.


    "For fuck''s sake."


    The next morning, two hours after dawn, Zach showed up to the outskirts of campus with Yanael next to him. He waved at Dukiel and Julius, who were sitting next to their gear.


    "Hey, guys, did you wait long?" Zach greeted them cheerfully.


    Julius looked at his empty wrist.


    "Nope, we just got here. Not once have you arrived on time." Julius stood up and grabbed his bag.


    Dukiel didn''t say anything as he also stood up and picked up his things, a bag and a shield as big as his torso. Instead of entertaining Zach, he looked at the forest with a grim face. He was too busy worrying about what was waiting for them in the forest to care about Zach fooling around with Julius.


    "Let''s go?" Zach looked at the other two. They nodded.


    Dukiel was about to take the front with the Sentinel and let Zach hold up the rear with his maid while Julius and the Mannequin were in the middle when Zach put a hand on his shoulder. Zach pulled back Dukiel and took the lead as they walked to the forest.


    "Allow me." As Zach spoke, Yanael stepped away from the group and stood a distance away from Zach, Dukiel, Julius, Sentinel, and Mannequin.


    A thin, almost translucent, faint gold barrier unfolded out of thin air in front of Zach and carefully wrapped the group in a perfectly oval dome.


    Zach glanced back at his two friends.


    "Let''s go."


    Almost as if they had been waiting for Zach to step foot outside campus ground, two assassins leaped out of the bushes toward Zach as soon as he was in between two trees.


    The barrier that was close enough for Zach to touch with a bent arm bounced the assassins back. It didn''t just block the attack. It took it and returned the force to the attackers. The barrier was soft and springy. It was completely different from the other hard sheets or domes he had cast.


    Zach grinned and glanced at Dukiel and Julius.


    "Impressive, right?"


    "Very."


    "I guess."


    Dukiel and Julius could barely be bothered to answer with more than a shrug and a monotone voice. Zach''s expression froze, and he stiffly turned his head forward to look as Yanael dashed forward, wings and halo out, to grab the assassins before they could flee.


    She managed to snag one and stab it with her sword. But while she did that, the other managed to slink into the shadows of the vegetation and disappear.


    The result wasn''t much different from the previous times Zach had tried venturing into the forest. More than once, Zach had used his Blessed Defense to protect himself while Yanael hunted the assassins.


    The difference between now and his past attempts was the sustainability.


    The further into the forest they traveled, the more assassins and ambushes they had to endure. Usually, Zach and his barrier would run out of energy, and the barrier would break, leading to anything from minor to serious internal injuries and turmoil.


    When that happened, Yanael had to focus on protecting Zach and keeping his life intact. That meant she couldn''t hunt the assassins. Instead, they would only grow in number and make the trip unbearable.


    The longer Zach held out, the deeper into the woods they would be and the harder to return it was.


    But now, Zach''s barrier was more energy efficient, didn''t break as easily, and it helped Yanael hunt the assassins by surprising them with its bounceback.


    Eventually, Dukiel and Julius had to admit that Zach was contributing more than his presence and the assassins he attracted brought down the atmosphere. His barrier and the improvements he had made were impressive.


    "Okay, this barrier is impressive. How did you do it, Zach?" Julius had to ask. His own skill wasn''t anything special, but it might help him in the future if he knew how to improve it. Dukiel was also curious, so he listened eagerly.


    "..." But Zach was silent and simply looked at the forest.


    "Zach?" Julius asked carefully. He and Dukiel looked at where Zach was looking but couldn''t see or hear anything.


    "...Are you sure you want to know?" Zach slowly turned his head like an owl and looked at Julius, briefly glancing at Dukiel, too.


    "Not when you say it like that, no." Julius shook his head. He was curious, but when Zach spoke like he had made a deal with some evil supernatural being, Julius decided to take a step back.


    It wasn''t that important. It might not even be worth it or helpful information. After all, their skills were very different in nature. What worked for Zach wouldn''t necessarily work for them.


    Zach shrugged with a shoulder and continued walking.


    Dukiel looked at Zach''s back with narrowed eyes.

 Chapter 66: Not Just A Human

    The underworld assassins quickly noticed Zach''s seemingly impenetrable defense and changed tactics after a string of assaults, most of which ended in total failure and annihilation. They stopped exposing themselves and stuck to launching hidden weapons and arrows from afar and setting up traps.


    However, Zach''s bubble-like defensive barrier repelled all attacks. It even kept the air pure and clean without so much as a hint of either poison or insects. It almost made their journey too smooth.


    It was hard for Julius and Dukiel to build a real sense of danger or alarm despite the goal of their trip due to Zach''s barrier. It was like they were in a world of their own and looking at fake dangers and threats like they were on a sightseeing tour.


    Eventually, Dukiel had enough. He couldn''t take it any longer.


    "Zach, please tell me how you turned your skill into this." He had to know what Zach had done to transform and develop his skill to this degree. The last time they had been on an excursion into the forest with him, the barrier had been stronger than during the field trip, far stronger.


    But it still broke not far into the forest due to the assassins'' powerful and piercing attacks.


    Now, it wasn''t showing as much as a scratch or crack even several hours into the journey.


    Dukiel wanted his skill to be useful. Even if Zach''s method didn''t work for him, he had to check.


    Zach glanced back without fully turning his head. He glimpsed Dukiel''s earnest desire.


    "...How long do you two think I can keep my barrier up? With or without outside interference."


    Dukiel and Julius looked at Zach''s back. It seemed he was going to tell them something in a roundabout way. Why did he make it sound so scary before, then?


    "...Since you''ve kept this up for a few hours without complaining¡­Half a day?"


    Dukiel slowly shook his head at Julius'' suggestion.


    "It has to be more. Otherwise, he wouldn''t suggest this trip. A day? Two days?" Dukiel was unsure. Two days felt too long. Did he go that long without sleeping?


    Was he planning to never sleep until they made it back to the Academy after raiding the Locale? Was he hoping it would be over after they raided the Locale?


    "Three weeks. That''s my current record."


    "..." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...What."


    The two couldn''t believe what they had heard.


    Three weeks was an insane record. It didn''t make sense.


    "...How?" Dukiel didn''t think Zach was lying. He tended to be a lot more annoying when he was. Now, it felt like he was completely serious.


    Zach shrugged before answering.


    "At first, I just trained it. I had my familiar attack it while I defended until I couldn''t last anymore. When I coughed up blood I went to the infirmary before continuing. Then, I kept it up for as long as possible. Eventually, I could keep it up long enough that the problem was sleep.


    "I stopped sleeping for a while just to see how long I could keep the barrier up even when enduring attacks. It worked, but I wasn''t satisfied with the results of that kind of training. So, I started wondering¡­How can I make this more difficult? You know, like when lifting weights.


    "Simply having my familiar or someone else break the barrier wasn''t quite it. Instead, I started playing with the size and shape. Every second of the day, regardless of what else I was doing, I came up with various ways to create, maintain, and move my barriers.


    "I also cheated by looking at the records in the library.


    "After a while, when I could mold and transform my barriers like clay, I realized something."


    Zach paused and turned around, stopping and forcing the others to stop. He looked them in the eyes.


    "The wording is literal. The presentation is needlessly formal. My Blessed Defense is a skill. It''s a contract skill that I got from my contract with my familiar. When you put it like that, it sounds like it''s something external. It isn''t my skill.


    It''s a thing I''ve been allowed to do thanks to my contract with my familiar."


    Zach grinned. He could see Dukiel''s and Julius'' agreement in their eyes. That was how it worked.


    By summoning a familiar, they got what was no different from a gift from the summoning interface. It wasn''t their skill. It was a product and an extra boon on top of the familiar contract. It was a very useful bonus tool in their arsenal. But it was borrowed.


    "That''s wrong."


    Confusion, denial, and hesitation sprung up in Dukiel''s and Julius'' eyes.


    "It is my skill. Doesn''t matter how I got it. Doesn''t matter where it''s from. It''s mine. It''s mine to do with as I please. Like such, it''s like any other skill I have.


    I can train it and use it however and whenever I want.


    "If I take it another step, especially with how extraordinary and useful my skill is, isn''t it like a new limb? Or maybe an organ? Some monsters or familiars can do things that their animal counterparts can''t do. No, not like tear and throw entire trees. Anerias'' Blackfire Hound can light its paws on fire. Dogs can''t do that."


    "But that''s different!" Julius objected.


    "Right. The Hound is a familiar while a dog is just a dog." Dukiel agreed with Julius'' objection.


    "So?"


    "You''re a human! A contract skill doesn''t turn you into a monster or familiar."


    Zach smiled and held up a finger.


    "You''re wrong about one thing, Julius. I''m not just a human. I''m a summoner. I¡ªwe are already different from other humans, even if it''s not obvious yet." Zach glanced at the Sentinel and the Mannequin behind his two friends.


    "Have you never thought about how weird it is that one day you suddenly had a companion for life who would throw their lives away for yours? They fight for you. With you. You can trust them blindly to have your back despite never exchanging as much as a word."


    That last part didn''t apply to Zach, though.


    "Being a summoner means you''re never alone. Your back will never be exposed. Someone will always fight for you. Well, as long as you don''t fuck it up. But regardless, that''s not normal.


    "Normal people are lonely. They''re exposed. They fight for themselves and others. Others don''t fight for them. And don''t get me started on the interface and the levels. If I''m right, we haven''t even scratched the surface."


    Dukiel and Julius could only look at Zach in obstinate silence and refuse to understand or accept his words. It was too much, too unbelievable, and too circumstantial. Zach didn''t have anything to back up his words.


    Still, the strong conviction in those words forced Dukiel and Julius to continue mull over them in silence as they continued walking.

 Chapter 67: Confidence

    Dukiel and Julius hadn''t decided what to think of Zach''s idealogy about skills. They had had a lot of time to think about it as they moved through the forest. But Zach keeping up the barrier even when they slept didn''t make it any easier.


    He made a convincing argument. But it was hard to argue against what the Academy had taught them so far and what they had learned on their own. Going against solid first impressions and understandings of esoteric things like summoning, the summoning interface, and everything that came along with it wasn''t done in a day.


    However, Dukiel and Julius had to set aside their thoughts and focus on the present in front of them.


    They had arrived at the swamp.


    There wasn''t a clear line separating the swamp from the solid forest they had walked through to get there. But the ground had started to get softer and wetter, and the trees weren''t as thick. They were more like bushes or thin sticks with leaves sticking out of the ground and crawling over each other.


    It was a gradual progression of the natural flora to suit the underlying conditions of life.


    But there was one clear difference not directly related to the plants.


    The absence of life.


    The assassins had changed their method of annoying Zach during the journey. They didn''t just attack him. They also got rid of any and all monsters that he could have hunted to gain levels and grow stronger.


    The assassins hadn''t, however, gotten rid of all the insects and minor animals like frogs or harmless snakes crawling and jumping around on the forest floor.


    But when Zach and the others looked toward the swamp, there wasn''t much sign of anything like that. The swamp wasn''t dead, but it was unnaturally still and silent.


    Dukiel and Julius had to admit that Zach was onto something, even if it wasn''t a Locale.


    "Are you sure about this, Zach?" Julius glanced at Zach next to him, who was still looking at the swamp with his hands on his hips. He was worried. Unlike the Giupusta Locale, whatever or whoever was in the swamp wasn''t exactly trying to hide.


    Whatever it was wasn''t trying to announce its presence to the world, either. But there was a difference between hiding to the point of making a mountain disappear and laying low in the same place for several years.


    "Not anymore, no. But there''s no way we''re going back now. There is something here." Zach continued looking toward the depths of the swamp for several long, quiet moments before glancing at Yanael.


    She had fought and worked hard during the days it took for them to find the swamp. It had gone faster than they planned, thanks to Dukiel''s map work and Zach''s barrier. But Yanael hadn''t gotten much rest.


    However, she had gotten better at controlling her appearance, and she didn''t show any fatigue. If anything, she looked excited and slightly hungry. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, Zach invited her into the barrier for now.


    "Stay close," Zach spoke to both Yanael and his friends. He hadn''t forgotten the last time they entered a Locale. They had gotten separated without knowing what was going on. It had almost led to their deaths.


    Zach could have died to the tasker since Yanael wasn''t next to him. And the others could have died to anything, including the tasker, since neither Zach nor their familiars were with them.


    Zach wasn''t going to let the underworlders do something like that again. Fortunately, his barrier would keep everyone together unless something powerful enough to break the barrier appeared.


    Much slower than their pace so far, the group entered the swamp and started walking toward its depths.


    They weren''t sure what they were looking for. But the Locale would either invite them inside to try and kill them soon enough, or they would find traces of the Locale and bust their way inside.


    Zach was leaning toward the first option. If this was one of the Underworld''s Locales, there was no way they would forfeit the opportunity to kill him once and for all, considering how hard they had tried to kill him and keep him from growing stronger since his last run-in with the Underworld.


    The sudden absence of the assassins confirmed Zach''s conjecture. They were gathering their troops to prepare an all-out ambush as soon as they got Zach where they wanted him. Most likely.


    Zach was almost looking forward to it. It would save him the trouble of looking for them.


    However, he couldn''t help but be a little worried. The assassins'' tactics showed they weren''t brainless. There were also other creatures of the Underworld, some who were most certainly even smarter than the assassins. There could also be creatures too big and powerful to sneak around on the surface like the assassins.


    Even after reading a lot of the library''s information on the Underworld, there were still too many mysteries. There was too much to know and too little time to learn.


    But the Underworld had to be confident in their ability to kill him if they invited him inside. They would have gotten an estimate of how strong his barrier was and Yanael''s speed and explosive power.


    But just like the Underworld was confident in their ability to kill him, Zach was confident i his ability to survive their attack and kill them in turn.


    Zach and the others scanned their surroundings as they walked, looking for any sign of anything abnormal more specific than the absence of animal life.


    The familiars were also on the outlook. The only one not focused entirely on scouting was Dukiel since he kept track of their progress and the map. Julius wasn''t especially talented or skilled in navigation, and Zach was negatively talented in the area.


    However, it seemed not even Dukiel was infallible.


    After an hour or two without much progress in their search, Dukiel stopped with a deep frown. He looked closer at the map before looking up and glancing around.


    "I think we''re lost."

 Chapter 68: Swamp

    Zach and Julius looked at Dukiel for a moment before glancing around. Then, they walked up next to Dukiel and also looked at the map with all the navigational skills they could muster.


    "Are you sure? Doesn''t it look like we''re here?" Zach pointed at a random spot on the map.


    Julius and Dukiel ignored him. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "How did we get lost? Did we take a wrong turn somewhere or something?" Julius asked Dukiel.


    Dukiel shrugged and shook his head.


    "I don''t think I have made any mistakes. I''ve done the same thing I''ve always done. Of course, if I made a mistake, it''s a sign I wasn''t paying attention, so I could''ve missed that I made a mistake¡ª"


    "Can you stop saying mistake like that? Isn''t it more likely that we''ve found what we''re looking for?" Zach scowled at Dukiel, interrupting him when it was clear he was only spouting nonsense.


    "What do you mean?" Julius tilted his head as he looked at Zach.


    Zach looked between Dukiel and Julius.


    "Don''t you remember what the principal talked about and the fact that the mountain appeared out of thin air right in front of our classmates'' eyes? The Underworld uses tricks and illusions to hide and keep people away from their hiding places. This is something like that."


    "Are you sure?"


    Zach nodded.


    "If Dukiel didn''t make a mistake and doesn''t even remember making a mistake, there''s no way we would have gotten lost." Zach''s words of overwhelming confidence stunned Dukiel, and his cheeks grew hot. He turned away.


    "T-thanks."


    "Anyways¡­" Zach looked around again.


    "If we''re lost, do you two suppose we''ve arrived?" Zach glanced at the ground before facing Dukiel and Julius again. They hadn''t noticed anything different or found any signs of the supposed Locale that Zach was sure was in the swamp.


    "What do you mean?" Julius asked doubtfully.


    But the Underworld''s name wasn''t for show.


    Zach tapped the ground with his foot. He grinned.


    "What do you think I mean?" Zach glanced at Yanael. She nodded and unsheathed her sword.


    Julius and Dukiel quickly understood what Zach was aiming at and took cover behind him. Dukiel also ordered his Sentinel to get ready and assist Zach''s angelic maid. Four arms popped out of the Sentinel''s body and pointed the same amount of orbs at the ground.


    Zach''s eyes widened and he tapped Dukiel''s shoulder.


    "I wanna try something. Have your familiar cooperate with me."


    "...Sure." Dukiel was hesitant but he communicated Zach''s request to the Sentinel.


    The Sentinel turned and looked at Zach. It waited for him to do what he wanted to do. Zach smiled and skipped over to it. Yanael took a step back so Zach could work undisturbed.


    Zach reached up and grabbed the Sentinel''s arms, pointing them all at the exact same place. However, that place was in the air. If the Sentinel fired those lasers as they were, they would intersect and strike at least four different places on the ground or the barrier.


    But Zach was only halfway done.


    He concentrated and created a translucent barrier the size of a small coffee table. It looked like a sheet of glass, and as if that wasn''t enough, Zach touched the sides and the middle, making it thicker in the center and thinner on the edge.


    Zach took a step back and squinted with his hand on his cheek as he inspected the barrier and the Sentinel''s lasers. He took a step back. Then another. Then he put up another barrier around the Sentinel and the barrier.


    Dukiel and Julius were amazed.


    Zach had come far. They remembered his claim to having gone three weeks with his barrier active non-stop. They hadn''t really believed it. It was outlandish, even if they didn''t take his idealogy about skills to heart.


    After all, Anerias'' Hound couldn''t keep its paws ablaze for that long, even if it could set them on fire like breathing.


    However, seeing Zach put on the current display right in front of them made his words much more believable.


    Just the fact that he could put up several barriers at once was impressive. But they were all different in structure and texture. It was like he was using three different skills at the same time.


    Before Dukiel and Julius had more time to ponder on Zach''s display, the Sentinel got the go-ahead from Zach and fired its lasers at the barrier in the shape of a convex lens.


    Red light burst out and filled the upper half of the barrier and the surrounding area of the swamp.


    Surprisingly enough, the lasers took to the barrier and blessed right through it without spreading much to the sides.


    "Tch."


    Zach clicked his tongue. It wasn''t perfect. The beam was much thicker than he had planned, and one side strayed away, creating a teardrop-shaped laser instead.


    Zach signaled for the Sentinel to stop, and he walked over to fix the lens and the lasers'' positioning. He was careful to avoid the rising steam from the ground. But at least it was easier to stand and walk now that the ground was dry.


    His barrier was also hot, which was another piece of evidence that it wasn''t perfect. It wasn''t letting all the light of the lasers pass through it. But Zach wasn''t sure what to do about that other than reinforce it. He couldn''t make it any more translucent than it already was.


    It took some trial and error, more than Zach would have liked, but he eventually found a position for the lasers and a lens design that worked.


    "Full force, Sentinel!" Zach called out in excitement.


    If the Underworld''s Locale was responsible for them getting lost and what was going on in the swamp, they would undoubtedly be underground. If the size was anything like the Giupusta Locale, just digging a hole straight down somewhere close to the center of the swamp would be enough to find it.


    But digging a hole deep enough could take hours and days, even if the familiars helped.


    Fortunately, there was a more efficient way: Brute force.


    And now, Zach had designed an even more efficient way: Concentrated brute force.


    The corners of Zach''s mouth twisted upward in a wild grin. His grueling training was showing its effects.

 Chapter 69: Nice

    The Sentinel''s orbs, carried by claw-like structures on the end of its arms, slowly lit up before suddenly unleashing four beams of pure energy of heat and red light. The four beams converged at the surface of Zach''s lens, where they seemingly disappeared.


    The four beams that were as thick as mediocre legs on one side of the lens transformed into a single beam the thickness of a wrist on the other side.


    With a tremor and an ominous hum, the laser splashed into the swamp, quickly raising a cloud of steam that obstructed the view for Zach and the others until the heat drove even the steam away.


    It didn''t take long for the water in the area directly around the laser''s strike zone to evaporate and leave nothing but a desert-like ground behind. And it didn''t take long for the laser to begin piercing through the ground.


    Slowly, the laser melted and blew away the soil with incredible heat and force. The laser dug into the ground like it was an eternal enemy that had finally become weak enough to succumb.


    Zach''s grin only widened as the heat escaped the protective barrier and made them sweat. But only for a moment. The heat and light the laser produced chased away the sweat as well, leaving the three students almost as dry as the ground beneath them.


    Dukiel''s and Julius'' jaws almost hung to the ground. If the air hadn''t made their lips and skin dry up, they might have been smooth and elastic enough to reach the ground. As the air became difficult to breathe, they closed their mouths.


    Dukiel continued looking at his Sentinel in awe. He knew his familiar was powerful. But he had never managed to help it unleash such concentrated destruction. He glanced at Zach, filled with mixed feelings of gratitude, admiration, and envy.


    Julius glanced around. He had realized something else. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wouldn''t the forest catch on fire at this rate?


    The residual heat was enough to dry out the ground even outside two layers of barriers, and the leaves on the trees and bushes were quickly turning crispy. If it extended further or grew hotter, wouldn''t things start burning soon?


    Julius considered asking Zach or Dukiel to ask the Sentinel to stop for a moment. But the laser was loud.


    He hadn''t even noticed it since it wasn''t noisy. It just filled the air with tremors and vibrations that made it difficult to hear anything.


    Julius couldn''t contain his worry. But before he could tap either of his two friends, the Sentinel cut the lasers of its own volition with a hissing sound. It looked like steam or smoke was rising from the orbs, but that could have been a mirage due to the smoke coming from the hole the Sentinel had dug.


    The Sentinel retracted its lasers and hovered in place, its surface visibly hot. It waited for a few moments while it rapidly cooled down before flying over to Sentinel.


    The others couldn''t tell, but Dukiel could. The Sentinel was excited and happy at having unleashed such a powerful laser, even if it was with the help of someone else.


    Zach was curious about the hole and was about to approach despite the heat when he stumbled.


    He quickly caught himself and rested his hands on his knees as he had to take several deep breaths. The barrier lens had shattered right after the Sentinel stopped blasting it with lasers.


    Since the Sentinel was done, Zach figured it was fine to stop focusing on keeping it whole. It had been a slight misjudgment.


    Zach''s chest felt uncomfortable, but after taking a minute or two to gather himself, he stood up.


    Although the laser had only been a wrist thick, it hadn''t been concentrated enough that it only burned through the ground with the same circumference. It would be a tight fit, but the whole was wide enough for them.


    Zach gave Yanael an apologetic look. Her dress wouldn''t come out on the other side untouched. Fortunately, Yanael didn''t seem to mind. Or she was too busy staring down the hole to care about Zach''s look.


    Yanael had a serious expression.


    Zach wanted to ask her about it. But Dukiel and Julius were right behind him. And the hem of his pants was on fire.


    "Ah! Shit, shit shit." Zach hopped around while taking off his pants and stomping out the fire on them.


    Dukiel and Julius looked at his heart print boxers and then at him with judgmental eyes.


    "Do you and Jarron shop at the same place or what?" Julius asked mockingly.


    "Not as far as I know, no. But you shouldn''t underestimate how comfy these are. It''s like being held by and caressed by clouds¡ª"


    "I''m going to stop you right there, Zach. How does it look?" Dukiel held up a hand and interrupted Zach since he was entering the territory of too much information. He nodded toward the hole that the Sentinel had burrowed.


    "It''s deep."


    "Is it deep enough?"


    Zach shrugged.


    "It''s too dark to see well. It''s also too hot to investigate, so let''s take a break for the night and eat something. I''m famished."


    "Saying you''re famished with those boxers¡­¡ª"


    "That incident is in the past, Julius. We live in the present. Get over it. Besides, what was I supposed to do when my pants were on fire?"


    Julius shrugged.


    "Dunno, man. To me, it looks like you''re presently exposing your underwear for the world to see."


    "Nonsense."


    Zach ignored Julius and picked up his pants. They were a little singed at the bottom and a little dirty from the stomping but still perfectly useable. He put them on while the others prepared food. They didn''t have to try hard to get a fire started.


    While they ate, they kept glancing over at the hole as if they were expecting something to creep up from it. But nothing did. It was anticlimactically boring.


    It was also still hot when they had finished eating, so they decided to wait until the morning.

 Chapter 70: Calm In Numbers

    Nothing happened during the night, either. Zach was disappointed. Had they struck proverbial gold or was it a dud? Was there a Locale at the end of the hole the Sentinel had burrowed or not?


    After a quick breakfast, the trio confirmed that the hole had cooled and stabilized enough to try and slide down it. It was a steep angle, but the laser had made the surface smooth as glass. Unfortunately, that also meant they would be going fast.


    However, they had tools, hands, feet, and familiars to push against the edges and control the speed.


    "What happens if we get stuck?" Dukiel glanced at the hole before taking a step back while Zach and Dukiel prepared rope and picks.


    "We won''t." Zach''s answer was too quick. It was almost like he had already asked himself that question.


    "But what if?"


    "The Sentinel can fly."


    Dukiel was silent. The Sentinel certainly was strong enough to fly them up if they got stuck or if there was nothing at the bottom of the hole. But it was still uncomfortable.


    They didn''t know how deep the hole was or what could happen.


    "I''m telling you this now, Dukiel, but I probably should have done it sooner. If you''re claustrophobic or anything, Locale hunting is the wrong profession for ya''. Do you want to sit this one out?" Zach made sure to sound serious with his question. If Dukiel didn''t want to come, he didn''t have to.


    Dukiel hesitated. It was an attractive offer. But if he didn''t come, the Sentinel wouldn''t either. How would they get up?


    Dukiel shook his head.


    "I''ll come. It''s better to stay together in situations like this. I''ll just bear with it."


    "Good. Don''t worry and remember to stay calm at all times, no matter what. If anything can get us out in case something happens, it''s keeping a cool head." Zach nodded and gave some friendly advice. He glanced at Julius as he spoke to make sure he also took it to heart.


    Julius and Dukiel nodded.


    It was easier said than done, but they would remember Zach''s words.


    When they were ready, Zach sat down at the edge of the hole with Yanael right behind him, her legs ready to fall under his armpits to prevent them from getting separated and so that she could stop them when they were going too fast.


    After Zach was Julius and his Mannequin, and taking up the rear was Dukiel and the Sentinel. All of them were tied together with a rope. This time, it would be a little easier to untie. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ready?"


    "Yup."


    "Can we¡ª" Dukiel was interrupted by Zach jumping into the hole and dragging the rest along with him. Dukiel had to quickly follow along or risk going down head first. He wanted to curse but the air was sucked out of him as he entered the hole.


    The air rushed past his ears, and he couldn''t see anything. With his key senses suppressed and with his breath stolen from him, Dukiel quickly began to panic. If it hadn''t been for the Sentinel''s presence and the faint sounds of it bumping and grinding against the walls, Dukiel might have really gone crazy.


    Julius was in a better state. He managed to stay calm knowing that Zach and his powerful angel maid were in front of him and his Mannequin, Dukiel, and the Sentinel were behind him. That knowledge was reassuring enough to keep him sane since he trusted his friends and their familiars.


    Zach was enjoying the ride.


    He had a barrier to block most of the wind but let enough pass through so he could feel the rush still. He had Yanael''s legs around his waist. He was ready to cast a barrier to catch him.


    There was nothing to worry about.


    A moment later, Zach felt like he heard and felt something.


    A moment after that, something opened up in the tunnel.


    Yet another moment later, Julius was swooped to the side.


    Before either Zach, Dukiel, or any of their familiars could react, the same thing happened again, and Dukiel was swooped away from the tube slide his Sentinel had made and whisked away into the ground to who knows where in complete darkness.


    Zach vaguely felt the presence of his friends disappear like ghosts and instinctively tried to glance back, even when he couldn''t see anything. Fortunately, Yanael turned his head forward in time to see the tiny prick of light quickly growing in size, announcing their sudden arrival at their destination.


    ''Shit.''


    The rope hadn''t worked at all, and the three friends had once again gotten separated on the way into one of the Underworld''s Locales.


    Zach and Yanael slowed their descent with barriers and Yanael''s shield, that she stuck into the ground. Zach put up soft barriers right in front of him and took them down almost instantly after hitting them. He also used a barrier around him and expanded it until it ground against the tunnel.


    But Zach''s barriers were too smooth to be effective that way, so he mostly relied on the short barriers and Yanael until the tunnel ended and spat them out into a large square room with a floor of spikes.


    "Hmph."


    Zach scoffed and threw down a barrier at their landing spot, effectively making a floor for them to crash into and stand on. He made it soft enough that it wouldn''t hurt but not so elastic it would bounce them away. After they got up, Zach hardened the floor and strengthened the dome barrier around them as they looked around.


    Less than a second later, arrows burst out of all the walls and filled the room. They were powerful enough to make whistling sounds as they pierced through the room.


    Zach had to exert even more effort to keep his barrier steady and prevent it from breaking. He glanced at Yanael, who had unsheathed her sword and taken out her wings and halo.


    He couldn''t do much other than defend. Yanael had to go on the offensive. She had to be outside the barrier for that. Zach had to open the barrier to let her out. If he did that, the arrows could pour in.


    Zach could maybe cast another barrier while making the opening as small as possible. But it was taking almost all he had to keep his current barrier and the floor intact. A distraction or redirecting his effort might turn him into a red pin-cushion.


    Their best bet was to hope the arrows weren''t endless. It wasn''t a bright hope.

 Chapter 71: Red Velvet

    Zach and Yanael looked around the room. They did their best to see anything useful or worth taking note of beyond the horizontal shower of arrows. But it seemed like they had managed to drop into a completely sealed death trap.


    ''There''s no fucking way.'' Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach did not believe it was a coincidence that the hole led into the trap room.


    Zach gritted his teeth.


    "I''ll make an opening for you. Break down a wall and get us out of here." They would only end up deeper in trouble if they waited for the never-ending arrow rain to end since Zach would only grow more tired. The longer they waited, the lower their chance of making a successful exit from the trap room.


    Yanael nodded and took a ready stance. She had her sword pointed at the ground next to her and her shield in front of her.


    "Three."


    Zach shrank the barrier and stepped closer to Yanael.


    "Two."


    Zach created another layer, separating him and Yanael.


    "One."


    Zach tore open a slit in the barrier in front of Yanael.


    Yanael flew forward with an upward swing of her sword. The slash was powerful enough to affect the air, and she blasted away several dozens of arrows before they could reach Zach''s barrier.


    But the arrows were heavy, Zach was stretched to his limit, and the barrier wasn''t as strong as it could have been.


    Three arrows pierced his barrier before he could reinforce it after closing it. Fortunately, the barrier didn''t break, and Zach managed to close up the holes and reinforce the barrier with only slight discomfort at the base of his throat.


    However, the intersection between his throat and his torso, like he was about to puke, wasn''t the only place that hurt.


    Zach reached up with a hand to his cheek. He knew one arrow had completely missed him.


    The second arrow had barely missed his face, leaving a bloody line across his cheek. It stung. But it was a scratch.


    Zach looked down.


    He found the third arrow.


    It was lodged deep in his thigh.


    ''Well, shit.''


    The pain hadn''t hit him yet since he was still numb and filled with adrenaline from the life-threatening situation he had been tossed into as soon as he left the tunnel. But the more he looked at the arrow, trembling like a leaf, stuck in his leg, the more Zach felt a burning sensation slowly grow in intensity.


    "Fuck."


    Zach gritted his teeth again in determination and looked toward Yanael. She had fought her way through the arrow rain by dancing on the spikes covering the floor like a ballerina with feather-light steps. As soon as she arrived at the wall, she lashed out with her sword.


    The brilliant sword strike hit the wall and left a deep wound. But it wasn''t enough. It might never be enough since the walls could be several lengths deep of solid stone. But the arrows had to go somewhere.


    Eventually, the wall would break.


    But it would take some time since Yanael also had to defend against the arrows coming from the wall in front of her and the walls to her sides and behind her. She was doing well, much better than Zach.


    However, until she was done, Zach was on his own.


    He looked at his leg again.


    If it had been an arrow from the surface, he would have left it inside to stop the bleeding until he was in a safer place where he could afford to lose the concentration holding up his barriers.


    But the arrow came directly from the Underworld. It could carry poison. It could carry disease. It could carry underworld energy. It could kill him.


    "Shitshitshit."


    Zach took a deep breath. He tried to, at least. The pain was getting pretty bad, but so was the realization that he had a fucking arrow in his leg.


    He quickly, with trembling hands, untied the rope around his waist and retied it around his thigh, shortly above the arrow. He had to stop the bleeding, and if he tied it tightly enough, his leg would numb a little, hopefully enough to make extracting the arrow bearable.


    It didn''t look like the arrow had significant hooks to make it impossible to pull out, but it would still be painful.


    After tying the rope, Zach carefully sat down and looked at his barrier. It was going to stay up no matter what. He wouldn''t let it falter for even a moment.


    He etched that resolve into his heart and mind.


    Zach grabbed the arrow as far down as he could. He wrapped his fingers around it right next to his bleeding thigh.


    "!"


    Zach drew in a quick breath through his teeth and winced as he managed to push the arrow to the side.


    ''Fuck whoever made this place.''


    After a string of short exhales and inhales like he was about to give birth, Zach stopped dilly-dallying and yanked as hard as he could.


    "Rngh!"


    Zach clenched his fists and ground his teeth in pain. He refused to scream.


    He slammed his fist into the hard barrier he used as floor as an outlet for the searing pain in his thigh. It felt like his entire leg was on fire. Zach stabbed his barrier with the arrow until it broke.


    He laid down and pressed his hands against his forehead as hard as he could, unable to even breathe. The slightest movement provoked his wound to hiss and spit in pain.


    When the pain finally subsided enough, Zach forced himself to take several slow, deep, and unsteady breaths to try and calm down.


    The barrier had held up. The arrow was out. His wound was probably bleeding and gruesome from how badly he had yanked the arrow. But it was out.


    He was alive. He had been better. But he could have been worse.


    Zach forced himself to raise his head and look at his leg.


    ''Woah. That''s a lot of blood.''


    His entire thigh was red. There was a puddle of blood under his leg.


    ''Maybe too much blood.''


    The last thought on Zach''s mind before he passed out was if red velvet desserts were delicious.

 Chapter 72: Shameful

    "Master!"


    "Mmfive more minutes, Yanael¡­"


    Zach woke up to the sound of Yanael''s voice. It sounded like she was shouting for some reason. But it also sounded like she was far away. Strange. Wasn''t she supposed to be¡­breaking through a wall of some kind?


    Zach''s thoughts were like syrup, and he had trouble understanding the situation as soon as he woke up. But his mind quickly cleared.


    His eyes shot open and he sat up, the numb jolt of pain helping him wake up.


    Zach looked at his leg. It was still a bloody mess. No surprise there. But by the looks of it, he hadn''t been out for more than a few seconds.


    Zach took a deep breath and quickly tightened the rope around his thigh, steeming the flow of blood even further.


    When he had done that, he glanced around.


    The barrier was intact.


    ''That''s a relief.''


    The arrow rain was as endless as before.


    ''That''s troublesome.''


    Yanael had broken through the wall and created an opening to an arrow storage and shooting room large enough for them to escape.


    ''Great.''


    Zach couldn''t walk, much less run with his leg. Yanael would have to carry him. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Not so great¡ªWait a minute.''


    Zach looked at the floor. It was a barrier. His barrier.


    He could move his barriers around. Rather than fixing a barrier in place, he could set it around a target like he had done with the group while they walked through the forest.


    It followed them like it was fixed around them with crossbeams. Invisible and weightless crossbeams perhaps, but still, it stayed with them without Zach needing to put extra thought into anything but the creation.


    Zach put his hand against the floor.


    It wasn''t the same as creating a barrier that moved automatically. But he could make the floor move. It would make it harder to keep the protective dome intact. Fortunately, Yanael was in the process of destroying the entirety of one wall of arrows, which significantly lowered the pressure on Zach''s barrier.


    Zach concentrated on the floor and shifted the barrier along the horizontal axis. He quickly realized he had to do the same with the dome, too.


    It was headache-inducing, concentrating on so many things at once. It was made even worse by the fact that he was working under such extreme blood loss that it wouldn''t be surprising if it made him go into shock at any moment.


    It wasn''t a promising first dive into the Underworld. As soon as they stepped foot into the place, the group had gotten separated, and Zach was already about to die. The others could be even worse off.


    But Zach had too many things to do, see, learn, and brag about to give up. He did his best to ignore his aching body and moved his barriers without looking up. It felt like he had moved several miles since the only things he saw were the endless arrows and the never-changing floor of spikes, both ready to pierce and skewer him as soon as his barriers broke down.


    He wasn''t sure how much longer he could go on.


    He heard Yanael''s voice far away like she was talking through a pillow. The sound of her voice and the dream of one day having pillow talk with Yanael kept Zach going until he hit solid wall that stopped his barriers.


    Zach slowly looked up, most of the light gone from his eyes. He saw Yanael a step away. He tore down his barriers.


    Before Zach could fall, before the arrows could strike his body, Yanael reached out and swooped Zach away from danger and into her arms. She brought him into the room behind the wall of arrow traps and into temporary safety.


    Some of the arrows from the opposite wall made it into the room, but Yanael tore down the wall and arrow traps to set up a blockade that stopped any and all arrows from finding her and Zach.


    Yanael put down Zach on the hard stone floor and tended to his wound in the faint light from her halo. She cleaned it up as well as she could and trimmed the strips of flesh and tissue hanging from the wound with jagged edges. She looked to see if there was anything in the wound that would spell trouble for Zach''s recovery, but she couldn''t see anything.


    Yanael ripped off her sleeve and tied it around Zach''s leg. She liked to keep her dress clean and intact. But there was no way such a trivial desire could compare to the bleeding wound on Zach''s leg.


    Zach was still passed out from the blood loss, and it would take a bit to recover enough to wake up. Until then, Yanael took inventory of the things that hadn''t disappeared with the other two or fallen to the spiky floor of the death trap when Zach got rid of his barriers.


    There wasn''t much, but there were some snacks Zach could eat when he woke up.


    There wasn''t anything to clean Zach with or keep him warm, so Yanael raised his leg before putting Zach''s head in her lap. She also held his hands for comfort and to measure his pulse.


    She was doing her best and as much as she could to take care of Zach.


    But there was a limit to what she could accomplish in their current situation. Zach had to get proper treatment from someone with healing capabilities or at the Academy infirmary.


    Yanael looked around the room until she found a seam in one of the walls. She could probably find another room or a way forward there.


    But since she couldn''t leave Zach in his current state, she had to wait until he woke up. If he woke up.


    Until then, she was stuck with her feelings of powerlessness and uselessness. Once again, Zach had gotten injured when she was in the same room. She should have been able to protect him.


    It was shameful. Her performance wasn''t satisfactory whether she looked at herself like an angel, a maid, or a familiar.


    She didn''t understand how Zach''s eyes could still be full to the brim with trust whenever he looked at her.


    Yanael stroked Zach''s hair and brushed it out of the way for his eyes as she looked at his face, patient as a stone.

 Chapter 73: There You Are

    Yanael was worried it would take hours for Zach to wake up. Or that he would never come to. Fortunately, she was wrong. It only took Zach a single hour to stir before realizing his head was somewhere very comfy.


    Yanael''s thighs were soft, and her hand running through his hair was soothing. Zach almost fell asleep again.


    "Master, I need you to wake up."


    Yeah, there was no way Zach was going to ignore that plea.


    "What''s up?" Zach opened his eyes and met Yanael''s gaze, pretending to be in a better state than he was.


    "My legs are numb. Is it okay if I move you?"


    "...Sure." Zach didn''t think Yanael''s legs could get numb from only the weight of his head, but the blow the request had dealt to him was enough to stop him from questioning it. With Zach''s approval, Yanael put his head on a bag.


    Yanael moved around without a problem and looked at Zach''s wound before glancing toward the seam in the wall she had noticed earlier.


    "Master¡­"


    "I know. We can''t stay here. But it''s best if I don''t move around unnecessarily. We have something to eat, right? I packed some snacks¡­"


    "Here."


    "Our best bet is for me to stay here in a barrier while you search the area. The only problem is you finding your way back."


    Yanael met Zach''s eyes with a gaze as clear as glass.


    "I will always find my way back to you, Master."


    Zach didn''t know what to say to those heartfelt words, so he just nodded. Yanael returned the nod and got up after making sure Zach had his snacks and knew where everything he had was.


    She left for the wall, only glancing back after slicing it open and revealing a corridor. She gave Zach a final nod before venturing into the dark Locale.


    Zach glanced back. Now that Yanael''s halo was gone, the only light he had was the few tendrils of light seeping through the cracks in the barricade against the arrows.


    ''Why''s that room the only one with light?''


    Zach was suspicious. Wouldn''t the room filled to the brim with arrow traps be more effective if the ones who sprung the traps couldn''t see the arrows?


    Zach made sure his barrier was secure before eating some more snacks and dragging himself to a corner, where he fell asleep curled up as much as possible. He couldn''t move his injured leg well, but his other knee was pressed against his chest.


    Since he couldn''t borrow Yanael''s body warmth anymore, he had to settle for his own to battle the chill of losing blood and sleeping on a cold stone floor.


    Zach was afraid.


    He had started shivering and trembling uncontrollably. He could feel the sluggishness of his mind and body. His leg wasn''t bleeding as much, but that wasn''t necessarily a good sign. Even if Yanael had done a good job, there was still too little blood.


    He hadn''t gotten the major artery severed. But it was still bad.


    If Zach didn''t die from the blood loss, he might freeze to death instead.


    He was alone in the darkness, deep underground, and inside an enemy base possibly full of beings out for his blood.


    Zach didn''t have any confidence in his barrier anymore. Entering head first with minor preparation, as they had done, had been a very rash decision.


    They should have been more careful. They should have made multiple holes. They should have brought the fight to the surface. They should have tried to get ahold of something they could throw down the holes, like poison or smoke bombs.


    There were a thousand things they could have done differently.


    But no, Zach was eager to get some underworlder blood on his hands, and the other two were eager to follow him. They weren''t even that eager. They had just gone along with it since they were his friends.


    And now, they might be dead.


    Zach sighed, his teeth clattering.


    The darkness and solitude gave him more time to think than he liked. It was useless when there was nothing he could do about the past or the present.


    ''I miss N¡ª''


    Zach stopped his thought dead in its tracks. He frowned and closed his eyes as he turned his ear toward the door Yanael had made and left through.


    He wasn''t sure if he had imagined it or not, but he might have heard something.


    He had no idea what it could have been since it didn''t sound like Yanael''s footsteps. It sounded more¡­violent.


    ''A roar maybe?''


    Zach frowned. There was definitely something out there.


    ''That was a crash.''


    Zach gulped. The sounds were few and quickly died down, but they had been ominous. He hoped it had just been Yanael beating the snot out of one or more underworlders.


    Zach''s hopes were dashed as footsteps too slow and long to be Yanael''s approached the door. Yanael''s steps were light and precise.


    The ones coming closer to Zach right now weren''t heavy. If anything, it was like the person barely touched the ground. The only reason Zach could hear anything was because the arrow rain had stopped and the place was as silent as the grave.


    The steps were also further apart than Yanael''s. The owner of those steps had longer legs than Yanael.


    Zach frowned. He hadn''t seen a single underworlder with long legs.


    Initially, he was slightly curious about this new underworlder. But the closer it got, the more dread Zach felt.


    It wasn''t a wimpy underworlder like the tasker that was coming. It was a walking weapon.


    Zach didn''t know how he knew. He just did.


    Whatever was on his way to him was a living disaster.


    "Ah, there you are! I was looking for you all over the place." S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The friendly voice didn''t match the tall stature of the silhouette in the doorway.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed as he looked at the figure. He could barely make anything out, much less any detail.


    Still, the little he could make out was enough to make him press himself against the wall behind him in fear.


    The figure noticed Zach''s eyes struggling to see anything.


    "Right. Darkness is a thing."


    The figure snapped its fingers and torches on the walls lit up and bathed the room in an easy brown glow.


    Zach''s eyes flashed over the figure''s light green face before locking onto the limp body held up by the base of its head.


    Zach froze.

 Chapter 74: Senior

    Zach couldn''t believe his eyes. He didn''t want to believe them.


    The underworlder held Yanael by the back of her head. He was so tall that when her head was next to his, her feet dangled the length of her calves over the floor. Her arms hung limply by her side, and blood streamed down her face.


    The sounds of crashing Zach had heard were clearly from when the underworlder smashed Yanael against the wall to knock her out.


    "Let her go." Zach was still scared out of his wits. But Yanael was more important.


    The underworlder glanced at the unconscious angel in his hand.


    "I suspected she was yours. Don''t worry, I only knocked her out." The underworlder smiled and tossed Yanael at Zach.


    Zach opened the barrier and let Yanael fly inside before closing it again. Unfortunately, he couldn''t catch her, and Yanael landed on the floor before sliding up next to him.


    Zach looked at the underworlder again and finally took a proper look at this frightening being.


    He didn''t look that much different from a human, at least compared to some of the other underworlders Zach had come across.


    He was tall, had long black hair, pale green skin, a leather vest that didn''t do much to cover his chiseled muscles, and black pants. When he looked closer, Zach also saw a pair of wings and a tail.


    "You''re Zacharia Evandiel, right? I''m Jigak. It''s an honor to meet the Academy''s third S-rank summoner." Jigak smiled and nodded slightly in greeting.


    Zach frowned.


    "What do you want? If you''re going to kill us, just get on with it." Zach glared at Jigak. However, Jigak saw through Zach''s glare and noticed the fear behind it.


    He chuckled.


    "I''m not going to kill you or your friends for that matter. As a rule, I don''t kill students, especially not ones from the Academy. I respect the principal too much. I also treasure my memories of that time. So, you don''t need to worry. If anything, I''m going to help you.


    Unless you want to join the Underworld?"


    Zach shook his head, extremely doubtful of Jigak''s words.


    "Guessed so. Still, I had to ask. If I hadn''t done at least that, the Great Ugor probably wouldn''t be too happy."


    "..."


    "Not the talkative type, huh? I''m not surprised. Kami wasn''t much of a chatter, either." Jigak reached into his vest.


    "Here. Something to eat." He threw something at Zach. It pierced his barrier even without seemingly using much force. Zach frowned and hid his discomfort. He let the object fall to the ground next to him.


    "It''s not poisoned or anything. Consider it my treat to a cute junior on our first meeting. It should help you get back on your feet." Jigak looked at Zach. Zach looked at Jigak without moving.


    Jigak didn''t seem like he held any malicious intent. But he was so scary and powerful that it was difficult for Zach to tell.


    "Well, this is awkward. If it makes it any easier, I''m not here for you and your friends. We had a recent experiment break free in this Locale. That''s why I''m here. That''s also why the Great Ugor doesn''t mind me letting you go.


    As part of the containment protocol, the Locale shut down, and we couldn''t access it without needing to break through several miles of solid rock." Jigak nodded toward the arrow room.


    "But when you guys opened up that training room, the Locale''s protocols were overridden and I could open up the path here again. I''ve already secured the experiment, thanks to you guys. If it hadn''t been for you, it would have taken weeks or months. By then, the experiment might have already died, which would have been a shame."


    "..."


    Jigak awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.


    "Well¡­¡ª"


    "...What''s the experiment?"


    Jigak''s eyes widened.


    "Oho, you''re curious?" Jigak looked around.


    "I probably shouldn''t tell you too much, but it''s a chimera. It''s not one of those patchwork things you see every now and then. It''s¡­we can''t be sure yet if it has succeeded, but it might be the first created life. I''m not very good at the research things, but it''s pretty exciting, no?" Jigak had a bright expression as he talked with Zach.


    Zach shrugged.


    "I guess." He wasn''t sure what to think or what Jigak meant. But he had gained some information he could bring back if Jigak were really letting him go. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jigak gave Zach a friendly smile.


    "That''s about all I can tell you. I''m sure the principal will also be excited about it, even if he doesn''t like the Underworld, so don''t forget to tell him. Jigak took a step back and glanced into the corridor.


    "...I''ll leave a marked path you can use to find your friends and leave later when you''re ready. And since I''m guessing this place wasn''t quite what you were looking for or to your satisfaction, I''ll give you another treat. Do you have a map on you?"


    Zach nodded and took it out.


    Jigak walked over. Zach didn''t even bother trying to keep him out since it didn''t seem like Jigak had noticed his barrier. Even Zach''s strongest barrier wouldn''t do anything to stop Jigak.


    Jigak grabbed the map and drew a dark circle on it with his fingernail.


    "Without spoiling the surprise, I''ll just say that there''s something waiting for you here." Jigak winked and handed back the map. He turned around and started leaving.


    "I don''t think I need to tell you since I''m sure you learned from this trip, but remember to prepare. Then, until next time, Zach." Jigak waved to Zach before disappearing. Zach couldn''t even see him move.


    ''...Holy shit.''


    Zach was exhausted. It had been stressful just being close to Jigak. It was even worse when he was right in front of him when drawing on the map.


    Zach was lucky.


    If Jigak had wanted to kill him or torment him, Zach wouldn''t have even known what was going on before it happened. That was why Jigak had intentionally walked slowly and with enough force to make sound but not enough to make a lot of noise. He was trying not to scare Zach. Probably.


    Zach still wasn''t sure what to think about the encounter other than it being strange, so he decided not to think about it for now and look at the treat.


    Zach unwrapped the paper package to reveal a dark red chocolate cake.


    ''Red velvet?''

 Chapter 75: Cake

    It only looked like a slice of red velvet cake. It wasn''t anything like chocolate. It was hard and compact with a flaky texture and didn''t have much taste, but it wasn''t bad or inedible. it was more strange than anything. Zach ate a little more than half before putting it down and wrapping it neatly again.


    Still tired and weak, Zach grabbed Yanael and pulled her up next to him. He hugged her and brushed her golden blonde hair out of her bleeding face.


    Fortunately, it seemed the injuries weren''t serious. All head injuries could be serious, but it wasn''t like she had lost an eye or gotten her forehead caved in. Yanael just had a few cuts and bruises that had already stopped bleeding.


    Zach hugged her next to him and fell asleep, the relief of survival washing over him and strengthening his exhaustion.


    Yanael woke up first and since her last memories were of a scarily strong enemy grabbing her by the back of her head and ramming her into a wall, she was about to enter full combat mode. But then she felt the cold arms wrapped around her and the weak heartbeat thumping against her back.


    It was calming. It was also Zach.


    Yanael didn''t even unsheathe her sword. She glanced around.


    They were in the room again. There was no sign of the enemy. They appeared to be safe.


    Yanael had no idea what had happened when she was knocked out or how she had arrived back with Zach, but for now, the only thing that mattered was that they were together and alive.


    Zach also woke up not long after.


    "Yanael?" He asked with a whisper, afraid to wake her up in case she was still knocked out.


    "Master?" Yanael faked suppressing a yawn and stretched to pretend she had just woken up.


    "How are you feeling?" Zach let go of Yanael.


    "I''m fine, Master. What about you? How''s your leg?" Yanael got up and moved over to inspect Zach''s leg.


    Zach frowned and looked at his wrapped wound. He carefully poked it. Yanael moved his hand aside to stop him from doing that.


    "...I think it''s healed?"


    "Master, this isn''t the time for jokes. If your mouth is feeling dusty, how about you explain how I got here?" Yanael carefully started unwrapping the makeshift bandage.


    "I was serious, but sure. Jigak carried you. He was also the one who knocked you out. He¡­He didn''t actually apologize. But he did prepare a way to the others and a way out. He also gave me some cake and drew a circle on my map."


    "...What?" Yanael frowned and accidentally tugged on the cloth around Zach''s leg. It should have made him wince. It didn''t. But Yanael didn''t even notice since she was busy looking at Zach''s face to try to guess whether he was joking or being serious. He looked like he was being honest.


    Yanael didn''t believe it.


    Zach nodded.


    "A superstrong underworlder almost an arm taller than you with wings and a tail came carrying you by the back of your head. He said some things about respecting the principal and not wanting to kill students. Then he talked about why he came. It was to pick up an experiment. It was thanks to us breaking in that he could easily access this Locale since the experiment failed successfully.


    Then he said something about this not being the place I was looking for so he drew on my map. Then he left."


    Zach spewed the words nonstop as he told Yanael what had happened as a way to confirm that he was alive. He wasn''t crazy. He hadn''t imagined it. He wasn''t dead.


    "...Are you serious, Master?" Yanael was still doubtful. Why would an underworlder spare them? Maybe he was just eccentric and didn''t like killing students as he had said. But why go so far as to help them?


    But Yanael could tell clearly that Zach wasn''t lying. There was a sense of desperation in them.


    Zach nodded.


    Yanael met his eyes.


    "I understand." She turned her gaze to the injured thigh. Zach was telling the truth. That meant the source of doubt and confusion was the underworlder. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael''s eyes widened as she looked at the bare thigh beneath the cloth wrapping. It was a bunch of sticky, half-dried blood. But the gaping wound was practically gone. The only thing that remained was a star-shaped scar that was still not completely healed.


    "Told you so." Zach shrugged cockily when Yanael looked at him for answers as to why his leg had suddenly healed. Yanael frowned.


    "...Did that underworlder do this, too?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Zach hadn''t mentioned it. Had the underworlder done it in secret? Why?


    Zach shook his head.


    "At least not directly." Zach glanced at the wrapped package next to him.


    "It''s one of the gifts he gave me. I ate it. After a few bites, my leg started itching. After half, it felt like I had enough. And boom! Leg healed." Zach pointed at his leg with both hands.


    Yanael gave him a blank stare before grabbing and inspecting the cake. She looked at it closely, sniffed it, and gave it a lick.


    Yanael nodded slowly.


    "Mmm. It''s certainly not poisonous, but I don''t think you should be eating too much of this."


    Zach nodded.


    "That''s a given. I should save it for the next time I get shot in the leg with an arrow."


    "Riiight."


    Yanael rewrapped the cake and put it in the bag along with everything else. Then, she grabbed Zach''s hand and helped him up. Although his wound looked like it had healed completely, there was no reason for her not to help her master stand up.


    Zach stretched, jumped, and crouched on the spot a couple of times.


    "As good as new."


    "That''s great, Master."


    "Let''s get out of here."


    Zach and Yanael left the room and followed the torches Jigak had left lit.

 Chapter 76: Julius Skill

    Zach didn''t know if Jigak had heard about his awful sense of direction or not, but the torches clearly marked the path they should use to find Dukiel and Julius, even when there were other paths available. He appreciated it.


    Since Dukiel wasn''t with them, it could have taken Zach and Yanael ages to find their way around and out of the place. It would take at least thrice as long if they had to find the others along the way as well.


    Fortunately, they only had to walk for an hour before coming across what looked like an empty storage room. The door was closed, but it wasn''t locked, so Zach had Yanael carefully open it.


    They still didn''t trust Jigak''s words.


    However, the only thing they found on the other side was a due of a a master and a familiar. Dukiel and the Sentinel. Dukiel was curled up in a corner. The Sentinel seemed to be glowing as it floated in front of Dukiel.


    "Dukiel?"


    "Z-zach?" Dukiel hesitantly lifted his hand and looked in the direction of Zach''s voice with tearful eyes and an unsteady voice.


    "Zach!" Dukiel cried out, his eyes trembling and on the verge of having a dam break. He hurriedly got to his feet and charged at Zach.


    Zach opened his arms and braced for a hug.


    He didn''t get a hug.


    Dukiel dropkicked him out of the room.


    "You bastard! You said everything would be fine! You said we wouldn''t get separated! Shitty stick-licker!" Dukiel angrily threw insults at Zach as he got up from the floor again. The dropkick had kicked Zach out of the room and dropped Dukiel on the floor.


    "That''s¡ª" Zach had to stop talking. The kick had knocked the air out of his lungs. He had to focus on breathing first.


    "That''s not my fault, you fucker! I''m not the one who got swiped like a child!" Zach was about to charge Dukiel and wrestle him to the ground when Yanael grabbed his shoulder and held him back.


    The Sentinel also flew in front of Dukiel and stopped him from attacking Zach again. Once was enough. Although the immediate danger had passed, they were still in enemy territory.


    Dukiel sighed and wiped his tears.


    "Sorry, Zach. I just¡­"


    "Don''t mention it. Things didn''t go exactly as planned."


    "No shit."


    "So, have you explored anything or did you curl up in a ball and stay like that ever since you dropped in?"


    "I was locked in here the whole time?"


    "You were? Cause the door wasn''t locked?"


    "...It wasn''t?"


    "Nope."


    "Huh."


    "Wait¡­You didn''t even try opening the door?"


    Dukiel shrugged.


    "I had other things on my mind. And Sentinel found something to eat, so I didn''t bother trying to leave."


    "All I''m hearing is excuses."


    "What about you, then? Is that blood on your leg a fashion statement or are you actually injured?"


    "I was injured. Me and my familiar got tossed into, you''re not going to believe this, a training room. The floor was spikes as tall as a person and the walls were filled with arrow traps that shot a neverending rain of arrows."


    "That sounds more like a death room than a training room."


    "That''s what I''m saying! But she didn''t have any trouble with it, so it''s probably a training room for beings who don''t use their legs as arrow catchers."


    Dukiel frowned at Zach''s nonchalant attitude and flawless walk.


    "...You caught an arrow with that leg?"


    Zach nodded.


    "Why¡­?"


    "It obviously wasn''t intentional. It slipped through the barrier."


    "No, I meant, why are you fine? Where''s the arrow? Where''s the wound?"


    "Oh. I yanked out the arrow and almost bled to death. Then, a Named underworlder came and gave me magic cake that healed my wound."


    "What the fuck, Zach. That doesn''t even make sense."


    "That''s what I''m saying!"


    Dukiel just shrugged and gave up. Since Zach wasn''t going to tell the truth when he asked, he wasn''t going to insist.


    With the second third of their group picked up, the only part that remained was Julius and the Corrupted Mannequin. Fortunately, they weren''t far down the same hallway.


    Zach and Dukiel soon stood in front of a thick metal door marked with two additional torches. unlike the door to Dukiel''s room, this one actually looked like it was made to contain someone or something.


    They looked at each other before taking a step back and letting the two familiars take the lead.


    Fortunately, Jigak hadn''t led them down a trap. The only things inside the room were Julius, the Mannequin, and rows of glass canisters filled with a tar-like liquid.


    Even without getting closer, Zach could tell it was liquid underworld energy similar to the one they had come in contact with back in the Giupusta Locale.


    That wasn''t why Zach and Dukiel stood still at the entrance, though. They weren''t entering the room because they were too busy staring dumbfoundedly at Julius dipping a brush in an open canister and then applying a quickly fading coat onto the Mannequin.


    He did it with such focus, and the Mannequin was so still that it looked creepy.


    "Uh¡­Julius?" Dukiel hesitantly spoke up to grab Julius'' attention.


    Julius'' eyebrows rose and he turned around to look at the door.


    "Oh! Guys! You''re here!" He greeted them with a wave of his brush, splattering a few oozing drops on the floor. He dipped the brush in the canister and continued applying another coat of underworld energy onto his Mannequin.


    Zach and Dukiel nervously exchanged looks. That was the same underworld energy that turned Julius into an angry brat, right?


    "Julius, aren''t you worried?"


    "''Bout what?"


    "The underworld energy?"


    "Nope." Julius shook his head.


    "Last time, Manny didn''t absorb it properly. That''s why it affected me. This time, I''m using my skill to make sure he gets all of it and gets it proper." Julius explained without looking away from his Mannequin.


    "Your skill?"


    "Your Mannequin has a name?"


    Dukiel and Zach focused on two different things. Neither made Julius look up.


    "Yes, my skill, and no, that''s just what I call ''im. As for what my skill is¡­Basically, I can strengthen Manny by applying things like wood oil, polish, and various things like that."


    "And it works with underworld energy?" Dukiel asked doubtfully.


    Julius shrugged.


    "It probably wouldn''t have worked if Manny hadn''t already changed after being injected with it. But now, it''s the best thing to strengthen him with." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach and Dukiel looked at each other again.


    "''Neat.''"

 Chapter 77: Investigating

    After looking at Julius paint the Mannequin with the liquid underworld energy, Zach and Dukiel looked around at the shelves and rows of canisters of the stuff.


    "So, uhhh, how much of this stuff were you planning to use, Julius?" Dukiel asked and turned to look at Julius, who still didn''t look away from the Mannequin. Zach went up to one of the shelves to investigate the black, sticky liquid up close.


    After several moments, Julius looked like he found a place to take a break and he absentmindedly took a glance around the room.


    "Everything, I guess. Or until Manny can''t take anymore."


    "Um¡­"


    "Oh, you don''t have to wait for me. I''ll find my way out." Dukiel glanced at Zach, who was looking at his reflection in the canister''s glass. He hesitated since it would take some time for Julius to finish up.


    "Nope. We''re not leaving you here, Julius. Take your time, we''ll find something to do. This place should be pretty safe right now, so we might as well use it." Zach turned around after speaking.


    Dukiel shrugged. He didn''t mind. He still didn''t like being so deep underground. But it wasn''t tight and dark like the tunnel into the ground had been, and he wasn''t alone anymore. Technically, he hadn''t been alone before, either, since he had the Sentinel. But the presence of his familiar and the presence of his friends were different.


    Now that they were all together again, Zach took the opportunity to explain what had happened to him after they got separated in the tunnel. Julius answered with ''ahas'' and uhus'' and only occasionally responded with more fluency and words.


    Dukiel still didn''t believe everything Zach was saying. But the context made it a little more believable than getting the kind of nonchalant, haphazard answer he got before.


    Zach told them, they asked questions, he answered those questions, and all of a sudden they were talking about nonsense like whether red velvet cakes were just chocolate cakes or not.


    However, their conversation didn''t last forever, especially since Julius was too caught up in drenching the Mannequin in underworld energy to properly partake in the chat.


    After a while of mostly silence, Zach and Dukiel decided to investigate the place to make sure the lit path led them out and that they knew it in case the torches went out. Dukiel would be the only one knowing it, though. Zach was in charge of carrying the food they found since he had boasted a little too much about his performance during his story-telling.


    Fortunately for Zach''s arms, but unfortunately for the group as a whole, they didn''t find any food. They found a path leading upward, and they found a bunch of other rooms on the way, including rooms with ominous doors.


    As they investigated one such room, they discovered that it was another death room, slightly similar to the one Zach had found. When they looked around some more, they found several other training rooms, all of different designs.


    Some didn''t have the spike floor. Some had spikes everywhere but the floor. Some had arrows as the floor and spikes shooting through the walls back and forth.


    There were also rooms with massive blades and cleavers swinging and shooting back and forth.


    Rooms with trap tiles that dropped after a second before bouncing back up. Rooms with flame throwers. Rooms with poison darts. Rooms with big stone balls.


    Jigak had called them training rooms.


    Were they for training in ways to die?


    The rooms were dangerous. But Zach bravely offered up Yanael to investigate them all, and she didn''t have trouble with any of them. Zach also didn''t have trouble. He could just pop up a barrier or two and watch the show. Sentinel could also managed. It was sturdy enough to handle most attacks.


    Poison and fire didn''t work on it. It fought back against the traps it wasn''t sure about tanking head on.


    Dukiel couldn''t do anything.


    But that was what Zach got thinking.


    Maybe they use the rooms for their intended purpose.


    Yanael and the Sentinel didn''t need it. But, as proven by this trip especially, they wouldn''t be the only ones ending up in trouble.


    Dukiel had been lucky this time since the only obstacle he faced was his own mind. But Zach had gotten hit by one arrow and scratched by another. If the arrows had swapped how well they hit him, Zach would have died.


    It wouldn''t hurt if they had better reflexes and strengths. They also needed to do something to pass the time while they waited for Julius since they couldn''t bring every canister of underworld energy with them.


    The problem of food was solved by blasting open the entrance and catching the monsters that came to investigate the now safe and interesting swamp. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They still hadn''t found the detailed answer to why the swamp had been lifeless, but as soon as Jigak had brought away the experiment, it had started slowly recovering.


    Food wasn''t an issue. They just had to work for it.


    Dukiel was skeptical.


    Zach had his barrier in case he missed something. What did he have? Nothing. If he made a mistake during the training, that was it. If Zach made a mistake, he just had to throw up a barrier to block the arrow, spike, stone ball, poison dart, or burst of flames.


    "As long as you don''t make a mistake, there''s nothing to worry about." Zach cheerily patted Dukiel''s shoulders and flashed a bright smile.


    Dukiel had never wanted to punch someone as much as when Zach said that.


    Thanks to that, he at least got the confirmation that if Zach missed something, he wouldn''t be able to throw up a barrier in time. If he missed it, he missed it. Dukiel also learned how satisfying it can be to punch someone in the face. It was a little more satisfying than it was painful to be kneed in the stomach.

 Chapter 78: Training

    After settling their differences, Zach and Dukiel headed over to the training rooms to begin their training. They were more than a little hesitant. But it wasn''t like they had anything better to do. Their scuffle had also made it clear how bad they were at fighting.


    Their familiars were powerful, but without them, Zach and Dukiel were useless, especially Dukiel since Zach at least had his barriers. They needed to do something about that.


    Zach went first. He lasted several seconds before he had to use his barrier to block the arrows in the room that seemed the easiest.


    There weren''t any spikes and the arrows came from only one direction. There was also a gap between the arrows. It wasn''t like the room Zach had ended up in that showered the intruder in arrows.


    Since Dukiel had a shield with him to the Locale, he used that to block and deflect the arrows he couldn''t dodge. Even then, he also only lasted several seconds before Zach had to cast a barrier to protect him.


    The results weren''t any different from what they had expected, but it was still a painful reminder of their weakness to have concrete numbers on it. A few seconds was nothing.


    That was all the motivation they needed to keep going. Dukiel also got extra motivation from having to rely on Zach to save him all the time.


    Gradually, as they got more used to the arrows'' speed and trajectory, the two boys started increasing how long they could stay in the room without needing a barrier. They went from a few seconds to almost an entire minute in a single day.


    By the end of it, both of them were sweaty and exhausted. They also had several scratches and cuts.


    Zach was quick and perceptive. But he wasn''t omnipotent. He missed more than one or two arrows, especially during his turn. When it was Dukiel''s turn, he could focus entirely on the arrows and Dukiel''s movements. He could look at the entire picture at once.


    When Zach trained, he only saw what was right in front of him. Sometimes, his arms, shoulders, or back blocked his view when he hopped around like a frog on hot coal.


    Fortunately, no arrows hit any vitals or dealt solid blows to Zach or Dukiel. What little injuries had piled up at the end of the day were handled by one bite of Jigak''s cake. For Dukiel, an entire bite was even a little much.


    "...You weren''t lying about the magical cake." Dukiel inspected his injuries with eyes wide in awe and disbelief. They were healing at a pace visible to the naked eye.


    "When have I ever lied to you?"


    "I mean¡ª"


    "That was rhetorical."


    "Right. Shall we head back now?" Dukiel was tired. Although they hadn''t found any traces of anything dangerous or concerting in the Locale other than the training rooms, it would still be best if they stuck together, especially during the night when it was time to sleep.


    However, Zach wasn''t that tired.


    He shook his head.


    "I''m going to continue a bit more. I feel like I''m about to break the one-minute threshold." Zach looked at the room with an intense expression of determination.


    Dukiel raised an eyebrow.


    "Really? Good luck, then. Don''t die."


    "Mm, sure. Seeya."


    Zach took a few more minutes to rest before getting started again. He stepped into the room and faced the arrow wall with a calm face. He stood on the balls of his feet, and as soon as the first arrow shot out at him, he nimbly moved to the side.


    Zach continued moving when the next few arrows flew straight at him. Then, several arrows came at the same time. Zach shuffled to one side before leaning back to the other and then rolling on the floor. He rolled over and got back up on his feet.


    He jumped to avoid three arrows aiming for his legs and feet. He sank into a poorly executed split to dodge the next volley when he landed. Zach leaned back and spun his legs next to each other again before raising them into the air in one smooth motion.


    Zach held up his lower body with his before rolling over backward and standing up. He walked backward to get some distance as he dodged another string of arrows.


    Without regard for how they looked, Zach continued dodging the arrows with everything he had. He was absorbed in the training.


    Even when he failed and had to block an arrow about to pierce his body, Zach continued without rest. He was getting better at reading and dodging the arrows. He could feel it.


    It wouldn''t be long until he broke the two-minute mark.


    Zach forgot about the passing of time. He forgot about his friends. He forgot about eating and resting.


    There was something addictive about dancing with danger and entering such razor-sharp focus that time seemed to slow down when he looked at the arrows. When he entered the zone, it felt like he could count the scratches on the arrowheads as soon as they left their shooters.


    Of course, as soon as he tried to count, he lost focus and almost ended up catching the arrow with his eyes. But it was the feeling of seeing everything with such clarity that made him continue even when he could see his heartbeat through the ripples on the skin of his bare chest.


    However, he eventually reached his limit and had to take a break. He lay down on the cool stone floor with his arms and legs splayed out like a starfish. He tilted his head and looked at Yanael. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What do you think?"


    "About what, Master?"


    "My progress."


    "It''s not bad, but if I may, Master?"


    "Of course."


    "There is a lot of unnecessary movement. You are tiring yourself needlessly and making openings for other attacks."


    "Really?"


    "Yes, Master. I recommend you try moving as little as possible next time."


    "Got it. I''ll do that then."


    Zach rested for a bit more before continuing.

 Chapter 79: Different Mindset

    Yanael drew a circle on the floor with her sword.


    "Stay within here and keep one foot on the ground at all times. Since you don''t have wings, you won''t be able to move or dodge if you jump. Get it?" Yanael asked.


    "Minimal movements and don''t do anything that leads to more openings. Got it." Zach nodded. It wasn''t difficult in theory.


    But as it turned out, it was incredibly difficult in practice.


    "Again." Yanael''s melodically strict voice cut through Zach''s concentration.


    Zach glanced down. He hadn''t even noticed when he stepped outside the circle. He thought he was still close to the center. Zach sighed and continued.


    "Again." Yanael''s voice once again alerted Zach to a mistake he made. He had stepped outside the circle.


    "Again."


    He had ducked and then rolled. He was both outside the circle and had neither foot on the ground.


    "Again."


    Zach forgot about the circle.


    "Again."


    Zach swore the circle was moving or shrinking. It was two and a half steps wide. How could he leave it with one step when he started in the center? With another sigh, he restarted.


    Zach felt like he was even worse than when he and Dukiel first started the training. He could last barely a few seconds even after trying several times. He wondered how bad it would have been if he had tried it with Yanael''s rules from the beginning.


    Still, Zach didn''t let his repeated failures get to him. Since he could dodge the arrows for a matter of seconds, it was easy to see progress. Seeing his quick progress was as addictive as the feeling of heightened senses and the rush of adrenaline when he was dodging for his life.


    Once again, Zach made strides in his arrow-dodging skill.


    He got so caught up in training and making progress that he completely forgot about sleep and his two friends.


    "Zach? Have you slept at all?" Dukiel''s voice was like a distant echo. Zach barely heard it, and he was about to ignore it when he realized what it was. He threw up a barrier and turned around.


    "Dukiel? Weren''t you going to sleep?" Zach asked with a tilted head.


    "I was¡ªI mean, I did. I have slept. I slept for several hours. Have you been training all this time?"


    "I guess I did." Zach shrugged, not thinking much of it.


    Dukiel''s eyes widened for a moment before he sighed with a shake of his head. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Whatever. What''s the deal with the circle?" Dukiel pointed at the circle around Zach''s feet.


    "Oh. I realized that this environment and these circumstances are ideal."


    "Yeah?"


    "They''re too ideal. In a real fight, I won''t have an entire floor of open space to dodge and roll around on. Rolling around and doing anything I possibly can to dodge these arrows also leaves me open to other attacks. Moving like a child on fire also takes a lot of energy. With minimal movements, I won''t get tired as quickly." Zach shamelessly took credit for Yanael''s wisdom and insight.


    "I see¡­" Dukiel inspected the circle for a moment and estimated its size and how big it would be if he was moving around.


    "Move over. I want to try." Dukiel pushed Zach out of the way. Zach raised his hands in resignation and when Dukiel was ready, Zach took down his barrier, unleashing the arrows again.


    "Fail."


    Almost instantly, Dukiel moved out of the circle to get out of the way of the arrows with a significant margin.


    "...Shit."


    Dukiel tired again with a scowl. Once again, he almost failed as soon as Zach took down his barrier.


    Even with his shield, Dukiel had a hard time staying in the circle. But he didn''t give up.


    Zach, however, was getting a little bored. He was still focused on protecting Dukiel, but he wanted to train, not watch someone else train. He didn''t say anything, though. He could tell Dukiel wanted to improve and train as much as he did.


    Zach silently watched and protected Dukiel with barriers until Dukiel had enough. Then, he took the stage and dodged the arrows with is arms behind his back and chest facing the wall. He bent and curved his body like a snake to dodge the arrows. Since it seemed like taking a single step brought him outside the circle, Zach just decided not to move his feet at all.


    Dukiel was stunned. Zach was better than he wanted to admit.


    Taking turns, the two continued training, eating, and sleeping while waiting for Julius to finish filling his Mannequin with liquified underworld energy. Julius wasn''t in a rush, and the other two had a lot of time.


    After a while, Zach moved on to a new room with two walls of arrows in opposite directions. Zach had to keep track of what was in front of and behind him. He also tried the other types of rooms, the ones with big stone balls, flamethrowers, and poison darts.


    But it seemed those rooms were meant to test and train strength, flammability, and poison resistance or how to move and dodge when afflicted with poison. They weren''t exactly things Zach could test or train in a short amount of time.


    Dukiel did his best to keep up, but he wasn''t as energetic as Zach. He grew tired quicker and didn''t improve as quickly. He didn''t like it. He was giving it his all and wasn''t slacking off, but Zach still improved faster.


    However, Zach didn''t sleep nearly as much as Dukiel. Zach would rather try and dodge an arrow and fail than put up a barrier when he could have dodged. He ended up with more cuts and injuries than Dukiel.


    Dukiel didn''t have the same freedom to do that since Zach was the one with the barriers. He also didn''t want to do that. He didn''t understand how Zach willingly threw himself into more and more dangerous rooms like he was looking forward to getting turned into a hedgehog.


    Dukiel knew that he needed to train and improve. It was a necessity and a way to pass the time.


    For Zach, however, it was fun.

 Chapter 80: Stay

    Zach was beginning to feel quite confident when it came to dodging arrows. Even rooms with three active walls weren''t lethal anymore. He felt like his peripheral vision had widened and improved. Occasionally, it also felt like he could sense the arrows coming from his back like he had eyes on the back of his head.


    He couldn''t help but feel happy and proud over his progress, even when he could tell that Dukiel had feelings on the other end of the spectrum.


    However, Zach was still far from done. So was Julius, so he had a lot of time to train.


    Zach picked up and focused on the sensations of the arrows he couldn''t see but could sense. With Yanael''s help, he figured out it was thanks to his hearing, but if he honed it, it didn''t need to be reliant on something so delicate.


    In a real fight, it wouldn''t be as silent as it was in the training rooms, especially in the ones with nothing but arrows. The only sounds there were the sounds of the mechanisms shooting and reloading the arrows as well as the whizzing sounds of the arrows themselves as they flew through the air.


    By sharpening his hearing, Zach could more easily notice the arrows that were coming from his blindspots. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But what if he had been fighting a roaring monster and someone shot an arrow at him from behind? There was no way he could hear it.


    Yanael refused to explain saying it was something he had to feel to learn. He had to learn to understand.


    Zach thought it was a load of bullshit.


    But Yanael hadn''t been wrong so far. So, Zach trusted her and continued training while focusing on sensing the arrows he couldn''t see.


    After a while, he dared to take another step and train in a room where all four walls shot arrows at him. When he did, he had to rely on his hearing and other senses to dodge arrows even more frequently.


    Zach couldn''t put his finger on it, but after some time, it felt like he could guess where the arrows were going to come from. It wasn''t because he heard or saw them. His skin prickled and after a few moments, an arrow was heading toward him from the direction his skin had warned.


    When he told Yanael, she just smiled and nodded encouragingly without saying anything. Zach shrugged and continued training until he reached the final step.


    Spiked floor.


    Zach didn''t want to leave the Locale before he could securely and safely exist inside the room that almost killed him. That meant he had to learn how to stand and move on the spikes.


    It was hard. It was borderline impossible.


    Zach had to cover the soles of his feet with barriers just to get started. And he hadn''t even entered a room with arrows, only a spiked floor.


    "How the fuck¡­?"


    Zach didn''t understand how he was supposed to stand on the spikes whose tips varied in size from needles to fingers. Even the finger-sized spikes were impossible to stand on without a barrier since he couldn''t keep his balance.


    The rare moments when Zach managed to stand for several moments without falling, the spikes dug into his feet like, well, spikes.


    Zach remembered how Yanael had moved across the spikes when they first dropped into the death room. He frowned. She didn''t seem to use her wings for anything other than movement speed. He hadn''t seen her fly, at least.


    "Is it the shoes¡­?"


    Yanael was an S-rank familiar. Her clothes were included in that status, as proven by how they slowly recovered and cleaned themselves over time. Naturally, her shoes were included in her outfit. Were S-rank shoes the answer?


    "Yanael, can I borrow your shoes?"


    "No."


    "Damn it."


    Zach wanted to figure it out on his own. There had to be a trick or something. If he could just figure it out¡­!


    However, he wasn''t making any progress, and it frustrated him. Eventually, sooner than he would have liked, he gave up.


    "I give up, Yanael. What''s the trick?" Zach turned to his angel with a desperate and ragged face.


    Yanael shrugged and took a light step onto the spikes.


    "There''s no trick."


    Zach was tempted to step on one of the thinner spikes and pierce his foot just to make a point, but he resisted the urge and simply glared at Yanael as she walked across the room and back until she opened her mouth again.


    "I''m just controlling my weight and the muscles in my feet. Your progress so far has been impressive, Master, but this isn''t something that can be rushed. It takes time to build up the necessary strength and balance."


    Zach scowled.


    "Tch."


    He wanted to say that they had plenty of time. She just needed to tell him how to train. But Yanael signaled that someone was coming.


    "Zach, you in here?"


    "Yup."


    "Julius is done, so we''re packing up."


    "Oh, really?" Zach''s eyes lit up.


    Dukiel finally arrived at the open door after speaking with Zach from the hallway. He was about to confirm Zach''s question when he saw the room Zach was in. He stopped and his mouth opened slightly.


    "...Are you serious?"


    Zach looked down his body and at the spikes. He held up a foot and showed off the barrier.


    "I''m not standing on the spikes directly, so no, not yet, I guess."


    "...for fuck''s sake¡­" Dukiel murmured a curse and shook his head as he turned around. There was no way he was even trying that, especially now that they didn''t have a bunch of time to waste anymore. They could finally return to the Academy without worrying about leaving their friend behind.


    Zach and Dukiel regrouped with Julius.


    "Hey, Julius. It went well?" Zach hadn''t seen Julius in a couple of days and greeted him with a smile.


    Julius nodded


    "Yeah, though, I think I need better underworld energy now to strengthen Manny further."


    "Better?"


    "Higher concentration or purity or whatever. Stronger stuff, you know? Stuff at this level won''t have an effect any longer."


    "How do you know?"


    "Oh, I can feel it. When I was about halfway done, it stopped having any effect on Manny."


    "What¡­?" Dukiel slowly turned to look at Julius.


    "Do you mind repeating that, Julius? I think you just said the underworld energy became useless a week ago." Zach smiled, but his eyes were frosty as he looked at Julius.


    "Yeah. Basically."


    "Then, Julius, my dear friend, do you mind telling us why the fuck we stayed here?"


    Julius shrugged.


    "Who knows? Maybe it still has some effect."


    "''Who knows?'' We stayed here because of that? Because you can''t¡ªNo, I''m not going to bother."


    Zach raised his hands and took a step back with a shake of his head. He was letting it go.


    They walked in silence until Dukiel had a realization.


    "Guys, I just realized. Our permission¡­"


    "Permission?"


    "To leave the campus¡­I think we might have overextended our stay."


    "...Well, shit."


    "...Sorry."

 Chapter 81: Punishment

    The walk back to the academy was fast and silent for the three young, adventurous students. They were riddled with anxiety and worry about the repercussions they would face for staying outside beyond the frame and error of margin the permission slips allowed.


    Rather than waste time and energy on idle chatter, Zach, Dukiel, and Julius reached a tacit and unanimous agreement that they should focus all their attention on walking. The sooner they made it back, the better.


    Hopefully, it wouldn''t be too bad. After all, they had found a Locale, talked with a Named, and acquired information about an experiment. It was the biggest haul of information of the year. There had to be some leniency, even if they were several weeks late, right?


    Sweaty, dirty, ragged, covered in dried blood, and panting, the three students showed up at the Academy. It didn''t take long before Jarron got the news and met up with them as they tried to sneak into their dorms.


    Without waiting for them to clean up, Jarron brought them to the principal''s office.


    Usually, students who stayed out too long would just get hit with the punishment and be sent to their rooms. It wasn''t something the principal needed to intervene on since Jarron could handle that much on his own. Despite his faltering reputation, he still had his authority as the homeroom instructor.


    However, this matter concerned Zach, the only S-rank student in the Academy. His value had started a labor-heavy manhunt on a scale that only the principal could handle. There was also the matter of the injuries on the boys and figuring out what they had been up to. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With how exaggerated the matter had become, it was simply best to leave it to the principal.


    Jarron was not avoiding troublesome work. He was ensuring that the correct procedures were followed and that everything was dealt with accordingly.


    After a hectic walk through the Academy, during which Zach and the other two attracted a lot of curious gazes due to their shabby appearances, they found themselves sitting in front of the principal and instructor Kami.


    "Fancy meeting you here, Principal." Zach couldn''t stand the heavy silence from the principal and instructor Kami''s gazes anymore and broke the silence.


    "This is my office." The principal wasn''t having it.


    "Right. And it''s a lovely office indeed. Who''s your designer? I would love to have them work on my place after graduation."


    "Are you even going to graduate at this rate?" The principal asked skeptically and disdainfully.


    "What do you mean?" Zach tilted his head. He had at least managed to draw the principal into a conversation. It was better than the stuffy silence.


    "If you go missing like this and come back after several weeks with nothing but rags on your injured bodies during the first year, what will you do when the curriculum becomes actually difficult and challenging? Forget graduating, you won''t even make it through your second year." The principal''s words were harsh.


    But Zach couldn''t refute them. It had been a little too close this time. They had even run into a Named underworld. And that was after he almost bled to death. If this happened during his first year when things were supposed to be the easiest, what would happen next year?


    Would he accidentally attend a gathering of Named? Would he lose a limb? Would the Great Ugor himself come and congratulate him on his birthday?


    "...I don''t think it''s proportional."


    "What is?"


    "If we have an encounter with a Named during our first year, how is it going to become more difficult with each year when we''re supposed to be subduing the one person above the Named in the fourth year? At this rate, given we survive, we might end up coming face to face with the Great Ugor in a year or two, not three."


    "Ha! Haha! You''re cocky to an unbelievable degree, Zacharia Evandiel!" Kami keeled over with laughter as he slapped his knee repeatedly.


    "You claim you came in contact with a Named as you are now, and you think you can fight the Great Ugor, already? A hoot! That''s a hoot, I say!" It was clear Kami didn''t believe Zach.


    Zach was used to people not believing him so he just shrugged.


    "Jigak sends his regards." Zach ignored the chuckling Kami and faced the principal. At the mention of Jigak''s name, however, both of them froze. The principal was affected for less than a second before smiling.


    "No kidding. Jigak. And? What did he say?" The principal showed interest.


    "That they might have succeeded in creating life. He talked about a perfect chimera or something."


    The principal and Kami looked at each other for a moment before looking at Zach with serious expressions.


    "Anything else?"


    "No, not really." Zach shook his head.


    "I see. Thank you for bringing us this information, Zach. Now, we only have to settle your punishment."


    "Punishment?"


    "Of course. You broke the rules. You stayed outside campus far longer than you had applied and received permission to do. For that, you must receive punishment. You must also take accountability and responsibility for the resources we wasted trying to find you guys. If it had been just a day or two, you could have gotten off with a warning on account of the information you brought back.


    But¡­" The principal tapped his chin with his finger thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair.


    "Yes. We''ll do it like this. This information should put you not far from the graduation requirements already. You three have already worked hard on gathering information and scoring marks. So, I''ll have you focus on the other subjects that don''t involve diving into the forest. Shore up your marks and round out your grades.


    You have Zach''s library access, make the most of it." The principal flashed a friendly smile.


    "All three of you are forbidden from leaving campus until two weeks before the school year''s end."


    Kami couldn''t hold himself back from laughing at the sight of the three student''s faces. His laugh echoed in their heads long after the principal kicked them out of his office saying they stunk.

 Chapter 82: Rumor

    Zach and the others didn''t even try protesting the principal''s decision. It wasn''t up for discussion. They accepted their fate, as horrible as it was. They were also too tired and dirty to stay seated on the principal''s fancy furniture much longer.


    They regrouped at the cafeteria for dinner after washing up and taking some time to rest and decompress. Although they hadn''t encountered any danger beyond the initial encounter with Jigak, and Zach was the only one who met him, they had still been on guard during their entire stay in the Locale.


    It had taken a toll on their mental strength.


    But there was no way they would spend the rest of the day resting. Now wasn''t the time for that. They had to find a way to make up for the fact that they wouldn''t be able to enter the forest until there were only two weeks left of the school year.


    Fortunately, Zach had a plan. He brought the map with him and when they were still eating, he rolled it out and showed the circle Jigak had drawn.


    "This here is our goal. We''ll spend these months preparing and then go for it as soon as we can."


    "What is it?" Dukiel asked with a frown. There was nothing in the circle. Just a patch of nondescript forest without so much as a monster habitat since there wasn''t anything worth inhabiting.


    "No idea."


    "You''re going to bet our grades on ''no idea''?" Dukiel scrunched his nose.


    Zach shrugged.


    "What else am I supposed to do? It took all I had to find that swamp Locale. This is our best shot."


    Dukiel was hesitant.


    "I''m in." Julius was happy to join in on the plan. This time had ended with mixed results. Zach had almost died. Dukiel had a mental breakdown. Julius struck gold.


    Compared to the other two, Julius had nothing but luck this time around. He couldn''t wait for the next trip to continue taking advantage of this lucky break he found himself with.


    "Ugh, fine. But we''re going to prepare like our lives depend on it."


    "Of course. Last time, all the effort went into finding the Locale. Now that we already know the location, we just have to focus on ourselves."


    "You guys just got back but you''re already planning to leave again?" Anerias looked over Zach''s shoulder at the map with a scoff.


    Zach threw himself over the map to hide it from Anerias'' prying eyes before glaring back.


    "If you want someone to keep you company while you slack off, look elsewhere, fool. We are not your kind."


    "What is that even supposed to mean? No, never mind. Jarron told me to tell you that you don''t have to come to class tomorrow but to find him in his office afterward."


    "Why?"


    "How should I know?" Anerias shrugged. He looked at the map again.


    "So? You guys were gone for weeks. Don''t tell me you didn''t accomplish anything."


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius looked at each other.


    "Why is it any of your business?"


    "I heard a funny rumor."


    "...What kind of rumor?"


    "That you guys aren''t getting out of here until graduation."


    "Okay, now that''s just plain exaggeration. It was for almost the rest of the year, not until graduation." Dukiel and Julius looked at Zach.


    "Dude, he was fishing for the details."


    "Oh." Zach turned to Anerias.


    "Forget I said anything."


    "Too late," teased Anerias.


    "Damn it." Zach grabbed his plate and stood up. Dukiel grabbed him before he could smash it over Anerias'' head and induce amnesia.


    Anerias took a step back and looked warily at Zach before clearing his throat.


    "So, it seems to me that you guys need some help." sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What do you want?" Zach glared at Anerias.


    Anerias met Zach''s glare with a business smile.


    "Let''s make a deal."


    Anerias hadn''t forgotten about Zach''s promise. If Anerias could give him what he wanted, Zach would give him the information he wanted about his Blackfire Hound or help him find that kind of information.


    Zach, however, had forgotten that promise for a moment.


    It was only when they started talking about it and Zach remembered his first visit to the library that he recalled it. Zach hadn''t forgotten the information Anerias wanted, though.


    The Blackfire Hound was a creature of Hell. Killing other creatures of Hell or creatures of Heaven or consuming materials that helped it refine its bloodline would help it grow stronger. Zach didn''t mention it since Anerias didn''t know to ask for it, but that was probably how to make it evolve as well.


    If Zach had to guess, evolution wasn''t that straightforward if he based it on how Julius'' familiar had evolved. But Yanael had said the Blackfire Hound was a distant relative of a top dog in Hell. By focusing on its bloodline and heritage, it was probably possible to trace it back and make it evolve backward.


    But there was no way Zach was giving Anerias that information in exchange for bringing monsters to the campus that Zach and the others could kill to level up.


    They weren''t allowed to leave the campus. But technically, their familiars could. Anerias just had to drag monsters closer to the Academy.


    However, the monsters that were strong enough to make it an efficient method weren''t stupid enough to get close to the Academy.


    The principal and instructors aside, the Academy crawled with students who could kill the monsters with ease. Even the first-years were finding their place in the forest''s ecosystem. The second, third, and fourth years would be even stronger, even if there weren''t any S-ranks or more than a couple of A-ranks.


    It was better than nothing, but that wasn''t the only reason Zach had agreed to it. He had agreed to it because he was in a good mood thanks to Anerias.


    The black-haired, mean-faced, dog lover had given Zach an excellent idea.


    It was the same principle. Zach would cooperate with the other students. Monsters and information.

 Chapter 83: Two Plans

    Anerias left after hammering out the details of their deal. He would lure monsters close to the campus every three days for two months in exchange for the information Zach had given him about how to help his Blackfire Hound grow stronger. It seemed unfair. All Zach had to do was open his mouth a little. Anerias, on the other hand, had to risk his life and work like a dog to attract monsters.


    But while Zach and the others would only get a limited boost to their levels from what he could bring, Anerias had found the stairway leading upward for his familiar. The immediate gains were out of balance in consideration of the future benefits.


    Of course, if Zach wanted more, he could always poke Anerias and share some more information, such as what creatures were from Heaven or Hell, where he could find them, and the part about a familiar''s evolution.


    But Zach didn''t have anything else he needed from Anerias, so he held onto those cards until the time came when he needed them. Inspired by that idea, Zach bought a notebook and a pen.


    Why only help Anerias? Why not start preparing cards he could use against the rest of his classmates as well? Thanks to his special access to the library''s higher levels of information, he had an overwhelming advantage. So far, he had used it to make up for the underworld assassins stopping him from entering the forest and looking for information on the Underworld.


    But he could use it for so much more. And now, when his classmates still could only access the most basic information, the information he held was worth the most.


    Even if he couldn''t enter the forest for several months, Zach and the others would still be busy with the two plans Zach was running, in addition to the preparations they had to make before looking for what Jigak had told them to look for. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach told Dukiel and Julius about his two plans, one about gathering information about their classmates'' familiars to help them improve and one about using the information on monsters to improve his classmates'' scores and results. The second idea was the one Anerias had inspired him with.


    If Zach helped his classmates find and defeat more valuable monsters and find ways that would let them secure the most precious resources, he would be entitled to a portion of the marks they earned, even if he didn''t partake in the hunt. It was the same as what he, Dukiel, and Julius had done.


    It wasn''t necessarily a significant portion, depending on the value of the information and how much it contributed to the hunt, but if he got a piece of all the cakes from his around thirty classmates, Zach''s scores would soar. And since Dukiel and Julius were helping him, they would also get some. After all, they had to find a lot of information to help all their classmates. It wasn''t a one-man job.


    Dukiel and Julius were excited. It would be a lot of work, boring work. But it would mean good grades.


    They were in.


    They were a little skeptical, however, of Zach''s other idea about keeping track of information that could help their classmates strengthen their familiars. Why not just help them without expecting anything in return?


    Zach, on account of his reputation and status as a duke''s scion, was a little more used to how easily people took things for granted and discarded people they approached for being useful once they were no longer useful.


    That, and he knew better than to give stuff out for free when he could make a killing. Why would he help their classmates without expecting anything in return?


    Dukiel and Julius were a little doubtful, but in the end, it was Zach who had access to the information necessary. He could do with it as he pleased. If they wanted to hand it out, they would have to negotiate that kind of access with the principal themselves.


    They didn''t even need to think about it before concluding that it was impossible. Just thinking about it again made them amazed that Zach had managed to do it.


    But Dukiel and Julius wouldn''t show their amazement to Zach. So, they instead focused on diving through the books for information they could trade with their classmates. Zach added more priority to the information about familiars.


    The trio had neglected one thing, however.


    Their classmates didn''t accept the deal that easily. Some did, others took some persuading, and some others refused no matter what.


    It wasn''t a complete success, but it wasn''t a complete failure either. It also gave the trio more time to focus on themselves and their familiars.


    Julius already knew what to do. Dukiel had an idea after the Sentinel absorbed the mountain essence and the minerals from the swamp Locale that he had received. They just needed to keep going in the same vein to strengthen their familiars.


    Zach knew how to train himself to some degree, and he had Yanael to help him. He had no idea, however, what to do to help Yanael grow as a familiar. She grew stronger through training. But when it came to her essence as a familiar, Zach didn''t have a single clue other than her origin being Heaven. And she had said that her origin didn''t matter much since she was a variant.


    Zach could only look for more information while training, helping his classmates, and preparing for a far-off venture into the forest. They also had to attend several classes and receive the benefits of their deal with Anerias.


    It was a busy period and time passed like flowing water without any big changes. But even a small stream could wear down stone.


    Their efforts and growth, at times small and insignificant, built up over time.


    However, during times like those, it was easy to forget the simpler things. Like maids. Like letters. Like underworld assassins. Like scheming principals and instructors. Fortunately, not all of those affected Zach directly.

 Chapter 84: Repent!

    Zach felt like there weren''t enough hours in the day, eyes on his face, or limbs on his body to do all that he needed and wanted to do. He had to gather information for several separate goals. He had to train and learn how to stand on spikes.


    He had made some progress on that front. He could practice by making spike-formed barriers. Unfortunately, they weren''t as sharp or pointy as the spikes in the swamp Locale. There was something about a defensive barrier skill not making good weapons.


    They were a good beginner step, but it wasn''t enough to really get those chiseled foot muscles and the balance he needed.


    Zach still had ordinary lessons to attend. He had monsters from Anerias to send Yanael to kill. He had classmates to give information to. He had to prove to the instructors that he contributed to almost every piece of information, resource, or material that his classmates brought back. He had to harass Anerias. He had to eat.


    He had to sleep. He had to train in combat with Dukiel and Julius.


    The combat training with his friends wasn''t anything special. The instructors teaching personal combat belong to other academies or grades. So, they ended up just fighting under Yanael''s and the Sentinel''s supervision. Sometimes they used weapons and other times, they used only their fists.


    Rather than training, it was more accurate to call it a method of releasing the stress that they accumulated while also getting accustomed to weapons and people attacking them with weapons in hand.


    Zach returned to his dorm after another tiring day. He couldn''t even be bothered to eat, so he collapsed straight into his bed without even undressing.


    Nora stood with her hands on her hips and shook her head.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk." She clicked her tongue repeatedly in disappointment.


    "Go away, Nora." Zach didn''t want to be disturbed.


    Unfortunately for him, Nora''s loyalty as a maid didn''t include not disturbing her master.


    "I was hopeful when you returned last time and looked like you wouldn''t run into every other doorframe. But looking at you now, it''s obvious you have no clue what you''re doing." Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So?" Zach''s voice was muffled since his face was pressed against the mattress. He didn''t need Nora''s comments. But if she were going to tease him, she would tease him, not bully him.


    "Are you stupid?"


    "I''m too tired to deal with you right now, Nora. If you''re going to be like this, either get to the point or fuck off."


    Nora smacked Zach''s butt hard.


    "Ouch!" Zach cried out and turned around with a disgruntled and irritated glare while massaging his buttocks.


    "What the fuck was that for?!"


    Nora pointed at herself with both hands.


    "Do you not see this? Are you blind? And that!" Nora pointed at Yanael.


    "What?"


    "Goodness, you really are stupid! What are we wearing?"


    "Dresses¡­?"


    "Maid dresses! We are maids. Your maids!"


    "And¡­?"


    Nora was a hair away from flinging herself at Zach and beating the cotton out of his head. She clenched her hands and one eyelid twitched repeatedly.


    "How the fuck did the Master and Madam spawn such a lackwit like yourself, Young Master?"


    "I don''t fucking know. Are you done?"


    "Are you done being stupid? I won''t stop until you realize the error of your ways, foolish brat." While saying so, Nora grabbed Zach and sat down on the edge of his bed. He couldn''t resist. He was tired and bruised from his so-called spar with Dukiel and Julius. But Nora was strong.


    She was too strong for him to fight back without her sticking a finger on a pressure point and making him convulse in pain.


    She bent Zach over her lap and started smacking his ass.


    "Realize the error of your ways!"


    She landed a quick strike to Zach''s already sore cheeks.


    "Repent!"


    "Stop!" To Zach''s surprise, she actually stopped. He tried to get up, but Nora''s hands were like vices as they held him in place.


    "What are you doing? Let me go!"


    She let him go.


    Zach frowned in confusion and irritation.


    "What the fuck do you want, Nora?" Zach glared at his maid.


    Nora shook her head.


    "That''s the one question I won''t answer. By now, it should be obvious."


    Zach''s frown deepened and he actually tried to think of the answer. Since he was tired but not sleep anymore, he quickly went through today''s interaction with Nora.


    "...Are you saying you want to help me?"


    "No. I''m saying me and Yanael are here to help you. That''s literally why I came with you to this place. You don''t have to do everything alone. You''re on the verge of collapse, Young Master, and you don''t even notice because you''re too busy!"


    Zach''s frown eased.


    "You should have said something, Nora. If you want to help, of course, I''ll let you help. I was just thinking that I needed a couple more hands and eyes to get through everything." Zach smiled and nudged Nora''s shoulder, but she slapped away his hand.


    "Damn it! This is exactly why I didn''t want to say anything! Couldn''t you just have realized on your own that you''re not on your own?" Nora stormed off before Zach could tease her further, but he didn''t mind. He needed to sleep.


    He looked at Yanael.


    "You heard her. Can you handle the monster extermination alone tomorrow?"


    "Of course, Master."


    "Perfect, I''ll just¡­" Zach fell asleep.


    Yanael made sure he was deep in his slumber as she tucked him in before leaving his bedroom and closing the door behind him. She looked at Nora, sitting in one of the chairs.


    "You told him in the end."


    "Of course, I did. Although he needs to learn some humility and how to act, I still don''t think letting him crash and burn is the way to do it. Speaking of which, how could you be fine with it when you''re his familiar? Shouldn''t you be, you know, worried about his well-being?" Nora looked at Yanael with slight accusation.


    Yanael gave a simple shrug.


    "I believe he will come back stronger. He wouldn''t be my Master if simple overwork and burnout were enough to keep him down. And to set something straight, I was fine with either telling him or not."


    "But¡­?"


    "But to be honest, I was a little offended he refused to rely on me."

 Chapter 85: Trouble

    Zach put his two beautiful, diligent maids to work at once. Well, mostly. Yanael was fine for at least one part. Zach didn''t even have to be nearby for her to find Anerias and the monsters he lured on her own. That was one of the many chores of Zach''s that he no longer needed to bother about.


    But the thing Zach needed the most help with was making full use of his special access to the library.


    As long as Zach was there, he and whoever he brought could ask for any information they wanted. If the information existed in the library or wasn''t hidden behind another layer of confidentiality, they would get it by asking.


    That was where the problem lay. Zach had to be there. It increased the efficiency of the information-gathering but it didn''t necessarily mean he had more time on his hands for other things. They simply gathered more and better information in the same amount of time.


    If it had been just that, they could have held back and decreased the time they spent in the library. But as time passed, it became harder and harder to find useful information for the classmates'' familiars and their trips to the forest. They needed the extra eyes to make something of the time they had.


    If it continued like that, they would need more time to find information that would get them good marks and scores, even when they didn''t do anything.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius were already at the top of the class. But a lot could happen in several months. It was easier to keep a lead than regain one.


    That was where the true problem came in.


    Nora wasn''t as busy as Zach. If she took it easy with cooking and preparing tea that Zach wouldn''t even drink, she could spend the majority of each day in the library, looking for information.


    However, she couldn''t be there if Zach wasn''t there since she was neither student nor instructor. She was still his maid, though, so Zach managed to get her access after a lot of trouble and blackmailing Jarron a little.


    Then came the next problem.


    Nora''s access was restricted. It wasn''t even at the level of a first-year student. She had access to even less information.


    Taking responsibility for her and getting the library pixie to allow her to share Zach''s special access was a whole ordeal.


    Although Nora had said she wanted to help Zach and ease the burden on his shoulders, she had done nothing but cause more trouble and stress for him so far.


    Zach wouldn''t and didn''t let her hear the end of it, even when it was settled and she could enter and browse the library as she wished.


    Nora found it hard to refute or talk back. She could finally help Zach by looking for information when he slept or trained and thus ease his burdensome lifestyle some. But it had been such an administrative mess and bureaucratic upside-down rope ladder to get to that point that she wasn''t even sure it was worth it.


    There were so many forms and agreements that Zach had to read through and sign every night that she sometimes caught Zach writing his name in his sleep.


    But it was eventually settled, and Zach dedicated more of his time to personal training.


    He hadn''t seen any of his classmates use them yet, but the Academy had private training rooms, where they wouldn''t be disturbed or peeked on. It was the perfect place for training secret trump cards or keeping secrets secrets.


    In the large cube-like stone room with high ceilings and bare walls, Zach didn''t have to worry about anyone finding out Yanael could talk.


    "Yanael, can you spar with me?" Zach gave his familiar a hopeful look.


    "...I certainly can, Master. But whether I do so willingly depends on why you want me to spar with you." Yanael remained poised with a lofty expression. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and she made no intention of joining Zach in the center for a spar. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why? I guess because I want to get used to combat? Dukiel and Julius are decent enough, but they don''t pressure me like monsters or stronger beings do."


    Yanael shook her head.


    "In that case, I would prefer not to."


    "Why not?" Zach had no idea what kind of answer Yanael wanted.


    "You want to spar with me because you want to get used to being attacked by someone who can overwhelm you, right, Master?" Yanael''s voice was curt.


    "...I guess you can put it like that." Zach nodded slowly.


    "I will not engage in combat, even if only mock combat, with someone who has misunderstood the meaning of the word and the act."


    Zach frowned and tilted his head in confusion.


    "Do you mean combat? Isn''t it just about fighting? You know, exchanging blows and so on?"


    Yanael hesitated.


    "...You aren''t necessarily wrong. But if that''s all you think there is to it, sparring with me or someone like me will not make you stronger. If you are unfortunate, it will have a negative influence instead, Master."


    Zach was still confused. But he understood why Yanael wasn''t just giving him the straightest and briefest explanation with an answer to what she thought combat was. Just like Nora had done when she spanked him, Yanael wanted Zach to think and figure it out on his own.


    "I will never figure out what you think of combat just by thinking about it. But I understand what you mean. It isn''t as simple as just socking someone else in the face because they looked at you funny. It''s deeper than that."


    Yanael gave a singular clear nod.


    "That''s right. I''m sure others look at combat differently. But if you are going to learn how to fight from me and spar with me, you will need to understand that combat is a competition. It is a competition to kill the other. The winner survives and the loser dies. Combat is a race to the death, preferably your opponent''s.


    Every time you fight, you have to be ready to take a life and surrender your own.


    "Combat is not light-hearted fun. Sparring can be entertaining. Playing with your friends can be fun.


    "Real combat is something that can''t be trained for. It''s only something that can be experienced. For many, it''s something that is only experienced once.


    "Fortunately, you have already passed the first hurdle, Master. You have already come face to face with death and survived. From now on, it''s a matter of getting better at killing. Not getting used to not being overwhelmed. Every move you make should be to kill your opponent. Understood?"


    "...Understood!"

 Chapter 86: What Kind Of Training Is This?

    "For the record, though, I always took combat seriously," Zach clarified to Yanael before they got started with the combat training.


    "I''m sure you did, Master." Yanael nodded assuringly. Zach had a feeling she didn''t mean it.


    ''Is she being influenced by Nora?'' Zach narrowed his eyes in suspicion. It felt like Yanael was getting more used to teasing him and being insubordinate. But he didn''t comment on his suspicion.


    "So, how do we do this?" Zach asked.


    "Let''s begin with what you want to learn, Master. Are you interested in the sword? I am not an expert in teaching or all forms of combat, but I can give you the basics and pointers. Advanced teachings will require you to gather more authority."


    Zach crossed his arms and was silent as he thought about it. With his Blessed Defense skill as defense and Yanael as offense, the only thing Zach needed, as evidenced by how he got hit by the arrows in the swamp Locale, was to learn how to move. Eventually, he would have to learn how to deal with enemies on his own on the rare occasions Yanael wouldn''t be able to help him before his barriers broke.


    But until then, survivability was Zach''s immediate priority.


    "I''m not saying this because I don''t want to kill or anything. But if combat is a race, I want to be able to run a marathon. I don''t need to learn how to defeat my enemies at once. With my skill, I think learning how to survive longer is my best option right now. As long as I become unkillable, I will eventually win since I have you on my side. Or something like that."


    Yanael nodded. She was more satisfied with this answer, even if it was technically the same. Zach put more thought into what he needed and wanted and why he wanted it. It was one side of the coin of combat. The one who survives wins.


    Yanael personally favored the other side, where the one who wins survives. But that''s what made them such a great match.


    Zach focused on surviving. Yanael focused on winning.


    In addition to that, Zach had also openly stated that he relied on Yanael. Without her, that kind of philosophy was useless with his current abilities.


    It was useless no matter how unkillable he was if he didn''t have anything to kill his opponents with.


    "I understand what you want, Master. I implore you to prepare yourself. And I ask for forgiveness in advance."


    "Forgiveness?" Zach was confused. A moment later, Yanael kicked him in the chest with enough force to send him flying into the wall.


    Fortunately, she held back enough that Zach didn''t break anything. But it still hurt.


    "H¡ª*cough*¡ªHey! I wasn''t ready yet!" Zach cried out indignantly before even catching his breath.


    "I apologize, Master, but I have never heard of an enemy that would wait for you to get ready on the battlefield." While talking, Yanael had already rushed forward and was about to launch another kick.


    Zach barely had time to throw up a flat barrier in panic before Yanael''s shoe made contact with the side of his head.


    Zach''s eyes widened, and a chill ran down his spine as the barrier broke. Fortunately, it bought him enough time to raise his arms reflexively. With a numbing impact, Yanael''s kick collided with Zach''s forearms and sent him sliding across the floor.


    "Y-yanael?!" Zach threw up a barrier around him as he looked at Yanael in shock and fear. She was serious. If he hadn''t defended against that blow, he would have been in serious trouble. Even now, his forearms were aching and throbbing with pain. They were probably fractured.


    "What''s wrong, Master? Isn''t this what you wanted?" Yanael smiled and approached Zach at a deliberately slow pace. It was like she wanted Zach to dread her arrival. If she wanted him to fear, she succeeded.


    Her smile alone had been enough to send shivers down his spine. But her rhythmic steps that seemed to echo in the training room almost made him bow down and repent for his sin of asking her to help him train.


    However, Zach didn''t want to give in that easily. And he wasn''t as scared as he had been when he met Jigak, so Zach strengthened his resolve and his barrier and faced Yanael.


    "Fine. Let''s do this."


    Yanael''s eyes sparkled, and she closed the distance with a quick step that was almost too fast for Zach to see.


    "Master, a barrier like this¡­"


    Yanael''s kick landed on the barrier, but it didn''t stop there.


    "...Will only tire you out."


    Yanael''s foot and leg broke through the barrier before smashing into Zach and sending him flying again as the barrier completely crumbled.


    "Master, are you even trying? You are treating me like I am weak. I am not sure how I am supposed to feel about that."


    Before Zach could even land, Yanael had already caught up to him and raised her leg. She brought it down and smashed Zach into the floor.


    "If you want to survive, you cannot be taking it easy like this, Master. Your enemies will not spare you simply because you are pitiful."


    Zach pitifully tried to raise another barrier to shield himself. But his earlier barriers hadn''t stopped Yanael, and neither did this. She kicked him across the room again.


    As he spun too fast to see anything but Yanael''s black and white dress in the jumbled room, Zach wondered if he had made a mistake somewhere in his life that had led him to this point.


    He didn''t even have time to feel the pain of one strike before Yanael landed another and sent him flying.


    However, after another trip across the room, Yanael caught Zach with her foot and stopped him. She held him on the floor with her shoe pressed against his throat.


    "If this had been a real battle, you would have already died too many times to count, Master. If you do not take this seriously, I will have to reconsider my duty to help you train."


    Zach could barely hear what Yanael was saying.


    "M-mercy!" He cried out, he pleaded, he begged for mercy.


    Yanel smiled.


    "No."


    S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 87: Not All Bad

    Yanael''s so-called training was barbaric, unstructured, spartan, brutal, painful, and torturous.


    ¡­But it wasn''t all bad. It helped Zach get his head on straight when he was in horrible conditions. He could defend and cast barriers even when he didn''t know the difference between up and down. He learned how to take blows that would have otherwise rendered him a trembling, unmoving mess.


    He learned how to cast specific barriers that only took up as much space as they needed to block a particular attack. Then, he learned how to take them down before they broke to the attack.


    Zach got significantly faster at casting and tearing down his barriers. He also got faster at running since that was the only way he could delay getting hit by Yanael, even if only by a second or two. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another good thing that Yanael''s training brought was mental relief. He was too busy dreading and thinking about the upcoming training session that he couldn''t even flee from to gnaw his brain smooth with unnecessary thoughts about everything he had to do and all the information he had to gather and sort.


    It was a different kind of stress relief from the light-hearted fun he had with Dukiel and Julius.


    It replaced one kind of stress and anxiety with another.


    It sucked.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have to withstand it forever since Yanael also mixed in strength training and monster hunting. Zach trained his strength, and Yanael hunted monsters independently. Zach would be safe as long as he stayed on campus. And he was forbidden from leaving campus, so he wouldn''t be in danger even if Yanael wasn''t by his side.


    When Zach started getting better at surviving, Zach and Yanael decided that the major limiting factor was his strength. And there were two ways they could improve it. Lifting weights and killing monsters to level up.


    The monsters Anerias lured to the Academy helped, but they weren''t enough. If Zach wanted to catch up to and surpass his classmates who could hunt freely, he needed to hunt and kill more monsters.


    It seemed like it wasn''t as efficient when he was far away from Yanael when she hunted since it took a lot before he leveled up even once.


    However, it wasn''t like there was a lack of monsters in the forest. Yanael could go wild and drown the forest in blood. A few days later, it would be like she had never been there. Rare and precious monsters didn''t pop up as often or come back as quickly as ordinary monsters.


    But Zach wasn''t looking for materials. He only wanted levels.


    While Yanael had a jolly time hunting monsters, Zach used the weights in the training area and tired himself out. He ate. He slept. He joined Nora at the library. He repeated that without counting the days.


    He had found a routine that wouldn''t break him if he kept it up for too long. It could probably have been more optimized, and his training could have been better. But Zach was happy enough. He was making progress and raising his grades.


    Things were calm. Too calm.


    Since the swamp Locale, Zach hadn''t had a luck-related incident for months. He wasn''t sure the trouble Nora caused by wanting access to the library counted. He didn''t think it did, so it didn''t.


    Zach was worried. The longer it was between incidents, the bigger they tended to be.


    Nothing much had happened between the field trip and the swamp Locale. He had almost died. He and his friends had gained from that incident, especially his friends. But that was easy to forget when compared to the vivid memories of blood spurting out of his leg and covering it in crimson. The fear Jigak had imprinted on Zach was also still etched high up in his mind.


    Zach''s survival and Jigak''s friendliness aside, it was hard to see the encounter with a Named underworlder as anything but unlucky.


    As if to answer Zach''s worry, Jarron found out about Yanael leaving campus. Although Zach hadn''t left, Yanael apparently counted as an extension of him. Since it was their fault for not specifying, Zach wasn''t punished, but Yanael couldn''t leave the Academy anymore.


    Still, before they were caught, Yanael had picked up three levels for Zach. He was now level seven.


    It wasn''t much, but he was no longer at the bottom of the class. He had also grown a little stronger from both the levels and the strength training.


    At this point, no one in class doubted Zach''s hypothesis that leveling up made them stronger.


    However, they had noticed that the strength depended on the rank of the familiar.


    D-ranks didn''t get much stronger with each level. S-ranks did. That was why Zach had noticed it so easily. The difference wasn''t much this early, but with each level, the difference in rank grew.


    Zach was curious about what would happen if a familiar ranked up. Would the strength of levels the summoner had already acquired increase or would only the levels in the future be affected?


    It wasn''t something he could answer or find an answer to, but it was interesting. He wondered if Yanael might have the answer, but she couldn''t tell him if she did since he didn''t have enough authority, much less tell him the actual answer.


    She could tell him, however, that since he had enough time to be thinking about such useless questions, he had enough time to train some more.


    The training that had already increased after Yanael was forbidden from the forest grew harsher once more, and Zach forgot his question. He even forgot how to think or what his name was.


    Once again, another several months had passed, and it was time for Zach''s punishment to end. He, Dukiel, and Julius could finally enter the forest again and look for what Jigak had guided Zach toward.


    Zach was excited. Dukiel and Julius were worried.


    They had a lot of time to think about it and realize that a lot could go wrong. Julius also didn''t believe in his lucky streak anymore. Too much time had passed for him to forget about the joy of all the liquid underworld energy he found in the swamp Locale.


    And Dukiel hadn''t made much progress in getting stronger. He wasn''t confident about their chances of success if they ran into something powerful, even with Zach and Yanael.


    Still, they had made too many preparations to chicken out. As soon as they could, they got permission and headed out. Jarron''s words that they would have to repeat a year all on their own dime if they came back late were firmly imprinted on the insides of their eyelids.


    They would not be late this time.

 Chapter 88: Quiet Night

    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius'' target destination this time was further into the forest than the swamp. It would take them at least a night to arrive. Out of the two weeks they had, at least four days would be spent traveling. Assuming things didn''t go according to plan, it would be good if they planned to return ahead of time.


    Eight days. That was how long they could spend in the forest not traveling to or from their destination. Considering they didn''t know what to expect, it was a time that was neither short nor long.


    It could be more than enough to find, hit, and exterminate a Locale. But what if it was a maze-like Locale? It would be difficult to clear something like that in only eight days.


    That was why they didn''t waste any time. As soon as they received their permission, Zach, Dukiel, and Julius grabbed their bags and headed out. Dukiel took the lead, Julius secured the center, and Zach guarded the rear.


    It seemed like the Underworld had decided to stop harassing Zach with assassins since they were mostly useless, thanks to his barrier. But they could be nearby, waiting for an opportunity to strike, so Zach didn''t let his barrier down a single time.


    However, there was something strange with the forest. The monsters were antsy in a different way than before, and it wasn''t due to the group''s presence. It wasn''t much, and Zach and the others didn''t think much of it.


    The strong monsters didn''t bother them, and Zach and the others didn''t go out of their way to hunt. They needed all the strength they could retain for their target destination.


    They arrived at the location Jigak had marked on Zach''s map without so much as a scratch. It was unsettlingly easy.


    "We''re here." Dukiel double-checked the map again and nodded. They were right in the center of the circle Jigak had drawn.


    "What now?" Julius looked at Zach. Dukiel did the same. It was his map, his buddy who drew the circle, and his goal to go there. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach looked around. Trees. Grass. Flowers. Hints of a blue sky through the foliage. Eventually, his gaze settled on the Sentinel.


    "Should we do it like last time?"


    Dukiel and Julius exchanged looks.


    "...Do we have to?" Dukiel was reluctant. It hadn''t exactly gone well last time, especially for Zach and Dukiel.


    "Yeah, how about we try looking for an entrance this time?" Julius'' suggestion earned Dukiel''s vote.


    Zach saw his friends'' faces and noticed their feelings.


    "Alright. But if we don''t find anything by nightfall¡ª"


    "Yeah, yeah, you can build your lens by then." Dukiel immediately agreed before starting the search for a way into what could only be another Locale. Julius did the same.


    Zach also started looking for something to tell them what they were there for, and he didn''t forget to do it while pouting, at least for half an hour. Then, he forgot about it entirely.


    The three students were careful not to go too far away from each other. It was difficult to always keep each other in sight due to the trees. But if anything happened to someone, the other two would be close enough to react. If it happened too quickly to react in time, they would at least notice it happening.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius walked around and poked and prodded the ground with sticks they found lying on the ground. They also had their familiars attack the ground every now and then


    They didn''t find anything. It didn''t help that they didn''t know exactly what they were looking for. The only clue they had was that it was related to the Underworld, and technically, even that was an assumption based on the fact that the information came from an underworlder. He could have tipped them off about a surface activity or a monster habitat.


    Unlikely, considering what he had said to Zach, but entirely possible.


    Eventually, hours passed, and the light of day started fading. The monsters, insects, birds, and animals active during the day had found, made, or returned to their nests and dwellings to seek shelter from the night.


    But the nocturnal beings had yet to come out into the few remaining rays of sunlight, creeping over the horizon and shedding weak light, refusing to let go of the day.


    The forest was deathly quiet.


    It wasn''t the groups first night in the forest, so they weren''t caught up in the gloomy atmosphere. It was, however, their first night without a crackling campfire to keep them company. They hadn''t had time to set one up since they were busy looking, and they weren''t planning on making one.


    Their plan was to drill a hole with the combined power of the Sentinel''s lasers and Zach''s barriers. That would give them all the heat and light they needed.


    And when they were underground after having found the Locale they were looking for, the Locale''s torches would give them all the light they needed.


    It was a non-issue.


    But it also mean it was darker and quieter than they were used to. From the darkness minimizing their vision, their other senses grew sharper.


    Zach, level seven, trained senses, and sensitive due to the darkness, heard something. The slight bonus he had in his abilities, compared to Dukiel and Julius, who were lower ranks than him, made him believe he hadn''t hallucinated it, even when they showed no signs of having heard it.


    Zach put his finger to his mouth to silence them and keep them from making even the slightest sound. They earned a glare each by stepping on a branch and breathing loudly.


    Zach closed his eyes and put his ear next to the ground. He frowned.


    ''A roar?''


    It was a rumbling sound, but it didn''t sound like thunder or a mole digging through the ground. It was sharper.


    Zach tried listening for it again as he slowly moved across the forest floor.


    There it was again. Zach opened his eyes and looked toward a patch on the ground.


    It sounded like it had come from there.


    He looked at Yanael.


    "Open it, please."

 Chapter 89: An Hour Away

    Dukiel and Julius frowned and exchanged looks of confusion. But Yanael understood what Zach wanted. She unsheathed her sword by transforming her bracelet. Its edges seemed to glow golden in the darkness of the forest night.


    Like an executioner of dirt, Yanael brought her sword up until it pointed at the sky, where stars had just begun to show themselves, before bringing it down onto the ground Zach had pointed out.


    Yanael''s sword left a streak of yellow light in the air for a moment before slicing through the earth. Nothing much happened from just one slice, so Yanaael repeated the attack several times.


    Yanael wasn''t sure what Zach had found, but there was something that made hitting the ground feel strange. However, her weapon wasn''t the best for cracking open the ground, so she had to attack several times before it finally caved in.


    Stay with the story on m v l e m p y r S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael stepped back and pulled Zach along with her as the ground crumbled beneath their feet. The others also quickly scrambled away before they got swallowed by the hole that opened up in response to Yanael''s attacks.


    They would probably have been fine, though, since the falling earth hit solid ground again only a few steps down. As long as they didn''t slide down the ramp into the depths of the ground, they wouldn''t have had anything to worry about.


    Clumps of soil rolled down the ramp. Occasional rocks also bounced and clattered as they fell. The sounds echoed in the large tunnel that was wide and tall enough for all of them to walk next to each other, familiars included.


    "Huh." Zach stood with his hands on his hips and looked at the tunnel with mild surprise.


    The other tore their eyes away from the tunnel and looked at Zach.


    "...How the fuck did you notice that by listening to the grass?" Julius asked incredulously.


    "I wasn''t listening to the grass. I heard something roar."


    "What?"


    Almost as if in response to Julius'' question, a low rumble and a soft, warm, vile gust of air escaped the tunnel. The three frowned in a mixture of concern and disgust. That gust of air had smelled way too much like monster breath.


    The monsters didn''t have dental hygiene, and it showed whenever they roared in one''s face.


    "Like that?"


    Zach nodded.


    "How the fuck did you hear that through earth thicker than you''re tall?" Julius asked incredulously.


    Zach shrugged, his gaze focused on the depths of the tunnel. Now that he could hear it clearer, that roar sounded like it was filled with pain. It also sounded familiar.


    It wasn''t the faint roar he heard in the swamp Locale, which was a relief. That one had been more haunting. But there was something reminiscent about this roar''s sharpness and ferocity.


    ''...no way¡­!''


    Zach grabbed the map out of Dukiel''s pocket.


    "Where was the field trip?!"


    Dukiel frowned at Zach suddenly snatching the map before frowning at his question.


    "First of all, gimme dat." Dukiel took back the map. Why did Zach grab it when he couldn''t even read it?


    "It''s¡­" Dukiel fiddled around in the air above the map with his finger as he looked for where the field trip had been held and where the camp had been. He frowned as he realized it was an hour''s walk away.


    The Underworld had been hiding under their noses during the entire field trip.


    But that wasn''t the only thing he realized. Their current position relative to where the camp had been¡­


    It was similar to¡­


    Dukiel''s eyes shot wide open as he looked at Zach, who was looking at him with a similar expression.


    "Zach, are you trying to tell me that that roar is¡­¡ª"


    "No, I''m trying to tell you that it isn''t, but it''s not working because I think it is!"


    "Shit!"


    "Shit!"


    "Hey, what the fuck are you two doing? Are we going in or not?" Julius stepped in between them and grabbed their shoulders to snap them out of whatever hysteria they had caught. Instead, they snapped their heads toward Julius.


    He hadn''t been with them back then. He had been back at the camp, so he didn''t know what they were talking about.


    "No, we''re not going inside! Not yet, at least."


    "Why not? Isn''t that why we''re here?"


    "Because¡­" Zach trailed off as his gaze shifted to something behind Julius. Dukiel also grew mute, and his face hung on his head as he looked at the same thing Zach was looking at.


    "What? What''s going on?" Julius looked at Zach and Dukiel demanding an explanation without getting one. Eventually, he decided to fall for it and was about to turn around.


    "We''re not going in because of that!" Zach screamed and pointed at the tiger that was even bigger than before but had still soundlessly squeezed itself out of the tunnel. Zach grabbed Julius and yanked him back as hard as he could.


    Right in time.


    A moment later, a striped paw attached to a lag as thick as Julius slammed into the ground, leaving a deep imprint.


    The tiger''s glowing green eyes met Zach''s. The corners of its lips pulled upwards and revealed a row of glistening, half-rotted teeth. It let out a gurgling growling sound like twisted laughter.


    For a second that seemed to stretch like rubber, Zach and the tiger looked at each other like fated lovers seeing each other for the first time or mortal enemies catching each other at an unexpected location.


    Zach and the tiger belonged to the latter group.


    And just like rubber, when it could no longer stretch, the second snapped. Zach blinked.


    The tiger''s muscles released and it shot forward. It shot straight into a low-heeled axe kick from Yanael and got its head knocked into the ground, sending a shower of dirt spraying over Zach''s barrier.


    Zach''s heart skipped several beats as the tiger''s nose pushed against his barrier. Without stopping, he grabbed Julius and Dukiel and dragged them backward.


    They wouldn''t have much of an active role in this fight.


    Without so much as a scratch, the tiger got up and glared at Yanael as if saying it hadn''t forgotten about her. It snarled and walked around, its feet making soft ploffs with each step. Yanael matched the tiger''s movements with her weapons unsheathed and wings tucked behind her back. Her halo shone in the dark forest like the lantern of a lone traveler.


    Zach couldn''t help but admire the scene for all its majesty.


    An angel of holy light fighting against a monster of eerie darkness.

 Chapter 90: Lasers!

    It was only when the tiger took another step closer to Yanael that Zach realized something.


    Continue your journey on m-v-l-e-m-p-y-r


    Yanael had cut off its leg during their last encounter. But it had four now.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and tried to get a better look at the leg that was supposed to be missing. It was difficult to see in the darkness, but it looked discolored and like there was a divide between the stump and the reattached leg.


    The Underworld had put the tiger back together and strengthened it with underworld energy, but it hadn''t been perfect.


    The tiger had already been a perfect apex predator before. It didn''t need the Underworld''s strength. It refused it. It had tried to reject it.


    Otherwise, there was no way they would let such a majestic being fight Zach and his companions. It had too much potential to be wasted in such a paltry battle.


    But Zach didn''t mind the opportunity to finish what had started all those months ago. The previous ending had left a bitter taste in his mouth, after all.


    The Underworld would only have wasted the tiger if the tiger died.


    Zach was going to make sure that would happen. He pulled Dukiel and Julius up by their collars and made sure they weren''t caught up in the same fear that had brought the hunting party to its knees last time.


    Fortunately, Zach had received training in the form of coming face-to-face with Jigak. He wasn''t unfazed, and his heart was beating like a stampede of wild horses out of fear. But he could still think. He could still act. Now, he needed the other two to do the same.


    Since the tiger had been corrupted by the Underworld, even Julius'' Mannequin would be useful. It had to be useful. They needed all hands on deck for this one.


    Zach threw up a small barrier in front of Yanael as the tiger swatted her with a quick paw that moved like a shadow, even under her halo''s light.


    Zach''s barrier wasn''t powerful enough to handle the blow. But it could soften it. Before it broke, Zach replaced the barrier with another on top of Yanael''s shield.


    Yanael raised her shield arm and took the tiger''s blow head-on with nothing more than a grunt. In return, she stabbed its toe with a quick thrust.


    The tiger didn''t yelp or even react to Yanael''s strike. It was like it didn''t have any feeling in its reattached limb. Or, it had grown numb to pain.


    Based on the cold look in its eyes, Zach was going to bet on the latter.


    It wouldn''t flee or avoid attacks this time around.


    Zach could feel it.


    It would be a messy fight to the death with extra violence on top.


    The tiger pressed down on Yanael for a moment before lifting its paw and then slamming down both of them on Yanael like a cat pouncing on a mouse. Yanael dodged backward, and Zach used a barrier to block the shockwave that could have otherwise destabilized her footing.


    Continuing with the cat-and-mouse game, the tiger smacked forward with one paw. Yanael sidestepped it and slashed upward, drawing a line in the tiger''s leg. This time it was the leg that hadn''t been severed and reattached, but it still bled grey instead of red. And once again, the tiger didn''t seem to care about its injury.


    When it saw that it was bleeding, however, it growled. Its ears twitched, and Zach felt like he saw a wave move through its ocean of fur. A chill crept down his spine.


    ''It was playing with her.''


    The cat-and-mouse game hadn''t been just a game for the oversized feline. It hadn''t taken Yanael seriously.


    "Dukiel, lay down some fire. We need to hit it before it gets serious."


    "W-what?" Dukiel''s eyes shifted like a startled doe in confusion. He was still affected by the murderous intent the tiger had unleashed when it crept up on them.


    "Lasers, fucker! Lasers!"


    Zach dared to be loud and shouted at Dukiel while shaking him. Yanael was fighting with her life on the line.


    Zach wasn''t going to let her risk her life due to Dukiel''s and Julius'' inexperience.


    "R-right¡­"


    Dukiel was still somewhat out of it, but his gaze found the tiger after a few moments before shifting to the Sentinel. He used his skill and commanded the Sentinel.


    Four arms popped out of the Sentinel. No, the arms were already out. It had two swords and two shields to defend Dukiel against the tiger. The arms retreated before coming out again, this time with four orbs.


    If it came to the Sentinel needing to defend them, it was already over. But the Sentinel had acted according to its instincts, which were to protect its master. It was Sentinel, not a hunter.


    But the tiger was a monster. It had to be hunted.


    For that, they needed a hunter''s mindset. A human''s mindset.


    Yanael had heard Zach''s shout and knew what to expect, so she got on the offensive. She swung her blade instead of blocking the tiger''s next paw. She met its sole. But it was like cutting leather with a butter knife.


    Yanael grunted and finished drawing a line across the underside of the tiger''s paw. In exchange, she caught its other paw with her side.


    Zach let a barrier break to take as much of the blow as possible for her, but she still got sent flying several steps.


    But the tiger stood on its hind legs with both front paws in an awkward position. It was the perfect target for the lasers that burst out of the Sentinel''s four orbs.


    Having learned from the time Zach made a lens to power through the earth, the Sentinel pointed the lasers at the same place to concentrate its power.


    The lasers pierced through the air, meeting up right in front of the tiger, at a speed Zach wouldn''t have been able to react to.


    However, the tiger had far better reflexes than Zach. With a slight push from the powerful muscles on its hind legs, the tiger soared away faster than the lasers. It leaped through the air to the other side of the group, landing on a tree. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Shit.''

 Chapter 91: Training Partner

    The tiger looked light as a feather as it bounded through the air, but the tree it landed on collapsed beneath its weight, drawing out a surprised yelp from the tiger. The tiger slumped to the ground with a thump that shook the ground so hard Julius'' knees knocked against each other.


    With a frustrated growl, the tiger got up and stomped on the broken treetrunk, smashing it with a resounding crack.


    It glared at the Sentinel before scoffing and turning to Yanael, who had gotten up. The only signs the tiger had hit her were a couple of scrapes and streaks of dirt on her dress. however, Zach could tell that a blow powerful enough to knock her away was sure to have left at least some bruising.


    Yanael was a warrior, a battle maid. Bruises were nothing to her. But she was also more than that, so Zach couldn''t help but be worried.


    However, as if to spite Zach''s worry, Yanael walked right up to the tiger with fire in her eyes.


    "Come on!" She called out to the tiger, making it focus on her and ignore the Sentinel.


    Zach had a feeling that wasn''t why she did it, though.


    Aside from Jigak, the tiger was the first being to pose a threat to her. It was her first worthy opponent since she became Zach''s familiar.


    The fact that she shouted was proof enough that she was getting fired up. She wanted a fight to the death with the tiger. Zach could tell. What else could the look in her eyes mean, especially when she was signaling for him and the others to step back?


    Zach sighed.


    It wasn''t often that Yanael asked for something. Although he was the master in their relationship, it was a relationship that went both ways. Even if he didn''t want to let her fight alone, he gave in. Unless it looked like she was in trouble, he and the others wouldn''t interfere.


    Dukiel and Julius were still in a state of shock. They happily went along when Zach dragged them further away from the fight. The Sentinel also stuck to Dukiel, and the Mannequin hadn''t left Julius'' side, so they weren''t a problem either.


    When they were at a relatively safe distance, Zach started thinking about what to do in the worst-case scenario. He would have preferred not to admit it, but it was possible that Yanael could lose.


    If that were to happen, they needed something, a trick, a plan, anything, that could deal with the tiger.


    Yanael was the strongest card in their communal arsenal, but she wasn''t the only one. As long as Zach stepped in before she was out of commission or lost too horribly to continue fighting in case she lost, she would still be the main piece of the plan to take down the tiger.


    While spectating the fight, Zach''s mind spun like mad to come up with ways to deal with the tiger.


    Meanwhile, Yanael was busy fighting the tiger.


    It had accepted her invitation for a duel, even when it knew Zach and the others were waiting on the sideline to step in. To it, no help of Yanael''s would be enough. She and the others would be seeing their end tonight.


    Yanael didn''t carry a similar conviction. Although she was fighting the tiger to the death now that it had come to it, that wasn''t the sole reason she had asked Zach to have the others hang back.


    For a time now, ever since their first encounter with the fighters in the Giupusta Locale, Yanael had struggled with something.


    She kept getting pushed back and knocked around by physically strong but otherwise unskilled opponents. They were strong but not fast or dangerous, so they weren''t a problem. The underworld fighters. The oversized bronze-toothed ape. The tiger.


    The tiger was more than big and strong, especially in its current condition.


    But the same problem arose when she was trying to defend or stand in front of Zach.


    She repeatedly got pushed back or knocked away. How was she supposed to defend Zach when that continued to happen?


    She had to do something about it. Read further adventures at m vl_em|p_yr


    Her light weight made it easy for her to move around and flutter across the battlefield and forest, slicing down monsters. But her sword wasn''t her only weapon, and she was Zach''s battle maid. Her purpose was more than to attack. It was to defend as well.


    Zach''s Blessed Defense was great. But it wasn''t enough. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael had thought long and hard about what to do. She had hoped that the mountain essence from the Giupusta Locale would have helped, but so far, it had only made her weapons sturdier.


    She had been at a loss.


    Until now.


    The tiger had demonstrated its strength and willingly offered itself up as a training partner for Yanael.


    If she could stand immovable like a mountain in front of the tiger, nothing except a bigger, stronger tiger would make her move or lose her footing.


    That was why she didn''t immediately go on the offensive. She didn''t make use of the tiger''s imbalance or incongruent sense of self. It wasn''t used to how big, strong, and heavy it was after what the Underworld had done to it.


    Yanael could have used her speed and stature to fight a battle of attrition and bleed the tiger to the death. She could have also tried to aim for its reattached leg and cripple it again.


    She didn''t.


    She raised her shield and stood right in front of the tiger. She dug her feet into the grass wide apart and lowered her center of gravity. She tensed her midsection and thighs, ready to catch the tiger''s powerful paws with nothing but her body.


    The tiger stood right in front of her, towered over her, and, with a mocking smile, swiped with its paw like swatting a fly.


    Yanael braced for impact and at the moment of collision, pushed against the paw with all the strength she could muster.


    Something made a loud noise when paw met maid, but Zach had no idea what it was. He only saw that after a brief battle, Yanael was sent flying.

 Chapter 92: Mastered

    Zach would have rushed out to help Yanael if he hadn''t seen her spin around in the air and land on her feet before charging at the tiger and jumping up to slam her shoulder into its side.


    Yanael was strong enough and came at it with enough force to make it take a step, but that was it. She dropped to the ground again like a pillow after smacking against a wall.


    "Tch." She clicked her tongue before bracing for the next paw swipe. It sent her flying again, and again, she flipped in the air and landed on her feet so she could charge at the tiger as soon as she hit the ground.


    She had noticed it. The tiger wasn''t just helping her train. It held the answer to what she needed.


    The tiger''s weight and mass made it immovable when it wanted. But that wasn''t everything. That alone wasn''t enough to not budge when Yanael charged at it with full force.


    Yanael jumped and dropkicked the tiger, fully prepared for the tiger''s retaliation. Even if she got hit again, she had to confirm what she thought she had noticed the tiger do.


    Yanael leaped up and, mid-air, spun around and pointed her feet at the tiger''s shoulder. She bent her legs before extending them as quickly as she could. Combined with her own speed, her feet rammed into the tiger like a pair of ballista bolts.


    Yanael grinned as she fell through the air. She grinned in the face of the paw coming straight at her before she could readjust and even try to land on her feet.


    Since she was in the air, she couldn''t try it out and got swatted away for a third time. it was the hardest blow so far, and the furthest she had flown.


    Yanael bounced and rolled on the forest floor and broke a couple of smaller trees before coming to a full stop at the base of a thick, sturdy one. She stood up, hair disheveled and face dirty with mud and blood. She had one hand on her knee and used the other to wipe the worst off of her face.


    She used her hands to quickly brush back her hair and tie it in a ponytail while walking toward the tiger again.


    The tiger raised an eyebrow as if in surprise that Yanael was not only fine but also willingly challenging it again.


    It let out a puff of air and quickly raised its paw again, swatting at Yanael. It wondered how much she could take before breaking.


    Like before, the tiger''s paw silently, quickly, and powerfully passed through the air without making much of a stir before slamming into Yanael.


    But unlike before, Yanael wasn''t sent flying. She took two quick steps. But that was it.


    She offset the force of the strike and redirected it into the ground. It wasn''t perfect, and most of her body buzzed and ached.


    But it was a success. With this, she could stand secure in front of Zach.


    Yanael grinned at the tiger as it looked at her and its paw, stupefied. It frowned and its nose crinkled in anger. Yanael''s taunt worked and the tiger tried again, refusing to believe that the same outcome would repeat.


    The tiger was right. It didn''t. Yanael only took one step this time, and the tiger felt even more like he was smacking a puddle of mud. It growled.


    Again. One step.


    The tiger finally realized that it wouldn''t work and its eyes glowed green as it looked at Yanael. Yanael met its gaze with a fierce grin of her own. The tiger made its move.


    It used both its paws to swat at Yanael from either side.


    But the tiger had given Yanael too many opportunities to learn. She hardened her body at the right time and relaxed her muscles at the right time. She let the force of the two paws pass right through her.


    She absorbed the blows with her shield and with her bare arm. She redirected the force into the ground. Her bare arm was scratched by the tiger when it pulled back its paw and was almost cut off at the wrist. But so what? She could still wield her sword.


    What really mattered was that she had taken the tiger''s technique, learned it, mastered it, and then surpassed the tiger in it. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tiger had served its purpose, and the fire in Yanael''s eyes gradually cooled down. Her grin faded, and she looked at the tiger with a cold gaze.


    If her service of Zach was affected by the wound on her hand¡­


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    Oh, the tiger was going to pay.


    But now that she was done, she didn''t have to be the only one to make it pay. She glanced at Zach. She could see the worry in his eyes even from this far away. She swore to apologize and to be better in the future. It was unforgivable that she was making him worry this much.


    Then again, it wasn''t her fault, was it? It was the tiger''s. She glared at the tiger again.


    It raised a paw before bringing it down so fast it was nothing but a blur. It couldn''t swat or squash Yanael since she just absorbed and redirected the force of its strikes.


    But what if she couldn''t redirect the force? What if the force was already headed downward?


    The tiger slammed its paw into Yanael, fully anticipating the sensation of turning her into a pile of meat and blood or, if that didn''t work, pushing her into the ground and then tearing her head off.


    The tiger was wrong again.


    It had forced Yanael''s feet several hands into the hard ground, and her knees were bent so far they were almost touching the ground. Her neck was also forced downward by the paw.


    But it was worth it.


    Her sword was pushed all the way to its hilt into the tiger''s paw. Yanael grabbed the handle with both hands and twisted.


    Blood squirted and the tiger yelped.


    It had wanted to feel Yanael be crushed, so it had used its intact leg. It had felt something alright. It had felt Yanael drive a sword into its paw.


    The tiger pulled back and inspected its paw before snarling at Yanael.


    It was time for round two.

 Chapter 93: Second Round

    The tiger looked at its reattached leg. The greenish, discolored, rotting piece of meat didn''t even feel like its leg. It moved like the tiger wanted to. But it didn''t provide any feeling and the muscles in it were stiff.


    More than that, the tiger could feel an uncomfortable presence in it corroding its body. The leg was poisoning the tiger. But the leg also possessed a deep power.


    The tiger had no choice in the matter. The Underworld had grabbed it and its leg and done whatever they wanted to it.


    It was dying. The Underworld had only delayed the inevitable and bestowed upon the tiger the gift of pain and an opportunity for revenge that it wasn''t worthy of. It had already lost. It had already died.


    So what if it had already lost? So what if it wasn''t worthy of another attempt?


    At this point, the tiger couldn''t care less. It was going to die either way. It might as well die at the hands of a worthy opponent. Not prey. Not game. Not weak ants.


    Equals.


    It wouldn''t go down without a fight, though.


    Black smoke started leaking out of the tiger''s leg. The smoke clung to the tiger''s fur and crawled up its leg, shoulder, neck, and onto the rest of its body. Its fur darkened in color, and its eyes started glowing with a mad, painful sheen.


    It looked like a phantom from the world of the dead come to exact its vengeance on the world of the living.


    The hair on the back of Zach''s neck stood up, and his heart, which had slowed down when he saw Yanael stand her ground repeatedly, started galloping again.


    He looked at Yanael. She looked at him. She nodded. Zach returned the nod.


    Without wasting a single second, Zach picked up Dukiel and Julius and ran for his life.


    He wasn''t fleeing and leaving Yanael behind. He was heading to the only advantageous terrain nearby, the Locale.


    The Sentinel and Mannequin followed along and helped Zach support Dukiel and Julius while they came to and got ready to actually do something with the time Yanael had given and was giving them. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach, Dukiel, Julius, and the Mannequin slid down the sloping tunnel into the Locale. When they hit level ground, they continued running. Eventually, Zach stopped and shared his plan with Dukiel and Julius.


    Meanwhile, Yanael was busy doing her best avoiding and fending off the tiger''s frantic and empowered attacks. The tiger was going all out.


    Even if Yanael could take the hits and redirect the impact, she didn''t want to. Underworld energy covered the tiger like a cloud of poison. Its claws were also dripping with the stuff.


    Yanael didn''t want to risk getting another scratch, much less getting torn apart by the tiger. She hopped around and made full use of her agility to keep as much distance as she could from the tiger.


    But her only advantage was how quickly she could change directions.


    The tiger was faster and stronger than her, but it also weighed more. Its momentum made it impossible to turn and chase after Yanael through the forest without slipping and sliding with every twist.


    However, the tiger was too powerful to care about the paltry trees standing in its way and just bulldozed through the forest.


    Long gone was the grace and pride of the king of the forest. It was nothing more than a mad beast. But it was powerful, so Yanael couldn''t afford to take it easy.


    It was also gaining on her, no matter how sharp her turns or how quickly she flapped her wings to increase her speed. The tiger''s powerful muscles rippled and sent plumes of black smoke into the air as it pushed against the ground with each leap and shot forward.


    She hoped Zach was ready.


    When she looked at him before, she could tell that he was frightened and anxious about the tiger. But he wasn''t in despair. He wasn''t giving up.


    Hopefully, that meant he had a way of dealing with the tiger. And she could guess what he had planned, considering he entered the tunnel leading to the Locale.


    Yanael wanted to give Zach more time to prepare, but she couldn''t stall any longer without risking the tiger catching her before it was too late.


    She suddenly turned right around with the tiger only a few large steps right behind her. She dashed between its legs and headed toward the tunnel she popped open.


    The tiger, driven only by its desire to hunt and kill, followed Yanael with its mouth and snapped its jaws shut behind her, stealing the ends of a few strands of hair. But in doing so, it tried to stick its head between its legs.


    Its momentum carried it forward and threw it over on its back due to the sudden break and weird head movement.


    The tiger''s wipeout gave Yanael several precious long moments that let her enter the tunnel and run down to regroup with Zach before the tiger could catch up.


    The tiger felt an instinctive hatred and disgust for the tunnel and the Locale.


    If it had been in a state where it could think like a hunter, it wouldn''t have entered. This was the only exit that didn''t lead to the Underworld.


    It just had to wait. Sooner or later, its prey would return and jump straight into its maw.


    But the current tiger was barely following its instincts. It was impossible for it to think.


    It dove straight into the tunnel and practically flew down the slope, the occasional step making the ground shake like a giant was roaming the surface.


    "Now!"


    Zach counted the steps and felt how far away they were. Too soon, and they would miss. Too late, and, well, it would be too late.


    On Zach''s order, the Sentinel fired at the barrier floating in the air in front of it. Yanael hugged the wall the last bit to avoid the laser before joining up with Zach and the others behind the Sentinel. Zach felt her presence, even if he couldn''t see her due to the blinding light.


    He gulped nervously.


    The laser had already passed through the barrier. If the tiger didn''t come soon, it would hit nothing but the ground.


    It had been some time since the tiger''s last tremor. It should be here.


    It had to be.


    Zach''s mind began racing.


    How long could the Sentinel keep firing? How long did it take between shots? Had the tiger noticed what was going on?


    Had they failed?


    Zach ignored the blinding red light and forced himself to watch the end of the tunnel. Enjoy stories on m_v lem|p-yr


    The laser was about to make contact with the ground. It was a horse length away. An instant would be enough to cover that distance for the laser.


    An instant was also all the time it took for the tiger to land¨Cto slam into the floor.


    Its front paws hit the intersection with enough force to crack the floor and send a shockwave through the tunnel. Both air and the floor shook and sent Zach and the others flying.

 Chapter 94: On Me!

    The impact of the big, heavy tiger running at a speed surpassing the speed it would have fallen through empty air wasn''t to be underestimated, and the shockwave it caused in the limited space of the tunnel was enough to knock out Zach''s hearing.


    As he flew backward through the air, the world mute around him, Zach looked toward the tiger. He felt the tiger''s hot and mad gaze on him.


    The tiger''s hind legs pressed against the tunnel like it was a ramp. Its muscles contracted like coils for one final burst of explosive speed.


    That was when a red beam the thickness of Zach''s arm was reflected in the tiger''s fully green eyes. It didn''t even frown or seem to notice the laser.


    The tiger''s muscles tensed fully. It wasn''t in a state to care about the laser. Even if it was, it had thick underworld energy billowing out of its body to protect it. The underworld energy was concentrated enough that it would minimize any attacks, especially ones of energy.


    The laser was powerful, especially since it was four concentrated into one.


    But the tiger was an experiment. It was a failed experiment, but it hadn''t stopped at failure. Instead of disposing of the tiger or trying to save it or redeem the experiment, the underworlders in charge of the tiger''s modification had decided to do something else, part of which was to pump the tiger with as much underworld energy as possible.


    It came at the cost of the tiger''s life span, but the underworlders didn''t even factor that into their thinking. They only thought about how much underworld energy they could pump in and how they could raise that limit.


    The underworld energy would have rendered the laser mostly harmless, if not completely ineffective.


    But the tiger wasn''t the only one with underworld energy as part of their arsenal.


    A mostly shattered mannequin stood up from the rubble around the tiger''s feet, barely having escaped death, and put one hand and one broken stump of an arm against its leg. With a groan like an old tree swaying in the wind on an autumn night, the Mannequin used one of its few talents.


    It stole the underworld energy from the tiger. But there was too much underworld energy for it to steal it all before the laser faded.


    The Mannequin reached with its hand toward the tiger''s chest and sucked away the underworld energy from there.


    The smoke sizzled and the Mannequin crackled by touching and being so close to the laser. But the smoke was inanimate, and the Mannequin was determined.


    Before the laser stopped, the Mannequin successfully opened up a path, releasing the concentrated beam of heat and light onto the tiger''s fleshly body.


    Smoke from something burning escaped from where the laser hit, but it was impossible to see it in the chaos of laser and underworld energy mixing with the tiger''s body.


    The tiger felt searing pain. It felt panic. It felt fear.


    It felt the madness overtake it again as it released the tension in its muscles and shot forward, ignoring the laser burrowing through its body.


    The tiger flew toward Zach''s group, which was just now coming to a halt on the ground. But Zach still threw up a barrier. He threw up another. One rock solid and one soft.


    The laser pushed against the tiger until it made a clean hole through. It had done a lot to reduce the tiger''s speed and momentum, but with nothing more to block it, the laser stopped affecting the tiger.


    Effectively, the tiger was already dead. But it was also already flying through the air with all the speed and force of its explosive leap.


    It rammed into and through the soft barrier. Zach let it absorb it all and break.


    It was enough to bring the tiger down to the ground. Unfortunately, the Sentinel''s laser couldn''t fire anymore, and the only thing left to stop the tiger was Zach''s second barrier.


    The tiger''s front paws pressed against the barrier but were held back and pushed up against the rest of its body. Then, the tiger''s face and nose reached and slammed into the barrier.


    The barrier held up against that as well.


    However, when the tiger''s neck and body were compressed and its entire weight landed against the barrier, it became too much.


    Zach''s insides contorted as he landed on the ground. Two barriers he had put so much effort into breaking one after the other made him want to spit up blood.


    The tiger slid against the floor.


    Zach had succeeded.


    Their plan had succeeded.


    The tiger was dead. It stopped right in front of them.


    The Sentinel and Yanael stood in front of the group.


    Zach got up by taking support against the wall. He hobbled over to the tiger.


    It had a hole through its entire body that had burned and boiled its insides. Underworld energy had ravaged its body.


    But there was still light in its eyes. Zach saw it clearly as the madness from the surge of underworld energy faded.


    He stood in front of the tiger and looked it dead in the eyes.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll send whoever put you through this to wherever you end up. You won''t be alone. You won''t be bored." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tiger closed its eyes.


    They were enemies. They had been irreconcilable. But they found reconciliation in the death of one of them and in the face of a common and commonly hated enemy.


    They respected each other and each other''s strengths.


    Neither respected the Underworld.


    The tiger accepted Zach''s words and died peacefully.


    Zach turned around and looked at Yanael, his friends, and their familiars.


    "We did it!"


    However, the underworlders who modified the tiger hadn''t wasted their precious underworld energy on the tiger. They had used the tiger as a medium and as transport.


    The tiger''s death wasn''t the end. It was the beginning of their plan.


    The tiger''s leg thumped like a beating heart. Once.


    Like it had been the signal for something, the tiger''s leg started expanding and twisting. Underworld energy swirled and gathered around it.


    Unlock new chapters at m_vl-em-py-r


    Zach turned around as soon as he heard the thump. He saw the leg.


    "On me!"


    The others didn''t waste any time. Dukiel, Julius, the Sentinel, and Yanael gathered around Zach as closely as they could.


    Julius looked toward the Mannequin with trembling eyes. He reached out with a hand.


    Zach knew what Julius was feeling, but there wasn''t anything they could do. The Mannequin was too far away and on the other side of the leg on the verge of explosion.


    Zach grabbed Julius'' hand and tucked it in close as he cast a barrier around them. He put up a second.


    A third.


    Blood trickled out of Zach''s nose.


    A fourth.


    Blood dribbled out of Zach''s mouth.


    A fifth.


    The last thing Zach saw before everything went black¨Cbefore he passed out¨Cwas inky darkness expanding at the speed of light.

 Chapter 95: Drop Out

    Zach slowly opened his eyes, but he was regretting it as soon as he did. His head hurt like someone had tried cracking it open with a sledgehammer, and they had gotten close. The brightness of the room, the walls, the ceiling, and everything around him didn''t help.


    But Zach gradually recalled the last thing he saw before passing out and realized he couldn''t go back to sleep just because he wanted to. He had to wake up and find out what happened.


    He had survived. Or he was dead and in the afterlife, but Zach doubted it. There was no way the afterlife would look like the Academy''s infirmary.


    He tried looking around, but every muscle and joint in his body was stiff.


    "H¡ªhuek!" Zach let out something like a cough when he tried to talk with a throat as dry as sandpaper.


    "Here." Nora handed him a glass of water. Zach took a sip.


    "Thanks. Help me sit up." Zach gestured for Nora to help him, which she did.


    Zach sipped away at the water for a while before looking at Nora.


    "So, uh¡­What happened?"


    Nora met Zach''s curious eyes with a composed but complex expression.


    "What''s the last thing you remember, Young Master?"


    "The tiger exploding." Zach looked around.


    "Is everyone okay?" The infirmary was alarmingly empty, and Yanael wasn''t by his side. Zach was starting to get worried.


    Nora nodded.


    "If you are talking about your precious friends, they are alright. They had minor concussions, internal injuries, and some slight underworld poisoning. They were back on their feet a few days after returning to the Academy."


    Zach took another look around to make sure no one was listening.


    "And Yanael?"


    "She''s training. She recovered after a day and shook off the underworld energy poisoning like it was nothing. She didn''t want to leave your side at first, but it''s not like anything worse is going to happen to you now. Her time is better spent training."


    "I see. How long was I out for?"


    "...Two weeks."


    "Two weeks¡­Two weeks?!" Zach turned his head too quickly and flinched in pain. He pressed a hand against his neck.


    "I was out cold for two weeks? Even with the Academy''s help in healing me?"


    Nora nodded with a grave expression.


    "You¡­Your wounds were the most serious, not to mention the state of your internals. I didn''t see it for myself, but the doctor who treated you was surprised your heart was beating when the others brought you here."


    "I see¡­I was pretty close to dying."


    Nora shook her head.


    "No, you weren''t just close. Your heart was still beating when you arrived, but it stopped soon after. You died, Zach. If Yanael hadn''t drawn her sword and forced the doctor to continue working, we wouldn''t be having this conversation."


    Zach''s eyebrows rose. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a strange thing to hear when he had no awareness of it. One moment, he had been a little bruised and banged up. Then, everything went dark. And when he woke up, he was a little sore, but that was it.


    "That''s¡­certainly something." Zach wasn''t sure what to think. For some reason, he didn''t think Nora was lying or pulling a prank on him about it. She certainly would have if she had the opportunity some other time. But there was just something about the way she looked at him.


    "Wait, two weeks¡­Did I¡­?"


    Nora looked at Zach for a moment, wondering what he was going on about before realizing.


    "I don''t know. The principal said he would talk to you separately since you missed the end-of-year ceremony. Since you made it back, I''m pretty sure you won''t be held back, and even if you are, the family will pay for it, so don''t worry."


    Zach shook his head.


    "No, if they''re going to hold me back a year, I''ll just drop out. I should be able to do that, right?"


    "Technically, you can, but I would hope you stick around since you aren''t being held back, Zacharia." Someone else entered the infirmary and answered Zach''s question before Nora could.


    Zach and Nroa turned to the principal. After he entered Yanael also came into the room. She zoomed past the principal and went up to Zach. She gave him a quick hug, not caring about the others in the room, before standing next to him with a blank expression and her hands clasped in front of her like a proper maid.


    Zach blinked. The hug had been quick. But he had felt every bit of Yanael''s softness.


    ''Nice.''


    Zach blinked again and turned to the principal.


    "So, I passed the first year?"


    The principal nodded.


    "With flying colors. The only requirement I tacked on was that you and your fellow troublemakers not be late on returning to the Academy, which you weren''t. You even returned ahead of time. I''m also not so cruel as to punish you for being injured when you protected your friends. Even if I were that cruel, your results this year would more than make up for missing the ceremony."


    "...When you say flying colors?" Zach tilted his head forward slightly and quickly and repeatedly raised his eyebrows while stroking his chin. He was asking about the important stuff.


    The principal sighed and hung his head limply like he didn''t know what to do with Zach.


    "...You broke all records."


    "Really?"


    "Yes. No first-year has done as much as you have."


    "Oh?" For some reason, Zach got a bad feeling. The principal''s tone didn''t seem like it was only congratulatory. There was something more accusatory in there as well.


    "Mhm. In the entire history of this Academy, not a single first-year has managed to destroy half the forest." The principal smiled as he looked at Zach, but the light in his eyes was cold.


    "Forget first-years, not even second or third-years have done that. Yami was close once during his time as a student, but that was easily fixed. Your trouble, on the other hand¡­ Only on m v|le|mp|yr


    "Oh, boy, what a mess." The principal shook his head hopelessly.


    "W-what?"

 Chapter 96: Going Home

    Zach almost didn''t dare ask, but he had to find out what the principal meant. He hadn''t done anything like that as far as he knew.


    The principal looked at Nora.


    "Oh, you didn''t get that far? Then, I''ll take it from here." The principal turned back to Zack.


    "The forest is covered in underworld energy. Things are mutating, dying, exploding, and breaking down."


    "...Why are you blaming me?" Zach frowned in confusion. That was probably what the tiger''s death had caused. That was the Underworld''s fault, not his.


    The principal shrugged.


    "I just felt like it was."


    "What kind of fu¡ª"


    "What?"


    "Nothing."


    "Anyway. The forest will be waiting for you when you get back, so go on, enjoy your break, and come back with another familiar. I bet you''re going to need it."


    "Huh?"


    "Mm?"


    "Another familiar? How?"


    "Oh, right, remember when I said I wasn''t going to punish you for missing the end-of-year ceremony? I lied." The principal teased and shot Zach a couple of finger guns.


    "Your punishment is the fact that you missed how to summon your next familiar. Good luck!"


    The principal disappeared in a puff of smoke.


    "What?"


    Zach looked at where the principal had stood and just stared blankly at the empty air.


    Surprisingly enough, the first thing Zach thought of wasn''t how to summon another familiar.


    ''How is a clown like that a principal?''


    Zach sighed. He looked at Nora and Yanael. They shook their heads. They also didn''t know.


    "Oh, I''ve told everyone not to tell you, so don''t bother asking any of your friends." The principal had left, but his voice hadn''t and he kindly informed Zach of another part of the punishment.


    "...For fuck''s sake." Check out m_vl_em_p_yr stories


    Zach scowled and crossed his arms. But he couldn''t maintain his angry face for long. Eventually, he sighed and slid down his bed until he lay down again.


    He was still tired, and the conversation with the principal hadn''t helped. He was going to rest up before leaving.


    Zach woke up again a few hours later, already feeling much better.


    He looked to his sides. Nora and Yanael were there waiting for him. They noticed he had woken up but didn''t say anything.


    "Is everything ready?" Zach asked.


    Nora nodded.


    "Good. Let''s go home."


    "Maybe you should get dressed first, Young Master."


    "Hmph." Zach scoffed and proudly showed off his hospital gown.


    "I can do that later. Who knows if we will even be able to leave if we delay much longer? There''s no telling with the principal fellow." Zach didn''t want to waste any time.


    Life at the Academy had been a little different from what he expected. It wasn''t necessarily bad, but it was rough and stressful. He missed the peace, calm, and love he received at home.


    As the youngest, he was spoiled almost as much as Lexi. He got preferential treatment at the Academy, too, since he was an S-rank and almost got killed due to the Academy''s mistake, but that was different.


    He missed being able to take it easy.


    He wasn''t planning on only taking it easy since he had the homework the principal had given him, but he missed the feeling of being able to relax. He couldn''t remember when he had last felt it.


    So, Zach didn''t waste any time. And after half an hour, all the things he wanted to take with him were stuffed into, under, and onto a carriage. When the horses had started pulling, Zach changed into proper clothes inside the carriage and threw the gown out the window.


    "No littering." Nora grabbed the gown and stuffed it in a bag.


    "Right."


    Zach awkwardly sat down. He fiddled with his fingers, tapped his legs, and patted the cushions. He was restless. He looked around the carriage and out the windows before getting bored and looking for something else.


    It was the first time he didn''t have something to do other than wait. He was returning home after almost a year. He would probably be seeing most of his family for the first time in several years.


    Zach had changed a lot. His family had probably changed some.


    He was nervous about their first meeting in a while. He was also nervous about introducing Yanael to his family. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But more than that, Nora staring at him without blinking was also making him restless. It was like she was afraid he would disappear if she looked away. It made it difficult to talk to her.


    "...I think I''ll go sit with Yanael." Zach began standing up so he could climb out to Yanael, who was steering the horses.


    "Sit down."


    "Yes." Zach sat down. He waited for Nora to say something. But even after several minutes, she was still as still and silent as a statue.


    "...I''m going to lie down for a minute. Take advantage of the good roads, you know?" Nora didn''t stop him this time, and Zach closed his eyes. The ride was a little bumpy, and the cushions could have been a little softer.


    But he remembered the journey to the Academy. The closer to the Academy, the smoother the roads. It would be impossible to get any rest in the carriage after a while.


    Nora might also find it easier to speak her mind if Zach wasn''t looking at her.


    Zach was a hair away from actually falling asleep when Nora finally found the courage.


    "...I thought I lost you, Zach. I thought I would never see your annoying face again, or hear your annoying voice. I¡ªIt scared me. You scared me, you reckless idiot. Promise me you won''t do anything like that again. Promise me you won''t die."


    "Again."


    "Zach."


    "I promise. You''re not getting rid of me that easy, don''t worry. I''ll be here long after you''re gone."


    "...Good."


    Zach?s eyes were closed. And he pretended to snore.


    Nora could let her tears fall in peace. She didn''t have to worry about Zach seeing or knowing she shed tears for his sake.

 Chapter 97: Home

    The journey from the Academy of Summoners to the capital of the Evandiel Duchy, where the family manor Zach would be returning to was located, wasn''t the longest distance one could travel in a straight line in the empire. The trip between the eastern and western borders was significantly greater.


    But it was still a trip that took up to a week, depending on the horses pulling the carriage. With the week Zach had already spent in a coma, half a month of the three-month holiday was already gone. Then, he had to factor in the return trip and any eventual delays. A month. Gone. Just like that.


    Fortunately, it didn''t bother Zach too much. He could lie down, relax, joke with Nora, rest his head on Yanael''s lap when Nora drove the carriage, or sleep.


    However, after a day, Zach remembered something.


    Yanael''s sense of direction was at the same level as his.


    She couldn''t be trusted to steer the carriage on her own. As luck would have it, they hadn''t gotten lost yet, but only because the horses were just walking forward without caring much about Yanael. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Zach remembered that, none of them spent much time inside the carriage except during the night. It wouldn''t be fair to make Nora sit out there all by her lonesome the entire trip.


    But there were still moments of boredom. And it was during one such moment that Zach decided to check something.


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    [Zacharia Evandiel]


    [Level 10 Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skill: Blessed Defense]


    [Contracts (1/2): Yanael]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Rank Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly. Not much had changed since last, but his level had risen more than he thought it would. But more importantly, there was an interesting piece of arithmetic next to the contracts.


    ''I guess that means I can summon another familiar?''


    It wasn''t like the numbers could mean anything other than that he had one out of two available contracts.


    It was interesting.


    The first part of figuring out how to summon another familiar was completed. Now he just had to do the actual summoning.


    Zach frowned.


    ''Could I have used the summoning ceremony hall at the Academy?'' Zach remembered where he had summoned Yanael.


    ''Probably not.'' Setting aside whether it would be open and he would be allowed inside, Zach couldn''t be sure it would work the same. For some reason, that Chamber of Ceremony seemed a little more special. It might be a construction that only summoned a first familiar and connected a person with the interface or however it worked.


    It also seemed like it would have been too easy. There was no way the principal would allow Zach to just go there and summon another familiar as soon as he woke up from his coma when there were still months left on the holiday.


    ''I''ll just have to stop by that place before I leave again, I guess.''


    Zach swiped away the interface and looked at Yanael swishing through the forest and turning the herd of monsters into minced meat.


    The roads were supposed to be well-maintained and all, but they had still run into monsters daily. Zach was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Ever since the field trip, he had been continuously hounded by monsters whenever he set foot outside the Academy.


    The only exception had been when he, Dukiel, and Julius headed toward the Locale with the tiger or when the underworld assassins dealt with the monsters first.


    It was a little suspicious. But Zach didn''t mind. It wasn''t like he had to deal with it when he had Yanael. And it was free food and levels serving themselves up to him on a silver platter.


    However, most of the monsters that were close to the roads they used were weaklings, and Zach didn''t gain a single level even as he arrived at Ciel, the Capital of the East.


    "Ah, home sweet home!" Zach stood at the front of the carriage between Yanael and Nora with his hands on his hips as he took in the sights of the shops, the people, the houses, and the streets. It was as lively as when he had left.


    "Hey, look over there! That orange hair¡­! Is it one of the Lord''s children?"


    "But who? The young misses all returned last week, and he looks too young to be Young Master Leonidas."


    "Could it be the rumored seventh son¡­?"


    "...I think I''m closing up shop for today."


    "...I forgot to make my bed. I better hurry home."


    "...Someone''s calling my name, I better leave."


    The streets didn''t clear out entirely or at once, but the rumors that had reached even the capital and noble children on the other side of the Empire were naturally even more prolific in the duchy Zach came from.


    "..."


    Zach was silent, his face frozen stiff.


    Yanael gave him a worried and pitying look.


    Nora looked away to hide and suppress her laughter. Although she couldn''t with a light heart claim to be a perfect maid, outright laughing at her master in public was one step too far.


    "...Let''s go."


    Zach climbed inside the carriage and sat in complete silence until the carriage passed through the city and left its eastern gate. He was silent even when Nora pointed out the Duke''s estate that stood as a final shield between the savage wilderness and the Empire''s civilized people.


    Zach''s family, the Evandiel Ducal family, were the fortress that defended the Empire''s eastern border. If the savages wanted to make a move on the Empire, they would have to go through the Evandiels.


    That was their resolution. As long as the Evandiels stood, they would protect the east.


    That was how the Empire and the people of the Empire saw the Evandiels and the Evandiel Duchy. They had protected the border for generations and would continue to do so as long as they could.


    But to Zach, the mighty Evandiels were just his family. His parents. His siblings.


    He was looking forward to seeing them for the first time in a while, and he soon forgot what happened in Ciel. He didn''t have any trouble passing through the gates.


    Some other servants came out and helped unpack while Zach, Yanael, and Nora left for the main building so he could greet his parents.


    "No! Don''t open those doors! Stop her!"


    Zach heard a muffled shout as he opened the doors.

 Chapter 98: Four Out Of Five Sisters

    Zach barely cracked open the door before a force from the other side pushed it open all the way and a bundle of bright orange hair burst out, pushing Zach and Nora aside.


    "Welcome home, bro. Gotta run. Catch ya later."


    The orange-haired woman patted Zach on the head while sprinting past and heading outside.


    "Oh, Zach! Welcome home! I''ve gotta catch Lily, but I''ll see you later." Another orange-haired young woman ran past Zach and gave him another headpat.


    "Hey, Lilo. What did she do?"


    "She took my¡­cookie!" The second orang-haired young woman answered without slowing down.


    "It looked like a letter, though?"


    "It was a cookie! Haste!" Lilo insisted on the paper in Lily''s hand being a cookie, and before Zach could even try figuring out what was going on, Lilo appeared to be flying through the air to try and catch up to Lily.


    "The young misses are as lively as ever."


    Zach nodded and unruffled his hair.


    "Lilo, the second of three triplets, and Lily, the first of the same trio. I''ll introduce them properly later," Zach spoke to Yanael since it was her first time meeting his family and didn''t know who anybody was.


    Yanael nodded.


    Zach took a breath before leading the way into the manor. He saw a couple of servants cleaning up in the wake of his two sisters. He greeted them with a smile when they noticed his entry.


    Unlike the people in the city, they didn''t shy away or flee when he looked at them. They bowed in greeting before continuing with their duties.


    Zach took another deep breath to inhale the scent of his home for the first time in almost a year.


    "I suppose I should greet Father."


    "I will report to my Mother. I will be back to assist you before dinner, Young Master."


    "Sounds good." Nora bowed and displayed proper etiquette and formalities now that she was in the presence of other servants who also reported to her mother.


    "Let''s go." Zach looked at Yanael and spoke. But his feet didn''t move. He stood in the entrance with his hands still on his hips and a smile on his face. By the second, his smile grew stiffer and stiffer.


    Yanael wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she was unsure about talking in front of others. Instead, she put a hand on his shoulder. She just rested it there and didn''t squeeze or push him forward or anything. But Zach took a step forward.


    Yanael was by his side. There was nothing to be nervous about.


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    Zach took another deep breath before proceeding to walk through the mansion.


    The place had felt ginormous during the first years of his childhood. Then, when he started becoming unlucky, it had felt small. But it was better than when he was sent to live in his own mansion. Now, it felt huge again. Zach wasn''t even sure he could count as high as how many steps he had taken, but he suddenly found himself in front of a set of large, dark, double doors.


    He knocked before pushing them open, his head already lowered in caution.


    "Are you coming in or not?"


    Zach let out a sigh of relief.


    "Leonia?" His father wasn''t in the office.


    "Zach?"


    Leonia looked up and swept her long, clear orange hair to the side as she looked at Zach. She pushed up her round glasses.


    "Yes. I''m home." Zach smiled and waved.


    Leonia nodded.


    "Mm. Welcome home." She looked down and continued studying the map on the table she was standing in front of. Zach couldn''t tell what kind of map it was, but it was different from the one over the entire Empire on the wall. It looked like it was more detailed.


    "Is Father out?"


    "Mm. He''s busy until dinner. Same with Leonidas and Mother. Leana and Lexi should be in their rooms, the library, or the study. Lilo and Lily¡­"


    "I met them on their way out."


    "I see." S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You look occupied, so I won''t disturb you anymore. I''ll see you at dinner." Leonia wasn''t more talkative than usual, so Zach excused himself and turned around.


    "Wait." But Leonia stopped him before he could leave.


    "Yes?" Zach turned around curiously. Maybe she had something else to say. But she was silent.


    The only thing that changed was that instead of resting both hands against the table, one was now hanging in the air next to her with the palm facing downward. She made grabbing motions.


    Zach sighed. The hand was at the same height as the top of his head. He waddled over and inserted his head under Leonia''s hand. He had to bend at the knees slightly to go under.


    Leonia''s eyes widened slightly.


    "You''re taller."


    "Naturally. I still have a bit to go if I want to get as tall as Father or Leonidas, so I''ve gotta do my best to catch up."


    "...I don''t mind if you stay like this, though."


    "Well, I do." Zach grabbed Leonia''s wrist and lifted her hand off his head before she could try to squeeze him shorter.


    He glanced at the map Leonia was looking at but couldn''t understand anything.


    "I''ll see you at the dinner?" Zach asked as he started to leave the room again.


    Leonia nodded.


    When they had left, Zach glanced at Yanael.


    "That was Leonia, second daughter."


    Yanael nodded. Zach wandered around the house until he found a hallway that looked familiar. If he remembered correctly, this should lead to the library, where he might fight another sister.


    Zach walked up and down the hallway, but he didn''t find the library.


    "Zach? What are you doing in the servants'' quarters? No wait, you''re back? We didn''t hear from you after the school year ended, so we thought you were staying at your Academy."


    "This is the servants'' quarters? I thought the library was around here." Zach recognized the voice even without seeing the face. He turned around and looked at his sister while he spoke.


    "That''s on the other side of the house."


    "Oh. In my defense, I haven''t been here in a while. I don''t know what renovations have been going down."


    "None. This place is the same as when it was built eons ago. What are you going to the library for, anyway?"


    Zach shrugged.


    "Since I''ve returned home, I figured I''d do a round of greetings, so I was looking for you and Lexi."


    "Weird. Lexi''s in her room. She''s probably busy, but you can try knocking on her door. If you can find it."


    "I haven''t been gone that long."


    "Sure. I''m also busy, so I''ll see you at dinner." Leana shrugged and walked away with a bundle of sheets.


    When she was gone, Zach glanced at Yanael.


    "Leana, third daughter."


    Yanael nodded.


    Zach wandered around the house and showed off the palace to Yanael until he found his room, where he found his things already unpacked. He settled in until it was time to get ready for the dinner.

 Chapter 99: Appetizer

    There wasn''t much for Zach to prepare other than freshen up a little and get dressed, which he could do even without Nora since he still had Yanael. But he was a little worried when she didn''t show up as she had promised.


    It wasn''t like she would have had an accident or gotten snatched since it was the Evandiel Manor, and she was Nora. The worst thing that could have happened to her was her mother. But that wasn''t necessarily a good thing.


    If Nora hadn''t returned because her mother had stopped her, it probably was not because she had to praise Nora so much that she wasn''t allowed to attend the person she served.


    ''I will see you in the next life, Nora.''


    Zach dedicated a prayer in his heart to Nora before leaving his room ahead of time. He was pretty confident he would find the dining room. If it came to it, he could ask one of the servants. But he absolutely didn''t want to be late.


    Fortunately, Zach just had to follow the sound and feeling of his family members to find the dining room. He arrived before the food was served, but not before the rest of his family had arrived.


    "Zach!" The first to point out his arrival was a tall young man with short, fiery hair and a happy but tired smile.


    "Leonidas!" Zach returned the greeting with a cheery smile of his own.


    "Zach." The next to greet him was a young woman similar to Lilo and Lily, the only difference being the darker shade of her hair. She was the only one sitting next to an empty chair. Zach''s place. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Lexi." Zach returned the nod, and when Lexi extended her hand, Zach grabbed it and shook it. Although he had expected it, he couldn''t fight back, and Lexi pulled him into a hug. He wasn''t sure if he could call it a hug, though. She held him in place with one hand and frenziedly rubbed his noggin with the knuckles on the other.


    "That''s enough of that." The calm voice of a mature woman reached across the table and put an end to Lexi''s bullying.


    "Fiiine." Lexi let go of Zach but not without ruffling his hair one final time.


    "Greetings, Mother." Zach nodded in greeting and gratitude toward his mother, a beautiful woman with long, dark red hair.


    "Welcome home, honey." Calserra Evandiel gave Zach a smile that to others would be surprising and almost seductive, but to the Evandiels, was simply full of affection.


    Zach finally turned his head to the tall, muscular man at the head of the table with a head of thick, clear orange hair. He looked like an older version of Leonidas with significantly more experience under his belt.


    The Duke of Evandiel still had smooth skin with the only wrinkles from a couple of scars. He was also clean-shaven. He didn''t look aged. He just appeared experienced as he rested his elbows on the table with interlocked fingers as he looked at Zach with an undiscernible gaze.


    "Father."


    "Son."


    "..." Zach didn''t hold his father''s gaze for long before nervously avoiding it by looking down at his lap.


    "Haven''t you forgotten something?" Zach looked up in confusion. Was he supposed to apologize for being late or something?


    "I''m sor¡ª"


    "Not that." Zach''s father immediately waved away Zach''s apology and gestured for him to come.


    Zach glanced at his mother for help of some kind, but she shrugged as if telling him he was on his own.


    Zach sighed and got up and walked over to his father with worried steps. When he was within grabbing distance, the Duke reached out and put his large hand over Zach''s head. His palm alone almost covered Zach''s scalp.


    "Mm. Good." The Duke patted Zach''s head gently a couple of times before taking back his hand and then patting Zach''s shoulders with both hands.


    "Welcome home, son." The Duke turned around Zach and nudged him back toward his seat. Zach walked back to his seat in defeat.


    "Let''s eat." At the Duke''s order, the servants brought in food. And as if they had been waiting for the floodgates to drop, the Evandiel children almost threw themselves over the table toward Zach.


    "So, why were you late, Zach? Were the roads bad?"


    "Roads? I''m betting he was busy getting cozy with the noble young ladies of the capital."


    "Why would he when he has Nora?"


    "Speaking of Nora¡­"


    "Yeah, did she grow a little or is that just me?"


    The only one who didn''t throw out a question like she was fishing was Leonia, but she was still looking curiously at Zach and Yanael behind him.


    Calserra shook her head.


    "That''s not, Nora, Lilo, so you don''t need to be jealous." She looked at her daughter''s baggy shirt.


    "Hey!"


    "That''s someone¡ªsomething else." Calserra narrowed her eyes as she looked at Yanael.


    Zach nodded at the implication of his mother''s words and under the gazes of his family.


    "You''re right. This beautiful lady is not Nora. Very astute, you guys." Zach gave his siblings a look of utmost respect for their incredible observational skills.


    "She is the familiar I summoned. Yanael. She''s an angel and very happy to meet all of you."


    Zach''s family listened intently, but their eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    "It''s fine if you couldn''t summon anything Zach and have been living a debauched life in the capital, but lying to your family like this? I won''t stand for it." Leana scowled at her younger brother, who was clearly taking advantage of a beautiful woman.


    "Yeah, how did you get Nora to agree to this?" Lilo tilted her head curiously, more interested in how Zach was pulling it off than why or reprimanding him for it.


    "Are you blowing your entire allowance on this woman, or what? And aren''t you too young?" Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. That allowance was for him to focus on his studies. It was not for him to do his part in squandering the family wealth.


    "Nice job." Lexi high-fived Zach by grabbing his wrist and forcing it before he could react.


    Leonidas and Leonia were quiet as they looked at Yanael. They didn''t ignore their mother''s words.


    "An angel, you say¡­? Literally or metaphorically? " Leonidas leaned forward, skeptical but interested.


    "Both."


    "I don''t see any wings, though."


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    Zach quickly turned around in shock and looked at Yanael with a horrified expression.


    "Oh no! We must have forgotten them!" He grabbed his head with both hands in panic.

 Chapter 100: The Good Stuff

    "..."


    "Heh."


    The dining room was so silent you could hear a needle sneeze until Leonia let out a quick chuckle.


    It was silent for a few more moments until Zach glanced back at Yanael. If it had been anyone else asking, he wouldn''t have even bothered entertaining it. But it was his family who was curious about his familiar, not some random schmuck doubting him.


    Yanael could tell Zach wouldn''t mind if she didn''t want to show off her angelic features, but why wouldn''t she want to?


    Yanael took a step back and unfurled her translucent white wings that spanned beyond the dinner table, and her halo added a subtle golden brilliance to the dining room.


    "''Woah¡­!''"


    The Evandiel children let out a gasp of amazement in unison. After revealing her glory for a few moments for the Evandiels to admire, Yanael retracted her wings and halo.


    Zach''s siblings looked at Yanael for another second or two before turning to Zach.


    "So the maid dress is your personal preference, huh?" Leana wasn''t satisfied yet and pointedly asked her question with crossed arms.


    "Nice." Lexi gave Zach another high five.


    "No, she came with it. She''s a variant," Zach quickly clarified before the rest could jump in and make more assumptions.


    "An angel variant, huh. Neat. So, what rank is she? It''s gotta be high, right? I''ve never heard of a familiar that looks this much like a human." Lilo asked curiously.


    "She''s S-rank. The third in the Academy''s history."


    "Impressive." Leonia nodded and gave a compliment.


    "That makes me the third S-rank summoner in the Academy''s history. I''m pretty great, aren''t I?"


    "Don''t get ahead of yourself, kiddo. Your familiar''s rank has nothing to do with you, does it? It''s not like you''re strong just because she''s strong."


    "That''s where you''re wrong, Leana. It''s my talent that brought Yanael to this world. And her strength is my strength. If you guys don''t watch yourselves, it won''t take long for me and Yanael to become this generation''s strongest."


    "Sure thing, buddy."


    "Right."


    "Keep dreaming."


    "You know what they say¡­"


    "...Aim for the stars and reach the trees."


    Lexi didn''t even say anything, she just patted his shoulder while shaking her hanging head like she truly felt sorry for him.


    "Fine, if you guys are going to be like that, I''m not inviting you."


    "To what?"


    "My inauguration ceremony."


    "Inauguration ceremony?"


    "Yeah. For when I become king of the world."


    "..."


    "..."


    The dining room was unbearably quiet and tense. Zach had said it like he was dead serious. But it was impossible to take his words seriously.


    In the end, Zach''s father cleared his throat to break the silence.


    "So, why did you come late, Zach? We were starting to wonder where you were when you didn''t even send word."


    "It''s alright to be honest, darling. Leonidas and Leonia already know you stayed up four nights worrying." Calserra interjected before Zach could answer.


    "...I did not."


    "Of course you didn''t. Zach?" After agreeing with her husband, Calserra urged Zach to continue with what he was about to say.


    "Sorry about that. I was in a coma."


    "...What? Is that a village or town close to the capital? Did you get stuck there due to the bad roads?" Leonidas brought up the bad roads again like he had a grudge.


    "No, a coma, as in when you''re unconscious after, like, a medical procedure or something."


    "I''m not sure I understand, Zach. Why were you in a coma? Did you have to have surgery? If it''s related to, you know¡­I think you''ve been scammed. We already tried everything when you were younger." Leonidas pressed on.


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    "I''m afraid to ask what the f¡ªfudge that''s supposed to mean, so I won''t. And I guess you could call it surgery, though I''m not sure what exactly they did. Nora should have a better grasp on the entire thing. Yanael, too. But I went on an excursion the second to last week of the school year, fought a tiger, took a bomb of sorts to the face, and died."


    "Mother, call the doctor. I''ll hold him still. We gotta get inside his brain as soon as possible and get rid of whatever is inside there." Leonidas stood up and was about to run around and grab Zach since he clearly needed help.


    The Duke grabbed his eldest son and pushed him onto his chair again.


    "Sit down." The Duke turned to Zach.


    "You''re speaking the truth?"


    Zach nodded.


    The Duke turned to Calserra.


    Calserra turned to a silver-haired maid standing along the wall.


    "Victoria, bring some of the good stuff. Youngest has had his first real near-death experience!" Calserra excitedly spoke to her personal maid.


    "Yes, Madam." Victoria bowed.


    "Um, it wasn''t a near-death experience." But Zach interrupted before she could leave.


    Calserra tilted her head.


    "What do you mean, youngest? Your words are contradictory."


    "Nope. You guys just didn''t take them as they were. I said I died. That''s what happened. My heart stopped beating and all that jazz. I don''t know for how long, obviously.


    But my vital signs ceased."


    Zach''s words brought another wave of silence to the dining table. He met his mother''s eyes without a shred of hesitation. Calserra looked at him in silence. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a while, she smiled brightly and turned to Victoria again.


    "Bring the even better stuff. Youngest has died for the first time!"


    "Yes, Madam." Victoria bowed again and left the dining room.


    Zach''s family members looked at him with expressions of doubt, surprise, shock, worry, shock, awe, and envy. It didn''t take long for them to start prying the details out of Zach, which he happily shared. All his efforts and what he had gone through were badges of honor.


    Of course, he was going to boast about them to his family, who still thought he was a kid who couldn''t open a bottle of milk without hurting himself and then crying from the pain.


    Needless to say, Zach exaggerated his stories a little, but he didn''t need to stray far from the truth. The last year had been exciting enough as it was without too much embellishment.


    Zach''s family listened when he spoke and only asked questions when he was mostly done.

 Chapter 101: Epic Battle

    One of the things that caught most of the interest of Zach''s family members was the Underworld. Leonidas, Leonia, and Lexi had heard of it but never come into contact with it or any creatures from the Underworld.


    If the Duke and Calserra hadn''t already been shocked by Zach''s close encounters with the Underworld, that alone would have surprised them, even if not as much. It wasn''t easy to learn about the Underworld since they only did something when they were absolutely certain no one would discover anything.


    It also wasn''t something the Duke and Calserra could freely talk about unless the time came when their children needed to know about it.


    Now, however, their youngest was having conversations with the leader of the Underworld and some of his closest subordinates. What was the world coming to?


    When Victoria came back with the better stuff, which ended up being fancy alcohol that Zach was too young to drink, the questions became a little more scattered and while Zach still got a lot of them, his siblings also caught up with each other and their parents, whom they might not have seen much of lately.


    It was a nice family dinner. Looking at it, no one would suspect the power and influence gathered in the room, nor how much responsibility there was. For the evening, no one cared about anything like that. They were family who were seeing each other for the first time since morning or since more than a year ago.


    The only things that mattered were who had accomplished the most, seen the strangest things, or could drink the most, except Zach of course. He got hit with the juice as soon as he tried to sneak a sip.


    It wasn''t even illegal according to the Empire''s laws. His family was just being annoying. The only one on Zach''s side was Lexi, who occasionally tried to give Zach some of the better stuff in her cup under the table.


    Unfortunately, while she was talented in many things, holding her liquor was not one of them. Her whispers ended up being louder than the conversations taking place around them, and Zach couldn''t even pretend like nothing was going on.


    It was fun times but after a while, the better stuff was corked up and brought away. The powerful bodies of the Evandiels eventually made them sober up before the night was over, and the conversations, while still light, weren''t as free and flimsy as before.


    It did look like some of the children needed to go to bed soon since they had early starts.


    "What are you doing tomorrow, Zach? And how are you planning to spend your break?" Lexi was not one of those who had an early morning, however, and she happily indulged in more conversation as their father, Leonidas, Leonia, and Lily took their leave. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach hesitated.


    "Tomorrow¡­I think I''m going to sleep. After that, I think I''m headed to the Labyrinth."


    "What?" questioned Leana.


    "Alone?" asked Lilo.


    "Bring your sister with you," said Calserra.


    "I''m not alone. I have Yanael. I was also planning on bringing Nora." Zach glanced at his mother and the silver-haired maid next to her as he mentioned Nora.


    Victoria gave a golden standard etiquette smile and bowed fifteen degrees to show that she accepted that he was bringing Nora with him.


    "And when you say sister, Mother¡­"


    "Lexi."


    "Yeah, I can tag along. I''ve been curious about the Labyrinth for a while now anyway."


    "Good. I hope you don''t mind, Zach."


    Zach had a feeling it wouldn''t have changed anything even if he did mind it, which he didn''t. He was looking forward to heading into the Labyrinth with his big sister. It was extra comforting since it was Lexi.


    Lexi wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close before grinding his head with her knuckles again.


    "Of course, he doesn''t mind! He gets to go into the Labyrinth with three beautiful women clinging to his arms! It''s every boy''s wish."


    Zach jabbed Lexi''s side with an unavoidable, quick, devastating tickle attack, forcing her to let go of him.


    "Two beautiful women, at least, and one hobo." Lexi forcefully regained her composure and ignored Zach''s fingers pressing against her abs and the side of her stomach.


    "Who you callin'' a hobo, hobo?"


    Zach shrugged.


    "If the shoe fits¡­"


    "Okay, now you''re getting it! I''m going to show you everything I''ve learned living on the streets, you little shit!"


    Lexi launched at Zach. Zach defended himself and counterattacked.


    The results of the epic battle of Lexi Evandiel and Zacharia Evandiel are a tightly kept secret guarded by the few witnesses of the rectangular table.


    Zach slept off the travel weariness, the staying-up-late fatigue, and the fighting exhaustion the next day. There wasn''t much else for him to do. His parents and siblings were busy mostly.


    After another family dinner but a much calmer one this time, Zach simply returned to his room to sleep. And when morning finally came, he saw Nora again for the first time since their arrival.


    "Damn, did you feel left out and decided to die as well?" Zach couldn''t help but voice his honest thoughts when he saw Nora''s tired, exhausted, fatigued, worn, and weary appearance. Her clothes and hair were pristine, though.


    "No¡­Young Master." She couldn''t even be bothered to retort as she began helping Zach prepare a bag of useful equipment and food for his and Lexi''s trip to the Labyrinth.


    Nora didn''t want to talk about the wringer her mother had put her through, and Zach didn''t want to hear about it. Without wasting much time, they set out to the main entrance, where Lexi was already waiting for them.


    "Are you ready, my dear little brother?"


    "Always. Since you''re coming with, I won''t have to do anything, right?"


    "Fat chance. What''s the point of tagging along if I''m the one doing everything. And didn''t you go on and on and on last night about how you were going to overtake all of us and become the king of the world?"


    "Okay, I didn''t go on and on and on about it. And that''s a matter for the future. In the present, I''m still your adorable little brother who will happily let you take care of everything in the Labyrinth."


    "Keep dreaming." Lexi turned around and walked out.


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    Zach glanced around. There weren''t any carriages waiting for them. He looked at Lexi.


    "If you had time to come early, why didn''t get get a carriage ready?"


    "Carriage? No way. We''re running." Without waiting for an answer, Lexi began jogging toward the city.


    "Yanael, do you want to carry me?"


    "No."


    Zach sighed.

 Chapter 102: Labyrinth Hall

    Zach, Nora, and Yanael finally caught up to Lexi outside the city. But rather than them catching up, it was more because she waited for them. She did not wait for them to catch their breaths, however.


    "Have you been slacking on your training, O'' great king of the world?" Lexi teased Zach as she walked through the city gates. The guards knew her appearance, and their hair color made it unnecessary to confirm their identities.


    "I haven''t trained a day in my life, sis." Zach still breathed heavily, but he was gradually getting it under control.


    "If that was true, you wouldn''t have made it to the city."


    "That''s just my raw, powerful, natural talent. As long as I try, I can do anything."


    "Hmph." Lexi snorted like Zach had said something funny. "You''re talking about something like talent in front of me?"


    "Just because you''re better than everyone at everything you do doesn''t mean you''re talented. Check your ego and stay humble before someone does it for you. That''s my advice."


    Lexi grabbed Zach by the head after giving him a blank stare.


    "Did you forget who raised you, you brat? What kind of way is that to talk to your sister? If your Academy is only teaching you things like this, I think I''ve gotta persuade our parents to pull you out of it."


    "See? You''re so full of hubris you can''t even tell that I''m right." Zach''s voice was forced and high-pitched due to the arm around his neck. But no amount of force was going to stop him from speaking the truth!


    "Cocky brat." Lexi ruffled his hair before letting him go.


    "Have you read the Labyrinth Guide?"


    "Pssh. Who do you think I am? I wrote the Guide."


    "That''s a no."


    "I was born and raised next door to the Labyrinth. I think I know what I need to know. Besides, it''s not like I''m planning on setting a record or going deep. I''m just looking for something."


    "You''re looking for something you can''t have someone buy for you?"


    "You can''t buy opportunity, sis!" Zach had a driven and lofty expression.


    "Uh¡­yes, you can. That''s one of the many uses of money. Paying to go to school is literally buying an opportunity."


    "...I hadn''t thought of that."


    "So? What''s the opportunity you''re looking for?" Discover tales on m_vl_em_p_yr


    "The principal told me to bring a second familiar with me to the second year or not return at all."


    "Ah." Lexi''s quick acknowledgment showed she understood. She didn''t know much about summoning, but she knew enough to know that it was impossible to buy a familiar. Other than that, she only knew they had a Chamber of Ceremonies in the Academy for testing first years.


    From that, she could deduce that to summon a familiar, something special was needed, maybe something like a magical chamber, room, altar, or other construct.


    Those kinds of things wouldn''t just be lying around.


    The Duke and Duchess probably knew more. If they didn''t, they could easily find out how Zach could summon his second familiar. But they wouldn''t tell Zach. If he tried asking for help, they would ask why. He would answer that it''s homework from the principal. They would let him figure it out on his own.


    In other words, Zach was looking for something, unique, special, extraordinary, possibly something like a room, that could help him summon his second familiar.


    His best bet was, without a doubt, the Labyrinth.


    The Labyrinth''s existence itself was a mystery. The only thing people could say for certain was its location, which had remained the same for at least centuries. It could also be said that the Labyrinth was a treasure trove of endless riches.


    But on the flip side, it was filled with strange and hostile monsters. The treasures didn''t come for free. It took many sacrifices to explore and delve into the Labyrinth. Many had died in its depths. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another thing that was as close to confirmed was the fact that the Labyrinth wasn''t of this world. It was a hard concept to understand and even harder to believe.


    But while the Labyrinth appeared to go deep into the ground, the only way to find it or enter it was the entrance on the surface. It was like the entrance was the only part of it in their world.


    The monsters inside the labyrinth were also almost like no other one could find in the wild.


    Most of the monsters in the wild looked like powerful variations of ordinary animals.


    The monsters in the Labyrinth were nothing like animals most of the time.


    That was why Lexi had wanted Zach to have read the Labyrinth Guide. It would make things easier, especially since it looked like they would be exploring a lot, and not necessarily rushing downward. If he had read it, he would be more prepared for the unexpected.


    "Whatever. I''m sure it won''t be a useless trip, even if you don''t find what you''re looking for, Zach."


    "Even now, just spending time with you makes it a great trip, Lexi."


    "Oh, you charmer, you."


    "So¡­?"


    "Still not doing everything."


    "Drat."


    Zach chatted aimlessly with his sister until they arrived at one of the large buildings close ot the center of the city, the Labyrinth Hall, a gathering place for the knights of Evandiel, who trained in the Labyrinth, the Labyrinth explorers, who made a living of the treasures they brought back from the Labyrinth, the healers and physicians, who tended to those who entered the Labyrinth, the merchants who peddled the goods brought back from the Labyrinth and the supplies those who entered would need, and the middlemen and administrators who kept everything running.


    It was a busy place.


    But, at the arrival of two of the Duke Evandiel''s descendants, it quieted down, and Zach and Lexi could walk through the place unobstructed until they arrived at the dull grey archway with a sloped back like a staircase in the center of the Labyrinth Hall.


    "There''s no need to dally, is there?" Lexi asked.


    Zach gestured at the murky, dark red and blue film in the archway.


    "Ladies first."


    "Wuss." Lexi entered the Labyrinth. Zach, Yanael, and Nora were right behind her.

 Chapter 103: Labyrinth First Floor

    Zach felt like he fell forward when he passed through the entrance to the Great Jira Labyrinth, but the next moment, his foot hit solid ground. It was a strange sensation, and Zach''s skin crawled, but when he looked at his companions, they were all unbothered.


    Zach righted himself up and patted his shirt smooth.


    "Welcome to the Labyrinth, guys." He welcomed them to the Labyrinth like he was experienced and had been there before. He ignored the way they looked at him as he took in their surroundings.


    It was an open field with green grass up to his thighs. There wasn''t a sign of anyone else or anything but grass as far as he could see.


    Zach looked up. Without looking straight at it, it seemed like an ordinary sky with a sun and clouds up above. But when gazing at it like he was holding a staring competition, he slowly noticed that it looked like a glass window of sorts.


    Zach wasn''t sure what he was looking at, but it wasn''t a real sky, at least.


    "So, great expert of the Labyrinth and future king of the world¡­" Lexi turned to Zach with a smile after he was finished inspecting and gawking at their surroundings.


    "What do we do now?"


    "I don''t know." Zach shrugged casually. "My instincts are telling me to wander around."


    Lexi, Nora, and Yanael looked at each other. Zach''s instincts and gut feelings when it came to travel were not the most trustworthy. But it wasn''t like they could just stand around doing nothing.


    "Sure thing, boss. Lead the way." Lexi gestured for Zach to begin walking.


    Zach nodded determinedly and began walking forward.


    But only a few steps in, something bounced against the thin, translucent, elastic barrier Zach had put up.


    "Umm, what was that?" Lexi asked.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and squatted to look at the object on the ground.


    "Looks like a poison dart."


    "No, I meant what stopped it from hitting you in the face." As she clarified, Lexi reached out and touched the barrier, pushing against it slightly and feeling its bounciness.


    "Oh, it''s my skill."


    "What do you mean skill?" Lexi frowned in suspicion and continued pressing against the barrier with her whole hand.


    "I thought you were an educated monster of talent or something, sis. When a summoner makes a contract with their summoned familiar, they get a contract skill symbolizing that union or something along those lines. My contract skill with Yanael gives me the ability to create barriers."


    "What the fuck?" Lexi forced her hand through the barrier after pushing it up past her elbow. Zach winced slightly as she pierced his barrier, but it was more like a light sting than something actually painful or harmful.


    "So not only did you summon a beautiful maid to fight all your battles, but you can also make defensive barriers just like that?"


    "Well, yeah."


    "That''s so fucking unfair."


    "...I don''t think you should be saying anything about things being unfair, though."


    "It''s because I''m me that I can confidently say that summoning is unfair. What the fuck is this shit? If someone had told me it was like this, I would have set aside some time to become a summoner, too." Lexi continued playing with the barrier in admiration. It was nothing like magic. If it was, it wasn''t anything like the magic she had learned or knew about.


    "It''s not too late, is it?" Zach tilted his head. Most of the students in his class were kids his age who applied as soon as they were old enough. But he was pretty sure the principal would make an exception if older applicants weren''t allowed.


    Lexi shook her head.


    "Technically not. I haven''t heard of summoning having an age requirement to get started, unlike some other things. But the only way I know how to get started with summoning is through the Academy for Summoners. And if you have the talent for it, you''re automatically accepted, whether you want it or not.


    And while I can make time for being a summoner, I can''t make time for attending another Academy at this time."


    "I see. Well, if anyone can figure it out, it''s you. If you don''t, you can always come visit and talk with the principal."


    "The principal?" Lexi stopped playing with the barrier, much to Zach''s relief, and instead turned around to look at him, unsure of what she had just heard.


    "Yeah. He''s a cool dude. He''s a little¡­odd sometimes. But he''s the nicest principal I''ve met."


    "That principal?" Lexi emphasized her question, full of doubt.


    Zach shrugged, unsure what Lexi was getting at.


    "I haven''t seen or met another principal other than a tall, white-haired, skinny dude with a clean, neat, and pretty face."


    "Yeah, that''s the principal I''ve heard about. You''re saying he''s friendly? You''re on such good terms with him that you can talk to him whenever you want about anything you want? You''re saying he would entertain the idea of letting me become a summoner without attending the Academy?"


    Zach nodded and then shrugged.


    "I''m sure he would mind it if I went to him all the time to talk about what I had for breakfast and stuff like that. But, yeah, I haven''t gotten the impression that he would mind coming over for tea. He''s pretty easygoing." Unlock more stories at m-vle-mpyr


    Lexi stared at Zach blankly, her eyelid twitching occasionally. Eventually, she put her hand over her eyes and leaned her head back to compose herself.


    She looked at Zach.


    "I''ve gotta see that for myself. I''ll see when I can find the time to stop by." sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sure. But what have you heard about the principal to make you doubt him like this? Is he putting up a strict front or something to the other Academies?"


    Lexi shook her head.


    "Not quite. But I won''t say anything. It might affect your relationship with him. That''s not a good idea when you have three years left. When you graduate, I''ll tell you everything I''ve heard about the principal of the Academy for Summoners."


    Zach narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    "I¡­¡ª"


    "I would recommend you don''t look for information on him elsewhere, either. Just¡­don''t."


    "...Okay." Since Lexi was going that far, Zach agreed. He was still suspicious and curious, especially curious. But he trusted his sister. He moved on.


    Zach pointed at the pile of poison darts on the ground on the other side of his barrier.


    "So, are we going to do something about that?"

 Chapter 104: Labyrinth Monsters

    "Right."


    "It''s up to your discretion, Young Master."


    "I do not sense the beings attacking us, Master. Do you want me to hunt them down?"


    "Wait, you can''t sense them, Yanael?" Zach asked his familiar. She, who could even sense and track the underworld assassins, couldn''t tell what was attacking them or from where?


    Zach turned to Lexi for help and information.


    However, she just raised her hands and shrugged.


    "I''m just tagging along. You''re dealing with this on your own." Lexi was curious about what Zach would do. He had talked himself up a lot when telling them about his adventures at the Academy. There were probably a few crumbs of truth in the mountain of bread that was his story. Lexi wanted to know how many crumbs¨Chow much truth Zach had spoken.


    Zach sighed. He looked at Yanael again.


    "You can''t tell where they''re attacking from, but you can tell about how far away they are, right?"


    Yanael nodded.


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    "The furthest one who attacked us was around thirty steps away, Master."


    "That close?" Zach frowned.


    "Whatever. I''ll throw up a barrier that large. It will be weaker than a piece of paper. Go wild, Yanael. I''ll tell you where they are if they run through it."


    Yanael nodded and unsheathed her weapons.


    Zach made a large barrier. He gritted his teeth in concentration and didn''t say a word. Fortunately, he didn''t need to for Yanael to notice the exit he made in the barrier around them. She dashed out, cutting down three poison darts aimed at Zach. She then turned her blade to the grass when the barrier was sealed behind her.


    Like an artist, she drew long golden strokes over the canvas that was the grassy field. She left behind piles of cut grass.


    The others watched on as she made short work of the grass, dodging, blocking, parrying, or cutting down the poison darts whenever they flew at her. Since the enemies weren''t strong, Yanael didn''t have to fight with her life on the line, and she stepped and strode through the field with grace.


    Zach frowned and looked at the poison darts that were still piling up around the barrier. They weren''t as frequent as before, and the more Yanael cut, the fewer poison darts flew through the air. Still, none of the Labyrinth''s monsters tried to run.


    After a while, he noticed something in the grass, but he waited until Yanael was done, and the poison darts had stopped flying to check it out. He took down his oversized barrier to ease his mind. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He crouched down and picked something up by the foot with a confused frown.


    It looked like a bipedal rat. It had slightly longer arms than ordinary rats. It also had opposable thumbs, meaning it could easily grab and hold items, such as the dart shooter on the ground next to it.


    Red blood dripped from the gash through its chest. Yanael had almost cut it in half between one side of its neck and the area beneath its chest on the other side. It dangled and looked nasty, so Zach dropped it on the ground after inspecting it.


    He looked at Lexi.


    "What is this?" It wasn''t like any monster he had seen in the Froltip Forest around the Academy. The greatest difference was that it used tools. It had a flute-like dart shooter and a belt to carry poison darts. It probably also made those poison darts itself.


    Even if the monsters of the Froltip Forest had been intelligent enough to use tools, tricks, and traps, they wouldn''t.


    "A ratling."


    "It looks weak as shit. How come Yanael couldn''t sense it?"


    "They''re masters at camouflage. They''re also weak enough that if you look for something powerful enough to be threatening, you won''t discover them. But their poison can be pretty potent, so it sells for relatively good coin back at the Hall."


    Zach picked up one of the poison darts and sniffed it. He scrunched his nose. It stung just smelling it.


    "So, we gather all of these up?" Zach gestured at the poison darts on the ground.


    "Up to you."


    Zach shook his head.


    "Seems like a waste of time and effort. It''s not like we''re poor." Zach winked at Lexi. It was true. They were as far from poor as they could get.


    "Let''s just leave them for someone else to pick up if they want."


    "That''s unlikely. This floor is huge. As far as I know, no one has found the edges of it. Those who try always end up on the second floor before they get close."


    Zach raised an eyebrow and looked at Lexi.


    "You make it sound like they didn''t have a choice about going to the next floor. How do you get to the second floor, Lexi?"


    Lexi shrugged. Since he hadn''t read the Guide, he would have to figure it out on his own.


    Zach sighed and shook his head lightly before starting to walk again.


    It didn''t take long before the drizzle of poison darts to pick up as well. But it seemed like mostly a waste to stop every time they ran into a group of ratlings, and it didn''t seem like they were interested in fleeing, so Yanael roamed outside the barrier and cut down ratlings like the grass they were hiding in.


    The group left behind them a wide trail of cut grass and ratling blood as they walked through the field.


    After a while, Zach noticed something.


    "...Is it just me or does it feel like they''re only targeting me?"


    Since the poison darts came from all around them, it wasn''t easy to tell, but it seemed like they were all flying toward him before being bounced away by the barrier. The ones that seemed aimed at his companions just happened to have been shot from the opposite direction of whoever was in between him and the poison dart.


    "You noticed just now?" Lexi asked condescendingly.


    "Well, thanks to someone, I have been busy repairing my barrier."


    "I said sorry, didn''t I?"


    "No."


    "Oh."

 Chapter 105: Ratlings

    Zach looked at Lexi for a moment, but she still had no intention of giving Zach the satisfaction of an apology. He just shook his head.


    "Do you know why, at least?"


    "Yes and no." Lexi shrugged with one shoulder.


    "This doesn''t have anything to do with the Labyrinth exploration, so can you tell me?"


    "What do you mean it doesn''t have anything to do with the Labyrinth exploration?"


    "Didn''t I mention during the dinner how monsters have always been drawn to me to an alarming degree after the Giupusta Locale?"


    "Maybe."


    "You weren''t listening, were you?"


    Lexi shrugged.


    "Anyway. It''s because you''re glowing."


    "Glowing?" Zach looked at his arms. To him, they looked the same as before, meaning they were not radiating with light.


    "Not like you''re actually filled with light, idiot. It''s like¡­You know how people sometimes tell pregnant women they''re glowing?"


    "You''re saying I''m pregnant?" Zach looked at Lexi with an extremely skeptical expression.


    "God, I hope not. No. No. Gosh, no. Ugh, I don''t even want to imagine that. Why did you say that?"


    "You''re the one who said it."


    "Obviously I didn''t mean it like that! I was making a comparison!" Lexi cried out.


    "What did you mean, then?" Zach frowned.


    "Rather than physically, it''s like you''re glowing on a supernatural level. It''s not noticeable, like, at all. I couldn''t tell either with my physical senses from training the sword or the magical ones from studying magic.


    It''s only with my talent for Domination that I noticed anything." Lexi hurried to clarify to try and get the image of a pregnant Zach and what he would have done to achieve such a status out of her mind.


    Zach frowned.


    "If it''s that difficult for you to notice, how are the monsters doing it? There''s no way they have senses that good."


    Lexi shrugged.


    "My guess is that they aren''t noticing it. Their instincts are telling them you look the most delicious or something. It could also be bad luck." Lexi''s answer was casual and not rooted in anything practical. It was like she had said, a guess.


    But it was the only thing she could think of. Monsters, in general, were better than humans in two areas, their physiques and their instincts.


    The ratlings, whose physiques weren''t any special aside from their ability to camouflage themselves, would have good instincts to make up for it, despite their apparent weakness.


    "I see¡­" Zach wasn''t sure what to think of Lexi''s guess or observation about him glowing, but there wasn''t much he couldn''t do about it. So, he set that aside for now and focused on what was truly important.


    "I''m getting hungry, how about a break?"


    Lexi and Nora looked at each other. They glanced at Yanael in the fields. They nodded.


    "Sure."


    After eating some of the snacks they had brought, they were ready to get going again, but not before the ground beneath them shook and armored ratlings burst out of the soil to attack them with needle-like swords.


    Zach looked on blankly as they tried to stab through his barrier with fierce snarls and growls. They weren''t even scratching the barriers, but it sure looked like they were trying their best.


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    They would almost have been cute if it weren''t for their yellow, crooked teeth, and the slobbering saliva dripping from their jaws like they were mad.


    Zach frowned and turned to Lexi while pointing at the armored ratlings.


    "Are they usually like this? They seem very angry."


    "I mean, you have killed hundreds of their comrades by now." Lexi shrugged.


    "That was Yanael, though. Why are they coming after me?" Zach took a couple of steps to each side to prove that the armored ratlings were only trying to attack him.


    "Because they aren''t dumb enough to go for Yanael." Yanael had singlehandedly and effortlessly cut down the ratling population by a significant portion.


    Zach, on the other hand, had hidden behind his barrier. It was clear which was an easier target. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What Miss Lexi says is partly correct, Master. But it''s also probably related to the presences of each member of this group. I tried imitating the ratlings'' stealth, Nora is suppressing her presence, and Miss Lexi is perfectly concealing her presence. We are as good as invisible to these critters, Master. Compared to us, you are standing out like a light during the night."


    Zach scowled in irritation. Why was he surrounded by only capable people?


    "Can you teach me how to do that?" Zach looked at Yanael.


    "You mean¡­?"


    "Imitate the ratlings'' stealth. It seems useful."


    "My apologies, Master, it is not something beings other than ratlings can learn. It is an innate ability that seems centered around their fur somehow." Yanael bowed her head slightly.


    "What? Then how come you''re imitating it?"


    Yanael held out her hand.


    "As you can see, I am still fully visible. I am just learning from them how to hide my presence and make it blend with my surroundings."


    "Can you teach me that?"


    "...Not as you are currently, Master. It is something that involves having a grasp on your existence. It can be difficult to explain and understand but to hide your presence, you must first be aware of your presence."


    "I see." Zach didn''t quite understand what she meant. What did it mean to be aware of his presence? Was it different from knowing he existed? Wasn''t he already aware that he was alive, breathed, moved, and affected his surroundings?


    "Your familiar''s pretty smart, Zach. She''s also on the right track. I''ve heard some people meditate to figure it out. If you try that, you can look for the glow I was talking about. It should give you some direction." Lexi couldn''t let Zach think she was completely useless, so she gave some advice.


    "...Thanks."


    Zach ended up deep in thought, pondering on Yanael''s and Lexi''s words while they continued walking. Yanael dealt with the ratlings that popped up, and the others simply walked behind Zach as he aimlessly wandered through the grasslands.


    Through some miracle, they didn''t circle back or find their own trails, even when Zach was leading.

 Chapter 106: Ratavalry

    Zach, Yanael, Nora, and Lexi continued walking and killing ratlings, only occasionally taking breaks to rest and eat. The longer they walked and the more time that passed, the more surprised Lexi became. But she didn''t show it, nor did she say anything. Instead, she just looked at her younger brother with curiosity.


    Lexi, like the rest of their family, was more than familiar with the youngest son''s tendency to end up in unfortunate situations. She was also familiar with how his sense of direction was non-existent. Like several of her siblings, she also thought that there was something more to Zach''s misfortune than simple bad luck. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After everything he had been through, he had never been injured or seriously affected. If anything, there was a trend of him coming out on the other side of his incidents with something gained.


    It wasn''t always proportional to the suffering he endured or the threats he had faced. But, considering he was rarely, if ever, injured, it could be thought of as a net gain.


    However, it was all too circumstantial to say anything concrete about it, and Zach''s older siblings had just talked about it among each other while discussing Zach when they had the opportunity and time to meet up.


    But as Lexi looked at Zach, she figured that there was something up with it, especially when combined with his poor sense of direction.


    What was happening right now couldn''t be explained otherwise. She wasn''t doing anything, neither was Nora and as far as Lexi could tell, Yanael was also not affecting the Labyrinth in any way.


    As inauspicious as it was, it could only be related to Zach. But the person himself seemed to be completely oblivious as he walked while chatting with his maids or daydreaming.


    Lexi wondered when she should say something, but maybe mentioning how to access the second floor, or rather, how people ended up on the second floor, would break the magic of Zach''s mysterious wandering. She didn''t want to jinx it. She was curious about how long they could keep going. It also wasn''t like they were in a rush to reach the next floor.


    Lexi took it easy and looked over her brother and their surroundings until things started to change.


    The ratlings gradually grew in strength and size. They also changed attackers. The ones coming from underground with rapiers still came. The poison dart ones were still hiding in the grass and shooting at them from a distance. But every now and then, another one or two types of ratlings popped up.


    One was a simple archer that shot arrows much more powerful than the poison darts. Still not powerful enough to break Zach''s barrier, though.


    The other type of ratling that came to attack Zach''s group was a suspiciously knight-like one riding an ordinary rat and carrying a lance. It charged at Zach''s barrier with a mighty war cry that sounded very squeaky to Zach and the others.


    "Am I the only one worried about the ratlings riding other rats?" Zach asked with a concerned wrinkle in his brow.


    "Don''t let it get to you."


    "It''s nothing to be worried about, Young Master."


    "The ratlings are different from the rats, Master. Besides, they are both monsters coming for your life. They do not deserve your thoughts."


    Hearing all three of his companions so quickly shut down his concerns, Zach didn''t mention it again. But he did think about it. He also thought about the theory of evolution that Yanael had mentioned.


    Based on his understanding of the theory, it seemed like ratlings had evolved from rats somehow. It very much looked like it, at least. They had grown a sharper intellect, opposable thumbs, an erect spine, and the desire to use tools. But they originated from rats.


    What could it then mean that they were riding the rats?


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    Zach''s thought painted a strange picture in his mind.


    ''Seems inefficient.'' Apes didn''t look like they were easy to ride or make saddles for, unlike horses.


    But he realized that it wouldn''t be strange other than how impractical it was. Humans and apes were different, after all. It was the same with ratlings and rats.


    After coming to that insight, Zach didn''t think about it anymore.


    But that started changing again when the rats grew in size and came without riders. They ran on all fours sometimes and lumbered forward with hunched backs other times. It was like the stage in between rats and ratlings.


    As if that wasn''t enough, the ratlings also changed. They also became bigger, partly thanks to the muscles they had learned how to build. Their spines were even straighter and their tools became slightly more refined.


    It was like they were watching the development of rat society just by walking through the grass fields of the first floor of the Jira Labyrinth.


    But whatever stage of evolution the rats had reached, they were still monsters out for Zach''s blood.


    The only thing that changed was when they came with organized cavalry that used tactics. It wasn''t any advanced tactics, but they rammed Zach''s barrier, ran away, regrouped, and then tried from another angle if Yanael didn''t kill them first.


    It was enough to make even Lexi frown, though it was mostly out of confusion and surprise than anything else.


    This wasn''t in the Guide.


    There were a bunch of ratling types listed, as well as when they started to show up. But there was nothing about a rat cavalry or organized attacks on the level Zach was enduring. The rats were even powerful enough to crack Zach''s barrier.


    If he had been alone, he would have been in trouble since he would have been unable to kill all the swarming rats before they broke through his barriers and killed him. Fortunately, he had Yanael. If it came to it, Lexi and Nora were also there.


    Zach wasn''t sure about how strong either of them were. But Nora was trained by her mother, and Lexi was Lexi.


    He didn''t think anything on the first floor of the Labyrinth could threaten them.

 Chapter 107: Floor Boss

    As if the developing bodies of the ratlings weren''t enough, Zach and the others soon encountered their first ratling settlement. It was nothing more than a few burrows and straw huts. But it was proof of civilization beyond mere tools. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the further they progressed, the more the buildings and settlements grew. From a few misshapen huts built without organization to neatly arranged and well-structured huts to primitive brick houses.


    The rate, spread, and path of development didn''t make any sense. Why weren''t all ratlings developed and living in proper houses if some were? Were they not related to each other or part of the same civilization even if they lived right next to each other?


    What was the deal? Why did the ratlings grow more advanced the further Zach and the others progressed into the grasslands?


    The group had many questions. But they all agreed that they would come closer to the answers they wanted if they delved deeper into ratling territory. Lexi was the only one who had a feeling that they would end up with more questions than answers, even if they reached the end if such a thing existed.


    But there was only one way to find out.


    Maybe they would also find out why, when everything else on the ratlings changed, did their heads not do the same. They grew more and more humanoid and intelligent the deeper into the grasslands Zach and others came. Their limbs grew longer, their fur shorter, their muscles more defined, and their postures more developed.


    It was like looking at a hairy human with a tail. The only thing that was not human-like in appearance was the rat heads.


    As they came into big areas of ratling society, they had even developed agriculture, wealth, and poverty. When Zach and the others raided the ratling cities, they encountered malnourished ratlings with rags for clothes on the ground and well-rounded ratlings in opulent garments living in mansions.


    It was an interesting mirror to human society but with rats instead of humans.


    It would have been even more interesting if they could study it or explore it without the ratlings turning into bloodthirsty monsters as soon as Zach''s group was in the vicinity.


    Zach couldn''t help but feel like it was a loss to see ratling society in all its glory without being able to appreciate it. Fortunately, he wasn''t the only one.


    Lexi made sure to note everything down with tidy handwriting in a notebook she had brought.


    She wasn''t only interested in the ratling society that resembled today''s human society with nobles and commoners and the most advanced technology being wheels. She was curious about how far the ratlings had developed. Stay connected with m|vl|e|mp|y|r


    The ratlings didn''t appear to have developed magic of any kind. They had even lost their abilities of stealth and burrowing through the ground to launch ambushes. Lexi wanted to know how a society without magic would develop, what it would develop, and how it would develop the things it developed.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t seem Lexi would get the answers she wanted.


    After turning a large city of thousands of ratlings into a burning, bloody mess, Zach and the others came upon a wasteland. The ground was hard, dry, and dead.


    But their attention wasn''t on the land beneath their feet.


    Zach, Lexi, Yanael, and Nora looked at the castle standing in the center of the wasteland, which was smaller than a lake.


    "I think we''ve found the first floor''s floor boss," Lexi spoke with excitement.


    "What?" Zach asked. He didn''t bother looking at his sister when asking, though. He was busy looking at the castle''s dark grey stone walls and corner towers. It was a large and ominous building. He couldn''t help but wonder what was inside.


    "From the second floor onward, there''s a kind of monster on every floor that''s bigger, larger, stronger, faster, and more dangerous than all the others. More often than not, they''re guarding the quickest path to the next floor.


    So, to advance deeper into the labyrinth, you have to defeat the floor boss." Since they had come this far, Lexi didn''t bother holding back anymore and shared her knowledge about the Labyrinth.


    "Since no one had found the first floor''s floor boss since people first started raiding the Labyrinth, and since you pass the first floor almost automatically as long as you move around and endure the ratlings'' attacks, it was believed that there was no floor boss here."


    Zach frowned.


    "Wait, if the floor boss is defeated every time someone goes down the next floor, what happens to it? Is it immortal?"


    "You''re focusing on the wrong thing, Zach. But no. A new one is born and takes its place. More importantly, they always carry treasure. The kind you won''t get anywhere else in the dungeon." Lexi''s eyes shone as she looked at the open castle gates.


    "The fellow hiding inside that castle has never been defeated. It is more than likely that there are a lot of treasures inside there." Lexi turned to Zach with a grin.


    "Then, what are we waiting for?" Zach also grinned as he looked at Lexi. They excitedly shook hands in a promise to share whatever they found.


    Then, they walked toward the castle, nervousness and anticipation rising with each step. The castle was bigger than they thought, but they soon arrived in front of the gates. Without hesitation, they entered.


    However, they were a little disappointed to find out that it wasn''t a proper castle. There weren''t a bunch of hallways and rooms for them to explore and look for treasure.


    It almost seemed like the fancy outside with walls, windows, and towers was nothing more than a facade built around an oversized throne room.


    From what Zach and the others could tell, the throne room alone was almost the entirety of the castle''s insides. Everything but the raised throne in the middle of the room was empty space.


    "Looks like we won''t get anything until after we defeat the floor boss." Lexi looked at the owner of the throne as she spoke. The others did the same. Everyone''s attention was focused solely on the king.

 Chapter 108: Rat King

    The rat king lounged on the throne like a despot. Shirtless, the king revealed light-colored and short fur that did nothing to hide the chiseled abdominal and torso muscles. Its bare feet pointed out at the other end of a pair of dark leather pants.


    Out of all the rats and ratlings they had seen so far, the rat king was at the peak. It was the apex of rat evolution. It was evident just from standing in the room with it. Zach and the others could feel its hungry eyes roving over their bodies as it slowly stood up.


    The only thing rat-like about the king was its rat head and its pink tail. Other than those two aspects, it was like standing in front of a seasoned hunter.


    The rat king carried himself with a confidence and determination that none of the other ratlings had. It was like a wolf in a pack of sheep. And it was a wolf that used a spear.


    The rat king grabbed the spear leaning to the throne after he stood up. Stomped the butt of the spear against the floor and opened his mouth.


    But the only thing that came out was the chattering chitter of a rat. With everything else the ratlings had displayed, it was undoubtedly language. Unfortunately, no one in Zach''s group spoke ratling.


    The rat king said something more before pointing at them with his spear. To be precise, he pointed at Zach.


    "Just to be sure, he''s pointing at me, right?"


    "Definitely."


    "I believe so, Young Master."


    "It appears he is, Master."


    "Damn it. Anyone know what he wants?"


    "I don''t speak any more ratling than you do, but it looks like he''s challenging you to a duel." Lexi gave a shrug as casual as her answer as she looked closely at the spear. Even from a distance, she could tell it was worthy of being a king''s spear. She longed to study it up close.


    Alas, it was not up to her just yet. She looked at Zach.


    Zach nervously clenched his fists as he stared at the tip of the spear pointing at his face.


    "...I don''t know how to fight, though."


    "Do you want to borrow my sword?" Lexi asked.


    "But I don''t know how to use a sword." Zach didn''t look away from the rat king, who was gracious enough to wait for him.


    Zach could probably force a fight with Yanael, but he had a feeling that he should do this.


    "You''ve seen Yanael use hers, right? Before that, you''ve seen me, Leonidas, Lily, and the knights at home train. I know the maids weren''t the only ones looking out at the training grounds from your room when we were younger."


    "..." Zach hesitated.


    "I know you''ve never really been interested in learning how to use weapons, and that Mother and Father were also reluctant to it, given your tendency for accidents."


    "But¡­?"


    "Oh, there''s no but. I''m just saying I know more about you than you want me to." Lexi joked to ease Zach''s nerves at least a little.


    "I''m just kidding. The but is that it doesn''t matter. You can choose not to pick up the sword and fight anyway. You can choose not to fight at all. The only thing that changes is the future. It might be a small change.


    It might be a drastic change. It might be a change for the better. It might be a change away from a future you desire.


    "All I want is for you not to live in regret."


    Lexi unsheathed the sword strapped to her waist and held it toward Zach with the handle in his direction.


    Although Zach had Yanael and his barrier skill, Lexi still wanted Zach to be able to fend for himself. She didn''t know much about summoning. She didn''t know how trustworthy Yanael was or what the extent of their relationship was. She knew Zach trusted Yanael. But what if Yanael one day had enough and decided to say no and goodbye?


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    Even if it was later than his siblings, she still wanted Zach to know how to defend himself and fight back. Lexi also figured that Zach was a practical learner. He understood more and better by learning in live situations.


    Fighting the first floor boss of the Jira Labyrinth might be a little much, but it wasn''t like he would die. At most, he would get beat up.


    He would also have three beautiful women ready to come to his rescue when he was in trouble.


    Eventually, Zach swallowed the saliva in his mouth and nodded with determination. He grabbed the sword, surprised at how cool the handle was and how heavy the weapon was.


    He was surprised to find how well the leather wrapping around the handle fit so snugly in his palm.


    Zach held it with one hand at first, but the double-edged longsword was too solid and heavy for him to wield it easily like that. He wouldn''t be able to swing it around like a piece of wood like Yanael did.


    That meant he would have to learn from the Evandiel knights¨Cfrom Leonidas, Lily, and his father, the Duke. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach was sure all three of the sword users in his family could swing their weapons with one hand if they wished. But he had seen them use both hands when they trained and sparred.


    They grabbed the handle with both hands, the right above the left. They held the sword with the tip pointed diagonally upward. It wasn''t straight up, but it wasn''t so far out that it was too heavy to wield it for extended periods.


    Zach stood with his legs apart, his feet next to each other. Not too far apart, but not too close. His knees were slightly bent, and he leaned forward slightly, just enough to not get knocked back by a gust of wind.


    With short, angled steps, Zach slowly made his way toward the rat king in a large spiral around the throne.


    The rat king followed him with his eyes and spear until Zach passed a thin line on the floor.


    An invisible dome rose around the throne just a few steps away from the walls of the throne room.


    Lexi''s eyes widened in realization.


    "...Shit."


    Zach was trapped inside with the rat king.

 Chapter 109: Duel

    Zach noticed the barrier dome around him and the king. Of course, he did, even if it appeared without sound and was invisible. He made barriers for a living.


    The method employed to erect the barrier separating him and the rat king from the others was different. It seemed like it was part of an automatic magic engraved on the floor, compared to Zach''s, which was like breathing.


    But the pressure in the air shifted when the barrier popped up, and the sounds from outside, faint as they were, became muted.


    Zach didn''t let it get to him. If anything, the realization that he was truly alone in his fight against the rat king made it easier to focus.


    However, he might have focused on the wrong thing.


    Zach was busy thinking about how his family used their swords while inching toward the rat king when the rat king lunged forward, thrusting his spear at Zach''s shoulder.


    The rat king''s spear pressed into the soft barrier in front of Zach and pushed almost all the way to Zach''s shoulder before being sent to the side, thanks to the barrier''s angle.


    Zach''s eyes shot wide open, and he blinked once and then twice.


    ''Whoops.''


    He realized that he shouldn''t be thinking about anything but the rat king. He tightened his grip on the sword and looked at the rat king''s tilted head.


    The rat king wasn''t filled with murderous bloodthirst as all the other monsters had been so far. There was something deeper and more complex in his eyes.


    But Zach didn''t think about it any deeper than that. The rat king had been momentarily surprised by Zach''s unexpected defense. That could have been an opening if Zach knew what he was doing. But he didn''t, and he had let it slip past.


    He wouldn''t get another as easily.


    However, the rat king hadn''t broken through his barrier, at least. That was promising.


    Zach looked at the rat king''s spear.


    When he stepped forward in a lunge and extended his spear as far as he could by gripping it with one hand at the end, the rat king''s reach was at least five times as long as Zach''s.


    Zach was proud that he realized it so soon. He willingly didn''t acknowledge how it would still have been too late without his barrier that just saved his life.


    The first thing he needed to do to defeat the rat king would be to close the distance and get within range to use his sword.


    He had seen Yanael move like she was dancing with her enemies on the few occasions they were powerful enough not to get cut down at once. It also seemed like she moved to dodge blood splatter. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach didn''t think he could do that. But he could rise to the balls of his feet.


    He added an extra layer to his barrier before approaching the rat king again. When the king thrust his spear toward Zach''s shoulder again, all Zach had to do was push to the side with his toes and lean to dodge the shiny spear tip.


    Zach managed to dodge with enough margin that the spear didn''t even touch his barrier. With that margin, he also had enough room to move forward a step and a half before the rat king could pull back his spear and thrust again.


    The next dodge wasn''t as wide, and the spear bounced off Zach''s barrier.


    The rat king took a step back to maintain his distance from Zach while pulling back his spear again. He attacked again in the exact same way as the last three times.


    Naturally, Zach dodged it again.


    However, after missing, the rat king didn''t pull back his spear again. He swung it to the side at Zach''s shoulder.


    Zach was fortunate enough that he caught it out of the corner of his eye and managed to lean back and let the spear pass by in front of him.


    Zach missed, however, the fact that he still had his sword in front of him. He had been diligent and kept the sword raised all this time.


    That came back to bite him in the ass when the rat king''s spear slammed into the unprotected blade with enough force to almost send it flying.


    Zach barely managed to hold onto the sword only because he was desperately aware that he would lose as soon as he lost it. But it came at the cost of the feeling of his hands. They were numb and throbbed like he had punched a beehive.


    Before Zach could even try putting up his guard again, the rat king thrust his spear at the center of Zach''s chest, which now only had barriers and no sword guarding it.


    The rat king took a step forward and extended his arm fully, pushing the tip of his spear into the flexible, stretchy barrier.


    Zach looked at the spear tip getting closer and closer to his chest at a decreasing speed as the resistance from the barrier increased the further the king pushed.


    The barrier squeaked like leather stretched taut, but the rat king showed no signs of letting it bounce back.


    ''Shit.''


    Zach had just enough time to realize that the rat king wasn''t giving up until the barrier broke to put up a new barrier before the barrier broke. He did not, however, have any time to make any changes to the barrier.


    The solid, slightly golden barrier was right in front of his chest like another layer of armor. That also meant it wasn''t fixed in the air. Fortunately.


    The rat king''s spear struck the second barrier and sent it and Zach back. The barrier, however, didn''t fly far before cracking and dissolving.


    Zach felt both the inside and outside of his chest break out in a rash of pain. But he couldn''t get hung up on something so trivial.


    He gathered himself and crashed on the floor. He used the force from the knockback to roll over backward and get up on his feet, careful not to cut himself with the sword somehow still in his hand.


    He hurriedly looked at the rat king, who was gracious enough not to hit an opponent on the ground.


    Zach quickly glanced at his chest. His shirt was slightly torn like something had pierced it, and a thin trickle of blood escaped the skin on his chest.


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    Cold sweat cooled Zach''s back as he realized that he had once again gotten pretty close to dying.


    But that wasn''t his only realization.


    He turned his gaze to the rat king again, ready for round two.

 Chapter 110: Second Round With The Rat King

    The rat king had been lenient enough to wait until Zach got back on his feet before attacking again, but that was all the grace he would give Zach before attacking again. He thrust at Zach''s leg this time.


    Zach stepped to the side, and when the rat king redirected his spear, Zach''s sword came down to meet it.


    It wasn''t a perfect block. Far from it. Zach wasn''t even sure if he could call it that since he had just struck the spear''s shaft with his sword before the spear could hit his thigh, hoping he would be strong enough to block it.


    Fortunately, Zach''s strike and the barrier around in front of his thigh were enough together.


    Zach didn''t bother trying to shove away the spear and destabilize the rat king or make him lose his grip on his weapon. He let the rat king pull back his spear again without stopping him. He did, however, take a step forward. He had to make up for the distance he lost when getting knocked back, after all.


    The rat king thrust again, but he was ready for Zach''s block this time and intentionally swatted at the sword to knock it aside before jabbing Zach in the chest.


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    Two layers of barrier were enough to prevent the spear from touching Zach again.


    But Zach could feel the accumulation of internal injuries he sustained from having his barriers broken. Unfortunately, he didn''t have the leeway to tear them down himself before the rat king destroyed them. He needed every bit of defense he could use.


    He had to stop wasting time and put into plan one of the only two ideas he had.


    Since the rat king was strong but not an overwhelming unit of brute force, Zach was going to go for the first idea. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was inspired by the dome that prevented the others from interfering in their duel and Zach from escaping, as well as the blow that had pushed Zach back with his barrier.


    Just like the barriers moved when he moved, he would move if a barrier in close proximity to his body moved. That meant the opposite would be true as well.


    If a barrier close to his body didn''t move, neither would he.


    He couldn''t see much use for that when using it on himself.


    But there was no need to only use barriers on himself or his allies.


    He could use them on his enemies to separate them from their allies, as the rat king had done. That meant he could use them on his enemies for other purposes, too.


    It would take a lot of mental strength and determination since he would lose if he failed, but Zach had to try. He wanted to try. It would make things a lot easier going forward.


    Zach looked at the rat king like he was trying to stare him to death. He inched forward until the rat king was about to unleash another thrust.


    ''Now!''


    Zach had to lock down the rat king when there was as little movement and force behind his movements as possible. That would be the moment he changed directions on his arms and spear from pulling back to lunging forward with a thrust.


    That was when Zach had to put up a string of barriers around the rat king and freeze him and his limbs in place.


    And that''s exactly what Zach did.


    The rat king stiffened and glanced down at its body in surprise.


    With these barriers, Zach only cared about rigidity, stiffness, and durability. The rat king couldn''t be allowed to break them, even if he was stronger than he appeared.


    A total of ten yellow barriers the size of paper arks were spread out over the rat king''s body, making it almost impossible for it to move.


    Zach could feel his head and heart throb from the exertion and pressure. But he didn''t let the barriers waver for even a second. Right now, it was a battle between the rat king''s physical strength and his mental strength.


    Zach stepped forward and raised his sword with both hands.


    He could see the rat king desperately try to break free. Veins popped on his forehead, neck, chest, arms, and legs. He heard his barriers begin to creak and crack from the rat king''s strength.


    Zach let his sword fall diagonally onto the rat king''s neck, cutting it halfway through, and it was not a moment too late as his barriers broke at the same time.


    Blood rushed up Zach''s throat and out of his mouth due to the backlash. Zach stumbled forward and spat the blood on the ground.


    He realized he was steadying himself against the rat king and quickly looked up. He was face to face with the rat king, who slowly raised his hand.


    Zach heard someone shout his name and then several loud thuds.


    Zach met the rat king''s clear eyes. They were different from the other monsters. They were intelligent.


    The rat king grabbed the sword lodged in his neck and yanked it out, letting it drop to the floor.


    The rat king stood still with his arms limp at his sides, the light in his eyes slowly fading. And when the light was completely gone, the clatter of his sword dropping to the ground rang out.


    The dome around them came down.


    The rat king had lost. Zach had won.


    One victor. One loser.


    One standing. One toppling to the floor.


    ''"Zach!"'' Lexi and Nora cried out at the same time as Zach fell.


    "Master!" Yanael also cried out as they all ran toward Zach. Lexi arrived first. She made it before Zach could hit his head on the floor.


    She grabbed him and gently placed him on the floor. She ripped open his shirt and inspected the wound on his chest.


    Lexi frowned. It was far too light and superficial to have made him collapse, but it was the only wound he had.


    "What happened to him?!" Lexi shouted her question at Nora and Yanael, who had also arrived.


    "He gets a backlash whenever his barriers break. His insides are in a mess right now." Yanael quickly answered Lexi''s question.


    "I-I''m *blegh* fine." Zach threw up another squirt of blood as he tried to tell them he wasn''t dying.


    The blood coming out of his mouth was not helping his case.


    Lexi frowned and tilted his head to the side so he wouldn''t choke on the blood. She then placed her hand on Zach''s chest. Red light came from her palm for a few moments before she concentrated.


    "Enhanced Recovery."

 Chapter 111: Loot

    "See? I told you I was fine!" Zach chastised his sister, familiar, and servant with his mouth full of grilled rat meat.


    Enhanced Recovery was a simple but straightforward and effective spell. It enhanced the target''s natural recovery while minimizing the deterioration of injuries. Naturally, since it only strengthened the target''s own recovery, it also needed the target to supplement the energy needed to heal the injuries themselves.


    "Shut up. If it hadn''t been for me, you could have died!" Lexi shouted at Zach while stuffing another glistening piece of meat into his mouth to shut him up.


    "I''mf ucky o ave yu," Zach spoke through the food in his mouth anyway and did his best to give Lexi a bright smile. It didn''t work very well.


    It was a good spell for minor injuries and superficial wounds that would heal in a few days anyway. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when Enhanced Recovery was used to heal major bodily harm, such as severe internal bleeding, it could drain the body of so much energy and nutrients that people without a secondary energy source, such as Zach, could die.


    That was why he looked like a skeleton with his arms like noodles, his cheeks sunken and hollow, and his skin was stretched taut.


    Fortunately, the spell would also boost his metabolism. As long as he ate enough, he would bounce back to his usual state now that he had survived.


    Unfortunately, that meant he had to eat without a delay. And the only thing that was edible nearby was the rat king and some remaining emergency rations that Zach had already devoured.


    Zach would have been unsure about eating such a humanoid and clearly intelligent monster if he hadn''t been too hungry to feel anything but his hunger.


    And when Zach was no longer hungry, there was no more rat king to eat, so it all worked out in the end.


    The others waited for Zach to finish burping and recovering the color and springiness of his skin before they helped him to his feet. The rat king was defeated, and there weren''t any other enemies approaching or threatening them.


    But there was still something they had to do, something much more important.


    It was time to loot!


    Yanael had already set aside the rat king''s spear and pants while Lexi and Nora tended to Zach and cooked the rat king. But that wasn''t everything the rat king had left behind.


    Lexi had been cheeky enough to take a look around the room while Zach ate and found a wooden chest with gold decor and lining. It was big enough to fit a hand and some of the wrist.


    It was a small chest.


    But Zach and the others weren''t disappointed. If anything, the chest''s size made them more excited. Since it was small, it had to be something valuable rather than a lot of gold or jewels.


    Even with the size of the chest, however, there was no telling what it was. The Labyrinth was just too mysterious and filled with too wide a variety of treasures.


    Lexi handed the chest to Zach. He and Yanael had done all the work. Him with his barriers to keep all the ratlings away, Yanael culling the ratlings, and then him again when he killed the rat king.


    He deserved all the treasures.


    There wasn''t a keyhole or anything. Zach just needed to flip the lid open. The entire group was full of anticipation as he put his hand on top of the chest and grabbed the lid. Slowly, he cracked open the chest.


    He glanced at the others.


    Then, he slowly¡­


    "Just open it already!" Lexi couldn''t wait any longer and urged him to hurry up.


    Zach shrugged with a smile and opened the lid fully. He looked at the contents with a puzzled expression.


    "What? What? What is it?" Lexi couldn''t see due to the lid, and she was about to go around when Zach turned the chest to show them all what was inside.


    The other three also frowned. Yanael kept a mostly straight face, but the contents of the chest weren''t exactly worth all the trouble they had gone through.


    "A key? Is it to open a treasure room maybe?" Zach asked hopefully, but Lexi slowly shook her head.


    "What about that stone fragment?" Lexi slowly shook her head again while looking at the dull gold key. She glanced at the piece of stone that looked like the fragment of a larger piece, maybe something like the edge of a vase. But her focus centered on the key.


    The other three patiently looked at Lexi. Compared to them, she knew the most about the Labyrinth. If anyone could tell them about the key and stone fragment, it would be her.


    Zach could tell Lexi was thinking about what the key might be, so he didn''t urge her.


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    Eventually, Lexi opened her mouth.


    "...I have no idea about the piece of stone. But if I''m right, this key is a Wishing Key."


    "A Wishing Key?"


    Lexi nodded.


    "It''s the only thing that makes sense. There are no other doors here that would require a key, and although it''s very unlikely to find a Wishing Key anywhere above the tenth floor, no one even knew there was a floor boss on the first floor, so this place hasn''t been visited by humans in several centuries, possibly even since before the Empire''s founding."


    "...That''s great and all, but what''s a Wishing Key?" Zach asked. He could tell it was something great by the way Lexi spoke about it, but what did it do?


    "It''s a key that opens the door to whatever you wish."


    "What?" Zach frowned. That had to be metaphorical.


    "From what I''ve heard, you just need to insert this key into any wall in the dungeon, and you will enter a room with whatever it is you wish for."


    "What? Seriously?"


    Lexi shrugged.


    "I''ve only heard about it before, but we could return and ask Father or Mother about it. If the Leos don''t know, they do. But if you ask me, there''s only one way to find out if this ''ere is a Wishing Key or not."


    Lexi pushed the chest back to Zach and urged him to pick up the key.


    Zach was skeptical but he picked up the key. It was cool and warm at the same time. It was also heavy and light. It sat in his palm like it was made of lead, but when he moved his hand, it was like the key moved with it.


    Zach walked over to the nearest wall while looking and feeling the Wishing Key. He glanced back at Lexi and the others.


    "Only one way to find out, right?"


    "Only one way to find out." Lexi nodded encouragingly.


    Zach turned to the wall and extended his arm.

 Chapter 112: Stone

    Zach guided the key toward the brick wall with a frown. Right before the key made contact with the stone, he turned back.


    "This isn''t a prank or anything, right? You''re not making a fool of me for trying to stick a key into a solid wall?"


    "No." Lexi shook her head. She could understand Zach''s worry. If it hadn''t been a Wishing Key and instead an ordinary key leading to another room in the castle, she might have done just that. But she was serious.


    "...Then, how come you aren''t trying to put your hands on it? Don''t you have anything you wish for?"


    "Not really. Not anymore." Lexi shrugged. "Besides, you''re the one who earned it. I''m not such a bitch that I would steal from my little brother, you know?"


    "What about that watch when we were little?"


    "What watch?"


    "You know, the one with silver¡ª"


    "I don''t remember a watch like that. Just stick it in already!"


    "Fine, fine!" Zach raised his hand in defeat and tucked his head in at Lexi''s shout.


    At this point, if nothing happened, Lexi stood more to lose, so Zach moved the key the final bit and pressed the tip against the wall.


    He looked on with growing astonishment as the key disappeared into the stone wall like a knife into a block of butter. Like magic, the key entered halfway inside the wall before refusing to budge even a hair.


    Zach felt like he could pull it out if he wanted now that he had confirmed that it was a wishing key. But the only thing he had really confirmed so far was that it was a magic key.


    To find out if it was a Wishing Key, he had to turn it. Zach just had to do it.


    But he hesitated.


    Lexi had said it would open a room with whatever he desired¨Cwhatever he wished for.


    That was where the problem lay.


    Zach didn''t know what to wish for.


    Immortality? Endless riches? A peerless weapon that would let him defeat any and all enemies? Unbeatable strength? Maybe a solution to his cursed luck?


    No. Immortality sounded boring. He was the son of one of the Empire''s Dukes. What would he do with a weapon when he had Yanael? Once again, Yanael. His innate skill was Divine Luck.


    He didn''t believe it, but he wasn''t going to waste a Wishing Key on getting rid of it, not when it might have been what got him the Wishing Key in the first place.


    ''I''m so fucking stupid.''


    Zach wanted to facepalm.


    He had come to the Labyrinth with one purpose. It was to find a way to summon his second familiar.


    He hadn''t expected it to go down like this, but the method didn''t matter.


    Zach wished for a room where he could summon his second familiar.


    He turned the key.


    Zach was sucked into the wall like a noodle and disappeared.


    Yanael pulled out her sword and put it against Lexi''s neck, her eyes staring fiery daggers at the young woman.


    "Relax." Lexi pushed away the blade with a finger.


    "He''ll be back shortly. That was a Wishing Key."


    "Are you claiming that there is no possibility of an antithesis to Wishing Key''s existing?"


    "What? You mean like one that sucks you in but kills you instead of rewards you?"


    "..." Yanael''s silence was her answer. Lexi had perfectly described what she was worried about.


    Lexi shrugged.


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    "It''s the Labyrinth. It might exist. But it wouldn''t come out as a reward after killing a floor boss that no one else has killed. If it did, it would be a trap and it would mean that this¡­" Lexi picked up the unremarkable stone fragment. "...stone piece is worth more than enough to make up for the trap key and the reward for defeating the floor boss."


    Yanael still pointed at Lexi with her sword.


    "Are you saying that a worthless stone would be a reward after killing this rare floor boss, even if the other reward is a Wishing Key? How can you be sure that this stone piece isn''t worth more than its appearance suggests, thereby luring someone to take the supposed Wishing Key?" Yanael didn''t raise her voice or fill it with hostility. She was merely asking a question to ascertain Lexi''s thoughts. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    How could she be sure? Was she so sure she could let Zach just vanish without a way to find him?


    "...Shit." Lexi''s muttered cursing was not the answer Lexi had hoped for.


    There was no way a worthless stone would be found as a reward after killing the floor boss. Even the worst reward she had heard about, a lump of coal, could still be used for something. And that had been found as a reward for defeating a floor boss while it was being born.


    She didn''t know the details of the entire event, but it was something of a story used to teach the newcomers to the Labyrinth that with more risk came more treasure. The longer a floor boss lived, the stronger it would get and the greater the reward for killing it.


    Killing a floor boss that wasn''t even newborn, but one that was in the process of being born wasn''t a risk. It was a cowardly decision. That was worth about a lump of coal.


    The rat king, on the other hand, was probably much older than its appearance. Its growth would have been limited by its surroundings and circumstances, but it was still too strong to be a boss on the first floor.


    Yanael could be considered part of Zach''s strength. With her, he was strong enough to arrive at the boss room without so much as a scratch.


    The floor boss shouldn''t have been much more difficult. But it not only separated the challengers to fight him one on one, it was also strong enough to break through Zach''s barriers. And if the final burst of strength before Zach cut its neck was any indication, it could have shown a lot more strength.


    Zach was lucky.


    The rat king had held back.


    The fight for it wouldn''t end after Zach lost, after all. It needed to conserve its energy.


    It had recognized the others'' strengths and was going to fight them, too.


    That in itself made Lexi realize how strong the rat king had been.


    It had recognized the strength she kept hidden. It was still confident it could win in a fight.


    It could have misread her strength, but still.


    The rat king was strong.


    A useless stone wouldn''t appear after it was defeated.


    "...shit!"


    The only question was if the rat king was old enough to warrant both a valuable, mysterious stone and a Wishing Key.


    Lexi hoped so.


    Otherwise, the Labyrinth would have to rethink its career path.

 Chapter 113: The Other Side Of The Key

    Zach wasn''t sure what happened. The feeling that overcame him when he turned the key was similar to when he first entered the labyrinth. There was a brief sensation of falling forward in weightlessness, but this time, it was more twisted like someone had strapped him to the kind of kid-friendly carousel he had seen at some of the festivals in the duchy.


    Then, like it was a thing of the past, Zach found himself standing on solid ground with nothing but some nausea to remember it with. He put a hand to his mouth as he repressed an acid reflux and slowly looked around.


    The room was completely bare and smooth. It appeared to be made of a strange material that was neither metal nor stone. There was no telling where the light came from in the small room. It was either the orb on the pedestal right before the center of the room or the room itself.


    It was a different method from the one in the Chamber of Ceremonies in the Academy, but Zach instinctively knew what to do.


    He took another look around the room anyway. But there was nothing except the pedestal, the orb, and a slight circular indent opposite the pedestal.


    The orb was soft white with a few specks of a different hue of white. Zach couldn''t possibly imagine what it was made of.


    But he knew what its purpose was.


    With his heart beating loudly and nervously, Zach put his hand on the orb. It was cool like he was touching a melon but smooth like glass.


    Nothing happened at first, but the longer he held his hand against the orb, the hotter it grew. Zach started worrying that he might burn his hand. But as if to tell him not to worry, the orb stopped glowing hotter. Instead, it began emanating a soft light the same color as itself.


    The light rose in intensity until that too reached a threshold. After that, the next step was the circular indent in the ground behind the pedestal. It began glowing with the same white light as the orb.


    However, unlike the orb, the circle''s light didn''t stop growing brighter. It was like it had once seen the sun and decided it had to surpass it at the first given opportunity. That opportunity was now.


    The brightness was the first thing that reminded Zach of the summoning ceremony he had gone through to summon Yanael. And just like then, Zach tried to keep his eyes open to see what was going on, but the light was too bright, and he had to cover his eyes.


    He didn''t even know why he tried when he knew it was impossible. He just wanted to see the process of a familiar being summoned.


    Alas, that was not to be. It was most likely a guarded secret of the same level as or higher than the things Yanael couldn''t tell him due to his limited authority.


    Zach closed his eyes and shielded them with his hands, but he could tell it was still growing brighter in the room.


    Until it wasn''t.


    The light faded, and Zach opened his eyes. Since he had realized the mortality of his eyes sooner this time, he just needed to blink them a couple of times to see clearly. There were still a few spots of color swimming around in his vision, but he ignored them and focused on the figure standing in the center of the circle. He tilted his head backward.


    "A giant?" Zach unintentionally thought aloud.


    "Huhum." A smooth chuckle answered him.


    "Ahem." Zach cleared his throat, embarrassed, and took a moment to look at the person in front of him.


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    They were so tall that he was surprised at first. But when he looked closer, he could tell that she wasn''t quite as tall as his father. She wasn''t far off, and she was probably as tall as Leonidas. That meant she was almost two heads taller than Zach.


    She also had short, fluffy white hair that added a knife blade''s width to her height. Her bright hair stood in contrast to her tan skin and seemed to glitter in tandem with her dark, shiny eyes.


    Her long slender arms were hugged tightly by the long black fabric of her clothes. Her most likely similarly long and slender arms were securely hidden by an exquisite maid dress.


    She met Zach''s eyes as he inspected her with sparkle in her eye and the corner of her lips raised. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach noticed she noticed his staring and cleared his throat again. He reached out with a hand, he had to put it quite high up in the air.


    The woman looked at Zach''s hand with a raised eyebrow.


    "I''m Zach, Zacharia Evandiel, it''s nice to meet you."


    "...Likewise, but what are you doing with your hand? If you forgot a weapon, I can borrow you one."


    Zach looked at his hand in confusion.


    "What? No, I''m trying to shake hands."


    "Why¡­?"


    "...To greet you more properly rather than just say my name."


    "Oh, is it like a custom where you''re from?"


    Zach nodded.


    "Then, don''t mind if I do~" The tall woman took a step forward with a charming smile and eyes drawn to slits. She extended her arm and gently wrapped Zach''s hand with her own. It was bigger than his, and her fingers were long and slender.


    Zach involuntarily nodded as the woman''s warm fingers brushed against his skin in a gentle caress.


    While Zach was slightly stunned, the tall woman leaned forward until her head was the same height as Zach''s. She looked at his face as she drew closer.


    "Thanks for having me¡­" The tall woman whispered next to Zach''s ear.


    "Master~" She exhaled the last syllable directly into Zach''s ear, sending shivers down his spine.


    Zach blushed.


    "U-um. Yes. Thanks for letting me have you." Zach did his best to control his voice, expression, and self.


    The woman chuckled and stood upright again, releasing Zach''s hand.


    Zach began cooling down as soon as she stopped touching him. She hadn''t done anything. She was just very attractive, very warm, very soft, and very attractive. And she was completely aware of how beautiful she was and made full use of it.


    It was different from Yanael''s straightforward and honest beauty, and Zach couldn''t compare the two.


    "Ahem." Zach cleared his throat again as he found himself staring at the woman again.


    "What do you say we get out of here?" Zach asked.


    "I go wherever you do, Master." The woman answered casually.


    "Great." Zach looked around.


    There wasn''t a door anywhere.


    "...How do we get out of here?"

 Chapter 114: Catfight

    Zach and his newfound familiar found themselves outside the Wishing Room. They stood in front of the wall. Zach stood like he had before he entered, only now, there wasn''t a key in his hand. The tall maid was next to him.


    Lexi, Nora, and Yanael, who had been looking at the wall Zach used to activate the Wishing Key full of worry, stopped worrying. Zach was back and appeared to be fine, considering he turned around to look at his companions with a smile.


    "I''m back!" Zach waved.


    "..."


    "But, maybe I wasn''t gone for long, considering you three haven''t moved from the spot." Zach awkwardly lowered his hand when the other three simply stared at him and his second familiar.


    "Zach, you little weasel, did you wish for another beautiful maid when you''ve already got Yanael and Nora?" Lexi was the first to break the silence as she skipped over and put Zach in an armbar while grinding his head with her fist. At the same time, she looked at the tall, tan maid.


    "No. Well, not exactly. I wanted to summon another familiar. That''s why I came to the Labyrinth, in the first place. I guess it''s just my fate." Zach shrugged off Lexi''s accusation without taking it to heart. He was not to blame for his summons being extraordinarily beautiful maids.


    He gestured with his hand while looking at Lexi and the others.


    "This is¡­" He turned to his second familiar.


    "Uh¡­I just assumed you have a name, but I haven''t even asked you about it. My bad."


    The tan maid put a hand to cover her mouth as she chuckled.


    "It''s fine. Alzara roi Kalam. That is my name. You may use it in its entirety if you wish, but just Alzara is more than okay, too," Alzara answered with a smile. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach nodded.


    "Great." He turned to the others.


    "Alzara roi Kalam. Lexi Evandiel, Yanael, Nora." He gestured at the three in turn.


    "Lexi, Yanael, Nora, Alzara roi Kalam." He gestured at Alzara again.


    "It seems I''ll leave my troublesome brother in your hands. Please take good care of him, Alzara."


    "I''m looking forward to working with you." Nora gave a slight bow.


    Yanael silently walked up and stood right in front of Alzara. She was also taller than Zach, but she wasn''t as tall as Alzara. She had to tilt her head slightly and look up at this new maid.


    "So, what can you do?" Yanael asked, not nearly as polite as the other two had been. But it was only natural. She was Zach''s first familiar. Her relationship with Zach and his new familiar was different than Lexi''s and Nora''s.


    "A lot of things." Alzara teased and traced Yanael''s chin with a slender finger while looking down at her.


    "Don''t forget your place. Alzara roi Kalam" Yanael smacked Alzara''s hand away and took her place right next to Zach on his other side, ignoring the new maid.


    Zach felt like he could pop the tense atmosphere with a needle like it was a balloon. He gulped and smiled nervously.


    "Well, my business is done here, but I wouldn''t mind continuing to explore." He scratched the back of his head as he looked at Lexi.


    She shrugged. The catfight between Yanael and Alzara was none of her business, and she wouldn''t even try to meddle.


    "I don''t mind, either, but we''re running out of supplies, and I thought you had a school to get back to."


    "Not yet, though. I just have to be there before the second year starts."


    "How long was your break?"


    "Three months."


    "And you wasted a month sleeping and traveling home. And I think we''ve spent around two or three weeks in the Labyrinth." Lexi glanced at Nora for confirmation, who nodded.


    "Two days short of three weeks."


    Lexi turned back to Zach.


    "That leaves you about a month and a week. If I were you, I wouldn''t waste more time." Lexi was aware of Zach''s sense of direction and now, more than ever, she could tell how luck or misfortune seemed to affect him more than anyone else she had met. With how unpredictable his life was, she figured it would be best for Zach to set out with time to spare.


    "Oh, damn." Zach''s eyes widened slightly. He hadn''t realized they had spent so long in the Labyrinth.


    It was a shame. It meant he would have to return to the Academy soon.


    "You''re right. Let''s head home. You did not hear me say this, but I kind of want to spend the rest of my break with you and the others."


    "I''ll let them know you said that." Lexi nodded.


    "No! I just said you didn''t hear me say that! That means you should pretend you didn''t hear me!"


    "But I did hear you."


    "Pretend!"


    "Pretend what?"


    "That you didn''t hear!"


    "That I didn''t hear what?"


    "That I want to spend the rest of my break with you and the rest of our siblings."


    "Oh, you cutie. I''ve gotta tell the others!"


    "No! I just said¡ª" Zach stopped arguing and raised a hand.


    "If you don''t swear your silence right here and now, I''m going to sock you in the face, Lexi."


    "Try it." Lexi stuck out her chin and invited Zach to fulfill his threat.


    Zach hesitated before slowly lowering his fist and looking away.


    "Aww, you scared?"


    "..."


    "Are you upset, Zach? I''m sorry. I was just teasing you."


    "..."


    "Come on, Zach, if you just look at me, I promise I won''t tell the others."


    Lexi''s apologies and promises would have sounded a lot more trustworthy if she had been able to hold back her laughter.


    Zach didn''t need to look at her to see the wide grin on her face as she waited for Zach to turn around and impale his cheek on her waiting finger.


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    He started walking in a random direction.


    "Hey, where are you going? That''s not the way home."


    Zach didn''t want to listen to Lexi. Unfortunately, she had hit his only weakness, his sens of direction. He hesitated.


    "Haha! Zach! That''s the only way out of this castle! Keep walking."

 Chapter 115: Quick Enough

    The way out of the Labyrinth once they were outside the floor boss'' castle wasn''t difficult to find or tricky to follow. They just had to stay in one place on neutral ground for some time while thinking about wanting to leave.


    Zach didn''t understand how it worked. Neither did Lexi, but she would never admit it.


    But it was the same with the Wishing Key. Just by thinking about what he wished, he got a room where he could summon his second familiar.


    The Labyrinth and some of its treasures could read minds. Not spooky at all.


    After a while, the ground swallowed them up and spat them back out into the Labyrinth Hall again. The place was still full of life but quietened down slightly when the people inside the Hall noticed that it was the two Evandiel children who had returned.


    However, instead of seeing them off with silence, the crowd of Labyrinth explorers, knights, merchants, and more cheered. Zach''s clothes were ragged and torn with signs of dried blood. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had fought and rolled around on the ground on his first trip to the Labyrinth. It was enough cause for celebration to earn them encouraging cheers from the crowd. The fact that they had returned alive was also enough to celebrate. It wasn''t only because they were children of the Duke.


    It was always a great thing when the people who explored the Labyrinth returned with at least their lives intact.


    Some who had seen the group enter with two maids were a little confused when they left with three, but no one mentioned or talked about it.


    Lexi stopped walking when they were outside the Labyrinth Entrance''s area and looked at Zach.


    "You go on ahead. I''ve gotta deal with this, and the sooner the better." She held up the notebook she had used to write down and draw everything they had learned about the first floor of the Jira Labyrinth.


    "Sure. See you at home." Zach nodded and turned around. If he was quick, he might make it to all the siblings before Lexi could tell them what he had said.


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    He was not quick enough.


    Zach didn''t slack off on his way back, but before he was even half the way to the mansion, Lexi zipped past him, only slowing down long enough to stick her tongue out at Zach before continuing.


    Zach stopped running entirely for a moment and just looked at the trail of dust Lexi kicked up. He took a minute or two to stand still and stare in a daze. It was enough for Nora to start getting worried.


    Other than keeping half an eye on Zach, his safety and comfort and being ready for anything he might say, Yanael and Alzara ignored or looked at each other.


    After a while, Zach started walking at a moderate pace. He wasn''t in a rush anymore.


    When he saw a carriage leaving the estate, he wondered if he should hitch a ride to the city and find transport back to the Academy. But he didn''t want to leave without saying goodbye to the people that mattered, like his parents and Nora''s mother. Maybe Leonidas, too.


    There was also a dog that Zach wanted to greet before leaving for another year. He had also seen a newly moved-in family of birds in one of the trees outside his window.


    Eventually, he racked up enough excuses to continue back to the mansion.


    He made it just in time for dinner. With everyone already together, the gushing was overwhelming, and Zach felt like he had more hands on his head than strands of hair.


    But the hands were warm and gentle. Zach couldn''t stay mad.


    Zach''s parents and siblings were busy people. But for two weeks, he spent as much time as he could with them. Some days, it wasn''t more than dinner. On other days, he trained, played, studied, or read with his siblings for hours. One day when his father took a break, he even got personal tutoring on how to use a spear from the Duke of Evandiel.


    Nymur Evandiel was one of the Empire''s greatest swordsmen. He was famous for the strength and power of his sword, as well as his fiery grace on the battlefield. When he was in business mode and stood with a straight back and focused expression, some even likened him to a sword taken human form.


    However, the sword was just his entry into the world of combat. Merely being good with the sword hadn''t brought him to his current heights.


    He wasn''t an expert on spears. But he was more than qualified enough to teach Zach the basics so that he could make the most of the rat king''s spear. It was too good of a spear not to use, after all. It was also easier to get started with a spear than a sword. He just needed to stab and he would be fine.


    Wielding a sword effectively was a little more difficult.


    Zach didn''t have any plans on pursuing the path of the spear in any way. But knowing how to handle himself in situations like the one with the rat king wouldn''t hurt. It was also a nice opportunity to spend time with his father that didn''t involve staring awkwardly at him while being patted on the head.


    After hearing about Zach''s determination to use barriers even when their breaking meant internal injuries, Calserra also brought Zach along for a day to see if he could become a Dominator. It was closely tied to strength of will and mental strength, after all.


    Unfortunately, Zach didn''t show any signs of having inherited his mother''s talent.


    Zach was a little regretful. Unlike weapons and magic, Zach was actually interested in Domination.


    But it was not to be for him. It was exclusive to Calserra, Leana, and Lexi in their family.


    Zach fooled around with his family and wasted time resting and playing until it was finally time for him, Yanael, Alzara, and Nora to leave for the Academy again.

 Chapter 116: Chat With Alzara

    Zach wanted to make the most of his break from the Academy and all things stressful, so he had set aside a couple of things, including dealing with Alzara''s addition to the team. He had accepted her and introduced her. Then, he had kind of just let her be and get used to the whole thing while he played around.


    But now that he was on his way to the Academy, it was time to start being proactive again.


    So, while Nora and Yanael sat on the outside of the carriage, steering the horses, Zach and Alzara sat inside, facing each other. Zach was a little apologetic toward her since she had to slouch to avoid bopping her head against the carriage ceiling.


    The family probably had bigger carriages. But that would need at least another two horses to feed and control. It would also be a carriage that wasn''t used often since the Duke and Leonidas, the ones tall enough to necessitate such a carriage usually rode their horses directly if running wouldn''t do.


    "Alzara."


    "Yes, Master?"


    "If I were to ask you questions about, let''s say, summoning in general and how that works, how would you respond?" Zach skipped the small talk and went straight for the important talks.


    "I can''t tell you." Alzara held up a finger in front of her lips and winked teasingly like she was safekeeping a secret.


    "I understand. As you might have noticed, Yanael is a little hostile toward you, I hope you don''t mind."


    "Not at all. It''s cute."


    "Right? I mean, she''s also a very dedicated swordsman." Zach looked Alzara up and down. "I can tell you''re a maid, but I guess you can also fight? Since we will be working together, I''m interested in what you do."


    Alzara leaned forward and smiled.


    "Haven''t you checked that little interesting thing since you summoned me?"


    Zach tilted his head slightly in confusion before he realized what she meant and his eyes widened.


    "Ah. I forgot that for a moment."


    Alzara just continued smiling patiently as she waited for Zach to check his summoning interface.


    [Zacharia Evandiel]


    [Level 12 Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skills: Blessed Defense | Material Extraction]


    [Contracts: Yanael | Alzara roi Kalam]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Rank Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Alzara roi Kalam ¨C SS-Rank Desert Witch *Battle Maid Variant]


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly as he looked at the interface. The variant part didn''t surprise him. Alzara''s clothes had already revealed that part. He already knew her name, and he didn''t know what a desert witch was.


    He knew it was technically possible since he had summoned an S-rank as his first familiar, but it was more likely that he would summon an S-rank as his second still.


    An SS-rank familiar. It was the rank above S-rank that he hadn''t even heard of before.


    It was amazing.


    "What do you think?" Alzara''s eyes were almost closed as she asked.


    Zach looked up. "You know what it says?"


    "Of course, I do. It''s information about me." Alzara nodded.


    "It''s amazing!" Zach spoke his honest thoughts.


    For seemingly the first time since she was summoned, Alzara wasn''t raising her lips in a smile.


    "Really?" She looked at Zach, baffled.


    "Yup. It''s my first time even hearing of an SS-rank familiar." Zach gave a thumbs up and flashed a grin.


    Alzara''s expression stiffened for a moment before her head slumped and she rested her forehead against her palm.


    "...I had a feeling that was the case, but you have no idea, huh?"


    "About what¡­?" Zach could tell he had missed something.


    "What does it say after my rank?"


    "Desert witch?"


    "Yeah. You haven''t heard of us?"


    "I can''t say I have." Zach slowly shook his head, confused.


    "Huh. That''s¡­" Alzara didn''t know what to say.


    "...Aren''t desert witches, and forgive me for being presumptuous, witches who live in the desert?" Zach hesitantly asked.


    Alzara gave Zach a blank stare.


    "You''re not wrong. But there''s more to it, and our reputation precedes us. Usually."


    "What? Are desert witches monsters who kidnap and eat children, torment villages, desecrate the dead and the living, and make a mockery of any who come to bring justice or something?"


    "..." Alzara was silent.


    "Alzara?" Zach prodded her, a bad feeling in his chest.


    "..." She remained silent.


    "...Alzara?" Zach feared the worst and Alzara''s silence only confirmed his fears.


    "...Without giving you the answer to your first question, I''ll just say that the rumors aren''t completely unfounded."


    "My first question¡ªAh." Information about desert witches, and the desert witches Alzara knew, such as the things she knew desert witches were responsible for, was related to her past. He had already tried it with Yanael, but questions about the past were a no-go.


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    If Zach had to guess, Alzara could tell him objective information about desert witches, like their general appearances or the fact that they mostly lived in deserts. But details unrelated to the race as a whole would be difficult.


    Zach was silent for a bit before looking at Alzara.


    "...Don''t eat children, and if you''re going to burn down any villages, please clear it with me first."


    Alzara stared blankly at Zach, once again baffled. That was not what she had expected, to be honest. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I guess that''s why you''re my Master, Master." Alzara smiled. Someone who would shun her for being a desert witch wouldn''t have summoned her.


    Without warning, she reached out and grabbed Zach. Zach didn''t resist as she placed him in her lap and hugged him.


    "And don''t worry, I never found the taste of children worth the trouble." She whispered in his ear with a playful tone.


    Zach couldn''t tell if she was joking or not.


    A shiver ran down his spine.


    He was curious about how powerful she was and what she could do, but he was also worried that maybe a higher rank meant more freedom and independence of thought. He didn''t think Alzara would do anything to him, at least not anything directly harmful.


    But he couldn''t be sure what she would do to others.


    ''...As long as she doesn''t touch my loved ones, I guess.''

 Chapter 117: On Time

    Zach sat in Alzara''s lap for a while, enjoying the warmth and comfiness of being hugged like he was a child again. But talking with Alzara wasn''t the only thing he had to do during the trip. He still wasn''t sure what she could do or what his contract skill was exactly, but that could wait until he needed to know.


    He had already put off something else, which he should have dealt with as soon as it was a problem.


    So, he gently escaped Alzara''s arms and sat on his own ass again, after which he asked Alzara to switch places with Yanael.


    Zach could tell Alzara was reluctant to leave his side, but he could also tell that it would be nice for her to no longer have to bend her neck just to fit inside the carriage.


    Without a word, Yanael and Alzara changed seats. Yanael slipped in, and Alzara climbed out.


    Yanael sat with her back ramrod straight and her hands on her lap with her gaze lowered.


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    "Yes, Master."


    "I''m assuming you know why I want to talk with you while I''m putting on a serious face like this."


    "Yes, master." Yanael nodded.


    "Have you been so hostile to Alzara because you knew she was a desert witch?"


    "What is a desert witch, if I may ask?" Yanael tilted her head.


    "...I guess not. They''re witches who live in the desert. Apparently, they have some bad but not completely unfounded rumors going around, not that I''ve heard anything."


    "I cannot say I have heard any such rumors, either, Master."


    "Okay. So, why are you treating her like that? You haven''t had any problem with Nora."


    "My apologies, Master. My personal feelings shouldn''t have any effect on my service and loyalty to you." Yanael bowed her head.


    "That''s one thing. I''m just curious why you''re behaving like this."


    "..." Yanael hesitated.


    "It''s okay. Just say what''s on your mind."


    "...It''s because she keeps putting her grubby hands on you with that sleazy smile. She doesn''t respect you. She doesn''t deserve to be your familiar."


    "I see." Zach nodded understandably. It was a personal issue of Yanael not liking Alzara. Zach squinted. Yanael had been against the idea of him summoning another familiar from the start when he first asked her how to do that.


    It wasn''t necessarily that it was specifically Alzara who was the problem. Zach moved over and sat next to Yanael. He put his hand on her knee.


    "Yanael."


    "Yes, Master?" Yanael wondered what Zach was doing but didn''t mind it.


    "You''re number one. No one will take your place. You have nothing to worry about." Zach patted Yanael''s knee twice.


    "..." Yanael was silent.


    Zach was also silent. He had said his piece. If that was enough for Yanael to stop treating Alzara like she carried the plague, great. If it wasn''t, he would have to come up with another method.


    But he had yet to confirm whether it was enough.


    So, for now, Zach continued taking it easy. Time would tell.


    The rest of the trip back to the Academy was worryingly peaceful. Yanael and Alzara didn''t interact much with each other, even if they interacted with Zach and Nora. But Yanael wasn''t openly hostile anymore, and Alzara seemed to have realized that she didn''t gain anything from teasing and provoking her more than necessary.


    Zach felt like the situation would have been better if they could have gotten closer while fighting monsters. But the monsters that had been like flies to a pile of dung on the way to the Evandiel Duchy were nowhere to be seen.


    Without making too much of an assumption, Zach felt like it was related to Alzara.


    He remembered what Lexi had said about monsters and their instincts that they themselves weren''t even always aware about.


    If they could pick up on his glowing that Lexi barely noticed, Zach felt like they could pick up on the threat that Alzara posed. Yanael was also dangerous, but she was better at controlling her presence and the air she gave off. She was at least more willing to do so.


    Zach had a feeling that Alzara couldn''t be bothered to restrain herself in that way. That also fit better with what she had told him about desert witches.


    It was relieving since their journey would be less stressful. But it also meant it would be more boring and with fewer chances to gain levels.


    But Zach wasn''t going to ask Alzara to suppress herself just because he wanted to kill some monsters or, to be exact, watch her and Yanael kill monsters. Besides, the monsters that were pushed out of the wilderness and close to the roads were weaklings. They didn''t give much in the way of levels.


    Zach could almost feel that out of the two levels he had gained since the first year ended, the majority of it came from the rat king. He wasn''t sure what the deal was, but he had also leveled up a lot thanks to the tiger.


    Based on that, it was easy to conclude that the levels he gained were proportional to the strength of the enemies he killed.


    Killing a bunch of weaklings was probably better than nothing, but Zach wanted to be able to take deep breaths and relax before the second year of his time at the Academy started.


    After precisely two weeks, Zach returned to the Academy two weeks before the second year would start.


    It was the first time in his life that he was not later than expected.


    It was a horrible feeling. Not only was he on time when he had scheduled for delays, but he was on time for his return to the Academy of all places. The place that was responsible for him almost dying at least a couple of times and for him being declared dead once. Experience more tales on m v|l e-NovelFire


    Zach didn''t even know why he had to attend the Academy when all they did was hunt monsters in the forest and¡­¡ªHad they done anything else during the first year? Zach was the only one who had made any kind of progress with the Underworld.


    The rest of his class had just been looking without finding and hunting monsters.

 Chapter 118: Missing Person

    Zach let out a deep sigh as he stepped down from the carriage with slumped shoulders. To his surprise, Nora also let out a deep sigh after she jumped down from the carriage, but hers was one of relief and joy. She even stood with her hands on her hips as she looked out over the campus with a smile on her face.


    "What''s your deal?" Zach asked like a grumpy old man.


    Nora raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.


    "What? I''m not allowed to be happy about being back here?" She asked, a hint of blame in her voice.


    "Sure you are. But you''ve been acting like a meek and proper maid ever since we returned to the Duchy. I was hoping you had finally grown up." Zach shrugged.


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    "Do you think I would be acting like that if I didn''t have to? My Mother was¡­less than pleased with my efforts."


    "Oh¡­How did she even know?" Zach asked, no longer joking or casual. If it had been enough to straighten out Nora until they were back at the Academy, it must have been one hell of a scolding. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nora shrugged.


    "No idea. But my Mother is very skilled, after all."


    "...Just not at being a mom."


    "No, I guess not." Nora sighed, this time not as joyfully.


    Zach put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed comfortingly.


    "Mmm. Sucks to be you. Stop sulking and unpack my bags, I''m going to see if the cafeteria is open."


    "..."


    Nora watched Zach walk off with Yanael and Alzara for a moment before shaking her head with a slight smile. She started unpacking. She wondered if Zach had brought both of his familiars with him so she could take her time before ruling that out. There was no way he was that considerate.


    Zach took a walk around the campus. It was surprisingly empty, but he still saw a couple of students roaming around the hallways and grounds. Some of them even walked together in haste with matching uniforms that were a step above what the other students wore.


    Zach wondered who they were but didn''t pay them any more mind than that.


    Eventually, he found his way to the cafeteria.


    It wasn''t closed, per se, but if he wanted food, he would have to order at least a day in advance since the kitchen wasn''t filled to the brim during the break. There was only enough food for the students who were staying in the dorms over the break.


    That sucked, but the library was open, so Zach went there instead after another tour around the campus. He looked for information about various things, such as the Labyrinth, Wishing Keys, and desert witches until he figured he had given Nora enough time to unpack and prepare something to snack on while he waited for her to cook dinner or get ingredients so one of his other maids could cook dinner.


    Surprisingly enough, Nora hadn''t just unpacked and fixed something light for Zach to eat. She had cooked a multiple-course meal and was waiting for Zach with a fancily set table.


    Zach indulged. Then, he went to sleep. He woke up. He had breakfast. He walked around the campus and studied in the library. The day ended.


    Mostly like that, Zach passed his time. Slowly, other students started returning to the Academy.


    Zach found Dukiel when there were three days left before the year started. But if he had bothered looking further, he could have found him earlier since he was working in the Academy city.


    But Zach hadn''t been there before, so the thought didn''t even cross his mind. And it wouldn''t have changed his routine much. Still, it was nice having one close friend nearby. Now they just had to wait for the other guy.


    Julius hadn''t arrived yet. He didn''t show up when there were two days left, either. Not even on the last day were there any signs left.


    Zach and Dukiel were worried.


    As far as they could tell, Julius was the only one in their class who wasn''t on site and ready for the school year to start. The others like Anerias, Violina, Rierdan, and Nessa had all shown up several days to a week in advance.


    If he still didn''t show up on the first day of class, they would talk to someone.


    However, to their surprise and relief, Julius was already sitting in the classroom when they entered. He had a black mannequin next to him. The Mannequin was no longer brown with spots of underworld energy. It was like it had been dipped in tar.


    Only then did Zach remember that the Mannequin was the only one who hadn''t received his protection from the blast of the tiger''s front leg exploding with an avalanche of underworld energy. It had received the full brunt of it head-on.


    If it hadn''t already been used to underworld energy, thanks to Julius'' efforts, it would have most likely died or something, and Julius would have been in trouble.


    ''"Julius!"'' Zach and Dukiel greeted Julius at the same time with bright smiles when they entered the classroom, much to their classmates'' slight irritation. Was there a need to be so loud?


    "Guys!" Julius returned their greeting with a smile on his own before he saw the tall maid entering behind Zach. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Dukiel helped him pick it up, fully empathetic.


    "Who is¡­?" Julius glanced at Alzara repeatedly while looking at Zach.


    Zach turned around quickly and saw who he was pointing at.


    "Oh, she''s my second familiar. Another battle maid variant. What a coincidence, huh?"


    "Yeah¡­Wait, what?" Julius'' look of admiration toward Alzara changed into one of confusion as he looked at Zach.


    "Second familiar?" He frowned in confusion.


    Zach sighed. He had already expected that reaction.


    As soon as his classmates started showing up at the Academy, none of them with more than a singular familiar, Zach realized that the principal had tricked him.


    He was the only one who had received that homework. That was why he had forbidden Zach from asking his friends and classmates for help.


    Zach quickly explained the situation to Julius, making sure to speak loud enough for his curious classmates to hear it, too. And when he was done, Instructor Jarron entered the classroom to officially get their second year started.

 Chapter 119: Extra Curriculars

    The students leisurely greeted Jarron when he entered before taking their seats. Jarron wasn''t sure what to feel about the students'' attitude toward him. Back when he was a student, all the instructors had been respected and some were even revered or feared.


    He shook his head lightly as he placed his notepad on the table. The only person he could blame for it all was Zach.


    Jarron greeted the students and took attendance before moving on to the truly important things.


    "Welcome back, everyone. It seems no one got lost on their way back. That''s great. Usually, there are at least one or two desert¡ªlate-comers every year. I hope you''ve all spent the break resting, playing, and preparing yourselves.


    Personally, I''ve been on several dates, so if any of you need romantic advice, feel free to come see me." Jarron scanned the students and met their eyes to make sure they knew he was serious. Then he nodded.


    "Now then, like last year, we will continue with summoning this year as well." Jarron chuckled a little at his own joke. Of course, they would continue with summoning. It was the Academy for Summoners. What else would they be doing?


    But the class was silent, so he quickly moved on.


    "Ahem. And the Underworld is still the main topic. This year, however, you won''t be gathering information to earn marks. In addition to some ordinary subjects like geography, history, and so on, you all will be in charge of cleaning up the forest."


    The students looked at each other in confusion. Were they going to become lumberjacks now? Only a few knew what Jarron meant.


    "Some of you might have noticed already, but Froltip Forest has been contaminated by one of the Underworld''s weapons. Your job is to contain the spread of underworld energy and purify it," Jarron quickly clarified for everyone.


    "On a separate note, since you''re second years now and have more time on your hands, compared to your first year, there will be more time for extracurriculars. At the principal''s request, we are also establishing a new club, the Underworld Research Club. Its main focus will be researching the Underworld and underworld energy, and it will be led by our very own Zacharia." Jarron pointed at Zacharia.


    In doing so, he saw and remembered the tall maid behind him.


    "Ah, right! We''ll also delve into summoning a second familiar. I''ll go into the details later, but I hope you''re all looking forward to it." Jarron ignored the intense stare coming from Zach with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.


    "Back on topic then. The Underworld Research Club is not mandatory, but I''m sure they will spend time also working on the forest, so those who join it have a chance for extra credits on their grades. Other than that, you''re free to join whatever club you like, of course. That''s actually what the rest of this class is for. Take a look around the campus.


    The third and fourth years have their clubs ready for your visits." Jarron quickly picked up his things and started leaving before anyone could stop him.


    At the door, he stopped and turned around.


    "Oh, the student council is probably also looking for new members if anyone''s interested in running the Academy." Jarron fled the classroom.


    Zach hurried out after him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He glared up and down the hallways before returning to the classroom. Since Jarron had abandoned it, he was going to use it as the base for his club.


    He told his classmates that, but almost all of them still left the classroom to explore the other clubs. Extra credits were nice and all, but no matter what they did, they wouldn''t be getting first, second, or third place in the class. And no one doubted that they would pass. There was no way they would fail after everything they had been through last year, right? Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the end, only seven students remained in the classroom.


    Zach, Dukiel, Julius, Anerias, Violina, Rierdan, and Nessa.


    Dukiel and Julius stayed to join the Underworld Research Club for multiple reasons. They were friends with Zach. They wanted good grades. And Julius wanted more and better underworld energy for his Mannequin.


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    The others'' reasons were mainly the grade, but also because they were interested in the Underworld.


    Some of their classmates were actually interested in the Underworld Research Club. They just weighed their interest against Zach. They had nothing against him personally, they just didn''t want to take any chances.


    Anerias and Violina weren''t stupid enough to let superstition get in their way of better grades. Violina had also accepted the fact that Zach was extraordinary. His presence was more impactful than most others. He couldn''t simply be called unlucky. There was more to it than that.


    Anerias subconsciously knew it, too. But he was too proud to accept that Zach of all people was greater than average.


    Nessa and Rierdan had cooperated with Zach and the others during the first tiger hunt, so they were used to Zach and knew him better than to shy away from him. If anything, it was great that he was the club president. With him at the helm, they could expect phenomenal grades, just like Dukiel and Julius had benefited during the first year.


    When they had signed the application forms to become official members of the club, Zach figured they might as well get started with their activities. It wasn''t like they had anything better to do.


    And Zach had already decided on the first order of business. It was so important that it was the first thing they had to do before anything else. Before they could start anything else, whether it was to go to the library or start preparing for an investigation into the forest, Zach had something they must talk to the principal about.


    So, he had all his club members sign a petition, even if they were unwilling. It was a requirement.


    When they had signed it, he left for the principal''s office.

 Chapter 120: Slimy

    Although Zach had stormed off toward the principal''s office at a thunderous pace, he hesitated when he finally found himself in front of the door. But after a brief moment of hesitation, he knocked on the door.


    "Come in." The principal''s voice had no trouble reaching through the door and inviting Zach inside.


    Zach stepped inside waving the signed petition in the air.


    "Principal, I have come to¡ª"


    "You''re not getting out of the club, Zacharia."


    "I already knew you would say that, and that''s not why I''m here." He put down the petition on the principal''s table in front of him.


    "I want to change the name!"


    The principal raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Zach before picking up and looking at the petition. After a moment he put down the piece of paper and looked at Zach.


    "To ''The Underworld Research and Extermination Club'' instead?" He asked.


    Zach nodded.


    "I don''t see why not." The principal shrugged.


    "Great!"


    "But did you come to me for only this?"


    "...I mean¡­Yeah. Why?"


    "You''re the club president, Zach. As long as you have your members'' acknowledgment and approval, you can even rename it to Zach''s Underworld Hunters or something."


    "What? Oh."


    "Too late now, though. Only one name change per year." Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelFire.net


    "Dammit." Zach reached out and grabbed the petition. He crumpled it and threw it in the principal''s paper bin.


    Even if nothing had become official yet, the principal''s word was as close to official as it would get. Since he had already accepted the first name Zach had submitted, he wouldn''t agree to Zach changing it again.


    He was stuck with the Underworld Research and Extermination Club.


    "Other than that, Zacharia, I see you have completed your homework." The principal nodded in Alzara''s direction.


    Zach glanced back at Alzara to see what the principal gestured at before turning to look at him with a frown.


    "You!" He pointed at the principal and glared.


    "How come I''m the only one who had to summon my second familiar during the break?! Do you know how stressful it was and how close to dying I was? Not only was I the only one, you even threatened to kick me out of the Academy and have my parents disown me! I can''t believe this!"


    The principal nodded and closed his eyes for a moment as he held up a finger.


    "First of all, I never said that. I just¡­wanted to encourage you. Hold on, I didn''t even say anything about what would happen if you failed the homework, which I was half-expecting you to do."


    "Oh. Thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess."


    "Whatever. That''s all in the past now. And although you were the only one who got homework, you''re also ahead of your classmates in the curriculum, meaning you will have more free time. You will still be busy with your club since you''re president, but I''m sure you will make it work. You are our school''s little record-breaker, after all." The principal smiled and rested his chin on his hands.


    Zach gulped awkwardly. He didn''t want to take the sole blame since it was the Underworld''s fault, but he was involved in unleashing the Underworld''s contamination on the forest. It had worked out since the school was using it to train and teach the students, but it could have been bad.


    "I''ll take my leave then." Zach bowed politely and was about to turn around to leave when the principal stopped him.


    "Not so fast. We''ll hold another rank assessment when everyone has summoned their second familiars, but I doubt you''d lie to me like this, Zach. Do you mind telling me the rank of your desert witch?"


    Zach''s eyebrows rose slightly at the principal''s mention of her race. It seemed he knew what it was. But he didn''t show any signs of judging her or him.


    "Do I have to?" Zach asked for the sake of asking.


    "Yes."


    ''Then why ask like I have a choice?''


    "SS."


    The principal gave a slight nod, his expression unchanged.


    "I see. Impressive. Make sure to take good care of your familiars, Zacharia, both of them. And don''t neglect your first just because you have a new one."


    "Of course."


    "Good. You may leave." The principal dismissed Zach and called for instructor Kami instead. It wasn''t emergent, so if Kami was busy with a class, he didn''t have to show up at once. But he did.


    Only a minute after Zach left, Kami entered the principal''s room without knocking.


    "What?"


    "I guess you''ve noticed that our young prodigy completed his homework?" asked the principal like he was making small talk without any hidden intentions.


    "How could I not notice? That desert witch has been parading around the campus like she owns the place."


    "Oh, please, like you were any better? At least she is actually doing it for a reason. You and your familiars were just cocky."


    Kami met the principal''s gaze stubbornly before turning away, his cheeks slightly rosy as he remembered his days at the Academy. Zach was not humble, especially when he opened his mouth. Kami would have made him look like honeybread. He should not complain about Alzara making her presence known and covering Zach''s.


    "Did you call me here just to check that?"


    The principal shook his head with a growing smile on his lips.


    Kami''s eyes narrowed, and he sniffed the air.


    "No way¡­" He could tell that Zach and his familiars had just been in the office.


    The principal nodded, still with a smile that gave Kami a bad feeling.


    "There''s no way that desert witch is better than Slimy." S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "S¡­"


    Kami shook his head in stubborn denial, but the principal wasn''t done yet.


    "...S"


    "Damn it! SS-rank on his second familiar? I¡­"


    Kami was at a loss for words. But only for a moment.


    "Is he better than¡­?"


    The principal shook his head.


    "Not yet. Their second familiar was also SS-rank."


    "I see. What do you think Zach''s gonna get?"


    The principal just shrugged at Kami''s question.

 Chapter 121: Student Council

    Zach did his best to return to the classroom after his meeting with the principal. As reluctant as he was, he still had his duties as the club president and as a student of the Academy. He couldn''t slack off just because he wanted to.


    He opened the door to the classroom with a conflicted expression. He would have to wait an entire year to change the name of the club again.


    "...Not here right now. He''s meeting with¡ªOh, he''s back now." Anerias gestured at Zach as soon as he entered the room. The person talking to him, a tall, blond guy with handsome features turned around and looked.


    "Ah, Zacharia Evandiel! Just the person I''ve been looking for." The intruder to their class greeted Zach with a smile.


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he looked at the person.


    "You¡­"


    "You recognize me?"


    Zach nodded slowly.


    "I saw you the other day." The blond guy was one of the students wearing a fancy uniform.


    The blond guy''s expression faltered slightly and his head slumped.


    "I see¡­It seems you don''t remember me. My name is Liam Vreer. I am also from the east. We met a couple of times when we were young." Liam introduced himself with slightly less energy than when he first greeted Zach.


    Zach shook his head.


    "I can''t say I remember that, but nice to meet you again, Liam. What can I do for you?" Zach took a seat behind the teacher''s desk and looked at Liam with his elbows on the table.


    Liam looked at Zach taking the instructor''s seat like he owned it for a moment before clearing his throat and smiling.


    "I came here to invite you to join the Student Council. We are eager to welcome the only S-rank student in the Academy to the ranks of those working for the Academy''s and the students'' futures."


    Zach hesitated, but he could tell that Liam was about to unleash a great speech to motivate him to join the Student Council, so he held up a hand.


    "...If I''m honest, I must say that I''m not interested. I am also busy with other things."


    "I heard." Liam nodded. "The president of the Underworld Research Club."


    "Underworld Research and Extermination Club."


    "Oh. I thought¨C"


    "I changed the name. I''m the president, after all."


    "...I see. Well, being the president of a club doesn''t make it impossible to join the Student Council. A few of our other members, including the president, are part of or lead their own clubs."


    "Good for them." Zach smiled with no intention of doing the same as those members of the Student Council.


    Liam realized that no matter what he said right now, he wouldn''t be able to get Zach to join the Student Council. He sighed helplessly before grabbing a paper on the desk and a pen. He wrote a few things on it before handing it to the club president of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club.


    "What''s this?" Zach looked at Liam while grabbing the paper.


    "My application."


    "For what?"


    "To the Underworld Research and Extermination Club."


    "Why?"


    "Because I want to join?"


    "...Again. Why?"


    Liam shrugged.


    "I want to research and exterminate the Underworld with you guys. And, if you won''t come to the Student Council, the Student Council will just have to come to you."


    "Uhuh." Zach nodded and grabbed a pen.


    "Rejected." He rejected Liam''s application.


    "What? Why?"


    "Ulterior motives."


    "That''s not how it works." Liam shook his head. "Until you have at least ten members, you need a good reason to reject applicants to your club."


    Zach slowly looked up at Liam.


    "...I feel like all these rules about clubs are made to annoy me."


    "I don''t know much about that." Liam shrugged. "But I won''t join your club if you''re willing to come join us at the Student Council."


    "Welcome aboard." Zach smiled and reached out to shake Liam''s hand. Stay tuned with m-v l|-NovelFire.net


    "It''s my pleasure." Liam smiled and took Zach''s hand.


    Although he hadn''t achieved what he wanted, Liam had still taken one step in the right direction. Now, he just had to wear Zach down until he was willing to join the Student Council. But he wouldn''t get more by pressing on now, so he took a step back and bade his farewells for now since it was time for the next class.


    Zach had to give up his seat when the next instructor, Instructor Kami came in and started talking about the importance of treasuring the bonds between familiars and making sure everyone is prepared when they summon their second familiar.


    While speaking what sounded mostly like nonsense and filler words, he looked a lot at Zach and Alzara. It was like he had hijacked someone else''s class only to come and look at the SS-rank familiar.


    Considering he also had a class with them after lunch, which was his original class, it was a suspiciously likely situation.


    But he had enough after that as another teacher had their final class of the day. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the next day, it was the entrance ceremony, where the principal, a couple of others, and the A-rank first-year representative held their speeches. Unlike last year, there weren''t any incidents.


    Zach couldn''t help but feel a little envious. He hadn''t gotten to prepare a speech since he was informed of his duties the day of, and he hadn''t gotten to deliver the speech without a chandelier dropping on his head.


    He ended up looking at the ceiling and the chandeliers with a sharp gaze, wondering if any of them were about to drop. However, the one that seemed most likely was the one above him, so he stopped looking and focused on the stage.


    He didn''t pay enough attention to listen or remember what anyone was saying, but it was probably not any different from last year, so he started thinking about what to do about his club activities.


    Since it was the Underworld Research and Extermination Club, their activities were simple. But how was he supposed to exterminate the Underworld?


    While Zach was thinking about all that, it was suddenly time for the entrance ceremony to end and for club activities for the second, third, and fourth years to begin.

 Chapter 122: Not Zachs Problem

    Zach didn''t waste any time. As soon as the club members gathered, he started sharing with them his plans.


    "As our name suggests, this club is about researching and exterminating the Underworld. We shall reach extermination through understanding. Thus, research comes first. We have to understand underworld energy and figure out weapons that work against it.


    "Right now, we have Julius'' Mannequin, which is effective against the Underworld since it also uses underworld energy. But it will lose out against enemies stronger than it. My angel also possesses properties that work against the underworld energy to a certain degree.


    "The problem is that neither of those are applicable to the rest of the tools in our arsenal. We have to learn more about underworld energy. That''s why our first task is to gather and study samples from the forest."


    Zach looked at his club members, and when he didn''t hear any objections or opinions, he pulled out a map of the forest closest to the Academy. He split the eight members into groups of two and sent them into various areas for them to collect specimens of contaminated flora and fauna.


    This wasn''t a period where the third and fourth years, such as Liam, could devote all their time to club activities. And the only reason Zach and the others could was that their club activities overlapped with their standard curriculum.


    They couldn''t go into the forest and spend as much time as they wanted to stroll around looking for samples to collect since they had other things to do and lessons to attend.


    However, the plan wasn''t to go deep. Zach just wanted a few samples from the outskirts.


    Everyone in the club was more than capable enough of gathering that before the day was over.


    It was a simple task, but Zach still took it seriously. That was why he was a little considerate with Nessa and Rierdan. Their familiars were C and B-rank, respectively, but Rierdan''s Runic Moss Butterfly wasn''t very proficient in direct combat. If something happened, those two were the most at risk.


    So, Zach paired up Rierdan with Liam, the only third-year in the club and the only other with two familiars. It should be safest with him or Zach. That was why Nessa and Zach went together.


    It didn''t matter which of the two ended up with which two-familiar summoner, but Zach was planning to gather a bunch of things, so he wanted Nessa and her Snakelong Millipede to carry all that for him.


    No one objected. It was reasonable, and Zach was the president. Anerias grumbled about Zach ordering him around a little too much and too easily, but he didn''t mind being paired up with Violina. Although their positions in the class were similar, they didn''t interact too much, and for all the pride Anerias had, he was still a guy.


    Yanael and Alzara aside, who didn''t count, Violina was one of the most attractive girls in the class, if not the most attractive. Anerias set aside his and Zach''s differences and gave him a subtle fist bump on his way out of the classroom.


    Two by two, the Underworld Research and Extermination Club filed out of the room after preparing everything they might need for a short, one-day trip into the forest.


    Standing in front of the forest, Zach turned to Nessa with a grave expression. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Nessa."


    Nessa gulped, taken in by the gravity of Zach''s eyes, voice, and body language. He had been easygoing and calm until now. But maybe that had all been an act. What if he was going to reveal some secret mission only she could help him with? It was not a secret that he was on friendly terms with the president.


    If not that, maybe¡­A confession?


    She nodded.


    "Do you know how to read a map?"


    "..." Nessa stared blankly at Zach.


    "Give me back my nervousness!" She smacked Zach''s hands off of her shoulders and stormed toward the forest.


    "What?" Zach stared after her.


    "Wait, Ness¡ª"


    "Yes! I can read a map. Are you coming?" Nessa stopped and looked at Zach like she had been waiting for several hours already.


    Zach hurried after her, unsure what he had done to upset her so. But as long as she didn''t get them as lost as he would have if he was in charge, he didn''t mind.


    Nessa quickly calmed down. In the first place, it was her fault for getting lost in delusions and daydreams. But she still blamed Zach. What was the deal with putting up such a serious front when she wasn''t going to let him even look at the map after they entered the forest?


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    She didn''t know what was going on in Zach''s head, but everyone in the class was desperately aware of Zach''s nonexistent sense of direction. Even if he wanted to, she wouldn''t let him lead them around inside the forest. She wouldn''t even let him walk first if they were only going to the cafeteria together.


    Nessa was in charge of the map. Her Snakelong Millipede was in charge of carrying the things Zach and Alzara gathered, and Yanael was in charge of defending them against any monsters that attacked them.


    However, as if to make a mockery of all the suffering and verbal abuse he endured in the first year, the monsters in the forest, contaminated by underworld energy or not, didn''t move toward him. They fled from him.


    To be precise, they fled from Alzara, but Zach wasn''t going to blame her on a hunch. Besides, this trip wasn''t a hunting trip. He wanted to gather some living specimens, but that wasn''t important. It would also be a mess to take care of. And the monsters would only be caught if they were dead. So, live test subjects would have to wait.


    Plants were easier. Those, he could store somewhere and forget about. A monster would be a little more difficult to bring into the Academy.


    ''Whoops.''


    Zach belatedly realized that he might have given his club members a very difficult task.


    ''Eh. Not my problem.''

 Chapter 123: A Summoners Skills

    "...Is this the real reason you picked me to go with you?" Nessa judgementally looked at Zach out of the corner of her eye as he sat on top of her Millipede.


    "I told you, I''m sorting the samples," Zach said while doing anything but sorting the flowers, grasses, herbs, roots, and plants that had been contaminated by the underworld energy leaking out of the ground and flowing through the air and streams.


    Zach raised his sunglasses, opened his eyes, and craned his neck to look at Nessa.


    "Y''know, there''s place for you up here, too."


    "That''s my familiar!" Nessa burst out. She couldn''t believe Zach was treating her Snakelong Millipede like it was his.


    Zach shrugged.


    "I''m fine. I prefer walking."


    Nessa sighed and shook her head. Since the Snakelong Millipede didn''t object or raise a fuss about Zach riding it, she couldn''t just toss him off. Of course, if Nessa knew that the Millepede was only willing to carry Zach out of fear of Yanael and Alzara, she might have thought differently.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t have the keen senses that monsters and familiars had. All she got when looking at Alzara was that she was frighteningly attractive and tall. She wondered how Zach even managed to stay calm when he had two such beauties around him all the time.


    Or maybe that was exactly why he was always calm.


    Nessa flipped her thick brown hair over to the other side of her neck and looked at Zach again.


    "Anyway, are we about done here? It''s getting pretty late." She glanced toward the sun, which had started approaching the horizon.


    Zach followed her gaze.


    "Sure. With this much, we should be able to find something out. Let''s head back." Zach patted the Millepede under him, urging it to turn around."


    To Nessa''s surprise, it listened.


    "How did you do that?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "Do what?" Zach glanced at Nessa with a raised eyebrow.


    "How did you get my familiar to listen to you just by patting it?" Nessa pointed at herself to emphasize that the Snakelong Millipede was hers.


    Zach shrugged.


    Nessa sighed.


    "He usually never listens to me that easily, so I just wanted to know what you did. But if you don''t know, I can''t exactly blame you. It''s not like you know why he lets you ride him when he barely allows anything but cargo, including me." Nessa put her hand on the Millipede''s side as they walked.


    Zach was silent for a moment.


    "...I didn''t say anything because I needed to figure out how to tell you this, Nessa."


    "Yes¡­?" Stay connected with m-v l|e''-NovelFire.net


    "Your ''he'' might be a ''she.''" S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What?! How do you know?" Much like the rest of their classmates, Nessa had no idea what gender her familiar was, so she had thought of it as an ''it'' for the longest time. But it was clear that her familiar wasn''t an object. And since it looked manly from the front, she guessed that it was male and went for that.


    Zach shrugged again.


    "Just feels like it. Also, my familiars are stronger and outnumber your Millipede. I''m pretty sure that''s why it''s letting me ride it and why it followed my order when I told it to turn around."


    "...Are you serious?" Nessa wasn''t sure what to think of Zach''s double revelation, so she just looked at Zach, who had made more than one or two jokes, to see if he was joking again. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was completely serious.


    "You''re telling me he¨Cshe listens to you just because you''re strong?" Like most summoners, she included Yanael and Alzara in Zach''s strength.


    "Then, what''s going to happen if I run into a strong monster or underworld?" She asked worriedly.


    "...I would like to think that it would be different from hanging out with me. But maybe work on your Millipede''s loyalty?"


    "And how am I supposed to do that?"


    "I dunno. I have seen Anerias play fetch with his Hound, Violina feed her Spirit ice cubes, and Julius spoil his Mannequin with wood oil."


    "..." Nessa looked at her Snakelong Millipede''s wide, chitin-covered head and the menacing mandibles occasionally clacking together as it wormed over the ground smoother than butter.


    "Thanks for the advice." Nessa didn''t know how to raise her familiar''s loyalty so that it wouldn''t just roll over and submit in front of the next strong being. But thanks to Zach, she at least knew what she needed to work on. Curious, she glanced at Zach''s two familiars.


    She had been curious ever since he returned to the school with another maid familiar, but she wasn''t close enough to just ask Zach what was on his mind.


    Now, however, she felt like she had gotten closer.


    "Are your familiars loyal? And what''s it like having two?"


    Zach glanced at Yanael and Alzara before answering, fully aware that they understood every single word of his.


    "The blonde one is worryingly loyal, but the white-haired one and I are still in the getting-to-know-each-other stage. As for having two¡­I would say it completely depends on the two familiars. These two have different personalities and, to be honest, could get along better. But if your next familiar and your Millipede like each other, I''m sure you will have a blast, Nessa.


    If I had to say something, getting your second familiar and dealing with the interactions between the first and second and making it harmonious is what puts a summoner''s skill to the test."


    "I see¡­" Nessa took a moment to process Zach''s enthusiastic answer. It was more than she thought he would say since he usually responded with half-hearted jokes when people asked him about things.


    "Speaking of skills, did you get another contract skill?" Nessa asked, her eyes shining with excitement.


    "Yup." Zach nodded smugly.


    "That''s crazy! Not everyone in our class has gotten very good at their skills, but from what I can tell, all contract skills are amazing or have the potential to be. I can only imagine how strong a summoner with, like three, four, or more familiars is!" Zach wasn''t the only one passionate about summoning, and Nessa excitedly shared her mind at the positive answer to her question.


    Zach nodded in agreement before freezing mid-nod.


    "Hey, Nessa. Do you know what the highest number of familiars one can have is?"


    "...!"

 Chapter 124: Daydreaming Together

    Zach''s question stunned them both. If they got a contract skill with every familiar they summoned, and they summoned a whole swarm of familiars, they would get a bunch of incredible contract skills that would let them do all kinds of crazy things. They couldn''t even imagine it.


    But of course, neither of them knew the answer to Zach''s question, so they had no idea how many familiars they would be able to summon in the future. For now, they knew that Zach could summon his second familiar as soon as he reached level ten.


    Assuming that was the only requirement, it still didn''t mean that it would be every ten levels. It could be an incremental level difference between each summon. And if it were every ten levels, it would still be difficult to summon more familiars since it got harder and harder to level up. Read the latest on m_v-l''e|-NovelFire.net


    The first few levels had been easy, but Zach and Yanael had killed more monsters than they could count on the way back home, and he had only gone up approximately one level and then another after killing the ratlings and their rat king.


    If he had an ongoing supply of monsters like the rat king, it would be easy to level up. But he didn''t have that, not to mention how dangerous it would be.


    But their ignorance and lack of answers didn''t stop them from daydreaming. They did it both alone and together. They didn''t have much else in common but summoning. Yet, summoning was such a big part of both their lives that they still talked about it all throughout their return trip.


    They regrouped with the rest of the club and gathered and sorted all the samples in a storage room Jarron had allocated them. Since it was so late, they would start the research some other time.


    The next day, they had mundane lessons about the Empire and its history. It was something most nobles had already learned before attending the Academy. But the class wasn''t only comprised of nobles. The information was trivial but necessary for life and work on a bigger scale in the Empire.


    Then, there was a lesson about summoning the second familiar. Zach had already done that, so he didn''t need to attend. He was slightly curious about what the theory behind it was since he had just gone to the Labyrinth of Jira and gotten lucky after reaching level ten.


    But when he couldn''t find the right classroom, he gave up and started looking for the storage room with the samples the club had gathered. Compared to the classroom, the storage room was much easier to find. He just had to follow the musty smell of decaying plants, mixed with the dusty smell of underworld energy.


    It seemed he had gotten more sensitive after all his troubles with the Underworld. If he grew stronger with each level, it also made sense that his senses became better. It was only his sense of direction that was still so far behind it wasn''t even in the same race.


    Zach mused to himself that a sense of direction was unnecessary anyway as he opened the door to the storage room and frowned.


    The room and air were filled with dark, smoky underworld energy, and many of the plants seemed to have withered overnight.


    "...Well, that sucks."


    Zach wished he had brought Julius'' Mannequin with him so that he could clean up the underworld energy, but since he hadn''t, he dealt with it on his own by opening the door fully and letting the energy drift into the corridor.


    He ignored the worry and confusion from the other students in the hallway and entered to inspect the samples with Yanael and Alzara. He also had a barrier raised to keep the underworld energy from touching him.


    After taking a look around the room, he could confirm that most of the plants were in various states of death and decay. Without a continuous supply of the underworld energy that had spurred their mutation to start, the plants had nothing to keep them somewhat intact. The various plants also had no way to retain the underworld energy on their own.


    When taken out of the forest, the plants had a limited lifespan.


    "Hmm."


    ''That''s good to know.''


    As long as they could stop the underworld energy from spreading and maybe even get rid of it, the forest would enter a state of death before being reborn, hopefully. The forest and the plants and monsters themselves weren''t necessarily a problem or something to worry about.


    They wouldn''t spread the underworld energy further or contaminate other things. There wasn''t enough underworld energy in them.


    Zach had started figuring out what to do in more concrete terms than prevent the Froltip Forest''s doom and the Underworld''s encroachment on the surface.


    They had to stop the spread of underworld energy.


    Zach went through the samples they gathered yesterday and started throwing out almost everything. He saved a couple of plants that seemed to still have some stubborn life left in them. But he cleared most of the shelves and threw everything in the trash can, which he then placed outside the storage room.


    And after a while, the rest of the club members showed up. His classmates came almost all together, and Liam arrived a little later. But when everyone had gathered, Zach shared his findings and thoughts with the club.


    "There has to be a source," Julius said with conviction. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach and Dukiel looked at Julius and then at each other.


    "It has to be that damn tiger," Dukiel cursed. Even in death, it was still causing trouble.


    "To be precise, it''s the arm the underworlders boobytrapped. I thought there was a finite amount of underworld energy in it, but considering the contamination is spreading without any signs of stopping, it''s likely there''s more underworld energy coming from down below."


    Liam looked confused, even after Zach''s very helpful addition to Dukiel''s statement, so Dukiel quickly explained the situation.


    "...That trap could have acted as some sort of catalyst or to open a path between the Underworld and the surface." Liam shared his wisdom as a third-year.


    "It''s decided, then. Find that leg and break." Zach grabbed the map and drew a circle around where they had fought the tiger.


    Dukiel took the map and erased the circle and redrew it where they had actually fought, not where Zach guessed they did.

 Chapter 125: Bushwackerss Companion

    Zach had set a long-term goal for the Underworld Research and Extermination Club. But naturally, they couldn''t immediately aim for the depths of the forest. Not to mention the time it would take, which they wouldn''t get since they were busy with other lessons, there was also the increased level of danger in the forest.


    Zach hadn''t noticed it, thanks to the monsters avoiding his party. But the others had felt a heavy pressure from the monsters that hadn''t succumbed and died to or fled the underworld energy. The monsters that remained, that embraced the underworld energy were more powerful than their healthy counterparts.


    It came at the cost of intelligence and lifespan. In a sense, the current monsters inhabiting the Froltip Forest were similar to the tiger when it had decided to tap into the underworld energy in its leg. They were ferocious, powerful, and bloodthirsty.


    The club members and the entirety of the second-year class had to be careful when dealing with this unknown threat and the strange kind-of-new inhabitants of the forest.


    So for now, Zach decided they would continue scouting the forest and make note of the changes compared to before the underworld energy took over. He also asked all the club members to take a look at all the plants that had outlived the absence of underworld energy to some degree.


    Unfortunately, the only one in the club with any experience in the greener fields of life was Rierdan. But he wasn''t very knowledgeable in the details of every type of plant, especially not the types of plants in the Froltip Forest. It was also even more difficult to discern and assess the plants now that they had been contaminated by the underworld energy.


    He knew the more common, harmless, edible plants. He knew how to track monsters and animals in the forest. He did not know what it meant when different plants could withstand the underworld to varying degrees.


    Still, if they remembered what the plants looked like, they could look for more samples in the forest and compare. Through comparison, they could find patterns. The patterns would determine the underworld energy''s nature, and the club members could start figuring out what weakened or, correspondingly, strengthened it.


    Read new adventures at m_v-l''e|-NovelFire.net


    It would be a menial and possibly bothersome task, but the second-years had an entire year to do something about the Underworld''s contamination of the forest. They weren''t in a rush.


    Liam was just in the club. He followed the club president''s lead. Occasionally, he would mention how great it was to be part of the Student Council. But he wasn''t in a rush.


    Just like that, the second year at the Academy for Summoners for Zach and his classmates began.


    The lessons regarding the Underworld''s contamination of the forest were mostly practical and sometimes led by the Underworld Research and Extermination Club. Usually, though, the lessons were self-study, which meant the students were investigating the forest on their own.


    Zach and the other club members found it ridiculous that their classmates still didn''t want to join the club when the club was already ahead in terms of knowledge and understanding of the forest''s current ecology.


    Some of the classmates actually considered joining the club until they heard rumors that Zach was planning on making the entire club go into the deepest parts of the forest for his own sick and twisted entertainment.


    Although it wasn''t for those reasons, he was aiming for the depths of the forest with the club, so it was hard for the others to deny the rumors, which only meant they they grew in credibility.


    So, rather than take a chance for the sake of slightly better grades, their classmates took it easy. They had an entire year left. They also weren''t in a rush.


    Also, if Zach and the others were working so hard, they would do most of the work already. As long as they contributed, they would get decent enough grades and pass the year.


    Instead of joining the club, they would rather join others or spend their free time leveling up and aiming for their second familiar.


    Zach couldn''t blame them.


    He hadn''t had a choice. The principal assigned him the club president slot and didn''t let him leave the club.


    A couple of weeks passed as the club did their research. They went into the forest and looked for and gathered plants, mostly, to study. They had yet to discover anything concrete, but they had noticed some plants that were more stubborn and didn''t absorb as much underworld energy as the rest of the forest.


    They tested it by bringing the plants back and isolating them, then looking at and measuring the underworld energy that leaked out. They recorded the results and compared them with other records until they found some kind of pattern.


    Eventually, they started approaching something determinate. They didn''t know exactly why, but a certain type of weed that even grew around the school was very resilient. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a simple, wide, green, blade of grass that could grow to just beyond the length of a hand.


    Bushwacker''s Companion. It was a weed that could be found anywhere, and it was technically edible. It was also almost useful for checking if a collection of still water was drinkable or not since it had properties that made it react with certain toxins. But it wasn''t perfect, and it reacted to toxins that could affect itself and other plants, not necessarily humans.


    Zach and the others scoured the library for all the information they could find on the Bushwacker''s Companion. They were a little surprised at what they discovered since none of them had known about such a common weed.


    But it was a step in the right direction, so they were happy.


    The Bushwacker''s Companion identified underworld energy as a toxin. That was why it resisted it as much as it could. But the underworld energy was too potent, too much, and too overwhelming for an ordinary weed to go against it more than that.


    However, Zach and the others just had to find a way to concentrate its properties or find other plants or things with the same properties.


    Just to make sure, the club ran several tests and confirmed that the Bushwacker''s Companion didn''t resist the underworld energy. It got rid of it. They couldn''t be sure.


    But the Bushwacker''s Companion absorbed as much of the underworld energy as the rest of the plants in the forest, relative to size, of course. But it was less affected, and it released less when removed from the forest.


    If they flooded the forest with the weed, they might be able to fight back against the Underworld!

 Chapter 126: Fashionably Late

    During those couple of weeks, Zach also started thinking more about his second contract skill. Unlike with his first, there weren''t any lessons about it, and he hadn''t gotten to it yet since he was busy with other lessons, studying, and club activities.


    Since he was the club president and the only one with such great access to the library, a lot of the paperwork and administrative duties fell to him. It wasn''t an overwhelming amount, but Zach had a tendency to let things he didn''t want to do build up.


    But eventually, he found for himself a relaxed evening with his three maids.


    There was nothing else to do.


    There was, but Zach ignored it.


    So, he looked at his interface again. Nothing had changed since last time, even after he got Alzara to stop scaring away all the monsters.


    "Alzara, do you have any idea what my contract skill with you does?"


    Alzara tilted her head.


    "It was called Material Extraction, right? Have you tried it, Master?" She asked while walking around Zach and standing behind his chair before putting her arms over his shoulders.


    "I have tried trying it. But nothing seems to happen. I don''t know what kind of materials I am supposed to extract or from where. Or am I supposed to extract something from materials?"


    Zach couldn''t help but be a little confused.


    "It''s a skill borne from our union, Master. I know as much or as little as you do about it. But if I were to share some of my great, desert witch wisdom, I would guess that you extract materials from, let''s say, resources in their raw forms."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Those monsters and plants you have gathered, their only purpose is not to be collected, right, Master? I have also seen people selling parts of monsters around here. It''s not because they are valuable as a form of currency. These things are useful for various things. One example would be potions. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With certain ingredients, parts of specific monsters and plants, you can create various combinations that have interesting effects." Alzara spoke not far from Zach''s ear, which made it slightly difficult to focus, and she said a lot, but Zach felt like he got the gist of it.


    "So, my skill can, what, harvest the valuable parts of whatever I use it on?" Zach asked.


    He felt Alzara''s arms move as she shrugged.


    He frowned.


    "But why? Why a skill like that?"


    "I may be a desert witch, Master, but I''m still a witch. Potions, talismans, brews, and so on. I can make it all. I''m guessing that''s why you got such a skill."


    "I see¡­" Zach nodded slowly, not quite sure about the reasoning. His contract skill with Yanael didn''t seem to have anything to do with her. It was a defensive skill he could use to keep himself safe when she fought and killed his enemies. Simple. Straightforward. Self-serving.


    Material Extraction, if he went by Alzara''s guess, would make it easier for her to craft potions and talismans. Discover hidden stories at m,v l''e-NovelFire.net


    "The one who will benefit the most from such a skill is you, Master," Alzara spoke as if she could read Zach''s thoughts.


    Zach''s skill could make her crafting¨Cher job¨Ceasier. But that meant she could work and make more. And if she made potions that helped him somehow, it was he who would end up gaining from it.


    "I guess that''s true." He was a little disappointed since it didn''t seem like it would be useful in combat, but it wasn''t like he needed it.


    "Assuming it''s like that, how do I get it to work? Do I just need to point at something and shout out the name of my skill like a magic chant?"


    "Doing it like that might help. But is that what you do when you use those barriers of yours?"


    "No¡­"


    "Then¡­?"


    "Yeah. I think I''ve got it. Let''s try it out next time we''re in the forest."


    "Of course, Master."


    Zach could feel a sharp gaze on him, so he detangled himself from Alzara''s arms, stood up, stretched, and bade his maids a good night before he went to bed.


    The next day, Zach and the rest of the club members set out in the same groups they had used since their first expedition. The goal of their expedition was to venture slightly deeper into the forest to look for new varieties and plants and gather samples of specimens subjected to more underworld energy with a higher concentration.


    It was simple enough that they could do it in a day, thanks to all their previous trips and the experience they had built so far. Even if they went deeper into the forest, it wasn''t like it was a different forest. It had been exposed to more and stronger underworld energy, but it was a gradual difference.


    As long as everyone was careful, they had nothing to worry about. The ones with the most to worry about were Zach and Nessa since Nessa was trying to get closer to her Millipede most of the time.


    She had started learning from Zach when it came to getting distracted. She still had her sense of direction, and she still knew how to read a map. But when talking to or trying to charm her Millipede, time and the ground beneath her feet seemed to slip away.


    Zach''s chatter and strange thoughts didn''t help. Surprisingly, the two could walk and talk without any notion of the time passing.


    That was why they were a little late to return to the Academy. The sun had yet to set, but they had agreed to gather in the club room around an hour before sunset, not a minute.


    To their surprise, however, Zach and Nessa weren''t the last to arrive.


    What was even more surprising was that it was Liam and Rierdan who had yet to return. Liam was a third-year, and Rierdan was recognized as the best in the class when it came to traveling through the forest.


    "T-they probably just lost track of time, right?" Zach hopefully looked at the worried faces of his club members.


    "..." They didn''t answer him. They didn''t need to. It was obvious Zach himself didn''t believe what he was saying.


    Awkwardly, they sat in silence. Eventually, a couple of minutes after the sun had set and in the twilight of dusk, a common thought rose. They should do something.


    But before anyone could voice that thought or actually do something, Liam burst through the door.


    "R-rierdan! He was taken!" He clutched his shoulder, his shirt torn, blood streaming down his body, and his hair a dirty mess.

 Chapter 127: Dont Bother Me

    Zach and the others stared at Liam in shock for a moment before reacting. They brought him into the club room and helped him calm down and take a look at his wounds.


    "Take three deep breaths, Liam. We can''t understand anything you''re saying. Rierdan was taken? By who? Or what?" Zach managed to stay level-headed and had Liam sit down. Surprisingly, out of everyone in the club, he had the most experience with severe injuries and shock.


    It was his own injuries, but still.


    Liam did his best to breathe deeply, though he winced in pain when Zach looked at the wound on his shoulder, which appeared to be the worst. It was a deep gash that thick, red blood gushed out of, even after all this time. Liam was a lot paler than he should be.


    But he was also a this year and well past level ten. His familiars weren''t as high ranked as Zach''s, but he was still strong and had a sturdy enough physique that his injuries weren''t life-threatening.


    "From the beginning now." When Liam finally calmed down enough, Zach urged him again.


    "W-we were on our way back after realizing we had gone a little too deep inside when following a strange insect. That''s when it happened! Something flew out of the bushes at us!" Fear dyed Liam''s expression as he remembered it.


    "I-it happened so fast! When I looked around, he was gone! Rierdan is gone! And it''s my fault!" Liam wasn''t wrong. He had been teamed up with Rierdan because Rierdan was the weakest while he was supposed to be one of the two strongest.


    Dukiel put a hand on Liam''s shoulder, the mostly uninjured one.


    "Calm down. It''s not your fault. It''s the fault of whatever took him." Dukiel turned to Zach, silently asking for orders.


    Zach crossed his arms and leaned back slightly while considering their options. He glanced out the windows. It was already dark outside.


    "I want to go look for him at once, but it''s dark, and if it''s something that can overwhelm Liam, no one is safe except me. A search party right now of only us will not be effective. If anything, we risk getting lost or being taken as well."


    "Let''s tell Instructor Jarron." Nessa''s voice was firm. This was above what they could deal with. They had to get help.


    Zach nodded. The others also agreed. The most they could do was hunt monsters. They didn''t know how to rescue people.


    Zach looked at Liam.


    "Go to the infirmary and get yourself patched up. I have a feeling you''re going to need to tell us where this happened." Liam nodded and picked himself up. While the others went to find Jarron, he went to the infirmary.


    Zach and the others didn''t run through the hallways, but they made haste, and the few students still not in their dorms looked at them funnily. They didn''t care in the least as they made their way to Jarron''s office.


    But he wasn''t there, so they looked and asked around until they found his room in the teachers'' dorms.


    Zach pounded the door hurriedly. They had wasted a lot of time trying to find him already.


    Jarron opened the door with a disgruntled expression, a sleeping cap on his head that matched his pajamas. He was already ready to go to bed. He looked at Zach up and down and noticed the bloodstains.


    "You already know where the infirmary is. If you need help burying a body, look for Kami."


    "Wha¡ª? No! That''s not why we''re here. Rierdan is gone!" Zach shouted and stopped Jarron from closing the door.


    Jarron froze for a moment before stopping trying to close the door. He looked at Zach and waited for an explanation.


    After Zach''s explanation, Jarron nodded slightly once.


    "By the sounds of it, he''s still alive. If he had been killed, he would have been torn to pieces on the spot. You said Liam was alive, right? Then Rierdan is most likely alive. He probably won''t stay like that forever, though. Also, I''m off the clock.


    Don''t bother me anymore." Jarron kicked away Zach''s foot and slammed the door shut before he could react. He leaned his back against the door and slid down to the ground. He rested his head in his hands and ignored the pounding on the door. Finally, it stopped.


    Zach and the others couldn''t believe what Jarron had just told them. Did he not care about his own students? It was a step beyond simply being unreliable. Jarron was untrustworthy. Stay connected through m_v l-NovelFire.net


    But he had still made sense. If whatever had taken Rierdan wanted him dead, he would have been dead already. It was likely Rierdan was taken for a specific purpose. Until that purpose was fulfilled, he would remain alive.


    It could be the end of the week. It could be when the sun rose. They couldn''t waste any time.


    Zach, Dukiel, Julius, Nessa, Anerias, and Violina rushed through the Academy to the infirmary, where they saw Liam get patched up by one of the students working the evening shift.


    He could tell at once from their expressions that they weren''t bringing good news. He had been hopeful, but he already knew that the instructors had a detached attitude. They were at the Academy to instruct, not save the students'' asses whenever they asked for it.


    Zach''s grades and the havoc he brought to the forest weren''t the only things that stood out during their first year. He was the only one in their class who experienced a serious injury worthy of note. He even died. If that hadn''t happened, it would have been the first year in a while without incident.


    The instructors hadn''t warned them in their first year about dying because they were trying to scare the students. They were worried about them.


    But in situations like these, that worry didn''t mean anything.


    Zach and the others were on their own. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They could rope in the rest of the class, but the instructors wouldn''t budge. And roping in the rest of the class wouldn''t do much.


    Most of the useful people were already in the club. The three A-ranks, the only one with an underworld familiar, and Zach.


    With a squad like that, they had all they needed, and they instantly set out into the forest.

 Chapter 128: Three Hours

    The Underworld Research and Extermination Club didn''t want to waste any time during their Rierdan rescue operation, but they still had to grab the bare minimum before leaving for the wood.


    Encased in Zach''s barrier, the club stuck together for safety as they marched to where Liam and Rierdan had been attacked. Zach''s barrier was the only thing that would keep them safe from something that could surprise even Liam.


    Through the darkness with nothing but a couple of torches to light their path, the club arrived at the scene in an hour. But with the time they had wasted before leaving, a couple of hours had passed since Liam returned to the Academy with his injuries.


    At least three hours had gone by since Rierdan was taken.


    If it were done by something that was fast enough to overwhelm Liam, it could have crossed the entire forest by now.


    The only thing they could hope for was that its lair wasn''t too far away and that they could track it.


    Zach expanded his barrier as much as he dared. If it was too big, it would break and not do a thing to stop an attack, but if it was too small, it would be difficult to find anything, even if they all carried enough torches to mimic the sun.


    With enough space between them for all club members to look for traces of the scuffle, where Rierdan and Liam had been attacked, Zach and the others methodically shuffled around, careful not to disturb their surroundings. It would suck if they ruined any traces Rierdan''s kidnapper might have left behind.


    They found the exact location. They found scuff marks on the ground and blood spatter from both Liam and Rierdan. It was like the scene of a quick boxing match.


    It also seemed like Rierdan had been taken in a certain direction.


    But beyond that, there were no signs, traces, or evidence. It was like a ghost had come and kicked their asses before hauling off Rierdan.


    Zach glanced at Liam''s familiar, a tiny, translucent fish swimming next to his head. It looked a little like a ghost. It was a Ghost Fish, after all.


    Zach narrowed his eyes slightly.


    "...Is there something on my face?" Liam asked when he noticed Zach staring at him.


    "Neither of your two familiars noticed anything?"


    Liam''s eyes widened slightly, and his eyebrows rose. He shook his head.


    Zach glanced around.


    "What and where is your second familiar, by the way?" They had seen Liam''s second familiar a couple of times before. It was apparently shy and preferred a more independent life, but Zach was pretty sure it was a crow of sorts.


    Liam pointed at the sky.


    "I''ve had him flying above and around us to see if he could find anything."


    "I see." Zach nodded as if that explained everything. He then looked in the direction it seemed Rierdan had been taken. He faced the opposite direction.


    "Let''s see if we can find anything if we follow this direction." Zach gestured for Dukiel to lead the way, but he hesitated.


    "...Shouldn''t we go that way?" He pointed in the direction it seemed Rierdan had been taken.


    "Why, if all other traces are gone, is there an indication of where he was taken? It''s a misdirect. Or we''re missing something. But my hunch says it won''t lead anywhere."


    Dukiel exchanged looks with Julius and Nessa. They were the ones who were most familiar with Zach''s hunches and gut feelings when it came to directions. He wasn''t sure whether to trust him on this one.


    Nessa nodded decisively. This wasn''t a matter of pure direction. It was a matter of trickery and deception. She wasn''t sure how good at lying Zach was, but she knew he was good at seeing through such things. She trusted his decision. Julius glanced at Liam for a moment too brief for anyone to care before nodding. Your next chapter awaits on m v|l--NovelFire.net


    They went along with Zach''s gut feeling and proceeded in the direction he told them to with their eyes as sharpened as possible. For a while, they didn''t find anything. The forest was as untouched as the peak of a mountain.


    It didn''t even look like any monsters had moved around in the area.


    But that only confirmed that it could be the right direction.


    Why would bloodthirsty, crazy, contaminated monsters avoid a location if not because something there had spooked them? Something that could clear an area of monsters would have no trouble kidnapping Rierdan right in front of Liam.


    The group walked for ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes. They didn''t cover much ground and moved at a snail''s pace. Combined with how intensely they focused on looking for signs of anything passing through while carrying a possibly injured Rierdan, it felt like they had searched for Rierdan for hours and walked miles.


    It also felt like it was a futile endeavor. There wasn''t the slightest sign of even the wind breezing past, much less something that had taken Rierdan.


    Dukiel was sure he had led the way in the direction Zach had pointed out. The others also didn''t doubt him.


    They did, however, doubt Zach''s decision. No one had voiced any objections when he first suggested it. But now that they hadn''t found anything, it was easy to hold opposing opinions. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was while thinking such thoughts with a frown that Anerias pushed a branch out of the way to prevent it from scraping against his leg. It snapped and dangled.


    Anerias'' frown deepened and he looked at the branch. While it was flattering to think that his mere touch had broken it, the branch hadn''t been that snappable. It was like it was already on the verge of breaking and just needed a gentle nudge to finally break and hang by a thread of thin bark.


    "Guys, wait a moment. I think I have something."


    The others stopped walking and gathered their torches to shed light on the branch Anerias had found.


    With the concentrated light, it was easy to see an unclear boot print and a branch that had gotten hooked to something and lost a leaf or two and then bent to the verge of breaking.


    It was like something or someone had run past there and brushed against the branch.


    They had found a lead.

 Chapter 129: Nearby Needle

    The broken branch showed Zach and the others that they were on the right track. It also showed them that whatever had taken Rierdan wasn''t infallible. It made mistakes. They had found one trace. They would find another. And another.


    Until they finally found Rierdan.


    Hopefully, they wouldn''t be too late.


    Finding the broken branch had given the group more energy, and they worked like ants to uncover the next trace. They kept moving in the very same direction without faltering.


    Any doubts they had were pushed aside, regardless of how long it felt they walked and looked without finding another sign. Eventually, they walked so far that Dukiel was starting to get worried about where they were.


    They weren''t heading deeper into the forest since they were walking parallel to the edge. But sooner or later, the scenery would change. They had even got so far that there were traces of other animals moving around.


    "Schh."


    Zach held up his hand and shushed the others.


    Although it was night, there were still faint sounds in the forest, like the wind rustling the leaves, chittering insects, and animals settling into their nests.


    Zach''s senses, strengthened through training and leveling up, might have picked up something that was neither of those sounds. He looked at his two familiars, both of whom had superior physical attributes.


    Alzara looked in a specific direction with a gaze that said there was something in that direction. She didn''t say anything since Zach didn''t want anyone to know his familiars could talk, but that look was enough.


    They proceeded in that direction.


    As they did so, the trees they walked past became progressively smaller and grew more sparsely. It was like they were approaching the edge of the forest.


    Zach and the others frowned. They hadn''t walked in the direction to come out on the other side. The fact that they reached another edge of the forest, and in this specific direction, could only mean one thing.


    Zach wasn''t sure, but the others had an idea.


    They confirmed that idea as soon as they walked out from the treeline.


    The Academy City, Basilia, lay on top of a hill not too far from the forest. There was even a road a stone''s throw away that led to the city.


    "Guys¡­" Zach didn''t need to say anymore. The rest of the club could also tell the implications when the city lay at the other end of the string of clues left behind by whatever took Rierdan.


    First and foremost, it wasn''t a ''what.'' It was a ''who.'' No monster or underworld, especially not one smart enough to kidnap someone without killing them instantly, would bring Rierdan toward the only populated city within several leagues.


    Secondly, it would be as difficult to find Rierdan in the city as it would be in the forest, if not more difficult. In the city, any traces of Rierdan and his abductor would vanish in the crowd immediately, and there were countless places for them to look at, even more than they knew to look at. They wouldn''t have access to a majority of the places where Rierdan could have been taken, either.


    It would be worse than looking for a needle in a haystack.


    It was a big city, after all.


    Zach and the others stopped for a moment to gather their thoughts and just look at the city.


    They felt hopeless. Would they even be able to find Rierdan in this lifetime?


    "...hh."


    Where could he be? Why had Rierdan of all people been taken?


    "...eh¡­" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was it because Liam and Rierdan were the weakest duo, even if Liam had two familiars? And of those two, Rierdan was the weaker. He was the easiest target.


    "...hc¡­"


    Your next read is at m v|l-e''-NovelFire.net


    He was also on the ground not far from them, stuffed inside a bush and hidden by a couple of thick branches. At first glance, especially in the dark and from slightly further away, it was no different from the rest of the tree line.


    But the raspy breaths, like he was panting after running a marathon but with his jaw clenched, still reached them. It was what Zach had heard before.


    As soon as they realized, Zach and the other helped Rierdan out of the brush. They quickly untied Liam and pulled off the black hood from his head. He was still unconscious and breathing heavily through clenched teeth.


    "This¡­" Julius picked up a bag similar to the one that had been over Rierdan''s head that had been lying in the bush next to him. But unlike the one over Rierdan''s head, it had straps drawn tight to seal it closed.


    With a hesitant and cautious expression, Julius slowly opened the bag.


    As soon as he did, a cloud of underworld energy burst out like smoke. It quickly dissipated in the air, but the club members had been in contact with underworld energy more than once or twice. They could tell it had been a lot of underworld energy for such a small bag.


    What was surprising, however, was that the bag contained the underworld energy without leaking so much as a fart of it. Nothing they had tried to contain the underworld energy with worked. It leaked through walls, albeit slowly.


    Julius frowned and stuck his hand in the bag to pluck out Rierdan''s familiar. The Runic Moss Butterfly was in an even worse state than Rierdan. It didn''t look like it was about to die, not yet, at least. But it lay limp in Julius'' hand, and its breaths were shallow, in stark contrast to Rierdan''s deep and heaving ones.


    Julius cupped the Runic Moss Butterfly with both hands and tried to extract the underworld energy that had infiltrated its body, but it wasn''t very successful. He managed to extract some, but it seemed to only cause the butterfly pain, so he stopped.


    Rierdan and his familiar were both in bad shape. The Club didn''t waste any time.


    They could find treatment in the city. But it would be far from as good as the one they would get at the Academy''s infirmary.


    They could, however, get a carriage in the city and rush back to the Academy. So, that''s what they did.

 Chapter 130: Professional

    There was a slight fuss at the gates when the Underworld Research and Extermination Club tried to enter and find a carriage due to Rierdan''s unconscious and lightly beaten state. But that was quickly fixed by Liam and his authority as a member of the Student Council.


    The Academy City was a separate entity from the Academy, so the Student Council didn''t have any direct power over the city. But the city lived and thrived on the Academy, its students, and its needs.


    By making a request or asking for a favor, Liam could make life very hard for the guards who didn''t feel safe letting the group of students into the city in the middle of the night. It was clear from a glance that they were troublemakers, after all.


    Even if they were students, they had to behave when inside the city. The guard didn''t trust them to do that, and he said as much.


    However, the threat from Liam, and the others'' explanation made him give way.


    Only a few minutes later, they had managed to grab hold of a carriage and four horses that were ready to run like their lives depended on it.


    Rierdan appeared to be stable, but occasionally, his breathing would grow so shallow it was like he was not breathing at all. His body temperature fluctuated, and one moment he was as cold as ice and pale as a sheet. The next, he was like a stove and beet red.


    Then, he was only slightly paler than usual but breathing heavily through his teeth again.


    That was another thing they noted. It looked like Rierdan''s body was cramped. All of his muscles were tense and refused to budge. It was like he would crumble as soon as he relaxed.


    Zach and the others were too worried about Rierdan to think about much else other than how carriages quick enough to go airborne on the smallest of bumps had never been so slow.


    But eventually, without Rierdan''s condition worsening further, they arrived at the infirmary.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Anerias carried Rierdan as they sprinted through campus toward the infirmary.


    The idea of having their familiars, who were stronger and faster while carrying someone, didn''t even pass through their minds. The only familiar carrying anything was Julius'' Mannequin, who carried Rierdan''s Runic Moss Butterfly while trying to control the underworld energy in its body.


    Zach and the others burst into the infirmary, disturbing the few patients on bed rest and raising the anger of the ones working the night shift. However, the healers quickly focused on the unconscious Rierdan instead of the anger-inducing face of Zach.


    Zach didn''t even feel slighted when the healers pushed him and the others away and took Rierdan from them before bringing him away into a room to treat him. Another healer swooped up the Runic Moss Butterfly and was about to leave. He glanced back at Julius.


    "You''re the one who can use underworld energy, right?"


    "...Something like that."


    "Come."


    Julius followed the white-clad healer into another treatment room.


    Zach, Liam, Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, and Nessa stood and looked at the doors to where their friend and club member was being treated until an attendant shooed them up since they were a little disruptive just by being there. They had to wait outside.


    Zach and the others didn''t mind. It wouldn''t change whether they waited within or outside the infirmary. Where they waited wouldn''t change anything when they couldn''t contribute to Rierdan''s treatment in any way.


    However, they felt pretty useless when they sat and leaned against the hallway''s walls with nothing but their thoughts to entertain them. And the last thing they wanted to do was indulge in the thoughts that told them Rierdan might not come back from that room. Or the thoughts that blamed themselves for this. Or the thoughts about the dangers of the forest and the club activities.


    But there was also something they had to think about and discuss, even if they had no way of getting any answers to any questions they might ask. It was something that lurked in the back of everyone''s minds.


    The underworld energy that the Runic Moss Butterfly had been trapped with.


    Rierdan had been kidnapped by someone strong enough to overwhelm both him and Liam. That alone didn''t mean much. Then, considering he was brought toward the closest city, maybe it was someone who held a grudge against his parents and was planning to use him against them.


    Kidnap him, smuggle him into the city, and then smuggle him away to use as a hostage or something. That could have been a plan. It was a reckless one. But it fit the image of someone stupid enough to attack a student of the Academy.


    It could have also been someone looking for younger men to kidnap. No one wanted to think of what could have happened to Rierdan if that was the case.


    But every possible mundane reason for Rierdan''s kidnapping disappeared out the window when Julius opened the bag with the Butterfly.


    An underworlder had kidnapped Rierdan and stuffed his familiar into a bag with enough underworld energy to make it sick. Most likely, it tried to contaminate or convert the familiar rather than kill it. Some kind of experiment, perhaps.


    The real reason to worry was the fact that an underworlder had brought Rierdan toward the city.


    A coincidence. Or a horrifying possibility.


    The door to the infirmary opened and a tired, white-clad healer stepped out. He had a grave expression as he looked at Zach and the others.


    "...He''s stable. For now. But it''s impossible to tell when he will wake up. By the looks of it, his body is fighting with his familiar against the intrusion of¡­underworld energy, right?" Discover hidden content at m,v l''e-NovelFire.net sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach nodded.


    "So, as long as his familiar recovers, he will be fine?" Liam asked.


    The healer, who maybe wasn''t as professional as he should have been, shrugged.


    "There''s no way to know what kind of damage he or his familiar has. It''s not unreasonable to expect such a result. But I would recommend not getting your hopes up. For now, it''s a waiting game. Unless you guys know something to treat underworld energy with?"


    They shook their heads.


    "Guessed as much. Go back for now. You can visit him in the morning or during lunch or something."


    The healer returned inside, leaving the club members outside with blank expressions.

 Chapter 131: Shopping Spree

    As soon as they were allowed, the members of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club visited Rierdan. They said various things. Some said they would look after his plants and send letters to his parents to tell him what was going on. Others swore bloody vengeance in his name.


    Zach didn''t say much. He patted Rierdan on the shoulder and stood up.


    "We''ll fix this, Rierdan. Just be patient."


    The air stilled and seemed to grow cold around Zach as he left Rierdan''s room. He went to one of the rooms they had commandeered in the name of the club. It wasn''t the club room or the storage room. It was the room they used to experiment and test things with the samples from the forest and the underworld energy.


    Zach locked the door behind Yanael and Alzara. He looked at the tall desert witch.


    "You said you can make potions, right? Can you whip something up to fix Rierdan?" Zach asked, but it was as much a request¨Can order¨Cas it was a question.


    "...It''s not impossible." Alzara hesitated.


    "Explain." Zach wasn''t interested in beating around any bushes.


    "I can make potions I''m familiar with if I have the right ingredients, which I have none of currently. If you want me to make something new, I will have to figure out a new recipe with completely foreign materials." Alzara could tell this was no time to be coy or playful, so she answered as directly as she could.


    "Tell me what you need." Zach nodded. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Three or four of everything should do, Master," she responded as if she had been waiting for it.


    "Everything?" Zach repeated with raised eyebrows.


    "Not everything in the world, just as much as possible. Oh, and a few glass containers of different sizes and shapes, if possible. I''ll also need a bigger room than this."


    Zach looked at Alzara for a moment before nodding like that was reasonable.


    "Anything else?"


    "I''ll let you know~" Alzara blew him a kiss. Zach caught it and stuffed it in his pocket before turning to leave.


    He opened the door and found Nessa outside.


    "Zach, I thought it was you in there. You''re the only one who would lock yourself inside with the underworld energy except for Julius. It sounded like you were talking to someone¡ª"


    "Myself." Zach interrupted Nessa as she glanced into the room to see if there was anyone but Zach and his familiars in there. She was a little surprised to see no one.


    "I-I see. What are you doing now, Zach?" Nessa asked as she walked next to him. What happened with Rierdan was tragic, and it put a damper on their daily life and club activities, but life goes on. The forest wasn''t any less contaminated just because Rierdan''s Runic Moss Butterfly had stolen and kept some of the underworld energy for itself.


    "You remember how I told you I got a second skill?"


    "Yeah."


    "It''s time to put it to use."


    "Cool. Can I come?"


    "I would love it if you did."


    "Great. Just me?"


    "Your familiar, too, of course."


    "Be honest, is that why you want me to come?"


    "..."


    "Zach?"


    "..."


    Zach refused to answer until she dropped it.


    His first order of business was to find and arrange a proper lab for Alzara where she could put her potion-making skills to full use. It wasn''t difficult. He just rented a large self-study and training room that could fit most of the larger familiars walking around the Academy.


    The only exceptions were the familiars that were too big to even stay on the campus for too long since it would get crowded quickly.


    With a room practically bought with his parents'' money, Zach didn''t have anything to worry about. He and Nessa moved over a lot of the samples from the storage room to Alzara''s lab. He had Nessa go out ahead of him.


    "Get started with your potion-making and experiment with this for now. I''ll return with more things in a bit, and I''ll come back tonight to use my skill. I''m assuming that''s part of the reason why you wanted multiples?" Zach spoke to Alzara.


    Alzara glanced at the door for a moment before nodding.


    Zach raised an eyebrow.


    "She''s eavesdropping?" Zach asked. The door and room should be well soundproofed. It would be amazing if Nessa could even hear anything other than her own pulse if she pressed her ear against the door.


    Alzara shrugged.


    Zach didn''t bother. If Alzara could sense her and didn''t want to say anything, it was best not to risk it. He also didn''t know much about Nessa''s skill. Maybe hers let her hear better.


    When he had made sure that Alzara had everything she needed to get started, Zach and Nessa went around the Academy, the forest, and even the city to gather all the materials that Alzara had asked for.


    By the time half her familiar was packed with bags and boxes of various materials from plants, monsters, animals, and ores, Nessa had gotten more than a little curious. She had pieced together to know that Zach''s familiar was going to receive everything and use it. But she couldn''t tell for what ungodly reason that tall maid could need so much.


    Zach had said he would be using his second skill, the one he got from his contract with Alzara, but wasn''t it his skill, not Alzara''s? Nessa was a little confused. She wondered if it was worth trying to ask Zach since he was pretty good at dodging questions that poked at what could be considered secrets.


    But eventually, she just tagged along. It wasn''t every day she could see someone empty the equivalent of a rich merchant''s coffers of gold like it was water.


    Zach was the spoiled youngest son of one of the four duchies of the Empire. But to others, he was the troublesome seventh son of one of the duchies that were responsible for the safety of the Empire. Including his classmates, many thought there was no way his family was giving him that much money, even if he was a Duke''s son.


    Zach''s easygoing attitude, most of the time, didn''t help those ideas.


    And after his shopping spree, those thoughts were almost true. Zach''s purse hadn''t been this light since he was born.


    But it was an investment that may very well be more than worth it. Even if it didn''t pay off, Zach was willing to offer at least this much for the sake of believing in Alzara. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelFire.net

 Chapter 132: Material Extraction

    The sun had already gone down when Zach and Nessa were on their way back to Alzara''s lab with their last shipment of materials, ranging from being as useful as a broken straw of hay to a rare monster organ that could increase a person''s strength when ingested raw. It wasn''t without consequence or drawback, but it was a potent resource nonetheless.


    Nessa yawned repeatedly, and while she was curious about what Zach and his familiar were up to, she decided she wouldn''t even ask. She had a feeling that Zach liked his secrets, so she left with a wave.


    She was also slightly impressed. Zach had been awake for at least as long as her, but he didn''t seem like he was going to sleep any time soon. She, on the other hand, was about to fall asleep standing after last night.


    Zach looked at the door after it closed behind Nessa and turned to Alzara until she nodded.


    "No eavesdroppers?"


    "Not that I can tell, no."


    Zach glanced at Yanael to double-check. She also shook her head.


    "Great." Zach grabbed the nearest flower and held it in his hand. There was no need to waste more time than necessary.


    He looked closely at the flower with a gaze of deepening concentration. He brought it closer. The peach-colored petals overlapped and created an upside-down, multi-layered dome. They were slightly pink at the tips. There were some flower parts that Zach didn''t know the names of in the center.


    It was not contaminated with underworld power.


    While inspecting it, Zach thought about his second skill, Material Extraction, and wanting to use it. He mentally expressed his desire to extract the materials from the flower.


    He wasn''t sure it would work. It was similar to how he used Blessed Defense. But he had learned how to activate his first skill through instinct and reflexes.


    An emergency had forced him to use Blessed Defense to try and protect himself from a falling chandelier. Yanael had saved him, so he would have been fine without it, but it didn''t hurt to have protected himself from any shards or fragments that shot around from the crash.


    After that, it had been a simple matter of recalling the feeling of activating the skill and getting more familiar with the sensation to the point where he controlled it.


    He didn''t know what the feeling of using Material Extraction was like.


    Blessed Defense was a slight warmth in the center of his chest. It was only a degree or less above his body temperature, but by tapping into that heat, Zach conjured and controlled his barriers like they were extensions of his body.


    On an instinctual level, it made sense that he felt the source of his barriers in the center of his chest. He couldn''t explain it, nor could he understand it. He also could not reliably guess where he would feel Material Extraction.


    That was when he saw past the flower and noticed his hand on the other side.


    ''Is it really that simple?''


    Alzara had said that his skill might be one that extracts the essences of resources and brings out the materials in a purer form that makes them easier to use.


    Zach didn''t know much about potion-making, but it made a lot of sense if that was similar to an initial stage of refining the ingredients to get only the properties one needs.


    That was something most likely done with one''s hands or magic.


    Alzara probably knew magic. She was a witch, after all.


    But Zach didn''t know magic. He only had his hands.


    Zach cupped the flower with both hands before frowning slightly. Holding it with both hands felt wrong. It was too vague of a feeling for him to say certain, but he felt like he could do better.


    Zach moved one hand. One above and one holding it. Discover more stories at m,v l''e-NovelFire.net


    Zach closed his eyes and focused on feeling the flower in his palm and the petals lightly touching his upper hand. He focused on his hands.


    ''A slight heat¡­''


    Zach imagined his hands warming up, similarly to what his chest did when he used his barriers. He frowned as he realized that it made his hand want to close. He listened and slowly began closing his hand, his fingertips brushing against their petals. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When his fingers reached the center of the flower and touched each other, there was something between them.


    Without hesitating, Zach slowly pulled away his hand. He wasn''t sure why, but there was a slight resistance to the movement. But he didn''t dare raise his eyes and look since he was worried about losing concentration.


    Eventually, however, he had moved his hands so far apart that he was showing off his full wingspan, and he couldn''t feel any resistance anymore.


    He opened his eyes.


    He blinked.


    There was a worm dangling in front of his face.


    "Yah!" Zach yelped and let go of whatever was in his hand with a flick of his wrist, dropping both the dried, grey, lifeless husk of a flower and the dark pink, slightly brown worm to the floor.


    The flower turned into a pile of dust with a couple of clumps. The worm jiggled and rolled slightly before coming to a stop.


    "Uh¡­" Zach looked at it for a moment. The worm that was the thickness of a finger and the length of his forearm was clearly what he had extracted from the flower. The appearance had just surprised him a little.


    Alzara picked it up with a quick squat and gave it a close inspection.


    "...I see. Indeed. Material Extraction." She nodded while appraising the worm.


    "It seems I was right, Master." Alzara smiled at Zach after putting the worm on her workbench.


    "Looks like it. So, is that more useful than using the plants directly?"


    "Yes. But if I''m honest, I think there''s room for improvement, if you don''t mind me saying so, Master."


    "No. I expected as much. It is my first time using the skill after all."


    "Then, I will let you practice without interfering, Master." Alzara nodded and waited until Zach grabbed another resource before starting her experiments on the jelly-like worm.


    Zach looked at the next flower with a hard stare.


    He was not getting surprised this time.

 Chapter 133: Unexpected

    Zach managed to keep his eyes open during his next try. He could clearly see when he managed to grab hold of something inside the flower and drag it out. Gradually, that something became visible and took the shape of a jelly-like worm.


    Zach continued extracting from the flower until the worm ended. The flower turned into a dried husk again. He dumped that in a basket that Yanael had brought to clean up the last flower. He put the worm in a container next to Alzara. He did the same with the next flowers as he started getting the hang of his skill.


    The worms came out with different sizes, shapes, colors, and textures, even from the same sources. During that process, he realized that the first worm had been surprisingly big. It was almost shocking how big of a worm had come from such a small flower. The other worms were a little more proportional to the size of their sources.


    After learning how to use the skill, Zach started aiming for consistency.


    Read new chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelFire.net


    Since Alzara was busy testing a bunch of things with the first worm still, he didn''t try for anything else, not that he knew what he needed to do to improve the quality. But it was like with his first skill. Through practice, he would improve and develop more ways to use the skill.


    Just like with most everything else related to summoning and his skills, Zach was enchanted by it and soon forgot any fatigue as he focused solely on understanding the use of his skill. His surroundings seemed to fade, and time passed by in what felt like a flash. He still had a sense of Alzara''s activity and Yanael''s presence, but it was like soothing background noise.


    His two familiars and their being close and doing their own things helped Zach relax and focus on practicing Material Extraction. It was such a nice atmosphere that he didn''t even notice when Nora came and brought food for him to eat.


    Suddenly, there was just a table with food and drinks next to him. He glanced around for a moment and saw Yanael and Nora standing off to the side. It looked like they were talking about different ways to handle weapons and stances.


    Zach was content knowing they got along, though he wondered if Alzara and Yanael would ever get along that well. Then, he returned to his worm-making.


    At the end of the night, right before dawn, Alzara was finally done with the preliminary tests on the first worm. And Zach was beginning to feel pretty done with life. He was tired. He had been so caught up in his skill that he didn''t realize that, just like Blessed Defense, it drained his stamina when he used it a lot.


    However, Blessed Defense''s energy loss was minimal as long as the barriers didn''t break. Material Extraction didn''t use as much as when the barrier broke, it also didn''t seem like there was any backlash, even if he made an ugly worm. But each worm was like taking a walk or going for a light jog.


    After a stack of worms, Zach was drained.


    But it wasn''t for nothing.


    The worms at the top of the pile were more regular, more uniform in color, and had a more even shape.


    Alzara looked at the pile of worms with a regretful expression before facing Zach with her head hanging forward until her chin almost touched the base of her throat. She clasped her hands together.


    "I am sorry for making you do this much, Master."


    "It''s fine. It''s good training."


    "No, I should have concluded my tests and stopped you sooner." Alzara lightly shook her head. "Your skill is great. It makes the potent substances in the resources much easier to work with. However¡­"


    Alzara took a quick breath before continuing.


    "These worms you create contain both the useful materials and all the impurities. And they''re seamlessly blended together. Since the worms are so easy to work with, I can still separate them. But it ends up being about the same amount of work as if I were to try and extract the useful materials from the raw resource." Alzara bowed in apology.


    She had made Zach work through the night only to tell him that everything he had made when he was done was the same as him having done nothing. She had indirectly called all his hard work useless.


    Zach stared blankly at Alzara for a moment before raising her upper body. Bowing, being apologetic, and anxiously awaiting what he was going to say didn''t fit her. He was a little surprised to see this side of her that he hadn''t expected.


    But Alzara hadn''t expected Zach to throw so many valuable resources at her. It was more and more precious than she had thought she would ever get, even if she asked for everything. And while she wasn''t familiar with the Empire, the Academy, or most of the resources she had received, she knew how to discern between things that were useless and things that were precious.


    Zach had poured a boatload of wealth into this endeavor at her thoughtless request.


    There was no way she could just joke around right now.


    "I mean, it would have been useful to know that earlier, but now, I got to play around with my skill and experiment without a goal in mind. I got to research and discover on my own without worrying about achieving something specific. If I had tried to only get rid of the impurities, I might have missed something else.


    Besides, did you discover everything about these worms from that one?" Zach nodded at the remaining charred, sliced, diced, melted, and stretched worm stump.


    "...No, I still have a lot to learn, Master," Alzara admitted.


    Zach nodded. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It works out in the end. Use these for experiments. You know the details better than I do, so just do what you want with them. And I''ll start figuring out how to get rid of impurities of worms that you can use when actually crafting potions that we will use or sell."


    "Okay¡­" Alzara meekly nodded and continued experimenting while Zach slowly ambled over to the bed Nora and Yanael had brought.

 Chapter 134: Back Burner

    Zach slept through the majority of the classes the next day, but he couldn''t care less. He might lose a mark or two, but it wasn''t like that hadn''t happened before. And he had still broken the record for grades during his first year. He didn''t see a reason why he shouldn''t be able to do the same thing during his second year. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He did, however, make it in time for the club activities. He left Alzara in the lab.


    It seemed like she had missed crafting things since she barely even noticed when he left. Zach had a feeling she wouldn''t mind staying there for as long as she could.


    ''I guess it''s similar to how Yanael doesn''t mind training.'' Zach was a little happy to have found something in common between his two familiars. They both had their interests that made them forget about the outside world.


    The other club members felt that something was missing without Alzara''s tall figure looming behind Zach. It was like looking at a painting of a castle with one of its towers removed. Zach walking around with his maids was so natural that they didn''t even notice Alzara''s absence at first. They just realized that something was off.


    Nessa was the only one who knew where Alzara was and didn''t think anything strange of it.


    The others soon realized and asked. Zach answered. She was busy. With what? Things. Okay.


    Zach quickly moved on to the agenda of the day. He wasn''t very interested in sharing Alzara''s passion for crafting and her autonomy with the club when there were more important things to do.


    "I''m guessing you guys also realized something when we found Rierdan?" Zach locked eyes with each of the club members, all of them nodding in response to his statement. No one was stupid enough to miss it.


    "An underworlder or someone working with the Underworld kidnapped Rierdan and his familiar. They also brought him toward the city. That could have been a coincidence, and that''s why they dropped him before disappearing.


    "Or they dropped him off because their part was done or something along those lines, and someone else was going to smuggle him into the city when the time was right. Of course, it could be for some other goal that we can''t understand. Maybe it was a test. Maybe they kidnapped Rierdan for the fun of it.


    But I want to hear what you think." Zach looked at the club members, who had realized but not dared voice the same thoughts as Zach.


    They hadn''t dared voice it because of the implication that the city or someone inside the city was working with the Underworld, an enemy of humanity and the entire surface.


    The city was like an extension of the Academy. Even the slightest possibility of someone there working with the Underworld prophesied endless trouble.


    "I don''t want to admit it, but I think you''re right, Zach. As horrible as it sounds, the Underworld is working in the city. I am sure of it. During summer, when I worked in an inn there, I heard about several kidnappings. Of course, in a city that big, people are going to disappear. But not in Basilia.


    Something''s going on." Dukiel''s expression was grave. And his words made the others'' expressions darken.


    Dukiel was right. Kidnappings and disappearances happened. People who left on their own, got taken by others, or got eaten by monsters. A lot of things could happen.


    But despite its proximity to a monster-ridden forest, Basilia also had summoners from the Academy''s four years in it around the year. It also had graduates and teachers visiting or living there. The usual kind of trouble that afflicted other cities didn''t dare come close to Basilia.


    Unfortunately, that meant that the trouble that dared to show its face in Basilia was unusual.


    This time, it looked like the source of the trouble was the Underworld.


    The others didn''t seem to have anything to add to what Dukiel had already said.


    Zach gave everyone another round of looks before settling on Dukiel and Julius.


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    "Given what just happened to Rierdan, it''s clear that this year is going to be dangerous, more so than last year. But that doesn''t mean we can just hide and sit on our asses, hoping things will solve themselves.


    "Dukiel, Julius, what do you think about investigating Basilia and looking for traces of the Underworld?"


    Dukiel and Julius looked at each other.


    "We''ll do it," Dukiel answered with a strong voice.


    Julius nodded in agreement.


    Zach returned the nod and faced the entire club.


    "I will enter the forest and search for any traces, but I will also be looking to level up. I would recommend against anyone going alone, so I''m willing to bring you guys with me.


    "Our priority right now should be to increase our strength. For you guys, that means summoning your second familiar. Let''s put the usual club activities on the back burner for a couple of weeks. Okay?"


    "What about us?" Julius asked.


    "You two naturally don''t have to investigate Basilia all the time, and if you need help or more numbers, just let us know. I will help you two hunt monsters as well."


    Dukiel and Julius nodded in appreciation. Although Dukiel didn''t need help in killing monsters, Zach had a much easier time finding them. It would make the process quicker and easier.


    Nessa looked at Zach for a moment before glancing at Anerias, Violina, and Liam. Then, she returned to looking at Zach.


    "Can we go right now?" Nessa asked.


    Zach''s eyebrows rose slightly.


    "I don''t see why not. Anyone else?"


    Anerias and Violina looked at each other.


    "...We will try on our own first," Violina answered, much to Anerias'' delight.


    "I have Student Council duties, and I''ve already summoned my second familiar."


    "You can always summon your third." Zach found Liam''s excuse a little weak.


    "I''m still pretty far off, to be honest, and I need stronger monsters than the ones we have found in the forest so far."


    Zach''s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn''t press it. Liam didn''t want to come. He didn''t have to come.


    Zach and Nessa left for the forest after receiving permission to stay out for a night.

 Chapter 135: Deal

    Zach and Nessa were so used to entering the forest that they already had their bags packed with any essentials they might need on a quick one-night trip. It didn''t take long for them to head out, but they were still half a step behind Dukiel and Julius, who wasted no time.


    Zach and Nessa didn''t have to be as quick as possible. It was just that they didn''t want to waste time. Dukiel and Julius, however, felt a sense of urgency and need to move. They were in charge of investigating the Underworld''s possible activities in the city.


    It was already afternoon. They wanted to catch a glimpse of the city during the day, evening, and night. They didn''t know what to look for other than traces of the Underworld. But considering how any activities had gone unnoticed so far and how much effort the Underworld had to be putting in, it wouldn''t be easy.


    The only thing they had going for them was the fact that they might have discovered part of the Underworld''s plot before the Underworld expected them to and Julius'' sensitivity to underworld energy, thanks to his Mannequin.


    If there were an underworlder or a source of underworld energy in Basilia, Julius would sniff it out, and Dukiel and the Sentinel would beat it up.


    It was a solid plan.


    It wasn''t much of a plan, really, since they were just starting out, but it was better than Zach and Nessa''s.


    Their plan relied on how attractive Zach was to monsters and then to go all out killing everything that came at them without even trying to escape. It was reckless. But Zach trusted his barriers and Yanael, and Nessa trusted Zach to a certain degree. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If nothing else, Zach and Yanael were strong. Unless anything extreme happened, she would be safe with them. The one thing that was a slight problem was the size of her Snakelong Millipede. It was too big. If something that could threaten it appeared, Zach''s barriers couldn''t cover all of it with enough defensive strength to protect it.


    Well, it was fine as long as nothing happened, so Nessa focused on the more important things. She glanced at Zach''s face, mustering courage.


    They were already pretty deep in the forest, and no one else was around. Yanael and the Millipede were busy dealing with the bloodthirsty monsters of differents shapes and sizes that came charging at irregular intervals.


    "Zach."


    "Yes?"


    "You''re pretty good at this whole summoning and skill thing, right?"


    "I am the best in the class." Zach didn''t miss an opportunity to brag, even if he was curious about what Nessa was getting at.


    "I also heard you helped Julius'' Mannequin evolve, and that you''ve given others a few tips about their familiars."


    "That''s right." Zach hadn''t done much for the Mannequin. It had helped itself to the leftovers in the Giupusta Locale. But he took the credit anyway.


    "As you know, my Millipede is C-rank."


    "So, you want my help in evolving it?"


    "...Yes. Also¡ª"


    "''Also''? Pause." Zach held up a hand as he interrupted Nessa.


    "I do do favors, friend or not. But one at a time. Before you make your second request, let''s hear what you''re willing to offer for this to be a transaction and the beginning of a fruitful relationship." Zach''s business side came out in full force and ignored any friendship he and Nessa had.


    Nessa looked at Zach with adorable puppy dog eyes, pleading silently for him to reconsider. Couldn''t he just do her one small favor without asking for anything in return? Didn''t he already have everything he needed and wanted? If there was anything he needed or wanted, it wasn''t something he could get from her.


    "Well¡­?"


    Unfortunately, after spending time with Nora, Yanael, and Alzara, using the weakness of a man against Zach didn''t work. It would take an extremely skilled member of the fairer sex to make him budge with a glance alone.


    "Tsk." Nessa clicked her tongue in irritation. Zach was no ordinary guy.


    "...Fine. You visited the Labyrinth in your duchy during the break, right? That''s how you summoned the tall one."


    "Mm." Zach was beginning to get a little curious. Nessa''s ears were good.


    "You interested in entering another Labyrinth?" Nessa asked while looking around like she was making a black market deal.


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    Zach shrugged, but he also raised an eyebrow to show slight interest and let Nessa know that she should continue.


    "As far as I know, the Labyrinth of Jira is the easiest one to enter and leave. I don''t know much about the others, especially the ones in the north and the center, but I do know about the one in the south."


    "Right. You were one of Violina''s vassals."


    "My parents are her parents'' vassals. We are peers."


    "Move on."


    Nessa rolled her eyes but continued.


    "The Labyrinth of Syst opens once every two years. Next opening just so happens to be this summer."


    Zach raised an eyebrow of doubt.


    "Are you saying an invitation to your home is worth my help in evolving your familiar?"


    "Is it?" Nessa hopefully asked.


    "No."


    "Then, no, that''s not what I''m saying. There''s a restricted number who can enter the Labyrinth every year."


    "You can get me in."


    "I can try. The odds are good, but you never know."


    Zach looked at Nessa in deep thought and slight appreciation as he stroked his beard. He did not have a beard, so he was just stroking his chin and upper lip like a weirdo.


    Nessa''s proposal was attractive but with a lot of fluff. She had a lot to gain but nothing to lose. Zach, on the other hand, would be put in a position where he might have to work for free.


    "I''ll still get the¡­"


    "Labyrinth Ticket."


    "I''ll still get the Labyrinth Ticket, even if I can''t get your Millipede to evolve, and we''ll get this notarized with Violina as a witness as soon as we get back. Deal?"


    "Deal." Nessa got a little nervous, but she didn''t let it show on her face.


    "Great. Let''s begin right away." He pointed at all the monster corpses after putting his hand on the Snakelong Millipede''s carapace.


    "Eat."

 Chapter 136: Simple Process

    Nessa and her Millipede stared blankly at Zach for several long, drawn-out moments, doing nothing but blinking. But while the Millipede slowly turned to the ''food'' on the ground, Nessa continued staring at Zach.


    "What are you doing¡­?" Zach took a step back and covered himself with his hands due to Nessa''s uncomfortable stare.


    "That''s what I should be asking you. I can only guess based on your order just now. But are you saying that my Millipede only needs to eat to evolve? Are you also saying that you''ve known that for some time already and just never thought to share it with me?"


    Nessa took a step closer to Zach, and her wide eyes seemed to want to peer inside Zach''s brain.


    "First of all, it''s just a hypothesis. Secondly, you never asked. If you had just asked something like, ''Oh, great and heavenly, Zacharia, do you happen to know what might make my familiar evolve?'' then I would have said, ''Yes, fledgling summoner, so hand over the money.'' You only have yourself to blame."


    "Nope. I am blaming you. I am not at fault for asking a question I didn''t know you had the answer to. And what do you mean hypothesis? Does she need to eat or not?" Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ugh, fine, it''s my fault, it''s always my fault."


    "Yes, yes, it is."


    Zach''s attempt at garnering pity didn''t work. So, he gave up and moved on from figuring out who was to blame.


    "During my studies, I have realized that the most common denominator in familiar evolution is the properties rather than the breed or race of familiar, for example, Violina''s Ice Spirit. Things related to spirits may work. Treasures with the same property of ice will almost definitely work. Don''t tell her that, though. I can give you more examples, but I''m sure you get it."


    Nessa looked at Zach for a moment before turning to her Millipede, who was earnestly obeying Zach''s order, even if it wasn''t all that hungry.


    "So, in my case, ''Snakelong'' is the property or whatever of my familiar while Millipede is the species?"


    "Exactly."


    "What does ''Snakelong'' even mean?"


    "In my mind, it''s ''long snake.''"


    Nessa turned to look at Zach with a frown of disbelief.


    "There''s no way it''s that simple." She shook her head, refusing to believe it.


    "Why not?" Zach shrugged.


    "What do you mean, ''Why not?'' If it were that easy, everyone would be evolving their familiars!" Nessa was outraged. How was Zach doing so well when his thinking was so simple?


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    "What?" Nessa was stumped.


    "Let''s say that I''m right in this case. One of the things your familiar needs to do to evolve is eat a lot. How often have you made it eat until it couldn''t walk anymore? Never, right?"


    "..."


    "Because, why would you? After a certain point, even your familiar doesn''t want to eat anymore. But evolving is all about reaching the next step, breaking your existential limits, and accumulating enough energy to do all that. Or at least, that''s what I think."


    "..." Nessa frowned silently. She couldn''t refute Zach.


    "Back on topic, let''s look at ''long'' as a descriptor and ''snake'' as the property. That means your familiar will follow the growth pattern of a snake. Maybe. How do snakes grow? They eat and eat until they shed their skins."


    "But my familiar¡­¡ª"


    "Doesn''t have any skin, no. But it has a carapace, an exoskeleton. But insects do this cool thing, which is basically the same as snakes, called molting. They shed their exoskeleton instead of their skin."


    Nessa''s frown deepened.


    "But does its name matter if it''s the same for snakes and insects? Why does ''Snakelong'' affect the process of evolution if an ordinary insect would go through basically the same growth process?"


    "First of all, millipedes aren''t insects. Secondly, it''s the diet. And thirdly, control, I believe. Snakes grow by eating. Insects live by eating. Their growth is a natural part and side effect.


    Do you understand the difference?"


    Nessa nodded slowly, still with a frown.


    "An insect doesn''t overeat, and even if it does, it doesn''t get bigger. Snakes do."


    "That''s basically it." Zach nodded. "Of course, ordinary snakes have limits. But¡­" Zach pointed at the Snakelong Millipede.


    "Monsters don''t have the same kind of limits if we look at those giant ones we encountered during the field trip. And, what if a familiar, that''s similar to a monster, has inherited some of a snake''s properties, such as its size and length?"


    Nessa sighed and massaged her forehead to get rid of the wrinkles.


    "Fine. You''ve got me somewhat convinced. Now what? Do I just keep my familiar''s belly full?"


    "I guess." Zach shrugged.


    Nessa clenched her fist and held back the urge to smack him since she could see the barrier around him. If she tried, she would only hurt herself. Stupid bastard.


    "I mean, I would assume so. But I think quality is just as important as quantity. Now that I think about it, variety also matters, probably," Zach continued since he could tell Nessa wasn''t satisfied with his previous answer.


    "..." Nessa just silently looked at her Millipede, happily curled up in a bulging spiral after clearing every monster corpse in the surrounding area. It wasn''t something she could have ordered it to do if she was alone since the familiar wouldn''t be moving for a while, much less attacking or defending against monsters.


    She also wouldn''t have even come up with the idea, even if she didn''t want to waste resources that were too much for the Millipede to carry.


    "Before I forget, your Snakelong Millipede is technically pretty low-ranked. That''s why it sounds so easy to make it evolve. The lower the rank, the easier."


    Nessa didn''t know why, but her urge to express her gratitude suddenly dwindled after Zach''s comment. So, she stayed silent, even if she promised herself to do her best when trying to get Zach his Labyrinth Ticket.


    Then, she looked at her familiar. Only time would tell if Zach was on to something, or if he was just pretending.

 Chapter 137: Nine

    Nessa''s Millipede entered a deep sleep and slept through the night. But that didn''t stop monsters from trying to attack them.


    One of the many benefits of the Underworld''s contamination of the forest and the effect it had on the monster was that they were too fearless and hungry to care about the stench of blood and piles of monster corpses to reconsider going after Zach. Their instincts also seemed to be sharper, at least when it came to finding and detecting prey.


    The underworld energy had corroded their minds and strained their bodies. It reduced their capacity for rationality and increased their need for food. Explore new worlds at m,v l''-NovelFire.net


    It was even easier for Zach to hunt than it was before. He still wasn''t sure what to feel about how he was a monster magnet, but he couldn''t deny the positive aspects. If he didn''t want to be hounded by monsters, he just had to bring Alzara with him. It was a simple fix.


    However, Alzara couldn''t be with him all the time if she was also supposed to craft potions. It might not work against some monsters, either.


    So, during the downtime when he was just waiting for Yanael to clear out the swarms of monsters, Zach decided to take his sister''s advice and meditate. He looked for the glow she had mentioned and his existence. It was difficult since he didn''t know what it meant and because he got sidetracked by his own thoughts.


    However, Zach''s thoughts were as much a part of his existence as his limbs, his senses, or his smell. By reflecting on them and understanding how he thought was also a way of acknowledging and understanding his existence.


    Zach meditated on himself and his thoughts, trying to figure out how he was and why he was. For a couple of moments, he felt wise like an ancient philosopher. The next moment, he felt foolish and got up. He''d rather practice Material Extraction on monster corpses than continue.


    So, that''s exactly what he did.


    It wasn''t as easy when he couldn''t hold the sources in one hand and extract with the other. He put one hand on to hold against the monster corpses and used the other to pull out lumps of pink, red, brown, green, and dark green.


    A few worms also came out mostly white like they were made of bone. When he inspected the corpses of those material worms, he discovered that they were soft and unstructured like they had lost their skeletons.


    It was a revolutionary discovery in terms of his skill. It meant he could extract only certain parts of monsters and condense them into concentrated worms. He didn''t know how much more useful they would be or what they could be used for. But if he could separate different types of materials from the monster corpses, maybe he could also sort out impurities.


    Unfortunately, Zach had trouble telling how impure the worms he extracted were without Alzara''s help, so the only thing he had was his gut feeling and Nessa''s Millipede''s response when it ate the worms.


    However, reading a Millipede''s expressions when its face was covered in blood and gore was not easy. But Zach and Nessa could still tell when it was a good worm or a bad worm, at least according to the Millipede.


    It was better than nothing. With the combination of his gut feeling and the Millipede''s judgment, Zach continued improving the material worms while they headed back to the Academy after a long day of monster hunting.


    Eventually, they had come so close to the Academy that they no longer ran into any monsters. Zach looked at Nessa


    "What level are you now?"


    "I reached nine yesterday evening, so it shouldn''t be much left now." Nessa clenched her fist, celebrating being so close and looking forward to reaching level ten, when she could summon her next familiar.


    "Then again¡­" Zach glanced at the round Millipede.


    "...Right." The millipede hadn''t done much killing since yesterday evening. It had only eaten what Yanael killed and Zach extracted. It ate so much it had trouble moving, so it was only natural it didn''t hunt much.


    "...Should I focus on hunting, then?" Nessa asked Zach with a slightly worried look.


    "No." Zach shook his head. "From what I''ve noticed, higher ranking familiars mean more strength when you level up. I don''t know if it works retroactively, so it''s best to first focus on evolving your familiar. It also improves the odds of summoning a higher-ranking familiar as your second. Or, at least, I think it should."


    "I see. I''ll do that then. That means you can invite someone else to tag along and share the monsters you attract."


    "...It wasn''t like I didn''t invite them this time, either. They were ''busy.''" Zach made air quotes with his fingers as he mocked the others'' excuses for not tagging along.


    "Right." Nessa wondered if Zach was offended that no one wanted to follow him into the forest but ignored it. "Just bring Dukiel and Julius. I''m sure they should be plenty close already, no? It also seemed like they rushed off to the city, so they must have worked hard while we were taking it easy."


    "That''s true¡­" Zach frowned slightly. He had hit level ten despite being unable to hunt for a large portion of the first year. Dukiel and Julius should have had more levels than him, even if they didn''t kill as much as Yanael did, especially Dukiel since he got the hit on the tiger with the Sentinel''s laser. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was almost a little strange that they hadn''t summoned their second familiars yet.


    Had they not reached level ten yet? Was there something stopping them? Was the principal acting a fool again?


    Zach wanted to ask them why they hadn''t summoned their familiars yet as soon as he and Nessa returned. But when he entered the club room and saw Dukiel and Julius poring over a map with grim faces, he realized there were more important matters to discuss.

 Chapter 138: Congrats

    "Welcome back." Dukiel greeted Zach and Nessa with a voice that made it clear his mind wasn''t in a cheery place. He wasn''t sad or anything. He was just preoccupied with some dark news."What''s going on?" Zach asked while he and Nessa pulled out chairs and sat down next to Dukiel and Julius. He looked at the two who had returned from an unfortunately successful investigation. Dukiel and Julius glanced at each other before Dukiel answered.


    "It''s bad."


    "How bad?"


    "Real bad. Counting only the ones we found the names of, there have been twenty disappearances so far this year."


    "And with the ones you don''t know the names of?"


    Dukiel and Julius glanced at each other before looking at Zach again.


    "We don''t know."


    "What?"


    "Although Basilia is a trade city with people working with the Academy and relatives of students and teachers and so on, there are a lot of people with no family, friends, or even acquaintances. Those people who have been living isolated lives in the middle of a bustling city have started disappearing. Empty houses and rooms where people thought someone lived and so on."


    Dukiel''s face darkened as he showed Zach and Nessa the map. There were twenty blue markings and around fifty red markings.


    "The red ones are the kind of location I mentioned. Neighbors and deliverymen thought people lived there, but when someone investigated, it was completely empty. We have no idea how many people have lived at each place either. Some places are big houses, while others are one-room apartments. We could be talking fifty additional disappearances. We could be talking over a hundred."


    "Plus the twenty," Zach stated.


    "Plus the twenty," Dukiel confirmed.


    "This year."


    "This year."


    "What about previous years?"


    "The numbers last year are a little unclear since the Student Council''s investigation wasn''t as clear, but maybe fifty in total."


    "Before that?"


    "There''s no way of knowing, but if it had been noteworthy, someone would have noticed, so we can guess it has escalated the last couple of years."


    "That aligns with the Underworld''s activity." Zach nodded. He wasn''t sure about the details. But the Underworld had been pretty active in trying to deal with him during their first year after he pissed off the Great Ugor. They had also done that thing with the exploding tiger arm and the experiment Jigak secured.


    It also seemed like the principal wanted to end things with the Underworld in a couple of years, considering he set the Great Ugor as their final graduation exam. The Underworld was probably responding to that by speeding up any plans they might have.


    Zach stroked his chin while nodding slowly as he looked at the map over Basilia and the randomly spread-out markings over the entire city.


    Zach looked at Julius.


    "No luck?"


    Julius shook and hung with his head.


    "I didn''t feel the slightest trace of underworld energy. The city was refreshingly free from it, despite being not too far from the forest."


    "Yeah, I doubt older summoners and others would let the underworld energy build up. You said you got this information from the Student Council?"


    "Yes. One of their members has been investigating these disappearances on behalf of the city. They found us when we were asking around and shared this with us." Dukiel answered.


    "Have you tried asking them about the underworld energy or anyone who might be clearing it from the city?" Zach asked.


    "We asked them if they had noticed any underworld energy. They hadn''t, but we can ask them about anyone or anything clearing the underworld energy tomorrow."


    "Perfect." Zach nodded and continued looking at the map.


    "It''s also worrying that there''s no pattern to this. See if that student council member has any witnesses. With these many disappearances, someone has to have seen something. There should also be traces. A hundred and twenty people are a lot.


    Even if the Underworld ended up killing them, it''s not like the corpses turned into thin air." Zach''s words were grim and not filled with a lot of hope for the people who had disappeared.


    But they had to face reality. Any fate the Underworld had in store for the ones who disappeared wasn''t bright. At best, they would adapt to the underworld energy and become underworlders. But that was what was best for them. Through that process, they would surrender their humanity and turn their backs on the surface, adding their power to the Great Ugor''s. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Will do." Dukiel naturally accepted Zach''s orders. He was the club president, after all. But he was also more than that. With all they had been through and how their relationship looked, Zach was just the leader of their group.


    "We should loop in our classmates, too, so that they can help investigate Basilia," Zach said as if he just remembered or realized.


    "I''ll do that." Nessa raised a hand and took responsibility for Zach''s latest order. She hadn''t contributed anything, so if there was something she could do, she would. She was also the one with the best relationship with the rest of the class.


    She was a noble, but a lesser one, and her familiar was low-ranked. She wasn''t as lofty as the A-ranks or as difficult to socialize with as Julius. She was also very different from Zach, even if she got along well with him.


    Nessa was the best bet to ensure their classmates'' cooperation.


    With that settled and Dukiel and Julius done with their report, it was finally time for other important matters. Read new chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelFire.net


    "You two¡­" Zach looked at Dukiel and Julius.


    "Yes¡­?" Dukiel hesitantly asked.


    "Are you two level ten yet?" Zach asked with a face almost as serious as the ones Dukiel and Julius had carried before.


    Dukiel and Julius glanced at each other.


    "Yes, actually. I have to get permission to use the Chamber. We took a detour on the way back since the Sentinel sensed a few monsters, and we killed them. That was enough for me," Dukiel answered, thankful for the reminder. The other matter with the disappearances in Basilia had overtaken his mind.


    "I¡­I''m thinking about trying to help Mannequin evolve first." Julius'' answer was different from what Zach had hoped, but not entirely unexpected. If it evolved again, it would be B-rank.


    "That''s a good idea¡ª"


    "Since it''s already B-rank, I might as well try for A-rank."


    Zach''s eyes widened


    "You mean¡­?"


    Julius looked at Dukiel instead of answering Zach''s question.


    "Oh, I thought¡­Seems no one told you. Yes, Mannequin evolved to B-rank when it took that tiger''s explosion of underworld energy to the face, and I''ve been working on it since then. It feels like it isn''t far off."


    "Congratulations, then. Let me know if you need help with anything."


    "Sure, thanks."


    Zach glanced at the Mannequin.


    ''Makes sense.'' It looked differently from before the first year ended, after all. It was more complete with underworld energy rather than its contaminated earlier self.

 Chapter 139: Smell

    With things settled and new tasks to do, the club meeting was adjourned and they went their mostly separate ways. Dukiel''s and Julius'' dorms were in the same direction, after all. Nessa went back to her dorm. Everything they had to do could be done after a night''s rest.Not to mention their own tiredness, their tasks were of the social kind. It would be difficult to do what they needed to do when the people they needed to meet were unavailable.


    Zach was the only one who didn''t head straight to his dorm. He was pretty tired, but it was manageable, so he decided to stop by Alzara''s lab before anything else. After a night and a day, Zach hoped she would have made some progress.


    It didn''t need to be much as long as she had taken a step in the right direction. Zach had gotten a sense of urgency after hearing how many had disappeared from the streets of Basila.


    Zach stepped into the lab, hopeful but not sure what to expect.


    He came face to face with a distinct, sour, earthy smell that stung his nose and made his eyes water. He frowned and put up an airtight barrier that kept any weird smells far from his olfactory sensory organ. He provided Yanael the same service, which he could tell she appreciated since she had sharper senses.


    He then looked at Alzara, who was huddled over her workbench with messy piles of resources and glass bottles around her. Her maid dress was a mess. Her short hair was a mess. Her face was a mess.


    She was still beautiful.


    But it seemed like she had decided to live up to the stereotypes of mad scientists who had things blow up in their faces and cover them in soot.


    However, Zach guessed based on the glass bottles filled with colorful and colorless liquids that all of the experiments weren''t complete failures. He was curious about what Alzara, the mad witch scientist, had accomplished while he and Yanael were gone.


    "*Ahem* Alzara?" Zach cleared his throat and called out to his familiar.


    A beaker with a green fluid and a rounded glass bottle with a blue liquid flew into the air as Zach''s voice startled Alzara. Still stuck in the same shocked position with her arms slightly raised, Alzara slowly turned around in her chair.


    The bottles would have fallen to the table or floor and broken if Zach hadn''t caught them with a couple of soft barriers.


    "...Master. Welcome back."


    Alzara stood up and tried to smooth down her hair before realizing her clothes were a little scruffy, twisted, and dirty, so she tried to fix them first. Then, she caught a glimpse of her face in the reflection of a nearby bottle. She gave up.


    She looked at the floor for a moment before taking a breath and embracing it.


    "I hope you don''t mind a little mess, Master~" Alzara smiled with her question and took a more confident pose.


    Zach shrugged.


    "Depends on the mess, I guess. Did you get anything done while we were gone?"


    "Yes." Alzara was quick to answer, relieved Zach wasn''t mentioning her current state of disarray.


    "I managed to concoct a string of potions that should have somewhat potent effects. I need more worms. I prefer working with them over the base materials. And I''ve started figuring out how this underworld energy works. Give me a day or two, and I''ll have something you can give your friend." Alzara briefly recounted her achievements. She downplayed her efforts and the results she produced.


    She might be a desert witch, but she was still working with materials completely unfamiliar to her. Yet, she had managed to craft several working potions. She had also started understanding how a mysterious force like the underworld energy worked. That was far better than what Zach or any of the others in the club had done.


    The Underworld Research and Extermination Club had concluded that the underworld energy was hostile to everything. It wasn''t like it had sentience or a will or anything. It just sought to overtake whatever it came in contact with. It was also flighty. Without enough of it, a directive, or a constant stream in a certain direction, it just dissipated.


    Like that, it was easy to deal with.


    It was when a seemingly endless amount of underworld energy filled the forest that it was difficult to deal with. Or when it had taken root in something like Rierdan''s familiar.


    "That''s great!" Zach picked up one of the potions with a pretty red color. "What do they do?"


    Alzara avoided Zach''s eyes, briefly glancing at him.


    "..." She didn''t answer.


    "Alzara?" Zach gently prodded her. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...I don''t know." She meekly admitted.


    "What?" Zach asked in utter confusion. She had made the potions. How did she not know what they did?


    "Well¡­I know they should do things, and based on the ingredients, I can somewhat guess for some of them. Others¡­Others I just tried a few things to see what would happen. Instead of melting the equipment or going up in puffs of smoke, they stabilized, meaning they were completed as potions.


    But I''m not familiar enough with the ingredients I used to predict the result of the combination." Alzara started rambling.


    Zach had a feeling she would continue with that if he didn''t stop her, so he held up a hand.


    "It''s alright. We just need to test them, right?" Zach didn''t see what the big deal was. By testing the potions, they could find out what they did, and Alzara''s potion-making would advance since she would udnerstand what the ingredients did when combined.


    "That''s true. In theory. In practice¡­" Alzara''s voice trailed off and she avoided Zach''s look while fiddling with her hands.


    Compared to her joking or seductive side, Zach didn''t know what to think of this meek Alzara. She was so cautious and uneloquent that she seemed like a different person.


    "It''s fine, no? It''s not like they''re going to explode or anything."


    "..."


    "Alzara?" Enjoy new tales from m-v l''-NovelFire.net


    "..." Alzara continued evading Zach''s gaze.

 Chapter 140: Potency

    Zach wordlessly and gently put the potion back on the workbench with a tense smile. He removed his hand like he had just defused a bomb and was waiting for it to explode in his face. After a moment or two, he carefully stepped back.He looked at Alzara.


    "I''m not blaming you or anything. But next time, please inform me of things like how what I''m holding might explode in my face at any moment." Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, Master." Alzara nodded and bowed.


    "Great." Zach looked at the table of potions with apprehension.


    "...How do you usually deal with potions like these?"


    "I use sacrific¡ªtest subjects." Alzara shrugged with her head still angled forward.


    "I see. And how often are those ''test subjects'' volunteers and how often are they reusable?"


    "...Not very often. Rather than potions with specific effects, creations like these are more like stable bundles of concentrated energy. When a living being consumes them, they kind of just¡­" Alzara made an expanding gesture with her hands to help demonstrate the fate of her test subjects.


    "Uh-huh. Do they work on monsters?"


    "Usually, yes. But there are two reasons monsters aren''t the best sacrific¡ªtest subjects. Their physiques are different, so they might handle the potions better or react differently. And they are worse at communicating. They don''t shout things like it''s hot or cold before¡­" Alzara made the same expanding gesture with her hands.


    Zach nodded.


    "How necessary are these tests?"


    "With my tests and the like, I can get a decent estimate of what most potions should do when consumed by humans or human-adjacent beings."


    "But¡­?" Zach could sense there was something more.


    "...but, there''s only one way to know for certain what a potion does. The slightest difference in ratio or ingredients could produce entirely different potions. So, until I perfect a recipe¡­" Alzara didn''t need to finish what she was going to say.


    If they were going to use her methods, they would need a lot of test subjects.


    ''Or maybe¡­'' Discover exclusive content at m,v l''-NovelFire.net


    "How potent are these potions? And would one sturdy test subject work?"


    "...They shouldn''t be too potent since the materials were mostly basic, at least in the finished potions. And no. I need multiple test subjects for the best result.


    Setting aside the possibility of one sturdy test subject just being an outlier and showing no or a special reaction, the lingering effects of consuming multiple potions will affect the results of future tests." Alzara quickly rejected Zach''s idea.


    "...So, we need a lot of test subjects to get anywhere with your potion-making?" Zach asked to confirm.


    Alzara nodded.


    "...How do you think underworlders would react compared to humans?" Zach knew the answer before even asking.


    Alzara shrugged with her palms facing upward.


    Zach sighed.


    "There''s only one way to find out," he said with a voice filled with all the fatigue of the last few days.


    He sighed again.


    He wasn''t sure where he would get a hold of as many test subjects as Alzara needed. He wasn''t even sure if he wanted to. Alzara had no idea what her potions did. They might make people explode or just kill them with a world of pain, incinerating them from within.


    He didn''t want to put others through that just because he wanted to find out what a couple of strange glass bottles with colorful liquids did.


    But he also didn''t want to risk his own life finding out.


    It seemed like they would have to delay getting their potions tested for now.


    But that didn''t mean they had to stop making them. Zach''s skill could still be useful, and he didn''t mind training it on the materials that were left. Alzara also had a lot to learn about all the materials.


    "Have you been to the library, by the way? I''m sure there could be recipes there." Zach asked. It was a little late to come to the realization, but it was better than nothing.


    "Yeah. I had Nora help me. I didn''t like the ones I found." Alzara answered with a scrunched nose, like the thought of those recipes were enough to disgust her.


    ''I guess that''s a dud.''


    Zach had a feeling Alzara wouldn''t use any recipes but hers. It could be a pride thing, or it could be a skill thing. Whatever the case, Zach wasn''t going to force her to use recipes she didn''t like.


    Yanael piled up all the potions in a corner of the room while Zach started making worms and Alzara continued her potion-making and experimenting with different materials, burners, and glass containers.


    While Zach and Alzara were busy with their things, Yanael practiced her swordplay. There wasn''t much she could do to improve in her current state, but as a swordswoman, it was better to swing her sword than do nothing. She also couldn''t be left behind by Alzara.


    So far, Alzara hadn''t done much to help Zach other than scare off monsters with her presence. But she was an SS-rank familiar. And while Zach couldn''t tell clearly, Yanael''s sharp senses picked up on the potency of some of those potions.


    They made the hair on the back of her neck tingle.


    Something Zach hadn''t kept in mind when he asked Alzara about the potions'' potency was the fact that Alzara was an SS-rank desert witch.


    Zach had, based on how Yanael and Alzara spoke, figured out that they had pasts. More than that, he didn''t know. He also didn''t know how their current strength related to their past strength.


    There were a lot of things he didn''t know about his familiars and how strong they were or could become.


    As such, he also didn''t know about the difference in standards. A potion that wasn''t very powerful or useful for an SS-rank desert witch could be very heavy in the hands of a human who had just recently started on the path of summoning in a world of strong and stronger existences.


    And without any test subjects, it would take a while still for Zach to find that out.

 Chapter 141: Could Have Been

    Zach pulled the bigger part of another all-nighter, only taking a nap when dawn approached to perk up before classes started. It wasn''t because he was overly busy. He just wanted to continue making more and better worms with Material Extraction.It wasn''t just because Alzara wanted and needed more worms and he had trouble saying no to beauties. It wasn''t. He also enjoyed fiddling with his skill and feeling himself improve. He could tell that the worm he made was better than the one he made ten attempts ago. And the one he would make in another ten attempts was better than the latest one.


    It wasn''t the first time Zach felt it, but improving, growing stronger, or just generally becoming better compared to his past self and, most importantly, feeling the change was addictive.


    Alzara also confirmed that his worms were becoming increasingly better in all areas. They were easier to work with. They were more delicately extracted, meaning the medicinal effects and potency were more preserved from the original raw source. They were more forgiving should Alzara make a mistake.


    Discover exclusive tales on m,v l''e-NovelFire.net


    She didn''t make any mistakes, but it also helped when experimenting since she could take a couple of shortcuts.


    But even without knowing how, Zach also improved the purity of the worms, which had the greatest effect on the resulting potions, making them even more powerful and filled to the brim with untainted medicinal or magical effects.


    He was still a long way off from perfect purity. But that was something even Alzara couldn''t achieve, regardless of what methods she used. There would always slip in at least some impurities when crafting.


    There was just no way to refine medicinal properties and remove all impurities without destroying the materials in the process.


    But the progress Zach made gave Alzara hope. He wasn''t refining the plants or using mundane methods to separate the materials and elements he wanted from the things he didn''t want.


    He used a supernatural skill bestowed on him by the same thing that brought Yanael and Alzara to his side. It was a skill that symbolized the union and contract of man and familiar.


    As far as Alzara could tell, Zach''s contract skills didn''t care much for the laws of physics, even when taking magic into account. She hadn''t seen any of the other summoners'' skills, but even if their familiars were lower ranked, it should follow the same principle of superior supernaturality.


    It was interesting.


    If the situation had been vastly different and she hadn''t been a familiar, she would have liked to catch and experiment on and with a summoner or two. They were nothing like most mages or warriors. They weren''t even anything like special ability users or unorthodox mages.


    Summoners were in a class of their own.


    However, there was no use thinking about what-ifs or what could have been. In the present, there was no way Alzara would experiment on summoners in a way that went against her nature as a familiar.


    The most she could do was ask Zach questions, depending on how their relationship developed. In the end, she was still a maid. Demanding answers from her master wasn''t right.


    She could also tag along in Zach''s quest for answers. As long as she stuck around, she didn''t have much of a choice. But there was a difference between being dragged and tagging along willingly when Zach searched for the very same answers that had piqued Alzara''s interest when she tried to understand how his skills worked.


    She knew on something similar to an instinctual level a couple of things that Zach didn''t and which she wasn''t allowed to tell him yet. But there were as many mysteries surrounding summoning as there were stars in the sky. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even while thinking about such things, Alzara churned out experimental potions and failed potions like a factory. As soon as she got her groove in, the motions flowed.


    The only thing that slowed her down was recalling the different ratios and ingredients of all the potions she had already made to see if she should try something completely new or try and develop a stable recipe for a basic potion that would still be helpful to Zach.


    However, she wasn''t quite sure what would help Zach. She was also sure she would not be able to make anything consistently useful just yet, so she continued expanding her record of ingredients and their potential uses while experimenting.


    Alzara also didn''t forget to keep track of the underworld energy in the worms Zach extracted and the materials he and Nessa had brought. Since one of the things that were a little higher on her priority list was making something to help Rierdan, she couldn''t forget about that.


    But that was secondary.


    She glanced at Zach.


    Zach was already perfect as he was. He didn''t need any modifications or additives.


    But maybe he needed something to help him plug that leak. It wasn''t much trouble yet, but if Zach continued growing¡­


    Zach felt Alzara look at him and woke up right on time for class. Well, it would have been right on time if he could find the right classroom in this damned, ever-changing maze of an Academy.


    Instead, he ended up as late as usual to a class that wasn''t all that important. What was important, however, was the meeting Nessa organized after class. But Zach didn''t need to attend that since he already knew what it was about. Dukiel and Julius also left.


    Anerias and Violina, however, had missed what they talked about last night, so they had to sit in.


    Dukiel and Julius went to find that Student Council member they mentioned. And Liam was busy. Zach didn''t know with what, but he didn''t show up in the club room. But he might have heard about the disappearances anyway.


    Zach was the only one in the Underworld Research and Extermination Club with some free time. He was leisurely about to enjoy it when Dukiel, Julius, and a tall, dark-haired senior stopped by.

 Chapter 142: Terrific Trio

    Zach looked at the trio for a moment with his feet on the table and the book he used to cover his face in his hand. Slowly, he removed his feet and put them on the floor. He also lowered the book and placed it on the table as he leaned over it. He looked up at Dukiel, Julius, and the senior in fancy uniform."Oh, hello. What brings you guys here?"


    Dukiel and Julius glanced at each other and then at the tall, dark-haired senior for a moment before looking at Zach. They followed Zach''s initiative and pretended they hadn''t just caught him sleeping.


    "Rabst wanted to meet you, so we''re here to introduce him to you," Dukiel answered before gesturing at the senior from the Student Council with one hand.


    "Rabst, Zacharia Evandiel, president of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club. Zach, Rabst, general assistant of the Student Council."


    Zach stood up and received Rabst''s hand with a shake when the senior approached. Zach was a little surprised at the strength and callouses of the hand. When Dukiel had said he was an assistant, and due to Rabst''s sharp and almost skinny features, Zach assumed he was used to pens and papers and those kinds of duties.


    It seemed that was not the case.


    "I''m guessing you aren''t here just to admire my looks," Zach jokingly asked.


    "No." Rabst''s voice was low and a little curt. He didn''t beat around the bush.


    "I figured you should be present during the investigation. Since this matter appears to be related to the Underworld, and you second-years are in charge of that, I will be handing over everything I''ve found to you. As the club president, it is your responsibility to receive it."


    "Alright." Zach nodded, a little daunted by the gift of even more things to do and check as the club president. He wondered if he should assign someone to be his assistant.


    Rabst led the three Underworld Research and Extermination Club members to a section of the Academy dedicated to the Student Council. Rabst''s room seemed to be located in the outermost ring, so they didn''t see more than a couple of rooms and a few of the other members of the Council in the distance.


    Inside Rabst''s tiny, messy office, Rabst handed over an almost empty box of files to Zach.


    "Here."


    "Thanks."


    "...I wander around a lot, and I will probably continue looking around for the missing people."


    "...Okay."


    "If you need help or want to ask questions, just come find me."


    "Will do." Zach nodded and quickly retreated.


    Rabst hadn''t brought his familiars with him. Instead, they had waited in his office.


    The rabbit, whose head reached above Rabst''s knees was a little cute, even if it looked savage and bloodthirsty. The hawk that perched in the open window was majestic since it was almost too large to fit in the window.


    The frighteningly large, black and brown spider sitting in a corner of the ceiling, soundlessly, motionlessly staring at them was scary. Zach barely heard what Rabst said.


    It wasn''t just that it was a big spider. Zach could feel that all three of Rabst''s familiars were powerful and not quite the cuddly types, especially the spider.


    However, that fear faded as soon as he left the room, and excitement took its place.


    Summoners in their fourth year were pretty strong.


    If someone with a rabbit as their initial familiar was that strong after four years of what was most likely a little more standard curriculum, how strong couldn''t Zach get since he had an S-rank angel as his first familiar and was supposed to fight against the Underworld? Just the thought was enough to put a glimmer in Zach''s eyes.


    "Our seniors are pretty nice, aren''t they?" Immediately, Zach had a good impression of Rabst, just because he and his familiars were strong.


    Dukiel and Julius glanced at each other.


    "Yeah, I guess they are," Dukiel answered.


    "Mm, I think that''s part of what the Academy teaches us. Life is too tough to be anything but nice to your juniors." Julius shared his wisdom with a nod, which earned him a couple of looks from Zach and Dukiel.


    "That''s certainly one way to look at it."


    "Certainly." Dukiel nodded in agreement.


    "Whatever."


    "Right. Take a look at this and then head to the city?" Zach asked.


    The others agreed. They returned to the club room and looked at the materials Rabst had gathered and sorted. It was mostly the same information he had told Dukiel and Julius but in more detail. There were also a few records detailing specific disappearances, however, and the witnesses who had reported those disappearances.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t anything about the underworld energy, even when Dukiel and Julius had asked Rabst directly. On that front, they would have to put in the leg work themselves. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Rabst had already saved them a lot of trouble, so they didn''t mind. If anything, doing something would help their grades. Relying on someone else, like a senior, wouldn''t help their grades at all.


    Zach and the others read through the documents during lunch, then attended their afternoon classes, and then while Dukiel and Julius prepared things for an overnight stay in the city, Zach informed the rest of the club members of their plans.


    Anerias and Violina weren''t far from level ten, so they wanted to focus on leveling up.


    When they heard that Nessa and Julius were trying to evolve their familiars before summoning their next ones, they wanted to do the same. Unfortunately, it was impossible since they didn''t even know where to start. Anerias could ask Zach for help if he wanted, but he didn''t. He also didn''t want to offer anything in exchange.


    Violina knew she had to get her Ice Spirit something related to ice, but she wasn''t sure what would do the trick or how to get anything more than regular ice. So, she decided to just summon her second familiar and put off the matter of evolving her familiar to later. Stay connected with m-v l|e''-NovelFire.net


    Nessa had found a request to clear out monsters along the roads in the vicinity of the Academy and Basilia, so she was going to do that and continue stuffing her Millipede with food.


    Liam was busy with Student Council work.


    Zach was happy. It was almost like a reunion of the terrific trio. Zach, Dukiel, and Julius were going on an adventure just the three of them again.

 Chapter 143: Basilia

    Zach walked to the city with Dukiel and Julius, chatting and planning on the way. They were a little curious about where Alzara was but dropped it when Zach said she was busy. They wanted to know but didn''t feel entitled. If Zach wanted to tell them, he would.Zach didn''t tell them because he wasn''t sure what to say. He felt like he would need to explain a lot. He would also have to say that it was to try and help Rierdan. But it would suck if Alzara couldn''t make something to help Rierdan or his familiar.


    So, he kept her activities under wraps for now. And when they arrived in the city, he bought three sandwiches wrapped in salad in the evening market for dinner.


    Since the city was still bustling with activity, they decided to do things they couldn''t do during the night. They started looking for the few witnesses that Rabst had found. Rabst''s notes were clear and detailed. He had even marked the addresses on a map.


    It only took the trio twenty minutes to arrive at the doorstep of the first possible witness. They knocked. No answer.


    Zach glanced at Yanael and Dukiel looked at the Sentinel. Both familiars indicated that the house was empty.


    "They''re probably busy."


    "Yeah. They could be working."


    "Or shopping."


    They flipped through the notes and map until they found the next address. It was another small house in a calm part of the city. Another no-show.


    But twice could be a coincidence, so they moved on to the third witness. The mood had already soured, but when they arrived at another empty house, it got even worse. At this point, the three boys could no longer call it a coincidence.


    The witnesses were gone. And if the primary source of the disappearances the possible witnesses had possibly witnessed was as crooked as the three had reason to believe, it was obvious what had happened to the witnesses.


    The only problem was that the witnesses were supposed to lead Zach and the others to the kidnappers in the city. So, now that the witnesses were gone, they were back at square two since they still had some information.


    A little hopeless, Zach looked at Dukiel and Julius for a moment.


    "Do you think we will find any evidence inside?"


    The third witness had lived in a house that was a step or two above a shack at the border to the slummier part of the city. It wasn''t quite a slum, but it was where merchants who failed their businesses, mercenaries who couldn''t find jobs, and various societal dropouts and misfits lived.


    The neighbors were too busy working, sleeping, or hiding to care about if they broke into the house. If someone did care, they still wouldn''t get in too much trouble if the city''s guards came.


    Dukiel was hesitant. He glanced at Julius.


    "It''s worth a try." Julius shrugged. He said as much, but that didn''t mean he would do it personally, so he gestured for Zach to take the lead.


    When he was put on the spot like that, Zach also realized that he was about to commit a real crime.


    It was a little scary since his parents and siblings had raised him to be a good boy.


    But it was also a little exciting.


    Zach tried the door''s handle. The other two shook their heads. Even if the owner of the house had been kidnapped and the house wasn''t the prettiest, there was no way it would be unlocked.


    Zach pushed down on the handle and opened the door. He turned around with a cocky grin to boast to the others since he could tell they judged his break-in technique. But before he could see their reactions, someone grabbed him and dragged him inside.


    Yanael reacted instantly and unsheathed her weapon to follow.


    Dukiel and Julius were a step behind, but they also reacted and ordered their familiars to move.


    Yanael''s sword was about to tear into the door when it swung open again and revealed Zach and a familiar face.


    "Senior?" Julius was the first to recognize the face and asked with a tilted head.


    "...Sorry." Rabst apologized and handed Zach back to Yanael, who had already sheathed her weapon again. But she looked at Rabst with a wary expression. She hadn''t sensed him inside the house that was supposed to be empty.


    Rabst took half a step out the door and glanced around and up at the sky before gesturing for the three to come inside.


    Surprised, curious, and worried, the three and their familiars entered their house. For safety''s sake and because it seemed like Rabst wanted to hide, Zach put up as tight a barrier as he could. It didn''t completely block out sounds, and it didn''t hide them. But it was the best thing he could do to hide their presences. It was better than nothing.


    It would also protect them if someone attacked the house and took them by surprise. Though, for some reason, Zach had trouble imagining someone successfully surprising Rabst.


    The house was barely more than a kitchen and a bedroom, and since the bedroom was the only room without a window, that''s where they were. They were careful not to touch anything or sit down on the bed to ruffle the already disordered and dirty sheets.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius looked at Rabst, waiting for an explanation.


    "...I did not take anyone." It seemed he was worried they thought he was responsible for the disappearance of the house''s owner. Read new chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelFire.net


    "Except me."


    "This isn''t the time for jokes, Zach. What''s going on, Rabst?"


    "I was almost in time to see who took the owner of this house, so I hid. I wanted to check if there were any traces inside the house. But when I hide, I have trouble differentiating other presences. That''s why I grabbed you, Zach."


    "I don''t mind." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, did you find anything?" Julius asked.


    Rabst shook his head.


    "No evidence. But my familiars are looking, too."


    Right then, a hawk''s cry pierced the barrier.

 Chapter 144: Cant Talk

    Rabst got to his feet and was at the front door the next second. Zach reacted just barely in time to get rid of the barrier before Rabst ran into it headfirst.Rabst opened the door and looked to the sky. He glanced back at the three who had now left the bedroom. He nodded for them to follow him as he left the house and followed the hawk high in the sky. It was nothing more than a speck against the orange light of dusk.


    Zach and the others wouldn''t have known what they were looking at if they hadn''t seen the hawk earlier in the day.


    After a few minutes, Rabst followed the hawk and led the trio into an empty alleyway. Nothing but stone walls on all three sides. A dead end.


    Rabst and the others stopped in confusion and looked around. They could probably climb the walls and continue. But the hawk was signaling that this was the place. It had even descended closer to Rabst to confirm it for him since it was difficult to determine horizontal positioning when it was so high up.


    "If they disappear in dead ends like these without anywhere to go, it makes sense they''ve managed to take so many without any witnesses." Zach couldn''t help but comment. That didn''t stop him or any of the other three from looking around the dead end for any traces, however.


    "If they could disappear like that, my hawk wouldn''t have found any traces since they would have disappeared from the house, not here." Rabst denied the possibility of the kidnappers being able to disappear without a trace. If they could, there wouldn''t have been any witnesses in the first place.


    "But what''s so special about a dead end?" Julius asked.


    "Did your hawk see them disappear?" Dukiel turned to Rabst.


    "No. Even if he did, it''s not like he can talk. He only caught traces."


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    Zach crossed his arms and looked at the hawk in the sky. He looked at the three walls. He looked at the way they came from. He looked back at the sky. He frowned slightly like there was something on the tip of his mind. He felt like he had the answer somewhere within reach.


    It was just stubborn.


    "The hawk''s above. All four directions are not the answer. Then¡­" Slowly, Zach looked at the ground.


    "Below?" He asked. He was voicing his thoughts in a low mutter, but it was enough for the others to react.


    "The sewers!" Dukiel called out. He excitedly scraped the dirty ground with his feet as he started looking for a way down. The others were a little confused, mostly by his excitement, but they also helped.


    Before long, they found a rusty old manhole cover the same color as the grime on the cobblestones. They looked at each other excitedly. In the entire alley, this was the only thing that led somewhere else.


    But they also scrunched their noses as Rabst and Yanael grabbed the manhole cover.


    "If it''s the sewers¡­" Zach began.


    "Yeah, I''m wearing one of my finer uniforms." Julius continued.


    "Oh, don''t worry. The sewers haven''t been used to handle the city''s waste for years, too many to count. It was only used when the city couldn''t afford magic waste management. Especially with the fire seats, there''s no need for the sewers. The only thing it''s used for now is rainwater management and storage." Dukiel happily eased their worries.


    "Of course, there''s probably still rats, dirt, and mold and things like that down there since it''s not like it''s cleaned often. But it''s better than having to wade through shit." Rabst brought them back to reality. The sewers weren''t as bad as they could have been, but that didn''t mean it would be a dance on roses. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach and Julius glanced at each other and nodded with their own sighs. It seemed like they would have to make a sacrifice for the greater good. Zach looked at Yanael. She and Rabst stuck their fingers into the manhole cover''s slots and pulled it up.


    It was surprisingly easy, and it didn''t make any of the creaking sounds one might expect from a rusty piece of metal that had been lodged in the ground for years. Its appearance aside, the manhole cover had been used and maintained recently.


    Someone had made the manhole cover soundless and easier to move.


    That was all the proof they needed to confirm that Zach''s guess was right. The sewers were where people had disappeared to, where the Underworld was taking the people they kidnapped.


    Rabst stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a quick whistle. A few moments later, a large spider crawled down the side of a house and around the corner. It led the way into the sewers without pausing. Rabst jumped down after it.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Julius looked at each other. After a moment, Zach and Julius looked at Dukiel. Dukiel nodded. He and the Sentinel jumped in after Rabst. Then, Zach and Yanael followed. Julius and the Mannequin were last since the Mannequin could extend its limbs and pull the manhole cover shut as it dropped down.


    Zach glanced around. He could sense the others, but as soon as the manhole closed, it was too dark to see anything at all.


    "Light?" He asked.


    "Yes, please." Dukiel didn''t like the darkness.


    "Wait a moment." Rabst stopped them.


    "We will be discovered easily. If there''s anybody down here, they might run away before we find them," he explained.


    "...I have a feeling that we will be discovered in the darkness as well since at least one of us will trip, fall, and make noise."


    "So, none of you can see?" Rabst asked.


    "No."


    "Not at all."


    "Does seeing darkness count?"


    "..."


    "Alright. I guess it''s no use finding anything if you can''t see it. But keep it low." Rabst permitted it.


    Zach didn''t need to say or do anything for Yanael to bring out her halo and let its golden light shine on their group. It was weak enough that Zach could barely make out the stony, slimy ground beneath his feet and the faces of his companions.


    "Perfect. Let''s go."


    With an angel''s light to guide them through the darkness, the group walked into the darkness of the world under the city.

 Chapter 145: Reentry

    Rabst confidently led the way in the dim sewer, his feet soundlessly stepping on the damp stone ground next to the slowly and silently moving stream of dirty, rat-infested water. Occasionally, he would stop and put his hand against the mossy wall with closed eyes. Stay tuned with m-v l|-NovelFire.netZach, who was behind him didn''t ask him why. He was happy knowing Rabst wouldn''t get lost. It also seemed like he had good senses. But Zach still had a barrier around the group in case there were any traps or ambushes waiting for them.


    But they walked for what felt like hours without anything other than a few rats trying to launch themselves at the barrier. The dim light and the endlessly winding sewer tunnels made it impossible to walk fast.


    Zach had a feeling Rabst wouldn''t have any trouble running around, but if he did, he would inevitably leave the others behind. And if Zach got separated from the others, he could spend a lifetime wandering around underground without finding a path up.


    Of course, with Yanael by his side, he could just blast his way up through the ground. It wasn''t like the layer of stone and earth between the surface and the sewers was especially thick.


    "...Is it just me, or would someone have noticed something if they were in the sewers? Whether it be noise, presences, or underworld energy?" Zach asked as soon as he realized that he could feel the vibrations of carriages moving above them. It was very faint. But Rabst also felt it.


    If that were the case, Rabst or someone else with good senses would have also sensed something in the reverse positions. If they were on the surface and there was a lot of activity, even if they tried to be stealthy, they would still sense something going on below.


    The others stopped and straightened up. They thought over what Zach had said for a moment before slowly realizing that he was right.


    "...So, now what? They aren''t anywhere in the city, and they aren''t in the sewers? Where are they, then?" Julius asked.


    The others also looked at Zach as if he was supposed to have answers just because he realized the problem. It was also because he had sent them into the sewers in the first place. Although it could have been worse, the smell wasn''t exactly pleasant.


    And now he was saying they might be looking in the wrong place. It was natural for the others to expect something from him, considering it was his fault they would be stinking for days after this.


    "I didn''t say they weren''t in the sewers, just that we might not be looking in the right place."


    "Can you elaborate?" Rabst was getting impatient with how unclear Zach was being. He wasn''t the only one.


    "It''s just¡­We''re dealing with the Underworld. Wouldn''t it make sense if there was an entrance to the Underworld or a Locale beneath the sewers? These tunnels are just to get away from the city and lose anyone who might try to follow them."


    "So, we''re looking for another entrance or something like that that leads even deeper into the ground?" Rabst asked to confirm. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It''s just a theory, but¡­" Zach shrugged. Rabst looked at Dukiel and Julius. They also shrugged.


    "That means we will need to revise our strategy. We will never find it if we search like this. We need to get a map of the sewer system and all manholes." As soon as the others nodded at his words, Rabst started leading the way back.


    Zach''s words made sense, and they decided to proceed with his theory as the basis for their search. That meant they needed to prepare. It would be useless trying to find a way into the Underworld by blindly following the sewer tunnels.


    It wasn''t impossible. They might get lucky.


    But it wasn''t like the Underworld would have signs pointing at where they were kidnapping people, and the entrance certainly wouldn''t be covered in flashing lights.


    However, the entrance''s location wouldn''t be random. It would be somewhere relatively centered so that all the manholes were close. Otherwise, it might be difficult for the kidnappers to drag their victims all the way without being detected or leaving signs of their passing.


    It also needed to be somewhere it wouldn''t be randomly found by someone doing a routine maintenance check or cleaning of the sewers, no matter how rarely those were done. Even if the underworlders used their magic to hide the entrance, there was no telling what people could discover by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.


    Zach, Rabst, Dukiel, and Julius discussed how the entrance might look and where it might be on the way back to the surface. And their second priority as soon as they left the sewers was to look for a map of the sewer system.


    Their first priority was naturally to clean up. Even if they had just walked and nothing but their feet and palms touched anything, the swampy smell of the sewers clung to their clothes and skin.


    Zach was pretty clean since he had an almost skin-tight barrier around him all the time, but if he blocked air, he would be unable to breathe, so he wasn''t completely in the clear.


    It was late at night, so the quartet decided to regroup afternoon the next day. Zach, Dukiel, and Julius checked the library for the sewer system and any relevant information during the day, and Rabst went to the city''s administrative office.


    Together, they had managed to scrounge together a couple of decent maps and a few records of collapses and remodelings that had been done in the past. It wasn''t perfect, and the maps weren''t made to be followed like ordinary ones. It was simply a record of where the tunnels were beneath the city in case anyone was planning to dig deeper than a stick''s length.


    But it was more than enough for them to get started. They huddled around and started circling places close to different groupings of manholes and wells. Eventually, when they had a route to follow and search along, they reentered the sewers, this time in less fine clothes.

 Chapter 146: Idea

    Although Zach and the others didn''t know what to expect from the Underworld in regard to their methods of concealment and construction, they were confident in their abilities. Even if they had only found Locales by being abducted, making one themselves, or by receiving the coordinates, Zach, Dukiel, and Julius had no reason to suspect that the Underworld could hide from them.The Underworld had already gone to the lengths of hiding in the sewers. If they concealed themselves too well, it would be difficult for them to find their own base of operations.


    As such, the group and their familiars were thorough as they inspected the sewer tunnels. But if they didn''t find anything, it was because there was nothing to find there. So, they continued looking.


    They had even brought torches this time. They didn''t have to risk exposing themselves. If anything, it might make it easier to find what they were looking for. They just had to look for the ones running away from them or attacking them to try and cover up their tracks.


    The light from the torches was unsteady and flickered in the weak underground draft of the sewers, but it was brighter than Yanael''s halo.


    After several hours but what felt like days due to the constant light and darkness around them, Zach was starting to feel bored of the treasure hunt. He wasn''t giving up or anything. But looking all over the dirty sewers without finding so much as a trace was a little demoralizing.


    "Guys, I have an idea." Zach broke the eerie quiet of nothing but boots smacking against wet stone.


    Dukiel and Julius were reluctant to hear him out. Usually, when Zach said things like that with that tone of voice, it was the kind of idea that would have sounded better if the world was different. It also usually ended or began or both ended and began with trouble, if not for their surroundings, for them.


    "Let''s hear it." Unfortunately, Rabst, while he had grown a little closer to Zach during this adventure, had yet to learn of all of Zach''s quirks.


    "Dukiel, you said the sewers were still used to deal with rainwater, right?"


    "Yeah¡­?" Dukiel did not like where this was going.


    "The underworlders are hiding below the sewers. They have most likely made an entrance that leads downward somehow. If it''s anything like the entrance to the second layer in the Giupusta Locale, it isn''t equipped with airtight defense, even if it''s concealed."


    "Don''t tell me¡­" Dukiel''s eyes widened as he started to realize what Zach was getting at. Rabst and Julius also slowly turned to look at Zach with concerned expressions.


    "Yes." Zach nodded confidently. "If we make the sewers flood, the water will flow down and drown the underworlders."


    "''...''" The three stared at Zach with various expressions. Rabst was the one who was the calmest.


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    "No," Rabst said without much of a change to his voice.


    "Why not?" It was just an idea, so Zach didn''t mind their rejection, but he at least wanted to know why.


    "Setting aside whether we can make the sewers flood, did you forget that there are people down there?" Rabst said with slight reproach.


    "No, not for a moment. I was just being realistic." Zach shook his head before continuing,


    "It''s unlikely they''re still alive."


    "...What?" Rabst''s voice deepened as he looked at Zach, some kind of emotion swirling deep in his dark eyes.


    Zach felt some pressure from Rabst''s gaze, but it wasn''t quite enough to scare him.


    "The Underworld isn''t exactly merciful. It took them a full fifteen minutes before they tried to kill us on our first encounter. They tried and succeeded partly to contaminate and take over our familiars. The only reason we are alive right now is because they tried to recruit me first. They don''t have enough resources and barely treat the underworlders from higher layers like living beings.


    "If the people they kidnapped have some kind of role to fill, they might be alive still if they haven''t already fulfilled it. But I wouldn''t bet on it. I have no idea why they''re taking humans and from this city of all places. However, I know they don''t treat life on the surface nicely.


    "Assuming the worst is mercy to those who have been kidnapped."


    Zach''s words forced the other three into silence. He also forced them to realize that this wasn''t a rescue mission. If they were lucky, it was a search and recovery to find the bodies of those who had family to grieve them. If they weren''t, it was a mission to live up to the second part of the club name.


    They were looking for the underworlders to exterminate them.


    "Oh, right, considering many of those who disappeared seemed to be loners with grudges against society, it''s likely they''re still alive¡ª"


    "Then¡­!" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach looked at Dukiel, who interrupted him with a sharp gaze.


    "...Living their best lives as underworlders¨Ctraitors to the surface and humanity."


    "...Oh." Dukiel hadn''t forgotten about that. He had just not wanted to think about how some people reacted positively to and adapted to underworld energy.


    The others also understood what Zach was getting at.


    Even if those who had disappeared were alive, if they had betrayed humanity for the sake of power, they could drown for all he cared.


    "That leaves us with the problem of coming up with enough water." Julius pointed out the biggest flaw of Zach''s plan.


    "It was just an idea." Zach shrugged. If they could come up with a way to flood the sewers, great. If not, they just had to keep looking and do a manual extermination.


    "...And the possibility that they might have prepared for a flood. An operation like this must have taken considerable planning and resources. They must have spent or prepared to spend years down here. It''s not like it won''t rain." Rabst pointed out another possible flaw to Zach''s idea.


    Zach shrugged again.


    "They would have prepared for rain. Ordinary rain doesn''t make the sewers overflow, not even during the rainy seasons. I checked. So¡­"


    "So, we need a way to fill the sewers with more water than the rainy season to maybe succeed in flooding the underworlders hiding beneath the city?" Julius asked to confirm.


    "Doesn''t sound very realistic."

 Chapter 147: An Educated Man

    Zach and the others pulled an all-nighter, searching through the sewers for any signs of the Underworld before calling it for the day. It was disappointing that they hadn''t found anything, but they had only covered a fraction of the sewers. It was a sizeable fraction, but a fraction nonetheless.So, they returned to the Academy in time to clean up and sanitize themselves before they had classes. Even as a fourth year, Rabst still had proper lessons about things that were important to learn, like etiquette, language, and math.


    Zach didn''t care much for the lessons that weren''t related to the Underworld or monster studies. He had his background as a noble and, thanks to his upbringing, he had no trouble staying at the top of class, even if he didn''t study.


    He had learned geography, etiquette, noble society, history, some math, and a few other subjects. He had been locked up for his own safety for a large portion of his childhood. But he had no shortage of visitors.


    Since he couldn''t experience the world, his family brought the world to him, at least in theoretical lessons.


    However, that would only get him so far. There was still much to learn. There was much to relearn since he hadn''t made much of an effort to study when he was younger, either. And he definitely hadn''t bothered to memorize things that weren''t interesting enough.


    In the beginning, he had been interested in cartography and geography since he hoped it might help him with his sense of direction. It didn''t, so he gave up on that.


    After entering the Academy, there hadn''t been many standard lessons, especially not in the first year. The second year had more theory so far, and by the sound of it from Rabst, it would only get worse.


    Zach wondered if that would hold true even for their class, considering they had to get strong enough to deal with the Great Ugor somehow. How would they have the time to train and level up if they had to study for hours every day just to be allowed to move up to the next year?


    Zach also wondered if the principal''s goal for them was the slightest bit realistic. Rabst was a fourth year. He was strong, and a lot could happen during the remainder of the year.


    But he did not feel as strong as Jigak. And for some inexplicable reason, Zach was pretty sure that Jigak''s boss, the Great Ugor, would be stronger than Jigak. Jigak also wasn''t the only Named.


    Zach didn''t want to think about it anymore.


    He would do his best to grow stronger, help his friends and familiars grow stronger, and focus on the present. The principal wouldn''t have set an impossible graduation requirement. There was no way he wanted to be stuck with them for another year, after all.


    After a day of monotonous classes, Zach returned to the sewers with Dukiel, Julius, and Rabst. The others in the club were curious about what they were doing since they were working so hard.


    However, they all suddenly remembered that they had homework, a meeting with someone, a fish to feed, or a kitchen stove to turn off.


    ''Anerias doesn''t even have a fish, but whatever.''


    Zach couldn''t blame them. He didn''t exactly want to enter the sewers because it was fun. He just wanted to exterminate underworlders.


    Besides, a greater number of people wouldn''t make the search go any faster. They wouldn''t split up in the sewers, and they already had several keen sets of eyes and ears.


    Splitting up meant getting lost or encountering the underworlders with a subpar force and disappearing possibly forever.


    Entering the sewers with too large a group would also make it easier for the underworlders to detect them far ahead of them finding any traces of the Underworld.


    A small but efficient group was the best for searching through the sewers.


    They might need to work in shifts, however.


    Zach wasn''t the only one who could feel the fatigue of multiple all-nighters build up after a few days. He felt it the hardest, though, since he was the only one pulling true all-nighters.


    The others napped before and after they dove into the sewers. Zach spent that time making material worms for Alzara with his Material Extraction. She hadn''t made significant progress just yet, but Zach hoped she would get somewhere soon, preferably before all the materials ran out.


    It had only taken a day after buying all those things before he received a strongly and worriedly worded letter from his mother. To the duchy, it wasn''t a large amount of money. But it was more than Zach had spent his entire life, and he had spent it in one go.


    Calserra wanted him to exercise financial caution. She didn''t tell him not to waste so much money again, just that he shouldn''t waste money.


    So, until Alzara had something to show for her and his hard work, she was stuck with what she had.


    It was just that her progress was limited by the lack of test subjects. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Zach started wondering if he should ask for volunteers from the Academy and the city. However, he didn''t want to deal with the aftermath of someone blowing up due to Alzara''s potion, so he continued stewing on what to do in regard to that matter.


    Maybe he should just start using them on monsters. It was far from perfect, especially since the potions were meant to be beneficial, but it was better than nothing.


    "Ouch. Wha¡ª" Zach stumbled into Rabst''s back after he suddenly stopped. Rabst''s hand shot back and clasped over his mouth, silencing him. He gestured for Dukiel and Julius to also be quiet. They obeyed without issue, and when he saw Zach nod, Rabst let go of Zach''s mouth.


    Zach turned his attention forward in front of Rabst. It took a moment, but he heard something like breathing or maybe steps. It was difficult to tell.


    His jaws unconsciously clenched, his eyes sharpened, and his heartbeat grew stronger.


    An underworlder.

 Chapter 148: Left Behind

    Rabst nudged the others to tell them not to move a muscle or make the slightest sound. In response, the boys held their breaths and froze like statues.Steadily, the source of the sound got closer. After several tense moments, it turned a corner and came into sight, at least for Rabst, since he was the only one who could see in the darkness.


    Rabst lunged at the lumpy, robed figure before it could see the group of students. But it reacted quickly and threw the lump that turned out to be a bag the size of human at Rabst.


    Rabst gritted his teeth for a moment, but in the end, his humanity won out, and he caught the bag and spun around a full turn so as not to lose all his momentum before setting the bag down. He looked up and saw the rapidly vanishing back of the underworlder.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Rabst chased after the underworlder.


    Zach and the other two heard and felt Rabst disappear further into the sewers. Most likely, his familiar had gone with him.


    They didn''t know what to do. In the darkness, they were as good as blind and handicapped. They also weren''t sure if it was worth trying to catch up to Rabst. They didn''t know if they should try to follow him or stay put so that he could find them later.


    They hesitated. It was the first time they were in a situation like this.


    Rabst was reliable. If he couldn''t handle it, there was no guarantee they could provide any helpful assistance. But then again, they probably could. Zach''s and Dukiel''s familiars were strong, and Julius'' familiar was useful against underworlders and underworld energy.


    Zach put up a strong barrier. They would have to take a slight risk.


    "Light, please."


    Dukiel and Julius flinched at the sound of Zach''s voice. They had sharpened their ears to their limits in case more underworlders came, so the loudness of Zach''s voice right next to them surprised them.


    But they quickly calmed down as light returned and they could see each other and their immediate surroundings. And when they looked in the direction Rabst and the underworlder had disappeared, they found a big black lump leaning against the wall.


    Realizing what that must be, they quickly hurried over to it.


    Even without touching the bag, they recognized the material.


    "Shit." Zach cursed and grabbed the bag, turning it until he found the opening. Without waiting, he tore it open and released a gust of underworld energy into the sewers.


    It was the same kind of bag that someone had stuffed Rierdan''s familiar into. But this one was human-sized and had a human inside instead of a familiar.


    With a grim expression, Dukiel and Julius helped Zach pull the human out of the bag. They wore rags, had dirty, poorly managed hair, and their body was severely malnourished. Part of it was probably the abduction.


    But it was clear from a glance that the person wasn''t in a great place in life. If they went missing, it would probably take a while for someone to notice.


    The person let loose a violent coughing fit after taking a couple of breaths and then fell unconscious.


    Zach looked at Julius, who in turn looked at the Mannequin.


    The Mannequin walked up to the person and knelt to put a hand on their chest. After a couple of minutes, the man''s face regained a more natural color, and his breathing stabilized slightly.


    "He''s still sick with the underworld energy. Manny just stabilized him and kept it from going out of control. He needs proper treatment."


    "Do we bring him back?" Dukiel asked.


    "To the infirmary? Right now? And leave Senior Rabst behind?" Zach questioned. It was one thing if they didn''t follow Rabst in the pursuit of the underworlder since he disappeared almost instantly and it was too dark for them to see anything. But Zach didn''t think they should leave him in the sewers. That was the least they could do.


    "...I can try to keep him stable." Julius gestured for his Mannequin to continue treating the man. But it was clear that his condition was worsening by the minute.


    If they stayed too long, it would be too late. They didn''t even know when Rabst would return, if he returned.


    "...I''m the only one who can find the way back out, right?" Dukiel looked between Zach and Julius with a serious expression. The two nodded slowly.


    Dukiel turned to Zach.


    "I don''t like this suggestion, but Zach, as long as you don''t move, you won''t get lost, right?" sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The inner tips of Zach''s eyebrows dipped slightly in a minuscule frown.


    "You and Julius return to the Academy with this guy while I wait here for you or Rabst. Is that your suggestion?"


    "..." Dukiel nodded once before hanging with his head. Saving the man who had been kidnapped by the underworlder would come at the cost of leaving their friend behind.


    "Do it. If anyone will be fine alone down here, it will be me. I will wait for Rabst, so quick, save this guy." Zach picked up the homeless man and handed him to the Sentinel.


    Dukiel nodded gratefully. Julius also nodded.


    "Be safe."


    "You too."


    With that, Dukiel and Julius set off through the tunnels after lighting a torch.


    Zach and Yanael were the only ones left in the tunnel. Zach looked from side to side in the tunnel. He turned to Yanael.


    "Lovely weather we''re having."


    "If you say so, Master."


    He wondered if he should have packed a deck of cards or something. He hadn''t expected to have to wait for an unknown amount of time. If anything, he had expected that he wouldn''t have to be alone for even a moment while they were in the sewers.


    Oh, how wrong he was. Far from a moment, it felt like he waited for hours with nothing but Yanael as company.


    He didn''t mind being alone with Yanael, but it wasn''t like they could do anything that would tire them out or reveal their presence to the entire sewer system. Zach also didn''t want to expose Yanael''s ability to talk in case Rabst returned.


    So, they waited in silence until Rabst finally came back.

 Chapter 149: Leave You?

    Seeing Rabst return emptyhanded but with a deep frown, Zach could already guess that his pursuit hadn''t been very successful, despite being gone for hours."Did you find anything?" Still, Rabst couldn''t have been gone that long only chasing the underworlder. He must have spent some time looking around as well.


    "Not really." Unfortunately, Rabst hadn''t found anything.


    "That bastard was slippery and fast. He also seemed¡­unnatural."


    "Unnatural?" Zach asked, unsure what Rabst meant by that.


    "Mm. He was strong and fast and all, but he was weird. Even when running at full speed, he didn''t leave any footprints or much of a scent. But that wasn''t all. It seemed like he wasn''t used to his own strength. He took corners badly and almost stumbled and crashed several times." It didn''t make sense.


    How could someone so clumsy manage not to leave a single trace behind?


    "A traitor."


    "What?"


    "Someone who adapts well to underworld energy can grow stronger quickly by simply absorbing a bunch of underworld energy. That would explain why it seemed like he wasn''t used to his strength. As for why he didn''t leave any traces¡­" Zach stroked his chin as he thought about everything he knew about underworlders and what he had read in the library.


    "It could be a unique ability he developed during his transformation or the effect of an artifact. Was he wearing anything special?"


    "I couldn''t get close enough to see his face. And his cloak hid everything else."


    "It could very well be that cloak that hides any traces."


    "I guess." Rabst glanced around the tunnel.


    "The other two?" he asked.


    "They grabbed the kidnapping victim and brought him back to the infirmary."


    "Leaving you here to wait for me."


    "Exactly."


    "You could have gone with them."


    "And leave you? No way."


    "What would have happened if I hadn''t returned?"


    "...I would have waited for Dukiel and Julius, and then we would have looked for you."


    "Setting aside how difficult it would have been for you to find me, what would have happened if someone or something with malicious intent found you and tried to kidnap or silence you?"


    "I am very confident in my ability to survive. And my familiar is very good at preventing others, especially those who attack me, from doing the same."


    "I see. Let''s spar when we get back. I''ll only use Rabbit."


    "Sure. Sounds good." Zach was excited. He and Yanael had only fought monsters so far. He would need as much experience as possible if they were to go up against underworlders and human traitors. He was also a little excited since it seemed he had awakened something in Rabst.


    It wasn''t anything like rivalry or a fighting spirit. It was more like Rabst wanted to test Zach''s claims and possibly humble him. But for a good reason. If Zach was that cocky against someone that was powerful enough to escape Rabst, he might lose his life. He needed to have some caution.


    Zach didn''t read that much into it. Rabst wanted to spar, and Zach was happy to accept the request.


    They talked a little about the Underworld and what they might have to expect from what they were doing with the people they kidnapped, but Zach didn''t know many details, and Rabst knew even less. The most they could do was speculate. However, speculating about how the underworlders were toying with human life wasn''t exactly enjoyable, and they soon fell into silence.


    They met up with Dukiel and Julius on the way back to the Academy. They had managed to save the man''s life by a hair, and he was currently somewhat stable. But, just like Rierdan, he was in a coma with no signs of waking up. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dukiel and Julius were a little surprised to hear that Rabst hadn''t managed to catch the underworlder, but they were equally worried. If a fourth-year couldn''t catch a stray kidnapper, wouldn''t that mean that they didn''t have a chance?


    Zach''s idea of drowning the underworlders beneath the city was starting to sound better and better. As soon as they figured out how, they had to seriously consider it. After all, no matter how fast the underworlder was, he wouldn''t be able to run from an overwhelming amount of water flooding his home.


    Well, if there was another exit that could be blocked solidly enough to stop the water, that was another matter. That was entirely possible, considering how rat-like the underworlder bastards were. But even if they managed to escape a flood, their operation would still be ruined.


    Zach and the others started seriously considering how difficult it would be to cause a flood until they returned.


    Dukiel and Julius were about to return to their dorms to catch up on some well-needed sleep when they heard that Zach and Rabst were going to one of the training rooms. Along the way, Rabst''s Dire Rabbit hopped out of the forest and joined up with them, taking the Dire Spider''s place.


    Zach found Nora along the way, just leaving the library to prepare a snack for when Zach would return. She was a little surprised to see him return earlier than expected but didn''t let it show on her face.


    She did, however, let it show when he said he needed his spear since he would be sparring with Rabst, a fourth-year student. She expressed her doubts with a few grumbles, but she continued walking toward Zach''s dorm.


    And after Zach, Rabst, Dukiel, and Julius entered the training room, Nora came carrying the Rat King''s dark, shiny spear.


    "A spear?" Rabst raised his eyebrows doubtfully. He had never heard or seen Zach use a spear. Dukiel and Julius were also a little surprised. They knew about the spear, but they didn''t think it was much more than a souvenir from the Jira Labyrinth. They definitely didn''t think Zach was good enough with a spear to spar with it against Rabst.


    "Well, yeah. I''m not going to fight barehanded against you."


    "...That''s fair," Rabst said as he unsheathed the two hunting daggers strapped to either hip. He faced Zach.


    "Ready?"


    "Whenever¡ª" Zach could barely finish before Rabst lunged forward.

 Chapter 150: Sparring Rabst

    Rabst''s speed took Zach a little by surprise. After all, it was the first time Zach actually saw how fast his Senior was. It had been too dark to see anything when Rabst took off after the underworlder in the tunnels, after all.But Zach wasn''t in trouble. His barrier was always up, and he had reinforced it before the spar began, so when Rabst flew at him with his daggers pointed at his stomach, Zach didn''t even flinch.


    With a slightly jarring squeak, the tips of Rabst''s daggers ground against Zach''s rock-solid barrier before Rabst, in one smooth motion, circled around and tried the same attack from behind.


    The result was the same, and Rabst stepped back and looked at Zach.


    "You didn''t exaggerate. Your barrier is impressive."


    "Thank you."


    "But¡­"


    Rabst extended his hand until his dagger touched the barrier again.


    "...It''s not enough." Rabst applied some pressure and dragged his dagger along the barrier.


    Zach''s relaxed expression froze as a thin slit appeared behind the dagger. Naturally, he tried to repair it, but before he could, Rabst drew another line, making a cross. And before he could do anything about that, Rabst punched the center of the cross, shattering Zach''s barrier like a window.


    Rabst stepped through the fading remnants of the barrier like a broken glass wall falling to the ground. He looked at Zach with an expression like it couldn''t be helped. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his dagger like he was clenching his fist.


    His fist flew forward.


    Zach tried to block the strike with his spear shaft, but Rabst''s fist snaked around and struck his abdomen, blowing him back several strides.


    Rabst frowned and looked at his knuckles. He looked up and saw a shimmering imprint of his fist on Zach''s stomach. No, it wasn''t on his stomach. It was on a thin, otherwise invisible barrier that lay just outside Zach''s clothes.


    Rabst looked at Zach for a moment before turning his eyes to his shoulder. He could see his skin. In the moment he was hit, Zach had managed to twist his spear and graze his uniform. It wasn''t enough to draw blood.


    But Zach had baited Rabst into getting close and attacking before landing a counter. If it had been a good counterattack, Zach could have won the fight there. Rabst wasn''t prepared for it. It would have been difficult for him to defend against it since he was busy controlling his strength so that Zach wouldn''t get injured too badly.


    But a real foe would be too focused on finishing Zach to consider the possibility.


    As far as Rabst had seen, Zach only used dome-like, solid barriers that were slightly golden in color but mostly translucent. And he was not skilled with a spear. It was a perfect setup to trick his opponent and finish the fight in one go.


    "That won''t work more than once."


    "It only needs to work once." Zach grinned, even if his counterattack had failed. The fact that Rabst only noticed after feeling the draft against his skin was proof that it was a viable strategy against a strong opponent.


    "Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?" Rabst asked, earnestly curious.


    "Who knows?" Zach shrugged, inviting Rabst to find out for himself.


    A smile teased on Rabst''s lips and he glanced to the side. Instinctively, Zach followed his gaze only to feel a missile approach him from the other direction.


    Zach quickly turned around, right in time for a pair of hairy paws to almost slam into his face.


    Since Rabst had wanted to find out what else he had up his sleeve, Zach had deployed a soft barrier. But the one who attacked it wasn''t Rabst, but his Dire Rabbit instead. It did it with enough speed and force that the barrier stretched until it almost touched Zach''s forehead.


    Zach''s eyes widened and a couple of pearls of sweat surfaced on his forehead.


    He didn''t want to think about what would have happened if he hadn''t had his barrier up. There was some power in such a cutely savage body.


    A moment later, the barrier bounced back into place, reflecting the rabbit''s power into itself and sending it flying across the room. Rabst was almost as surprised as his rabbit and stood agape for a moment. Unfortunately, before he could see what his rabbit would do next, a sword flashed, and he had to jump back to avoid getting sliced across his chest.


    Since Rabst''s familiar had attacked Zach, it was only natural that Zach''s familiar joined the fray as well.


    The Dire Rabbit was impressive in terms of speed and power, but it wouldn''t touch so much as a hair on Zach''s head. Of that, Yanael was confident. She had trained Zach, after all. She knew as well as Zach how much of a beating his barriers could take.


    The Rabbit didn''t have enough mass behind its strikes to break through the barrier. Its speed would only backfire.


    So, Yanael naturally focused on Rabst. She wanted to fight a person with weapons rather than a familiar. Rabst''s technique was also a little interesting.


    He wielded two daggers, but it didn''t seem like an ordinary dual-wielding technique. She couldn''t put her finger on it yet, but Yanael wanted to learn from it. The way Rabst fought was also interesting.


    Even from a quick sparring exchange with Zach, Yanael had already figured out Rabst''s mentality.


    He didn''t fight.


    He hunted. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rabst analyzed his opponent''s weaknesses, structure, defense, and movement. He didn''t aim for an exchange of martial ability or to win through superior techniques.


    Since it was a spar meant to test Zach and maybe teach him some humility, Rabst hadn''t gone all out. Far from it.


    But his two first attacks lulled Zach into a false sense of confidence, which let him easily close the distance. Zach didn''t even try to stop him from attacking him after he broke through the first barrier.


    He was confident his skin-tight barrier could withstand Rabst''s blow.


    But Rabst hadn''t used all of his strength since it was a spar.


    Could Zach have withstood Rabst''s full strength?


    Yanel was going to find out.

 Chapter 151: Yanael The Hunter

    Yanael was fully aware that it was a spar and nothing more, so she hadn''t gone all out with her initial attack on Rabst. And she had no intentions of going all out. There was no need. This spar was for Zach''s sake.But that didn''t mean she couldn''t push Rabst and make him reveal more of his strength. It would do Zach good to see and feel how strong other people could be.


    Zach knew a lot of powerful people. Everyone in his family. The knights and servants of his family. The principal. Kami. Jarron.


    And now Rabst. He had an idea of what some of his siblings could do, but it was a vague idea and that was it.


    Yanael had felt Zach''s desire to grow stronger. It wasn''t just that he wanted to level up and acquire more authority to satisfy his curiosity. He wholeheartedly enjoyed the process of growing stronger. He imagined himself being stronger and sought out methods to reach and become that version of himself.


    He didn''t forget who he was or lose his personality in a mad pursuit of strength. He complained during training. He didn''t prioritize efficiency over everything else. He moved at his own pace, but his gaze forward never wavered.


    However, the path Zach was looking at was still veiled in darkness. He didn''t know where to tread or what to aim for.


    Yanael had a feeling that Zach actually enjoyed that part more than he wanted to admit to himself. And she wasn''t going to take it away. After all, the path he needed to walk was his and his alone.


    But she could shed some light on his surroundings to help him find the next steps on that path of his. Yanael could help Zach find inspiration and enlightenment by showing him what other versions of strength looked like.


    Right now, she could show Zach why and how Rabst was strong.


    By how quickly he reacted to her ambush, Yanael could tell that he had good reactions. But he also had good situational awareness. He hadn''t forgotten about her presence or participation in the spar even once. Her ambush was doomed to fail from the start since he was already waiting for it.


    The proof of that was how he instantly stepped to the side and tried to launch a counter by hiding behind Yanael''s shield.


    Rabst was good at concealing his presence, and it was like he disappeared from the room when the shield obstructed her view of him. It was good enough to fool even Yanael''s senses.


    But then, she felt a prick on her side. She didn''t move her shield or sword to defend against the incoming attack. She didn''t move her weapons with that sole intention, at least.


    Yanael took a diagonally forward.


    Instead of defending against the dagger aiming for her side, she intercepted the dagger in Rabst''s other hand with the tip of her sword like an expert fencer. She pushed it aside and back, controlling Rabst long enough to slam her shield against his other dagger.


    She was about to take another step forward and press her advantage when she reconsidered and instead held her sword vertically in front of her with the tip pointing at the ground and the flat of the blade facing her.


    She just barely caught the dagger she had intercepted and flicked away a moment ago by adjusting her grip on the sword and spinning it in her palm. Rabst''s soft and flexible wrists, combined with his quick hands turned his arm into a snake as he aimed for the opening she would have revealed if she took that step.


    Yanel stopped for a moment to look at Rabst''s cold eyes. Without a doubt.


    The eyes of a hunter.


    Funnily enough, Rabst was seeing the same in her eyes, and it wasn''t his reflection he was seeing.


    It was only natural. Both of them enjoyed it¨Cthey enjoyed the thrill of a hunt¨Cthe thrill of a fierce battle.


    Rabst''s Dire Hawk and Dire Spider were A-rank familiars. Between the two, the Spider was scarier and generally more powerful, even when taking the Hawk''s flight into account. Seven out of ten fights, the Spider won. There was a difference, but it wasn''t that big.


    That was why Rabst hadn''t thought too highly of an S-rank familiar. Besides, it was a humanoid. It was apparently an angel, but it looked similar to a human. As such, its attributes wouldn''t lean heavily into strength and combat ability.


    It was more likely skewed toward intelligence and versatility. It would execute intricate orders well, and, considering it was an S-rank, it could possibly even think and reason as well as any summoner.


    In contrast, Yanael''s direct combat ability would naturally not live up to the legendary reputation of S-ranks.


    Rabst was happy to have his preconceived notions knocked out of orbit. He was happy he decided to spar with Zach.


    The short exchange he had so far with Yanael made it more than worth it. S-ranks were on a different level.


    And if they worked anything like familiars of every other rank, she would only continue growing. Rabst was both excited and wary. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could feel the intelligence behind Yanael''s eyes. Through that intelligence, he could feel what she thought of him.


    Aside from the respect she held toward a fellow warrior who fought with their life on the line but with the expectation that they would win, she didn''t not think of him highly. And Rabst had a feeling it was because he had played into Zach''s hand. He hadn''t done anything bad, per se, but he had tricked Zach a little by pretending to be weaker than he was.


    It was something Zach needed to learn. But it seemed Yanael didn''t think highly of anyone who attacked her Master.


    It was the same for Rabst''s familiars, so he fully understood.


    The difference was that while his familiars could sometimes hold a grudge, they wouldn''t start plotting murder against everybody who targeted their Master, especially not in friendly spars.


    But Rabst didn''t regret it.

 Chapter 152: Exhausted

    The current fourth-years'' four years at the academy weren''t anything to scoff at for normal people. But compared to what some of their seniors or juniors had gone through or were going through, it was a tame year. There had been no A-ranks and only a few B-ranks, Rabst one of them.As if to reflect the class'' lacking potential, their curriculum was tame. There were several deaths and life-threatening incidents, even for Rabst. But it didn''t keep him constantly on his toes. He hadn''t met enough challenging enemies.


    Of course, he was not foolish enough to tell anyone that or express it in any way or form. If he did and the principal heard about it, Rabst could forget about his freedom and nightly walks since the principal would make sure he would forget he had ever felt anything like that in the most guaranteed way possible.


    However, at the beginning of his fourth year, Rabst had finally found someone who could help sharpen his instincts.


    Rabst wasn''t planning to, but if he went all-out, he could probably defeat Yanael in a few moves. She still had much room to grow. Rabst was three years Zach''s senior after all.


    But her instincts, the sharpness of her moves as they fought, and her innate talent for combat kept Rabst on his toes. Looking purely at talent, she was better than him. Rabst still had the advantage of experience, but almost like Yanael was relearning something she had forgotten, she improved in the midst of their fight without regard for Rabst''s confidence.


    If it continued like this, Yanael would overtake him in technical skill before long.


    Rabst couldn''t wait.


    "Um, Senior? I think we might have to end it here. Your Rabbit is looking pretty tired."


    However, Zach interrupted Rabst and Yanel as they were in the middle of another clash. Both of them stopped moving at the sound of his voice and snapped out of a slight battle frenzy. Rabst realized he had really let Yanael draw him into the fight and quickly turned to look at his familiar.


    While Rabst and Yanael had clashed and danced a dance of blades across the training room multiple times, careful to avoid any obstacles, such as bystanders or Zach and the Rabbit, those two hadn''t been idling around, at least not the Rabbit.


    Just by looking at his Rabbit lying on its back on the ground with its four limbs splayed out like a starfish, Rabst could tell that it hadn''t given up on trying to break through Zach''s barrier. Its heart was beating so hard that it was visible on its chest, but it was also beating so fast that it was difficult to tell that it was the beating of a heart.


    But it was still glaring at Zach with frustration. It had been bested and forced to exhaustion, but it hadn''t given up. The only thing that had defeated it was its own lack of stamina, not Zach.


    Rabst ignored his stubborn Rabbit for a moment to look at Zach, who was dusting the back of his pants. He had been sitting down. Aside from the traces of that, there wasn''t so much as a speck of dirt on him. Not a drop of sweat, either.


    While the Rabbit had been fighting like its life was on the line, Zach took it easy and spectated Rabst''s and Yanael''s battle.


    Rabst''s head slumped forward for a moment, and a slight smile tugged on the corner of his lips.


    He didn''t think the Rabbit wouldn''t get through a single one of Zach''s barriers. He sheathed his daggers and extended his hand to Zach.


    "Well fought." Rabst complimented him. Zach technically hadn''t done much fighting other than the beginning against Rabst. But that alone was enough for Rabst to compliment him since it was better than he had expected. However, the fact that Zach remained completely untouched against his Rabbit''s all-out assault was proof of his efforts and the work he had put in to hone his skill. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That was also worthy of praise.


    "Thank you." Zach nodded and accepted the handshake with a smile. He wasn''t sure what to think about the spar since he had mostly switched between watching and taunting the Rabbit and watching the other fight. But it had been entertaining, and he had learned from it.


    Rabst then turned to Yanael and bowed slightly.


    "It was an enlightening experience."


    Yanael returned his words with a slight, barely perceptible nod. Rabst''s eyes widened. The intelligence in Yanael''s eyes wasn''t for nothing. She didn''t just understand her Master. She understood others as well.


    Rabst wondered what the limits of her understanding and communication were, but quickly set it aside. Her fighting skills were more important.


    "Let''s do this again sometime." Rabst took his leave. He had a couple of things to think about and do.


    After he left, Dukiel, Julius, Nessa, Anerias, and Violina slowly turned their stunned expressions to Zach.


    Zach awkwardly scratched his nose. He could see the amazement in their eyes.


    "Now, now, I know I''m¡ª"


    "Wow! I always knew your familiar was powerful, but to think she could fight with Senior Rabst!"


    "Man, you totally used all your luck summoning her. No wonder you''re so unlucky."


    "Zach, can you help me summon something like this when I go for my second? I''ll do whatever it takes. I''ll even apologize to you."


    "Did you save the world in a past life or something?"


    "And she''s beautiful like an angel to boot. Is Zach even a real person to have summoned a familiar like her?"


    Zach''s expression froze before slowly drooping. His shoulders slumped, and he gradually faded into the background as the spectators turned to Yanael with admiration and praise.


    They knew Yanael was strong.


    But so far, she had dealt with what they had trouble dealing with with ease. The monsters they struggled to hunt and kill, she didn''t. That was it. She was powerful and all.


    But fourth-years were supposed to be even more powerful. Yet, Yanael had fought seemingly on equal footing with Rabst, a fourth-year. He was a member of the student council and one of the stronger fourth-years. They didn''t know much more than that about him, but that was enough to tell that he was in the stronger half of the fourth-years.


    His strength made Yanael even more impressive.


    "G-guys¡­It wasn''t¡­" Zach didn''t even bother trying to explain that neither side had fought with all their might or that it hadn''t been a completely equal fight. Why would he when they had no intention of listening?


    Absorbed in self-pity, Zach missed Dukiel and Julius glance at each other.

 Chapter 153: Visiting The Patients

    After the spar, everyone praised Yanael for a little while. But she didn''t react much, so the members of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club moved on. Zach wasn''t very tired after the fight, so he didn''t mind doing something. The others were of the same mind.However, it was too late and dangerous to go back to the city and reenter the sewers right now. The administration office for applying for permission to leave the Academy grounds had also closed for the night.


    The library was open, and they could study for some of the general knowledge tests that were only days away.


    But they could also not do that. Instead, they went to visit Rierdan and the homeless and comatose man Dukiel and Julius brought back.


    Although it was late and visiting hours were technically over, since they were there on ''official club matters'' the healers and attendants at the infirmary didn''t stop them as long as they didn''t cause too much of a ruckus.


    Dukiel and Julius led the way to the man''s room. Since he was the new variable, it was only natural they visited him first. Dukiel opened the door but stopped moving in the doorway. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What''s going on?" Anerias put his hand on Dukiel''s shoulder and peeked into the room. He was a little impatient.


    Dukiel stepped aside and let the others see the empty bed, still messy from where someone had been asleep.


    "Is it the right room?" Nessa asked.


    "Yes." Julius nodded and glanced inside. He wasn''t hiding in any of the corners, either.


    "Excuse me, where did the man in this room go?" Zach called out to an attendant passing by with their hands full. They scowled irritatingly.


    "We just told you that you can''t cause trouble if you want to visit this late. Making jokes and disturbing the workers is the same as causing trouble." The attendant was about to continue when Zach grabbed their shoulder.


    "Stay. I am not joking around here. The man in this room. Where is he?"


    The attendant frowned and looked toward the room. The other club members made way and showed the empty bed.


    "I¡­I''ll have to ask someone, but he shouldn''t have been moved anywhere. The patient was comatose, right? It''s not like he could have walked anywhere. Wait here and I will be back in a few minutes." With that, the attendant left. They walked slightly above normal walking pace, but it could be because they wanted to get away from Zach as much as they went to look for answers.


    Zach scowled at their back for a moment with crossed arms before looking at the others.


    "If someone doesn''t come in two minutes, I''m going to cause trouble. Who''s with me?" He asked. The others awkwardly looked at each other.


    Anerias felt like raising his hand. But that meant he would have to agree with Zach. He could also feel Violina''s gaze on him. He wasn''t sure what it meant, but he took it as a sign that he shouldn''t raise his hand.


    However, it was to see if he would raise it since Violina raised hers.


    "I think I''m just going to visit Rierdan while we wait." Nessa was not going to take part in causing trouble for the other patients in the infirmary. She didn''t think Zach was actually going to do anything, but she couldn''t be sure. And if he were about to do something, she would not get caught up in the punishment for it.


    "Good idea. I''ll come with you." Zach nodded and accompanied her. He smiled at the remaining four.


    "Good luck! Make sure they regret mistreating the Underworld Research and Extermination Club!"


    Dukiel, Julius, Anerias, and Violina looked at Zach''s back as he left for Rierdan''s room. Violina slowly lowered her hand as her gaze grew colder. Anerias felt like he heard her whisper ''traitor'' but pretended not to have heard anything.


    They waited in silence.


    Nessa glanced at Zach.


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    "Do you really think they''re going to cause trouble?"


    "Not if I''m not there."


    "Why did you come with me, then?"


    "I realized after I said it that it wasn''t such a good idea. I needed an excuse to leave."


    "Couldn''t you just, oh, I don''t know, have admitted you changed your mind?"


    "No way." Zach resolutely shook his head.


    Nessa rolled her eyes.


    "Whatever. How did it go in the sewers other than the guy Dukiel and Julius brought back?" She asked, moving on.


    "Rabst tried to chase down the kidnapper but didn''t succeed. Nothing much other than that. The sewers are pretty boring."


    "I see. And outside the sewers, how are things going?"


    "What do you mean?" Zach turned to look at Nessa as he put his hand on the handle on the door to Rierdan''s room.


    "You look¡ª" Nessa was about to answer when Zach opened the door and she froze at the sight inside the room.


    Zach raised an eyebrow and waited for an answer for half a second before he realized Nessa was looking at something inside the room. He followed her gaze and saw a gangly man in a hospital gown straddling Rierdan''s unconscious body. The man was leaning forward with his hands around Rierdan''s neck.


    "Yanael."


    Yanael flashed forward, cut off the man''s wrists, and knocked him off the bed and into the wall. The collision snapped Nessa out of it. She threw Zach a strange look, a little taken aback by the cold look in his eyes before she ran to get help.


    She had been surprised by the sight of someone strangling Rierdan, but she acted quickly once her brain started moving again. Zach and his familiar could handle the situation, but they couldn''t check up on or heal Rierdan.


    It seemed like all life and energy had run out of the man after he collided with the wall, and he slumped like two sacks of potatoes. Zach was about to walk over to Rierdan and check on him when a tired doctor with messy hair burst into the room.


    "What''s going on in here?!" He glanced around and saw the severed limbs still holding onto Rierdan''s neck.


    Questions later. Saving lives first.

 Chapter 154: Cleaning Up

    The doctor washed their hands in a nearby sink before opening a cabinet and dragging out a string of tools that he then used to carefully pry off the discolored hands and fingers around Rierdan''s neck. He didn''t even bother trying to save them since it was clear at a glance what had happened.The doctor could also tell that aside from being a bastard, the man who had attacked Rierdan wasn''t in a state where it mattered if he saved a couple of arms. He was already beyond saving. And it wasn''t due to being knocked into the wall hard enough to make a dent.


    The man''s eyes were glazed over, discolored, bleeding, and unfocused. His chest was barely moving, and, the most clear sign of all, the dark red, almost black blood flowed like mud out of his severed arms. There was no pressure from the man''s heartbeats, and it was not the blood a healthy person would have. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was the Academy For Summoners, and the doctor had seen all kinds of patients come to the infirmary with more different injuries and afflictions than he could possibly count. It was a valuable learning experience.


    Through that experience, the doctor had gotten good at telling when someone was already dead or couldn''t be saved, even by the greatest healers around.


    That man was one of them.


    The doctor applied some rudimentary healing to Rierdan''s throat to ease the bruising and swelling and stabilize his breathing. He wrapped a bandage just for the sake of it.


    Then, he took a proper look around the room. He then looked at Yanael and Zach.


    "Is that guy your friend?" He pointed at the handless man.


    "Nope." Zach shook his head. "We picked him up from the sewers, and he was supposed to be in a coma."


    "I see. That guy." The doctor nodded. He knew the Sewer Man.


    "Doesn''t look like he''s in much of a coma right now, though."


    "No."


    "He looks pretty dead, actually."


    "...Yeah."


    The doctor patted Zach on the shoulder.


    "Good thing he wasn''t a friend or anything, then. Your buddy who''s in an actual coma is fine. Well, as fine as he can be. It was a good decision to cut the dead guy''s arms instead of just knocking him off. Those fingers would not have let go of actual coma guy''s throat."


    Zach nodded. That was all Yanael.


    After a couple of moments, Nessa and the other club members came with a bunch of attendants, who were like a bunch of mostly headless chickens until the doctor took charge and quickly organized clean-up after confirming the absence of vital signs.


    Since the body was oozing underworld energy, the Club and Julius helped with that. Eventually, peace was restored to Rierdan''s room. After patting him and telling him to rest without worry, the club members gathered in the club room.


    The atmosphere was dim. Nessa had told the club members what she had seen after she found some attendants. And Zach had filled them in on the rest. Rierdan was safe and as fine as he was before the incident.


    But that wasn''t why they were so glum.


    The man they had brought back to save had attacked Rierdan. They couldn''t help but feel a little guilt and a lot of resentment. That was no way to treat the comrade of his saviors.


    But there was a problem or two.


    "...How did he know who Rierdan was?" Nessa asked. It was clear that it wasn''t random. If it had been, he would have chosen any of the other patients in any of the rooms before Rierdan''s. Instead, he had sneaked out without anyone noticing and attacked Rierdan with the intent to kill.


    "Oh, we''re skipping straight past how he woke up from a coma that none of the healers can do anything about?" Anerias questioned.


    "I don''t think he was awake." Zach slowly looked up at the others after being deep in thought for a little while.


    The others waited for him to explain.


    He did.


    "I didn''t get too good of a look, but his eyes were closed. I don''t know about you guys, but if I was going to strangle someone, I would make sure to keep my eyes open, even if only to see I was grabbing their neck and not something else." Zach''s voice was monotone, and the others couldn''t tell if he was making an ill-fitting joke or being serious.


    "Are you saying that he tried to strangle Rierdan in his sleep or what?" Dukiel expressed his doubts.


    "Not quite." He shrugged. "He had absorbed a lot of underworld energy. Just taking his appearances into consideration, I wouldn''t be surprised if he willingly accepted it."


    "What does that have to do with anything?" Anerias questioned.


    "He seemed like the kind of guy who would adapt to the underworld energy."


    "So?"


    "He was about to become an underworlder."


    "So?" Enjoy exclusive adventures from mvl


    "Can you let me finish?"


    "..."


    "With his strength, or lack thereof, he would have been equivalent to a first-layer underworlder. He would have been at the whims of underworlders from deeper layers, especially since he was unconscious."


    "Are you saying¡­?" Realization gradually dawned on Anerias'' and the others'' faces.


    "Someone ordered or controlled him to do it." Violina was the first to state the idea that appeared at the forefront of everyone''s minds.


    Zach didn''t outright confirm or deny that possibility, which he had brought to light. But the fact that he didn''t deny it meant he seriously considered it.


    As if that wasn''t enough, some of the club members also realized something else.


    "The odds that an underworlder beneath Basila can control a person from that far away and accurately locate Rierdan¡­?" Dukiel carefully voiced his thoughts.


    "Low."


    "Very low."


    "Stupendously low."


    "Stop beating around the bush. It''s as good as impossible. There''s someone in the Academy! There''s a traitor among the students!" Anerias couldn''t be bothered with the others'' messing around.


    "Or the teachers," Zach pointed out.


    "Do you think the Academy would hire a traitor to humanity?" Anerias asked skeptically.


    "The principal might." Zach''s words silenced them. Even if they weren''t as close with the principal, they knew the rumors.


    The principal could do something like that. The principal would do something like that.

 Chapter 155: Schh!

    The club members stewed with their thoughts for a few minutes, gradually accepting the most possible truth of the situation. Whether it was a student or an instructor, a janitor or a healer, someone in the Academy was most likely working with the Underworld."But why?" Anerias suddenly asked. He looked at the others, waiting for an answer.


    They looked at him, waiting for clarification.


    "Why what?" Zach asked since it was clear Anerias didn''t know why they were just looking at him.


    "Why would someone order that man to kill Rierdan?" Anerias'' question was very reasonable, and the others looked at each other with wide eyes, realizing their oversight.


    "That''s true. It''s not like his parents would have built a grudge against the Underworld. And while he''s a member of the club, he is the least threatening." Violina didn''t disparage Rierdan. He was comatose. He wouldn''t do much to the Underworld in his current state.


    "Is it because he''s in a coma? An easy target to see if they can control people who have started to undergo the underworldification process." Nessa''s suggestion made the others think.


    "There wouldn''t be a need for them to try and kill Rierdan like this, though. They could have tried it out in a place where we wouldn''t discover it and then keep it as a trump card when we fight them." Dukiel shook his head. Nessa''s suggestion was possible but unlikely.


    "Why Rierdan of all people? He can''t even move!" Anerias cried out again. It was spineless of the underworlders to aim for Rierdan. They weren''t enemies worthy of respect.


    "That''s exactly it." Zach looked up after looking at his reflection on the shiny wooden table.


    "Didn''t Dukiel just say it wasn''t because he''s weak." The others nodded along with what Julius pointed out.


    "They''re afraid he won''t stay like that. They''re afraid he''ll wake up, that he''ll move, that he''ll talk."


    "He knows something!" Anerias stood up and slammed his palms against the table with his shout.


    Zach nodded. The man and, to be more precise, whoever ordered him, wanted to silence Rierdan. The only reason to do that was if he knew something that could interfere with their plans if it was exposed.


    "You guys don''t think¡­?"


    "That Rierdan''s attack was an inside job?" Zach was the only one not afraid to say what Nessa was thinking out loud. He didn''t like it any less or more than the others. But he had already come to that conclusion when he first came up with the theory.


    "Not only that, he must know at least something that can expose the traitor." At Violina''s cold voice, everyone realized how important Rierdan''s safety was, now more than ever. They had no idea when or if he would ever recover, but until he did, they had to keep him safe.


    "I''ll talk to the infirmary staff about safety measures."


    "I''ll try to find out if anybody visited that man."


    "I''ll see if anyone visited Rierdan."


    "I''ll see if I can pick up any traces of underworld energy."


    "I''ll talk to Jarron about the possibility of a teacher being in cahoots with the Underworld."


    "No." Zach stopped Dukiel. "For all we know, he might be the one. He might not be. If he isn''t, he won''t be of any help to us. If he is, we''re in trouble. The instructors won''t help us with anything outside of their lessons."


    "But¡­"


    "You remember how he was when Liam came back after Rierdan was taken. The principal or whoever won''t let them help us beyond a certain point, even if they want to. It''s part of the ''curriculum'' or whatever," Zach said mockingly."


    "..."


    The others hung their head silently in response to Zach''s words. They knew just as well as him that the instructors were skilled and cared for the students. That was why they went all out during the lessons to teach them what they needed to survive. They still remembered Instructor Drupesch''s first lesson, even if they rarely had classes with her.


    The practical lessons, especially the ones with some kind of combat, were very practical. The students were regulars at the infirmary.


    But outside of classes, the instructors were merely instructors of the Academy, nothing else. Their roles set them apart from the students. It was like they were living in two different worlds that only intersected during lessons.


    "Where is Liam, by the way?" Violina suddenly asked.


    Instantly, all six of them flipped through their memories to check when they last saw Liam.


    Dukiel and Julius were the first to cut the nightly trip to the sewers short as they brought the man back. Zach and Rabst returned a couple of hours later. They sparred. Then, the club visited the patients. That whole thing happened. They regrouped in the club room, and now they were here.


    Before they knew it, it was almost time for morning lessons to start. As they realized that, the tension from the night''s escapades faded and multiple people yawned simultaneously.


    "I¡­Haven''t seen him in a while." Nessa said. The others gave slight, vague nods.


    Everyone looked at each other, locking eyes for a split second before looking at someone else. Enjoy new stories from mvl


    "Wasn''t Liam and Rierdan¡ª"


    "Schh!" Violina stopped Anerias from finishing his thought. They were all thinking it. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were all aware of it.


    But saying it meant bringing it into the world.


    "Let''s not draw any hasty conclusions, everyone. We''re tired. I''m tired. Let''s call it. Don''t talk to the others about what we''ve discussed today. Make sure no one overhears you when you''re talking about what you probably shouldn''t talk about when you can be overheard.


    I''ll trust in all of you''s discretion. See you guys in an hour or so." Zach met eyes with everyone and nodded when he established eye contact and understanding.


    "Class starts in forty minutes."


    "I said what I said." With that, Zach left.


    It was a good thing he hadn''t told anyone about what Alzara was doing. If he did, they might have tried to surveil her or interfere with her progress.


    He wasn''t sure what anyone could actually do to her. But third or fourth-year students were pretty powerful. Instructors were even more powerful. And Alzara had just been summoned. She had a lot of room to grow.


    Hopefully, she had grown and improved some while he was away.


    Zach had barely entered Alzara''s lab when there was a knock on the door behind him.

 Chapter 156: The Spy

    Zach wondered who it might be. Maybe it was one of the club members who had come to share their thoughts and conspire with him in the twilight of dawn. Maybe it was the Underworld''s spy and infiltrator that had come to clear out trouble before it could go from a pile of rubble to a mountain.After all, the longer the Underworld let Zach grow, the stronger and the more of a threat he would become to their plans. He was honestly surprised they hadn''t tried to kill him at all this year, considering their efforts last year.


    It wasn''t like he was hiding in the Academy, either. His trips into the sewers with the other club members were the perfect opportunity to launch an ambush and get rid of him.


    It was a shame they hadn''t tried. It would have been easier to find them if they willingly offered themselves up to him.


    Zach opened the door, full of expectation.


    "What the fuck is that look supposed to mean?" Nora couldn''t help but frown and ask when Zach grew visibly disappointed upon seeing it was her on the other side.


    "...Nothing. I was just expecting someone else." Zach''s shoulders hung loosely and he turned around and headed inside, letting Nora enter and close the door behind her.


    "Who¡­?" With that expression and reaction from Zach, she had to ask. She had to know who could ever draw out such a reaction from him.


    "A spy."


    "What¡­?"


    Zach explained everything the club had found out and theorized during the night and how he thought the Underworld''s spy might come to get rid of some trouble or interfere with his activities. He had been the one to lead the club to their current theories. He was the most promising summoner. He had a bone-deep grudge against the Underworld. He was proving to be a good leader.


    The Underworld would want to remove him from the equation as soon as possible.


    "Checks out." Nora sighed after Zach finished explaining. Of course, the only thing that would excite Zach and disappoint him when it didn''t happen was an encounter with a spy from an organized threat to and enemy of the surface.


    "How do you know I''m not the spy?" Since it was a spy, it made sense their identity was hidden. It could be anyone. It could even be her.


    "Oh, please." Zach scoffed and waved away any seriousness behind Nora''s question. "If you were the spy, I would already be dead. If you weren''t a real maid, you wouldn''t have been able to hold back this long.


    "Besides, do you think my family wouldn''t notice it if you were a spy from the Underworld?"


    Nora had just wanted to tease Zach a little, instead, she had been solidly brought back to earth. She didn''t know how to feel about what Zach had said. In a way, it could be interpreted as him holding her maid abilities in high esteem.


    "So, you''re aware?" However, it could also be interpreted that anyone else would have already succumbed to their grudges and tried to assassinate Zach.


    "Aware of what?"


    "Of my worth and how poorly you''re treating me?"


    Zach skeptically raised an eyebrow and looked at Nora like he couldn''t believe what he was hearing. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I mean, sure. But in what world are you treating me as your master? If you want proper treatment, treat me properly."


    "...I see your point."


    "Exactly."


    "No can do, though."


    "Right."


    With that, a recurring argument between the two was once again quickly settled, and they moved on, both thinking about how to possibly tease and irritate the other in subtle ways that wouldn''t really affect them or their surroundings. Continue your saga on mvl


    Their little conversation had served to bring Alzara out of her potion-making concentration, and she wasn''t startled enough to send bottles flying when Zach approached her.


    "How''s it going, Alzara?"


    "I would say very well, Master. I think I have something that will be of help to you." Alzara smiled as she grabbed a nearby glass bottle with a thick, light grey liquid gently sloshing around inside.


    Zach didn''t grab it. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Alzara


    "What is it and what does it do?" He had learned from the past and wasn''t going to hold a potion until he knew it wouldn''t explode in his hand.


    "...It should get rid of underworld energy from whatever touches it." Alzara understood Zach''s hesitance.


    "''Should''?"


    "I haven''t tried it yet."


    "Okay. But it won''t suddenly explode in my hand, right?"


    "No. That is very unlikely."


    "Great." Zach grabbed it and inspected it.


    "What does ''getting rid of'' mean?"


    "..."


    Zach looked at Alzara when she didn''t answer. Under the weight of his gaze, she shrugged.


    "I¡­uh¡­mixed different ingredients that didn''t agree with underworld energy. Preliminary testing showed that underworld energy doesn''t get close to the potion. I can''t even put it close to the few materials that have underworld energy in them. In fact, the air in this room is cleaner thanks to that bottle."


    "So, it''s pretty strong." If its mere presence was enough to drive the underworld energy out of the room, Zach could already tell that it was potent.


    "If I were to give Rierdan some of this¡­?"


    "I would recommend against it if Rierdan is not an enemy."


    "I see. I''ll take this and look for an underworlder or something. Do you have any other potions that won''t explode in my hand?"


    "I do."


    "I''ll take those as well. I''ll start experimenting while you start working on a gentler version of the anti-underworld energy potion."


    "Yes, Master."


    Zach grabbed the potions and put them in a bag before laying down on the bed.


    "*Ahem* Master?" Yanael gently cleared her throat to get Zach''s attention before he fell asleep.


    "Yes?"


    "I don''t mind helping you try those potions."


    "...I''m not going to make you drink them."


    "Oh¡­"


    "Do you want to drink them?"


    "...Alzara roi Kalam said there were a few that were supposed to increase strength."


    "I''m sure there are."


    "Then¡­!"


    "I''m sure you''ll be really strong for a few minutes before exploding."


    "But who are you going to use to test them with?"


    "Oh, I''m sure I can find one or two volunteers."

 Chapter 157: Cookie

    After a quick nap, not quick enough to be in time for class, but too quick for Zach to get proper rest, Zach went about his day as usual. He attended classes, held a meeting with the Club to bring Liam up to speed and hammer out a few details regarding Rierdan''s safety.During the meeting, they also talked about the fact that no one had visited the man after Dukiel and Julius dropped him off. They tried to get a peek at the infirmary logs for all visitors, but if they would get permission for that, it would take at least a couple of days.


    Julius also hadn''t found any traces of underworld energy other than the ones they were responsible for. Other than successfully getting a magic tool on Rierdan''s door that prevented anyone other than his designated attendants at the infirmary, the healers and doctors, and the club members as soon as they registered with it, from entering, there wasn''t much success in the Club''s endeavors.


    Even the tool on Rierdan''s door wasn''t perfect, either. What if the spy was a member of the infirmary? It would be useless. A skilled magician or a summoner with the right familiar or skill could probably bypass it relatively easily, as well.


    And if someone were willing to use force, the magic tool would be useless.


    But it was better than nothing, and it wasn''t like they could have someone constantly sit by Rierdan and watch him. All of them were busy enough as it was with their duties, responsibilities, and studies.


    Heck, Zach was barely getting any sleep anymore. It was partly due to his choices, but he made those choices out of a sense of necessity and obligation.


    The most they could do was bring their study materials and sit by Rierdan while studying. But that would cover a few of the many hours of the day. Those hours were also the busiest, which was when Rierdan was the safest since it would be extremely difficult to enter his room, silence him, and leave the infirmary without anyone noticing.


    Still, it was better than nothing, so the club members agreed to study in Rierdan''s room if they could. There were some books and texts they weren''t allowed to bring outside the library.


    In the afternoon, they had a class on the natures of familiars, understanding different familiars, and how to make multiple familiars get along. It was easy for some, and difficult for others.


    Usually, summoners summoned familiars at least a little similar in nature, so making the familiars get along wasn''t any difficult. Stop them from getting jealous or fighting, and it would be fine after a while as soon as they settled. But in rare cases, the familiars could be so hostile they fought with each other and the summoner.


    Zach''s classmates and some of the instructors thought that had happened between his two familiars since they never saw the tall one anymore. Since things were better between the two maids now than they were in the beginning, Zach was quick to correct that misunderstanding.


    Unfortunately, that led to him having to explain how he got his familiars to get along and explain anything special he did. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Put on the spot, Zach reacted quickly and informed his classmates of the importance of good food and having a conversation with both familiars, if not with words, with hearts and minds. But if it came to blows, it might be best to let the familiars settle it themselves, either by figuring out the hierarchy or by understanding one another through an exchange of fists. Or paws. Or pincers. Or fangs.


    Or wings. Or mystical stuff that was closer to magic, like what Violina''s Ice Spirit did.


    Zach''s classmates couldn''t tell if he was rambling or not, but it sounded like reasonable advice, so they took notes. The teacher also thanked Zach for his impromptu lecture with a cookie. Zach didn''t mind.


    And then, after all the lessons for the day had ended, it was time to reenter the sewers again. The club members gathered in the clubroom before the group were to set off.


    "Considering you guys found an underworlder and a possible kidnapping victim yesterday night, should we also go?" Anerias asked while looking at Dukiel giving Julius a map of the route they followed last time.


    "I do not want to enter the sewers for obvious reasons, but maybe we need more manpower this time." Violina also expressed her desire to enter the sewers.


    Zach looked at Rabst and the other two sewer explorers for a moment before turning to the ones who hadn''t entered.


    "Considering not even Rabst could catch up and they fled on sight, I think it''s unlikely that we will need more combat strength. Stay put and if you have spare time on your hands, check on Rierdan." Zach was about to ask the other three if they were ready to go.


    "Hold on. How about a shift-change, then?" Nessa asked.


    "A shift-change?" Zach tilted his head.


    "Instead of you three entering the sewers with Rabst, why don''t the three of us, or four if Liam comes, go?"


    Zach raised an eyebrow.


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    "Julius is the best at finding underworld energy. Leaving him behind is a mistake. And Dukiel is the second best in the club after Rierdan at finding the way."


    "Okay. How about you stay behind and let someone else go, Zach?" Although Nessa phrased it as a question, Zach had a feeling she didn''t want a no.


    "...Why?" Zach''s tone carried a slight sharpness as he asked for Nessa''s reasons. Plural because a single wouldn''t be good enough.


    "Because you''re tired, Zach."


    "..." Zach gave her a blank look.


    "..." Nessa returned the staredown with crossed arms.


    "...Pf¨CHa!" Zach let out a quick and dry laugh.


    "No way," Zach said with an iron-like voice and shook his head.


    But he noticed the way the others exchanged looks.


    "What?" He looked at them, one at a time. They avoided meeting his gaze until he looked at Nessa. She met his eyes with a resolute expression.


    "How many hours have you slept the past weeks?"


    "I dunno. A couple of hours." Zach shrugged.


    "A day?" Nessa asked for clarification.


    Zach was silent, and before he could say anything Nessa continued,


    "Or total?"


    "..." Zach''s silence was all the answer she needed. The others also realized that Zach probably shouldn''t be doing anything other than resting right now. Unfortunately, Zach wasn''t going down easy.

 Chapter 158: Sleeping Beauty

    Zach''s mouth hung open slightly as he blankly looked at everyone in the room.Discover hidden content at §Þ??


    "So, you want to bench me, the strongest in the club, just because I didn''t get a little beauty sleep?" Zach couldn''t believe it.


    "It''s not just sleep. When was the last time you took a bath?"


    "Are you really the strongest, though?" Nessa asked.


    Zach ignored Anerias'' question and turned to Nessa.


    "Who are you saying is stronger than me?" He pointed at Liam.


    "Liam? A fish and a crow. Before either scratches my barrier, he''ll already be a goner. The same with everyone else in this room. Pure combat strength aside, if anything happens in the sewers, my barriers are the only things that will save everyone. And you''re saying I sit this one out?"


    "Tha¡ª"


    Zach interrupted Nessa before she could explain.


    "And you choose the one time when we have a lead? We''ve finally found one of those disgusting bastards. We''ve finally found their hideous scent, and you want me to go to bed on time like I''m some child with a curfew?"


    "That''s not what I''m saying, you idiot!" With Zach''s heated words and gestures, Nessa also couldn''t help but get a little agitated. She shouted at Zach''s face.


    "If you''re worried about us making progress without you or if you''re worried about us, then we can simply not go to the sewers tonight! Any traces we would have found from that fucker you saw last night would already be gone by now. And if we, through some fucking miracle, find anything, it''s a hair away from guaranteed to be a trap!


    "I know you love springing traps by relying on your barriers, but if we find that blasted entrance or end up sucked below Basilia, do you want us to trust the barriers of someone who looks like they''re about to crash? Can we trust your barriers?"


    "..." Zach was silent. He didn''t want to admit it, but he was maybe a pinch sleep-deprived. And Nessa was making a stupid amount of sense and bringing up many valid points.


    "Be honest, Zach, can you even focus your eyes right now? ''Cause it looks like you''re looking at my past, not me."


    Zach wasn''t sure what Nessa meant by that, but the others understood when they looked at his eyes. He was not looking at the present.


    Nessa had half a mind to grab Zach, carry him to his dorm, and force him to sleep if he didn''t give in.


    "...fine."


    Fortunately, for Zach''s pride, it didn''t come to that.


    Zach didn''t want to go along with it, but he wasn''t so stubborn that he would resort to violence just because he didn''t want to go to sleep. Even if others might find him childish at times, he was not a child. He didn''t throw a tantrum just because he needed to go to bed a little earlier than he wanted.


    He ignored the tantrum he had just thrown. With the state of his sleep-deprived mind, it was easy to forget such inconsequential things. In the end, Zach ended up in his bed without really knowing how or when he got there, and as soon as he did, he passed out.


    Nora and Yanael exchanged looks.


    "I see what you mean, Yanael." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes. If he had pushed himself to the breaking point last year, he would have realized much sooner that he had gone too far now. But it''s better late than never. With this, Master should have learned to pace himself."


    "Hopefully."


    "Hopefully. But if he hasn''t, it is our duty to make sure he does, right?" Yanael made it sound like a question, but she wasn''t asking whether it was their duty. She was confirming Nora''s agreement.


    "Yes." Nora nodded with a stoic expression. It had made her heart ache to see Zach wear himself thin and ragged like he had done the past couple of weeks. But the fact that he was doing so was proof that he hadn''t learned anything from last year when he did the same.


    If she wanted him to refrain from doing it again, he had to learn on his own that it did more bad than good.


    Well, Nessa had stepped in before Zach could collapse, but it wasn''t far away, and it might have been a good thing she did. The words of outsiders had an occasional tendency to pierce deeper than the words of those who were closest to one''s heart.


    Nora and Yanael watched over Zach while he slept. Fourteen hours later, Zach woke up to a four-course breakfast and a shoulder massage.


    He couldn''t believe how refreshed he felt afterward. Since he had slept a little every night the past few weeks, it had taken a while for the sleep deprivation to build up and fray his senses and nerves, so he hadn''t been able to accurately tell how poor his condition was.


    But now, he could clearly feel it, and it was like the difference between night and day. His eyes weren''t foggy and grainy. His tongue wasn''t dry and clumsy. It was great.


    For the first time in a week, Zach could focus during the lessons. He could taste the food he ate. He could think thoughts that moved faster than a tired snail.


    It almost felt like the day was extra long because of it. But just like any other day, it soon started grasping for the end, and the last class ended. It was finally time to start looking for the underworlders beneath Basilia again.


    However, instead of just Dukiel, Julius, and Rabst, Zach was met with the entire club standing there, ready to leave.


    "?" Zach raised an eyebrow.


    "Nessa raised a very valid point yesterday, and while you were off catching up on beauty sleep, we figured that it all might have been a trap from the very beginning. The underworlder you guys saw, the man he ''dropped'' by throwing him at Rabst, and how the man tried to attack Rierdan. It could be the first half of a trap to lure us back to that location in the sewers.


    If it is, it''s better we all go." Anerias spoke for the other club members when he informed Zach of the plans they had made yesterday evening.


    "Alright." Zach shrugged. "Then, it''s best I bring my second familiar."

 Chapter 159: Utter Disappointment

    The club members and Rabst waited for Zach to return with Alzara in tow. The others didn''t show much of a reaction when he returned. But it was the first time Rabst saw Alzara. The keen eyes and senses he had honed for years, hunting alongside his familiars told him that she was dangerous.Rabst could see a light in her eyes when he met her gaze, and after that, it was like she didn''t exist. If it weren''t for the fact that he could still see her, he would have doubted his senses that had warned him.


    Rabst looked at Zach for a moment. He realized that Yanael wasn''t unique. He realized that Zach wasn''t just a summoner with great potential because he summoned an S-rank familiar as his first familiar. He was already a step toward being a great summoner.


    With Yanael and Alzara, Zach could probably stand toe-to-toe with most third-years and some fourth-years. Their years weren''t anything special, certainly not on the same level as the current second-years. But they still had a year or two of experience up on Zach. And that was two years of experience of the Academy''s curriculum.


    Rabst looked forward to what Zach would become. So, he stopped wasting time and brought the club on a light jog to the city and the closest manhole. He knew the sewers so well by now that it didn''t matter which dirty, grimy metal lid he popped open. He could easily find his way to where they encountered the underworlder the other night.


    Rabst swiftly led the group through the sewers without even looking at a map. Nessa and the others who entered the sewers for the first time were amazed at how quickly he moved on the slippery stone, in the dim light, and through the sharp corners.


    Before their amazement could cool down, they were at the palace where they had encountered the underworlder the other night. Together, they investigated the area to look for any traces.


    The worst-case scenario would be if there were traps laid out, and they triggered them while separated. So, they sacrificed efficiency to maintain their safety. The club members and Rabst looked for physical traces of anyone passing through, and Julius and his Mannequin searched for remnants of underworld energy.


    Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful on both fronts.


    They weren''t just unsuccessful. It was a complete failure. Slowly, they extended their search area. But throughout the entire night, the only thing they found that stood out was a rat with two tails. However, the rat didn''t have so much as a drop of underworld energy in it, so it was unrelated to what they were looking for.


    Despite coming out in full force with the entire club, they had to call it a night without any progress. It was an utter disappointment. But as if that wasn''t enough, the result was the exact same when they tried again the following night.


    For a week straight, the entire club dove into the sewers in search of the Underworld''s traces. For a week straight, they left the sewers with disappointment and frustration dripping from their faces.


    Nessa''s theory about the underworlder they saw and the man he dropped being traps was losing weight. It looked like it had been a coincidence. Following that encounter, the Underworld had worked even harder to remain undiscovered.


    For another two weeks, they rotated different groups of club members. But regardless of the combination, they came back empty-handed and untouched by any traps.


    The sewers even felt emptier than before, and the club members decided that if nothing had been found or no traps had been sprung, they should slow down the sewer exploration. They had covered the sewer system in almost all of its entirety by now.


    There was no need to continue wasting time and resources on something that wouldn''t give them anything. Instead, they would make better use of their time with what they were actually supposed to be doing this year: Getting rid of the contamination in the forest.


    They weren''t making any progress with the sewers, and it didn''t look like they would make any progress any time soon.


    They didn''t want to give up yet, but people had even stopped disappearing from Basilia. All the leads and possible traces they had were going cold.


    They didn''t like it. Rabst couldn''t stop frowning, and his stomach felt heavy. All the people who had been taken from the city wouldn''t see the light of day again. If they did, it would be as underworlders. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He wouldn''t be able to save or avenge them before long.


    Of course, Rabst wasn''t a second-year, and he wasn''t a member of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club, so he could continue looking if he wanted. But he had his own studies, tests, and objectives to finish, ace, and reach in order to graduate from the Academy. He also had his Student Council duties to perform. Continue reading at §Þ??


    He had let everything fall behind while he focused on chasing underworlders, but now, it was time to catch up.


    As a third-year and a member of the Student Council, Liam naturally also had things to do outside chasing the foul stench of the Underworld. But he hadn''t sacrificed the rest of his academic life for the hunt on underworlders, and he wasn''t as involved in entering the forest, so he regularly stopped by the club room and helped out.


    He didn''t forget to ask Zach about joining the Student Council, either.


    He even tried to persuade Zach by bringing up the fact that Anerias had joined the Student Council. However, that only served to drive Zach further away. Liam wasn''t satisfied with that, but Anerias was. The fact that he was part of the Student Council when Zach wasn''t was proof that he was better than Zach.


    Anerias couldn''t specify how, but he was sure of it.


    Zach, on the other hand, hardly cared. He didn''t even bother asking when or why Anerias'' joined. Instead, he focused on his duties and progress with Material Extraction.


    The club members were reluctant to leave the city and the underworlders beneath it alone, but they had to reprioritize.

 Chapter 160: Spying Spy

    Although the club had moved on from Basilia and the underworlders beneath it, who could have been perfect test subjects for Zach, he wasn''t without anything to use Alzara''s potions on. It wouldn''t be as good, but he could still use them on the plants, monsters, and ground contaminated with underworld energy in the forest.There was only one problem. It wasn''t worth the risk. Before, Zach would have willingly risked the spy discovering what he and Alzara were up to if it meant getting rid of the underworlders or the spy.


    But now, the only thing he gained was some information about what the potions did while risking the spy finding out if he did it when he wasn''t alone in the forest. The spy might even find out when Zach thought he was alone.


    After all, they were a spy. It was only natural if they did some spying. And Zach didn''t know who they were or what kind of abilities they had. They might be able to escape his and his familiars'' detection while spying on him.


    If they did, they would find out he was working on something that could fix Rierdan and work against the underworlders and anything they did. Even if they didn''t immediately try to get rid of him and his familiars, they would certainly try to silence Rierdan again.


    The Underworlders hadn''t done anything since last time, and Zach could tell his club members weren''t as vigilant anymore. They had also gone into hiding, but if they deemed Rierdan and what he had seen a threat to their operation, they could risk exposure again.


    That was why Zach wanted to enter the forest alone. But he couldn''t exactly make it obvious that he wanted to be alone. And the others also wanted to go into the forest. It would only be foolish if they didn''t go together. So, they did.


    And Zach didn''t have any chances of throwing his potions at things with underworld energy.


    But it wasn''t the worst. He and the rest of the club members, excluding Liam, fought monsters, leveled up, explored deeper into the forest, and continued gathering samples to experiment with.


    Everyone eventually ended up reaching level ten. It didn''t take long once they focused on hunting, and they quickly caught up to the rest of the class. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the second summoning was a little special, so they had to wait their turn to use the Chamber of Ceremony. The only ones who weren''t waiting for it were Nessa and Julius since their familiars had yet to evolve. They were stubborn like that.


    And one by one, Anerias, Violina, and Dukiel summoned their familiars. Experience more content on §Þ??


    Anerias summoned an A-rank Hellcat. It was a black cat. It didn''t look like anything extraordinary, even if it was extraordinarily cute. It had fluffy ears with extra tufts of fur that made them look like the ears of a lynx. But it was all black with piercing yellow eyes. It was also good at concealing its presence.


    It was sneaky. But Zach wasn''t sure if that was exclusive to Anerias'' cat.


    Many cats were sneaky, after all.


    Surprisingly, Zach''s Hound and his Hellcat got along well.


    That was fortunate. Anerias didn''t need another blow to his confidence or everyday life. He was already suffering enough as it was.


    Out of the three A-ranks in the class, he was the only one whose second summon was also an A-rank.


    Violina and Dukiel both summoned S-ranks. Anerias did his best to hide it, but it was clear he suffered from bouts of inferiority.


    Violina summoned an S-rank Frost Imp. It was a tiny, flying person with translucent wings and body and hair seemingly made of some kind of ice. It buzzed around like a hand-sized fly on occasion. It was feistier and had more personality than her Ice Spirit. The Ice Spirit didn''t seem to have anything against the Frost Imp, but the Imp regularly sat or gnawed on the Ice Spirit.


    Just by looking at it, Zach could tell it was a bastard.


    Lastly, Dukiel summoned an S-rank Transformation Cube. At first, it was just a shiny cube of metal slightly smaller than an average head. Zach wasn''t sure what to think until it transformed into a cute puppy, also made of metal.


    Dukiel wasn''t sure himself, but it seemed like the puppy was a base transformation it already had stored. Otherwise, it could only transform into things it had analyzed, like the toilet in Dukiel''s dorm.


    Surprisingly enough, it was a fully functioning incineration toilet that even mimicked the magic of the toilet it copied. Zach could tell Dukiel was a little embarrassed. But the fact that it perfectly transformed into a toilet like that was proof of its S-rank. If it could transform into anything, it could even transform into powerful magic tools.


    The only problem was that no one had those kinds of tools it could learn from.


    But that could be solved in the future. In the present, they had to figure out how to use a toilet to fight against monsters in the forest.


    Fortunately at least, the Transformation Cube and the Sentinel got along. Well, they didn''t fight. They floated in the air next to each other behind Dukiel most of the time.


    Both of them were expressionless and mostly motionless.


    It was better than Violina''s familiars, but not as good as Anerias'' familiars that cuddled together, though it was mostly the cat lying on the Hound''s head instead of walking on its own.


    The sudden flood of new familiars to the Academy and the class made Nessa want to summon her second one as well. She couldn''t help but be excited when their class now had two more S-rank familiars, even if the summoners were still A-rank since it was based on their weakest familiar.


    However, she didn''t want to lose out on the opportunity to summon a stronger familiar just because she was eager. Her Millipede was still C-rank. She might end up summoning another C-rank if she summoned right now. But if it evolved, she would be guaranteed, at minimum, a B-rank. It also increased the odds of summoning an A-rank.


    She cherished her Snakelong Millipede, but other than its size, which was often a hindrance, it wasn''t very powerful.

 Chapter 161: Obesity

    Although not every day was the same, the Underworld Research and Extermination Club and the rest of the second-year students of the Academy had settled into a flexible routine of studying during the day and killing every monster affected by underworld energy during the afternoons and evenings.Some of the club members occasionally visited the city and checked for missing people or traces of underworlders. But it was still silent as the grave, even after several weeks. There were no traces, and it seemed like people had stopped disappearing.


    It was almost even more ominous than when people disappeared multiple times every day. But there was nothing they could do about it other than keep their eyes open and ears tuned.


    That was why they focused more and more on the forest. Overall, they weren''t making much more progress there, either. They killed monsters and cut down sprouting trees and plants that carried underworld energy from birth.


    But they couldn''t even tell if they were affecting the spread of underworld energy. The contamination was still slowly but steadily spreading and darkening the unaffected parts of the forest.


    It had reached the point where residents of Basilia regularly came to the Academy to make requests of the students to do something about it. The Academy directed all those requests at the second-year students. Any requests with missing pets, children, or threatening monsters too close to the roads also got sent straight to the second-years under the assumption that it was related to the Underworld.


    Smaller requests gave the students who completed them extra credits. And bigger, repeated ones about the forest in its entirety were already the class'' final exam, so they were just accepted by the Academy but nothing much happened with them after that.


    The students who were already busy enough as it was with studying general knowledge and theoretical subjects started feeling a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, they had the experience from the first year at the Academy. ''A little overwhelming'' meant they could handle it as long as they remembered to breathe.


    However, there were a few students who ignored the requests entirely. The few extra credits they gave weren''t worth the trouble, especially when they would get more than enough to reach the top of the grade by clearing the final exam with the most contribution.


    Those students were naturally the second-year members of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club. Of them, Zach, Dukiel, and Nessa were in the middle of the forest, hunting monsters and watching Nessa''s Millipede eat what they killed.


    Nessa stood with her arms crossed and leaning on one leg.


    "Are you sure about this?" Nessa didn''t turn her head, but Zach could tell she was talking to him.


    "You mean about your familiar evolving by eating a lot?" Zach also stood with his arms crossed as he looked at the fat Millipede. He didn''t even know millipedes or familiars could get fat like this.


    "Yeah."


    "Nope."


    "If you fattened my familiar¡ª"


    "No take-backs. You owe me that Labyrinth Ticket."


    "That''s not what I was talking about. Don''t worry. You''ll get your ticket."


    "Good. So, what were you about to say?"


    "...Do I need to worry about her eating so much food with underworld energy?"


    "...No."


    "You sound unsure."


    "Well, the underworld energy starts slipping out of the monsters as soon as they die. She shouldn''t be getting that much, right?"


    "What if it''s affecting the evolution process, and that''s why she''s getting fatter and fatter instead of evolving?"


    "It''s possible." Zach shrugged. "But there could be something else. I¡­" Zach trailed off.


    Nessa slowly turned to look at him.


    "''You''¡­What?"


    Zach hesitated. He looked at the fat millipede, the contaminated corpses it was shuffling in its mouth, and he then turned to the sky, which looked slightly grey from within the forest due to the underworld energy in the air. He already regretted saying something, even if it was only a syllable.


    But at this point, he might as well spill some of the beans. If he couldn''t trust Nessa, he couldn''t trust many people. She might still be the spy. He had to keep the possibility open, given they didn''t have a single clue, after all.


    But there was no way Nessa was the spy.


    "I had some kind of a breakthrough with the materials we gathered." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nessa raised an eyebrow at that. Was he not sleeping again? What was he up to this time?


    "To cut a long story short, I made a little something that should be effective against underworld energy."


    "...?!" Nessa turned her entire body and looked at Zach, flabbergasted.


    "Wha¡ª?!" She didn''t even know what to ask first. What had he been doing? Why? When? What? How?


    Why hadn''t he said anything?


    "Zach?" Dukiel also joined the conversation, his face a pile of question marks.


    Continue reading stories on §Þ??


    Zach held up a hand to ask them to wait a minute.


    "I don''t know how effective it might be or if it will work at all. If anything, I got a little ahead of myself with this. I shouldn''t have said anything." Zach shook his head like he rejected any further questions or urgings from the other two.


    "What the fuck, Zach?" Nessa asked.


    "Are you serious?" Although his tone was gentler, Dukiel also very much wanted to know what the fuck, Zach.


    "Of course, I''m serious. Would I lie about something like this?"


    "..."


    "..."


    "I wouldn''t!" Zach claimed.


    "Then why bring it up like this? And in this context." Nessa wanted clarification.


    "...I thought maybe we could try put your theory to the test by cleansing your Millipede of underworld energy."


    "Let''s do it!" Any questions Nessa had flew out the window. She wanted to see her Millipede evolve.


    "...No." At Zach''s rejection, the questions came flying back inside.


    "Why not?" Nessa asked with a chilly voice. Why was he teasing them so much?


    "This thing isn''t even out of the first trial stage. It''s like throwing a pile of words onto a piece of paper and submitting it as your final answer during a test."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Let''s test it, then?" Dukiel gently suggested.

 Chapter 162: Weight-Loss Transformation

    Zach turned to Nessa after Dukiel''s suggestion."Not on me!" She cried out.


    "That wasn''t what I had in mind, no." Zach slowly pulled out a glass bottle with a milky grey liquid from inside his bag.


    "I wanted to ask if we should try it on your Millipede at once or if we should try it on a monster."


    "...Why wouldn''t we try it on a monster first?" She asked.


    "Because this is all I have," Zach lied. He had more. He even had stronger stuff. But they didn''t need to know that. If they thought he wasted everything right now, the spy would think he used everything right now. It was to keep Rierdan safe.


    "And because a monster and your familiar will react differently. Your Snakelong Millipede has just taken some underworld energy into its body. The monsters we will find have been contaminated and changed by underworld energy. One has consumed underworld energy and the other is part underworld energy."


    "..." Nessa was silent as she considered it. Testing it on a monster might help them check how safe or unsafe it was. It might be unsafe for monsters but safe for her Millipede or it could be the other way around. In short, testing was useless.


    "Let''s see if she wants it." Nessa reached out a hand, and Zach handed her the bottle. She uncorked it and put it down on the ground in front of her familiar.


    The Snakelong Millipede was still chewing on the rubbery cadaver of some kind of crocodile, but when a faint, clear fragrance hit its face, it spat out the flesh, bone, and skin in its mouth and turned around. It quickly located the tiny glass bottle on the ground.


    It wasn''t even as big as the tip of its mandible. Stay updated through M V L


    The Millipede lowered its head and came close enough to the bottle that it reflected in the round, smooth forehead of the Millipede.


    The Millipede looked like it was sniffing the bottle. It was hesitant.


    The liquid in the bottle attracted it. It smelled nice and slightly sweet. But some poisons were sweet. The Millipede could feel something about the potion.


    It raised its head and looked at Nessa.


    Nessa, still with her arms crossed, shrugged.


    "It might be dangerous. It might be good for you. It''s your call."


    Upon hearing and feeling that it wasn''t intentionally malicious, the Millipede chomped down on the bottle. It even brought a piece of the ground with it as it ate the bottle whole. The glass was crushed by its insides, but the shards couldn''t so much as scratch the Millipede from within.


    The Millipede swallowed the glass shards and the lump of dirt. They moved through the Millipede''s digestive system, quickly grouping up with the monster corpses it had eaten earlier. But the anti-underworld energy had already disappeared¨Cdissipated into the Millipede''s flesh.


    Nothing happened at first. It was like the Millipede had only eaten a glass bottle.


    Zach frowned. Maybe he hadn''t needed to ask Alzara to weaken the potion even further. The first one she made was just not worth experimenting with since he was sure it was too strong. But maybe the second or third iterations would have been enough to clear the underworld energy out of the Millipede.


    It certainly looked like the sixth and weakest version so far wasn''t enough.


    However, suddenly, Nessa''s Snakelong Millipede convulsed. Its body contracted and contorted into a spiral before extending into a stick. Its carapace ruptured in places. The places that didn''t rupture swelled with bubbles bigger than a person.


    At first, only blood escaped from the cracks in the Millipede''s body. Nessa could only watch on in shock and fear as it looked like her Millipede was about to explode.


    What had she done?


    But after another few painfully long moments of the Millipede''s contorting, black gas shot out of the ruptures and the Millipede''s mouth with a whistling noise like steam from a kettle.


    Slowly, the Millipede deflated as more and more underworld energy slipped out of it. The bubbles shrank and shrank until they were gone, and the Millipede''s carapace was flat again. But it didn''t stop there.


    Murky gas continued escaping the Millipede''s body, and it looked like the Millipede was deflating as it continued shrinking. It was the most effective and quickest weight-loss transformation Zach had ever seen.


    The Millipede stopped looking like a swollen sausage as it regained its sleek and slim for its size appearance.


    In the same go, the cracks and ruptures healed as a very subtle light covered its body, giving the already-dark Millipede an even darker color to its body. It wasn''t quite black, but it was close.


    The Millipede hadn''t just been freed from the underworld energy clogging its body and disrupting its digestion and evolutionary process. It had completed its evolution in one quick go.


    Even without seeing Nessa''s interface, Zach could tell that the Millipede had evolved. The shimmer, relief, and joy in Nessa''s eyes were all the confirmation he needed. But he was still curious about what the Snakelong Millipede had evolved into.


    But he waited until Nessa was finished patting and hugging her familiar. It took a while. Nessa was pretty excited, after all.


    Finally, however, the Millipede nudged her away so it could continue eating. It seemed like it wasn''t completely finished yet.


    "Looks like you have a talent for this, Nessa," Zach complimented her. Although it was thanks to his (Alzara''s) potion, Nessa had accurately determined the underlying problem behind her Millipede''s delayed evolution.


    "Thanks." Nessa proudly accepted the compliment. She also thanked Zach for the anti-underworld energy potion at the same time.


    "So, uh¡­?" Zach looked at her questioningly.


    "..."


    "..."


    "...Oh!" After looking at Zach for a while, Nessa understood what he meant. She looked at the air in front of her for a moment before smiling brightly.


    "B-rank. Serpentine Millipede."


    "Congrats!"


    "Congratulations, Nessa!"


    Nessa had mixed feelings after hearing the celebratory words from one S-rank and one A-rank who also had an S-rank familiar when she was just a B-rank familiar now.


    "Thanks. And you two better be prepared, it won''t be long until I catch up to you guys." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 163: Sleeping Gas

    Nessa stayed true to her words. As soon as she was granted permission to use the Chamber of Ceremony, she summoned an A-rank Midnight Butterfly. If she was happy about Millipede evolving, she was overjoyed about summoning the Butterfly.Even better was that the Serpentine Millipede and the Midnight Butterfly got along well.


    It took a little while for Nessa to figure out what the Butterfly actually did in combat, but it had great synergy with the Millipede.


    The Millipede was physical, brute-force, and up-front combat. The Butterfly supported the Millipede by strengthening it and weakening the enemies with what Nessa could only compare to unorthodox magic. It flapped its wings and the air started glowing, then things started glowing.


    It wasn''t all-powerful, but it certainly earned its rank.


    When Nessa got used to working with both her familiars and contract skills, the second-year club members decided it was time to get a little more structurally busy. Julius still hadn''t evolved his Mannequin, nor had he summoned another familiar. But he was still useful since he was the only one who could control underworld energy.


    One SS-rank, three S-ranks, four A-ranks, one B-rank, and one C-rank. Those were the numbers the club brought into the forest on a mission to delve deep into the contamination of the forest and look for the source.


    With such a large part of the year gone just like that, it was time for the club and the second-years to start showing results. They couldn''t graduate with just good theoretical grades and slain monsters.


    The club considered bringing the rest of the class into the forest, but they weren''t part of the club and refused to become part of it. Thus, they would suffer the consequences. There was also the fact that a larger group would attract countless more monsters they would have to fight.


    Zach was still there, and monsters would come for them regardless. But a smaller, more elite group would have an easier time handling it. Alzara could also offset the amount of monsters brought by Zach''s presence. But she wouldn''t be able to counter an entire class'' attraction.


    So, the group of six set out on an adventure after gaining permission for an extended stay outside campus.


    The students couldn''t help but be a little excited. They had gone into the forest before and even tried to get deep. But the dense underworld energy, stubborn vegetation, and ferocious monsters made extended stays draining. It was also incredibly time-consuming to venture deeper into the forest.


    But previously, they had only entered the forest in groups of two or three with limited time due to being busy with studies and the like. However, they had just finished a session of tests, opening up a week or two.


    They hoped to make progress before a week was up. But they were fully prepared to spend at least two weeks in the forest doing nothing but chopping down angry, ragged, and salivating monsters. Well, now that there was almost twice the number of familiars as there were summoners, the summoners themselves wouldn''t be doing much chopping themselves.


    They were free to do as much as they wanted or less.


    The only ones who seemed to find that a shame were Zach, Nessa, and Violina.


    Zach had gone through the trouble of bringing his spear with him, and Nessa and Violina wanted to use their contract skills.


    Nessa looked at the shimmering dome around their tight group while thinking about how she could use her own skills to their full potential.


    "Zach, you''re pretty handy with your skill, huh?" Since they were already walking next to each other, Nessa didn''t bother turning to look at Zach when she spoke.


    "I guess." Zach shrugged. Was that supposed to be a compliment or what?


    "I mean, the rest of us know how to use our skills well enough but you''re¡­" Nessa dragged out on the last syllable as she glanced around at the barrier surrounding them before looking at Zach.


    "Different."


    "I guess." Zach shrugged.


    "How?"


    "''How'' what?"


    "Is it because your first familiar is an S-rank or is there something else that''s special about your skill? The way you use it and how much control you have over it is just¡­" Nessa wasn''t sure how to put it.


    She had talked about it with Zach before, but she still couldn''t quite put her finger on it. And she thought about it whenever she saw Zach''s barriers in action or when she one of the others using their skills. Recently, especially, she had trouble letting it go.


    "I mean, you can even block Rabst''s Rabbit without breaking a sweat. I can try to pay for the information." Nessa wasn''t overly fond of her first contract skill, but her second one made her change her mind. She wanted to be better.


    "There''s no need for that." Zach shrugged. "I just use it all the time. I mentioned it before, right? I keep my barriers up even when I''m asleep for weeks at a time."


    "You were serious about that?" Nessa asked with a frown of disbelief.


    "As serious as Nora''s pie."


    Nessa wasn''t sure what to think about that so she ignored it and moved on.


    "What if my skill doesn''t work like that?"


    "Find another way to train." Zach shrugged.


    "Any ideas?"


    "I don''t even know what your skill does?"


    "I can conjure a sleeping gas of sorts."


    "I don''t see a reason why you shouldn''t be able to use it continuously." Explore stories at M V L


    "I''ll make everyone around me and myself sleepy."


    "Ah. Wait, yourself?"


    "Yes." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Does it keep going after you fall asleep?"


    "No."


    "Start there."


    "...Okay."


    "Hey, Zach, my second skill creates a shiny suit of armor over my entire body. Any ideas?" Dukiel was next to ask for a consultation.


    Since they didn''t have anything better to do while the familiars worked together to clear a path through the forest, Zach entertained his classmates in how they could utilize, train, and improve their skills.


    At first, he was a little hesitant about giving advice since the ones who should figure their skills out were the owners of said skills. But then it got to his head, and he acted like a wise and knowledgeable expert and freely gave advice.

 Chapter 164: Fierce Frost Imp

    While talking, the students got a little distracted. But they didn''t forget to keep track of where they were. However, even if they got lost, they still left a trail of monster corpses they could follow.Although the monsters in the forest were extra ferocious, it seemed they had trouble sensing each other due to the underworld energy everywhere. They were like bags of water among other bags of water in an ocean. There was no clear distinction between them all.


    Deep in the forest, where the competition and fighting between the monsters had dwindled and there was no one to cull the population, there was an incredible amount of monsters. As if that wasn''t enough, the students started encountering monsters that had adapted to the underworld energy.


    Read exclusive content at M V L


    It wasn''t perfect yet, but the monsters started regaining a semblance of sanity and cognition. Their bodies were still wrecks from the toll the underworld energy put on them. But the ones who adapted could also use that underworld energy to grow stronger.


    So far, the strongest monster they had encountered was a five-legged wolf. Other than its extra leg, the underworld energy hadn''t changed it. But it was stronger and faster than anything they had encountered before, at least during this trip.


    Since it still died at the hands of the Frost Imp, Blackfire Hound, and Midnight Butterfly, it wasn''t a match for Jigak. It was probably also a few degrees of strength shy of the tiger that was still haunting Dukiel''s dreams.


    But it gave them a start when it appeared and threw itself at Zach''s barrier with dark saliva dripping from its fangs. Fortunately, even when spread out to cover all the students, Zach''s barrier was strong enough to repel the wolf''s attack, which focused on taking them by surprise, not breaking through the barrier. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael and Alzara stayed by Zach''s side while some of the other familiars quickly intercepted it before it could attack again. The wolf put up one hell of a fight and didn''t stop trying to attack them until the Hound stomped on its head, flattening it.


    However, the students couldn''t breathe their sighs of relief just yet. That wolf was only the first of many monsters that were strong enough to fight A-rank familiars on equal footing.


    The familiars had to team up to take down each and every one of them. The only familiars that didn''t need help yet were Yanael and Alzara, though Alzara had yet to step into battle. She was content protecting Zach by his side. Besides, the other familiars could still handle the monsters that came.


    The other S-rank familiars hadn''t grown much yet. It was the same for all the second familiars. Technically, Alzara hadn''t grown much in the way of combat since she was summoned, either, but she didn''t need to.


    And she certainly didn''t need to take away this opportunity for growth from the other familiars and their summoners, even if Zach was curious about how she fought.


    Wolves, apes, snakes, beetles, spiders, deer, panthers, eagles, sparrows, pigeons, boars.


    All kinds of monsters with various mutations and alterations brought about by underworld energy attacked Zach and the others in a continuous, seemingly endless stream. The students were getting weary. They had a hard time sleeping or relaxing, even with Zach''s barrier, which had yet to break.


    Their familiars were also showing the side effects of fighting for over a week straight.


    Yanael didn''t look tired, but the stains of blood, gore, and mud on her dress were proof that she couldn''t fight at her best. If she could, she would have avoided dirtying her maid outfit. It would clean itself after a while, but even that timer seemed to have slowed down due to how tired she was.


    Aside from Alzara, however, Yanael was still in the best condition. She was a little too tired to fight without remaining spotless.


    The other familiars were tired enough to start racking up injuries. Surprisingly enough, the one familiar in the worst state was Violina''s Frost Imp. It had used its magic-like attacks too much and seemingly drained itself. It was forced to resort to physical violence.


    It was just that it wasn''t built for fighting tooth and nail against monsters twenty times its size with more muscle, fangs, and claws. Although small and agile, the Frost Imp got sent flying into nearby trees on more than one occasion.


    Violina tried to get it to calm down and take a break to recover some of its strength or at least let it heal a little. But it stubbornly refused and kept flying at, biting, and scratching the monsters that came at them. It would not let itself get outdone by the shiny Transformation Cube, radiant Angel, or any of the A-ranks.


    Violina even tried tying it down to the Ice Spirit, but the Frost Imp just slipped out like a rabid dog. She was starting to get frustrated.


    Zach, on the other hand, was interested and curious. He knew familiars had personalities, not just his battle maids. They also had differing amounts of personality. Nessa''s Millipede was pretty tame but could be prickly or cuddly. Anerias'' Hound was very protective of Anerias until it received a steak or a big bone. It could be bribed with food and belly scratches.


    Dukiel''s Sentinel appeared emotionless and without personality, but Zach could tell there was some softness inside that hard outer shell. It was the same with Violina''s Ice Spirit.


    However, it was the first time he had seen such determination in a familiar and such refusal to listen to its master''s request. But it also didn''t seem like it was disregarding Violina like a mad familiar or anything. It was just stubborn, strong-willed, and very eager to kill monsters and protect its pride.


    It was the first time Zach wondered if another familiar had a name other than his two battle maids. He wanted to ask. He didn''t because he might be wrong and because it was not the right time or place.


    But he was too curious. He had to fish around as soon as they returned to the Academy, whenever they decided to do that. Currently, it didn''t look like they were returned anytime soon, even if they wanted.

 Chapter 165: Room For Improvement

    After more than a week of marching through the forest and killing monsters, Zach and the others were starting to feel like it was enough."Dukiel, what''s our progress?" Finally, Zach had to ask their guide.


    Dukiel didn''t answer at once.


    "...I think we''re getting closer. But it''s impossible to tell when we will arrive at this rate."


    "And that''s assuming we will find what we''re looking for at the place we''re trying to reach," Julius added. It was clear he didn''t have high hopes for their expedition.


    "Then I guess I have to be the one to bring it up. Do we turn back?" Zach asked and looked at the others. Alzara still hadn''t joined the battles yet. But even if she did, there was a limit to what she could do when the other familiars and summoners were tired and weary, at least Zach assumed so. Enjoy new stories from M V L


    The others also looked at the rest of the group and all the familiars, inspecting everyone''s states. They had to admit that they weren''t in the best shape. Continuing would be dangerous. But no one wanted to retreat.


    The fact that they were facing monsters that were closer to being underworlders than contaminated surface-dwellers was proof that they were moving in the right direction. As long as they continued, they would find something. They weren''t sure what that something was, but that didn''t matter as long as they could get closer to finding out the source of the contamination.


    It was frustrating, but when they didn''t know what to look for, how far away it was, or if what they were looking for would be at their intended destination, the students couldn''t recklessly continue heading deeper into the forest. It wasn''t even a matter of being safe or taking a risk.


    They wouldn''t gain anything by continuing. They only increased their chances of getting stuck and ending up too tired and injured to defend themselves against the monsters on the way back to the Academy.


    Even if they found the source of the contamination, they would be too weakened to do anything about it. There might be underworlders guarding it. They would be too weak to defeat them and destroy the source.


    There might be stronger monsters close to the source¡­The source itself might be resistant to violence¡­The underworld energy might be too thick for them and their familiars¡­


    There were too many obstacles and too little jump in their legs to overcome all the hurdles laid in front of them.


    Since that was the case, they had to take a step back and gather their strength before charging again.


    No one wanted to be the first to give up, even if Zach had been the first to suggest it. So, as if they could read each other''s minds, all six of them turned around simultaneously. They returned to the Academy without mentioning the fact that they had been forced to retreat.


    As soon as they returned to the Academy, they split up and focused on their own things. All of them had felt and noticed the things they needed to improve on if they wanted to head deeper next time.


    Violina needed to train her control over her Frost Imp and teach it how to regulate itself. It couldn''t go all out from the beginning and waste its strength until it had to fight tooth and nail with the monsters.


    Anerias wanted to increase the firepower of his Hound and give the Hellcat some strength training.


    Julius wanted to evolve his Mannequin, so he would continue trying to do that by using all the materials they brought back from the forest.


    Dukiel was a little disappointed with his Transformation Cube''s performance, so he had to figure out a way to make it stronger and more useful until next time. He had an idea but didn''t want to share it in case it didn''t work.


    Nessa was satisfied with her performance. For the first time, she felt like she was actually contributing to the fights. Ever since the field trip during the first year, she had mostly been in charge of transport, thanks to her Millipede''s size and smooth movements. She had only watched while others fought and then dealt with the aftermath.


    Now, both because the Millipede evolved and because she summoned an A-rank supporting familiar, Nessa played a major part in all battles. But she also had room for improvement. Her Butterfly''s magic wasn''t very effective against the stronger monsters or the S-rank familars, so she wanted to focus on strengthening that first.


    She also had to work on her contract skills. If she could combine it with her Butterfly''s abilities, they could start bringing down monsters without so much as harming a hair on them. At the moment, it was nothing but a far-fetched dream, but Nessa could see it, she could see the possibilities.


    Zach¡­


    Zach wasn''t sure what to do. Yanael had done as well as she could, and the only way he knew she could do better was if she was overall stronger. But he wasn''t sure about asking her to do some strength and stamina training. It didn''t fit her image.


    His first contract skill was strong. It could probably get stronger, but it would have been the one thing that could have kept them going deeper into the forest, and Zach had yet to use it to its full potential when they decided to turn back.


    That left Alzara and his second contract skill. His second contract skill wasn''t suitable for combat. That left Alzara.


    Zach turned to his tall and tan maid, who seemed to be doing her best to regain the dignity she had lost while losing herself in potion-making. She was standing next to the wall in Zach''s living room with her hands clasped in front of her.


    "Alzara."


    "Yes, Master?"


    "Do you not like fighting?"


    "Are you referring to my inactivity during the expedition into the forest, Master?"


    "Yes. Exactly."


    "I do not mind engaging in altercations, physical or otherwise. I am a battle maid, after all. However, I saw no reason to partake in the ongoing collisions between familiar and monster."


    "If you ''partake'' in battles, you and Yanael can kill more monsters. Aside from you two getting stronger, I will gain more levels." Zach hid his curiosity about Alzara''s combat ability with other selfish reasons.


    "I see¡­I will take that into consideration in the future, Master." Alzara nodded solemnly, accepting Zach''s implicit order. She also hid the regret she felt about being unable to tell Zach about his condition. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Good." Zach nodded.

 Chapter 166: Progress

    After a round of training and another round of studying for tests and exams on the general knowledge the Academy also taught in addition to summoning, the students were ready for another expedition into the forest.Hopefully, the monster population hadn''t recovered from last time, which would make it easier this time.


    Unfortunately, it seemed like the monsters had been inspired by the students'' decision to take a step back and come back stronger. They had done the same. There weren''t necessarily as many monsters as before.


    But there also weren''t as many contenders for the already abundant underworld energy in the forest. The monsters who remained had only grown stronger in the time Zach and the others were away.


    However, their increased strength was limited to the basics. Their raw power was greater than before. That was it.


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    The students and their familiars had trained their strength and stamina, but also their techniques, their cooperation, and their control. The summoning students and their familiars had grown more than the monsters. They were at an advantage.


    And they showed that advantage to the fullest when they plowed through the monsters and trees on their way to the depths of the forest. The students and smaller familiars rode on Nessa''s Millipede while Anerias'' Blackfire Hound and Dukiel''s Sentinel alternated spearheading the charge, taking on the brunt of the monsters.


    Naturally, with Zach''s barriers, their burden wasn''t as great as it could have been, but it was a lot of pressure, and Zach''s barriers weren''t infallible. It happened more than once that the barriers collapsed under the weight of tens of monsters.


    Fortunately, the familiars didn''t suffer any serious injuries. Zach''s barriers only broke on rare occasions when clumps of monsters gathered and charged them at once. When that happened, the other familiars were already swinging their weapons, claws, or whatever else they had in their arsenal, quickly clearing out the monsters on the spearhead.


    Overall, it was an efficient but rushed tactic that quickly drained their stamina. But they would have fought just as many monsters if not more if they had taken it slow. Now, however, they could spend some time resting when they found an opportunity, and then some more time on the actual search.


    Zach could see the fatigue building up in the Hound, but the other familiars were doing fine, though Violina had to hold the Frost Imp with both hands to stop it from flying out and attacking anything that moved. She tried her best to cover its eyes and ears, but there was a limit to how much she could hide from the S-rank familiar. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They rode Nessa''s Millipede, only taking breaks for food and private matters. But they also ate simple snacks and slept on the Millipede when they could.


    Although Zach had a tendency to over do it, now that they were all over level ten, it was obvious that they were stronger and more tenacious than ordinary people. Going without sleep for a day or two wouldn''t pose any problems. And if they napped occasionally, it was more than fine.


    The only one who suffered was Dukiel. Although Nessa, Anerias, and Violina also held some confidence in map-reading and keeping track of their whereabouts, they were not confident enough to do so when they were moving so quickly in territory that didn''t align with a map from before the underworld energy contaminated and changed the forest.


    Their respect for Dukiel only grew the deeper he brought them into the forest with the certainty that he would be able to bring them back out of it.


    Eventually, things started to look familiar.


    "Dukiel, are we getting close?" Violina was one of the first to recognize the location, and she asked while looking around.


    "Yes. This is about how far we got last time," he answered without even checking the map. If the others recognized it, so did he. At his words, the others realized it was also the place where they had decided to chicken out and turn back last time, so they stayed silent.


    Nessa slowed down the Millipede and they proceeded with slightly more caution. The monsters that attacked them would only get stronger from here on out.


    Coincidentally enough, the first monster that attacked them after they beat their last record was another wolf with more legs than the norm. It was a six-legged wolf this time, and it was larger than both the last one and ordinary wolves. It was also stronger and faster.


    In a one-on-one battle, it would have beaten the A-rank familiars. That was why all the familiars, excluding Alzara, jumped it as soon as it reared its scary face, pummeling it to death before it could even put a scratch on one of Zach''s barriers.


    It was a disappointing end for the strongest monster they had ever faced. There was no mistaking it. It was stronger than the tiger had been.


    The tiger that could have defeated Yanael, the Sentinel, the Mannequin, and Zach and the other two would have lost against the tiger. It wasn''t even a question about different skills and strengths. The wolf was all around stronger than the tiger, even when the tiger tapped into the underworld energy in its leg.


    Zach exchanged looks with Dukiel and Julius.


    The situation was slightly different since there were twice as many summoners now with four times as many familiars. But they were stronger than their past selves. They weren''t as weak anymore. They had grown.


    Finally, the tiger could stop haunting their dreams and nightmares.


    Of course, that didn''t mean they were invincible. They still had a long, long way ahead of them. But they could take some confidence in themselves and their efforts so far.


    But before they could think of the distant future and the next step on their way forward, they still had the present in front of them. They had a dark forest to dive deeper into. Monsters lurked behind every tree, and at the end of the path, they would likely encounter a threat much greater than anything they had faced before.

 Chapter 167: To And From

    As the group of six students and eleven familiars proceeded deeper into the forest, the underworld energy continued to thicken.The underworld energy permeated the air in the entire forest, even stretching slightly beyond the contaminated area. But the closer to the edge of the forest, the thinner it was. The first few leagues of contaminated forest had air almost as clear as the outside world.


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    However, now the group had come so deep that the sunlight could barely reach the ground. The air was murky grey, and the sky was no different from looking at a singular large rain cloud. There was also an especially thick layer of black smoke lingering up to a hand above the ground. It snaked and curled around their feet and ankles when they walked.


    Although they wanted to continue riding Nessa''s Millipede since it was so much easier than walking, they had to dismount. They were too deep now to prioritize comfort. Both the students and the familiars had to be ready to react at less than a moment''s notice if they were attacked or if something else happened.


    Fortunately, or unfortunately, the layer of underworld energy lying on the forest floor prevented anything from growing, even plants that had gotten used to the underworld energy in other parts of the forest. They still had to be wary of tree roots poking out of the ground, but as long as they didn''t drop their brains, they didn''t have to worry about tripping on anything.


    It wasn''t much of a comfort, though. The underworld energy was chilly, and the students were uncomfortable with it hugging their feet and ankles.


    But it helped them continue in the right direction.


    It was obvious the underworld energy would be thicker the closer to the source they got. So, they knew they were on the right track when the layer of underworld energy started rising. It was at a snail''s pace, but it went from the top of their feet and ankles to the base of their shins. And it showed no signs of descending again.


    "Guys, wait a minute." Julius stopped the procession and looked around. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration. He licked his finger and held it up in the air. There wasn''t so much as a hint of a breeze in the forest, so the others were a little confused about what he was doing.


    After a short while, Julius opened his eyes again and looked at the others.


    "I can''t be sure, but I think the underworld energy is moving."


    The others frowned.


    "To or from that direction." Julius pointed in a specific direction. Dukiel looked at the map while the others tried to understand what he meant by how it moved.


    "What do you mean ''to or from''?" Anerias asked.


    "I can''t tell which way it''s moving, only that it''s related to that direction."


    "Couldn''t it be the other direction as well?" Nessa looked in the opposite direction.


    "...No. That''s almost the way we came from. Julius is pointing in the right direction. What we''re looking for should be over there." Dukiel slowly shook his head, rejecting Nessa''s idea. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Any doubts they had were put to rest by Dukiel''s words. Dukiel was already guiding them toward the general area, and now Julius had helped pinpoint the direction.


    They were on the right track. And they were getting closer.


    Anticipation rose in their throats. But so did a sense of trepidation. They weren''t just getting closer to the source of the contamination. They were most likely getting closer to something very dangerous.


    They had no way to confirm it. They had also only said that they should be prepared for anything and everything. No one had explicitly stated that they would be fighting for their lives shortly. But they all thought it.


    Some of them wanted to rest and let their familiars recover a little more before they proceeded, but it seemed like wolves had an incredible innate potential adaptability to underworld energy as more and more of them came to attack them.


    They were fortunate that the underworld energy had destroyed any pack mentality in exchange for their strength, but they could not confirm if that was true for all wolves. So, before they got swarmed by a pack of six or more-legged wolves, they should find what they were looking for and then decide what to do.


    After a while, when the grounded layer of underworld energy had reached the middle of their shins, the others could also tell that the underworld energy was moving. They felt the chill on their legs sweep back and forth. It was slow, so slow that it first felt no different from when their legs swept through the mist-like underworld energy.


    But they could feel it even when they weren''t walking. It was clear they were getting close.


    It should be great news. But all of them had foreboding feelings. The instincts they had developed over many fights and life-and-death situations were warning them.


    It was another sign they were headed in the right direction.


    In the future, some of them would wonder if they should have listened to those instincts. Maybe it would have changed how things played out. Maybe it would have changed the future.


    But there was no way of knowing the consequences of their actions ahead of time, and all of them decided to ignore the instincts telling them to go back. They proceeded deeper into the forest.


    Gradually, the underworld energy climbed to Julius'' knees, who had the longest legs in the group, excluding Alzara.


    The students gulped and swallowed the saliva that kept building in their mouths more frequently as they continued, the chill of the underworld energy creeping into their legs.


    There was something about the atmosphere, the darkness, and the moving shadows of the underworld energy that made it seem like they were surrounded by ghosts, surrounded by ill omens warning them that their path was not one for the living.


    But it was too late to turn back. Much too late.


    They had arrived.


    Nessa slipped. Her foot hit nothing instead of solid ground.

 Chapter 168: Spoiled Son Of A Duke

    Nessa''s foot and leg disappeared down into the emptiness beneath her. Instinctively, she reached out with her hands to catch herself. She managed to grab hold of Zach''s sleeve, surprising him.Fortunately, before she could drag him with her into the abyss that suddenly appeared right next to where they had walked, Alzara grabbed Zach. With him as the middle-man, she also pulled up Nessa.


    Nessa''s heart beat like a drum as she clutched Zach''s shoulders hard and exhaled.


    "That¡­" Nessa paused to take a deep breath. "...was fucking scary." She stood up straight and let go of Zach to turn around and check if she could see where she had almost disappeared to.


    She almost thought it might have been a tiny hole in the ground from a monster or something. However, she couldn''t see anything through the thick underworld energy that was up to the middle of her thigh.


    Right as she was about to gently tap the ground with her toes until she found the ledge she almost fell off of, the underworld energy moved.


    Like the ocean waves, it first swept backward and slightly downward, beginning with where Nessa almost fell. Over a wide area, the underworld energy was sucked downward into the ground.


    A couple of moments later, it was pushed back up again. It felt like there was more underworld energy on the way up than down.


    "...I think I found the source, guys." Nessa boldly took credit for the discovery.


    Of course, with how close they were, it had only been a matter of time before the underworld energy moved as it had just done and alerted them of the source''s presence. Or maybe someone else would have happened to stumble upon the hole in the ground leading straight to the Underworld.


    But no one commented. They were too busy realizing that Nessa had almost died or mapping out approximately how large the source of underworld energy was.


    If it had been an ordinary hole or monster burrow, Nessa would have at most broken a leg. If she had fallen into the hole that underworld energy spewed out of, they could have forgotten about ever seeing her again.


    After realizing that, Zach hastily pulled out several ropes from his bag.


    "Let''s tie ourselves together in case someone else falls. Then, grab a bunch of sticks. We should make a fence to prevent anyone from falling in and to confirm how large this hole is."


    Zach was the club president and his orders made sense, so the others quickly carried them out. Their familiar helped them chop down and break trees until they had enough sticks to mark the circumference of the hole by jabbing them into the ground right next to it. They tied a thin rope around the tops of the sticks, finalizing a makeshift fence.


    All of them had grim faces as they looked at the hole that was worryingly large. It wasn''t so big that they couldn''t see the other side, even with the dimness of the underworld energy in the air.


    But it was far too wide to even think of jumping across. They could probably chuck a stone to the other side. But they wouldn''t have been able to do that before they became summoners and leveled up a bunch.


    It was a big hole, and it seemed to periodically be spewing up amounts of underworld energy that seemed insignificant at first but added up over time.


    However, the size of the hole wasn''t necessarily the problem. It was the fact that it was a hole that was the source of underworld energy.


    How were they supposed to break a hole? Attacking it would only make it bigger.


    There was probably something at the bottom of it. Why else would it look like the underworld energy was being pumped up? But climbing or entering the hole in any way was a suicide mission, even for Julius and his Mannequin, who wouldn''t be as affected by the underworld energy.


    "Can we fill it up?" Violina suggested. Since everyone was silent, they were free to come with suggestions of what to do.


    And filling it up was a reasonable suggestion. If they blocked the hole, the underworld energy wouldn''t come to the surface.


    "The underworld energy will seep into the ground or they will remove anything we throw down." Unfortunately, filling it up wasn''t viable in the long-term, and Anerias discarded the idea.


    "What about using lasers?" Dukiel looked at Zach, ready to use the same move they used in their first year to drill a hole into the swamp Locale and the tiger''s chest.


    "Setting aside the difficulty of getting the right angle without risking falling into the hole, I don''t think it will be enough. The underworld energy will block the lasers and reduce their strength far too much for them to do any damage when they hit the bottom."


    "Still worth a shot?"


    "Mm. If we can''t come up with anything better, sure." Zach didn''t outright reject Dukiel. It could do something. But it was more likely that it wouldn''t do any real, lasting damage and would only piss of the underworlders.


    Besides, Zach knew something that might work. He wasn''t sure about it since he had no way of knowing what kind of effects it might have on the forest or anything else, so he didn''t mention it just yet. Maybe the others could come up with a solution.


    "Does anyone have any good connections?" Nessa suddenly asked.


    "...Why?" Zach narrowed his eyes, feeling Nessa had something potentially nefarious in mind.


    Nessa shrugged. "Explosives."


    "..."


    The others were a little taken aback by the nonchalance of how she suggested it. But they had to admit that it was a valid idea. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unfortunately, no one had any connections.


    "...I might be able to get some from my family." Almost no one. Violina was the daughter of a duke.


    "...Me too." And Zach was the son of a duke, the spoiled son of a duke, to be precise.


    Only someone with influence on par with the royal family could freely use material as restricted as all kinds of explosives. It was a material that could let even the weakest commoner kill a mage or a squad of knights. Read new chapters at M V L


    As practical as it could be for mining, construction, and, in small enough doses, farming, it was not easy to get a hold of.

 Chapter 169: Expressing Ones Opinion

    Dukiel, Anerias, Julius, and Nessa stood and shared in Zach''s and Violina''s silence, waiting for the latter two to say anything. They were the only ones who had a chance of getting explosives. So, it was up to them if they were going to try."Does that mean we have to go back without doing anything?" Anerias eventually asked, unable to stand the silence.


    "I hate to say it, but I agree with Anerias. I don''t want to return without at least throwing a rock or something." Nessa crossed her arms and got a little closer to the fence, trying to peek into the hole that they couldn''t even see.


    Anerias looked a little offended at Nessa''s initial comment but didn''t say anything. Instead, he started looking for things to toss into the hole.


    Zach could feel the others'' gazes. The downside of being the club president and taking charge whenever he felt like it.


    ''Fuck it.''


    "...I actually have something we can throw down the hole that should actually have an effect." Zach hung his head a little, still hesitant. After this, it would be impossible to reveal what he could do to underworlders and underworld energy. He would have to hurry back and try to make a gentle enough potion for Rierdan and his familiar.


    Nessa''s and Dukiel''s eyes widened after a moment when Zach brought out a bottle with a mysterious liquid sloshing around inside.


    Julius'' pupils narrowed and he fixed his gaze on the potion that sent shivers down his spine.


    Anerias and Violina tilted their heads a little too similarly.


    Zach held up the undiluted anti-underworld energy potion.


    "This¡­" He trailed off.


    "Does anyone want me to not throw this down the hole?" He asked.


    "What is it?" Violina asked in turn.


    "Something that''s effective against underworld energy."


    "I don''t mind." Violina nodded.


    "Me neither." Anerias agreed with her.


    "Do it." Nessa was excitedly urging Zach to throw it.


    "Sure."


    "..." The only one who didn''t say anything was Julius.


    "GROAARGH!" Even the enormous black bear that suddenly appeared from the forest expressed his opinion. It was strongly against it by the sound of its deep roar. The air shook in the wake of the roar that made their clothes flap in the wind.


    "Shit." Zach quickly stuffed the potion back into his clothes and took a step back. The bear was slightly to the side of the hole compared to them. If they were quick, they might be able to circle the hole and prevent the bear from attacking them.


    "AWWOO!"


    Zach looked at the source of the howl.


    "Shit."


    An eight-legged wolf had decided to join the party on the opposite side of the hole to the bear. Slowly, they started walking toward the group of students.


    Zach glanced to ward the hole, the potion pressing against his chest like a warm stone. He could quickly throw it in, risking it hitting the walls of the hole and breaking and losing effect before reaching the bottom.


    Or he could hold onto it.


    He decided to hold onto it. He might need it against the monsters that had decided to interrupt their discussion.


    "Quick, untie yourselves." Zach gave his first order as he threw up a single, tight barrier around the students. He couldn''t afford to protect the familiars, too. Even his maids were outside.


    The others were still a little stunned by the bear''s roar and the wolf''s howl, but Zach''s calm and commanding tone helped them snap out of it, and they quickly cut or untied the rope still tied around their waists. It would save them if one of them fell into the hole, but now, it would prevent them from moving around as they needed.


    And if one person got caught by either monster, they would all get caught.


    It wasn''t even every student for themselves. It would be easier for all of them to survive if they weren''t tied together.


    Zach locked eyes with Alzara and nodded. Although a little reluctant, she returned the nod.


    "I''ll take the bear. You five focus on getting rid of the wolf as quickly as possible."


    "What? That''s¡ª"


    "Listen to me." Zach interrupted Anerias. "Trust me. I can handle the bear. But I won''t be able to kill it alone. Either way, we need to split up. We can''t let those two fight together.


    We don''t have time for a full analysis. Just do as I say. Violina, you''re in charge of your group."


    "Got it." Violina nodded with a serious expression. Zach was surrendering command of them because he wouldn''t have time to focus on anything but his own battle. That meant he wouldn''t be able to share his barriers with them.


    That would make it difficult. The eight-legged wolf was dangerous. The six-legged wolf had been the strongest monster they had fought in their time at the Academy.


    The six-legged wolf had been stronger than the five-legged wolf, and the five-legged wolf was stronger than an ordinary four-legged wolf. The wolf''s presence, size, and the turbid air around it aside, looking purely at the number of legs, it was far stronger than the six-legged wolf from before. Even a seven-legged wolf would have been dangerously strong.


    But now, an eight-legged one was approaching them while snarling and showing off a large set of white teeth, glistening with a layer of saliva.


    It was big, too. Since it had been a bit away and next to the already big hole and the fence around it, it had been difficult to estimate the size of the thing. But when it got a little closer, they could estimate the wolf''s size to be at least twice the size of Anerias'' Blackfire Hound. And the Hound had grown since it was summoned. The Hound''s back was at the same height as the top of Nessa''s head.


    The wolf was longer and had different proportions than the Hound, but it was still ridiculously big.


    "Anerias, your Hound will face it with the support of Nessa''s Millipede and Butterfly. Julius, look for opportunities to sap the wolf of its strength or disrupt its rhythm. My familiars will slow down its movements. Dukiel, was your training successful?" Read new chapters at M V L S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes."


    "Good. Time for you to show off."

 Chapter 170: Initial Clash

    Although affected by the wolf''s intimidating aura, Anerias'' Blackfire Hound inched forward with Nessa''s Millipede staying half a step behind it to its side. The Butterfly hovered in the air behind them. The Hellcat disappeared into the underworld energy lingering right above the ground and circled into the trees. Julius and the Mannequin also faded from view as they hid in the underworld energy.Violina''s Ice Spirit and Frost Imp flew out next to the Midnight Butterfly and hovered in the air above and behind the frontline. The three of them threw down supporting effects to strengthen the familiars or weaken the wolf. Discover hidden tales at M V L


    The Ice Spirit and the Frost Imp couldn''t do anything to strengthen the Hound and the Millipede. But they could do something similar to enchanting their feet and paws so that they didn''t sleep on the sheet of ice they spread out on the ground to disrupt the wolf''s movements.


    They also tried to grow trunks of ice around the wolf''s legs, but the wolf was too strong and broke free without any visible signs of effort. It didn''t work, but it was still more effective than the Butterfly''s attempts at weakening the wolf. The glittery dust the Butterfly spread in the air bounced off the wolf''s bristly, dark grey fur. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since it would only waste energy doing that, the Butterfly prioritized covering the Hound and the Millipede in a layer of glowing dust that increased their strength and durability.


    While the other familiars prepared, thanks to the wolf waiting for them, Dukiel''s Sentinel and Transformation Cube also flew out. They were a step behind the three supporters but more to the side, taking one side each.


    When it was in position, the Transformation Cube shone with a silvery light for a moment as it lived up to its name and transformed. When the light faded, the finishing touches of the quicksilver-like Cube''s transformation were done.


    Suddenly, there were two Sentinels on the battlefield, one dull grey and one the color of quicksilver. They held either flank of the frontline.


    The wolf, seemingly satisfied with his prey''s preparations, drew the corners of its lips even further back like it was grinning.


    Violina couldn''t even see its legs move as it sprung forward, tearing apart the ice beneath it with its sharp claws and throwing up a cloud of icy dust and shards. A moment later, it was already in front of Hound, nipping at its neck with its fangs.


    Black flames rose from the Hound''s four paws, climbing up its legs and covering its body in a cloud of fire. The bridge of the wolf''s snout was covered with wrinkles as it growled and shied backward at the flames.


    They hadn''t burned it or even touched it since the wolf reacted so quickly, but they startled it.


    Although it had adapted to the underworld energy, evolved, and grown a lot stronger. It couldn''t escape the base instinct of fearing fire, especially when it was a fire from Hell. It was a fire used by a descendant of one of the mighty figures of Hell.


    It was a fire that even the beings of Hell were made to suffer under. Living beings of the world, surface or Underworld, shouldn''t touch the flames.


    However, the flames weren''t absolute. The Blackfire Hound was a distant relative. It was young. It was an A-rank. The fire was a weakened version of the original.


    Most importantly, the wolf was strong.


    As soon as it realized that the flames weren''t dangerous, it attacked again. It ignored the fires that charred its teeth and gums and went for the Hound''s neck again, happily letting it dig its own fangs into the wolf''s shoulder.


    Well, the Hound tried.


    Like an old pillow, dark dust billowed out of the wolf''s fur when the Hound bit it. Underworld energy flooded the Hound''s mouth, and it had to let go and spit it out. Even if it had toughened it out, the wolf''s fur and hide were too thick for a forced bite to be worth it.


    At least the wolf hadn''t been able to do much more after puncturing the hound''s skin. It bit and let go. Before it could bite again or maul the Hound with any of its eight legs, the Millipede had wrapped around its two foremost legs, tying them together with its body like a rope.


    When the wolf tried to move again, it almost stumbled. It looked down and saw the Millipede wrapped around its legs.


    One of the downsides of being too strong and having too thick and dense fur was that it couldn''t sense things that were too weak. It had sensed something, but the wolf assumed it was the Hound again.


    The wolf had trouble putting its weight on its legs, and its head started dipping forward.


    The Hound didn''t miss that opportunity. It lunged forward, aiming for the wolf''s nose. The eight-legged monster was too tall for the Hound to confidently aim for the neck, even if the Millipede brought it down.


    The snout, however, was easier to reach and easier to bite since it was smaller. It also didn''t have a bunch of fur and underworld energy protecting it. If it could just chomp down on the wolf''s snout, the fight would be a lot easier.


    There was no way it would be that easy.


    The wolf whipped up its head, snapping the Hound''s jaws shut with a cracking sound. It continued to rise until its front body was off the ground. It tore into the Millipede with its second pair of legs.


    The Millipede tried its best to hold on, but much to Nessa''s horror, the wolf''s sharp claws dug into the Millipede''s armor and tore it away from its legs. The Millipede had several deep furrows on its body as it was tossed to the ground.


    But it had done its job. The wolf was baring its chest.


    The Millipede was out of the way. The Hound, while slightly dazed from the blow to its head, sank down, opening the path.


    As if on cue, several thick, red lasers burst through the air right above the Hound''s flames, distorting the air.

 Chapter 171: Shit

    The lasers were quick. The wolf was quick. The Sentinels aimed at an opening. The wolf had good reactions.The wolf extended its back four legs and pushed away from the ground. The lasers brushed against its ribcage and belly as it flew into the air.


    The cloud of underworld energy embedded in the wolf''s fur that defended against the Hound''s bite did nothing against the hot and powerful lasers, and they singed its fur and hide.


    Anerias, Dukiel, and Julius winced as the lasers reached the base of the wolf''s stomach.


    Fortunately, it was a female wolf and it wasn''t affected by the lasers other than the wide band of burned skin along its underside. It stung. It burned. It was painful.


    But compared to the pain the wolf had felt when adapting to the underworld energy? It could have been worse. Still, it winced, and it ended up jumping high up in the air to avoid the laser. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Stuck in the air, it couldn''t move.


    The Sentinels readied another round of lasers, even if they might not make it in time before the wolf landed again.


    The Hellcat shot out from a nearby tree canopy. Violina wasn''t sure how it had hidden when the trees around didn''t have any leaves, only gnarled, bare branches. But it didn''t matter. It flashed through the air like a bolt of black lightning, scratching the wolf''s belly with eight sharp, dark claws.


    The wolf flapped its legs to try and balance itself in the air and land upright. It had noticed the Hellcat, but that wasn''t why it was kicking the air. Still, after the Hellcat struck the wolf, the wolf kicked the Hellcat into the forest with tremendous force.


    Anerias'' heart twitched as he saw the limp Hellcat soar through the air and crash among the trees, disappearing from sight. He wanted to run and check on it but knew he couldn''t. Any movement he did could distract the familiars or grab the wolf''s attention.


    It seemed like the Sentinels held the wolf''s full attention even before it landed, but if it saw something moving right behind them, it might react to that instead and set off toward him as soon as its paws touched the ground.


    Anerias just had to trust his Hellcat.


    Anerias looked away from the forest and looked at the wolf right as it was about to land. But instead of touching the ground with its paws, it caught a pillar of ice to its chest that bounced it back into the air.


    At the peak of its air-based journey, the wolf caught another round of lasers, and this time, it took the full brunt of the lasers to its shoulder. Although the ice pillar had rocked it back into the air, it had also changed its trajectory slightly.


    But a graze had been enough to get through the wolf''s defenses. A full-on hit might even be enough to kill it, even if it wasn''t in the best spot.


    The lasers crashed into the wolf, blasting it away. The lasers kept contact until the wolf sank to the ground several long strides away, blasting the wolf''s flesh.


    Violina clenched her fist in excitement. She and the others excitedly looked at each other. They were about to turn and see how Zach was doing when the shadow of the wolf rose and loomed, darkening the already dark underworld energy.


    The expressions of the students grew even darker as they looked at the wolf''s body. Smoke wasn''t rising from it. It was rising to it.


    The wound along its underside and the crater on its shoulder were both drawing underworld energy from the layer along the ground. The wounds were healing at a visible rate.


    "Shit." Violina had learned from Zach. When things went to shit, one had to call it.


    "Jules, it looks like you''re going to have to do something about that," Dukiel called out to Julius.


    Julius didn''t respond, but he heard and understood what he had to do. His Mannequin would have to risk its life to make an opening for the others to land a killing blow. Again.


    The wolf glared at the Sentinels. That had hurt. It didn''t hurt anymore since it was as good as finished healing, but the wolf remembered the pain, and it correctly identified the Sentinels as the source of the pain.


    "Dukiel, do your Sentinels have the same killing power if they go melee?" Violina quickly asked.


    "No. The lasers are the most powerful attack. But it comes at the cost of durability and mobility."


    "I see. Then, it looks like you and Nessa will need to join the fray." Read exclusive content at M V L


    "Are you serious?" Dukiel asked in disbelief and fear. He didn''t want to believe that Violina wanted them to fight against that wolf.


    "Yep."


    "..."


    "Sorry, Nessa, I know you don''t like that skill of yours."


    "That''s hardly something to be worried about right now."


    "I know. With your skills, you two should be able to block one hit without dying. That''s all you need to do," Violina pleaded with them. She knew what she was asking.


    "And you? What will you be doing while we risk our lives?" Dukiel angrily asked.


    Violina unsheathed her sword and covered it in a layer of ice.


    "I''ll be right next to you." Violina turned to Dukiel.


    "You''re free to join us. I know your skills are better at close-quarters combat." Both of Anerias'' skills were very short-ranged. His second was only effective when he touched his target.


    But he didn''t have much combat experience, and unlike Dukiel and Nessa, he didn''t have any defense. It was unfair to ask him to join them in the fight against the wolf.


    "What the fuck do you think of me? Of course, I''m joining. That fucker kicked my Hellcat." Anerias'' hands caught fire. They burned with smoky black flames.


    A thud shook the ground. It came from Zach''s fight with the bear, but they couldn''t turn around, not when the wolf was running toward them.


    Anerias and his fiery hands led the charge.


    Dukiel''s head slumped as a sigh escaped from his lips. Nessa''s reaction was similar, but she steeled her resolve. The two and Violina rushed to catch up to Dukiel.

 Chapter 172: Sturdy Fly

    Zach winced when the bear covered Yanael with its paw and slammed her flat into the ground. Zach knew his barriers couldn''t block that strike, so he didn''t waste his health trying. He knew Yanael would understand. But it still hurt to let her take such a blow without helping.However, Yanael didn''t take that blow for nothing. Alzara grabbed the opening and sprinted up the bear''s outstretched arm. The bear was bigger than the wolf, and it was like running up a hill, but Alzara didn''t have any trouble. It was like she was skipping over a field of flowers.


    There wasn''t a hit of exertion on her face as she stood, light as a feather, on the bear''s back.


    Zach wasn''t sure what she was going to do up there. Since she was a witch, he assumed she would use magic of some kind, not that he knew much about witches other than how they stirred their pots with green, bubbling potions.


    Considering how Alzara made her potions, though, desert witches might be more sophisticated in some areas. Or his preconceived notions about witches, in general, were wrong.


    That they were.


    Alzara flicked her wrists and suddenly had a pair of curved daggers. Zach could see even from a distance that there were engravings on the blades.


    Alzara crossed her wrists in front of her before slashing out with a double-layered cut in between the bear''s shoulders. The bear, who had missed Alzara on his back, felt a chill run down its spine when Alzara launched her attack. Its back muscles tensed, and its long, spiky fur stiffened like the bristles of a porcupine.


    It wasn''t enough.


    Alzara''s daggers cut through both fur and hide, leaving a wound as long as Zach''s arm. She clicked her tongue. Although she had no trouble cutting through the bear''s defenses, she had not planned to only make such a shallow wound.


    The bear bucked like a bull and tossed Alzara into the air. She embraced the force and jumped. She took a moment to inspect the bear as she hovered in the air. She narrowed her eyes as underworld energy streamed over and through the bear''s fur and body toward the wound, healing it almost instaneously.


    Alzara''s eyes narrowed.


    She made one dagger disappear. She cut her thumb with the one that remained, drawing black blood. She wiped the blood over the dagger''s side. The blood soaked into the dagger, igniting the engravings with a blue light.


    "Curse of Decay." The light on Alzara''s blades flickered for a moment.


    She clicked her tongue again.


    "Am I really that weak?"


    Before she could do anything else, Alzara returned to the ground next to Zach. The bear locked onto her with its gaze. It roared and sent a shower of spittle in their direction, but Zach''s barrier stopped it before it could reach them. Then, it prepared to charge.


    Yanael, covered in dirt and with a few scrapes on her face and her hair in disarray, however, had taken the opportunity to get back up when Alzara distracted the bear. She gritted her teeth. Her wings fully extended, and her halo bathed her in a golden light.


    Like a cannonball, she shot into the side of the bear''s head with her shield first. It wasn''t even allowed to look at Zach, much less roar or charge at him.


    The bear''s head was solid, and it was like she hit a brick wall. Yanael would be surprised if the blow had even dazed the bear, and based on the way it glared at her with its black, beady eyes, it hadn''t. It had only served to further irritate the hairy bastard. Explore stories on M V L


    Yanael knocked her sword against her shield with a ringing, clanging sound, taunting the bear to attack her. For whatever reason, Alzara wasn''t doing anything just yet. That meant it was up to her to fight and hold the bear''s attention.


    "Aren''t you going to help?" Zach raised an eyebrow and glanced at Alzara, unable to completely tear his eyes away from Yanael and the bear.


    "It''s just going to heal any injuries as long as it has access to underworld energy. One of my curses should work, but I need to gather my strength for a moment. And that alone won''t be enough to kill it." Alzara put the dagger against her thumb again, dragging an excruciatingly slow line across it.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and looked at the bear. He thought about how to solve the problem Alzara had just mentioned.


    "...I think I can put up a barrier that seals the air around the bear. It will have access to the underworld energy inside the barrier but no more than that."


    "Injure it and make it drain all the underworld energy and then kill it. Got it." Alzara wiped a thick wad of black blood against her blade, which made her dagger''s engravings shine much clearer than before.


    "Curse of Decay." She was about to dart off.


    "There''s just one problem."


    "Yes?"


    "You two will run out of air if you don''t finish it quickly enough." S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That''s hardly a problem at all." Alzara winked and threw Zach a kiss before getting closer to Yanael''s and the bear''s brawl.


    Zach sighed, and when Alzara was close enough, he concentrated and extended his hands. It needed to be a big barrier. It didn''t need to be durable or hold any other special properties. But it needed to be air-tight and large enough to let his two familiars fight with the overgrown bear without worrying about breaking the barrier or going out of bounds.


    He trusted his familiars, and Alzara could probably fight inside a barrier that was barely bigger than the bear. But Yanael had a different fighting method.


    Gradually, a translucent, golden-hued film unfolded above the bear, Yanael, and Alzara. It was almost four times the bear''s full length in diameter. Bigger than that and Zach couldn''t ensure that it would keep the underworld energy separated.


    With its current size, he could also lend Yanael some aid with smaller barriers.


    The bear seemed to notice the barrier but didn''t pay any further attention to it after confirming that it wasn''t an attack. It was too preoccupied with smacking the sturdy, glowing fly in front of it.

 Chapter 173: Bless You

    Yanael took the bear''s hits, paws, and claws with her shield. Her arm ached, and her shoulder was numb from how heavy the bear''s strikes were. She couldn''t defend against all the strikes, and she picked up more than one bloody gash on her body.But no matter what, Yanael didn''t let the bear push her back. Behind her were two things she couldn''t let the bear get closer to, Zach and the barrier.


    If she had been alone, she wouldn''t have used such a reckless method of sacrificing her flesh just to keep the bear in place and occupied. And she definitely wouldn''t have continued angering the bear by poking it in the nose or between the toe pads on the sole of its front paws when using the method. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But it was the most efficient method of controlling the bear. And she wasn''t alone.


    While Yanael kept the bear''s attention locked on her, Alzara darted around with long, quick steps. With each step she took, her arm whipped back and forth, leaving shallow, thin gashes all over the bear''s hairy body.


    At first, the only thing that changed was the flow of the underworld energy as the bear''s wounds started healing. Dark smoke disappeared into the wounds, stitching them back together, or at least, that is what should have happened.


    Moments after Alzara''s dagger passed by the bear''s skin and she had already made several more cuts, the wounds festered. The bear''s whitish skin bubbled and darkened with wart-like boils. The skin twisted and shrank as it appeared to dry up. The bear''s wounds oozed with a dark-purple smoke that refused to mix with the underworld energy.


    The underworld energy fought against the Curse of Decay. It was an even fight and neither side would back down. However, the underworld energy was steadily consumed. It healed and healed the wounds that would never heal. It could barely catch up to the wounds'' deterioration rate.


    The bear steadily consumed the underworld energy within the barrier. And while it seemed like the underworld energy outside the barrier wanted to enter based on how it swelled and crashed against it like waves on a wall.


    There was more of a response than Zach had expected, and he could feel some pressure on his barrier, but it wasn''t enough to prevent him from using barriers to support Yanael. He wasn''t sure she was struggling. It didn''t look like it, considering the mad glint in her eyes and the fierce smile on her lips, but the blood-soaked dress and deep wounds told a different story. Continue your adventure with M V L


    She might be struggling, but she was also enjoying it.


    Since things seemed to be under control, Zach dared to glance toward the others to see how they were doing.


    That was a bad decision, and he quickly looked back before he let himself be distracted.


    It wasn''t surprising, but five summoners and their familiars fighting were a little flashier than only Zach and his familiars fighting, especially since his familiars looked like experienced veterans. Yanael and Alzara were almost like butchers or hunters just going through the motions.


    The others, on the other hand, were fighting for their lives with all they had.


    Dukiel was covered in his second contract skill that gave him a full-covering armor of similar material to that of his Transformation Cube. In addition to having the base defenses of the shiny, quicksilver-like material, it also changed as he wore it. It adapted to the underworld energy and the wolf''s attacks.


    Anerias was covered in fire and doing his best to cling onto the wolf''s back. Zach had seen the flaming figure, but he didn''t even want to think about how he had gotten up there unless he lost focus.


    Violina was fighting diligently like an actual person. She wasn''t standing there or holding on for her life. She dodged the wolf''s attacks and rolled out of the way when it lunged or jumped. When she saw an opening, she stabbed the wolf with her icy sword, leaving behind shards of ice that prevented the wolf''s wounds from healing until the underworld energy broke down the ice.


    Julius¡­was scooping underworld energy onto his Mannequin.


    The familiars were fighting as best as they could or supporting each other and their summoners. Violina''s initial directions had helped, but she couldn''t give any more orders when she was busy dodging for her life. One strike would be enough to tear her in half.


    Finally, there was Nessa¡ªsomeone who could only be Nessa.


    Although Dukiel was covered in a full, smooth layer of armor that hid every last detail of his face, it had the same look as the Transformation Cube, so it was easy to recognize him.


    Nessa''s outfit was similar in that it looked like her familiar.


    She was covered in a layer of chitin carapace with a helmet that had two antennae and compound eyes over her own. She looked like a humanoid insect. There were membraneous layers of joints around her elbows, knees, shoulders, neck, and finger joints, just like the ones ant legs had. Or millipede legs.


    Zach didn''t even let himself look at it since he wouldn''t be able to look away.


    Nessa stayed as close to the wolf as she dared, distracting it with weak punches and puffs of sleeping powder from her second contract skill. She was doing her best with everything she had.


    They were all doing the best with everything they had. Almost. Julius had yet to see a decisive opening he and the Mannequin could use to land a fatal blow on the wolf, so they were still holding back.


    But the others were all fighting with their lives on the line.


    Unfortunately, they were fighting an uphill battle. It was chaotic. Between the large Hound, Millipede, and wolf, the human-sized summoners had trouble fighting and making a difference.


    They could cooperate with their familiars, but they had trouble not getting in the way of the others'' familiars.


    It was the first time they were all fighting together with both familiar and summoner joining the fray. It was only to be expected that it wasn''t perfect. But it was a shame that it was against such an overwhelmingly powerful enemy.


    The wolf grabbed the Hound''s paw and flung it. The Hound was momentarily out of balance from missing its strike and couldn''t resist.


    In the same motion, the wolf managed to toss off Anerias, who shared his Hellcat''s fate and flew into the trees.


    The Millipede wasn''t much of a threat.


    The wolf sneezed.


    It turned to Nessa.

 Chapter 174: Near Miss

    "Nessa!" Violina shouted and moved. It didn''t take a genius to figure out what the wolf was about to do. It was staring straight at Nessa, who had continuously irritated the wolf and weakened its resistance against magic with her sleeping dust. The Hound, who had blocked the wolf was out of the way. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.The Millipede, while stubborn, was injured and far from strong enough to block the wolf. The wolf smacked it aside with ease as it tried to stand in its way.


    Violina started running, even before the wolf turned its head back to Nessa after smacking the Millipede. She could tell that the wolf was about to attack her. But knowing the future and being able to interfere with it were two different things.


    Even if she hadn''t been tired from fighting the wolf, Violina still wouldn''t have made it in time. But she still tried. Her legs felt like lead, and it was like she was wading through syrup to try and reach Nessa.


    The others also moved, but Nessa had ended up separated from them in the heat of combat.


    The antennae on her head twitched slightly. Without even knowing what she was doing, she jerked herself to the side. She felt something smack against her face. It was the not-so-soft fur coat of the wolf as it flashed past her.


    She fell to the ground. She sensed the wolf further behind her, thanks to its shadow covering her. She put one hand against the ground and tried to push herself up.


    Even if the wolf had knocked her down, now was no time to stay down. She had to get up and regroup with the others.


    Unsteadily, she stood up. She saw Violina''s pale face. Violina clasped her hands over her mouth.


    Nessa frowned. Her thoughts were moving in slow motion. She thought it looked like Violina was looking at her like that. No, not quite at her. At her arm.


    Confused, Nessa followed Violina''s gaze.


    "Ah¡­" She let out a low gasp in realization. Blood dribbled down her mouth.


    The wolf hadn''t missed.


    It had taken her arm, shoulder, and some of her torso when it brushed past her. The speed, force, and sharpness of its fangs had been too great. The shock had been too great. She hadn''t felt a thing. Experience new tales on M-V-L


    Even now, the only thing she felt was some discomfort in her stomach from how much blood was pouring out of her. That was too much, even if she was a girl. She also felt cold, suddenly so very cold.


    The outer layers of her vision darkened as she looked at where her shoulder was supposed to be. After only a couple of moments, her vision was completely gone. She fell again.


    It was impossible to tell whether she was alive or dead.


    Slowly, the wolf turned around, grinning with Nessa''s fingers hanging out of its large mouth. It met Violina''s eyes as it swallowed Nessa''s arm tauntingly.


    "Now!"


    However, Violina didn''t have time to grieve, check on Nessa, or vent her anger at the wolf. Julius had seen an opening.


    Nessa''s sacrifice had also bought time for Anerias and his familiars to rejoin the fight. Dukiel''s Sentinels already had their lasers charged and ready to go.


    So, when Julius shouted, the only thing that needed to be done was locking the wolf in place.


    The wolf grinned when it saw Violina charge at it in a reckless fury. Another snack. Easy.


    Its eyes widened slightly when an ice pillar rocketed out of the ground beneath Violina''s feet and propelled her into the air. But the wolf didn''t think much of it. Delivery.


    It would only be easier now that she was in the air and couldn''t move.


    The wolf''s eyes glimmered with satisfaction. Finally, the annoying pests were starting to fall one by one.


    Violina pointed her sword at the wolf''s waiting mouth. The wolf wasn''t worried. The ice from the sword wasn''t a problem and neither was the sword. Any injuries from the sword, and that was if it could make it past the gnashing jaws, would be quickly healed by the underworld energy.


    However, the ice covering the sword grew in size. It wasn''t an illusion because it was rapidly approaching. More and more ice covered Violina''s weapon until it was heavy enough to affect her trajectory.


    The wolf wasn''t even confused. It helpfully moved to accommodate the new travel plan and caught the tip of Violina''s gigantic ice sword with its lower jaw.


    It got confused when the sword pushed its jaw down into the ground. And it just continued growing. A large pillar of ice, angled slightly to make space for the rest of the head, pinned the wolf''s head to the ground.


    It struggled to pull back, and the pillar was about to fall over. But the Frost Imp and Ice Spirit pushed on it and built more ice over the wolf''s head to balance it out.


    The wolf wasn''t getting away. It started to realize that it was in trouble.


    Out of the corner of one eye, it saw a black humanoid figure walking closer, moving like an extension of the underworld energy.


    Out of the corner of the other, on the opposite side, it saw a blaring red light. It whined and cried, but it was stuck.


    Its eight paws pushed against the ground, but it didn''t work. The soil was too soft. The claws were too sharp. The legs were too strong. Instead of pulling out from under the cliff of ice, the wolf only dug a trench beneath it.


    And before it could do anything else, the lasers hit the wolf''s head, right in the opening in the block of ice that Violina and her familiars had left. And on the other side, the Mannequin stood with its hands against the wolf, disrupting the underworld energy within and around the wolf even before it could start trying to heal.


    The laser burned into the wolf''s fur, melting its skin, crushing its muscles, and charring its skull. The heat pervaded the clearing enough that even Violina, who had her second contract skill and was standing on a block of ice, was beginning to sweat. Her ice started to melt, but it had done its part and then some.


    The wolf had to be suffering tremendously under the brutal onslaught of the lasers if it hadn''t died already since the lasers were beating straight at its skull, all eight of them at the same spot.


    The wolf had stopped struggling. Its legs were still twitching, as was the underworld energy around it, but it was no longer fighting for its life. It didn''t have a life to fight for anymore.


    But Violina, Dukiel, Anerias, and Julius didn''t care about the stupid wolf. As soon as their parts were done or it was clear they weren''t needed, they rushed to Nessa.

 Chapter 175: Slow-Mo

    Zach felt it. Something that shouldn''t have happened¨Cthat shouldn''t have been allowed to happen¨Chad happened. But the stubborn bear wouldn''t die, and Yanael was standing on her last legs. The underworld energy was pushing against his barrier, trying to force its way inside.The underworld energy inside the barrier was gone, creating a vacuum. The air was also mostly used up by the bear, Alzara, and Yanael.


    Zach could tell that the bear was confused. Its wounds weren''t healing. That, it had already concluded. But now, it wasn''t even getting any underworld energy to help it fight against the Curse of Decay.


    It could feel it. The bear could feel the cold shadow of Death encroach upon its own. It didn''t like it. It roared in pain and anger, resentful of the two flies, one buzzing around and the other refusing to get out of the way.


    It couldn''t stop its own death.


    Unlike the wolf, who had only realized it when it was on the brink of it, the bear''s death was slow and excruciatingly painful. The Curse of Decay wore down its flesh, drained its blood, and ate at the very source of its life.


    Without the underworld energy, the bear stood no chance. Even with the underworld energy, the bear might not recover with how many wounds and layers of the Curse Alzara had inflicted.


    The bear''s skin peeled like icy walls on a warm spring day.


    But the bear was large. It had a lot of skin, blood, and pure life force. It didn''t stop moving until it took its last breath. Even then, it was determined not to go out alone. It threw its massive body over Yanael. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach wanted to tear down the big barrier that blocked the underworld energy and throw up another one to protect Yanael, but he couldn''t risk it. If the bear absorbed the flood of underworld energy that would inevitably follow, it might very well come back to life. And Zach didn''t have the confidence to repeat what he and his familiars had just done.


    He and Yanael weren''t the only ones looking ragged after the fight.


    Alzara had avoided any direct hits, but she caught a few scrapes. More than that, however, was how draining it had been to use the Curse of Decay repeatedly as she had done. Her skin was grey, she had bags under her eyes, and her shoulders slumped, clearly tired from swinging the dagger and the curse around.


    Zach steeled his heart as the bear crashed down over Yanael with a ground-shaking thud. He had to make sure the bear was dead, even if it hurt Yanael even further.


    He gritted his teeth and waited what felt like several minutes. Eventually, when he was confident that all of the bear''s vital signs had ceased, he let up the barrier.


    Alzara took a deep breath and continued breathing heavily.


    Zach approached the bear to start digging Yanael out, but before he could get close, something burst out of the bear''s side in a rain of blood, black and red.


    Zach saw that while not in her best state, Yanael was fine. They locked eyes. Yanael nodded. Zach turned around.


    Instantly, he saw the dead wolf with a pillar of ice over its head. Then, he saw Violina, Dukiel, Julius, and Anerias crowding around something on the ground, Violina was crouching. The familiars were also standing around or biting the wolf.


    ¡­


    Zach frowned and swept the battlefield with his gaze. The place was a total mess. The two large underworlder monsters and the familiars had wrecked all the trees in the vicinity and torn up the ground.


    Something was missing.


    He refused to accept the idea into his idea.


    But it was persistent, and Zach couldn''t stop it.


    Nessa.


    It was Nessa on the ground.


    He took a closer look between the legs of the others and saw her crumpled clothes. He didn''t see much else.


    Zach couldn''t move.


    He only saw her clothes from a distance, and they were just clothes. But he had never seen clothes look so¡­lifeless.


    Before he knew it, Zach was already standing next to them.


    He could see Violina freeze Nessa''s shoulder¡ªwhat remained of it¡ªand stop the bleeding.


    But that alone wouldn''t be enough. The wolf had taken a large chunk out of her. Blood loss wasn''t the only concern.


    "Let''s go." The others flinched. They hadn''t even noticed when Zach got there. The only one who didn''t react was Violina. She continued applying layers of ice to Nessa''s body. She cooled Nessa down and lowered her bodily functions and activities.


    It was a long shot, especially when Nessa already looked dead.


    But they were not giving up.


    Zach gestured for the Millipede to get closer. It did. Without hesitation.


    "Continue freezing her."


    Zach ordered Violina while he bent down and gently picked up Nessa. Thanks to the ice, her body was rigid, and there wasn''t much risk of him worsening her injuries. But he still made a solid, flat barrier under her to keep her body in the exact same state as before.


    Wordlessly, Violina kept using her skill to cool down and keep Nessa cool.


    The Millipede lowered its head and made it easy for them to climb aboard.


    Zach didn''t even need to order the others.


    Anerias and Dukiel were already prepared to pave the way for them back to the Academy and the infirmary.


    Julius was about to join Dukiel on the Hound''s back when he felt something.


    He was the only one who could sense the underworld energy as clearly as an underworlder felt it. He was the first to sense that something was off. The underworld energy in their surroundings was moving. He looked around with a frown.


    At first, it was too subtle to tell in detail. But it didn''t feel like it was from the well. It was something else.


    With a chill running down his spine, Julius turned to the wolf.


    The ice had mostly thawed due to the lingering heat and Violina and her familiars focusing their strength on Nessa. A chunk of ice and Nessa''s swords leaned out of the wolf''s bottom jaw. It fell to the ground.


    Julius flinched as the wolf''s jaw slid shut when the ice no longer blocked it. He was frozen stiff when the wolf started moving.


    The others hadn''t noticed yet. They were busy securing Nessa or patching up their familiars to prepare them for a hellish rush through the monster-infested forest.


    The wolf stood up. It slowly turned its head.


    Julius reacted before he could think. His Mannequin followed him.


    The wolf charged.


    Julius and his Mannequin did the same. They tackled the wolf before it could reach the Millipede. The Mannequin, strengthened by copious amounts of underworld energy, flew into the wolf''s shoulder. Experience tales at M-V-L


    Julius did his best.


    The wolf, half-dead, unsteady, and with less than half an intact brain couldn''t defend against an impact that would have done almost nothing before.


    It stumbled. It almost fell and then stumbled some more.


    But its instincts of hate and retribution whipped its head to the side. It snapped its jaws shut around the Mannequin''s wrist.


    Julius reached out on instinct and grabbed his Mannequin''s other hand.


    Unlike Nessa, the Mannequin didn''t break. The wolf held onto it as it fell. And Julius held onto the Mannequin.


    With two in tow, the wolf fell. There was no thud or ground-shaking thump when it fell. That was because it didn''t hit the ground like before or like the bear had done.


    It had stumbled over to the abyssal hole and was to be devoured by it.


    And it brought Julius and the Mannequin along with it.


    The others, who had yet to even process what happened watched it like time had slowed down.


    Zach''s mind cleared for a moment.


    "Get out of the way as soon as possible!"

 Chapter 176: Waiting

    Zach''s loud voice startled the others. They first realized what had happened to Julius. He was dragged down to the Underworld. Right now, he was plummeting to what could only be certain death. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Even if the underworld energy blocked their view and prevented them from seeing more than a leg when they tried to look down, it didn''t take a genius to guess that the hole was deep. It reached all the way to the Underworld, and it was deep enough in the Underworld that it could spew out endless underworld energy.


    The fall itself aside, the only thing that waited for Julius down there was the source of the underworld energy and more underworlders, most of whom didn''t have friendly inclinations toward the surface.


    In a way, it would be lucky if the fall killed Julius. Otherwise, he might be subjected to unfathomable experiments, not to mention the most likely fate of his familiar, who had perfectly adapted to underworld energy and evolved.


    The student''s expressions were ashen.


    First Nessa and now Julius. They couldn''t even muster themselves to curse or take a step toward the hole and check in case Julius had managed to let go of the Mannequin and grab hold of the edge.


    They knew him better than that. He wouldn''t let go of the Mannequin even if his arm tore.


    But what did Zach mean with his words?


    Gradually, as they processed Julius'' misfortune, they realized two things. Zach had shouted at Julius, and Nessa was still hovering between life and death.


    "Quick! Get moving!" Zach slapped the Millipede and jumped down. He looked at Violina.


    "That barrier will last for at most a few hours." Zach pointed at the barrier floating above the Millipede. It would keep Nessa even more stable than the Millipede, and it would be easier to transport her. But it wouldn''t last forever.


    Zach was tired. Barriers further away were more difficult to maintain. He had used a lot of energy to create that barrier for Nessa''s sake. Circumstances weren''t in their favor.


    But Violina just nodded as the Millipede started moving. Dukiel, Anerias, and their familiars also moved. They had to escort Nessa and Violina and stop any and all monsters from interfering or slowing them down.


    Zach glanced at Alzara. He could tell she was tired and far from her peak strength.


    "Can you follow them and do your thing?" If Alzara could chase monsters away from Zach, she could scare monsters away from the others, even if she wasn''t in her best state. She nodded. She started out with tired steps, but after a moment or two, her long legs brought her soundlessly from tree to tree.


    Zach took out the anti-underworld energy potion and looked at it. He held it tightly and gritted his teeth.


    He had no idea what would happen if he dropped the potion down the hole. But he could guess a couple of things based on the Millipede''s reaction.


    The potion wasn''t purely detoxifying, nor did it exterminate underworld energy as well as it could have. It was more of a frightening agent. It drove away underworld energy. That was its primary function.


    Things with underworld energy inside them, like the Millipede suffered a little in the process of driving the underworld energy out of them.


    But things that were one with underworld energy, such as underworlders¡­ Even if Zach could not know for sure what would happen, he could imagine it. It wouldn''t be pleasant.


    That was why he had asked Julius to get out of the way.


    He might not survive the fall, but Zach had a feeling he would. Maybe the wolf would absorb the hit. Maybe something else would catch him. Maybe the underworld energy was more effective on him than he wanted the others to know.


    But he wouldn''t survive taking the anti-underworld energy potion head-on, not to mention the secondary effects of when the potion would drive away all the underworld energy.


    Julius might be fine since he shouldn''t have that much underworld energy inside him. But Zach couldn''t be sure. And rather than Julius, the Mannequin was definitely firewood as soon as it sniffed the potion. Julius had to vacate the landing zone as soon as possible for his Mannequin''s sake.


    Zach walked up to the hole. Most of the fence was gone due to the fights and the wolf, but Zach could just feel where the edge was. He stood before it and glanced into the pitch-black, thick, smoky darkness of the underworld energy. It moved slowly, out of sync with the remnants of wind in the forest.


    He looked at the potion again.


    It might fall faster than the wolf and Julius thanks to its shape, or it might fall slower due to its weight. How it affected the underworld energy around it might also have an affect.


    Zach wanted to leave the hole and the forest and just be done with it. He wanted to check on Nessa. He didn''t want to, but he had to inform Jarron, the principal, and Julius'' family about what had happened.


    He was the club president. It had happened under his watch. It was his responsibility. It was the same with both Nessa and Julius. Their mishaps were on his shoulders, whether they lived or died.


    Still, Zach waited. On the off-chance that Julius survived and had heard and understood his shout, Zach waited.


    His heart was restless and full of anxiety. But he didn''t move. His mind seemingly rushed with a stream of chaotic thoughts while being simultaneously silent as a graveyard. Find your adventure at M-V-L


    He held onto his resolve.


    He wasn''t going to kill Julius or his Mannequin by dropping the potion too early. In fact, there was no need to rush it.


    Other than his needs and wants pulling him away, Zach could drop the potion into the hole whenever he wanted. He could even come back later.


    But he wasn''t going to. He didn''t want to return to the hole if he didn''t have to.


    Eventually, Zach was confident he had waited long enough.


    He placed the potion on a barrier and floated it out to the center of the hole. He turned around and made the barrier disappear, letting the potion drop into the abyss.


    The underworld energy parted before the potion and then closed up behind it. But Zach didn''t stay to watch. He left, his shoulders heavy and his back cold.

 Chapter 177: Sailing Downward

    Zach and Yanael walked at a relaxed pace, following the havoc the others had wreaked as they tore through the forest to return to the Academy as soon as possible. Zach had been a little worried about staying behind on his own since he might not find his way back.It had been necessary since he had to drop the anti-underworld potion in the hole and minimize the number of monsters coming for them. All the others had needed to accompany Violina and Nessa to ensure as smooth a journey as possible.


    But that didn''t take Zach''s poor sense of direction into account.


    However, he wasn''t alone, and while Yanael''s sense of direction wasn''t anything to write home about, either, she was at least capable of following breadcrumbs, not to mention the loaves of traces the others left in their wake.


    In due time, they would find their way back. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Zach couldn''t stop glancing back at the hole, or where he thought the hole was, to be precise.


    It had been a while since he dropped the potion¨Cfifteen minutes to half an hour at least. Yet, nothing had happened.


    Zach wasn''t sure what was supposed to have happened. It just felt like a potion as powerful as that one should have been would have caused a commotion wherever it was dropped.


    The potion Zach gave to Nessa''s Millipede had been diluted six or seven times. It was like water, compared to the original. But it had still done a lot of damage to the Millipede and chased out all of the underworld energy without even giving it room to fight back.


    Zach felt like he could figure out the difference in potency.


    One drop from the original potion had been diluted into another. One drop from that had been diluted into the third, and so on, until there was a bottle weak enough that Zach dared give it to the Millipede.


    With a few hundred drops in each bottle, each diluted version carried a few hundredths of the previous version''s strength. Round it to an equal hundred and reverse it to find out the original''s strength in relation to the weakest one gave him something like one hundred times one hundred six times¡­


    The original was a lot stronger than Nessa''s. Period.


    A potion that powerful should have done something to the well of underworld energy.


    But nothing happened for a long while. Zach was suspicious. Did it not break?


    There was no way it hadn''t hit the bottom yet. It had been falling for half an hour straight.


    Unfortunately, Zach didn''t have the formula to calculate how deep that would make the hole. He felt lucky. He didn''t want to know how deep that hole was if the bottle had been falling continuously.


    Of course, there was no way Zach could know that the underworld energy deeper down the hole was so dense that it slowed down the bottle''s descent, due to it refusing to touch underworld energy. It had a passive effect of trying to make the underworld energy part for it. But if the underworld energy didn''t have anywhere to go, it became a slow descent.


    The bottle floated down slowly in a bubble of clean air, gently pushing underworld energy away from it.


    And finally, it reached the next layer.


    The underworld energy in the hole had been dense because there wasn''t enough space, but on the other side of the hole was a vast space. Immediately, the underworld energy was a lot less dense, and the potion picked up speed as it sailed toward the ground.


    As it did so, numerous eyes picked up on its existence.


    Right beneath the hole was one underworlder who turned its attention upward.


    How could they not notice it? The potion was the greatest threat to them. Its sole purpose was to eradicate the source of their existence.


    The underworlder that looked more like a hill than a sentient being let out a loud groan. The craters on its flabby body opened up and spewed out underworld energy in several thick streams straight at the glass bottle.


    They did nothing. The underworld energy curved around the potion and shot into the hole again.


    In another place in the vast underground space, Julius'' eyes widened, and he limpingly hurried toward a door made for underworlders closer to a human''s size. He dragged the Mannequin with him.


    The other hill-like underworlders looked at the potion with the beady eyes on their disproportionately small heads. They couldn''t do anything but watch it tumble through the air.


    They existed to refine and redirect underworld energy. Their bodies weren''t made to move. They were living factories. They lived so deep in the Underworld that there was no need for security.


    By the time someone infiltrated, they would have already adapted to the underworld energy and would no longer be an enemy, and that was if they survived.


    Julius was lucky. The door was open. He closed it behind himself and the Mannequin right as the bottle hit the solid body of the largest living factory in the vast space. A Named underworlder. Hjugor.


    It was the underworlder responsible for all the underworld energy coming to the surface. It was one of the few living factories with the incredibly rare talent to increase the amount of underworld energy. A rare asset to the underworld and the Great Ugor. A great threat to the surface. A technically powerful underworlder.


    Due to its size, which made Julius look like an ant, Hjugor''s body was very solid. Otherwise, it would break tear from its own weight and all it had to go through when refining thin, gaseous underworld energy into more powerful versions.


    Although it looked soft and flabby from a distance, it was hard¡ªhard enough for the glass bottle to shatter on impact.


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    Julius'' fate wouldn''t have been very different, despite the dense underworld energy in the hole slowing his fall, if it weren''t for the now flat wolf''s corpse.


    Instantly, the air exploded.

 Chapter 178: Mushroom Cloud

    The air inside the vast underground space expanded like it had multiplied many times over in the span of a second when, in reality, it was just the underworld energy pushed away by the grey liquid escaping the prison of its bottle and spreading its effects through the air. The liquid divided various tasks among itself.Some of it seeped into Hjugor. Some of it ran down Hjugor''s body and dribbled down to the floor, which was also steeped with underworld energy. The underworld energy in the floor didn''t stand a chance, and the floor weakened. It wasn''t much, and the floor was too thick for such a tiny amount to do anything more than crack a bit of it.


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    Hjugor, on the other hand, had a sturdy body and couldn''t compare to the entire floor. The large underworlder let out guttural howls in pain as the anti-underworld energy potion broke down its body and tore the underworld energy, the source of its existence, out of it.


    A third part of it evaporated and mixed with the air, filtrating it from the underworld energy, effectively pushing it all out of the underground space.


    The openings in the ceiling were no different from the doors, especially the one straight above Hjugor.


    The heavy, dense, and thick underworld energy in the hole was not heavy, dense, or thick enough to stop the effect of the potion that spread like a cleansing shockwave through the place.


    The potion pushed the underworld energy up through the hole like it was the barrel of a cannon. The high pressure cracked the ground.


    A thick pillar of underworld energy was hurled out of the hole. Plumes of underworld energy spread in the air like the edges of a mushroom cloud.


    Zach turned around in shock and horror. That was a lot of underworld energy. It was more than all the underworld energy already in the forest.


    Far away, the principal also turned his head and looked out over the forest from his office.


    "...What did that troublesome brat do this time?"


    "Did he sneak explosives into the Academy?" Kami asked. That was the only thing he could think of that could explain something like that. Zach wasn''t strong enough to do anything like that on his own just yet.


    "Do you know how much it would take to make underworld energy move like that? No. No explosives. It''s probably that Desert Witch of his." The principal smiled slightly and shook his head. He had to admit. It was impressive.


    Then, he turned his head in the direction of the city.


    "But he will have to fix that as soon as possible."


    Kami followed the principal''s gaze, and his expression darkened.


    There wasn''t just one large pillar of underworld energy rising into the sky. The city was also filled with rising underworld energy.


    "Since you want him to fix it, should I do something about the self-proclaimed exterminators who have started getting wind of the Underworld''s activity here? Although the Underworld hasn''t stopped attacking the surface in other places, it seems like the exterminators aren''t making much progress." Kami scowled toward the city.


    They couldn''t do anything on their own in the other places in the Empire. And rather than continuing to try, they hurried over to the Academy and Basilia as soon as they got wind of the students fighting against the Underworld. It was disgraceful.


    They weren''t fighting for the surface or for what they believed was right. They only wanted the glory, honor, and rewards of fighting an enemy that did nothing but hide.


    Some of the exterminators were good. They were powerful. They were making an effort to prevent the Underworld from encroaching upon the surface. A few of them could even fight with Named underworlders on equal footing.


    But most weren''t. They were people who had been caught up in one of the Underworld''s schemes and survived. They lived through luck but called it fate or decided it was their own abilities, overestimating themselves. Then, they decided to fight back.


    They allied themselves to the Empire or nobles who were also contributing to the secret war''s efforts and used those resources to live while pretending to do something.


    Kami didn''t like them.


    The principal glanced at Kami, fully aware of what Kami was thinking. Kami had never tried to keep it a secret that he didn''t like most people who claimed to be resisting the Underworld.


    "No need. They won''t do enough to take away this learning opportunity from our dear students. Our older kids might, though. Come up with a way to keep them busy."


    "Alright. How about an expedition?"


    "What are you thinking?"


    "I heard that a certain student discovered a secret on the first floor of the Jira Labyrinth. I''m curious to see if our older kids can do the same." Kami smiled. From what he had heard, no one, not even Zach''s sister, who had accompanied him to the rat king''s castle, had managed to repeat the journey. No one managed to stay on the first floor.


    Sooner or later, they would all inevitably take a step that brought them down to the second floor.


    "Remember to tell them that it was a first-year student and not specifically Zach that did it. It will keep them motivated for the rest of the year. Oh, and set a secondary goal about reaching as deep as possible. Just the first floor won''t be enough training."


    "Got it."


    With that, the principal and Kami stopped looking at the clouds of underworld energy. It was troublesome, but only for their students, not for them. The forest was already tarnished. So, that one didn''t matter, even if the amount of underworld energy was shockingly overwhelming.


    And the amount of underworld energy in the city was a lot less. It was almost thin enough that one could see through it from one side of the city to the other. It wasn''t enough to be lethal. Well, people might still die, and that risk would only grow with each passing day that Zach and the others didn''t do something about it.


    But it was one of the hazards of living in such a great, flourishing, peaceful city like Basilia. It came with the occasional accident.


    The principal and Kami returned to their duties.


    Zach and Yanael resumed their journey back to the Academy.


    And deep below ground, in the Underworld, Julius was lying on the ground after catching a door to the back of his head.


    "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"


    Julius heard a voice and saw feet just before the world darkened around him.


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 Chapter 179: No Ones Dancing

    Zach and Yanael almost got lost once when they were closer to the Academy since the trail through the forest was not as obvious at that point. But he luckily caught sight of the Academy''s tall buildings through the trees and followed them out of the forest and back to the campus.He walked slowly to the infirmary, afraid of what was waiting for him there. The sooner he arrived, the sooner he would get the bad news.


    He had seen Nessa. She hadn''t been in a condition that people lived through.


    But he had to face it. It felt like it took an eternity, but at the same time, he arrived at the door to the infirmary before he knew it. He vaguely remembered seeing an antsy Millipede outside.


    He tried to take a deep breath, but a lump blocked his throat. Light-headed, he opened the door and found the others after looking around.


    Violina was sleeping on the floor. No surprise. She had worked hard. Her skill had drained it after she used it much more than she was used to. Dukiel and Anerias were sitting next to each other with their arms crossed and steely expressions. They looked forward, but they weren''t looking at anything.


    They didn''t see Zach until he was right in front of them.


    Based on the fact that they were in the hall, waiting for something, Zach could guess that Nessa wasn''t dead yet. That was the best news he could have hoped for, considering he had spent a while in the forest after they returned.


    "...How is she?" Zach dreaded asking it, but he had to know.


    Dukiel and Anerias snapped out of their reverie and looked up at Zach.


    "She''s past the worst of it. But¡­" Dukiel glanced at the door across the hall.


    "...But that doesn''t say much considering the condition she was in." Zach finished his thought with a grave expression as he also crossed his arms and sat down opposite the door.


    They could only wait for the healers and physicians to do their best. Time moved like an old snail. But none of them were in the mood to do something to make it pass any faster.


    Worry ate away at them, not only for Nessa but also for Julius. One was close and the other was far away, but both of their fates were as unknown as the number of stars in the night sky.


    The three boys were exhausted, and it was tiring to wait with how frayed their nerves were. But they couldn''t make themselves nap. Violina had passed out from physical exhaustion. They were more mentally than physically tired.


    But there was no way they were going to sleep when Nessa was fighting for her life. There was no way they could sleep.


    Occasionally, healers and physicians entered and left the room in hurry to get supplies, let someone else take over while they recovered, or just because they were too drained to be of any use.


    Zach and the others wanted to ask them how it was going, but they weren''t going to ask. If they needed to know, the healers would tell them. They weren''t going to disturb the ones working to save Nessa''s life with useless questions. They could figure out how it was going just by looking and listening.


    Nessa was still alive. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be fighting to save her life.


    Eventually, that fight seemed to reach an end as infirmary staff carried dead tired healers out of the room. Other healers and physicians also left it, also tired.


    Zach and the others extended their stiff legs and stood up, hoping for someone to tell them how it had gone. After all, no one was dancing out of the room with joy at having saved another bright life. Zach didn''t know if they were just too tired to show it or if there was nothing to celebrate.


    That might also explain why no one was telling them anything. They didn''t have the guts to tell them that Nessa hadn''t made it.


    However, the last to leave the room was a physician Zach recognized. It was the same doctor who saved Rierdan after the kidnapped man-turned-underworlder tried to strangle him. His messy hair was hidden by a piece of cloth tied over his head, and a mask hung around his neck, but Zach recognized him.


    And the physician recognized him. After closing the door behind him, the physician walked over to Zach and the others.


    "I see you''re still here. I''m sure she would be happy to know how worried you are about her."


    "You mean¡­?!" They didn''t miss the underlying meaning of the physician''s words.


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    The physician nodded.


    "Yes. She''s alive. It came close a couple of times, almost as close as you," he said to Zach. "Even now, she might crash and succumb to her injuries. We did as much as we could, but in her state, it''s best to stabilize the body and let it recover gradually to minimize complications and so on. Still, I''ve got a good feeling.


    She''s a fighter." The doctor patted them on their shoulders as he made his way past them. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''"Thank you!"'' Zach, Dukiel, and Anerias expressed their gratitude to the physician who had helped save Nessa''s life.


    "Yeah, yeah. I''m taking a break. Come back later if you want to know how it went in more detail. And while I''m sure the lass appreciates your worry, I doubt she''d be happy seeing you guys right now. You''re a mess." The doctor continued walking as he gently reminded them that they hadn''t cleaned up or showered or anything at all after fighting for their lives with dirty monsters.


    They were covered in filth and dried blood, their own and that of monsters. The layers of sweat didn''t help.


    And all of that just fermented while they waited for news on Nessa.


    They should stop stinking up the infirmary and return later if they wanted to check on Nessa. She needed to rest, anyway.

 Chapter 180: Locked Door

    Zach, Dukiel, and Anerias wanted to see Nessa and confirm that she was alive for themselves. But they were sensible. They let the injured one rest. They were about to leave when they caught sight of the sleeping Violina and remembered her.Simultaneously, Zach and Dukiel looked at Anerias.


    "...What are you looking at me for?"


    "Isn''t she your girlfriend?" Zach asked.


    "...No."


    Zach and Dukiel glanced at each other. They placed one hand each on either of Anerias'' shoulders and gave him a pitying look while shaking their heads lightly.


    "What?"


    "..."


    "What?!"


    "..."


    Zach and Dukiel didn''t say anything. But since Anerias wasn''t taking care of Violina, Zach had Yanael grab her and bring her to her dorm. It was locked. Zach wasn''t sure what to do. He considered bringing her to his place and have Nora help her get cleaned up. But he wasn''t sure what Violina might feel about that.


    After fighting together with their lives on the line and living in the forest, they were closer than ordinary classmates. The same went for all of them. Their shared experiences that were far from what one might find in a civilized society made things like prudishness and awkwardness unimportant.


    But smelling bad or skipping out on noble etiquette in the forest and bringing a sleeping woman to his room and also getting her out of her clothes and cleaning her up were two different things.


    But while Zach hesitated, Violina woke up without him noticing. Explore more adventures at M-V-L


    "...You can let me down now." She patted Yanael on the shoulder. Yanael let her down.


    Violina stood in front of Zach. She looked at him silently. Since she was no longer on the floor outside where Nessa was treated, something had to have happened.


    "She made it." Zach didn''t prolong Violina''s anxiety.


    Violina nodded. Relief washed over her, and that nod almost turned into her nodding off again.


    "...That''s¡­great," she said tiredly.


    Zach nodded.


    "You did good, Violina. Thank you for saving her life."


    Violina shook her head.


    "...I just did what I should. It was my fault she got injured, in the first place."


    "No. Last I checked, your mouth could barely fit a potato, much less Nessa''s arm and shoulder."


    "When did you check¡ªNever mind¡­" Violina looked at Zach with a frown for a moment before shaking her head and unlocking her dorm.


    "Thanks for carrying me to my dorm, Zach."


    "Anytime."


    Violina closed her door and Zach returned to his dorm to get cleaned up and pass out. He looked around while he made his way around the Academy.


    But he found Alzara first when he arrived at his dorm.


    "I thought I would find you with the others," Zach commented as soon as he and his familiars entered his room.


    "I stayed with them for as long as they needed me to. But when they returned to the Academy, they got a little ahead of me, and I couldn''t find them again." Alzara bowed her head and tried to avoid Zach''s gaze. It would have worked if she wasn''t so tall, and if Zach wasn''t standing so close to her.


    She ended up looking straight down at him.


    "You lost them?" Zach had trouble believing it, even if she had fought past the point of exhaustion with the bear.


    Instead of answering or nodding, Alzara asked a question,


    "What am I, Master?"


    Zach raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment.


    "Beautiful?" He asked.


    "...Thank you." Alzara blushed a little. The last thing she was expecting was such a straightforward and earnest compliment.


    "But that''s not what I meant."


    "...A desert witch."


    "Exactly. I can find my way through any desert with a blindfold and earplugs. Forests are almost doable. Structures? Buildings? Places with a lot of both of those?


    Would you ask a termite to eat steel?"


    "I actually got attacked by a falling chandelier due to a rare species of metal-eating termites once."


    "...I don''t know what to say to that, Master, but rare exceptions like yourself aside, my point still stands." Alzara looked awkwardly at Zach for a few moments before moving on.


    Zach just nodded understandingly. For some reason, Alzara didn''t like the pity she felt from Zach.


    "I had a feeling you would be the same."


    Alzara realized that the pity she felt was sympathy. Zach related to her. Unfortunately, she did not relate to his or Yanael''s struggles.


    She shook her head. Zach couldn''t find his way out of a shoebox. She was not that bad. She had a great sense of direction. It was just that buildings and walls that curved and twisted and bent unnecessarily and looked the same everywhere interfered with that sense of direction.


    Otherwise, she was great at finding her way. Outside the self-made, symbolic prisons of instinct and natural development, Alzara was a star at finding her way and living as people were meant to.


    But Zach just nodded when Alzara fiercely shook her head. He could tell. They were the same.


    No matter what Alzara said or tried to claim, they were the same. It wasn''t on the same level or to the same degree, but they were the same. That was all Zach needed to know.


    A slight smile tugging on his lips helped raise his spirit a little after a difficult day that was almost disastrous. He bathed and scrubbed himself before lying down for a massage from Nora. He fell asleep during the massage. His maids moved him to the bed and tucked him in.


    Zach, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina slept like babies. They still didn''t know what had happened to Julius. They might never know. It sucked. But there was nothing they could do about it. And Nessa was going to live. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She still hovered in the danger zone, but they all knew that if she had already come this far, she was going to make it.


    She had lost an arm. But she would live.


    They had gone from having lost two of their dear friends to getting one of them back.


    There was also the chance that Julius was alive.


    If anyone would live after entering the Underworld, the fall into a bottomless pit aside, it was Julius, thanks to his familiar, which had adapted to the underworld energy.


    The four of them rested.


    Nessa also rested.


    It was a calm night. It was a stark contrast to the chaotic and panicked city.

 Chapter 181: Hunch

    Zach woke up in the middle of the day. The last thing on his mind were the classes he missed. He was busy feeling good. He couldn''t put his finger on it. He just noticed it because he thought he would still be a wreck after last night and everything that had happened in the forest.He hadn''t fought the bear himself or pushed himself as far as he had in the past. But it had been stressful nonetheless. And that tended to leave him unrested. He needed at least two nights of good sleep to recover.


    But not this time.


    Zach was practically shining. His skin glowed, and he felt more energetic than ever.


    For some reason, he decided to check his interface. It was just a hunch.


    [Zacharia Evandiel - Troublemaker]


    [Level 19 Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skills: Blessed Defense | Material Extraction]


    [Contracts: Yanael | Alzara roi Kalam]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Rank Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Alzara roi Kalam ¨C SS-Rank Desert Witch *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Titles: 1]


    "..."


    Zach was happy he listened to his hunch.


    He usually didn''t bother checking the interface since the only thing that would change unless he summoned another familiar was his level. And that didn''t change as often as Zach would have wanted. Looking too often was just demoralizing since it showed just how tough it was to level up and how slow his progress was.


    But now, not only had his level risen several times since he checked last, something else had appeared on his interface. He had no idea what it was more than what it said, and Troublemaker didn''t exactly sound like a good title. He didn''t know if it was a result of his actions or if it would have an effect on his future.


    But it was a change, and after all that he had gotten from the interface and the mystic art of summoning, he doubted it was something bad.


    "Yanael, Alzara, I have a question." He gathered his familiars in the living room. He wanted to set out and check on Nessa as soon as possible, but she wasn''t going anywhere. He didn''t think his Title was going anywhere, either, but he wanted to know what it was first.


    Zach missed the worried frown Alzara made when she saw Zach when he left his bedroom. Yanael didn''t. But neither said or did anything.


    "I''ll answer to the best of my ability, Master," Yanael said.


    "I''ll tell you anything you want, Master. Are you finally curious about my three sizes?"


    "...I won''t say no, but not right now." Zach felt Yanael and Nora give him sharp looks as soon as Alzara asked. He wisely decided against indulging his curiosity.


    "I wanted to ask you two about Titles."


    Their eyebrows rose slightly. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That explains it," Yanael half-murmured.


    Your journey continues at M-V-L


    "Explains what?"


    "Why it feels like you have more authority," she answered.


    "So, Titles give me authority?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "...But that''s not all they do."


    "Yes¡­"


    "And I don''t have enough for you to tell me more, I presume?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "I see." Zach nodded. It was a little disappointing that they still couldn''t tell him much, but it was better than nothing. Titles weren''t useless. Now, he just had to figure out what his Title did.


    "Is there anything you can tell me about how I can figure out what my Title does?" Zach asked both of his familiars.


    "What is your Title?" Alzara asked a question of her own.


    "Troublemaker."


    "Sounds pretty straightforward. Don''t overthink it. But if you still aren''t sure, ask your principal." Alzara could feel that she was reaching the limit of what she could tell Zach. But that was proof of how early he had acquired a title.


    He had a Title, an S-rank familiar, and an SS-familiar, but he still didn''t have enough authority to learn about that kind of function. He wasn''t too far off, but he was still ahead of what could be considered the norm.


    "Got it. I can guess, but I would rather have something concrete. Let''s check on Nessa first and then pay the principal a visit."


    "I''ll pay her a visit later." Nora stayed behind. She was close to Nessa. It was inevitable. They had bonded over Zach on the occasions they interacted. Nora often accompanied Zach around the Academy or in the library. She brought him food.


    She made sure he returned to his dorm when it got late.


    She had many opportunities to talk to Nessa.


    She didn''t have the same kind of relationship as the classmates did since Nora didn''t follow them into the forest. She didn''t fight with her life on the line and her back against the others'' backs.


    But Nessa had spent a lot of time with Zach. Nora had spent a lot of time with Zach. They were friends.


    However, Nora didn''t want to visit Nessa with Zach during working hours. It would also be cramped if she were to squeeze herself inside Nessa''s room with all the others.


    So, Zach visited Nessa alone. The others were still sleeping or had already stopped by. That included Nessa. She hadn''t woken up once. It seemed she was taking full advantage of her injury to slack off.


    Zach respected it. He changed the glass of water next to her bed to fresh water. Then, he went to visit the principal.


    He knocked on the door.


    "Enter." Zach''s knock had barely landed before the principal spoke.


    "Hello, principal!" Zach greeted the principal enthusiastically and ended up glancing around the principal''s office. The principal was sitting in his chair with a relaxed expression. But there were no signs of Kami.


    "Where''s Kami?"


    "This is my office?"


    "Yeah, and I''m here for you. I was just curious since he''s been here every time I have."


    "...That''s a coincidence or something. What can I do for you, young Zacharia?" The principal smiled and rested his elbows on the table and his chin on the back of his hands.


    "You''re not here to make excuses for what happened in the forest or ask for help, are you?" There was a slight chill in the principal''s tone.

 Chapter 182: Perfect Training

    Zach chuckled."No, not at all. And why would I make excuses? The forest, or rather, the contamination in the forest had been dealt with. I wouldn''t mind graduating right now, but I have a feeling you''re going to make us deal with the city, too?" Zach half-asked.


    "That''s right. But what do you mean by dealt with the forest? I assumed you were responsible for that pillar of underworld energy. I would consider that the opposite of having ''dealt with it,''" The principal asked, earnestly confused. Though, rather than being confused, it was more accurate to say that he didn''t agree with Zach''s assessment.


    "Pssh." Zach waved away the principal''s concerns. "That''s just temporary. I killed whatever was pumping up the underworld energy and then some. It had already started sinking away last night."


    Zach wasn''t sure if the underworld energy had started retreating or not. But when whatever had been at the bottom hadn''t done that thing where it sucked it in a little and then blew out more, the underworld energy hadn''t moved at all.


    Afterward, when Zach was leaving the contaminated area, it was moving. It was like something had prevented the underworld energy from moving before that. It wasn''t much, but it was like the underworld energy had been freed from someone or something''s influence.


    If he had to guess, Zach would say that it was related to what had been at the bottom of the hole. Something capable of controlling or influencing such a large amount of underworld energy could only be a powerful underworlder. He doubted it was something as powerful as a Named one, though.


    But even a powerful underworlder was still part underworld energy. The potion would have killed it.


    That had led to his level rocketing all the way to nineteen, the presumed last level before he could summon a third familiar.


    Without that powerful underworlder influencing and shooting up more underworld energy to the surface, the underworld energy would naturally flow back to where it belonged. And if it didn''t, Zach could use more potions to chase it away now that he had confirmed the effect it had on underworld energy and the environment.


    Thus, the forest''s contamination was dealt with, or as good as.


    The principal furrowed his brow and his head bobbed forward in confusion.


    "I am not doubting you, but do you mind explaining how and what you killed?"


    "I don''t know how, but I dropped an anti-underworld energy potion into this hole that the underworld energy was coming from. Ah, Julius fell into that hole, so I waited a while, but I don''t think that changed anything. Then, after a while, that pillar of underworld energy shot up, and when I checked my interface this morning my level had gone up three times or so."


    "I see. I guess I''ll have you make a complete report of everything."


    "Of course."


    "Do you know if Julius is alive?"


    "No idea."


    "But you didn''t come here to ask me for help?"


    "Would you?"


    "You still have that favor I owe you."


    "So, if I asked, you would go down to the depths of the Underworld and save Julius if he is alive?" Zach asked with a serious expression.


    The principal shrugged.


    "If you can do that, why haven''t you gone down there and, you know, gotten rid of the Great Ugor since he''s a threat to the surface and whatnot?"


    "Good question. Why do you think?"


    "...Considering the damage the Underworld has done to the surface and how many have died and suffered without the world hearing about it, it would be messed up if you haven''t done it because you wanted to use it to train students. Like, really messed up." Zach looked at the principal, silently asking for confirmation or denial.


    "That''s not it."


    "It''s not because you''re too weak. If you were, you could bring Kami. If you two weren''t enough, there''s a whole Empire with strong people. My parents, for example."


    "Warmer." The principal nodded encouragingly.


    Zach frowned and stayed silent while he tried to figure it out. What did the principal mean? In what way was that warmer?


    "You can''t go down¡­"


    The principal gave a slight nod.


    "...Because you can''t leave the surface exposed?"


    The principal shook his head.


    "Hmm."


    Zach scratched his cheek and look at the principal with a scrutinizing gaze. His smooth skin made him look young. His long grey hair made him look old. His teasing smile and clear, shimmering eyes made him look like a charmer. Together, his features made him impossible to read, and he looked a little bit like a douche.


    "It can''t be that it''s simply impossible to enter the Underworld."


    "Nope." The principal shook his head.


    "Do you want me to tell you?" The principal asked. Zach was struggling, and there wasn''t really a need to have him get the right answer. The principal just wanted him to use the muscles hiding inside his skull a little.


    "Am I going to get it?"


    "Probably not." The principal shrugged.


    Zach glared at the principal.


    "Alright, alright, I''ll tell you. It''s because I''m too strong. Me and anyone who can get down to where that bastard is hiding and defeat him and his underlings are too powerful and too famous."


    Zach frowned. But the principal continued before he could ask why that was a problem.


    "That bastard is cautious. As soon as anyone who can threaten more than one of his Named enters the Underworld, he disappears and just drowns them in underworld energy. If that doesn''t work, he throws other things at them. It doesn''t stop until they leave the Underworld, no matter how far you go, how long you stay, or how much you destroy."


    Continue your saga on M-V-L


    Zach gave a slow nod of understanding.


    "He''s also resource-efficient."


    "You can call him stingy."


    "Right. So, he won''t use more resources than needed. That''s why a bunch of wet-behind-the-ear students are perfect. Unlike with people like you, he will actually hesitate to go all out when he can try and use a more eff¡ªa stingier method.


    "If we survive, perfect training. He will step up the efforts to stop us or get in our way while advancing his plan against the surface.


    "Something along those lines, and during our fourth year when we are hopefully strong enough to enter the Underworld without appearing strong enough to threaten the Great Ugor, we can surprise him and kill him."


    "That''s the plan." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...It''s a shitty ass plan."

 Chapter 183: Troublemaker

    The principal looked at Zach. Zach looked at the principal. They looked at each other. Neither said a word."I''m not going to admit to it if anyone asks, but I agree," the principal eventually said.


    "That''s why there''s a backup plan," he continued.


    "..." Zach looked at him silently until he explained what that backup plan was.


    "...It''s an even worse plan, but if using you and your classmates as pesticide or bait doesn''t work, we will just have to disregard subtlety and bring down the continent on Ugor''s head."


    "...Let''s hope it doesn''t come to that." Zach wasn''t sure what the principal meant by that, but it was no good regardless of whether he was being literal or speaking figuratively.


    "Right, so you better exceed my expectations, you little trouble¡ª" The principal frowned. Zach did, too, at the underlying meaning of the principal''s words. If he had to exceed the principal''s expectations to prevent the backup plan from being engaged, was the principal expecting them to fail?


    The principal''s eyes glowed subtly as he scanned Zach up and down.


    "If I call you Troublemaker¡­?" The principal began to ask. But he got his confirmation as soon as he finished the word. He could feel it on his tongue. Troublemaker fit Zach. It was almost the same as using his name.


    "Yeah, that''s why I came here." Zach also felt it. His Title had rung clearer in his ears than the rest of the principal''s words like the principal was calling him.


    "Well, if what you''ve said today is true, I can''t say I''m surprised. You''ve made a lot of trouble, both for everyone around you, friend and foe, and yourself." The principal hid his surprise. Nowadays, youngsters with Titles were rare.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the principal.


    "So, what does it do? Is it just there to tell me and the rest of the world that I''m a Troublemaker? Or does it help me make more trouble or something?"


    The principal stroked his chin.


    "Both, I suppose. It''s a confirmation of your existence. Through that confirmation, your very existence and essence are strengthened. Since you''re a Troublemaker, you''ll have an easier time making trouble from now on. Something like that."


    "...That doesn''t sound like a good thing." Zach pursed his lips in displeasure.


    "It can be both." The principal shrugged.


    "If you do create more trouble from now on, who will be more used to it? You? Or your surroundings?"


    The principal''s question stumped Zach slightly. The Title wasn''t necessarily good or bad. It was more of an objective observation of his existence. It was there for him to use and make the most of if he so wished. Its use was dependent on him. If he made good use of it, it was a good thing.


    If he didn''t embrace the Title just because he didn''t want the reputation of being a Troublemaker, he would suffer under the Title''s weight.


    It was a double-edged sword. Or it would be one if he let it be. It would take some analyzing and studying and testing to confirm the effect of the Title. But since it was part of his interface, it had to be significant. Zach couldn''t be sure yet, but it might be on the same level of importance as his skills.


    Zach frowned slightly. He had a useless skill, though, so his Title might also be useless. As far as he could tell, Divine Luck only brought him trouble and possibly monsters.


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    "Well, thanks for your help, principal. I better get going and start writing on that report now."


    "So, no idea what or when you''re going to cash in that favor?"


    "Nope."


    "Alright. Off with you. I don''t want your Title in my office." The principal shooed Zach out of his office. Zach didn''t mind leaving. He appreciated the help, but it wasn''t easy talking to the principal for extended periods.


    Zach left. He was at a slight loss as for what to do. He had checked on Nessa. She was sleeping. He had asked the principal about Titles. He got an acceptable answer.


    Maybe it was time for a nap?


    ''Oh, right.''


    Zach realized what he had left to do.


    ''The city.''


    He also had to double-check that the underworld energy in the forest was moving in the right direction. But that wasn''t as important. Unlike the forest, a lot of people lived in the city, and they were suffering in the cloud of underworld energy that covered Basilia.


    He would have to get rid of that as soon as possible. It would probably disperse on its own in due time. There were probably some strong people in the city that were keeping it from going out of control. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But if Zach knew the principal right, which he felt he did, he would have likely put a stop to anyone doing anything that interfered with their curriculum too much. That would be doubly true for something the students caused themselves.


    Fortunately, Zach knew what to do. But it would take some fine-tuning and some legwork. It wouldn''t be as simple as dropping one powerful potion in the middle of the city, especially if the situation was similar to Nessa''s Millipede.


    If the people in the city had inhaled underworld energy and trapped it in their bodies, forcefully driving it out with a powerful potion might make them burst. Zach did not want to see that happen. Being responsible for it happening would also put him in trouble.


    Zach had to do two things. He had to ask Alzara to start working on a milder version of the anti-underworld energy potion that he could use to dispel the underworld energy in the city.


    Then, he had to gather the club members, pick up their morale, and have them get ready to help the city. The longer they delayed, the more the people would be in trouble, and that would put them in more trouble.


    Zach sighed. The feeling of being energetic he woke up with had started to fade.

 Chapter 184: Resentful

    Zach was about to take a lap and look for the members of his club when he realized that it wouldn''t be that simple. Before he could fulfill his obligations to the city, he had to fulfill his obligations to the Academy. He had classes to attend.So, he instead took a lap around the Academy until he found the classroom he was supposed to be in. Everyone in the class was present except Rierdan, Nessa, and Julius.


    As Zach arrived, a realization dawned on his classmates.


    All of those who were missing had gotten close to Zach in some way. Even in the first year, during the field trip, Rierdan and Nessa had been part of that initial tiger-hunting expedition. And Julius was one of Zach''s best buddies.


    The only thing that set them apart from Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina was the strength of their familiars. Considering they were the only three A-ranks in the class, it was understandable they remained.


    But that also meant people who weren''t A-ranks wouldn''t last long next to Zach.


    Zach felt his classmates'' gazes shift as they looked at him when he quickly apologized to Jarron before walking over to his seat. Unfortunately, he couldn''t say he wasn''t used to it.


    His classmates looked at him with suspicion and wariness.


    It was the same kind of change as when he had first become unlucky.


    After his fifth birthday and things started happening, it didn''t take long for rumors to spread.


    The good servants of the household kept their expressions and behavior in check. The others, the not so good servants, only hid their displeasure about having to serve him when other members of his family was nearby.


    Of course, there was a limit to what lowly servants could hide from the Evandiels, so in a way, it helped weed out the bad ones. But he still ended up alone at times.


    And that was without mentioning the residents of the Duchy. As a son of the Duke, Zach had to attend official businesses and be in public. But his parents stopped forcing him when they noticed how much it wore down his spirit to see the vassals, townspeople, and merchants gossip and avoid him whenever he made an appearance.


    That didn''t help his reputation, especially when unfortunate incidents kept happening to and around him. But it was better than suffering under the weight of everyone''s judgemental gazes.


    Zach had been prepared for it to happen at the Academy, too. Fortunately, the rumors weren''t as bad in the capital, and it was mostly the other noble children who had heard about him. The commoner students, lesser nobles, and distant nobles hadn''t heard anything or didn''t believe what they had heard. Some of his classmates were even smart enough to realize that such a reputation was bullshit. Discover hidden tales at M-V-L


    Of course, it wasn''t bullshit since a lot of what was rumored to have happened to Zach in his youth had happened. But people like Violina and Anerias, who should have access to something close to the truth, ignored it.


    And people like Dukiel, Julius, Nessa, and Rierdan didn''t know enough to avoid Zach. If they knew or had enough information, they chose to ignore it in favor of what they could see with their own eyes. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now, everything he had done so far for the class was outweighed by the fact that he had been present when two of their classmates suffered tragic fates and close to a third.


    Zach could feel it in their gazes.


    During their first year at the Academy, he had helped many of his classmates with figuring out their familiars'' natures and what they might like or want to evolve. He hadn''t helped everyone since not everyone wanted it. Many hadn''t been able to offer much, either. But Zach didn''t ask for outrageous things.


    Smuggle some monsters, books, candy, or entertainment into the school since he couldn''t leave the campus. Tell an embarrassing story. Write a promise note.


    He had also helped everyone''s grades. Of course, since he helped almost everyone, the rankings didn''t change much. But historically, his class was one of the highest-performing classes at the Academy.


    It was all thanks to his special access to the library, but he could have chosen to keep it all to himself. He hadn''t. That had earned him respect.


    It hadn''t been enough to override his reputation entirely. But people didn''t shy away from him in shock and horror. They politely came up with excuses or made sure they were busy. They also entertained conversations with him when he wanted.


    The fact that he had also died hadn''t gone unnoticed. He died protecting his friends. That was something.


    Granted, he didn''t stay dead, but that hadn''t been up to Zach.


    But now, instead of being hailed as the one who saved his friends, Zach was shouldering the responsibility of Rierdan''s coma, Nessa''s injury, and Julius'' disappearance and possible death. All because he had a reputation for getting into accidents or causing trouble.


    Zach couldn''t help but feel resentful. But he couldn''t blame them.


    How could he when he also held himself responsible? It was his fault, after all.


    After the classes for the day ended, the club members gathered in the club room. They wanted to check on Nessa, but she hadn''t shown any signs of moving or waking up earlier in the day. They could check on her after the meeting.


    During the day, they had all heard about what was happening in the city. It was undoubtedly related to their, mostly Zach''s since he dropped the potion, activities. Even if that weren''t the case, it was related to the Underworld. Thus, it was their assignment to deal with it.


    The only problem was how.


    But Zach was already working on that. To be more specific, Alzara was working on it. So, he split the club in two. Anerias and Violina checked on the city and the residents'' conditions. Meanwhile, Zach and Dukiel would inspect the forest and see if it was recovering, getting worse, or not showing any change.


    They also had to record how the monsters were behaving and prepare possible measures to protect the roads and evacuees from the city.


    With that decided, they could check on Nessa before leaving.

 Chapter 185: Underworld Exterminators

    Nessa was still sleeping, which didn''t come as a surprise to any of them. At least she was just sleeping and not in a deep coma like Rierdan. She was also recovering steadily. Something extreme had to happen for her to die. She was officially in the clear.Nessa was still missing an arm, but other than that, there was no reason for her not to make a full recovery.


    It was almost cause for celebration. But they held off on that. Nessa was only fine physically. She had yet to wake up.


    The others were happy that she had returned from the land of the dead. If they showed that happiness to Nessa, who hadn''t been conscious for the entire process and the emotional ups and downs and would wake up with an arm less than when she was born, she might end up a little upset.


    No one wanted that.


    There also wasn''t a reason to celebrate Nessa''s steady recovery without Nessa present. So, after making sure she was alright and talking to the doctor a little, the club members set out on their assignments.


    It was a shame they couldn''t bring Liam or Rabst with them since their experience and the added numbers might be a help, but it didn''t change anything in the end.


    Zach and Dukiel confirmed that the underworld energy was slowly making a tactical retreat back into the Underworld now that it didn''t have anything forcing it to stay on the surface.


    It was a relief to everything but the monsters and plants that had adapted to the underworld energy.


    Zach didn''t know if they could adapt back or live without underworld energy anymore. But he wasn''t going to pity them. The only pitiable thing about them was the fact that the only way to their new home was through a bottomless pit.


    Entering it and trying to jump down to the Underworld would lead to certain death unless they could fly, hover, or not get injured from falling from heights.


    The forest''s recovery seemed steady but slow.


    However, Zach wasn''t planning to interfere yet. He would let nature take its course until nature was too slow. They still needed to clear the forest before the end of the year to pass and be allowed to advance to the next year.


    Zach was curious about what would happen if they failed but not curious enough to try it.


    But there were still a few months left on the school year. The forest could work on that on its own for a bit while the students and the Underworld Research and Extermination Club prioritized the city.


    And that was where the problems started appearing.


    Nessa was fine. Zach and Dukiel confirmed that the forest was going to be fine.


    The city¡­ Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach looked at Anerias and Violina who had returned to the club room first.


    "Your frowns don''t match the problems we expected from the city."


    Violina and Anerias glanced at each other. Was it possible to deduce something like that just from how the wrinkles on their brows were aligned?


    "...I don''t know how you read that off of our frowns, but yeah, that''s because the problems aren''t what we expected, at least not only," Anerias answered.


    Zach interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the table. He looked at Anerias.


    "Do you mind elaborating?"


    Anerias looked at Violina before elaborating.


    "We weren''t allowed entry. There was a perimeter around the city, prohibiting anyone from getting close to the city."


    "They had even extended that perimeter to include a region where the underworld energy was leaking from the city. We were stopped before we could even get to the city gates," Violina added, her voice tinged with frustration.


    "Did you tell the guards you were there to check on the underworld energy?"


    "Yes! They weren''t guards, but we told them that. We said we were students whose task-of-the-year was to fucking fix the underworld energy." Violina crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, frustrated.


    "So, people who weren''t guards stopped you from entering the city?" Dukiel asked.


    "And you let them?" Zach added.


    "What were we supposed to do? They were armed. And they said it was for our own good. There''s apparently an epidemic going around in the city. They were wearing cloths over their faces and stuff like that."


    "Are you sure they weren''t bandits robbing the city?" Zach raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes. Well, now that you mention it, no. But they said they were Underworld Exterminators. They were there to exterminate underworlders and put a lid on the leak of underworld energy that was spreading the disease to all the citizens," Anerias explained.


    Zach took a deep breath.


    "...what?"


    "Uh¡­" Anerias wasn''t sure what part Zach was directing his question at, so he wasn''t sure what to say.


    "I''m not surprised other people are fighting against the Underworld, but this is what they amount to? Let''s go. I need to talk to them." Zach stood up. He didn''t want to jump to conclusions. But he wasn''t getting a good first second-hand impression of these Underworld Exterminator guys.


    Based on Anerias'' and Violina''s expressions and tone, they hadn''t had a very productive conversation with them. It was bullshit.


    Basilia practically belonged to the Academy. The administration for the two was separate, and it wasn''t like the Academy owned the city.


    But there was no way the city could barr the students'' entrance, much less random outsiders who had just arrived at the city and taken advantage of its weakness.


    "Epidemic my ass." Zach scowled as he left the clubroom and started walking.


    "Isn''t it just underworld energy? What are they making a fuss about?" Experience new stories with M-V-L


    ***


    Zach, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina heard the coughing, the crying, and the puking even before they arrived. It was because there was no one else on the roads and the only sounds in the vicinity came from the city, but they still heard the telltale signs of sickness before they stepped foot into the city.


    What confused them, however, was that no one was coughing outside the city.


    "Please stop right there."

 Chapter 186: Third Times The Charm

    A tall man with a white cloth covering his mouth stepped forward on the road and held out a hand to stop the students from continuing."I must advise you to turn back or stay there. In either case, I can not allow you to go beyond this point," he said with a loud and clear voice.


    Zach walked closer to the man by two steps. He smiled.


    "And why is that?"


    "As you can hear," the man nodded toward the city. "There''s an ongoing pandemic. We have set up a quarantine to prevent it from spreading. Although you guys are students of the Academy, we have to prioritize everyone''s health, not your whims."


    "Does that mean you are also preventing people from leaving the city?" Zach asked, still smiling brightly.


    "Of course," the man answered with a gruff tone.


    "Idiots." Zach''s smile faded, and he looked at the man coldly.


    "What?" The man glared back at him. But Zach continued before he could repeat his question or say anything else.


    "Pandemic? Bullshit. I heard you guys called yourselves Underworld Exterminators or something like that, right? Then, you should know that ordinary people can''t handle underworld energy. They aren''t sick. It''s not a disease.


    They''re being poisoned."


    Zach pointed at the gates.


    "The people coughing and crying behind those gates aren''t coughing and puking because an illness is going around. They have underworld energy in them that their bodies are trying to get rid of."


    "...We know that. This isn''t our first rodeo, brat. But that doesn''t change the fact that this is the first time anyone has exhibited these kinds of symptoms when experiencing underworld energy poisoning." The man puffed up his chest and took a step closer to scare Zach, not caring so much about whether he was carrying the disease.


    "We have to be careful. We don''t know what dirty tricks those filthy underworlder bastards might have pulled." The man glared down at Zach, confident in his intimidating posture.


    However, Zach had grown up with his father. He was a good and kind father but a terrifying man. Zach had also fought dangerous monsters. He had come face to face with Jigak.


    The man''s intimidation didn''t work.


    "And that''s why you''re idiots. This? A trick by the Underworld? Get a grip. You saying and honestly believing that just proves how little you understand about the enemy." Zach sighed and shook his head.


    "What the fuck''s that supposed to mean?" The man frowned and brought his face closer to Zach, trying to up his scariness factor. But a sword stopped him from getting too close.


    Yanael pointed the tip of her sword over Zach''s shoulder at the man''s forehead. If he continued getting closer to Zach by more than three hairs, the sword would touch his skin.


    The man''s eyes narrowed slightly and he looked behind Zach. He was confused, and the confusion lessened the impact of the fear he felt. He blinked slowly and retracted his head.


    "No wonder." The man turned his gaze to Zach again.


    "You''re not just a brat. You''re a noble brat. Unfortunately, your family doesn''t hold any power over us. We have been granted exemption by the Emperor. As long as we don''t cross any lines, people like you can''t interfere with our business." The man crossed his arms and scoffed confidently.


    Since they were just noble kids trying to enter the city, he didn''t have anything to be worried about.


    "This is my third time calling you an idiot. Is it starting to stick yet?" Zach glared at the man. Sure Yanael looked like a maid, but even if she did, she was pointing a sword at him. And Zach had noticed that Yanael''s sword surprised the man, which meant he hadn''t noticed when she drew it, which, in turn, meant that he was a weakling.


    But not only was he weak, he was foolish to boot.


    "Say that one more time. Brat."


    Zach didn''t hesitate.


    "Idiot."


    The man''s fist rushed out. Since Zach was trying to obstruct their Underworld extermination activities, the man deemed himself well within his right to exercise a little guidance.


    Zach reacted quickly enough to signal Yanael to stand down. Although he wanted to see Yanael chop the man''s arm off, that wouldn''t be productive.


    Instead, he let the man''s fist ram straight into a rock-solid, almost invisible barrier just above the surface of his skin.


    Something cracked, and it wasn''t the barrier.


    The man froze up, the smug look on his face quickly disappearing as he slowly turned his hand around and looked at that instead. He then turned back to Zach''s face.


    His pain fueled his anger. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...What was that? Some kind of treasure? Your parents must really love you to give you something like that." The man glared at Zach, the pain fueling his anger.


    "But it won''t hold long."


    Continue your story on M-V-L


    ''I wonder where he got that from.''


    Zach smiled, provoking the man to punch him again. He did. Same thing happened again.


    To his credit, the man wasn''t totally useless. He knew how to throw his fists and weight around. He had probably been in more than one scrap or two. If it had been when Zach first learned how to use his skill or within the first couple of months, the man would have broken through or worn down Zach until he could no longer keep up the barriers.


    But that was a year and a half ago.


    The man''s fists soon swelled and blood dripped down his knuckles as he glared at Zach, who was still smiling like an angel.


    "...What the fuck¡­are you?" He asked in between breaths.


    "Now, that''s not a very nice thing to ask someone who''s only here to help." Zach smiled and patted the man on the shoulder. He tried to avoid or fend it off. But his arms were too tired, and he was too slow. Zach pushed down and forced the man to lower himself.


    Reaching level nineteen had made him stronger. Zach was making full use of that strength to humble the man.


    "Now, how about you cut the crap and tell your minions to get the fuck out of our way?" Zach hissed in the man''s ear after forcing him to bend at the waist until his head was slightly below Zach''s head.

 Chapter 187: Let Us Out!

    The man lowered his head."...fuck. Fine." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach smiled and let go of him and let him stand up straight again. The man didn''t look at Zach. He turned around and gestured for the other people, who were also wearing travel-worn and wear-resistant clothes and cloths over their faces to stand aside and let Zach and the others enter the city.


    The man''s face was dark and sour as he looked on when his men opened the gates and pushed the people wanting to get out deeper into the city. Zach wanted to complain, but before he could say anything, the gates closed behind them.


    They were trapped in the city with a dozen sick citizens around them. Fortunately, the people were just sick and desperate to get out, not crazy. They looked at Zach''s group with pity, and some excused themselves.


    "What now?" Anerias asked Zach.


    Zach and the others glanced around the city. Despite being the same city as one they had visited only a few days ago, it was very different. The underworld energy in the air made everything look grey. There were barely any people around, and those on the streets were lying down in pools of their own misery.


    It was horrible.


    "Well, I guess we have to take a look around first before we do anything. Right now, my potions will do more harm than good if we share them with the people. We should first try and make sure there isn''t any more underworld energy leaking into the city. Look for all the manholes. There shouldn''t be any danger in the city so split up. If something happens, just shout as loud as you can."


    The others looked at the people leaning against house walls or lying on the streets with pale faces, trails of dark blood from their orifices, and dirty clothes that looked like they were several sizes too big on them. Then, they looked at Zach.


    They didn''t say anything. They just carried out his orders. But there might be a need to discuss things later.


    The four students and their familiars split up and went around the city, studying the flow and density of the underworld energy. They checked if more was coming from the sewers. They helped the occasional citizen brave enough to ask for it, even if there wasn''t much they could do.


    After a while, they regrouped at the center plaza.


    They assembled their findings and confirmed that there wasn''t any more underworld energy on the way. But it wasn''t moving away as swiftly as in the forest.


    They took their investigation to the sewers, where the underworld energy was even denser.


    They went around in a group. Fortunately, there was a slight flow in the underworld energy that they could follow to the source.


    And when they arrived, they finally found out why they hadn''t found the way down to the Underworld last time they looked for it. It wasn''t anywhere beneath the city or close to the center of the sewers.


    It was on the very outskirts of the sewer system, as far out as one could get by following the tunnels. There was a sloping tunnel leading into the ground. It was filled with impenetrable darkness, so it was impossible to tell more than that. But it was obvious that it was the path the underworlders had used to transport their kidnapping victims and prospective companions.


    "That''s irritating. So, are you going to drop another one of those potions?" Violina asked Zach. They could tell that the underworld energy was trying to flow down the tunnel and work its way back to the Underworld.


    But whether it was because there was too much underworld energy or the tunnel was too narrow, it wasn''t flowing smoothly. However, a potion like the one Zach had dropped into the Underworld a couple of days ago would erase any clogs in the tunnel.


    "No." Zach shook his head. His answer confused the others.


    "If I do that, it will only worsen the situation," Zach half-heartedly explained.


    But the others realized. The potion would push the underworld energy in the sewers into the city if he dropped it in the tunnel. Even if he dropped it in the city, the potion''s effects were too powerful, and it was impossible to tell if the people suffering from underworld poisoning could endure the resulting movements of the underworld energy.


    To keep everyone as healthy as possible, they would have to do a slower detoxification process than before. For that, they would need something gentler than the anti-underworld potion.


    "Let''s go back for now. I need to work out an alternative to the potion. Meanwhile, you guys can start getting our classmates to provide help to the citizens. If those Underworld Exterminators get in your way, send them to me or get rid of them somehow. I leave the details to you guys." Zach gave his next orders as they left the sewers and headed for the city gate.


    He knocked on the large wooden doors that were wide enough to let two carriages pass through at the same time with ease. If it had been before he became a summoner, his knocks wouldn''t have made it to the other side. But now, the entire gate shook slightly when he used enough force.


    On the other side, the man who had tried to resist Zach had gotten his arms and fists bandaged and was smirking as he looked at the gate. Explore more stories at M-V-L


    "Let us out!" Zach shouted to make sure they heard him.


    "What if you are infected? We can''t take that risk." The man gloated. "But don''t worry. We''ll make sure to inform the Academy about where you are."


    The man chuckled a little and was about to turn around and ignore the brats when wooden splinters flew past his face and the gates smashed open into the city walls.


    Anerias wasn''t known for his patience, and his Hound had learned from its master. As soon as it got the order, it tackled the gates, busting them open.


    The man froze on the spot, a thin line of red appearing on his cheek from one of the splinters.


    He didn''t say anything as the students left.

 Chapter 188: Talismans

    Zach and the others had told the citizens that they would be coming back shortly to help them with the underworld energy and their poisoning, so it would be best if they didn''t leave the city. But they could still leave the city just to go beyond the area with underworld energy and catch some fresh air.It wasn''t enough to even start working the underworld energy out of their systems. Far from it, in fact. But just getting away from the puddles of puke and pile that littered the city was a great relief for the citizens.


    Lying down in the grass instead of on the stone streets didn''t ease their suffering, technically. But it was better to suffer on something more comfortable.


    The Underworld Exterminators had mixed reactions. Some had been against the plan to quarantine everyone since it didn''t seem humane. Others had seen the Underworld''s tricks and were all for it.


    But now that the gate was destroyed, there wasn''t much they could do other than keep their distance and the citizens from going too far. Fortunately, the citizens weren''t interested in fleeing the city.


    It was their home, and they trusted the Academy''s students. Over the years, the city had experienced all kinds of troubles. It was a little annoying, especially when people died. But that was life. And the students solved things almost always before it got too bad.


    It would be the same this time. The students who had visited the city just now had been the top students of their year. They were reliable, much more so than the strangers from all over the Empire that no one had even heard of before.


    The Underworld Exterminators showed up out of nowhere and put the city on lockdown as soon as they arrived. They were working for the Empire as confirmed by the city''s administration, which gave them some credibility.


    But there was a limit to doing things without caring about the people. Well, the Underworld Exterminators cared about the people, and that was the problem. They put the good of the many above the good of the few.


    In the end, they didn''t do much. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were a few who helped the people in the city as best as they could now that the general consensus was to lay back and wait for something to happen. Some even had herbal concoctions and medicines that alleviated the symptoms. Others investigated the city and the sewers.


    The club members gathered their classmates.


    It wasn''t intentional by any party, whether it be the club members themselves or the principal, but the Underworld Research and Extermination Club ended up being the leader of the class and the principal''s designated messenger when it came to updates regarding the overall situation.


    It was the club that informed the rest of the class about the forest''s recovery, and now the club practically put the class to work.


    The class started preparing the materials Zach would need, first aid kits for the citizens, and materials to construct a camp outside the city for them to work out of and for the citizens to rest in.


    There was a lot to do, but the students were satisfied since it meant there were more opportunities for them to show their capabilities and earn marks. If nothing had happened to the city, the school year would have ended with the club having made great contributions to the fight against the Underworld while the rest of the class did almost nothing.


    Now, however, there were endless things the students could do to raise their contribution rate.


    It was great!


    ¡­Until they found out that one of the major symptoms the citizens were displaying was seemingly endless vomiting.


    That put a damper on the atmosphere. It didn''t stop the students from doing what had to be done, but it decreased their energy.


    The club members and the rest of their class racked up merits and scores by helping the city begin to recover from the outburst of underworld energy even before the underworld energy had subsided. After all, Zach was supposed to deal with that.


    It didn''t show, since he had seemingly disappeared from the world, but Zach was working hard.


    However, he wasn''t working hard on what people thought he was working hard on. That was Alzara.


    Zach was sparring with Yanael and only occasionally made worms with Material Extraction.


    Zach was confident in his barriers. He was confident in his familiars'' abilities and strengths.


    He was not confident in his own offensive power. It hadn''t been a deciding factor in the latest battle.


    But Zach had felt a little useless when he was relegated to a backline position. He had also noticed the increase in his strength when he pressured the guy from the Underworld Exterminators.


    It would be a shame if he let his physical prowess rot.


    So, he was going to learn how to put the spear he got from the Rat King to full use.


    He hadn''t made much progress yet, but he could feel himself improving. He held the weapon steadier, and when he thrust, it would hit somewhere around where he aimed more often than not.


    After a few days, Zach had new callouses on his palms, and Alzara had devised a few trinkets for the city.


    They weren''t potions but something she called talismans. The ones she had made to ward off underworld energy were ivory figures like circles and other shapes. They were tied to strings so they could be hung around the city.


    That''s exactly what Zach had his club members do. They were curious about the talismans and, more specifically, how Zach of all people had made them. After all, they didn''t know the specifics about Zach''s second familiar.


    But they had seen Alzara buzz around that oversized underworlder bear like a butterfly, so they couldn''t immediately guess that it was she that had created them. A familiar that could fight on par with such a powerful monster in addition to creating a variety of useful tools and consumables was too great of a familiar for them to consider it a possibility.


    The talismans soon showed their effect as they started pushing the underworld energy back into the underworld a little faster than before. But they weren''t enough. They didn''t help the citizens who were already poisoned.

 Chapter 189: Two Problems

    Zach, the club members, and the rest of the class had worked diligently in crafting, supplying materials for, and spreading the talismans around the city. The reason why it had been going so smoothly was due to one particular reason.They had such an easy time gathering all the materials they needed because Zach funded the operation out of his own pocket. The students didn''t mind. It made their work a lot easier. Zach also didn''t mind. Everything the others did with his money was counted to his grades.


    The problem came when that money started running out. He could ask for more from his parents. But he didn''t have to.


    He gathered the club members in the club room. He sat them down for the first time in a couple of days.


    Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina looked at him curiously. With how well things were going without any complications on the horizon, why had he gathered them?


    "There are two reasons why I gathered you here today. Two problems, to be exact."


    "..." They looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue.


    "We need an alternative to the anti-underworld energy potion for us to start treating the citizens of their poisoning instead of just alleviating the symptoms with the talismans. I''ve been working on that. But that''s where the second problem comes in."


    "..." The others looked at him worryingly.


    "Money." One word was all it took for the others to understand. Even Violina, a fellow ducal scion, was amazed at Zach''s wealth. It was a wonder that Zach was first bringing this up now.


    "You already have a solution to these problems, don''t you? Otherwise, you wouldn''t have gathered us here," Dukiel pointed out.


    "Naturally. We''ll start charging people!" Zach announced with a decisive fist into the air.


    "What?"


    "Like, for the talismans?"


    "I don''t think that''s going to go well."


    All three of them reacted negatively.


    Zach was a little disappointed.


    "Then, do you guys want to take over or at least share the financial burden?" He asked.


    "Selling the talismans you said? Sounds like a great idea!"


    "Tell me what to do."


    "Sorry, my allowance isn''t that big."


    With reality thrust in their faces, the three of them quickly changed their tunes.


    "That''s what I thought." Zach nodded smugly.


    "Okay, the plan isn''t to just sell the talismans I''m making right now or back-charge the ones we''ve already graciously donated to the city."


    "Then, what is the plan?" Nessa asked.


    All four of the club members in the room slowly turned to the door at the sudden addition of a dearly missed voice.


    "Nessa!" Violina was the first to stand up, not counting Zach who was already standing. The others soon followed her up and over to embrace Nessa in a group hug. It was a little difficult for Nessa to reciprocate properly since she only had one arm, but she did her best.


    "Did you wake up just now? Why are you already up and about? How are you feeling?"


    "Yes. The physician told me to stop wasting time and space and get out of there. And I''m fine. I feel a little lopsided like I''m always leaning to one side. But other than that, I''m fine." Nessa had been thinking about how to answer questions like how she was doing.


    She had lost an arm. She wasn''t doing well. But she was physically fine, or as fine as she could be. But she wasn''t getting that arm back. It sucked. She wasn''t fine.


    But that wasn''t the kind of answer people wanted. They wanted to hear that she was doing okay.


    So, she settled for that.


    "..." Unfortunately, her playful answer hadn''t quite found its audience. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I guess you''ll have to walk around with a sack of potatoes strapped to your bare side from now on." Zach broke the slightly awkward silence.


    "Or I get used to it¡ªHey! A sack of potatoes? My arm was not that heavy!" Nessa shouted at Zach, outraged.


    "Who knows? It''s not like we can weigh it and compare, can we?" He shrugged like there was just nothing to do about it. There was no way she could prove her arm didn''t weigh as much as a sack of potatoes.


    "Zach, tone it down¡ª" Violina tried to intervene.


    "Ha! You bastard! I still have this one. Bring out a scale right now and let''s measure it."


    "To be honest, you were a little lopsided even before you lost it, so I don''t think it will be accurate."


    "Oh, you''re itching for a beating, aren''t you?"


    "Yeah, but it seems like you can only give half a beating so maybe lower that arm and let someone else do it. You''ve already lost one. What''s stopping you from losing the other?"


    "Pfft¡ªHaha!"


    "Hehe."


    Nessa and Zach burst into laughter while the others stared at them dumbfounded.


    Nessa wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.


    "Damn it, Zach, you really don''t know how to treat patients," Nessa chastised slightly as she tapped him on the chest while walking past him and sitting down, slightly out of breath.


    "Didn''t the physician declare you healthy and all that?"


    "Yeah, yeah. What''s this about robbing the poor people you''ve given underworld poisoning?"


    "I''m not robbing anyone, at least not anyone who can''t afford it. A lot of different people got poisoned. It''s safe to say that almost everyone with an average body in the city at the time was affected by the underworld energy in some way."


    "Yeah?"


    "Meaning, all the different classes in the city. Rich merchants. Nobles from the city. Middle-class families. Lower-class citizens. All of them were affected equally.


    Money and status didn''t matter. They''ve all been reduced to messy, vomiting patients."


    The others frowned. Was Zach explaining the details of his plan or was he talking shit about the citizens of Basilia?


    "Don''t you think those rich merchants and nobles are feeling absolutely horrible right now?"


    "Isn''t everyone?"


    "Well, yeah. But in addition to being poisoned, they''ve also had to realize that they''re the same as the lowly beggars they look down on. Don''t you think they would do anything to get rid of that feeling? And if it also helps with the underworld poisoning, there''s no telling what they might pay."


    The furrows on his club members'' brows deepened.


    "Are you saying we cater to the rich and just let everyone else suffer?" Four of them were nobles. Dukiel was the only commoner. Surprisingly, he wasn''t the one who had asked. It was Violina.


    "No, of course not. I''m saying we use some clever marketing strategies to suck the money out of the rich like the greedy leeches we are." Zach smiled.

 Chapter 190: Dirty Laundry

    Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina were skeptical of Zach''s plan. They weren''t sure about making people the talismans for personal use. They also weren''t sure people would actually buy them when they weren''t an immediate cure. Regardless of who bought them, they still only alleviated their symptoms by calming down the underworld energy in their bodies.The trio also wasn''t sure about fooling people.


    Although Zach claimed he could make better talismans, that didn''t mean he would sell them.


    The plan was to sell exclusive talismans to wealthier patients and talismans that were no better than the free prototypes that the city got to less fortunate citizens.


    That was Zach''s self-proclaimed genius marketing plan.


    The truth was that there wouldn''t be much of a difference between the various types of talismans aside from their appearance.


    "Leave the details to me." Nessa nodded confidently as she asked Zach to trust her. She believed in Zach''s plan.


    It had a lot of kinks and minor issues to work out. But the general idea would work. Just like Zach, she had seen people go almost crazy for the right thing.


    People who lived for their status would do anything¡ªpay anything to highlight and secure that status. For both rich merchants and nobles, status was everything.


    Even with Nessa''s wholehearted support of the plan, the others remained skeptical.


    But there wasn''t anything they could do but agree to it.


    After all, their pockets weren''t any deeper than any of their custom¡ªpatients'' pockets, which meant they couldn''t fund Zach''s research or the procurement of ingredients. An additional source of financial power was necessary.


    Zach had created such a source. As dubious as it was, it was their only hope of finishing the city''s treatment before the end of the school year.


    Now it was just a matter of implementing it.


    Nessa pointed at Zach.


    "You get started on making a whole heap of talismans with what materials you have. If you can make them with different categories of appearance, that''s great. But it''s not necessary. We can just toss on some glitter or something afterward." She turned to the other three.


    "I need someone to start swapping out the talismans around the city. Make sure to complain about their quality. Don''t be too obvious, but make sure people hear that they are far from perfect.


    "We also need to get money flowing. Right now, the food in the city is spoiled and rotten, and everyone is a patient, so they''re relying on handouts mostly. Start getting merchants moving from other cities. Start getting people to secure their assets still inside the city. Although it''s safe, it''s even safer if they wear a special, high-density talisman. Something like that.


    We''ll have to work on the name.


    "We can provide temporary, free-use talisman to people helping clean up the city. If they do a good job, they get better talismans and they get to keep them. The talismans work, even if they''re in the city. So, working with one on inside the city is better than being without one outside the city."


    Nessa unloaded on them with things to do. It was a little surprising. But she had been bedridden for a week or so. She had a lot of pent-up energy. She also had a need for distraction, so she dove into work.


    She turned to Zach.


    "Zach, how do you feel about exchanging talismans for materials?"


    "That works. But it sounds like it will be easy to get a talisman with these methods. Won''t we flood the market, so to speak?"


    "Pshh. No way. Our market is the entirety of Basilia. If we play our cards right, we can even get outsiders to help with the cleanup or to buy the talismans. Last I checked, there were at least several thousand residents in the city. Let me know when you''ve made a hundred talismans and we''ll talk about the possibility of flooding the market before the underworld energy is gone."


    "...Right." Zach nodded meekly, a little surprised and overwhelmed by Nessa''s momentum.


    "Wow, Nessa, you sound like you''ve done this before," Anerias pointed out, amazed.


    Nessa shrugged.


    "My parents aren''t exactly rich, so I''ve helped them with the finances a few times. And, to be honest, I also made use of Zach''s library access to study up on things like that. It''s boring, and I would prefer to do not think about money but now¡­" Nessa glanced at where her arm was supposed to be. "I may have to consider my future a little more."


    The others also looked at Nessa''s empty shoulder before awkwardly looking away. Any comforting words would sound hollow.


    "Well, it''s a great help. If you ever turn out to be a wuss who lets a scratch decide your fate, I''ll make sure to set you and your family up back home if you ever need it, Nessa."


    "Hey, don''t poach her like that! Her parents are my parents'' vassals. If she is going to make use of her talent anywhere, it''s going to be in Systine."


    Nessa held up a hand and stopped them before they could continue.


    "If I do decide to pursue a career in finance, I''m going to the royal family. They have the best benefits¡ª"


    "I''ll do them one better!" Violina interrupted Nessa before she could finish.


    "And I''ll do her two better!" Zach piled on.


    Nessa held up a hand and silenced them again.


    "Violina, the Systines are in a constant battle against pirates. No thanks." She turned to Zach.


    "The Evandiels aren''t much better with the barbarians to the east threatening to declare war annually. If, and this is a big if, I ever decide to give up my dreams and work in finance, it will be because I want stability. That means the royal family in the capital."


    Zach and Violina exchanged looks. The royal family didn''t mean stability. But that was akin to a state secret, and airing out the royal family''s dirty laundry was akin to treason. There also wasn''t a need to tell Nessa anything about it. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If she ended up there sometime in the far future, they could come to her rescue. After suffering she would realize how peaceful life at the border or how beautiful life at the coast could be.


    "Well, what is everyone waiting for? Get to work!" Nessa shooed everyone into action.

 Chapter 191: Busy Infirmary

    Under Nessa''s leadership and management, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina started carrying out her orders. They ''inspected'' the talismans already around the city. They ''complained'' that the talismans appeared to already be losing part of their effect. They gossiped about how they couldn''t wait for the newer, shinier, and better versions to come out soon.Rumors spread like wildfire.


    People tried to keep it an open secret. But there was no point when everyone already knew that more and better talismans were on the way. It spread even faster than Nessa had anticipated.


    She had underestimated how horrible the underworld poisoning had been and how addictive the feeling of relief had been for the poisoned when they were close to the talismans. It was only natural since she hadn''t seen anything for herself. She had been asleep until just now, after all.


    Nessa quickly adapted and had someone prepare to make an announcement.


    As soon as people started pestering the students who were aiding the citizens, Violina stepped forward and announced that they were working on improving the talismans themselves and the production rate. But for now, they could only be patient.


    However, Violina also hinted at the fact that research and progress were slow due to lacking materials and funds. So, maybe those more fortunate and eager to speed up the process could contribute.


    Not for free, of course. They would be the first to receive their own personal talismans as soon as they were done.


    Instantly, money started changing hands.


    That part of the plan was an overwhelming success, even if the money flowed back out as quickly as it came in. Materials were more important than just sitting on a pile of cash.


    Zach and Alzara made the most of the materials that were shipped to her lab, and they mass-produced talismans. Tiny, white trinkets that came in different shapes and hues.


    When Alzara heard about the plan to make money, she happily did what she could to ease the marketing burden. She altered the appearance of the different talismans to clearly sort them into several different levels of quality.


    She could have made them with different potency and quality as well. But there wasn''t a need for that. The imagined effect of the ''better'' talismans was enough. It also wouldn''t be fair to the people who couldn''t afford the better talismans.


    In the end, Zach and the others were responsible for everything the city was going through. Well, the Underworld was at fault. But Zach dropped the potion that pushed all that underworld energy into the city, and the club members shared the responsibility for that since they were in the same club, and they had encouraged Zach to do it.


    Morally speaking, they should have done it all for free. It wasn''t like they couldn''t do it for free. It would just take time, and they wouldn''t be able to provide as much relief to the citizens as they were doing.


    Currently, the students were helping the poisoned citizens eat, keep their fevers down, rest, and stop them from vomiting all over the place. And when they vomited but were too tired to clean up after themselves, the students helped. The students also helped clean the city.


    Needless to say, almost none of the students would have been doing all that if they weren''t getting paid in both grades and money.


    Without money, they would have done the bare minimum for the citizens and focused on getting rid of the underworld energy in the city and then in the citizens'' bodies.


    With money, it was a luxury treatment for the sick citizens. The only thing that could have made it better was a massage and the infirmary joining the efforts. But the infirmary, while not overly busy since most of the older students were away, wasn''t going to pack up and join the camp outside the city.


    If anyone wanted treatment, they would have to come to the infirmary. Even then, there was a limit to what outsiders could get. The infirmary was for the students of the Academy. And currently, the first-years were making the most of that privilege.


    It was inevitable, but the first-years'' curriculum had been impacted by the second-years'' activities. The underworld energy contaminating the forest had driven monsters away from their territories and out of the forest.


    The second-years had been in charge of dealing with the monsters in the immediate vicinity of the city since most of those monsters were affected by the underworld energy in some way. But further away, the monsters had yet to be touched by the underworld energy. They were wise enough to leave before the underworld energy could spread to them.


    Unfortunately, that created a lot of chaos in the forests and on the roads further away.


    The strongest monsters were the ones closest to the Academy. They had been affected by the underworld energy. Those were dealt with by the second years.


    The stronger monsters were still in the forests, just beyond the reach of the underworld energy. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the weaker monsters fled the forests for a chance of survival and started living along the roads. The first-years took care of them.


    It wasn''t as dangerous as fighting the Underworld, but there were still many powerful monsters. And the first-years didn''t have an S-rank to pull the brunt of the load.


    The infirmary was a little busier with this year''s first-years than last year.


    There was no way it would help the second-years cater to all the hundreds and thousands of sick people from Basilia.


    They were on their own. Fortunately, the citizens were too physically weak, due to the poisoning to cause trouble. And with the promise of talismans and the insinuated threat of their absence if they misbehaved, there was complete order among the patients.


    The talismans were a powerful tool to keep the sickly citizens in check, even before they were handed out. Nessa was looking forward to what would happen once Zach had made enough to start selling and trading them.


    The citizens would be like diligent worker ants. She could see it in front of her.


    The Underworld Exterminators, on the other hand¡­

 Chapter 192: Oh, Shit

    The Underworld Exterimantors were not united in anything but their cause. The man who had tried to break Zach''s barriers with his, in comparison, much more fragile fists had a small group that supported him. It also seemed like they were waiting for someone or something.Nessa hadn''t been able to find out more than that from her preliminary research of the market. But among the Underworld Exterminators, that group was the one with the most aversion to working with the students. They hung back and avoided all the sick ones.


    There were other groups of Underworld Exterminators and some working alone that did various things to contribute in their own ways. Some helped with taking care of the sick citizens and alleviating their symptoms. Others went around the city and the sewers, checking for underworlders or people who hadn''t left the city yet.


    Some Underworld Exterminators headed into the forest instead when they discovered that the city was handled. They hunted monsters to sell and make some money while wasting time, killed monsters tainted by underworld energy, or gathered materials for the talismans.


    Many of the Underworld Exterminators felt a little hopeless and useless. Many of them had gone through a lot to find ways to fight back against the Underworld. A lot of experimenting, training, and near-death experiences had brought them to where they were today.


    They had lost comrades and limbs fighting against underworlders whenever they discovered them, which wasn''t often. But even when not fighting the Underworld directly, there were many difficulties with the lives they led.


    However, as if to spit in all of their faces, a young boy sixteen or seventeen years old had made not one, but two items that were very effective against the Underworld and its underworld energy.


    The first creation, the anti-underworld energy potion was mostly a rumor. But the students, especially the ones in the Underworld Research and Extermination Club were adamant about its existence. But even without the potion, the talismans still existed.


    They were more efficient in driving away the underworld energy than anything the Underworld Exterminators had made.


    As if that wasn''t enough, Zach had only known about the Underworld for less than two years.


    It was demoralizing.


    But it was difficult to feel anything more than that for most of the Underworld Exterminators. Only a few of them had seen Zach, adn they didn''t connect that Zach to the creator of the talismans.


    But they knew the creator of the talismans was a powerful summoner. He was also a creative and resourceful craftsman. He was one of the greatest students in the Academy''s history. He was a lofty being that most people had trouble imagining.


    That reputation only grew with each talisman Nessa sold and provided to the citizens in exchange for materials or services like cleaning up the city.


    Things were looking up for the city.


    Alzara had even made progress in the matter of creating a medicine that would cure the citizens of their poisoning before it was too late.


    Zach was in the middle of supporting Alzara in her work by creating more worms with his Material Extraction when Nessa knocked on the door to the lab and entered.


    "Zach, we have a problem." She plopped down on the floor next to Zach and leaned her back against the chair''s leg. She heaved a deep sigh.


    "What is it this time?"


    "That guy who broke his fists on your barriers. Do you remember him?" Nessa hadn''t been there, but she had heard the story from the others when they discussed Zach''s worrying behavior.


    "...Vaguely." Zach couldn''t describe what the man looked like if he tried.


    "Ah, whatever. That guy. He and his group are causing trouble again. They finally got word that their boss is coming, so they''ve been acting cocky." Nessa sighed again, at a loss for what to do.


    "Have you guys tried humbling him again?" Zach asked innocently.


    Nessa glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You are surprisingly quick to resort to violence, aren''t you?" It wasn''t like she hadn''t thought about it.


    "Right. I should ask what they did first."


    "So far, not much. They''ve just been going around and taking the talismans around the city for themselves. They gave them back when Anerias asked. But they''ve also been coercing the cleaners to hand over their talismans."


    Nessa''s expression darkened as she thought about the people dutifully cleaning the city who had been just short of manhandled into handing over their talismans to the group of Underworld Exterminators who were content just watching everyone else work.


    "...Is there any reason you guys haven''t given them a taste of their own medicine?" Zach asked, earnestly curious about why they were letting glorified thugs act out.


    "Haa¡­It''s not that easy. The Exterminators aren''t as divided as they first appear. They would rather side with rotten apples on their own side than a bunch of students. So, if we are too aggressive, the other Exterminators might also start causing trouble. We can''t afford that. And that''s not all."


    "Right. The boss. But he hadn''t arrived yet?"


    "Not yet." Nessa shook her head. "But when I asked around a little, it seems he''s supposed to be strong. I couldn''t get any confirmation from anyone trustworthy, but apparently, he''s killed a Named."


    "Oh, shit." Zach''s eyes widened and he looked at Nessa properly for the first time since she entered.


    "That''s not good," he said.


    Zach still vividly remembered the strength Jigak had displayed in the swamp Locale. Even after summoning another familiar and leveling up more than ten times, Zach didn''t even want to think about how strong that Named underworlder had been. If he did, he might risk breaking out in a cold sweat.


    Nessa didn''t know how strong a Named underworlder was, but she had heard Zach''s cautionary retelling of his meeting with Jigak. Rather than trusting the accuracy of Zach''s depiction, she trusted her opinion of Zach.


    Zach didn''t frighten easily. Even if he was in a situation where he might lose his life, he could stay calm, at least if there was something he could do. Otherwise, he might make a bad joke or run for the hills.


    When he told her about Jigak, it was the first time Nessa saw Zach show fear.


    That was why she had gone to look for him as soon as she heard about that rumor.


    "Let me know as soon as he''s arrived at the city."


    "Of course."


    "Oh, by the way, did you get his name?"


    "Yeah. Bruns."

 Chapter 193: Family Name

    Zach continued making material worms for Alzara, but he couldn''t stop thinking about Bruns, the man who had supposedly killed a Named underworlder. It wasn''t too far-fetched.Zach knew strong people. The principal. Instructor Kami. His parents and many of the knights at the duchy. They could fight and kill Named underworlders. It only stood to reason that there were others in the world who could do the same, even if he hadn''t heard of them before.


    They also had to have earned their name. What was the point of being called Underworld Exterminators if they weren''t contributing to the extermination of the Underworld? They had to have done something to earn that name.


    There was also the possibility that not all Named were equally strong. Zach didn''t know the first thing about the hierarchy or the levels of strength on the deeper layers of the Underworld. But he knew different individuals would not be exactly as strong as one another.


    It meant Bruns could have killed a Named weaker than Jigak.


    Unfortunately, it also meant he could have killed a Named stronger than Jigak. Even just the possibility of there being stronger Named underworlders than Jigak was a problem.


    But stronger Named wasn''t an immediate problem. Zach estimated that they would only start encountering Named underworlders next year.


    Presently, the most pressing concern was the fact that a person, who, if the rumors were true, was strong enough to kill Named, was associating with bullies. It didn''t bode well for their activities in Basilia.


    But worrying about it wouldn''t change anything, so Zach focused on his task while also including some strength training and more sparring into his daily routine. Just because he got stronger from leveling up, it didn''t mean he didn''t get stronger from training his body.


    If anything, it was even better if he mixed in strength training with his leveling since it would only make him stronger. Even if he had trouble learning the ways of the spear or other weapons, just being physically strong could help him a lot. A strong body also made it easier for him to absorb the blows when his barriers broke. And more stamina let him use Material Extraction more. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach was not neglecting his basics.


    After a couple of days, Nessa entered the lab again and informed Zach of Bruns'' arrival.


    "Did you get a look at him?" Zach asked as they made their way to the city. Since Bruns was supposedly very strong, Zach brought both of his familiars along.


    "No." Nessa shook her head. "I left to get you as soon as I heard he was close. I figured it was best if you were there before he had time to settle in." Nessa nervously looked toward the camp outside the city. Even from a distance, she could tell there was a certain ruckus in one corner. People¡ªExterminators¡ªhad gathered there.


    "I have a feeling that was a wise decision, Nessa." Zach nodded. He wondered if he should ask the Millipede to pick up the pace, but he didn''t want to make it seem he rushed over to meet Bruns. It could give off an impression Zach didn''t want to give off.


    He didn''t rush over to receive Bruns. He hurried over to prevent Bruns from causing trouble.


    By the looks of it, he was just in time. Before Bruns could do anything else or target anyone else, Zach was there to catch his attention.


    Zach and Nessa hopped down from the Millipede and made their way through the tents in the camp over to the other side, where Bruns had made an entry.


    "There he is! Boss, that''s the guy who assaulted me!"


    Zach recognized that voice. He wasn''t sure from where, but it ground against his ears with an air of familiarity. He remembered who it was when he looked at the bandaged hand that was pointing at him.


    It was the Idiot.


    Zach didn''t look at him. He looked at the tall, muscular man next to him. He was a head taller than those around him. He was still a head away from Alzara''s height. He was not prepared for that since he was looking more at her than at Zach or anyone else.


    Or it could be that he somehow sensed the threat she posed.


    His face and bare arms had tiny and big scars. The vest on his upper body didn''t do much to hide the scars there, either.


    He was a warrior and had probably honed his senses through fights to the death. Zach could tell at a glance that Bruns'' reputation wasn''t unfounded, even if only because he looked the part and did so convincingly.


    "Boss, please avenge me!" The Idiot snapped Bruns out of his staredown with Alzara, which could have been fatal if Alzara and Bruns had been about to fight.


    Bruns glared at the Idiot, which shut him up. Like a meek rat, the Idiot shrank back and stayed silent. But he had still succeeded in diverting Bruns'' attention toward Zach.


    Bruns looked Zach up and down, his gaze lingering on Zach''s orange hair.


    "So you''re an Evandiel." Bruns glanced back at his man as if to tell him that he forgot to mention an important detail. But he could see that the Idiot hadn''t known. He was pale and looked at Zach in surprised horror.


    Bruns shook his head slightly at the sight of someone who called himself his subordinate.


    "I''ve seen the Duke fight once. He is a man I respect. The Evandiels are worthy of respect. But that name won''t get you out of this if you assaulted my subordinate."


    Zach smiled. It seemed Bruns was reasonable.


    "I wasn''t planning on relying on my family''s name for a trifling matter like this. And I don''t need to, since I didn''t beat up your idiot, even if he deserved it. He did that to himself." Zach nodded at the man''s bandaged fists.


    "Without getting into all the nitty-gritty details, we had a verbal disagreement, and he resorted to violence. Alas, he didn''t live up to his ideal.


    "Instead of punching my teeth out, he broke his hands."


    Bruns raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Idiot, who didn''t dare meet his gaze.


    "You look thick-headed, but he broke his fists on your skull? I don''t believe it."


    "He didn''t. He broke them on my barriers. Here. Try it."


    Zach made a barrier in the air in front of Bruns.


    Bruns looked at it and unfurled his crossed arms.


    "Sure."


    Zach''s words and actions weren''t just to inform Bruns of the truth of what had transpired between him and the Idiot. They were a blatant provocation.


    It was also a test for Zach to measure Bruns'' strength. If he could break the barrier with ease, they might have trouble dealing with him. If he couldn''t, Zach had nothing to fear other than the sword at the big man''s hip.


    Bruns knew it was a provocation. But rather than letting himself fall for it, he also wanted to test Zach. So, he balled up his hand in a fist and threw a straight punch at the barrier.

 Chapter 194: Doubt

    Bruns'' fist was headed straight for the golden barrier like it held a grudge. But then, it stopped right in front of the barrier, and Bruns'' knuckles gently rapped against it instead."Hmm." Bruns raised an eyebrow and took a slightly closer look at the barrier.


    "I see how you Vetter in that state. I still consider you responsible, but it''s his fault too. I won''t pursue this matter."


    Zach was a little disappointed. Not only did he not get to test Bruns'' strength, but Bruns was also making it sound like he was the one doing Zach a favor by not seeking compensation for the Idiot¡ªVetter''s injuries.


    Zach didn''t like it.


    "Great. But I will. That man is responsible for the deaths of at least two people and the injuries of several more, not to mention the overall and unnecessary suffering he caused by locking the people in the city instead of helping them. If you don''t punish him appropriately, I will."


    They hadn''t been discovered at once, but an elderly couple had succumbed to the underworld energy poisoning before the students could find them and help them.


    If Anerias and the others had been allowed into the city at once and had been allowed to start the relief efforts at once, those people could have been saved. It was the same with several others.


    Since Vetter hadn''t been the only one blockading the city, and because they did what they had had to be done, Zach hadn''t been planning on assigning blame, especially since he was technically responsible for the underworld energy bursting into the city.


    But if Bruns was going to avoid responsibility and clear his subordinate, Zach was just going to pile on more dirt.


    Bruns met Zach''s eyes and crossed his arms. Unlike Vetter had done, Bruns wasn''t posturing like a bird. He calmly looked at Zach with narrowed eyes.


    Bruns glanced back at Vetter.


    "Is that true?"


    "I¨CI did what I thought was right for the greater good! My conscience is clear!" Vetter was a little surprised when Bruns suddenly talked to him, but he quickly gave the answer Bruns wanted.


    "Hear that? If you want to blame anyone, blame the Underworld," Bruns spoke as if the matter was settled.


    "Is that how you guys get away with being shits? You blame everything on the Underworld and move on with your lives?"


    "What?" Bruns turned back and glared at Zach''s insinuation and insult.


    "Whatever. You said it''s fine as long as it''s for the greater good and one''s conscience is clear, right?" Zach set his eyes on Vetter.


    "It''s not like he''s using them for anything decent anyway. Bring me his hands." Zach didn''t need to look at Yanael for her to understand who he was talking to. She moved at once.


    She had longed for this moment. Vetter had tried to strike Zach, several times at that.


    She had almost been unable to hold back. More than once, she had considered leaving the Academy in the night to sneak out and get rid of Vetter. But that would mean going against Zach''s order. It might also get Zach in trouble. So, she held back.


    That was one of the reasons she walked slowly while unsheathing her sword. She wanted Vetter to dread her. She wanted him to regret what he had done. She wanted him to feel the pain sting his hands as he remembered why he was losing them while looking at her. She wanted him to treasure his hands in the last few moments they were still his.


    The other reason she took her time was because she was keeping an eye on Bruns.


    "Kid, if you don''t stop your maid, I will." Bruns'' eyes followed Yanael as she walked out from behind Zach and next to them. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Now, why would you do that?" Zach asked with a smile.


    "Kid¡­" Bruns'' gaze shifted to Zach, and his voice deepened with warning.


    "My, it can''t be that you''re admitting that a clear conscience is not a valid excuse. Never! I can''t believe the great Bruns would go back on his word like that!" Zach exclaimed in mock disbelief.


    A vein popped on Bruns'' forehead. His face reddened slightly as well as he glared at Zach in anger and put a hand on his sword.


    "Do you want a fight?" He growled.


    "Oh, wow. And you said you wouldn''t treat me differently just because my family happens to be one of the five most powerful ones in the Empire. If my surname hadn''t been Evandiel, wouldn''t my head already have hit the ground by now?" Zach asked, still with a mocking down.


    Bruns'' knuckles whitened as he gripped the handle on his sword tight. His silence confirmed Zach''s words. It was only because he was an Evandiel that Bruns was holding back.


    "Twice now, this man has gone back on his word. I can''t trust a man like this to fight against the Underworld. If his word is this hollow when it comes to his principles, is it as hollow when it comes to fighting underworlders?" Zach asked, loud enough for everyone to hear the doubt he raised.


    Had Bruns really killed a Named?


    Zach raised his arms to his side as he silently asked the onlookers. He began turning to look at more bystanders and ask anyone to speak out when a double-edged long sword twice as wide as Yanael''s pointed at his face. Its edge carried a sharp sheen, but the flat was dull grey. It was a well-used sword that had been well taken care of.


    Zach looked at the tip that was a hand away from the tip of his nose.


    "Oho? A little doubt¡ª"


    "My brother sacrificed himself for that fucker''s death! Don''t you dare¡ªDon''t you DARE say it didn''t happen!" Bruns shouted with anger¨Cand sadness¨Con a whole new level. The sword in his hand trembled slightly.


    Zach smiled and slowly pushed the sword out of his face.


    "Okay. You and your brother killed a Named. He died for it. Does that give you¨Cand your followers¨Cthe right to treat others and their lives like less?" He asked, gently signaling Yanael, who had turned around and aimed her sword at Bruns'' neck, to take a step back with his eyes.

 Chapter 195: Persuasive

    Bruns sheathed his sword and looked at Zach with cold eyes as he cooled down. He quickly regained control over his emotions."...What do you want?" He asked. Bruns could tell that he only stood to lose if he gave in to his emotions¨Cgave in to Zach''s provocation and started a fight. Even if he could beat Zach, kill him, even, what next? Zach was the first S-rank summoner at the Academy in years. He was the youngest son of the Evandiel Duke.


    If the principal didn''t kill him, the Evandiels would. And if, by some miracle, neither of them pursued the matter after confirming that Zach was at fault, Bruns still had a city tainted with underworld energy to do something about, the Underworld to fight, and a class of students on his bad side.


    The Underworld was one thing, but the students were future powerhouses of the Empire.


    Bruns'' life in the future would suck. And that was if he managed to kill Zach. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bruns glanced at the tall, tan, white-haired maid behind Zach and then at the blonde, golden-eyed maid behind himself. It was hard to get a read on how powerful they were.


    All Bruns could tell was that they were strong.


    Fighting them wouldn''t have him come out on the other side uninjured.


    Zach smiled. People should be obedient.


    "Admit your misdoings and, during this, let''s say event, you and your men will listen to my orders. If those orders come from another''s mouth, such as from Nessa here, you will treat their words as mine."


    "You¡ª"


    "In exchange, your man will get to keep his hands and won''t be punished in any other way for his actions. You all will also get a talisman each." Zach looked into Bruns'' eyes. A little carrot after the stick would make it easier for Bruns to stomach the agreement.


    "And why would I listen to you?" Bruns asked defiantly.


    "Because more than you despise me, you hate the Underworld, and as much as you dislike it, you''re smart enough to know that listening to me, or at the very least cooperating, is your best bet to ruin the Underworld''s plans.


    "Sure, you can refuse. You can fight back if I try to grab your subordinate''s hands. But you won''t be getting any talismans. You won''t be getting any potions. You will have to get food, weapons, tents, and places to sleep on your own. You will have to watch your step when you investigate the city.


    You will have to risk underworld energy poisoning for you and your men when you enter the sewers.


    "And when it comes, when you stand face to face with a Named again, you will be alone. Those guys behind you will die or flee without doing anything. Nothing but you and the Named. Of course, as long as you are confident you can kill the Named before they do anything, be my guest.


    "But if you''re not confident, take this talisman and prepare to inspect the tunnels."


    Zach had pinpointed Bruns'' weaknesses and insecurities from how he reacted during their conversation. Even if he was extremely reluctant and mistrustful, Bruns had to accept Zach''s deal.


    More than he was the boss over the others and more than he was a thug or grieving brother, he was an Underworld Exterminator. He sought revenge for his brother''s death, not to take out his sorrow on others who had nothing to do with it.


    He didn''t have too much trouble setting aside the irritation he felt at Zach''s earlier provocation to improve his odds of exterminating underworlders.


    He took the talisman.


    "...I won''t blindly listen to orders, but I will hear you and your friends out."


    "I couldn''t ask for more!" Zach said happily. He pointed at Dukiel.


    "That''s Dukiel. He has a map over the sewers with the entrance to the Underworld marked. Make a copy and set up a watch there. I think we have some magic tools around here to make that easier. I would also appreciate it if you were to lead an expedition deeper into the tunnels. We had some trouble earlier this year with a lot of disappearances.


    Please find out more about that."


    Bruns looked at Dukiel.


    "Sure." He turned back to Zach and nodded. He would have to do some of his own research and find out more before he did anything. But if Zach was speaking the truth, he wanted to go deeper into the tunnels.


    It wasn''t often they found intact pathways into the Underworld or that even led closer to the Underworld.


    Of course, entering the Underworld was suicide, but it was the best way to find underworlders, and finding underworlders was the only way to kill them.


    "Perfect." Zach smiled again and turned to Nessa. She nodded. She could handle the rest.


    Zach turned around and left. He considered having Yanael stay behind to oversee things and prevent any more trouble. But that was unnecessary. She wasn''t the only S-rank. She was the strongest and most famous thanks to her appearance.


    But Zach''s classmates and club members weren''t useless. He could trust them to handle things from now on. It had just taken a little force to get Bruns to cooperate.


    He had a feeling that Violina could probably have done it since she was also the child of a duke and had an S-rank summoner. But Yanael and Alzara were better at intimidation than Violina''s Frost Imp. That little critter was better at creeping people out. People also tended to underestimate and misjudge smaller beings and women.


    It was a shame, especially when Zach knew how feisty and powerful both Violina and her familiars were. But he had a feeling that Violina would have succeeded anywas, it would just have taken a little more time and maybe some bloodshed.


    The others, however, would have had trouble getting Bruns to fall in line.


    Fortunately, now that Bruns had given in once, it would be easier to keep him in check. They were also fortunate that Bruns wasn''t made of the same material as Vetter. That would have been a problem.

 Chapter 196: Side Effects

    Bruns took a few days to gather supplies, double-check his information, and ensure he had enough talismans. Then, he ventured into the sewers with the goal of first establishing a barrier at the border between the sewers and the tunnel leading into the Underworld.The barrier would inform someone on the surface that an underworlder was passing through. It was a first alarm in case there was an attack or an underworlder tried to sneak away. There probably wasn''t much they could do if the underworlder was sneaking away after hiding in the sewers or the city. But it would let them know the underworlders had been active.


    And if the barrier sensed an underworlder entering the sewers from the Underworld, it would give the ones on the surface enough time to prepare for an attack or to catch the underworlder.


    That wasn''t the barrier''s only purpose, however.


    If it detected one or more underworlders after Bruns and his group entered the tunnel to scout it, it was a sign that Bruns and the others had lost. If they had, the underworlder coming to the surface was most likely stronger than Bruns.


    The barrier was the first line to give as many as possible as much time to run as possible.


    Zach had been reluctant since it might worsen the situation if it was used, but he even gave Bruns an anti-underworld energy potion. He wasn''t sure about its strength, but it was potent. It would save Bruns'' life if he was faced with a foe he couldn''t defeat.


    If Bruns managed to get deep enough before finding it, it would also serve as a good tool to disrupt the Underworld. Of course, that depended on what they would find down below, deep in the pitch darkness of the Underworld.


    Bravely facing the fear of the unknown, Bruns and the others entered the tunnel.


    On the surface, Zach and Alzara were starting to develop a trial-ready medicine for underworld energy poisoning. It was an almost endlessly diluted version of the original anti-underworld energy potion that had been dried and turned into tiny tablets that melted in contact with liquid.


    They could be ingested directly, dissolved in a cup of water, or, for easier mass distribution, mixed in with the water supply.


    It was risky since there could be other contaminants and adverse reactions to a medicine that had yet to finish the testing stage. That was why Zach made sure to have as many volunteers as possible test it first.


    It wasn''t an immediate cure, and the first version ready for trials was a little off. It wasn''t great for pushing the underworld energy out of human bodies. It mostly stirred it up and worsened the symptoms.


    That was a side-effect of the medicine trying to push the underworld energy straight out of the person''s bone, flesh, and skin. It was gentler and better than the anti-underworld potion.


    But unless it was a familiar who used it and who could withstand the burden of forcing the underworld energy out of their bodies directly through all the meat, it wouldn''t work in the long run. The bodies of humans would break down before they were fully cured and freed of the underworld poison.


    There might have been other side effects, but they didn''t show.


    In the next version, Alzara added binding agents to the medicine, that tied the underworld energy to the medicine and the medicine to the person''s excretion and exhaled breaths. It was better but came with the side effect of intense diarrhea and painful gasses from both ends of the body.


    It was bearable, and it got rid of the underworld energy somewhat efficiently.


    But Alzara could make a better version. So, she did.


    After another few rounds of improvements and trials, Alzara finally made a tiny white pill that effortlessly drove the underworld energy out of a poisoned person''s orifices in streams of smoke.


    It could be unpleasant, but that was it. And after suffering for weeks of poisoning, the poisoned citizens could happily bear with it. They would have liked a more in-depth warning before Zach and the others mixed it into the water supply, though.


    Panic broke out when sick people started spewing dark grey smoke from all the holes in their heads all of a sudden.


    The panic was quickly extinguished since the bursts of smoke only lasted for a few moments for each person, but it was a mess, nonetheless, not that Zach was bothered.


    He was holed up in Alzara''s lab practicing his spear and Material Extraction. Nessa, Dukiel, Violina, Anerias, and their classmates were the ones who had to deal with all that.


    There were more than one or two students who muttered complaints about Zach since he was the only one not contributing to the clean-up after the panic. It was his fault and such.


    It was just that the panic from suddenly giving everyone medicine wasn''t the only thing he was responsible for. He was also responsible for the medicine that would cure the citizens. He had earned the right not to participate in the clean-up or care of the patients. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the initial panic, the only thing that filled the camp outside the city was excitement.


    It was a cure!


    They were saved. They were finally free of the endless vomiting, never being able to hold food down, never sleeping an entire night without waking up several times because they were cold, had to puke, were too warm, shivered, or it felt like worms were crawling around inside them.


    They could start returning to their ordinary lives soon.


    There was still a lot of underworld energy in the city, especially in the center and in the sewers. But that would get better with time. And with the talismans, they had nothing to worry about.


    Life would soon return to normal, aside from a greyish hue that seemed to linger in the city due to the underworld energy.


    It was great.


    Until it wasn''t.

 Chapter 197: Business Opportunity

    After Alzara finished the recipe for the medicine against the underworld energy poisoning, Zach got a little more free time on his hands. He would occasionally make worms with his skill for Alzara. He would occasionally train his body or with his spear. Occasionally, he would go down to the city and help out or check on things and his friends.He got even more free time when Nessa got him to sell the rights to use the recipe to a few of the alchemists in the city.


    Zach hadn''t even thought of doing that. He knew that there were alchemists in the city. He just hadn''t thought of them.


    It also hadn''t occurred to him to sell it. Why would it when he wasn''t selling the medicine? They handed that out to the citizens for free.


    People who wanted to thanked them with donations of money or materials. Others bought talismans and food at a higher price. Zach and the others were making more than enough money to make things go around.


    However, what Zach failed to consider or failed to know to consider was the revolutionary existence of the medicine and the anti-underworld energy potion. It was understandable nothing like it existed on the open market since most people didn''t know about the Underworld.


    But not even the Underworld Exterminators had anything like it. Two consumables and an item extremely efficient against underworld energy were all that existed, and all three things came from Zach. The research potential alone for alchemists was tremendous.


    Even beyond that, there would be a market for the medicine and the anti-underworld potion in the future. The current situation in Basilia was almost over. It wouldn''t be long until practically all of the underworld energy had returned to ground and endless vomiting would be nothing but a faint memory in peoples'' minds.


    But the Underworld wasn''t gone. Underworld energy still existed. Even if Basilia was fine, other places might not be. And by all accounts, the Underworld was picking up its activity. The value of the medicine would only rise as the Underworld launched more attacks on the surface and poisoned more people.


    Not only that, the medicine Zach had crafted was also an efficient way to prevent traitors or subtle poisonings.


    With the medicine, people would turn angry and bitter like Julius had done in their first year.


    With the medicine, people wouldn''t be able to join the Underworld. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, forcing everyone to regularly take the medicine was impossible. But it was useful for expeditions, the Exterminators, and people in vulnerable or already attacked locations.


    Then, there was the potion and the talismans. Zach was a little more reluctant to sell the recipes to those.


    The potion because it wasn''t easy to make and because it was too powerful. It might cause more trouble if it was available en masse right now. And if people learned how to make the talismans, it wouldn''t take long before they figured out Zach and the others had scammed everyone.


    People would find out eventually. It was inevitable.


    But Zach would prefer if it happened when it was in the past and when he was far away.


    Still, Nessa didn''t give up. She saw a business opportunity. But she didn''t just encourage Zach. She also worked to secure skilled and trustworthy alchemists who were willing to go pretty far for the sake of research and valuable potions.


    After all, unlike most people, Nessa knew Zach wasn''t the one making the potions, medicine, and talismans. It wasn''t even like Zach had tried to keep it a secret from her or the others. She had just been the first to barge into the lab.


    Nessa knew that it was Alzara who made everything. In a way, she was more reliable than Zach. Nessa could also tell that Alzara wouldn''t stop making potions anytime soon, nor would she stop creating new recipes.


    The anti-underworld energy and similar products had taken priority due to their situation. But what if Alzara had some time to spare? What if the Desert Witch got bored and started making interesting things?


    Right now, it was nothing more than a gamble on Nessa''s side. But she had a good feeling about it.


    However, something else soon overturned that good feeling.


    It was a slight tremor. It made rings appear in the water in the cups on nearby tables. Slightly longer weeds and straws of grass swayed slightly. A leaf or two fell from a tree next to the road.


    In the sewers, a loose rock crumbled and bounced to the floor.


    In the tunnel, a thin crack grew to the length of an arm in one part of the wall.


    That was it.


    What happened below the surface, no one noticed. Most didn''t even notice what happened on the surface.


    Zach did. He happened to be in the camp, talking shit with Dukiel and Violina. They also noticed. Anerias noticed. Nessa noticed. Their familiars noticed.


    A few of the other students noticed. Several of the Underworld Exterminators noticed.


    Many of the students were technically more powerful and useful in combat than most of the Exterminators, thanks to their familiars. But their senses and instincts weren''t as sharp. They had gone through troubles of their own, but the students hadn''t lived as long as the Exterminators. They hadn''t experienced nearly as much.


    The Exterminators had lived through enough dangerous experiences for their instincts to warn them that something bad was going to happen¨Chad already happened.


    However, there was no way to know what it could be. A vague sense of foreboding wasn''t enough, especially when all it did was start dialing up their fear.


    It didn''t immediately click for them that it was the Underworld¨Cthat it was something below the city.


    It did for Zach. It did for the others in the club. They had had enough close run-ins with the Underworlds to know. They had also only had close shaves with the Underworld. What else could it be if not them?


    Zach and the others turned toward the city with grave expressions.


    Whatever had caused that tremor was powerful. It took a lot to affect that much mass from that deep in the ground.


    A manhole cover, twenty pieces of rubble varying in size from a pebble to a melon, and dust rocketed into the air with a bang.


    By the looks of it, they would find out what had caused that tremor soon.

 Chapter 198: Annoying

    "Annoying bugs¡­" A sharp voice rang out from the cloud of dust in the city. It reached the camp without so much as a fly''s wing flaps disturbing it."The Great Ugor told me to stabilize it, but when you come down to me like this¡­" A figure like a looming shadow appeared against the cloud as the source of the voice walked forward on the roof of a nearby house partly caught up in the blast.


    The figure left the cloud of dust and leaped from the roof to outside the city walls in one go.


    "With weapons like these¡­" The short, blue-skinned, long-eared, long-haired man held up a glass bottle with a sloshing, whitish liquid inside.


    "Well, let''s just say you leave me no choice." The underworlder''s pale blue lips split up in a crooked smile, revealing a set of uneven, sharp, unkempt teeth. The underworlder looked on, his completely dark blue, almost black eyes shining with excitement as panic slowly set in at the camp.


    The ones at the edge closest to the city saw the underworlder. They didn''t need to know much about the Underworld to fear. Their instincts as living beings were enough. Those instincts screamed at the people to run, run for their pitiful lives. The ones not frozen stiff in fear did just that.


    They ran as quickly as their legs could carry them and quicker than they should have in a crowded, densely populated camp.


    The fleeing citizens crashed into each other, tents, tables, and fortunately unlit campfires.


    It was chaos.


    But amidst that chaos, a few figures moved like rocks in a stream toward the edge of the camp.


    Zach and his club members. Several of the other students. A few Exterminators who had been lying low this whole time. A swordsman. An archer. What appeared to be a mage.


    A slightly shorter person in a full suit of armor with a tower shield. Another swordsman with two blades.


    They convened on one side of the open field between the camp and the city, the underworlder on the other. The blue underworlder scanned them, one at a time, with his eyes. They warily looked at him and tried to get a read on his strength.


    The blue underworlder had burst out of the ground with a lot of fanfare. He had leaped from within the city to outside it. But he hadn''t burst through the ground outside the city, where the tunnels led.


    Either he wasn''t strong enough. Or, he couldn''t be bothered.


    Most likely, the underworlder in front of them had caused the tremor from just now.


    "Wow, what a reception! It''s a little unfair that I got one when I didn''t give your comrade one." The underworlder shook his head like it was a shame.


    "Are you going to fight or what?" Anerias asked impatiently. The tension was getting to his nerves. It was the first time he was faced with such powerfully blatant bloodthirst.


    The monsters they had fought, including the wolf and the bear, were strong. They were bloodthirsty. But their bloodthirst and viciousness weren''t intelligent. It was a twisted perversion of a predator''s natural hunting instinct.


    The underworlder in front of them was nothing like that. He was hostile for the sake of being hostile. He thirsted after blood, not because he needed it, but because he wanted it. There was a hint of calculation and pleasure that monsters usually didn''t have.


    "Fight?" The underworlder asked rhetorically as if to make sure he heard right.


    "No, no. I''m here to warn you." The underworlder glanced back at where he came from.


    "I am an obedient slave, after all. If the Great Ugor tells me to jump, I jump. If he orders me to keep things under control, you better know I keep things under control.


    "So, when annoying pests try to disturb me, I oughta get rid of them. Unfortunately, these annoying pests are too annoying for their own good." The underworlder dangled the potion.


    He looked at them.


    "If you guys even think of using one of these again, I will slaughter every last one of you and all of those cowards fleeing faster than their wimpy legs can carry them. I''ve seen them. I''ve memorized them. I''ve memorized their smells. There''s no escaping."


    "And if we heed your warning?" Nessa asked, doing her best not to appear scared.


    "Then, I won''t slaughter you."


    "Can¡ª"


    "Yet," he interrupted before Nessa could ask if they could trust that.


    "As pests, I don''t expect anything from you, but in case you haven''t noticed it yet, we''re working on something. It''s not done yet. Until it is, I won''t touch so much as a hair or strand of grass up here."


    "...So you want us to sit on our hands and do nothing but wait for you to finish what might very well be a powerful weapon?" Nessa asked, more angry than scared this time. She had glanced at Zach. He was frowning, not trembling. That was enough to comfort and steady her.


    The underworlder shrugged.


    "I don''t mind if you do that. It only makes things easier for me. But, as I said, you annoying pests can be creative sometimes. If it gives you hope, feel free to do all you can to prepare. Train. Grow stronger.


    Make more things. Do all that you can.


    "When the time comes, all the effort you put in will make that despair so much sweeter." The underworlder smiled, ill intent all over his face.


    "You aren''t exactly selling your deal with that," Dukiel pointed out. The underworlder turned to him with a sharp gaze before shrugging.


    "It''s not my deal. It''s the Great Ugor''s compromise. Personally, I would much rather you guys chose to entertain me. I am not a patient man, you know?" The underworlder''s eyes flicked into the far distance as if to look at the still-running citizens.


    There was hunger in his eyes.


    The Underworld Exterminators looked at the underworlder. Underworlders were rarely this conversational or even capable of this much speech or free thought. It was a Named. But did that mean they could trust his words?


    The students slowly turned to look at Zach. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this point, it was natural for them to turn to him. He had matured a lot, compared to how he was at the beginning of their first year. He was strong. He was resourceful. No one would admit it, especially not to Zach''s face, but he made for a decent leader.


    They waited for him to say something.


    "Sure. Scurry on back down, you rat. We won''t do anything as long as you hold your deal. As soon as there''s a suspicious disappearance, though, we''ll be raining down things like that." Zach nodded toward the potion still in the underworlder''s hand.


    "You¡­" The underworlder''s eyes narrowed as he looked at Zach.


    "You''re the one, huh? My Name is Mursoth. It''d do you all well to remember it."


    They couldn''t even ask why before Mursoth took his leave with a swift jump back into the hole he came out of.


    As soon as he did, everyone turned to Zach with varying degrees of intensity in their eyes.

 Chapter 199 Not To Be Rude

    Even Zach''s club members were looking at him like he was crazy. But before they could say anything, one of the Exterminators gently squeezed their way to the front."Pardon me, I don''t mean to be rude, but what the fuck was that?" A swordsman with long hair asked.


    "Fuck if I know." Zach shrugged. "A Named underworlder, I guess?"


    "No, I meant, why the fuck did you agree to his deal? You''ve effectively rendered your own creations and our participation meaningless. All for what sounds like it can only be a trap."


    "Zach, I know the circumstances and the situation weren''t ideal, but are you sure that was the right choice? He practically admitted to preparing something big. Wouldn''t it be worth it to, you know, ruin their plans?" Dukiel chimed in.


    "A couple of things." Zach held up a hand to ask them to calm down.


    "So what if it''s a trap? The whole thing might be a trap. Mursoth and the Great Ugor maybe want us to use a potion to ruin their ''weapon'' and whatnot. Why? No idea. Doesn''t matter.


    What does matter is that Mursoth was strong. If he wanted to, we wouldn''t be able to stop him from reaping the lives he promised to take, not now, and definitely not in the future.


    "Do you guys want to babysit a couple of thousand citizens? No? Then, do you want to be responsible for their deaths? No? Didn''t think so." Zach took a moment to look at the ones around him, fellow students and Exterminators alike.


    "Did no one notice? That guy wasn''t just strong. He was anxious. He wanted to get back as soon as possible.


    "Sure, we could have ruined his plans¨Cwe still can. But how many here are confident they can not only fight a Named but also stop a desperate one? The only thing we would have for sure gained from fighting him would be a decreased food expenditure since several would have died." Explore more stories with empire


    "So, you just let him go?" Anerias questioned Zach. He had sensed that Mursoth was powerful, but Zach, as much as he disliked admitting it, was also powerful. With Zach''s familiar since only Yanael was with him and his barriers, couldn''t they have done something?


    "Yeah. Because it''s as he said. If we want to sit on our asses and do nothing we can. But we can also use this time he bought with a ceasefire. While they stabilize whatever it is they''re going to stabilize, we can train, grow stronger, develop tactics, and create more potions."


    Nessa''s eyes slowly lit up as she realized something.


    "...He took that potion back with him!" She exclaimed.


    "Probably to study and try to devise countermeasures," Violina said.


    "Surely, but what can they really do? They rely on underworld energy. That potion rejects underworld energy. They would need something that rejects something that rejects underworld energy. They¡ªWhatever. That''s not my point.


    He most likely believes its a precious and hard-to-make potion. I mean, think about it, we have only used one during this entire year. It had an incredible effect.


    "Logically speaking, it should be an expensive and rare potion. It should be difficult to get our hands on the materials needed and it should be hard to make it. Otherwise, why aren''t we using more of them? It''s not like the hole in the forest is gone. It''s not like the tunnels are gone." Nessa''s explanation was quick, and her sentences were almost one long word as she shared her theory.


    "...Bruns was strong and sent deep into the tunnels for what very well might have been a suicide attack, yet he had only one such potion? It''s understandable if they believe something like that. So what?" One of the Exterminators, a mage, pointed out.


    Nessa energetically turned to Zach.


    "Zach, are they difficult to make?"


    Zach thought for a moment. Other than in the beginning when Alzara was still getting used to all the ingredients, materials, and material worms, he hadn''t seen her fail once.


    "Not overly."


    "And the materials? Are they hard to get?"


    "A few ingredients are a little troublesome, but each one is enough for several potions."


    "How many potions have you made so far?"


    "Like the one we used in the forest and the one in Mursoth''s hand? A few. A few dozen that are one step weaker. A hundred or so that''s another step weaker. I haven''t bothered making more than that. I''ve also been busy with medicine and talismans lately."


    With Zach''s answers, the others gradually understood what Nessa was getting at.


    Mursoth''s ceasefire that was taken under the assumption that the surface dwellers wouldn''t be able to prepare enough potions while they stabilized their project would come back to bite Mursoth and the Underworld in the foot.


    Of course, only if Mursoth and the rest of the Underworld truly assumed that the potions were more difficult to make than they were.


    But Nessa''s theory seemed reasonable.


    Even without the potions, however, Zach was confident they would surpass the Great Ugor''s expectations. He just hoped that it would be enough to overcome whatever it was they had prepared beneath the city.


    With how much important they were placing on it to the point where they used a Named to scare the surface dwellers off, it had to have taken a lot of resources. If it took a lot of resources, it should be powerful if it was a weapon or useful if it was something else.


    Zach briefly recalled the chimera Jigak had mentioned. They had also gone to lengths to secure that one.


    On the other hand, they had sacrificed a monster as powerful as the tiger. In hindsight, it hadn''t been that powerful. It had been powerful compared to Zach and the other students at the time. But it had taken less than a year for them to encounter several monsters that were a lot stronger.


    Zach didn''t know what to think. He just knew that their current strength wouldn''t be enough, not to combat whatever the weapon was or to fight the Named.


    He looked toward the city with a distant gaze.


    Had agreeing to the ceasefire been the right decision?


    S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 200 Finally

    "So, what now?" Anerias asked after the Underworld Exterminators dispersed. A couple of them had been a little dissatisfied with Zach''s answer as to why he had agreed to Mursoth''s ceasefire.But it had been made clear earlier that the students held the authority over what happened with the Underworld and Basilia. If they wanted to complain or do something about Zach''s decision, they needed better reasons than how they didn''t like making a deal with the underworlders.


    For now, they would wait and see what would happen. With Bruns gone, the Exterminators had to realize that they might have taken water over their heads with this mission. They would fight the Underworld if they stayed, but it wouldn''t be much of a fight if Mursoth joined the fray.


    It would turn into a slaughter. None of them wanted that.


    Of course, there were some who were willing to die for the cause. But those were rare.


    Anerias and the others looked at each other before finally turning to Zach.


    It wasn''t like Zach had prepared any answers, so he took a minute to answer.


    "What now? Business as usual. The people are still sick. The city is still contaminated. You guys still aren''t close enough to level twenty. If that isn''t enough to keep you all busy, I''m sure we can find something for you to do." Zach turned around after speaking to his club members and classmates.


    Personally, he felt like taking a nap or enjoying some tea and snacks.


    "What about, you know, the underworlders?" Dukiel cautiously asked.


    "Until they break the ceasefire, there''s not much for us to do in that area."


    "So, we wait?"


    "We wait."


    "Do you know how long it might be?"


    "No more than you. Might be tomorrow. Might be in a year. It wasn''t like Mursoth gave us a number."


    "...I don''t like this." Nessa wasn''t the only one who didn''t like it, even if she was the only one who said it.


    "You don''t have to like it."


    "It feels like waiting for an iron ball to drop on my head at any moment." Dukiel put a hand on his head as he complained.


    "Sleep with one eye open." Zach gave him some very helpful advice.


    Dukiel sighed.


    Zach was right. They didn''t have to like it. They just had to accept it and be ready to fight back at any time.


    If there was one thing to help them, it was that Mursoth wouldn''t have asked for a ceasefire if it was a matter of days. If it had been, he wouldn''t have risked them taking the bait and using a potion to disrupt their plans. It was more likely weeks or maybe even months.


    That would at least give them some time to prepare and grow as strong as they could before shit went down.


    Continue your adventure with empire


    The students dreaded it.


    If it was something that was worth asking for a ceasefire, it would definitely be dangerous once it was ready. They would have to put in a lot of work, time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears if they didn''t want to share fate with fish on chopping blocks.


    Since they would be busy, even more so now than before, the students visited their comatose comrade. They wouldn''t have much time to do that until the year''s end.


    Some of the students dreamed nightmares about the principal telling them they wouldn''t be getting a break this year since the Underworld wouldn''t be taking a break. It wasn''t confirmed yet, but enough students had shared that dream for it to turn into a rumor.


    Fortunately, that would be going against the school rules. If the students wanted to stay in the Academy during the break, the principal couldn''t stop them, but he couldn''t force them to stay.


    However, the school rules were set by the principal. Who was to say he wouldn''t change them?


    The students did their best to ignore that possibility and focus on their assignments and tasks the last few weeks of the year. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nessa looked at Zach.


    "What did the doctors say?"


    "After another round of testing just to make sure there won''t be any unexpected side effects, they will be ready to start treatment." Zach looked at Rierdan''s unconscious body as he answered.


    It had taken time, but they were finally ready to help Rierdan recover.


    Zach had been worried about the spy getting rid of Rierdan as soon as news spread about the medicine. Nothing had happened when information about the potion circulated, but maybe the medicine was more of a concern.


    Fortunately, nothing had happened.


    Finally, they could get a clue about who the spy was or at least about who had attacked Rierdan.


    For now, one of their main advantages in the fight against the Underworld was their assumption that the Underworld had assumed it would be difficult for them to mass produce potions.


    If the information that they could produce more potions spread to the Underworld, the ceasefire might cease to exist, and the underworlders might launch a devastating sneak attack. The only one who would spread that information to the Underworld was the spy or a spy. There could be several.


    But it would be difficult to tell who it was now that information had spread to the rest of the students and some of the Underworld Exterminators.


    Still, Zach was confident they could deal with whatever was waiting for them in the future.


    For now, they could start treating Rierdan, finish their assignments, and cure the remaining citizens that were still suffering from light poisoning. The city was as good as cleared from underworld energy.


    Time passed surprisingly quickly, despite the students having to sleep with one eye open due to the overhanging threat of the Underworld. In the moment, time felt slow. But all of a sudden, the final weeks of their second year were in the past and they stood in front of the end of the school year.


    On their last day before the break, Zach found a note stuck on his door. Written with thick, black ink was a number and a word.


    ''Six months.''

 Chapter 201 No Worries

    Zach stared at the note. After a moment''s confusion, he understood what it was. It could only be one thing.It was the timeline for the ceasefire.


    Zach didn''t know why the Underworld had extended the courtesy of letting them know how long they were planning to lay low. He couldn''t know whether it was a lie meant to lull them into relaxation.


    The only thing Zach knew, even without any proof or basis for his belief, was that it was the spy who had delivered the note.


    After looking at the note for another minute, Zach grabbed it and quickly gathered his club members in the club room.


    They were leaving for their break in a matter of hours, regardless of whether the note was true or not. The principal had ensured them they didn''t have to stick around unless they didn''t have to. During the break, they didn''t have anything to worry about. Well, aside from the obvious, of course.


    The principal wouldn''t fix anything. He would keep things from going totally out of control during the break.


    Anything that happened would be left for the students to deal with when they returned. So, if they weren''t strong enough to handle it, they would be in deep shit. They also had to worry about what they would run into during their break. Not all of them would or could spend it peacefully.


    But, in the end, it was still a break from the Academy. They should do things that weren''t related to their school activities. It was for the good of their health and their studies.


    So, there wasn''t much for the club to discuss when they looked at the note.


    "Setting aside how credible it is, it''s a bold decision to deliver it to Zach''s door." Dukiel''s tone was full of thought as he crossed his arms and looked at the note.


    "Probably another warning. If Zach''s familiars can''t notice them, none of us can, and we should fear the spy or something along those lines." Violina''s brow was low.


    "Could be. Could also be because I''m the president of this club."


    "..." The others looked at Zach without saying a word. Right. He was the president. Could be the reason. Probably not, though.


    "Assuming they will stick to it, we have three months after the break. That''s a lot of time," Nessa said.


    "A third of the year," Anerias helpfully added.


    "So, meet back here two weeks before school start?" Zach asked.


    "Sounds good."


    "Yeah."


    "Mm. Dukiel, Anerias, stay safe."


    "...Why just us two?" Dukiel and Anerias glanced at each other before looking at Nessa after her words.


    "Well, me, Zach, and Violina are heading to the south together. Given Zach''s condition, it will probably take some time, so we''ll most likely be spending our break together¡­"


    Nessa stopped speaking. The atmosphere turned strange as Dukiel and Anerias turned to Zach with intense looks. Zach avoided their gazes.


    "I get you and Violina going but why is this¡­Why is Zach coming with you?" Anerias asked Nessa without looking away from Zach.


    "We''re going to the Labyrinth together. In exchange for his help, I gave Zach a Ticket."


    "How many of those Tickets do you have?"


    "Two. One for me and one for Zach. And I only have the one for me thanks to Violina. I would have had to give up my own and sit this one out in favor of a cousin if it weren''t for her."


    Dukiel and Anerias looked at Violina at the same time. She shook her head.


    "All the Tickets already have owners. If you want to tag along, you will have to find one and convince them to hand it over. If you use force, though, my family will hunt you down."


    Dukiel and Anerias glanced at each other.


    "You don''t happen to know anyone that would be willing to give up a Ticket or two?"


    Violina shook her head again.


    "No. The only names I know have Tickets would rather die than miss this chance." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But doesn''t the Labyrinth of Syst open again in two years? Isn''t it too extreme to die? Can''t someone be patient?"


    "Exactly." Violina nodded toward Anerias and Dukiel at Anerias'' questions.


    "No, I know we can go next time if we manage to get ahold of a Ticket, but we want to go with you guys. We have a reason to go this time."


    "Exactly." Violina nodded toward Anerias and Dukiel at Anerias'' statements.


    "...Fine. Have fun. Have a great time, you three. I guess Dukiel and I will just spend our break together."


    "I''ll be working in the city, though."


    "Fine! I''ll be having the best break of my life! Alone. Without all of you!" Anerias stood up and stormed out.


    "..." The others looked at the door as it slammed shut behind him in silence.


    "...I''ll talk to him before we leave." Zach surprised the others with his thoughtful intentions. Nessa narrowed her eyes in suspicion.


    Still, after a few hours of doing seemingly nothing, shortly before Zach, Nessa, and Violina were to leave for the south, Zach went looking for Anerias. He found him sitting on a bench looking at the forest.


    "Hey, man."


    "..."


    "You won''t be able to go with us this year, and I know how it feels to be left out. If it makes you feel better, it wasn''t intentional. I would have loved to go all of us together. But this isn''t our last break during our time at the Academy. It won''t be your last chance to spend it with Violina.


    "On the contrary, it might even be good to spend a little time apart from Violina for a couple of months. Think about it. You two have been pretty close lately, right? But nothing has happened yet. But what if she is stuck in a Labyrinth for a couple of months with me and Nessa? Won''t she start missing you?"


    "Do you really think so?" Anerias asked, simultaneously with hope and doubt.


    "No idea. But it''s possible. Anyway, if you actually want a fun and interesting break, head east. Enter Jira. You don''t need any Tickets, and you can let loose, release some stress, and grow stronger at the same time. If you''re lucky, you''ll strike it rich, too."


    "So, you''re advertising your home? Is that why you came here?" Anerias skeptically questioned Zach.


    "It''s just an idea. You head east this break. We head south. And¡­you''re from the north, right? Let''s all go there together next year."


    "..." Anerias didn''t answer. But he didn''t refuse Zach''s idea, which was as good as accepting it in Zach''s eyes. So, after patting Anerias on the shoulder, even when he tried to avoid it, Zach returned to the carriage where Nessa and Violina were waiting. He gave them a thumbs up, and when Violina looked out of the window, he winked at Nessa.

 Chapter 202 Labyrinths

    A little guilty about being unable to see Rierdan wake up and leaving Dukiel and Anerias behind, Zach, Nessa, and Violina set off toward the Systine Duchy, where the Labyrinth of Syst was waiting for them and twenty-one other Ticket holders.Initially, the three of them rode inside the carriage. Nora and an attendant from Violina''s household sat up front and steered the horses. Yanael and Alzara rode on Nessa''s Millipede as it walked next to the carriage. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The southern coast, where the Labyrinth was located, was a little closer to the central part of the Empire, where the Academy was, so it wouldn''t take as long to get there as it does between Zach''s home and the Academy. But they were still looking at a week''s worth of travel. Someone had made a big Empire after all.


    At first, the journey was a little rough due to the monster spilling out of the forests. The first-years had done their best, but they had been outnumbered and spread thin. Then, the incident with the city had stopped merchants from traveling to and from. Without the merchants traveling back and forth, there was no need for mercenaries and bodyguards to go back and forth.


    Aside from the bare minimum of supplies and visitors coming and going to and fro the city and the Academy, the roads had seen almost no travelers. The monsters hadn''t been culled as much as they usually were.


    Fortunately, Zach, Nessa, Violina, Nora, and their familiars didn''t mind. Not even Violina''s attendant, Max, minded. The summoners were happy to have things to kill to get them to level up. It was a shame all the monsters that came out of the forest were weak, especially compared to what they had started getting used to.


    But the quantity of monsters made up for lacking quality, and Zach finally hit level twenty halfway through the week. Nessa and Violina were further behind at level eighteen. They were a little envious but more than that, they were determined to catch up, so they had Zach keep his familiars from slaughtering the monsters before they could get to them.


    Yanael, who was doing most of the slaughtering, didn''t mind. She wasn''t too interested in pointless, non-exciting fights with weaklings. Alzara wasn''t much of a fighter, to begin with. She was all too satisfied lying down on the carriage roof and sunbathing.


    Nessa''s and Violina''s familars worked together to slay the monsters that appeared on the path before they could get too close to the carriage so that they didn''t have to slow down.


    They were making good time, and the Labyrinth was supposed to open a little later, so they should have more than enough time to arrive. But there was no need to waste time just because of monsters.


    The group made good progress, and before they knew it, they were inside the vast stretch of the Systine Duchy that stretched and covered the Empire''s southern coast. To the east, the coast stretched into barbarian territory, and the border was shared with the Evandiel Duchy.


    To the west, the coast extended into a marshy delta that was part of the west''s territory.


    The southern Systine Duchy monopolized the Empire''s access to the ocean. The Empire naturally imposed some restrictions. But since the Systine Duchy was solely in charge of handling pirates, attacks, and monster and monster waves from the ocean, all they had to do was circulate their wealth and the goods into the rest of the Empire.


    Since that was all they had to do, the Systines possessed incredible wealth. It was the same with all the duchies and the royal family since all five of them had their own Labyrinths. But the Systines were the only Duchy whose main income came from a source other than the Labyrinth.


    After all, the Syst Labyrinth opened once every two years, and it only allowed entry for twenty-four participants. Twenty-four possible sources of treasure and riches every two years was not enough to sustain a Duchy.


    That was why the Systines sold or rewarded the biannual tickets they received to highest bidders or vassals and others who deserved them. They gained more from the connections they made and the help they gave to the younger generation than they did from hogging all the tickets to themselves, especially when it was impossible to guarantee rewards from the Labyrinth.


    Unlike the Labyrinth of Jira, which would reward people with experience, endless training, and infinite materials at the minimum or items like the Wishing Key on rare occasions, the Labyrinth of Syst was a little less reliable. It was also usually a competition at times.


    Twenty-four people returning with anything more than injuries was so rare that it had almost never happened.


    The more he heard about it, the more excited Zach got. He already knew the different Labyrinths were different. But he hadn''t expected such a difference, even after hearing about the Labyrinth Tickets. At most, he thought the entry and the internal environment, including the monsters they would have to face, would be different.


    Instead, by the sound of it from Violina''s explanation, the Syst Labyrinth was entirely different from the Jira Labyrinth. The only thing that was the same was the fact that the further one got, the better the rewards.


    However, unlike the Jira Labyrinth with its endless underground floors, the Syst Labyrinth had an end.


    After twelve rounds of trials, the Labyrinth ended.


    "Um, I have to ask while we''re on the subject." Nessa gently raised a hand and got the other two''s attention. "Why are they called ''Labyrinths'' when, from what I''ve understood, neither of the two is remotely similar to a labyrinth?" She asked. It was a reasonable question.


    "Actually, I''m pretty sure there is a floor in Jira that''s a labyrinth. Other floors can be maze-lie, too, I''m sure," Zach said.


    "And one of the trials in Syst can be to get out of a Labyrinth," Violina helpfully added.


    "...Is that the reason?"


    "''No.''" Zach and Violina answered at the same time.


    "The one in the capital is an actual Labyrinth."


    "Yup. An endlessly growing and changing Labyrinth or something. It''s filled with monsters, traps, and treasures, unlike anything on the surface. Supposedly, if rumors are to be believed, there also exists something else in the Labyrinth." Zach leaned in like he was sharing a secret or conspiring against the state.


    "Like what?" Nessa asked, deadpan.


    "An invincible monster!" Violina said, excitedly.


    "What, no." Zach refuted Violina''s guess with a frown before continuing,


    "A strange power. The secret to the royal family''s strength."

 Chapter 203 Passengers

    Violina wanted to stop by her family before heading for the Labyrinth, but time was a little tight. They had gotten this far without any incidents, despite Zach''s presence. The more time that passed, the greater the risk of something cropping up to delay them.Something like that would be difficult to explain to the Systines, but they would understand if Violina said she didn''t want to be late¡ªno need to overcomplicate things.


    Zach also wanted to go, though it was more out of obligation as the son of one of the other dukedoms than a personal desire to mingle with Violina''s family. He had responsibilities and rules of etiquette to uphold as a member of the aristocracy.


    Fortunately, the Systines were among the more relaxed nobles in the Empire, at least according to Violina.


    Zach had a feeling they weren''t relaxed. They were just different from the rest of the nobles.


    Zach''s feeling was half-confirmed when they arrived at a smaller bay, where a couple of smaller boats that could fit up to a dozen people were bobbing gently in the water.


    Waiting there was a group of twenty-odd people, mostly youths. Descendants of noble families, families who had contributed to the Duchy, or merchants and the like who had bought Tickets.


    Since age and sheer strength didn''t guarantee results in the Labyrinth of Syst, the Labyrinth was mostly used by the younger generations since their time wasn''t as important and to help them earn experience and grow.


    That was why the only adults above the age of thirty were Violina''s uncles, who were there to ferry them all out to the Labyrinth.


    "Vivi! You li''l landlubber, I hope you haven''t forgotten what it''s like to be on the water," the first uncle happily greeted his niece. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach and Nessa looked at the tall, scarred, muscular man with light brown beard tied into thin braids decorated with pearls. His bald head reflected the sunlight and made the second uncle, a seemingly more taciturn man with a similar build and number of scars but a single, thick braid in his beard instead, wince at the sudden bright light.


    "Piss off, old man. Didn''t you kick the bucket? What are you doing here?" Nessa asked with a frown but did nothing to stop her uncle from picking her up and swinging her around like a kid.


    "Unfortunately, we didn''t lose him. He was just stranded at sea." The other uncle caught Violina after the first one let her go and set her down on the ground.


    "Good news, though, I guess. Tayup brought back a woman and child."


    Violina''s eyes opened wide and she turned to her first uncle after hearing her second uncle''s words.


    "Again?!" She exclaimed.


    With greetings out of the way and all of the Labyrinth Ticket holders having arrived now that Violina and her two companions were at the bay, the two boats set out. Since he didn''t trust Tayup to focus on his task with Violina on board, Krage took Violina, Zach, and Nessa on his boat, along with nine others.


    The remaining dozen rode with Tayup.


    Zach looked at the nine other Ticket holders. Most of them were fit youngsters.


    There was a pair of dark-haired twins who he couldn''t tell were young men or young women. There was a guy who looked like a pirate. He had short, wild but glossy hair, a sharp look, stood alone, and piercings in his ears and lip. He wore a vest and had a flamberge sword at his hip.


    One guy was surprisingly round. He did not look quite as what Zach would have expected from someone about to fight with their life on the line. Even the soft blond hair looked more like what he had seen on nobles who took good care of themselves by not fighting.


    Another guy was leaning against the railing with crossed arms and fierce air around him like he was looking for a fight. He had a rough appearance and almost grey hair. A sword at his hip indicated that he was a swordsman.


    Of the remaining four on their boat, three also used bladed weapons of some kind, another swordsman with a typical longsword, a dual-wielding dagger guy, and a tall, skinny person with a tidy appearance and a rapier.


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    Lastly, there was a young woman wearing clothes that seemed more fitting for a tea party and a hat. There was not a hint of a weapon on her body.


    But while Zach was looking at the other passengers, they were looking at him and his part. To be more specific, they were looking at the two beautiful maids. Wherever they went, Yanael and Alzara were bound to attract and hold attention, especially when the majority of the passengers were boys.


    Alzara''s height, which was outstanding enough on its own, the two familiars were just too remarkable in terms of appearance.


    There was also the enormous Millipede clinging to the side of the boat. It wasn''t the same kind of attention as the two maids got, but the Millipede didn''t lack spectators.


    Due to the situation and the fact that they were getting closer to the famed Labyrinth, no one was in the mood for idle chatter. It also seemed like everyone had heard the rumors about competition. Instead of getting friendly with their fellow participants, the youths were sizing up their opponents, assessing who would be dangerous and who wouldn''t be.


    The only one who wasn''t tense was Krage, who leisurely steered the sailboat away from land.


    After a while, he caught up to Tayup, and they anchored their boats next to each other seemingly in the middle of the ocean. They had gotten far enough out that they couldn''t see the beach. But there was nothing around them.


    The youths looked around in confusion. Where was the Labyrinth? Even if it hadn''t opened yet, shouldn''t there be something there? Or were they waiting for something or someone else before continuing?


    After a while, Zach turned to Violina.


    "What are we waiting for?" He asked.


    Violina, who had been leaning against the railing with crossed arms, opened her eyes and looked at Zach for a moment.


    Right then, something appeared in the ocean.


    "...That," She said and looked at the vortex that quickly grew from the size of a nightstand to a big dinner table.

 Chapter 204 Vortex

    After growing until it reached a size wider than one of the boats, the vortex stopped expanding. It stayed the same size and kept spinning in place. Amazingly, it didn''t affect the water around it. Only the water inside the vortex spun and dipped downward like a funnel.Both boats were unaffected by the spiraling current.


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    Zach looked at the golden medallion with strange symbols that Krage had handed out while the vortex grew.


    He glanced at Nessa before looking at Violina. He had expected something to come up out of the vortex when it first appeared. Maybe a gate they could walk through.


    "So, how long before the entrance is ready?" Zach asked Violina. Even if it was her first time, she should have an approximate. Even if she didn''t know, she could ask Krage. Zach had a feeling she would get a better answer than he would if he asked.


    "What do you mean?" Violina asked with a puzzled frown. She pointed at the vortex. "That is the entrance. It is ready." To be sure, she looked at Krage, who nodded.


    Zach looked at Vioina for a moment to see if she was joking. It didn''t look like she was. She wasn''t that good at controlling her expression, especially when she thought she had fooled her target.


    "What now?" Zach frowned slightly as he looked at the vortex.


    "We jump!" Violina had just finished her answer before her feet left the railing and she dove into the vortex, her Frost Imp and Ice Spirit trailing behind her in the air. She swiveled around in the vortex before disappearing down into the ocean''s depths.


    Zach glanced at Krage and Tayup, who were both unbothered if not expressionless. Before he had time to ask Nessa what she thought, she too had dived in with her familiars.


    ''Fuck it.''


    Zach joined them before any of the other passengers could cut ahead in the line, though the guy with piercings was close. While he was in the air, Yanael and Alzara next to him, Zach locked eyes with him. The guy didn''t look too pleased.


    But that was none of Zach''s business, and he quickly ignored it as he focused on not drowning, which was surprisingly easy. He just had to hold his breath. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The current dragged and tugged him like a ragdoll. Zach had rarely felt as powerless as he did when he entered the vortex. He instinctively tried to control his body and swim against the current.


    But whatever he did, it was useless.


    Zach would have started panicking if he hadn''t felt Alzara''s hand on his back guiding him forward toward Yanael.


    The only time he had felt a similar sense of powerlessness was when he entered or left the Jira Labyrinth. The feeling of weightlessness and loss of control of his body was similar to the vortex taking control of his body.


    Before he knew it, however, Zach was kneeling on a stone floor, soaked and panting. Yanael helped him stand up. He saw Nessa and Violina suppressing their giggles off to the side. The guy with piercings splashed down on the floor before he could question them.


    One by one, passengers from both boats plopped down on ground made of gently rounded, mostly square yellowish stone bricks in the center of a plaza.


    Zach quickly forgot about questioning his two comrades as he looked around.


    First, he was taken by the sky, not that there was one. From what he could tell, they were under the sea. Far above them, a large dome held back the ocean from crashing down on the underwater city they had found themselves in.


    Then, Zach looked around. The city appeared to be simple. Rows of houses made from the same type of stone as the street stretched out from the plaza. The houses had holes for windows and doors, but, as if only the stone had stood the test of time, that was all the houses had.


    Zach glanced into the houses closest to the plaza, but they all appeared to be empty without so much as a trace of furniture unless they were also made of stone.


    Before long, all twenty-four participants had entered the Labyrinth of Syst. All of the youths looked around with various expressions of awe, curiosity, skepticism, and interest.


    But before anyone could say anything or start asking questions about what was going on or what they were supposed to do, a blue, translucent screen appeared in front of all of them.


    [24 Entrants confirmed. Closing entrance. Initiating Trial (1/12)]


    [Underwater City Haya''s protective dome will disappear in 24 hours. Find a way to survive.]


    The twenty-four entrants looked at the message. Surprisingly enough, the ones most surprised were Zach, Nessa, and Violina.


    The format of the message was almost too similar to their summoning interface to be a coincidence. It was a different color, and the screen itself didn''t seem as rigid as their interface. The background moved like gentle waves, and there was no fancy or shiny border like on the summoning interface.


    But most of the surprise came from how they hadn''t expected to see anything similar in a situation so unrelated to summoning. So, they quickly gathered themselves and read the message instead.


    The first part wasn''t very important. It was the second part that mattered, especially the last sentence.


    They had to find a way to survive. It went without saying that they would die if they didn''t. The only problem was that they didn''t know what to look for or where to look.


    Everyone took a minute to read and read the message again.


    "Everyone, I suggest splitting up and going in different directions to look for anything that stands out. It doesn''t seem like there''s a limit to the number of people who can move on to the next Trial, so let''s work together. Every hour and when you find something, let''s gather here. Okay?" Violina raised her voice and spoke to all the entrants.


    "I don''t take orders from you." The guy with piercings and black hair huffed before turning around and leaving the plaza.


    "..."

 Chapter 205 Black

    The remaining twenty-three youths looked at the pierced guy''s back until he turned around a corner in awkward silence."That''s¡­His name is Black. He is the son of Heavybeard." The young man with a bigger body and belly than most other youths broke the silence with a helpful introduction.


    His words instantly changed the expressions on the others'' faces as they realized who it was that had just refused cooperation with Violina. It was the son of one of the more prominent and infamous pirates currently sailing on the ocean. As the son of one such pirate, he was naturally one himself.


    Most of the others in the group either fought or suffered at the hands of the pirates in some way. They didn''t have the best impression of Black. It was a relief that he chose to work on his own. It was much better than them having to constantly be on guard against him.


    "That''s a good idea. How about a round of introductions." Violina turned to the rounder guy and gave a slight nod before continuing, Discover hidden content at empire


    "I am Violina Systine. I guess that''s all I need to say." Violina was right. That was all she needed to say for those who didn''t already know her to realize who she was. Her surname alone was enough.


    In the Systine Duchy, the Systines held enough respect for other noble families to give way for them, almost always regardless of the situation. Naturally, the other nobles would follow her lead.


    But it wasn''t just the nobles.


    "Derot Gaville, of the Gaville merchants." The rounded man gave a polite bow to everyone as he introduced himself.


    "Jones." The swordsman with grey hair and fierce features.


    "Tero." "Tera" The two dark-haired twins.


    "Oria Villesand." The young lady with seemingly inappropriate wear for an adventure. The looks on a few of the others changed as she said her name. Violina nodded in greeting and appreciation.


    "Zacharia Evandiel." Zach''s surname also sparked interest and respect, but he also got some confusion since most people didn''t know his name the same way they might know his siblings.


    "Nessa Koche." Nessa was the daughter of one of the Systines'' vassals, and a few of the nobles recognized her surname.


    "Frank."


    "Sarah."


    "Hank."


    "George."


    "Tank."


    "..." The rest introduced themselves one by one.


    Soon, they all had a basic understanding of one another and their names. The important people, like the two ducal scions, their companion, Oria Villesand, and Derot Gaville were at the center. If there had been a need for any further discussion, those five would have led it.


    But Violina had already decided what to do. Now, all that was left was to carry out Violina''s orders.


    Zach and Nessa gave Violina strange looks of understanding. They finally had an answer as to why Violina had been able to lead their classmates with a natural air from almost day one. It hadn''t been just her A-rank familiar, her beauty, and her innate talent.


    Unlike Zach, who had been isolated from society following his fifth birthday, Violina had been living life as the daughter of one of the great dukes of the Empire. She had been looked up to ever since she was young.


    Leading people and having people listen to her every word had been part of her life since she was a child. No wonder it came naturally to her.


    "...Stop looking at me like that." Violina didn''t like the way Zach and Nessa were looking at her. She even felt a little betrayed by Nessa, who switched sides back to Zach so soon after their prank on Zach. They had agreed not to tell Zach anything about the entrance until they were at it, which had resulted in the flustered Zach they had seen minutes ago.


    As if their conspiracy was just a memory, Nessa had no problem teasing Violina in her natural habitat.


    The three waited until the others left.


    "Like Derot said, Black is the son of a pirate. Heavybeard is infamous, but he isn''t the worst around. Black probably won''t be too bad. But be careful of him. The others you should pay attention to are Derot, Oria, and the twins.


    "The Gavilles aren''t famous for their strength, but they''re crafty and good at getting people to work for them. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oria is part of the Villesand family. She''s a mage. I''m pretty sure she''s a year or two older than us. She shouldn''t be that much stronger, especially compared to Zach, but you never know.


    "The twins¡­I don''t know much about them, but they smell strong."


    "I got the same impression." Zach nodded in agreement with Violina''s last statement.


    Nessa looked between the two with a strange expression.


    "Do you guys have better noses than I do?"


    "Mine''s certainly more handsome." Zach puffed out his chest with pride.


    "...Girls'' noses aren''t supposed to be handsome. They should be pretty and cute, like buttons," Nessa retorted.


    "Guys, both of your noses are nice. Let it go. Besides, my nose is clearly superior. Just look at how straight and pristine it is!" Violina turned her head to the side to show off her profile as she stroked her nose.


    Zach and Nessa exchanged a look before putting a hand each on either of Violina''s shoulders. They shook their heads with pity. Violina looked at them in confusion.


    "So, keep an eye out for what those are doing, especially Black. Sounds easy." Zach put his hands on his hips and turned around.


    "Well, your main priority should be to find a way to survive when the dome falls in twenty-three hours. If it''s something that can be shared, you share it with us. If not, you continue looking to help us or abandon us," Violina explained again and more clearly. She was sure she had already explained enough, but there was no such thing as being too sure when it came to anything related to Zach.


    Zach and Nessa nodded before setting off in their own directions. Violina looked at their backs for a moment and then did the same.

 Chapter 206 Dont Know

    Zach walked along the streets, weaving between houses with Alzara and Yanael by his side for a good ten minutes before he suddenly stopped walking. He looked up in realization.In two other spots in the underwater city, Violina and Nessa also stopped walking. They froze, and their eyes widened similarly to Zach''s.


    "''Ah¡­''"


    At the same time, all three of them remembered one of Zach''s most prominent traits.


    He didn''t have a fucking sense of direction. How the fuck was he supposed to find his way back to the plaza? He was doomed.


    "Well¡­" Nessa shrugged and kept moving.


    Violina sighed and shook her head slightly, in a state of disbelief. She couldn''t understand how she had forgotten that part of Zach''s nature. Then, she also kept walking, looking for anything to help them survive the ocean when it collapsed on them.


    Zach stayed still.


    He turned to Yanael. She shook her head. She did not know the way back.


    He turned to Alzara. She shrugged like she was saying it wasn''t her fault. Even if the color of the stones resembled the color of sand, it was a city, and, as if that wasn''t enough, it was underwater. There was no sunlight or stars for her to follow or use to keep track of their location. Alzara did not know the way to the plaza, either.


    "Well, that sucks," Zach commented and made a full turn on the spot to look around. Every last house looked exactly the same as the one before. They didn''t, not really. Some houses had two or three stories and regularly spaced windows. Others were stony shacks with nothing more than a hole for a door.


    But to Zach''s directionally challenged mind, he might as well have been trapped in a maze.


    The others would disagree, but he felt like this was why the five Labyrinths were called Labyrinths.


    After a few minutes, he turned to his two maids.


    "Is anyone nearby?"


    Alzara and Yanael were silent for a moment as they spread their senses. They hadn''t noticed anyone creeping in. But passively staying alert and potentially noticing someone nearby couldn''t compare to how keen their senses were when they actively tried to detect someone''s presence. It didn''t hurt to double-check."


    "I do not sense any other presences nearby, Master." Yanael was the first to answer. After giving her answer, she turned to Alzara.


    The two combat maids had their differences. Yanael still didn''t like how clingy Alzara had been when Zach first summoned her and how she still was. But she had gotten a little better when she focused on creating potions and things, so Yanael''s impression of Alzara had improved.


    And while Alzara wasn''t as hot-blooded or interested in combat, Yanael had to accept that Alzara was strong. She had shown her strength and capability in the fight against the bear in the forest by the well of underworld energy. Alzara knew how to fight.


    That was enough to earn Yanael''s respect, albeit reluctantly.


    So, Yanael wanted to see if Alzara had detected something when she hadn''t. However, she had still spoken aloud since she was confident in her own abilities.


    "Me neither, Master," Alzara answered with a light, one-shouldered shrug.


    "Good. Do you think I can create a barrier strong enough to block the water? And, while we''re talking, what do you think about the similarities between the summoning interface and the communication window from the Syst Labyrinth?" Zach asked.


    "First of all, Master, setting aside whether you can block the water, are you sure that''s the right answer?" Alzara responded with a question of her own.


    "What do you mean?" Zach tilted his head.


    "The Trial was to find a way to survive, right?"


    "Yeah?"


    "You didn''t find your skill to make barriers, and you certainly didn''t find it here." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Does that matter? Isn''t the goal to survive?"


    Alzara shrugged and showed the palms of both her hands as a way to show that she didn''t know.


    "It could be. But based on my limited experience, things like these are picky about wording, especially when it sounds simple like this."


    "I see. It''s better to err on the side of caution then. Let''s continue looking. And the message window?" Zach asked both Yanael and Alzara.


    "I have no idea, Master," Alzara answered first.


    "...In the first place, Master, we don''t know much or anything about the summoning interface, much less anything about these Labyrinths." Yanael''s answer was a little more detailed, but it was the same.


    "...Wait, you don''t know? It''s not that you can''t tell me?" Zach''s eyebrows were raised as he made sure he heard and understood right.


    "That''s right, Master." Yanael nodded.


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    Zach''s eyes narrowed.


    "...Interesting." He stroked his chin as he started walking again.


    His familiars knew what his summoning interface told him about them, but they didn''t know anything about the summoning interface itself. It wasn''t too strange, considering the summoning interface existed on a much grander scale than one or two familiars.


    But it was interesting they didn''t know anything about it.


    Zach was curious about what they¨Chis familiars¨Cknew but couldn''t tell him yet due to his lack of authority. He was once again remotivated to level up, summon more familiars, and grow stronger so that he could one day satisfy his curiosity.


    There were so many things he could learn about everything in this world. There were even things he didn''t know that he could learn about.


    Zach hadn''t ever thought of himself as a studious, curious, or scholarly person. But for some reason, dragging out the secrets of summoning into the light fascinated and drove him more than he thought it would when he first decided to become a summoner.


    Zach''s eyes burned with eager light as he went from house to stony house, looking for clues.


    After all, the secrets of summoning were far away on the path he was walking. Before he could get there, he had to cross the hurdles immediately in front of, which, currently, were the Syst Labyrinth''s Trials.

 Chapter 207 Not That Hard

    Zach looked at the door in front of him. It was the door to a small house with only one room and no windows. Unlike the other shack or storage-like units he had found, it looked incredibly stable.More importantly, it was the first building Zach had seen that had a door.


    It was a wooden door with two metal bars across it horizontally, one in the middle of the upper half, and the other in the middle of the lower half.


    It was a sturdy door. But, normally, if none of the other doors or windows in the underwater city had lasted until now, neither should this one have. There had to be something special about it. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Is it really this easy?" Zach voiced his thoughts.


    Less than an hour had passed since he first considered trying to survive the dome''s collapse by using his Blessed Defense. That meant there were fewer than twenty-two hours left until the dome collapsed. However, it seemed Zach had already found a way to survive when the water would come crashing down.


    "But¡­"


    There was just one problem.


    "...Where''s the handle?"


    There was a door but no way to open said door.


    Zach tried pushing it open or pinching the metal bars to drag it open, but it didn''t budge. It didn''t feel like a door that was supposed to move. It was the perfect defense against an ocean of water crashing down. It was also the perfect defense against a home intruder like Zach.


    With a frown and his familiars'' help, Zach inspected the house''s outside from top to bottom. The blocks of stone that made the walls, the line of bricks along the ground, the slabs on the roof, and the pillars in the corners¨Cnone of them went untouched, untasted, unsmelled, and unassaulted.


    Zach did things to the door and the house that he wouldn''t even do to monsters. He got a little caught up in solving the mystery.


    "...What are you doing?"


    Zach turned around at the familiar voice and found Black standing below the house in front of the door. Black looked up at him as he straddled the roof while leaning down and tasting the stone again. For a place that didn''t seem to have any wind or cleaners, the stones were surprisingly free of dust.


    "...Looking for a way in. You?"


    "Can''t you just open the door?" Black didn''t answer Zach''s question. Instead, he pointed at the door while looking at Zach like he was crazy.


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    "Try it." Zach encouraged Black to open it. He looked forward to the expression Black would make and the awkwardness when he realized it wasn''t that easy.


    With a raised eyebrow, Black put his hand against the door and pushed. Since Zach had said it like that, he was expecting some resistance, and he put some weight behind his push.


    In a way, Zach got what he wanted. He got to see Black embarrass himself, but not in the way he wanted.


    The door swung open so easily that Black stumbled forward half a step.


    Zach''s smug expression froze and slipped off his face as he looked down at Black. After a moment, he scrambled to the edge of the roof and looked down at Black, who was looking at the blue, see-through window in front of him.


    "...Requirements met¡­Don''t be the first to touch this door¡­" Black slowly read the message out loud before looking up and meeting Zach''s eyes.


    "Wasn''t that hard." Black shrugged before entering the house and closing the door behind him.


    Zach was frozen in place, looking at the closed door hanging upside down from the roof.


    After several minutes he let go and flipped over down to the ground. He knocked on the door.


    "Hey, I helped you. Let me in."


    "Sorry, can''t hear you through the door. Besides, it says this place can only protect one person."


    Zach pounded on the door twice before spitting at the ground in front of it.


    Even if they could, having Yanael or Alzara break the door down would defeat the purpose of entering since the door would no longer be able to defend against the dome''s collapse.


    Zach clicked his tongue and pouted as he walked away. Wasting time by the door was unnecessary. He had to continue looking.


    He couldn''t believe he had helped such an ungrateful type. He would show him.


    In the end, Alzara had been right. Things hadn''t been that simple. It wasn''t just about finding a way to survive. However, it did mean that finding a way to survive wasn''t the only thing that mattered. Requirements had to be fulfilled.


    But it also increased the odds that his plan to survive using his barriers would work. Since things weren''t as clearcut as the initial message led them to believe, there shouldn''t be anything stopping him from doing that.


    Of course, that could just be Zach''s delusions talking. The hidden meanings and intentions in the message and the Trial could just also mean that there was even less of a chance that his barriers would work.


    Whatever the case, the situation wasn''t too good for Zach. Still, it took him at least twenty strides to blame his luck for the situation with the door and Black. It was almost an improvement when compared to how he had been in the past.


    Or it was a degeneration of his memory.


    Refusing to think about it any further, Zach continued walking through the winding streets of Haya, the underwater city with no care or thought for direction and streets already passed.


    Eventually, he found another door. This one, he didn''t touch immediately. Once burnt, twice shy.


    He was going to wait or make noise until someone else came that could try the door for him. Before too long, one of the other entrants, a young lady Zach remembered as Sarah showed up.


    After a quick chat, she skeptically put her hand against the door. She had her doubts. But doing something was better than nothing. She pushed.

 Chapter 208 Requirements

    The door opened.Zach looked at the open door for a moment. Sarah also did so. She looked at her hand before turning to Zach. However, she only glanced at him before her attention was snagged by a blue rectangle in front of her face.


    "Requirements met¡­Be the first to touch this door¡­" Sarah muttered the message loud enough for Zach to hear, and his expression stiffened. She turned to him.


    "Sorry. It says there''s only room for one person in this shelter," she awkwardly apologized before entering and closing the door behind her.


    Zach didn''t even bother knocking or getting her to open again. His soul had already left his body. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The first door he found he needed to be the second to touch, and the second door he found, he needed to be the first to touch. He couldn''t believe it.


    Zach quickly inhaled the soul that was escaping toward the sky and glared at the door for a moment before continuing his search. He didn''t like the situation, but it was better to continue looking for a door that would let him open it than sit around and mope about it.


    Eventually, he found another door. Just like the previous two, it didn''t have a handle. But it did have a keyhole. Since Zach didn''t have a key, he didn''t stick around. It was another small, one-person shack. Even if he waited, he wouldn''t get anything.


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    Zach did leave a couple of notes indicating where the door with a keyhole was in case anyone had found the key. But he hadn''t brought much paper with him, so he didn''t do that much.


    Zach felt lonelier than he was as he wandered the deserted city.


    The next door Zach found had a handle. It was also the door to a larger house that should have easily fit three or more people inside. But he didn''t meet the requirements. At least it told him why he wasn''t allowed inside.


    But he felt that it was unfair since he couldn''t do anything about being born a boy. It did give him hope, though.


    If there were safe houses for women, there should be safe houses for men. He didn''t find any of those, though.


    The hours ticked down, and Zach was starting to feel more and more stressed.


    He was honestly amazed at how many safe houses he found. At the same time, he was enraged at how he couldn''t enter either of them.


    There had to be something wrong with the trial. Or him.


    Given his history, Zach was inclined to believe that the fault lay with him.


    But that didn''t stop him from looking and wandering. He even found his way back to the plaza. But after waiting for half an hour, no one showed up, so he started his search again.


    The next thing he found wasn''t a safe house. It was a tiny square hidden behind a dead end. It was a small, secluded courtyard without any buildings.


    Instead, there were five pedestals¨Cone in each corner and one in the center. A glance was all it took for him to figure out that five people were needed to activate whatever trickery it was that would defend them when the dome collapsed.


    Zach could have asked Yanael or Alzara to cause a ruckus and try and get four more people. But with how many safe houses he had found, most people should have already found their own. It wasn''t likely to succeed. And that was if there weren''t any additional requirements that Zach didn''t meet, which was more likely.


    Zach didn''t want to waste time, but he left another note in the middle of a larger road he was sure was connected to the plaza, even if he couldn''t find the plaza.


    If he didn''t find anything else, he could come back and hopefully find four others waiting for him.


    While writing that note, Zach temporarily forgot that he wouldn''t be able to find his way back. That wasn''t how he worked.


    Zach walked along the streets, dragging his hand along a stone wall. He didn''t have many hours left.


    He looked at Yanael and Alzara.


    They nodded.


    It was fine to talk without worrying about being overheard.


    "These stones are pretty tough, right?"


    "I''ve seen tougher, Master." Alzara shrugged lightly as she answered. Yanael, on the other hand, walked up to the wall as well and also touched the stones with the tips of her fingers.


    "Thanks to the mountain essence from the Giupusta Locale, I can probably cut through them, Master." Yanael looked like she was ready to try.


    "Good to know. But that wasn''t exactly what I was thinking. What if, since I can''t find shelter, we make one instead?"


    "You want to move these stone blocks around and build a house, Master? I''m not sure that will be enough." Yanael was doubtful for multiple reasons but didn''t outright call out Zach''s idea for being stupid.


    "No, if Master uses Material Extraction, it could work. Cause that was the plan, right, Master?" Alzara asked after correcting Yanael.


    Zach smiled stiffly.


    "...Yes. That was my plan. Using Material Extraction. Yes. So, just so that we''re on the same side, please share with us how you thought I would use Material Extraction. Just to make it easier to cooperate, of course." Zach''s lips widened in a grimace that was supposed to be a smile.


    "...Of course." Alzara returned Zach''s smile with one of her own. The only difference was that her smile was beautiful. Then, she gestured at the stones.


    "As I said, I''ve seen tougher. These stones aren''t bad, but they can be better. So¡­" She pointed at Zach. "If you use your skill to extract the best of the best from the stones, we can use that to build a shelter that''s good enough to defend against the water when the dome collapses." Alzara''s idea was simple in theory.


    Zach nodded. It sounded feasible.


    "There''s just one problem."


    "What?"


    "I only know how to make floppy worms."

 Chapter 209 Sweet Treat

    Zach had only made soft and flexible worms with his skill, Material Extraction. As if that wasn''t enough, he almost exclusively used the skill on biological materials. He had used it on plants, herbs, flowers, monsters, muscles, and skeletons. Occasionally, he had used it on treasures similar to the mountain essence or gems.He hadn''t used it on just stone.


    But not having done it before didn''t mean he couldn''t do it. There was a first for everything, including extracting worms out of chunks of stone.


    Zach had a vague idea of what he was going to use the worms for. He had that image in the front of his mind as he put his hand against the stone wall and focused on the skill. Slowly, he tensed his fingers and pulled them inward like he was pinching a cloth draped over the stone.


    He frowned.


    It was tougher than he was used to. It was like the stone was resisting him.


    Zach wouldn''t stand for it. First, all the safe houses and places that were supposed to help him survive had ridiculous requirements like being a woman or having friends, and now even the stone refused to let things go his way.


    Ridiculous.


    Zach concentrated harder and tightened his grip on the stone''s material before yanking it out.


    Zach stumbled backward, which was a little embarrassing. Fortunately, the only ones who saw it were Alzara and Yanael, and they wouldn''t talk about it.


    Zach straightened his shirt with one hand and looked at the yellow-white brick in his other hand. It felt sturdy. It wasn''t as heavy as he had expected, but it could work. He handed it to Alzara.


    Alzara took the brick and put her thumb on one corner. She made eye contact with Zach as she pressed down with her thumb.


    The brick crumbled.


    "Uhum."


    Zach grabbed the brick and chucked it away.


    He put his hand against a new block of stone and made a new brick. He handed it to Alzara. She inspected it.


    "Better."


    Zach threw it away. Better didn''t mean good enough. He quickly made another and another.


    They only had a few hours left before the dome disappeared. If he wanted to make bricks that were good enough and then use those bricks to build a shelter, he had to work fast. There was no time to be studious or gentle with their words. And there certainly wasn''t time to waste on needless formalities.


    Zach extracted brick after brick and handed them to Alzara, who either discarded them or used them to start building their shelter. They were smaller than the blocks the houses were made of, so he would need more than what a house used. They also needed to be of great quality.


    He hurried, but he couldn''t let that hurry make his efforts go to waste, so he also made sure to focus on creating stable, strong, dense, and solid bricks that would hold up against an ocean crashing down on them. Alzara was in charge of connecting them with her alchemy or something.


    Zach didn''t understand, nor was he paying enough attention to what Alzara was doing to have a chance at understanding.


    Eventually¡­


    [Ten seconds remaining.]


    It was a pitiful reminder of the time they had left. The message did nothing to help them. It was too little time for it to change anything. All it did was make everyone look up in anticipation or dread of the protective dome''s collapse.


    An unlucky few managed to get an unobstructed view of the dome and the pseudo-sky. They hadn''t found shelter in time. The best they could do was hide in a house without a door and hope for the best.


    Five seconds.


    Four.


    Three.


    Two.


    One.


    As soon as the last second passed, the protective dome around the underwater city disappeared. The thin veil covering the city and faintly obscuring the water, blurring it and the light seeping through disappeared like it had never existed.


    The ones who saw it happen frowned in confusion.


    Everyone, without exception, had assumed the ocean would come crashing down on the city when the dome disappeared.


    The ones who didn''t see it happen braced themselves for impact, even if they were in the safe houses.


    Nothing happened.


    The ones who hadn''t found safe houses noticed it first since they could see that it wasn''t a delay or anything. The ocean wasn''t coming for them to make up for lost time.


    Something was still keeping up the water.


    But then what was the protective dome protecting the city from if it wasn''t the ocean?


    What was going on?


    Questions buzzed in everyone''s minds. It didn''t make sense.


    However, it didn''t take long for an answer to appear.


    Silhouettes appeared in the distant water, and they quickly got closer to the city. After a few breaths, figures came into view around the city.


    An ominous pressure surrounded Haya. Everyone, including the ones inside the safe houses felt it. It was a different kind of pressure to the simple water that would have crushed them.


    Around the city, scaly, webbed hands and feet broke through the water surface as beings more fish than man stepped onto the stone with slapping sounds. Some wore clothes. Some were naked, not that their bodies showed anything but denser scales. Continue your saga on empire


    Some had weapons. Others had long fingernails. Some had gills on their necks. Others had gills on their cheeks. Some had no ears. Others had wings that resembled the tailfins of a fish.


    Some had hair like seaweed. Others were bald. Some had noses. Others didn''t even have nostrils. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Water dripped from their bodies as they marched into the city, united by one thing and one thing alone. Bloodthirst.


    The only thing common between all the fishpeople was the crazed hunger for violence in their eyes.


    They did not have peaceful intentions.


    Another thing that many of the fishpeople shared was the attraction they felt toward a specific direction. Like something was calling for them, like a sweet treat that wanted to be eaten by them, they moved toward a corner of the city.


    It was the only part of the city with damaged houses.

 Chapter 210 Cozy

    Zach, Yanael, and Alzara had finished a defensive structure in time. But they hadn''t had enough time to make a big house. In the end, they had to squeeze themselves into a tiny igloo of stone bricks that had all three of them rubbing their knees and shoulders together.Yanael and Alzara did their best to limit how much space they took since they wanted Zach to be comfortable. But it wasn''t easy, especially for Alzara.


    Fortunately, Zach didn''t mind. If anything, it was only a pleasure to be squeezed in so closely with two beautiful and nice-smelling maids. Alzara carried a fragrance like a mix of herbs and sand. It was surprisingly pleasant. Yanael smelled like iron and sunlight.


    They were both also very soft to the touch.


    Zach didn''t act inappropriately. He just enjoyed the situation.


    "So, uh, how soundproof is this thing?" Zach asked. They had finished just in time for the ten-second message to pop up. The water should have come crashing down a long time ago. They hadn''t heard it, but maybe the igloo was just that good.


    Alzara and Yanael shook their heads.


    Alzara even had a wry smile on her face.


    "Master, the protective dome wasn''t shielding the city¨Cthe underwater city, from the ocean. Ugh, I really don''t like tricky questions like these. Everything can be interpreted in twenty different ways." Although that''s what Alzara said, Zach could see a fiery glint in her eyes like her fighting spirit had been ignited. "It''s an underwater city from the beginning.


    Why would it need a protective dome?" Alzara muttered to herself.


    "It was meant to hide and defend the city against some type of enemy, Master." Yanael filled in Alzara''s explanation.


    "I can''t sense what kind of enemy, but there''s a lot of them. And¡­they''re moving toward us." Alzara finished the explanation.


    As soon as he heard that they were dealing with hostile beings and not mere water, Zach already got a bad feeling.


    Zach sighed and hung his head.


    He naturally and passively attracted monsters just by existing. He had even done it in the Labyrinth of Jira. There was no reason he couldn''t do it in the Labyrinth of Syst.


    "Will this thing hold up?" Zach looked at Alzara.


    She shrugged. Not a good sign. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It would have held up against the water unless it had been two or three times as heavy as normal water. Against monsters? No idea. It''s a little hard to tell their individual strength due to the stones and their numbers. We''ll just have to wait and see," she said, much more at ease than Zach. She had already realized something.


    And now Yanael did so too.


    "Master, since they are monsters, we might not need to hide here."


    Zach looked at Yanael. He didn''t even need to think about what she said. The look on her face told him everything he needed to know. Her suggestion was that they fight. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that it was her desire.


    "...But what about the Trial? Weren''t we supposed to find a way to survive?" He asked, worried.


    In response, he got a light chuckle from Alzara.


    "Yeah. ''Find a way to survive.'' That was the apparent goal of this Trial. Tell me, Master, did you not find a way to survive?"


    Zach tilted his head.


    "Technically, I found several ways to survive." He wasn''t sure where she was going with this.


    "Exactly. You''ve already completed this Trial''s goal, Master. Honestly, this kind of makes me want to join Yanael."


    "Really?" Zach hadn''t expected Alzara to express a desire to fight. But looking at her, he could tell that it wasn''t so much a fight she wanted as it was a slaughter to vent her grievances against the Labyrinth.


    "Well, if both of you want to fight, I don''t see any reason to stop you. Besides, there''s no reason for me to stop at level twenty, is there? I can always summon the third at a higher level." Zach shrugged and gestured for Alzara to take down the bricks around them.


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    However, both Alzara and Yanael looked at Zach with tense gazes.


    "...I would like it if we hold a conversation regarding that matter at a later time, Master." Yanael said with a cold but polite air around her. It was like the familiarity he had built with her over the last almost two years had vanished.


    "...Of course?" He wasn''t even sure what matter she was talking about. That attitude didn''t match anything he knew about authority-related discussions. So, it shouldn''t have anything to do with his level and if it was a problem to level up first. Besides, he had already done that once. He leveled up past level ten before summoning Alzara.


    But when Yanael flashed a blinding smile that didn''t reach her eyes, Zach recalled a familiar sensation. That smile looked like the one she had shared with Alzara when she clung to his arm upon their return from the Wishing Key''s summoning room.


    ''Ah¡­''


    Yanael was the jealous type. She had been against him summoning Alzara, and she had been against Alzara herself even after she was summoned. Since they had started getting along and were even fighting side by side, Zach thought things like that were in the past.


    Evidently, they were not.


    If anything, since Alzara seemed to hold similar feelings based on the way she looked at Zach, things like that had only gotten worse. Instead of one jealous maid who was against him summoning more familiars, he now had two.


    Suddenly, being trapped in a stone igloo with barely enough space to sit up did not feel as cozy as before.


    Zach cleared his throat and gestured for Alzara to open the igloo again. She did so without breaking eye contact for even a moment. She put her hand against the sloped stone wall and, with a faint purple light emanating from her palm, pushed it down.


    The wall collapsed and let them back into the city.


    Alzara finally broke eye contact. It was to look at all the fishpeople surrounding them.

 Chapter 211 Reliable

    Cramped into the streets and alleys, in front of the houses, on the walls, on the roofs, and even a few inside the houses. There were people who looked like they had been made from fish everywhere they looked.Alzara turned to glance at Yanael with a cocky smirk.


    "It seems like you got what you wished for. Don''t drag me down, knight."


    "Hmph." Yanael scoffed as she pushed past Alzara while unsheathing her weapons and calling upon her halo and her wings. "Don''t get in my way, witch."


    Alzara chuckled as Yanael dashed forward. She flicked her wrists and brought her daggers into her hands. Zach saw her focus for a moment before the engravings on her daggers lit up.


    "Curse of Weakness."


    After tying a curse to her daggers, one that didn''t need her blood as a catalyst, Alzara joined Yanael in the battle, though she fought the fish people on the other side of Zach. After all, they were here for him.


    Even if Yanael and Alzara fought them, killed them, and slaughtered them, they would still target them. They had to reduce their numbers and their area of movement as much as possible.


    There was also the fact that they would get in each others'' ways if they fought too close to each other. Opposite sides of Zach was the furthest they could get. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Each one of the fish people was as strong as the tiger. It was Zach''s only real benchmark since that striped monster had left behind such a deep mark in his mind.


    But a lot of time had passed since then, and Yanael had grown a lot stronger. Zach had grown a lot stronger. And they had a new companion, one who was also very strong.


    Yanael didn''t budge in the slightest when she blocked the fish people''s weapons and claws with her shield, and her sword severed limbs and spilled guts as she willingly took on the brunt of their assault. She remained fixed in place like a statue as she eased the burden on Zach''s barrier the best she could.


    Alzara took a different approach.


    After initially setting out opposite side of Zach to Yanael, she danced through the sea of fish people, gracefully nicking them with her daggers, inflicting them with the Curse of Weakness. If she saw an opportunity to do it without getting hit or letting another go, she also slit their throats, punctured their lungs, or severed their spinal cords.


    Zach didn''t see the effects of the Curse of Weakness immediately. It wasn''t like the Curse of Decay that made flesh rot.


    However, after a while, he noticed that the fishpeople were slower. They stumbled and fumbled around. They accidentally hit each other with their weapons. The light in their eyes dimmed slightly.


    But that wasn''t it. Those were merely the side effects of the curse.


    After a while when Weakness had set in and most of the fish people in a stone throw''s range had been cut by Alzara''s whirlwind dance of twirling daggers, Alzara changed combat style.


    If her first style had relied on her agility, flexibility, and long strides, her second style made full use of the size of her hands, the length of her arms, and the strength of a body made to survive even the harshest deserts.


    Her daggers vanished.


    Alzara grabbed the nearest head and with a light movement, like plucking a flower, she popped it off the body, which promptly collapsed. Each hand held a head like they were apples.


    With a surprising cruelty and condescension, she threw the heads. She didn''t need to aim at anyone or anything. Wherever she threw them, she would hit another fish person.


    It didn''t look like she aimed, either.


    But she hit another two heads with the first ones. All four exploded on impact despite the seeming ease with which Alzara had thrown them. She flicked her wrists and the heads soared lightly through the air.


    The explosion wasn''t proportional to the force she had put in.


    Zach realized why it was so flashy. It was also the reason why their heads had come loose so easily.


    It was the Curse of Weakness. It made them frail and extra susceptible to damage. They didn''t stand a chance against Alzara before, but now they were less than cattle at the slaughter.


    Zach couldn''t remember ever having felt pity for monsters, especially ones that came at him with such ferocity and palpable bloodthirst.


    But when he watched Alzara grab another pair of heads and launch them through the torsos of several fish people, he couldn''t help but pity them.


    The fish people looked mindless, much like the ratlings had done in the Jira Labyrinth. They only followed their instincts, and those instincts told them to attack Zach. They didn''t strategize. They didn''t think. They didn''t feel.


    There was no need or reason to pity such hollow beings.


    But Alzara''s slaughter was just that brutal.


    Yanael wasn''t any more merciful. She didn''t care what part of the fish people she cut. She was happy just to kill and see the fish people fall and pile up around her.


    But there was just something about the forethought and calculation behind Alzara''s actions that made Zach reconsider how he had looked at her until now. She was still his dear familiar. She was more than that, even. She was a close confidant and some kind of friend.


    But maybe there was more to her past than a gentle potion-making desert witch.


    However, above all else, she was reliable.


    Zach looked at the fish people mindlessly attacking his barrier with their weapons, claws, teeth, and heads.


    Now, if only he was more reliable. All he could do was defend, and neither Alzara nor Yanael needed defending. The only one who needed it was him, and that was because he couldn''t kill the fish people on his own.


    Zach sighed. He regretted not bringing his spear along. It was unwieldy carrying around a spear, and he wasn''t very good at it. The only reason he was using it was because it was a good spear and he risked his life in the fight against the rat king. It would be a shame if he didn''t use it.


    But against an enemy that he needed a weapon to fight against, a spear he didn''t know how to use would only make it harder for him.


    "What to do, what to do¡­" Zach sat down and pondered on his future.

 Chapter 212 Adjusting Difficulty

    It took the two familiars a while to cull the fish people enough that they couldn''t reach Zach''s barrier before dying. But that could also be related to the piles of corpses stacked up around him that prevented them from approaching.It was a massacre.


    Zack looked at the scene spread out before him without knowing what to feel.


    There was not a drop of blood on his hands or clothes. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alzara and Yanael were also surprisingly clean. They only had a few splotches of color on their maid dresses. Considering the mayhem they had gone through and the number of fish people they had killed, their state of cleanliness was nothing short of a miracle.


    As if to highlight that, their weapons, on the other hand, were dripping with blood, mucus, and brain matter, Alzara''s hands included. Her sword alone hadn''t been efficient enough, so Yanael resorted to using her shield to beat the life out of the fish people.


    Zach felt a little miserable. His barriers were helpful against stronger enemies since he could take the pressure off of Yanael and Alzara. His Material Extraction was useful for Alzara''s potion-making.


    He wasn''t useless.


    There was just a limit to what he could do. But he didn''t want to just sit back and watch his familiars do everything for him. Everything else aside, it was boring.


    There was only so much admiration he could show before he got used to how skilled and capable Yanael and Alzara were.


    "Is that it?" He asked when Yanael and Alzara regrouped at his location after finishing off the remaining fish people.


    "There are a few left in the outskirts of the city, but others are already dealing with them." Alzara walked up behind Zach and leaned down, draping herself over his shoulders to rest. Yanael looked at her with a frosty expression.


    She also wanted to do that. Unfortunately, she didn''t have it as easy being that affectionate with the person she served. She had standards.


    Alzara sensed Yanael''s gaze. She was tempted to tease her with a wink. Instead, she closed her eyes and relaxed. She had gotten a little caught up in enjoying the admiring way Zach looked at her when she fought and exerted herself. The fish people hadn''t been that strong, but they had been numerous and tenacious.


    They had eleven Trials left, so it was best if Alzara and Yanael recovered as much as they could while the other entrants finished off the remaining fish people or the Trial ended.


    Zach looked at the piles of dead fish people while holding up Alzara.


    "Did we overthink the Trial?" In the end, it hadn''t mattered that they found but couldn''t enter any shelters. It wouldn''t have changed anything since Yanael and Alzara just killed everything they were supposed to find shelter from.


    "Maybe." Alzara''s voice tickled Zach''s cheek.


    "There might have been a mechanism that weakened the fishies with every shelter found or reduced their numbers. Every shelter you found could have also increased how much damage you dealt to them. It didn''t feel like that, but it''s hard to tell. Or nothing changed. We could have just as well waited the twenty-four hours in the plaza."


    "Master, I think it''s better to overthink than underthink. Something more absolute than a swarm of fish people could have been what we were supposed to survive. It''s better to try and die than not try at all if you ask me." Yanael''s words weren''t exactly encouraging since she was aware that they still hadn''t necessarily succeeded in the Trial.


    They had just been strong enough to deal with the consequences of failing it.


    Zach and Alzara agreed with her. It would have been depressing if they hadn''t even tried to look for a way to survive and then ended up dying.


    "So, what now?" Zach asked. He was ready to get started with the next Trial. It felt like he hadn''t done anything for over a day. And the only things he had done had frustrating outcomes.


    "There''s only a few left," Alzara said with her eyes still closed. And a few moments later¡­


    [Trial (1/12) complete. 23 survivors confirmed. Results confirmed. Adjusting difficulty level. Determining next Trial. Trial (2/12) set.


    Preparing¡­]


    Just in time for Zach to finish reading the message, the ground shook, and the city rumbled. The blood from the fish people was drawn into the blood like water after a drought. The bodies melted and joined the blood.


    The houses shook before all the stone crumbled into pieces and shards and rolled around the city. All the buildings were leveled and turned into moving clumps of stone rubble.


    Zach looked around in confusion, suddenly feeling the ground beneath his feet join the movement. But the stone bricks of the street didn''t transform or break up. A platform large enough for him, Yanael, and Alzara to stand on slid up on the ground before starting to glide forward.


    Zach was surprised. It seemed like the place was going through a hasty renovation. But he couldn''t sense how. He looked at Alzara. She looked at the ground with a deep frown until she noticed Zach''s look. She shrugged.


    Whatever mechanism was behind the city''s transformation was beyond her understanding.


    Occasionally, the platform picked up the speed to rush past a moving cloud of rubble. Other times, it would slow down to let the same moving cloud of rubble pass.


    After a while, Zach started seeing the hairy heads of the other entrants. At the same time, the clouds of rubble convened in large masses of what had once been the underwater city, Haya.


    Several loud minutes later, all the twenty-three remaining participants were gathered in the center of the now much smaller area than the city had been.


    Around them were twelve large statues.


    [Use the console to arrange the deities in the correct order.]


    Zach waited for several minutes for a more detailed explanation. he didn''t get one.


    That was the entire second Trial.

 Chapter 213 Second Trial

    Zach looked around and quickly found Nessa. He and Violina had the same thought and walked over to the only person who couldn''t hide among the crowd, thanks to a certain large Millipede.A few of the other entrants who looked significantly more ragged and haggard than the rest looked at Zach. While running around like headless chickens during the final hours of the first Trial, most of them had realized which ones hadn''t found shelter yet.


    Since sharing information was important for everyone''s survival, they had talked about the people they had seen and where they had seen them.


    A few with the right pieces of information had figured out enough to set a theory for what had happened. Regardless of the truth, that theory alone was sufficient for them to look at Zach in a different light.


    Others, like Black, weren''t very interested in the others. He only looked at them warily in case they wanted to start something for how he acted in the last Trial. Fortunately, no one cared.


    "I guess you two found shelter?" Zach asked Nessa and Violina after looking at their pristine clothes, their perfect hairdos, well-rested expressions, and clean familiars.


    "Barely. It took me almost twenty hours to find something." Nessa crossed her arms, recalling how panicked she had been.


    "I got lucky. I found a woman-only shelter pretty early on."


    "Oh, I also found that one! And five others or something like that."


    "What?" Nessa and Violina looked at him strangely. Zach didn''t look like he had been fighting for his life or anything, and neither did his maids. But both Yanael and Alzara had traces of battle on them, whether it be a couple of bloodstains or a few more wrinkles in their dresses.


    Nessa and Violina had spent enough time with Zach and his familiars and in battle to see traces like that. Zach hadn''t been in a shelter when the Trial''s deadline ended.


    "...I don''t want to talk about it."


    Nessa and Violina glanced at each other but didn''t say anything. Nessa pointed at a raised platform in the center with enough room for one person to stand on. On the platform, a few sticks rose into the air, reaching a suitable working height, which would explain the desk-like structure they carried.


    The round disk on the stick-like legs on the platform had, in turn, twelve miniature versions of the twelve statues around them, each one larger than a house.


    "I guess that''s the console," said Nessa.


    "...Those have to be the deities, then." Violina turned to look at the statues.


    "Deities as in gods?" Zach asked.


    "What else?" Violina countered.


    "...That''s true. But they don''t look like any gods I know."


    "How many gods do you know?"


    "Well, none."


    "The Labyrinths are old, so they could be deities of the past or something." Violina crossed her arms while studying the statues. As she looked them up and down from a distance, she realized that there was one thing in common between them all.


    There was a plaque at the bottom of the statues. She glanced around the area. The others were mostly inspecting the statues, too, or passively waiting for something to happen. It didn''t seem like anyone was interested in the console or taking charge.


    Violina considered giving orders. But when she thought about it again, there wasn''t a need for that. She didn''t know what the Trial was about, at least not yet. For now, she could take her time studying the statues¡ªthe so-called deities and look for clues to what the Trial''s objective meant.


    The first statue Violina, Zach, and Nessa walked over to was a figure hidden by a large robe, similar to some kind of monk. The bronze plaque at the bottom of the statue had text that, at first glance, looked impossible to understand. But the lines and letters blurred, squiggled around, and moved before settling down and turning into readable text.


    Soara of Death and Transcendence.


    The next statue was a large horse with a mighty mane.


    Krisher of the Steppes.


    Boa of Rain and Lightning. A snake with wings, the tip of its tail resting against the ground like it was soaring into the sky.


    Hark of Flames. A man with the features of a bull whose arms were wreathed in flames.


    Tora of the Sun. A faceless woman in a light tunic standing with her hands behind her back and her face tilted slightly upward like she was basking in the sunlight.


    Arot of the Moon. A faceless man covered in a large fur coat.


    Yissna of Strength. A faceless man with a bare upper body to let his large muscles breathe.


    The next statue looked like a cloud with a slight rhombus-like shape. Jeret of Dreams.


    Ackspet of Submission. A kneeling knight with one hand on the opposite knee and the other on the hilt of his sword, whose tip pierced the ground.


    Lyander of War. A faceless swordsman, his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword.


    Rudrick of Deception. An old woman. Read exclusive content at empire


    Wir of Greed. A cat.


    Twelve unique statues. Twelve Names. Twelve deities.


    But only one correct order.


    Zach, Nessa, and Violina were stumped. They had never heard of any of these deities before. How were they supposed to arrange them in the correct order.


    Zach remembered the message between the two Trials.


    It had mentioned something about ''adjusting difficulty.'' Maybe the first Trial had been deemed too easy since the consequences of failing, the fish people, had been killed instead of killing those who failed.


    It was likely to be the case.


    If it were, Zach was responsible for their current predicament.


    "Somehow¡­My bad."


    Nessa and Violina looked at Zach in confusion at his sudden words. But it didn''t look like he was going to elaborate, so they focused on the task at hand again. They had to figure out the correct order. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only clues they had were the statues'' names, so they started there.

 Chapter 214 Sounds Powerful

    "Could it be alphabetical?""Based on our alphabet or the original language of the deities?"


    "Isn''t the it the same?"


    "No idea. You saw the original text right? I have no idea what kind of language that was. What if it works differently?"


    "How would it work differently?" S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I don''t know. Just forget it. According to size maybe?"


    "The size of the statues or the size of the deities?"


    "The statues. No, wait. The deities."


    "Alright. Which one is the biggest, the winged snake, the minotaur, or the horse?"


    "The minotaur maybe? I''m pretty sure the cat is the smallest, at least."


    "Oh, good. I wasn''t sure about that one."


    "Guys, they''re deities. They might not be as big or small as their physical forms indicate."


    "What do you know about deities?"


    "Nothing. And that''s why I don''t think sorting them by size is the right order. Besides, they''re arranged in a circle. It feels like there should either be a clear start and end to the order or a repeating pattern of some kind."


    "Like what?"


    "There''s seven humanoids and five non-humans. So, start with the sun and end with the moon deity, every other statue being a non-human."


    "Try it."


    Zach stepped back and let Violina take over the console to shuffle the statues around in the order she suggested.


    They had quickly figured out that there was no end to the number of attempts they had at getting the correct order. There also wasn''t a time limit. It was just that twelve different statues could be put in twelve different locations. The number of possible combinations was so large that they might grow old before finding the correct order. Your journey continues at empire


    That was why they were trying to figure it out or guess the correct order instead of systematically going through all the possible combinations.


    Considering that they didn''t know if there was a difference in the twelve spots, it might not even be enough to try all the possible combinations. The statues might have been in the correct order but in the wrong places.


    It shouldn''t matter since the Trial was to arrange the deities in the correct order, not place them in the right spot. But Zach had found multiple ways to survive in the first Trial but had still been forced to cheat to finish it. They shouldn''t thoughtlessly assume their interpretation of the Trial was correct.


    The other entrants also came with suggestions for orders and possible ideas about what the correct order might be. Almost everyone was cooperating, whether it be investigating the stony plaza that the soldiers and entrants were gathered on or writing down the orders they had already tried.


    Zach looked at the large stone statues moving around as Violina shifted the miniatures on the console.


    It was a strange Trial. Trials were tests. The first one had tested their ability to look for things and wander around the city. Someone with a good sense of direction, good legs, and a keen eye would pass the first Trial without much trouble.


    But what was the second Trial''s goal? It couldn''t be that it was just a difficult Trial that the Labyrinth gave them to compensate for the first Trial''s failure. Besides, the first Trial had failed because Zach was too strong.


    Was the second Trial chosen to be the statue-sorting puzzle because it couldn''t be solved with brute force?


    Zach''s thoughts wandered as he pondered on the trouble.


    ''If brute force can''t solve it, there has to be a way to solve it with intelligence.''


    They had to have missed something. There had to be some kind of clue somewhere.


    Nessa and the other entrants looked on strangely as Zach crawled along the floor with his eyeball almost pressed against the ground. He scrutinized the floor as closely as he could. He studied the console and its stand with all five of his senses. He climbed the statues, looking for anything that might denote the correct order.


    It would have been helpful if there was something like a number scratched into their heads. Unfortunately, he didn''t find anything like that.


    After a while, Zach found himself in front of the name plaque at the base of the statue of Soara of Death and Transcendence. A tall figure whose features were completely hidden by a large robe.


    It was the deity with the most powerful-sounding title. Death and Transcendence sounded a little more domineering and overpowering than something like Submission, after all.


    That had been an idea for an order. But it was difficult to determine which title was the strongest and how to properly sort the twelve who weren''t the strongest.


    Still, they had tried to arrange the deities in accordance with the strength of both the deities themselves and their titles. It hadn''t worked.


    Zach looked at the name plaque. Death and Transcendence certainly sounded strong. But what did Transcendence mean?


    Since the other title was that of Death, maybe it had something to do with transcending life.


    ''Something like immortality?''


    Zach furrowed his brow. He didn''t much about deities or gods. It wasn''t exactly something many in the Empire believed in. They believed in the royal family or themselves.


    ''Shouldn''t gods already be immortal?''


    In Zach''s understanding and opinion, deities, gods, whatever, should already be transcendent beings. What was the point of having that be their title?


    Zach knelt to get a closer look at the plaque.


    ''Soara of Death and Transcendence.''


    Zach looked up. Even from where he was looking, he couldn''t even see the stone behind the shadows of the robe''s hood. It was like Soara had gone one step further than the faceless deities and completely hid their face.


    He turned his gaze to the winged snake. Boa of Rain and Lightning. It was the only other deity with two titles. Why only these two when they seemed to have nothing in common?


    It was a confusing situation.


    Zach squinted and looked at the word ''Transcendence'' again. He reached out to brush it with his finger.


    His vision flickered.


    Zach blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a battlefield.

 Chapter 215 Headache

    Too many things were going on at once for Zach to tell what was happening, but the bloody air, the shrieking, the screaming, and the stench of battle told him it was a battlefield. Strangely enough, it felt like there were a lot of details missing from what he could see.Everything looked like it was moving fast. It was a battlefield on a much larger scale than anything he had seen before, so that made sense. The beings fighting were numerous and powerful.


    But at the same time, it was like everything had slowed down so that he could see what was happening.


    Just then, a projectile flew straight through Zach''s chest. It didn''t leave a hole or even rustle his shirt.


    He was a spectator to this battlefield and Zach just felt like it was from the past. He looked around.


    Just like he hadn''t seen what kind of projectile pierced because it was strangely blurry, he couldn''t see the beings that were fighting. He saw things collide with other things. He didn''t know if they were living beings, weapons, or something in between.


    It was strange. He couldn''t tell what he was seeing, either.


    It was like what he was being seen was erased from his memory as he was seeing it.


    Zach turned his head.


    He had been worried at first when he ended up in the middle of a battlefield far above his level. But now that he knew he was a spectator and didn''t have anything to fear, he knew why he had come here.


    This was the clue he was looking for. Inside this scene from the past was a clue to the correct order of the deities.


    Zach''s eyes scanned the battlefield until he found something that finally stood out. Or rather, in a battlefield of endless things that irritated his mind, it was the one thing that wasn''t frustrating to look at. And it wasn''t right to call it a thing.


    It was a person.


    In the middle of a sea of beings and things attacking it, a lone, robed figure walked forward.


    At first, Zach wasn''t even sure which side it belonged to. The side with the slightly more humanoid or familiar shapes or the side with things that, even when distorted by whatever alteration the Trial had applied to this scene from the past, looked like creatures out of a horror story.


    He hadn''t even been able to tell that the figure was being attacked by the monstrous things. After all, they never reached within ten strides of the figure. From a distance, it had looked like they were running past it.


    But when Zach looked closer, he saw it.


    Everything that came close to the robed figure stopped moving. Combined with the robed appearance, Zach could easily guess who it was. It was Soara of Death and Transcendence.


    Zach snapped back to reality and fell backward, his hand jerking away from the name plaque like he had touched hot coal. The others noticed his hasty movement, but they didn''t think anything of it. He had been acting strange for a while now, after all.


    Zach stood up and quickly gathered Nessa and Violina in one place while others played with the console. They could tell something was up, and when he told them what he had just gone through, they listened to the end without interrupting.


    "...That''s strange. Why hasn''t anyone else seen what you saw?" Violina asked, more out of curiosity than to question the truth in Zach''s words. Zach often wasn''t as serious as he could be, but he wouldn''t cook up a joke like this. Violina and Nessa believed him.


    Zach shrugged.


    Nessa looked around at the few other entrants still studying the statues. After a while, she frowned.


    A couple of them were touching the statues of Wir, the cat, and Kirsher, the horse. But no one was touching any of the other statues, much less their name plaques.


    Nessa turned to Violina.


    "...Hey, have you touched any of the plaques?" She asked.


    "What? Of course, I¡­" Violina trailed off when trying to recall which plaques she had touched. She had done a close inspection of all the statutes. She had to have touched one of the plaques, even if only in passing.


    She frowned as she realized she had never done so. She had been close a few times, but she had never touched a plaque. Nessa and Violina looked at each other before quickly jogging over to two nearby statues, those of the minotaur and the old woman.


    Simultaneously, they put their hands against the plaques, brushing over the names and titles. Hark of Flames and Rudrick of Deception. Only seconds later, they flinched and jerked backward just like Zach had done.


    Their eyes were wide in shock and confusion. They had clearly seen and experienced something, but before Zach could ask them about it, both quickly brushed the plaques with the tips of their fingers again.


    Neither left the place where they sat, but they returned to their bodies after a couple of seconds again. Both Nessa and Violina were frowning deeply in confusion, frustration, and slight pain.


    Doing that had earned them a decent headache, even if they had seen the scene more clearly. They wanted to try again, but Zach stopped them.


    "So? What did you see?"


    Nessa and Violina glanced at each other, signaling for the other to go first.


    "...Not much. It was a complete mess and a jumble of colors and things happening. But I got the feeling that it was some kind of fight." Nessa shared what she had seen first.


    "Like some kind of battlefield?" Zach asked.


    "...I don''t know." Nessa started shaking her head but shrugged instead.


    "It was the same for me. But it got better the second time, even if it made my head sting." Violina glared at the statue as if blaming it for her headache.


    Zach glanced back at the statue of Soara.


    "I should have brought some pain-relieving medicine with me, then."


    sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 216 Valuable Experience

    It didn''t take long for Nessa and Violina to agree with Zach. It would have been great with something to help their headaches, even if only a little. The headaches faded pretty quickly. But only if they didn''t look at the past through the statutes'' name plaques. They could just wait a little longer between each time.However, even when they gathered almost all of the other entrants and rotated entering the scenes of the past, the headaches didn''t fade quickly enough. When taking longer breaks meant it would take them longer to figure out the correct order, very few of the entrants wanted to waste time just because of a slight headache.


    Some of them, like Derot, Oria, Tero, Tara, and Jones stubbornly ignored their headaches and continued diving into the statues with their minds. They had all chosen a statue they felt drawn to or that they liked. Derot picked Wir of Greed. Oria chose Jeret of Dreams. Tero chose Arot of the Moon, and Tara chose Tora of the Sun. Jones sat down in front of Lyander of War.


    A little bit away from them, Black ignored everyone else and took up space in front of Yissna of Strength''s name plaque.


    Since he didn''t talk to anyone, no one talked to him. He wasn''t sure what was going on, but he would have been a fool not to notice what everyone was doing. He eavesdropped and found out that if he brushed the names of the deities with the tips of his fingers, he could see scenes of the past.


    The entrants'' opinions were mixed. What were they supposed to do with that information, especially when almost everything they saw was fragmented, indecipherable, jumbles of colors and shapes? It was like they were being thrust into a kaleidoscope. Since they wanted to clear the Trial before they died of old age, they did what they could.


    But looking for clues among such messy sights was next to impossible. Several of them didn''t understand why the others were so doggedly entering the statues even when they had severe headaches. They also didn''t understand what the point was in choosing specific statues.


    The other entrants, those who were doggedly entering the statues, had realized something.


    They were seeing scenes of the past. They had yet to confirm whether it was the same battlefield for all the statues, mostly because they hadn''t sat down and discussed everything they saw yet.


    But it was a battle for all of the statues. And the deities were fighting in those battles.


    The entrants weren''t just looking for clues to the correct order.


    They were looking at how deities fought, what kind of powers they used, how they used them, and how powerful they were.


    Naturally, they had to look at deities that interested them or aligned with how they fought. It wasn''t necessarily because they wanted to learn to do what they did or copy them. They didn''t even dream of doing something like that. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even without the details of the battle, all of them could tell that the fighting was on a whole different level than what they were. It could take them lifetimes to ever come close to that realm.


    They looked and studied the battles and the deities so ardently in search of inspiration or just to get something from it without even knowing what that could be. The slightest movement or gleam of understanding they got from looking at the deities while they fought was invaluable.


    Even for Zach and Violina, seeing people like their parents fight was an extremely rare occurrence. And deities were still on an entirely different level even compared to their parents, who were at the top of the Empire.


    Zach had even heard some of the others talking about not finding or sharing clues as to which order was the correct one just so they could stay and watch the battles. He understood the sentiment. It was a valuable experience.


    But it was just the second Trial. Even if it seemed like a very rewarding one, they had ten more to go after this one. They shouldn''t be satisfied with just getting to look at the deities from afar, especially when most of them couldn''t even watch for more than ten seconds without collapsing on the floor with their hands and arms wrapped around their head in pain.


    Time passed differently inside the statues, so those ten seconds in reality could be several minutes of watching the deities fight. But several minutes didn''t make much of a difference, considering the level of the deities.


    Zach seemed to have it the easisest when it came to entering the statues. He could stay the longest time and end up with the smallest headache. He figured it had something to do with his level since he was at a higher level than Nessa and Violina and was stronger than the other entrants. Nessa and Violina were also doing well, second only to him. But the others weren''t far behind them.


    He had watched Soara for a total of several hours. He wasn''t sure if he was up in day or two yet, but regardless, he had seen those hideous things fall dead to the ground around Soara for a long time.


    He hadn''t learned a thing.


    It was Soara''s power over Death that caused it, but Zach had no idea what he could learn from that. He couldn''t just make people or monsters die around just because he wanted to. Other than that, he didn''t see Soara display any fancy techniques or anything. They just walked across the endless battlefield, leaving behind a trail of corpses as long as their walk.


    He had considered checking any of the other statues. But there were twelve statues and twenty-three entrants. Black had one for himself. That left twenty-one entrants to share ten statues.


    Some of them were more popular than others, but Zach wasn''t interested in sharing.


    Zach glanced at Yanael and Alzara.


    ¡­At least not with any strangers.

 Chapter 217 Death And Transcendence

    Zach was about to take another look into Soara''s statue, even if only because he had nothing else to do when he looked at Yanael and Alzara standing behind him like a pair of bodyguards."I''ll put up a barrier to protect me. If you want, you two can also try looking into the statues. I have a feeling that you two might get more from it than me or the others."


    Yanael and Alzara looked at Zach for a moment, and when he put down a solid and strong barrier around him, they looked around. Yanael strode over to a statue like she had just been waiting for Zach''s permission.


    She chose Ackspet of Submission, one of the less popular deities. The kneeling knight looked stoic and all. However, only a few of the entrants were interested in his title. They didn''t want to submit. It sounded like admitting defeat, and no one wanted to look into the past of a knight of defeat.


    Alzara wasn''t as quick to decide. She glanced at the different statues and their plaques and titles. Her gaze lingered at Jeret of Dreams. But eventually, her gaze returned to the robed figure in front of her and Zach. She looked up toward Soara''s face for a moment before kneeling in front of the plaque.


    Alzara tilted her head forward, closed her eyes, and touched the plaque with the tip of her finger.


    She was sucked into the mystical scene of the past just like Zach and the other entrants. It was the same scene as the one Zach saw. However, the entrants had already confirmed that different people at the same statues saw the same things. The only difference was in how detailed the scene was.


    And so far, the only thing that seemed to have some connection to the amount of details and length of time one could look was strength. The stronger they were, the more they saw and the longer they could stay in the statute. But there was an exception.


    Derot, who was by no means a fighter, was in the top five in terms of staying inside the statues.


    However, as if to solidify the theory without the exception, Alzara saw a lot of detail. She could count the limbs and eyes on the mutated, disfigured, and distorted monsters attacking the mix of humans, humanoids, and natural monsters. She didn''t want to, though. Those monsters looked like nothing she had ever seen before, and she wanted it to remain like that.


    Alzara was only a little curious about their existence and what she could do with their corpses and the materials inside them. But since it was a scene she could only watch and not interact with, Alzara focused on something else.


    She only looked at the robed figure walking through the battlefield, monsters dropping like flies around her. When she did, the details around her faded and turned blurry. After a while, she could barely see anything but blotches of different shades of grey.


    The only exception was the robed figure. Soara. Alzara saw the deity and their surroundings in overwhelming detail. It wasn''t enough.


    Alzara narrowed her eyes in concentration. She could feel it. She could feel the power surrounding Soara like a spheric cloud. But feeling its mere existence through instincts¡ªinstincts telling her that she would die if she approached¡ªwasn''t enough. Enjoy new tales from empire


    Alzara had to see it. She wouldn''t be able to learn anything if she didn''t. And it would be a wasted opportunity to grow stronger if she didn''t learn anything.


    Alzara had already understood that Zach was a magnet for trouble. It wasn''t just because he was unlucky. He had a curious mind. He wanted answers to questions¡ªanswers that he would only get after going through a lot of trouble. In the process, he would grow stronger, level up, and summon more familiars.


    But Alzara didn''t want to be outdone by latecomers. And as he grew stronger, Zach would also attract more troublesome trouble. It was an inevitable cycle. The only way to break that cycle would be to regress through stagnation, choice, injury, or illness. Or death. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alzara and Yanael and any other familiar Zach would summon in the future grew a little stronger with each level he gained. But they had their own growth potential equal to their ranks.


    Alzara had growth potential befitting of her status as an SS-rank familiar. She had talent. It was as simple as that.


    It wasn''t like she could look at an expert swordsman and become an expert at swordsmanship, mostly because she wasn''t interested in learning how to fight with a sword. She liked her daggers. And more than her daggers, she liked her curses, her poisons, and her tactics.


    Soara didn''t use tactics or poisons. Her power of death also wasn''t a curse.


    But Alzara''s keen eyes didn''t miss how Soara''s power worked. She couldn''t see everything. She couldn''t see down to tiniest details.


    But she saw the cloud of death surrounding Soara, and she saw it snuff out the light of life of anything that came close to her. She saw how it killed things that weren''t alive. It killed the momentum of projectiles. It killed her own gravity, preventing her from getting caught in pitfalls or holes. Soara walked over everything, killing even laws of physics and concepts.


    That was the power of death. Everything had an end. Everything could die.


    And if Soara tacked on the power of transcendence to that? There wasn''t anything they couldn''t kill.


    Alzara was intrigued by how Soara''s power killed concepts and laws of physics. But that wasn''t her area. It also wasn''t something she could imitate. No, she focused on how Soara''s power of death touched the monsters'' spark of life and extinguished it like a candle.


    Now, that was something she could learn from.


    Alzara focused on Soara and the deity''s power of death, momentarily letting herself forget about the outside world.


    It was a risk since she didn''t know what was going on outside, but she trusted Zach''s judgment. And the risk would be more than worth it.

 Chapter 218 Clue

    Zach had finished his visit to the statue''s past soon after he entered it, and he entered it shortly after Alzara. However, Alzara still hadn''t come out even after several minutes. He had expected it, but he was still amazed. Alzara could stay in the statue''s past for longer than he or any of the other entrants could.Zach turned to Yanael, who sat not that far away in front of the kneeling knight. She could also stay in the scene of Ackspet''s past for several minutes.


    Now, it just remained to be seen if either of them could get anything from it or find any clues to the correct order of the deities.


    After a while, both Yanael and Alzara slipped back into their bodies. To Zach''s surprise, Alzara was the first to return. Since she was a higher rank and stronger, Zach thought she could stay longer than Yanael.


    But apparently, that wasn''t the case.


    Alzara took a deep breath when she returned before looking at Zach with pleading eyes. She wasn''t done yet. She wanted to see more.


    "Go ahead."


    Zach wasn''t going to stop her. Zach wasn''t sure what it was she wanted or was about to grasp, but he wasn''t going to stop her from doing something she wanted when there was nothing to fear or do that would prevent her from entering the statue again.


    Yanael also looked at Zach. However, she did so for a reason other than to ask to go again. She gestured for him to go to her and enter the statue of Ackspet of Submission.


    Zach had been thinking if he should try and enter a statue other than Soara''s, and when Yanael was the one asking him to do it, he saw no reason to refuse. He was curious, though. But he would hopefully get the answer he sought when he saw the scene inside Ackspet''s statue. So, he entered.


    Zach closed his eyes before touching the plaque. It made the transition from a peaceful pantheon to the battlefield easier to handle.


    He opened his eyes to a battlefield that was so similar to the one in Soara''s past that Zach almost thought he had entered Soara''s statue.


    The same kind of monsters. The same kind of lumpy, muddy, bloody, and hard ground. The same eerie blood-colored sky. The same heavy stench.


    Zach looked around. He wondered why Yanael wanted him to see this.


    Zach frowned when he saw something familiar.


    He saw Soara far in the distance. Maybe he had really entered Soara''s statue. Maybe he could only enter one statue. He would enter the same statue that he first chose even from the other plaques.


    But Zach didn''t retreat from the battlefield just yet. Something told him that his guess wasn''t true.


    First of all, Soara was further away. It wasn''t the exact same scene and perspective. Rather than Soara being in the center of the picture like they were in the past of their statue, they were more like an important side character. A piece of the puzzle but not the centerpiece.


    The area around Soara wasn''t as clear, and there weren''t as many details to their robe and movements as there were in their own statue.


    Zach looked around.


    It was not Soara''s past.


    It should be Ackspet''s. It was just that Soara was involved in it.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and focused on the area in front of Soara. There, he found it.


    Ackspet was fighting for their life. The knight who seemed no taller than an ordinary person was cutting down monsters with a blade that didn''t stop. Ackspet was relentless. But there was a grace, a nobility, and a desperate purpose in their movements. At the same time, they were calculated, precise, and without waste.


    Perfection.


    That was the only word Zach could think of when he saw Ackspet''s battle against an endless horde of monsters.


    ''Wait a minute¡­''


    Zach concentrated even harder on Ackspet''s battle and, more specifically, their foe. It wasn''t an ordinary monster like the ones around it.


    But more than that, Zach couldn''t tell.


    And then, he was pushed out of Ackspet''s past. His headache was worse than usual. But he had focused harder and stayed longer than usual.


    Zach looked at Yanael for a moment.


    "Thanks for telling me to look. I think I know what to look for in the other statues. Keep looking if you want."


    Yanael nodded. She had heard what Zach had talked about regarding the contents of Soara''s statue. She knew that Soara fought alone in her past. But what did it mean when Ackspet and Soara were fighting together in Ackspet''s past?


    It had to be a clue. Why was Soara in Ackspet''s past? Their past was shared. There was a connection.


    Through that connection, if it persisted between the other statues and deities as well, there could be established a sequence or an order.


    They could figure out the solution to the second Trial.


    Zach was excited. He threw up a barrier around Yanael and one around Alzara. They were weak enough for the two battle maids to break them if they needed to or wanted to leave immediately. But they weren''t weak enough for any of the other Labyrinth entrants to affect them without causing a ruckus.


    Zach didn''t think anything would happen. He was just being paranoid. Find more to read at empire


    After doing that, he quickly gathered Nessa and Violina. First, he told them that his familiars could enter the statues and seemingly learn from them. That piqued Nessa''s and Violina''s interest enough for them to immediately try and get their familiars to try and enter the statues by touching the plaques.


    They could, much to their joy.


    The Serpentine Millipede seemed to want to enter Krisher of the Steppes'' statue. The Midnight Butterfly chose Jeret of Dreams. And both the Ice Spirit and Frost Imp chose Arot of the Moon.


    While the familiars did that, Zach shared what he had found out¨Cthat the statues and their pasts were connected.


    Until now, all of the entrants had mostly only been to one statue, and there hadn''t been enough knowledge or details to make a proper comparison. But now there was. Zach, Violina, and Nessa immediately split up. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nessa and Violina spread the information about the clue while they worked. Zach didn''t bother. He just focused on entering different statues and gathering as many details as he could until it felt like his head was about to burst.

 Chapter 219 Correct Order

    Zach was dizzy most of the time after they started looking for the other connections between the deities'' pasts. His perception of time was a little unreliable. But after what he was sure was a couple of days, he and the other entrants had finally fished out enough details from the statues to lay down some kind of order.Boa of Rain and Lightning''s past had the highest number of other deities in their past.


    After Boa, it was either Krisher of the Steppes or Rudrick of Deception. No one could find out for certain since Rudrick''s past was, well, deceptive.


    There were a few other deities that also shared the same amount of deities in their pasts.


    Soara was alone. Ackspet was with Soara. Wir of Greed, the cat, shared a past with Soara and Ackspet.


    Jeret of Dreams'' past was also a little difficult to see the details in since their powers raged across the battlefield like a storm of illusions. Different from Rudrick''s power, which seemed to twist reality, Jeret''s powers brought the life within dreams to reality. It was similar but different, and, by the looks of it, Jeret was more powerful.


    After all, why would any of the deities have left the battlefield between the past in their statues and the past in the statues where they were nowhere to be seen?


    It was a battlefield.


    It was a hard thought to grasp and believe, but the deities had died. That was why they had left the scenes of the past.


    The deities themselves were unimaginably strong and wielded incredible powers. For them to have died meant that they had fought and, more importantly, lost a battle against someone stronger than them.


    Naturally, there were deities stronger than others. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have died one at a time like they appeared to have done. Something stronger than a deity could, of course, be another deity.


    But Soara who appeared to be the strongest of the deities depicted in the Labyrinth of Syst''s second Trial, had also disappeared from the annals of time. Her fate in the battle the statues showed the Trial-takers was evident. She had also fallen.


    The entrants had no idea what had happened afterward, why they had discovered something like this in the Labyrinth of Syst, or when it had happened. It had happened far in the past to a civilization they didn''t know about.


    The monsters that had slain the deities looked like the kind that would destroy anything they came across whether it be a field of sunflowers or a world. Maybe the scenes depicted in the statues had been so far in the past that the world had been destroyed in the wake of the battle and recovered.


    It could have been an incredibly long time ago. It was unlikely but not impossible. After all, the Labyrinths had existed longer than there were records of them. They could be relics of an ancient time.


    Why did they exist? Pass down the legacies of the ancients. Pass on treasures. Train the people of the past, present, and future. Tell the stories of those whose names have long since ceased to exist. It could be everything, nothing, and anything.


    Discover more stories at empire


    If it weren''t for the Labyrinth of Syst, no one would have heard of the names of Soara, Ackspet, Wir, Jeret, Tora, Arot, Yissna, Lyander, Hark, Krisher, Rudrick, and Boa. Twelve deities who fought to their deaths to protect what they deemed worth protecting. To fight what they thought worth fighting.


    Even if they didn''t know anything about the deities, their civilization, their past, or the details of the battle, they still deserved to be remembered.


    And it seemed the Labyrinth of Syst wanted them to be remembered in the order in which they had fallen.


    As the clues pointed them to, Boa was first. Rudrick was second. Then came Krisher. And so on.


    A few of the entrants thought it would have been the opposite order since the one in the first spot should be honored. But that wasn''t the case.


    After a few tries with Boa first to sort out the deities they couldn''t pin down, the statues all let out loud thunks as if clicking into the ground, finally at the right places.


    [Trial (2/12) complete. Twenty-three survivors confirmed. Time taken: 5 days 3 hours 16 minutes 9 seconds. Result above estimation but within error parameters. Determining next Trial. Trial (3/12) set.


    Preparing¡­]


    The sweet blue message that popped up in front of everyone''s eyes was a welcome sight since it meant they had completed the Trial, even if it had taken five days. But the message also inspired dread.


    The second Trial had been difficult and taxing. If it hadn''t been a shared Trial, many would have failed or gone crazy. They had been worried about food and starving to death initially, but no one grew hungry as if the Labyrinth was somehow preventing that or supplying them with nourishment somehow.


    It had been a relief at first since no one had brought that many emergency rations. But then, they realized that there was no time limit. There was no hunger. They wouldn''t fail the Trial. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It would take as long as it took to clear the Trial, whether it be a few days, weeks, months, or years.


    If they didn''t clear the Trial or didn''t find the clues, the only way to escape the Labyrinth and the Trial would have been through the sweet release of insanity or the comforting embrace of death.


    Many of the entrants had realized that possibility.


    They were thankful to Zach, Nessa, and Violina who had discovered the first clues. They had figured out both the thing with the name plaques and the connections between the pasts in the statues.


    It was impossible to tell how long time it would have taken to solve the Trial if not for them.


    But at the same time, the other entrants were wary of the students of the Academy for Summoners.


    What if the next Trial was one where they couldn''t cooperate?

 Chapter 220 No!

    The ring of statues of deities that had once been an underwater city changed once again when the statues crumbled one at a time. The final statue to fall was Soara''s. Zach turned to it right before it did. It felt like it had looked at him.But there was no way that could be true, nor was there a way for him to confirm that since the statue was gone.


    The moving clouds of rubble floated around them, and the circular platform around them expanded. Soon enough, walls rose up out of the clouds of rubble and the ground, separating all the entrants. With clashing and grinding sounds, walls and the floor grew.


    [Find the exit.]


    Zach took a moment of silence to look at the message. He then looked at the walls around him and the only open path forward. That wasn''t the exit. That was just his way forward into the maze¨Cthe labyrinth that the Labyrinth of Syst had created as the third Trial.


    "NO!" Zach shouted at the top of his lungs as he realized what the Trial was.


    He had struggled with the first Trial, which wasn''t even designed to be difficult to orient. Some mornings, he got lost in his own apartment dorm. He got lost in open areas.


    His sense of direction was in the negatives.


    How the fuck was he supposed to find the exit in a literal maze made to confuse, trap, mislead, and fool the ones inside it?


    Zach was angry. He hadn''t held a grudge against the Labyrinth of Syst for only letting him find shelters with requirements that sucked. He hadn''t held a grudge against the Labyrinth for punishing them when he survived the consequences of failing the first Trial by adjusting the difficulty.


    But now¡­


    Zach was already thinking about how he could take apart the maze and stuff it up the Labyrinth''s behind.


    Zach put his hand against the wall and extracted a brick. He extracted another, and another, and another, all in quick succession. But the moment he took a brief pause, the hole in the wall recovered and stitched itself back together with tendrils of stone.


    "..." Zach looked blankly at the wall before punching it with his fist.


    If he hadn''t instinctively put a barrier over his knuckles, he could have injured himself. And since he didn''t injure himself, he continued attacking the wall.


    He only stopped when Alzara put a hand on his shoulder.


    "Master¡­"


    She and Yanael, especially Yanael, understood Zach''s frustration. They knew better than anyone how he struggled with his lacking sense of direction. They knew how hard he tried to remember and find the right path whenever he went somewhere.


    But it was beyond his control.


    And now he was thrust into a situation that was the absolute worst.


    In the Academy, he would eventually find his way as long as he continued looking.


    But in a maze? And one that had expanded to be bigger than the campus before the walls rose and had continued expanding even after that?


    However, nothing would get better by mindlessly attacking the random, regenerating walls of the maze in a fit of rage. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thanks to Alzara''s hand, Zach took a deep breath and calmed down. The inner corners of his eyebrows were still lowered in a slight glare when he looked at the maze walls, but he wasn''t going to attack them just like that again.


    He turned to Alzara and gave her a thankful nod. He then looked at both Alzara and Yanael.


    "Do either of you have any ideas on how to find the exit?"


    "Not really." Alzara shrugged.


    "Master, I''ve heard that you can''t get lost if you walk with one hand always against the wall. It probably won''t work if the maze and its walls move, but¡­" Continue your journey with empire


    "It''s worth a try." Zach nodded, thankful for the suggestion. He put his hand against the wall. Yanael and Alzara did the same, one in front of him and one behind him. Together, the three started walking through the maze.


    The walls of yellow stone seemed endless and even with tiny abrasions, notches, and uneven spots, it all blended together in Zach''s eyes. If it hadn''t been for Alzara and Yanael that were two pillars of stability and other colors in his vision, he would have been dizzy, confused, and even more lost than usual.


    Zach wondered if it would be easier to walk with his eyes closed. He had his hand against the wall to steady himself, and he could open them now and then to see where they were going. In the worst case, he had Yanael in front.


    Zach tried it.


    Only a few steps later, he bumped into Yanael''s back.


    "Oh, sorry¡­" Zach opened his eyes and apologized. But he trailed off as he sensed something in front. He leaned to the side and peeked out from behind Yanael, who had already drawn her sword.


    A monster.


    It was one of the hideous things that had fought and killed the deities they had just learned about. It wasn''t one of those powerful enough to personally kill one of the deities. It was just from the same faction.


    It probably wasn''t real, either. It was more than likely similar to the fish people that had been somehow created by the Labyrinth.


    Zach narrowed his eyes. He had been a little confused as to why Yanael hesitated, but he soon understood.


    It was difficult to tell how strong it was.


    The ordinary monsters in the forest were usually versions of ordinary animals and had a certain presence that Zach had learned to read somewhat. He could tell if a monster was strong or weak unless it was good at hiding that presence. That was about it.


    But the presence of the monster in front of them clashed with his senses. There was a feeling of wrongness to it like it didn''t belong anywhere.


    The monsters in the Jira Labyrinth hadn''t felt like this. The fish people hadn''t felt like this.


    Zach had a feeling that the fight between the deities and the strange monsters hadn''t been out of boredom or unjustified.


    "Kill it."


    Zach listened to the feeling in his gut telling him to get rid of the monster and ordered Yanael.

 Chapter 221 Twisted Prank

    Yanael lunged forward and lashed out with her sword. The monster moved. It wasn''t fast enough. Yanael''s sword cut through the monster as smoothly as it drew a golden line through the air.The monster died.


    "...That was anticlimactic," Zach said after a moment of silence. He and his two familiars looked at the corpse as it slowly turned into fading dust. It had been a lot weaker than they thought. Since none of them had been able to read its strength accurately, they had all assumed that it would be noticeably strong.


    But at the same time, it couldn''t have been too strong since it was only a minor part of the third of twelve Trials. It should be difficult but not impossible. However, it had turned to be extremely easy.


    "Nonetheless, it was a satisfying creature to cut. I hope we encounter more." Yanael sheathed her sword again when the monster was completely gone. She took the lead, and they continued their walk with their hands against the wall.


    After a while, they encountered another monster that was almost as strong as the first one.


    After that, they encountered a dead end. Zach punched a couple of walls and discovered that one of them was fake that they could walk straight through. It had been an illusion to make them turn around.


    Since they had cleared that illusion, Zach felt like they were headed in the right direction.


    Then, they encountered a hallway of traps with everything from pitfalls and guillotines to arrows and flamethrowers. Zach''s barriers rendered all those traps useless.


    The next thing they encountered was another monster. It was a little stronger than the first. Zach had started getting a feel for how to tell how strong they were just by looking at them. Yanael and Alzara had already understood it.


    Since the maze wasn''t dangerous by any means, they picked up the pace. They only slowed down to rest for Zach''s sake every now and then and to let Zach sleep when he needed it. However, the one thing they didn''t cater to was Zach''s hunger.


    Unlike the second Trial, he felt hunger. He needed to eat this Trial or he would starve. They had some emergency rations that Zach could stretch for a while. But those quickly ran out.


    They couldn''t eat the monsters since they disappeared. The traps and the walls weren''t exactly edible either. Unless they found the exit or food, Zach would starve to death.


    Alzara did offer to literally feed Zach some of her flesh since she would heal.


    Needless to say, he refused. He wasn''t going to eat his familiars. He appreciated the offer since he could tell that Alzara was sincere and didn''t see anything wrong with it, considering they might have an emergency on their hands. But eating Yanael or Alzara felt even more wrong than those monsters that didn''t belong in this world.


    Zach and his familiars continued bursting through traps, monsters, and fake walls as they rushed through the maze. It would drain Zach quicker, but it also improved their odds of finding something to eat.


    All throughout, Zach had an almost air-tight barrier around himself and his familiars. It was one that he had honed to keep out underworld energy but not air. It was the most secure barrier in case they were dealing with things they couldn''t see, control, or sense until it was too late.


    Although nothing in the maze had even come close to threatening any of them yet, Zach couldn''t be too worried when it came to his safety. It also came from his grudge against the Labyrinth. He didn''t trust it enough to think it wouldn''t use cheap tricks. Your journey continues at empire


    In the end, after what felt like weeks, Zach, Yanael, and Alzara finally arrived at an archway that looked slightly similar to the entrance to the Jira Labyrinth. It was the exit. Zach and his familiars entered it and arrived at an open area, hoping to see a feast prepared for them.


    Zach was starving. His cheeks had even hollowed out, and he had lost weight from starvation.


    However, he only saw eighteen other entrants in a place similar to the second Trial but without the statues and with stone walls around them. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He frowned. He quickly located Nessa and Violina.


    "Where''s the food?" He asked instantly.


    Nessa and Violina looked him up and down, noting his haggard appearance. They glanced at each other. They turned back to Zach.


    "What food?"


    "How long were you in there for?"


    "Dunno. A couple of weeks maybe. And what do you mean, ''What food?'' The food! I''m hungry!"


    "Then it''s confirmed. Time passed differently for all of us or we were spat out in here at almost the same time or something. And none of us are hungry. It''s the same as the second Trial, isn''t it? We don''t get hungry."


    "What the fuck?" Zach frowned. Was the Labyrinth pulling a twisted fucking prank on him again?


    Alzara''s eyes widened slightly. She tapped on Zach''s shoulder and then gestured at the barrier around them. Zach raised an eyebrow. But he understood what she wanted.


    He removed the barrier.


    Instantly, an imperceptible breeze blew toward Zach and his familiars from around them. Nessa and Violina looked at Zach in confusion.


    Zach''s eyes widened. Alzara nodded as if she had just confirmed something. Yanael was expressionless, which was a sign she was concentrating.


    Zach felt something entering his body.


    He wasn''t sure how to explain it. It was an incredibly vague feeling. He only felt it because it was so much more than what it had been in the second Trial when it was truly unnoticeable.


    It was like air was entering his body from every pore on his skin.


    And almost as soon as the feeling came, it disappeared. But it had been enough.


    Zach was aware.


    He turned to Alzara. She seemed to have known about it before. She gave a light nod. She knew about it. But now was not the time for questions.


    Now, it was time for the fourth Trial.

 Chapter 222 Fifth Trial

    Nessa and Violina also had things they wanted to ask, especially when they saw Zach''s sunken cheeks fill in and color return to his face. But they weren''t alone. And it wasn''t the time.[Trial (3/12) complete. Eighteen survivors confirmed. Determining next Trial. Trial (4/12) set. Preparing¡­]


    Before any of them could say anything or wish the others good luck, walls shot up around them. It only took a few seconds before everyone was alone. Well, except the summoners. They had their familiars with them.


    The Labyrinth trapped their entrants in tiny cube-like rooms. A lamp sprouted from the ceiling, and a table grew from the floor.


    [Finish the puzzle.]


    On top of the table, a dozen wooden pieces with varying shapes and sizes appeared. Some were smooth and curved. Others were jagged and bent or had sharp turns.


    Zach understood what the Trial was. He had to put together the wooden pieces correctly. He smiled and rolled up his sleeves.


    "Now, this is a real challenge!"


    Zach excitedly started on the puzzle. It wasn''t something arbitrary that relied on something stupid like a sense of direction or something like the first Trial that relied on something silly like requirements and luck.


    Simple feeling and a pair of sensitive hands were all it took to solve a puzzle like this.


    Zach had, after all, spent a large portion of his childhood alone.


    Yanael and Alzara''s gazes changed slightly as Zach explained how he was so good at puzzles.


    He hadn''t had much to do. Reading was fun occasionally, but it got boring pretty soon. He wasn''t allowed to spend time with the family''s guard dogs and other pets after the incident with the pond and the family of dogs.


    His family¡­They did what they could. But his parents were busy people. His siblings were only a few years older than him, and they had their own things to do, whether it be socializing with the Empire''s young elites, studying, or training.


    Zach spent a lot of time alone. And when he wasn''t alone, it was mostly his family trying to ease his pain by showering him with gifts like toys, plushies, kid-friendly daggers, jewelry, books, and eventually, puzzles of all kinds.


    That was why Zach could sit and talk and just let his hands move. He grabbed the pieces, inspected them with his hands, and almost lazily started fitting them together.


    Sometimes they fit like they were one piece but it still didn''t work with the rest of the pieces. Other times, the pieces didn''t look like they were supposed to even go to the same figure until another piece slid in between them and made it a perfect section.


    With a bit of trial and error and a lot of experience fueling his motions, Zach finished the puzzle.


    It was the first Trial he didn''t rely on his familiars.


    The figure he completed, surprisingly enough, looked like Soara of Death and Transcendence. It lit up with a dull white light the moment he completed it. But nothing happened with the statue afterward. So, when the lamp, ceiling, walls, and table started sinking away, Zach grabbed the statue.


    There was nothing that said he couldn''t take it. If the Labyrinth didn''t like it, it could do something about it. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he had gotten a couple of levels from the first Trial. The second Trial had given him and his familiars insight into the abilities of deities. The third Trial had given him knowledge and experience with monsters that had to be from another dimension.


    It had also unwittingly made Zach aware of the something in the air and his body that replaced his need for food, though, that was thanks to his barrier.


    It was only right that the fourth Trial also gave him something other than a nostalgic break from the stress of the Labyrinth.


    Zach''s reasoning was unreasonable and selfish. The Labyrinth didn''t owe him anything, nor was there a reason for him to take the statue. But that didn''t matter.


    Zach took it and waited for the rest of the rooms to come down.


    It was boring. Unlike the previous Trial, they didn''t end up at the same time when they finished. Zach was still amazed at how that had happened. He was also a little disgruntled.


    The others didn''t have to wait more than a few minutes or hours when they finished before him and he was late. But now that he finished first, he had to wait for all the others however long it took for them to finish their puzzles.


    Zach wondered if they also got statues of Soara to build. He got his answer after a few hours when a nearby room disappeared to reveal Derot with a figure of Wir of Greed, the cat.


    Before either of them could talk, Black also finished his puzzle. He didn''t have anything in his hand, and he glared at the other two, quickly souring the atmosphere.


    One by one, the rest of the labyrinth entrants finished. Nessa and Violina were in the top seven. They were both surprised but not surprised to see Zach and hear that he was the first to finish.


    He hadn''t excelled in the last Trial, and he had circumvented the first Trial. But surprising people was his standard.


    Finally, the eighteenth person, Frank, finished his puzzle, and they could move on to the fifth Trial.


    At this point, the entrants were unsure what to expect. The Trials had mostly been about solving problems. Nothing had needed any extreme measures. The six people who had died probably didn''t agree, though.


    [...Trial (5/12) set. Preparing¡­]


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    The stone platform expanded until they stood on a large circular stone area. The distance from one side to the other was big enough that it was difficult for ordinary people to make out the face of someone standing on the opposite side.


    The entrants looked around in confusion. Was this it?


    Then, the Trial came.


    [Dodge.]

 Chapter 223 Sixth Trial

    Instantly following the Labyrinth''s message, lumps of water dropped from the ceiling like cannonballs, plummeting toward the ground and the entrants. No, plummeting wasn''t right. The cannonballs of water weren''t simply falling. They were shot straight down.One unlucky entrant didn''t catch the message quickly enough. A ball of water struck his head, crushing it.


    The splash of blood startled some of the other entrants, and they looked at the mutilated corpse in shock. The rest quickly dodged and turned their heads upward. There was no time limit or any indication of when this would end.


    That meant they had to dodge, dodge, and continue dodging.


    That was it.


    There was no more to it. There were no tricks. No hidden intentions. No requirements. Nothing to keep track of.


    Still, it was the most difficult Trial so far. It took a toll on both physical and mental strength. It was difficult to keep bending their necks to look up and try to predict where the cannonballs of water would fall.


    As if that wasn''t enough, the area they had to move around on shrank steadily.


    Zach wasn''t sure if it was because of that or if it was really happening, but it felt like the cannonballs of water increased in frequency as well.


    They didn''t have to be fast to dodge the cannonballs. They didn''t have to be strong. All it took was looking up and taking a step.


    That was why it wasn''t an advantage to be fast or strong. The only advantage one could have was good perception.


    Or a skill that provided impeccable defenses, such as Zach with his Blessed Defense.


    He had dodged at first because that was what the message said and because he still had his reflexes. Then, he realized that he didn''t have to do that. He didn''t have to risk getting hit by a cannonball of water.


    So, he threw up a barrier around him and his familiars. Yanael looked like she wanted to challenge herself by actively participating in the Trial, so Zach didn''t stop her. Instead, he let Nessa, Violina, and their familiars take her place after they made their way over to each other.


    Zach felt like it was a little unfair. He wasn''t the only one. The other entrants were fighting for their lives, but they didn''t miss how some of the water balls didn''t splash against the ground or other entrants, but the air above Zach and his group instead.


    Zach considered the possibility of expanding his barrier to include the others. Unfortunately for them, it was already shaking. The balls were heavy and hit hard. He was already covering all of Nessa''s Millipede, and they were all cramped together a little too close for comfort. Experience new stories on empire


    He didn''t have the leeway to include the rest without his barrier breaking.


    [Trial (5/12) complete. Twelve survivors confirmed.]


    The balls reaped the lives of another six entrants.


    [Determining next Trial. Trial (6/12) Set. Preparing¡­]


    But the remaining entrants didn''t even get a few minutes to rest before the Labyrinth moved on.


    The circular stone area that had shrunk to the size of a small lawn expanded once again.


    And, once again, the Labyrinth split them all into separate, cubical rooms. However, instead of a table with a puzzle, a mirror tall enough to fit an entire person''s reflection appeared in the middle.


    [Find five faults within twenty-four hours.]


    A reflection of Zach appeared in the mirror.


    The Trial seemed surprisingly simple. And this time, no matter how quickly he finished, he wouldn''t have to wait more than a maximum of twenty-four hours.


    Now, he just had to find five differences between the him in the mirror and the him in reality.


    The first was easy. His hair wasn''t red. It was orange. The second was a little less obvious. His left eye didn''t have a vertical pupil. The third fault was again a little more difficult.


    But he just had to look closely over his entire reflection to find an additional finger on his right hand.


    The fourth fault took Zach over an hour to find. There was an additional button on the shirt on his reflection.


    The fifth fault took Zach several hours to find. He scanned the reflection so closely he could even count the number of hairs on it, including the hairs of his eyebrows and inside his nose. He had a little trouble comparing that to the number of hairs on himself in reality, but he managed to confirm that wasn''t the fault.


    After all, if it had been, he would have finished the Trial. So, he continued looking.


    The timer steadily ticked down. Zach did his best to ignore it and focus on the Trial, but as time passed and he had less and less of it to finish the Trial, Zach couldn''t but feel stressed. He couldn''t understand what the final remaining difference between him and his reflection was. He couldn''t understand how he didn''t know what wasn''t the same between him and his reflection.


    As the timer neared zero, Zach turned to Yanael and Alzara. He couldn''t solve it on his own. He had gotten a little ahead of himself after the last two Trials.


    But in doing so, he realized what the final fault was.


    The reflection was alone. It didn''t have Yanael and Alzara behind it.


    He did.


    The reflection disappeared from the mirror, and the mirror turned completely blank before sinking into the ground and disappearing, signaling his completion of the Trial. The room also unfolded and let him into the same pasture as the other entrants that had finished. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach saw nine other entrants and two remaining rooms.


    After another hour, the timer hit zero.


    The rooms collapsed. There was none of the gentle and methodical retraction the others had experienced. Anyone still inside the rooms would have been crushed to death. And then the Labyrinth message came, confirming it.


    [Trial (6/12) complete. Ten entrants finished the Trial on time. Halfway point reached.]

 Chapter 224 Seventh Trial

    The completion message after the sixth Trial was different from the previous Trials. It mentioned a halfway point. That wasn''t the only thing that changed.[Do you wish to leave?]


    The Labyrinth asked all of the remaining entrants a question. It was asked to each of them. Instinctively, they could feel that the Labyrinth was giving them a way out. If they expressed it, they could leave the Labyrinth with their lives intact.


    [You will be rewarded for your efforts so far.]


    The Labyrinth comforted them with the fact that they hadn''t gone through the six Trials for nothing. It was like it was encouraging them to leave.


    The Labyrinth that hadn''t held back in making them suffer so far was subtly warning them that it wouldn''t be as easy going forward.


    Some of them hesitated. Sarah, Tero, Tera, and Derot didn''t immediately swipe away the question. Sarah had only gotten this far by luck. The others'' deaths had hit her hard.


    If she had to compete with the other nine, she had no confidence she wouldn''t get anywhere.


    She accepted the offer to leave and was whisked into the air by an invisible force that sent her back to the sea outside the Systine Duchy.


    Tero and Tera looked at each other before staying. It was risky, but they didn''t have a reason to consider themselves less than the others.


    Derot had done well in the previous Trials because they were easy. He hadn''t completed the shared Trials alone, especially not the one with the deities. But he was confident he could have done it alone.


    However, he was not confident when it came to physical matters. That was why he had almost died in the fifth Trial with the water balls. He had managed to predict and keep track of the balls. He had struggled with moving out of the way in time.


    He looked at the others.


    Black was outright dangerous. Oria Villesand was a wildcard. Jones could be negotiated with and would cooperate under the right circumstances. Tero and Tera wouldn''t work well with others without proper incitement.


    Nessa, Violina, and Zach worked together. They didn''t seem adverse to working with others given the right reasons.


    Based on the Trials so far, Derot could assume that there wouldn''t be many competitive or one-against-one Trials. There also shouldn''t be too many physically difficult Trials that would require a warrior''s body.


    The Trials had been about tricks, making them figure things out on their own, or catching them off-guard. In a way, as long as they were prepared for everything, they would clear the Trial.


    Derot swiped away the question. He could be satisfied with what he had done so far. He was a little lacking in terms of survivability compared to the others.


    But what merchant was ever satisfied?


    [Nine entrants confirmed. Determining next Trial. Trial (7/12) set. Preparing¡­]


    The message popped up a few moments after Derot''s decision, alerting the remaining entrants of the upcoming changes.


    The area didn''t change. It was the same base that the other Trials had been built on. It was a little smaller than it had been with the statues and completely bare. Yellow stone floor and a blurry dome around it with water on the other side.


    [Determine who the strongest entrant is. 12 Hours.]


    Everyone''s gazes immediately shifted from the message to the others. This was a sensitive Trial. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Three people were immediately excluded from everyone''s minds. Derot, Tero, and Tera. None of them appeared stronger than anyone else.


    That left Black, Jones, Oria Villesand, Nessa, Violina, and Zach.


    "It''s me."


    To Nessa''s and Violina''s surprise, those words didn''t come from Zach. They came from Jones, who had already put his hand on his sword''s handle, ready to prove it to anyone who challenged him.


    "You sure about that?" Black also put his hand on his sword as he glared at Jones. The two swordsmen took a step toward each other, puffing out their chests and trying to look big and intimidating. To their credit, they looked a little fierce, especially Black with his piercings.


    Unfortunately¡­


    "What are you two fools doing? What are you posturing for?" Black and Jones turned to look at Violina. Continue your adventure at empire


    "Are you saying that you''re stronger than us?" Jones asked out of more of a desire to challenge her than clear the Trial.


    "Probably."


    "Prove it." Black unsheathed his flamberge. The wavy sword''s black blade''s edge glinted in the ambient light of the Labyrinth. Violina crossed her arms and just looked at Black. She wanted to teach him a lesson.


    Everyone had already figured out that there was one quick and simple way to determine who the strongest one was. It was the same person as the one last standing. It wasn''t just a matter of passing the Trial.


    It was a matter of pride. They were all of similar ages. Some slightly older than others but only by a few years. Almost all of them were confident that they were strong, and not just for their age group. Naturally, they would be the strongest among the ones that had gathered.


    Violina had to admit that everyone except for Derot probably was very strong. Black was the son of a famous pirate. Jones was a nobody who had made a name for himself by going around both on land and on sea fighting people and defeating them. Oria was a daughter of the Villesands, a family only one step below the Systine Ducal family.


    Tero and Tera were easy to underestimate, but if the rumors about them were true, that was part of their tactics. They were even more troublesome since they would work together.


    It would have been difficult to tell who among them would be the strongest. There was just one exception.


    Zach existed.


    He wasn''t just the strongest by himself. His presence at the Academy had made Nessa, Violina, and most of their classmates stronger. If not for him, Violina wouldn''t have had the confidence to stand against the others in a head-on battle. They were, after all, a couple of years older than her.


    With another couple of years, she could have beaten them, even without all the trouble Zach had made them all go through at the Academy. But now, she didn''t need those years. Zach had helped her skip them.


    "No need." Violina tilted her head in Zach''s direction.


    "All of us together can''t beat him."

 Chapter 225 Definition of Strongest

    Violina''s words did not have the desired effect on the others. She had expected them to take her statement with a grain of salt. They had taken it with a handful of salt, and Black, Jones, and Oria looked like they wanted to challenge that statement and, by extension, Zach.Black narrowed his eyes. His gaze shifted toward Zach.


    "You want me to believe this runt of a kid whose only skill is walking around with a pair of chicks is stronger than me? It looks like the Systines have a grim future ahead of them if this is their next generation."


    No sooner than he had spoken did Black feel his feet grow cold and the hair on his neck rise.


    Ice had spread over the floor, encasing him up to his ankles. Behind him, a tiny ball of light had gathered between Oria''s thumb and forefinger. It buzzed and sizzled like lightning.


    Black forcefully broke free of the ice around his feet and dashed to the side so that he didn''t have one in front and one behind. He raised his sword and prepared to defend against the ball of lightning. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Your next chapter is on empire


    "You have no right to take the Systine name in your mouth, filthy pirate." Somehow, Oria''s voice was as cold as Violina''s ice as she threatened Black. She didn''t have a reason to mindlessly give in to Violina just because her family was subordinate to Violina''s family.


    If anything, the status of the Villesands made it easy for Oria to act as she pleased without worrying about any repercussions from either family. That was how highly valued they were by the Systines. Of course, if she did something like attack Violina without cause, she would be punished.


    But she wouldn''t do that. She was of the Villesands.


    However, when it came to the Systine family as a whole, Oria was as loyal and respectful as any other Villesand. She couldn''t stand a pirate''s son talking ill about them.


    "Wait a minute." Zach gently tapped Violina on the shoulder and had her sheathe her icy sword. He gestured at Oria to lower her ready-to-fire spell. She didn''t. Zach didn''t really care.


    "Obviously, you''re wrong. On both things. I was a little busy thinking about the definition of ''strongest'' so I was a little slow. You know how a person can be strong by making a difficult choice. I was wondering if that kind of strength mattered. But I think what matters in this Trial is our agreement or the overall confirmation on who is strongest.


    Needless to say. That''s me."


    Zach looked at the others, including Tero, Tera, and Derot, who hadn''t been very involved in the argument.


    "The fact that Violina was able to accurately assess that is testament to the fact that the future of the Systines is in good hands.


    "All of you together can''t beat me in a fight. And that''s just me. Without my familiars. Of course, that does make it a little difficult for me to beat you, too. But I can wait until you''re dead tired and just walk up to you."


    Zach saw the fire rage in Black''s and Jones'' eyes. Even Oria''s eyes were ablaze. But Zach had praised the Systines, so she was willing to hear him out before she directed her spell at him.


    "And I can prove it to you without anyone getting hurt." Zach smiled and extended his arms to the sides.


    "Attack me."


    As soon as he finished, Oria''s ball of lightning zipped through the air in a flash and crashed into a barrier in front of his face with a low rumble echoing around inside the Labyrinth.


    When the light faded, the others saw Zach''s unblemished, smiling face. Oria''s lightning hadn''t done anything to him. Oria was a little stunned, but she didn''t show it on her face. Instead, she frowned slightly and fired another lightning missile, this one with more power behind it.


    The result didn''t change just because it was more powerful.


    "Let me try." Jones stepped forward before Oria could throw another one. Oria minded the interruption, but she wasn''t bothered by it. She took the opportunity to try and analyze what was going on and try to find a way around it.


    Jones raised his sword and tried a simple cleave. He wasn''t even aiming at Zach. He aimed at the barrier in front of him. He wasn''t sure what he was up against. But it didn''t matter if he aimed for Zach. If he could break the barrier, he could defeat Zach.


    If he could defeat Zach, he was stronger than Zach. And if he was stronger than Zach, he was the strongest among the Labyrinth entrants.


    That was all he wanted.


    Unfortunately, his sword didn''t leave so much as a scratch on the barrier. His sword bounced off the hard, glass-like surface like it was made of diamond. He frowned.


    Jones closed his eyes and focused for a moment. After a moment, his sword took on a steely glow.


    Zach''s eyes widened in surprise.


    Jones wasn''t just a sword-wielding man. He was a swordsman. He had seen a lot of them back home, but it was the first time he met one in the wild. It was the same with Oria. He was the first mage he met just like that. But other than his sisters, there weren''t many back home.


    Jones'' sword was wrapped in a thin, unstable layer of martial energy, the hallmark of any martial artist.


    He raised his sword again and went for another simple cleave. But his sword was heavy enough this time to make the barrier shake slightly. And then¡­his sword bounced off again.


    The barrier still didn''t have so much as a scratch.


    Jones looked at the barrier with a squint. Maybe the scratch was just small. It wasn''t. It didn''t exist.


    Jones took a deep breath and turned around. He had come across a wall. It was a tall wall in the shape of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. It looked like he would have to train harder in the future.


    Black and Oria had also noticed Jones'' attempt and failure even when using martial energy.


    That didn''t mean they were giving up, though.

 Chapter 226 Martial Energy

    Black took the stage after Jones made his exit. He grabbed his sword and held it with both hands. He bent his legs and held it to the side. The wavy sword was flat in the air and the tip pointed backward. It was similar to the beginning of an unsheathing motion but not quite.He was setting up for a powerful slash.


    Just like Jones, he closed his eyes for a moment to focus. After that moment, black martial energy covered his blade like a cocoon of tar flames. His martial energy was more abundant and clearer and color than Jones''.


    It made Jones turn around as soon as he sensed it. The young grey-haired swordsman looked at the pirate''s sword and then glanced at his face. He would have to train a lot harder after this.


    Without caring about the others, Black moved.


    Starting from the tips of his toes, to his ankles, to his knees, to his hips, to his waist, to his torso, to his shoulders, and through the entirety of his muscular arms, Black turned. He twisted his body to unleash as much torque and power as possible with one slash.


    Like the sword was trying to escape the black martial energy that looked more like waves the longer they festered on the sword, the martial energy left a wide streak of darkness behind it as it cut through the air toward Zach''s barrier.


    The martial energy caught up and bounced back into the sword when the wavy blade reached its goal and slammed into the barrier. The martial energy hit the barrier like a wave.


    But Black had already retracted his sword and gone for a thrust, the black martial energy trailing behind like inky brush strokes. Black was no expert calligraphist. But he was a powerful swordsman.


    He put a crack on the barrier with his successive strikes and the power of his martial energy.


    Black had a light grin of satisfaction on his smile as he took a breath before he was about to continue. However, as he looked at the barrier while taking that breath, the crack faded. His expression stiffened before falling, and he threw a sour glare in Zach''s direction.


    He wanted to beat the shit out of Zach. But to do that, he would have to break the barrier. He would have to attack like a madman just to keep up with the barrier''s rate of recovery.


    Black wasn''t stupid enough to think the barrier was the only trick Zach had up his sleeve or that breaking it once would be enough. He wasn''t going to waste his energy doing something pointless, not when there were five Trials left.


    He didn''t like it. Not one bit. But he hadn''t come here to be acknowledged as the strongest by a bunch of landcrab strangers. He had come here because his father told him to and because he was going to perform in the Labyrinth of Syst.


    It was unlikely that he would finish the twelve Trials. It was unlikely that any of them would. As far as people knew, it hadn''t been done before. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Plenty of people had made it to the twelfth Trial.


    No one had cleared it.


    It was the same with all the Labyrinths.


    No one had solved their mysteries, reached their ends, or finished them. They were five bottomless treasure chests in four corners of the Empire and in the center.


    But plenty of people had turned their lives around or sown their first seeds of greatness by getting far in any of the Labyrinths. That was Black''s goal. That was why he stepped aside and let Oria try.


    It was a good thing he did. Oria wasn''t going to wait any longer. She had charged up multiple of the balls for Lightning Missile. She gathered them in front of her. They slowly spun around each other before fusing into one large ball.


    Zach''s skin prickled from the static electricity in the air.


    The next moment, Oria unleashed a torrent of lightning onto the barrier. Like repeated lightning strikes, bright light flashed around the Labyrinth and made the air shake with the rumbling noise.


    The spell was explosive and ended after only a second or two, after which, Zach''s barrier was charred but not broken.


    "Tch." Oria clicked her tongue after staring at the barrier in disbelief. She crossed her arms and turned her head away, reluctantly admitting defeat.


    Zach nodded. He looked at Derot, Tero, and Tera.


    "I''m assuming you guys don''t want to try?" He asked since neither of them had made a move.


    "I''m good. Fighting isn''t my strong suit," Derot answered with a gentle smile. If there was anyone he had to befriend from the Labyrinth entrants, it was Zach.


    Tero and Tera just looked at Zach silently without answering. It was their silent acknowledgment that it wasn''t worth the hassle.


    Nessa and Violina already knew that Zach was strong, but even they were a little surprised at the hardness of his barriers. They had thought Zach''s familiars would get him the spot as the strongest.


    They were almost a little interested in trying to attack him themselves. But now wasn''t the time.


    [Strongest entrant confirmed. Nine survivors confirmed. Trial (7/12) complete. Determining next Trial. Trial (8/12) set. Preparing¡­]


    Walls rose around the area, turning it into an arena. The walls grew up and out, creating rows of seats like they were intended for an audience.


    Zach looked around.


    The other entrants had disappeared from around him. After another sweep with his gaze, he found them outside the arena.


    A hole appeared in the wall opposite him.


    Zach was like a gladiator or a challenger in a gladiator arena. Zach scanned the arena again. There was nothing but that hole.


    At least he still had his familiars with him.


    At the same time as something rumbled inside the hole in the wall, two different messages appeared.


    Zach got one message.


    [Defeat the monster.]


    The others got a different message.


    [Watch the strongest entrant defeat the monster.] Find more chapters on empire

 Chapter 227 Born to Swim. Forced to Crawl

    Zach didn''t even need to ask what monster he had to defeat. The first tentacle had already spilled out of the hole in the wall. It didn''t take long for the next to do the same. Bit by bit, soft, squishy tentacles squeezed out of the too-small hole.The tentacles wriggled and extended like worms after leaving the hole. The monster''s tentacles grabbed the ground and pulled the main body out. An oval body, the same purplish color as the tentacles rose above the twelve, long limbs. Two large eyes flickered open slightly above the sharp beak.


    They bounced around the sockets before quickly stabilizing and focusing on Zach.


    "That''s totally a Kraken, right?" Nessa asked Violina in the spectators'' seats. Even from a distance and separated by an invisible barrier around the arena, she could feel the power of the oversized octopus-like monster.


    "...Should be." Violina couldn''t be sure. Krakens were rare and lived at the bottom of the deep sea. There were records of them in her family. And she was sure several of her family members, both present and past, had fought and defeated Krakens. Unfortunately, she hadn''t seen one before.


    But an octopus monster of that size had to be a kraken.


    "...Is Zach in trouble?" Nessa asked since Violina had a grave face.


    Nessa knew Krakens were powerful. She didn''t know exactly how powerful. She didn''t know how they measured up to the underworld monsters they had fought in the forest outside the Academy.


    "..." Violina didn''t answer. Her silence was the answer.


    Zach was in trouble.


    Krakens were powerful.


    Their bodies were powerful enough not just to survive the incredible water pressure at the bottom of the deepest seas, but to thrive. They moved with ease through the water and overpowered all other living beings and monsters at those depths. Each tentacle was long and powerful enough to crush a twenty-person crew ship.


    And the Kraken in the arena currently facing Zach had twelve of those tentacles, which weren''t obstructed by the incredible water pressure they were made and tempered under.


    The other entrants heard their conversation. Their expressions were mixed.


    Some were relieved they hadn''t been chosen as the strongest entrant. Others were irritated that they had to rely on Zach to pass the eighth round. Others felt lucky. They could pass a round this late without needing to do anything.


    All of them were watching intently as the Kraken''s tentacles flopped against the ground, kicking up dust, as it crawled forward. Since its attention was on Zach, Yanael and Alzara dashed to the sides.


    The Kraken was powerful. While they had the chance since it was distracted by Zach, they had to inflict as much damage as possible.


    Alzara''s daggers glistened with powerful curses. Yanael''s halo and wings glowed with a soft golden light.


    The Kraken''s eyes flickered. It noticed them.


    "Stupid fish! Where the fuck are you looking?!" Zach shouted. The Kraken probably didn''t understand him. But it would hear him. It wasn''t as mindless as the other monsters in the Labyrinth. Zach wasn''t sure why, but it didn''t matter.


    The Kraken was intelligent. It could be insulted.


    Like a whip, one of the Kraken''s tentacles slammed down on Zach. It did nothing to Zach''s soft barrier, which had absorbed the impact like a sponge. It tried to send it back into the tentacle. But the tentacle that was hard like stone on impact turned soft like pig fat when relaxed.


    The Kraken raised the tentacle and looked at the intact Zach.


    Another whip-like strike cracked against Zach''s barrier horizontally. Even with Zach''s barrier absorbing the impact, the hit still sent Zach and his barrier flying. While in the air, another tentacle slammed him into the ground hard enough to make the ground shake. Nessa and the others felt it in the soles of their feet.


    Tentacles rained down on Zach, punching him into the ground. Dust rose into the air as the Kraken''s twelve tentacles beat down on Zach''s poor barriers. The tentacles moved in a synchronized rhythm. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The drumming pounding was interrupted by a shrill cry that had the Kraken''s beak fully open.


    Two thin lines were drawn along the back of its main body, and one of its tentacles had been severed.


    Surprisingly, the Kraken decided the cause of the two thin lines, Alzara, was the greatest danger. Its tentacles fled from Zach''s body and hurtled through the air toward Alzara, who was running along the arena''s outer edge.


    Meanwhile, the two thin lines along its back were growing. Black pus seeped out of them and dark blood dribbled down the frayed edges of its skin. The Kraken''s purplish skin and pink flesh were darkening, growing discolored spots, and rotting.


    Alzara''s Curse of Decay had set in.


    It and her were stronger than when they had fought the bear contaminated with underworld energy. After all, the Kraken''s regeneration was enough to start regenerating a new tentacle. But the injuries on its back were still worsening.


    That was why it hadn''t bothered with Yanael. The only thing she had done was give the Kraken another tentacle. She had also helped it get another weapon.


    The Kraken now had twelve tentacles on its body and one detached that could still move. It was a little less agile than the rest of its body, but it was still powerful. It crawled over to Zach and kept slamming him deeper into the rock-solid ground.


    Alzara kept running, and Zach kept being attacked. Experience tales at empire


    The Kraken forgot about Yanael.


    Yanael didn''t like how her attack had been ignored, and she certainly didn''t like the position Zach was in. But the Kraken didn''t seem to have any special attacks. All it had was its physique. Zach would be fine. She knew that. But it didn''t mean she liked it.


    The only thing she liked was the Kraken''s inexperience or maybe rustiness. It forgot and underestimated her.


    She stayed behind it in its blindspot. The Kraken was wary about its injuries. But there wasn''t anything it could do when it was caught up in its anger toward Alzara.


    Yanael''s sword lit up with golden flames, similar to how Black''s weapon had done. She took a similar position and leaped forward. She dashed through the air, her wings carrying her forward with her sword ready to slash.


    She soon caught up to the Kraken, which was born to swim through water, not crawl on land.


    She unleashed her weapon on the monster''s back.


    Black stood up in shock. He recognized that technique even from a distance.

 Chapter 228 Flashy

    Yanael''s weapon left streaks of gold like a brush using molten gold as ink when she slashed open the Kraken''s back. It was the same technique Black had used against Zach''s barrier. The wave-like energy moved through the air a step behind the sword and hit the Kraken''s flesh like a second weapon, cutting and slashing deeper than her weapon.Black stared at Yanael in disbelief and confusion.


    There was no way anyone but him and his father knew that technique, much less the familiar of a stranger from far as fuck away. It couldn''t be a coincidence, either, since his father had made that technique.


    The only possible explanation was that the angel had learned it after looking at it once.


    Black''s jaw hung open as he came to the realization.


    It was demoralizing. It was a punch to his gut.


    Not only had Yanael stolen his technique, which was one of his few connections with his father, but she had done it at a glance. The technique he had struggled for weeks to learn had taken her a moment to master.


    At Black''s reaction, the others also slowly realized what Yanael was using to turn the Kraken into minced meat. They were amazed.


    When the angel wings and the halo came out, they had already figured out Yanael''s identity. She was a rare and incredible familiar. But non-summoners didn''t know much about summoning and familiars.


    It was only when they saw Yanael copy Black''s technique that they realized how incredible she was.


    Yanael, on the other hand, was disappointed. She didn''t have anything better to use, so she had taken the opportunity to test Black''s technique. It was better than nothing. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But it was a flashy technique that looked cool. That was about it. The only way it would do a lot of damage was if she used a lot of energy. Thanks to Zach leveling up, she had a lot of energy, but she might as well use it to strengthen her body instead of just adding some cool effects to her sword.


    However, she understood the principle behind Black''s technique. It was to add a delayed strike onto her first one. By chaining several strikes, the target would be overwhelmed and broken down.


    While attacking the Kraken and before it could do something about her, Yanael realized there were better ways to achieve a similar thing.


    She skipped the overflowing energy and stripped her sword of it. Only a sliver of energy filled her sword. It covered it evenly, strengthening it and giving it a sharper edge.


    Yanael added another sliver of energy to the back edge of her double-edged longsword. With every hit she landed, the second sliver of energy would bounce forward and into the Kraken''s flesh.


    It didn''t chain and connect as well as Black''s technique. But it was more energy-efficient, and each blow was heavier, even if they weren''t as quick.


    It was better than having the energy drag behind the sword.


    In the process of her research and improvement, Yanael had devastated the Kraken''s back. The damage she inflicted reached its internal organs and overwhelmed the regeneration that was already struggling with Alzara''s Curse.


    With the Kraken''s regeneration no longer interfering, Alzara''s Curse of Decay spread like wildfire over the area Yanael had damaged. The Curse took root and fed on the Kraken''s life force, breaking it down and weakening the monster.


    It slowed down. It tried to attack Yanael instead of Alzara. But she had already leaped off of the Kraken''s back.


    Alzara took the opportunity to attack its front and stabbed it in one eye. It tried to attack Alzara again.


    Yanael sliced through several tentacles at the base of its body. Now that its regeneration was weakened due to its injuries and the curse, it couldn''t make new tentacles. It went for Yanael again.


    Alzara plucked out the other eye. It went for Alzara again.


    Yanael attacked. It tried to attack Yanael.


    Enjoy exclusive content from empire


    Alzara and Yanael juggled the Kraken''s focus and alternated their attacks with perfect timing. In the beginning, the Kraken''s tentacles had still been swift and powerful. One hit could have been slightly dangerous.


    But after a while, the Kraken was too weak to defend itself. Alzara and Yanael whittled it down until it was soundly defeated. It couldn''t resist, defend, or attack anymore. It had lost.


    Zach and his familiars had defeated it.


    [Entrant''s victory confirmed.]


    The Kraken was sucked back into the hole in the wall, and Yanael''s weapon struck the ground without being able to deal the finishing blow. She and Alzara glared at the hole as it closed up before the walls sank into the ground.


    They then turned their attention to Zach, who was pushed out of the ground when the Labyrinth restored the floor to its original, hole-less self. He was a little ruffed up with dirt in his hair and wrinkly clothes. But he was otherwise fine.


    "Did we get it?" he asked.


    Yanael and Alzara shook their heads.


    Zach nodded as if he had expected it. The Kraken wasn''t the same as the other monsters had been. He didn''t know why, but it seemed the Kraken was a living being, not a created one like the other Labyrinth monsters.


    As the walls disappeared, the other entrants plopped down on the ground. The slowly made their way over to Zach in the center while waiting for the next Trial.


    [Preparing¡­]


    Four tables and an extra chair sprouted from the ground. The entrants were shuffled around and put at the tables, two at each, and Zach ended up on the extra chair.


    A board game resembling chess grew from the tables. Zach didn''t get anything.


    The entrants looked around, a little surprised by suddenly being moved and forcefully seated.


    Nessa sat opposite Tero. Violina sat opposite Tera. Derot sat opposite Jones. Black sat opposite Oria.


    Even without the ninth Trial''s message telling them what to do yet, it was obvious what the Trial was.


    The entrants had to beat each other to advance.


    [Win.]


    That was the message they got.


    [Don''t interfere.]


    That was the message Zach got.

 Chapter 229 No Pieces

    The board had seventy-two squares in a twelve-by-six shape. There were twelve different pieces lined up on either side, mirroring each other. All the entrants recognized the twelve pieces as the twelve deities they had learned about in the second Trial.However, not everyone had learned as much about them as everyone else.


    That was unlucky.


    The rules that appeared next to the board game were a vague description of how some of the pieces could move. It was up to the entrants to figure out the details. But the game stopped them from making invalid moves.


    The one who first figured out the rules and how the pieces moved would win.


    Nessa and Violina had been heavily involved in the second Trial, and they had built a decent understanding of the different deities. So, as soon as the game began, they began experimenting with how the pieces could move. They weren''t too concerned about what their opponents did.


    Soon enough, they started figuring out several of the pieces'' allowed actions.


    The other entrants also focused.


    Jones and Oria were in a stand-off. They had been equally involved in the second Trial. So, rather than approaching it the same way Nessa and Violina did, they took their time to analyze both their own and the opponent''s movements.


    It was similar to an ordinary battle. But instead of physical force, spells, or sword techniques, they analyzed the pieces on the board. Oria had a slight advantage since magic took more thinking than sword-fighting, which could be done with the body and nothing but the body.


    But Jones hadn''t gotten to where he was without putting his head to use. He was good at reading his opponents. He held his ground.


    The one table that truly stood out was Black and Derot''s table.


    Black hadn''t been very involved in any of the Trials. He had done a little more in the second one than the others, but that didn''t mean much.


    Derot, on the other hand, had contributed to all the Trials as best he could, but especially during the second Trial. He was one of the entrants who could look into the scenes of the past the longest, after all.


    He also had a gift for analyzing patterns and drawing connections between things like the deities'' powers and their habits.


    A winged snake with the power of rain and lightning wouldn''t be bound to the ground. It could fly. It could leap over the other pieces. Ackspet of Submission was a knight that submitted themself to another. It could defend other pieces. Wir of Greed was greedy.


    It could borrow a piece for one round.


    Black was lost. He didn''t understand what was going on, what the pieces could do, or what Derot was doing using his pieces. When he tried to do the same, the only thing he got was an electrical shock to his hand from trying to break the rules.


    He grabbed his hair in frustration. He gritted his teeth and looked at the board in complete and utter confusion. He had figured out what some of the pieces did, even if only because Derot had used them several times. He wasn''t stupid by any means. He was just outmatched.


    Before he knew it, he had lost all of his pieces.


    Black had lost. He had been arrogant from the beginning, but he had made it far. It was just that he hadn''t made it as far as he hoped.


    But he couldn''t do anything about whatever regret he felt.


    The Labyrinth booted him and sent him upward with a rush of air. He torpedoed straight through the blurry barrier around the city and disappeared into the water.


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    Since they had been given the opportunity to leave after the sixth Trial, he thought the only way out from here on would be through death. Apparently, that was not the case. He tilted his head.


    If he had failed during his fight with the Kraken, the others would have probably failed, but they wouldn''t have died just like that. They would have most likely been sent out just like Black had been.


    But if Zach failed, he would have died.


    The Trials after the sixth one seemed a little arbitrary.


    But at the same time, it was like the life and death of the entrants were in their own hands. It wasn''t a matter of luck like it had been in the earlier Trials.


    Zach stopped thinking about it when Derot came over after finishing his game. He was a little surprised. It seemed that the others were still figuring out the rules. Zach knew Black wasn''t the smartest in the Labyrinth, but he had been smart enough to stand down in the seventh Trial.


    However, Derot had crushed him.


    "Is it a fun game?" Zach asked.


    "It has potential. I couldn''t figure out all the rules, but I''m thinking about bringing it out and selling it." Derot''s eyes shone. Setting aside the fact that others would make it if it was popular and take a share of the profits, it was an interesting game. He wanted to play more.


    "It was Soara you couldn''t figure out, right?" Zach''s eyes shifted away from Nessa and Violina as he glanced at Derot.


    "Yes. How did you know?"


    "It was the only piece you didn''t move."


    "I see. Rudrick and Jeret were pretty tricky since I wasn''t sure how their powers would translate to pieces on a board game, but I don''t even know where to start with when it comes to Soara."


    Experience tales with empire


    "I''m pretty sure Soara can come back after being taken out. They either kill whatever killed them or the piece closest to them."


    Derot''s eyes widened slightly.


    "I see¡­Certainly. That makes sense. If I make it out of here with my life intact, I''ll be sure to give you a share of the profits from selling the game." There wouldn''t necessarily be a lot of profits, but it was the thought and good intentions that counted.


    Zach''s eyebrow rose and he looked at Derot for a moment before his gaze shifted to Nessa.


    "...You know what, Derot?"


    "Yes?"


    "Are you interested in working together?"


    Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 230 Failed

    The other entrants weren''t as fast as Derot and Black, but they were newbies to the game. Even without knowing what they were doing, the games ended soon. Zach wasn''t surprised to see Nessa and Violina win against their opponents. He also wasn''t surprised to see Oria win. Find your next adventure on empireWhen he thought about all of the matchups, it almost seemed rigged. Nessa and Violina, who were both smart, strategic thinkers, and who had been heavily involved in the second Trial against the twins who hadn''t done much of anything during their adventure in the Labyrinth.


    Oria, an accomplished mage from a renowned household against Jones, a no-name, potentially muscle-headed swordsman. And Derot, the son of a reputable merchant household with a history of producing great merchants against the son of a pirate.


    Of course, based on how he had stomped Black, it seemed Derot would have won against anyone. But it seemed like all the four winners had been favored. It was like the Labyrinth wanted the best four to advance instead of pitting them against each other and letting a sub-par entrant move on to the next round.


    [Five remaining entrants confirmed. Trial (9/12) complete. Determining next Trial. Trial (10/12) set. Preparing¡­]


    The tables and chairs sank into the ground. Zach reacted in time so that he didn''t end up on his behind and embarrassed himself. Then, the furniture was replaced with five new tables. Zach and the other entrants were shuffled over to their respective workbench-like tables as five different objects appeared on each of them.


    The five fruit-like objects were lined up in front of a set of scales. There was also a kitchen knife next to the fruits.


    [Cut each object in equal halves.]


    After all the Trials that required perseverance, wit, and skill, the tenth Trial was to cut fruit? Zach wasn''t the only one in disbelief. The other Trials had been pretty clear about what they were testing.


    Was the tenth Trial testing their ability to split things equally? Was having siblings something the Labyrinth of Syst valued highly?


    Since he had siblings, Zach considered doing the Trial himself. But then he remembered who his siblings were.


    They would cut off a corner of an apple, give him the rest, and, with straight faces, tell him their part was just denser. Or, they would give him the corner and take the rest of themselves saying it wasn''t as big of a difference as it looked.


    Zach was not confident in his ability to split things precisely in half. Fortunately, he wasn''t the only one who could do it.


    His familiars were part of his strength. He looked at Yanael and Alzara. Yanael was a knight, and her sword was precise. But for something like this that took a dagger and scales¡­


    "You can do this, right?" He asked Alzara.


    She nodded, almost a little offended that he had to ask. She was an expert at using daggers, and daggers were basically the same as knives. She was also an alchemist. For some potions, the ingredients had to be precise down to the smallest grain of fine sand. Splitting a fruit in half was too easy.


    Alzara quickly finished the five objects. Ten equal halves were lined up in front of the scales. She didn''t need the scales to confirm what she already knew. But the scales were needed to complete the Trial. So, she weighed the objects and, as expected, all of them were perfectly equal.


    One by one, the other entrants also finished.


    Oria had used magic to assess and cut the objects in half. Violina had frozen the objects and through her mastery over ice, determined how to cut them in half in order to make it perfectly equal.


    Nessa and Derot¡­Failed.


    They did their best, but their best wasn''t enough. Their skills and luck that had brought them to the tenth Trial were not enough to bring them to the eleventh.


    It was a disgusting feeling. After everything they had been through, the one thing that stumped their journey through the Labyrinth of Syst was their inability to cut fruits in perfect halves.


    It wasn''t quite like they had been through hell or any other great suffering. The other Trials could have been worse. But they had been stressed, and they had been in trouble on multiple occasions. They had struggled to get where they were, and they had risked their lives. More than a dozen people had died.


    Since they had failed a Trial that wasn''t dangerous, Nessa and Derot wouldn''t die. But with their current emotions, it was easy to say that they would have rather died than fail at such a ridiculous Trial.


    But they could only complain a little before the Labyrinth booted them the same way it had done with Black, leaving Zach, Violina, and Oria.


    [Three remaining entrants confirmed. Trial (10/12) complete. Determining next Trial. Preparing¡­]


    Before Zach could exchange a single word with Violina about the failure of their friend, they were all shut off in their own cube-like rooms again. The workbenches with fruit, scales, and the knife disappeared into the ground only to be replaced by a desk and chair with pen and paper on top. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Write something.]


    Zach looked around just to confirm that this was it.


    The eleventh Trial was to write something.


    It was disgustingly ridiculous. It was even worse than the last Trial. It was even more arbitrary. It was loose. It was unclear.


    ''It is perfect!''


    Zach enthusiastically sat down and grabbed the pen.


    He had been waiting for a chance to complain about the Labyrinth. Since the Trial was to write something, the Labyrinth had to read or otherwise assess what they read to determine whether they should pass or fail.


    Naturally, Zach wanted to pass. He hadn''t thought the Syst Labyrinth would be this easy, so he might as well try to clear it.


    But it wasn''t as important as voicing his complaints regarding the Labyrinth. Even if just to vent his frustrations, he had to write it down.

 Chapter 231 Brave And Reckless

    Zach wasn''t much for writing. When it came to assignments at the Academy or the ones he did for the tutors his parents hired when he was younger, he wrote what he needed to write. He answered the questions, but he didn''t drawl on or give overly detailed answers. Occasionally, it frustrated his teachers and the instructors since they couldn''t tell how he had gotten those answers.But that was all a matter of passion. Zach wasn''t passionate about what his teachers and instructors had been teaching and instructing.


    He was, however, passionate about the perceived slights of the Labyrinth against him. So, he wrote. He filled sheet after sheet with his grievances.


    When he finally felt done, he put down the pen with a satisfied smile. As if it couldn''t wait, the Labyrinth tore down the desk and the walls, letting Zach into the same area as Violina and Oria.


    "Did you guys also have to write something?" He asked. It seemed he had taken longer to finish the Trial than they had, so they had probably already shared their experience.


    "Yeah. I wrote a poem," Violina''s answer was a little unexpected, but Zach could see it. She had a slightly poetic air.


    Oria just nodded. She also had to write something, but she didn''t see a reason to share what she wrote with the others. They didn''t need to know how impressed she was with their performance.


    Oria hadn''t known what to write, so she just wrote down the last few Trials and her thoughts about what had happened. That included her thoughts regarding Zach''s strength and Violina''s achievements. They were both several years younger than her and from families only one step above her own, but they had performed exceedingly well.


    She was proud of the achievements of one of the children of the Systine family and the fact that she had such a good relationship with the youngest son of the Evandiel family, who was also a very promising summoner. The Systine family''s future was bright, thanks to Violina.


    But they didn''t have to know she thought that.


    They hadn''t asked, but Zach was about to share what he had written when the Labyrinth interrupted them,


    [Trial (11/12) complete.]


    All three frowned. The message hadn''t been the exact same after every Trial, but it had followed the same template. Now, however, the initial statement about how many had passed or remained was gone.


    Instead¡­ Experience exclusive tales on empire


    [Do you wish to continue?]


    They received a question. It was similar to the one after the halfway point.


    They could choose to enter the twelfth Trial or return to the outside world with their lives and rewards intact.


    Violina and Oria hesitated.


    The Trials so far had been relatively easy. But out of all the exceptional youths, only three remained. They hadn''t been that easy. And neither of them considered themselves better than all of the other people who had entered the Labyrinth throughout its history.


    In all the records, there had not been one mention of anyone clearing the Labyrinth.


    The Labyrinth of Syst had a decent survival rate, even up to the second last Trial. The last Trial, however, had a survival rate of zero percent.


    No one who had entered the twelfth Trial had returned.


    The rewards from the eleventh Trial were enough. There was no need to risk it.


    Violina looked up from the message to see what Zach was going to do only to discover that he was already gone. She didn''t know if he had chosen to continue or returned to the surface.


    Zach was quick and sharp. He could have already made the prudent decision to quit while he was ahead and returned to the outside world. She hoped he had. It would be too great of a loss for his family, the Academy, and the world if he died in the Labyrinth long before he could realize his full potential.


    But Zach wasn''t just quick and sharp. He was bold. He was brave. He was confident. He was skilled. He was accompanied by two powerful warriors.


    Most importantly, however, he was¡­Reckless. Foolish. Overconfident.


    Violina might hope Zach had chosen to return to the outside world, but she knew better. She considered going after him when she looked at the message again.


    It was gone.


    She looked at Oria.


    "...It looks like only one person can enter the twelfth Trial," she said.


    Oria frowned slightly at Violina''s assumption. It meant Zach had chosen to continue while they were still considering their options and chances. He hadn''t hesitated. He had taken their opportunity away from them.


    "...Seems like it." Oria probably wouldn''t have chosen to continue either way, but she couldn''t say she liked how Zach had taken that choice away from her. But she also couldn''t claim Zach''s lack of hesitation wasn''t worthy of respect, even if she thought it was a foolish endeavor.


    Zach had to know that no one had passed the twelfth Trial.


    What made him think he was different? What made him think that he was better than everyone else? What made him take that decision?


    Oria wanted to know. Violina wanted to know. She understood Zach to a certain degree after all the time they had spent together and after all the battles they had fought side by side. But it was more that she kind of knew what he would do. She didn''t know why he did the things he did.


    Zach was a mystery.


    With a deep sigh, Violina turned to the sky, or rather the ocean above them.


    "Let''s return." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, Miss Violina." Oria nodded. At this point, there wasn''t a reason to stay any longer. Zach and the twelfth Trial aside, they had cleared eleven Trials. Their rewards would be juicy, and both Violina and Oria were looking forward to it.


    An invisible force enveloped them and carried them to the surface. They soon found themselves submerged in water. They swam to the surface where a pair of boats and the surviving entrants waited for them. As expected, Zach wasn''t there.


    He was in a dark room.

 Chapter 232 Twelfth Trial

    [Prove yourself.]Zach looked at the message before trying to look around the room that was completely veiled in shadowy darkness. It felt like he was beneath the place where they had taken all the other Trials, but he couldn''t explain why. It just felt like he was underground.


    The faint light from the message was just enough to read it. He couldn''t see anything else.


    "Yanael." He didn''t know if there was anyone else around, but it didn''t sound or feel like it was, so he assumed there wasn''t. He used his Angel''s name.


    She understood what he wanted. Her halo appeared over her head and shed some light onto their surroundings. Thanks to the light, Zach could see that the room was bigger than he first thought.


    He was at one end of a large chamber. He could see the silhouettes of a few tall and wide pillars just a few steps away. Beyond that, the shadows still reigned.


    Yanael slowly increased the brightness of her halo, letting Zach''s eyes adjust to the light. After a minute, she was as good as a walking sun. It was enough to illuminate the chamber.


    Zach took a look around.


    There were two rows of pillars on either side of the room, creating an alley from the sealed entrance, where he was, to the throne at the other end of the chamber.


    He was in a throne room.


    ''Prove myself?'' Zach silently questioned the message.


    He didn''t know what he was supposed to do.


    Filled with doubts, he took a lap around the throne room with his familiars. Together, they inspected every last nook, cranny, and corner of the room. But the walls were bare and smooth. There wasn''t so much as a speck of dust that stood out. The pillars were straight and tall like exact copies of each other.


    The only thing that looked like it would do anything was the throne at the other end of the room.


    The sealed entrance was a pair of stone doors that had fused together. Yanael''s sword didn''t even scratch them.


    If he didn''t prove himself, he was trapped.


    Left with no other choice, Zach walked over to the throne. It was a simple stone armchair with a tall backrest. It looked like it was slightly too big even for a tall man. But the size could be part of the aesthetic since it didn''t look like it would be uncomfortable even for someone of his height to sit in it.


    He was tempted to do just that.


    But he wasn''t going to do it just yet. It could be that the Trial was to do something before sitting down¨Csomething like proving himself worthy of the throne.


    Zach had no idea what it could be.


    He was reluctant to do anything with such a vague instruction. If he was supposed to and could prove himself, it also meant he could fail by doing something he shouldn''t.


    If he was supposed to prove himself worthy of the throne, he probably shouldn''t destroy the throne room or the pillars looking for clues.


    But it couldn''t be as easy as just taking a seat on the throne. That was no way to prove himself. Even if Zach thought he deserved to sit on it, he was self-aware enough to know that not everyone would think like that.


    The Labyrinth definitely wouldn''t think that.


    "Do you guys have any ideas?" Since he couldn''t figure it out himself, he could only ask his confidantes.


    "My apologies, Master, but I do not know how to assist you with this Trial," Yanael admitted. She had been forced to see the Kraken pummel Zach. It was his barriers that took the beating, but still. And now, she had no idea what the Trial was. She couldn''t help him. In her heart, she swore to better herself. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m also at a loss, Master." Alzara didn''t take it as seriously as Yanael. But she also didn''t like how clueless she felt. A Trial was meant to be passed. That was why it existed. There had to be a way to pass this Trial. But she had no idea what it was.


    Zach sat down on the floor in front of the throne and just looked at it.


    "Alright." He lay down and looked at the ceiling.


    "Let''s talk about something else, then. That thing that happened during the maze¡­What''s up with that?" Since they couldn''t do anything about the current Trial, they could talk about something that had happened during a previous one.


    Zach had starved in the maze when no one else did, thanks to his barrier that blocked everything but breathable air. And when he removed the barrier, he felt something similar to air enter his body and satiate his hunger as well as keep his body in great condition. As long as he slept occasionally, he could keep going for a long time.


    Zach was curious about what that air-like thing that entered his body was and why he could sense it now but not before. It was like cloud or a stream of mist swimming around inside his body, energizing it.


    "Do you feel it right now, Master?" Alzara asked.


    "Yup. It''s like a cloud of mist swimming around inside my body, energizing it."


    "That''s great, Master, truly awesomely great! This is your first energy, right?"


    "Energy?" Zach raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to get a slightly better angle when looking at Alzara. It didn''t help much since she was still standing up and he was still lying on the floor. It wasn''t exactly helping their height difference.


    "Underworld energy, for example. The martial energy that those other kids used. Magical energy that so-called orthodox mages use. Most unorthodox mages also use magical energy. What more is there¡­? Oh, I use curse energy.


    Yanael?"


    "I use sacred energy, Master."


    "Okay¡­? What''s the difference between all those energies, then?"


    "Mainly, the properties and uses. As you know, underworld energy is corruptive and more inclined toward negativity and darkness. It''s great for control and contamination.


    "Martial energy is great for strengthening bodies and weapons and is related to the physical strength of the user.


    "Magical energy is varied and has, in turn, several different sub-versions like different elemental versions. But most mages have a mix or pure-ish magical energy that lets them cast a variety of spells since that''s what it''s best for; action outside the body.


    "Curse energy is used for, you guessed it. Curses. It''s different from magic. How and why will take us time, so I''ll skip that for now." Alzara looked at Yanael.


    "Sacred energy is the energy of Heaven. All beings of Heaven use it. It''s more powerful than most other energies, and how it presents itself depends on the user. I use a sword, so it''s like a powerful version of martial energy, I guess could you say, Master." There were some other things Yanael could tell him about sacred energy, but she spared him the unnecessary details.


    "And this energy within me?" He looked at Yanael who had spoken last.


    "I am not sure, Master, but Alzara roi Kalam seems to know."


    Together, they looked at Alzara for an answer.

 Chapter 233 Energies

    Yanael had an idea of what the energy inside Zach might be. But she wasn''t sure. Zach had no idea, but Alzara had emphasized and sounded excited when she said it was a good thing and asked if it was his first energy. He was curious as to why that was.Alzara was silent for a moment to let the anticipation build up. Her lips slowly pulled into a smile, and her eyes darted from the sides before settling on Zach''s face.


    "World. Essence. Energy." Alzara pronounced each word clearly, her face glowing with excitement and anticipation at Zach''s reaction.


    "Oh¡­" Contrary to her expectations, however, Zach was unperturbed by her answer.


    "Y-you haven''t heard about it?" She asked.


    "Can''t say I have." Zach shrugged, unsure what the big deal was.


    "That-that actually makes sense. It''s easy to forget you''re still fresh, Master. Sorry about that. Simply put, world essence energy is the energy of the world. It is one of the highest forms of energy," she explained.


    "One of the highest, you say?" Zach wasn''t sure what to think about having the world''s energy inside his body, but it couldn''t be bad since it was one of the highest forms.


    "Yes. It''s better than the little birdie here''s sacred energy. It''s better than magical energy, martial energy, and underworld energy all combined!" Alzara was the most excited Zach had seen her.


    "...I can''t help but notice you didn''t compare it to curse energy," Yanael pointed out with a face and tone that were in stark contrast to Alzara''s excitement. Her words cooled down Alzara''s expression slightly.


    "...Objectively speaking, it is also better than curse energy." She glared slightly at Yanael. Just because it was the truth, it didn''t mean Alzara liked to admit that she had something that wasn''t the best. Naturally, she didn''t appreciate Yanael making her say it.


    Zach waved a hand between them to distract them.


    "What does being better mean?" He asked. He didn''t know much about energies, to begin with.


    Alzara shrugged.


    "Just that. It''s better."


    "Yeah, you said that. But how? In which way is it better? Is it tastier or something?"


    "...I don''t know about taste, Master, but generally, a better energy means more powerful. World essence energy is also incredibly versatile." Yanael did her best to explain.


    "So, since I have world essence energy, I am stronger than you two and everyone else who has a lower form of energy?" Zach didn''t think it himself, but that was what they were making it sound like.


    "...No. Quantity and control also affect the situation. Measuring and comparing the quantity of energy, especially of different types and different forms is difficult. But against someone with the same amount of energy, the one with the higher form of energy usually wins."


    "I see." Zach bobbed his head. Energies were just another variable of combat. It was like physical strength and technique. It was another tool in the arsenal.


    "Does this affect my authority?" The possibility struck him, so he had to ask.


    "Yes, Master," Yanael answered.


    Zach was silent for a moment as he looked at Yanael and Alzara.


    "Great. How do I get more of it?"


    The Labyrinth had shared some of the world essence energy with him after the maze, but it didn''t give him more than necessary to keep him alive. It was enough to prevent him from feeling hunger. He didn''t get any more after that.


    Zach wondered if he could trick the Labyrinth into giving him more with a barrier that sealed him off, but that probably wouldn''t work.


    It had worked last time since the world essence energy flowed out of his body without a steady push from the Labyrinth. His barrier had interrupted that push. When it reconnected, he felt the world essence energy enter his body. Now that he was aware of it, his body was a suitable receptacle for the world essence energy. The world essence energy was trapped inside him.


    Even if he sealed himself off from the Labyrinth and then took down the barrier, he would still have the same amount of world essence energy, and there would be no need for the Labyrinth to give him more.


    "..."


    "..."


    Both Yanael and Alzara were silent. They had been unable to help him with the Trial. And now, they were unable to help him with this, but not for the same reason.


    "Can we tell him?" Alzara asked Yanael.


    "...It should be fine. There should be enough authority. It''s not like Master is in a position to misuse the information."


    The two maids looked at Zach, a little apologetic about their impromptu private discussion. That hadn''t been proper etiquette. But it had been important, and Zach wasn''t a stickler for rules, so he let it slide.


    "Master, the most well-known way to get world essence energy is by devouring¡ª" Yanael couldn''t finish her sentence as her jaw slammed shut. It surprised even her.


    "Ah¡­" Alzara''s eyes widened in understanding. The problem wasn''t the method. It was the target. Zach wasn''t eligible to know that yet. It made sense. He only had two familiars.


    He was young. He wasn''t that strong. He didn''t have a high position.


    Zach frowned. He knew what that meant.


    He didn''t have enough authority. He hadn''t heard that one before.


    "Alright. By devouring something. That narrows it down, I guess." He sighed.


    "How do you get more of your energies?" He asked instead. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I get more when you level up or through practicing curses, Master."


    "It is the same for me, Master. I gain more when you level up or when I train."


    "Do you think that works for me too?"


    "Leveling up might work. But training¡­" Alzara trailed off.


    "Master, practicing curses helps Alzara roi Kalam strengthen her curse energy. Training my body strengthens my sacred energy, which is similar to martial energy in some situations. But sacred energy can grow stronger with mental strength and the strength of one''s resolve as well. It is a little unstable that way, but it is related to your growth and self-righteousness¡ªIt''s not quite the right word.


    But the more I believe in myself and what I do, the stronger my energy. It doesn''t quite fit the name, but the other energies have a similar pattern as Alzara roi Kalam''s curse energy.


    "Martial energy. Train your body and martial arts. Magical energy. Practice magic. Underworld energy. Live in the Underworld." Yanael noticed that she had started rambling and hurriedly finished making her point.


    "...Got it." Zach nodded slowly.


    "Since I have world essence energy, I have to devour something with it or train in a way that is like training the world, I guess?"


    "...Something like that," Alzara unhelpfully added.

 Chapter 234 Controlling The WEE

    "Moving on¡­" Zach didn''t feel like he would get any more worthwhile answers from his two familiars regarding how to get more world essence energy right now."Two things, then. Why does it matter that this is my first energy? And how do I use it?" He couldn''t get any more of it, but he still had some inside him that he could put to use.


    "Like all things, the first is the most important, Master." Yanael took the opportunity to affirm her place as Zach''s first familiar. Yanael glared at Yanael for a moment before continuing the explanation.


    "As a rule, it means that your body is most suitable for world essence energy. Compared to if you were to have learned martial energy first, you will have an easier time controlling it and accumulating more of it. On rare occasions, if there are foreign energies inside your body, they can be absorbed and transformed into world essence energy. Very rare occasions."


    "It is more of a theoretical possibility than a rule, Master. In theory, as a superior form of energy, world essence energy can take in inferior forms. But in practice¡­"


    "It''s impossibly difficult."


    Zach looked between the two maids, who were surprisingly in sync as they explained.


    "I''m guessing you can''t tell me how you know this."


    "That is correct, Master."


    "Mhm."


    "Right. Then, the only thing that matters about world essence energy being my first energy is that it should be easier to control and my body has adapted to handle it better or something like that."


    "That is correct, Master."


    "Mhm."


    "So, how do I control it?" Zach sat up and turned to look at Yanael and Alzara. This was the important part.


    The two maids looked at Zach for a moment before turning to each other, blank expressions on their faces. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "''We don''t know, Master,''" they said in unison.


    "...Great." Zach sighed.


    "..."


    "Can''t you move it?" Alzara asked.


    "Like, with my mind?"


    "Yeah."


    Zach sighed again. He closed his eyes and sensed the thinly spread mist of world essence energy swimming around in his body like an airy eel. He tried to make it go the other way, speed it up, and slow it down.


    Nothing happened.


    He didn''t know how he was supposed to do it, so he had just thought about how he wanted it to do those things. He wasn''t surprised that nothing had happened.


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    Zach opened his eyes and shrugged hopelessly.


    Alzara furrowed her brow as she sat down in front of Zach and took a close look at his body. She was not taking advantage of the situation to admire it. She was multitasking.


    Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed that the world essence energy was helping with Zach''s connate issue.


    "...Do you remember how your sister mentioned that you were ''glowing''?"


    "Yeah?"


    "The world essence energy is currently suppressing that glow slightly."


    "So, if I learn how to control it, I can stop glowing entirely?"


    "Maybe. But, more importantly, if you learn how to control it, you will most likely notice that glow yourself, which will let me¡ª"


    Alzara''s jaw smacked shut.


    "Sonofabitch." She massaged the side of her jaw. She had not expected the restriction to be that sharp.


    Zach''s eyes widened at the sudden interruption to what Alzara was saying. But it wasn''t worth asking about it since she clearly couldn''t tell him. He had to figure it out on his own until he knew enough for her to tell him.


    There were a lot of things for him to do and think about all of a sudden.


    What Alzara had just been about to say. How to get more world essence energy. How to control the world essence energy. How he was going to summon his third familiar. He hoped he could do it as part of his reward for getting so far in the Labyrinth of Syst. After all, he had managed to summon Alzara on the first floor of Jira.


    But that brought him to one of his most pressing concerns.


    He had to clear the Labyrinth first. To do that, he had to clear the twelfth Trial, which he had no idea how to do.


    He looked at the empty throne, his mind a mile away.


    It was a very empty throne.


    But he shouldn''t sit in it.


    ''If it''s not for me, who is it for?'' Zach asked himself. Thrones were rarely purely ornamental. Their purpose was usually more symbolic than functional since they weren''t just a place to sit.


    They were places for special people like kings and emperors to sit.


    But how was he supposed to get his hands on a king or an emperor in the last Trial of the Syst Labyrinth? It was like looking for carrots in the sky.


    There also weren''t any other clues to indicate to whom the throne belonged. There weren''t any decorations, emblems, weapons, or tables.


    If it was a king or something, they had to be lonely. It was a king without a kingdom, without a castle, without a people, without servants, and without anything.


    The throne room was completely bare aside from the throne.


    It could be a coincidence. It wasn''t. Nothing in the Trials so far had been coincidental. Zach didn''t like how some of the Trials had played out, especially the first one. But that was bad luck, which he overcame with superior strength.


    The second Trial had seemed coincidental, especially the unclear instructions and almost impossible-to-find way to access the statues'' past.


    But that was intentional. The entrants would sooner or later have brushed against the name plaques of the deities they resonated with. They would have then seen the scenes of the past and slowly pieced everything together. That would have happened even if Zach wasn''t there.


    The third Trial gave them more information about the monsters that brought the deities to ruin. It seemed like uninteresting information since the monsters didn''t have anything to do with them.


    But the monsters hadn''t lost. They could still exist somewhere.


    Then, there was the fourth Trial¡­

 Chapter 235 Empty Throne

    It would be a stretch to say that all of the Trials were clearly connected. But there was a clear connection between some of them. The second and fourth Trials had been especially related. The second Trial had given the entrants the opportunity to study deities of the past, and the fourth Trial had made them assemble a puzzle made in the deities'' image.Only some of them made or got a statue to make. Only those who had seemingly spent a lot of time inside specific statutes did.


    Zach was one of them. He spent a lot of time inside Soara''s statue and during the fourth Trial, he assembled a figurine in Soara''s image. That figurine was currently resting in his pocket. He took it out.


    A king in an empty world.


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    That was what he had started looking for when he thought of the empty throne in the empty and sealed throne room.


    It could be something else. An imprisoned king. A sealed king. A lonely king. It felt like it could be a million different things.


    Zach held up the figurine of the robed deity.


    At the same time, it felt like the throne belonged to Soara.


    A king in an empty world.


    That could be reinterpreted.


    "...A ruler in a dead world."


    In the second Trial, the entrants had seen all the other deities die. They had seen the ordinary, non-deities die to those aberrant monsters.


    If the deities, who, reasonably speaking, were the strongest around, failed to defend and died, it was logical to assume that everything and everyone failed to defend and die. The aberrant monsters had killed everything in their mad rampage.


    A dead world. An empty world.


    However, there was one deity they had not seen die. The last deity. The deity of Death and Transcendence.


    Soara of Death and Transcendence in a dead world.


    Who else could rule a dead world if not a deity of death?


    Zach walked up to the throne with the figurine in both hands. It seemed a little weird.


    How would he have passed this Trial if he hadn''t brought the figurine along with him?


    Maybe carving a new one of stone from one of the pillars?


    Zach didn''t know. That was the only reason he hesitated in putting the figurine on the throne.


    Yanael and Alzara couldn''t say anything. They didn''t know, either. They couldn''t find a reason to advise against putting the figurine of Soara on the throne. But they also couldn''t come up with something to support it.


    In the end, it was all up to Zach.


    He could wait a little. He wasn''t in a rush since he had world essence energy to keep him from going hungry. There should still be a lot of time left before the next school year starts. He could take his time and see if he could come up with something else.


    But it would just be a waste of time.


    Now that he had the idea of putting Soara on the throne, his mind wouldn''t let it go or let anything replace it.


    Zach took a quick, determined breath before gently slamming the figurine down onto the throne.


    After a moment, a deep and heavy sigh rang out in the room.


    Zach looked around, startled. That sounded ominous. He didn''t see any changes in the room. He turned to look at the figurine again to see if something was happening with that. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was safe to say something had happened.


    The figurine was gone. In its place was Soara.


    Zach was overwhelmed.


    The deity was taller than him, but not by much. The throne was on a stone dais slightly above the floor he was standing on, but Soara was sitting down.


    Zach felt like he was an ant in front of a giant. His eyes widened and threatened to roll back in his head. His mind couldn''t comprehend the existence and presence of a deity. It wasn''t something a mortal mind could endure.


    But Zach''s eyes snapped back down. He hadn''t lost his mind or consciousness. He kneeled.


    Alzara and Yanael stepped in front of Zach and shouldered some of the pressure to ease the burden on their master. The only one they kneeled to was Zach. They looked at Soara with defiant gazes. However, they couldn''t look at Soara''s face.


    It was veiled, but even just by trying, the pressure would be too much. As powerful as they were, and as non-mortal as they were by being familiars, a deity was on another level.


    <Young man¡­Why did you not take this throne for yourself?> A soft voice, like a whisper in an old house, creeped around the room and crawled into Zach''s ears.


    He felt like he was about to lose it again. There was something about the voice that made his life force flicker like a candle in the wind.


    "...It felt like something bad would happen if I did."


    <Indeed. You would have had to prove yourself worthy of it by fighting the¡ªby fighting the remainder of your natural life. If you had endured without going crazy, you would have inherited all there is to inherit, received all there is to receive, and achieved all there is to achieve.>


    Zach''s eyes widened. The only thing that kept him from passing out under the barrage of powerful words was the realization that he had made the right choice. Even if Yanael and Alzara had accompanied him, he felt like he would have gone crazy if he had been forced to fight for the remainder of his natural life.


    Fighting for just several hours was exhausting. Fighting for more than a day seemed like it would take all he had. More than that? How? For the remainder of his natural life? Impossible.


    The only thing that piqued his interest was what he would receive if he did it.


    "..." Zach didn''t know what to say.


    <Now, you have forfeited that chance, young man. Or do you wish to give it a try?>

 Chapter 236 Rewards

    Zach could feel Soara''s gaze on him. It made him dizzy. But it was impossible for him not to hear their question or understand it. The power of her words took precedence over his dizziness.He wanted to say no. He had to say no. He was going to say no.


    "...Can I take a rain check?"


    <...A rain check?> Soara''s tone had changed slightly, but Zach couldn''t tell how.


    Zach tried to clear the lump from his throat so that he could speak.


    "...Yes. As I am now, I wouldn''t be able to handle the Trial of proving myself worthy of the throne."


    <You are saying you will be in the future.>


    "Yes." Zach''s voice was clear.


    Soara could tell he wasn''t lying. It didn''t seem like he hadn''t grasped the meaning and burden of fighting for the rest of his life, either. He knew what he was signing up for.


    <I see. Then, one day, when I deem you capable of proving your worth, I will call upon you, young man.> Soara spoke with finality. That was that. They had reached an agreement, and the matter was settled.


    <Until that point, the twelfth Trial will remain incomplete. You shall receive your rewards for your efforts so far, young man.> Soara disappeared without a sound or movement. Even when he was looking at their legs, Zach didn''t even notice when they disappeared.


    Slowly, the throne room faded away around him like it had all been a mirage. He felt himself rise to the place where the Trials had taken place. No one else was there. No, that wasn''t right.


    None of the other entrants were there.


    Soara was there. They were in the same robes, but it seemed like they had toned down their presence since Zach could hardly even see them, much less faint from the sight of them.


    <Without further ado¡­> Their voice was the same, and it snaked around Zach''s ears before creeping inside. Soara reached out with her hand toward Alzara. As she did so, a black leather book appeared in it.


    Zach was too busy looking at the deathly pale, slender hand to see what the book was about until Alzar hesitantly received it. Alzara''s hesitation vanished as soon as she grabbed the book and started reading it.


    <Then, onto you, little angel, I bestow knighthood. With the power of a Knight, serve your Master well.> Soara waved her hand in Yanael''s direction as she spoke like she was grabbing something invisible and putting it on Yanael.


    "I refuse." Yanael rejected Soara''s reward with a determined face and without any pretense. She was not interested.


    "I am Master''s maid, not a knight." Yanael took pride in her position. There was no need to throw it away, even if it made her stronger. Wielding a sword and a shield and fighting for Zach didn''t make her a knight. It only made her a very capable maid. Find exclusive stories on empire


    <I see. It was not my Knight you were interested in. It was their Submission. Alas¡­That is not something I can give you.> Soara''s head lowered slightly in what could be taken as an apology.


    <I hope this will suffice.> Soara waved her hand through the air, and a brown leather book appeared in it.


    <You should be able to make the most of it with the talent you have displayed.>


    Yanael received the book with both hands and a bow.


    "Thank you for your graciousness." Since Yanael had refused her reward, it wouldn''t have been strange if she didn''t get anything. Instead, Soara had made sure she got something she would appreciate and could use.


    Soara turned to Zach, ready to give him his reward. But Zach was looking at Alzara since she had received her reward first. He was busy looking at it with her.


    He was amazed.


    The book hadn''t been more than a couple of fingers thick. But as they haphazardly flipped through it, it contained a seemingly endless amount of pages. The more they flipped, the more pages appeared.


    Most importantly, all of the pages contained information about poisons, whether it be recipes, concoctions methods, ingredients, or where to find those ingredients. Some recipes or sections covered several pages while others shared the same page as more recipes.


    It was a treasure trove of information.


    Neither Zach nor Alzara recognized any of the poisons or the ingredients, but that didn''t matter. They could just deal with that separately. What truly mattered was the incredible amount of highly detailed information.


    Alzara would hardly have to experiment to create new poisons. And if he knew Alzara right, she could also use what she learned when making poisons to create potions and medicines.


    It was the best thing she could have gotten. Zach was almost more excited than Alzara, even if only because he didn''t quite realize how difficult it would be to find or substitute all the ingredients in the book''s recipes.


    But he would still be happy even if he did realize. He was confident Alzara had got a gift she loved and that would help her greatly. Still excited, he temporarily forgot about Soara, whose presence was akin to air in her current state. He turned to Yanael to see what her gift was.


    Yanael didn''t even notice him when he put his head next to hers to look at the same thing she was looking at.


    Her book was similar in style to Alzara''s. But instead of poison, her book detailed sword techniques.


    Just the techniques and physical movements. Different techniques for different swords and bodies. Techniques and energy utilization. Different energies for different techniques. Different energies for the same techniques. One-handed.


    Two-handed. Four-handed. Against people. Against monsters. With a shield. Without a shield.


    With only a shield.


    <Since you wield a shield as well, I included techniques for them as well.> Soara explained why shield techniques were in a book of sword techniques.


    Zach looked up with a start. He couldn''t believe he had been so distracted by his familiars'' rewards that he forgot about a living breathing deity right in front of him. He hoped they didn''t hold it against him. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had also forgotten about his own reward. But Yanael and Alzara were part of his strength. Them getting rewards and growing stronger was the same as him getting rewards and growing stronger. He didn''t mind if he didn''t get anything. What the two of them got was more than enough.


    The Book of Sword Techniques even made him want to pick up and learn the sword, so it would benefit him directly as well.


    <What is your name, young man?>


    "Zacharia Evandiel."


    <Zacharia Evandiel, I pledge myself to you.>


    Soara kneeled in front of Zach.

 Chapter 237 Jealousy

    "..." Zach stared blankly at the kneeling deity."''!''" Yanael and Alzara stared in shock at the rude intruder. Who did they think they were to act so presumptuously in front of the two of them?!


    "Uh, what is going on?" Zach eventually found his tongue again and managed to ask what was on his mind.


    "You have an open slot, do you not?" Her voice had changed. It sounded like it was coming from her mouth now, and Zach could finally confirm it was the voice of a woman.


    "...I do. But why do you want to take it? Isn''t it a bit insulting for a deity to serve me, a mortal human?"


    "Why? Are you insulted?"


    "No, not at all. I''m extremely honored. I''m so honored I''m not sure I can accept." Zach hurriedly denied Soara''s claim that he was insulted since he could tell that her tone had changed again, and this time he could tell how it had changed. She was not a fan of Zach not accepting her.


    "I am giving myself to you as a reward. If you do not accept, you will not get anything else." Soara''s voice was harsh.


    "Honestly, I''m fine with that. What Yanael and Alzara got was more than enough."


    "..." Soara was silent. She had thought Zach would want more. People always wanted more. She couldn''t quite understand why he was so reluctant to accept her as well.


    "...It is so that I can keep an eye on you and deem you worthy of resuming the twelfth Trial when you are ready." She came up with a reason.


    "I see. That would be easier if you were by my side." Zach spoke slowly while considering Soara''s words and the situation.


    "...As long as this is truly what you want, there are no hidden intentions, and you won''t hold a grudge, I see no reason not to happily accept you, Soara." Zach reached out with a hand to the kneeling deity. It just felt right doing it.


    Still, kneeling, Soara reached up with a hand of her own, as pale as death. She grabbed Zach''s hand gently with her smooth fingers.


    "!" A shock ran through Zach''s body. Less than a second later, even the lingering sensation was gone. A little startled, he helped Soara stand up as the light grey robe covering her body transformed.


    The edges of the hood and the hem at the bottom folded in on themselves, and the robes fluttered. After a few minutes, a light grey maid dress with white details and frills had replaced the robe, finally unleashing the godly beauty of Soara on the world.


    Black hair like the night sky with eyes to match, worryingly pale skin that made her hair glow even darker, and fine features that not even the greatest sculptor could hope to match. Most of her body was still hidden beneath the maid dress. But there was no hiding the obvious fact that she was a woman.


    "Master." Soara let go of Zach''s hand and curtsied in official greeting while Zach dazedly stared at her. Her voice seemed even more entrancing now that her face and features were visible.


    Soara could tell what was going through Zach''s mind, or rather how nothing much was going through it. She had hidden her face for a reason, after all. It wasn''t purely because she was beautiful, but she understood the effects of beauty, especially the immortal kind on the mind of mortals.


    More than one man and woman had been driven mad by the appearance of a deity.


    That was why Soara also perfectly understood the gazes of Yanael and Alzara.


    "Don''t worry, you two. I was not born this beautiful." She couldn''t say more than that because Zach was present, but she hoped it would ease some of the two''s jealousy.


    To her surprise, it didn''t. She was a little confused. It meant they could also be beautiful. Wasn''t that the source of their jealousy? Wasn''t that why they were looking at her like that?


    "Umm¡­" Zach slowly snapped out of his daze by forcefully looking away from Soara.


    "...Is it fine to leave the Labyrinth, by the way? Weren''t you in charge of it?" He asked. Experience more content on empire


    "It is more than fine. I can control it if I want, to a certain degree, but it is fully automated," Soara explained.


    "So, you had nothing to do with the Trials?" Zach had to know.


    "Not at all, Master. The Labyrinth is fully automated."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes. Fully automated."


    "Because the tone of some of those messages¡ª"


    "Fully automated."


    "But¡ª"


    "Fully. Automated. Master." Soara smiled and blinked in a manner that could have been deemed flirtatiously as she looked at Zach.


    "...Okay." Zach dropped it.


    Regardless of what had happened in the Labyrinth, the rewards were far greater than the suffering he had endured. Not only had he received two seemingly bottomless wells of information that perfectly suited his two familiars, he had also received his third familiar. As if that wasn''t enough, she was a deity. Since he was still low-leveled, she couldn''t display her full strength.


    That was only natural.


    But Soara was a deity. He had a deity as his familiar.


    The two Books had been more than enough of a reward for all his suffering.


    Soara as his familiar wiped away any memory or trace of what he had gone through. The only thing he would remember in the future was the fact that he picked up Soara at the Labyrinth of Syst.


    He wasn''t even sure how. He didn''t know people could become his familiars like that. But it was probably because she was a deity.


    Yeah. That explained it.


    She was a deity. He had a deity as his familiar. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach was stunned. He couldn''t stop thinking about it. It was incredible.


    His mind was in a daze as he agreed to be sent out of the Labyrinth now that they were finished. There was nothing else to do here. Outside the Labyrinth, however, there was a lot to do.


    He had to brag about his third familiar.

 Chapter 238 Old Woman

    Zach quickly made an air-tight barrier around them after they started floating into the air so that they wouldn''t get wet when plunged into the ocean. It would also make them float to the surface without them needing to swim.The journey to the surface was a lot more comfortable and less shocking than the entry to the Labyrinth had been. Zach glanced at Soara. He was responsible for the part they spent in the water. But she was probably responsible for the gentleness to the border between the Labyrinth and the ocean.


    He turned his gaze upward again as they approached the surface. He could already see the silhouette of a boat waiting for them up there.


    Since he had chosen to enter the twelfth Trial, there was a possibility Violina''s uncles hadn''t waited for them. He had hoped Violina and Nessa would speak up for him. Regardless of if they had done so or not, it seemed Zach''s worries had not come true.


    He smiled as he broke through the surface and lowered the barrier so that he and his familiars could be picked up.


    "Hello¡ª...Who are you?" Zach frowned as he looked at the one-eyed man with a triangular, bulky hat with a feather in it.


    The man revealed a grisly smile as he stood with one foot on the railing and his arm on his knee.


    "Kid, I am the man who''s going to change your life! For the worse! I am Captain¡ª"


    Yanael interrupted the pirate captain by jumping up from Zach''s floating floor of a barrier and kneeing him in the face. She knocked him back into the boat and took his place on the railing. She pointed at the rest of the dozen pirates with her sword. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some of the pirates took a step back. Others grabbed their weapons and charged at Yanael.


    It was a small boat, so they only needed a few sailors in working condition.


    Zach hadn''t killed anyone yet, so Yanael just beat the rest up until they couldn''t move. It didn''t take much more than that to convince the pirates to bring them to land. However, the pirates didn''t know about the bay that Violina''s uncles had used, so they just brought them to the coast and dropped them off.


    It was Systine land. But all coast was Systine land.


    Zach looked from either end of the beach before turning his gaze deeper inland.


    "...Well, shit."


    It was a grassland. He was pretty sure that he saw fields beyond it, but he couldn''t be sure at this distance.


    Zach didn''t even bother looking at Yanael. She was as hopeless as him when it came to finding themselves where they were supposed to be. He turned to Alzara.


    She shrugged.


    "I can try. But it seems we are a fair distance away from where we first set sail." It wasn''t a desert, but it was flat land, and there was an open sky. The odds were in their favor. Sooner or later, Alzara would find their way back to society of some kind.


    Hopefully.


    She might lead them away from it since that''s what her instincts told her to do.


    Finally, Zach turned to Soara.


    He couldn''t even ask her.


    She was staring at the land in front of them with wide, shiny eyes. Her entire face was glowing with joy. It was similar to the expression she had worn during the boat ride, which she had spent leaning over the railing and looking down into the ocean.


    Zach had a feeling, or more like a realization.


    Soara had stayed inside the Labyrinth for a long while. He didn''t know if she could have left on her own or not, but by the looks of it, it didn''t seem like it. If she had, she wouldn''t have been so amazed by a field of grass and the insects and birds in it.


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    Assuming she had never left the Labyrinth, that meant she had been inside it since it was created.


    Zach already knew she was old. She was an ancient deity, after all. But connecting the lively, black-haired woman to the robed deity of walking death he had seen in the statue was difficult. He could, however, mentally connect her to the Labyrinth. He had an easier time imagining the Labyrinth''s age than a deity he didn''t know about.


    After all, the Labyrinths were older than the Empire, and the Empire was around thousand years old. That was how old his family was. A thousand years is about forty generations, give or take.


    His ancestors had given birth to the next generation forty times. It was like his kid had a kid, who then had a kid, who then had a kid, and so on, forty times.


    Soara was older than that.


    In all that time, she had never seen the outside world. And before that, she had most likely seen the world come to ruin at the misshaped hands of those aberrant monsters. Zach could only imagine what it had been like.


    He didn''t interrupt her as she watched the lively world for the first time in half an eternity. He couldn''t.


    It seemed Alzara and Yanael also understood what Soara was feeling and what she had endured since they didn''t bother her, despite their hostility toward the newcomer who was trying to get a share of the Zach pie. That was that. Soara''s suffering and the feelings she must feel at the sight in front of her were a separate matter.


    Soara watched the world for the first time in forever and took in everything she could. She spent hours silently looking at everything.


    It had been the right decision to pledge herself to Zach, even if only for this sight.


    But she was still a deity. She calmed down after a while. She blinked and slowly turned to Zach, who had taken the opportunity to admire her face.


    "How can I help, Master?" Her tone was much more sincere than before.


    "I guess I should find my comrades first. If not that, maybe I should just return to the Academy. Please lead the way, Soara." Zach put his hopes on Soara. As a deity, finding the way should be well within her capabilities.


    Soara blinked and tilted her head to the side.


    "How am I supposed to do that?"

 Chapter 239 Aura of Death

    Zach found himself once again wordlessly staring at his latest familiar''s beautiful face."What do you mean?" He asked. There was no way Soara, a literal deity, couldn''t find the way. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "How am I supposed to locate your comrades or this Academy when this is my first time setting foot on this land, Master? I do not know where either might be," Soara explained.


    "Ooh!" Zach nodded in understanding. "I see. So if you knew, you could find the way."


    "...Yes." Soara''s answer was slow.


    Zach ignored and promptly forgot about the hesitation in her answer. There was no way Soara, a literal deity, couldn''t find the way.


    "Oh, but I can point you in the direction of where the thickest aura of death is, Master," Soara said excitedly, happy to be of help somehow. Stay updated through empire


    This time, it was Zach''s turn to tilt his head and blink emptily as he looked at Soara.


    "...Why would I want that?" Wouldn''t the place with the thickest aura of death also be the most dangerous?


    "Usually, that kind of aura surrounds people. For someone to have accumulated that much, they should be relatively strong, I guess." Soara shrugged as she assessed their strength. It didn''t sound like she thought they were strong. If anything, it sounded like they were weak. But they had a thick enough aura of death to stand out in their vicinity.


    It was a risk. They hadn''t necessarily killed people to earn that aura. But they could have killed people. That meant they could be less than friendly to Zach.


    Zach glanced at his familiars.


    Did he have anything to worry about? An angel. A desert witch. A deity of Death and Transcendence.


    No, he didn''t have anything to worry about. At least not unless it was someone like his parents or the principal.


    "Alright. Lead the way, Soara." Zach pointed in a random direction while he gave his order.


    "Of course, Master." Soara curtsied and started leading them in the opposite direction of where Zach had pointed.


    "..."


    Zach didn''t say anything. Yanael didn''t say anything. Alzara didn''t say anything. Soara didn''t say anything.


    "...I knew it was this way."


    "Me too, Master."


    "Right."


    "May I ask why you pointed the other way, then, Master?"


    "No, you may not."


    "Okay."


    Silently and awkwardly, the group of four walked with Soara and Yanael in the lead, Zach in the middle, and Alzara at the back. Both Yanael and Alzara were walking with their faces in the books Soara gave them.


    They kept their guards up, but even if they didn''t, Zach had a barrier around them that would be enough to block most attacks at least once. He couldn''t be too safe, even when surrounded by powerful familiars, after all.


    Still, the two maids didn''t let down their guards. It prevented them from fully sinking into their books and studying them whole-heartedly. But they weren''t in a rush. There was enough information in there for a lifetime. Skimming through them or just reading the lighter things would be enough for a light walk.


    That left Zach mulling on various things. With how much he had to think about, he didn''t even know when they arrived. Or at least stopped.


    Zach looked at Soara, who had stopped walking. They were still by the coast. He could see a white, sandy beach just ahead. He frowned.


    Next to a cluster of trees was a small wooden hut with a thatched roof. It almost seemed like it had been made from the trees it was sitting next to, based on the color and the stumps. It looked like it was at least a few years old.


    "Is that it?" He asked Soara.


    She nodded, having been informed of keeping their ability to talk and their names secret. That meant there was a risk the person in the hut could hear them.


    Zach inelegantly walked, skipped, and stumbled down the slight mound they had stopped on. His maids accompanied him but with elegance. They walked over the smooth sand until they were a stone''s throw away from the hut.


    Zach had stopped since he saw someone sleeping in a hammock next to the hut.


    "Um, excuse me!" He gently called out and waved his hand. He was a little worried about waking someone up who was supposed to have a thick aura of death around them. But if they lived in a hut in seclusion from the rest of the world, they couldn''t be that bad.


    Or they didn''t like being disturbed. Zach preferred not to think about that possibility.


    The person in the hammock stirred and poked a bald, bearded head over the fabric.


    "Ugh¡­I knew that fish was bad¡­Why did I eat it¡­?" The old man muttered with a frown before lying down again. Zach barely heard him. He frowned slightly.


    "Um, I''m sorry, but I''m not a fish or anything like that. I wanted to ask for directions or possibly help finding my way. I''m a bit lost, and I''m not very good at finding the way."


    The old man poked his head up again. He opened his eyes wider and looked at Zach for a moment.


    Zach felt that gaze.


    Soara''s claim that the man had the thickest aura of death in their vicinty wasn''t baseless.


    The old man squinted.


    "That is the sea behind you, right?" The old man asked.


    Zach turned around. He looked at the sea. He turned back. While turning back, he began answering.


    "Yes, that is¡­"


    Zach''s voice trailed off since the old man was right in front of him, taking a close look at him.


    "Now, what in the darn fruitshells is an Evandiel doing on my porch?" He asked with a sour tone and frown. His eyes widened slightly before Zach could answer.


    "Hey, aren''t you Nymur? I thought you would have grown up a little by now, but I guess not!" The old man laughed and patted Zach on the shoulder like a grandpa might.


    Zach''s barrier didn''t stand a chance. His maids hadn''t reacted, either. There had been no malice in his movements. And he had been quick, too quick for them to react.


    But now that his hand was resting on Zach''s shoulder, Yanael had drawn her sword and pointed it at the old man. Alzara had also pulled out her daggers, which were already glowing.

 Chapter 240 Leaf Transformation

    "Huh. Decent sword." The old man flicked aside Yanael''s sword. She couldn''t resist it and her sword tumbled through the air before landing in the sand and sinking down to its hilt."Your parents are really spoiling you with these maids, Nymur. But I didn''t think they would let you wander around on your own. Don''t tell me! Did you run away from home, you cheeky kid?" The old man excitedly asked.


    Zach held up a hand and took a step back.


    "How do you know my father?" He asked with a serious tone. The old man in front of him was not an ordinary old man. Zach had suspected as much from the beginning. But he knew the Duke of Evandiel''s name and talked to him like he was his senior. He had flicked away Yanael''s sword without looking and with ease.


    If it had been just an old man that had said his father''s name, Zach could have ignored it. Nymur wasn''t a common name, but there could be one or two in the Empire. Someone might even have named their son after the Duke.


    But a person as strong as the old man could only be talking about the Duke of Evandiel.


    "...Your father?" The old man also took a step back with a slightly surprised expression. He stroked his beard and looked Zach and up down.


    "I''ll be damned. Certainly. I wasn''t asleep for that long. He should have grown up by now. To think even a kid like that has kids of his own now¡­That means¡­" The old man''s gaze grew distant as he turned his head away to look somewhere far away.


    After a few moments, he turned back to Zach.


    "What''s your name kid?"


    "Zacharia Evandiel, sir." Zach answered politely. Whoever the old man was, Zach figured it was best to show him some respect.


    The old man sniffed the air as he looked at the three maids with narrowed eyes.


    "A summoner?"


    "Yes, sir."


    "Good for you." The old man patted Zach on the shoulder again with his unbelievably sturdy hands. He smiled sneakily and winked.


    "By the way¡­" The old man took a glance around. "How did you find me, kid?"


    Zach subconsciously glanced at Soara.


    "We, uh, walked in the direction of the thickest aura of death, and then we found your hut." Zach pointed at the hut, but the old man wasn''t looking at him. He was looking at Soara with a scrutinizing gaze. He looked at her with such intensity that Zach was getting worried.


    Fortunately, nothing happened, and the old man looked at him again after a while.


    "You have an impressive familiar, kid. Your dad''s a lucky man to have a son like you or something. Anyway, you said you were lost. Where are you heading?"


    "The Academy, eventually. But if possible, I would like to see if my friends are nearby. We just came back from the Labyrinth and got split up afterward," Zach briefly explained his situation.


    The old man frowned.


    "You make it sound like they didn''t wait for you after the Labyrinth. Those snot-nosed brats should be in charge of that. What happened?" The old man''s tone hinted at some kind of irritation or disappointment. It was faint and not directed at Zach, so he couldn''t quite decide what it was.


    "I''m assuming they didn''t wait for me because I chose to enter the twelfth Trial¡­" Zach''s voice trailed off as the old man''s gaze on him intensified. After looking at Zach for what felt like a minute, the old man blinked and chuckled slightly, his previous intensity gone.


    "Haha. I must really be getting old. I thought you said you entered the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth."


    "...I did."


    "...Are you joking with me right now?" The old man raised a skeptical eyebrow as he questioned Zach.


    "No¡­"


    "Why aren''t you dead? I mean, why are you here? I mean, how did¡ª? Excuse me, what?" The old man was at a loss for words. There was no sign of Zach lying. And he smelled a little like the yellow stone from the Labyrinth. The only reason he was nervous was because the old man was staring at him like he was a pink giraffe.


    "So, what was the twelfth Trial? How did you complete it? What did you get?!" The old man grabbed Zach by the shoulders in excitement and a desperate need to know like he had been waiting for an answer to those questions for decades.


    "C-ca-can you s-s-sto-stop sh-shake-shaking me?" Zach struggled to get the old man to stop treating him like a wrapped present.


    Fortunately, the old man understood the speech of a man turned to a leaf caught in a storm.


    "Right. So?" The old man didn''t let up on his grip, though. He wanted those answers.


    "It was an empty throne room. The message told me to prove myself. I didn''t know how to do that, so I put the figure of one of the deities depicted in the earlier Trials on the throne. I got to talk to the deity. We made a deal. I get to finish the twelfth Trial when I''m ready in the future. I''m not privy to the details, but I would¡ª" Zach''s jaw slammed shut.


    His eyes widened in surprise and he looked down his nose to try and see what happened. The old man hadn''t done anything. Soara hadn''t done anything. Alzara hadn''t done anything. Yanael hadn''t done anything.


    His mouth closed on its own.


    He had been hit by a restriction. He couldn''t tell the old man about it.


    "...Looks like I can''t tell you more than that. Sorry."


    The old man was lost in thought, but he snapped out of it when Zach apologized.


    "No, there''s no need for that. I''m amazed you could say that much. This is the first piece of information about the twelfth Trial since the birth of the Empire. And the fact that you can continue as soon as you''re ready¡­I feel like I should tell someone important about it." The old man glanced far away again.


    "Nah." He shrugged. "There''s no need for that." He looked at Zach again.


    "How much stronger do you need to get before you''re ready?" He asked.


    Zach shrugged. He wanted to say that it wasn''t a matter of strength. It was a matter of mental fortitude and endurance more than anything, at least by the sounds of it. But he couldn''t because of the restriction.


    The old man pursed his lips. He took it as Zach didn''t know because he didn''t know much about the Trial.


    He turned his gaze to the ocean with a thoughtful expression. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Please tell me when you are going to or have complete the Trial."


    "Sure. What''s your name, and how do I contact you?" Since he got the opportunity, he was not going to let the chance to get acquainted with such a powerhouse slip away.

 Chapter 241 Old Man

    The old man looked at Zach and saw the opportunistic glint in his eyes."Kid, if you look for me for anything that isn''t related to the twelfth Trial, I''ll skin you." The old man''s tone was sharp. Zach believed him, and the light in his eyes died out.


    "Sio. Someone at the Duchy always knows where to find me." The old man, Sio, didn''t give any unnecessary details. But if Zach wanted to contact him, he now had a way.


    "You''re related to the Systines, old man?" Zach had completely dropped the honorifics sometime during the conversation. But calling Sio an old man even had the old man raise his eyebrow.


    "Yeah. I don''t meddle, though, and most of them don''t know about me. So, don''t go blabbering."


    "Of course. My lips are sealed."


    "Good. Now, you said you were lost? I guess I should get some exercise now that I''m awake. Try to keep up." The old man patted Zach on his shoulder lightly before turning around and lightly pushing off the ground. One light step took him several strides forward.


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    ''Shit.''


    If he didn''t want to get lost again, he had to follow. But just in case he looked at Soara. If she could follow his aura of death, it wouldn''t matter. Sooner or later, he would come across civilization. And from there, he could find his way to either the Systine Duchy or the Academy.


    However, Soara shook her head.


    Sometime during their conversation, Sio had suppressed his aura of death. He was completely undetectable. And his steps didn''t leave any marks on the ground.


    If they were going to follow him, they would have to keep him in their sights.


    Zach gritted his teeth.


    He should have exercised more when he had the time.


    He hadn''t had the time. He had almost run himself into the ground several times by overworking himself. But he didn''t remember those times that well. He just knew that if he had exercised more, he might have had an easier time catching up to the monstrous old man.


    He wouldn''t have had, though.


    Zach didn''t know, but Sio had repeatedly sensed and assessed Zach''s physical condition. He had even noticed the world essence energy slumbering in his body, and while he didn''t quite know what it was, he could tell it was good stuff.


    He adapted his pace to suit Zach''s strength. Zach would just barely keep up.


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    However, Sio had to change his plans when he noticed that Zach couldn''t use the world essence energy so he gradually slowed down to take that into account. He jogged with a frown of deep thought.


    Zach had shared some valuable information with him. It was only right he returned the favor.


    He could probably figure out a way to help him with that.


    Sio occasionally glanced around to make sure he was headed in the right direction. He also checked to make sure that Zach was keeping up. Each time, he was amazed that someone could look like they were suffering so much while still having plenty of leeway.


    Sure, Zach had pushed himself a fair bit. But his body was in great condition. He was surprisingly well-trained for a summoner, even without taking all those strange levels into account.


    Sio had seen experienced warriors with worse physiques power through similar training with smiles on their faces. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He wasn''t sure what to think about Zach. It didn''t seem like he was doing it to earn his maids'' pity or anything, either. He was just a wuss.


    Sio recalled their conversation at the beach.


    Zach had been surprised when he suddenly appeared in front of him. He had also been surprised and wary when he easily broke through the barriers around him. But he wasn''t just wary.


    He had been more ready to fight than his maids. Sio wouldn''t mistake that kind of gaze.


    Zach had been waiting for him to show any intentions of attacking, even after Sio destroyed his barriers.


    Sio looked at his hand and flexed it a couple of times, remembering the sensations of those barriers. That was not the defensive strength of a kid like that.


    If it had been an offensive strength of a similar level, Sio would have been worried about such a talented kid dying before they could realize their full potential. With Zach, he didn''t have to worry.


    As long as he didn''t get himself into some stupid kind of trouble, he would be fine. He just had to continue growing steadily and slowly. He would be even more unkillable if he learned how to use the energy slumbering in his body. When he did that, it would take a lot of work to kill him and a lot of strength.


    Sio shook his head.


    That was the nasty part with summoners. They never fought one on one.


    If anyone tried to kill Zach, they would have to deal with his army of maids.


    That was why summoners with defensive skills were one of the nastiest things Sio knew. The best way to stop the familiar was to get rid of the summoner in any way since they would prioritize the summoner''s safety over their own if they were loyal.


    Usually, getting rid of a summoner also got rid of the familiars while the opposite was not the case. Killing a familiar was a huge blow to any summoner, but it did nothing to the other familiars.


    Sio picked up his pace slightly. Just by thinking about what kind of maddening opponent Zach could become in the future, Sio sprouted a desire to punish him a little.


    The only kind of summoner that was nastier than one with great personal defensive skills and offensive familiars was the principal.


    That lunatic was the worst and nastiest.


    Just the thought of him made Sio shiver, and he stopped thinking entirely. He just jogged until they arrived.


    Their tour into the country had brought them back to the coast.


    They stood in front of the largest mansion Zach had seen.

 Chapter 242 Still Young

    Zach knew that the Systines deserved their reputation for being the wealthies family in the Empire But Violina was humble, and her allowance was nowhere near his, so he had brazenly assumed her family would also have some humility.The mansion that was more like a fortress wall as it faced the ocean towered high and spread wide. Even from the side, it looked huge. As if that wasn''t enough, it was clean. It was made of expensive materials like marble, pearl, gold, and things that Zach couldn''t name but knew were expensive.


    He had no doubt in his mind that his family, the Evandiels, could also afford it. But they would never waste so much money on it.


    The gaudy estate was enough to distract Zach from how tired he was, and he quickly recovered from the exhausting full-day sprint that Sio had dragged him through. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ptui." Sio spat on the ground next to him, making Zach look away from the mansion.


    "Every time I come back here, it only gets worse," he complained with a disdainful look.


    Zach looked between Sio and the estate.


    "Can''t you do something about it?" He asked. He was sure Sio would have influence over the Systines.


    "I can." Sio shrugged. "But it needs to be this bad to continue attracting the pirates."


    "Attracting the pirates?" Zach parroted in confusion.


    "Pirates are a bunch of weirdos. But the one thing that unites them all is greed and lust for treasure. So, one guy¡ªI don''t know who¡ªcame up with the idea that, instead of going out to look for them like a needle in an endless, watery haystack, we could just bring them to us. It isn''t a popular method since the Systines are the only ones who can defend against a pirate attack of the level necessary to even try taking anything from this place.


    "But with each successful defense, their reputation among the pirates spread. So, in order to keep attracting more of them, they need to throw out more bait. Eventually, their greed is enough for them to try. And a bunch of them are wiped from the ocean for a while." Sio sighed wistfully.


    "But the life of a pirate is too alluring. There''s always more."


    "Really?" Zach had his doubts. "Even if someone as strong as you continuously get rid of them?"


    "First of all, kid. I''m not unbeatable. Secondly, I can only be in one place. Thirdly, I am too old for that shit. Fourthly." Sio looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before continuing, "Geezers and hags like me stay out of the youngsters'' businesses. If we start going around causing trouble, there would be no end to the bloodshed." Sio shared a not-completely-secret secret with Zach. It was in part as a way to repay him for the information that Zach shared about the twelfth Trial.


    Since it was more of an open secret that most people above a certain level in the Empire knew about, Zach would find it out sooner or later. It couldn''t compare to the value of the information on the twelfth Trial.


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly at Sio''s words. It shed light on a dark corner of the world he lived in. He had just assumed that older people didn''t like to fight or that there wasn''t anyone above a certain level. He didn''t know anyone old and monstrously strong or the details of the higher levels of strength.


    He had just passively not thought much more than that. It hadn''t interested him that much.


    But then Zach frowned. He had thought of something that didn''t align with what Sio had said.


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    "What about the principal? Isn''t he pretty old and strong by now?"


    Sio''s face scrunched up like he had drunk a glass of concentrated lemon juice.


    "...He''s ''still young.''" Sio made air quotes with his fingers, his face still contorted.


    Zach was wise enough not to ask any more questions. Sio clearly didn''t like the principal. Zach felt it was good not knowing too much about the principal.


    That didn''t mean he wasn''t curious, though. But Sio couldn''t be his source of information.


    However, Sio had just revealed that there were others like him, who would probably know more than the supposedly impartial library at the Academy, which didn''t even mention the principal.


    "You were looking for your friends, right? As long as they aren''t pirates, I''m sure the Systines can help you find them." Sio eagerly moved on from the dire topic Zach had brought up.


    "Yeah, almost definitely. One of them is a Systine, after all."


    Sio''s head whipped to the side to look at Zach almost as intensely as when they talked about the Labyrinth.


    "...I''m guessing you aren''t hanging out with someone in your parents'' age."


    "Nope. My age. Violina Systine¡ª"


    Sio patted Zach on the shoulder.


    "Thanks for telling me," he said before jumping up. He soared through the sky and crashed through the roof at the center of the uselessly big mansion.


    Almost instantly, an alarm started blaring. Zach saw and heard people start to shout and prepare for a pirate attack, but only a couple of moments later, a tall man with a full head of hair and a thick blue beard stood on the roof.


    "FALSE ALARM." His voice overpowered the alarms. The alarms died down, and people returned to their everyday business. The only difference was a lingering curiosity about what or who had used the roof as an entrance.


    However, the state of high alert made people more wary. It didn''t take long for a wandering patrol to notice Zach and his maid at the outskirts of the estate.


    It was perfect timing. There was a tiny stretch of trees between the hill he was on and the mansion.


    Logically speaking, it should never have been enough to make him get lost.


    But Zach wasn''t willing to take that chance. He had the guards escort him to the estate to confirm his identity before looking for his ''friends.'' It wasn''t the first time a swanky young spoiled noble came looking for Violina under that pretense, after all.

 Chapter 243 Dropkick

    Zach''s bright orange hair, a famous trait of the Evandiels, was solid proof that he was who he claimed he was. As members of one of the duchies, the Systine guards naturally knew at least superficial information about the other duchies, including the Evandiels.Then, there were the unfounded rumors regarding a certain young Evandiel causing a bunch of trouble at the Academy, the very same Academy as the one their young miss was attending. They had heard about him. They knew who he was.


    That didn''t mean they were going to help him just like that. They would have if it was anyone else.


    But the guards had heard that Violina was pretty close to him from their sources at the Academy and the uncles Tayup and Krage.


    When Violina and her insect-loved friend returned, they had also made quite a ruckus about leaving a third friend behind at the Labyrinth''s entrance.


    The guards weren''t planning on doing anything much to the guy who was close enough to spend a vacation with their young miss. They were just going to warn him a little.


    Unfortunately, the news about a young man with three worryingly beautiful maids coming to visit Violina spread rather quickly at the estate. Violina and Nessa, who had been on high alert after Sio''s unsubtle entry, quickly heard the news and rushed to confirm it for themselves.


    Zach''s face lit up as he saw Nessa and Violina sprinting toward him from one of the mansion''s many doors.


    It was amazing how reassuring it felt to have friends who cared so much for him that they were running so fast as soon as they heard about his return. However, they were running almost a little too fast.


    Zach tilted his head.


    Shouldn''t they be slowing down by now?


    Almost like they had practiced, the two girls continued running at full speed until they arrived at Zach''s location. When they arrived, both of them jumped up and dropkicked him in the chest.


    He looked at them in confusion. All four of their feet had stopped a hand in front of him, completely blocked by a barrier.


    They fell to the ground.


    "Uh?" Zach questioned with the full extent of his eloquence.


    "Damn it! You''re supposed to let it happen!" Violina burst out as soon as she stopped lying on her back.


    "Oh, sorry, I guess. Do you want to go again?" Violina and Nessa were upset. Zach knew from Nora that at times like these, it was best to go with the flow, take responsibility, satisfy the other party, and move on.


    "No¡­It defeats the purpose. Just¡­Lie down." Nessa said tiredly. While Violina had sat up, she hadn''t moved a muscle after falling to the ground. She patted on the ground next to her with her one hand.


    Violina gestured for the guards to take their leave. They were confused and worried, but Violina''s orders weighed heavy, and they obeyed.


    "You managed to come back, huh?" Violina eventually said, all three of them now looking at the white clouds drifting past on the canvas of a blue sky.


    "Yep."


    "How?" Nessa asked. Ever since Violina had told her about it, she had a feeling that if anyone could do it, it would be Zach. She didn''t know why he out of all the thousands upon thousands of people who had entered the Labyrinth throughout the years would manage to clear the twelfth Trial, nor where her feeling came from.


    She wanted to know how he did it¡ªwhat had happened.


    "To be precise, I only came back. I haven''t finished the twelfth Trial yet."


    "Yet?" Violina noticed that word instantly and grabbed on to it.


    "Yeah. I had a talk with Soara and we agreed that I couldn''t do it right now. So, when I''m ready, I can continue." Zach gave them a brief answer.


    "..." Violina was silent.


    "When you say Soara¡­?"


    "Yeah. As it turns out, the statues didn''t show her die because she hasn''t died."


    Slowly, Violina''s and Nessa''s eyes widened as they realized the pronouns he had used.


    "''She?''" They asked at the same time. They sat up to look at Zach. Then, they couldn''t help but notice the third maid standing right next to Alzara and Yanael.


    "''!''" They looked from Zach to Soara and back with overwhelming intensity.


    "There''s no way, right?!" Violina exclaimed.


    "Of course, not. I summoned my third familiar as a reward for the eleven Trials. It''s just a coincidence."


    "Zach¡­"


    "Coincidence."


    "..." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do you really think a literal deity, one who survived what we saw they went through, would become one of my familiars?"


    "No¡­" Nessa slowly shook her head.


    "No way, right?" He agreed.


    Nessa and Violina dropped the topic, but they exchanged a look.


    Zach had gone to such a length to convince them that his maid was not, in fact, the deity of Death and Transcendence, Soara. Why?


    That and other things had them seriously wanting to have a sit-down with Zach. He didn''t


    have to


    explain anything. But there were a couple of things they wanted to know regarding his familiars, such as why they were all maids.


    But there were more important things than making Zach cough up at least a few of all the secrets he was sitting on. He had just made history. He looked fine. He looked better than fine, albeit a little exhausted. He had another strong, beautiful, maid familiar.


    However, they had no way of knowing what kind of suffering he had gone through during the twelfth Trial or what had happened to him after they left the Labyrinth entrance due to the two uncles taking charge and deciding what to do.


    "Welcome back."


    "Next time you''re doing something like that, at least let us know."


    "Thanks. And I''m not making any promises I can''t keep."


    Nessa and Violina, despite everything, were happy that Zach was back alive and in one piece. After all, the odds for his death in the twelfth Trial were sky-high. Even if they felt or hoped that he would be the one to break tradition, they couldn''t ignore reality.


    It had been easy to think of Zach as a dead man.

 Chapter 244 Introduction

    The three youths lay down on the Systine mansion''s lawn and relaxed for the first time in several weeks.The Labyrinth''s Trials had taken over a month to complete, surprisingly enough. It didn''t feel like that long when they did it, even during the boring parts. But keeping track of time when it wasn''t the same for everyone, like after the maze, and in a place with a constant light hadn''t been easy.


    When they went through the Trials, they had been on alert all the time. The Academy had taught them to never let down their guard. They listened to that. It was hard to catch any student off guard, especially top students like them.


    But they had been on higher alert than usual since they were trying to clear one of the five Labyrinths, and they had no idea what to expect. The Trials weren''t the same as the last time the Labyrinth opened, and none of them had any experience with anything similar.


    Their nerves had been stretched taut and their senses kept sharp even during Trials that seemed peaceful.


    After they finished or were kicked from the Labyrinth for failing, Nessa and Violina couldn''t relax since Zach was missing and possibly dead. They had been worried sleepless, and that was just what the worry about Zach''s decision to continue with the Labyrinth did. They had also been worried about what would happen to Zach if he succeeded or failed without dying. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What would happen to Zach when he left the Labyrinth and returned to the surface to find nothing but open water?


    It was obvious.


    Zach got lost in his own shoes. Open water without land anywhere could have Zach drifting for years before finding his way back to shore. Even if he cleared the Labyrinth or survived, they might never know.


    It was only now that he had returned that they could relax.


    It was the same for Zach.


    It was only now that he had his friends that he could stop worrying about getting lost.


    "How did you get back to land, by the way, Zach?" Nessa asked after half-mindedly remembering that Violina''s uncles returned to the bay without waiting for Zach.


    "Oh, I met some pirates who gave me a ride."


    "Pirates? For free?"


    "They gave me a ride, and I didn''t give them a choice."


    "They didn''t drop you off here, though." Violina could see how Zach managed to convince the pirates to give him a ride. But they would have rather died or jumped ship before coming close to the estate.


    "Nope. A day''s sprint in¡­" Zach picked up his head and glanced around. He pointed in a random direction. "...That direction."


    "That''s the ocean¡­" Violina pointed out.


    "Oh. I guess not that direction then. A day''s sprint away, at least."


    "How did you get here?" Nessa asked, confused. She was aware of Zach''s terrible sense of direction.


    "Oh, I found an old man who helped me," Zach said without thinking much about it.


    Nessa and Violina frowned. An old man. A day''s sprint away. It didn''t make sense. Did Zach make the old man run for his life?


    Then, they remembered what had happened only minutes before they got word of Zach''s arrival. It was more of a hunch and a gut feeling than a moment of genius connecting the dots.


    After all, it didn''t make logical sense.


    What could Zach possibly have to do with that?


    "By any chance, Zach, do you know what triggered the pirate alarm?" Violina asked, hoping Zach wouldn''t know.


    "Yep." Zach gave a slight nod but made no move to explain.


    "Well, what was it?" Nessa eagerly asked.


    "I¡­don''t think I''m supposed to tell you, but I''m sure it''s fine. It was an old relative of Violina''s. I''m not sure about the details, but maybe a grandfather or great-uncle or something. He''s very strong. Like, very, very strong."


    Nessa and Violina propped their heads up and looked at Zach in confusion. What was he on about now?


    "Thanks for the introduction, kid. But you''re one generation off." Sio smiled at seeing the shocked looks on the youths'' faces when they hurriedly turned around or stood up. They hadn''t noticed him until he spoke.


    He looked at Violina.


    "I am this young girl''s great-grandfather."


    Violina''s eyes widened slightly. She saw her dad standing behind the old man in a simple floral shirt, shorts, and sandals with a deferent expression and a swelling on his head like someone had knocked some sense into him.


    The odds that the old man was lying were very low.


    "Violina greets great-grandfather." Violina curtsied with a formal tone that Zach and Nessa couldn''t believe was coming from her mouth.


    "Now, now, there''s no need for that," Sio said, waving away any formalities. "Come here, let me get a look at you."


    Violina listened and took one step toward Sio, still a little cautious.


    Sio put both hands on her shoulders and spun her around a full turn. He then picked her up, still only holding her by the shoulders, with such ease that she understood why Zach had called the old man very very strong.


    "Uhum. Indeed. This is what a descendant of mine should be like." Sio threw a glance at the Duke of Systine. "Much better than that snooty grandson of mine. Tsk, tsk, tsk." He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.


    Sio turned back to Violina with sparkling eyes and an excited smile.


    "There''s a while before the Academy starts again, right?"


    Violina nodded.


    "Perfect! Let''s make up for some lost time with good old-fashioned great-grandfather and great-granddaughter bonding. To the training grounds!" Sio picked up Violina and carried her under his arm like a sack of potatoes as he pointed at the training grounds before heading off.


    But he only took a few steps before turning around and looking at Zach and Nessa.


    "What are you waiting for? If you want to have any chance at courting my great-granddaughter, you will have to work very hard."


    "I''m not courting your great-granddaughter."


    "..."


    Everyone turned to look at Nessa. Now, why had


    she


    answered like that?

 Chapter 245 Harsh Training

    Sio did what he said. He made sure to make up for lost time by training his great-granddaughter. He also included Zach and Nessa in that training because they were Violina''s friends and once he got started, he had trouble stopping.He had so much knowledge, wisdom, and experience when it came to training and fighting that he just wanted to share with the younger generations. He also saw it as a personal challenge to get Zach to use his energy.


    Zach and the others weren''t sure if they could say that Sio was the best teacher. He was great. He knew a lot, and eh was strong. But it felt like he relied on brute-forcing their learning by just making them suffer, whether it be through nigh-torturous physical training or spars and mock-battles with him that were only one-sided beatings with a pseudonym.


    It was effective, though.


    He helped Violina with her sword techniques, physical strength, and the skill that covered her sword or whatever she touched in ice.


    He helped Nessa train her balance, compensational strength, and her sedation skill by making her try to knock him out.


    When he started training Zach, Sio had asked how Zach fought other than holing up behind his barriers. Zach had said he was training with the spear. Sio had laughed.


    It wasn''t a kind laugh, and before he knew it, Zach was undergoing the harshest physical training he had undergone.


    It felt like his muscles, skeleton, and internal organs were abused by a pack of hungry elephants every day. Then, they were healed and recovered with the miraculous combination of the passive world essence energy and the Systine''s bottomless well of resources, only to be trampled under another herd of elephants the next day.


    Sio could easily split his attention between the three youths without either of them feeling neglected.


    That changed, however, when Yanael joined the equation. And she didn''t do it alone.


    Soara wasn''t interested in it. Neither was Alzara. No, the one who accompanied Yanael was her Book of Sword Techniques. The collection of sword techniques and related information Yanael got from the Labyrinth was enough to distract Sio.


    The fact that even Sio, who was leagues above them all in strength, was interested in the Book was a testament to its value. The one thing that decreased its usefulness was the sheer amount of sword techniques and the fact that they weren''t all great. Some were decent. Some were not bad. Some were useable. Others were good. Outstanding. Overwhelming. Domineering. Peerless.


    There in lay the problem.


    Whoever read the book and was trying to learn from it had to sort through all the techniques to try to pick out only the good or better ones. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael knew a bunch of stuff. But her knowledge about sword techniques and related theory was surprisingly limited. She could rely on her amazing talent to learn and learn and learn until she knew which techniques were bad, good, and better.


    Or, she could receive Sio''s assistance and let him help her mark the ones that looked worth learning. It was an easy choice.


    While he helped Yanael, Sio naturally also learned. The techniques and theories in the Book were occasionally familiar. But most, if not all of them, he had never heard of before. There was so much to learn.


    Sio''s desire for growth and strength that had stagnated with age and when he started plateauing had been reignited by the wealth of information Zach and Yanael had brought him. It made him even more determined to get Zach to unlock his energy.


    It would help if he knew what kind of energy it was.


    But to Zach''s and Sio''s surprise, that information was restricted. Zach couldn''t share what kind of energy it was with anyone. It wasn''t Zach''s first restriction, but it sounded ridiculous to him. What would happen if he revealed that he had world essence energy?


    Sio was also confused. He had never encountered a similar situation before. He could understand why there was a restriction on the information about the twelfth Trial.


    But on the energy Zach used? It didn''t make sense unless it was an extremely special energy that he had never even heard of or that could have wide-stretching consequences if it got out.


    The energy hadn''t felt that special to Sio. But if it was so special Zach couldn''t even talk about it, Sio wouldn''t be surprised if it could fool his senses.


    None of that was enough to get him to stop trying to get Zach to use it, though.


    Fortunately, he had made a break through.


    All that harsh physical training hadn''t been for nothing. The world essence energy was inactive. Zach couldn''t control it, and it didn''t react to external stimuli.


    But, it lived inside Zach''s body like a parasite or symbiote. When Zach''s body was injured, worn down, or hungry, the energy mended it. It was like Zach''s abilities of recovery had suddenly increased.


    Another discovery that Zach really didn''t like was the fact that the more he pushed himself, the worse his internal injuries got, and the harsher the training, the more the energy reacted.


    To fully unlock the energy, Sio proposed extreme measures. Zach refused. Sio tried to convince him. Zach refused. Sio tried to convince him. Zach refused. Sio was about to do it anyway. Violina interrupted. Sio reconsidered.


    In the end, Sio developed a training regimen for Zach to follow. As long as he followed it, he might unlock half of the energy in a couple of years. At that point, the rest would be easier. Once the first balls of snow got rolling, the avalanche was soon to follow.


    Sio was a little downcast. He was old. He wanted immediate results. Zach was relieved but depressed. The ''easier'' version would still have him sweating blood. He was worried how he would manage with the Academy''s duties on top.


    But it wasn''t all bad. Sio had also figured out what weapon was best suited for Zach.

 Chapter 246 Trapped Under A Mountain

    Zach stared at Sio in confusion."No weapon?" He asked for confirmation, hoping Sio would say no.


    "Yes. No weapon. I think that''s the path best suited for you. Striking and grappling. Of course, you can always choose to ignore my advice or continue hiding behind your maids." Sio crossed his arms and shrugged nonchalantly.


    There was nothing wrong with a summoner relying on their summoned familiars. If anything, that was the standard practice of most summoners. But there was nothing about summoning that prevented a summoner from fighting themselves.


    Sure, they might occasionally need to control their familiars or use their skills. But they could just do that while fighting.


    Zach didn''t need to order his familiars around. They were intelligent enough to act on their own. His skill also didn''t restrict his movement unless he wanted it to, which, Zach regretted sharing with Sio. As soon as he did, Sio


    encouraged


    him to keep a shield that restricted his movements active all the time.


    It was great training or something. Zach didn''t listen too closely when Sio explained that part.


    "Why?" Zach didn''t want to acknowledge that the best weapon for him was no weapon. He wanted to cut things. Stab things. Dismember things. Mutilate things. He pouted.


    "...To be frank, it''s because you have no talent when it comes to weapons."


    "!" Zach gasped in surprise.


    "That''s not true!" He shouted in defiance.


    Sio shrugged, his arms still crossed like he was saying there wasn''t anything he could do about it. It was just the way it was, similar to how the sky was green and gravity pulled apples to the ground.


    "Kid, you don''t have to be so aggrieved by it. Your body is still good. Very good, in fact. It will become even better once you unlock that energy of yours. But that''s not the only reason why I think your body is your strongest weapon." Sio tapped on the barrier around Zach.


    "These things are stronger the closer they are to your body, and you can''t use them like blades or any way that would directly harm anyone who attacks them by shaping them like blades or spikes of any kind. However," Sio pointed at the redness on his knuckle from tapping the barrier. "They reflect physical force.


    "Your barriers are strongest when they are as close to your skin as possible. Wrap your body and fist in a solid barrier and you won''t feel a thing. Your opponent, however, will feel like they just got hit by a brick. If you use them well, your barriers will also prevent things like being strangled, joint-twisted, or toppled." Sio explained the advantages of engaging in hand-to-hand combat for Zach in more detail than Zach would have liked.


    There were just too many upsides to fight without a weapon.


    After all, unless he used a blunt weapon, he couldn''t wrap it in a barrier. A sword with a barrier was a club, so he might as well use a club. But a club didn''t need a barrier in the first place. And a club wasn''t as versatile as a pair of hands.


    "...Damn it." Zach cursed. He didn''t want to, but he had to admit that it was starting to sound like his only option.


    "Perfect! I''ll add it to the training regimen." Sio took Zach''s cursing as his surrender and smiled.


    Zach slumped his shoulders. He didn''t need an addition to his already harsh training regimen. Fortunately, it was just a set of movements for him to get used to throwing punches and the like. He just had to do with a barrier restricting his movements. The more restrictive, the better.


    But ''just a set of movements'' was still more. There was a lot to train.


    After a few weeks of Sio''s grueling training, which felt like months, however, it was finally time for Zach, Nessa, and Violina to start their journey back to the Academy. Zach was already looking forward to slacking off and ignoring the training regimen.


    Sio patted Zach on the shoulder before he boarded the carriage.


    "Kid."


    "Yes?" Zach tried to continue walking and escape Sio''s grasp, but it was like he was trapped under a mountain.


    "I have high hopes for you."


    "Thanks?"


    "I''m sure your father will understand if I whisk you away if you have not lived up to my expectations the next time we meet."


    "Meaning?"


    "I''ll know if you slack off."


    "..." Zach gulped. It seemed his plans to take it easy the remainder of the break had just been dashed to the ground.


    Sio smiled, his eyes like slits as he looked at Zach while making Zach look at him. Zach gave a minimal nod to show that he understood. Sio let him go. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach hurriedly entered the carriage and closed the door behind him before Sio could change his mind about letting him go or riding the carriage. He wouldn''t be surprised if the old man decided he needed another round of exercise himself and made Zach run all the way to the Academy.


    Fortunately, there was no way Sio would do that. The only way he would run in relation to the Academy would be away from it.


    The three students and all their familiars except Nessa''s Serpentine Millipede crammed into and onto one big carriage that soon started moving, thanks to the powerful horses drawing it. Sio waved them off before disappearing.


    It took more than a day for Zach to finally breathe out in relief after they left the Systine estate and Sio behind. Nessa and Violina also relaxed.


    Sio hadn''t pushed them as hard, especially Violina since she was his treasured descendant. But not having been pushed as hard as Zach only meant that they fell asleep the moment they closed their eyes instead of passing out like Zach did every time his training finished.


    They had been too tired to feel anything but fatigue.


    But now that they were relaxing, the three of them could feel the effects of the training and the precious food, herbal concoctions, and potions that the cysteine family provided them.


    They were stronger than before. It was almost worth it.


    Almost.

 Chapter 247 Return To The Academy

    The trio returned to the Academy with a couple of weeks to spare before the start of their third year, thanks to how smooth their journey was. It was great except for the fact that Zach had learned that the smoother his journeys were, the more trouble awaited him at the destination.But it wasn''t just trouble that greeted them at the Academy''s gates.


    "Rierdan!" The young man who had been in a coma last they saw him was standing there in the middle of the Academy, waiting for them. He looked healthier than last time.


    "Hey, guys." He waved and greeted them with a smile. He barely moved his hand before he was tackled by the three of them. Rierdan just sighed like he was used to it. Coming back from a coma really let him know which friends missed him and didn''t mind showing it.


    "You ready to take revenge on those bastards, Rierdan?" Zach helped Rierdan back on his feet with an outstretched hand.


    "..." Rierdan was silent as he took Zach''s hand and got up after the group tackle.


    "Rierdan?"


    "I''m¡­not joining you guys."


    ''"What?"'' Zach, Nessa, and Violina looked at him in confusion.


    Rierdan sighed. He had already had a conversation with the others about it, but it wasn''t an easy conversation to have.


    "I was in a coma for the majority of the second year. My grades aren''t exactly good enough for me to pass. I also don''t have my second familiar. And I don''t want to fight the Underworld anymore. I can''t¡ªI can''t do it." Rierdan avoided their eyes and looked at the ground to the side of his feet.


    "Rierdan¡­" They weren''t sure what to say. It was fully reasonable. They understood him. That didn''t mean they weren''t going to miss him, though.


    "You''ll still be a student at the Academy, right?"


    "Of course."


    "Perfect. As soon as you feel ready to rejoin the fight, we''ll be waiting for you in the Underworld Research and Extermination Club. Until then, we''ll just have to make do with eating lunch and studying together. We''ll help you ace the second year." Zach nodded as if it were already decided. It wasn''t


    if


    Rierdan would join the club. It was when he would join it.


    "..."


    "Oh, before that, though, do you remember what happened before¡­you know?" Zach asked as if he had just remembered something important.


    Nessa''s and Violina''s eyes also widened. They couldn''t believe that they had forgotten all the days and nights they spent studying by Rierdan''s bedside to protect him from a spy that could potentially seek to get rid of loose ends.


    Under the three''s expectant gazes, Rierdan was sorry that all he could do was shake his head.


    "I didn''t see anything. All I can say is that I was ambushed.


    "...Do with that information as you wish." Rierdan didn''t say it outright, but he was suspicious of a certain someone. The three nodded without saying a word.


    "Nothing should happen in the Academy now that you''re awake, but if you''re worried about your safety¡­" Violina started but Rierdan gently interrupted her.


    "I''m already rooming with Dukiel. So, I guess unless Zach is the spy, I shouldn''t have anything to worry about." Rierdan then turned to Zach.


    "I heard what happened with Julius. I am sorry."


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly.


    "There''s no need for that. I still believe in Julius."


    "...Alright."


    The group of four and their familiars made their way into the Academy to get something to eat and meet up with Anerias and Dukiel, who were excited to see them and jealous of Zach''s luck. Once again, he summoned a beautiful maid as his familiar.


    They talked while they ate. They talked about what they had done during the break.


    Rierdan hadn''t done much since he focused on rehab and recovery of both himself and his Runic Moss Butterfly.


    Anerias had ended up doing what Zach suggested and went to the Jira Labyrinth, where he found Liam and Rabst still challenging it. He also found out that was where the third and fourth-years had spent the last months of the last year, which explained why they hadn''t seen hide nor hair of them when they struggled to deal with the aftermath of Zach''s potion.


    Anerias had mixed feelings about his break. It had been an objectively good time. He had fun. He grew stronger. He made some friends and connections in a new part of the Empire. He earned some money by picking up treasures from the Labyrinth.


    But throughout it all, there was one thing he couldn''t do. He couldn''t find the hidden piece on the first floor. No matter what he did, he couldn''t discover the ratling society and the rat king. He always got sent to the second floor or back out of the Labyrinth before finding anything.


    That meant that throughout his entire break, he had Zach''s accomplishment hanging over him like a constant reminder that Zach was better.


    Of course, when he talked about his break and adventures inside the Jira Labyrinth, he did not mention that part. Zach didn''t ask about it to make him bring it up, either. He knew. He could see it on Anerias'' face.


    Besides, he didn''t need to make Anerias bring up such a paltry achievement.


    As soon as the three who had gone to the south started talking about their adventure, it was inevitable for his achievement to come to light. He was the first in recorded history to challenged the Syst Labyrinth''s twelfth Trial and survive.


    He hadn''t cleared it. But no one had. It was the same as the number of people who had survived even trying.


    Besides, he hadn''t cleared it yet. It was only a matter of time. Some day, he would be ready. He didn''t know when, where, how, or what would make him ready. But it would happen.


    After eating, the newly returned students went to unpack and unravel themselves in their rooms. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hey, Nora¡ª!" Zach opened the door to his dorm with a friendly greeting to his cherished childhood maid.


    "Oh, so now you remember me?"


    Zach would be ready for the twelfth Trial some day.


    If he didn''t get diced and stashed in a ditch first.

 Chapter 248 His Own Good

    Zach hadn''t brought Nora along to the south because¡­He had left her behind since she¡­


    He thought she didn''t want to tag along after¡­


    Maybe she was busy?


    Zach couldn''t come up with an excuse. There hadn''t been enough Labyrinth Tickets so Zach simply hadn''t thought to make her go with them just to wait around while they entered the Labyrinth.


    He knew she could take care of herself, but there was no reason to make her take care of herself in the middle of what could have been pirate territory when she could spend her break in the Academy, relaxing, training, studying, cleaning, cooking, playing, and fishing.


    Zach almost thought he had been considerate in giving Nora a vacation.


    Needless to say, Nora did not see it like that. She had done all that and more, but most of it had been boring. It also looked like Zach had ditched her to go hang out with his familiars and female classmates. A maid technically working for his family who had been by his side since they were children would only get in the way.


    He had even brought yet another maid back with him. He was insufferable.


    "Sorry, Nora."


    "..."


    "...I''ll bring you along next time."


    "...You better."


    Nora stood up from Zach''s fancy armchair and went to prepare some snacks. It was her way of apology after taking out her resentment at being left behind.


    When she returned with a tray, Zach introduced Soara.


    "A deity?" Nora looked at the black-haired, fair-skinned beauty with skepticism and disbelief. A deity was such a distant concept that she had trouble understanding that Soara was one and that she was standing right in front of her.


    "Yup. Impressive, right?" Zach grinned. He hesitated to brag about Soara to the others, but he didn''t keep any secrets from Nora.


    "More like unbelievable. Are you really a deity?" Nora asked Soara.


    "That''s correct. I am far from my peak strength right now, but I am still technically a proper deity."


    "I see. It''s nice to meet you, Soara."


    "Likewise, Nora."


    Their meeting and greeting was much more peaceful and harmonious than the ones between the familiars. It was because Nora was confident. No matter how many familiars, maids, or beautiful women he summoned, she would still be his only childhood friend. She was first. She was also a real human woman, not a familiar.


    "So, did the Labyrinth of Syst also give you one of those Wishing Keys?" Nora asked, curious how he went about summoning a familiar this time since he hadn''t used the Chamber of Ceremony in the Academy.


    "Nope. Soara was staying in the Labyrinth, and when I put a figure of her on a throne, she appeared. We talked a little, and she decided to become my familiar." Zach gave Nora a brief version of the events. Details could be shared later.


    "Uh-huh." Nora nodded before looking Soara up and down with another doubtful gaze.


    "Death and Transcendence, was it? What''s up with the maid dress?" She asked. From the sound of it, based on Zach''s explanation, Nora had chosen to become his familiar rather than having been summoned as one.


    Soara looked at her clothes, inspecting them real quick.


    "It just seemed right."


    "''It just seemed right''?" Nora echoed for confirmation.


    "Yes. The other two were maids, so I figured I should become one as well. And after leading for as long as I did, I felt like it would be nice to follow someone else for once," Soara explained. She could already tell that Nora held a special position in Zach''s heart. There was no problem in being honest with her feelings, especially since Zach was sitting right next to them and listening to their conversation.


    "Got it. It suits you."


    "Thank you." Soara bowed slightly with her head and shoulders. Nora had accepted her.


    Nora turned to Zach.


    "If you don''t mind, Young Master, I''ve been thinking about something lately."


    "Go on."


    "Why do you keep it a secret that your familiars have names and can talk?" She asked, finally voicing a doubt that had gnawed at her thoughts since Zach first summoned Yanael and decided to keep that secret.


    "...It feels like it would be troublesome if everyone knew how special my familiars are. Wouldn''t everyone want to know more and pay a lot of attention to every move I and my familiars make?"


    "..." Nora gave Zach a blank stare.


    "Remind me again, what was your Title? Oh, and how did you act in your first year?" Nora helpfully brought up Zach''s dark past to remind him that he was no stranger to trouble. And the one who craved and did things to attract attention in the first year had been him. He also hadn''t exactly tried to keep a low profile with anything else.


    Zach was not afraid to take place in social situations.


    "I have no control over my Title. And my first year in this place was also my first time interacting with people other than you, my family, and some of the servants and knights at the estate. You can''t expect me to act like a normal person."


    "I have never expected you to act like a normal person, Young Master." Nora made sure to add formalities when speaking so Zach wouldn''t think she was too rude.


    "But maybe I shouldn''t have expected you to have some self-recognition, either."


    "Hey! What''s that supposed to mean?" Zach questioned Nora.


    "You and you alone are entirely responsible for your Title. And if you had been worried about catching attention and attracting curious gazes, you should have thought more about how you act." Nora laid it out straight with no regard for Zach''s feelings.


    He clutched a hand over his chest and pressed back in his fancy armchair. He was hurt and in disbelief at the words Nora was saying. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m sorry, Young Master. I thought you needed to hear it before it was too late." Nora bowed in apology. She had definitely spoken out of turn. If her mother had been present, she might have been stripped of her maid dress on the spot and fed to the dogs.


    Fortunately, for multiple reasons, Zach wasn''t her mother.


    He was kind enough to realize that Nora was saying it for his own good.


    He was also smart enough to realize that the worst part of what she was saying was that it was true.


    "Shit¡­Am I that bad?"


    "...Whenever you overhear someone whisper about you or talk about you behind your back, regardless of the topic, your lips twitch and cramp into this weird, stiff smile."


    "..."

 Chapter 249 Personality

    Zach slumped in his fancy armchair with a soulless expression for a few minutes before slowly picking himself back up. Color gradually returned to his face, and he returned to the topic they had been discussing before Nora decided to attack his person and character."I will consider revealing it as long as you three don''t mind it?" He turned to Yanael, Alzara, and Soara.


    "I follow your decisions, Master." Yanael gave a formal answer.


    "If anyone comes looking trouble like you''re worried about, just let them come." Alzara had been bothered about having to remember to stay quiet around Zach, especially when people in his vicinity said stupid shit.


    "Master, Alzara has a point. But at the same time, if you don''t gain anything by revealing our uniqueness to the world, I don''t mind staying silent in the presence of others."


    Zach tilted his head to the side at Soara''s answer. She had a point. If there wasn''t a need to do it, there wasn''t a need to do it.


    "Young Master, weren''t you curious about why Yanael and Alzara have names and can talk when no other familiar can? I think it''s pretty safe to say that Soara is an exception since she became a familiar through an unconventional route. Revealing that might lead to a way to find out more about their situation."


    Zach nodded. Nora made a good point. He looked at his familiars.


    "I''m assuming you can''t tell me about it?" He asked Yanael and Alzara. To no surprise, they shook their heads without giving another answer.


    Zach tried to read their expressions but couldn''t see anything.


    "...Excuse me, Master. Since I don''t actually know, I might be able to make a guess," Soara said after gently grabbing Zach''s attention.


    "Really? Please do, then," Zach said excitedly.


    "It''s because they have personalities." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach tilted his head in confusion. Of course, they had personalities.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Compared to other familiars, like those of that one-armed girl or the blue-haired girl, Yanael and Alzara have a lot of personality¡­" Soara''s voice grew quieter for several reasons, one of them being Yanael and Alzara looking at her intensely.


    Zach was silent as he thought about it.


    Certainly.


    Nessa''s and Violina''s familiars had their own personalities, especially the Millipede and the Frost Imp. But their personalities were fairly simple and straightforward. They were more like the monsters they resembled than the intelligent beings Yanael and Alzara were.


    But was having intelligence and more personality enough to warrant a name and the ability to talk? It seemed far-fetched.


    Soara saw Zach''s doubt and opened her mouth again.


    "I can''t tell you why I think that''s the reason. It''s also not the best way to formulate it. But personality, Names, and the ability to speak are related. At least, I''m pretty sure they are." Soara was unsure. But there was a basis for her theory. It was just hidden behind a restriction. That alone gave it some credibility.


    "Looks like I just have to gather more authority." Zach sighed and leaned back in his chair. His head was once again spinning with various thoughts. Both from what he had talked about with his maids and from meetings his friends earlier.


    Zach let out a deep sigh again.


    He couldn''t believe it.


    Sio had ruined him.


    He wanted to clear his head by training. Training hard was an effective way of stopping his brain from focusing on unnecessary and necessary things. If he filled it with the suffering of his body undergoing physical training, he wouldn''t have to think so much about things he couldn''t answer.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t fast enough.


    While he and his maids, all four of them, went to the training room he had hired indefinitely as Alzara''s lab, he thought back to what Dukiel had mentioned when he talked about his break.


    He had stayed in the Academy and worked at an inn in the city again this year. It had looked like it wouldn''t reopen after what happened earlier in the year, but Dukiel''s presence was enough to convince the owners to give it a shot.


    Needless to say, it hadn''t been their most profitable year, even with the principal''s official guarantee that nothing would happen to the city during the break.


    The city had been pretty empty lately, even after it was mostly restored. People just weren''t interested in staying there, especially after Mursoth''s threats. The ceasefire was temporary.


    That meant it would end. The peace would end. The horrendous suffering the city had gone through last time due to the flood of underworld energy poisoning the citizens would return. And it would return stronger and worse.


    Basilia was almost as dead as Haya, the underwater city in the Labyrinth of Syst.


    They wouldn''t be able to rely on the same width and availability of supplies as the previous years. It also meant they wouldn''t have to be as worried about citizens getting caught up in the crossfire, but there were still citizens in the city.


    Food, money, potions, tools, and special items would be hard to get, but they would still have to try and keep the city and its people safe, despite the danger lurking below Basilia.


    Zach didn''t look forward to it. But that didn''t mean he wasn''t going to do anything about it. He was already working on a solution or two. But until there was some progress, the school year officially started, or the Underworld made a move, there wasn''t much for Zach to do.


    Other than train, of course.


    The best way for Zach to prepare for everything that was coming was to grow strong enough to handle it all. Even with Yanael, Alzara, and Soara by his side, he wasn''t confident that he could handle Named underworlders, much less the Underworld and the Great Ugor. The impression Jigak had left still run deep, even if Mursoth hadn''t seemed as intimidating.


    Zach gathered the resolve to go through with the training regimen sio had left him.

 Chapter 250 Incomplete

    Zach breathed heavily as he lay on the floor in the training room, his glistening body covered in sweat. He looked at the ceiling to avoid staring at the feminine curves of the maids lying down next to and around him.Their maid dresses usually hid their hips well, but when they were lying on their sides looking at him, there was no denying that they were women. Fortunately, Zach had gotten a little used to it over the last couple of years and could almost focus.


    As he looked at the square ceiling, Zach realized something.


    He hadn''t looked at the system interface in quite a while. He had done it before the end of the second school year to confirm that he had reached level twenty. After that, he hadn''t paid much attention to it, not even after establishing a familiar contract with Soara.


    So, he took a look at it.


    After a few minutes¡­


    "Soara, I have a couple of questions."


    [Zacharia Evandiel - Troublemaker]


    [Level 23 Expert Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skills: Blessed Defense | Material Extraction | Transcension]


    [Contracts: Yanael | Alzara roi Kalam | Soara]


    [Yanael ¨C S-Rank Angel *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Alzara roi Kalam ¨C SS-Rank Desert Witch *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Soara ¨C SS-rank Deity of Death and Transcendence *Battle Maid Variant (SSS) (Incomplete)]


    [Titles: 1]


    He had leveled up a little more than he expected. Being level twenty-three already put him in a good spot for reaching thirty. He had also gone from being a summoner to being an expert summoner. He wasn''t sure what the difference was if there was one. But it was always better to be an expert than not being one.


    He had a new contract skill. It seemed closely related to Soara''s second power, which he still didn''t know much about. But that could come later. For now, Zach was interested in the two parentheses behind Soara''s information.


    "I will answer you to the best of my ability, Master," Soara said. She already had a hunch about what Zach wanted to ask.


    "You know the information I can see about you, right?"


    "That''s right."


    "Are you missing a limb I didn''t know you were supposed to have or something? Why does it say that you''re incomplete?" Soara''s status as an SS-rank instead of the indicated SSS-rank was probably related to that as well, so Zach didn''t bother asking about it.


    "No. Physically speaking, I am intact. It''s¡­ Well, in short, it''s related to what you saw in the statues. I can''t go into the details, unfortunately. Just know that while I may be significantly weakened due to my current status, I will not be a burden."


    "Oh, I wasn''t worried about that. I was worried that you might be suffering or something. But by the looks of it, it can be fixed, right?"


    "Yes. I can be completed, as much as I dislike that way of phrasing it. But it''s a distant matter for your current self. Thank you for your concern, Master."


    "Mm. The contract skill I got from our bond is called Transcension. Any idea what it does? Or rather, what does your power of Transcendence do? I never understood or noticed it, no matter how many times I watched the scene in your statue."


    Soara was silent for a minute.


    "...It is a fancy name for a simple power." Soara''s expression and tone were distant like she was looking at the past.


    Her emotional response made Zach hesitate to continue asking. But he couldn''t help it.


    "...What does it do?" He asked gently.


    Soara sighed with a depth of emotion Zach was a few thousand years too young to understand.


    "It''s a power that ignores limits."


    Zach still didn''t quite understand what it meant or what the power did. But Soara wasn''t in the mood to explain. And he wasn''t in the mood to make her do it anyway.


    He could tell that the others thought Soara was being ridiculous. She had chosen to become Zach''s maid, servant, and familiar. She had subordinated herself to him. That meant she answered and explained when he had questions.


    Instead, she was being all weird and making the atmosphere gloomy.


    However, it wasn''t just about a familiar obeying their Master. The Master could choose to respect their familiar.


    If Yanael or Alzara had been in the same situation, they would have appreciated the same kindness he was showing Soara.


    Besides, Zach had a feeling that Soara wouldn''t be able to explain it in much more detail than that. It was a simple explanation, maybe too simple. But it gave him an idea of what his contract skill would do.


    None of his other skills had been similar to anything Yanael and Alzara did. They had been more like a perfect compliment to their abilities.


    Blessed Defense let him protect himself while Yanael fought, among other things. Material Extraction smoothened Alzara''s crafting process. Transcension, however, looked like it was straight from Soara''s power of Transcendence.


    If it was anything like her power, he wielded the power of a deity. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The thought and possibility were almost intoxicating.


    By wielding the power of a deity, wasn''t it like he himself was a deity?


    Not quite. Of course.


    Zach was still clear-headed enough to realize that. Otherwise, anyone with a similar power as any of the other deities would also be a deity. Anyone who could summon or control rain would have shared that power with Boa. As they had discovered last year, it wasn''t a common power. But a skilled mage could do it. And if skilled mages were deities, deities wouldn''t have been so rare.


    Yissna of Strength was a deity. Being strong didn''t make a person a deity.


    There was more to it.


    But Zach didn''t just share the same name of or property of a power as a deity. His skill came directly from his union with Soara.


    There was no harm in giggling to himself with excitement about what he could do with Transcension.


    He just had to figure out how to use it.


    It couldn''t be that hard.

 Chapter 251 Suppliers

    Learning how to activate Transcension for Zach wasn''t hard. It was impossible.He spent the remaining few weeks of the break doing a bunch of other things as well, but he focused a considerable amount of time and effort into trying to activate his most recent skill. But no matter what he did, nothing happened. He didn''t know where he was supposed to feel it.


    Blessed Defense was in the center of his chest, and Material Extraction was in his hands. But he couldn''t even begin to visualize where he was supposed to feel Transcension.


    Soara had said that her power of Transcendence was a power that ignored limits. Since ignoring something usually was a conscious decision, he figured it might be with his head. That was a dead-end.


    He then tried to think in different terms.


    What did ignoring limits mean? Was it like stepping over or around them? Could he feel it in his feet or legs? No.


    Maybe his back? Soara''s name was similar to the word ''soar.'' Maybe he could fly over his limits like he had wings. Far-fetched. Also no-go.


    People sometimes talk about breaking through their limits. People usually broke things with their hands. Zach''s hands were already preoccupied with Material Extraction, but maybe he would feel Transcension there, too. He didn''t.


    He struck dirt with every attempt or trial he made.


    Fortunately, at least, he progressed in other areas. His barriers continuously improved since he just made more and more of them in new and increasingly strenuous ways. It also helped that he gained a deeper understanding of how they worked when he applied them to himself like restrictions to his movements.


    However, since he was restricting his movements around the clock, it was difficult to tell how his physical training was going. He felt stronger but weaker at the same time.


    In addition to that, though, Zach also made progress in another unexpected area.


    He was getting better at throwing punches. It still felt a little weird, but unlike with his spear practice, he was improving. It was great news.


    Then, there was the entrance ceremony, which he didn''t pay much attention to. The first-years looked very small and young, and the girl doing the speech looked cocky standing up there on the stage and saying a bunch of things.


    Zach also couldn''t help but notice that again this year, there were no falling chandeliers. He was the only one who got that treatment.


    After the entrance ceremony, there were a couple of introductory classes to the different subjects they would have this year. Most were advanced classes on the same things as last year. There was an extended class on familiar harmony now that people had two or more familiars.


    Zach was happy about that since it meant one lesson he could skip to focus on training or other more important things, such as training. He didn''t need it, anyway. His familiars got along well.


    After those introductory classes, Zach gathered the club members in the club room. Since the school year had started, it meant their club activities had started. It also meant that the principal had stopped shielding the city and the Academy from the Underworld''s influences.


    If they didn''t want a repeat or a worse version of the Underworld''s kidnapping sequence, they would have to prepare.


    "I think we should evacuate the city." Zach made his stance clear as he put both hands on the table and looked at the others.


    "Are you sure? We''re already having trouble gathering resources. If we make the remaining citizens and merchants leave, we will basically have to rely on the forest for everything." Anerias, as always, was skeptical of Zach''s suggestion.


    "It wouldn''t be undoable, but it would be distracting. It would be difficult trying to keep everyone fed while fighting the Underworld." Dukiel thought about it objectively.


    The forest had a lot of resources, and it had recovered a lot after the underworld energy retreated back underground. It was also vast. If the students in their year cooperated, it would be very doable. But it would require spreading their powers thin.


    "What about keeping the bare minimum in terms of suppliers?" Nessa suggested.


    "They''ll be an easy target for the underworlders." Violina shot down that suggestion.


    "Didn''t we recently get a new batch of workers who aren''t doing anything yet?" Zach asked.


    The others looked at him in confusion. They couldn''t even try to guess what he was talking about.


    "The first-years."


    "..."


    "...What?"


    "..."


    "Can you honestly say it''s not a good idea? And hopefully, it''s just temporary. I''m still waiting on a positive response, but I''m working on an alternative supplier as well."


    "An alternative supplier? Who or what?" Anerias questioned. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ahp ahp ahp. No details. What if it falls through?"


    "...Setting that aside for the moment. How are you going to get the first-years to work for us?" Dukiel asked.


    "By asking nicely, of course!" Zach smiled brightly.


    "...And what about the Academy? Do you think the principal and the instructors will let you just use the first-years like worker ants?"


    "Well, Jarron is easy to persuade. Just guilt trip and blackmail him a little. I''m sure the principal would encourage it. The other instructors¡­Does anyone know who the homeroom instructor for the first-years are?"


    "I think it might be Instructor Drupesh," Nessa said.


    "Oh, I remember her. She is a tough nut to crack, but I think I have something that might just work." Zach smiled again as he put his hands on his table and leaned forward.


    "So, what do you guys think? Evacuate and fortify the city. Have the first-years gather food for the Academy and any other materials we will need to start amassing potions and talismans."


    "Wait, you said fortify the city?" Dukiel asked for clarification. If they evacuated the citizens, there shouldn''t be a need to increase the city''s defenses. What were they protecting or trying to protect by doing that? It would be easier and safer to just rebuild the city after everything had ended, regardless of who remained.


    "Of course. That''s where we''ll be fighting, after all."

 Chapter 252 Fortify

    The members of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club looked at Zach, patiently waiting for a more detailed explanation. They were already at war with the Underworld. Of course, they would be fighting each other. But Zach made it sound like he was planning on turning the city into a battlefield.Something like that would lead to the city being totally ruined. Using it as a battlefield would leave it far more destroyed than simply letting it be until their tussle with the Underworld was over.


    Zach hung his head a little with a sigh. Why did he have to explain everything? Couldn''t they just understand without him needing to spell it out? He looked up at the club members.


    "Currently, the Underworld has two paths straight to the surface. Honestly, they probably have more. But the two major ones that we know about are the big vertical hole in the middle of the forest and the other one connected to the sewer system beneath the city." Zach''s words finally got the others'' minds to start spinning.


    The hole in the forest was a tunnel straight down. It was incredulously long and might even still be affected by the anti-underworld energy potion at the bottom. Unless they could fly, it was impossible for an underworlder to get to the surface with it. Even then, they would have to fly for a long time.


    Zach and the others couldn''t exclude the possibility of large-scale, flying, transportation-oriented underworlders. But what would be the need for something like that underground? Any large transportation-oriented underworlders should be made to transport things over or through the ground, not through the air.


    It was unlikely that the Underworld would use the hole in the forest as a primary pathway to the surface.


    That left the sewers beneath the city. Not only were they accessible to all underworlders not the size of hills, but they would also make it easy for them to infiltrate the surface without detection, thanks to the many manhole openings to the sewer system.


    Of course, Zach and the others had no idea what the Underworld was planning, or if they would even try to breach the surface. After all, what would they gain? There wasn''t anything special in the city and attacking the Academy head-on was suicidal.


    But they had prepared something beneath the city and used the city''s people to do it. There was something that had brought them there.


    Without knowing what the Underworld was planning, the club had to prepare for everything. That included an invasion. And such an invasion was most likely to come through the sewers of Basilia. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant, their best bet to stop such an invasion and hinder the Underworld''s plans was to fortify the city and prepare their defense there.


    "By fortifying the city, plugging most of the sewer entrances, and lining the sewers and the city with talismans, we can limit and control the Underworld''s movements on the surface," Zach concluded the point he was trying to make with that statement.


    "...And if we can control their movements, we can kill them more easily." Violina broke out of her thoughtful silence to add another clarification.


    Zach nodded.


    "So, until we figure out what the Underworld''s plan is, we play defensively. I''ll start working on making more talismans and potions. You guys start the evacuations and reinforcements.


    "Nessa, you''re in charge of evacuating. Feel free to borrow mine or Violina''s statuses if you need. Just get people out of there.


    "Dukiel, can you figure out the best spots to gather the relevant materials and make a map for the first-years?"


    "Yes."


    "Don''t make it too easy on them, though. The principal won''t allow it otherwise."


    "...Got it."


    "Violina, you''re on building defenses and strategy. I want a plan for defending the city against a full-scale invasion and facing a Named like Mursoth. Both with and without me present."


    Violina nodded with a grave expression. Zach''s orders told them how dire the situation might become in the future.


    "Anerias, can you find the way to the hole in the forest?"


    "Yeah."


    "Set up a perimeter using magic tools. We need to know if they come from there, too. And try to hide the magic tools. It will be our advantage if we know they''re coming when they think we don''t."


    "Got it."


    Everyone looked at Zach. He nodded. They nodded. What they had to do in addition to their studies was clear. They just had to get started.


    There was a knock on the door frame.


    "What about me, boss?"


    Zach and the others turned to look at Liam, who most of them hadn''t seen in a few months. The air around him was a little different. But he was the same blonde noble student council member.


    Zach threw a quick glance at Violina, who nodded just as quickly.


    "Help Violina with strategizing. That''s the one thing we can''t waste personnel on. It would be even better if you could help figure out what the Underworld might have planned. Why are they targeting the city? Why the forest? What did they have to stabilize so much that they asked for a ceasefire for, based on what I can find, the first time in recorded history?"


    Liam nodded with a smile. He turned to Violina.


    "I''ll do my best to assist you." He looked at Zach again. "And I''ll do my best to try and find answers to those questions. Speaking of questions, Club President¡­Do you have any thoughts about joining the Student Council this year?"


    "Nope. Now, get moving. There''s no time to waste." Zach kicked the club members out of the club room to get them started on their tasks after shooting down Liam''s question.


    However, he grabbed Nessa before she left.


    "What?" She asked. The others also turned around and looked. Since it wasn''t anything private, Zach didn''t mind. He had just forgotten to ask about it until now.


    "Those alchemists you gathered last year¡­Are they still around?"


    "Most of them are, yes. They are one of the reasons the city still has some merchants running supplies."


    "Perfect." Zach smiled and sent her on her way again.

 Chapter 253 Negotiation Material

    Since the members of his club were carrying out his orders, Zach naturally couldn''t sit still. One of the important parts of his plan was getting the first-years to contribute. The first years themselves weren''t the problem.They were human and young ones at that. Zach felt confident he and the others would be able to get them to agree if nothing and no one else was involved. But their will wasn''t the problem. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After entering the Academy, someone else dictated their lives.


    Zach''s first meeting was with the principal. His eyes glimmered at Zach''s suggestion. He also mentioned something about Zach having the potential to become an instructor or even the principal when he grew up. Zach ignored and promptly forgot about that.


    As soon as he graduated, he wasn''t stepping foot inside the Academy again.


    The principal agreed and supported the idea as long as Zach filled in the necessary paperwork. He had to do it personally. He could not delegate it to anyone else.


    It meant extra work for him, which pleased the principal. If Zach wanted to get anywhere in life, he would have to do a lot of paperwork. Very few paths in life did not lead to paperwork or hunger.


    And if he was going to become an instructor at the Academy? Paperwork would be his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He wouldn''t go hungry ever again.


    And since the principal agreed, Jarron couldn''t reject it, even if he was worried about the first-years. Besides, he was just as worried about his class, the third-years. Without the first-years'' help, they would have to work even harder, take even more risks, and face even more danger.


    That left one instructor to convince.


    "No. Over my dead body." Instructor Drupesh didn''t even hear Zach out. As soon as he mentioned borrowing the first-years, she refused and rejected his suggestion.


    "But the principal¡ª"


    "So what if the principal agreed to it? He wouldn''t tell my kids what to do. You and your classmates would do that. I say no. That means you don''t even talk to my students without me being there. And if you post requests or spread rumors or whatever tricks you might pull, I''ll pull your teeth out." Drupesh glared at Zach. She would have gotten up and left if they weren''t holding the conversation in her office.


    "Is an instructor supposed to threaten a student like that?" Zach asked, taken aback by Instructor Drupesh''s strong attitude.


    "Are students supposed to dump their work on their juniors?"


    "Ye¡ª"


    "No. They are supposed to do it themselves."


    "And we will do it as soon as we can. But that can take a month or two."


    "So? You can handle a month or two. It''s not like my students can provide any meaningful help in any fight against the Underworld."


    "They don''t need to fight¡ª"


    "I''m not interested in what you want them to do." Instructor Drupesh held up a hand and stopped Zach from speaking.


    "Now, if you don''t have anything meaningful to say, please remove yourself from my office."


    Zach sighed and put his hand inside his shirt.


    If she was going to be difficult, he would have to use some negotiation material.


    Zach took out and put a yellow, clay-like brick on the table between him and Drupesh.


    "That''s not even gold but you''re trying to bribe me with it?" Drupesh correctly guessed Zach''s intentions. However, she did not correctly identify the object. She could only tell that it wasn''t gold. And since it came from Zach, she wasn''t going to probe it any further.


    But she couldn''t help it.


    Something drew her gaze to it, making her give it a second look. That second look turned into a long and studious third look. She reached out to grab it, but Zach snatched it up and held it in his hand, making it difficult for Drupesh to see it, much less study it.


    She looked at Zach with an intense expression as if she couldn''t believe he had the guts to do that.


    She scoffed.


    "If you think a strange brick will be enough to convince me to turn my students into cannon fodder, think again."


    "They won''t be turned into cannon fodder. Besides, isn''t that part of this Academy''s goals? Kill a few to strengthen many? If you coddle your students, a majority of them will die after graduating."


    "Who''s the instructor here? Me or you? I can handle teaching my students just fine. Now, show me that stone again, or get out." Drupesh pointed at the door.


    Zach shrugged and held up the yellowish brick. But he didn''t let Drupesh take it.


    Drupesh''s eyes narrowed as she looked at the stone. It was an interesting piece. Zach just hoped it would be interesting enough. He hadn''t expected Drupesh to be this against the idea.


    She was a far cry from Jarron when it came to standing up for the students and her values. Jarron made a few too many mistakes and caved under the principals'' pressure a little too easily. But then again, he hadn''t been an instructor for as long as Drupesh.


    Eventually, the light in Drupesh''s eyes changed to a determined one. She met Zach''s eyes after barely tearing her gaze away from the stone.


    "You said you wouldn''t turn my students into cannon fodder¡­?" She tentatively asked.


    Zach controlled the smile that threatened to burst forth.


    The brick he had taken from the Labyrinth of Syst had worked wonders in convincing a stone lover like Drupesh.


    "Not at all. They might even be safer working for my club than they would be if you let the principal come up with something. But they''ll be close to risky situations and still learn what they need to learn during their first year at this Academy. Now, I shouldn''t get ahead of myself or inflate this proposal, but this might be the perfect curriculum for your students." Zach gave Drupesh his best businessman-like smile.


    She narrowed her eyes skeptically.


    But after Zach gave her the details of what he had planned, she couldn''t help but agree that her students would be safe as long as things went according to plan. She had nothing to worry about as long as everything went according to Zach''s plan.


    If Drupesh had taken a moment to think about what she was agreeing to and who she was talking with, her decision might have been different.


    "W-where did you get this?"


    But her attention was completely taken away by the mysterious stone that was not like any material she had ever come in contact with. It was like it didn''t even come from the same land.

 Chapter 254 Unoffically

    After Zach had secured Drupesh''s cooperation and the permission to use her students as slav¡ªworkers, Zach headed to the city. He wouldn''t have minded getting started with his own mission, which meant he would be watching Alzara craft while training.However, to maximize efficiency, he also had to put the alchemists in the city to work. So, he went to the city and gathered the alchemists in the building they had used to store materials, craft, and distribute potions last year.


    After a while, creases appeared on the skin of his face. There were significantly fewer alchemists this time around. It also seemed like the ones that had stood out and performed well last time had left.


    "Hmm." Zach hummed in displeasure. He was pretty sure he had made sure to tell them to stay and wait for his return. He had even paid them all a lump sum to cover their living expenses while they waited. They also had access to the storage as long as they paid back a share of the profits from the potions they sold.


    But there was one exception. One of the alchemists who stood out had stayed in the city and chosen to return.


    "You." Zach pointed at a woman with short, light brown hair and intense green eyes, who was looking at him like a baby bird eagerly awaiting food.


    "Yes!" She sharpened her posture, straightened her back, and if she hadn''t been holding a glass bottle since Zach interrupted her work with his arrival, she would have probably saluted as well.


    "Relax. Your name was Jesse, right?"


    "Jessecke. Yes, sir."


    "Jessecke. Got it. Why did you stay? Someone with your skill should have been able to find work somewhere else in these last few months?" Before getting started with the real work, Zach wanted to find out where he had gone wrong other than trusting people, and what he had done right that made Jessecke stay.


    "I believed in you, sir. I believed that you would come back and that you would bring more recipes with you." There was an excited glimmer in her eyes as she said it. She looked expectantly at Zach.


    "You''re not wrong. But did the others think I lied? Is that why they left?"


    Jessecke avoided Zach''s gaze before answering. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...They didn''t like being told to sit around and wait, especially after the materials ran out," she said with a low voice.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "...There should have been enough materials for all of you to make one or two potions a day. And as long as you didn''t fail everything, your net profits should have been enough to buy more, even if the merchants started withdrawing from Basilia." Something didn''t add up.


    "Well¡­" Jessecke fiddled with her fingers and looked at the floor.


    "Some of them realized that they could just take the materials and then leave the city. After one person did it, several others followed. And then¡­"


    "Got it." Zach nodded and stopped her from continuing. He understood the gist of it. For whatever reason, the prided alchemists who had come to or made a living in Basilia before this didn''t like Zach requesting they wait for the next school year. They took advantage of his generosity.


    "Do you remember their names?"


    "I wrote them down."


    "Excellent." Zach''s smile sent shivers down the other alchemists'' spines.


    "Ban them." Surprisingly, however, his punishment wasn''t as harsh as they thought it would be, based on the cold light in his eyes.


    "Ban them?" Jessecke asked for confirmation.


    "If they come crawling back in the future, stomp on their fingers, spit them in their faces, and kick them out." There it was. That brutality was more in line with Zach''s expression. The only thing that still confused them was the condition of it. Why would the other alchemists come crawling back?


    In the future, the alchemists currently inside the building, all looking at Zach, would remember that question. They would remember it when they stomped on fingers, spat in faces, and kicked asses out. They would bless the lucky or unlucky stars that made them stay behind. And they would thank Zach.


    "I''ll put you guys to work as soon as we have ingredients again. Put together an extensive list and coordinate with Dukiel and the merchants to restock the storage as soon as possible. Make three copies of that list. Put whatever materials you can think of on it. Even if we can''t get our hands on them now, we will get them in the future."


    The alchemists looked at each other, wondering if Zach was serious. They didn''t understand why he was going this far. Wouldn''t they just be producing simple recovery, strengthening, and anti-underworld energy potions and medicine like last year?


    "As soon as you do that, I''ll give you more recipes than you can handle." Zach grinned as he saw Jessecke''s and the other alchemists''s eyes light up. More than money, what truly got these alchemists going was knowledge. And there was no greater knowledge than recipes for alchemists.


    Alzara hadn''t finished with the Book of Poisons, not by a long shot. It was also a collection of poisons, not potions. But the herbal knowledge and the theory it contained was enough for Alzara to add the finishing touches to several of her unfinished recipes that she had made when she experimented with the local ingredients. It had even allowed her to develop new recipes in full.


    After all, the difference between a potion and a position could be as simple as a strand of hair. Mastery over one gave mastery over the other.


    With the recipes Alzara developed, Zach was confident he could control the alchemists who had stayed, even if they had only stayed because they couldn''t find work or occupation anywhere else. Even if they left in the future after learning from the recipes, they would definitely lose out, almost regardless of where they went.


    Alzara would just continue making more and better recipes. The longer they stayed, the better the recipes that the alchemists would get to take part of.


    "Right here and now, I am unofficially establishing a guild of alchemists. When you gather ingredients, feel free to gather name suggestions. It will still take a month or so before we can officially establish it."


    Zach was even sure the alchemists heard him. They were already busy chattering about what kind of dreamlike ingredients they could and should ask for.

 Chapter 255 Name Suggestions

    After doing what he had to, Zach returned to the Academy. It was too soon to check on the others, anyway. He helped Alzara get started with production by making a bunch of material worms with his skill on the resources they had.Compared to his first few dozen worms, the ones he made now were exquisite. They were almost completely free from impurities. They were easy to use, and the potency of the original ingredients was even easier to extract. Even without them being easier to craft with, the potions Alzara made with the materials worms were more powerful than the ones she made with raw ingredients.


    The potions made with material worms weren''t just more potent. Since the material worms barely had any impurities, they were also safer to consume, even in greater amounts. So, Zach quickly started living on potions that enhanced his natural recovery even further and gave him energy.


    He also helped Alzara test potions that weren''t dangerous. Well, potions that shouldn''t have been dangerous.


    Alzara made a mistake with one potion.


    It was a simple, non-lethal mistake. But it would still have put Zach in a moderate amount of discomfort. That was unless his world essence energy hadn''t reacted and neutralized the poison-like potion.


    The world essence energy didn''t just keep him well-nourished and improve his natural recovery. It also protected him against poison.


    Zach had been a little disappointed with the world essence energy. The only thing he had that told him it was great was Alzara. From what he had gathered, other energies could also increase recovery and decrease hunger, even in a passive state.


    But other people with other energies could actually use those energies.


    He, on the other hand, had been handed an energy that he couldn''t use unless he tortured himself for a few years. And that wasn''t even a guarantee. He first had to activate it somehow, and then he had to learn how to use an energy that was similar to but nothing like any of the other energies he could find in his surroundings.


    To top it all off, he couldn''t get a new or different energy now that he had world essence energy, either. He had to either get rid of it all and prevent his body from accumulating more or transforming other energies into world essence energy if it could even do that in the first place, or he had to find a superior energy to take the world essence energy''s place.


    Both options seemed impossible.


    However, Zach considered stopping his search for either option when he found out about the poison-neutralizing ability of his energy. According to his familiars, it was difficult for most energies to neutralize identify and neutralize poison that easily. Usually, only the user could do something about poison in their body by actively controlling their energy to get rid of it. That meant they had to identify it themselves. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, if it was a poison that didn''t show itself or cause a fuss until the target was already on their deathbed, it would be too late to use energy to neutralize it. It worked even against things that weren''t supposed to be poison.


    That alone was enough to keep the world essence energy around. He had his barriers for external safety, the world essence energy for internal safety, and his familiars for offense. The only thing that lacked was personal offense, and that wasn''t even a must-have. It was just his selfish desire to contribute and fight that made him pursue it. And it would be a problem of the past as soon as he activated his world essence energy and combined it with his punches.


    Zach trained like a madman with all of his skills and his boxing. Yanael trained with him while Soara watched and occasionally gave pointers with her experience as a deity and a master of death. Alzara made potions, talismans, poisons, and recipes.


    When Zach took his breaks to check on the others'' progress, he brought those things with him. He gave everything but the recipes to Violina for her to distribute, store, or set up traps and defenses with. The recipes he gave to the alchemists.


    Unfortunately, most of the recipes were only objects of theoretical study since the materials Dukiel and his gang of first-years could find only covered a small portion of what the recipes required. It didn''t even scratch the surface on the list that the alchemists had produced.


    Zach had told them to go all out, and they had not disappointed.


    Zach hadn''t even heard of many of the ingredients they wrote. And several of the ones he knew about, he expected might take years to find and acquire. He was impressed. He had made the right decision.


    Only alchemists that ambitious deserved to work for him.


    Unfortunately, the few name suggestions he had received weren''t that great. They were things like Alchemist''s Guild, which was true. They were a collective, a guild, of alchemists. But it was boring. Another suggestion was the same but with his name, either given name or surname in front of it. Once again, true. They were a guild of alchemists that belonged to him.


    But Zach didn''t like it. All of them were uncreative. He didn''t mind the guild part or the alchemist part. It just had to be part of a good name.


    However, he wasn''t coming up with any good ones of his own. He considered naming it after Alzara, but she didn''t want it, and it would be unfair to the others. Naming it after himself was ridiculous, and naming it after his family implied it was part of the Duchy.


    It technically was since it was his guild. But it wasn''t the Evandiel Duchy that had sponsored and established it, at least not directly, though it was thanks to his parents that Zach had enough money to do it.


    Zach also didn''t have much mental free time between training, preparing for the end of the deadline, planning for his guild, and classes.

 Chapter 256 Visitor

    A gentle knock on the door to Alzara''s lab and Zach''s training room startled the master and his familiars out of their activities."Zach, you have a visitor." Nessa entered the room. Alzara bent over her desk and the materials on it, trying to find the secrets of the universe. Zach and Yanael lay entwined on the floor like a pair of wriggling worms. Soara watched them with a composed demeanor.


    "...I''m practicing grappling."


    "Sure. You still have a visitor. You going to see them or maybe take a shower first?"


    "Who is it?" He asked. The expression on Nessa''s face, the way the corner of her lips rose slightly and how her eyes glimmered faintly, told him it was someone he knew.


    "You''ll see it when you meet them." Nessa shrugged casually, feigning disinterest.


    Zach''s eyebrows rose in anticipation.


    "No shower it is. I can just conceal my smell with a barrier." Zach promptly put up an air-tight barrier around his body that covered everything except his mouth and nose so that he could breathe freely.


    "...Nice." Nessa stopped for a moment and stared at Zach. As he walked past her, she followed him with her gaze. She hadn''t smelled a thing. She tilted her head slightly. How many times had he skipped out on showers and just relied on his barriers to hide his stench? And how bad was it now?


    Nessa frowned as she caught herself wanting to know. She told herself it was just out of curiosity.


    Zach almost skipped through the halls until he realized that he didn''t know where his visitor was waiting for him, so he froze until Nessa caught up to him and led the way. Whoever it was, it was most likely a happy visit.


    Lexi had said she was going to stop by last year, but she never showed up. Zach hadn''t returned to the family estate during the last break, so maybe the family had sent her to check up on him.


    ''Aww¡­'' Zach pouted when Nessa brought him out of the Academy and toward the city. Lexi wouldn''t have waited for him there. She would have barged into his dorm if no one stopped her.


    Then, it was most likely someone else. Zach could guess who. The only person who would visit him at this time and place was someone he had asked to visit. But arriving only a month after the start of the school year was at the quickest.


    It meant they were eager to get started and worked fast.


    Zach increased his pace, making Nessa do the same. She glanced at him before shaking her head. Just based on his happy face, she could tell that he had figured it out.


    It didn''t take long for them to arrive at the city, and even before they stepped onto the same street as the alchemist guild''s building, the hustle and bustle of a caravan reached their ears. Several carriages had parked in front of the alchemist guild. The merchants and their workers had even started unloading their goods.


    Zach''s face lit up as he saw it.


    "Derot!" He greeted the young man leading the operation with a smile. Derot looked up from his clipboard with a concentrated look that soon turned into a polite smile.


    "Mister Evandiel. As you can see, I got started while waiting for you. I hope you don''t mind." S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Of course not. You ready?"


    "Ready as can be."


    "Perfect." Zach turned to one of the workers they had hired for the guild.


    "Start bringing them out," he ordered.


    "Them?" Derot asked. Zach gestured for him to wait.


    The worker Zach gave his order to and several others started carrying out crates from the adjoining storage building. All but one entered an empty carriage. The last one ended up in front of Zach and Derot. Zach popped it open and showed Derot its contents with a smile.


    Derot Gaville''s face slowly lit up from the sheen of the rows of glass bottles in the crate. Rows and rows upon layers of layers of potions, all exactly the same color.


    Color alone couldn''t tell even a relatively experienced merchant like Derot anything worthwhile. But when all the potions were the same color, it was clear that they were the same quality. And any alchemist who could produce that many potions of similar quality could produce potions of high quality consistently.


    Zach had fulfilled his end of the deal he proposed in the Labyrinth of Syst shortly before Derot failed to complete a Trial.


    Derot had been apprehensive at first, especially when the boats left without waiting for Zach to rise to the surface. If the others were to be believed, Zach had chosen to do the twelfth Trial. That meant he had chosen death.


    But only a few days later, there was word about a young man from Evandiel staying at the Systine''s estate. Derot didn''t even verify those rumors before he got started.


    He did some market research before setting upon a quest to gather a variety of alchemical ingredients. As many and as diverse as possible.


    If Zach was alive, it meant he had survived the twelfth Trial. It didn''t matter whether he had cleared it or not. What mattered was that he had shattered history and expectations.


    While doing his market research, Derot also took the opportunity to investigate Zach some more.


    Zach was a wildcard. He had an extensive history of causing trouble wherever he went to the point that his first few years as a teen were spent locked up in a mansion. Even after entering the Academy, Zach''s presence did not go ignored. He summoned the first S-rank in years. He almost died during the entrance ceremony. He picked a fight with the Underworld.


    On all accounts, there was trouble to be found wherever Zach went.


    That was why betting on a business plan with him was risky.


    But it wasn''t just risky.


    It was profitable.


    Derot didn''t just see all the trouble that danced in Zach''s wake. He saw how few casualties there were, how often Zach survived what could have been a fatal encounter, and how at least someone always walked out in a better position after Zach''s troublemaking events.


    If he played his cards right, Derot could make sure to be that person.


    His instincts screamed at him that partnering with Zach for his alchemist business was his way in.


    If it worked¨CIf Zach could back up his arrogant words of taking over the world of alchemy in a matter of years, Derot and the Gaville House could rise to the top of the Empire''s merchants. If it didn''t work, they would have learned a lesson. Both Zach and Derot were wealthy enough to make a mistake or place a bad bet.

 Chapter 257 One Month

    Derot shared the information on the potions with his merchants and employees before sitting down with Zach and writing down the details of their business agreement. They divided the profits, responsibilities, and objectives fairly.Derot and his merchants were in charge of sourcing supplies and distributing and selling the potions and creations of Zach''s alchemist. In reality, it was something any merchant could do. A third of the profits was theirs. If they wanted to earn even more, they would just have to sell more, buy better but cheaper ingredients, gather sponsorships, and so on.


    Zach''s alchemists produced common potions but also potions that others in the Empire hadn''t even heard of. Those kinds of potions wouldn''t be popular at once since they were an unknown. And unknown potions had unknown effects and side effects.


    But the Gaville House was a trusted merchant house. Their name guaranteed the safety and efficiency of the new potions entering the market. In a way, Zach borrowed their name to sell those potions, which would have been difficult to do otherwise.


    However, that only increased sales in the short term. In the long term, Zach was confident his potions would earn a reputation and sell like hotcakes even without the Gaville name.


    So, the fact that Zach''s merchants were the only ones who could create those potions earned them seven out of ten parts of the profits. The one thing that didn''t get them eight out of ten parts was the group of rogue alchemists who had stolen both materials and recipes instead of waiting for Zach to return from his break.


    But the recipes they had were limited, and Alzara had already created new ones that would leave them in the dust. So, Zach wasn''t worried, even Derot was. The young merchant had to consider potential competitors and defamation.


    Zach had been on a break for three months and then waited another month before initiating sales outside Basilia. If those alchemists had already started producing and selling potions similar to the ones Zach and Derot were trying to sell, they could be accused of theft and improper business ethics.


    Derot decided to look into that as soon as he left Basilia with his carriages loaded with potions. If those rogue alchemists were going to be a problem, it would be best to deal with them as soon as possible.


    Zach started working on papers and documented history of ownership, creation, and theft of ingredients. Just in case something came up, it would be good to have evidence.


    Zach waved off Derot and the merchant carriages with an expectant smile. All possible trouble aside, the next time Derot returned, he would be carrying a bunch of money and a slip of paper recording everything deposited in the Imperial Bank. It would be the first money Zach truly earned on his own. It would be a product of efforts and not scamming the people of Basilia just to gather funds to buy more materials and supplies. None of that had gone to him. It had all gone into circulation.


    But the potion business would be profitable. That meant Zach would earn disposable income. It was great.


    He couldn''t wait.


    However, he could keep himself busy.


    The Underworld had set a six-month deadline for the ceasefire. Two of those six months remained. Zach and the others spent one month training, studying, preparing, and crafting.


    It was difficult to grow stronger in such a short time, but the ones who had been a hair away from level twenty finally reached it and summoned their third familiars, adding a punch to their available forces.


    Dukiel had spent his break working in the city, so he had ended up lagging behind but only slightly behind Nessa and Violina. He was the last to summon a third familiar, and he summoned a mostly see-through blob of water-like slime. Since it looked like he had summoned a coherent puddle of water, it had disappointed Dukiel.


    Then, he looked at his summoning interface. It was an S-rank. Since the Transformation Cube had been an S-rank, he knew his next familiar would be at minimum the same rank. But he had needed the interface to confirm it for him. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He still wasn''t sure what his Symbiotic Slime did, though. But it clung to Dukiel with its soft body, quickly warming his heart.


    Second-to-last to summoning their third familiar was Violina with her S-rank Frost Wraith. The short ghost-like familiar had already gained a reputation for scaring the first-years as it floated through the Academy''s walls in the middle of the night, looking for snacks.


    Violina might have been second-to-last, but she was only a day behind Nessa, who summoned a bat familiar with a pattern of a red circle and orange waves on its furry, black, back that resembled a rising sun. The pattern on the bat''s back wasn''t for nothing. It had something to do with its name Dawnthief Bat.


    It was an impressive name, even more so if it had something to do with its history. Since it was an S-rank familiar, it was entirely possible there was more to the name than it simply having a pattern resembling dawn on its back.


    Whatever the case, Nessa couldn''t stop bouncing around in joy ever since she summoned it. Zach and the others had to lock their doors to stop her from barging in at any time of the day and night to tell them about her S-rank familiar whenever she got excited again.


    It seemed part of her contract skill with the Dawnthief Bat made her resistant to the nightly urges of living people. Ever since summoning it, she had a much easier time staying awake at night.


    She was even worse than Anerias, who also summoned his first S-rank familiar, a Darkwing. It was a little similar to Nessa''s bat. It had membranous wings. It was kind of black in color. It had short, smooth fur. But that was where the likeness ended.


    The Darkwing had a longer snout with more, sharper, and longer teeth. It had sharp claws at the tips of its wings. It didn''t have any ears. And it was a few times larger than the Dawnthief Bat.


    Anerias wouldn''t stop bragging about it by having it fly laps around the others'' heads and the Academy at surprisingly fast speeds. When it flew at top speed outside the Academy, the students had to exert themselves to see it as more than a flashing blur.


    But at the end of the day, Violina and Dukiel, who summoned S-rank familiars last time, were a little disappointed that they hadn''t summoned any SS-ranks this time. Zach had summoned one after summoning an S-rank, and he had done it as his second familiar.


    Now, he wasn''t just one familiar ahead of them in terms of rank.


    The two couldn''t help but want to catch up. But they had ended up further behind. Anerias felt similarly, but he was encouraged by his Darkwing. It had brought him closer. He was confident his next familiar would be SS-rank.


    Nessa was happy just to have left her C-rank self behind.

 Chapter 258 Patrolling The Sewers

    The excitement and stir caused by the summoning ceremonies of his four friends excited Zach to the point where he was about to put in some work so that he could also summon his next familiar. It made him temporarily forget that he had just summoned his third familiar. He would have to work like a pack of dogs and a maniac to summon his fourth before the year was over.If he hadn''t had anything else to do, he might just have done it simply because he wanted to. Unfortunately, he wasn''t that free. He had his studies. But those he could ignore. What he couldn''t ignore, however, was the Underworld''s looming threat.


    With less than a month left on the deadline, they couldn''t be too cautious. They couldn''t prepare too much. They couldn''t be too ready.


    Alzara and the alchemists had made enough talismans to plaster the city and the sewer system. There was enough anti-underworld energy potion to drown a fish. Most of the manhole covers in the city had been soldered into the ground and covered with talismans. Traps decorated the city and the sewer system''s every corner.


    Violina had drafted several strategies for possible combat situations. Nessa had evacuated the citizens. Dukiel had set up a search-and-recovery system for all the supplies they needed that they could get in the surrounding area. Anerias had secured the hole in the forest. Zach had earned a small fortune through his side business.


    That wasn''t all Zach had done, but since he had done something other than train, study, or prepare for the Underworld''s movements, the others had him making more rounds in the sewers than anyone else.


    Since that was the first line of defense, it was important to check up on it even when there was almost a month left of the ceasefire. Unfortunately, it meant someone had to accompany him since he would be left wandering the sewers until he was discovered like a fossil. But that was a sacrifice they were willing to make.


    They didn''t buy Zach''s reasoning that he was using the money he earned for the betterment of the potions and things he did for the activities against the Underworld. It was a load of bullshit.


    Zach glanced at Dukiel, who was dutifully inspecting the anti-underworld energy talismans on the walls leading to the tunnel into the ground.


    "So, have you figured out what your contract skill does yet?" Zach asked.


    Dukiel had been in a similar situation as Zach with his contract skill in that he didn''t know what it did. The others had tried to help him figure it out. But it was Dukiel''s skill, in the end. He was the only one who could use it.


    "...Somewhat. I think I need to do some more testing."


    "But you said you could only use it once a day, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "What have you used it on so far?"


    Dukiel finished his inspection of the section of talismans and moved closer to the tunnel. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Just random things. A rock. A book. A piece of meat. I think I used it on my shoe as well."


    "Did anything happen to those things?"


    "I''m not sure with the rock, but the book looks like its newer or has been restored. Anerias'' dog rushed over and scarfed down the piece of meat as soon as I did it, so I''m not sure. And my foot has been feeling a lot more comfortable."


    "You said the name was Enhancement?"


    "I did. I''ve said it multiple times."


    "I''m just confirming. But it sounds like you can enhance things."


    "Yup."


    "Once a day. Is it permanent or does it only last one day?"


    "It lasts more than a day. My foot is still feeling great. I''m considering enhancing my other shoe today."


    Zach crossed his arms and tilted his head. The skill could enhance things and it would last for more than a day. There was a limit to how much Dukiel could use it that wasn''t based on how tired or drained he was, which were the only limits to all other contract skills Zach knew about.


    Something about the skill itself prevented it from being used more than once a day. Why?


    Dukiel''s skill had a daily limited amount of uses.


    Other things that had limited uses like certain precious materials or consumable resources had those for a reason. They would run out, break down, or otherwise stop working after those uses.


    But Dukiel''s skill didn''t. He would get a new use the next day. That meant there was another reason for it.


    It wasn''t because he ran out of materials. He could do it when he had nothing on him and was almost starving. He didn''t feel tired afterward.


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    Something else that had a limit was the Labyrinth of Syst. There were only twenty-four Labyrinth Tickets every other year. It was partly because the Labyrinth wasn''t made for a lot of entrants.


    But the way it worked was similar to exclusivity. Fewer tickets turned the Labyrinth of Syst exclusive. The opportunity to enter it was valuable.


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly and he grabbed Dukiel by the shoulder.


    "Don''t use it on your shoe. No, don''t use it on anything useless."


    Dukiel looked at Zach with a raised eyebrow. Zach''s grip was pretty hard, and his voice was hurried, slightly desperate almost.


    "Why? I can use it again tomorrow." Dukiel rightfully asked.


    "It will be a waste."


    "A waste?" Dukiel was doubtful of Zach''s expression. A more comfortable shoe was a waste?


    "If I''m right, which, let''s be honest, I probably am, you should not use your skill on things that you will grow out in a month or that you can lose."


    "Why? And it''s not a waste to make a more comfortable shoe. You should know how nice it is with good shoes."


    "I do know. And that''s why I''m telling you to enhance your foot instead of your shoe." Zach''s voice was almost a little stern as he pointed at Dukiel''s foot.


    "My foot? I can''t¡ª"


    "Try it."


    Dukiel just looked at Zach. This was his skill. What was Zach being so nosy for? Dukiel sighed. He could be stubborn. But not as stubborn as Zach. He also had to admit that he was curious. Could he really use Enhancement on his foot?

 Chapter 259 Good Foot

    Dukiel looked at Zach again. Zach nodded. It was like he was telling Dukiel to just do it. Dukiel sighed again, but he sat down and took off his shoe.One of the things that had happened during the preparations against the Underworld''s activities was the maintenance and clearing of the sewers. The stone floor was no longer damp and slick with water and mold.


    But Dukiel didn''t want to sit on the cold stone for long, so he grabbed his foot with both hands and concentrated for a moment. After a few moments he sighed in disappointment and looked at Zach while pointing at his foot.


    "See? Nothing¡ª" Dukiel froze and stiffly turned his head to his foot.


    Zach couldn''t see anything. Dukiel couldn''t see anything, either. But he could feel it. But at the same time not.


    Something was happening to his foot. Simultaneously, nothing was happening to it. It felt like hair-fine worms wriggled around under his skin and between his bones for a few moments before stopping. It didn''t feel like anything had changed.


    Dukiel frowned.


    Had he just wasted his skill trying to Enhance his foot? Could he use it on his foot but it didn''t do anything?


    Full of doubts, he stood up and jumped slightly on his foot.


    Nope. He had not wasted his skill.


    Dukiel''s face lit up in excitement.


    It wasn''t much really. But he could feel it.


    His foot was stronger now than it was before. It was enough to be noticeable when he compared it to his other foot, which hadn''t been Enhanced but no more than that. Still, it was proof that he could enhance himself to grow stronger.


    And if he could enhance himself, couldn''t he enhance his familiars as well?


    Dukiel''s face broke up in a madly excited grin. He couldn''t wait to start experimenting and enhancing his familiars.


    Dukiel''s expression sank into a frown. He had to wait. He could only use his skill once a day. He finally understood what Zach meant.


    It would have been a waste to use it on his shoe. And it had been a waste to use it on a rock, a book, a piece of meat, and his other shoe. Anerias'' Blackfire Hound probably didn''t think it was a waste. But Dukiel didn''t care a damn about that. If anything, he would have preferred to just enhance the Hound directly.


    "...Damn." He cursed. Those were just four of the things he had wasted it on.


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly. Dukiel rarely lost his composure like this.


    "Don''t worry, Dukiel. You have a lifetime ahead of you. Be happy we figured it out this early and not a year from now."


    Dukiel turned to Zach. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...Thanks." He thanked him for both the comfort and helping him figure out his skill. Dukiel couldn''t imagine how long it would have taken him to figure out Enhancement without Zach''s help.


    It probably wouldn''t have taken a year. But it would have taken more than a week. Definitely.


    Dukiel regained his composure.


    Yanael gently nudged Zach''s shoulder.


    Dukiel lost his composure.


    He hadn''t put on his shoe again. He had forgotten it in the excitement of his skill that made up for the apparent crappiness of his first contract skill.


    With his enhanced foot, he felt tremors in the ground. The enhanced foot''s sole sensed a lot of subtle activity.


    Dukiel was smart, but he didn''t even need to be smart to figure out what underground activity meant.


    It was the Underworld. He was about to warn Zach, but when he looked at his friend, Dukiel saw Zach and the two familiars who had accompanied him already looking into the darkness of the tunnel leading into the Underworld.


    The angel had already drawn her sword and revealed her halo and wings. The black-haired familiar was just standing there. But shivers ran down Dukiel''s spine when he looked at her. Her face which usually didn''t appear very distinctive or grab much attention was death-seekingly beautiful.


    Dukiel couldn''t stop staring until Zach snapped his fingers and turned Dukiel''s head.


    Dukiel tore his gaze away from the scarily beautiful maid and concentrated on Zach''s face.


    "It seems the ceasefire is over. I don''t know what the Underworld is planning, but it feels like they will start with a tsunami of underworld energy."


    "...Seems reasonable."


    "I don''t have any potions on me."


    "Why not?"


    "What if I dropped it? Do you have any?"


    "No¡­." Dukiel avoided Zach''s gaze. He questioned Zach about his decision not to bring any potions when they were visiting the entrance to the Underworld when he himself hadn''t brought any.


    Zach was silent for a moment.


    "...It might actually be for the best. We shouldn''t use them unless we can land a blow against those bastards. If this shaking is the underworld energy rushing through the tunnel, I can block it. If it''s because of underworlders, I can kill them." Zach''s voice was cold. There was not a doubt in his mind.


    Dukiel suspected it when Zach said that


    he


    could do it.


    "And I¡­?" he started asking.


    "Go back to the surface. Inform the others. Have them prepare the second line of defense. I''ll stop them here for a day at minimum, but I''ll need help getting out."


    "Of course. I''ll be back, Zach. Hold on."


    Dukiel didn''t waste any time. Any second wasted was a second that Zach could be in trouble.


    Zach saw Dukiel''s worried eyes. Experience more on empire


    "It''s not me you should be worried about, Dukiel."


    Dukiel heard Zach but didn''t answer. He and his familiars were already rushing to get out of the sewers and sound the alarms.


    "...It''s those bastards¡­" Zach turned to the tunnel with a fierce expression.


    He hadn''t received an opportunity to vent his frustration against the Underworld after they took down Julius. Since there had been a ceasefire, Zach had been planning to wait it out and prepare as much as possible.


    But now that they were picking a fight on their own, it was time to show the Underworlders why it had been a mistake to provoke the surface after he had been born. If they were going to do something stupid, they should have done it seventeen years ago when they still had a chance.

 Chapter 260 Breaking Barriers

    "Master, I only sense underworld energy," Yanael confirmed Zach''s guess as soon as Dukiel had left.Zach nodded as he looked into the darkness of the tunnel.


    If they could pump underworld energy to the surface through a hole wide enough that throwing a rock to the other side could be difficult, they could pump it through a person-sized tunnel. If they had one such pump, they would have another. It didn''t matter that Zach had killed the one under the hole in the forest.


    Because the tunnel was so much narrower than the hole in the forest, the pressure and force behind the underworld energy would be a lot higher. It would be like a jet stream of underworld energy that would flood the sewer system before catapulting into the city and the air through the few available manholes. It might even be powerful enough to break through the sealed manholes.


    But that would only be a concern if Zach let it into the city in the first place. Enjoy exclusive content from empire


    He extended his hands and placed a barrier right along the border between the tunnel and the sewers. It was in line with the talismans that would help weaken and offset the underworld energy, even if only slightly.


    A single barrier wouldn''t be enough.


    Zach added several layers, mixing soft and hard barriers to create a barricade that was several strides long. The soft barriers would absorb the force, and the hard barriers would hamper the soft barriers'' expansion rate and keep them from bursting too quickly.


    Zach wasn''t sure if it was better than just putting up one or several soft barriers. He trusted his instincts. It was too late to change anyway since it took minutes to set up that many barriers that would be powerful enough to block a torrent of underworld energy similar in force to what Zach had caused with his potion last year.


    "Soara, do you sense anything?"


    "No, Master, nothing detailed. There was a decent scent of death coming from down there earlier, but I couldn''t tell how deep down or from what."


    "And nothing now?"


    "Nothing now. Too much underworld energy."


    "Got it."


    The last time Soara had sensed a lot of death, it had been Sio. She hadn''t mentioned anything specific about the source of the aura of death this time, which meant it could be anything from another powerhouse with a lot of blood on their hands to a cemetery.


    The rumbling noise and tremor rapidly approached the surface through the tunnel.


    Only a few minutes after Zach finished a last pair of barriers, smoky, sticky blackness burst out of the tunnel''s darkness and rammed against the first barriers, breaking two in one go and another in two seconds.


    The air swirled from the surge of underworld energy pushing on the barriers. The underworld energy''s presence also tore at the talismans, making them flap and dance like wind chimes in a storm.


    Another three seconds and the tsunami of underworld energy forced its way through yet another barrier. Zach clenched his fist. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had put a lot of effort into all of the barriers. Three of them breaking in rapid succession made his guts twist and turn in displeasure. But it was not enough to do more than etch a single line in his brow.


    The underworld energy had undoubtedly slowed down. But it still laid into the barriers with significant force. It wouldn''t be that easy to stop it. Even if he managed to stop, it wouldn''t be permanent. It would only last until the Underworld made another push.


    Hopefully, they would come to check what was going on before they did that, though. It should have taken some effort to mimic the effects of Zach''s potion when they had taken their time and used the tiger''s death as a catalyst to slowly corrode the forest last time.


    Back then, the Underworld had spent an entire break slowly encroaching upon the forest by using the underworld energy and the explosion from the tiger Zach and his friends killed after some underworlders turned it into an experiment.


    Now, they didn''t have anything like that. They didn''t need to use an explosion to open a path to the surface, but they still had to push the underworld energy from the depths of the earth to the surface.


    From what Zach knew, the underworld energy didn''t like the surface very much. It would also be impossible to find this much underworld energy on the first layer or two of the Underworld.


    Maybe that was why they gave such a long ceasefire. They had to gather enough underworld energy to shoot into the city and prepare a suitable battlefield for them.


    Zach didn''t know about all that the underworlders could do, but it sounded like it would be easier to gather the underworld energy in one of the higher layers and thus closer to the surface first before pushing it the final stretch instead of launching it from the bottom directly.


    His eyes lit up.


    If only he had a potion right now.


    He had been doubtful about using one so soon since it could expose how easily they were willing to use them. But if it nullified the Underworld''s efforts in hauling underworld energy up the layers and preparing to shoot it to the surface, it might be worth it. Mursoth and whatever he had been doing last year might also be close enough to be affected by the potion.


    Mursoth probably wouldn''t die to a potion. He wouldn''t be a Named if he died to a glass bottle and some liquid.


    But he would take damage if he was close enough. It would be a waste to use a potion if they didn''t know it would hit Mursoth.


    "I should have asked Dukiel to bring one with him when he returns."


    The underworld energy broke through another barrier.


    "...I also shouldn''t have said I could hold it back for a day."


    Zach threw up another barrier as he ignored his insides complaining.

 Chapter 261 Encounter

    It took seven broken barriers to slow down the surging underworld energy to a pace where it needed more than a minute to break the eighth. But it wasn''t enough. The underworld energy continued building, and its pressure reached beyond the barriers. The oppressive air stifled Zach''s breathing slightly.Since he had to focus on the barriers blocking the underworld energy, he couldn''t support himself with an additional skin-tight layer like he was used to. However, that also meant that he had deactivated his restrictive barriers. He felt like a bird released into a steamy kitchen.


    Although the underworld energy''s speed had taken a hit, its power hadn''t. Zach wasn''t sure how much longer he would be able to withstand it. He had promised Dukiel a day, so that was how long he was going to hold it.


    Fortunately, his world essence energy was already working on the internal injuries he had suffered. It would be slightly easier to hold that long.


    Zach sat down cross-legged. There was no need to waste any more energy standing up. If something required him to stand up, he could just stand up when that something became relevant. Or he could have Yanael and Soara pull him to his feet and carry him away if they need to run.


    He closed his eyes and focused on the sensations of his barriers. By shutting everything else out, he could more clearly tell how the underworld energy was pressuring and corroding his barriers.


    That meant he could alter the ones behind the current defender to be more resistant toward the nature of underworld energy before it was their turn to defend. It was a good idea. But it wasn''t that easy. All Zach could do was reinforce the barriers and try to make their surface more glass-like so that the underworld energy would have trouble penetrating it. The underworld energy shouldn''t even be able to get a hold of his barriers even when pressed against them.


    Zach lost track of time as he focused so intently on his barriers.


    "Psst, Zach." Nessa gently whispered to get his attention.


    Yanael and Soara had recognized the presences and concluded that the newcomers weren''t a threat to Zach, so they didn''t wake him up in advance. The more he could work on his barriers, the better.


    Zach opened his eyes, slowly turned around, and stood up. He looked at Nessa, Anerias, Violina, and Dukiel. The sewer was a little cramped with all of their familiars, excluding the Serpentine Millipede, squeezed into it.


    "How long has it been?" He asked Dukiel.


    "A little over an hour."


    "The city is cleared. We have three potions with us," Violina informed Zach of the status after Dukiel answered his question.


    "Good." Zach nodded and reached out to receive a potion. Dukiel also received one. And Violina had the final one.


    "Using a potion would be a waste unless we can hit a Named with it. Since they''ve done something like this twice now, they can do it a third time. Using one to stop this surge of underworld energy is unnecessary." Zach explained his reasoning to the others, who were preparing to throw their potions since another barrier broke with an audible crack.


    "Are we sure they think there''s a limit to how many potions we can make, though? We''re still operating under that assumption but what if it''s wrong?" Nessa asked.


    "...That''s true. They had a spy last year. Unless it was a fourth-year, they should still be at the Academy. They shouldn''t have any trouble figuring out that these potions aren''t as difficult to make as Mursoth might have believed last year," Violina added.


    "...All they have to go on in that case are the words of a spy. If we use a potion wastefully here, we will have confirmed that possibility. The Underworld might be preparing for a shower of potions, even if only due to the spy, but they won''t unfold their umbrellas until they start getting wet." Zach didn''t dismiss their doubts, but he didn''t think it was enough of a reason to start using anti-underworld energy potions all willy-nilly.


    "Let''s hold on to the potions for as long as possible until we can overwhelm those bastards with them," Zach said with a determined face.


    "Got it." Dukiel was quick to stuff the potion into his clothes. Violina hesitated a little, but she also did it. Zach had done it as soon as he got the potion. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The newcomers looked at the surging underworld energy and the bulging barriers with worried frowns. Zach''s barriers were enduring a lot of pressure.


    "Let us know if there''s anything we can do, Zach," Nessa said after several minutes of tense silence, during which another barrier broke.


    "I''m just waiting for a pause in the pressure so that we can retreat. It looks like we''ll have to give the sewers and part of the city. The containment talismans are in place, right?"


    "The others should be arranging the last couple of ones as we speak."


    "I''ll hold on for an hour or two, then."


    Zach prepared to reinforce his barriers and add yet another few after speaking. However, he suddenly felt the underworld energy stop leaning against his barriers. He opened his eyes wide as the smoky darkness of the underworld energy withdrew from the entrance to the sewers.


    The light from the sewers was barely enough to see the first few steps of the tunnel. The barriers muffled any sound coming from the tunnels. But just because they couldn''t hear anything didn''t mean the students couldn''t feel it.


    Something that was not underworld energy was approaching the sewers.


    Continue your journey on empire


    "Hum. I was wondering why things weren''t working. So, it was you guys. What a surprise."


    A short, blue-skinned man stepped into the light from the sewers. He looked at Zach and the others with a stiff taunting smile.


    "Have you been waiting here all this time, even if there''s a month left on the deadline?"


    "You know there''s a month left? I figured you guys had been unable to tell the time since you''re stuck underground without a sun and that was why you''re attacking now." Zach crossed his arms and met Mursoth''s eyes.


    Mursoth shrugged off Zach''s veiled insult and grabbed the hilt of the dagger strapped to his lower back. He unsheathed it and took a step closer to the barriers.


    "So what? If you have any complaints, stay where you are, and I''ll bring you the Great Ugor."


    Zach''s eyes widened as Mursoth reached up with his dagger and pointed the tip at the barrier in front of him.


    He turned around.


    "RUN!"

 Chapter 262 Dismissed

    Zach barely had time to shout before Mursoth''s dagger pierced and broke his barrier, causing a lump to explode at the bottom of his throat. He stumbled half a step. Mursoth didn''t stop as he pierced another barrier.The others could tell what was happening. But they couldn''t just turn around and flee when Zach was suffering from having his barriers break.


    "Go! I''ll be fine!" Zach saw their gazes. Running while Mursoth was breaking his barriers would be difficult. Soara and Yanael needed to be ready to fight.


    He had to take down the barriers.


    But the barriers were the only things stopping Mursoth and the avalanche of underworld energy from flooding the sewers. Since Mursoth had shown up, they had to give the sewers anyway. But they couldn''t be in them when the underworld energy arrived.


    Zach couldn''t take down the barriers. His friends had to get out of the sewers first.


    Nessa and the others were familiar with how Zach''s barriers worked to a certain degree. He was better at protecting himself than an entire sewer. He could put one around himself and become almost invulnerable. It would protect him against the underworld energy and Mursoth.


    The only reason he wasn''t doing that was because of them. The moment he took down the few remaining barriers standing in Mursoth''s way, they would be exposed to the underworld energy and Mursoth.


    Zach was suffering unnecessarily because he was buying time for them to escape.


    Stalling any longer would only put Zach in more danger.


    But leaving him was also putting him in more danger.


    Zach couldn''t find his way out of the sewers with a detailed map and a torch. How was he supposed to find his way out in the pitch-black darkness that the underworld energy would fill the sewers with?


    "We can fight him together!" Nessa shouted. They had six S-ranks without Zach''s familiars. Against one Named, they stood a fighting chance, even if they were drowning in underworld energy. After all, all of them wore at least one powerful talisman. They also had three of the strongest potions and several weaker versions.


    "Just go! I have a plan to m-make my way out of here!" Zach wasn''t having it.


    Anerias was about to protest. His Darkwing thrived in darkness, and while it preferred the open skies, it flew just as fine in the sewers. Dukiel''s familiars had cooperated to create two laser-wielding familiars, one of which was covered in a shiny, translucent layer. They were ready to fire. Nessa had even donned her insect armor that made her look like a humanoid ant. The red mark on the back of her Bat, which was perched on her shoulder, started glowing faintly.


    Violina had been about to raise her fighting spirit as well. But she let go of her sword, and her familiars stopped freezing the walls and ceiling. Her eyes widened slightly, and she pulled on Nessa and Anerias, who looked the most stubborn about fighting. She didn''t have to convince Dukiel.


    Nessa and Anerias wanted to protest. But if Violina and Dukiel retreated, they only had two S-ranks, both of whom weren''t suited for frontal combat in an enclosed space.


    "Don''t you dare die, you rat!" Nessa shouted as she turned around and sprinted at full speed. Since they weren''t going to fight with him, the least they could do was get out of his way. The others hurriedly followed her and soon disappeared around the corner.


    "Touching," Mursoth mocked as his dagger broke through the last barrier. He stepped into the sewers and looked at the haggard Zach. Mursoth dismissed him. In his current state, Zach would hardly be a threat.


    He glanced back into the tunnel. The underworld energy wasn''t quite ready yet. He turned forward and looked at the two familiars.


    The angel with its wings looked powerful but¡­She didn''t frighten or alarm Mursoth. The other one made Mursoth take a moment to think of the days when he was still a human and admired beautiful women. His childhood friend had stirred the emotions of all men and most women in their village. Her mother had been similar, especially after her husband passed away in an accident and turned her into a widow.


    If only his childhood friend hadn''t chosen that pompous prick. He wouldn''t have needed to get his hands on a power that would let him set things straight. But it ended up being the best and the worst decision he could ever have made.


    Mursoth''s only regret was that there were so few beautiful underworlders, at least according to his standards. The ones that were beautiful were all stronger than him or he wasn''t allowed to touch them.


    Mursoth sighed. He knew Zach''s familiars were objectively beautiful. Unfortunately, he couldn''t feel anything from them. It was like looking at a piece of art. Nothing more than a stone statue or a canvas. There was no way they would do anything for him.


    It was a shame.


    Right then, he felt a chill run down his spine, and he stopped daydreaming about what could have been.


    He looked at the black-haired maid, the source of the chill.


    Soara had sensed Mursoth''s dismissal of Zach, but after that, she had also sensed the underworlder dismiss her beauty. The blue-skinned bastard had looked at her and then sighed in disappointment.


    He deserved to be judged.


    Mursoth''s eyes narrowed as he continued looking at the black-haired Maid. He didn''t have any information on her other than her being Zach''s third familiar. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But there was no way she could be strong enough to threaten him. Still, he was wary as he unsheathed his second dagger. He held both daggers in a reverse grip and bent his legs slightly, making him look even shorter than he already was.


    He already knew which one he was going to dispose of first.


    Mursoth flickered.


    The next moment, he was next to Soara, his daggers ready to slice her head off.

 Chapter 263 Mistake

    Zach had trouble following Mursoth''s movements, and his head only started turning a second after the underworlder appeared next to Soara. But Soara was already looking Mursoth in the eyes when he reappeared right beside her. It was like she knew where he was going to show up before he did.Mursoth was a little surprised to so suddenly lock eyes with Soara since it meant she had anticipated or reacted to his movements. But that didn''t stop him from attacking. His arms that had been crossed began moving to unleash a double-layered slash with both daggers by extending them to the sides to create a T with his body.


    However, before he could extend his arms so that his blades reached Soara''s neck, a silvery shield appeared in front of him, blocking his daggers. He glanced upward and saw an angelic face lit up by a halo glare back at him.


    Sparks flew as the daggers collided with the shield. More sparks rained down when Mursoth hurriedly raised his daggers to block the descending sword. Before he had time to be surprised at the weight behind it, it was like another blow hit his crossed daggers. The unmoving sword had somehow crashed into his weapons with more force than the first time.


    It caught Mursoth by surprise, and his arms buckled. He had to give up his defense. But it had bought him enough time to slip backward and escape the tip of Yanael''s sword. He glared at Yanael, who had gotten in the way of him executing the black-haired maid.


    He had to admit that he had been a little quick to dismiss the angel. She wasn''t as weak as she looked. Her clothes hid muscles that proved her hard work.


    Mursoth''s skin darkened, black smoke trickled out of the corner of his eyes, and the blades of his daggers were dyed black. He was going to put some effort into getting rid of the annoying surface dwellers who could still appreciate human beauty. It was also part of his mission to get rid of or recruit Zach. But that was secondary.


    Mursoth darted forward again, appearing on one side of Soara. As soon as Yanael stepped between them to block his attack, he flashed to Soara''s other side and quickly sliced through the air with a black, soundless dagger.


    Yanael reached around and blocked Mursoth''s feint with her sword. She was in a bad position and in a bad spot. Mursoth reappeared behind Soara. Yanael was on the other side still in a lunge and in no position to protect Soara again.


    Mursoth didn''t quite understand it. The only one out of the trio he was facing who had triggered his senses was Soara. Why was the angel going to such lengths to protect her? She even hugged her with her shield arm to block Mursoth''s backstab.


    Mursoth frowned and knelt to try and sever the tendons in Soara''s legs despite the airy maid dress in his way. If Yanael lowered her arm to defend, he could just use his other dagger to hit Soara''s back again. If Yanael didn''t defend, Soara would lose her ability to stand.


    Mursoth had forced them into a corner with his rapid attacks and feints. He should be able to land a blow now.


    But there was that nagging question at the back of his hand. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even when she was doing all she could to counter Mursoth''s attacks, Yanael still didn''t trigger his senses.


    However, Mursoth''s doubts weren''t enough to stop his attack. His dagger was about to touch the fabric of Soara''s dress. After that, it would take less than a second to reach the soft skin of the back of her knees.


    Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe his senses had fooled him because he recognized Soara''s beauty despite being an underworlder and his underworlder instincts didn''t like that.


    Mursoth dismissed his doubts.


    That was a mistake.


    The moment his blade touched the fabric of Soara''s maid dress, a pale hand hit his wrist like a lightning strike. It almost knocked the dagger out of his hand, despite him using underworld energy to reinforce himself, his dagger, and his grip on the dagger. His wrist was numb, and his hand felt limp.


    Mursoth''s attack had been thwarted. Instinctively, he bounced backward.


    He had not been wrong about Soara. That strike had almost been too fast for him to see. He would only be able to react to it if he was ready for it. That was when his body and senses were strengthened by underworld energy.


    Mursoth held his daggers in front of him and looked at Soara warily. But she wasn''t looking at him. She looked at her hand. She clicked her tongue in disappointment.


    She was truly weak.


    She slowly turned her gaze toward Mursoth. She couldn''t even finish a maggot like that in one strike.


    Under the weight of Soara''s gaze, Mursoth couldn''t help but be pushed backward deeper into the sewers.


    Zach glanced at Yanael. This wasn''t how they had planned it. But since Soara was stronger and scarier than they thought she would be, they might as well use it to their advantage. Zach and Yanael took to either side of Soara, blocking the sewer as best as they could.


    Soara understood the plan and walked forward while clenching her fist. Her back was always straight. She was taller than Mursoth.


    But when she walked toward him, Mursoth felt like she towered over him. No¡­It wasn''t the black-haired maid that towered over him.


    Behind her, he could faintly see a robed figure. It was faceless. Featureless. Mursoth couldn''t even tell if the robe was a robe or if it was just shadows wrapped around something like a creature.


    It was Death.


    Mursoth had made a mistake. He glanced to either side of Soara. The sewers weren''t so narrow that he wouldn''t be able to squeeze past her, Zach, Yanael, and the walls. But Soara wouldn''t let him pass. neither would Yanael.


    His only option was the weak human master who had already taken several hits from having his barriers broken. Mursoth''s best hope for a strategic retreat was the opening between Zach and the sewer wall.


    He didn''t want to admit defeat. He didn''t think he would lose. But there was no need to take a risk. He could come back in a minute with the tsunami of underworld energy.


    Black smoke covered Mursoth like steam. His legs bent as he stopped backing away.


    He dashed forward at maximum speed. He dashed straight ahead with his daggers aimed at Soara.

 Chapter 264 Stalling For Time

    Mursoth made it clear that he was attacking Soara again. His entire body and both of his weapons were pointed at her. He darted over the ground toward her.That was the only indication something was different compared to his other attacks. He didn''t flash over to her in an instant. Mursoth wanted the three to know who he was targeting.


    The last step before he could lunge forward and try to thrust his daggers into Soara, Mursoth suddenly changed directions. He turned on a coin and suddenly appeared in front of Zach. He was just to the side of Zach so that he could slip between him and the wall.


    Mursoth''s foot pressed against the ground. He was a little thankful for the surface dwellers efforts that had dried the ground. If it had been as slippery as last time, he wouldn''t have gotten as much force and power when he tried to push off the ground.


    Mursoth''s leg extended like a spring.


    It launched him straight into an invisible barrier and squished his face flat.


    He was no longer thankful for the increased grip that led to greater speed. It had only served to launch him harder into a barrier harder than stone. It was hard enough to crack the surface of the short, stubby but pointy horns in his forehead and break his nose.


    Mursoth was stuck in place, stunned by the impact to his head.


    Slowly, he fell back from the barrier and stumbled backward. He raised a hand to his nose. He was surprised to see it come away with dark blood. He looked at Zach in shock more than anything.


    After he hit it, Mursoth could tell that the barrier was small. That was why it was so strong. Zach had to have known in advance where Mursoth was going. He had to have put it up in advance to make it strong enough to withstand the underworlder''s sharp horns.


    "...not¡­possible¡­" Mursoth rejected it. He wanted to reject it. There was no way Zach could have anticipated his movements. Merely reacting wouldn''t have let Zach put up the barrier in time. He had less than a second to react from when Mursoth changed paths from Soara to next to Zach.


    Mursoth refused to believe a weak human who had just recently stopped suckling on his mother''s teats could read his movements.


    He glared at Zach as he wiped away the blood running down his lips. Underworld energy coursed through his body, restoring his nose and stopping the bleeding.


    "How did you do that?" Mursoth couldn''t let it go. Before he killed Zach, he had to know.


    Zach smiled with his hands behind his back and didn''t say anything. He, Yanael, and Soara took a step forward.


    Mursoth took a step backward. The underworld energy was working on fixing his horns. He grabbed his daggers tightly.


    Zach, Yanael, and Soara took another step forward.


    Mursoth took another step backward. He was gathering his strength. He had been surprised by Zach''s wall last time. This time, he could either use his daggers to break through or go for another opening between the three. He was not trapped. There was no way the three of them, who couldn''t deal with him on their own, had trapped him in the sewers.


    Mursoth glanced behind Zach and the others to look at the tunnel into the Underworld. The underworld energy was still bubbling down there, preparing for another eruption.


    Mursoth just had to stall for time.


    That was why he continued backing away without engaging in a direct fight. That wasn''t even what he excelled in. He was better with assassinations and sneakier tactics.


    It looked like Zach wasn''t even thinking about the tunnel of underworld energy behind him. As soon as it rushed out, he and the other two would turn around in surprise, exposing their backs and necks to Mursoth.


    Mursoth controlled his expression so that the three wouldn''t realize his plan. He just had to stall for time. After a few minutes, he could get his revenge on Zach and Soara for scaring and embarrassing him.


    He was excited and focused on controlling his expression and watching Soara.


    He didn''t stop to wonder. He didn''t stop to question.


    What did Zach and his familiars gain by backing him deeper into the sewers? Was it to get him further away from the underworld energy so that he couldn''t regenerate as quickly?


    No. The remaining talismans around the tunnel and the ones in the sewers were keeping all the underworld energy out. It was even enough to annoy Mursoth.


    After a minute of slowly inching backward, Mursoth was one step away from a t-crossing. He sensed the sewers open up behind him. He could use that to his advantage.


    Mursoth took a deeper breath than usual as he took the final step backward. The torches in the sewer cast Mursoth''s shadow to the side.


    He frowned. That breath had felt a little hotter than the one before. And why was only one side of the sewer tunnel lit? He looked toward the light. He tilted his head in confusion.


    Why was there a wall of ice in the middle of the lit tunnel?


    He hurriedly looked back toward Zach and his familiars. He couldn''t afford to let his guard down against Soara. Zach''s barriers were hard and difficult to get through, but he wasn''t a threat to Mursoth''s safety. He was just an annoying obstacle.


    But the three of them hadn''t made a move.


    They just looked at Mursoth with varying expressions of pity. Mursoth didn''t understand.


    ''Wait. Ice?''


    Mursoth glanced at the wall of ice again.


    If there was ice in the tunnel, why was the air getting hotter? His eyes opened wide and he looked toward the tunnel that was darker than night. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A shiver ran down Mursoth''s short spine.


    A moment later, bright red light broke through the veil of darkness and blasted through the air straight at Mursoth.

 Chapter 265 River and Ocean

    The laser filled a large part of the available space in the sewer tunnel and blazed through the air at an incredible speed. But it wasn''t too fast for Mursoth to react in time. He could dodge it. The residual heat that blurred the air around the laser beam wouldn''t even be enough to singe his clothes.Mursoth turned his head and body to duck back into the path he had come from. It was the path where Zach and his familiars were, but they weren''t so close they could block him. Mursoth would rather take his chances with them than the laser.


    The laser was simplistic, flew in a straight line, and could have been faster. But those were all reasons why it was so powerful. Mursoth would not make it out intact after taking it head-on.


    However, before Mursoth could finish half a turn, his face hit a barrier. It wasn''t invisible. He just hadn''t seen it since the laser dyed the tunnels bright red, and he had been a little preoccupied trying to sense Soara''s movements.


    Instinctively, Mursoth pressed harder against the barrier, forcing his head to break through it. After less than a quarter turn, his body slammed into another barrier. Mursoth tensed his body and stepped through it like it was a sheet of glass.


    He walked into another barrier. He was ready for it and stabbed it with his dagger, breaking it as soon as he came in contact with it. But he still needed to finish his step to escape the laser. He couldn''t do that without hitting another barrier, which he once again broke as soon as he made contact.


    All the barriers Zach made were weakened by the proximity to underworld energy during construction. He had also taken numerous hits to his insides after so many of his barriers had broken. His barriers were weak and not nearly enough to stop Mursoth.


    The only way he had a chance would be if he made it right next to him and he was allowed to take a minute or two to make it. If Mursoth had tried to break past them again and retreat into the tunnel, he could have done it.


    His fear and shock had clouded his judgment. He had chosen to stick around and look for a way to kill Zach and his familiars. He had gotten greedy. And now, he had been trapped in a tunnel with a deadly laser.


    Zach''s barriers had been weak. But his friends'' timing had been impeccable. All he had needed to do was buy a second or two. And that was what he had done. His flimsy barriers had made him cough up a few drops of blood.


    But they had delayed Mursoth''s escape from the intersecting sewer tunnels by a second.


    The laser passed by Zach''s tunnel and slammed into the ice wall on the other side.


    Zach looked at Mursoth''s face as light and head bathed the tunnel. A pair of sunglasses would have been perfect.


    After a few moments, the light ceased.


    Zach''s eyes, which had adjusted to the bright light, saw strange colors float around the air before they recovered and readjusted to the mellow light of the sewers'' torches. Mursoth''s front was almost intact. His hair was a little burned, and the edges of his clothes were singed and frayed. Both his hair and his clothes were drawn in the direction the laser had passed by.


    From the side, Mursoth had experienced a monstrous weight loss. His back was gone. Part of his head was gone. Part of his backside and thighs were gone. He had turned into one parenthesis.


    His expression was distorted and overcome with a mix of pain, fear, shock, and rage. His eyes blazed as he looked at Zach.


    Underworld energy bubbled beneath his burns, casting away the crispy tissues like a snake shedding its skin. The underworld energy restored Mursoth''s damaged body in a process even more painful than the laser tearing through his body.


    At a rapid pace visible to the naked eye, Mursoth''s body was restoring itself to its original state.


    Dukiel''s eyes widened.


    Usually, burn wounds, especially the ones from his lasers, prevented wounds from healing that quickly. But Mursoth didn''t care.


    He was a Named from the fifth layer of the Underworld.


    The purity and strength of his underworld energy couldn''t compare to the one they had found in the surface monsters that had adapted to the underworld energy. They would need something stronger than burn wounds if they wanted to stop his regeneration.


    Mursoth smirked through the pain.


    Now that he had been hit once, it would be impossible for them to hit him with the same trick again.


    They were also split up in different groups.


    Mursoth might have trouble killing Soara with Yanael right next to her. But even when she had been right next to her, Yanael had only barely been able to react. Soara was the main issue. But if he was ready for Soara''s speed, Mursoth was confident he could kill her.


    And he had seen Zach cough up blood. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The annoying barriers wouldn''t be a problem anymore.


    No one could stop him from killing the other students before returning his attention to the scary, black-haired maid. His legs just had to finish healing.


    "This is your loss, Zacharia Evandiel." Mursoth mocked Zach.


    Zach reached inside his clothes with a chilly smile that did not reach his eyes.


    "Is it?" He asked while walking closer to Mursoth.


    For some reason, Mursoth got a bad feeling. It only worsened when he looked at where Zach''s hand was. It continued to worsen with each step toward him Zach took.


    Mursoth instinctively tried to take a step back. But his legs, which didn''t have more than a few shreds of muscle on the back couldn''t fulfill his command. He stumbled and fell like his legs were a pair of sticks.


    He collapsed on the ground with a grunt of pain as his open backside made direct contact with the hot, stony ground.


    Zach stood next to Mursoth''s head and looked down at him.


    "Bye-bye!" He waved with one hand. With the other, he emptied a glass bottle filled with sloshing light grey liquid. The liquid sailed down to Mursoth.


    Time seemed to slow down for Mursoth as the milky liquid coursed like a river for his chest, the ocean.


    A river of anti-underworld energy and an ocean of underworld energy.


    A river of fire and an ocean of oil.

 Chapter 266 Painful

    The pain of a laser cutting through half his body was a faint memory. The pain of fierce underworld energy restoring his body after the laser removed half of it was nostalgic.Nothing could compare to the pain of the anti-underworld energy potion making contact with his body and entering it like a spring breeze after a cold winter. Without caring about the obstruction of his clothes, skin, muscles, and skeleton, the potion instantly flooded him.


    Less than a fraction of a second later, the potion did what it was made to do. It drove away the underworld energy. It extinguished and erased the underworld energy''s presence from Mursoth''s body.


    It was just that Mursoth''s body was made of underworld energy.


    He was a physical being. He was made of blood and flesh, just like a monster or a human. But the tiny building blocks that his blood and flesh consisted of were glued together with and by underworld energy.


    The blood flowing through his veins was not entirely dissimilar from liquid underworld energy. It wasn''t the same, but it wasn''t very different. His muscles were built with underworld energy. The fibers were entwined with underworld energy like braids.


    The potion did not touch Mursoth''s blood and flesh. It touched the underworld energy connected to his blood and flesh.


    And it didn''t just touch it. It grabbed it and ripped it away with the immutable force of a chemical reaction.


    Like a seed sprouting in stone and cracking the stone, the potion did not let Mursoth''s body even try to resist. The bond between the underworld energy and Mursoth''s blood and flesh was severed and torn asunder by the domineering potion.


    To Mursoth, it was like the potion was tearing apart every single part of him at once and shredding his insides and skin. His insides boiled and screamed. It was a pain that couldn''t compare to the laser or the underworld energy restoring his body.


    His blood and flesh was as perfectly mixed with the underworld energy as it could be. Naturally, his skin and skeleton was the same. Naturally, his nerves were the same.


    The thousands upon thousands of endlessly thin threads and strands spread out over all of Mursoth''s body that transmitted sensations like touch and heat to his brain and signals from his brain to his limbs all were part underworld energy.


    When the potion drove the underworld energy out of Mursoth''s body, it didn''t grant his nervous system any mercy. Parts of it broke down directly. All of it fired signals as hard and fast as it could.


    Mursoth''s brain practically lit up with all the damage to his nervous system.


    The pain alone of complete annihilation on a fundamental level was enough to kill an ordinary person.


    Unfortunately, Mursoth wasn''t an ordinary person. Despite everything, he was a Named. He didn''t die that easily. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Continuously letting out beastly howls, Mursoth suffered for thirty long seconds before his throat was too ruined to let out more than pitiful wheezing.


    Eventually, even those stopped.


    Mursoth was dead. His body¡ªor what remained of it¡ªwas a nasty puddle of putrid, liquid flesh, and pieces of bone on the ground.


    His end had been horrible. The spectators to his end weren''t impressed by it. They were disgusted and horrified.


    "..."


    The students and familiars looked at what remained of Mursoth in stunned and awkward silence.


    They had carried out one of Violina''s plans, one she dubbed M, to be exact. It was a strategy to herd and ambush a strong target. It hadn''t necessarily been designed for Mursoth, but he was a strong target. He wasn''t the best one, though, since he was quick and light on his feet. He could have dodged the lasers.


    But Zach risked his health to stop him, so that didn''t happen. But it was still a result beyond their expectations.


    Ever since they first saw Mursoth leaping out of the city that time before the break, the students had anxiously carried his face in the backs of their minds. He had been a looming threat to them and the citizens. They had constantly worried that Mursoth would lead the Underworld in an attack or attack them by himself when they least expected it.


    Now, he was a puddle on the ground.


    A Named underworlder, someone who should be at the top of the Underworld''s hierarchy, had died. Just like that.


    Zach leaned against Yanael.


    It wasn''t ''just'' like that. But it had been surprisingly easy.


    "...I knew he was weak," Zach commented disdainfully while letting Yanael wipe away the blood on his chin.


    The others turned to Zach, confusion and doubt in their eyes. Mursoth was weak? Was that why he was in such a poor state? Was that why they had used everything they had to reduce him to a state where he couldn''t dodge the potion?


    The others'' feelings were clearly expressed in their looks and faces. They didn''t need to say anything for Zach to know what they felt.


    "The Named are the Underworld''s top fighting force. This guy was a tool. He was weak and stupid. He made like six mistakes in just a couple of minutes. If it had been Jigak, that puddle right there would be us." Zach pointed at the puddle while looking the others in their eyes to make sure they knew he was serious.


    They could not let this get to their heads.


    It hadn''t been the cleanest fight on their end, either, even if they had managed to defeat a Named.


    Zach had wasted a lot of stamina on blocking the underworld energy. Since they were worried about Mursoth escaping, Yanael and Soara hadn''t been allowed free reins. That had led to Zach incurring worse internal injuries than necessary.


    And if it weren''t for Soara''s presence dominating most of Mursoth''s senses, he would have noticed the ambush ahead of time, even if Nessa hid everyone with her third contract skill. He would have either noticed the mounting heat of the lasers or the ice wall or the students and their familiars.


    If Mursoth had been a better fighter, he would have, at the very least, survived. If he had been a good fighter, he could have killed them, either some or most of them.


    Another Named would have.

 Chapter 267 Dumber Than A Rock

    "Do you mind burning that some more before we leave?" Zach asked Dukiel. Dukiel''s eyes widened slightly. Zach''s request meant he considered the possibility of Mursoth surviving."Mm." Dukiel glanced at his Sentinel, who fired up its lasers again and blasted the puddle on the ground until the stone melted.


    "I don''t want to take any chances with what''s about to come. Speaking of which, I think it''s about time we leave." Zach nodded in the direction of the tunnel to the Underworld. The ground had started trembling again. The underworld energy was making another attempt to break through to the surface.


    The others didn''t mind Zach''s suggestion, and they quickly left the sewers not a moment too soon.


    Underworld energy rocketed out of the manhole only seconds after Anerias'' Hound crawled out. One manhole at a time, pillars of black smoke shot into the air around the city. Occasionally, muffled bangs rang out from the manholes that either blocked or tried to block the underworld energy.


    The underworld energy dispersed in the sky and rained down over the city, covering it in grey. Some areas stayed colorful, thanks to the talismans. But the underworld energy this time was more intense than last time. The talismans alone wouldn''t be enough to drive away the underworld energy. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach looked around the misty city before glancing toward the Academy.


    The underworld energy spilling into the surface would make it easier for the underworlders to fight on the surface. At the same time, it would make it more difficult for the surface dwellers to fight in areas covered by underworld energy.


    But there were ways to contain the underworld energy in the city and prevent it from spreading any further.


    What could the Underworld gain from taking over one city?


    The Underworld and the Great Ugor wanted the surface. They wanted its rich resources. They were at war with the surface because they couldn''t find peace for some reason. Zach didn''t know the reason, but he knew what the Underworld wanted.


    If they wanted resources, it didn''t make sense for them to just take over a city. The forests in the area around the city were rich. But they weren''t aiming for those forests.


    Out of all the cities they could have chosen, they chose the one closest to the Academy, where the principal, Kami, and a bunch of powerful summoner instructors were just sitting on their asses most of the time.


    Was the Great Ugor betting on none of them stepping in until the students were all dead? Was he hoping to eradicate the future of summoning by doing that? Did he think he could outlive the principal?


    What if the Great Ugor wasn''t betting on the principal not interfering? Was there something that was worth the risk of tempting the principal into acting?


    Was the whole Underworld thing bullshit? Was it something the principal had orchestrated just to torment the students and give them a challenge?


    The principal probably had a lot of time on his hands. But the resources, time, and effort spent to prepare everything weren''t worth the results. All it did was make the current third-years a little stronger than average. It was not cost-efficient.


    The Underworld was most likely real.


    That meant they had to have a real reason for their actions.


    They could be in cahoots with the principal. In exchange for him not interfering, they had to give the students a fight worth fighting.


    It sounded like a ridiculous reason.


    Zach would much rather believe that there was something about the city or the Academy that made the underworlders dare to get close to the principal.


    There had to be a thousand better places to launch an invasion on the surface. They could have done it in the middle of nowhere and dragged up loads of underworld energy before starting their expansion.


    Gathering strength before launching an attack or invasion and catching your target with their pants down is one of the fundamentals of strategy. Eiter the Great Ugor was dumber than a rock or he had something planned.


    The Great Ugor wasn''t dumber than a rock.


    Zach had an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. The blood his heart pumped into his body felt a degree or two too cold.


    Unfortunately, Zach couldn''t figure anything out no matter how much he thought about it. Even after returning to Alzara''s lab to pick up a batch of potions to drink before sleeping, Zach still couldn''t even begin to guess what the underworlders were planning.


    They had asked for a ceasefire to let both sides prepare. They wanted to stabilize something underground.


    Zach tried to figure out what kind of things needed to be stabilized.


    Two occasions came to mind.


    The experiment that Jigak had gone to pick up at the swamp Locale. The proof of created life. Artificial life.


    And the tiger. The underworlders had grabbed its leg and turned it into an underworld energy bomb. If that had not been stable, they would have blown themselves up instead of almost killing Zach, Dukiel, and Julius.


    From those two incidents, Zach could guess the Underworld was doing another experiment at the bottom of that tunnel. The only problem was that he had no idea what it could be.


    It probably wouldn''t be anything like the tiger this time.


    But Jigak had brought away the other experiment for a reason.


    If the Great Ugor was planning on hitting the Academy or the principal for whatever reason, maybe artificial life could be of help in some way. Why would they have researched it otherwise? For science?


    Maybe if they had more resources than they knew what to do with.


    If Zach''s understanding of the Great Ugor was even a little accurate, the Great Ugor would use anything and everything he had and make it all be worth using.


    As he thought about it more, Zach realized that he was curious about that piece of artificial life. He wanted to know what it was.


    That curiosity turned into a desire. He wanted the Underworld to bring it to the surface so that he could learn more about it.


    An ill-fated desire.

 Chapter 268 Hot

    While Zach was busy getting lost in his thoughts and worries, the Underworld didn''t waste any time. Less than a day after the underworld energy flooded the city, forcing the alchemists to work in barracks along the road to the next city over, they already started sending underworlders onto the streets.The underworlders were from the first and second layers, and their only apparent task was to take down the talismans inside and around the city.


    The talismans weren''t that much of a bother to stronger underworlders, as proven by Mursoth who walked through a tunnel packed to the brim with ones without so much as frowning. But they obstructed the flow of the underworld energy and prevented it from spreading beyond the city.


    The talismans were also powerful enough to severely injure the weaker underworlders.


    The disposable, doll-like underworlders that obediently marched to their deaths could only hold the talismans for a few minutes in total before collapsing. However, that meant they could remove up to ten talismans before reaching critical failure.


    The third-years had to run around the city almost like headless chickens to kill the knee-high dolls before they could tear down too many talismans and ruin the formative defense they had built with the talismans.


    The dolls crawling all over the city were efficient. They didn''t take down that many talismans in the end, and the students could always put them back up if they were intact or put up new ones. But even a dozen dolls couldn''t take one student.


    They were weak.


    And that was exactly why Violina was scratching her head when looking at a map of the city. Her forehead was covered in deep creases.


    The Underworld''s plan couldn''t be as simple as merely irritating or wearing them down with the dolls.


    They had already worked out a rotating schedule that kept the talisman loss at a minimum while still letting the students get more than enough rest. The dolls couldn''t be endless, but even if they were, it would take years for them to take down enough talismans to make an impact.


    The Underworld should already know that they didn''t have trouble making more talismans. They were surprisingly easy to make, and the students already had a stockpile that would last longer than this small war they were fighting.


    There had to be something else to it.


    The dolls had to be a distraction.


    Violina looked up and found Nessa bent over the same table right in front of her.


    "Nessa, can you get Zach?"


    Nessa looked up and raised an eyebrow.


    "Did you figure something out?" She asked. She was also suspicious of the dolls. She hoped Violina, who was good at this stuff, had found an answer of some kind.


    "No. But I want Zach in the city if something happens. He should be fine since he''s training right now." Violina looked down at the map again.


    "How do you know?"


    "My Frost Wraith can sense heat signatures." Violina''s answer was matter-of-fact.


    "From this far away?" Nessa asked, incredulously.


    "No¡­" Violina gestured with her arm vaguely in the Academy''s direction. "It''s over there somewhere."


    Nessa frowned.


    "But is it talking to you or something?" Nessa asked, doubtful of Violina''s explanation.


    "Nope. Well, not talking-talking. I figured out that since all of my familiars are basically living blocks of ice, maybe they speak with ice as their language. The Frost Imp is stubborn, but Ice Spirit and Frost Wraith are starting to be able to convey their feelings kind of through sensations of cold." Violina''s voice was neutral. To her, she had simply explained how she conversed with her familiars. It was no big deal.


    Nessa''s jaw was wide open. Her eyes were trying to mimic her mouth.


    Violina had initiated clear communication with her familiars that didn''t rely on interpretation of body language and extremely vague feelings. It might even be correct to say that she had created a means of communication between herself and her familiars. It was also done through something as unique as sensations of cold.


    What was that even supposed to mean?


    And why wasn''t Violina treating it like a big deal?


    "...Does anyone else know about this?"


    "Yeah. Zach. He asked why I was spying on him a while ago."


    Nessa''s jaw returned to its rightful place and her eyes relaxed. That explained it.


    Violina and Zach were not alike. But they had their similarities. Nessa had an easier time accepting both what Violina had done and her attitude to it just by knowing that Zach had a slight involvement.


    "That''s amazing."


    "That he noticed I was spying on him?"


    "...No. That''s pretty rude, actually. But it''s amazing that you can communicate so clearly with your familiars."


    "Meh. There''s a lot of room for improvement."


    "It beats trying to read the facial expressions of a Millipede, especially when it has blood and food all over itself." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Violina looked up at Nessa, her eyes a little wider than usual.


    "I thought you were using your antennae to talk with your familiars."


    "My antennae?" Nessa asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. From your armor."


    "..." Nessa was silent. She turned around. She began walking toward the tent''s exit. She stopped. She turned around again.


    "My armor has antennae?" After the first time she tried out the skill and saw herself in the mirror, Nessa had done her best not to look at herself whenever she donned her Exoskeleton. She had missed the fact that there were a pair of antennae on the top of her head whenever she wore it.


    "Yup. Now, get going. Zach might tire himself out at this rate. We don''t want him to be exhausted if something happens."


    "Alright. Is his body temperature rising?"


    "No. His desert witch''s body temperature is."


    "How do you know which one is which based on heat signature?"


    "The desert witch is hot."


    "Sure is. But that doesn''t answer my question."


    "...It does¡­Nessa. The answer to your question at length would be that the desert witch is hotter than the other two and Nora. The hot one is getting hotter because Zach is working hard."


    "...I''m leaving."


    Nessa turned around and left the tent in a hurry.

 Chapter 269 Short Vacay

    After a strange and short conversation with Nessa, Zach soon found himself roaming the streets of Basilia. Not a single citizen joined him. Still, the city was lively. There were hoots, shouts, and conversation echoing from all corners, thanks to the students making noise while hunting the dolls.Since he had worked so hard and gotten injured when they dealt with Mursoth, Zach had been promised a short break to rest and recover. A day was all it took for Violina to renege on that promise and stuff him back into activity.


    Even worse than that, she made him wander the streets of Basilia alone. The city wasn''t that big, and he could probably find his way out. But after a day of walking, he might have covered a couple of blocks multiple times only.


    He couldn''t even pass the time with idle conversation since Yanael and Soara were killing the dolls like they were responsible for their food ending up on the ground. There were also a bunch of his classmates around. Even if they weren''t right next to Zach, it felt like there was also at least one or two within earshot.


    Zach still didn''t want to risk anyone finding out that he could talk with his familiars.


    So, to entertain himself while he walked, Zach looked at the dolls. Since they couldn''t be bothered with clean-up just yet, there were piles upon piles of doll scraps all over the city. They weren''t hollow, but it looked like they were made of clay, rather than flesh. Yet, they still bled. Thick, dark, sap-like blood dripped slowly from the broken dolls.


    Zach couldn''t tell if they were actually underworlders or an underworlder''s creations. Whatever they were, they were a waste of resources. The Underworld had to have something big planned for the dolls to be worth it.


    Zach knelt to pick up the head of a doll and study it closer. No sooner than he did that did Soara smack it out of his hands. As soon as the doll''s head hit the ground, it burst into flames.


    Zach was shocked. But before he could react to that doll, the dolls around him and along the streets in the city caught fire one by one. Some did it almost at the same time as the one in his hand. Others only spontaneously combusted several minutes later.


    He was about to return to the command tent outside the city when an explosion rang out in the opposite direction. A shrill scream also pierced the air. Zach sighed.


    He looked at Yanael. She nodded and led the way. Her sense of direction wasn''t anything to write home about, but she could at least lead the way to sources of commotion or follow traces without getting side-tracked.


    Zach and his familiars turned the corner of a residential house and saw one of his classmates clutch her bleeding leg in pain. It was so bad she couldn''t even stand up.


    "Heyo!" Zach greeted her and the two birds anxiously cooing, cawing, and flapping around her head. One looked like a pigeon, and the other was a light blue little thing.


    "..." Zach''s classmate slowly looked up at him and spoke through teeth gritted in pain,


    "...Evandiel."


    Zach raised an eyebrow.


    "Your surname is Vis, right? Kat Vis? Double-three." He asked, but he was pretty sure he had it right.


    "Yes." Kat sighed.


    "I have a feeling you don''t need me to ask if you''re okay," he said while pointing at her leg.


    "No. Can you get someone?"


    "I can help you, you know?"


    "Then do that instead of standing there staring at me."


    "Ah. Okay."


    Kat''s leg was bleeding heavily, so Zach put a restrictive barrier around her thigh just above the wound to stem the bleeding. He then gently helped her stand up on her other leg and let her put her weight on him as she hopped on one leg while he walked.


    "I can carry you if you want. Like, on a barrier. It will be like riding a floating bed¡ª" S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This works." Kat barely let Zach finish before rejecting his offer.


    He wasn''t sure why. But if she wanted to wince in pain with every step they took, that was her decision.


    "So, uh, do you mind if I ask what happened? The dolls suddenly catching fire was shocking, but that wound looked like something caused by a blade, not fire. And I didn''t see any blades in the vicinity."


    Kat''s jaws were clenched in pain and concentration since she also had to lead the way out. She stayed silent for several long moments and short hops.


    "...I don''t know."


    "Huh?"


    "I don''t fucking know, dammit."


    "What?" Zach was a little surprised at her sudden outburst and stopped to look at her in confusion.


    "...I was just walking when the dolls started burning. I turned around to get the fuck out of there. The next moment, my leg was slashed. What do you want me to say, that a ghost did it?"


    "No¡­If you don''t know, you don''t know. There''s no need to make such a big deal of it. After we leave the city, we can see if anyone else experienced anything similar. I have a feeling this is what the Underworld was planning."


    "What, cutting my leg?"


    "No¡­The dolls were a distraction. They diverted our attention and made us let down our guards. Then, at the right time, they caught fire and distracted us even further, exposing us to some kind of attack."


    "...Sounds unnecessarily convoluted. If it was so fast that I couldn''t even see it, was there a need to make us let down our guards?" Kat asked with a frown.


    "Maybe it wasn''t speed."


    "You''re saying I''m wrong?"


    "How can you be wrong when you don''t know? No, I''m saying it might be something that affects our awareness."


    "And what''s that supposed to mean?"


    "What if it wasn''t fast? What if you just couldn''t see it?"


    Kat glared at Zach after his question.


    "I was attacked by an invisible underworlder?"


    "It''s not impossible."


    "Then why didn''t it kill me?"


    "Why didn''t it kill you if it was too fast for you to see?"


    "..."


    "In any case, you don''t need to worry about it. Now that I''m here, nothing, whether fast or invisible, can touch you."


    Zach''s words were, to Kat''s displeasure, comforting.


    "So, your hand?"


    "It''s neither fast nor invisible."

 Chapter 270 Scary

    Zach and Kat soon found themselves at the command tent just outside the city with several of their other classmates receiving treatment for wounds similar to the one Kat had on her leg. Some had cuts on their legs as well. Others on their arms or torsos. There was even one guy who lost a finger.Most if not all of the wounds were painful and bled a lot. But none of them were lethal unless left untreated. The students would recover in at most a couple of days, thanks to potions and healers.


    Once again, the Underworld had done something useless.


    Or so Zach thought until he looked at the expressions on his classmates.


    He wasn''t worried. He hadn''t been even when he saw all the injuries his classmates got. And nothing had tried to attack him. Even if it had, it would need to be something powerful to get through his familiars and barriers and reach him. If it had been that powerful, Zach wouldn''t have had any classmates left.


    The Underworld was just doing something sneaky. Maybe the wounds were infected. Maybe they were cursed.


    That wasn''t it. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The students were scared.


    The wounds and what caused them had frightened the students. None of them had seen anything. Noticed anything. Felt anything.


    Suddenly, they had been cut. Their positions, situations, and locations had all been different. But within a span of minutes, almost all the students had received an injury somewhere on their body.


    They hadn''t even been able to think about defending since they didn''t know they were attacked.


    The only precursor to the incident was the fire taking over the dolls, which was still burning all over the city.


    Fire and pain.


    It was only natural that the students were unsettled and wary. Add on to that the fact they were attacked by an unknown enemy, Zach almost couldn''t blame them for being scared.


    He went to find Violina.


    She had also noticed it after getting the students to calm down and share what had happened to them one at a time. She looked at the dancing orange light escaping from the city''s streets into the evening air while thinking about the situation.


    "Zach." She noticed his arrival when he stood next to her.


    "Did you notice anything?" She asked. She had requested his presence in the city for exactly a situation like this, after all.


    Zach glanced at his familiars for a moment.


    "Nope." He shook his head. "The dolls started burning, and then I heard a scream. I found Kat and brought her back. That''s about it. I didn''t see, hear, or sense anything other than the burning dolls."


    "Any ideas?"


    "I was thinking it could be an invisible underworlder, but¡­"


    "Doesn''t make sense. If they had a unit like that, they would use it for more than just scratching our classmates. Hell, they could have killed all of them!"


    "Mm. Either there''s a reason for not killing everyone."


    "Or they couldn''t. Which means whatever did that isn''t powerful."


    "It''s just impossible to detect."


    Zach''s and Violina''s expressions were grim as they looked at the city.


    Their faces brightened slightly as Nessa returned from it.


    "Well?" Violina asked. Impatient for information.


    "The dolls are on fire, but the fire isn''t spreading. That black blood is what''s burning. It''s like oil or tar or something. It does not look like it will stop anytime soon."


    "Could you put it out?" Zach asked.


    Nessa raised her arms in a shrug.


    "I tried stomping on it. Hitting it with a plank. I even pulled up some water from a well. Did nothing." Nessa didn''t have anything more to report, so she stood next to Violina and also looked out over the city with a grim and thoughtful expression.


    "Was it hot?" Zach asked after a minute of silence.


    "...Was what hot?" Nessa hesitantly asked. Violina''s face was stoic.


    "The fire?" Nessa''s hesitance made Zach question his question. But she had just been a little weird.


    "Oh! Uh¡­Now that I think about it, I don''t think so?" Nessa crossed her arms and tilted her head as she remembered how it had been to walk the streets littered with burning doll corpses. It had felt maybe a little hotter than usual. But there weren''t any warm breezes drying her skin or making it hard to breathe like one might expect from a city almost on fire. It had felt like a warm summer''s eve.


    Violina''s eyes slowly widened in gradual realization. Long-lasting fire that wasn''t hot.


    Either the doll''s blood just didn''t burn that hot. It wasn''t impossible. A lot of things didn''t burn hot. Violina couldn''t think of any such materials off the top of her head, but that didn''t matter. She didn''t know what the Underworld had access to anyway.


    And while she knew the Underworld was handy and performed tricky experiments that might have led to the creation of a long-lasting flame that didn''t burn hot, there was also another entirely possible explanation.


    "Magic," she said.


    The other two looked at her.


    "Unorthodox magic, that is," she clarified.


    It didn''t make it much clearer.


    "Can underworlders use magic?" Nessa asked. She hadn''t even considered the possibility before.


    "Is there anything that says they can''t? And if they got a human mage and made them an underworlder? I would even say it''s highly likely that there is some kind of magic in the Underworld. It might resemble orthodox magic or it might not. But magic would explain the flames. It might even explain the attacks."


    "You''re saying, what, an underworlder mage used a spell to attack everyone in the city at the same time?" Nessa asked. A mage capable of that would be incredibly skilled.


    "Not quite. I was thinking that the dolls and fire was part of it. But I''m not an expert on magic. So, until we can read up on it in the library or ask a skilled mage, you''re in charge of clean-up Zach?" Violina patted Zach on the shoulder and left.


    "Clean-up?" He asked her back.


    Violina gave an encouraging thumbs-up without looking back.


    He looked at Nessa.


    Nessa shrugged and, before Zach could say anything, chased after Violina. There was no way Zach was dragging her into helping him take care of the city while they researched.

 Chapter 271 Magic Is Magic

    Magic is the external expression and application of energy.Orthodox magic is the study of those expressions and applications meant to equalize and standardize it for the shared and common use of magic. Orthodox magic uses laws, rules, and understanding of concepts and magical energy to explain the expressions of magic.


    Talent is necessary, but hard work goes a long way as well.


    Unorthodox magic is the free expression and application of magical energy or energies with similar enough functions. It is unbound by rules other than the ones each practitioner sets for themselves. Branches of unorthodox magic can share rules, but mostly in terms of application and use.


    Unorthodox magic requires talent. Feeling. It is something a practitioner learns by doing, not reading.


    "..." Zach stared blankly at Nessa who had just shared a summary of the two different types of magic that she, Violina, and a few others had managed to find after several days of looking through the library.


    He was tired.


    While they did all that, he had been busy shoveling doll corpses into a pile in the city center while his familiars killed the dolls that kept coming to take down talismans. When they could without it impacting their hunt, Soara and Yanael threw the dolls they killed onto the pile. Otherwise, they were left lying on the ground until Zach could pick them up with his shovel and wheelbarrow.


    It was hard but necessary work since they couldn''t risk the underworld energy pervade the city even more or spread beyond the city''s borders. They also couldn''t let the dolls be, even if they hadn''t started burning their surroundings.


    While he and his familiars had been doing the work of a dozen people, his friends, his trusted comrades, the ones who had his back in desperate times, had flipped through a bunch of books to tell him; yep, magic is magic.


    Zach sat down and rested his arms on his knees as he stared into the pile of burning dolls. He had confirmed one thing during the last few days.


    Violina''s guess that the dolls were related to the magic was true.


    Each doll caught fire some time after it broke. The time varied slightly between each doll, but after several hours, the black tar-like blood would start burning. And it seemed that fire was the catalyst to launch an attack on whoever had killed the dolls. The more dolls they had killed, the stronger the attack.


    Zach had no idea how, but Yanael managed to sense and defend against the attacks whenever they came.


    Soara didn''t need to. He guessed that the dolls couldn''t pick up her as the attacker since they just collapsed and started bleeding after getting too close to her. She hadn''t attacked them. They had died. Thus, there was no counterattack.


    It wasn''t a matter of distance. Zach had tried throwing rocks at the dolls from afar and killed them. When it was time for the counterattack,


    something


    struck the skin-tight barrier, regardless of how far away he was.


    What surprised Zach was the fact that the attack bypassed the dome around him that had a radius equal to a stride of his. It wasn''t an attack that would reach him regardless of how far away he was. It was an attack that would hit him regardless of where he was.


    It was a subtle difference, but it might help them figure out ways to defend against it.


    After all, Zach''s classmates still couldn''t help out, even if they weren''t as wary and frightened anymore. They could have their familiars do it since they were more resilient. But some familiars weren''t. Some familiars weren''t even suited to killing the dolls since they were slow, weak, or just not very good at it.


    That was why almost all the students had been running around and kicking or whacking the dolls in the first place.


    "Hello?" Nessa waved her hand in front of Zach''s face. He hadn''t looked at her or reacted to anything in a few minutes. His eyes slowly moved to her face.


    "Oh. Hey, Nessa. Did you guys find anything?" After all that time in the library, he hoped they found something useful.


    Nessa narrowed her eyebrows with concern. Hadn''t they already had this exchange shortly before she shared their findings?


    "Zach? You alright?" S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Nope. I dreamt you said that magic was magic. Please tell me it was¡­" Zach could already see it on Nessa''s face that it had not been a dream.


    "That''s¡­"


    "Well, that''s not all you found, tough, is it?" Zach asked, fresh out of hope.


    Nessa''s eyes lit up.


    "No, we found similar types of magic, both orthodox and unorthodox!" she said excitedly.


    "Great."


    "Yes. Basically, there''s a mage down there creating these dolls and imprinting them with spells. It''s similar to magic tools but different. They''re disposable, which means they are more powerful. They are also very complex since they overlap or work together, I guess you could say." Nessa sat down next to Zach as she explained.


    They looked at the burning pile of dolls like a bonfire together.


    "..." Zach silently waited for her to continue.


    "...?" She didn''t.


    "That''s it?"


    "Yeah? There isn''t much more we can find out without asking the mage directly."


    "So, what we know now is that there''s a skilled mage down there creating dolls that burn and counterattack the ones who destroyed them."


    "Yeah¡­?" Nessa''s expression gradually sank as she turned back to the bonfire. Put like that, there was no difference in what they knew now from what they knew a couple of days ago.


    They had spent those days in the library for nothing.


    Zach had worked that hard alone for nothing. No, it wasn''t for nothing. The other students couldn''t kill the dolls, so he had to do that alone. But they could have helped him with the shoveling as soon as they figured out the part about the counterattacks.


    Zach turned to Nessa with a dead expression. The existence of his familiar, the deity of Death, was fully reflected in his face.

 Chapter 272 Era Of Talent

    It took a while for Nessa to convince Zach that their findings weren''t useless. Even when Zach reluctantly admitted that knowing a little more, however little it was, was better than being completely clueless, Nessa wasn''t sure Zach actually believed her. She had a feeling he was just saying that so that he could take a nap without her bugging him.Nessa didn''t have much of a choice. Although only one of his familiars, the beautiful, black-haired maid, was protecting him, the angel alone was not enough to keep the dolls from tearing down the talismans. She could only be in one place at a time after all. The dolls, however, were all over the city.


    Nessa armored up and started helping with the doll extermination and clean-up.


    She had undergone significant mental training to be able to wear the armor that made her look like a cockroach without worrying about what others thought. Surprisingly, losing her arm had helped with that training since she was always thinking about how others looked at her to the point where she wasn''t worried when she donned her armor anymore.


    She still didn''t like how it looked, though, and she didn''t understand why it looked the way it did when it was supposed to represent a union between her and her Millipede.


    But looks aside, it was a great skill. It provided great defense. It extended and strengthened her senses, and it amplified her strength. She had even tried out the thing Violina mentioned.


    It was difficult since it felt like she was trying to understand the Millipede by reading its thoughts, which were no more understandable than its facial expressions. But it was possible. If she kept working on it, she would be able to communicate with her familiars.


    Together with her third skill, Nessa dominated the city as soon as night fell. The darkness amplifying her strength through her Robber of Light combined with the strength amplification of her Exoskeleton and turned her into a beast.


    She couldn''t compare to the current Yanael. But she could equal or even surpass Yanael when she was Zach''s only familiar.


    The only problem was that it was a strength she wasn''t used to handling. Even if it had been, Nessa wasn''t used to fighting the same way a battle maid was. Her sheer strength made her a formidable foe, but all she could do was recklessly swing her limbs around. The only thing that kept her from missing her unbalancing herself was the Exoskeleton''s animalistic instincts guiding her movements and correcting her attacks.


    However, through her amateurish moves, Yanael saw potential. Soara also saw it, but she wasn''t as interested as Yanael was. Soara was more interested in the Dawnthief Bat flying around in the night sky.


    It was an audacious name even for an S-rank familiar.


    The other students had familiars also at the S-rank. Anerias'' Darkwing. Violina''s Frost Imp and Frost Wraith. Dukiel''s Transformation Cube and Symbiotic Slime. All powerful in their own right.


    None of them would even dare to claim to be able to steal the dawn.


    Not even Yanael could steal the dawn.


    Alzara¡­ S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Desert Witch had a lot of tricks up her sleeve, and they would only increase the stronger she got. Soara couldn''t say for certain what Alzara roi Kalam''s limits were.


    But for a tiny bat to take the dawn away? Something wasn''t adding up.


    Soara glanced at the Serpentine Millipede sneaking bites of the burning pile of dolls without a care for the charring of its carapace. That one was also interesting. It also seemed smart enough since it made sure to filter out the underworld energy now and then by eating talismans as well and then burping out the underworld energy.


    The Midnight Butterfly wasn''t as interesting or noteworthy as the other two. But the Millipede and Bat were enough for Soara to think highly of Nessa. There were also the other students with S-rank familiars. While not as impressive as Nessa and not nearly as impressive as her Master, they were skilled summoners still.


    Not only was Zach, her Master, an amazing summoner, but his peers were also incredible talents as well.


    Soara''s eyes glazed over slightly and her gaze grew distant as she looked far, far beyond the horizon.


    From what she had heard, Zach also had several talented siblings around his age. When she had eavesdropped on conversations around the city and within the Academy, she had also heard chatter about other youths shining brightly. It didn''t sound like anyone could quite measure up to Zach, and she wasn''t saying that just to reaffirm that her choice to serve him was the right one.


    It was an era of talent blossoming right now in the Empire.


    The foundations of the Empire that had been standing solidly for centuries would shake and be overturned in the future.


    Soara looked at Zach, who was sleeping on the cobbled street without a care in the world, thanks to his barriers. Like any being born for greatness, there would be many trials ahead of Zach. His life would only grow more eventful and lively in the future.


    Soara hoped he would be strong enough to endure everything the universe would throw at him.


    But in case he wasn''t¡­


    Soara glanced around the city until she made eye contact with Yanael.


    Zach''s familiars could do more than simply help him kill monsters. Although they were his battle maids and lived to serve him, there were many ways to serve a person. Zach was also independent enough that he didn''t need three or four maids to constantly attend to him.


    ¡­they could always make sure he had people to back him up in his moments of weakness.


    Alzara was already helping Zach develop something other than his personal strength through the alchemy business.


    Yanael and Soara could also contribute with what they knew and were capable of.


    There was just one thing that stopped them.


    Zach''s permission.

 Chapter 273 Perfect Time

    Although they hadn''t figured out how to stop the dolls from burning or counterattacking the ones who destroyed them, the students confirmed through repeated trial and error that there was nothing to worry about as long as they didn''t destroy the dolls.So, they left destroying the dolls to those who could withstand the counterattacks and instead focused on gathering the dolls in one place to keep the city''s streets open and easy to use in case they needed to fight on them or transport something.


    Zach finally earned a short break.


    However, it didn''t take long for yet another effect to appear from the dolls. The fumes they released when they burned were toxic. It wasn''t just underworld energy that slipped into the students'' lungs while they worked. It could be a natural side effect of the magic or the burning blood. Or it could be intentional.


    It didn''t matter.


    Zach, Alzara, and the alchemists had to work around the clock to work out something to purify the poison and create a preventative measure. Well, Alzara and the alchemists did that.


    Zach was back to slinging burning doll corpses since he could block the fumes and gases with his barriers.


    However, the progress was slow. The alchemists were working almost blind since they couldn''t study the fumes without risking getting affected themselves. And Alzara didn''t have enough hands to run all the tests she needed.


    "Master." Yanael requested Zach''s attention during a moment when they were almost completely alone in the city.


    It was the perfect time to ask Zach about something important.


    "Yeah?" Zach looked tiredly at Yanael, not because he was tired of looking at her. He would never tire of that. He was tired after shoveling doll corpses, training, eating potions, and being so active. He needed a week or two to laze around.


    He had finally broken free of his obsessiveness that had overtaken him during his first and second years at the Academy. Or his hard work had broken him.


    "May I express my opinion on a matter we have already discussed?" Yanael asked carefully.


    They had talked about it before without concluding anything. But the fact that they hadn''t decided on changing it meant that Zach was still reluctant to let others know about the uniqueness of his familiars. He had said he was reluctant since he would only stand out unnecessarily without gaining anything.


    Yanael was worried there was more to it.


    "Go ahead?" Zach raised an eyebrow, and his gaze cleared up as he looked at Yanael. It looked like he needed to be a little serious and alert for this conversation.


    "I¡­We think our ability to converse with others would be a great asset during this time. Let us help you, Master. Not just by tending to your needs and training. Let us share the burden you carry." Yanael bowed deeply. Her upper body was parallel to the ground, and her hands were pressed against her lower belly. Her eyes were shut tightly as she pleaded with Zach.


    Hopefully, her earnest request would make Zach reconsider his stance and reluctance.


    Zach''s other eyebrow also rose as he looked at Yanael.


    He had not expected this.


    "Alright." He nodded, a gentle smile adorning his lips as he had Yanael stand up straight. He appreciated the gesture, but she didn''t need to be so desperate. He was more than willing to hear her and the others out, even if they didn''t do that, though he had a feeling Yanael was the only one who would do something like that.


    Yanael stood up, surprised at how easily Zach had agreed.


    For more than two years, he had been staunchly against telling anyone but Nora and his family about his familiars'' uniqueness. But now, he was suddenly fine with it. It was sudden.


    "Are you sure?" She couldn''t help but ask.


    "I''ve been thinking about it myself." Zach shrugged. "You three are already making more people gape and gawk with each lap around the Academy. If anyone comes to seek trouble because you can talk or whatever, let them come. The ones who can cause trouble for us even with Soara in our group, like the principal, probably already know."


    They had made sure not to talk when they so much as suspected that anyone was listening in. But Zach and his familiars weren''t omniscient. The principal, on the other hand, was ridiculous. He didn''t seem like the type of guy who cared about others'' privacy, and he had the strength to make others'' attempts at keeping secrets useless.


    If he wanted to eavesdrop on Zach and his familiars without them knowing, he could.


    The only reason he hadn''t mentioned it to Zach was because he either respected Zach''s desire to keep the secret, or he didn''t care that much.


    "But before we do anything, I want to talk to the principal first. It''s been a while, after all."


    Yanael nodded. She was inherently a little skeptical of the principal given everything he had done, primarily instigating a war between his students and the Underworld. But she could tell Zach respected him, so naturally she did too.


    Zach found Kat and gave her a barrier to protect her against the fumes before sending her into the city to cover for him while he talked with the principal. She was reluctant, even if only because she didn''t want to rely on Zach''s barrier.


    But she, as most of the other students in the class, had been feeling pretty useless as of late.


    Unlike the past two years, during which Zach smashed records and grades because of his access to the library and superior familiars, this year, he was in the lead because the others sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    couldn''t


    do anything.


    They couldn''t kill the dolls pouring out of the Underworld like ants without risking serious injury to themselves or their familiars. And they couldn''t move the corpses of the dolls without eventually ending up coughing, weak-limbed messes.


    And they had already scoured the library as best as they could for any helpful information without noteworthy success.


    Given the chance to contribute to the battle against the Underworld and salvage their grades and the city, the students had to take it.


    However, since Kat was doing it with Zach''s barrier, he would earn part of the contribution she got for shoveling dolls.


    Kat sighed and got to work.


    It could have been worse.


    She could have been forced to do it while wearing a shirt with heart stamps on it like a certain black-haired count''s son from the north.

 Chapter 274 But Why?!

    Zach had a surprisingly easy time finding the principal''s office when he started looking for it after bringing Alzara and Soara along. It was almost like something orsomeone


    was guiding him to it since they couldn''t wait any longer. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Enter."


    Zach didn''t even have to knock before the principal''s voice pierced the door. Zach sighed and grabbed the handle instead of knocking and pushed open the door.


    "Hello," he casually greeted the principal and Instructor Kami.


    "Zacharia Evandiel. It''s been a while since you last came to visit me." The principal sat in his fancy leather armchair and rested his elbows on his desk as he looked at Zach with a smile that only barely reached his eyes. He quickly stopped looking at Zach and instead turned to look at Soara.


    "I''ve been busy."


    "So I''ve heard. It''s important to rest every now and then, young man. Anyway, what brings you here this time, Zach? You usually don''t visit unless you have a reason." The principal''s eyes narrowed as he looked at Soara for several moments before turning back to Zach after his question.


    "You mean I''m free to swing by whenever I want?"


    "Of course! It''s a special privilege reserved for the top student. That''s why Kami is here all the time."


    "I see. Well, the cookies here are greater than the ones in the cafeteria, so I guess you''ll be seeing more of my face from now on. Feel free to express your gratitude."


    "I won''t." The principal smiled, silently urging Zach to get to the point.


    "I have a question," Zach began.


    The principal nodded encouragingly.


    "How¡­¡ªFamiliars¡­¡ªIs¡­" Zach only said one word before losing his ability to talk. Whenever he tried, he trailed off, unable to find the words to ask what he wanted to know. He dreaded the answer. Either talking familiars wasn''t as uncommon as he thought, and he had worried over nothing for more than two years or they were extremely rare and the principal would cause trouble for him since it meant he wouldn''t have known about it before.


    It would be the only way to convince Zach that he hadn''t eavesdropped when he was talking with his familiars.


    "Yes¡­?" The principal asked. This was the first time he had seen Zach at such a loss for words. It had to be something incredible or serious for him to speak in a way that built so much anticipation.


    Zach sighed.


    "Talking familiars. Is that normal?" he eventually bit the bitter apple and asked.


    The principal''s eyes widened. He looked at Zach for a stunned moment.


    "...Is that it?" He asked with disappointment. All that build-up for such a trivial question seemed meaningless.


    The principal sighed and continued since Zach didn''t look like he was going to say anything. He had not expected the principal''s reaction.


    "Of course, it''s normal. You are a little ahead of the curve, but that''s reasonable given what you''ve done so far. Eventually, most if not all summoners learn a method to talk with their familiars. At this Academy, the late third year or early fourth year is the norm. For you, early third year is honestly almost a little disappointing. I thought you did it in the second year or something. Depending on when, it wouldn''t necessarily be a record, but it would be more in line with your other accomplishments."


    The principal leaned back in his chair and rested the back of his hand against his forehead. He didn''t usually give such lectures. But his disappointment in Zach had hit him harder than expected.


    "Haven''t your friends started doing the same?"


    Until now, Zach had stood out like the sun compared to other summoners and students. Yet, here was, worried speechless about being able to talk with his familiars. It didn''t make sense.


    The principal''s pupils shrank.


    "That''s¡­That''s not the kind of talking I''m talking about, principal." Zach''s words almost confirmed the principal''s instinctual guess.


    "...What kind of talking are you talking about?" the principal asked.


    "This kind," Yanael said.


    The principal''s and Kami''s eyes shot toward the blonde maid as soon as she opened her mouth.


    "That kind," the principal confirmed, visibly surprised but not showing more expression than widened eyes and an intense stare.


    "H-how long?" Kami managed to ask after somehow picking up his jaw.


    "Since I summoned her."


    The principal''s and Kami''s gazes shot toward Zach again. They stared at him trying to find any hint of deceit or lie. They didn''t find anything.


    Kami looked at the principal. Zach''s question was a question he also wanted the answer to now.


    The principal soon gathered himself under the weight of Zach''s and Kami''s gazes, as well as the three familiars'' gazes.


    He leaned back in his chair and stroked his hairless chin thoughtfully. He looked at Zach with a scrutinizing gaze.


    After several tense minutes.


    "...It''s not unheard of. To be honest, one of my familiars could also converse normally from the moment they were summoned. However¡­


    "They weren''t very obedient at first. You haven''t struggled with that, have you?"


    Zach shook his head.


    "And all three of your familiars are Battle Maid Variants, right?"


    Zach nodded.


    "Do they have Names? Not just nicknames or anything but real Names?"


    Zach nodded. At this point, there was no need to hide details like that.


    The principal looked at Zach without blinking and in complete silence for several minutes.


    Eventually,


    "Zacharia Evandiel, I appoint you as my successor and future principal of¡ª"


    "I refuse." Zach didn''t even let the principal finish. He had heard everything he needed to hear to know that he did not want what the principal was selling. Of course, it would have been different if it was anyone but the principal.


    Zach respected the principal. But he knew better than to get too close to the old monster.


    "But why?!" the principal asked, this time so emotional he stood up and gently slammed his hands against the table.


    "I could teach you so much! I could help you so much!" the principal exclaimed, shocking both Zach and Kami.


    "..." They could only look at the principal in silence.

 Chapter 275 Of Course Not

    Zach glanced at Kami. Kami shrugged. This was on Zach. He couldn''t help.Zach looked at the principal. He was silent for a moment as he thought about how to answer the principal in a way that didn''t make the principal do as he wished. Zach hoped the principal wouldn''t do anything like kidnap him or force him to accept.


    But he knew better.


    "Principal¡­Would you become your successor and accept the position of principal in my position?" Zach could only hope the principal was wise and had a smidge of self-reflection.


    "Of course not!" The principal''s answer was as immediate as Zach''s had been.


    "But you are different from me, Zacharia. You would make a great principal, and I have a feeling you would get along with my familiars. I can teach you a bunch of things about the summoning interface." That last part piqued Zach''s interest. The principal continued in the same vein,


    "Things that are restricted can be shared between master and disciple. If you agree to become my successor, I can tell you things that you would need to level up tens of times to find out, even with familiars like yours enhancing your authority."


    The principal''s offer was tempting. There were a lot of things Zach wanted to find out. He also knew there were things he didn''t even know he wanted to know. By becoming the principal''s successor, Zach could skip a mountain of hurdles and troubles to learn a lot.


    "I¡­" Zach considered it. What was there to lose? Wasn''t this a ticket to instant success? The position of principal of the Academy for Summoners was one of the most prestigious positions in the Empire not directly related to the Imperial Palace. It was all thanks to the current and only principal in the Academy''s history, but that would make it all the more prestigious once he inherited it.


    The more the current principal built up his fame and infamy, the greater the prestige of his successor.


    "Ahem." Soara cleared her throat.


    Zach''s mind gained clarity, much to the principal''s annoyance. He had been so close to finally getting Zach on the hook.


    "I must refuse, principal. It is tempting. And I''m sure you''re right. If I became your successor, I would get what I want and then some. If I know you as well as I think I do, it won''t be that easy, but it will still be too easy. What is it you preach with this Academy, principal? Isn''t it that suffering breeds strength?


    "I don''t want some of the answers, principal. I want all of them. And I will need to get them myself. The fruits of one''s labor are sweeter the harsher the labor and whatnot." Zach had expressed his wishes with a confident tone. He was not confident it would be enough to convince the principal.


    The principal shot Soara a quick glare before looking at Zach.


    "This is exactly why you would make a great principal. You''re using my words against me. If you do that to students, they always end up at a loss." The principal sighed.


    "No, you''re right. I was just being greedy. I can''t force you, and the only thing I''d get if I did was a troublesome ball of trouble sticking close to me. No thanks." The principal shook his head and reached for a cup of tea. He took a loud sip as he spun to look out through his window.


    ''Does that mean I should leave?'' Zach wondered. Kami was also looking out through the window and wasn''t of much help. Zach was about to stand up and take his leave. He had found out what he needed to find out.


    Talking familiars were rare, but he could pretend it was natural, just like how Violina could communicate with her familiars.


    "Vist me more often, Zacharia. Even if you aren''t my successor and even if you want to suffer all alone, there are benefits to be gained. Come by every now and then. Chat. Eat some of my snacks." The principal didn''t turn around, but his attention hadn''t left Zach for a second.


    "Alright." Zach sighed.


    "Don''t be so forlorn. I''ll at least treat you better than that cowardly brat."


    "Cowardly brat?" Zach had no idea who the principal was talking about, but his first thought was Anerias.


    "What''s his name now again? S something. The guy who trained you during the break, I assume."


    "Sio?" Zach asked in disbelief. The old man, Violina''s great-grandfather, was the only one who matched that criteria. He didn''t fit the principal''s description, though. As far as Zach could tell, Sio was as far from a brat as possible. He might have seemed a little cowardly since he refused to get close to the Academy and the principal, but Zach couldn''t blame him.


    "That''s it! I''ll make sure you don''t lose anything from not training while hanging out with me."


    "How did you even know he trained me?" Zach questioned. It would be one thing if he had trained with Sio at the Academy. But they had been at the Systine estate, which was a whole other part of the Empire.


    There was no way the principal could sense what was going on that far away. And he was supposed to have been staying at the Academy to keep watch in case the Underworld acted up. He could have taken a day trip. But why would he do that to spy on Zach?


    "Oh, I recognized him in the way you move. It''s clear he taught you," the principal said as if it was no big deal. To him, it probably wasn''t.


    Zach, on the other hand, looked at his body in confusion.


    After a minute, he sighed and gave up.


    "Anyway. It''s fine if I tell people about my familiars, right?"


    "Yeah, anyone who knows enough about summoning to realize it won''t bother you." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Great. See you some other time then." Zach took his leave. He was exhausted after dealing with the principal.


    Kami glanced at the door after it closed behind Zach.


    "Principal, isn''t there one person who would bother Zach?"


    "Who? Oh, you mean the other person in the Academy''s history who is better at summoning than you?"


    "...Yes."


    "It would take a lot for them to return. Zach doesn''t have to worry until after graduation."

 Chapter 276 Scum

    After getting the principal''s okay, Zach set a meeting with his friends. He was a little hesitant about inviting Anerias since he wasn''t as close to him as the others. But it didn''t really matter. They were friends, and he would find out like everyone else. It was just a matter of how.Zach just wanted to tell his friends first and prepare them for the changes that were to come.


    Violina wasn''t surprised at Zach''s reveal that his familiars could talk. She was more surprised at how well they did it. She could barely communicate with their familiars. Zach''s familiars could not only talk and convey their thoughts and emotions perfectly to Zach, but they could also do so to others.


    The others, including Dukiel, even if he controlled his expression, were shocked, to say the least.


    Anerias sometimes struggled to understand whether his Blackfire Hound wanted to eat or go for a walk. His Hellcat was even more mysterious and indecipherable. Fortunately, his Darkwing was pretty easy. That one wanted to fly and eat, preferably at the same time. But it had taken him a couple of weeks to figure out and confirm that.


    And Anerias had it easy since his familars at least had expressions and readable body language. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    None of Dukiel''s familiars had faces. Two of them also didn''t have any body language. One was an immovable Sentinel, and the other was the Transformation Cube that was either a cube or any random object it decided to transform into. His latest familiar, the Symbiotic Slime was a little better at expressing itself.


    But the Symbiotic Slime''s favorite and only way to express itself was to latch on to Dukiel and wiggle its body. Dukiel did not speak wiggle.


    After Nessa learned to use her antennae from Exoskeleton to somewhat pick up on her familiars'' intentions, it got a little easier for her to understand what they wanted. But before that, she had only been able to figure things out by trying to read the expressions on a Millipede, a Butterfly, and a Bat. The bat at least had visible facial muscles. But it was small, and it didn''t have that many facial muscles.


    All of them struggled.


    Yet, here Ackster was, conversing with his familiars as easily as he talked to them.


    "I had a hunch you were hiding something." Dukiel looked straight at Zach. Jealousy at his lack of struggles didn''t matter. Zach struggled with other things. He was not someone they would be jealous of, even taking into account his position as a spoiled son of one of the Empire''s four dukes.


    "Same." Nessa agreed with Dukiel before Zach could say anything.


    "Me too." Since the other two had said something, Violina also felt obligated to speak up.


    "What?!" Anerias was stunned and he looked at the other three in utter confusion. Zach''s revelation had come as a complete surprise. He didn''t think Zach was capable of hiding anything except his grubby intentions.


    Dukiel, Nessa, and Violina ignored Anerias.


    "Remember that fight against the tiger, the one where you technically died as you like to remind us?" Dukiel asked.


    "Yeah? It was a pretty memorable fight."


    "Julius and I heard a voice that wasn''t yours. That was when we started suspecting something." Dukiel shrugged lightly as he revealed when he had first realized Zach was hiding something.


    "Why¡­Why didn''t you say anything?" Zach asked. If they suspected something, why didn''t they ask about it?


    "Would you have given a non-bullshit answer?" Dukiel answered with a question of his own. It was enough to shut Zach''s mouth.


    He wouldn''t have said anything. He would have come up with a bullshit answer and swept it under the rug. In a way, the fact that they hadn''t asked was proof they trusted him. Asking might and receiving a bullshit answer might have sowed a crack in their relationship.


    "You two?" Zach moved on to Nessa and Violina. They hadn''t been present during the fight, so they wouldn''t have heard it when Yanael shouted. He wanted to know what tipped them off.


    "The gazes."


    "Yep. The gazes."


    "The gazes?" Zach doubted his ears. They had said the same thing at nearly the same time, so he hadn''t heard wrong. He still didn''t believe what he had heard, though.


    Nessa nodded.


    "The way you and your familiars look at each other. It''s clear as day you understand each other. You even have a look that''s like you''re saying you''re going to talk about something you saw or heard later." Nessa glanced at the three familiars, who were now avoiding meeting any eyes.


    "I doubt anyone else has noticed since they haven''t been as close to you if that''s any consolation. Your future partner can also rest easy knowing you will never be unfaithful for long without being discovered."


    "Hey! What''s that supposed to mean? I would never be unfaithful!" Zach was insulted by Violina''s sudden prick at his honor and integrity. What kind of roundabout accusation was that?


    "..." Violina didn''t say anything. Neither did any of the others. But they all looked at the three beautiful maids standing behind Zach.


    "There''s also Nora," Yanael helpfully added, fully agreeing with the others'' insinuating gazes. There were too many beautiful women around him. At a glance, Zach was scum.


    Even other nobles who paraded around with servants didn''t have only servants of the opposite gender in employ. They also didn''t have servants with beauty to match Yanael, Alzara, and Soara. It would be their great fortune if they could even match Nora, who was an ordinary, well, mostly ordinary human.


    That meant Zach would have had to go to great lengths to acquire women that beautiful.


    The details and reality of the situation, such as Zach summoning them with barely any effort at all, didn''t matter.


    To anyone seeing him for the first time without knowing the details, Zach was the lowest of the low and scummiest of the scum. Unfaithful? Wouldn''t that be his middle name?

 Chapter 277 One Step Away

    "Anyway. Why tell us now?" Nessa could tell that Zach was getting increasingly uncomfortable and irritable, so she quickly decided to move on from the discussion on how others might see Zach when he paraded around his maids.Zach was thankful for it.


    "Things aren''t going as well as I want them to. It feels like we won''t be able to handle the Underworld this year, at least not without casualties."


    The others'' expressions darkened at Zach''s words. The playful, joking atmosphere from a minute ago was gone. This was serious.


    Zach didn''t know it all, and certainly couldn''t predict the future. But he wasn''t in his current position with his current strength because he was just lucky. If he was worried that not everyone in their class or even their club would make it to the annual break, they should also be worried.


    They didn''t have anything to go on other than Zach''s words, and his words were based on a gut feeling. It was a weak reason to work harder and make their classmates work even harder than they were already doing.


    It would have been a weak reason if Zach hadn''t been the one who said it. And if the others hadn''t agreed with him.


    "What do you have in mind?" Violina asked. Zach''s words and worries had made her reckless. She wanted to do things and continue preparing instead of sitting around and chatting like they had all the time in the world.


    "I will have my maids actively help out."


    "Aren''t they already doing that?"


    "Yanael will train everyone who wants it in combat and survival." Zach gestured at Yanael as he spoke, officially introducing her.


    Zach''s friends didn''t think much about Yanael having a name, even if their familiars didn''t have one. It just seemed natural since she could talk.


    "And Alzara will lead the alchemists in my guild. Hopefully, we will have an antidote to the toxin soon. Even after that, she will continue developing medicines and potions we will use against the Underworld." Of course, Alzara would also be working to increase the alchemists'' skills and the number of recipes in the guild so that they would make even more money.


    But the others didn''t need to know about that.


    Nessa and the others looked at Yanael, who nodded in light greeting, and Alzara, who wasn''t very interested in any of them and only looked straight ahead. She respected Zach and her position enough to at least look presentable and have the proper posture.


    "What about¡­?" Nessa looked at the black-haired maid as she spoke.


    Zach glanced at Soara. Her name was the one he was most worried about revealing. He looked each of his friends in their eyes.


    "Her name stays between us. Her identity stays between us." Zach wasn''t making a request. He was stating the reality. This wasn''t an option.


    Continue reading at empire


    "Her name is Soara."


    Anerias and Dukiel just frowned slightly. Had it been necessary to make such a big deal out of a simple name? Zach had almost threatened them to make sure they kept it secret. They looked toward Nessa and Violina for support.


    But the two girls were staring at Soara in dawning realization.


    If Zach had just said her name was Soara without making a fuss, it would have taken them longer to realize. But he had put a lot of importance on keeping it secret. He had also ''summoned'' her after they cleared the Labyrinth of Syst.


    Nessa and Violina didn''t want to believe it.


    But at the same time, they couldn''t not believe it. There was something about Soara''s presence that wouldn''t let them question her existence.


    She was who she was. She was who they thought she was.


    She was the deity of Death and Transcendence that they had seen in the Labyrinth of Syst. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I-is she¡­?" Nessa eventually managed to stutter out half a question.


    "Yes," Zach confirmed Nessa''s question. He then turned to Dukiel and Anerias to fill them in on the situation.


    "She is a deity of Death and Transcension whose past we saw in the Labyrinth of Syst. She agreed to become my familiar after some things happened. She will not be doing something like Yanael or Alzara, though she might help Yanael sometimes. Mostly, she will be staying by my side."


    "Wait, wait, wait. A deity? Like the kind people pray to?" Dukiel questioned.


    "Did people pray to you?" Zach asked Soara.


    "Yes," she answered simply.


    "There you have it."


    Anerias looked at Soara with an intense look before turning to Zach. He had something much more important than her identity as a deity to confirm.


    "And her rank?" He had to know. Was Zach getting further away or was he stuck at SS-rank?


    "Currently SS-rank."


    "Yes!" Anerias fist pumped. That meant he only needed to summon an SS-rank next time to close the gap.


    "Currently?"


    However, Nessa''s request for clarification cracked Anerias'' excitement. He stiffly looked at Zach, hoping the insinuation behind Nessa''s question wasn''t true.


    Zach nodded. Anerias felt despair wash over.


    "I know how to help her rank up. It will take a while, and I have no idea how to do it. But I know what will help her reach the SSS-rank." Soara needed the part of her power that she lost to those monsters they had seen in the statues depicted the past in the Labyrinth of Syst. If she got that, she would return to her original level of strength, which was the equivalent of an SSS-rank familiar.


    However, Zach did not know how to find those monsters, nor where to even begin looking. Not to mention, he would also need to defeat those monsters. They had defeated Soara in her prime along with all the other deities, after all.


    Zach was far, far, far away from that level of strength. He knew the method but didn''t have the means.


    Anerias didn''t hear that part, though. His mind was blank. Zach had basically told them that his familiar was one step away from reaching the next rank and that he knew how to take that step.


    It was only a matter of time before Zach''s third familiar was an SSS-rank familiar.


    That meant Anerias was even further away from catching up. He lost to Zach. Again.

 Chapter 278 Guinea Pigs

    Anerias ended up in a state of mental shock, and Zach and the others cut the meeting short so that Dukiel could help Anerias back to his dorm. But they had already discussed what needed to be discussed. Dukiel, Nessa, and Violina promised to keep Soara''s identity a secret.The odds of anyone knowing her name were low. But they weren''t zero. It wasn''t like they were the first ones to enter the Labyrinth of Syst. Derot was also working on mass-producing and distributing a board game inspired by the deities depicted in the Labyrinth.


    So, if anyone asked, they were to answer with a random and new made-up name. It would make it obvious that they were hiding Soara''s real name for whatever reason, which might catch interest in some. But it would make it more difficult for them to find out her real name.


    And if they ever slipped up and used her real name, there was no way to tell if it was her real name or the name of one of the figures in a popular board game their friend was making.


    Zach felt a little paranoid, even without the way his friends looked at him. But this wasn''t just a matter of a talking familiar. It was an SSS-rank familiar who was a deity.


    Deities existed as an idea. But there was no singular faith in the Empire with a lot of its citizens as followers.


    It was for an obvious reason.


    Deities, if they existed, didn''t do anything. No matter how much people prayed and worshipped, they never received a response.


    But what if one of those mythical deities roamed the lands and could freely converse with them? Even if only rumors about her identity spread, that would be enough for crazy people to show up.


    And if her identity as a deity was somehow confirmed¡­?


    Zach feared the worst.


    What believer would want to see their deity serving a young, scummy, noble''s son?


    It could lead to endless trouble. And it wasn''t the kind of trouble Zach wanted. It wasn''t something he should shirk responsibility for or have someone else handle.


    That was a worst-case scenario. But Zach''s Title wasn''t Troublemaker because he liked to make pastries called trouble.


    So, while Yanael and Alzara got to spread their wings, Soara stayed by Zach''s side.


    Nessa and Dukiel helped spread the word that Zach''s familiar would be holding lessons in combat for everyone who wanted to attend. Yanael had warned them that she wouldn''t be going easy on anyone, so they made sure to emphasize that to their classmates.


    But the offer was too attractive. Even if they didn''t know that they could talk with Yanael, most of the students in their class joined the first lesson. Yanael''s beauty aside, she was an expert combatant.


    By now, most of the students had realized that relying on their familiars wasn''t enough. They had their skills, and most of them had at least one skill that would increase their survivability. That wasn''t for no reason.


    A familiar wasn''t useless if their summoner was injured. But they would be useless if their master was dead. They would also be heavily restricted in their activities if they constantly had to protect their master.


    Summoners weren''t known as one-man armies just because they had several powerful beings fighting for them. It was because they could also fight.


    However, the Academy didn''t teach them anything about that. They taught them about summoning and general education subjects like calculus, geography, and history. It was up to the students to learn how to fight.


    For some, like Violina, that was easy. She had experience since she had grown up as the daughter of a family who regularly fended off pirate attacks. If she hadn''t learned how to fight, she would have been sharkmeat.


    But others had lived peaceful lives or lives where they hadn''t need to fight before they entered the Academy. They didn''t even know where to begin. So, when the opportunity came to learn from not only one of the strongest familiars in the Academy, but the best swordswoman as well, the students weren''t foolish enough not to take it.


    Nessa, Violina, Dukiel, and Anerias didn''t have a choice. Zach and Yanael forced them to learn from Yanael. But even if they hadn''t done that, the four of them would have joined the lessons eagerly. Read exclusive chapters at empire


    Violina was the only one who used a sword. The other three used their bodies to fight, much to Zach''s belated surprise. He was the same, after all.


    But Violina wasn''t the only one who could learn from Yanael. Yanael taught more than just fencing. She taught the students how to train and move their bodies. She taught them how to get it, how to not get it, and how to get hit without getting injured.


    In the process, she also taught the students how to move while injured and treat injuries.


    The students weren''t there yet, but Yanael was also ready to teach them about energies and energy manipulation. She hadn''t been able to teach Zach about it since he had world essence energy. She was looking forward to putting all the theories in her book to use.


    She had studied the Book of Sword Techniques religiously ever since she got it. She had learned a lot on her own. She had also taken some of what she learned, especially regarding energies and energy manipulation, and altered it to better suit her sacred energy. She had also tried to figure out how to help Zach with his dormant world essence energy by doing that, though she hadn''t had any success.


    However, her sacred energy didn''t work the same as martial energy or magical energy. There was a limit to what she could do and find out without being able to experiment with multiple types of energy.


    She couldn''t wait to start using the students as guinea pigs.


    What was even better was the fact that none of the students was her master. She couldn''t kill, maim, cripple, or traumatize anyone. That was a given.


    But she didn''t need to hold back.


    ***


    Many of Zach''s classmates who envied him for having such a beautiful and subservient woman as his maid and familiar instead started pitying him.


    sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 279 Worship

    Outside the Academy, next to the road to the city, in a large barrack with several sections and sturdy, sound-proofed walls, the atmosphere was very different from the one in Yanael''s training hall.Jessecke and the other alchemists didn''t think for a minute that Zach had been the one ot personally create the recipes they received. They were grateful to him for everything he had given to him, and they respected him for his desire to take over the world of alchemy with them and the guild that still didn''t have a proper name.


    But he wasn''t the one responsible for the recipes that would make their dreams possible. He didn''t smell of alchemy. His fingers weren''t dyed in the colors of the materials an alchemist needed to handle. He didn''t have the air of an alchemist, much less the air of a master alchemist like the one responsible for the recipes.


    However, he was closely acquainted with the alchemist. That alone was worthy of respect, regardless of the details of the relationship. It didn''t matter whether he was just the alchemist''s errand boy or if they were working together as equals.


    All the alchemists thought highly of Zach.


    Currently, he was standing in a corner of the entrance hall like he was invisible while all the alchemists swarmed around Alzara like sheep around a shepherd carrying a tray of the finest hay.


    The alchemists looked at Alzara with almost fanatic levels of worship in their eyes.


    Zach had been mistaken. He hadn''t needed to worry about people worshipping Soara. He needed to worry about the alchemists deifying and transforming his guild into a cult dedicated to Alzara.


    However, as he paid a little more attention, Zach realized that they were more interested in what was inside Alzara''s head than her. They worshipped alchemy, not the alchemist. Alzara had just gotten a share of that worship thanks to her skill in alchemy. It was also partly due to her extraordinary presence. A tall, tan, beauty with white hair stood out.


    But after the initial reveal cooled down, Alzara and the alchemists began talking about the important matters. Alchemy.


    Zach had revealed the fact that his familiars could talk so that Alzara could lead the alchemists of his guild. Now that he had introduced her to the alchemists as the master who created all those recipes, it came naturally for all of them to settle into discussions about alchemy.


    Alzara fit right in, and she quickly started sharing her thoughts and theories while also listening to and answering any insights and questions the other alchemists might have.


    Zach wanted to tell them to maybe focus on making an antidote against the toxins from the dolls, but he couldn''t get a word in. But he trusted Alzara and the alchemists, so he took his leave with Soara.


    While Yanael and Alzara did their things with his classmates and alchemists, Zach still had to take care of the city.


    The dolls had started coming in waves instead of a constant stream, so there were gaps where they didn''t have to do anything. But the situation was only more stressful since a whole street could be filled with dolls at once without any warning.


    For something like that, the best person to deal with it would be someone who could kill a large clump of dolls without much preparation¨Csomeone like Soara, who only needed to be close to the dolls for them to die.


    But the city was too big for her and Zach alone, so a few of his classmates helped out as best as they could with his barriers protecting them. The rest were busy learning how to survive an overwhelmingly strong enemy or busy recovering from what they had learned.


    It was what Zach went through after he summoned Yanael and realized that all he needed to do in a fight was survive while Yanael dealt with any enemies. The others didn''t have familiars as strong as Yanael, but their situation was similar. All of them were summoners, after all.


    Even if they weren''t summoners, knowing how to survive could only benefit them. It was even more important if they were learning how to fight.


    The winner in a battle to the death isn''t the one with the sharpest sword or strongest attack. It''s the one who remains standing at the end.


    The better the students were at surviving, the longer they would live. It was as simple as that. They had the powerhouses in their class with S-rank familiars and above that would help handle the Underworld. Experience tales at empire


    It would be great if the other students, out of whom only a handful had summoned their third familiars, could actively contribute to the Underworld''s downfall by fighting Named or even the Great Ugor. But it wasn''t likely they would be able to do much. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But that didn''t mean they were useless. There were countless underworlders from the first, second, and third layers that still needed to be dealt with. There would be something for everyone to do. But only if they were alive. It would be difficult to do much of anything if they were dead.


    But learning how to survive, even for the third-year students of the Academy for Summoners wasn''t easy. Yanael had grown stronger since Zach''s first year, and she had also learned a lot and improved her skills.


    She could bring the students to a greater height than she could bring Zach two years ago. It was just that it would take time¨Ctime that they didn''t have.


    The change in the dolls'' behavior could have been a precursor, a warning, or it could have been a coincidence.


    But when the dolls weren''t swarming the city, the ground shook.


    It was so soft the first time that Zach didn''t notice it. Soara had to tell him about it. The second and third times were the same.


    But the fourth tremor, he felt. The fifth, there was no doubt about it.


    The Underworld was doing something that shook the ground each time. And whatever they were doing increased in intensity each time.


    By the tenth time, glasses of water in and directly around the city could no longer hold their liquids.


    The ground started cracking.


    Zach''s and the others'' hopeful plan to leave the city mostly intact had lost all hope.

 Chapter 280 Tremors

    Zach was in the middle of the city when the tremors started, and he wasn''t sure he would make it out before everything collapsed. But that didn''t mean he didn''t try.He and Soara ran for his life.


    However, after a tremor that brought down the structurally less stable houses, it stopped. Even after thirty breaths, which was many times longer than the interval between the other tremors, not even Soara could detect anything.


    Zach stopped running and looked at the ground with a worried frown.


    "You don''t happen to have any ideas?" He turned to Soara and asked.


    "...The scent of death coming from beneath the city increased, Master." That was all Soara had to say. That was all she could say. She didn''t know what was going on, nor did she have any ideas. The Underworld was outside her area of expertise.


    "But I suggest we leave the city and regroup with the others." Experience more tales on empire


    Zach heeded her advice, and they left the city to join up with Violina and the others, who were at her command tent.


    Naturally, they asked Zach if he had seen or noticed anything other than the ground shake. Unfortunately, he hadn''t. No, when he glanced around the city on his way back, he had felt the underworld energy''s restlessness.


    It wasn''t swirling and fluctuating like it had done when it was first pumped into the city and was settling down. There was a certain tension in the underworld energy similar to the electricity in the air before a storm.


    Violina and the others didn''t know what to make of that. But even if it was just Zach projecting his worries, it was still cause enough for them to gather their strength and prepare for whatever was coming.


    Since it was something that had rattled the entire city, all the students were called. Of course, Yanael and Alzara had returned to Zach''s side as soon as they felt something.


    A power that could shake the city was still a step or two above Zach and his familiars'' strength. Alzara was the only one who could do it with ease, but she would need time and materials, neither of which they had right now.


    Lined up with their familiars behind them, the students stood between the city and the Academy. The air was heavy with anxiety and tension. The students didn''t know what to expect.


    The Great Ugor, the head and leader of the Underworld, probably wasn''t making a move directly. That was the most unlikely scenario. But then what was going on?


    Zach and the others had killed Mursoth. That was no secret. If anything, they had publicized it as much as they could to ease worry and strengthen the students'' morale.


    But even the students who had killed Mursoth were staring at the city with tense expressions like they were waiting for it to collapse and sink into the ground. Mursoth alone had put the other students and citizens of Basilia in a chokehold with his presence alone.


    If the students who had killed him were this worried, didn''t that mean that something worse than Mursoth was making itself known?


    Five minutes inched past at a snail''s pace.


    Ten minutes crawled out of their hands like a dizzy bee.


    Fifteen minutes leaped away like a tired frog.


    Twenty minutes flapped into the distance like a butterfly, gently and at its own pace.


    The students didn''t drop their guards, but all of a sudden, thirty minutes had breezed by them and nothing had happened in Basilia. It was like the tremors had been a collective fever dream shared by the students and the city alike.


    Violina started considering having a majority of the students retreat after she arranged a schedule to keep watch over the city for a few days. Now that the dolls had stopped crawling up out of the sewers, they didn''t have to obsessively defend the talismans. She also didn''t have to keep working Zach to the bone just because he was the most capable.


    However, before she could make a decision, her Frost Wraith alerted her of a rising heat signature. Before she had time to understand what the Frost Wraith was trying to tell her, it sent her more and more heat signatures.


    Underworlders crept out of the sewers.


    "Here they come!" Violina shouted. She drew her sword and covered it in a thin layer of ice. The other students also made their preparations and got ready to fight. They couldn''t see anything yet, but a few of them could sense the presence of beings through the mist of underworld energy.


    It wouldn''t take long before they broke out and attacked them.


    Strangely enough, there didn''t seem to be any coherence in the underworlders. The ones who could sense it reported it to their surroundings.


    The underworlders were flooding the city, but it was nothing like the dolls'' orchestrated march. They dispersed in every direction and from whichever manhole they could find. They also seemed to somewhat slow down once they reached the surface.


    More importantly, they made no move to attack the line of students just outside the city. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was like they weren''t even attacking the surface.


    "Hold!" Violina''s command reached the other students, and they did not charge the city.


    She glanced at Zach, Nessa, Dukiel, and Anerias, silently asking for their opinions. This was outside her expectations and she couldn''t handle it alone.


    "Shouldn''t we attack them?" Anerias asked.


    "No. Something''s off." Dukiel shook his head. The underworlders in the city were underworlders. They were at war with them. It made sense to attack them, especially when they invaded the city.


    But it was a haphazard invasion of weak underworlders who looked more like servants and workers than fighters. It wasn''t a real invasion.


    "Is it a trap?" Dukiel asked.


    "It''s too obvious to be a trap. Unless it''s reverse psychology or something. It''s too obvious to be a trap so it can''t be a trap, but in reality, it is a trap." Zach narrowed his eyes skeptically as he looked at the city with crossed arms.


    The others looked at him. He was right about it being too obvious to be a trap. But the rest¡­? For now, they would wait and see.


    "More importantly, what does this have to do with the tremors? And why did the dolls stop?" Nessa questioned.


    "Mmm, the dolls were pretty fragile. They could have broken by the tremors, especially since they were deeper in the ground." Violina''s answer seemed reasonable.


    But that still didn''t answer Nesas''s first question.


    What were those tremors?

 Chapter 281 Strongests Burden

    The tremors had been slightly irregular, grew stronger with each one, and were powerful enough to crumble houses with more solid ground between the source and the houses than Zach and the others could possibly know. That was all they knew. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.The tremors had also prompted a small-scale invasion of relatively weak underworlders. They had stopped the dolls in the process.


    "Can we get someone to investigate the city?" Violina asked loudly enough for the other students to hear. She wasn''t making anyone do it. She wanted volunteers.


    However, it wasn''t exactly an enticing offer, and no one eagerly raised their hand into the air.


    Instead, several of the students, Violina, Nessa, Dukiel, and Anerias included, slowly glanced at Zach. If anyone could survive no matter what was thrown at him, it was Zach. And if he didn''t survive, no one else would.


    He was the safest pick.


    Zach sighed.


    "Couldn''t you at least have waited until I volunteered before picking me?" He asked without expecting an answer. He had already started walking toward the city. Zach was used to being singled out. In a way, his classmates and friends were relying on him.


    It was what he wanted. It was a nice feeling to be relied on. But how come they only relied on him when there were dangerous things to do? They didn''t talk to him about their romance troubles, their stress about studying and performing well, or their anxiety about the Underworld.


    They didn''t even have to use his special access to the library anymore since they already had access to everything they needed now that they were third-years.


    Zach was the bait when they dealt with Mursoth. He was the one who handled the dolls after everyone else chickened out. And now, he was sent to investigate a city filled with underworlders, which might or might not collapse at any moment. The dolls hadn''t been dangerous, but only for him. Dealing with Mursoth, however, had been. He risked his life.


    And now, he was risking it again.


    The burden of being the strongest was heavy, but it was one Zach had chosen to carry for several reasons. Whether he liked it or not, he entered the city with firm steps and his familiars by his side.


    The city had regained a feeling of liveliness with all the underworlders hiding in it. But it was wrong. The clammy underworld energy and the irritating presences of the underworlders didn''t belong in Basilia. This was not their home.


    So, why were they here?


    "Fetch one who seems like it can talk."


    Yanael darted forward to carry out Zach''s order. However, she had to stop only a moment later when a manhole cover that was supposed to be sealed shot into the air with a few stones and a stream of dust trailing behind it. It didn''t happen far from where Zach was. There was no way Yanael could leave, even if Soara and Alzara were still by his side.


    Whatever struck that manhole cover into the sky took priority. Discover more stories at empire


    An underworlder with six clawed fingers on its hands crawled out of the sewers. They were taller and more muscular than Mursoth but not as hunky as Jigak. But the mere fact that Zach subconsciously compared the underworlder in front of him to the two Named underworlders he had met meant they were strong.


    No, they should be strong. However, there were streaks of blood about to dry on their arms. Their shirt was torn. It looked like one of their pointy ears had been snapped in half. Blood clotted their dark hair as well.


    It looked like the underworlder had taken a beating. It also looked like they were in the middle of fleeing, at least until they sensed Zach.


    "Oh," they said.


    "Mm." Zach hummed slightly as he inspected the underworlder with his hands behind his back.


    This was an interesting turn of events.


    The underworlder''s arms were raised slightly like they were ready to fight or flee. Their knees were bent slightly. But they didn''t make any rash movements. They could tell that the three maids were not to play with.


    "What''s your name?" Zach asked.


    "You first." The underworlder already had an idea of who they were in front of, but they needed to confirm it.


    "Zach. Zacharia Evandiel." Zach smiled as he answered. He was happy knowing his name was famous in the Underworld. It meant he had a target on his back. But it also meant they were wary of him.


    As expected, the underworlder''s eyes widened, and he glanced at the three maids again. He sighed.


    "Maer. You are the one who killed Mursoth, right?"


    "I had help, but yeah."


    "So, not alone?" The underworlder glanced around the street. It was empty save for Zach, the maids, and Maer.


    "I''m alone right now. We killed Mursoth a couple of weeks ago or something. You guys didn''t miss him?" Maer was a Named, but he was weaker than Jigak and more cautious than Mursoth. He seemed reluctant to attack Zach first, especially now that he was injured. Zach hoped his taunting would change that.


    "We''ve been busy." Maer''s answer was short, and his eyes darkened with building resolve. He clearly couldn''t return underground. But Zach wouldn''t just let him be.


    "I could tell." Zach could also tell that Maer was getting ready to fight. But Zach had gotten curious. Maybe he could find out what had caused those tremors. It didn''t seem to be intentional if the state of Maer and the other underworlders who fled to the surface were any indication.


    "You¡ª"


    "I''ll make you a deal." Zach cut off Maer.


    "...What do you want?" Maer narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He was naturally reluctant to make a deal with Zach. But if it could let him get out of fighting this instant and recover, it might be worth it.


    A smile curved Zach''s lips upward, and his eyes narrowed benevolently.


    "Nothing much. Tell me what''s going on down there, and I''ll let you go."

 Chapter 282 Plan E

    Maer looked at Zach. It was a good offer. Too good to be true. But it didn''t matter. He didn''t have anything to lose. He was loyal to the Great Ugor, but his loyalty didn''t stop him from saying anything. It would have if revealing anything could interfere with their plans.No matter what Maer told him, there was nothing Zach could do that would let him stop


    that


    .


    The only problem was where he should go after spilling the beans. It was a non-issue.


    So, Maer spilled the beans. He told Zach everything he knew about what the others were doing, which wasn''t much. He lived up to the spirit of the broken ceasefire. He wanted to live.


    There was nothing wrong with that.


    He could have tried fighting for it instead. He could have tried his chance in a fight against Zach and his familiars.


    Zach had needed help from others to defeat Mursoth. With the way summoners talked about their familiars as part of their strength and how he claimed to be alone right now, Maer didn''t feel it would be impossible. He was stronger than Mursoth, after all.


    But he was also injured right now. His odds could have been better.


    So, Maer chose the safer option.


    "Kill him."


    Maer''s eyes widened at the meaning of the words Zach uttered.


    Yanael''s blade cut a golden streak through the air that was thicker than a hair. The radiant line overlapped with Maer''s neck before fading away like a flash of light.


    It had not been the safer option.


    It had been too good to be true.


    And now, it was too late for regret. If Maer had tried to fight for his life, he would have at least avoided that part of his end.


    Maer''s knees buckled.


    Yanel''s sword had cut his spine and spinal cord. Despite being an underworlder with a Name, Maer couldn''t overcome the inherent limitations of having one of those.


    He was confused. That wasn''t supposed to happen.


    Maer glanced downward and tried to look at his own neck. Even without it being cut, it was impossible. That was why he was surprised when he caught a glimpse only to realize it was because his head was falling to the ground.


    The last thing Maer saw after his head thumped to the ground was his kneeling, headless body.


    Not a drop of blood poured out of either his head or his body.


    Zach nodded in satisfaction. That was a clean cut. One less Named to worry about.


    "Let''s go."


    Unfortunately, they didn''t have the free time to admire Yanael''s sword skills. After what Maer had told him, they shouldn''t even be wasting time walking. They had to do everything they could while they still could.


    Zach didn''t waste any time with his investigation of the underworlders crawling into the city. He knew why they were here. In a way, he had got what he came for. He also got more than he asked for.


    He rushed back to the line of students, all of whom raised their arms and familiars'' arms, legs, or wings. If Zach came rushing like that, it could only be big trouble. Something scary enough to make him flee was scary enough to¡­


    Shouldn''t they also be running? If Zach couldn''t stop it, wasn''t it time for a strategic retreat?


    They glanced behind Zach. They didn''t see anything. They looked at Zach.


    He didn''t look scared. More stressed. Tense, maybe. He was also looking at Violina and the other top dogs in the class.


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    "''Ah¡­''" The other students breathed out a united sigh of relief and understanding.


    Zach gave Violina a look.


    "At ease. We will stay here. Be ready to act at any moment, though."


    The students didn''t mind Violina''s orders. Being on standby somewhere like the cafeteria was a lot better than standing in front of the city with their arms raised ready to fight. But they were curious about what was going on.


    It wasn''t often Zach had that kind of expression. It couldn''t be good.


    The other students wanted to know but knowing wouldn''t necessarily do them any good. If they wanted Zach, Violina, and the others to tell them, they should have been more tellable and reliable. Regardless, they would find out sooner or later if it was anything to worry about. Since it had to do with the Underworld, it had to do with all of them.


    When the non-club members were gone, Zach looked at his club members with a grave expression.


    "Plan E."


    "What?"


    "No."


    "Really?"


    "Are you sure?"


    Zach nodded, ignoring Anerias'' question.


    "We have to execute Plan E."


    "Why?" Violina questioned. As the creator of the plan, she was well aware of what it entailed. It was an extreme plan. It could lay waste to the city. It would lay waste to the city. Not even the surroundings would be untouched. If they were unlucky, rebuilding would be impossible within a few years.


    "I don''t think I have time to explain."


    "If you want to execute Plan E, you make the time to explain." Violina''s voice did not allow any further objection. IF Zach didn''t explain, there wouldn''t be any Plan E-ing.


    After a frustrated sigh, Zach gave a summary of what Maer had told him.


    There was no way to confirm whether Maer spoke the truth, especially now that he was dead.


    But they couldn''t afford to assume he had lied. This wasn''t something they could delay and let time decide. The sooner they dealt with it, the better.


    "Let''s do it."


    Their agreement wasn''t completely unanimous. There were doubts. Heck, even Zach was full of doubt.


    Maybe he shouldn''t have been that rash in killing Maer. Maybe he should have done a thorough cross-examination. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was no use thinking about it.


    The club members immediately organized the retrieval of all the potions of a specific type in the storage. Crates were transported from the storage close to the alchemist guild''s barracks. They were clearly marked with X''s, the determined name for anti-underworld energy potions.


    X1''s, X2''s, X3''s, and one box of X0''s.


    Zach opened the box of X0''s. He threw the lid aside. He reached out to grab a bottle.


    His hand froze mid-air. His face fell like a sheet of ice sliding down a pane of glass.


    The bottles were fucking empty.

 Chapter 283 Crisis

    Zach slowly continued reaching for a bottle. Expressionlessly, he grabbed one and picked it up. He held it in front of his face.It was completely empty.


    The crashing sound when he threw the bottle to the ground, shattering it, startled the others. They turned to look at Zach in irritation and confusion. Was this the time to be clumsy and drop one of their precious X0 bottles, the strongest anti-underworld energy potion they had on hand?


    Before they could even ask what was going on, Zach grabbed another, smashing that one as well. He was kneeling next to the crate, picking up and smashing down bottle after empty bottle.


    Although the others were concerned about Zach''s behavior, by now, they noticed that out of all the bottles, not a single one contained so much as a drop of anti-underworld energy.


    "H-hey¡ª"


    "How could this happen?!" Zach''s voice rang out over the field. It caused several underworlders in the city to tremble in fear.


    Zach stood up and in the same motion picked up the crate and slammed it into the ground.


    He turned to Jessecke, who was overseeing the potion transportation.


    "How could you let this happen?!" He demanded. His shout broke Jessecke''s stunned silence. She had never seen Zach be this emotional, much less this angry before. However, when he turned his anger toward her, fear replaced her shock.


    Zach''s eyes burned with anger. It even seemed like his orange hair was swaying in the breeze like fire.


    "I¨CI don''t¡­" Jessecke couldn''t answer. She didn''t know why the bottles were empty. She didn''t know where the anti-underworld potion was. She didn''t know when or how it had disappeared.


    "Hey!" Nessa yanked on Zach''s shoulder, turning him away from Jessecke. It had been far from as easy as Nessa thought it would be. Zach''s body was solid like a statue, and it hadn''t turned easily. But she still managed to make him look at her.


    "You already know who did this! Stop harassing Jesse!" Nessa was tempted to give Zach a slap and help him snap out of it, but that would only hurt her since he was covered in a barrier.


    "..." Zach''s eyes smoldered like glowing coals as he looked at Nessa in silence.


    "That fucking spy¡­!" Zach, needless to say, was infuriated. Hours of hard labor, sacks of money, precious time. All of it wasted. Because of the Underworld''s spy.


    "Are all potions gone?" He asked, slightly calmer than before. He glanced around at the mixed somber and grave expressions of the ones around him.


    "...We have X3s left," Violina answered. She continued,


    "We can''t execute step one of Plan E."


    That was the grim reality. Plan E was their best bet at dealing with what the Underworld had cooked up under the city. But the rest of Plan E was useless if they didn''t prime the city, the sewers, and as much of the Underworld as possible with extensive deployment of the anti-underworld energy potions.


    They could still execute the rest of the plan, but it wouldn''t do more than put a stick in the wheels of the Underworld''s plans. It would delay it. But it would still devastate and wreck the city and its surroundings.


    "What do we do?" Dukiel asked. Executing Plan E right now would be a waste.


    "...I still have a couple of potions. With how potent the X0s are, wouldn''t it still work?" Nessa asked.


    "Hmm, for Plan E to work and for it to be worth the destruction it will cause, we need to purify the ground as deep as possible. We need to wreck at least down to the third layer of the Underworld. We need to get at least that deep before executing the second step. Otherwise, we cause more damage to us than to them." Violina shook her head while explaining why a couple of potions, despite how powerful they were, wouldn''t work.


    "What do we do?" Anerias repeated Dukiel''s question since no one answered it the first time.


    But it wasn''t because they hadn''t heard it. They didn''t have an answer. They didn''t know what to do.


    The removal of all the potions and the halt it had put to the execution of Plan E had stumped them. It was a last-ditch plan in the first place. It was the type of plan that would only be used when they had exhausted all other options.


    This time, they hadn''t even exhausted all other options before resorting to it since the situation was so dire.


    Zach gritted his teeth. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since their last resort was useless before they exhausted their other options, they just had to take a step back and do what they could.


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    "We go down."


    It took a moment and a half for the others to all process Zach''s words. They slowly looked at him. They understood what he meant. They didn''t believe it.


    "If what Maer said is true¡­"


    "...going down there is suicide, Zach." Dukiel and Nessa did not like the idea.


    Anerias and Violina were silent. They knew that, too. They also knew that Zach knew it before he said it. Zach said it fully aware of what he was doing.


    "We have to stop it before it''s too late." He shrugged. If what Maer said was true, wasting time would only increase the danger. Going down would be risking their lives. It would be very very risky. More than anything they had done so far.


    But everytime they had risked their lives had been risker than the previous time.


    If they were looking for peace, comfort, and stable, safe lives, they should have made different life decisions long ago. By now, it would be too late to turn back. They could only move forward.


    "If it does come to the surface, won''t the principal¡­?" Anerias asked with slight hope.


    The other four shook their heads.


    "Nope."


    "If the principal would do something like that, he wouldn''t be the principal."


    "Maybe if we all die first."


    "I think he might make a move if the Great Ugor shows up since he will be a year early, but even then, the principal would most likely just send him back down and tell him to wait a year."


    The students could only rely on themselves to overcome this crisis.

 Chapter 284 Into The Darkness

    "I''m going down," Zach said after a brief moment of silence."Who''s with me?" He asked. By now, they should have had time to process the gravity of the situation.


    Dukiel looked at Zach. He knew Zach. If Zach was doing this, it meant he felt it would be possible to succeed. He would do anything to reach that possibility.


    "I''m in." After everything they had been through, how could Dukiel not trust Zach?


    "Me too." Nessa had only needed a slight push to give in. Much like Dukiel, she couldn''t not trust Zach, especially after he returned from the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth of Syst. He was the first person in history to do so. He was not limited to conventional thought.


    Even if Maer hadn''t exaggerated¡ªeven if he had underestimated the threat posed by the Underworld''s machinations, Nessa believed Zach could overcome it. He even had a deity by his side. If anyone could do it, it would be him.


    "...You better not let me down now, Evandiel." Surprisingly, Anerias joined them before Violina did. Usually, he was the most reluctant and hesitant when it came to things like this.


    But he had grown. He would never admit it to the world, but Zach and his presence urged Anerias to improve. He had grown stronger in the Labyrinth of Jira, which he had only entered thanks to Zach.


    This moment¨Cthis choice¨Cwas another opportunity for Anerias to grow.


    He could refuse, stay on the surface, and hope for the principal to step up or for Zach and the others to handle it. He could even flee if neither of those happened.


    But he would stagnate. He would forever be unable to overcome the wall he would have erected himself. Every time he would be faced with the opportunity to grow in the future, he would remember this moment. He would remember his choice. He would remember his weakness.


    If he chose to go down with Zach and the others, however, he would either die a painful death, which was the most likely turn of events, or he would take his first step toward catching up to Zach. He would take a large step forward on his path as a summoner. He would climb upward in the world, bringing his prestige with him. He would raise his family''s status.


    Whether personal, spiritual, physical, or familial, the gains were immeasurable.


    For his future, Anerias had to join the descending party.


    Violina''s future was already secured. She didn''t hold as much insecurity within her as Anerias did. She might regret her decision in the future, but she would be alive. She would overcome it. Her regret would drive her forward. It would make her stronger.


    She didn''t need to enter the Underworld.


    If anything, it might be better for her to stay on the surface since her attributes contrasted one of their main sources of power, Dukiel''s lasers. Her ice also made it harder for Anerias'' Blackfire Hound to let loose, even if its fires didn''t melt her ice and her ice didn''t put out its fires.


    If she stayed on the surface, she could coordinate the other students to prepare. She could help evacuate the alchemists and other non-combatants. She could start tracking down the spy and exacting revenge.


    There were so many things she could do on the surface. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    But in the Underworld, there were only two things: Die or not die.


    Violina eventually sighed heavily like the air was forced out of her lungs. In all her life as a child of one of the most prestigious families and households in the Empire, this was the most pressure she had felt. It couldn''t compare to when she and Anerias had taken charge of the class in the first year at the Academy during the field trip.


    There was too much at stake.


    "Fine," she said. "I''ll come. Who''s going to keep you all alive if I don''t?"


    With those words trying to ease the atmosphere, the matter was settled. There was no time to prepare. There wasn''t anything they could do to prepare anyway. The most they could do was grab the few remaining bottles of undiluted anti-underworld energy potion and hope they would help in their battle against the Underworld''s first trump card.


    Zach, Dukiel, Nessa, Anerias, and Violina scurried through the city. They ignored the underworlders hiding in the buildings, street corners, and rubble. They headed straight for the sewers. The light of the talismans kept them tied together in the darkness of the underworld energy.


    They hurried through the sewers like an arrow. They went straight for the tunnel where they had killed Mursoth.


    Zach stopped on the edge of the tunnel to the Underworld.


    They shouldn''t hesitate. They had already decided to forego any hesitation when they agreed to go down. They didn''t have time for it.


    But there was no helping it.


    If they were going to turn back, this would be their last opportunity. Their only opportunity.


    No one took it. Zach took the first step. The others followed. They followed him into the darkness of the underworld energy so thick a moonless night would seem bright.


    Although time was of the essence, the group couldn''t help but slow down, and it had nothing to do with the size of some of their familiars. They had a vague idea of


    what


    to expect. They hadn''t the slighted of


    when


    or


    where


    to expect it.


    It was beneath the city in the tunnel leading to the Underworld.


    The Underworld was deep down, the tunnel was long, and Maer had been running for his life, so he didn''t know how far he ran.


    It


    could also be moving toward the surface as they headed deeper into the ground. They could come face to face with impending doom at any moment.


    As if to taunt the young students, time slowed to a crawl as they walked, their steps thumping mutedly against the walls like heartbeats.


    Slowly, they descended into the darkness. Each second, each step taking them closer.

 Chapter 285 Shocking Sight

    A slight tremor in the ground and a wave running through the underworld energy soon after were the first signs Zach, Dukiel, Nessa, Anerias, Violina, and their herd of conspicuous familiars got.The tremor was nothing like the violent ones that shook the ground like it was a punching bag earlier. It was gentle. It was the same with the gust. It was like someone had flapped a large fan on the other end of the tunnel or gently tapped the worm of smoky underworld energy filling the tunnel.


    Neither of that had happened, though. Zach and the others knew that what Maer had warned them about was the cause for both the tremor and the wave of air.


    They didn''t stop moving. At this point, all they could do was live or die with their choice.


    Another tremor came after a couple of seconds. Then, a gust again. Then, complete silence and stillness for more than a minute.


    Another tremor. The interval between the tremor and the gust was much shorter this time. Both were also much clearer this time.


    The students were much closer to the source. They gulped nervously.


    The tremor and the gust hadn''t been the only things they sensed. They had also heard something that sounded like a thump of some kind like someone or something had hit the ground perhaps.


    A couple of them stopped in their tracks, but they kept moving when they saw that Zach didn''t even flinch or hesitate for half a second.


    The next time they heard and felt it, the tremor, the gust, and the thump sounded like it came from just around the corner.


    It did.


    Zach and the others could sense the tunnel that had slowly widened lately open up into a large underground cavern. The underworld energy should have made it difficult to see, but as soon as they popped their heads out of the tunnel, they could see as clear as day.


    There was a device that looked like a large black pearl on the side of the wall next to the tunnel entrance that sealed the underworld energy into the tunnel, but it did nothing to Zach and the others.


    Still, they didn''t move after peering into the cavern. They could but couldn''t move.


    The sight inside the hall had frozen them stiff.


    All of them were used to blood and gore by now. It was only natural after all the fighting with monsters they had done. So, the blood of varying dark shades splatter all over the wall wasn''t why they couldn''t move, neither were the dozen or so surprisingly small fist-shaped indents in the walls, ceiling, and floor.


    They weren''t even frozen due to the large mound of what looked like flesh that still had streams of underworld energy occasionally pouring out of bulbous pores in its body. After all, it was dead. Only a part of it was intact. The rest was a mangled mess, smashed to bits.


    That part was related to why they were frozen, however.


    Sitting in that bloody mess of flesh, blood, and churning underworld energy was a baby.


    There was an air of strangeness around the whole situation since children did not belong in pools of blood and piles of broken flesh, nor were they supposed to be absorbing underworld energy.


    But even without all of those, there was something about the baby that made it unnatural. At first glance, it looked like a baby, but the strangeness would force anyone to take a second look.


    It wouldn''t be enough to see what was wrong with it, though, except maybe its grey hair. If it had been turned toward Zach and the others, they might have also seen the completely dark eyes, sclera and all.


    It took thorough analysis to realize that the baby''s movements as it grabbed a head-like thing that should have been too big to fit in its hands were too natural. They were too perfect.


    There was none of the clumsiness that a baby should have due to a lack of muscles.


    The baby gently rammed the head into the floor like it had done several times now. For such a seemingly gentle action, the fallout was too much.


    The baby did not lack muscles, which explained why its movements were so perfectly coordinated.


    When it thumped the head against the floor, the ground shook slightly, a gently shockwave traveled through the air along with the unnerving sound of bone against stone, only muted by the flesh and blood where the baby had struck.


    The baby let out a disappointed hum-like sigh. It pouted. The head didn''t react. Boring.


    However, as if it realized something, the baby''s head rose and turned around to look straight at Zach''s group. The fully black eyes stood in stark contrast to the baby''s pale skin. Even its lips were white.


    Zach''s group was still frozen. They couldn''t believe what they were saying.


    All signs pointed toward the baby being the experiment gone awry that Maer had warned them about. They understood why he hadn''t mentioned it being a baby. Zach wouldn''t have believed him and done something less than nice.


    It was unbelievable.


    Why was there a baby in the Underworld? It looked like a special human baby. Underworlders, including ones who were human first, all looked like mutated, discolored freaks of some kind. They had extra limbs, different-colored skin, horns, pointy ears, wings, or other mutations. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The baby''s only mutation was its dark eyes. Even its light-colored hair and white lips could be attributed to a genetic inheritance.


    Zach''s mind spun like the wheels of a carriage going downhill.


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    The experiment from the swamp Locale, the piece of created life Jigak had retrieved.


    All the humans the Underworld had kidnapped.


    The Underworld had


    created


    a human underworlder. They hadn''t turned a human born to others into an underworlder by subjecting them to underworld energy.


    The baby in front of them was


    manufactured.


    And its makers hadn''t held back when making it. They had made it as strong as possible.


    At this point, it didn''t matter why the Underworld had done something like that. The results spoke for themselves. If the baby was strong enough to turn Named underworlders into fleeing cowards or bloodstains on the wall right now, how strong wouldn''t it be if it grew up?


    They couldn''t let that happen.


    The baby couldn''t be allowed to live.

 Chapter 286 Baby Abomination

    Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina had all fought with their lives on the line several times. They had encountered dangerous and thrilling situations that honed and sharpened their senses. When they looked at the unnatural baby, they could only feel one thing.The instincts that now could guide them away from death, the very ones that had shouted at them not to enter the Underworld, were now telling them that in the matter of the baby, it was kill or be killed.


    The baby''s outer shell was a lie. It was utter deception hiding the monstrous insides of an abomination that wouldn''t hesitate to kill them.


    If they didn''t kill it,


    it


    would kill them.


    Zach took a step forward.


    Dukiel put a hand on Zach''s shoulder and held him back. He didn''t know if it was to protect Zach or to protect the baby. Regardless of what their instincts were telling them, the baby was a baby. The students were good at ignoring their instincts.


    They shouldn''t, especially considering what they had seen the baby doing and the fleshy wreckage around the underground hall. But the students were beasts or monsters that blindly obeyed their instincts. They were humans. Rational, civilized humans who followed the creed that seeing is believing.


    They didn''t doubt that Zach also knew that the baby couldn''t be allowed to grow.


    But unlike them, Zach wasn''t known for being rational. He was better now than he had been in the beginning of his time at the Academy since he had gained control over his mouth.


    But he knew no one had cleared the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth of Syst and still chose to attempt it. He suggested they enter the Underworld to deal with what Maer had warned them about. He paraded around a


    deity


    as his mad and familiar. He had also burst a vessel as soon as he realized someone had removed all the anti-underworld energy potions from the equation.


    Zach was not a normal human, for better or worse. In this situation, it meant he wouldn''t hesitate to kill the baby.


    After all, the baby wasn''t a baby. It was an abomination. It was an affront to the natural laws of life and existence. It was a grave threat to their lives both in the present and in the future.


    The remaining months of the school year alone would be enough for the baby to grow stronger and more dangerous, even more so with the break, during which they wouldn''t be able to do anything. Even now, this might be their only chance to deal with the baby. If they didn''t take it, they would only be dooming themselves.


    Still, they couldn''t just let Zach walk up to the baby and kill it. There was something wrong with an action like that.


    Zach shrugged off Dukiel''s hand and took another step. The baby''s curious gaze focused on him, but the others still had trouble moving. They stayed at the tunnel''s exit like statues, unable to move or say anything.


    Anyone moving or doing


    anything


    could set off the baby. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach¡­Even if he didn''t know what he was doing, it seemed like he had the situation under control. They had lost their opportunity to stop him. Now, they could only let him see this through while the baby was still docile.


    Zach''s first few steps were hesitant. He was worried that the baby would try and make him its new toy. But it just tilted its head with wide, glossy eyes staring right at him as he approached.


    The barrier around his body was the strongest he could make it. Hopefully, it would last long enough for his familiars to intervene if the baby decided to do anything. But it remained motionless even as Zach stopped only a few steps away.


    "Hey¡­?" Zach gently whispered to the baby like he was soothing a wild animal. He lowered his body and crouched low to appear less intimidating.


    The baby didn''t seem intimidated in the least, but Zach figured it was better to be on the safer side. He didn''t want to appear as a threat and accidentally trigger the baby into lashing out. He took a cautious glance around.


    If he, as a baby, had been surrounded by loud, scary monsters, he would have also acted out a little. It was just that most human babies didn''t have supernatural strength that put even Named underworlders to shame.


    The baby''s curious eyes watched Zach as he inched closer. They were bright and clear, but there wasn''t much thought behind them. The baby hadn''t learned how to think or reason yet.


    Unlike the students who could listen and choose to ignore their instincts, the baby only knew how to follow its instincts.


    It confirmed Zach''s guess that the baby hadn''t acted with malice when it decimated the underworlders. That had just happened because the baby was upset after being created. Its strength had surpassed what the underworlders present could deal with. Their experiment, which they had offered a ceasefire to stabilize, had been too successful.


    And now, that experiment, had ended up in Zach''s hands as he picked up the baby by its armpits.


    Cold sweat beaded on the small of Zach''s back.


    He wasn''t good with babies, much less ones powerful enough to cause earthquakes. Fortunately, the baby didn''t seem to mind being held like that, and it giggled as Zach held it out right in front of himself.


    However, when it giggled, its arms and legs wiggled and floundered slightly. The baby didn''t hit or kick Zach. But he almost dropped it because of how powerful its movements were. It almost broke free even from the barrier Zach used to reinforce his hold on the baby.


    "C-calm down, please." Zach smiled pleadingly.


    As if finding Zach''s face entertaining, the baby giggled again. But this time it even slapped with its hand toward Zach''s face. It didn''t reach. Instead, it crashed down on Zach''s forearm, shattering his barrier.


    "Hihihi!"


    Zach bit his lips to stifle his voice. His shirt hid his arm, but it did not hide the color of blood seeping into it from the break in his arm. If Zach''s barriers hadn''t also held up his arm and the baby, he would have dropped it.


    Zach took a deep breath. He held the baby in a cradle-like barrier as he grabbed its wrist and stopped it from hitting him. He did his best to keep the baby from breaking out of his grasp.


    "It looks like we need to teach you how to control your strength¡ª"


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    "You''re not teaching that


    thing


    anything! Drop the baby, Zach!"

 Chapter 287 Disappointed

    "It seems you let down your guard, Violina."It was the one thing the Academy had done its best to beat into their very bones from the very first day. They should never let down their guard. Period.


    "Sorry."


    It was even more important since Violina was their rearguard. She was at the very back of their formation and in charge of protecting the group from ambushes from behind, no matter how unlikely it was they would be attacked from that direction, considering the noly thing behind them was the surface.


    But the current situation was the sole proof the Academy needed to give their curriculum credit.


    No matter what, no matter the situation, no matter the circumstances, one should never let down their guard. Something unexpected could always happen.


    "Put down the baby!"


    Zach''s gaze shifted from Violina''s face and the dagger drawing a thin red line across her neck to Liam Vreer.


    "I wish I could say this is a surprise, Liam." More than surprise, Zach''s voice was filled with disappointment. Liam was a member of the club and the son of a household in the same east that his family oversaw. What could he be if not disappointed that he had chosen to betray them in favor of the Underworld.


    But it wasn''t a surprise. Liam had been high on the list of possible spies, only below the other members of the club. He had the means and the opportunity, and it hadn''t exactly been like many others could have attacked Rierdan.


    It had also felt like the spy had vanished about the same time the third and fourth-years were taken to the Labyrinth of Jira last year. It made sense if it was someone in a grade above them. And since their activities continued even after the previous fourth-years graduated, it couldn''t have been Rabst or any of the students in the same year as him.


    Of course, there could be several spies. One of the instructors could have been a spy. They couldn''t be sure.


    And rather than making any rash decisions that would implicate the wrong person and alert the spy at the same time, they decided it was better to look for more evidence.


    Zach had regretted that choice when he opened the crate of empty potion bottles, and he regretted it even more now that Liam was holding Violina''s life in his hands. He sighed. Any attempt at saving Violina would end with her throat slit. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The mere fact that Liam had managed to sneak up on her and evade all the familiars'' detection was proof enough of his capabilities. He might not be able to defeat any of them in a head-on confrontation, but he had successfully grasped Violina''s life in his hands.


    "Now!" Liam shouted impatiently.


    Zach didn''t put down the baby at once.


    He had a couple of ideas of how he might get them out of this troublesome situation without casualties, but he wasn''t going to risk Violina''s life unless she was okay with it. He met her eyes.


    Her eyes were clear.


    Zach looked at Liam again.


    "Why?" He asked, stalling for time. Zach had to be excruciatingly slow and careful if he didn''t want Liam to notice anything.


    "Doesn''t matter! Just put down the creature and walk away, Zach. I don''t need to, nor do I want to kill any of you. But I can''t let you take that thing out of here." Liam''s eyes were desperate. He knew full well who he was up against. He didn''t stand a chance against Zach and his henchmen in a frontal confrontation.


    But he had already thrown his lot in with the Underworld. Just like Zach and the others couldn''t turn back after entering the tunnel, it was too late for Liam to regret. All he could do now was his best to carry out the Underworld''s orders and plans. Right now, that meant securing the baby.


    Nothing else mattered, including why Liam had chosen to betray humanity and the surface.


    "It''s not too late, Liam. Put down the dagger, release Violina, and follow us back to the surface. I can''t say everything you''ve done is water under the bridge¡ªI''m still pissed about the potions¡ªbut you will at least keep your life."


    "Heh," Liam scoffed. "Not too late? It


    is


    too late. You only change sides once. If I do it again, the only side I''ll get is the one of the dead. You can''t protect me. You won''t protect me.


    "Now, put down the baby and leave. My patience is running dry." Liam glared at Zach and pressed the dagger harder against Violina''s thin and pale neck.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed.


    "What a coincidence. So is mine."


    Liam stumbled. His face paled, and his gaze fluttered. He was about to fall over.


    He didn''t.


    He had resisted Soara''s power. It wasn''t strange. He was a fourth year well on his way to summoning his fourth familiar. He was also capable enough to avoid detection. It wasn''t strange he survived Soara''s power when she was weakened.


    But doing so earned her ire. He also hadn''t resisted it perfectly. He had stumbled and revealed an opening.


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    However, if there hadn''t been a thin barrier between the dagger and Violina''s neck, she would have been sliced. She had felt the dagger''s edge slide over and press against her neck when Liam stumbled.


    She thought she was dead. She hadn''t noticed the barrier until afterward. Liam also hadn''t noticed the barrier. If he had, he wouldn''t have stayed still.


    As soon as he revealed an opening, Liam was attacked by the students and the familiars. Swords from Yanael, Violina, and the Sentinel aimed for his heart. Fists targeted his body and limbs. A pair of mandibles tried to nibble away a hand.


    But before any attack could land on him, Liam disappeared. It was like his existence faded away, and he transformed into something more akin to a ghost than a human. All the attacks passed right through him.


    Slowly Liam stood up straight, ignoring the attacks raining down on his incorporeal body. He looked at Zach and the baby in his arms, who had finally stopped fussing.


    "The hard way it is."

 Chapter 288 Super Saiyan

    All the fists, claws, paws, and weapons from the students and familiars passed right through Liam as he moved toward Zach and the baby, picking up speed with every step he took. They were perplexed, Yanael included.But Yanael didn''t let that perplexion interfere with her movements. Liam was moving to attack Zach.


    Soara couldn''t smite him, and Alzara''s curses didn''t reach him. The two of them also moved, but they couldn''t do anything to Liam.


    Thus, it fell on Yanael''s shoulders. It was her duty to protect Zach. She was the one who would stand in front of him no matter who or what was trying to get to him. If Zach was facing the world, she would make sure he looked at her back when doing it.


    She wouldn''t let anything get past her if Zach was behind her.


    Yanael caught up to and overtook Liam. She stood between Zach and Liam with her sword raised. Liam was just going to ignore it like he did with everything else. He existed on a different level. It didn''t matter what stood in his way, he could just run straight through it.


    Yanael figured out what Liam''s contract skill did through sheer instinct. She didn''t understand it, nor could she ever guess what his familiar was. But that wasn''t important. What was important was that no skill was omnipotent. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Liam''s skill was powerful, at a glance, unreasonably so. A skill that made everything, whether physical weapon or energy pass right through, made Liam, in practice, undefeatable. It was similar theory but different execution to Zach''s unbeatability.


    If nothing could touch him, nothing could injure him. If nothing could injure him, nothing could kill or stop him.


    If Liam''s skill had been that broken, he wouldn''t have bothered with threatening them with Violina''s life in the beginning. Liam''s skill had a limit or a drawback.


    Yanael''s eyes blazed as she stared straight into the translucent phantom that was the current Liam. By this point, it was too late for him to run around her, even if he wasn''t confident in his ability.


    Golden sacred energy matching the color of Yanael''s hair and the flames in her eyes ignited the air around her and her sword, engulfing her in a ferocious fire of glassy gold. It was an inefficient way to use energy. It was crude to the point it couldn''t be called a technique.


    Yanael was pushing all of her sacred energy out of her body as fiercely as she could. If she gathered and pointed it in a specific direction, it would be a devastating attack. But now, it only strengthened her body and weapon a little more than it did when she used it properly.


    It looked bad-ass, though.


    That wasn''t why she did it.


    If there was one thing that could overcome strong skills, it was overwhelming force.


    Liam''s skill made him shift and somehow alter his existence. Yanael didn''t know the details, but it felt like he was separated by a thick pane of glass that kept apart two different worlds.


    Now that Zach had seen it, she might be able to talk about it.


    Liam was there in front of her but at the same time not. That was enough.


    Yanael''s flaming sacred energy was not enough to melt the pane of existence Liam was hiding behind. It wasn''t even close. However, all of Liam hadn''t crossed to the other side. His traces¨Chis vestiges remained in their world. Otherwise, he would no longer exist in this world.


    If all of him passed over, he would no longer be able to find his way back.


    Those traces are what Yanael''s sacred energy managed to touch and interfere with after finally reaching a powerful enough output. It was a long shot since those traces had remained untouched by everything else.


    But that had simply been because mere swords, fists, and claws couldn''t so much as scratch the image of a person that others saw only in their minds. Yanael''s brutal sacred energy, however, flared up with enough intensity to blur the edges around Liam.


    As soon as she did that, Liam''s full existence snapped into place, yanked back from the other side of the sheet of existence.


    It had happened when he had just started overlapping with Yanel. He would have ended up with her hands in his stomach if nothing weird had happened. But something weird happened as if the skill or whatever laws of physics controlled it could not allow two beings with physical mass to exist in the same space at the same time.


    Liam was sent back to where he did not touch Yanael. The tip of her sword was less than a hair away from Liam''s shirt.


    Liam had been in the middle of running at full speed when Yanael''s energy brought him out of his skill. As if that hadn''t been surprising enough, he was then blinked back to where he had been half a step ago.


    Even if he hadn''t been stunned, shocked, and surprised, Liam still might not have been able to stop in time, much less now that he was stunned, shocked, and surprised.


    He couldn''t stop in time.


    Liam impaled himself on Yanael''s sword.


    He looked down in utter confusion. He had no idea what had just happened in the last second. No one did.


    Everything that had just happened, including Liam''s skill, was a complete mystery even to the ones involved. The bystanders were just as if not more confused.


    Blood slowly pooled in Liam''s mouth before spilling out between his lips and running down his cheek.


    Yanael pulled her sword out of Liam''s chest. He weakly stumbled back before collapsing to the ground on his ass.


    He tried to say something, but the only thing that left his mouth was a spluttering squirt of blood.


    Yanael''s sword had wrecked his insides. It would have been lethal if it had been just the sword. The flaring sacred energy had torn apart everything that could be torn apart.


    Liam looked weakly at Zach. His eyes swirled with emotion. Regret. Sadness. Despair. Unwillingness.


    He didn''t want it to end like this.


    Even if his only choice was to live with underworlders, Liam was eighteen years old. He had his whole life in front of him. He was supposed to have his whole life in front of him.


    Now¡­


    He was dead. The light left his eyes, and he slumped to the ground, his body limp.

 Chapter 289 How Hard Can It Be?

    Liam''s death was sudden. One moment, he was a somewhat trusted companion and club member. The next, he had his dagger against Violina''s throat, and yet another moment later, he died."..." The students could only look at Liam''s corpse in stunned silence.


    "Agah¡­" The baby tapped Zach''s shoulder while looking at the dead Liam. It was almost like it was comforting Zach. But it could also be that the baby was bored and couldn''t reach anything other than Zach''s shoulder.


    Fortunately, it seemed the baby wasn''t using his full strength this time, and Zach only got a bruise that quickly turned purple. He grabbed the baby and held it in his arms after making a tiny club-like toy with his barrier that the baby could hold and wave around. It rattled a little and entertained the baby, but most importantly, it was made from a flexible barrier that didn''t hurt what it hit.


    Nessa and the others finally returned to the state they had been in before Liam held Violina hostage. They were yet again amazed and confused at Zach''s actions.


    The baby was clearly an abomination of the Underworld. Its outer shell was but a mere facade. It was a monstrous being that threatened their very existence. Even without being enraged, trained, or more than a day old, the baby had broken through multiple of Zach''s strongest barriers.


    It was a freak. It wasn''t even a freak of nature since it was created with unnatural means.


    They might even consider it their responsibility as beings of the natural order to erase this transgression of that very order.


    Yet, here Zach was making faces at the baby and poking its soft and round bubbly cheeks. He wasn''t going to eradicate that abomination. He was taking care of a baby. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Zach¡­?" Dukiel eventually asked cautiously.


    He was the club president, the strongest, and the self-proclaimed boss. It was his decision. But they wanted to hear his thoughts.


    Zach looked up from the baby and met the gazes of his friends. Their thoughts were written on their faces. He hugged the baby a little tighter, making him squeal like he was being tickled.


    The others had a much stronger aversion to the baby than Zach did, even if it was his barriers that the baby had broken with ease.


    But he couldn''t say he didn''t understand them. His instincts had also warned him about the baby and its existence. But the fact that he was holding and playing with the baby like it wasn''t anything special was proof that their instincts had been partially wrong.


    Underworlders created the baby, but as proven by their surroundings, it didn''t hold any special connection to those underworlders. Since it passively absorbed underworld energy, the baby would thrive in the Underworld. But even when the underworld energy decreased, the baby showed no signs of suffering.


    Rather than being an underworlder in the shape of a human, it would be more accurate to call the baby a human with the natural disposition of an underworlder. It was a human that could absorb and harness underworld energy without any side effects. The only possible side effect would be the baby''s strength unless that was an inherent trait.


    "This little one is coming with us," was all Zach had to say about the matter. He wasn''t going to kill a baby, no matter its background. And he wasn''t going to let the others kill it, either.


    The others could only sigh. Now that Zach had decided, there was nothing they could do about it.


    In a way, it was a relief. Despite its background, the baby still had the appearance of an innocent baby. No matter who would have been forced to do it, it wouldn''t have been easy. Just watching would have been difficult.


    There was only one problem¡­


    "Do you know how to raise a baby, Zach?" Nessa asked. They were all the same age, and as far as the others knew, none of them had so much as a significant other, much less progressed far enough to start making babies. They also hadn''t spent enough time apart for anyone to have raised or started raising a baby. And it wasn''t like the Academy had taught any courses on how to raise a baby.


    They didn''t know what they were doing, not to mention that it wasn''t an ordinary baby.


    "How hard can it be?" Zach shrugged. He was the youngest in his family, and he didn''t have many memories of when he was a baby. He barely had


    any


    memories of the time before his fifth birthday. He didn''t know much about babies or what they were like other than what his siblings and parents had told him about it.


    All they had said was that he was a blessing to raise since he was so easy to handle when he was a baby. Zach was confident this baby wouldn''t be any trouble other than its strength. But they should be able to do something about that.


    Unaware of the figure hiding in the shadows of the tunnel leading deeper into the Underworld, Zach and the others returned to the surface with the baby. For now, before they could start thinking about


    how


    to raise a baby, they had to bring it to safety and out of the Underworld''s reach.


    ***


    "WAAAH!"


    "Dukiel, where''s the milk?!"


    "I put it on the nightstand!"


    "The one that''s in pieces?!"


    "...damn it! That''s the sixth one this week!"


    "Ah, found it! Arrgh, it''s not working! You little brat, stay still!"


    "Try swaying¡ª"


    "I AM swaying!"


    "Weird. It should work. Do it like¡ª"


    "Do you want to take over?!"


    "...My shift just ended." Find your next adventure on empire


    "Exactly! If you aren''t going to do anything, be quiet! Please. I need to focus."


    "...Alright."


    "Hey, guys. How''s it going? I brought a new cradle. I had Alzara make it with soothing materials."


    "Are you trying to sedate the baby?"


    "Even if it works, it will be like a lullaby and only when he''s in it."


    "...Let''s try."


    CRASH.


    "..."


    "...It looks like a Zach tantrum."


    "I''ll get him."


    "Hey! Don''t leave me here with¡ª...Fuckers."

 Chapter 290 Betrayal

    The baby abomination, who still hadn''t received a name, was, contrary to Zach''s expectations, not easy to deal with. The baby''s supernatural strength aside, he was incredibly fussy.He wasn''t easily scared, at least not for a baby. And it wasn''t like he was needy or anything. With his innate physique, the baby would be just fine even if a house was dropped on him. The baby was mostly bored.


    At first, Zach and the others thought it was because they had brought him out of the Underworld and cut his access to abundant underworld energy. They risked bringing him to the city to let him absorb some and alleviate his distress.


    It worked for a little bit. It was only after some time and a period of loud crying that they figured out it only worked because it was new and interesting.


    Once they figured that out, the students did their best to keep the baby entertained whether it be through making faces, giving him toys, playing with him, or telling stories. They even put on simple plays with the help of their familiars.


    But there was a limit to what they could do when they also had to clean up the city


    again


    , study, and deal with the aftermath of Liam''s death. The baby also learned and adapted quickly, so they had to not only come up with new stories, but they also had to come up with new ways to tell them.


    The two things that gave them hope were Zach''s surprising hand with the baby and the fact that the baby was growing noticeably quicker than an ordinary human. It didn''t grow at a bone-breaking pace. It was just that it might grow fast enough that they only had to deal with the tantrum phase for a couple of months before the baby calmed down.


    Hopefully, by that time, they would have also figured out what to do with the baby other than take care of it.


    Regardless of its strength, they couldn''t in good conscience bring it with them into battle against the Underworld. They would not stoop to the Underworld''s level. There was also the risk of the Underworld somehow taking back the baby and raising it to use against the surface. The threat posed by the baby aside, they had grown attached to the troublesome little brat.


    There was no way they could let the Underworld take him back.


    They also had to come up with a name.


    But Zach had only just barely managed to start coming up with a name for his alchemist guild. He wasn''t confident he could offer a good suggestion. The others were much the same. That, or they were confident but only came with ill-fitting suggestions.


    The little baby was not going to receive a name like Kevin.


    "...And so, the prince and his three princesses lived happily ever¡ª" A knock on the door to his dorm interrupted Zach and the baby''s storytelling session. The baby in Zach''s lap looked away from the text and colorful pictures in the book in front of him and glanced up at Zach before turning to the door.


    Nessa had already opened it. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What weird ideas are you putting in that kid''s head?" She asked. She was already past the point of caring whether she needed permission to enter Zach''s dorm or not. If he didn''t want her to enter, he should have locked his door.


    "What do you want?" Zach brought the book closer to the baby to let him flip through the pages as he wished while he and Nessa talked.


    "You have a visitor."


    "Derot? But he''s supposed to come in a week."


    "It''s not¡ª"


    "Who the fuck''s Derot?" A slender hand gently nudged Nessa into the room and out of the way.


    Surprise showed on Nessa''s face. Even if she hadn''t been ready for it, that slender hand had an overwhelmingly easy time moving her out of the way, not to mention the fact that she hadn''t even noticed the owner of that hand following her.


    Zach''s eyes also widened in surprise as he saw who entered his dorm.


    "Lexi!" He greeted with so much enthusiasm that he forgot about the baby in his arms. He almost slid down Zach''s lap when the latter stood up. Zach hurriedly caught him and avoided the baby''s grumpy gaze.


    The baby harrumphed before returning to the fairytale book. After making sure that the baby was angry with him and not the book, Zach looked up at Lexi again.


    Lexi''s eyes were wide open, almost as wide open as her mouth, and her hand was frozen in the air next to Nessa''s shoulder. She wordlessly stared at the white-haired baby in Zach''s arms.


    Then, as if struck by lightning, she slowly turned to the white-haired maid next to Zach.


    Nessa''s whole head went from looking at Alzara, to Zach, to the baby, and then back to Alzara.


    Zach followed her gaze.


    He looked at Alzara''s white hair. He looked at the baby''s white hair. He looked at the baby''s position. He was snuggled into his arms. The shade of the baby''s hair was slightly different from Alzara''s, but there was no denying the similarity in color. The hair on both heads was also short, soft, and fluffy.


    Anyone who saw Alzara standing behind Zach maybe a little too close when Zach was holding the baby in his arms would see the two as the proud parents of a sweet little baby. The one thing that didn''t fit was the baby''s fully black eyes. But stuff like that happens. No biggie.


    "It''s not what it looks like!" Zach shouted, much to the baby''s ire. Why was the orange-haired guy with comfortable arms being so loud when he was just getting to the good part?


    "...Our parents will be happy to have their first grandchild." Lexi slowly took a step backward. Maybe she should come back later when she had processed the fact that the youngest in the family was the first to have a child.


    "I told you it''s not what it looks like! It''s not my baby!"


    "...The least you can do is take responsibility, Zach."


    Zach looked to Nessa for help.


    Your next chapter is on empire


    "Zach, come on man. I thought we had already convinced you to take responsibility."


    "..."


    Betrayal.

 Chapter 291 Proper Relationships

    "So¡­This is not your and your familiar''s baby?" Lexi asked doubtfully."Setting aside whether it''s biologically possible, it''s inappropriate to engage in such a relationship with my


    familiar


    . The power imbalance and background and so on make it wrong. Yanael, Alzara, and Soara are special, but familiars are familiars. Imagine if Nessa here took an interest in her centipede. She''d be thrown in a loony bin at once."


    Lexi raised an eyebrow.


    "Your standards are so weird, Zach. Aren''t you a guy? Just stick it in whatever hole you can find. Isn''t that how it''s done?"


    "I am not talking about this with you, Lexi! Now, what did you come here for?!"


    Lexi looked at Zach, Alzara, and the baby again.


    "Are you sure it''s not yours? It''s similar to both you and Alzara. It even looks a little like you when you were little." Her doubts had yet to settle.


    "All babies look the same." Zach wanted to be done with this topic, but Lexi wouldn''t let go.


    "Hmm. Why are you raising it, then?"


    "We''re taking turns. You happened to barge in while I was taking care of him."


    "Mhmm."


    "So, why are you here?" Zach asked exasperatedly.


    "What''re you going to do with him?" Lexi asked while reaching forward and poking the baby''s cheek. The baby was used to that kind of treatment by now and let it happen while he continued to flip through the book.


    Zach sighed and shrugged.


    "We don''t know. For now, we''re just taking care of him. We can''t just leave him at an orphanage since he''s too strong and because the Underworld will take him. But¡­I would lie if I said taking care of a baby doesn''t interfere with our already hectic life here at the Academy." Zach put his hand on the baby''s head while he spoke and gently rubbed it.


    "Mmm¡­" Lexi hummed thoughtfully while looking at and poking the baby. She hesitated.


    Zach raised an eyebrow. Lexi clearly had an idea. But if she didn''t want to suggest it, no matter what he said, he couldn''t drag a single word out of her lips.


    "I¡­should probably ask our parents first."


    "About what?"


    "Right now, I''m just stopping by on an errand to the capital, but when I return, I could take him with me back to the family estate."


    "Huh?" Zach hadn''t expected that suggestion.


    Lexi nodded.


    "And raise him like an Evandiel?" He asked.


    "If the parents are willing to adopt him, yeah. I mean, he would be safe from the Underworld with us, and his strength wouldn''t be much of an issue. And he won''t be in the way for your studies, but it also won''t be the last time you see him." Lexi even took into consideration the fact that Zach had gotten attached to the baby, though it could also be because she wasn''t sure if it was his son or not.


    Zach stared blankly at Lexi for a moment.


    "...I''ll talk with the others about it."


    "Of course. Besides, we still need to get our parents'' permission, and I will be in the capital for a month or so. At most. I''ll finish it quicker."


    "Is there any reason they wouldn''t agree?"


    "...No."


    "If it comes to it, we''ll just say it was my idea."


    "That will make them think it''s your baby, you know."


    "So be it. I know the truth. I stand by my choices and beliefs with a feathery heart."


    "Good for you¡­"


    After the talk with Lexi, Zach asked his friends about Lexi''s idea. Nessa had heard it since she was in the room with them. She liked the idea. The others also agreed to it after Zach told them.


    They didn''t have any other suggestions, and Lexi bringing the baby to the Evandiel estate would solve all troubles. They would be able to rest easy knowing that the baby would be looked after and protected from the Underworld''s grubby claws.


    After reporting on his friends'' agreement, Zach took the opportunity to inform Lexi about Liam''s fate. He was, after all, the son of one of their parents'' vassals and came from the same part of the Empire. Even if only to make sure the Vreer family wasn''t involved in anything shady, Zach felt it was best if Lexi knew about it.


    Without wasting barely another moment, Lexi took off.


    Zach wasn''t sure what her errand was, but if their parents had sent her on it, it should be pretty important. She probably shouldn''t rush it.


    But clearly, bringing back the family''s first grandch¡ªa totally ordinary, unrelated baby to be adopted was more important than whatever errand it was.


    Zach and Lexi also both sent letters back home to inform their parents of the plan. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While Lexi was in the capital, nothing much happened at the Academy. The city was quiet. The underworlders were gone, either because they had died or because they tried their hand at returning to the Underworld.


    The Underworld didn''t launch any attacks or breach the surface in any way that the students noticed. Stay connected via empire


    Since it was so quiet, the students stopped bringing the baby out of the Academy. There was no way they could risk getting ambushed and losing the baby. And while the Underworld didn''t have any qualms about infiltrating the Academy with spies, launching an attack was a whole different level of play.


    Zach and the others didn''t let anyone they didn''t trust close to the baby, so spies weren''t a threat to the baby''s safety.


    Zach, Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina rotated taking care of the baby and juggled it with training, studying, and preparing for anything the Underworld might do.


    And then, less than a month later, Lexi returned. She hadn''t received a response from the parents yet, but that meant they hadn''t said no. So, it would be fine to bring the baby back to the Evandiel estate.


    There was just one thing they had to do first. Maybe two.

 Chapter 292 Difficult Request

    "Why do we need to talk to the principal?" Lexi asked Zach. They were already on the way to the principal''s office, so it was a little late to ask, but it was better late than never. Lexi was a little hesitant.The principal of the Academy for Summoners was pretty famously infamous, after all. He was old, older than any other active official or person of authority in the Empire. The Academy for Summoners wasn''t the oldest Academy in the Empire, but the principal was its first and, so far, only principal. The principal had also been active before establishing the Academy, even if most of those records were vague for some reason.


    Nowadays, there wasn''t much actual information about the principal and his familiars. But that alone told volumes about his influence, not to mention the power he wielded. There were also rumors that the principal was whimsical, unpredictable, and eccentric.


    Lexi''s heart skipped a beat when Zach opened the door to that infamous principal''s office without even knocking. She knew her baby brother was reckless but this was a little too much.


    "Zach! Just in time!"


    However, contrary to Lexi''s fears, the principal greeted Zach with joy. He gestured at the tea and snacks on the table. It looked like it had been sitting out a little too long for Zach to have been ''just in time'' but Lexi didn''t pay enough attention to nitpick. Instead, she focused on the tall, lanky, deviously handsome principal with long, white hair.


    Maybe he was the baby''s father. The hair matched, even if it was yet a third hue. But then who was the mother? Lexi didn''t but Zach''s babbling about artificially created life.


    "This must be one of your rumored sisters." The principal turned to Lexi and helped her focus on the present instead of meaningless theorizing about nonexistent parents to a baby already about to get a pair of real parents.


    "Yeah, she''s¡ª"


    "My name is Lexi Evandiel. It is an honor to meet you, principal." Lexi curtsied, displaying the etiquette of a daughter of a ducal household. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach and the principal both looked at her for a moment, realizing that that was indeed a way to act.


    "Come now, there''s no need for formalities like that, Lexi. Since Zach doesn''t need to bother with it, there''s no way I could make his family do it. If anything, it''s my honor. I''ve heard a lot about the many talents of Lexi Evandiel."


    "..." Lexi stared blankly at the principal for a second. This was not what she had expected. She glanced at Zach.


    "...Sure." She reached out and shook the principal''s hand.


    "Now that I''ve got you here, Lexi, do you mind if I ask you for a favor?" The principal asked.


    "...Sure."


    "You see, your brother here is talented. Frankly speaking, he''s an extraordinary summoner the likes of which I''ve only seen twice, myself included. Would you mind helping me convince him to take on the mantle of principal?" Since Zach didn''t budge when he asked, the principal figured he might employ a cheaper tactic.


    Lexi glanced at Zach. That was not the favor she had expected, but then again, what could she ever help the principal with?


    Lexi narrowed her eyes. Zach as a principal¡­


    She turned back to the principal and bowed her head slightly.


    "Sorry, I can''t see Zach being fit for the role of principal. Even if I could convince him, which I don''t think I can, I''m not sure it will lead to the prosperity of the Academy."


    "I see¡­" The principal sighed. It wasn''t an entirely unexpected answer, and he wasn''t giving up on making Zach his successor yet, but if even his sister said something like that, he might have to get smart about it.


    "Anyway, I assumed you didn''t come here just to introduce your sister to me, did you, Zacharia?"


    "Nope. You know the baby we picked up?"


    "Yeah, though I''m not sure calling it a baby is appropriate since it makes it sound human."


    "Whatever. We don''t want to involve it in this war against the Underworld, so we were thinking Lexi could bring it to the Evandiel estate and let it become part of our family."


    "..." The principal''s expression was indecipherable as he silently looked at the two Evandiels.


    "...You know the ''baby'' would be an asset if you used it well, right?"


    "Even if


    he


    is something the Underworld made, I''m not going to use a baby to fight. It''s disgusting and dishonorable."


    "Even if it''s not a real baby?" The principal continued to question.


    "If it looks like a baby, acts like a baby, cries like a baby, and talks like a baby, it''s a baby." Zach was adamant about his decision.


    "Alright." The principal shrugged nonchalantly like he hadn''t just suggested they use a baby to fight life-threatening battles.


    "Why''d you even come to me about it?" The principal asked. They clearly weren''t here to ask for his opinion on the matter.


    "We weren''t sure if it was okay," Zach said.


    "It''s fine. If the Duke and Duchess are involved, there''s no risk to the baby or its surroundings. Just make sure not to give it too much or too little underworld energy. It needs stability."


    "Got it. Thanks."


    "Is that all?"


    "Uh, no. One other matter brought us to your office on this occasion, principal." Zach beat around the bush a little since he had feeling it might be difficult for the principal to grant their second request. He glanced at Lexi as he threw his hesitation aside.


    "Since Lexi''s so good at everything else, I wanted to knock her down a peg and see if she also has a talent for summoning." Enjoy more content from empire


    The principal turned to Lexi after Zach spoke and looked her up and down.


    "You''re a little older than most other new students, but it''s not like there''s an age limit for being a summoner. Are you saying you want to enroll?"


    "...No. I just want to see if I can summon a familiar. Even if I do, I am not interested in attending another Academy again."


    "I see¡­" The principal stroked his hairless chin thoughtfully.


    Zach had been right. This request would be more difficult to grant than the other one.

 Chapter 293 Making History

    The principal crossed his arms and tilted his head from side to side a couple of times.Eventually, he said,


    "It shouldn''t be too difficult." The request wasn''t that difficult.


    "You''re sensible, Lexi. I doubt you''d do anything to tarnish the reputation of summoners. If you do, we''ll just pin it on Zach. Deal?"


    "Deal." Lexi agreed immediately.


    "But I will give you a couple of books summarizing the more important details of summoning before you leave. Take your time to read them. They will help regardless of what you summon." The principal stood up as he spoke. Since he had agreed to it, there was no need to waste time.


    Zach was a little surprised at how easy it was. He entered a daze as the principal led them through the Academy to the Chamber of Ceremony and, while the two were still in the room, had Lexi perform the summoning ceremony.


    Even with only a fraction of the lights of when he summoned Yanael, Zach could still see clearly when a tiny


    something


    appeared in the air in front of Lexi before slowly sinking to the floor. However, he could not clearly see what it was.


    But it would be unnecessarily rude to barge ahead instead of waiting for Lexi to settle the ceremony herself and tell them what she had summoned.


    Still, she had summoned something. That alone was cause for celebration. When the gently flickering lights faded and the ceremony ended, Zach wanted to congratulate Lexi.


    But after staring at the air in front of her for a couple of seconds, Lexi frowned and raised an eyebrow, making Zach hesitate. That kind of reaction didn''t bode well.


    Lexi turned to Zach.


    "This ranking system for familiars follows the alphabetical order with S before A, right?" She asked.


    "Yeah."


    "How far does it go?" That was not a promising question.


    Zach turned to the principal.


    "The lowest rank currently present at the Academy is E-rank. I think the lowest recorded rank I''ve seen is F-rank." As the principal spoke, Lexi''s expression darkened continuously. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What is it?" Zach curiously asked. Had Lexi''s talent finally run dry?


    "..." While Lexi silently glared at the air in front of her, the principal strode over and picked up her familiar, though Zach wasn''t sure it was right to call it a familiar yet.


    It was an egg. Its black color darker than a moonless night made it difficult to see in the dark Chamber. Other than its color, there was nothing special about it. It was three times the size of an ordinary hen''s egg. It was easy to hold, and it looked a little cool with its color.


    "...G-rank," Lexi eventually said, revealing a new low in the history of summoning.


    The principal''s eyebrows rose as he inspected the egg. Zach''s eyes widened in surprise.


    They had expected it, given the nature of Lexi''s questions, but it was another to hear her say it directly. They looked at her silently for a moment.


    Zach, more than most, was aware of Lexi''s self-confidence. It wasn''t unfounded. She excelled in magic, swordsmanship, and Domination. Anyone who excelled in even one such area of expertise would be proud. It was only natural. To excel meant to be better than many others.


    Being better in three areas gave Lexi a rightful cause to be extremely arrogant. But she wasn''t even that. She knew that being good at several things was as much of a burden as it was a privilege, and she put in the hard work. She wasn''t arrogant. She was extremely confident in her own abilities and talents.


    There was a difference.


    Regardless, her confidence took a hit when she broke the record in summoning the lowest-ranking familiar only recently revealed to be possible. On the other hand, her brother had summoned the best possible familiar.


    She could rival or best her sisters who practiced the same area as her. Leanea, Lilo, and Lily had all struggled with confidence issues due to her existence. It was better now than when they were young, but to Lexi, it was natural for her to be as good as her siblings no matter what they did.


    Lexi had, maybe a little arrogantly, assumed that she at least wouldn''t be far off from Zach, even if she didn''t summon an S-rank familiar on her first try. Lexi looked at the egg in the principal''s hand. Her eyes lit up with a faint reddish tint, and the egg floated over to her hand.


    The principal and Zach weren''t surprised. It was just Lexi Dominating the egg, controlling it. The only thing that surprised Zach was that she had waited this long to show off her power. Usually, she used it for everything that was easier to do through Domination.


    "So¡­What kind of familiar is G-rank?" Zach cautiously asked. He wasn''t sure how Lexi felt or how stable she was after finding out she had made history.


    Lexi sighed and massaged her forehead with a bent forefinger. Find adventures at empire


    "''Question mark''s egg,''" she said, quoting her summoning interface.


    Zach frowned. Lexi felt his frown.


    "Not literally ''Question mark''s egg.'' It''s a question mark, apostrophe, s, and then egg."


    "So, the summoning interface doesn''t know?" Zach asked. He glanced at the principal. "Is that even possible?"


    The summoning interface had no trouble identifying and reading a literal deity. What being could lay an egg that was so weak but be so powerful that the summoning interface couldn''t identify it? The only way to evade the summoning interface''s detection and identification was to be too powerful for it.


    The principal hummed for a moment as he looked at Lexi with a new perspective.


    "It is definitely possible. That''s probably the reason for the egg''s rank. The interface doesn''t know how to rank it properlt. The G-rank is most likely because it''s an egg that can''t do anything until it hatches.


    "Unlike most other familiars that are summoned in a somewhat adult state and only grow when they evolve, your egg is most likely the opposite. It will evolve and rank up when it hatches and whenever it reaches a new growth stage."


    "So, how do I hatch it?" Lexi asked hopefully.


    "No idea. Maybe just wait? Sit on it?"

 Chapter 294 Potential

    Lexi didn''t despair just yet, but she felt hopeless and listless. Her excitement at visiting Zach and summoning a familiar to show off yet again how talented she was had completely faded. She sighed and put the egg in a pocket.Zach put a comforting hand on his big sister''s shoulder. All of a sudden, she didn''t seem that much older or taller than him.


    "Lexi¡­"


    "..."


    "Maybe this experience has taught you some humility," he said in a low voice. There was not a word of comfort in what he had just said. He was kicking someone who was already down. But it was his sister, so it was fine.


    Lexi''s head rose and she looked straight at Zach.


    The hand on her shoulder was solid, noticeably so. It wasn''t blocky like Leonidas'' or their fathers'' hands, but it was broader and sturdier than it was just a couple of years ago when Zach was even more of a brat than he was now.


    It was proof that he had worked out regularly and intensely lately.


    "Let''s spar." Lexi grabbed Zach''s wrist and twisted it, pinning it behind his back as she pushed him forward toward an available training room.


    The principal stroked his chin as he looked at Lexi, his gaze penetrating the outer layer of her jacket and focusing on the egg. Forget meddling in their sibling squabble, he wasn''t even thinking about the two Evandiels.


    Summoning an egg as a familiar was about as rare as summoning an F-rank or S-rank familiar, especially as the first familiar. But Lexi''s egg wasn''t just an egg or a familiar that looked like an egg. It was a mysterious egg that the summoning interface couldn''t accurately assess or determine the origin of.


    In terms of rarity, the egg was more special than summoning an S-rank angel. Zach might have the edge just because of the battle maid variant of his angel. But it was a close race in terms of rarity. Zach won in terms of strength.


    But in terms of potential?


    If Lexi''s egg was anything like the eggs the principal had seen, heard, and read about, it wasn''t even a race. The one thing that all familiars starting as eggs have in common is ridiculous growth potential.


    There is also a clearer correlation between the summoner''s potential or strength and the familiar''s potential in those cases. The more extraordinary the summoner, the greater the familiar''s growth potential, and Lexi is nothing if not extraordinary.


    If she learns how to nurture, care for, and raise that egg to its full potential, there would be no telling what rank it might reach in the future.


    The principal''s eyes lit up as an idea flashed through his mind.


    Just like human babies, nourishment was important during the earliest stages of development. He just had to check something first and get those cheeky bastards to return before Lexi left.


    The principal disappeared from the spot as a last question ran through his mind.


    Why had the summoning interface deemed a mysterious egg the perfect familiar for Lexi?


    The principal was curious, but he wasn''t quite at the level where he could freely question the summoning interface, much less regarding other summoners. Fortunately, he had all the time in the world to wait and see how it would go for Lexi and Zach. He would find the answers he wanted sometime in the future.


    One of the perks of pseudo-immortality.


    Meanwhile, in another part of the Academy, Lexi had dragged Zach into the training room that was still occasionally used as Alzara''s lab and workshop. Lexi had been at the Academy for a total of less than a full day, but she still found her way around better than Zach did.


    In the training room, Lexi had already grabbed a sword and forced Zach to accept her spar.


    Since he wanted to talk about humility, she was going to teach him all about it.


    Zach figured that Lexi probably needed to vent after summoning such a low-ranking familiar, so he didn''t resist, even if he didn''t stop verbally protesting. That was also why his familiars didn''t intervene. It was just an ordinary fight between siblings.


    But there was another reason why neither Zach nor his familiars stopped the fight.


    He was curious.


    So far, he had trained with the other students and his friends in hand-to-hand combat. He had also fought with his familiars and Nora. But the maids held back, and the others weren''t strong enough to break his barriers, so it didn''t simulate real fighting.


    Lexi, however, would hold back enough not to injure him too badly. But she was fully aware of the kind of great healers one could find in the infirmary of an Academy. She had also done some recon and found out about the miraculous potions Zach was selling.


    She couldn''t bear to cut off a limb of her own brother. But he was, as promised, going to learn some humility.


    Zach was looking forward to it.


    He hadn''t trained his brains out for nothing.


    He raised his hands, and Lexi pointed her sword horizontally at him with one hand. The air subtly swirled around her free hand. Her eyes glowed slightly red.


    Swordsmanship, magic, and Domination. She was going to use all three from the beginning. She was not going to hold back.


    Lexi was confident. She didn''t think she would lose. In fact, she was convinced she could win whenever she wanted.


    But she didn''t underestimate her brother. As incredible everyone in their family was, the one she least wanted to underestimate was Zach. He had a knack for subverting expectations. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Besides, she had heard about how he was the first in history to return alive from the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth of Syst. Since she had gone through it herself, she knew the Labyrinth of Syst wasn''t the best indicator of direct fighting ability. But being able to fight helped.


    That was why Lexi made the first move. Experience exclusive tales on empire

 Chapter 295 Cheater

    Blue needles of concentrated magic power flew out like hornets. They stung Zach''s barrier and shattered like pellets of glass without so much as leaving a dent. But even when the magic missiles hadn''t done anything, Zach felt a chill run down his spine.Without his barriers, he would have been in trouble. The power and speed of those things weren''t anything to scoff at.


    Despite that, they had only served as a distraction to let Lexi close the gap and slash across Zach''s stomach without him reacting in time. She would have succeeded in revealing Zach''s dark insides to the world if it hadn''t been for his barriers.


    Her sword broke through the dome-like barrier around Zach like it was ice, and her sword was lodged in it for a second before she pulled back and thrust forward. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her sword pierced through the dome-like barrier around Zach, only stopping when it struck the skin-tight barrier with a clack.


    Magical energy flared out along her sword, enshrouding it in flames that shot straight onto Zach, bathing him in red fire. The fire wreathed around Zach but was unable to so much as singe a hair on his head. The heat couldn''t penetrate his barrier.


    That wasn''t everything in Lexi''s arsenal, so even if she was surprised at the sturdiness of Zach''s barriers, she was confident she could break through them before or later. But before she could, a tightly wound fist came bearing down on her face. It didn''t hit. She pulled back just in time to let it slide past.


    But in doing so, she revealed an opening and Zach took a step forward, swinging another fist upward. Lexi leaned backward, and Zach''s fist grazed her jaw. The barrier over his knuckles tapped her slightly, tilting her head but without doing any damage.


    As she continued with another step backward, Lexi slashed upward with her sword. She reinforced her slash by Dominating the sword. More like a club than a sword, the weapon crashed through the first barrier before ramming into the second one. Even the barrier that was like a second skin cracked under the hit, even if it didn''t break.


    It was enough to stop Zach in his tracks and stop him from pressing the attack.


    Both Lexi and Zach took a step back, panting slightly. They looked at each other, admiration in their eyes.


    "Have you been slacking off or what, Lexi? If it continues like this, you might lose your place in the family."


    "As if. If anyone''s going to lose their place, it''s gonna be you, you little twat. Our family doesn''t think highly of cheaters and steroid users."


    "What?"


    "Isn''t that how you got that strong?"


    "Nope. I mean, not if potions don''t count."


    Lexi''s eyes widened. Right. Zach had become the owner of a guild of alchemists, and one of his familiars was a desert witch, a very capable one at that.


    It was a method so expensive and ineffective that even scions of reputable households like the sons of daughters of Evandiel balked at using it, though they also didn''t use it because it was unnecessary.


    Using potions to cut short the time needed for recovery and increase the rate at which the body builds muscle wasn''t as efficient as it sounded. The potions also tended to lose effect after using too many, even when made with excellent and expensive materials.


    However, with Alzara''s skill and Zach''s Material Extraction, the potions he used were of such impeccable quality that they barely lost effect while also being efficient. And when they did lose effect, Alzara had another recipe ready to go that would give similar results if not better.


    Since he was making the potions, he also didn''t have to worry about anything but the cost of the materials, which, compared to the price of the potions he and Derot were selling, was but a fraction. Even when Zach poured liquid gold into his body, he was still making a profit from his guild.


    Derot had lost weight and hair in the process and looked unhealthily tired. But he was still working hard to fend off every other merchant and alchemist offended by the unnamed guild''s meteoric rise on the market.


    "It does. Cheater. Ptui." Lexi mimicked a spitting motion as she confirmed that Zach had used a shortcut. She wouldn''t admit she was jealous. Instead, she fired a hastily conjured ball of lightning at Zach''s face.


    He blinked as it struck the barrier and dissipated with a fizzle without doing any damage to him or his barrier. The next second, the same moment he opened his eyes again, a sword came flying. It bounced off the barrier and dropped to the ground.


    Zach''s eyes couldn''t help but trail after the sword as it bounced and rattled on the ground. That was a mistake. It wasn''t something that would have changed anything. Technically speaking, it was a mistake to look away from his opponent.


    But even if Zach had been able to react in time, he wouldn''t have done so. He was confident he could take any hit.


    However, Zach couldn''t even see, much less react to Lexi''s next attack.


    A spell descriptively named Strike gathered in the air in front of Zach before striking him in the center of his chest like a battering ram. It sent him flying across the room, his barrier be damned.


    Before Zach could land, another Strike hit him and smashed him into the ground hard enough to make the inflexible body of a human bounce up again.


    Lexi had said she wasn''t holding back this time, at least to herself.


    She didn''t give Zach a chance to gather his bearings and continued hitting him with repeated Strikes. The force of each blow resounded through his body, disorienting him and shaking up his organs.


    It was not comparable to when he overworked his Blessed Defense.


    Through his tumbling vision, Zach threw up a barrier powerful enough to thwart one Strike. The time he bought with that was enough to gather himself and stand up. After taking so many, Zach could tell when and from where the Strikes were coming, letting him set up small and solid barriers to stop them before they could hit him.


    At the same time, he sprinted toward Lexi.


    As a mage, she had the advantage when they were at a distance. He had to get close.


    Lexi grinned when Zach rushed at her.


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    Predictable as ever.

 Chapter 296 Shame And Humility

    Just like Lexi, Zach had no intentions of holding back, and he ran as fast as he could when he tried to cut the distance. But he ran in a straight line when doing so. Even if he raised barriers in front of himself to defend against anything Lexi might throw at him, that didn''t change the predictability of his trajectory.The barriers he put up were also only in front of him.


    They stopped the human-sized fireball she conjured and threw at him. They protected him against the heat and the flames. Unfortunately, the barriers couldn''t do anything about the spell obscuring his vision with its end.


    Right when the flames faded, another Strike struck Zach square in his chest. He was prepared for it to a certain degree, so he wasn''t sent flying. But he stumbled backward.


    Lexi had not moved even half a step.


    That surprised Zach a little. Even if Lexi had pushed him back a step or two, he was still a second or two away from reaching her, and he resumed his charge.


    The speed of his body that had been trained by Yanael, Soara, and Sio and reinforced with medicine from Alzara rivaled and surpassed the bodies of martial artists using martial energy.


    After months and months of grueling training and potions on the levels of treasure, Zach''s body and physique were a work of art. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He couldn''t compare to his familiars in terms of strength or speed. But when he went all out, he was confident he could stand on equal footing with his sister. So, when he got close enough to land a blow Lexi couldn''t dodge, he didn''t hold back.


    Zach didn''t let the faint blue shimmer in the air in front of Lexi''s face stop him. It didn''t feel dangerous. He was right.


    The spell in front of Lexi''s face was a Shield spell. It was similar to Zach''s Blessed Defense, but far inferior. It didn''t have the malleability, flexibility, and customizability that his barriers had. It was also only a three-star spell. It would take an incredible mage to bring out a defensive power from the spell to rival Zach''s barriers.


    Lexi was an incredibly talented mage. She still had a long way to grow before her defense could rival Zach''s.


    Her Shield could not block Zach''s fist.


    It surprised Lexi.


    Even if Zach had a bottomless supply of extraordinary medicine to supplement his training, he was stronger than she expected, even from what she had seen earlier during their fight. He wouldn''t have gotten that strong without putting in the work.


    Lexi''s gaze changed slightly as she looked at Zach.


    He had grown.


    He was no longer the socially awkward, strange, bratty kid who didn''t know how to speak or act, especially in front of other people and even more so in front of large groups. He was still a little weird and eccentric, but for his upbringing, he was almost normal.


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    Still, he had only been gone from home for a few years. He had to have gone through a lot to change so drastically in such a short period. He had to have suffered a lot to have the tenacity and strength of will to train until he acquired his current strength.


    Pride bubbled up inside Lexi as she looked at Zach.


    Too bad it wasn''t enough.


    Zach''s fist landed square on her jaw.


    Lexi had prepared for it, but it still hurt like a bitch. Even if he stopped as soon as he made contact, the remaining force that he couldn''t stop had broken the tissue of her cheek and blood trickled down both within and outside her mouth.


    "...Fuck." Zach was frozen in place.


    It wasn''t that he couldn''t move. Lexi wasn''t powerful enough to control his body to that extent.


    She could, however, control her sword, which, instead of resting on the floor, was resting against the base of his skull.


    Since Lexi''s spells were powerful, Zach had concentrated his barriers in front of him. That had led to back''s defenses being a little weaker. It wasn''t a lot, but it was enough for the sword to pierce his barrier and press its cold tip against his skin.


    Lexi had such control over her sword that she wouldn''t have killed or injured Zach even if he finished his strike. But it was a spar. As soon as the sword pricked his skin like that, he lost the fight. There was no need to complete the punch.


    Zach regretted not completing the punch when he saw the smirk on Lexi''s face, but he had acted on instinct, and it was too late to regret.


    "Just in case you think it was close, Zach, it wasn''t. I had you in the palm of my hand the entire fight," Lexi gloated. She was not going to admit that Zach had been stronger than she thought. With some more experience under his belt, a trick like that would have never worked.


    He had the base for a great fighter. He had the speed, strength, coordination, and the basics of a technique laid down. The only things missing were experience and practice.


    But the thing was that Zach didn''t even need to fight on his own. He was a summoner. Evaluating Zach''s strength based on his and only his strength was deceptive.


    Lexi glanced at the three maids, whose killing intents had flared up when her sword pricked Zach''s skin. All three of them were significantly stronger than Zach.


    She was not as confident she could win against them as she was Zach. The problem was that the two she was more familiar with had also grown furiously stronger since she last saw them. Their growth rate wasn''t something an ordinary being could compare to.


    Lexi turned back to Zach.


    "Speechless? Yeah, I get it. Wallow in shame and humility, little brother."


    "You¡­" Zach frowned and slowly raised a finger to point at the blood on Lexi''s face. It dripped down her cheek and onto her jacket before running down in a tiny stream without staining her clothes.


    That was not how blood moved.


    "What? It''s not like it''s your first time seeing blood." Lexi dabbed her cheek with a finger to confirm that she was bleeding. She wondered what Zach was getting at. If he was just joking to get rid of the shame of losing, she might just have to spar with him again.


    But then, the blood on her finger balled up and soared away. It rejoined the rest of the blood from her wound on its pilgrimage down her jacket.


    Lexi worriedly looked down at her jacket.


    What was going on?

 Chapter 297 Expert

    Zach was about to turn to his familiars and ask for help when he realized what the blood''s destination was."The Egg!" He exclaimed while pointing at Lexi''s pocket.


    "What?" Lexi frowned. ''What fucking egg?'' she was about to ask. She had just summoned it, after all, and she wasn''t used to it. She had kind of put it in her pocket and then forgot about it since she was focused on her spar and little brother.


    But when she looked down, she understood what Zach meant. The blood was flowing toward the egg. She frowned. If she Dominated the blood, she could stop it, but she had a feeling she shouldn''t do that.


    It was a strange feeling.


    Lexi was used to her gut talking to her about what to do when fighting with swords, magic, or Domination. It was part of being a genius. She sometimes just


    knew


    what to do.


    This was not that kind of feeling. It was more similar to empathy.


    She couldn''t talk to dogs or other animals. But when a puppy sat in front of her with eyes the size of saucers looking at the food in her hands, she knew what it wanted. It was similar to that kind of feeling.


    And just like she had to fulfill the wishes of the puppy, she let the egg feed on her blood. She even helped it by bringing it out of the pocket and closer to her wound so that it didn''t need to struggle to drag all the blood to it.


    She eagerly looked at the blood slurp up the blood slowly leaving the bruise-like wound Zach had left her. It wasn''t a serious wound, and not much blood left. But it still seemed to be enough for the egg, though it was almost impossible to tell.


    The egg didn''t show any reaction to the blood that seemingly disappeared straight into its shell without so much as a trace.


    Eventually, Lexi stopped bleeding, and the egg didn''t crave for more. It was satisfied with what it had received. That left Lexi staring at the egg.


    Since it had eaten so much, maybe it would do something. She even glanced at the summoning interface. But even after several minutes, nothing changed, either with the egg or the interface.


    Lexi sighed in disappointment.


    But it wasn''t strange.


    Babies weren''t born after the first time they received food from their mothers while still inside their stomachs. Since eggs didn''t eat or drink in the first place, that was the only thing Lexi could compare it to.


    "Well¡­You still lost." Lexi pocketed the egg and looked at Zach again.


    Zach ignored her and, with a pensive expression, stuck his hand in her pocket and took out the egg again.


    "...What are you doing, foolish younger brother of mine?" Lexi asked, more curiously than anything but still a little offended by how easily he had done that. Wasn''t it her pocket? What was he doing rummaging around it like it was his sock drawer?


    "Why do you think the egg wanted your blood?" He asked.


    "I dunno. Maybe it was hungry. Maybe to recognize me as its parent or master." Lexi shrugged. She didn''t put that much thought into it.


    Zach shook his head.


    "You were its master from the moment you summoned it. And hungry? Since when are eggs hungry?" Zach questioned.


    "Since when do eggs steal blood from their masters?" Lexi countered.


    In the Giupusta Locale, Dukiel''s Sentinel and Yanael had shared a mountain essence. It was a valuable piece of super dirt that reinforced the Sentinel and Yanael''s weapons. After absorbing it, Yanael''s weapons hadn''t broken once, and neither had the Sentinel so much as picked up a scrape.


    It was partly because they had grown stronger from their masters leveling up, but it was also due to the mountain essence.


    The two familiars had absorbed the mountain essence without leaving so much as a trace.


    It was similar to how the egg had devoured Lexi''s blood, even if only approximately.


    "What if it doesn''t just steal from its master?" Zach asked. He held out his hand. With a light sigh, Yanael obliged him and cut a tiny line on his pinky finger. It was just enough for him to squeeze a couple of drops out.


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    As soon as he brought his bleeding finger close to the egg, the drops of blood floated through the air and into the egg.


    Lexi''s eyes widened.


    "Y''see, Lexi," Zach said with an air of superiority and the seniority of a summoner with more experience, "Familiars tend to absorb things that are good for them, not necessarily eat or drink. Priceless treasures disappear straight into them without a trace."


    "...I know our family has good genes, but calling our blood priceless treasure is going a little far."


    "Not necessarily. Look how greedily it''s devouring it. One man''s trash is another''s treasure and all that."


    "Your point?"


    "Your egg likes blood. In its current state, it should barely have anything other than the most base instincts. A creature like this probably knows what it needs for its potential to reach as high as possible."


    "So, it''s eating blood because it knows it will make it stronger?" Lexi asked to confirm. She wasn''t sure where Zach was getting this from, but he was the expert.


    "Something like that. There are creatures that feed on blood. Depending on the source of the blood, they can gain strength or even other abilities. Usually, it''s just the stronger the blood the stronger they get." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And the creature in this egg might be something like that?" Lexi grabbed the egg again and held it up to the light.


    "Might be. It might also be that blood was just the first thing it came into contact with that fit its diet. Try feeding it other things. See what it wants. But before you do that, if I''m right, the better the blood you feed it, the stronger it''s gonna be when it hatches."


    Before Lexi could even ask a question, Zach had turned around and walked over to his familiars. She didn''t even know when he had taken the egg.

 Chapter 298 Now, I Guess

    Yanael, Alzara, and Soara were a little hesitant about donating blood to a mysterious egg that didn''t even belong to Zach, their master. But it did belong to his sister, who he was close with. And Zach was clearly eager to help her, though that wasn''t strictly why he did it.Yanael, Alzara, and Soara were all familiar with Zach''s attitude when it came to summoning. He was curious. He wanted to see and know more.


    He didn''t go around experimenting with others'' familiars, but he did go around and ask both the familiars and their masters questions about all kinds of things. Whenever he had some free time and wasn''t too tired, he asked the library pixie for the latest on all things summoning and familiar-related.


    He had to ask for the latest since he had already gone through everything interesting and relevant to his desires.


    That was why he could formulate a hypothesis about the workings of Lexi''s egg.


    There were still things he didn''t know and things he knew that might be inaccurate or flat-out wrong. But he was willing to learn. He Stay updated through empire


    wanted


    to learn.


    Right now, he could both help out Lexi and confirm his hypothesis. It was killing two birds with one stone.


    Although the three familiars were a little hesitant about donating blood, how could they disappoint their master?


    If they said they didn''t want to, he wouldn''t force them. He might not even take it to heart. But he would be let down.


    How could they possibly reject his request? Zach might be cute when he pouted or sulked, but he was infinitely cuter when he smiled until his cheeks puffed out and he bounced around with sparkles and flowers raining around him.


    One by one, the three familiars sprinkled their blood over the egg. As expected, nothing happened.


    Rather than a catalyst for the egg''s incubation, blood was more likely to be a building block for the egg''s foundation. So, Zach wasn''t daunted by the lack of reaction. If anything, he was even more excited. Even the blood of a deity hadn''t garnered a reaction from the egg.


    Zach was curious about the egg''s potential and greed.


    Needless to say, he didn''t stop with just his and his familiar''s blood. With Lexi exasperatedly in tow, Zach took a lap around the Academy. He asked for blood from everyone he encountered and their familiars. Very few did it knowingly and willingly since most declined Zach''s intrusive and strange request.


    Zach didn''t bother too much with the unnecessary opinions of the uncultured. Any real summoner should have been excited about the egg. They should have been like his friends.


    Although they showed different reactions and displayed varying levels of excitement, Nessa, Violina, Anerias, and Dukiel all agreed to share blood with the egg, though it was difficult for Dukiel''s first two familiars to do it. Violina''s Ice Spirit and Frost Wraith were in a similar situation.


    But the Frost Imp was an Imp. It had blood it could unwillingly give to the egg. The Symbiotic Slime gave an extra loose strip of itself.


    Nessa''s and Anerias'' familiars didn''t have any trouble.


    As if that wasn''t enough, Dukiel even used his Enhance on the egg. They went all out to bolster the egg''s potential. Finally, they came to their final blood bag.


    It was the most challenging yet. This wasn''t a simple matter of asking and taking regardless of answer to said question.


    Forget answering, the target might not even understand the question.


    "Baby, you don''t mind if I take some of your blood, right?" Zach asked while approaching the baby.


    The baby tilted his head curiously while looking at the shiny dagger in Zach''s hand. As if he sensed something, the baby then turned to the egg in Zach''s other hand. The baby reached for the egg.


    Zach glanced at Lexi. Lexi nodded.


    Zach held out the egg to the baby.


    "Be gentle, okay? This isn''t a toy. It''s a precious familiar of your auntie Lexi."


    "Auntie?"


    "Schh."


    The baby nodded, but it might have been a coincidence. He reached out for the egg with both hands and grabbed it. The baby held it up and admired it with shiny eyes.


    It was now or never. The baby was distracted. Zach gulped.


    The dagger flashed forward and pricked the soft flesh between the baby''s forefinger and thumb just light enough to draw out a drop of dark red blood. The baby''s head whipped toward his wound and in Zach''s direction. He glared at the dagger for a second before the floating drop of blood distracted him.


    The baby let go of the egg with one hand and swatted at the drop of blood, which deftly avoided the chubby hand before zipping into the egg that Zach had just caught.


    Zach breathed a sigh of relief.


    It had gone as well as it could have done. The wound had closed after the singular drop slipped out, and the baby didn''t even remember the pain.


    The dagger was unusable, but it had served its purpose. And the egg had absorbed the baby''s blood. It would probably have been better if it had gotten more than one drop, but that was all it was going to get for now.


    "Thank you, baby." Zach smiled and stroked the baby''s soft hair.


    "Gaga!" The baby cackled and clapped his hands with a bright smile of his own. He was happy about saying hi to the egg. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And thank you, Nessa." Zach smiled and stroked the baby''s carrier''s soft hair.


    Nessa glared at him and took a step back. If she had had more than one arm, she would have smacked Zach''s hand away. Unfortunately, arms didn''t grow on trees, and they didn''t grow back on shoulders.


    That didn''t stop her from using her legs though, and Zach hurriedly retreated before she did just that. If he wasn''t careful, the baby might be his first and last descendant, and it wasn''t even his.


    Zach turned to Lexi as soon as he was safe.


    "When are you leaving?" He could use his funds to secure more types of blood, but getting the strong stuff would take some time.


    "Now, I guess." Lexi shrugged. She had done what she came for. She didn''t see a reason to leave, and while she appreciated Zach''s help, the egg was her familiar. If anyone were going to spoil it, it would be her.


    A carriage was quickly prepared and the baby''s things were packed into it. The egg in a pocket and the baby in her arms, Lexi left the building.


    The others who came out to see her off were right on time for a massive creature to blot out the sky and sink the Academy into shadows.

 Chapter 299 Titles

    The shadow covering the Academy rippled and contorted as the massive being in the sky flapped its wings, kicking up clouds of dust and flipping up skirts and shirts. The first flap halted the monstrous being''s journey across the sky.Like a stone in water, it began dropping out of the sky right above the Academy''s front entrance.


    Zach and the others couldn''t flee. They were frozen in shock and awe as the massive creature wrapped itself in a cocoon of its wings, dropping to the ground like a nutshell. They had felt it just from being under that being''s shadow.


    Fleeing? What was that?


    There was no escaping that creature. It didn''t have anything to do with its speed or ability of flight. The creature was unlike anything they had ever seen before.


    It was ridiculously large, bigger than any of the overgrown monsters in the forest. Dark green and blue scales covered its entire body in impenetrable armor, and its wings were enough to completely wrap its body.


    The sheer pressure it gave off as it descended was like a greeting from death.


    If it struck the ground with all the momentum and power it built with its drop, it would be like a meteor. The ensuing shockwave and crater would tear through the Academy.


    However, when the being was a stone''s throw high up in the air, a long-haired, white-haired figure suddenly appeared right in front of it and tapped the top of its body with a fist.


    The fist that was so small and looked so gentle in comparison to the being''s body sent the being flying. The massive body, instead of crashing straight down at the Academy''s doorstep, did a horizontal landing in the forest, leaving behind a deep and wide furrow and a mangled field of broken trees.


    Still, the impact had rattled the ground to the point Zach wondered if he would need new knees. After all, his legs continued shaking afterward.


    However, he soon realized it was because the massive creature was walking toward the Academy, undaunted by the principal''s more-solid-than-rock-fist.


    "Ugh, the others showed up without a fuss. Why do you keep making trouble, you damn brat?" The principal admonished his familiar when it stopped in front of the Academy. But he didn''t stop it from flaring its wings wide to the sides and roaring.


    The dragon needed its self-confidence, and the students didn''t suffer being shown the reality of the world.


    The Underworld? Named underworlders? Monsters in the nearby forest?


    They were all bugs in front of the Lord of Ashes and Ruin. No, they were bugs in front of the Lord of Ashes and Ruin''s familiar. In front of the Lord of the Skies, the Lord of Shadows, the Eternal Deathbringer, the Underworld and everything down there wasn''t even worth thinking about.


    The Underworld, a foe that put all the students in the infirmary with life-threatening injuries at least once, was nothing much. The only thing the Great Ugor was good at was hiding.


    It was like how even a mighty human might struggle to root out the nests of insects and cockroaches.


    If the students wanted to get far in life and on their journey as summoners, they had to realize that the Underworld was a stepping stone. If they couldn''t overcome it, they could never reach for the stars. The sooner they realized it, the better. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some, like Zach, Nessa, and Violina, had already realized there was more to the world than what they had encountered in the fights against the Underworld. They had seen the ruin brought by the erroneous monsters in the Labyrinth of Syst''s statutes of the deities. They had seen literal deities fight and fall.


    Compared to that, what were the Named underworlders really? What was the Great Ugor? A coward. He was a coward stronger than them but a coward nonetheless. He could use all the cheap tricks in the world to try and get what he wanted, regardless of whether it was the surface in its entirety or the surface''s resources.


    But unless he truly


    fought


    for what he wanted, he would forever be one step away from getting it.


    Well, he was also smart.


    If he stepped foot onto the surface, the Great Ugor wouldn''t live to take a second step.


    Zach didn''t know how strong the principal''s familiar was, nor did he have a clue how strong the Great Ugor was. And while the Great Ugor had Jigak and maybe more and stronger Named working for him, the principal had more familiars.


    Zach had a feeling that the principal''s other familiars were stronger. He couldn''t explain why, but the actions of the dragon in front of them seemed like something a ''weak'' younger sibling might do. It was showing off and putting its power on display in front of a bunch of students too weak to even stand and look at it. Read latest chapters at empire


    Would it need to do that if it was strong?


    Zach looked up at the dragon. He narrowed his eyes.


    As if it could feel his gaze, the dragon turned its large, bright green, slit-pupil eyes toward him.


    The pressure from the gaze alone made Zach want to kneel. It was heavy.


    But he had trained. The restrictive barriers he used to limit his movements also made him want to lay down just to escape the pressure. He was pretty good at not doing that by now, so he stubbornly met the dragon''s gaze.


    The dragon snorted and looked at the principal, wondering why he had called it.


    The principal smacked it again. After roaming the world a little, this overgrown lizard had grown overconfident. The principal then took out a glass vial.


    Without the dragon being able to voice its opinion, the principal stole some of its blood.


    The dragon looked at the principal as if asking if that was it. It had come all this way and all the principal wanted was a few drops of blood?


    The dragon turned around and took off before receiving another smack. There was no need to question the almighty Lord of the Skies'' decisions and orders. He was infinitely wise, magnanimous, gracious, and powerful. The dragon praised the principal in its heart until it was far enough away that he could curse without the principal sensing it.


    Back at the Academy, the principal descended to the ground, where Lexi and the others were just getting back on their feet.


    They glanced at Zach. They had noticed how he remained standing during the entire thing.


    At first, they thought he was impressive.


    Then, they saw the whites of his eyes.


    He had passed out.

 Chapter 300 Pressured

    The others were a little surprised. The dragon''s pressure had been overwhelming, but it hadn''t been enough for any of them to faint, not even Anerias. But Zach had. It was a slight misunderstanding on their part.Zach hadn''t fainted because of the dragon''s pressure. He fainted because the dragon made him faint with its snort. The dragon exerted some of its strength and showed Zach the difference in their strengths.


    The principal let it happen since the dragon didn''t harm Zach, and frankly, he agreed with it. Zach needed to learn some manners.


    But to the others, it looked like Zach had fainted before he got the chance to fall to his knees. His reputation as the strongest student took a hit.


    Zach woke up with a nudge from Yanael, letting him be present for when the principal presented Lexi with a string of nine vials of blood. A few of them looked discolored, and a couple oozed with power that threatened to break the vials.


    It was the good stuff straight from the principal and his familiars. He, more than most, also wanted to push the egg to its limits. He wanted to see what kind of creature would be born from an egg that the summoning interface couldn''t properly identify or assess.


    Naturally, he had to bring it the best nourishment possible, and what better nourishment could there be than his and his familiars'' blood?


    The egg greedily devoured it all but still showed no reaction. Contrary to what one might expect, Zach and the principal were only more excited. If it still didn''t react to blood that powerful, the creature inside the egg would certainly be a lofty being.


    But that begged the question, what being would be loftier than dragons and whatever else the principal had, the principal himself, angels, desert witches, and a literal deity?


    Zach and the principal couldn''t wait to find out.


    Unfortunately, Lexi was headed home. And while she wanted the egg to hatch, she wasn''t in as much of a hurry as Zach and the principal. And she certainly wouldn''t be in a hurry to inform them when the egg hatched. If she did, it might take days before she saw her familiar again.


    But Zach and the principal were too excited to be disappointed about Lexi taking the egg away. Besides, it wasn''t like she was disappearing. She was going home, the very home Zach shared. The principal didn''t live in the east. His home was the Academy. But he wasn''t restricted.


    The entire Empire was his playground. If he wanted to maybe check on the egg, it wouldn''t even take a day to visit the estate and return to the Academy.


    He just had to be a little polite when visiting.


    The Evandiels weren''t one of the four founding ducal households because they had a pretty name, after all. The principal wasn''t scared of anyone in the Empire, but he didn''t cause trouble unless he thought it was worth it. And he didn''t need to cause trouble just to check on a summoner and their familiar.


    Private lessons, maybe? That should work as an excuse since Lexi didn''t attend his Academy but was still granted permission to use the Chamber of Ceremony.


    The principal and the students looked at the back of Lexi''s carriage as it shrank on the distant road until it was barely visible. The principal then turned his head as if he sensed something. He glanced in the direction of Basilia.


    "Whoops," he said nonchalantly. He patted Zach on the shoulder. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Good luck, I guess." The principal disappeared before Zach could ask him why he would say something so horrible. Wishing good luck to Zach was the same as cursing him, even if he had been relatively lucky as of late.


    But even with less than a few months left of the school year, there was still a lot of room for Zach''s unlucky streak to rear its ugly head.


    Whether it was because of the principal''s familiar or Zach''s bad luck, the Underworld decided to make a move.


    The ground shook.


    Somehow, Zach could tell it was not the same kind of tremor as when the baby had struck the ground after its birth. But he could not tell what it was. It did give him a bad feeling, though.


    He and the others exchanged glances. They started running toward the city.


    If even the principal wished them luck, they would certainly need it. They couldn''t slack off any more than this. But it was at least a relief that they got the baby away before it happened.


    Fragments of talismans came flying their way as soon as they approached the city. It couldn''t even be called a proper attack. It was just coincidence. Something had gotten rid of the talismans in the city and they happened to fly in their direction.


    The underworld energy in the city was both unruly and calm. It was restless but forced to remain still.


    Since it wasn''t as dense as it was underground, Zach and the others could somewhat see into the city. Their gazes followed the main street to the city center, or rather, what used to be the city center.


    There wasn''t a crater in front of the Academy. Instead, there was one in the center of Basilia. But this one was not caused by any familiar of the principal.


    It was caused by the underworlder standing in the middle of it with his arms crossed and eyes closed.


    It was, without a doubt, a Named underworlder. And neither Maer nor Mursoth could compare to him.


    Maer and Mursoth couldn''t even touch the edges of the underworlders'' rocky skin or burly muscles.


    The underworlder didn''t move even after the students arrived at the city. It was only when they stepped foot within its borders that he opened his eyes and looked at them with stony grey eyeballs.


    If they hadn''t just faced the principal''s dragon, the students might have cared more about the pressure from the underworlder. An erroneous judgment.


    The underworlder was more dangerous.


    The dragon would never harm any of the principal''s students.


    The underworlder would kill them.

 Chapter 301 Rotation

    Anerias pulled his foot back from the edge of the city and stepped back. The underworlder closed his eyes again. He put his foot on the other side of the border. The underworlder opened his eyes.He retrieved his foot. The underworlder closed his eyes.


    He was about to do it again when Violina put a frosty hand on his shoulder.


    "Stop doing that," she ordered.


    "...Alright," he meekly agreed.


    The five students stood with their arms crossed as they gazed into the city.


    "The tremor probably came from him," Nessa pointed out the obvious.


    "Yup." Zach nodded.


    "Then, I guess the only question is why." Nessa tilted her head.


    Like ducklings, the others copied her movements as they also thought about why the Underworld had positioned such an underworlder in the middle of their city.


    "He


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    like he''s supposed to stop us from entering the Underworld." Surprisingly, Anerias'' theory was very reasonable.


    "But why? Is it because we took Baby?" Dukiel asked.


    "We''ve already taken Baby, though. What''s the point in stopping us from going down now? Do they have more babies?" Violina dreaded the idea. Even one baby had been troublesome right after its birth, and that one hadn''t even been taught the Underworld attitude. It had been an ordinary baby with super strength.


    If the Underworld had more of those but raised them as soldiers, they would be in trouble.


    "I would say unlikely but not impossible," said Zach.


    "So, they''re doing something else and have learned from their mistakes," Nessa suggested.


    "Most likely." Zach nodded.


    "That means there''s only one thing for us to do," Anerias said and put his foot inside the city again. This time, he didn''t pull it back after the underworlder opened his eyes. Instead, he put his other foot inside as well.


    The Blackfire Hound, Hellcat, and Darkwing also entered the city with Anerias in tow.


    The others could tell Anerias wanted to prove himself and test the waters on his own, so they didn''t interfere. But it could be dangerous, so Zach threw up barriers around Anerias and his familiars like suits of armor to protect their vitals but still let them attack.


    But he could have made it easier for himself and just given them ordinary barriers since they came flying out of the city before they could so much as try to hit the underworlder.


    Zach and the others were wide-eyed, but before they could ask what had happened, Anerias and his familiars got up and charged at the underworlder again. Before even a minute passed, he and his familiars came flying out of the city again.


    But this time, Zach grabbed Anerias and stopped him from charging again.


    "Calm down. Think about whose barriers you''re breaking!"


    Anerias stopped struggling to break free from Zach''s grasp and froze awkwardly.


    "Right." He cleared his throat and straightened out his clothes, trying to appear proper.


    "I have concluded through preliminary testing that the underworlder is strong."


    "...No shit." Zach rolled his eyes. He wasn''t the only one.


    "Ahem." Anerias cleared his throat again. "He was strong, fast, and straightforward." He gave his assessment of the underworlder as best he could, given how shallow his research had been.


    "Standard formation?" Zach asked the others. They nodded.


    He, Yanael, Alzara, and Soara entered the city, the others following behind him in a line, beginning with Violina and her familiars. Then, Nessa. Then, Dukiel, and lastly Anerias.


    With how many they were and how unwieldy a couple of their familiars were, it was highly inefficient for them to fight together at the same exact time unless their opponent was as big as the principal''s dragon.


    So, instead of doing that, Zach and Violina had come up with the idea of fighting in rotation. One person and their familiars would fight at a time. They would tire, beat up, and drag out any tricks they could from the opponent. If they couldn''t beat the opponent, the next person could. And if the next person also couldn''t, the third person would.


    Reasonably speaking, a foe that could handle both Zach and Violina without losing should be strong enough to defeat them straight out.


    But while only one person was fighting at a time, the others were supporting.


    Zach had his barriers. Soara could exercise her presence to try and kill the target. Violina and her familiars could freeze the ground and interfere with the target''s movements without getting in the way.


    Nessa, her Midnight Butterfly, and Dawnthief Bat could debuff, buff, and alter the surroundings to strengthen their allies, weaken the target, and provide a beneficial environment or interfere with the target''s sight and senses.


    Dukiel''s Sentinel could lay down covering fire from a distance. His Transformation Cube could do the same. It could also transform into most of the other familiars and fight like them, which meant it didn''t get in the way. The Symbiotic Slime could attach to any person or familiar and strengthen them.


    Anerias''s contract skill from the contract with Darkwing let him do what the principal''s dragon and the underworlder did without being as strong as them. His Hellgazer skill physically pressured what he was looking at. But his other skills needed him to touch his target for them to do anything, and the Hound and Hellcat would only get in the way.


    Darkwing, on the other hand, was fast enough that it could whiz through the air and sneak attack the target with its claws without getting in the way of the others'' fights.


    Everyone could contribute one way or another, even when they weren''t fighting directly. So, even if they couldn''t defeat a target noticeably stronger than them, they wouldn''t lose.


    While they weren''t fighting, they would also rest enough to continue fighting when it was their turn again should it be necessary. But that meant they had to be prudent when stepping back and letting the next person take over, which wasn''t the easiest to do when against an opponent strong enough for them to need several rotations.


    For example, an opponent like the one they were going to attack right now.

 Chapter 302 Tendrils

    The underworlder with grey skin whose arms were covered in jagged scale-like rocks met Zach''s eyes as he and his familiars approached. But he didn''t move even as they stepped onto the edge of the crater.Zach stopped. He looked the underworlder in the eyes.


    "You have a Name, right?" He asked.


    "Monolith." Monolith''s voice was smooth like marble when he answered.


    "Fitting. You''re here to stop us from entering the Underworld."


    "Yes." A simple answer to a simple non-question.


    "Why?"


    "..." A simple non-answer to a simple question.


    Zach had tried to fish for some kind of information from Monolith with a few questions. But the underworlder''s lips had barely moved when he talked. His stony face didn''t reveal anything about the Underworld''s plans. It was like prying information out of a stone.


    It would be easier to beat him up and get him out of the way.


    Zach raised his fists as a barrier enveloped him. He already had one, but based on how hard Anerias had flown, it wouldn''t hurt with some extra defense. Yanael unsheathed her sword and shield, Alzara whipped out both her daggers and coated them in curses, and Soara stood still at the edge of the crater looking down on Monolith like she was the sky and he was the ground.


    It was an apt comparison.


    Monolith was part stone, and Soara was a deity.


    The difference between them was like that between heaven and earth. If Soara had been at her peak, Monolith wouldn''t have even earned a single look from her.


    Soara grieved.


    She had endured so much to become that strong. She could do it again, but it was such a disgrace that something so tiny and irrelevant like Monolith and the Underworld would pose such a big hurdle to her and her Master.


    Zach did all he could to level up and help her fill out the strength she could bring out, but there hadn''t been many opportunities to slaughter enemies as of late. But she wasn''t supposed to rely on her Master. He should be relying on her.


    Soara sighed and raised her hand as the other three slid down the crater''s slope.


    This was a good opportunity to air out her grievances and show Zach that she wasn''t good at just removing weaklings.


    Invisible tendrils emerged from the ground around Soara''s feet and surged toward Monolith. It was but a fraction of her true strength, and it broke her heart that she had to exert such effort to bring it out, but it was a power that could kill anything and everything.


    It did not belong in the hands of a child who had just started on his path to ascension. Still, it had somehow ended up there.


    Soara''s tendrils snaked across the ground and wrapped around the legs of her allies and her master. Yanael and Alzara were unnerved by the tendrils, even if they knew they wouldn''t hurt them.


    Zach, on the other hand, was comforted. The tendrils felt like Soara. It was like she was hugging him when they passed by on their way to Monolith.


    Unwilling to let Soara shine alone, Yanael and Alzara attacked, creating a triangular formation with Zach.


    Zach was right in front of Monolith. Yanael was to one side and slightly behind, and Alzara was on the other side.


    Fully prepared to take one of Monolith''s boulder-like fists to the face, Zach threw a punch with everything he had straight at the underworlder''s stomach. He didn''t reach Monoliths'' chest, much less his face.


    At the same time, Yanael lunged and thrust forward, putting her entire weight into her sword, which glowed with barely contained sacred energy. Alzara, the only one tall enough to, aimed for Monolith''s neck with her daggers in a reverse grip.


    A three-pronged attack that was supported by Soara''s tendrils of death. Unless Monolith was ridiculously strong, he would at least bleed.


    Unfortunately for Zach and his familiars, Monolith was ridiculously strong. He was like a short mountain. He didn''t carry around an overwhelming and imposing air, nor did he seem that powerful, even if his gaze alone made the hair on their arms stand.


    But he was wide and stretched deep into the ground to pull out endless strength and durability.


    Zach''s fist hit Monolith square in the abs. It was like hitting a brick wall with a pillow. It didn''t even make Monolith flinch.


    Yanael''s sword and Alzara''s daggers, on the other hand, prompted a reaction. He raised his hands and blocked both attacks with ease.


    He pinched Yanael''s sword between his fingers, and he clumped together Alzara''s daggers, holding them tightly with one hand. Both the weapon and the daggers were unable to cut through the skin of his hands.


    Monolith had defended against the weapons, but the thing that made him react and turn his head were the tendrils of death. They crawled onto his body and started trying to enter him since mere touch wasn''t enough to extinguish his life force.


    One even made it past his thick skin.


    Underworld energy like burning tar flared out for an instant, erasing all of the tendrils.


    Monolith glanced at Soara.


    If he hadn''t defended, that attack could have been a little dangerous.


    But that was it. Monolith didn''t feel threatened.


    He let go of Yanael''s and Alzara''s weapons before his fists flew out in a flurry and sent Zach, Yanael, and Alzara flying.


    They had totally lost and gotten their asses handed to them.


    But the fight wasn''t over yet.


    As soon as Zach''s feet were off the ground, Violina swooped in under him and slashed upward with her sword covered in ice. The Frost Imp flew in from behind and tried to latch onto Monolith''s neck.


    Ice Spirit and Frost Wraith shot hail and ice from up in the air.


    Monolith grabbed Violina''s sword with one hand. He grabbed Frost Imp with the other. He then proceeded to throw Frost Imp like a dart at Ice Spirit. Frost Imp ricocheted off of Ice Spirit and into Frost Wraith.


    All three were sent flying and down for the count.


    Monolith looked at Violina.


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 Chapter 303 Sick And Twisted

    Violina joined her familiars in the air before crashing to the ground next to Zach. She rubbed her solar plexus. Even after Zach protected her with a barrier, Monolith''s strike still knocked the air out of her and left her with a blooming bruise.This Named underworlder was not to be trifled with. He had even brushed off Zach''s familiars with ease.


    Zach was at a loss as he watched first Nessa and her familiars, then Dukiel and his familiars, and lastly, Anerias and his familiars get beaten up and tossed away. Rather than amazement at Monolith''s strength, the only question on Zach''s mind was,


    "Why doesn''t he kill us?" He asked.


    The others, who had not received Zach''s barriers since he had to test something out, sure felt like Monolith had tried. They could hardly move, and every time they tried, pain shot through their bodies.


    "...You''re right. If they have guys like this, the Underworld can win this fight right now. What are they doing?" Violina questioned angrily. She felt weak and powerless in front of Monolith, but that wasn''t why she was frustrated. From a strategic point of view, the Underworld''s actions didn''t make any sense.


    "Let''s say he does kill us, let''s say he kills all the students, what then?" Dukiel countered.


    "What do you mean ''what then''? Isn''t it over?" Anerias asked.


    "Our lives will certainly be over. We will have lost the fight. However¡­"


    "That doesn''t mean they have won." Nessa finished what Dukiel was saying.


    Zach, Nessa, Anerias, Dukiel, Violina, and the other students were only a fraction, no, less than a fraction of the surface''s forces. They didn''t even represent a single percent.


    For the Underworld, getting rid of the students wasn''t a victory.


    In fact, right now, it might be better for the Underworld to keep them alive but in check since the principal had effectively stopped anyone else from interfering. They could try to breach the surface somewhere else, but the where wasn''t important.


    What was important was what they could do by breaching the surface. The ground around the Academy was also important.


    And if they tried somewhere else, the principal would either beat them down himself or just send the students there. It wouldn''t change anything.


    So, while the students risked their lives using the Underworld as a whetstone, the Underworld used the students'' activities as shelter to prepare and build up its strength.


    Monolith and the other Named underworlders of his level of strength could trim the number of students just to keep them even more in check. But there was no real need for it. That didn''t mean it wouldn''t happen.


    Not all the underworlders were as seemingly expressionless as Monolith or biased toward the students like Jigak. The students had to assume that there were underworlders with mentalities similar to Mursoth among the stronger ones.


    The next one they meet might be as strong as Monolith but with none of the restraint. Or they might hold a grudge for all the underworlders and the Named that the students had already killed. Or their mission might be to fight the students.


    That wasn''t what Monolith was doing.


    Monolith was keeping the students from entering the Underworld. He didn''t need to kill them for that. It would make it easier, but Monolith didn''t need it. He barely needed to hit the students to send them flying.


    If he killed them at once, who was going to keep him company until his mission was over?


    He didn''t really need company. But some entertainment was nice since he would be spending at least a few months on the surface. Unlike in the Underworld, where he could pass the time by training, Monolith couldn''t do that during a mission.


    Zach and the others looked at Monolith in silence. He held their lives in limbo. Whether they lived or not was up to him should they decide to attack him again. It was only natural. They attacked with the intent to kill, after all.


    But it was an uncomfortable feeling to have someone else play with their lives like that.


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    Zach scrunched up his nose at the thought. Wasn''t the principal also playing with their lives?


    He stood up. Zach rolled his neck and shoulders and stretched his body.


    "I''m going again. After that, we should focus on training." Zach left without waiting for an answer. He needed to vent some frustration.


    How the


    fuck


    were they supposed to kill the Great Ugor when he had guys like Monolith working for him?


    It had been a distant goal difficult to visualize the difficulty of when they first encountered the Underworld and the principal told them about it in the first year at the Academy. But the closer they got, the further away it seemed.


    The Great Ugor would almost certainly be stronger than Monolith, Jigak, and whatever other underworlders he had up his sleeves. But Zach could not see himself defeating Monolith any time soon. Your next read awaits at empire


    Zach had worked harder than he had ever thought was possible the last year. Without Alzara''s medicine and potions and the world essence energy, working as hard as he had would have crippled him. His ligaments and tissues would have broken down and been unable to recover within at least several years.


    He had trained his body and pushed it to its utmost limits without rest for several months straight. He had made sure to get enough sleep since he had learned during his first two years at the Academy about the importance of that. But no more than absolutely necessary.


    Still, he did not think he was strong enough to defeat the Great Ugor.


    The principal was sick and twisted to set this kind of unachievable goal. Their graduation hinged on doing the impossible. They might as well never graduate.


    Unfortunately, it was no use bringing this up to the principal. The only thing Zach could do was release all his bottled-up frustration on the confused Monolith.

 Chapter 304 Noras Struggles

    Zach wasn''t the only one who had another go at Monolith. But all of them were completely useless. They didn''t so much as touch a hair on his bald head.After taking a day to reassess, rest, and regroup, the students tried to keep him busy and let someone try and sneak into the Underworld. It didn''t work. No matter what setup or strategy they employed, it was all useless before Monolith''s overwhelming strength.


    The students were faced with a wall they could neither climb nor go around.


    With no other options, they could only start building ladders, grapples, drills, or whatever else they could use to get them to the other side of the wall.


    For some, that meant polishing their swordwork. For others, it meant training their skills. Some built muscle and physical strength. Some started working on energy.


    All of them had ways they could get stronger. But getting stronger was a gradual process that required repetition and refinement. It took time.


    Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the Underworld wasn''t doing anything on the surface after sending Monolith to keep the students at bay. That left the students more free time than they were used to.


    They still had standard studies to do, tests to take, and exams to finish. But all they needed was a passing grade.


    In fact, a certain idea popped up on several occasions.


    If they didn''t pass the third year, didn''t that mean that they had another year to continue training and growing stronger so that they might actually graduate?


    Faced with Monolith''s strength, it was tempting to take an additional year to train and improve.


    However, the Underworld wouldn''t adhere to the kind of curriculum an ordinary school would follow. The tests for all third-years every year wouldn''t be the same. The Underworld wouldn''t wait for the students.


    When Monolith was done with his mission, he was done with his mission. He would leave or move on to his next task whatever that was. He wouldn''t wait around for the students to grow strong enough to defeat him.


    When he no longer needed to keep them out of the Underworld, he would leave.


    It could be tomorrow, it could be in a few months, but it could also be next year.


    Regardless of when it was, they would need to be stronger, and it didn''t matter whether they were held back in their third year or in their fourth year.


    That was why Zach did something that was, to the other students, a little controversial. But he had been inspired by the principal, so who were they to judge?


    He sent away Yanael and Soara.


    Other than teaching the other students and helping Zach train, the two didn''t do much around the Academy. They took care of Zach, but that was about it. But Yanael, Alzara, and Soara weren''t the only ones who could do that.


    Setting aside Alzara, who stayed behind to make potions and medicine to sell and for Zach to use, Zach could take care of himself if need be. But he didn''t need to since he also had Nora.


    Nora had hadn''t many opportunities to shine as of late since three maids were enough to keep track of Zach''s daily needs. She also couldn''t be involved in school activities since she was, technically speaking, an outsider.


    She could help Zach with his daily needs, but that was about it. She couldn''t compare to his familiars in terms of combat, whether in practice or theory, either, so she couldn''t help him train.


    Nora had struggled with that.


    She had grown up by Zach''s side. If he hadn''t become a summoner, she would have been his maid. She would have taken care of his every need. Just like her mother was the Duchess'' personal maid, she would be Zach''s personal maid.


    Whether Zach became an official, a deadbeat, or a librarian, she would have been by his side to take care of him.


    But Zach had become a summoner. As if that wasn''t enough, he had also summoned three maids instead of beasts, insects, monsters, or creatures like every other summoner.


    As a maid of the Evandiel family, Nora naturally wasn''t like other maids. She had been trained in the arts of stealth, assassination, and combat. If his familiars had been ordinary familiars, she would still have had a place to shine.


    But the familiars Zach summoned weren''t ordinary maids. Of all the things he could summon, he summoned battle maid variants of powerful familiars. It was like he wanted to render Nora useless.


    Nora was lost. The mission in life she had been raised with had turned unnecessary.


    Read new chapters at empire


    She


    was unnecessary.


    Her presence or absence wouldn''t affect Zach''s quality of life. She even considered resigning. Maybe she could serve one of the other children of the Evandiel family. Maybe she could work at the household.


    The one reason she hesitated was her mother. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nora couldn''t bear to work so closely to her.


    So, Nora stayed, and she stayed silent, burdened by her thoughts.


    At first, she felt like it might be best to just fade away. That was how she still felt to a certain degree.


    But after a while, she forced herself to realize that her mission wasn''t unnecessary. It wasn''t obsolete.


    It was complete.


    Her mission wasn''t for her to take care of Zach. It was for Zach to be taken care of. And now, Zach would be well taken care of for the rest of his life.


    One of the reasons why she struggled, which she hadn''t even realized at first, was jealousy. She wanted Zach to turn to her, to rely on her when things got tough.


    Now, he was doing that, even if not to the degree Nora wanted.


    He didn''t share his burdens or his thoughts with her. He had her massage his sore muscles, prepare food and drugs, and clean him. But he was still keeping a lot of his suffering to himself. Nora could tell.


    She could also tell that this was her opportunity to show him how she had grown while he was looking elsewhere. This was her opportunity to show him that he could lean on and rely on her. He could ease his mind by talking to her.


    The only one who needed to suffer in silence was her, not him.

 Chapter 305 Derots Struggles

    Zach noticed Nora taking exceptional care of him after he sent Yanael and Soara into the world. It was only natural. With Alzara also busy with her tasks, he had no one else to take care of him, not that he desperately needed it.Continue your saga on empire


    But Zach would have been a fool not to realize the difference in the way his childhood friend and maid''s eyes. Nora was going through something and seemed to seek some kind of escape by taking care of Zach and training her martial arts.


    He knew she would clam up as soon as he mentioned anything, so Zach stayed silent about it and let her drown herself in menial tasks and mind-numbing training. There would come a day when he could do something about it. There would come a day when Nora would finish this transformation and achieve growth.


    Zach believed in her. It was difficult for Nora, whatever it was she was going through. But he was confident she would handle it and make it out on the other side a stronger person.


    The best he could do right now was support her silently and let her know that she wasn''t alone.


    The fact that she didn''t point out how cheesy he was being was proof enough of her mind being far away.


    She even thanked him honestly when he shared the medicines and supplements from Alzara with her. They weren''t as powerful as the ones he got since he could purify any build-up of toxins and clear out hidden injuries with his world essence energy. But it helped her train and see more results from her training sooner.


    In return, Nora put her all into cooking the most delicious and nourishing food possible for Zach, who was constantly hungry. The drugs helped his body build and condense muscle among other things, but he still needed fuel for his training sessions. The drugs also needed something to build with. He had to eat massive amounts if he wanted his training to give results.


    If Zach hadn''t made a fortune through his alchemy side business, he would have run out of funds just because of food costs.


    Zach was grateful to Derot. All he had to do was supply the potions, and that was handled by his familiar. Derot did everything else. He distributed, checked the market, talked with alchemists about recruitment, sold, purchased ingredients, fought off other guilds and merchants, and collected the money in the Imperial Bank.


    All Zach had to do was take it easy and wait for the money to roll in. It was like a dream. He had even helped Derot lose weight and turn into a handsome young man. The only problem was that Derot didn''t stop losing weight. If he continued like this, he would turn into a skeleton sooner or later.


    Zach had asked if there was anything he could do, but Derot was worried Zach would only cause a bigger mess, so he politely begged Zach to focus on his studies. He would handle the other merchants and their alliances as they targeted the ingredients the alchemists needed, raised prices, cut supplies, or sabotaged their merchants.


    Several of the big shots had stepped in and put huge walls around Zach''s guild and Derot''s merchants, preventing their continued growth. That in turn made it difficult to handle the smaller and mid-sized merchants since there was an upper limit to the money and people Derot could circulate and use.


    Unless they could break through those walls, they would be stuck in a trench war with the other merchants, fighting for a share of the market. It was so bad that not even setting a name and establishing a brand and reputation would help.


    The only thing that would help would be to use Zach''s family. The Evandiels held overwhelming influence in the Empire, and while their influence wasn''t on the same level as the Systines in the merchant world, they were only a step behind them.


    The Systines brought treasures and food from the sea to the rest of the Empire, and they handled the pirates, which made the transport routes along the coast and up the rivers much safer.


    But the Evandiels mined treasures from the Jira Labyrinth and disseminated them into the Empire by using the hands of the merchants. The kind of treasure that came from the Jira Labyrinth was usually more special and rare than the kind that came from the sea to the south.


    The things from the Jira Labyrinth were either magic tools or inspiration for magic tools. The treasure could be powerful and enchanted pieces of armor or weapons. Rare gems and minerals. Martial arts manuals. Spell books. Monster materials from monsters that didn''t exist anywhere else in the world.


    The Evandiels themselves, who usually fished up treasure from as deep as possible in the Labyrinth, often sold those treasures into the Empire if they didn''t find a use for them.


    The Evandiels didn''t need the money, but if the treasure wasn''t dangerous or necessary, there was no need for them to let it sit in their storage and collect dust. It was better if it could travel the Empire until it found its rightful owner, someone who would be delighted to use it.


    Naturally, the merchants, the middlemen in all of the Evandiels'' transactions, took hefty fees for their services. Cooperating with the Evandiels meant loads of money straight into their pockets.


    If Zach used his family name to protect his guild and the merchants, he would have no trouble expanding.


    But there were two problems with that.


    The guild would no longer be


    his


    . It would become his family''s. Since they loved him and were rich on their own, his family wouldn''t bother him about sharing the profits, which Zach wouldn''t have minded doing. But it was the principle. He wanted to succeed on his own without his family''s influence for once.


    The second problem was that Derot was affiliated with the South and the Systines. Technically, it was his family, the Gaville House. He had used some of his connections from the House to get started, but right now, he was also working without his family''s support.


    That was why he could work in the capital without his family or the capital''s merchants bothering him. He was the same as an ordinary merchant without the backing of a big house.


    As soon as Zach''s family was dragged into it, Derot''s family would be, and Derot would no longer be able to work for Zach. Not only was he working in the capital, outside their family''s sphere of influence, but he was also working with the East.


    As a member of the Gaville House, he couldn''t do that.


    Expanding the business meant cutting loose Derot.


    Zach would not do that.


    But it looked like he would have to spend another break away from home.


    sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 306 VANDers Struggles And Growth

    there was still more than a month left of the school year, but monolith was still unmovable. zach and his friends had trained until their ears bled, but they still couldn''t make monolith move from his spot. it was like trying to move a mountain¨Ca mountain that fought back.all of them had grown stronger, it just wasn''t noticeable when they fought monolith. of course, they hadn''t grown that much stronger in a matter of weeks or a month or two.


    violina was the only one who had figured out energy, thanks to her background in martial arts, even if she didn''t acquire martial energy. she managed to develop something she dubbed ice energy since she hadn''t heard of it before, thanks to her three icy familiars.


    through her connection with her familiars, violina had suddenly become aware of something she ordinarily couldn''t see with her human eyes but that all three of her familiars could apparently see to various degrees. what was more surprising was that her only a-rank familiar, the ice spirit, saw it best.


    natural energies in the air like streaks of color in the wind. thanks to her familiars, violina could somewhat sense a lot of it.


    but what she was interested in and cared about was the natural energy with a light blue color. it was the energy of ice. there wasn''t much of it in the academy in the center of the empire, where there was summer and less summer as the only two seasons. your journey continues on empire


    however, certain natural treasures were rich with ice energy, treasures she had no trouble getting, thanks to her family. it seemed her family''s previous stance of letting her grow on her own and develop independence had shifted with sio''s discovery of his great-grandchild.


    violina and her familiars were getting spoiled.


    thanks to that, she didn''t suffer from ice energy''s drawback of her being able to increase it on her own. unlike martial energy, it didn''t grow through training or based on her physique. she couldn''t take it in through practicing magic, either, even if she could see and sense it in the air around her and her treasures.


    the only way she could get it was through consuming natural treasures, potions made from those treasures, or having her familiars eat either of those and give her some of what they got.


    there had to be a way for her to learn how to accumulate ice energy without relying on treasures. both violina and zach were convinced of that. but knowing there was a method didn''t mean they knew the method. consulting the library helped them confirm there was such a method.


    but the library was customized for an academy for summoners. techniques to accumulate natural energies didn''t belong.


    there was one book that helped violina, but that was yanael''s book of sword techniques. but that book only detailed how to use various energies in combat. it didn''t mention how to accumulate them, much less niche ones like ice energy.


    still, through the teachings of yanael''s book whenever she was at the academy, violina grew leaps and bounds. by learning how to use her ice energy, violina learned how to strengthen her contract skills with it.


    violina grew stronger, especially with her first and third skills, cold bestowal and lingering chill. she could create a lot more ice with a lot less effort, and her debuffs debuffed more and lasted longer.


    violina''s ice energy was like the wings on a tiger. she soared.


    unfortunately, it wasn''t enough to deal with monolith. his skin was impenetrable even by the sharpest ice violina could conjure, and his strength let him break free from any monument of ice she encased him in. his underworld energy, which was like a volcano on the brink of eruption, melted any debuffs from lingering chill in moments.


    even with her full power, she could only stop him for less than a quarter of a minute. that was not enough time to sneak into the underworld, much less defeat him.


    nessa, dukiel, and anerias also grew stronger in their own ways, but not nearly as much as violina. they¡­they were hindered by a lack of talent and money. they couldn''t waste money on priceless treasures to awaken energy. they were also too prideful to accept the help.


    however, they differed from zach and violina, who focused on their personal development. anerias still dedicated some time out of the day to practice and train himself. but the other two didn''t waste more time than necessary to keep themselves fit enough to keep up with their familiars.


    instead, the focused on strengthening their familiars. they went on expeditions and trips to dangerous forests, mountains, and places in the center of the empire to look for monsters and valuable natural treasures that they couldn''t afford to buy on the market.


    they worked together and cooperated to gather the materials everyone''s familiars needed.


    nessa''s familiars wanted either just good food or mystic items with properties related to the night and dreams or daylight like moonstones and sunstones. dukiel''s familiars wanted minerals and gems or other slimes. anerias'' familiars wanted things with attributes of fire, darkness, or a relation to hell. pieces of heaven also worked, but they were a lot rarer and harder to get than things related to hell.


    just like zach''s familiars, they went on expeditions to gather what they needed and level up.


    strengthening their familiars and summoning more of them were the best ways for a summoner to grow stronger. nessa''s serpentine millipede was already on the verge of evolution again, after all.


    the others weren''t quite there yet, but anerias kept telling the others that his blackfire hound wasn''t far off. it would have been more believable if it didn''t look as docile and friendly as when he first summoned it.


    anerias didn''t let the others'' skepticism get to him, and he focused on his blackfire hound.


    like that, time passed for the students, and the end of the school year drew nearer without slowing down.


    it was time to bring down monolith once and for all.


    s§×arch* the n?vel?ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 307 Last Attempt

    zach, nessa, dukiel, anerias, and violina all gathered for the first time in a little under two months right outside the city. they had been so busy studying and training that they hadn''t made time after they concluded that their meetings trying to figure out what the underworld was doing were useless.no matter how much they thought about it, asked each other, and tickled monolith, they wouldn''t find out or come up with anything regarding the underworld''s current actions and plans.


    instead, just like with the ceasefire, they could use the downtime and underworld''s superficial inaction to strengthen themselves as much as possible and prepare for what comes next.


    it was a hollow plan that relied on them surpassing the underworld''s expectations and the underworld staying silent for long enough or not suddenly doing anything when the students were busy. it was a risk¡ªa gamble. but it was one they had to take.


    they wouldn''t defeat monolith, much less the underworld if they didn''t ignore possible threats to their safety and comfort.


    fortunately, their gamble hadn''t come to an immediate loss.


    the underworld had stayed silent while the students prepared and armed themselves as much as they could. there hadn''t been so much as a fart from them anywhere, whether the city, the forest, or any other place in the empire.


    but the quieter they were now, the louder the bang of their entrance to the surface would be.


    the only thing that kept zach and the others from dreading the future was the dread they faced when in front of monolith.


    all the times they had tried to attack or trick him over the last couple of months, they had only scratched him twice.


    their third year at the academy would soon come to an end.


    they had all made sure to get passing grades in their studies, contributions from their fights against the underworld not included. being in the same grade was more important than trying to sneak an extra year of fighting the underworld. that had been a stupid idea. neither the underworld nor the principal would give them more time than they had already given. s~ea??h the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    it was do or don''t for the students.


    this would be their final attempt before the principal cut their activities short since it was time for the academy to go on break.


    the curriculum was important, but, for some reason the students couldn''t understand, breaks were more important than both the curriculum and the threat of the underworld.


    the students, while doubtful of the principal''s insistence on the strictness of the break every year, didn''t mind it. on the one hand, it would have been great if they could just get it over with and finish clearing out whatever trouble the principal arranged for them.


    on the other, the current third-years, soon to be fourth-years, were supposed to deal with something far beyond them. although the underworld wouldn''t stay still during the three months of the break, the principal would at least keep anything extreme from happening. no one would get hurt while the students were away and growing stronger however they could.


    but before they could go on their break, the students had to do one last thing. they had to defeat monolith and at least try to get a look into what he was blocking them from seeing.


    zach, nessa, anerias, dukiel, and violina had all grown stronger since their first attempt at defeating monolith¡ªsome more than others. but none of them were confident they could take monolith down.


    still, they had to try.


    they had developed their strategies and teamwork a little, but that wasn''t why they hadn''t failed. if anything, that was the reason they had managed to scratch monolith previously. so, they went with the same simple rotation as before.


    zach, violina, nessa, dukiel, and anerias attacked in turn.


    zach and his familiars were stronger and faster than before thanks to training and leveling up. he was one step away from the next milestone¡ªlevel thirty. he was several levels higher than their first attempt. at their current levels, each one mattered more than they had at the beginning of their journey.


    combined with his training, zach could unleash extraordinary physical strength with just his body. that alone wouldn''t be enough to so much as tickle monolith, though. he would need something more than just physical strength for that. he would either need a weapon sharp enough or strength like a volcano.


    a weapon would only make zach''s strength useless since he wouldn''t know how to wield it, and he was still a ways off from the strength of a volcano. he was getting close to the strength of a cliff¡ªa small one.


    if he could have awakened and used his world essence energy offensively, that might have done a number on monolith''s solid body. unfortunately, even after all his harsh training, the world essence energy was still mostly slumbering and adjusting and adjusting to zach''s body. it was part of the reason why zach was so strong right now, but other than helping him passively, the world essence energy didn''t do much.


    that was why zach''s part in the fight wasn''t to fight or try to injure monolith.


    he was a meatshield.


    even one hit from monolith would be enough to send anyone but zach and yanael flying. the others simply weren''t made to withstand strikes that powerful. they specialized in dealing strikes that powerful.


    zach''s mission was to make sure they landed those hits without being hit themselves. he did it either with his body or his barriers. by positioning himself correctly, alzara and soara could his body and barriers to land fleeting, shallow attacks and withdraw without getting hit.


    yanael would have also benefited from such a tactic since it would let her land more and stronger blows without needing to risk injury.


    but no way in heaven was she going to do that. it went against everything she stood for as zach''s familiar.


    if anyone were to hide behind anyone, it would be zach hiding behind her.


    yanael braved monolith''s stony fists without relying on zach''s body. since he was using his barriers mostly around him, they were stronger than if he would have used them on his familiars when they were spread out.


    it was enough to last him until it was time to tap out and let violina take over. stay tuned for updates on empire

 Chapter 308 First Rotation

    discover more stories at empireas soon as zach began moving backward, violina and her familiars went all out with an icy torrent of what might as well be called unorthodox magic. it was the amalgamation of her familiars'' innate ice abilities and her ice energy being released together.


    violina used her recently strengthened cold bestowal to bestow additional chill and ice to her familiars, strengthening them and their not-quite-magic magic. s§×arch* the n?vel(f)ire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the combined attack baptized monolith in a thick layer of ice, temporarily turning him into an ice sculpture. they didn''t let up their shower of flowing ice for a second as violina approached.


    she didn''t even have her sword unsheathed.


    her current objective wasn''t to cut monolith. she couldn''t cut him. her sword wasn''t sharp enough, and she wasn''t strong enough.


    no, her objective was to weaken monolith and his magical defenses as much as possible.


    black underworld energy seeped out of monolith''s skin, melting and cracking the ice around him. it would only take him a couple of seconds at most to break out of the layer of as thick as the length of an arm.


    but violina put her hand on the oversized ice sculpture and applied cold bestowal to it directly. she healed, reinforced, strengthened, and expanded the ice with a significant portion of the ice energy she had stored in her body just for this moment. it hadn''t come cheap, but she hadn''t footed the bill, so she didn''t care how many treasures she was using for this desperate attempt.


    however, the ice wasn''t the only thing that was growing. the cloud of darkness from within also grew. and no matter how many times violina repaired them, the cracks also continued expanding.


    she was fighting a losing battle. sooner or later, monolith would break free of the ice and punch violina and her familiars before they could react.


    so, while violina''s familiars backed off, nessa approached.


    monolith''s sight was already restricted. hopefully, the ice distorted his other senses enough that he didn''t notice what was going on outside.


    nessa stole the light in a dome around her and monolith. her skill, robber of light already gave her excellent night vision, especially when she was responsible for inducing the night. her exoskeleton also improved her sight. she didn''t have any trouble seeing in the pitch-darkness of her making. she could even differentiate between the darkness in the absence of light and the darkness of the underworld energy.


    monolith, as an underworlder and inherent creature of the dark also had excellent night vision. but he had not expected night to fall while he was trapped in the ice. he was stunned.


    he was stunned for less than a second. it wouldn''t even be right to call it stunned. he was adjusting to the new circumstances and environment. but while he was taking in the changes in his surroundings, nessa and her midnight butterfly snuck close to him under the cover of darkness.


    monolith noticed them before they reached him when they launched themselves toward his face.


    nessa was positioned to strike with her left arm, so monolith reached out to grab it.


    he grabbed air.


    nessa didn''t have a left arm.


    monolith''s instinct as a fighter and warrior won out over his knowledge of his opponents.


    his other hand was already reaching for the butterfly. monolith decided the butterfly, as a familiar, was a bigger threat to him than nessa, regardless of its size or apparent weakness.


    monolith''s fingers cracked the golden-hued barrier around the butterfly as he braced for nessa''s punch.


    she tapped him clean on the jaw with more than enough force to shatter stone. unfortunately, while it looked like monolith was made of stone, he was sturdier than the typical rock.


    but nessa hadn''t been trying to break his jaw.


    the purplish glittery dust from her second skill, dust of dreams, flew off nessa''s hand and straight into monolith''s mouth, nose, and eyes. he blinked in a daze.


    for the first time in two years, he felt sleepy.


    it wasn''t enough to make him blink more than a few times or feel like he actually wanted to sleep. it was just enough for him to notice it since it had been so long since he felt anything like it.


    it was enough to distract him.


    nessa snatched midnight butterfly out of his hand and retreated. monolith didn''t react.


    a moment later, he raised his arms to shield his body an instant before a powerful beam of concentrated red light hit him with enough force to push him backward, his feet digging deep trenches in the ground.


    the previously cooled stone skin of monolith reached several hundred degrees in an instant, and the temperature kept rising.


    an ordinary stone would have already cracked from the sudden temperature change. but monolith wasn''t an ordinary stone, which they had already confirmed.


    that was why the sentinel, the transformation cube transformed into the sentinel, and the symbiotic slime on the transformation cube didn''t stop at just hitting monolith with the combined laser. they kept blasting him and upping the heat until they reached their limit.


    then, they stopped. this was just the first rotation, after all.


    it was time for anerias to take the stage.


    his familiars and skills made him more related to hellfire than ordinary fire and heat. but he could still bear it the best out of everyone in their tiny group. combined with zach''s barriers, anerias could walk through the pit of molten rock and shimmering air without much trouble.


    his first burned bright with black flames while the rest of his body merely glowed with flickers of the same flame. his blackfire hound was right by his side. together, they charged at monolith, whose arms were glowing red hot.


    this was the first opportunity in the students'' assault to inflict some pain and damage to monolith. they had to grasp it.


    the hound threw itself at monolith, taking up both of his arms. anerias snuck in under his hound''s legs and threw a punch containing both the powers of his ignite and his malicious touch.


    it landed.

 Chapter 309 Predicatable

    anerias'' first contract skill, ignite, was simple. it lit him on fire, focusing on his hands. the skill made him burn with black hellfire, and like all things ablaze, the fire could spread to whatever it touched. it was especially effective against weaker beings of hell and heaven.it was not very effective against inorganic or non-living things, though it worked better than ordinary fire against immaterial beings.


    monolith could be considered both inorganic and alive due to his stony nature. but he was also significantly stronger than anerias, which weakened the effectiveness of ignite''s flames even further.


    anerias''s second skill, malicious touch, however, did not care about the material of its target. the only thing it cared about was whether it was sentient¡ªwhether it could feel pain and suffering.


    ignite and its hellfire represented physical pain and the pain of burning. malicious touch broke down an enemy''s mentality by inflicting pain on their spirit¡ªtheir essence.


    no matter what monolith''s body was made of, malicious touch could still be effective. the only thing that reduced its effectiveness was monolith''s inherent level of power and resistance against magic-like phenomena, such as anerias'' skill.


    given monolith''s overwhelming physical strength and durability, it would only be natural to assume that he would be lacking in another area. any ordinary person could not focus on multiple things and areas at once. it was unreasonable for a singular being to be great at everything they did.


    but the world was unreasonable.


    lexi excelled at magic, domination, and swordsmanship. although her first familiar hadn''t been promising at first, it was a bundle of bottomless, untapped potential, proving her talent in summoning as well.


    who was to say that monolith couldn''t have just extraordinary physical defense? who was to say that he couldn''t be immune to supernatural effects?


    no one. your adventure continues at empire


    that was why violina and nessa had worn down as much of his resistances in that area as they could. the more they weakened him, the more pain anerias would cause, which would in turn weaken his mentality further. s§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lfire .net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    black flames exploded outward as anerias'' fist struck monolith''s rock-solid belly. the flames didn''t so much as scorch monolith''s skin, neither was anerias'' fist very powerful.


    but monolith still flinched.


    it was the first time in a long while he felt something that could be called actual pain. it caught him by surprise since anerias hadn''t displayed that much power in any earlier round.


    it was like anerias'' had stuck a dagger straight through his skin.


    it was not enough to get more than a flinch from monolith. he would not have become as strong as he was if that mere bit of pain could interfere with his movements, much less stop him dead in his tracks.


    monolith flicked out with his arm and sent anerias flying, easily breaking the barrier zach put up around him. but the barrier still did its job and absorbed monolith''s strike, minimizing anerias'' injuries and letting him and the hound retreat.


    and before monolith could do anything else, zach and his familiars were already in front of him, tickling him with swords, daggers, and deathly finger pokes, which also served to weaken his resistance, even if soara''s goal was to kill, not weaken.


    after s sequence of sword, daggers, broken shields, and pale fingers, ice swallowed monolith again. violina did the same thing as last time, quickly leaving and letting nessa take her place as soon as monolith disintegrated his frosty prison.


    nessa stunned him with another fistful of dust of dreams. even if he expected it and didn''t fall for the no-arm feint, he couldn''t avoid the sleep-inducing powder other than by blasting it away with a surge of underworld energy.


    but the wispy underworld energy seeping out of the city''s sewers weren''t enough to replenish his bottomless coffers of underworld energy. he had to be conservative with its use and not waste it when he could just tank the dust. the only thing it did was stun him for less than a second, after all.


    monolith then blocked dukiel''s laser with the palm of his hand, deflecting it into the ground. the skin of his palm was rougher than that of his forearms, but it still turned blood red from the heat. however, it cooled without taking any lasting damage since monolith used his other hand to fend off anerias.


    he couldn''t fend off the effects of malicious touch, however, and it felt like both his hands were burned. only for a few moments, though.


    zach and his familiars took full advantage of monolith''s hands being momentarily in a suboptimal state and attacked in a frenzy. they landed several scratches on his tough skin.


    violina gave him another cold shower before the heat on his hand could dissipate fully.


    if one rapid temperature change wasn''t enough, they would just have to do it twice, thrice, or tens of times.


    the students were feeling the stress of the high-intensity battle, but they didn''t let that stop them or slow them down as they cycled through their attacks in a pattern so predictable monolith knew what was going to happen ten moves ahead.


    but even if he knew, there wasn''t anything he could do about it.


    the students juggled their tasks almost perfectly. whenever one of them stepped back, the next stepped up and attacked before monolith could retaliate.


    nessa threw her dust of dreams at monolith from behind, having it enter his head through his ears. then, she dove to the side and rolled around, avoiding the laser that sought to catch monolith in the back.


    monolith just let it hit him. he waited for anerias to attack. as soon as he sensed someone, he stretched out his hand and caught them.


    but instead of the black-haired kid he had expected, he caught an orange-haired one with a wide grin.


    zach raised his legs and wrapped around monolith''s arm, trapping it.


    there was no way he was letting go. just trying to get him off would distract monolith and leave him open to attacks from his familiars.


    zach braced himself for impact as monolith raised his arm.

 Chapter 310 Admirable

    monolith had two options when dealing with the leech clinging to his arm. pluck it off with his free hand or make zach let go by swinging his arm around and slamming him into the ground.out of those two options, using both arms for a single puny human would leave him open to the attacks of the three maids. while monolith was confident in his durability and defense, he could instinctively feel that he should not accumulate too much damage.


    it was admirable.


    in a short few months, these kids, still wet behind their ears, had grown from being utterly and completely useless in front of his might to actually making him consider his actions. swinging his fists around to block any stray attacks and send them flying was no longer as good as the best method to deal with them.


    monolith brought his arm down and crouched to slam zach into the ground. as yanael lunged to stab him in his back, monolith kicked out like a horse with his leg and sent her flying.


    he headbutted alzara into the ground when she aimed for his neck, and when soara leaped over to try and grasp his head, he grabbed her by the ankle and slammed her into the ground next to alzara.


    "you fucking¡­!" zach growled in anger.


    he didn''t need to be a genius to realize that monolith was basically toying with them. he had played along so far. but he wasn''t having it anymore.


    monolith''s gaze flickered to zach, whose hair seemed to be fluttering in the non-existent wind. he could feel something from zach''s body.


    zach boiled over with rage. he bit into the stony flesh of monlith''s hand, even as monolith raised him up and slammed him down again.


    monolith hadn''t just toyed with them. he had also struck yanael, alzara, and soara, making them bleed.


    it was only natural in a fight, especially against something like monolith. but that didn''t mean zach had to accept the suffering of his familiars. he wanted to inflict that pain on monolith, no matter what it took.


    he bit and clawed at monolith''s arm with everything he had. strength surged through his body, even as his nails broke and his fingertips bled. even as monolith slammed him into the ground repeatedly while fending off the other students and familiars with the rest of his body, zach didn''t let go, fall unconscious, or give up.


    he wasn''t going to let go until monolith bled. as he continued holding on, as monlith continued breaking him, his hair continued to flutter like the flames of a wildfire. his dark red eyes started glowing with a mysterious blue sheen.


    monolith narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    of all the students who had come to fight him, he had been curious about why zach, who was the strongest, only used physical strength and his mystical barriers to fight. with a body that well-trained, he should have accessed martial energy a long time ago.


    but it wasn''t that he didn''t have any energy to support him. he just couldn''t use it. monolith didn''t recognize the energy, but it gave him a numbing feeling whenever a few tendrils and droplets of it escaped zach like steam and came in contact with his skin.


    monolith had no intentions of killing the students for multiple reasons. but he wasn''t here to help them bring out their full potential, either. so, he slammed zach down into the ground as hard as he could without killing the kid.


    zach''s eyes shone bright, but he had already lost the ability to think. he was in a state of semi-consciousness that only made his body move to attack and cling to monolith''s arm. he couldn''t let go even if he wanted to.


    it only took a few earth-shaking strikes for zach to completely lose consciousness and let monolith peel him off and put him next to his familiars and the other students and their familiars, also unconscious or too tired, broken, and injured to continue fighting.


    even in the darkness of unconsciousness, zach felt it. he felt the overwhelming sensation of failure like worms gnawing at his heart and shitting in his stomach. they had failed.


    when he finally woke up three days later, those feelings only grew worse and clearer with the support of a waking mind. zach could tell how miserable the fight had been.


    they had used every trick they had that could contribute to the fight. they had even succeeded in tricking monolith with their sudden change in appearance in the rotation if the expression on his face when he grabbed zach instead of anerias was any indication.


    but that surprise had only served to make monolith decide it was enough.


    they hadn''t even forced monolith to display half his strength when they gave it their all.


    it was miserable. depressing. humiliating.


    their best, the top students of the academy for summoners'' best didn''t even measure up to monolith''s thighs. s~ea??h the ¦Çovelfire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    how were they supposed to defeat monolith or even the great ugor? they might not even get the opportunity to defeat monolith now that the school year had ended. but that was even more humiliating.


    they would forever live with the shame of defeat at the hands of monolith. and if nothing else changed, they would forever live as fourth-years of the academy for summoners since they would never graduate.


    the underworld wouldn''t remain stagnant and let the students surpass them. monolith, jigak, and any other named underworlders at their level, not to mention the great ugor, wouldn''t do nothing while the students poured their blood, sweat, and tears into getting stronger. they wouldn''t be sitting on their tight assess waiting for the students to come and beat them.


    the wall would keep rising higher into the sky. read exclusive content at empire


    the students had trouble accepting that. alas, they had no choice.


    this time, the principal didn''t even give them the option to stick around at the academy during their break. he kicked them out.

 Chapter 311 Break Plans

    zach, nessa, anerias, dukiel, and violina dusted off their clothes while glaring at the principal, who had already turned around and headed back into the academy after closing the gates."so, uh, is it the northern labyrinth this time?" anerias asked, breaking the stiff silence. he no longer held a grudge about being left behind the last break, but he was looking forward to both returning to his home for the first time in a long while and entering a labyrinth with his friends.


    "sure." dukiel shrugged. with the city in its current state, there was no way he could get a job there.


    "i don''t have anything better to do." nessa nodded. she could return home and relax or train as usual. but for three months? there was no way she could be idle for that long. she also wanted to do everything she could to get stronger before the start of their hopefully final year at the academy. labyrinths were a great tool for that purpose.


    violina just nodded.


    the four of them turned to look at zach, who, to their surprise, hadn''t said anything yet.


    "...i would love to, but derot''s been asking for help in the capital. honestly, while i don''t want to miss out on another labyrinth adventure with you guys, my guild is in a stage right now, where, if it succeeds, i''ll become wealthy enough that graduating from the academy literally couldn''t matter less."


    zach''s goal wasn''t to brag, even if it sounded like it was. he was just letting the others know that his priorities weren''t to get stronger right now. he didn''t need or crave a labyrinth and its trials and treasures.


    it was the closest thing to admitting their imminent failure in defeating the great ugor that he was willing to say. rather than being obsessed with an impossible goal, zach might as well focus on his potion business and earn a fortune so massive that graduating from the academy or not wouldn''t matter.


    the others totally understood what zach was getting at. that didn''t make them any less jealous, though. they didn''t have the same options as he did, nor did they stand to make as much money in their lives.


    however, they were confident in their strength.


    zach wasn''t the only one who considered dropping out after they stood face to face with their weakness and the demoralizing failure of losing against monolith. they could just stop suffering and drop out, move on with their lives, and establish themselves somewhere else.


    everyone but dukiel had families to go back to. violina was a duke''s daughter, and while she had been raised responsibly so far, her great-grandfather had started spoiling her rotten. even if she didn''t graduate, she would be well taken care of.


    anerias was the son of a count in the north. he wouldn''t have it quite as easy as violina, but he wouldn''t suffer.


    nessa was a viscount''s daughter from the south, but her parents were close vassals to the systine duchy, and she was close to violina. she wouldn''t suffer even if she dropped out.


    dukiel would have struggled if he hadn''t been, just like the others, an excellent summoner. even without relying on their family backgrounds, every one of them could find their place in the empire and work toward any goals they might have.


    they could strengthen their families, roam the empire, gather wealth, or just laze around after getting some money from selling some treasure or raiding jira a couple of times.


    in that case, what did it matter if zach spent this break focusing on matters as simple as building his guild instead of heading to the northern labyrinth?


    "damn it!" anerias cursed and grabbed zach by the collar. "how am i supposed to beat you if you won''t even join the competition?!" he asked.


    "first of all," zach grabbed anerias'' wrists and removed the latter''s hands from his body.


    "i don''t see a reason to compete with you. even if i do, it''s not like you''re going to beat me. by the way, how far did you get on the first floor of the jira labyrinth?"


    "..."


    that question alone was enough to silence anerias, who crossed his arms with a scowl and looked away.


    "there''s always the west after next year, no?" zach asked while looking at the others. even if he didn''t join them on the trip to the labyrinth of vidur, he could always join them on a trip to the western labyrinth of boros when the time came.


    "but that''s¡­" violina started saying.


    "i know. it''s troublesome getting access, but don''t you think it will be doable for us next year?" zach asked, half-confidently.


    violina sighed. she glanced at nessa and dukiel. she took a quick look at anerias before turning to zach again.


    "or we go to vidur next year and this year, anerias can guide us through jira. if i''ve understood the labyrinths right, jira is better for our growth anyway," violina proposed with a one-shouldered shrug.


    nessa and dukiel looked at each other. it felt a little strange visiting zach''s home region without zach, but it wasn''t that big of a deal.


    "but i told my parents i was coming home this break¡­?" anerias said with homesickness in his voice.


    "grow up." nessa tapped him on the shoulder. "this is your chance to break zach''s record." she then turned to zach.


    "and i''m guessing you won''t mind writing a letter to ask your family to take care of us and let us meet the baby?"


    "of course, i won''t mind. make sure to say hi to him for me."


    "naturally." sea??h th§× n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    with that, their plans for the break were settled. zach would join derot in the capital with his alchemists and they would get the ball rolling with their business. nessa, violina, dukiel, and anerias would head east and spend the break training with the evandiels, playing around in jira, and playing with the baby. your journey continues on empire


    it was something every except anerias was satisfied with since it meant they would be able to go to vidur together after graduation or during their next break if they didn''t graduate. still, anerias kept his complaints to a minimum since he also missed the baby.

 Chapter 312 Ahead Of Schedule

    zach looked at the backs of his friends as they started walking east. with basilia''s current state, where not even so much as flies saw the travel worth the destination, getting a carriage on short notice was difficult. and short notice it was.the students had been too busy with monolith and their training. they had only decided what to do during their break moments ago. none of them had a carriage ready, much less one ready to go to the east.


    but they had nessa''s millipede.


    zach didn''t.


    he took a seat on a nearby rock and waited. he glanced at nora.


    since she was with him, they could probably find their way to the capital without getting too lost. there was still a risk since he had a lot to think about and might wander off without any of the others noticing or thinking about it and just following his lead.


    but more than that, zach didn''t want to walk.


    he wasn''t sore or tired. if anything, he was in excellent condition, thanks to the world essence energy swirling around inside his body. but that only made it all the more exhausting. zach couldn''t even be allowed to be tired or lazy anymore since his body was always bubbling with energy.


    without the world essence energy, he would have had to spend two weeks in bed after the beating he took from monolith, though it was partly because of the world essence energy that he took that beating. it was the world essence energy awakening from its slumber like a river during spring that coursed through his veins and kept him awake and his body functional.


    apparently, if the others were to be believed, he had exuded an incredible presence and unleashed an unbelievable amount of strength as he held onto monolith''s arm. zach only vaguely remembered it. he had kind of gotten a little lost in the throes of battle after seeing yanael''s limp body fly out after monolith''s kick and hearing the nasty crack when monolith headbutted alzara.


    if that hadn''t been enough and he had remained lucid enough to see it, monolith grabbing soara and slamming her into the ground would have sent him over the edge anyway. discover hidden stories at empire


    zach sighed as he rested his chin on one hand while turning and inspecting his other hand.


    after that happened, he could feel the world essence energy in his body more clearly. he had, to no one''s surprise, exceeded sio''s expectations in terms of how quickly he progressed with the world essence energy''s awakening.


    sio thought it would take zach several years to awaken even half of the energy, which would hopefully be enough for it to awaken itself. but at this rate, zach might only have two years left before the world essence energy fully awakened. he was a few months ahead of the schedule sio had set.


    zach sighed again. all the suffering and training he had been through just to get a few months ahead of sio''s prognosis¡­?


    at least it wasn''t as bad a feeling as the feeling of loss against monolith.


    as the sound of carriage wheels crunching and hooves clomping on the dirt road approached, zach looked up.


    a large but not unnecessarily clumsy and well-adorned but not gaudy carriage drawn by six magnificently sky-blue horses soon stopped in front of zach after turning around. the door to the carriage that could fit zach''s entire party with relative ease popped open. derot peaked his head out.


    "you coming, or what?" he asked with a tired smile. he had done the best he could so far, but he was reaching his limits. if not outright support, he at least needed someone to share the burden for a few days so that he could rest and come back stronger.


    "i said i would." zach got up and entered the carriage with nora. his three maids preferred to ride on the outside, but they didn''t want to sit next to the coachman, so they sat or stood on the roof.


    if it had been just a few weeks shy of a year ago, derot would have found it stressful to sit in an enclosed space with zach, partly because of his status and partly because of his personality and the rumors around him. derot would have only lost from engaging with zach since it was extremely unlikely he would be able to make any business deals or anything with the youngest son of the evandiels, at least that would be worth the effort.


    but that changed quickly. setting aside the fact that zach challenged the twelfth trial of the labyrinth of syst and returned alive¡ªclearing it or not wasn''t relevant¡ªzach displayed impressive might and ability during the earlier trials. without him, the others wouldn''t have gotten as far as they did as soon as they did. s~ea??h the nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    even if not to make a business deal with, it would be nice to have a connection with zach. that was what derot had thought back then.


    now, he couldn''t be both happier and more miserable about his decision to strike up a conversation with zach and entertain his proposal. he was working toward a lifelong dream of his and sating a inborn greed for wealth that was part of his heritage as a member of a merchant house.


    but it might also be the thing that killed him. it would be his lifelong dream since he would spend the rest of his not-so-long life working to fulfill it. but derot couldn''t complain. if he did, he might as well pack his bags and go back to the south.


    instead, he took the carriage ride with zach and made full use of the relaxing atmosphere. less than a year ago, he would have been unable to focus on anything but thoughts about how to make connections with the evandiels or other great merchants through zach and his blood or how to deescalate any situations zach might cause.


    now, for the first time in months, derot''s brain stopped burning through thoughts like newspaper in a housefire.

 Chapter 313 Messy Situation Under Control

    zach waited a few hours as he let derot sleep before tapping him on the knee with the tip of his boot and asking,"so, what''s the situation in the capital?" zach waited patiently as derot pulled himself out of the envious swamp of sleep and rubbed his eyes, surprised at how well he dozed off.


    "...it''s a little messy, to be honest. i''ve somehow managed to deal with smaller troublemakers, but they were more of a nuisance than anything. right now, the ones causing the most trouble for us is a group called the kadricke coalition." derot glanced out the window as he spoke, worried about the sounds of fighting he heard in the distance. he glanced at zach. s~ea??h the novel?ire(.)ne*t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "monsters," zach answered the silent question. the world essence energy helped hide whatever it was on him that attracted monsters, but it wasn''t perfect. it only helped hide, it didn''t perfectly conceal it. so, every now and then, monsters would come looking for him.


    but it worked out well for zach right now since he needed every last cockroach so that he could get to level thirty as soon as possible and summon his next familiar. he was going to the capital, after all. another explosive in his arsenal couldn''t hurt.


    derot nodded with an, ''ah'' before continuing to introduce zach to the capital and their enemies¨Cthose who were trying to keep them from expanding their business.


    eventually, long before nessa and the others even left the central region, zach, derot, nora, yanael, alzara, and soara arrived at the capital.


    "um, do you mind if i ask you to ask your familiars to ride inside the carriage?" derot asked zach when they got close enough that others might see and recognize the carriage and start thinking and doing unnecessary things about the maids on top of the carriage.


    zach glanced at the carriage''s ceiling. he shrugged, his arms still crossed.


    "what are you worried about?"


    "uhh¡­" derot hesitated. he wanted to say a lot of things. "reputation, mostly." but he soon settled for a simple answer. as an up-and-coming alchemist guild, they didn''t need the added label of being led by a crazy young master with a maid and bragging fetish.


    "don''t worry. this will work in our favor," zach said confidently.


    "will it?" derot was skeptical. but zach just nodded with a smile asking derot to trust him.


    derot sighed lightly and looked outside the window. it wasn''t like anything would change even if he continued pestering zach about it. he wasn''t even going to try and talk to zach''s familars directly about it. they had heard their conversation. if they cared enough to go against zach''s wishes, they would have done so already.


    the three maids on top of the carriage earned them more than one or two looks from other travelers and the guards at the capital''s gates. but both derot and evandiel were used to the spotlight.


    derot had grown up and been raised as a potential successor to one of the noteworthy merchant houses in the south. he wasn''t allowed to be affected by how others looked at him. he was supposed to take note of and analyze it but not be affected by it.


    zach had been awkward as a kid due to his unfortunate circumstances, which had led to an¡ªin hindsight¡ªembarrassing first year at the academy. but he had also gone on to summon three overwhelmingly beautiful maid familiars. he was used to people looking at him in a mix of fascination, weirdness, and awe.


    but a few minutes later, it was zach and derot''s turn to stare and gawk but not in any mix of fascination, weirdness, and awe.


    they looked at the burning warehouse in disbelief.


    "i thought you said the situation was under control?" zach asked.


    "...i said it wasn''t that messy anymore. that just means i know who did this, not that i can stop them or retaliate." derot shrugged. it wasn''t the first warehouse fire, it wasn''t their only warehouse, and their losses weren''t enough to make him cry. this much was manageable. he glanced at zach.


    "don''t even think about it," derot warned.


    "what?"


    "i know what that look in your eye means, you musclehead. just because you''re here now does not mean we''re going to use force to solve everything. even trying will only work against us."


    "...i''m not saying that''s what i was thinking, but why is that?"


    "this is the capital of the empire. it is the most important city of all regions. it''s the home of the imperial family. please explain to me why you think it would be a good idea to use force."


    "that would have been a valid point," zach nodded toward the warehouse fire now being smothered by a barrier, "if not for that. why can they torch our buildings but we can''t retaliate?"


    "because the knights and the guards don''t know who did that. but they will know if you pull up with your maids and start rampaging. they will also know who did it if we retaliate in a similar manner."


    "that sounds¡­"


    "unfair?"


    "...yeah."


    "look in the mirror before talking about fairness," derot said sharply.


    "hey?"


    "sorry. i''ve been a little stressed recently."


    "i don''t blame you. but if force is a no-go, what do we do?" zach asked.


    since they couldn''t retaliate or have the knights and guards in charge of protecting the city go after the ones who did it, what were they supposed to do? watch their supplies turn to ash and rise to the sky and become stars?


    read latest chapters at empire


    zach''s time at the academy had been focused solely on solving everything with force. he was at a loss now that derot was telling him that wouldn''t fly in the capital. without being allowed to overpower their competition with brute force, there wasn''t much zach could do.


    derot returned to the carriage with a grin on his face.


    "we? now that you''re here, you can take it easy. i have an idea."


    since zach wanted to make use of his infamy to lower their opponents'' guards, derot could only fall in line and take advantage of that.

 Chapter 314 Background Check

    zach soon found himself propped up in a fancy suite in a luxury hotel, surrounded by a lavish feast. he was living up to the image of a spoiled and debauched young noble son flaunting and squandering his parents'' wealth.zach could guess derot''s intentions from what he was making zach do, and zach understood it. it could be an effective method to deal with their foes. but it wasn''t quite what zach had in mind when he let yanael, alzara, and soara ride on top of the carriage into the city.


    still, he wasn''t one to complain when he could enjoy. he still trained, just not so that anyone but his maids noticed it. but it wasn''t to the point where he needed to supplement his world essence energy with extra food or potions. still, he indulged in the luxurious food derot prepared.


    even if he didn''t need to eat, he could still taste the delicacies of the capital.


    the myrbor hotel wasn''t one of the more expensive hotels in the capital for nothing. it had even taken zach''s status as the son of one of the ducal households to be allowed to rent a suite on such short notice.


    he was wasting money like it was water, and he was making a show of it.


    still, it was no secret that he was the figurehead of the alchemist recently making waves in the capital''s potion and medicine markets. while the guild didn''t have a name, it was often called zacharia''s alchemist guild since that''s what it was.


    those who were in opposition to such a powerful influence entering the market and taking over it with new and groundbreaking potions were worried that the person behind the guild would arrive at the capital and make things difficult for them. they had done their best to squash the guild before it could bloom and before zach could come and help out personally.


    naturally, as the person responsible for the guild, he would be a fearsome opponent to deal with in terms of business. right now, it seemed he was busy with his education and left the matters of the guild to his second-in-command, derot.


    derot was a troublesome target. he stubbornly and skillfully resisted and outmaneuvered their attempts to sabotage the guild''s business. but he was only one man. in due time, he would crumble.


    if zach helped out, however, that would change.


    so, when they heard derot left to pick up zach, a few of the merchants took the opportunity to burn down another warehouse, hoping it would put a dent in their business and make it difficult for zach to do anything at once.


    contrary to their expectations and fears, however, zach didn''t do anything. derot took him on a tour around the capital before practically locking him up in a fancy hotel with lavish feasts and exotic and beautiful maids.


    zach hadn''t left the hotel suite in several days. one could only imagine what was going up there, especially when the servants of the hotel reported hearing grunting and squealing of various kinds. there was also a lingering smell of sweat whenever they brought in more food and carried out dirty dishes. s§×arch* the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the servants and hotel staff noted that zach and his maids always looked presentable and dignified, especially the maids.


    the wilier merchants with more grease than dampness behind their ears knew that something was up. they had done a background check on zach and even investigated his stop at the systine duchy a year ago.


    three of his maids should be his familiars since he was attending the academy for summoners and all. either, he was doing it with his only human maid who had attended him since childhood, or he was a deviant and doing it with his familiars.


    but there wasn''t any evidence of either situation, nor was there any reports of what zach was actually doing in his suite. he could be training or fighting with his maids for all they knew, however unlikely it was.


    the reports from the hotel said one thing. the reports from the two duchies, evandiel and systine, were inconclusive, which was understandable. the two duchies wouldn''t hand out information to just anyone. their servants wouldn''t care about a few gold coins. it would take a lot more than that to loosen their lips.


    the systine servants were some of the highest-paid individuals in the empire, and the evandiel servants were some of the most well-trained individuals in the empire. if they wanted to find out more, the capital''s merchants would have to put in more work.


    there was the academy as well. but the instructors were hard to track down and even harder to talk to without getting turned to monster chow.


    the students were much easier to talk to. a family''s child attending the academy for summoners was a pride and an achievement few hid. explore more stories with empire


    the capital''s merchants managed to locate and talk to several students in each grade at the academy.


    however, the results were disappointing.


    the students in the fourth year were cautious and didn''t let slip any details about zach or any of the other students at the academy.


    the students in the first year were ignorant. they knew zach had paid them well to gather food and medicinal ingredients at the start of the year. they also knew he was one of the key figures at the academy and that he was involved in the underworld research and extermination club.


    the second-years were a little better since they had noticed zach enter the principal''s office on occasion. however, they also knew that zach wandered around and got lost a lot, so it might have been accidental.


    something that both first and second-years could agree on, however, was that zach was always surrounded by girls, whether it be his maids or classmates. his maids were his familiars, but they looked, walked, and talked just like humans, so very few thought of them as more than ordinary maids.


    that left the third-years¡­


    whenever the people employed and hired by the capital''s merchants asked other third-years what they thought about zach, they either got strange looks or people shaking their heads and chuckling like no words could describe zach before walking away.


    the results on zach''s background checks were inconclusive to say the least.


    but when it looked like he was a prodigal son fully intent on squandering his and his family''s wealth on luxury and his maids, some merchants concluded that he was the figurehead and puppet representative of the guild. meanwhile, derot, who was in charge of everything, was the real owner.


    that meant, they only needed to be wary of derot.


    zach, on the other hand, was akin to open season.


    it took less than a week for his first visitor to appear at his doorstep.

 Chapter 315 Good Investment

    "dear guest, you have a visitor. do you want me to bring them in?" one of the hotel staff gently knocked on the door before informing zach.zach, who had already been informed of his guest by his familiars and their keen senses, was ready.


    "let them in," he said.


    there was an affirmative from the staff, and a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door that was quickly followed by the door opening, and a short, skinny man with neat but thinning hair in a suit entered. his head was lowered slightly as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.


    "i greet young lord zacharia," he said in a polite tone before looking up to inspect the person he was talking to.


    the sight of zach leisurely sitting in a sofa with his arms around two maids, one blonde and the other black-haired, with his shirt''s upper buttons unbuttoned, and his hair slightly damp like he had just stepped out of the shower confirmed the rumors the man had heard.


    "mm," zach grunted in acknowledgment of the man''s greeting, clearly expressing his disinterest and hinting that the man should state his business.


    the man glanced at the table in front of zach and his maids and the chair opposite him. but zach made no motion for him to sit down, so the man did not sit. he fished out a card from his pockets and extended it with both hands.


    "my name is fredrick gimond. i am the wheelhouse merchants'' representative. without beating around the bush, i have sought an audience for you to enquire about a potential business deal."


    zach gestured for nora to accept the business card. she handed it to him. he grabbed it with one hand before tossing it aside without taking more than a cursory glance.


    "never heard of you."


    fredrick''s smile stiffened at zach''s blatant disrespect. but he was dealing with a young and spoiled noble. he should expect at least this much.


    "that much is only natural, young lord zacharia. we have dedicated ourselves to strengthening our foundation and establishing connections before moving on to anything even remotely great enough to catch your notice. but it must be fate. we are getting ready to expand our business right as you have decided to visit the capital."


    "s''that so?" zach asked uninterestedly.


    "yes!" fredrick answered excitedly. "now, a person as great as yourself naturally wouldn''t need to make more money by investing, but i heard that you have a business of your own?"


    "mm."


    "it''s also my understanding that it is separate from your family''s businesses, right?" find your next read on empire


    "mm."


    "forgive my presumptousnes, young lord zacharia, but would it be impolite of me to assume that you wish to show the world that you are more than a son of evandiel?"


    "mm."


    "then, it would only be right for you to make as big of a mark in the world of business as possible, no? if you choose to cooperate with us, that would certainly come to pass. no one would dare look down on you if you become the wealthiest man in the empire."


    "are you saying people are looking down on me right now?" zach glared at fredrick, who stiffened.


    "n-no! of course not! it was just an expression, young lord zacharia. i meant that you would rise to an even higher position and that no one would look down on you because of your accomplishments and not your family, that''s all," fredrick hurried to explain himself.


    "hmph." zach snorted but didn''t press the matter.


    fredrick wiped the sweat of his brow in relief.


    "would you be interested, young lord zacharia, in earning more money?"


    zach tipped his head back slightly and mulled it over. s§×ar?h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "how? what type of business are we talking about?" he asked.


    fredrick glanced around the room to make sure they were kind of alone and to elevate the tension in the room. he approached and leaned forward.


    "transport," he half-whispered.


    "transport?" zach asked doubtfully.


    "transport, young lord zacharia," fredrick affirmed.


    "it is the lynchpin of all other businesses. without the delivery and transport of goods, services, and money, all other markets and businesses will come to a halt within a matter of days if not hours. naturally, a business that crucial already has an airtight market. but my wheelhouse merchants have scouted and prepared trade routes and exotic goods that will be hard to hear about and even harder to acquire from other merchants." fredrick rubbed his hands together like a fly.


    zach narrowed his eyes.


    "and a business like this¡­how much money are we talking?" he asked.


    fredrick took a quick breath. he had zach on the hook. now, he just had to reel him in.


    "as a prudent merchant, i shouldn''t make any promises without something to support them. but i''m confident this is a winning idea, young lord." fredrick took another breath and met zach''s intrigued gaze with glowing eyes of his own.


    "tens of thousands of gold coins in profit the first year alone."


    ''that''s it?'' zach almost spoke his thoughts out loud. he couldn''t forget what he was doing.


    "...supposing your merchants are that successful, what would be my share? and what would you need from me to¡­get started, i assume?"


    fredrick did his best to suppress his grin.


    "now, now, there''s no need to be too eager. that''s still just a hopeful projection of a year''s efforts. but¡­


    "currently, the only owner of the wheelhouse merchants is me. so, if you agree to, let''s not beat around the bush, a token sum of an even thousand gold, i would willingly make you a co-owner. that means half of the profits will be yours." fredrick smiled and put his fingertips against each other as he waited patiently for zach''s response.


    a thousand gold for a yearly profit of several thousand. it wasn''t a bad investment, especially considering the growth potential fredrick had hinted at. he wasn''t sure if zach got that hint, though. he seemed a little slow.


    "a thousand, you say¡­" zach leaned back and stroked yanael''s waist thoughtfully as he considered it.


    "do you have a contract with you?"

 Chapter 316 Wheelbarrow

    as if he had been waiting for zach to say just that, fredrick pulled out a rolled-up paper and spread it out on the table in front of zach with a wide smile on his glossy face.zach glanced back and said to alzara, who had been standing with her hands on zach''s shoulders,


    "can you fetch me that ink i like to use when signing my name?"


    "of course, master," alzara answered with a gentle smile before leaving for a neighboring room. she returned a few moments later with a glass jar of dark ink and a feather quill. she popped off the lid and presented both to zach, who signed where fredrick wanted him to sign.


    while he was doing that, nora returned with a hefty cloth bag that clinked and rustled like it was filled with tiny metal pieces each step she took. she put it on the table next to the contract.


    "that should be about a thousand gold coins. feel free to count it," zach said.


    fredrick opened to confirm that it was indeed gold coins. he had not expected zach to deliver on his end so soon. he thought he would get a bank slip he could cash in or that zach would have the money delivered or ready for pick-up in a few days.


    "there''s no need for that." fredrick closed the bag, barely able to control his expression. this had gone too well.


    "mm."


    "...well, then, young lord zacharia, i best get going and get things ready. it is only right i work hard to return your sincerity many times over." fredrick smiled and rubbed his hands ingratiatingly.


    "mm, sure." zach waved his hand, dismissing fredrick.


    fredrick grabbed the contract and the bag of gold coins and slipped out of the room without giving zach a chance to change his mind. your journey continues with empire


    zach, nora, yanael, alzara, and soara stared at the door after it closed behind fredrick.


    "it seems derot was right. my arrival attracted a new generation of flies. let''s hope this leads somewhere."


    "i''m sure it will, young master. there''s no way someone like that is doing this on his own."


    "guess we''ll have to ask derot about the wheelbarrow merchants."


    "wheelhouse, young master."


    "you sure?"


    "..."


    now that they had received a visitor and made a deal, it would probably take a while before anything else happened, so zach and his maids indulged in some activities that, to the ears of others, sounded naughty.


    zach wished.


    it was training. although the hotel suite wasn''t the optimal place to train, it had everything he needed, namely open space and alzara''s potions. he used barriers to protect the room from damage, but other than that, he needed all the barriers available to protect himself and restrain his movements. unfortunately, he couldn''t soundproof the room to prevent others from thinking he was doing unsavory things to his maids.


    but if it weren''t for the looks the staff gave him whenever they brought in food and stuff, zach wouldn''t have even considered that a possibility. the training he and his maids put him through was too brutal for it to make him think of that kind of thing.


    however¡­


    zach was a young man. he had recently turned eighteen years old. he was surrounded by beautiful women and used to their appearances and the physical closeness that was inevitable when they trained and fought together.


    but being used to it was not the same as being immune to it.


    pink thoughts couldn''t help but slip into zach''s mind after training when his beautiful maids wore disheveled clothes with their hair in slight disarray and were panting and perspiring. since yanael, alzara, and soara were stronger and had more endurance than him, they didn''t end up absolute messes after every training session like he did. they were just gently out of breath and in a state a pinch messier than their perfect usual one.


    it was enough to drive a young man mad. it didn''t help that he was locked in the same room with them for days at a time. there also wasn''t a looming pressure weighing on them now that they didn''t have to think about the underworld and its minions.


    zach''s mind was freer than it had been a few weeks ago. but his body was bound.


    after night fell, derot appeared outside the hotel and, since they didn''t want anyone to notice what they were planning, alzara disappeared from the room for a few moments before soundlessly returning through the window with derot under her arm.


    "i¡­i don''t like this method," derot said as soon as he caught his breath and stabilized his insides.


    "we can stop using it as soon as you can sneak through the hotel undetected or when i can stop this charade." zach shrugged. he wasn''t going to suffer alone. of course, derot was suffering outside the hotel, but that was also outside zach''s perception, so he couldn''t see it.


    he needed visual confirmation that he wasn''t the only one plagued by some kind of discomfort.


    derot sighed.


    "whatever. you had a visitor today."


    "wheelbarrow merchants or something. fr¡­f-something. he left a card." zach looked around the room in search of the business card, which nora had already picked up and was handing to derot.


    "wheelhouse merchants. fredrick gimond. i haven''t heard of them or him before, so it''s likely a fake identity. what did he want?"


    "an investment. he''s setting up a transport business and needed some start capital to put his connections and preparations to use and what-not."


    "did you play along?"


    "of course."


    "...did you sign anything?"


    "of course."


    derot sighed and hung his head.


    "it''s fine," zach said.


    "whatever. worst case, i''ll just have to deal with it," he said slightly frustrated.


    zach shrugged and didn''t bother explaining.


    "anything else?" derot asked.


    zach shook his head.


    "i''ll keep an eye out for these guys. in the meantime, continue with what you''re doing. i might have found some dirt on kadricke or one of his minions."


    "great. any leads on a summoning place?"


    derot shook his head.


    "..." sear?h the n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    derot looked at alzara.


    "i''m in your care."


    without waiting for derot to prepare, alzara swooped him out and delivered him back to an alley outside the hotel before returning to the hotel room.

 Chapter 317 Idiot

    zach and derot realized that it was both inefficient and risky for derot to try and sneak through the city to the hotel. instead, alzara used the cover of the night to go to derot at the guild''s headquarters to debrief whenever anything of note happened, such as a development in the name of the guild.zach was close to coming up with something that he, his maids, derot, and the alchemists could be satisfied with. he could feel it.


    but other than that, not much happened in the hotel room. outside it, however, derot was busy putting out fires, both literal and figurative. the other merchants'' attacks on the goods they needed to craft potions and their interference with sales were relentless.


    if derot hadn''t continuously found and come up with new ways to get ahold of the necessary ingredients and sell potions, the guild would have already been forced to halt its business. fortunately, derot was handy.


    but derot wasn''t the only one keeping busy, and a few days later, there was noise outside zach''s door.


    "please let me knock first. he is a guest¡ª"


    "there is no need to knock when entering a criminal''s room."


    a moment later, the door to zach''s hotel suite burst open, and a man with a tidy appearance in a forest green uniform stomped inside. two guys in similar but less decorated uniforms and a manager of the hotel followed behind him.


    "zacharia evandiel, you are under arrest for orchestrating and arranging the import of outlawed and dangerous goods into the capital of this glorious empire. please do not resist for the sake of your family''s honor and pride. if you come willingly, this will be a simple affair."


    zach, who sat the same way he did when fredrick entered the room on the couch with his arms around yanael and soara looked at the officer with a condescending gaze.


    the officer noticed zach''s look and lack of intention to stand up.


    "don''t think for a second that your family will protect you. this is the capital and the laws you have broken are no mere trifles. regardless of your background, you will stand trial for the errors of your ways."


    "sure," zach said. "if i did anything wrong, my family would be the first to punish me for it, anyway. but¡­" zach let go of yanael and soara as he stood up. he stepped around the table and came face to face with the officer.


    "that''s only if i''ve done something wrong. without absolute certainty about my wrongdoings, my family wouldn''t so much as cut my allowance. so, since you''ve clomped your muddy boots all the way here, you must have damning evidence, no? let''s see it. officer." zach flicked the tassels on the officer''s shoulder.


    the officer snorted and refused to back down even when zach was close enough to count eyelashes.


    "of course, i have evidence. i also have testimonies of your involvement."


    "testimonies, huh? we''ll listen to those later. first, let''s see that evidence."


    the officer crossed his arms.


    "as if. what gives you the right? i have evidence. the only ones who need to know what it is are me and the judge. now, either you follow willingly, or i will have you arrested. do not even think about resisting." s~ea??h the nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    zach ignored the latter parts of the officer''s words.


    "what gives me the right? you said it yourself. i''m an evandiel. that single word gives me all the right to refuse, resist, and oppose arrest unless or until i''m presented with the evidence of my crimes. if you want to arrest me, you have to convince me. or you can try anyway. let''s see what happens."


    as he spoke, all four of zach''s maids closed up behind him.


    four beautiful maids were the last sight anyone would describe as intimidating. but none of them were smiling, and all of them were exuding bloodthirst that made the air smell like iron. the officer hesitated as he glanced at the maids behind zach.


    one part of his mind wanted to criticize zach for relying on his maids. another wanted to criticize himself for being intimidated by those maids.


    "hmph. suit yourself." the officer snorted and held out his hand toward one of his subordinates, who proceeded to procure a familiar rolled-up piece of paper.


    "this paper here details the orders and information of a significant smuggling operation taking place and about to take place in the capital''s underground market. these orders are confirmed by a certain signature at the bottom. can you guess who it belongs to? zacharia evandiel?" the officer asked with the same mocking tone zach had used earlier.


    zach stood with his arms crossed, completely undaunted.


    "someone who''s been knocked on the head? only an idiot would sign that kind of paper with their name." zach scoffed. his answer and attitude delighted the officer, whose gloved hands grabbed either end of the paper and stretched it, holding it up in front of zach. read exclusive content at empire


    "ha!" he shouted in excitement.


    "..."


    the officer looked out from behind the paper to see the shocked, surprised, despairing, and tearful look on zach''s face. but the only thing he saw was a slight frown.


    "is this some kind of joke¡­? did anerias put you up to it?" zach asked.


    this time it was the officer''s turn to frown, and he flipped the paper around to see what made zach ask those questions.


    it was blank.


    it wasn''t just the signature that was gone. the entire paper was gone. all of the ink and stamps that had verified the contents and the signature were completely gone.


    the officer was about to turn to the subordinate who had clearly made a mistake when a figure appeared on the paper.


    it looked like an ink stick figure, and it drew a mirror.


    the officer could only look on in utter confusion as the figure finished drawing a mirror and then proceeded to write something on the mirror that he was looking at.


    ''idiot.''

 Chapter 318 Planning A Surprise

    officer watkins grabbed the former contract with clenched fists until it creased, crumbled, and tore in a few places. he turned to zach with a cramped expression.it was obvious zach had done something. there was no other explanation. watkins knew zach was behind the contract turning from an orderly set of lines and letters to a stick figure insulting him.


    but if he wanted to keep his job, watkins had to let it go. even if he knew, there was no way he could prove it was zach. saying anything about it would mean he had added another charge to zach''s arrest but without any evidence. he didn''t have any evidence of zach''s involvement in the smuggling now, either.


    if watkins tried to accuse zach of tampering with evidence without evidence of said crime, he would be trying to falsely arrest zach on several charges without sufficient grounds.


    if it had been anyone else, he could have made the arrest anyway and looked for evidence later. if it was someone with a shady past, he could have thrown them straight into the slammer just based on his suspicion.


    smuggling dangerous goods into the capital and tampering with evidence were serious crimes, after all.


    however, zach was a member of one of the five most prestigious families in the empire. even with rock-solid evidence, he would still end up with a lenient sentence, and watkins might not see many more promotions in his future.


    without so much as a scrap of paper to prove zach''s misdeeds, watkins could forget working another day in his life if he tried to put zach in prison.


    watkins bit his tongue to force himself quiet while glaring at zach''s smirking face. after staring at zach until even zach started feeling uncomfortable, watkins turned around without another word and left.


    "wait." but zach stopped him at the door.


    "...what?" officer watkins didn''t turn around, nor did he keep up any pretense of formality.


    "what''s your name, officer?"


    "...why do you ask?"


    "oh, just curious."


    "...watkins." with that, officer watkins yanked open the door and left before zach could say another word.


    zach hadn''t been planning on saying anything else, though. instead, he turned to alzara.


    she nodded.


    "i have his scent," she said.


    "good. follow him and keep track of what he does and who he interacts with after this. he will have to report his failure to someone who isn''t his official superior."


    "yes, master." alzara nodded before disappearing out of the window and into the city to trail officer watkins.


    there was no way someone like him would be in charge of an investigation into the illegal smuggling of dangerous goods, much less find a perfect piece of evidence pinning everything on zach. someone had either handed him the piece and told him what to do or led him to it.


    officer watkins could just be stupid and easily manipulated. but he could also be corrupt.


    fortunately, corruption was like a disease. it left traces. if they could follow those traces and root out the corruption within the capital guard, they would have an easier time dealing with the merchants using that corruption to suppress the guild.


    it wasn''t the fastest and most efficient way of doing it, at least according to zach. but it was a less risky one since they most likely wouldn''t have to end up fighting against the powerhouses of the capital, who, undoubtedly, would be stronger than even monolith.


    zach turned to yanael, nora, and soara, the only maids left in his room. they had busied themselves with tiding up the place after watkins left and while zach was busy in thought but when they noticed him turn around, they looked at him patiently.


    "i think i''ve got it," he said randomly.


    "..." yanael and soara looked at zach with blank faces. if he were going to elaborate, he would.


    "got what?" nora couldn''t be bothered to wait for zach, so she asked directly.


    "the name!" he said excitedly.


    gradually, the maids'' eyes lit up in understanding. zach could only be referring to one thing when he spoke like that. it was almost a shame that alzara wasn''t here to hear it at once. but looking at zach''s playful expression, it seemed he had intentionally said it when she was outside.


    "since alzara is such a big part of the guild, wouldn''t it be nice to surprise her a little?" zach asked.


    the other three looked at each other.


    "i will do my best to keep the secret, master," yanael answered.


    "did you have something in mind other than a name reveal, master?" soara responded with a question of her own.


    "...i think i have an idea of what we can do, young master. it will probably need to wait until we''ve established ourselves in the capital, but¡­"


    "sounds perfect!" zach eagerly agreed. as long as they could do something more than just put the name on the building and show it to alzara, he was happy. so, they seized the opportunity now that alzara was out to start planning.


    ***


    in another part of the capital city of the empire, spiros, in a poorly lit room, preventing anyone from seeing the faces of the handful of figures in it, a meeting was being held.


    "so, those rats failed miserably," one person said.


    "it''s no surprise. we''re up against an evandiel, after all. if it had been that easy, we wouldn''t be gathered here to deal with one upstart," a second person said.


    "did we get any confirmation on what he''s doing all day and night?" a third person asked.


    "no," a fourth person answered.


    enjoy new adventures from empire


    "do we need confirmation? it''s obvious what he''s doing," the first person said.


    "how did your plan fail, then?" the third person asked.


    "those rats made a mistake. don''t tell me you think that brat had something to do with it?"


    "wasn''t your plan airtight?"


    "the plan was. the people weren''t. obviously."


    "focus," the second person said. they continued once the other grew silent.


    "the goal with¡­that plan was to figure out how much influence that child has and is willing to use. if we could put him in prison without his family interfering, we would have nothing to worry about. now, however¡­what if your rats didn''t make a mistake? what if that child didn''t act personally?" the third person asked.


    "are you saying¡­?" the first person began. s§×ar?h the ¦Çovelfire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...his family intervened on that short notice?" the second person asked.


    "can anyone here accurately estimate the power of a duke and a duchy? didn''t think so. let''s assume the evandiel child is off limits for now and focus on the other matters."


    "we need to strangle production harder," the first person said.


    "we''re already making too much of a ruckus, and you know those potions. they''ll sell no matter what we do. if we burn more warehouses, the guards will come after us," the second person said.


    "do something about the producers. i''ll talk with the guards," a fifth person said, immediately settling the matter.


    "v¡ª"


    "quiet."


    "y-yes. sorry."


    "dismissed."

 Chapter 319 Derots Adventures

    the days were a little duller and slower with alzara on a mission and without anything else happening. there was only so much they could plan when everything they planned hinged on their success in the capital, after all. s§×ar?h the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.that was why zach eagerly awaited every scarce report derot managed to send him, even if he told the latter that they weren''t important and that he should focus the more important matters. but reading about derot''s adventures was more exciting than training.


    ***


    "maz, did jessecke submit her report about the stock?" derot asked while sifting through the papers his subordinates presented him.


    "no, sir."


    "damn it. she needs to get better at stuff like this." derot scowled as he started looking at the information in the papers. they hadn''t lost as many transport caravans this week, nor had any warehouses burned down. their customers and clients were still scarce, but the few they had were too loyal and powerful to be swayed by the merchants'' harassment.


    if it continued like this, they could rest easy. things were calmer than they had been in months.


    that was precisely why derot was on edge.


    "if it''s any consolation, jessecke did make a cheaper and more efficient recipe recently," maz said to ease derot''s frustration.


    "mm, the only problem is that it needs buglewart. that''s something one of kadricke''s followers has a monopoly on. ask if there''s an alternative."


    "you got it, sir." maz nodded and turned around to leave and carry out derot''s request and fulfill his duties.


    "oh, and maz," derot said just before maz left. "get me details on our production the last couple of days."


    "right away, sir."


    derot didn''t look up as the door closed behind maz. he looked at the papers in front of him with a deep frown. he sighed and massaged his nose bridge.


    something wasn''t adding up.


    it only took maz half an hour to get the documents derot requested, and it only took derot half an hour to go through the pile of papers detailing the types and amounts of potions they had produced, sold, and stocked over the last few days.


    in the same span as their carts had stopped being raided and their warehouses stopped burning down, their production had decreased slightly.


    derot glanced up at maz, who was patiently waiting for his next order.


    "that will be all for now."


    maz nodded and left.


    derot looked through the documents again, this time comparing them to other papers of the past. he frowned.


    only certain types of potions were affected. all the more difficult potions that jessecke were in charge of were being produced at a greater rate than normal, thanks to the increase in available resources.


    "damn it¡­" derot cursed. he figured out what was going on. unfortunately, he didn''t know what to do about it. he glanced at a portrait of a woman on the wall for several long seconds.


    "fuck it," he eventually said and got up.


    he left his office. he placed his hands on the railing and looked out over the vast underground space of lines of workbenches and alchemists working to churn out potions and fill the air with a thick herbal and chemical smell. he grabbed a wrench and tapped the railing twice loud enough for the metal clinking to reach all the alchemists.


    then, he waited until everyone finished their potions. he had to tap again to help jessecke realize it was time for a break, though.


    derot cleared his throat and spoke with a voice loud enough to reach all the dozens of alchemists.


    "as all of you know, we are currently going through a period of trials. we have just recently been dealing with a shortage of materials that, while not completely over, we can now see the horizon of. but our next trial is already upon us. some of you know what i''m talking about.


    "you all are safe here but your loved ones aren''t. although i wish i could protect your families, i don''t have the power. as such, you may do as you see fit. do what you think is best for yourselves."


    some of the alchemists had no idea what derot was talking about. others had pale faces and sweaty palms, unable to look at derot. even now, he was being lenient, despite them sabotaging his business.


    "but i am asking everyone to take full advantage of our overflowing storages and produce as many potions as possible. each potion above the quota will grant you a reward. i''ll set up a list in the afternoon. and as always, not reaching the quota isn''t important. it''s just a goal to motivate you. if you have any questions, feel free to come to my office whenever."


    derot had said what he wanted to say, so he returned to his office and let the alchemists return to work. they had a lot to do, after all, just like him. he still needed to go through the reports, adjust the budget, and write letters to the distributors about a change in production.


    after a while, there was a knock on his door and a tired alchemist entered.


    "varas," derot greeted. "what can i do for you?" he asked kindly. varas was one of the alchemists who had suddenly started making a bunch of small errors that led to defective products about the same time as their supplies got back on track.


    varas avoided meeting derot''s gaze and fiddled with his fingers in the middle of the office.


    "y-you already know what''s going on, right?" he asked nervously.


    "i have an idea," derot responded, still with a benign tone and smile.


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    "i''m sorry!" varas bowed and apologized profusely.


    "t-they have my daughter!"


    derot got up and walked around his desk to help varas straighten up.


    "we''ll have to do something about that. for now, tell me about how they told you this and what they wanted you to do."


    varas'' eyes lit up in joy as derot comforted him.


    "of course! they wanted me to sabotage the production as much as possible without getting caught or, if i get caught, try to bring down as much as possible with me."


    "i see." derot nodded, his brain already working, even as varas continued explaining.

 Chapter 320 Tareeq

    "derot, please! you have to get your production up again. you know my clients!" tareeq, one of derot''s retailers was almost on his knees, pleading.derot shook his head with regret.


    "since you never stop gossiping about old men and women acting like horny teenagers, thanks to these potions, i might know your clients better than they know themselves by now. and i sympathize with you since i''m also suffering from this. but what can i do? you know the pressure i''m under," derot lamented.


    tareeq sighed.


    "i know. i''m just barely managing to rely on the influence of my clients to keep selling. i can''t imagine what it''s like for you. i''ll¡­i''ll ask around. see if there''s something i can do."


    "there''s no need for that. the trouble this time isn''t something your clients can do anything about. just keep yourself and your business safe."


    "thanks for worrying about me, but are you sure?"


    "yes. all you need to do is be patient. sooner or later, this will be dealt with as well."


    "if you say so¡­" tareeq sighed again and stood up. the potions coming from derot''s business were like bottles of miracles. tareeq considered himself lucky to have landed such a good deal with derot in the early days of the business. he could hardly count the money he had made through retailing the potions to the higher-class citizens of the capital.


    but more than that, derot was a genuine merchant. he was sly and tricky. but he wasn''t unnecessarily cruel or deceptive. he didn''t trick anyone and everyone he met to gain some far-fetched benefits. he was generous and warm-hearted.


    his type was a rare sight in the cruel market of the capital.


    tareeq was sad to see such a bright youth suffer at the hands of their peers. so, while derot had asked him not to, tareeq resolved to at least try and do something about it. he didn''t have any real backing to protect him in case he asked questions best left unasked.


    but many customers that were important in other areas of the capital''s high society valued his store and the exclusive goods that only he could bring them, whether they were rare gems or miracle potions that restored hair growth and vitality or cleared skin and washed away wrinkles.


    if tareeq disappeared, many of his customers would be upset.


    that protected him. it would take a lot for someone to decide it was worth getting rid of him.


    however, that was the limit of his backing. he was not in a position to ask for favors from his customers. he was the one who should be doing them favors. that was the reality of his situation. sear?h the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    still, he had to do something. it was a matter of prioritizing what really mattered in this world.


    derot smiled after seeing the resolve on tareeq''s face.


    it was a wonder tareeq had gotten as far as he had in the world of business with such an easy-to-read face.


    but that made it easier for derot.


    tareeq asking around would put some pressure on his opponents. it wasn''t much, but the tiniest bit would help since it would make it easier to localize the kidnappers who were threatening his alchemists'' families.


    hopefully, that would also lead to an opportunity for derot to strike back.


    he was thankful to zach. without him, he wouldn''t have been able to secure the families, even if he found them. and without securing the families, there was no way he could retaliate against the kadricke coalition and the rest of the merchants silently working together to freeze him and his business.


    fortunately, most merchants were easy to deal with.


    derot looked at his wristwatch before getting up and entering the back of his street-level office. after going through a few hallways, taking a few twists and turns, and entering a store room, derot moved a few boxes to the side and entered the trapdoor, which brought him to the underground lab with all the alchemists.


    it was the guild''s best kept secret to the point where only two of the alchemists knew about the entrance. they had been skeptical at first, but after hearing about all the trouble the business was going through, they were relieved to know how safe they were.


    the hostile merchants could only target their resources and families but not them.


    however, somehow, messages kept slipping inside the lab. the best-kept secret of the guild was no longer a secret.


    derot looked out over the alchemists and workers producing and moving potions of all kinds.


    there was a traitor in their midst.


    derot sighed lightly before returning to the surface through his office.


    it wasn''t unexpected, considering the means at the kadricke coalition''s disposal. it was just a shame.


    he could forgive being blackmailed. it was an impossible situation, and between alchemists who prioritized their families and those who would forsake them for the sake of potions, he preferred the ones with kind hearts.


    but whoever was bringing in the messages to the vulnerable alchemists and leaking their identities to the outside world had gone too far. even while being blackmailed, there was a limit.


    they hadn''t just tried to sabotage the operation. they had risked everything and everyone''s lives.


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    "baxter," derot called out as he left his office. a shadow separated from the corner of the office and followed behind him as he stepped onto the night street.


    the spy''s identity was a priority, but derot already had a few ideas of who it might be and what to do with that. so, now he focused on what he had to do right now.


    it was time to make a few house calls. if he wanted to strike back, he had to do it in a way the other merchants wouldn''t expect or wouldn''t be able to do anything about.


    it would take some negotiating.


    fortunately, derot knew exactly what merchants wanted. it was, after all, the reason why he was working so hard right now.

 Chapter 321 Threat

    the other merchants, the lesser ones who weren''t openly interfering in the silent war between zach''s guild and the kadricke coalition, were cautious. the coalition had warned them not to aid, help, or accept any of the alchemist guild''s offers. the moment they did, they would no longer have any dealings with the coalition or any of their affiliates.the coalition wasn''t the only merchant group in the capital, far from it, and they certainly didn''t control everything. but they had their hands in a lot of jars. upsetting them would make life a lot more difficult than necessary, especially if the coalition succeeded in their efforts.


    to the victor go the spoils and whatnot.


    if the kadricke coalition won against derot''s business, the potions, alchemists, and recipes would naturally end up in their hands. at that point, it would be their turn to try and take over the market.


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    they had already gotten a taste of that with the first batch of alchemists, the ones who deserted the guild last year. just the first few recipes and alchemists cultivated by the guild had led to a noticeable increase in profit, at least until derot entered the playfield.


    the coalition wanted the rest.


    the other merchants, regardless of their specialization, weren''t very different. they just weren''t necessarily interested in the alchemy itself. they wanted profit.


    that was why they had stayed out of the fight as much as possible. they didn''t want to get caught up in the crossfire and incur unnecessary loss.


    but on the flip side, that meant they would enter the fray as long as enough profits were guaranteed.


    derot opened the last of a stack of inconspicuous letters. it was a short one. he smiled.


    "maz!" he called out. only a few moments later, maz popped his head into the room.


    "yes, sir?"


    "it''s time." derot''s eyes shone with eagerness.


    "contact the coalition. i want to sit down and talk. oh, and while we wait, let''s get that firesale started. have all our stores ready to pump out all our stock for dirt cheap."


    mas frowned.


    "sir, won''t that¡­?" he started saying. if they tried to sell everything for cheap, the coalition and any other merchant would either physically stop customers from entering their stores and retailers or they would buy up everything themselves and sell it at a higher price. derot''s plan wasn''t making any sense.


    "just do as you''re told, maz," derot said as he got up to look at the alchemists again.


    only a little more than a month had passed since zach arrived at the capital, but derot was already taking a big step toward their future success. if his plan succeeded, he might just get the leverage he needed to pull himself above the water''s surface and go from just barely avoiding drowning to swimming in the proverbial waters of the capital''s markets.


    "...of course, sir." maz took his leave to carry out derot''s orders. after relaying the firesale directive, maz and derot headed to the meeting point.


    a shabby restaurant hidden in a back alley of the city that neither side had control of. that meant neither side could set up an ambush, at least not as easily. it was neutral ground where a troublemaker would end up in trouble themselves if they tried anything.


    the coalition had already arrived by the time derot did. he glanced at maz before he and his shadow entered the restaurant. the guard at the door slammed the door in maz''s face before he could follow.


    the coalition hadn''t just arrived first because they had better carriages.


    "derot gaville," one of the men around the only table in the dimly lit room greeted when derot entered.


    "ror autere," derot said while looking at the man. he then looked at another.


    "elaim wors." next.


    "ben godders." his gaze turned to the only woman in the group.


    "lila violet." then, his eyes landed on the person in the center of that side of the rectangular table.


    "kadricke," derot greeted with a smile that didn''t reach his eyes and a nod before pulling out the chair on his side of the table and sitting down. sea??h th§× n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "you know who we are, yet you still showed up alone? brave guy," elaim commented with a derisive smile.


    derot returned the smile.


    "well, it''s not like you all showed up because you think killing me is the only solution to our shared conundrum."


    "hmph. do you think if we kill you here, your little guild will hold out for more than a day?" elaim snorted.


    "a day? you''re being generous. but you''ve already stopped your attempts at your life. i assume it was when you guys realized that you couldn''t find out where my recipes were coming from.


    "sure, you can kill me and take over the business and all the alchemists, whether through force or persuasion. if you act quickly, my loyal ones won''t even have time to scorch the earth, which will let you get your hands on all the recipes currently in the guild.


    "but if that''s all you guys wanted, we wouldn''t be sitting here talking right now.


    "you guys want to know where i''m getting the recipes from¡ªwho is continuing to develop new potions and so on."


    "since you know what we want, derot gaville, this will be a short discussion," ror autere, the man who greeted derot, said.


    derot shook his head.


    "that''s where you''re wrong, ror autere. what you want is only half of the equation. you have yet to figure out what i want."


    "maybe to keep your life intact?" elaim threatened.


    derot just looked at elaim like he was stupid.


    "you want¡­" kadricke started saying in a low voice.


    "...more than you deserve. more than what''s available to take."


    derot wanted a slice of pie that was already in someone else''s hands. the market for potions wasn''t empty in the capital. his and the alchemist guild''s success would naturally lead to the downfall of others.


    his profits would come from the losses of his opponents.


    there was no doubt about that, nor was there any doubt that derot would succeed.


    kadricke and the others wouldn''t have gone through all the trouble if they weren''t threatened by derot''s meteoric rise.


    derot smiled as the members of the kadricke coalition stared at him with varying levels and shades of intensity.


    it wasn''t his fault they sucked.

 Chapter 322 Counters

    derot locked eyes with kadricke."oh, please," he said. it wasn''t like the coalition was any big in the potion business. their losses would be minimal. that wasn''t why the coalition was doing this.


    "i know what you want, and you," derot leaned forward without breaking eye contact with kadricke. "...know what i want. somewhere, there''s a deal to be made. we just need to find the middle ground. there''s no reason we both can''t walk away here satisfied." derot leaned back in his chair again. the ball was in kadricke''s court. he just had to wait.


    kadricke was silent. he also did not look away from derot, even when the other merchants looked at him.


    "you''re right," kadricke eventually said.


    "there is a solution here to our common problem¡ªthe problem of profits not going where we want them to go. i must say, derot, you''re more magnanimous than i would have thought. alright. let''s start." kadricked loosened his tie slightly and slicked back his hair with his hands before leaning in and resting his elbows on the table.


    derot didn''t go as far, but he also leaned in and rested his forearms on the table, not so much as glancing as anything but kadricke. he nodded at kadricke, gesturing for him to start.


    "all of us become partners. the guild''s profits are all of our profits. the guild''s investments come from all of our pockets."


    "no way. i''m not relinquishing authority." if the others became partners, it wouldn''t even take them a heartbeat to oust derot from the operation as soon as they got their hands on what they wanted.


    of course, with zach and alzara being the source of recipes, derot wasn''t worried. but recouping the losses and starting over after the coalition seized the current recipes and alchemists would be a mountainous task far surpassing that of their current predicament.


    he countered,


    "you can become an executive with a handful of shares. the rest of you get a few shares of your own. the more the guild earns, the more you earn. minimal risk, minimal effort."


    "there''s no risk involved in this matter. the more we invest, the more we earn, but we won''t be pouring our coffers into your guild without getting anything back. monopoly. all ingredients come through lila''s lillies and the golden egg. distribution is handled by ben''s boons and wors'' wares."


    derot shook his head. that would give the coalition too much control over the business.


    "you won''t be able to handle it. it would take years for their business to catch up to demand."


    derot''s comment made kadricke frown, but he didn''t say anything as he waited for derot''s counterproposal.


    "with my agreement, you can appoint heads of distribution and retrieval."


    "we can work with that. profit and investment distribution. fifty-fifty."


    "ninety. five. five." derot pointed at first himself, then kadricke, and finally the other members of the coalition. three-way split since kadricke wasn''t on the same level as the members of his coalition.


    kadricke was silent for a moment. his lowball offer was met with a highball one. but he had to admit that without derot, there would be nothing. if he had been in the same position as derot, he would have also wanted a majority of the profit, regardless of the money it would take. s~ea??h the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    your next read is at empire


    he threw out another offer.


    derot countered.


    kadricke countered his counter.


    the restaurant''s cool lounge grew heated with the intense exchange of numbers between the two representatives. it was fiery.


    another part of the city was the opposite.


    it was the street with the guild''s flagship store and main base of operations. it hadn''t been the most successful location due to the harassment from the coalition and other merchants, as well as the location being suboptimal. but it was the best derot could get with his limited connections and resources at the time of establishment.


    still, there was no containing the effects of alzara''s potions. as soon as it got off the ground, the store had soared, its reputation spreading and securing a semi-steady stream of customers who wouldn''t let themselves be stopped by the coalition.


    right now, however, the store was deserted. there was neither customer nor worker to be seen inside or outside the establishment. even the shelves were completely barren.


    "are you sure this is the place, herring? it looks deserted?" a man in a dark blue suit asked his partner, one of many men in similar clothing.


    "of course, this is the place. i was born and raised on these streets. do you think i would get lost?"


    "aren''t you from kester?"


    "...whatever. i''ve been here before. this is the place. this is the nameless alchemist guild''s main store."


    "so¡­where''s the firesale?"


    their intel told them where to go before the stores opened. they were supposed to clean the shelves before any real customers could get to the stores holding the firesale. if they could get their hands on the potions, they would be able to cheat the guild out of a hefty profit by reselling everything at a higher price.


    the guild would be lucky if they didn''t lose out on selling everything at the promised cheap price. but if their competition bought everything and resold it at a higher price instead of customers buying and using everything, the guild would end up on the brink of financial ruin.


    herring and his partner looked around in confusion. it was obvious the store was dead and empty, but they continued flipping over shelves. maybe they were early?


    right then, footsteps pounded against the street outside before a young boy burst through the door.


    "it''s not here!" he shouted while panting.


    "i-it''s¡ª!" he couldn''t get the rest out since he could hardly breathe.


    "hey, hey, slow down, boy. take a breath!"


    the boy gulped down as much air as he could. he couldn''t slow down. he had to tell them as soon as possible.


    "the potions aren''t being sold here! other stores!"


    herring and his partner frowned slightly. it was a little strange that the guild wasn''t using their main store, but it made sense if they had used it as a diversion.


    "alright. lead the way, but we should already have men at the other branches. what''s the rush?"


    the boy hurriedly shook his head, his breath a little more stable.


    "it''s not the guild''s stores!"


    "what? then which stores?" herring asked, confused.


    "all of them!"

 Chapter 323 Worth

    the intel hadn''t been wrong, per se. it had just pointed them in the wrong direction. there was a sale, and it was the alchemist guild''s potions being sold. however, it wasn''t the guild doing the selling.the coalition''s men stationed around the city at the branch stores and known retailers were in the wrong place. they had come out in great numbers with enough money on them to make sure no one else could get their hands on the potions.


    naturally, they were unable to respond properly to derot''s trick.


    even if there was someone with enough authority to order around the men from the different merchants of the coalition, there was no way they could organize the people spread out all over the capital city in a short time. there was no way they could split up the men and the money to go to the different stores and try to go through with the plan anyway.


    there were a couple of groups who were smart enough to do that on their own. they divided the money they had received, taking careful note of who got how much, before splitting up and going to different stores selling the famous potions.


    however, the individual groups had no way of communicating until they arrived at the same store. they wasted a lot of time going to different stores and trying to communicate with the other groups.


    an hour passed in a flash, and even ordinary commoners who hadn''t even heard of the potions before had bought a couple before the last group of the coalition''s workers found a store none of the other groups had tried to seize.


    the next issue was whether they still could go through with their plan.


    many potions were already sold off, thanks to their fame and potency. but that was only a small part. as long as they could secure some and prevent the rest from being sold, it would be a success for the coalition.


    however, could they afford it? they had the money, but could they afford to offend all the stores in the capital?


    not all the stores had agreed to derot''s deal. but there were enough to make it seem like someone was selling potions in every corner. it was enough to overwhelm the coalition.


    so, if the coalition tried to strong-arm the stores and their customers, they would offend not just those stores but also the rest of the business world in the capital. there were already many stores that weren''t fans of the coalition due to their actions when dealing with derot and the guild.


    many thought they had crossed a line, especially when they forbade other smaller stores from cooperating with the guild. if there was a chance to make a stand against the coalition, they would take it.


    and that was without mentioning the stores that had powerful backings, either from other big-name merchants or nobles. if they accidentally offended those stores, even the coalition would lose what ground they had to stand on in the capital.


    of course, not all of the coalition''s men were wise enough to think about all of this. they received their orders early this morning, and while the circumstances had changed, their orders hadn''t. it was up to them to carry out their orders to the best of their abilities, even if that meant splitting up and using less manpower to overpower the stores.


    but there were also a couple of smart ones in the pack. one of them was even smart enough to ignore kadricke''s order not to disturb them during their meeting with derot. s~ea??h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "boss!" someone shouted from outside the restaurant. it put a momentary halt to the conversation at the table, which had been flowing smoothly until now. but they ignored it as they heard the guard on the other side of the door act.


    "no, you don''t understand! i have to talk to him!"


    derot glanced at the door to help him control and hide his expression. he then turned to kadricke with a calm look as if saying that it was fine if he wanted to hear him out.


    "let him in!" kadricke shouted, irritated. if it wasn''t something important, this subordinate of his wouldn''t live to see the sunset.


    a man in a dark blue, dishevled suit with his face flushed from exertion and a blow from the guard stumbled through the door and hurried over to kadricke''s side, where he half-whispered into the man''s ear just too low for derot to hear what he was saying.


    but derot didn''t need to hear what he was saying. he knew what he had come to report.


    after all, he had orchestrated it. he was confident his plan had succeeded. that was the only explanation for kadricke''s man''s behavior. well, it wasn''t the only explanation. zach could have done something like blow up their headquarters, or another merchant could have seized the opportunity to devour the coalition''s business while all of its heads were preoccupied.


    but the way kadricke looked at derot while his subordinate spoke confirmed derot''s thoughts.


    kadricke had figured out what was going from just a few sentences. his subordinate had barely needed to say anything before he immediately turned to derot with suspicion.


    the timing, the plan, and the precision meant it could only be one person.


    kadricke stopped listening for a moment as he looked at derot, the only other person in a blank world. the person who had stopped hiding his smirk.


    "...you won''t get away with this," kadricke eventually said as he put both hands on the table and slowly stood up, his anger slowly igniting.


    continue your adventure at empire


    "oh?" derot asked playfully.


    kadricke ignored derot''s question and turned to his subordinate.


    "have everyone pull back. this is our loss. make them give everything back and drop the money we gave them."


    "kadricke!" ror also stood up. he didn''t know what was going on. but it wasn''t just kadricke''s money in this operation. he wouldn''t agree to this.


    kadricke turned to ror with a stern face.


    "i''ll explain later. for now, this is what need to do to survive."


    "..." ror stared at kadricke for several long and stiff moments.


    "well, if you put it like that¡­" ror sighed and threw his hands into the air.


    kadricke then turned to derot.


    "was it worth it? you might have gotten one over us, but you won''t be walking out of here."

 Chapter 324 Loss

    while kadricke and the other merchants stood up and derot mirrored their movements, the man who had brought the news of what was happening in the capital left, neither side sparing him a glance. at the same time, armed men poured out from behind the bar.a last-ditch effort or a backup in case derot had laid an ambush. the kadricke coalition was prepared for a physical altercation. they surrounded derot with their swords drawn.


    as soon as kadricke gave the order, derot would be skewered and turned into a pile of blood-soaked croutons on the slightly sticky floor. but kadricke wasn''t satisfied with just that. he had to know.


    "did you know?"


    had derot outsmarted him or did he just win the battle of information?


    "your plan? or who your spy was?" derot asked, doing his best to keep calm. kadricke had prepared a little more force than he had anticipated. he wasn''t sure if he would get out of this as easily as he had planned. sea??h th§× n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...my plan," kadricke answered. it wasn''t strange for derot to have figured out who the spy was. it could only be one person, all things considered. but if derot had found out who it was and pried information out of them, his plan to bait the coalition''s men and sell the potions through other merchants wouldn''t have worked since it relied on the spy delivering the wrong information to the coalition.


    the spy either wouldn''t have been in workable condition or he would have alerted the coalition when he tipped them off about the firesale. no, the spy had no idea they had been caught. but it was obvious from this morning that they had been caught.


    derot smirked. if there was one good thing about his current situation, it was the expression on kadricke''s face. frustration and knowing he should leave and deal with the burning pile of dogshit derot had left him painted a masterpiece with kadricke''s facial muscles.


    but he couldn''t help himself. kadricke had his pride after putting himself at the top of the coalition. he wasn''t at the top of the capital''s market world, but he could stand his ground, and he was far from the bottom. he had worked like a mad dog to reach where he was, and he took pride in that hard work.


    however, now an upstart still wet behind his ears had dealt him a blow that threatened to tear down everything he had built over the past decades. was it because derot was a better merchant? had kadricke made a mistake somewhere? where had he gone wrong?


    derot shrugged. he could somewhat understand what kadricke was feeling, even if only because he could read the later''s expression well. but he couldn''t sympathize. kadricke was the last person he would hold high enough to empathize with.


    "i guessed," he said simply. it was like the answer to someone who asked how he knew where an object in the household was located or how he knew which horse would win the race.


    it was a trivial answer. a simple answer.


    kadricke had lost years of work to a mere guess. find more to read on empire


    "..." the air slipped out of his lungs, and he plopped back down on his chair like an empty sack of potatoes.


    sure, it wasn''t the best scheme he had concocted over the years. it was straightforward and brutish, and it relied on his superior manpower and financial resources. but against someone who hadn''t anticipated it¡ªguessed it, it would have dealt a serious blow to them.


    after all, derot took a huge risk with his firesale.


    he sold his potions at a rate where he didn''t profit from them, even more so since he had to pay the merchants to get them to agree to sell them. he flooded the market with them, driving down the gaps in the market¡ªthe demand for more, and thus the future market value for them.


    since they were consumables, the market price would bounce back before long. but derot wouldn''t have had enough money to buy ingredients and pay alchemists to make more, especially if the coalition made a big profit off of reselling the potions at a steeper price, thus controlling the market valuation of both the potions and the ingredients for them without even targeting the ingredients, which they were sure to do anyway.


    it wasn''t an immediate death blow to the alchemist guild and derot. but they would suffocate and drown before long, unable to recoup their losses of this risky plan.


    it was the best kadricke could come up with on such short notice after hearing about the information from the spy and the discrepancies between the ingredients derot was buying, what his alchemists were producing, and the amount hitting the streets.


    kadricke sighed again, letting out the tiny bubble of air still left inside him.


    he should have figured it out then.


    there was no way derot would commit to such a reckless plan if he didn''t have anything to make the risk worth it.


    kadricke looked up at derot after a long silence.


    "...it''s my loss¡­" his voice held none of the vigor it had during their discussion, which most likely wouldn''t have led anywhere in the end, considering both parties were scheming against each other outside the restaurant at the very moment the meeting took place.


    but it had been a lively discussion anyway that reminded kadricke of his youth.


    kadricke slowly stood up like he had aged several years since he last did the exact same thing.


    he nodded at the armed men before taking his leave with the others of the coalition. even if he was the one who remained standing in the end, kadricke couldn''t find it in himself to consider it a victory.


    for a moment, the armed thugs considered waiting for a moment to let the high and mighty coalition heads leave before they covered the restaurant in blood.


    but they had witnessed what had just happened and figured that kadricke needed something to soothe his heart. so, they lunged forward.


    a clanging sound and soft thud later, there was one less visitor in the restaurant.

 Chapter 325 Bold

    kadricke wasn''t going to turn around at first. it would have been gratifying to see derot''s death, but he wasn''t interested at the moment. he didn''t want to think about it. he had to deal with the mess derot had left behind, as much as his blood felt like lead, before he did anything else.but then he stopped. before his men could say anything and before the other coalition members even thought to notice something since they were all too busy pondering on the same problem as kadricke, kadricke stopped walking.


    he couldn''t even pinpoint why he stopped. it was just a vague feeling of something being wrong.


    while turning around, he realized part of it.


    the metal clanging sound that rang out just before a head dropped to the ground.


    what was that?


    kadricke could even begin to think of possible answers to that question. fortunately, he just had to turn around to get his answer.


    it was not a good one.


    in front of derot was a visitor to the restaurant that no one had noticed or been aware of save for derot, the visitor, and the restaurant itself. clad in all-black cloth to the point where not even the light of their eyes was visible with a long dagger to match. they were facing away from derot, whose head was still attached to the neck.


    it was impossible to tell what they were looking at, but they were facing the headless body of one of the coalition''s men. it was the guy who had worked hard enough the past month to earn the honor of being the first to stab or decapitate derot. his hard work had come back to bite him in the neck.


    kadricke froze as he looked at the black-clothed person. the seamlessness of their outfit and the nigh-invisibility in the dimly lit restaurant made them hard to see. if kadricke''s eyes hadn''t adjusted to the restaurant''s lighting, he would have thought the person no more than a shadow.


    even now, it was hard to tell if he was just imagining it or not.


    but kadricke knew better.


    "...can i take this shadow as a display of the gaville house''s intentions of entering the capital?" kadricke asked in a slow voice, unwilling to startle the shadow.


    derot turned to look at kadricke, a little but not fully surprised that the latter knew about the gaville shadows.


    "no. he was cast out. his death won''t invoke any retribution from anyone other than me. in that regard, my death will be more troublesome for you to deal with. it will make it more difficult for you to expand into the south, but i don''t think you had any plans on doing that." continue your saga on empire


    "i don''t."


    "then, as long as you''re capable, feel free to have both me and my shadow killed." derot smiled brightly with his hands clasped behind his back to hide them shaking. he had almost lost his head there. it had been a little scary.


    ''how does zach do stuff like this?'' derot wondered. the labyrinth of syst had been dangerous, but any danger was easily overcome through a little cunning. it was nothing like the outside world.


    no matter how much he thought, planned, schemed, or guessed, derot wouldn''t be able to reason with the cold edge of a sword''s blade when it was slicing through his neck. he resisted the urge to scratch the skin where the sword would have touched if not for his shadow''s interference.


    derot would have increased baxter''s pay if the latter accepted payments of that kind or any kind for that matter.


    as far as derot knew, the shadows of the gaville house accepted payment, but everything except what they used to train and maintain their quality of life went straight to a safe place that would be used on a rainy day for the gavilles.


    baxter, who had been cast out, naturally didn''t have any obligation to contribute to that fund. he also wasn''t arrogant enough to think that he would be better at keeping money safe than derot. his only purpose was to aid and protect derot. much like his ancestors had done when they first swore allegiance to the gaville house, baxter swore allegiance to derot of his own free will. s~ea??h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    it had nothing to do with derot being a gaville, at least not directly. derot would most likely not have found baxter if he wasn''t a gaville, but derot being a gaville didn''t make him greater than anyone else in baxter''s eyes.


    no, baxter had sworn an oath independent of his people after they cast him out to derot because derot stumbled upon him when he was on the verge of death. it had happened a long time ago, and baxter resented derot for it when it happened.


    after being cast out, baxter lost all purpose in life. as such, it was only natural for him to die. derot had put a stop to that.


    but derot hadn''t just stopped baxter from dying. he had given the shadow a new purpose in life.


    for that reason, baxter was ready to fight to the death to make sure derot got out of the restaurant in one piece.


    the armed thugs didn''t look like anything special, and baxter was confident he could take them on. but he didn''t let down his guard.


    after all, it wasn''t like he was cast out for being too good for his clan and their mission of serving the gavilles.


    that was something kadricke was aware of. if it had been a proper shadow, one who hadn''t been cast out, he would have ordered an immediate retreat, even if not for the looming presence of the gaville house. those shadows weren''t the only reason the gaville house had earned its prestige of today.


    but in their world, no matter the financial skills of the gavilles, they would have never been able to establish themselves, especially in the pirate-infested south, without the right security measures.


    kadricke didn''t know much about the shadows, but he knew enough to know that if they were enough to help a merchant family become one of the biggest in the south, the hub of trade in the empire, they would be enough to erase his coalition over night.


    however, if this shadow in front of him had that kind of skill, derot would have already put it to use.


    from that, kadricke could conclude that the shadow that was derot''s personal guard was not that dangerous. but could he take the risk? was he that bold?

 Chapter 326 Whoops

    kadricke soon settled on a course of action. more important than anything was getting his coalition back on its feet and try to do something about the cracks in their foundation derot had sown.however, even if he fixed it, it would do nothing to stop derot from continuing to turn the tides and return the favor of his actions up till now, so to speak.


    "stand down," kadricke ordered his armed thugs. "you''re no match for a shadow."


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    they might be able to take down derot by swarming the shadow to keep him distracted and sneak attack derot. but that was a costly move, especially if too many of the combatants died in the process since they might not be able to stop the shadow''s ensuing rampage.


    the armed men withdrew to kadricke''s side of the restaurant and stood between the shadow and kadricke.


    as they looked at the men, derot and the shadow missed kadricke''s subtle nod toward a corner of the restaurant veiled in darkness. baxter stood between derot and the guards, but the strumming of a bow string let loose sounded out from a corner on the opposite side.


    his head whipped around as soon as the sound reached him, and his arm was already moving to block the arrow.


    but in such a close space, the difference between the sound of the bowstring and the arrow reaching them was minimal. baxter was too slow to block the arrow. it flew unhindered in its path to derot.


    time slowed to a crawl at this pivotal moment of history. the arrow''s fletchings trembled as the arrow drilled through the air, drawing invisible lines with its triangular tip.


    derot felt his heart seize as he stared down the arrow''s shaft. he closed his eyes.


    plink.


    that was the sound the arrow made after a second that felt like ten. that was the sound the arrow made when it reached its destination. s§×ar?h the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    if possible, the restaurant was even more silent now than it had been moments before.


    the arrow rattled to the ground.


    derot slowly opened his eyes. the fact that he could do that and see a scene the exact same as what he had been looking at before he closed them was proof that he was still alive. he sighed in relief.


    zach''s barrier.


    "baxter, it seems you don''t have to worry about my safety." he closed his eyes again and tilted his head back, the sound of his thunderous heartbeat pounding his skull drowned out the cacophony of sounds from the chaos in the restaurant.


    before long, the situation in the restaurant died down along with the deaths of those brave enough to try and stop baxter''s wild, shadowy assault.


    "sorry, sir, they got away," baxter apologized on one knee with his head bowed before sinking into derot''s shadow.


    "it''s fine. they won''t pose much of a threat from now on. it''s time for the man behind the scenes to take the stage. let''s go back. there''s a lot to do. but first, let''s meet up with zach." derot took a deep breath and let out an even deeper sigh before opening his eyes to the bloody spectacle that the restaurant''s internal decor had turned into.


    derot''s face was pulled into a grimace as the sight and the smell hit him at once. he carefully made his way to the door while doing his best not to step in any puddles of blood and gore too deep for the soles of his boots.


    as soon as he was outside in the fresh air, his light breakfast threw itself out of his mouth.


    ***


    a short while later at zach''s hotel.


    "master."


    "mm, pick him up. be a little gentle this time, alzara. derot has suffered."


    alzara soon returned with derot under one arm and baxter under the other. baxter wasn''t moving. it wasn''t because he was unconscious or incapable. he was paralyzed with fear.


    since alzara had only picked up derot the other times, and he hadn''t needed to do anything but make sure derot was safe on the way to and back, baxter hadn''t noticed it before. he knew alzara was powerful.


    but baxter hadn''t expected it to be to the point where he was completely powerless in front of her. baxter had mixed feelings.


    on one hand, it was reassuring that derot had such reliable allies. on the other, alzara''s strength hinted at a world beyond his reach, a world of powerful threats to derot''s safety that he would be powerless to stop. he needed to become stronger.


    "i heard what''s been going on. you''ve done well, derot," zach said since derot was still catching his breath and resting. it wasn''t just from alzara picking him up. he was pale and weak from the stress of the situation he had just gone through.


    "but it isn''t over yet, is it?" zach asked.


    derot was silent for a long moment before speaking without looking at zach.


    "...why didn''t you tell me you put a barrier around me?" derot asked.


    he had entered the restaurant relying on nothing but baxter. considering the wreckage baxter made, it wasn''t that he put his trust where it shouldn''t go. he just hadn''t expected kadricke to stuff an archer in such an enclosed, poorly lit space. in that regard, kadricke''s preparations had exceeded derot''s.


    if it hadn''t been for zach''s barrier, that round would have been derot''s loss.


    zach stared blankly at derot.


    "i forgot to mention that, huh? whoops. my bad." zach apologized with a tone anyone else would take as insincere. derot, however, knew zach was completely serious. so, he just sighed.


    "whatever. it saved my life, so you have my thanks."


    "hey, it''s just a drop in the bucket compared to all the money you''ve made me. don''t think about it too much."


    "..."


    zach fought with his life on the line regularly. derot didn''t. he spent most of his time safely counting money and doing business. their habits and way of life made them look at the value of life and death differently.


    to zach, almost dying was almost an everyday occurence. it certainly felt like it with how harsh his training was. but to derot, almost dying was almost as rare as actually dying. he ignored zach''s words to not mind it. he engraved it in his heart.

 Chapter 327 Halfway There

    in the same dark room as before, a group of figures hidden in darkness sat around a table."by now, it''s safe to assume that neither of those two youngsters is to be underestimated," one voice said.


    "have they proven themselves now?" another asked.


    "they did beat your coalition, after all," a third voice said to a fourth person.


    "that was¡­a little unexpected. i thought kadricke would handle that," the fourth person, a woman, answered.


    "are you satisfied with their performance?" the third person asked.


    "eh." the woman answered with a shrug. it didn''t matter much to her.


    "what about all of you?" the third voice asked again.


    "i don''t want to continue bullying kids," the first voice said.


    "i think they have proven themselves," the second voice said.


    "of course, you two don''t mind. you guys aren''t losing business to them," the fifth voice said before continuing,


    "i say we get rid of them. they will only continue causing trouble. we don''t need that in the current market."


    "he''s right. the future is already looking troubled. we don''t need another source of turbulence," a sixth voice added.


    two votes against, two for, and two neutral. all six of them turned to the seventh person at the table. last time, his voice had settled the meeting. this time, he hadn''t said a word. they waited patiently for his opinion to decide this matter. s§×ar?h the novel?ire(.)ne*t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "a final test, then. if they pass it, they will be allowed into the capital. i disagree with your thoughts that we don''t need another source of trouble. have you seen their products? if this current turbulence leads to something, they will become an important piece in the future. but like this, everyone will be satisfied. all in agreement?"


    one by one, the others expressed their agreement.


    now, they just had to decide what this test would be.


    ***


    derot took a quick nap to recover. after that, he finally looked up and at zach.


    "yep. we''re about halfway there," derot answered zach''s earlier question about whether they were done yet.


    "oh¡­" zach sighed in disappointment. he had hoped this ordeal would be over now that kadricke was defeated.


    "so, what are we supposed to do now?" zach asked.


    "structure first, and then we''ll see what they throw at us next."


    "got it. any clues about that thing?"


    "sorry, i''ve been a bit busy."


    "no problem. i''ll just ask around myself then. any ideas where i might find information?"


    "honestly? the imperial palace will probably have any kind of information you might be interested in. don''t know how easy to access it will be, but i would say it''s your best bet."


    "got it. speaking of which¡­what do you think about introducing our guild to the palace? maybe establish a cooperative partnership or something."


    "it''s a good idea. but you''re forgetting something."


    "what?"


    "the imperial palace is the physical body of the imperial family, you know, the ones who rule this empire. they are at the top of the empire, regardless of their capabilities or how many monsters each member can kill personally or whatever."


    "..." zach already understood where derot was going with this, but derot continued anyway.


    "you''re a member of the evandiel ducal family. you as an individual will be granted entry, maybe even an audience with someone very important depending on what you want to talk about. as a representative of our guild, which we have confidently declared is separate from your family, you will be lucky if they don''t stab you."


    "really?"


    "okay, they probably won''t use force, but they won''t entertain any talks of trade deals, much less partnerships. only the most reputable and renowned merchants, chefs, tailors, and the like receive such a privilege. if you use your family''s name to try and talk about it, your bid for independence with this guild will be rendered moot. all our hard work will have been practically four nothing." with ''our'' hard work, derot naturally meant his hard work. zach hadn''t done that much, after all.


    "...got it." zach could go to the imperial palace for personal matters but not business matters. he should also make sure to give derot a vacation or a fat raise as soon as possible.


    "then, is there anything i should do now?" zach asked.


    "nope," derot answered as he closed his eyes and lay down on the couch again.


    zach looked at nora. she went to fetch a pillow and a blanket. derot was spending the night. he couldn''t be bothered to go back, and he needed a sense of security after what he had gone through. zach couldn''t blame him, nor could he kick him out, especially when derot was paying for it.


    zach was still taking the bed, though.


    the next morning, derot returned to the guild''s headquarters to start structuring up the guild and the business after the firesale.


    zach took a shower, shaved, and dressed up. he needed to look like a proper noble if he wanted to visit the imperial palace. he wasn''t sure about the procedures necessary, but he knew that much at least. he couldn''t show up to the most prestigious place in the empire looking like a bum or a sweaty maniac.


    his familiars and nora helped him look proper before arranging a carriage. now that the coalition was beaten, there was no need to think about keeping a low profile. whoever would stand in their way next would be smart enough to realize that zach wasn''t just a useless guy taking it easy with his maids in his hotel room. find more to read at empire


    zach was free to do what he wanted until derot told him otherwise.


    "should i send a letter in advance?" he asked his servants.


    yanael, alzara, and soara blanked. they were not familiar with imperial etiquette.


    "it should be fine. let''s just visit the imperial library for now. it''s not like you need to schedule an audience or anything, young master."


    "sounds good."


    a short carriage ride later that brought them through a fancy part of the city to one side of the capital with a lush forest and scenic mountain, zach and his servants were in front of a palace almost as big as the mountain.

 Chapter 328 Dog Piss

    zach''s carriage was understandably called to a halt at the palace gates. they were still far from the palace, but someone unauthorized wasn''t allowed to even get close to the palace."state your identity and the purpose of your visit," demanded, one of the guards on either side of the gates in full plate armor with a halberd and shield. he looked at nora, who was sitting up front steering the horses.


    "young master zacharia evandiel has come to pay the imperial library a visit." although the imperial palace, including the library, was off limits to ordinary people, zach was far from ordinary.


    the guard was silent for a moment as he exchanged a look with his partner.


    "the library is currently undergoing repairs. i must ask young lord evandiel to return another day." the guard denied their entry.


    nora''s brow entered a furrow. zach glanced at the guard through the carriage''s window.


    "is all of the library undergoing repairs?" nora asked doubtfully. if the guard were going to come up with a shitty excuse, she would just have to embarrass him by poking holes in it.


    "...the rest is closed off."


    "what kind of repairs? was there a water leak? fire? did someone spill hot chocolate on the floor?"


    "i must insist that the young lord returns another day." the guard did not entertain nora''s questioning. he didn''t answer to her anyway. he looked straight ahead, ignoring the carriage with a son of one of the four founding ducal households.


    "...what''s your name?" nora asked the guard. this was not the proper conduct of someone supposed to work for the imperial family. zach wasn''t even here on guild-related business. he might as well be here on his family''s business.


    that meant the guard wasn''t just stopping zach. he was standing in the way of the authority of a family only a notch below the imperial family. naturally, the imperial family had better standing, and they certainly had more power in the capital and at the imperial palace.


    but the dukes showed respect to the emperor and his progeny. it was a given that the dukes and their offspring shared the same privilege.


    "sam." the guard answered with a shrug. nora glared at the guard.


    "if you''re going to use someone else''s name, use the name of someone you don''t like, not your partner''s," zach said as he opened the carriage door. he had noticed how the other guard flinched when the first guard said his name.


    he stepped down from the carriage and walked up to the guard.


    as guards of the imperial palace, they were well-trained and equipped with the best mass-produced weapons in the empire. they didn''t look like knights, but guarding the front gate, as boring as it could be, was a prestigious task that required recognized strength.


    the guards had martial energy and were good fighters.


    zach had no plans of fighting, but that wasn''t why.


    he would get into a world of trouble if he was caught beating the shit out of a guard of the imperial palace. sea??h th§× novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the guards were certainly capable, especially compared to what he had seen so far. but they couldn''t compare to the knights and veterans of evandiel. and they could not compare to even a hair on either of his familiars'' heads. nora would have trouble fighting them. she would most likely lose, in fact.


    but that was it.


    so, when zach approached, oozing bloodlust, the guard couldn''t help but tighten the grip on his weapon.


    zach stared into the slit on the guard''s helm, his gaze boring into the guard''s pale blue eyes.


    "now, guard who''s too cowardly to state his name, please explain to me why you''re coming up with a bullshit reason to deny my entry to the imperial palace. explain to me what gives you, a coward, the right to stop me, a descendant of evandiel, from entering the palace."


    "..." the guard gulped, and his eyes widened. he hadn''t even noticed when the three strikingly, hauntingly beautiful maids appeared behind zach. he looked at zach again and took a short breath.


    he had probably made an erroneous judgment. but the guard was confident the palace would protect him from zach''s wrath. now, the problem was if he should explain why he had denied zach entry or come up with more nonsense and hope zach left.


    "¡­regardless of what family you belong to, the imperial palace is not a playground. it is not a place you can enter as you wish, and it certainly isn''t a place for you to ''flirt'' with your maids. of course, if you insist, i can permit your entry on the condition that your maids stay outside the palace." the guard gained a little confidence as zach let him speak without interrupting.


    "heh." zach''s cold chuckle erased the guard''s confidence.


    "who do you think you are?" zach asked coldly.


    "not only do you have the gall to judge me, but you also dare doubt my intentions of entering the palace?" zach took a step closer to the guard, who, suppressed by zach''s presence, took half a step back.


    "are you my father? or perhaps a bastard son of the emperor? is that why you think you are better than me? in a higher position than me?" zach was close enough to see his nose hairs in the guard''s helmet''s reflection.


    "you judge me, doubt me, and ask me to leave my familiars behind. you are one lucky bitch of a dog''s piss that your armor has the imperial insignia on it." zach scoffed and poked the emblem engraved on the guard''s chest hard enough to make the guard stumble.


    he then turned around.


    there was no need to visit the palace. he would just have to find another solution or source of information. maybe derot would be able to find something once the business was fully established.


    with a sour expression and most of his day ruined, zach returned to his carriage. nora intentionally had the horses draw the carriage rudely close to the guards as she turned it around to leave.


    "please wait!" stay tuned with empire

 Chapter 329 Imperial Chat

    zach naturally didn''t want to wait, but there was something about that woman''s voice. it carried a powerful presence. her ''request'' for them to wait was no more a request than it was an expectation.zach sighed and tapped the carriage, signaling to nora, who tugged on the reins to the horses, stopping the carriage.


    he opened the door and stepped out, his familiars and nora following him to greet the person who had rushed out from the imperial palace in a simple but elegant and expensive dress.


    strikingly blond hair like it was woven from threads of polished gold with crushed diamonds. eyes that shone like the sun with hints and hues of greens and blues.


    zach put one arm behind his back and the other in front of him with his forearm pressing against his stomach. he bowed, leaning his straight torso forward while sliding one foot slightly backward and bending his knee. explore more at empire


    "i greet your imperial highness¡­" zach trailed off. he recognized the woman in front of him as a princess of the imperial family, and he used proper etiquette to greet her. unfortunately, he was not familiar enough with the members of the imperial family to know which princess it was.


    the princess was stunned for a moment. zach had barely looked at her after he stepped out of the carriage before greeting her. had he known who she was before he stepped out, or did he recognize her that quickly without being surprised?


    his polite greeting and respectful attitude also clashed with what the princess had heard about zacharia evandiel.


    "likewise," the princess greeted with a quick curtsy, her attitude showing that there was no need for excessive formality. they were both youngsters of prominent families. she was slightly older and of the imperial family, which meant her status was higher. but her family wouldn''t be anything without the ducal families.


    as an imperial, the princess was more aware of that than most others in the empire. they owed a lot to the four dukes.


    it would have been one thing if zach hadn''t greeted her as politely as he did, but it was clear he respected her family. as such, there was no need for him to put on a display.


    zach righted his posture and looked at the princess in silence, trying to figure out which one it was while she looked him up and down and glanced at his maids, only one of which was bowing.


    the princess narrowed her eyes as she looked at the other three maids. only one of the maids were showing respect toward her as a member of the imperial family because only one of the maids was a resident of the empire.


    the other three were zach''s familiars. slowly, she focused her attention on the black-haired one. she saw through soara''s way of masking the true extent of her beauty. at first, she wasn''t sure what soara was hiding or why she bothered making herself more beautiful with something like a mirage.


    but then the princess understood. she almost couldn''t stop staring.


    if it hadn''t been for soara glaring at her, even the princess would have been at a loss and in a daze.


    "pardon me. i asked you to wait and then just stared at you and your familiars. that was not my intention. please come inside." the princess, a little flustered, turned around to hide her expression as she led zach and his servants inside the palace.


    the guard stood like a statue next to the gates. his soul had left his body. he probably wouldn''t keep his job after this.


    the princess took zach on a little tour around the palace gardens, letting him admire the majesty of the various palaces and buildings, before inviting him to a gazebo where snacks and tea were already waiting for them.


    the princess started with taking a bite and occasionally glanced at soara before turning to zach.


    "i overheard your conversation with the guard. worry not, he will be removed from his position and punished appropriately for the crime of insulting both the evandiel name and the imperial family with his tactless comments." the princess began by settling the more pressing matter.


    "good." zach nodded. he hadn''t used his status to oppress anyone in many years. he usually didn''t like it, either. but that guard had been too much.


    the princess nodded toward the refreshments on the table, gesturing for zach to feel free. naturally, he didn''t see a reason to hold back. he was a little awkward about suddenly chatting with one of the princesses, especially since he didn''t know her name, but this could be better than trying to fish for information in the library.


    "i also heard that you wished to enter the library. the imperial library is certainly extensive, but is there something you seek that you cannot find in the academy for summoners'' library?"


    zach shook his head while swallowing the cookies in his mouth.


    "nothing of the sort. i can find what i am looking for at the academy. but the principal forbade all third-years from staying at the academy during the break. i could wait until the next school year starts, but i am an impatient man." s§×ar?h the n?velfire(.)net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "i understand. what is it that you are looking for? take my assistance as an apology for what transpired at the gates."


    zach nodded. getting help from a princess would be a lot easier than trying to find what he was looking for in the library or by asking whoever he encountered in his search. he still had to find out which princess he was talking to, but that wasn''t as important.


    so, he explained why he had come to the imperial palace to the imperial princess.


    the princess listened with a thoughtful expression while zach explained. when zach was done, she nodded decisively. but she hesitated a moment before answering.


    "...we might have to talk with my grandmother about that," she said with a grave tone.

 Chapter 330 Empress Dowager

    zach looked at the princess in silence for a minute before asking,"your grandmother?"


    "on my father''s side," the princess clarified.


    "ah¡­" zach inhaled in realization. the princess'' grandmother was the emperor''s mother. it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call her the sky above the sky. zach also understood why the princess said they might have to talk to her. if there was someone in the empire with power over the emperor, who could it be if not his mother?


    although she was far from as famous or infamous as the principal, the empress dowager was also a summoner, and a powerful one at that.


    "uh¡­should i schedule an audience or something?" zach asked. meeting the empress dowager was different from visiting the imperial library. even if he asked for an audience, the empress dowager could just say no if she didn''t want to meet him.


    there weren''t many in the empire who could disregard the evandiel name unless it was attached to one of the dukes. the empress dowager was one of them.


    find adventures on empire


    the princess narrowed her eyes as she looked at zach and his familiars.


    "no¡­" she began doubtfully. zach frowned.


    "i don''t think that''s necessary," she continued. zach''s eyebrows rose.


    "i think she might want to meet you, actually, considering your talent as a summoner. if you want, we could visit her right now. she usually doesn''t do much at this time of day," the princess proposed hesitantly. springing a meeting with the empress dowager onto zach might be a little much.


    "let''s go."


    contrary to the princess'' expectations, however, zach was already on his feet and ready to go.


    meeting one of the most powerful and influential people in the empire was certainly daunting, but how could zach be worried or filled with trepidation? the empress dowager was a summoner who, as far as he could tell, was on a similar footing to the principal, at least in terms of status.


    the principal should be stronger and older since the empress dowager was from the generation before zach''s parents while the principal seemed to have existed since the dawn of time or something. there weren''t any detailed records about the principal in the academy.


    but he was the academy''s first and only principal, and the academy had been operational for a few centuries by now. there were also records elsewhere about the principal''s activities in the early days of the empire and even a few whispers of the principal''s reign of terror before the empire was even founded.


    that meant the principal was at least nine hundred years old, most likely a little older.


    the empress dowager most likely wasn''t as strong as him, but she had to be considerably powerful to be considered among the same handful of people at the top of the official empire.


    then, there were probably people like sio hiding in the shadows. if the systine duchy had one, possibly more, guy like that, the other duchies and the imperial family would also have them.


    but since the empress dowager was just a grandmother and not a great-grandmother or anything, she wasn''t too old to actively influence the empire with her presence just yet. but considering the lack of information about her recent activities, she was most likely already starting to withdraw from the public''s consciousness.


    zach had to seize this opportunity to meet her, regardless of his other purpose in coming to the imperial palace. powerful summoners, the principal excluded, were just too intriguing. zach wanted to learn more about summoning and familiars. what better source than someone who had reached the top of the empire relying only on her family background and talent for summoning?


    the princess wanted to say something to zach about how he needed to think about his etiquette and be careful. but when looking at his excited expression and the energy and his steps, the princess couldn''t find it in herself to curb his enthusiasm. she also remembered how he had greeted her and refrained from physically assaulting the guard who barred his entry.


    there was no need to say anything. even if she did, zach wouldn''t take it to heart.


    the princess just hoped her grandmother would be merciful.


    after a walk during which the princess took the opportunity to introduce the buildings, maids, butlers, and flowers around them, the two noble youngsters and zach''s servants found themselves in front of clean, white palace that, while not as big as the main palace, was undoubtedly luxurious.


    it was the most beautiful palace zach had seen, even from outside the line of trees separating it from the rest of the imperial grounds. sea??h th§× n?velfire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the princess let zach admire it from a distance before leading him along the path of smooth gravel through the trees and garden. one of the servants at the palace recognized the princess and gestured for them to go around back.


    the empress dowager was tending to her flowers in a greenhouse big enough to house enough plants to keep her occupied well into her retirement.


    "grandma?" the princess gently called out from outside the greenhouse.


    after a second of silence, a beautiful woman with striking golden hair just a few shades brighter than the princess'' was in front of them, already wrapping her arms around the princess.


    "rienne, baby!" the empress dowager said cheerfully as she hugged her granddaughter. right before picking up rienne, however, she froze and let go. she patted rienne on her shoulders before taking a step back and clearing her throat as an air of untouchability and supreme nobility wrapped itself around the empress dowager.


    "mm, i see you have brought a friend," the empress dowager said while giving zach a pointed look, silently telling him to erase what he had just seen from the depths of his mind.


    it was an unnecessary worry. zach didn''t care about the empress dowager''s graceless display unbefitting of her stature. he only cared about how she had suddenly appeared right in front of them without the door to greenhouse even opening.


    that was why he was staring at her. it had nothing to do with the beauty of a mature woman who should be old but showed no signs of aging out of her prime.

 Chapter 331 ?-Rank

    thanks to the pointed looks coming from the empress dowager, princess rienne, yanael, alzara, soara, and nora, zach realized he was staring and hurriedly bowed."zacharia evandiel greets her majesty the empress dowager." since he was flustered, his greeting wasn''t as perfect as the one he gave the princess, but the empress dowager hadn''t displayed perfect etiquette and demeanor befitting her stature so they were even.


    "evandiel, huh. is this what you''ve been up to lately, brienne? hanging out with no-good¡­" the empress dowager swept her gaze over the maids behind zach as she turned to her granddaughter after looking at zach. even without hearing anything about zach, she could still tell that he was a rascal.


    why else would he surround himself with beautiful maids like that?


    but the empress dowager trailed off as she actually looked at zach''s retinue. she narrowed her eyes slightly as she separated nora from the other three. there was only one maid, who, according to evandiel standard, was well-trained in areas other maids usually weren''t.


    the other three weren''t maids. they might be dressed like ones, but it was like calling wolves in sheep''s clothing sheep.


    "i was going to advice against spending any more time with such a frivolous young man, but it seems that was a hasty judgment on my part." the empress dowager turned back to zach.


    "zacharia was it?"


    "feel free to call me zach."


    "zacharia. your familiars¡­" she started. zach understood what she wanted.


    he pointed at yanael.


    "yanael. s-rank." yanael curtsied slightly. zach respected the empress dowager. it was only natural she showed his respect with her actions. as an angel, she also had an understanding of the significance of rank and status.


    he pointed at alzara.


    "alzara. ss-rank." alzara nodded in greeting. since zach introduced her, she would greet who he introduced her to out of respect for her master. if he had asked her to curtsy or bow, she would have done that. but he hadn''t. she was a desert witch. empress dowager or extranormal dummy were the same in her eyes.


    he pointed at soara.


    "soara. ss-rank." soara met the empress dowager''s gaze without flinching, curtsying, or bowing. the empress dowager was without a doubt strong¡ªfar stronger than even monolith. but soara didn''t lower her head to monolith, and she wouldn''t lower her head just because the empress dowager was strong. in her prime, it would have been the empress dowager on the floor with palms and forehead pressed against the ground.


    the empress dowager smirked as she noticed the boundless arrogance in soara''s eyes.


    "those names aren''t something you gave them arbitrarily, right?"


    "no, ma''am. they had them when i summoned them."


    the empress dowager''s eyes narrowed as she glanced at zach before looking at soara again. yanael and alzara were impressive. definitely. as far as she knew, less than a handful of people had summoned s-ranks as their first and ss-ranks as their second familiars. it made zach just as impressive as them.


    but what was more impressive than that was soara.


    there was something special about her. there had been a clash between the empress dowager''s perception of soara and the status zach reported.


    "zacharia, do you know what rank comes after ss-rank?" she asked after a moment of silence where she studied soara and soara studied her, though without much success.


    "sss-rank or something strange like ?-rank."


    "that''s right. do you know what the prerequisite to summon a familiar of any strength is?" the empress dowager''s eyes flitted around as she sensed whether she was approaching any restrictions. fortunately, it seemed she wasn''t. she would be able to share a little something with this young and promising summoner.


    "talent? luck?" zach suggested, not quite sure what she was getting at.


    "no. those are only useful if a more important condition is already met."


    "then, i have no idea." zach shrugged. he could tell the empress dowager was wary about the restriction, and if he could guess the answer, it would make it easier on her. unfortunately, he didn''t even know where to begin. but he was a little surprised that rienne wasn''t in the way of the empress dowager''s talk.


    it meant she had more authority than him.


    ''ah!''


    right as he might have figured it out, the empress dowager said,


    "has the principal said anything about authority?" she asked, confirming zach''s guess.


    "no, but they have. simplified, it''s my strength-based right to information."


    "that''s a decent way of putting it. but when you say they have¡­?" she glanced at the three familiars.


    "oh, yeah, they can talk." zach was so used to everyone knowing and acting like it was no big deal that he forgot it wasn''t the norm that familiars could talk.


    the empress dowager''s eyes widened. then, her pupils narrowed.


    "as in¡­?" the way zach had said it made it seem like they could talk like ordinary people. maybe he was just referring to how most familiars, especially intelligent ones, learned how to communicate with their masters one way or the other.


    "like this," yanael said, helpfully providing an example.


    the empress dowager''s eyes widened again, and she nearly lost her composure.


    "...i see," she finally said after getting her expression under control. s§×ar?h the novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "is the principal¡­?"


    "he knows. he''s the one who said it would be fine to tell everyone they can talk."


    "that sounds like something he would do. whatever. getting back on topic¡­


    "the authority we''re talking about in this case is one part of the most important condition necessary to summon a strong familiar. it''s related but not the same. no, it would be more accurate to call it part of the other half."


    the empress dowager took a short break from her explanation as she crossed her arms and thought about how to phrase this. she was approaching the restriction fast with this little lecture.


    "every being is made of¡ª" the empress dowager glared. the constriction snapping into effect almost made her bite her tongue. continue reading on empire


    "okay, that''s a bit too soon, apparently." she sighed.


    "what''s most important about summoning a strong familiar is being able to handle it." the empress dowager poked zach in the center of his chest, somehow making him acutely aware of his entire body down to the last strand of hair on his ankles.

 Chapter 332 Correlation

    like she had dropped a pebble in a pond, the empress dowager''s touch created a wave that illuminated zach''s body to his consciousness. he could see and sense his entire being. he could see how his muscles, veins, and bones intertwined and were connected. he could see the world essence energy swirling around within the mess of his physical body, fixing, reinforcing, and soothing it.in the depths of the misty world essence energy, he also saw an impossibly faint golden light. he wasn''t sure if it was his imagination or just a concentration of the light from his energy. and before he could confirm it, he snapped back to reality.


    zach stared at the empress dowager in a daze.


    "how much did you see?" she asked as soon as there was signs of activity behind his empty eyes.


    "uh¡­myself?" zach was not sure how to explain it.


    "i saw¡­my muscles, bones, veins, organs, blood, and energy. it was pretty amazing, but¡­"


    "why did i show you that?"


    zach nodded.


    "you saw a decent bit, which means i can tell you a little more. what you saw is you." the empress dowager gestured at zach''s entire body.


    "but it is only one part of you. there is another part." the empress dowager stopped. she was right in front of the restriction. unless zach could figure it out with the clues he already had, she wouldn''t be able to say much more about it.


    zach''s brow furrowed as he sank into thought about what it could be.


    hadn''t he already seen all of him? what more was there? there were a few details missing like the color of his organs and the dirt under his fingernails. but those things wouldn''t count as another part of him, at least not to the degree the empress dowager was hinting at.


    there was something else.


    what hadn''t he seen?


    he hadn''t seen himself move.


    was that it? one part of him was the still, static being while another part was him in motion. like the difference between the painting of a tiger and the tiger itself.


    but that didn''t quite make sense, not to mention how he hadn''t seen himself in absolute stillness. his heart had pumped his blood, his muscles had contracted and relaxed. his energy had swirled around like smoke.


    what hadn''t he seen? why couldn''t he figure it out?


    zach scratched the back of his hand, trying to come up with different possibilities when he froze. s~ea??h the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    why can''t he figure it out?


    ''that''s it!''


    while he was in that weird state the empress dowager put him in, there was one thing he hadn''t seen.


    "my mind!" zach said excitedly. he hadn''t seen his thoughts and feelings when he was in that weird state.


    the empress dowager nodded, a slight smile turning her eyes gentle.


    "the mind and the body. the¡ªhah¡­" the empress dowager sighed exasperatedly.


    "ah, whatever. that''s not important right now. what''s important is that there needs to be a kind of balance between the two. the body needs to bear the weight of the mind, and the mind needs to be strong enough to carry the body. there''s a little more to it like how a strong mind leads to a stronger body and how fostering a strong body can foster a strong mind, though the first is easier."


    the empress dowager could sense zach''s ardent gaze. it made her realize that she was rambling a little. and while zach didn''t mind¡ªit even seemed like he wanted her to continue¡ªthe empress dowager wasn''t a teacher. she was just sharing some of her knowledge with a junior in the same field.


    "what i''m getting at is that summoning is connected to the mind. the burden and strength of your familiars is thus placed on that, which means, if your body can''t handle it, you can''t summon strong familiars." find adventures on empire


    zach nodded slowly. it made sense. only a strong knight would be able to use heavy weapons, after all.


    "your familiars must have placed a significant burden on your body. i can tell that there is something different about soara compared to yanael and alzara. if it is what i think it is¡­"


    "her original strength is above the ss-rank."


    "yes. you were fortunate when summoning her, then. if she had been at her original strength, you would have experienced a fascinating phenomenon known as spontaneous implosion."


    "..."


    the empress dowager spoke of what could have been his death with a fair bit of nonchalance. however, as the empress dowager continued looking at zach, she couldn''t suppress her smirk.


    "but you felt it, right?" she asked.


    zach looked at her in another daze. after several short moments, it clicked. his eyes widened and slowly lit up like a grassy field in a drought.


    he knew what she was getting at.


    the empress dowager exchanged a look of excitement and eagerness that could only be shared between peers with similar interests and similar degrees of devotion and fanaticism to said interest.


    zach had been extraordinarily excited about summoning since he first heard about it, and it only got worse with each step he took on this path he had chosen. and it was something he had half-noticed by now.


    the others around him who also excelled or made great improvements in summoning were similar.


    the principal was a nutjob. nessa loved summoning. violina was a little eccentric, but she also loved summoning. anerias loved his summons and preferred cuddling his furry beasts to sleeping in a bed. dukiel sometimes had trouble dealing with people. it wasn''t the same way as zach, and he was better now than in the beginning of their stay at the academy.


    but he had never felt more at home than when he sat and stared at the sunrise with his familiars.


    there was a direct correlation between loving summoning and being good at it. naturally, there was talent, hard work, and luck involved. but most if not all great summoners loving summoning wasn''t just because they were good at it.


    naturally, the empress dowager, a prominent figure in the world of summoning, wasn''t an exception to the trend.


    princess rienne shook her head and rolled her eyes as her grandmother threw her efforts into maintaining proper demeanor and decorum into the trashcan as she started giggling excitedly while leading the two youngsters away from her greenhouse.

 Chapter 333 Mean

    zach wasn''t sure where the empress dowager was bringing him and the princess, but she led him on a tour through her annex and into a basement. it was brightly lit with fresh air and clean walls and floors. it was nothing like the dungeons zach had expected to find in the palace. sear?h the nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.but as he looked at the chamber taking up a majority of the space under the empress dowager''s palace, zach understood that the dungeons were just elsewhere. this was the empress dowager''s personal training space.


    the basement''s main space was big enough to store a ship in almost whatever position they fit it. there were scorch marks, cracks, and indentations in a few places here and there along the walls, floor, and ceiling.


    but they weren''t here for the training room. that would be some other time.


    this time, they were here for the significantly smaller room located next to the training hall.


    the room was simple, but it wasn''t lit up by any torches. it was a room of sleek, dark grey slabs of stone with a doorless opening in the wall. it was very different from the otherwise light grey, almost white basement.


    however, even without the different stones, zach could feel that there was something special about the room. he glanced at the empress dowager. she nodded. this was what he had come for, after all.


    zach excitedly skipped into the room. he stood in the middle of but nothing happened, so he looked back at princess rienne and the empress dowager in confusion.


    princess rienne didn''t have much of an expression other than curiosity. the empress dowager, on the other hand, grinned and waved as she mouthed, ''bye.'' zach''s brow furrowed in confusion, but before he could say anything, he, yanael, alzara, soara, and nora were enclosed in absolute darkness as two panels of stone slid out of the square entrance, turning it into a solid wall instead of an opening.


    "uh¡­" zach''s mouth stayed open as he stared at what was apparently a very secure door and not just an opening in the wall.


    this was not the turn of events he had expected. he was confused about why the empress dowager, whom he had just shared an excited conversation about summoning with, would trap him in a solid stone prison.


    but before he could voice any of his thoughts to his familiars, the room thumped. it was soft and slow like the heartbeat of a sleeping bear. slowly, threads appeared in the center of the room''s floor.


    with each thump, the threads pulsed with a soft golden light and extended along the floor. they crawled up the walls like vines and into the ceiling like tree roots.


    the threads that looked like pulsating veins of a living being had nowhere to go after gathering in the center of the ceiling, but with each pulse, more and more of each vein gathered in the center. after a while, they were pulled out of the floor and dragged along the walls until all the veins had gathered in a glowing mass of pulsating threads in the ceiling. read latest chapters at empire


    slowly, the mass expanded like a growth and started drooping from the ceiling until it assumed the shape of a water drop. the drop continued growing and swelling, the threads and veins seamlessly connected like a membrane of organic light.


    before long, the drop turned into a ballooning cocoon that took up a significant portion of the air space in the room. zach and the others still had more than enough space to stand, but they couldn''t not worry when it continued expanding, especially when the pulsating and beating increased in frequency and strength.


    that wasn''t the only change. the light grew brighter and brighter with each beat and pulse. soon, the light was so overwhelming that zach and nora couldn''t keep their eyes open. shortly after that, even soara and alzara had to close their eyes and avert their gazes. soara was the only one who could sneak a peek at the secrets of the light, but she was far from her peak, and a peek was all she could take before the light became too much even for her.


    the light was familiar.


    the process leading up to it, but zach would have been a fool not to realize what was going on by now. the empress dowager hadn''t trapped him and his retinue in a chamber of weird death.


    it was a summoning chamber. it was what they had come to the imperial palace to look for clues. zach had hoped he would be able to find something about where he could go to summon a familiar or where he might find a clue. after all, the empress dowager was a renowned summoner, and there were other summoners in the palace and the capital.


    there was no way all of them could go to the academy, or either of the labyrinths zach had been to and use the same methods he used. it wasn''t feasible. there wasn''t an overwhelming amount of summoners in the capital, but there were too many for that to be possible.


    there had to be a convenient solution whenever a summoner in the capital leveled up enough to summon a new familiar, regardless of how seldom that happened after graduation.


    zach didn''t know if everyone else used the room in the empress dowager''s basement, but it was only natural that the empress dowager had a room for herself given her status and influence.


    but it was a little mean that she hadn''t warned him about the nature of it or how it went about the summoning process. he had been a little worried for a few seconds there.


    zach glanced at nora.


    he wondered if it was alright for her to be present. the light was strong but not harmful. that wasn''t what he was worried about.


    how did the room specify which human''s familiar to summon? what if nora awakened as a summoner? would her presence interfere with or affect the summoning in any way? would the summoning affect her in any way?


    zach could only find out when the light faded.

 Chapter 334 Done It

    the brightness and intensity of the light filling the summoning chamber would have made it difficult to sense how much time had passed if it had gone more than a few seconds before it started to fade, gradually revealing a silhouette in the center of the room where the balloon of golden membrane had been.zach looked on in awe as the light faded and withdrew into the newly summoned familiar, simultaneously revealing their fair and otherworldly beautiful appearance.


    clear blue hair like the sky that appeared to sparkle in the remaining darkness of the summoning chamber billowed down her slender back like ocean waves trapped in time. her maid dress, which confirmed her identity as zach''s familiar, was of a deep blue shade like the night sky and served to bring out the lighter hues of her hair and eyes.


    her eyes swirled with mysterious multi-colored light as she looked at zach. she blinked once before bowing politely with her hands in front of her waistline. her bow snapped zach out of his daze, and he smiled.


    "hello," he said gently.


    zach''s new familiar looked up.


    "i greet my master," she answered simply.


    she was a little withdrawn, but so had yanael been when she was first summoned. zach wasn''t bothered by his new familiar''s formal and standoffish attitude. instead, he took a deep breath as he prepared himself mentally.


    ''moment of truth,'' he thought to himself before focusing. it was time to confirm his and the empress dowager''s hopes.


    he pulled up the summoning interface.


    [zacharia evandiel - troublemaker] explore more at empire


    [level 30 master summoner]


    [innate skill: divine luck]


    [contract skills: blessed defense | material extraction | transcension | eyes of truth]


    [contracts: yanael | alzara roi kalam | soara | mandra]


    [yanael ¨C s-rank angel *battle maid variant]


    [alzara roi kalam ¨C ss-rank desert witch *battle maid variant]


    [soara ¨C ss-rank deity of death and transcendence *battle maid variant (sss) (incomplete)]


    [mandra ¨C sss-rank archon *battle maid variant]


    [titles: 1]


    "...yeah, baby!" zach''s sudden cheer and fist-pump startled nora, and she looked at zach in confusion. but he was too busy dancing with a grin on his face to notice at first.


    but he caught himself after a few steps and stopped.


    "ahem." zach brushed and straightened his shirt before looking at mandra.


    "welcome aboard. it''s a pleasure to have you, and i hope you enjoy your time with us."


    "the pleasure is all mine, master."


    "great! then, i hope you don''t mind explaining what an archon is?"


    soara froze. she was the only one who reacted to that word. even mandra, the archon herself, just looked at zach in silence for a moment. however, since she was already standing still, no one noticed soara''s reaction.


    "it is¡­an exceedingly powerful mage, master," mandra briefly explained. s§×ar?h the n??el fire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    zach''s eyebrows rose slightly. a mage. a mage was on the same level as soara would have been if her strength had been intact.


    "you must have worked hard." zach nodded. soara had also worked hard to acquire her strength.


    but there had been twelve deities in the labyrinth of syst and not a single archon. that didn''t necessarily mean anything. maybe the labyrinth just preferred deities. but zach had a feeling that becoming a deity and becoming an archon were two different paths.


    if his shallow understanding of gods and deities helped him anything, it was that becoming a deity was connected to worship of some kind, hence the titles the labyrinth''s deities had. they represented aspects of reality and nature.


    a mage, however, was a little different, zach just didn''t know the details.


    mandra nodded with a calm expression, a little surprised at zach''s sudden compliment.


    soara wanted to say something at mandra''s lacking explanation, but she quickly understood why the archon hadn''t explained what she was. even with an sss-rank familiar added to his roster and with everything else he had under his belt, zach still didn''t have sufficient authority to learn about that.


    but mandra''s addition had still eased up on numerous restrictions for what they could tell zach. of course, the juicy pieces of information were still tightly secured, but with this, it might be easier to expand on the empress dowager''s lecture and delve into the issue with zach''s constitution.


    zach inspected mandra a little more while the others also looked at her with various mixes of wariness, curiosity, caution, and intrigue. but the summoning ritual had finished, and the stone wall separated from itself again, revealing the patiently but eagerly waiting empress dowager and princess rienne.


    zach would have to ask mandra about the eyes of truth some other time. now, however, he could maybe take the opportunity to ask the empress dowager about something else that had started piquing his curiosity.


    as soon as she stopped staring at mandra that is.


    "umm¡­" he started saying.


    "schh!" but the empress dowager hushed him before he could finish more than a syllable.


    zach looked toward the princess for help, but she just shrugged.


    zach could only wait until the empress dowager was done with her inspection. he glanced at mandra, who didn''t seem too bothered by it.


    ''that''s a relief.'' it would have been worrisome if his new maid didn''t take well to being looked at and started attacking the empress dowager. fortunately, it seemed mandra was aware of the situation and the stakes, even without anyone explaining it to her. it also seemed that she was aware of the difference in strength between her and the empress dowager.


    she might be an sss-rank familiar, but her master was only level thirty, and she had just been summoned. she would need some time to bring out as much of her strength as zach''s level would allow, and then she would need zach to level up for her to get even stronger.


    eventually, the empress dowager nodded and turned to zach with a questioning look as if asking for confirmation.


    zach nodded.


    "sss-rank."


    zach and the empress dowager high-fived to celebrate without another word.


    zach had done it. he was on a perfect summoning streak. unless he had a special body that would let him withstand the pressure of a more powerful familiar, it would have been impossible to summon higher ranking familiars at each stage.


    rienne rolled her eyes. her grandmother looked younger than her age, but she was still old. why was she barely acting any more decently than zach? and what were those dance moves?

 Chapter 335 Strange

    under the weight of her granddaughter''s judging eyes, the empress dowager soon calmed down. an sss-rank familiar wasn''t that big of a deal in the first place. zach wasn''t the first or only summoner to summon one.he might be the first to do it as his fourth familiar in a long while, though. it was cause for celebration, but there was no need for the empress dowager to embarrass herself any further. so, she fixed her posture and smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles on her dress before nodding toward the training hall.


    "what do you say about getting an understanding of your latest familiar?" she suggested, hinting for zach to let loose mandra on the training ground.


    "really? i would love to." zach turned to mandra, hoping she would agree and take this chance to familiarize herself with her current strength, even if it meant showing part of it to an outsider. he also hoped she didn''t take it like him just testing her or something like she was nothing more than a weapon.


    mandra nodded and took a step out of the summoning chamber, zach and the others eagerly following her.


    "hmm, it seems you might have to do it another time." however, the empress dowager stopped zach and mandra before they could do anything. she pointed upward.


    "you have someone looking for you."


    zach''s shoulders slumped in disappointment. he was curious about how strong mandra was. after all, her rank was the same as soara''s original. due to having just been summoned and zach''s level, she wouldn''t be able to bring out strength equal to that of soara''s prime, but she would still be extremely powerful. or so he hoped.


    zach bowed toward the empress dowager and princess rienne.


    "your majesty, your highness, thank you both for today. your help, hospitality, and kindness will not be forgotten, nor will it go unreturned." zach gave them a proper and formal farewell along with his bow. it was a little too late for appearances, but the minimum etiquette should still be followed.


    "i only did what i was supposed to," the princess answered with a simple shrug, not taking part in the charade. what was the point of formalities after what he and her grandmother had shown?


    "my name is ursula ju kiantier," the empress dowager said.


    "okay?" zach''s eyebrows rose in confusion. she hadn''t said that he could call her that. she had just told him her name, which, to be fair, he hadn''t known until now.


    ursula nodded.


    zach glanced at rienne for assistance, but she just shrugged. neither of the two royalties said anything as they waited for zach to leave. eventually, he got the hint and turned to leave the basement.


    ursula watched the backs of zach and his five maids.


    "he''s the youngest evandiel, right?" she asked her granddaughter.


    "that''s right. why do you ask?"


    "no reason," ursula answered with a light shrug. that meant he wouldn''t inherit the title of duke in the future.


    it wouldn''t be so bad with another summoner in the imperial family.


    ***


    outside the empress dowager''s palace, zach looked at derot in confusion.


    "how did you¡­?" zach had barely gotten inside the palace grounds even when he used his status as the son of a duke. if it hadn''t been for the princess overhearing his argument with the guard, he would have been turned away at the gates.


    granted, derot didn''t have as much of a bad reputation as zach, but he was, in the imperial palace''s eyes, just the son of a merchant. the gaville house might be skilled and famous in the south, but other than merchants and people who kept track of all the noteworthy names in the business in the empire, most people outside the south didn''t know about them.


    he was far from prestigious enough to be granted access to the imperial palace on such short notice, much less guided to the empress dowager''s annex.


    derot understood zach''s confusion. he was in a similar state, after all. he shrugged.


    "i don''t know. i came here to wait for you. then, the guard outside asked what i was doing. i told him i was waiting for someone. he even asked me if i was waiting for you. i said yes and asked if he could have a message delivered. instead, he had me delivered. it was strange. as soon as i said i was your buddy, the guard hurried me into the palace."


    derot shook his head like he couldn''t believe it. he hadn''t imagined that the status of a duke''s son was that incredible. it was better than he thought to be born with a diamond spoon. even the imperial palace''s guards were zach''s errand boys.


    "yeah¡­very strange¡­" zach avoided derot''s gaze.


    it had nothing to do with his status. it had everything to do with how he had gotten a guard fired, the princess looking after him, and the empress dowager personally guiding him into her annex. your next chapter is on empire


    his reputation aside, it was undeniable that the imperial family looked after him. naturally, zach''s friends could stand in his shadow and share part of that privilege.


    the guard had been worried about making the same mistake as the first one, and he did not dare refuse derot''s entry. he could have had a message delivered while derot waited, but this was his chance to make sure that the real sam had done no wrong.


    "setting that aside, what was so important you had to come all the way here?" zach asked, changing topics. sea??h th§× ¦Çovelfire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "ah!" derot hurriedly realized that that was more important than how easily he had entered the palace grounds. he quickly retrieved a letter from his shirt. a black envelope with a golden stamp seal.


    "i think we have our final test before we''re allowed to take over the capital''s potion market."


    zach broke the seal and fished out a pure white paper with writing made with direct and powerful strokes. he read the paper.


    "...it''s an invitation."

 Chapter 336 Invitation

    Zach saw Derot''s confused face and handed over the letter for him to read. He did so with eyes narrowed with suspicion. He then looked at Zach''s grin."This sounds incredibly fishy," Derot said.


    "I''m sure that''s part of it."


    Derot sighed.


    "Does a secret society of merchants intrigue you that much?" Derot asked skeptically.


    "Of course!" Zach''s head bobbed up and down excitedly.


    "I guess we''re meeting them, then." Derot sighed again and stuffed the letter back inside his shirt.


    Zach cheered before catching up to Derot, who had already started heading toward the exit. There was no time like the present, and the secret society seemed like they were available at a moment''s notice, given the letter''s contents.


    Derot shook his head.


    A secret society of merchants.


    It was probably just a gathering of merchants with shared interests who decided to work together without announcing it to the rest of the world. After all, why would they? They could manipulate the market to profit themselves more easily if no one knew they were doing it together.


    The attempts at interfering with the alchemist guild''s business and the sabotage were probably rooted in the secret society. They most likely hadn''t done much themselves, but a word from them had made the guild''s warehouses go up in flames.


    Stay updated through empire


    Derot looked at Zach, whose energetic steps had already taken him ahead of Derot. The excitement in those steps wasn''t just because Zach liked the idea of a secret society.


    He also hadn''t forgotten about all of the losses they suffered. If no one had interfered with their entry into the capital market, their guild would have already raked in millions in sheer profit. After tax.


    Instead, due to interference, there had been months where the guild hadn''t gone even.


    Zach wasn''t interested in the meeting just because he wanted to see a secret society for himself. He had a few scores to settle and a few accounts to straighten out.


    Derot was a little worried.


    Not about Zach. Nor was Derot worried about himself.


    He was worried about the chaos Zach would cause and the effects it would have on the market.


    From the quality of the paper used in the envelope and the letter, Derot could tell that the merchants in the secret society were not on the same level as Kadricke. They had access to exclusive products that money alone would not grant.


    With mixed feelings, none of them fear, Zach, Derot, and their servants followed the instructions in the letter for how to accept the invitation. That brought them to an alley behind a tavern. There, a seemingly ordinary man with simple clothes and a face one could forget while still looking at him led them through the winding backstreets, into, and out of restaurants, shops, inns, and storages.


    Finally, the man took them to the top floor of one of the taller hotels in the capital. It was a simple but extremely luxurious place. It was perfect for people who didn''t want attention but valued good treatment and lavish food.


    It was the perfect place for the meeting of a secret society.


    Outside the final door, a fancy coat waited for the ordinary man. He put it on and opened the door, taking the lead in entering the room bathed in darkness. The jacket seemingly transformed the ordinary man into one of excellence as he went from barely being noticeable to having a presence that rivaled even that of Princess Rienne.


    Zach and Derot exchanged looks before stepping into the room, the door slamming shut as soon as Nora had entered.


    Zach was a little surprised that they let his maids accompany him without so much as a fuss. Maybe it was courtesy. Maybe they just weren''t worried.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed as he glanced around the room. The space itself was pretty big. But the only things in it were a round table in the middle with a set of chairs around it. Zach could see vague shadows sitting on those chairs.


    Those were the members of the secret society. Those were the ones responsible for all the trouble Derot had gone through.


    Zach snorted.


    "Mandra." Zach''s voice was low, but it was easy to hear in the silent room.


    Mandra understood what Zach wanted without him needing to say another word. She snapped her fingers. A glowing ball of gentle blue light appeared in the center of the room, clearly illuminating it and everyone inside it.


    The members of the secret society winced at the sudden light before turning to Zach and glaring at him. The only one who didn''t seem to care too much was the man who had led them to the meeting, who sat at the opposite side of the table to where Zach and Derot stood.


    "Have you no respect, boy?" An elderly man complained.


    "Nope," Zach answered with a grin as he memorized the faces of each member. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Derot frowned as he also looked at the ones responsible for all of his troubles. He recognized one of them.


    "Lila?" He asked, his tongue moving faster than his mind.


    Lila Violet, the owner of Lila''s Lillies and one of the members of Kadricke''s Coalition looked at Derot. She nodded lightly before looking at Mandra. She had activated that spell very smoothly.


    "I am against their cooperation with us!" The old man said angrily.


    "Same here. If they can''t respect our rules of secrecy, they do not deserve to be part of our society," a younger man said with a condescending look.


    "Calm down." The ordinary-looking man who was nothing but ordinary got what he wanted. The ones causing a ruckus immediately quietened down. He looked at Zach and Derot, his gaze flickering across the maids behind Zach.


    What kind of fool had ever assumed Zach was a useless bum? The maids behind him were as far from ordinary beauties as possible.


    The ordinary-looking man in an expensive coat sighed lightly before opening is mouth.

 Chapter 337 Pressure Makes Diamonds

    "First of all, why don''t the two of you take a seat?" The man who seemed to be the leader of this secret society of merchants gestured at the two open chairs at the table.Derot and Zach glanced at each other. They remained standing.


    "Alright." The society leader shrugged indifferently.


    "The seven of us have gathered here because there''s one thing that we all share."


    "What''s that?" Zach knew the society leader wanted to dictate the conversation by making them ask the questions to his statements. He could stay silent like Derot and make the society leader talk on his own. But he didn''t want to waste any more time. He wanted to learn more about Mandra now that he had seen the secret society.


    "All of us managed to make some kind of deal with the Imperial Palace within a year of our official entry to the capital."


    "Congrats." Zach''s dull and insincere congratulations earned him a few sharp glares from a few of the others around the table. He ignored that, as did the society leader.


    "So, if we manage to do the same, you will stop interfering with our business and allow our entry to this secret society of yours?" Derot asked, getting to the point.


    "Yes." The society leader also stopped beating around the bush and acknowledged Derot''s guess.


    Derot looked at the society leader and the other members in silence. They were all impressive merchants, no doubt about it. He recognized a few of them. He could also guess who the society leader was. If it was the man Derot suspected, he was the only one truly worthy of respect.


    The others were impressive for growing their businesses to the point of making some kind of deal with the Imperial Palace. But they grew their businesses in a year after entering the capital.


    They didn''t start from scratch in the capital. And they didn''t soar high into the skies in that one year. It was understandable they didn''t want other newcomers to intrude on what little slices of pie they had of the market in the capital.


    But the society leader¡­He should have no reason to worry about upstarts, no matter how successful or promising they were.


    "Vitigor?" Derot asked.


    Vitigor nodded in confirmation.


    He was one of the few merchants who could be said to stand at the top of the market world in the capital. No grain, gold, or bottle of ink passed through the gates of the city without him being able to have a say in it if he wished. His hands of influence reached long and far.


    He wasn''t the only merchant with that kind of influence in the capital since the imperial family who ruled the city promoted healthy competition and the growth of new merchants when necessary.


    "Why go to the trouble of interfering with our business?" Derot asked with a frown.


    Someone with Vitigor''s level of power and influence wouldn''t need to fear them.


    "First, let me correct you. It was no trouble at all. I didn''t even have to say so much as a word and your business almost ended before it could take off. Of course, it happened because I allowed it. Why?


    "Because it''s healthy."


    "Healthy?" Derot questioned.


    Vitigor nodded.


    "Don''t you feel it yourself? You''re a much better merchant now than you were five months ago. You have much better control over your skills, your money, your subordinates, and your business.


    "Even if I hadn''t allowed it and let you soar freely into the skies of the capital, you would have sooner or later come crashing down. I could tell from personal experience that while you were talented, you didn''t have the experience to succeed in the capital. You''re not the first, and you won''t be the last.


    "If you ask me, stumbling at the start is better than crashing and burning later on." Vitigor shrugged nonchalantly.


    "..." Derot looked at Vitigor in silence. He had to admit that he was a better merchant now than he had been five months ago. Vitigor might even be right about his fate if he hadn''t faced any obstructions in the beginning.


    That didn''t mean Derot liked it. He felt small. He felt like a pawn in someone else''s game. Powerless. He didn''t like it.


    Unfortunately, he was still powerless.


    "Alright. As long as you don''t get in our way anymore, we''ll surely secure a deal with the imperial palace." Derot scoffed and boldly promised their future success. He was going to prove to Vitigor and the others that they had made a mistake by getting in his way.


    Vitigor answered with a smile. Not a word was spoken as Derot and Zach turned around and left. As they did so, Mandra took down the light orb, sinking the merchants into darkness again. Then, when they had left the room and closed the door behind them, she flashed the merchants with a bright light that was just shy of being enough to blind them.


    Vitigor held up his hand and stopped his guards from pursuing Zach''s group. He did not want a fight.


    Zach and Derot were young and emotional. They needed to let off some steam. Since Vitigor was the one who had tightened the valve, it was only right they let it off on him and the merchants who assisted him.


    Vitigor had to admit that with Zach''s strength, they would probably have made it pretty far in the capital still. But Zach was just one man, and if Vitigor''s read on Zach was accurate in any way, it was that Zach wouldn''t stay in the capital for long. He would finish his education and then wander around doing whatever he wanted.


    Derot would still have Zach''s backing, but it might be too late by the time Zach heard about any trouble. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, it had been the right decision to push down the guild and Derot. It was so that they could leap up higher.


    Enjoy new adventures from empire


    Outside, Derot awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. He had taken charge back there.


    "Sorry. I said we were going to secure a deal with the Imperial Palace even after what I said before, and without a plan."


    "Oh, there''s no need for you to worry, Derot. Let me handle this one." Zach smiled reassuringly as he patted Derot on the shoulder.

 Chapter 338 Oblivious

    "Back already?" Ursula asked when she greeted Zach and Derot at the entrance to her annex. Zach nodded. Derot bowed until his upper body was parallel to the ground.Zach''s status might have been enough for Derot to enter the palace grounds without so much as a pat down. But it was not enough for him to dare think about acting without utmost respect in front of the Empress Dowager.


    Ursula glanced at Derot and then looked at Zach and his cheeky smile. She sighed. Had he really dropped all formality just because she let slip her mask and acted friendly? She shook her head.


    "It''s getting late." Ursula turned around and started walking to the door of her palatial mansion.


    Zach''s smile faded, and his shoulders slumped in disappointment. It wasn''t that late, and as a powerful summoner, the Empress Dowager shouldn''t need to go to bed before the sun did, even if she were old. With a sigh, he and Derot, who didn''t dare show any disappointment, turned around.


    "...Where are you going?" Ursula asked, confused.


    "Didn''t you say it was getting late¡­?" Zach asked, also confused.


    "Yes. So, come inside and have dinner with me. Rienne left, and I don''t want to eat alone. Keep me company, and I''ll hear you out." Ursula didn''t waste another word as she turned around and entered her palace.


    Zach gave Derot an excited look before hurrying after the lonely Empress Dowager. This time, Derot sighed, even if only to try and find the energy to handle the stress of sharing a personal meal with one of the most powerful people in the Empire.


    He had mentally prepared himself for it, considering he had found Zach here earlier, but his preparations weren''t enough. He had not expected Zach and the Empress Dowager to be on such friendly terms.


    Derot did his best to recall as much of his etiquette lessons as possible while he trailed after Zach and the Empress Dowager to the dining room, where steaming hot food was already waiting for them.


    This was the perfect opportunity to make a connection with the Imperial Palace for Derot and their guild. The only person more influential would be the Emperor and perhaps the Empress since they were still active in managing the capital, the Imperial Palace, and the Empire.


    However, Derot couldn''t relax enough to even taste the food he was eating, much less make idle conversation.


    Just like it was a perfect opportunity to connect with the Imperial Palace, it was also the perfect place to get help with assisted suicide. One mistake and he might be sent to the dungeons or the afterlife for offending the Imperial Family and tarnishing their reputation or something, which would be tantamount to treason.


    Derot did not have the confidence in himself or his etiquette to act at ease within the Empress Dowager''s mansion.


    Zach, on the other hand, had heard Ursula say there was no need for such formalities once earlier in the day. He took that literally. It would have been one thing if another member of the imperial family were present or if it were an official setting.


    But right now, he was just chatting during dinner with someone who felt like an old friend from a past life with how much they had in common. Well, they had summoning and being born with the greatest of diamond spoons in common.


    That was about it. However, their great love and enthusiasm for summoning was enough to triumph over any differences they might have. So, they talked about anything and everything related to summoning.


    Like a young kid visiting his grandmother for the first time in a while, Zach told Ursula stories about his time at the Academy. He told her about how he had been the first-year representative and made an impact on his classmates and seniors at the time with a speech so moving that even the heartless principal was moved to tears.


    He told her about how he had saved all of his classmates with excellent decision-making, tactics, resourcefulness, and strength during their first field trip. He told her about he guided his classmates to love and deepen their connections with their familiars and become better summoners as they worked together to overcome any of the hurdles the principal threw in their path.


    Ursula didn''t believe a word of it. Still, she listened attentively and smiled.


    Listening to this rascal was a lot more entertaining than eating dinner alone. Her familiars could keep her company, but much like the principal''s familiars, they weren''t home that much. They were out in the world suppressing dangers to the Empire and farming levels. The maids and servants would never be comfortable enough to share an idle conversation with her, and Ursula didn''t feel right making her grandchildren come to her annex just to keep her company.


    In that way, Zach was perfect. He wasn''t bothered by formality, he wasn''t otherwise busy, and he was here because he wanted to. Like that, he naturally dragged her into conversation, and she ended up telling him about her time at the Academy and how the principal had been almost the exact same for as long as she had known him.


    The only time he wasn''t a heartless bitch wanting to stir up trouble for his students was during the breaks. During them, he disappeared into the depths of the Academy, letting the school and the Empire relax for a few months.


    Zach was curious about what the principal did during that time, but Ursula didn''t know any more than that.


    After that, Ursula took the opportunity to introduce the various members of the Imperial Family to Zach so that he would have an easier time the next time he met one. She specifically made sure to bring up all of Rienne''s good points. Derot''s eyes flashed wide open during that conversation, but he didn''t dare say anything in case he misunderstood.


    But there could be only one reason why a member of the older generation would talk so highly of one of their descendants to a handsome, well-performing member of the younger generation of the opposite gender to said descendant. Continue your adventure at empire sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach was oblivious.


    And eventually, the food ran out.

 Chapter 339 Tomorrow

    As the food on the table steadily disappeared without being replaced, the conversation gradually lulled. It was the peace of full stomachs of everyone around the table, Nora and the familiars included.Nora was a servant, and the familiars were familiars. They weren''t supposed to sit at the same table as their master and eat or they didn''t need ordinary food. However, the Empress Dowager insisted. And as soon as they ate, the familiars became grateful.


    It wasn''t ordinary food. Each dish was like a separate tonic for the mind and body. It was great enough that even they could feel the effects, much less Nora and Derot.


    Zach had shot Derot a couple of glances while they ate to check on him and subtly hint that they should get this kind of food for themselves. If Derot had been able to look at anything but the fork in his hand and seen Zach''s hints, he would have desperately shaken his head.


    Even if the guild and business took off, they would not be able to afford this kind of food and lifestyle more than a few times a year.


    Fortunately, Zach wasn''t obsessed with the food since he had Alzara''s potions, and he didn''t think much more about it. He didn''t think much of anything, really. He had even temporarily forgotten what they had come for. So, they ended up sitting in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other''s company and the feeling of fullness in their stomachs for quite some time before Zach realized.


    He glanced at Ursula to check if she was ready for a proper conversation.


    Of course, she was. She was the Empress Dowager. If a mere meal had been enough to distract her, her reign would have sunk the Empire to the depths of the ocean.


    "I guess I''ll cut to the chase since this isn''t my strong suit," Zach began.


    "Mm." Ursula nodded encouragingly, curious about what Zach might have to say in such a rush that he returned to her palace the same day he left it.


    "It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call us friends by now, would it?" Zach asked. He needed to do this as an individual¡ªas Zach, the guildmaster, not Zacharia Evandiel. He needed a personal connection to the Empress Dowager that superseded how he had made that connection, which he had through his blood. Without being an Evandiel, he would not have met the Princess or the Empress Dowager.


    "It would, but go on." Ursula was curious where Zach was going with this, even if she already had an idea. She entertained Zach.


    "...As you may know already, I am running a guild of alchemists independently of my family."


    "Mhm."


    "So, without taking my family into account, would you be willing to help me secure a deal with the Imperial Palace?" Zach fulfilled his promise and cut to the chase. He asked it directly since he wasn''t sure how to say it.


    "Not even your family name would have been enough to convince me to make a deal, boy," Ursula said with a stern voice, displaying some of the dignity of an Empress Dowager.


    "I see¡­" Zach hung his head in disappointment. But Ursula wasn''t finished.


    "If you had just been the son of a duke, I wouldn''t even have looked at you a second time after Rienne brought you here. If you had just been the son of a duke, she wouldn''t even have shown an interest in you."


    "I see¡­?" Zach looked up hopefully without letting himself be too hopeful. Ursula continuing like this could only mean one thing.


    "My granddaughter is great. She excels at spirit magic, and she has a firm mind. Yet, you managed to not only rouse her interest but also make her take action. That''s not all, you have also summoned several excellent high-ranking familiars that would have made me jealous if they weren''t all battle maid variants.


    "You still have a long way to go as an individual, and further still for me to acknowledge you as an equal and a friend. But it is reasonable to say that you have already done more for yourself than your surname has done for you." Ursula meant every word she said.


    Zach might have his¡­imperfections, but no one was perfect. It only made Zach''s strengths shine brighter, and shine brightly he did.


    Ursula had seen many promising youths in many different fields. The Imperial Palace crawled with talents from all over the Empire, not to mention everything she had seen before she settled down.


    She was confident in her assessment of Zach as one of the brightest shining stars in the Empire''s current generation. He still had a lot to do and prove. But he was already crouching, ready to soar upward like a dragon.


    As such, there was no need for the Empress Dowager to stifle Zach''s growth. In fact, as someone who once lived and breathed for the prosperity of the Empire and who still valued its future, it was her duty to help Zach grow.


    Thoughtlessly showering him with treasures and gifts wouldn''t do him any good, nor would unconditioned assistance. But there was no harm in helping him secure founds and establishing himself in the world outside summoning.


    "Return in the morning with ample samples of your product. I''ll have it verified and compared to the standards of the palace alchemists. As long as you don''t disappoint, I''m sure there''s something for both parties to gain."


    Zach had been stunned by Ursula''s compliments and affirmation of his accomplishments. It took him a moment or two to fully process what she had just said.


    "Really?!" He asked excitedly.


    "I can show you several potions right now¡ª"


    "Tomorrow." Ursula interrupted Zach before he could start rummaging through Alzara''s dress for something to show her.


    "But¡ª" S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Tomorrow."


    With Ursula, the Empress Dowager, insisting, Zach didn''t stand a chance. He would have to come back tomorrow.


    Although reluctant, Zach took his leave and dragged Derot with him as they returned to the hotel to sleep as well as they could. Then, in the morning, they set off toward the Imperial Palace again.

 Chapter 340 Similar

    Zach and Derot swung by the guild first to pick up heaps of potions and Jessecke before heading to the palace. The Empress Dowager and a few of the palace''s alchemists were already waiting for them when they showed up.Jessecke and Alzara followed the alchemists to the lab for extensive testing and explanation of the potions and their effects. Zach, Derot, Ursula, and Rienne, who joined them later, took it easy and enjoyed some simple refreshments.


    Compared to last night, Derot had come to terms with the situation and managed to act more naturally, even with the addition of one of the imperial princesses. The conversation was light and easy, but Zach couldn''t help but notice Rienne frequently glancing in Soara''s direction. There even seemed to be something hidden in her gaze.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "Princess, are you wary of Soara?" He bluntly went ahead and asked.


    "I¡­" Rienne was stunned by the sudden question that had nothing to do with what they had just been talking about. However, she wasn''t a princess for nothing, and she quickly gathered her bearings. Still, she wasn''t sure what to answer, so she glanced at her grandmother.


    Ursula gave a slight nod. It was fine to tell Zach about it. He had already revealed a significant portion of his strength, after all. It was only fair if she did the same instead of keeping all of her tricks up her sleeve. Besides, it wasn''t like they were going to fight. It didn''t hurt if they got to know each other a little better.


    "Zach, how familiar are you with the Imperial Family''s powers?" Rienne began with a simple question.


    "Uhh¡­It''s some kind of magic from the Labyrinth, right?" The Imperial Family''s powers were intentionally kept vague to give them a sense of mystery and an air of untouchability. It was also to make it more difficult to figure out the imperials'' weaknesses. Zach could probably find out more if he wanted to by asking his parents or the principal.


    But it had nothing to do with summoning, and he wasn''t ever planning to fight a member of the imperial family, so he hadn''t been interested in learning more about the mysterious power of the imperial family.


    "Yes. To be exact, it''s spirit magic."


    "Spirit? Like, will? An unyielding spirit. That kind of stuff?"


    Rienne frowned at Zach''s question.


    "...No. Spirits as in elemental, non-physical existences of a higher plane."


    "Ah¡­" Zach didn''t get it. "Wait. So you use these ''spirits'' to cast spells?" Spirit magic. Magic using spirits. It wasn''t that hard. When he thought about it a little more, the name also sounded a little familiar.


    "Kind of. We make contracts with spirits and borrow their powers. It''s similar to summoning but without the summoning part."


    "So, not similar to summoning, then."


    Rienne wanted to insist that there were similarities, but Ursula shook her head. She understood where Rienne was coming from.


    Summoners summoned and established contracts with familiars, who would then fight for them. Summoners also got contract skills.


    Spirit magicians made contracts with spirits and borrowed their powers. They acted as conduits for their strength, letting it enter this world.


    Familiars fought directly. Spirits fought by using spirit magicians as proxies. But both disciplines relied on making contracts with extraordinary beings from other realms.


    They were undeniably similar.


    At the same time, Ursula also understood Zach since she was a summoner herself. Nothing could compare to summoning. It was just better. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Whatever. One of my spirits is of the life attribute. To be frank, it won''t shut up about your familiar. It''s unclear what it wants, but it is thanks to it that I noticed you at the gates the other day. So, do you mind if I ask who or what your familiar is?" Rienne turned to Soara while she asked. She was curious about the black-haired maid''s identity. It was the first time any of her spirits had made this much of a ruckus.


    Zach glanced at Soara. After a brief pause, she nodded. Zach seemed to trust these outsiders. And Soara had nothing to lose. If anything, she could learn from the life spirit. After all, her strength was built on snuffing out life. What better way to learn about it than interacting with a being who embodied it?


    Zach gestured for Soara to introduce herself. She would be able to do it more accurately and without heaping on praise.


    "I am a deity of Death." Soara''s self-introduction was short.


    "..." Rienned didn''t know what to say.


    Ursula''s eyes widened and she leaned forward to get a closer look at Soara. That self-introduction had energized the Empress Dowager. She looked between Zach and Soara several times. Zach nodded in confirmation. Ursula stared at Soara.


    No wonder she didn''t feel like a proper SS-rank. There were probably some circumstances behind it. Still, Ursula had to say that Zach was one lucky trucker. An SS-rank familiar as already impressive on its own.


    The only problem with high-ranking familiars was how fucking difficult it was to help them evolve. However, Soara already had the foundation for her evolution into an SSS-rank familiar. And if Ursula wasn''t mistaken, Zach already knew how to complete it.


    It was still outside his reach as of now. But it was only a matter of time. Usually, evolving SS-rank familiars wasn''t possible. Familiars at that rank were already close to perfect beings. Just figuring out what was necessary to make them stronger could take a lifetime, not to mention going about fulfilling those impossible conditions once one had figured it out.


    In due time, Zach wouldn''t have just one SSS-rank familiar.


    Ursula''s eyes widened again as she had another realization.


    Zach was only on his fourth familiar. He was level thirty. He had come a fair bit, but he would only go up from here.


    The minimum rank of his next familiar would be SSS-rank. The minimum rank of all of his neck familiars would be SSS-rank.


    Ursula stared at Zach with wide eyes.


    In just a few years, this young man would tower over the Empire.

 Chapter 341 Mistake

    Ursula eventually gathered her composure again and leaned back in her chair, hoping no one cared about her fluctuating emotions. It was a given that the next generation would surpass the old. Besides, Zach was still far off from being more than a brat still wet behind his ears. She picked up her teacup."...Can you elaborate?" Rienne asked Soara as soon as she noticed that her grandmother wasn''t going to say anything or mention her reaction.


    Soara saying that she was a deity of Death didn''t tell Rienne much since she could already somewhat feel that Soara was related to that kind of attribute. And a deity? What did it mean to be a deity?


    Soara hesitated and tasted the words on her tongue before she said anything to see if there was a restriction on what she was about to say.


    "I am¡­an embodiment, a manifestation of the power of Death. Also Transcendence, but I doubt your spirit is crying about that."


    "So¡­You represent Death?" Rienne hesitantly asked. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Kind of." Soara shrugged. Mortal words had difficulty expressing the nuance of the divine.


    "Would it be like a spirit of death, then?" Rienne asked, drawing a conclusion. Her spirits were representatives of forces of nature, elements, and properties of the world, this and the next. If there were spirits of life, there ought to be spirits of death. Maybe Soara was something like that.


    "No." Soara shot down that suggestion at once without room for discussion. She was not a mere spirit.


    Rienned glanced at Zach. The feeling she got from Soara was similar to when he had shot down her comparison between summoning and spirit magic.


    "Why not?"


    Soara sighed.


    "Your spirits are, as you said, of a higher plane. They exist within this world but not on the same level of existence as humans. In their plane, their powers are nothing. It is the difference between that place and this that makes them useful and powerful to you. They are born like that. They don''t grow stronger. The only way they improve is by becoming intelligent and developing a sense of self, but that can take thousands of years.


    "They don''t represent or stand for their attributes. They are leaves on a tree like clouds in the sky to ants. Out of reach, unfathomable, and influential when thrown into the anthill. But in the sky where they belong, they''re nothing special.


    "Me? I don''t represent Death. Death is me. Transcendence is me. There is only one me. When people fear Death, embrace it, or shun it, they think of me. When people die, they die because of me. When they die, they represent me."


    Soara took two steps forward as she tapped the center of her chest while declaring her position, announcing to Rienne and the world who she was. As she defined herself, some of Soara''s presence, the presence of a deity burst out like a gust of wind sweeping through the courtyard.


    A mere fraction of her power as a deity, less than a fraction of her original strength.


    Rienne slipped out of her chair and was about to fall to her knees before Soara''s majesty. But Soara caught her before the hem of her clothes could catch the ground.


    She retracted her presence and put Rienne back in her chair. It wouldn''t be good for Zach if he ended up on bad terms because she accidentally put the fear of god and death in the Empress Dowager''s granddaughter.


    "Do me a favor and don''t compare me to a spirit, okay?" Soara crouched and patted Rienne on the shoulder with a kind smile.


    "N-not a spirit. Got it." Rienne nodded furiously. She couldn''t even glance at Ursula. All she could do was look at the ground and try and forget the phantom of a hooded figure of darkness standing behind Soara.


    On a superficial level, it looked like an ordinary person whose body was hidden by a coarse robe. But just by looking at it, Rienne became acutely aware of her mortality, the fragility of her life, and the briefness of existence. She became acutely aware of her life and its worth.


    Ursula''s eyes narrowed as she looked at her granddaughter.


    That was why she hadn''t interfered.


    Life and death were two sides of the same coin. It was a big coin with most of existence on it, but it was a singular coin nonetheless. As a spirit mage with a life spirit, there was a lot Rienne could glean from exposure to such thick power of death, even if it wasn''t spirit magic.


    "I must take my leave here," Rienne suddenly stood up and said. This was a valuable opportunity. She could sense her life force clearer than ever. She had to grasp it and learn what to do with it.


    Ursula nodded, not that she needed to give permission. Rienne had already started walking away at a rapid pace.


    Zach awkwardly scratched the back of his hand and bowed his head toward Ursula.


    "I am truly sorry for my familiar''s actions, Your Majesty."


    Soara bowed along with Zach, ashamed to have made a mistake that led to her Master needing to apologize. It wasn''t for nothing since announcing her identity to the world had solidified her power slightly, but it was poor timing, and it was a mistake still since she had ended up embarrassing and scaring the color out of the imperial princess'' face.


    Ursula''s narrowed eyes turned to Zach, and she stroked her chin. She, unlike the others, could tell that Rienned had gained from this encounter, far more than she lost.


    But there was no need to tell Zach that.


    "It is not myself you should be apologizing to, young man. You will have to express your regrets to Rienne personally. Maybe even bring suitable compensation."


    "Of course." Zach nodded, relieved Ursula didn''t seem to take too much offense to Soara''s actions. She probably understood that it had been a mistake and that not all of the blame lay on Soara. Rienned had been the one to compare her to a spirit, after all.


    "Do you happen to have any recommendations for gifts? Or what she likes?" Zach asked hopefully.

 Chapter 342 Time To Celebrate

    Ursula smiled brilliantly at Zach''s question before starting to give him examples of what to gift Rienne. Zach grew a little suspicious when she mentioned flowers and chocolate since it didn''t seem quite like a compensatory gift, but who was he to judge?Zach had Nora note down the things Ursula listed until the conversation drifted. And then, the conversation died down. Zach, Derot, and Ursula sipped their tea in silence until the palace alchemists returned with Jessecke and Alzara.


    The alchemists'' glowing faces and Alzara''s cocky expression were enough to tell the ones at the table that it was a success. The nameless alchemist guild''s potions were good enough to trade with the Imperial Palace.


    As if that wasn''t enough, the palace alchemist also wanted to start an exchange program. Some of the guild''s alchemists would work and learn at the palace while some of the palace''s alchemists would work and learn at the guild. That was how precious the information and recipes Alzara had introduced were.


    Alzara''s knowledge of ingredients and materials, especially, was extremely valuable since it was nothing like the palace alchemists had seen before. It was like it came from another world entirely. But even with the strange knowledge of materials that didn''t exist within the Empire''s borders, Alazara had fitted it for the ingredients that did exist and designed recipes using those ingredients.


    It was a revolution within the world of alchemy. Combined with the Empire''s knowledge of alchemy and the Empire''s top alchemists, they could elevate the entire science of alchemy to a whole new level.


    However, the alchemists'' interests weren''t the only ones they needed to take into account. So, before they could get started with the exchange of potions, money, and alchemists, they first had to draft a contract and get the details in writing. That meant Derot had to work hard again.


    Fortunately, he much preferred negotiating with the palace''s financiers and budget keepers over trying to stop other merchants from blowing up his warehouses. Comparing numbers, suggesting ratios, and proposing amounts was far more entertaining and enjoyable for a money nut like Derot.


    While he did that, Ursula took the opportunity to learn more about Archons by inviting Zach and his familiars to her underground training room again to let Mandra show off a little. Since it was a training room beneath the Empress Dowager''s palace, and it wasn''t that vast, Mandra couldn''t go all out, even if it was made with sturdy, magic-reinforced stone. But what she could show without risking the destruction of the palace was still enough to leave Zach and Ursula in awe and Nora and Yanael with gloom.


    Mandra was capable. It was almost to the point where Yanael and Nora had trouble turning their feelings of inferiority into motivation to work harder. Almost. They had already worked through too much jealousy and mental weakness to let something as small as another source of strength for Zach to get to them.


    Still, they had trouble treating Mandra with the same warmth they had started showing each other as fellow servants of Zach.


    Zach noticed that the other familiars and Nora didn''t receive Mandra with open arms. But it wasn''t anything strange. The exact same thing happened when he summoned Alzara and brought back Soara. They would get over it in due time.


    Yanael and Alzara started getting along better as soon as he summoned Soara, and the three of them learned to get along when fighting together. Based on those experiences, Zach just had to bring another familiar into the fold or find someone to fight.


    Summoning another familiar would take time and a lot of effort. That left fighting. That was easy. He even knew where he would find opponents that could challenge his familiars and himself. Speaking of which, most of the break had already gone past in a flash.


    The days passed as Derot finished negotiations, Zach trained with his familiars and looked for Rienne. Whatever had happened had made her unreachable. She had holed herself up in her room, which only made Zach feel more guilty.


    It was because she was busy focusing on her life force and learning how to control it with her spirit magic. She was too focused on that to care about the outside world. It had nothing to do with Zach.


    But Zach had no way of knowing, especially when Ursula lay subtle hints that Rienne simply wasn''t feeling it.


    In the end, the negotiations were finished before Zach could give Rienned a proper apology. That meant the guild and its business were ready to step into the capital''s market and make a big splash.


    They had been in the capital for a little while now, almost a year, technically. They had made a name for themselves in that time, but they had started in the capital. They didn''t even a proper name for their guild. They could hardly be called a proper business.


    That meant their first real introduction to the capital was after they successfully made a deal with the Imperial Palace. It was safe to say it was a new record.


    Naturally, they had to celebrate with a big party.


    Ursula was invited. She sent her regards but was not interested in attending a big party like that. It might also cause problems for Zach and Derot due to the attention they would get. Instead, she sent a congratulatory gift in the Palace''s name.


    Rienne was invited but hadn''t responded. Tareeq was invited. The secret society merchants were invited. Kadricke was invited. The alchemists were invited. Zach also sent invites to his friends in case they were available and not still in the East or the Labyrinth.


    Big and small merchants in the capital were invited. It was a big event. It had to be.


    It was to celebrate and to announce the guild''s name and shareholder slots.


    Besides, the bigger the party, the more renown the guild would earn, and the bigger the space they could take up in the capital. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 343 Guild Name

    "Is it time to start rolling out the announcements?" Zach asked Derot, who was by his side, as he looked out over the field of people. They had taken this opportunity to further promote their guild by turning the celebration party into an event that was more like a festival by opening it to the people. They had stalls and tents with various games and prizes, most of which were related to what they sold at their guild."You''re the boss." Derot shrugged. He had seen people start glancing toward the stage at the front of the field for quite a while now. They were curious about the banner hidden behind a large sheet as well as what other announcements they had promised to make.


    "Perfect. Let''s do it." Zach strode toward the stage. Instantly, attendants started preparing it for his speech. A minute later, the stage lit up, and Zach stood on it with Derot slightly behind him.


    Since his familiars and Nora would only take attention away from him and his announcements, they stood by the side out of sight. But he had his barriers up, and his familiars were ready to act at less than a moment''s notice if someone decided to get rid of the competition or get revenge.


    People had already noticed the stage lighting up and started focusing on it, but Zach cleared his throat to make sure everyone was listening.


    It was a crowd of a few hundred people at least, and he didn''t know magic, nor could he use his energy to amplify his voice. What he did have, however, was incredibly strong lungs from using his barriers to restrict his breathing just like he did with his other movements. When he cleared his throat, it was like someone dropped a wooden box of rusty nails in an empty warehouse. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    People heard it.


    "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I hope it''s a good one, at least. We spent a lot of money to make it so for everyone who came to partake in the celebration of our guild''s official launch into the capital. One could also say that we invested in this night to make it memorable for all of you.


    "Speaking of investments, that brings me to the first announcement we have tonight.


    "These past few months of us testing the waters in the capital have shown great promise. Now that we''ve had a taste of success, we''re naturally planning to expand. To make that process as smooth and as gentle for the capital as possible, we will begin accepting investments." Zach pointed at Derot.


    "All of that will be handled by the great Derot Gaville. Seek him out if you''re interested in becoming a part of this magnificent project and the future, because that is what our guild represents. We are confident that we will become the future of alchemy. At the very least, we will lead the way there.


    "But we won''t do it alone. There would have been no need to make this such a big event if we were just looking for investors or announcing our official name. We have a partner in our search for the heights of alchemy." Zach gestured at the representative of the Imperial Palace''s alchemists who was taking the stage. It was a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a clean-shaven face.


    Not many recognized him, but those who did dropped their jaws.


    He was the head of the Imperial Alchemist Department. He was in charge of all things alchemy-related in the Palace and, by extension, heavily involved in all things alchemy-related in the capital if he wished to be. But more than that, he was the Emperor''s uncle.


    He was a highly influential person who represented the Imperial Palace whether it be personally or professionally. His presence on the stage could only mean one thing.


    The nameless alchemist guild''s partner was the Imperial Palace. And it was a decent partnership if they were willing to go along with this parade. It wasn''t just that the guild had made a deal with the Palace to sell them a few potions a year.


    It was a true partnership if both leaders of the respective parties appeared on stage together.


    Zach''s first announcement about investments suddenly sounded a lot more interesting.


    Lusel ju Kiantier introduced himself and gave a brief introduction over their partnership and what they hoped to accomplish together before standing next to Derot. His gaze kept wandering over to Alzara, though.


    He might have been a member of the Imperial Family, but he would willingly throw it all aside for the sake of alchemy. It was the only thing he found interesting in life, which he had devoted the majority of to alchemy.


    Yet he hadn''t even heard so much as a rumor about many of the things Alzara had introduced to them since the day the guild first showed off their products and recipes. He was the one who had been the most eager to secure a partnership, even if only to get closer to the alchemical knowledge inside Alzara''s head.


    If he had been in charge of the negotiations instead of the Palace''s money people, it would not have taken several days to finish them. He would have agreed to anything Derot said as long as he could get his hands on more alchemical knowledge. Naturally, he took the stage if it meant he could have a discussion with Alzara about this new potion he was making.


    After he had finished his part, it was Zach''s turn again.


    "A partnership between two parties. One party is the Imperial Palace, and I''m ever so grateful for their willingness to take on this endeavor with us. But what about the other party? What about us? Who are we?"


    Zach smiled and slowly raised his hand to point at the banner above his back.


    "We are¡­" He dragged it out, intentionally building up anticipation for the grand reveal of the name of the guild that would overturn the status quo in the capital.


    The sheet covering the banner dropped.


    "The Nyasm Desert Guild."

 Chapter 344 Apology

    The crowd was silent at Zach''s flourish and exaggerated announcement. Speechless.They didn''t know what the Nyasm Desert was, nor what it had to do with Zach''s guild. It was confusing and not as epic as they had expected.


    A few quick speculators wondered if maybe it had anything to do with the recipes that could be found nowhere else. Were they from this Nyasm Desert? Perhaps. Zach slipped out a few finishing words before leaving the stage. He didn''t care about the dull reaction or others'' opinions of the name he had come up with. He had altered it a little after summoning Mandra, but it didn''t change the essence or the most important part.


    After he left, a mellow round of applause filled the field, but it was short as Derot took Zach''s place and went into a little more detail about their plans for the future and what it would mean to support and shop at the Nyasm Desert Guild''s branches.


    Zach, on the other hand, was mostly done with the party, so he prepared to leave with his maids.


    However, a sweet voice called out to him before he could do so.


    "Zacharia!" Rienne greeted him with a wave, nervously grabbing her dress with her other hand.


    "I was worried I wouldn''t make it, but I got here just in time to hear the end of your speech." She glanced around. "It seems your guild is going to be a pretty big hit, huh?"


    "Yeah, I hope so," Zach said uncertainly as he looked Rienne up and down. Her dress was beautiful and exquisite. It showed off her ankles, wrists, and shoulders, and the airy light blue material made her seem almost like a fairy or a spirit. She had also applied more makeup than she had worn last time he saw her.


    It was an official event, so it wasn''t strange that she made sure to look great. But the way she was looking at him was the strange part.


    "..."


    "..."


    Zach and Rienne looked at each other in silence for several moments, confused about the other''s intentions and reactions.


    In Zach''s mind, Rienned had refused to see him for the past week or two after Soara put the fear of death in her. Why was she suddenly at his party in a fancy dress and greeting him as soon as she could with a slightly nervous smile?


    In Rienne''s mind, she had been busy with her training, so she hadn''t known about what Zach was up to. But afterward, she had heard from her grandmother and servants that Zach had visited the Imperial Palace almost daily to look for her. Why was he suddenly now not interested in seeing her face?


    "Did¡ª?" "How¡ª?" The two said at the same time, interrupting each other.


    "You¡ª" "What¡ª?" They did it again.


    Zach let out a quick breath of air too short to be called a sigh and gestured for Rienne to go first.


    "I¡­heard you wanted to see me? I was so busy with training that I shut out the rest of the world. Sorry about that." Rienne awkwardly held her upper arm as she apologized.


    "No, no problem. I just wanted to give you a proper apology for what my familiar did to you."


    "Apology? There''s no need for that. What she did actually helped me a lot." Rienned hurriedly shook her head, rejecting Zach''s sincerity. She understood why Zach thought he needed to apologize, but there truly was no need for that.


    Her proficiency with life spirit magic had skyrocketed, and her connection with her life spirit had improved by leaps and bounds. Even if that hadn''t happened as a consequence of Soara''s actions, she still couldn''t blame Zach or Soara. As her connection with her life spirit improved, she had an easier time understanding it.


    Comparing Soara to a spirit hadn''t been very nice. It completely denied the hard work, suffering, and hardship she had endured to achieve her position. It was like comparing a completely self-made billionaire to a millionaire trust fund baby. Someone who had climbed to the top of the Empire with their own strength to someone who had been born the child of a noble.


    "I see¡­" Zach nodded. If Rienne didn''t want or need an apology, he wasn''t going to insist. Still, why had she come here then?


    "Is that it¡­?" Rienne asked after a moment of silence.


    "Is what it?" Zach asked.


    "Is that the only reason you wanted to see me?" She clarified.


    "...What other reason would there be?" Zach questioned doubtfully.


    Rienned was silent as her grandmother''s expression while telling her all about how Zach had been by every day looking for her, waiting for her, flitted through her mind. She sighed.


    "Nevermind. I appreciate the thought, Zacharia. It''s a nice party, but since I only came to see you, I think I''ll take my leave here." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach could tell Rienne was disappointed all of a sudden. He didn''t know why she was disappointed, even if he had his suspicions as to what she had come here expecting now. He sighed a little. He still felt guilty, even if Rienne said it was fine.


    He glanced at Alzara and his maids. He wanted to spend some quality time with them as well. But they would be by his side for the rest of his life. After he left the capital, he didn''t know when he would get to see Rienne again. There wasn''t anything special between them.


    But Rienne had helped Zach meet the Empress Dowager, who had helped him summon Mandra and finalize a deal with the Imperial Palace for his guild. He owed her more than she thought or knew.


    "I was actually about to leave as well. Come with me," he said.


    Rienned would probably be fine even if he didn''t comfort her. But was there a reason not to be nice? For whatever reason, Rienne was in a bad mood. If Zach could do something about that, why shouldn''t he?


    Rienne looked at Zach with an expression clouded with uncertainty.

 Chapter 345 Invitation

    Rienned stared at Zach''s face for several moments, trying to figure out Zach''s intentions. He clearly wasn''t interested in her the way that her grandmother wanted. He had also gotten what he wanted from the Imperial Palace and then some now that he had summoned his familiar and entered a partnership with the imperial alchemists.He clearly wasn''t lusting after her appearance, either. He had no interest in her status. He wasn''t in any need of money.


    None of the reasons outsiders approached her applied to Zach.


    ''There''s no way, right?'' Rienne doubted the possibility of Zach inviting her to come with him without ulterior motives. Why would he do that?


    Rienne sighed.


    "Alright," she said, telling herself that she was only following him out of curiosity. She wanted to know what he had planned or why he invited her to leave the party with him and his familiars.


    Zach grinned and turned around without another word, making Rienne jog a little to catch up to him.


    With various expressions, mostly ones with narrowed eyes and pursed lips, Zach''s familiars and Nora looked at the backs of the two young elites while following them at a safe distance.


    Zach had originally planned to go back to his hotel and relax like a madman with Nora and his familiars until it was time to return to the Academy. Naturally, he couldn''t drag Rienne into those plans. But that meant he didn''t have a specific destination in mind.


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    So, they ended up wandering through the streets of Spiros, the capital city of the Kiantier Empire. Zach''s barriers and Mandra''s magic kept people from noticing or caring about them. Zach, Rienned, and the maids were free to roam the city without any pesky interferences.


    Zach figured Rienned needed a distraction, so he took it upon himself to chat, blab, and yap. He talked about himself a little and had Rienne talk about herself a bunch.


    He soon learned that she was homeschooled. Since only the members of the imperial family learned spirit magic, there was no academy or institution to teach it. The only teachers that existed were older members of the family.


    That meant Rienned hadn''t experienced an ordinary school life. Her teenage years had been a direct sequel to the standard education most nobles received when they were kids. Private tutor after private tutor.


    She hadn''t shared the results of exams with her classmates or found comrades in failure on important exams. She still had ''friends'' since she socialized as a member of the Empire''s nobility since she was young. But they were acquaintances¡ªconnections. No one she could open her heart to.


    Her upbringing was almost the complete opposite of Zach''s. It was strict, a lot of people, a lot of studying, and a lot of socializing.


    Zach''s first few years had been similar without the strictness. But after that dreadful fifth birthday, he had been left to his own devices mostly. Then, he went to the Academy while Rienne continued with her private lessons.


    They had fun comparing their different memories of childhood, each one pitying and envying the other occasionally.


    Zach also told Rienne a lot about his friends at the Academy and everything they had gone through the past three years and what they would spend their final year doing. It left Rienned speechless. She couldn''t understand how such a curriculum was even supposed to be possible.


    Naturally, she had heard about the Underworld. She even knew more about it than Zach. If getting rid of the Underworld could be done in four years, it would have already happened. But for some reason, she didn''t think Zach was lying or exaggerating. She had heard enough rumors about the principal to know that, while it was unlikely, it wasn''t impossible for him to do something like this.


    However, all she could do was wish Zach good luck and hope for his safe return. Then, she glanced at Zach''s familiars. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Maybe it wasn''t an impossible task, after all. Zach had a deity and someone on the same level as a deity on his team.


    The Underworld did not have that kind of power. It was strong, but deities? Archons? No way.


    The only problem was that Zach and his familiars had not accessed their full potential yet while the Underworld had spent centuries honing itself and refining its power. The Great Ugor had an advantage, even after Zach summoned an SSS-rank familiar.


    Rienne was almost a little envious as Zach told her he was getting ready to leave to fight the Underworld again now that his break was almost up. He would spend the next year on a continuous adventure. It would be life-threatening and dangerous, but it would be exciting.


    She, on the other hand, would spend it cooped up in the Imperial Palace, honing her spirit magic, tending to palace affairs, and entertaining nobles. The only kind of excitement she might experience was the bad and troublesome kind that didn''t threaten her directly but was just a pain.


    She hadn''t realized before talking to Zach how much she craved a carefree life. She was thankful for the world his words had shown her, even if it was a world she couldn''t reach.


    She sighed and gazed at the starry sky.


    "Can you drink?" Zach suddenly asked.


    Rienne glanced at him.


    "I am older than you."


    "I''ll take that as a yes then." Zach grinned and glanced at Nora, who understood the hint and found the nearest restaurant, where she purchased a few bottles of different kinds of alcoholic beverages.


    While she did that, Zach and Rienne found a park on the outskirts of the city where they wouldn''t be disturbed.


    Nora caught up to them before long and presented her collection to Zach and Rienne with a worried expression. Zach had only recently hit eighteen years of age and still hadn''t even tried alcohol. She was worried about him.


    Seeing that, Zach grinned and patted on the ground next to him, inviting Nora to join them. She tried to refuse, but Zach wouldn''t allow it. He also invited his familiars.


    Yanael and Mandra were the only ones who refrained.


    Just like that, the afterparty started.

 Chapter 346 Drinking Party

    Zach sniffed his drink with a suspicious expression. It didn''t smell bad, at least not compared to all the monster guts and potion ingredients he had dealt with up close. But it didn''t smell like something humans were supposed to consume, and certainly not as frequently as it was done.Rienne saw Zach''s face. She couldn''t help but ask,


    "Is this your first time drinking?" Zach had been all cocky asking if she could drink when he hadn''t even done it before. She was amazed.


    "..." Zach''s silence was all the answer she needed.


    "Just take a sip. The taste gets better the more you drink."


    Since Rienne, Nora, Alzara, and Soara were all waiting for him to taste before they started drinking, Zach felt a little pressured. Naturally, he caved and took a mouthful.


    He was right. It was poison.


    It was far from the worst he had tasted since Alzara usually paid more attention to the effects than the taste of her potions. But her potions were all good for him except for the experiments he volunteered to test.


    Still, the alcohol burned his mouth and throat and stung his nose as it made its way into his body. Zach shook his head to dispel that sensation, which earned him a chuckle from Rienne as she sipped on her own drink.


    "You said it gets better the more I drink, right?" Zach asked.


    Rienne smirked.


    "Yeah." Her eyes widened in realization. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Wai¡ª" She was too slow. Zach downed the entire glass.


    "Not bad," he said while wiping his lips, ignoring Rienne''s stunned look. He winked at Nora, though, to assure her he was alright. He then gave Rienne''s full glass a pointed look before raising an eyebrow and looking at her.


    Rienne snorted and copied Zach, downing her glass.


    However, as soon as she finished, she saw Zach pouring up another round for himself and her.


    Nora, Alzara, and Soara took it a little slower. Since it was Nora''s first time drinking, Alzar and Soara made sure she had a good time, teaching her how to appreciate the taste. Fortunately, she didn''t need to be told that doing what Zach and Rienne were doing was suicidal.


    After the third round, Zach slowed down a little. Rienne''s cheeks and ears were already flushed. He figured he had already gotten his payback for that chuckle.


    However, Rienne didn''t want to admit defeat and kept challenging Zach while teasing him about his cowardice and lacking tolerance.


    Zach was nothing if not humble. He could have let it go. But then Rienne decided to question how he was supposed to handle all of his familiars if he couldn''t even handle his alcohol.


    It didn''t make sense. The two things were entirely separate matters and had nothing to do with one another. It was the reasoning of someone who had already had a bit too much to drink.


    Still, a princess should be wiser than that, so Zach decided to teach her a lesson. He indulged Rienne in her obstinate drinking competition.


    In the end, Zach ended up having to carry a barely conscious princess back to the Imperial Palace.


    "Y-you know, Sssack¡­You wuld be more hendsume if you¡­" Rienne''s voice trailed off after she hiccuped, but her hands didn''t stop moving as she started playing with Zach''s hair.


    "Did your hair like dis!" She said, proudly patting Zach''s chest after she finished messing up his orange hair, making it look like a wildfire.


    Zach sighed. She was a princess, so he figured a princess carry was the right way to carry her, but maybe he should have had one of his familiars do it, even if neither they nor Rienne wanted it.


    But it was his fault Rienne was so drunk. That meant it was his responsibility to get her home safely. He was almost a little surprised. He didn''t think an imperial princess would have been allowed to roam outside this long without guards or supervision.


    He couldn''t help but worry. What if something had happened to her? What if he hadn''t invited her with him? What if he had been a bastard with bad intentions?


    He might need to have a conversation with someone in charge. Or the Empress Dowager.


    As they got closer to the Imperial Palace, Zach frowned and looked at the princess sleeping like a baby in his arms. She had nestled into his chest and curled up, fully taking advantage of Zach''s body heat to shield her from the cool night air.


    How was he supposed to get her inside without trouble? If he just appeared at the gates with the princess like this, wouldn''t he be detained and questioned like a criminal?


    He considered sneaking in, but that probably wasn''t a good idea. However¡­


    Zach glanced at Mandra. If anyone could bypass the Imperial Palace''s security, it would be her. It was unlikely she could evade the detection of someone like the Empress Dowager, but it would be fine if the Empress Dowager discovered them. Of course, the best would be if they could just deliver Rienne to her room without anyone knowing they had even been there.


    So, instead of taking the front entrance, Zach and his group went to the side of the palace grounds. Zach glanced at Mandra, who, while she wanted to advise against this, still gave Zach and Rienne a cloaking spell.


    "Maybe stop right there."


    However, a voice from the side stopped Zach before he could jump over the walls.


    He slowly turned his head to look at the child-sized owl.


    "Ursula?" He asked, confused.


    "So when I''m an owl, you have no trouble using my name?"


    "I swear I said ''Your Majesty.'' You must have misheard me." Explore more stories at empire


    "...Whatever. Is that my granddaughter you''re holding?" Ursula questioned, the dark grey owl with bottomless pits for eyes hopped forward to get a closer look. She didn''t need to since she had followed them around all evening, but it was fun seeing the startled look on Zach''s face more clearly.


    "Nothing happened! We just drank a little." Zach would have raised his hands as he pleaded innocence if he hadn''t been holding Rienne. Dropping her to the ground like he was a thief and she was stolen property probably wasn''t the best course of action.


    "That''s a shame."


    "What?"


    "I said it smells like a bar floor. What do you mean little?"


    "It might have been a little more than a little¡­" Zach avoided the owl''s gaze out of guilt.


    "Hmph. You''re leaving tomorrow, right?"


    "Yes."


    "I''ll tell Rienne you said goodbye."


    "Alright."


    "Good luck, Zacharia."


    The owl took to the sky with Rienne in its feet.


    Zach looked at his hands. He hadn''t even noticed when that happened.

 Chapter 347 Eyes Of Truth

    Zach looked at Nora, who was sitting opposite him in the carriage."Are you alright, Nora?" He asked in a whisper.


    "I am fine, Young Master. How are you feeling?" She returned without looking up. Even the faint light trickling through the gaps between the curtains and the windows was enough to make her wince. The occasional bumps in the road that made the carriage jerk also drew lines on her forehead. Read new chapters at empire


    The corner of Zach''s lip rose slightly. She was clearly not fine. However, she was too prideful to admit that. Still, the fact that she had gone out of her way to hire someone to drive the carriage was proof that she was not in a good condition.


    "I''m perfectly fine. My¡ª" Zach''s jaws snapped shut.


    ''Right.'' S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    World essence energy was restricted information. It sucked he couldn''t tell even Nora, considering how close she was to him. But she understood. He hadn''t been able to talk about it since he got it, only being able to say that it was good energy, so she was used to Zach forgetting it and trying to talk about it with her.


    "...My energy treated the alcohol like poison and neutralized it pretty quickly. It also got rid of any aftereffects." Zach shrugged.


    He couldn''t get drunk.


    Zach was pretty sure he heard Nora curse him in her mind but that wasn''t possible, so he ignored it and leaned back in his seat. He was finally returning to the Academy. His mind started wandering.


    He wondered if Monolith was still standing in the ruins of Basilia, silently waiting for the world to change. He wondered if Mandra''s addition would be enough to defeat him. He wondered about what the Great Ugor had planned by stationing him there.


    He wondered what else they would have to face during their fourth and hopefully last year at the Academy.


    He wondered how the others had done in the East and Labyrinth of Jira. Hopefully, they had seen some progress.


    Zach sighed. He just wanted to be done with this whole Underworld thing and explore the world or something.


    He wondered how the baby and his family were doing.


    The last month or two had let Zach relax and focus on himself. He hadn''t needed to think about anything else other than what was right in front of him, which, at times, had been nothing but his maids.


    It would be an exaggeration to say he had found inner peace. But he had managed to organize his chaotic thoughts and prepare for another stressful year. The Empress Dowager''s existential push that let him view himself from an outside perspective also helped him see what he needed to focus on and how far he had come.


    Compared to three years ago, he was a completely different person, in body and mind. His current self could snap his past self in half with a wave of his hand. His muscles were dense and hard like rock and stone. His energy was powerful but subdued like a dormant volcano. His mind was sturdy and resilient like a lighthouse.


    His contract skills were a little out of sync. Blessed Defense was honed to the limit of what he could do right now. Material Extraction was not yet perfect, but it consistently produced results beyond what any alchemist other than Alzara could ever hope to replicate.


    Transcension was empty.


    Eyes of Truth¡­


    Zach glanced at Nora for a moment. He threw as dark a barrier as he could over her eyes as he opened the carriage door and slipped onto the roof with his familiars, who were sitting in their separate corners without exchanging a word.


    However, while it looked like they were equally distant from each other, Zach could feel a pattern to the tension on the ceiling''s roof. Yanael, Alzara, and Soara were united in their wariness of Mandra.


    The four battle maids glanced at Zach, silently awaiting his orders or where he would sit down. There was noticeable disappointment from the other three when he sat next to Mandra.


    "Master," she said. Zach stopped her from getting up. Mandra was still a freshie and cared about formality and showing respect. There was no need for that.


    "Mandra, I''m curious about my contract skill."


    "Eyes of Truth¡­"


    Zach nodded.


    Mandra''s gaze grew distant as she looked toward the horizon.


    "...That name is also one of the names of the ability that helped me finalize my transformation into an Archon."


    Zach''s eyes widened. If his skill was the same as Mandra''s ability, it meant he could rely on it to reach a level similar to Mandra''s peak without anything else.


    ''That''s insane.'' Zach didn''t voice his thoughts. Mandra''s expression told him there was more to it than that.


    "For me, it was both a blessing and a curse, and it was only a blessing because I indulged in the practice of magic."


    ''There it is. The catch.'' Zach nodded with a serious expression.


    He wasn''t a mage. If it was the same for him as it was for Mandra, that meant it would be a curse more than anything. However, no matter how a skill appeared on the surface, Zach knew that it would never be anything bad or detrimental to him.


    The contract skill was a byproduct of the contract between him and his familiar. It was the manifestation of their union. The connection between a master and a familiar was anything but detrimental to the master. Naturally, the contract skill was the same.


    It could be complex and difficult to use, but never bad.


    "So, what does it do, this ability of yours?" Zach asked. He needed details to determine how much time he should set aside to learn it. If it was something he coulduse at once, he needed to devote a lot of time to it. If it was something more like Transcension, there were other things that were more important.


    "Like the name says, Master, they are eyes that let you see the truth."


    "The truth?" Zach questioned, asking for more details.


    But Mandra just nodded. What more was there to say? He would see the truth of whatever he looked at with those Eyes.

 Chapter 348 Zachara Evandel

    Zach, Nora, his familiars, and the carriage driver took a detour to a monster-ridden forest to kill some time and small fries and because the principal had told them he didn''t want to see anyone on the school grounds during the break. So, Zach figured it would be best to arrive at the very end of the break or maybe even be a little late to the entrance ceremony.Fortunately, he wasn''t late. He arrived in the middle of the hustle and bustle of new and returning students unpacking and moving into the dorms for another dreaded year at the Academy for Summoners.


    Zach wondered if Violina, Dukiel, Anerias, and Nessa had arrived yet or if they were doing the same as him and making sure they didn''t arrive too early. It was unlikely, considering they were good students and all. But maybe they were busy.


    However, before scouring the Academy for them, Zach wanted to stop by the principal''s office first. Nora and Yanael unpacked and cleaned up his suite while Zach, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra wandered the halls until they arrived at the principal''s office.


    Since it was the first visit after the break, Zach knocked before entering.


    "Zach, you''re back. You''ve had a nice break, I see," the principal said, nodding toward Mandra. He was also referring to the state of Zach''s body and state of mind, which were obvious at a glance to the principal. He could tell that while Zach hadn''t necessarily grown explosively stronger over the break, he had solidified his strength and rounded out his weaknesses.


    "Yes." Zach nodded and pointed to Mandra.


    "This is Mandra, an Archon. SSS-rank."


    The principal''s eyes widened slightly. He wished Kami had been there so that he and Zach could see the look on the purple-haired summoner''s face.


    "You¡­didn''t blow up?"


    "Nope."


    "Amazing." The principal narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zach a little closer.


    "You might need to take it a little slower next time, though," the principal advised.


    Zach suddenly felt a cold breeze from behind.


    "I am not thinking about summoning another familiar for a while. After we''re done with the Underworld and after graduation, I am taking it easy. You really should put more consideration into what you want your students to do. Seriously, everyone I''ve talked to about this graduation requirement thinks it''s impossible." Zach sighed and plopped down in an armchair opposite the principal as he complained.


    The principal leaned forward and rested his chin on his clasped hands and looked at Zach with a strange glow in his eyes.


    "What do you think, Zach? Is it impossible?" He asked.


    Zach rolled his neck and folded his arms. He sighed again.


    "If it''s impossible, it''s impossible. But how can I say it is without even trying? But if it is impossible and we don''t graduate, I''ll make sure you suffer just a much as we do."


    "It will be my pleasure." The principal grinned. Zach could tell he was earnestly looking forward to the day that Zach could actually cause him trouble.


    Zach shook his head. For some reason, he could kind of understand the principal. Even the Empress Dowager, one of the officially strongest somewhat active people in the Empire didn''t even entertain the thought of measuring up to the principal.


    How long hadn''t the principal, infamous for causing trouble and wreaking havoc, lived a peaceful life? How long had he lived without anyone so much as daring to look at the peak he stood on all alone?


    The principal wasn''t necessarily a coldhearted psychopath for everything he put his students through without blinking. He was just apathetic. All the years he had spent at the peak had weathered him. If he put a piece of his heart in every student who died, he would have long crumbled.


    In the long run, the principal''s collapse would lead to far greater chaos and more deaths. It was only right and natural that he did what he did, even if it wasn''t something he could receive gratitude for.


    Zach blinked.


    "???"


    Why did he suddenly get such a good understanding of the principal?


    The principal frowned.


    "...What did you just do?" He asked, concerned.


    "I¡­" However, before Zach could answer, he felt something wrong with his eyes. He reached up to touch them, his fingers came away stained with blood¡ªblood that Zach couldn''t see. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach blinked and rubbed his eyes again. He could feel it, the warm, the wet, the sticky. But he couldn''t see anything.


    He couldn''t see anything. He couldn''t see.


    Zach continued rubbing and wiping his eyes in a panic. Maybe the blood was just in the way. As soon as he got it out of the way, he would be able to see again.


    The principal reached out and grabbed Zach''s wrists, stopping him from covering his entire face in blood.


    "Calm down." The principal''s voice was gentler than Zach had ever heard. It soothed him to his very core. As if enchanted, it even closed the lid to his mind, putting him to sleep.


    The principal looked at Zach''s familiars.


    He opened his mouth.


    ***


    Zach slowly came to, his head throbbing with pain. He remembered vividly what happened before he fell asleep. He didn''t want to open his eyes only to realize he was still blind, but he had to know whether he could see or not.


    But he took his time. He recognized the feel and smell of his dorm room and bed. And he could sense Nora by his side and the familiars nearby. There was no need to rush. He was in a safe space.


    After a minute of silence, during which Nora and the familiars sensed he had woken up but didn''t say anything, Zach slowly tried to open his eyes.


    His mind relaxed as soon as the first line of light entered through his barely open eyelids. However, he frowned slightly when he opened his eyes fully and looked around.


    It was blurry. If it hadn''t been because he looked at Nora and his familiars more than he looked at himself, he would have had trouble seeing them in the jumble of smudged color that the world around him had turned into.


    He exhaled out of frustration.

 Chapter 349 Worry

    Zach could somewhat see his surroundings, but he wasn''t far from being functionally blind. But before he could find a solution to that, he had to ask,"...What happened?" His voice was a little unsteady.


    The maids exchanged looks, silently agreeing on who would answer Zach''s question.


    "You looked at that person with your Eyes of Truth, Master," Mandra answered. It had happened due to the skill he got from her contract, after all. It made sense for her to answer. Since she had a similar ability, she also felt partially responsible. Maybe if she had told Zach more about the skill''s possible effects, this wouldn''t have happened.


    It had been too sudden. From what she had heard from the others and Zach himself, first learning to activate his skills never came easy.


    Blessed Defense had activated when he perceived a threat to his life. Material Extraction took a lot of trial and error and a lot of advice from Alzara. Transcension still hadn''t shown itself. Zach didn''t even know how to begin trying to activate that one. It was only natural that Eyes of Truth would be the same.


    But that was not the case.


    Not only had he activated the skill with ease, he had done it subconsciously. While looking at the principal, his mind had wandered a little. He had been curious about the principal.


    His skill decided to answer the questions he had for him. They unveiled part of the truth behind the principal''s existence.


    However, a mere glimpse at the surface of the principal''s existence had been enough to boil Zach''s eyes and fry his mind. The principal''s existence was not something someone like Zach could handle looking at in its entirety.


    It was like Zach had tried to get a closer look at the sun only to accidentally dip his whole head in it.


    Zach frowned.


    "How?" He asked after listening to Mandra''s explanation.


    "How could I sneak a peek into the principal?" He asked. Even if his Eyes of Truth were good, were they good enough to pierce the principal''s passive veils and lay bare his existence?


    "The Eyes of Truth suit you too well, Master," Mandra answered. "Your innate desire and curiosity about the truth of the world and the skill''s functions resonated with each other. In an instant, you brought out the skill''s full potential. It caught that person off guard, which let you see more than you were supposed to."


    Zach sighed. He found it interesting that there was such a thing as a skill that was too suitable. Even now when his head and eyes were still hurting, he was once again eager to learn more about this world of summoning.


    If there were skills that were too suitable, didn''t that also mean there were skills that weren''t suitable at all? What other kinds of skills existed? What decided what skill would be created when the contract was established? Was there a way to change the skill?


    Zach closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. Just thinking about all of his newfound questions and things he wanted to learn made his eyes sting even harder.


    He understood Mandra''s words.


    Eyes of Truth. A skill that sought to reveal the truth of all things the Eyes gazed upon.


    Zacharia Evandiel. A man who wanted to unveil the secrets of summoning and whatever else caught his attention.


    It was a match made in heaven. Or in hell, considering it had almost ruined his eyes the first time he used it. Zach even had a hunch that if it hadn''t been for the world essence energy protecting and healing him, he would have been in serious trouble, maybe even permanently crippled or braindead from the overload of information that neither his eyes nor brain could handle.


    But then again, without the world essence energy, he wouldn''t have been able to summon Mandra and receive the skill in the first place.


    "A blessing and a curse, huh¡­" Zach mused. He had a feeling that these Eyes of his would extend and change his path forward in the future. He didn''t yet know whether it was a good or a bad change, but he was looking forward to it.


    "I should probably wait a bit before using the Eyes of Truth again, right?"


    "That seems wise, Master."


    Zach sighed again.


    Nora handed him a cloth chilled with cold water for him to place over his eyes.


    "Are you alright, Young Master?" She asked.


    Zach didn''t know if it was because he had already adapted to being blind or if she was that worried, but he could hear a slight tremor in her voice.


    "I''ve been worse. You''ve seen be be worse. This much is nothing at all. I''ll manage. Still, thanks for worrying about me, Nora." Zach held out his hand. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Who''s worrying about you?" She said while grabbing his hand and holding it tight.


    She had indeed seen Zach be in worse condition. That didn''t mean she could ever get used to it. There was no way she could see Zach being rushed through the Academy at a speed that flipped the skirts of other students by his maids and the principal and be fine. There was no way she could see the bloodstains like someone had cut up his face and not worry.


    In that regard, it was a good thing Zach couldn''t see anything. If he could, he would have surely teased her for her red, puffy eyes and the dried streaks down her cheeks.


    Nora didn''t even know what was wrong with her. For some reason, it just felt like Zach was getting closer and closer to death with every incident he had. She couldn''t explain it. It was just a bad premonition.


    But if she voiced it, Zach would just tell her not to worry. And she had to admit it. It was a ridiculous worry.


    Zach would put himself in more trouble than she liked. But if anyone could get out of it with their life intact, it would be Zach.


    Nora squeezed Zach''s hand harder, missing the warm drop splashing on the back of it.

 Chapter 350 Poor Kid

    Zach''s vision slowly improved, thanks to his world essence energy and Alzara''s potions. But even after a day when it was time for the entrance ceremony and the first day of classes to begin, he still couldn''t see clearly. However, his other senses were at least good enough for him to pick out the presences of his friends.He went to find them as soon as the entrance ceremony finished. Together, they headed for the city, which they had all intentionally refrained from looking at since they returned to the Academy. They didn''t want to do it alone, and they didn''t want to start before the school year started.


    The Underworld and Monolith were like weights on their shoulders. There was no need to pick them back up again after the break before the break was even over. But now that the break was over, they had to get ready to fight for their lives and their graduation again.


    On the way to the city, Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, and Nessa teased Zach a little about summoning another battle maid familiar, but what was there to tease? That she was SSS-rank? As soon as Zach revealed that, they shut up pretty quickly.


    But the silence didn''t last long before Nessa asked how he managed to summon a familiar when he had been in the capital. That took them down a whole other rabbit hole of questioning about what he was doing with the princess and the Empress Dowager.


    As a Duke''s son, it wasn''t strange for Zach to be on good terms with the Imperial Palace, but he wasn''t just on good terms after their latest break. He was chummy with two highly valued members of the imperial family. And it was on a personal level. It had next to nothing to do with his status as a Duke''s son.


    While they had been rolling around in the dirt in the Jira Labyrinth, Zach had gone to spas with the Empress Dowager and the Princess. While they bathed in blood, he bathed in rose water. While they ate beef jerky, he ate food good enough to become a family heirloom.


    As if that wasn''t enough, he had made a fortune while doing it since his Nyasm Desert Guild had taken off and soared into the sky. Zach had been spoiled with enough money from his family to never worry about going hungry with just one month''s allowance.


    Now, he dwarfed that number on a weekly basis. Of course, he sent most of it right back into the guild since he didn''t need that much money, especially if he was just going to sit on it. But he was still rich.


    The others lamented their fates. Maybe they should have bugged Zach about using their talents to help him establish his guild. Maybe they should have done something similar on their own.


    But when they thought about it, they realized it wasn''t feasible. The only things they could help Zach with, he could either do on his own or Derot was already handling.


    And none of them had anything they could turn into a flourishing business. Violina could probably make a profit selling ice during summers or in the South. But she would have to do that on her own. It wasn''t like she could hand off the recipes for ice to a bunch of workers and let them do it for her.


    It was the same with Dukiel''s Enhance. He could charge a hefty price for the use of his skill. But he was the only one with that skill, and he could only use it once a day. Besides, no matter the money, he would much rather use it for himself. With his current strength, if he needed money, he could just go out and hunt a stack of monsters.


    "What about you guys?" Zach asked, changing the topic. He felt like bragging about his repeated success in the capital wouldn''t do him any good.


    "...We couldn''t find the rat king," Anerias answered with a sigh. He had long since understood that he couldn''t compare to Zach, so he didn''t even bother trying to hide their failure.


    Zach blinked. Right. They were trying to do that.


    "It''s understandable. Does anyone have it figured out?" He asked curiously. He didn''t even know the trick himself. He had just done it. It would be interesting to know what the actual mechanic behind it was.


    Anerias shook his head, downcast.


    "No one knows how you did that, Zach," Violina said.


    ''Including me.'' Zach nodded. He knew it most likely had something to do with being directionally challenged, but it couldn''t be that easy.


    "How deep did you guys get, then?"


    "The fifteenth floor," Dukiel answered.


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    "That''s pretty good. It''s better than me." sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "How far did you go?" Anerias asked eagerly.


    "The first."


    "..."


    "We also had help from Rabst. He told us to say hi, by the way."


    "Oh, is he staying in the East?"


    "Yeah. He liked Jira, apparently. And he didn''t have anything else to do, so he''s been hanging out there since he graduated."


    "And did you meet my family?"


    "We did. Honestly, Zach, it''s amazing you are even related to them." Nessa looked at Zach''s face with her head tilted to the side, scrutinizing him. His hair color told them he was an Evandiel. But personality wise¡­


    "What do you mean¡­?" Zach asked worriedly.


    "They were all so nice to us."


    "..." Zach blankly looked at Nessa.


    "...What about the baby?" Zach looked at Dukiel.


    "...The baby''s fine. He''s even got a name now. Minatio."


    "Minatio?" Zach asked, doubting his ears.


    "Yeah."


    "Who named him?"


    "I think Lexi took credit for it."


    "Figures. Horrible name."


    "What? I think it''s cute," Nessa said. The others nodded and agreed with her.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed and he looked at them like he was concerned for their well-being.


    "You guys haven''t noticed¡­?"


    "Noticed what?"


    "Minatio. Abo-minatio-n."


    "..."


    "...There''s no way, right?"


    "It''s Lexi." Zach shrugged.


    "Poor kid¡­" Anerias'' voice trailed off as he looked ahead.


    The others couldn''t even wonder what he was about to say since they were also looking forward. They had arrived at what remained of Basilia.

 Chapter 351 Ghosts

    Monolith was gone. It was not as much of a relief as they would have thought. For one, they still wanted to beat the crap out of him. But secondly, that meant he had completed his objective. There was no longer any reason for him to prevent them from entering the sewers and the Underworld.However, Monolith wasn''t the only thing missing from the ruins of Basilia. All the underworld energy that had been forced to the surface was also gone. That was more concerning than anything.


    Hadn''t the Underworld pumped up the underworld energy to secure an outpost on the surface to make their advance easier? Had they given up on that or was there another reason for the underworld energy to have been on the surface other than to make it more difficult to stay in the city?


    Other than that, there didn''t seem to be anything else amiss. The city was just a pile of ruins with a crater in the center. But an investigation wouldn''t be an investigation if they left it at that.


    Zach threw up barriers around his friends and split them into groups of two. He was alone with his familiars.


    They walked around the city for an hour before regrouping at the center where Monolith had been.


    "Anyone find anything?" Zach asked.


    The others exchanged glances to see if anyone had found anything. Their silence was their answer.


    "Did we cover the entire city?" Nessa asked after a while. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If you all went to the districts I asked, it should have been most of it."


    Nessa frowned and looked at the others.


    "Who went to my and Dukiel''s districts?" She asked accusatorily.


    Nessa''s tone came seemingly out of nowhere, so Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina frowned and looked at her with question marks in their eyes.


    "No one?" Violina said, shooting Zach a quick glance. He had a tendency to lose his way, after all. But he shouldn''t have moved from the city center. If he had, he wouldn''t have been there waiting for them.


    "Oh, then I think I found something," Nessa said, her tone much lighter than before.


    A minute later, they were all standing on the corner of one of the more intact streets closer to the outskirts of the city, comparing their shoe sizes to the bootprint on the ground. It didn''t match anyone of them. It was bigger than Zach''s, Nessa''s, and Violina''s shoes, but it was smaller than Dukiel''s and Anerias'' footprints.


    "So, someone''s been here. It''s odd but nothing alarming, right?" Anerias said after they finished comparing sizes. He looked at the others, wondering why their expressions were so grim.


    Violina helped him.


    "Did you see any footprints or signs of someone walking to the city? Or anywhere else within the city for that matter?"


    "No¡­?"


    "Then why are there footprints here?" Violina glanced around.


    "And over there." She pointed at another footprint in the dust on the ground.


    Something suspicious was going on.


    At her words, the others also started looking for more footprints, expanding their search with the one Nessa first found as the center. They found a few more. Strangely enough, it seemed like they led to and from the city center, where Monolith''s entrance to the Underworld was.


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    What was even more strange was that there didn''t seem to be any footprints along the outer edge of the city.


    "So, are we dealing with ghosts now?" Dukiel jokingly asked. Anerias'' face paled.


    "Maybe an Underworld Exterminator who came to take a look?" Nessa more helpfully suggested.


    "Could be. But why cover up their tracks into and out of the city but not inside?"


    They came up with a few theories but nothing that stuck since they only had the footprints to go on. They looked for more traces of someone being there or anything else happening, but in the end, they didn''t find anything. So, they decided to return and attend class. It wasn''t a good look if the top students were absent on the first day of lessons, even if the class was just Jarron talking about his vacation.


    They were at a slight loss.


    It wasn''t a disappointing return to the Academy. But it was underwhelming.


    Zach and the others hadn''t expected anything specific. But they had thought that the Underworld would have done something while they were away. Instead, they had done the opposite. They had undone what they had done before the break.


    There weren''t any underworlders, named or unnamed to fight. There wasn''t any underworld energy to drive away. If there were any spies, they didn''t know about them.


    But that didn''t mean there was nothing for them to do. With Monolith no longer blocking their way, they could try and enter the Underworld to investigate. Monolith wasn''t in their way anymore since the Underworld wasn''t worried about the students entering the Underworld right now.


    That could be because they had sealed the entrance or because no matter what the students did, it was already too late. But they had to find out which of the two it was. So, what they had to do was obvious. They had to enter the Underworld.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t that easy.


    It was the start of the school year, and it was the fourth year at the Academy, which was known to be the academically heaviest one, regardless of what special things the principal had prepared for each year.


    It wouldn''t be that easy for them to get permission to take a few days off the normal classes. Zach might be able to talk to the principal, but that old bully had a stubborn and obstinate streak when it came to things like this. Still, it was worth a try.


    And it was better than just staying cooped up in the library trying to understand what the quadratic formula had to do with summoning familiars and fighting monsters. There was also another matter that Zach wanted to talk to the principal about, but that was a personal favor.

 Chapter 352 Family

    "No." The principal''s voice left no room for discussion."But why not?" Zach protested, ignoring the principal''s tone.


    "Cause I said so. Now, how are your eyes doing?"


    "I won''t accept that as a reason. And they''re still in my sockets but they suck right now."


    "You don''t have a choice. Attend your lessons and after the first exam, I''ll let you kids go wild. That explains why you''re looking at that mannequin."


    "And when''s that? Ahem. Why do you even have a mannequin in your office?"


    "I don''t know. Ask your teachers. I needed some target practice while Kami''s out," the principal said while throwing a paper ball at the mannequin''s head.


    "Ugh, fine. I have an unrelated favor to ask. Where is Kami? Shouldn''t he be teaching us stuff?"


    "Sure. Consider it an apology for injuring your eyes. What is it? He''s out on business. If you want, I can teach you in his place."


    "Could you have a vial of Mandra''s blood sent to Lexi? What business? And never in a thousand lifetimes would I ever dream of being disrespectful enough to ask you to teach us personally."


    "Done. Nothing important. Probably. If you become my successor, I''ll tell you. And being so against me teaching you guys sounds pretty disrespectful if you ask me."


    "Great. Never. Good thing I wasn''t asking."


    "Alright. That''s it?"


    "Yeah. See ya, principal."


    "Yup. See ya tomorrow, Zach."


    "Tomorrow?"


    "You''ll find out then."


    Zach rolled his eyes and left the principal''s office after tossing him the vial of Mandra''s blood. As an SSS-rank Archon, her blood should be very nutritious for Lexi''s Egg. She had said she could handle nurturing it on her own and didn''t need his help. But there was no way she would have managed to secure the blood of an Archon.


    He returned to his room with his familiars. He glanced at Alzara.


    "You''ve been wanting to say something for a while now, haven''t you, Alzara?" He asked, fully aware that she had been looking at him slightly differently after he announced the name of the guild. He had planned to deal with it directly after the announcement, but he got sidetracked by the princess. And the carriage ride hadn''t seemed like the right place for it.


    Alzara nodded.


    Zach entered his bed room, lay down on his bed, and patted next to him. He lay on his back with his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. A little confused, Alzara obeyed his request and lay down next to him.


    She lay on her side, accentuating her curves and thin waist, even through the maid dress. Zach used a hand to push her shoulder until she also rested flatly on her back. Alzara looked at Zach, but he was only looking at the ceiling, so she eventually did the same.


    Suddenly, it became a lot easier to open her mouth.


    "Why?" Still, that was all she could get out at first.


    "..."


    "Why did you name the guild that?" She asked with a low voice. Explore hidden tales at empire


    "''Nyasm'' is just the first letter of each of your names," Zach said, hinting at all the maids in his bedroom.


    "...And the ''Desert'' part?"


    "It''s because none of this would have been possible without you, Alzara. It''s all thanks to you that the guild is a thing. It''s thanks to you that I''m making money by breathing. You deserve some recognition for your contributions and abilities."


    "I told you I didn''t need to name the guild after me."


    "I didn''t." Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You didn''t?"


    "No. I didn''t take the ''Desert'' from Desert Witch. I named the guild Nyasm Desert Guild because you are a Desert Witch. There aren''t exactly many deserts around here, and I''ve noticed how you look toward the horizon sometimes. You''re homesick, aren''t you? Or maybe you don''t feel at home here in this lush grassland and forest-covered place."


    "..." Alzara didn''t have an answer. She didn''t realize Zach had noticed. She had barely even caught those feelings of hers herself.


    "So, from now on, I want you to look at the guild as your home away from home. Regardless of what happens, you will always have a place there where you can be yourself. At the same time, I want you to look at us like your new home. I doubt I can make up for the rough and coarse sand you might crave, but I''ll always be there for you. I will be there for all of you," he said, finally looking away from the ceiling and looking at Nora, Yanael, Soara, and Mandra.


    They felt the sincerity in his words.


    The relationship between a summoner and their familiars was one mostly based on chance.


    The summoner summoned a familiar based on vague concepts like how much their body could handle in terms of another existence weighing on it, talent, and affinity.


    A ''talented'' summoner with a good body would summon a useful and strong familiar.


    Someone with an affinity for ice would summon familiars of a matching affinity.


    But there were no specifics. There were numerous beings who could be summoned.


    In that way, Zach summoning specifically Yanael and not any other S-rank familiar, battle maid variant or not, was a matter of chance. It was the same with the others as well.


    Even Zach''s relationship with Nora could be attributed to chance. If his mother hadn''t hired Nora''s mother as a personal servant, the two would have never met.


    Neither of the two had a choice in the matter.


    But even through relationships established through chance, obligation, and circumstance, Zach valued all of them with his entire heart. Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra were more than just familiars to him. Nora was more than just a maid officially working for his parents.


    They were family.


    Zach held out his arms. Hesitant at first, Yanael, Soara, and Nora joined Zach and Alzara on the bed, Nora and Alzara taking the chance to snuggle up close.


    Zach looked at Mandra over their heads. He nodded encouragingly and gestured with the tips of his fingers for her to come.


    Without a word, Mandra walked up to and onto the bed before lying down on top of Zach.


    ***


    The next day, Zach stormed into the principal''s office.

 Chapter 353 Explorers

    "Why didn''t you just tell me we had an exam today?!" Zach demanded as soon as he entered the principal''s office."I forgot." The principal shrugged with a taunting smirk on his face.


    "Ah, whatever, so it''s fine for us to take a few days away from the ordinary classes to enter the Underworld?" Zach asked. He had a feeling the principal was making a face just based on the way he saw it, but Zach''s vision was still heavily impaired, so he didn''t see it. Thus, he didn''t care about it, much to the principal''s disappointment.


    "Shouldn''t you wait until you can see better?" The principal asked.


    "...That is a good idea. Unfortunately, time waits for no man."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that."


    "What?" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What?"


    "Anyway. If the Underworld is doing something down there, which they almost definitely are, the sooner we find out what it is, the better."


    The principal shrugged.


    "If you''re that insistent, I guess I won''t stop you. It''s not my fault if you die."


    "I''ll make sure to write a will before I leave."


    "And I''ll make you my successor posthumously."


    Zach decided at that moment. He was not going to die. Ever.


    He turned around and brought the good news to the others. They were already ready to leave since Zach had already told them that they needed to do at least one exam before they could head out.


    The only question was who actually needed to be prepared. There was limited space inside the sewers and tunnels.


    Since it was an investigation mission, stealth and mobility were more important than pure firepower. That meant Anerias'' Blackfire Hound and Nessa''s Serpentine Millipede were out of the question. Anerias'' Darkwing also wasn''t suitable for underground combat. Even with his Hellcat, Anerias didn''t have enough to warrant participation.


    Nessa''s other familiars, the Midnight Butterfly and Dawnthief Bat, were good. They were small and offered valuable skills. Nessa''s contract skill from the bat also made her a great addition to the stealth part of their mission.


    Violina''s familiars were all small and mobile. Her skills would also be of great help if they needed to flee since she could block the tunnels behind them.


    In the same vein, Dukiel''s familiars could incinerate any obstacles or pursuers.


    And there was no denying the versatility of Zach and his familiars, especially with the addition of a powerful mage-like familiar, who, according to Zach, could do basically anything with magic. Zach''s barriers would protect them if they encountered any trouble, and his familiars would help get rid of the source of trouble.


    In the end, it seemed like everyone but Anerias and the Serpentine Millipede would end up going. However, with Zach and Mandra, Nessa''s familiars might end up a little redundant, so she also stayed behind.


    Of course, they weren''t going to just sit idly by and wait for the three explorers'' return. They had something else they could investigate.


    Zach, Dukiel, and Violina set out for the ruins of Basilia again, determined to make more progress than yesterday. Anerias and Nessa saw them off. It was grand. The three would brave dangers they couldn''t even imagine on the distant chance they might uncover the secrets of the Underworld''s plans.


    The Underworld, however, had other ideas. They were bringing the fruits of their plans to the surface.


    The ground shook. It wasn''t the kind of tremor that came from an impact powerful enough to quake the ground. It was more like the mass of dirt and stone beneath the city moved.


    The students could only stare with wide eyes in the distance as they saw how cracks spread through the ground like chaotic and jagged cobwebs. Weirdly enough, the cracks and breaks in the ground were centered around the ruins of Basilia. The further out from the city, the finer the cracks were. They didn''t even reach the Academy.


    Inside the city, however, the cracks were wide enough to swallow a horse, and they only continued to grow as the ground bucked and bowed upward. Houses¡ªor what remained of them¡ªcrumbled and fell into the cracks as shards and cliffs of stone rose upward, some of them falling to the side and crushing the houses that had yet to be caught up in the expanding growth of stone and dirt.


    It was like something was rising out of the ground.


    Something was rising up and out of the ground.


    A massive being, one that could not reasonably fit inside the ground, was now making its way to the surface, uncaring for whatever anthill was in the way of its exit. Whether it cared or not didn''t matter. It was not a being that would notice such small, weak, and inconsequential structures in the first place.


    What was the difference between the stone or wood houses and the materials they were made of? None.


    As more of the massive body made its way through the surface, its long form rising like a wave, it looked like the creature had been lying in a spiral beneath even the sewers.


    It had to have been lying down there since before the city was built. If it had arrived after the city''s construction, there wouldn''t have been a city.


    The rubble, dirt, and dust clinging to its body gradually fell down, most of it gone after a violent shake from the creature. The creature''s tail was still in the ground, but the majority of its body was above the surface and was now crushing what had once been a prosperous city. Still, it was long enough to wrap around the city once even without its full length.


    Slowly, its massive head turned toward the Academy with a sharp gaze.


    In the principal''s office, the principal looked at the creature.


    "Huh. To think they managed to bring that one back." The principal shrugged in slight amazement. Find exclusive content at empire


    "Must have been that artificial life project," he said, his eyes narrowed as he inspected the thing. He then glanced at the students standing on the road to what used to be the city.


    "I guess they are in trouble now."

 Chapter 354 In Trouble

    Zach''s eyes hadn''t recovered enough for him to see the details of the gargantuan monster that had risen from beneath the ruins of Basilia. But he could see clearly enough to tell that it looked like an overgrown snake, though that undermined the power and majesty it exuded as its upper body hung in the air, its large head pointed straight at the Academy.He could also see clearly when the snake''s head turned and angled downward.


    They were the only students out and about and not inside the Academy''s protective circumference. Compared to the Academy with the principal, the nearby students who looked like they were ready to fight were a little more interesting, especially in the snake''s eyes.


    When it looked toward the Academy, all it saw was an infinite void of darkness. It was like there was nothing there. However, when it glanced downward, it saw a bundle of colorful flames in front of the darkness, standing in stark contrast to the grey ground.


    A few of the flames were exceedingly bright.


    To the snake that had been sleeping with its eyes closed, those bundles of lights were both annoyances and interesting.


    Its mind was still muddy, and the snake wasn''t sure why or how long it had been sleeping. But it could feel that it had been a long time. That was the only explanation for the searing hunger in its stomach.


    The flames, only a couple stretching more than a few meters into the air, were far from enough to satiate the snake. But it would be a good appetizer to soothe its hunger until it could find worthy prey.


    "...DODGE!" Zach shouted and grabbed Nessa before throwing himself to the side and into the forest away from the road. The others were quick to react.


    Even with the snake''s gaze locked on them, pressuring them, they could still move.


    But if it had been before the principal''s familiar looked at them with a similar stare, they would have been frozen in place. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They would have turned into monster chow as the snake with a speed that did not match its size rammed its head and open mouth into the ground to swallow the students. Now, the only injury was part of the Millipede getting caught up in the attack.


    It was a little too big for its own good sometimes, the poor thing. But the injury wasn''t serious enough to hinder its movements as it fled off the road and into the forest to join Nessa. Still, thanks to the Millipede''s involuntary sacrifice, the rest of the familiars were all fine. Some of them even had the room to try and counterattack.


    ''"Don''t!"'' Zach and Nessa shouted at the same time as Anerias'' Darkwing and Dukiel''s Sentinel were about to attack the snake.


    Fortunately, the familiars were close enough with the other summoners to listen. They held back and circled around to their masters, who were on either side of the road.


    Zach and Nessa got up and started running with their familiars spreading out as soon as the snake started pulling its head up again. It felt like the snake pulled the air along with it as it moved.


    They regrouped with Anerias on the way and regrouped with Dukiel and Violina. All of them were smart enough to realize that Zach and Nessa weren''t spreading out their familiars and running in zig-zag patterns because it was fun, so they did the same. But they stayed close enough to hear what Zach and Nessa were saying.


    "It''s a¡ª" Zach started.


    "Basilisk!" Nessa finished.


    To Zach, it had just looked like a big snake at first since he couldn''t see clearly. Nessa had been suspicious. But when it came close to them by diving into the ground, they could both confirm that the color of its skin wasn''t just from lying underground for decades or centuries. The outcroppings on its head and neck also weren''t rubble clinging to its skin.


    They were horns and spikes that looked like someone had dribbled molten stone on its skin and then pulled on gently to stretch them out before letting them harden. With the size and stony theme, the snake monster could only be one thing.


    Unfortunately, the others weren''t as interested in big, thought-to-be-extinct monsters as Zach and Nessa were. They had heard ''Basilisk'' before, but that didn''t mean they knew what one did, why they should spread out, or why they shouldn''t attack it.


    Zach and Nessa sighed and rolled their eyes a little too synchronized.


    "Their eyes can see what scholars think is a person or being''s power!"


    "So, we''re spreading out to make it harder for it to see us?" Anerias asked.


    "No! It''s to improve our odds of one of us surviving since it won''t be able to go for more than one at a time," Zach explained, uncaring for the looks on the others'' faces. This wasn''t the time to beat around the bush or sweeten the truth.


    Basilisks weren''t as famous as dragons, but it wasn''t because they were weaker. They just didn''t like attention.


    Of course, Zach didn''t feel confident enough to talk about the status of dragons in the world after seeing one just a few months ago. But he could tell that the Basilisk currently slithering after them was strong enough to play with a dragon that wasn''t as strong as principal''s familiar.


    In Zach''s mind, it was natural that a dragon belonging to the principal was stronger than a wild one. So, even if the principal''s familiar was more powerful than the Basilisk, it didn''t mean all dragons were.


    Still, to an ant, the difference between a tiger and a wolf didn''t matter. They would be trampled just the same.


    "Why can''t we attack it?!" Dukiel shouted after a few steps. While it sounded like they had stumbled upon a foe they couldn''t defeat, he didn''t want to go down without a fight.


    "We''ll turn to stone!" Nessa answered.


    Dukiel''s eyes widened.


    He had an idea.

 Chapter 355 Do You Trust Me?

    If the problem with attacking the Basilisk was that it would turn them into stone, wouldn''t it be fine if they were already made of stone? Dukiel shot his Sentinel a glance. It understood and, to be safe, drifted further away from the rest while unfolding its lasers and pointing them at the Basilisk. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Even with its quick, slithering movements that turned the forest beneath it into flat fields, the damn thing was too big for the Sentinel even to consider the possibility of missing. It would be fine if it fired while it moved. It didn''t need to gather maximum power when it was just testing the waters anyway.


    The Sentinel charged and fired its lasers before Zach or anyone else could react. They had been too busy running to care about the Sentinel''s exact positioning. Currently, the group''s numbers, familiars included, was twenty-five, after all. Anerias, Dukiel, Nessa, and Violina and their three familiars plus Zach and his four familiars.


    It would take considerable perception and thought to keep track of everyone''s exact positioning and actions when under the Basilisk''s heavy gaze.


    It was too late to stop the Sentinel. They could only watch as the red laser struck the Basilisk''s jaw.


    To everyone''s surprise, it actually left a mark. It looked to be nothing but soot generated by the heat, but it was still something. It had made the Basilisk react.


    Since it had just been a light attack, it might be possible for them to counterattack.


    However, things weren''t that simple.


    Since the attack had landed without issue, Zach and the others turned their eyes to the Sentinel. It was the moment of truth. Would the Basilisk turn whoever attacked them into stone, and would it work on something that was already made of stone?


    It would. It did.


    A layer of ash grey covered the red marbles of the Sentinel''s laser arms. The stony layer grew like fast-spreading mold and covered the entire marbles before crawling down its arms.


    The Sentinel reacted quickly and pulled out a pair of sword arms to cut off the laser arms before the petrification spread to its body.


    Attacking the Basilisk wouldn''t work unless they could defeat it in one blow and were willing to sacrifice the one who could do that.


    "Girls?" Zach asked his familiars for help.


    "I can''t kill it before the petrification takes over, Master. I apologize." Yanael could not stop the Basilisk.


    "I can do something about the petrification if I have the time, Master." Alzara couldn''t do it right now.


    "Something is strange with that thing''s life force. I need to take a closer look before I can do anything, Master." Soara might be able to do something.


    "I can slow down the petrification process, but I don''t have enough firepower to injure it in my current state, Master." Mandra could do a little.


    "So, that skin and the petrification are the problems. And we can do something about the petrification. Sounds like it''s doable." Zach nodded. He glanced at Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina.


    "Do you trust me?" He asked.


    "Not really."


    "Nope."


    "Not quite."


    "Never."


    "Harsh. Gather on me. I have a plan."


    Despite what they said, Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina converged on Zach''s location while all of them were still moving forward. Their familiars also gathered with them in a tight clump.


    "Mandra, Yanael, I might need your help a little with this one," Zach said while slowing down.


    The others looked at him with worry once he lowered their pace enough for the Basilisk to catch up to them. But their legs stung and their throats and lungs burned after running for their lives. Instead of doubting Zach, they took the opportunity to gather themselves as quickly as possible.


    The Basilisk closed in on them. Its mind was still muddy and unclear. The hunt had only spurred its hunger, and it needed to put something in its belly. It wasn''t concerned with the sudden behavioral change of its prey. It was just a stroke of luck that it had all gathered in one spot and slowed down.


    Its tongue slipped out and flickered through the air with a hiss. It could taste the fear in the air. The Basilisk''s lower jaw dropped open slightly as it gulped, its hunger filling its mouth with saliva.


    With the ferocity to make up for its earlier failure, the Basilisk shot forward like an arrow loosened from the string and lunged with its maw open to swallow the group whole.


    There was no error in its aim or calculation, and the entire group of bright flames entered its mouth. The Basilisk was so hungry that it didn''t even care to think about how it felt like it had swallowed a singular unit and not two dozen smaller ones.


    It didn''t need to think. Whether it was one or twenty-five, it would end up nutrients after being melted by its stomach acid.


    The Basilisk swallowed the slightly golden-blue orb with Zach, Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina and all the familiars whole.


    The orb pressed and squished against the Basilisk''s comparatively softer insides, which were still solid as rocks. Zach had made the orb as small as possible, but due to a certain Millipede who shan''t be named, the orb was still a size bigger than he would have liked. Fortunately, it still flowed downward without much issue.


    Now, it would be too late for the Basilisk to cough them up even if it wanted, which it didn''t.


    The group shuffled, huffled, and scuffled in mostly silence in the darkness of the Basilisk''s insides until Mandra threw up a ball of light, casting ghastly blue shadows on everyone''s faces.


    "Puff. I feel I was completely justified in saying I didn''t trust you, Zach," Nessa said during a temporary lull in the orb''s movements.


    "Don''t worry, this is just the first step of my plan."


    "That doesn''t help," Dukiel said.


    "Yeah, what''s your second step? Take the exit?"


    "..." The others did not like Anerias'' suggestion, and they gave Zach very stern looks. If he had asked them to trust him for that, they might just have to do something. No idea what, but they would not let it stand.


    "Of course not."


    Zach was silent for a moment as he sensed. The orb had stopped moving in relation to the snake, but the Basilisk was still slithering through the forest.


    "Does anyone know where we''re headed?" He asked.

 Chapter 356 Plan

    The others closed their eyes for a moment and sighed. They had temporarily forgotten about Zach''s condition. Since Zach had taken the initiative to run from the Basilisk, they had just followed his lead without thinking about much more than the monster trying to eat them.Still, they slowly turned toward Dukiel, the most reliable in terms of direction and orientation.


    Dukiel sighed as he felt the others'' gazes. He couldn''t blame them. After all¡­


    "I think we might currently be headed toward the Hole." He had an idea of their approximate direction.


    "Perfect." Zach smiled widely. The others frowned.


    "...Why?" Nessa dared to ask the question that was on everyone''s minds.


    "This bad boy is related to the Underworld, right? And it''s likely they woke it up. In that case, wouldn''t it lead us to the Underworld? Either because they control it or to take revenge, though I''m inclined to believe it''s the former. But just to confirm¡­Soara?" Zach looked at his deity of Death.


    She tore her gaze away from the Basilisk''s flesh and faced Zach.


    "This creature is in a state that is neither living nor dead. I am not sure about the details, but if I had to guess, it was brought back to life, most likely with the artificial life project the Underworld has been working on. The same project that you found in the swamp Locale, Master, and that created Minatio."


    Zach nodded and turned to the others.


    "There you have it. That also explains why we could outrun it. It is weak after being dead for who knows how long. The Underworld will want to secure and strengthen it before it dies on its own again or something else happens to it. Most likely.


    "And the only way for it to enter the Underworld, where it will be safe, is through the Hole," Zach finished his explanation. The Basilisk was taking them to the Underworld through the Hole.


    The others didn''t share the satisfaction he had from deducing the Underworld''s plans and the fact that the Basilisk belonged to them. They were much more concerned with what it meant that the Basilisk would be entering the Underworld through the Hole.


    "So, in your cute little head, it''s ''perfect'' that this thing is bringing us straight to the depths of the Underworld?" Violina questioned. This wasn''t a smiling matter.


    It was a disaster. They weren''t ready to go head-to-head with the forces of the Underworld that lay in wait for them at the bottom of the Underworld. They didn''t know how deep the Hole went, but considering the density of the underworld energy that had come up from it previously compared to what they had seen in and under Basilia, the Hole led to the fourth layer or deeper. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant they were two layers from the Great Ugor at the sixth layer. It was still a bit away, but to beings on the Great Ugor''s level, Jigak''s level, and Monolith''s level, that kind of distance had stopped mattering.


    There was also the fact that they would be sandwiched between the Named powerhouses of the deeper layers and the numerous insects of the higher layers.


    It wasn''t ''perfect.'' It wasn''t even just a disaster. It was the end.


    The same realization that hit Violina naturally hit her sharp comrades. They couldn''t even begin to express their thoughts and feelings on the matter. There was only one person who did not look as stressed.


    "Okay, guys, I know what you''re feeling, but this might be an opportunity. I mean, think about it, when else are we going to get a ride straight to the target of our final exam? It might be a little ahead of time, but so what? I do not mind graduating early. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible. Can any of you earnestly say you don''t feel the same?" Zach looked into the eyes of his friends and classmates who had gone through the same three years at the Academy as him.


    They couldn''t refute him. They wanted out. They wanted to be free of the Academy and the unreasonable burdens it and the principal asked them to carry.


    "Besides, wouldn''t it be a crazy feeling to stick it up the principal''s¡­nose that we graduated two days after the start of our fourth year? We¡ªI¡ªhave broken records all throughout the past three years. Why not end on a strong note as well?"


    The others couldn''t help but feel their hearts beat a little harder and faster as Zach continued to speak. Since when did he know how to deliver speeches like that? But their hearts also beat because they realized that while they had been worrying about their safety and feared their impending deaths, Zach had looked past that.


    They didn''t know when, but Zach had seen past the Basilisk and quickly taken it as a route straight to the Great Ugor. That wasn''t the thinking of an ordinary person.


    "That''s great and all, but you''re forgetting something, Zach," Anerias said.


    "Suppose we survive the fall," he continued, "And we''re lucky enough not to be surrounded by powerful Named underworlders, and find a path down to the fifth and sixth layers while avoiding those Named underworlders that we couldn''t so much as scratch half a year ago¡­"


    Anerias paused and took a breath as he looked into Zach''s eyes, his hands balled into tight fists. How could he not be angry when Zach had asked them to trust him and he was right now bringing them to certain death?


    "...How are we going to kill the Great Ugor?" Anerias asked, pointing out one of the many critical flaws in Zach''s idealistic plan.


    The Great Ugor, as the leader of this Underworld empire, would be strong, possibly far stronger than Jigak and Monolith. How were they, who couldn''t even touch Monolith or Jigak, supposed to kill him?


    However, Zach just smiled mischievously.


    "...I have a plan," was all he said.

 Chapter 357 In Position

    Zach''s plan to kill Great Ugor by hitching a ride to the Underworld inside the Basilisk was one thing. There was just something they had to do before that. They had to get rid of the Basilisk. Your journey continues with empireThe big snake would be the biggest immediate threat upon their arrival, and that was if they could hold out long enough inside its highly corrosive stomach acid. To improve their odds as much as possible, Zach needed to be as strong as possible. He couldn''t afford to maintain his barrier forever.


    The best would be if they could find a safe spot inside the Basilisk and relax there until they arrived. That wasn''t likely. That meant they had to neutralize the Basilisk''s stomach acid, then it, and then leave the corpse as soon as possible. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Killing the Basilisk would also give them a bunch of levels, strengthening them, which definitely wasn''t unnecessary. However, while it had been resurrected by the Underworld, it didn''t rely on underworld energy, at least not yet. Any anti-underworld energy potions wouldn''t even give it an upset stomach.


    There was also the petrification they had to deal with. There was nothing that said it wouldn''t affect them just because they attacked from within.


    "Alzara, what and how long do you need to do something about the petrification?" Zach asked while glancing around the surprisingly vast stomach.


    "A Basilisk''s outer skin is made through the same ability as when it petrifies its targets, Master. When it grows, it produces a material to break down the stone and shed its skin before building a new layer of armor. There should be glands beneath its skin. If I can get my hands on one of those, I can do something about it in a few minutes probably."


    "Got it. Yanael, Mandra, how long can you stall the petrification on someone else?"


    "I apologize, Master, the help I can provide to others is minimal." Yanael bowed her head.


    "A few minutes, Master. If it''s you, maybe a few more."


    "Right. Soara, can you sense any weaknesses?"


    "Its brain and major organs are all in a state of decay, Master. It is eating away at itself to try and heal the injuries that killed it the first time. If we do nothing, it might die within a few days on its own."


    "Mhm. Too bad it will have arrived at the Underworld by then and received a dose or two of the good stuff. We need to expedite the process. Dukiel, how many times can your Sentinel lose its lasers like it did before?"


    "Not many. But with the Cube and Slime working together, we can up that number a lot."


    "Perfect. I need you and Anerias to find something to torch. Let''s give this bad boy a fever of the worst possible degree. Violina, you can freeze the stomach acid, right?"


    "For a little while, yes. If I don''t need to do anything else, my familiars and I can keep a smaller spot frozen for pretty long, I think."


    "That''s exactly what I had in mind. Nessa, your Millipede is hungry and itching for revenge, right?"


    "Yes¡­?"


    "It will have to suffer a little for it, but I hope that''s fine."


    "As long as it''s not permanent."


    "Of course not. Alzara will fix anyone who ends up petrified."


    They didn''t know how the petrification worked or how deep it ran. Would they be covered in stone or would they turn into stone? For how long could they be petrified before it was too late for it to be undone?


    Trusting Alzara when there were so many things that could go wrong was difficult. But it wasn''t like they had a choice.


    If there was ever a time to trust those they had fought and lived with for several years, it was now. The bad things that could happen weren''t important. The only thing that mattered was that all and every single one of them focused on their tasks and did their absolute best to carry out Zach''s orders.


    That was the only thing that could bring their chance of success up from rock bottom to slightly above rock bottom.


    So, without wasting more time, Zach popped the bubble. He gave the Anerias and Dukiel pair a platform, the Nessa and Violina pair a platform, and himself and his familiars a platform.


    Nessa and Violina drifted to the edge of the stomach until they reached the fleshy sac wall that was covered in a thick layer of protective slime to keep the painfully corrosive stomach acid apart from the sensitive tissue. Violina anchored them to the wall with a platform of ice to keep them stable.


    Meanwhile, Zach, Dukiel, and Anerias had started floating back the way they came. If they wanted to target the Basilisk''s important bits, they had to climb up to them. The situation on the way down had been a little hectic, otherwise, they could have stopped and carried out the plan there.


    Fortunately, Zach''s barriers were under his complete control. If he wanted them to rise through the air, they did. Carrying himself or others took a toll on him, but it was something he had to endure for his plan to proceed as smoothly as possible.


    It was only when Zach dropped off the other two at an old injury of the Basilisk''s that he realized he could fly. It wasn''t perfect since he had to stand on something, that something being his barriers. But it was better than the type of flight birds used since he didn''t have to move so much as a muscle. He could float through the air like he was taking a stroll.


    Unfortunately, this wasn''t the time to celebrate.


    He had to get into position as quickly as possible.


    Before they put the plan into motion, Nessa had asked something.


    How would they know if the Basilisk entered the Hole?


    Zach''s answer had been simple.


    They would notice it.


    They could only attack the Basilisk once it entered the Hole if they wanted to use it to get to the Underworld safely. If it threw a ruckus on the surface, where it had the space to move freely, there was no telling what would happen to them. In the Hole, however, its movements would be restricted, and it would be unable to do anything about the pain in its body. It would be more stable.


    At the same time, they had to kill it before they reached the bottom or came into contact with underworld energy.


    All of them had to be in position and ready to attack as soon as it began its descent. If they were not in position, it would take too long to get there since it would be difficult to move around while the Basilisk descended.


    As Zach and his familiars sped through the Basilisk''s unnecessarily long insides, he felt it slow down.


    "Shit¡­!"

 Chapter 358 Going Down

    There could be any number of reasons for the Basilisk to slow down.It could have grown tired after chasing after Zach and the others. It was dead just recently, after all.


    It could have run into an obstacle like a big tree or a mountain, which forced to to slow down and take another route.


    It could have encountered a monster powerful enough to threaten it instead of stirring its hunger.


    Maybe the principal had come to save his precious students.


    Out of all of those options, the last one was the least likely, but not by much.


    The most likely reason for the Basilisk to slow down could be only one thing. It had arrived at the Hole and was preparing to descend. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach, however, had not arrived at his intended destination. He could feel his stomach rise as the snake''s upper body soared upwards, only to take a sudden turn and plunge downward again.


    Yanael reacted quickly and unsheathed her sword, stabbing it into the relatively soft flesh of the canal they had slipped into. She held onto Zach, and the other familiars held onto her as their inertia tried to hold them in place while the Basilisk moved.


    Since the Basilisk moved downward, the barrier beneath their feet was only in the way. If Zach hadn''t dispelled it, it would have cost them part of their progress toward the Basilisk''s head.


    Even now, they had lost valuable progress that would be hard to get back for a few moments until they caught up to the Basilisk''s speed.


    So, with a distorted sense of what was up and down, Zach and his familiars started first climbing and then running along the Basilisk''s insides to get as far up¡ªdown?¡ªas possible.


    The things the others were doing were important since any damage to the Basilisk would speed up its death. But there was only one way they could almost guarantee that the Basilisk didn''t restore itself upon contact with underworld energy.


    That task was up to Zach. Fortunately, the path to the Basilisk''s head wasn''t complicated. As soon as they hit an intersection or a wall blocking their straightforward advance, Yanael led the charge straight ahead by bulldozing through anything that came in their way.


    It came at a cost, though, as her arms already had stone creeping up on them. She couldn''t let go of her sword even if she wanted. But she could still move them, and she could still use her sacred energy to unleash attacks and open a path for the others.


    Before long, they had carved a bloody path to a large dome occupied by a wriggling mass connected to the bridge of the spinal cord they had rode on the last bit.


    Zach took a deep breath and withdrew his hand as he stood in front of the Basilisk''s brain. The petrification had already spread and covered Yanael''s torso. It wouldn''t be long before her entire body was encased in it, despite her sacred energy''s fierce attempts at fighting it off.


    Zach closed his eyes and focused.


    This wasn''t a battle. He had the leeway to gather all of his strength in one strike and unleash it at once. From the soles of his feets and the tips of his toes to the knees to the hips to the waist to the shoulders to the upper arms to the forearms and to the clenched fist, Zach concentrated on his muscles, manually contracting each one to draw out as much of their latent potential as possible.


    As he did so, he sensed something else responding to his movements.


    The world essence energy.


    It was still mostly asleep, despite Zach going through torture to try and wake up his squatting, symbiotic energy. But a part of it was active. And like it could feel the determination and willpower from Zach, it responded to him.


    No, it didn''t quite respond to him. If he tried to tell it what to do, it would go back to ignoring him and just swim around in his body. It heard him but didn''t listen to him. It resonated with his actions.


    A sliver of the world essence energy inside his body slipped away from the rest and suddenly expanded, gently infusing itself into the muscles Zach had activated while throwing his punch.


    Zach felt like he was breathing fresh air for the first time in his life. He felt like he had been carrying a boulder on his back his entire life. As soon as the world essence energy touched his muscles, that boulder turned into dust.


    Seemingly bottomless strength filled his body as his fist shot forward without looking like it had moved. One instant, it was right in front of his body, the next, it was lodged inside the swampy flesh of the Basilisk''s brain.


    There hadn''t been anything in between those two instants.


    However, the fist still carried the force and momentum of movement, and it sent tremors into the Basilisk''s brain, causing its body to tremble and shake like it was having a seizure. It wouldn''t be strange if it was having one. It had received massive brain damage, after all.


    Brain fluids dripped along Zach''s arm and down onto the barrier he was standing on. His grip on the brain''s insides helped keep him steady as the Basilisk tossed and turned in the narrow Hole.


    Zach, still with his eyes closed, focused. Since the Basilisk was still moving, it meant it was alive. That meant it could recover.


    That was a possibility as long as it still had something to heal and a heart to pump blood.


    It would have been great if Dukiel and Anerias had made it to the heart and destroyed it, but it was unlikely.


    There was only one way they could guarantee the Basilisk wouldn''t recover and become a threat again.


    If it didn''t have a brain, it didn''t matter how much underworld energy it absorbed. It would be nothing but a powerful, unmoving, living doll.


    Zach grabbed a handful of brain meat as he clenched his fist tightly, focusing on the mental image of what he was doing. He took a deep breath.


    He could probably try again even if he failed the first time. The Hole was deep. They had time.


    But the material would be better if he pulled out all of it in one go.


    He yanked out his arm. Your journey continues with empire

 Chapter 359 Stale

    Zach did what he always did when he used the contract skill from Alzara''s contract. He imagined himself gathering and extracting all the valuable material of the Basilisk''s brain and assembling a lump of pure and refined Basilisk brain matter.The plants and herbs Alzara used for her alchemy he had done so many times that he could get a feel for what to extract just by holding them. The more commonly used monster parts like bones, hearts, scales, and gallbladders were the same. There was a pattern, a standard to those things and the materials he wanted from them that Zach had learned.


    However, brains were rarely used. They were mostly only useful when active since the worth in one was approximately equal to the information it held.


    But Zach wasn''t after the information in the Basilisk''s brain. He wanted the physical matter. He didn''t even really want it. It was just that he needed to use Material Extraction on the brain, and he would do his best. He needed a target.


    That target was the most precious raw materials of the Basilisk''s brain, whatever that was.


    Zach dragged out his arm, overpowering the resistance he felt from the Basilisk. The arm that had been lodged up to the elbow was soon only wrist deep. Then the knuckles. Next were the fingers that were hooked around something.


    Zach pulled out a surprisingly rigid lump of grey, colorless clay. It wasn''t clay, but it was not as flappy as his usual material worms, and it wasn''t the same meat that the Basilisk''s brain was made of.


    Alzara''s eyes lit up when she saw it, so Zach tossed it to her and shook the slime off his hand before turning to Yanael, who was covered to her cheek in stone. To their relief, the petrification stopped spreading when it became clear that the Basilisk, for all its size, strength, and renown, couldn''t survive without a functioning brain.


    However, Yanael had ended up like this when she had both her and Mandra''s energy to slow its spread. The others would be worse, even if they started attacking the Basilisk later.


    "It''s going to be alright, Yanael¡­"


    Yanael''s eyes were wide open, and she blinked and stared in Zach''s direction like she was warning him about something. She couldn''t do anything else, but that was enough for Zach to first look behind him to see if there was anything there and then at his arm, which felt a little heavier.


    At first, he thought it might have been because the world essence energy retreated from his muscles and back to his core. It wasn''t.


    Mandra rushed over and held his arm with both hands, wrapping it in blue energy to stop, or at least slow down the layer of stone spreading over him like drying mud.


    It wasn''t helping much.


    "Hmm. I guess that makes sense," Zach said as the petrification rapidly spread from his arm to his chest.


    If attacking the Basilisk caused one to become petrified, wouldn''t it make sense for the same to happen if one killed it? And compared to merely attacking it, killing it was far more serious. It seemed like a built-in revenge method for whoever or whatever killed it since the petrification on Zach spread far more aggressively than it did on Yanael.


    Zach turned to Alzara.


    "I trust you¡ª"


    The petrification swallowed him. It was fast. Only a few moments after it took his mouth, it took his eyes as well, plunging him into darkness. He couldn''t see, he couldn''t breathe, and he couldn''t feel.


    He had been isolated from the world. Zach was surprised he could even think with his head encased in stone. He thought it would have seeped into him and petrified all of him, not just covered him in a layer of rock.


    But then again, being able to think made it worse. He was trapped with his thoughts as he stood face to face with his inevitable death of asphyxiation, dehydration, or starvation, whichever came first. For now, Zach didn''t feel the need for air. Somehow, he was managing.


    Was he breathing through the stone? He tried to sense his lungs move, but they were as still as the stone covering them. Had he transcended human limits and overcome the need for air?


    It almost felt like it.


    Maybe he had reached such a level that all he needed to break through the petrification was brute force.


    Zach struggled.


    Nothing happened. He had not come that far. He was not that superhuman. He felt a little silly.


    Zach wondered if his familiars were doing alright. He hoped they wouldn''t panic while he was stone and that they would handle things calmly and properly. He wanted to say that they would remain calm. But Yanael, who had a little more experience with seeing him up to his ears in trouble, was also petrified. The others¡­


    On the surface, all of them seemed like individuals capable of acting calmly in stressful situations, especially Soara, who had gone through how much. Alzara and Mandra had probably also gone through a lot.


    Zach thought about when Mandra talked about how her Eyes of Truth had been both a blessing and a curse. The hollow look in her eyes told him that her life before becoming a familiar hadn''t been easy, either.


    But Soara was the only one he knew a little more about since he had glimpsed her past at the Labyrinth of Syst. Your journey continues with empire


    Speaking of which, he wondered of the others were faring. Were Nessa and Violina doing okay? Had the Millipede managed to chew a hole through the Basilisk''s stomach to pour the acid into its body? S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was it tasty?


    ''Hmm.''


    Zach tried to imagine what Basilisk meat might taste like. He had a feeling that it might cause some petrification, but if it was delicious, it might just be worth it, especially if Alzara developed a potion to remove petrification.


    Although the meat would probably be stale since the Basilisk had been dead for so long, it was still a monster with a similar level of infamy as dragons. And Dragon meat was famous for being a treasured delicacy. It would even be better than the miraculous food the Empress Dowager had served them.


    ''I wonder what the Empress Dowager''s other familiars are¡­''


    Zach''s thoughts wandered, flickered, and flashed around inside his trapped mind in a chaotic frenzy while he was petrified.


    He was scared.

 Chapter 360 Hope

    With all of his external senses sealed, Zach naturally lost his perception of time. He had a vague guess of how much passed. But without any external stimuli, the only thing he had to go on was his mind. His rapidly flashing thoughts did not help.It felt like more time had passed than it actually did since his thoughts just spun faster and faster as he tried to distract himself.


    What if he was already suffocating, only staying alive by the grace of the energy in his core? What if he was already dying, his thoughts mere remnants of life trapped in a stone sarcophagus?


    Zach wanted to scream into the endless void of darkness he was in the middle of, even if he didn''t get so much as an echo back. But he was mute. More silent than his soundless surroundings.


    ''This sucks¡­''


    Once he could no longer keep himself distracted, Zach was trapped and forced to sink his teeth into the horribly unpleasant reality of his current existence. He couldn''t escape it anymore.


    It was dark, lonely, terrifying, and empty.


    But that wasn''t the worst part.


    The worst part was that he didn''t even feel powerless, which he had half expected to do. He didn''t feel like he couldn''t do anything.


    If anything, he felt more powerful than usual since he still remembered the sensation of his body using world essence energy to punch the Basilisk''s brain. But then, as soon as he tried anything, nothing happened.


    He couldn''t move the muscles he was so proud over. He couldn''t shout and scream until his throat was hoarse. He couldn''t so much as whisper.


    He couldn''t force the petrification off by applying a barrier. He saw nothing, even if he tried to use Eyes of Truth. He didn''t even know if they activated properly. He still had no idea what Transcension did or how to activate it.


    Transcension wasn''t a useless skill. Soara swore it wasn''t, and Zach believed her. But it was hard to stick to that belief when it didn''t have a use in any situation he was in.


    If the conditions to activate a skill were impossible to achieve, wouldn''t the skill be, in practice, useless since it would be without and go without use?


    But maybe this was the moment? Maybe this was the time for Transcension to shine?


    Zach imagined himself transcending his mortal limitations, becoming a deity, and overcoming the petrification as well as all suffering and weakness he labored under.


    ¡­Nothing happened. He would have felt depleted and deflated and maybe a little embarrassed if he had been in any other situation.


    Now, he just felt tired. The darkness of not seeing anything suddenly seemed a little darker than before.


    His thoughts weren''t as rapid as before. What was the point? It wasn''t like he was doing anything other than wasting time anyway. He could just mentally close his eyes for a second and wait until Alzara freed him from his solitary prison.


    It would be fine.


    ***


    "Duke, I''ve been thinking about something," Anerias said as he helped shovel blood and flesh from the tunnel they were making.


    "Yeah?" Dukiel answered, not really paying much attention to Anerias.


    "This thing''s dead now, right?"


    "Seems like it."


    "And it''s falling through the Hole at full speed or something."


    "Yeah."


    "I mean, is it going to slow down by itself¡­? Or how do we get it to stop?" Anerias hesitantly asked.


    "...I''m pretty sure Zach is hoping the ground and the snake will absorb the impact," Dukiel said, confirming Anerias'' worst fear.


    Zach was banking on them surviving a fall down a bottomless hole. How?


    "Won''t we get squished flat from the inertia?" Anerias continued with his questions. They were currently traveling at what most likely was the Basilisk''s terminal velocity. If they weren''t, they were at least approaching it.


    With its weight and shape, the Basilisk''s terminal velocity would be so far beyond the speed of a horse that the two couldn''t even be compared. But it was noticeable when a carriage went from full speed to no speed in a few seconds. It felt like being thrown forward by a giant with their entire hand around one''s body.


    This time, they would not only go from a speed much greater than that of a horse carriage to no speed at all, but they would also do so in an instant.


    Wouldn''t they be thrown into the floor so hard they became one with it?


    "...It might be a little better at the tail?" Dukiel suggested, finally looking up and taking Anerias'' concerns seriously. He had also paid attention to the physics classes.


    The Basilisk might absorb some of the impact with its body. But that would be far from enough to deal with the residual inertia in each of them.


    Their best bet might be to go to the top of the Basilisk''s tail and while it was crashing head first into the ground and crumpling, use that time to slow their descent as much and as gradually as possible.


    How? S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They didn''t know.


    Dukiel and Anerias stopped digging a tunnel. Their immediate concern right now was not how to get out of the Basilisk once it landed. It was how to be alive after it landed.


    Without exchanging another word, they grabbed their familiars and sprinted in what they hoped was the right direction. Fortunately, it was. Even the biggest obstacle in their path, the stomach full of acid, was partially dealt with.


    Somehow, Nessa and Violina had made a hole and emptied out a large portion of the stomach acid into the Basilisk''s body, corroding it from within. That made the stomach much more easily traversed.


    Dukiel and Anerias, who had now rendezvoused with Nessa and Violina, continued their climb to the tip of the Basilisk''s tail. All four of them were skeptical of the idea.


    Whether they were at the head or the tail, the impact would hit them the same. They most likely wouldn''t even have time to react. Experience exclusive tales on empire


    But what could they do?


    Not much. Not anything.


    They could hope.

 Chapter 361 Exit

    "Anerias, you were skeptical of using the Basliks''s exit, right?" Nessa asked as they climbed upward through the big snake''s intestinal system."If it saves my life, I''d do it in a heartbeat. Besides, this thing hasn''t used that exit in several years, right? How bad can it be?"


    "Good. I think the only way to survive is by leaving the Basilisk. All of us can delay our landing somehow. I can have my Bat and Butterfly try and carry me. Violina, you can stab cling to the wall with ice if your familiars can''t carry you.


    "Dukiel, your familiars can hover and cling to the walls, too, right?


    "Anerias, you have your Darkwing. It''s S-rank, so it''s strong enough to carry your Hound as well, right?"


    "He might need some help to get a good hold of the Hound, considering it''s mostly turned to stone." Anerias glanced at his Blackfire Hound, whose front half had turned to stone after it helped out by digging through the Basilisk''s flesh. Right now, it was running on its hindlegs while the Darkwing carried its front on its back.


    "We''ll work together," Dukiel said, looking at the stone Sentinel on the Hound''s back. He would need some help to carry that one.


    The Transformaion Cube could turn into a rope or net, and the Symbiotic Slime could attach to the Darkwing. That should be enough to at least slow their descent to a survivable speed.


    "But, what about your Millipede¡­?" Dukiel asked, looking backward. There was no sign of Nessa''s Serpentine Millipede. It was understandable.


    It was the biggest familiar, yet it had the weakest resistance against the Basilisk''s petrification. It had helped Nessa and Violina open up a hole in the Basilisk''s stomach sac. It had sacrificed itself to do it. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By the time Dukiel and Anerias returned to the stomach, it had already turned into stone. There was no way they could carry it when the second biggest familiar, Anerias'' Hound, was also mostly stone. The remaining familiars weren''t strong enough to carry the Millipede and climb with it without falling behind. It didn''t help that the Millipede was too big to fit through large portions of the path they had to take.


    "..." Nessa didn''t answer Dukiel''s question.


    For her survival, for everyone''s survival, they had to leave the Millipede behind. They were already in a situation where survival wasn''t guaranteed. Trying to bring the petrified Millipede would only bring their odds of survival even closer to zero.


    There was also the fact that there was no way they could avoid falling to their deaths if they tried carrying the Millipede.


    There was just no way they could survive if they brought it along with them.


    It was the correct and logical choice to leave it behind.


    But that didn''t stop Nessa''s heart from bleeding and her eyes from stinging.


    The Millipede was her first familiar, but it wasn''t just a familiar. It wasn''t some thing she had summoned to use as a tool and dispose when she no longer had a need for it. Read the latest on empire


    It was a friend. It was someone she could vent and open her heart to without worrying about being judged. It wasn''t the softest and cuddliest creature around, but it was warm. There was nothing more comfortable than lying on top of the Millipede on a warm, sunny day.


    The Millipede had saved her life multiple times. It had been injured for her sake multiple times. It had worked hard for her. It had eaten itself sick for her, though that was also for its own sake.


    Nessa had been through a lot with the Millipede, and now she was leaving it for dead.


    At least it could take some posthumous pleasure in that it was going down with a monster like the Basilisk. It hadn''t been the one to deliver the final blow, but battling the Basilisk at its level was incredible nonetheless.


    If there was an afterlife that honored brave warriors, Nessa was sure that''s where the Millipede would end up.


    She couldn''t help but glance back. She couldn''t see anything other than the dark grayish red flesh of the Basilisk''s insides. Her night vision let her see in the darkness, not through physical matter.


    Still, somewhere behind them, the Millipede was either already dead, dying to the petrification, or waiting for death through catastropically rapid deeccelaration.


    "Hey, does anyone know what Zach''s plan is?" Nessa asked, reminded of their last member by looking back in the direction he should be in.


    "No."


    "Nope."


    "He''s probably fine. If anyone''s handling this whole situation without panic, it''s him. If we''re lucky, he might even be waiting for us down there when we arrive," Dukiel said lightly.


    Nessa wanted to agree.


    Out of all of them, Zach was undoubtedly the one with the most tricks up his sleeve and the one most likely to survive a fall long enough for them to fall straight down for several long minutes. They had to have been falling for well over ten minutes by now.


    Still, Nessa couldn''t help but worry. Something felt off.


    "Let''s hurry."


    With how long they had fallen, it couldn''t be much left. They had to get out of the Basilisk as soon as possible. They couldn''t afford to even take a break, much less go back and see if they could find Zach.


    The others didn''t mind Nessa suggestion, and they hurried along the Basilisk''s insides as best as they could. At Nessa''s words, they also realized how long they and the Basilisk had been falling for. It couldn''t be much longer until they reached the bottom. If they were still inside the Basilisk by then, they could forget about graduating early. They wouldn''t be graduating at all.


    Naturally, they put their all into getting out of the Basilisk''s dead body. Fortunately, they were no longer getting petrified by attacking and destroying it from within to open up a smoother path.


    Somehow, they managed to get far enough they could feel the toughness of the stony skin through the relatively softer meat. Now, they just had to find the exit.

 Chapter 362 Few Minutes

    Anerias'' group almost ran past the exit multiple times in their search for it. They had reached the end of the Basilisk''s natural intestines. The only way forward was by cutting things open, which they considered since they had to get up and out. But while they could get through the Basilisk''s insides with relative ease, they could not get through its outer skin, even after it was dead.They had to use a preexisting opening to escape the Basilisk''s body.


    However, it wasn''t like the Basilisk''s ''exit'' was gaping open all the time. It only needed to be open when it emptied its bowels, which it hadn''t done in at least decades or maybe even centuries. It was sealed shut like a bank vault.


    It was only after scouring the walls of the Basilisk''s intestines several times and going by where it should be that the students found a few wrinkles and an area that was a little off compared to the rest.


    After that, they somehow managed to pry it open from within and climb out.


    It was as dark outside as it was within the Basilisk, but outside, there was a violent breeze, and those with night vision or who could light up the place saw how blazingly fast they were zipping past the Hole''s walls.


    It sent chills down their spines. They had to get away from the Basilisk sooner rather than later. They didn''t waste any time.


    "See you guys down there," Nessa said as the Midnight Butterfly clung to the neck of her shirt while her Dawnthief Bat held onto her shoulders. The two familiars followed Nessa as she climbed to the peak of the Basilisk''s gently waving tail before jumping and escaping the Basilisk''s draft.


    Trying to get away from the Basilisk was to fall down to the bottom of the Hole at a slower speed. But if they were stuck in the pocket of air that was tied to the Basilisk, they would be falling just as fast, just not physically connected to the Basilisk.


    Nessa glanced at her friends while her familiars flapped in the unsteady air to slow their descent. There wasn''t much she could do to help them, so she took off. But she was still worried about them. And about Zach.


    After a little while to make sure there wouldn''t be any accidents or collisions in the Hole, Violina also left the Basilisk. She climbed to the tip of the Basilisk''s tail as well before jumping toward the wall.


    While two of her familiars could float and fly, they weren''t doing that because they were great fliers. They just didn''t weigh anything. She had to slow her descent by herself. While floating toward the wall, she conjured a huge chunk of ice around her sword that she used to stop herself from colliding with the wall and turning into paste.


    The chunk of ice was almost instantly ground to half its size, thanks to the speed they were falling at. Violina reinforced it and focused on its hardness, which helped her put some distance between herself and the Basilisk. It wasn''t so much that she didn''t see Dukiel and Anerias help tie the Transformation Cube in rope form around the Blackfire Hound and Sentinel before climbing aboard with the Hellcat as the Darkwing and Symbiotic Slime prepared to take off.


    The Darkwing was strong. It was fast. It was an S-rank, pretty big, and physically specialized familiar.


    Out of all the familiars, it was the one most likely to be able to pull off carrying the Blackfire Hound and Sentinel. It even had the Symbiotic Slime to help it and strengthen its body. But it would still be heavy.


    But it would still be tough.


    Just like the others, the Darkwing had to go from an incredible falling speed to no speed. It wouldn''t just be taking off from stationary or motionless.


    Nessa and Violina both wished there was anything they could do to help, but they could barely save themselves right now, and any attempts at helping would only get in the two boys'' way since they used such different methods or didn''t have the right strength.


    At most, Nessa could buff Darkwing and the Symbiotic Slime with her Butterfly or try and help pull them upward with her familiars who could barely pull her. But she would also be in the way if she did that and might even just add to the Darkwing''s burden.


    Violina could try and do what she was doing for herself for the Hound and Sentinel by riding on them and grinding ice against the wall. But they were too heavy for the ice to have much of an effect, and she would most likely just push them further away from the walls.


    But even when they weren''t using Violina''s method, they wanted to be closer to the walls since the air was more stable there.


    It was rough seeing the Darkwing flap with all its might, making it look like a bellows as it struggled to leave the Basilisk''s draft behind. After all, it needed to flap its wings faster than the air around it was being dragged down by the Basilisk.


    It was no easy task.


    But if the Darkwing was good at one thing, it was speed. Gradually, slowly, it managed to put distance between itself and the Basilisk. The further away it got, the easier it became.


    Soon, the Darkwing had the easiest time. It just needed to flap its wings. It could even occasionally just leave them outstretched like an umbrella and sail for a few moments. It was nothing like Nessa''s familiars who had to flap constantly or Violina who was having trouble slowing down any further. Discover hidden content at empire


    A short while after the Basilisk disappeared into the bottomless darkness beneath them to the point where not even Nessa could see it, a large booming sound rang out, exploding up the Hole with a shockwave that blew the summoners and their familiars upward with the shockwave.


    The Basilisk had hit the ground only a few minutes after they got clear of it. It wasn''t much of a margin of error. If they had been a few minutes later in finding the exit, they would have been toast, even if they had managed to get out before it hit the ground.


    Fortunately, it looked like they would be able to land safely.


    Violina even took the opportunity to increase the odds of her safe landing by adjusting her method with the push upward from the shockwave. She started sliding along the walls in a spiraling pattern.


    Only a few moments apart, the three summoners and their familiars plunged into the remaining darkness of the Hole.


    sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 363 Landing

    Dukiel, Anerias, Nessa, and Violina could feel the end of the Hole beneath them as the walls opened up into a large underground space. Before they could even look around, their attention was caught by the swarm of dolls surrounding the Basilisk''s corpse.At first, it looked like it had just plopped down on the ground head-first and was resting in a shape a little similar to a turd. But as they looked closer, it became clear that the Basilisk''s front half had been flattened by the impact like clay, and the remaining half had just kind of fallen down on top of it.


    The dolls swarming the ground and Basilisk like ants seemed like they were trying to sort through the mess and investigate the Basilisk''s death. They didn''t look strong at first glance since they were just dolls similar to the ones that had swarmed Basilia.


    But these ones were different. They had the strength to move the Basilisk''s heavy body when working together, and they managed to pluck some of the stony scales off of the Basilisk''s body. Find exclusive stories on empire


    The Basilisk was dead and severely damaged from the fall, but the dolls didn''t look like they were struggling.


    Nessa, Dukiel, Violina, and Anerias knew what they had to do.


    They had to get rid off the dolls.


    Regardless of what their intentions were, they were trying to enter the Basilisk. Maybe they were preparing it for another resurrection, maybe they were going to salvage what they could, or maybe they were looking for the artificial life project that had brought it back to life.


    However, what they might find before anything else was Zach. If he had survived, which he most likely had, he probably wouldn''t be in a very good state.


    If the dolls stumbled upon him during their investigation, it was obvious what would happen to him.


    The others had to get rid of the dolls and find Zach first. Without him, this whole adventure would be doomed.


    So, before they could even think of moving on and trying to get deeper into the Underworld, they had to secure him.


    "Nessa, head inside and look for Zach. If he''s still there, he should be close to the head. Bring my Frost Imp and Anerias'' Hellcat with you. They should be enough to open up a path through the mangled flesh. Dukiel, Anerias, the rest of us are stopping the dolls here. I''ll create a frost field to slow their movements," Violina ordered as she dropped down in a rain of snow and cut down a string of dolls on the Basilisk''s back.


    The Sentinel was entirely petrified, and the Blackfire Hound was mostly petrified. They were the two main sources of heat. WIth them out of commission, the best way for them to fight would be for Violina and her familiars to create an area that suited her. Dukiel wasn''t bothered by the cold when he put on his second contract skill, which turned him into a perfect statue of quicksilver-like metal.


    Anerias was a little weakened, by the cold, but he wasn''t all that useful against dolls that didn''t feel the pain of his Malicious Touch anyway. So, most of his strength came from his Darkwing, who still had enough energy to stretch its wings and flicker through the vast underground space and tear through the dolls like they were target dummies.


    The students made quick work of the dolls that were already on the Basilisk, but just like when they had swarmed the city, they didn''t stop coming just because they killed a few. More and more dolls came out from the cracks and doors in the walls of the underground space.


    The dolls weren''t powerful enough to put up individual resistance against the students'' slaughter, but their numbers put a dent in the students'' stamina and strength. They wouldn''t be able to keep this up forever. Fortunately, it didn''t take long before a certain black-haired goddess of death punched her way out of the Basilisk''s mangled front. With her addition to the fight, it swung in overwhelming favor of the surface dwellers.


    However, when the students looked at her, silently asking about Zach and the others, Soara only shook her head.


    They had gotten separated during the crash. It had been sudden, and Soara hadn''t been part of the Zach-un-petrification efforts, so she hadn''t needed to stick as close to him as the others. She had been sent flying by the sudden collision with the ground, only kept perfectly intact by a lingering barrier from Zach, which was proof that he was alive.


    But the barrier had since faded, unable to hold up after the crash.


    After regaining her bearings, Soara had noticed the battlefield outside the Basilisk. While she could try and find Zach and the others, the outside was closer. And her powers would be best put to use to keep the underworlders off of the Basilisk to give Alzara as much time as she needed to restore Zach and Yanael.


    By killing underworlders, she could also help Zach level up and strengthen him. It wouldn''t be much and far from enough, but it could buy him some more time while he was petrified. Every second mattered, considering how quickly the petrification had devoured him after he killed the Basilisk.


    So, unlike the other students, who dreaded more dolls and the appearance of powerful underworlders coming to check on the situation, Soara hoped for it. She wanted strong sacrifices she could use to help Zach in any way she could.


    Soara had also felt it when the Basilisk died.


    She was a deity of Death. That hadn''t changed even she she had lost a portion of her power. She had lost part of her strength, not the fundamental power.


    Soara grew stronger through death. It was different from how summoners gained levels through killing other beings.


    Her power over death increased the more things died around and by her. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There wasn''t just one way for her to regain her original level of strength.


    Taking back the strength she had lost was the simplest and most direct way, but it was also the most difficult to achieved, considering what ahd taken her strength and where it was.


    The other method was slower, far less efficient, and maybe even as difficult since the death of ordinary ants wouldn''t do much if anything at all for her.


    But killing enough beings would give her her strength back.


    Soara''s black hair fluttered as a robed phantom appeared behind her, hiding her in its shadow.

 Chapter 364 Soara Breathing Out

    Instantly, a misty darkness that not even Nessa''s night vision would have helped against lowered itself over the cavern. It became difficult for Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, and their familiars to breathe, much less move.An invisible pressure gripped their hearts. One squeeze was all it would take for them to breathe their last. Even the beings without hearts like the Transformation Cube in the shape of a weedwhacker that it learned from a magic tool, and the Symbiotic Slime still riding on the Darkwing felt it.


    One gesture from Soara would be all it took to snuff their existences out.


    Soara breathed in deeply.


    She had missed this feeling of absolute dominion over the battlefield she stepped foot on.


    The power stolen from her had left a gaping hole in the center of her chest. She felt it every breath she took and every beat her heart made. It was a constant painful reminder of her failure and defeat.


    But the constraints set upon her by her contract with Zach weren''t exactly comfortable either. She understood why they existed. If she could wield her full strength freely from the beginning, her weight on Zach''s being would have been too heavy.


    She was too strong for Zach, who had lived for a short eighteen years. It was less than a blink compared to the time she had lived. If all of her existence, however fragmented it was, was put on Zach''s soul, it would pop.


    She would much rather feel a little stiff than have such an unfortunate fate befall Zach.


    It was the same with the others, most likely, especially with Mandra. She had to be feeling quite uncomfortable.


    Zach was by no means weak, but it was a miracle he had the strength and sturdiness to withstand summoning an SSS-rank familiar as early as he had done. And he had just barely done it.


    Mandra had barely managed to squeeze into the available room Zach had left. There wasn''t much room for her to exert her full strength.


    The only ones who wouldn''t be suffering much would be Yanael and Alzara. Yanael was an S-rank. She probably wasn''t far from her peak strength she had before she became a familiar. She might have even surpassed that level, thanks to the Book of Sword Techniques from the Labyrinth of Syst. Alzara was similar. Her main focus wasn''t on brute strength. She was an expert alchemist and used curses.


    She didn''t carry an overwhelming power the same way Soara and Mandra did.


    Soara had thought it would be a while until she could feel the same ease and freedom of movement Yanael and Alzara felt.


    But the Basilisk''s death had, for one, elevated Zach''s strength by popping his levels up a couple of times. Even in a recently resurrected, half-dead, and weakened state, the Basilisk was still an incredible being.


    If it had been at its peak, Zach and the others wouldn''t have even been able to keep their lives after entering it. The pressure from being inside it would have crushed them, regardless of how strong Zach''s barriers were.


    But thanks to the state of its brain, the Basilisk''s pressure was almost nonexistent, and they had been able to tear through its insides and destroy its brain. It was a stroke of luck in a way.


    That had eased the constraints on Soara.


    But that wasn''t all. In another strange twist of fate, Zach turning into stone, the same stone that the Basilisk used to create a layer of armored skin, had increased his durability.


    It was temporary since it only lasted while he was made of stone, but his body¡ªhis vessel¡ªcould handle the weight of more of Soara''s strength.


    She would be a fool not to seize this opportunity.


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    Soara breathed out.


    The dolls in the large cavern, whether it was hundreds or thousands of them, all fell down like a gale had swept through. Not one remained ''alive.''


    Soara turned her gaze in the direction of one of the tunnels.


    Deep inside it, she felt the connection to the source of power for the dolls. She felt the dolls'' creator. She had tried to kill them as well before they severed the connection with the dolls, but she hadn''t been fast enough, and now, they were too far away.


    But she turned her attention to another tunnel with a being much closer to her.


    She smiled.


    Now this, this was a worthy sacrifice.


    It was a tall, skinny underworlder with two simple longswords, one in either hand. They had a simple appearance with nothing noteworthy. Still, they were almost as powerful as Monolith. Their dark skin matched the grey hue on their blades, and they looked at Soara with colorless eyes. As they looked, their eyes slowly started glowing with a white light.


    Their fighting spirit was ignited.


    The Named underworlder could tell at a glance that this wouldn''t be a battle. It would be a desperate struggle for survival.


    The dual-wielding underworlder, Tar, raised their weapons and bent their knees slightly. Their face had broken up in a mad grin.


    Shiver were running down their spin. If they had still had pores and hair follicles, their skin would have been covered in goosebumps.


    The robed being in front of them wasn''t something they should be fighting against. It was something they should be submitting to. If they wanted, maybe they could clean their neck first to show proper respect to the one here to guide them to what comes next¡ªwhat comes after life.


    Tar was already on their second life after joining the Underworld. They had already escaped death once.


    The Underworld had saved them once. It wouldn''t save them this time, especially when Death had come for them personally.


    But so what?


    Death was meant to be resisted. It was meant to be fought and defied. That was what living was all about.


    That was why they had picked up the sword in the first place.


    Tar was afraid. His instincts were screaming at him from the very depths of his bones that Soara was not something he should or could fight.


    It only made him all the more excited.


    This moment right before him was what all of his life, both before and after he joined the Underworld, was all about.


    Tar took a step forward, disappearing from view. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 365 A Dance With Death

    Whether it was as a mercenary, bounty hunter, monster hunter, bodyguard, criminal, outlaw, gladiator, or meatshield, Tar had always fought with his life on the line. He had danced with death since he was young. Now, he was dancing with her for real.After joining the Underworld, he had gone periods without so much as swinging his sword at another living being. And at times, he had swung it so much that the boundary between himself and the sword blurred.


    This was one of those times.


    Holding back would be an insult to himself, his lifelong efforts longer than his natural life, and Soara.


    The moment Tar reappeared, he was already next to Soara with his sword aimed at her neck, glimmering slightly in the darkness. Most others never saw Tar''s second move due to his proficiency with this surprise attack.


    Tar knew in his heart that most fights could be settled with the first move if there was even a slight difference in skill. He had honed his skill in attacking first.


    But he knew that surprise attacks wouldn''t work against someone like Soara. Still, it was unsettling to see her already looking him in the eyes when he reappeared. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Tar''s muscles hadn''t moved more on memory, reflex, and instinct, he would have stiffened for a moment. However, his movements were as smooth as butter as his sword sliced through the air, intent to give Soara''s neck the same treatment.


    All it found, however, was the same air it had already sliced, just in a different place.


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    Soara dodged the strike, and Tar had no idea how she did it. But he didn''t need to know. She was still there. All he had to do was cut her until she couldn''t dodge anymore.


    Before his sword had left the space where Soara''s neck had been, his other was already on its way up on his other side, where Soara was standing like a statue.


    Again, the sword breezed past without touching so much as a hair on Soara''s robed body. She was already somewhere else.


    Like a whirlwind of blades, Tar spun around and unleashed strike after slash and slash after strike at the elusive deity of Death. Not once did he touch her.


    But at the same time, she didn''t once touch him.


    She wasn''t toying with Tar. She didn''t take pleasure in needlessly prolonging the suffering of a brave soul facing her with all his might. She was taking this fight seriously.


    It was also the first real fight during which she could exercise more than a fraction of a fraction of her real strength. She would not let it end with the humiliating disgrace of being injured, even if only with a scratch.


    She would make this a perfect victory and a clear announcement and reinforcement of her position as the untouchable deity of Death. That was why she was making full use of the one aspect of her powers she had managed to restore, at least partially.


    Untouchable Death.


    What was death?


    The end of life. The of natural existence. It is not a thing. It can''t be touched. Naturally, Soara, an embodiment of Death, enjoys the same privilege.


    If she doesn''t want to be, nothing can touch or affect her form.


    It is a perfect evasion ability. Only something at a similar level with opposing properties or superior can interfere with her existence in her current state.


    However, due to the Aspect''s incomplete revival, Soara was hindered by the same untouchability. Just like Tar couldn''t touch her, she couldn''t touch him.


    But she didn''t need to touch him to see him, read him, and learn his movements and patterns.


    Tar was experienced. Soara might even consider throwing in a compliment and call him good since he faced her without letting his fear of death hinder him. But like anyone who''s trained more than a few hours, he was a creature of habit and routine.


    As much as he switched up the angle, momentum, speed, and trajectory of his attacks, all the things he did were affected by his training, and every second of training he had gone through showed in every minute action he took. His muscle memory betrayed him.


    Against anyone else, it wouldn''t have mattered. Someone who could reliably see through and predict the movements of a high-level, dual-wielding swordsman like Tar without studying his habits for more than a handful of seconds didn''t reasonably exist. If they did, they would be beyond Tar''s level, and he wouldn''t still be standing.


    Soara was unique in that way. Her original level of strength was so far beyond Tar that he couldn''t even imagine it. But she still retained her experience.


    All the memories and knowledge she had accumulated over thousands of years as a deity of Death, roaming battlefields, reaping lives, and receiving the challenges of those who sought a higher realm, all of it remained in her head, even if she couldn''t fully express all of it. But she could still put it to use.


    After a few turns of the chaotic assault by Tar, Soara didn''t need to stay untouchable. She had read him like a book. She understood him better than he did.


    Soara cast off the Aspect of Untouchable Death and stood in front of Tar again like the statue she had learned to mimic during her time at the Labyrinth of Syst.


    Tar hadn''t noticed what she did before, but he felt it clearly now.


    Soara was here now. She was in front of him. She didn''t just appear to be. This was his opportunity.


    Tar lunged with ferocity and speed surpassing even what he had during his surprise attack, his blood and muscles runnign hot after his frenzied, relentless assault. The air in his trail didn''t even know it had been cut until several strides later when thin white lines appeared in the wake of his weapons.


    From behind him to in front of him on the opposite sides.


    That was the intended path of Tar''s swords.


    They completed their paths.


    But somewhere during it, Soara had slipped in between his arms.


    She stood a hair away from Tar''s face.


    Tar, for the first time, saw Soara''s face under the hood of her robe.


    He closed his eyes.


    Setting his gaze upon the beautiful countenance of Death before entering Her embrace made his lives as a human and underworlder worth it.


    A Dance with Death only had one ending. Tar knew it from the start. He was truly happy to have received a satisfactory one.


    There was a peaceful smile on Tar''s face.

 Chapter 366 Dolls

    Soara looked at the lifeless, smiling body of the swords-wielding underworlder before nodding in satisfaction. It was a worthy sacrifice, and he had helped her figure out her current strength more accurately. As a deity of Death, Soara respected those who faced her straightforwardly without backing down.Soara turned to the side and looked straight down one of the many occupied tunnels.


    It was much better than the coward hiding behind their dolls.


    Sieging her was the least effective method of attacking Soara since beings noticeably weaker than her couldn''t even breathe in her presence without losing the air of life. Things that weren''t biologically alive had a little better resistance, but the dolls were so well-made that Soara had no trouble killing them.


    They weren''t alive. They were dolls that followed orders written into their beings. But they weren''t that different from beasts following their base instincts. The source of the instincts was different. And the instincts and design of the dolls were the exact same. The dolls could also be monitored and controlled remotely.


    In any given situation, they would react the same as any other doll, unlike a beast or monster who would never act the same as its sibling or packmate. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Other than that, they weren''t much different from a living being. The difference wasn''t enough for Soara''s powers to not work on them.


    All they did when trying to get to Soara was build up a mountain of dolls around her and the Basilisk.


    How could an individual capable of crafting such elaborate dolls be so mindless in their approach? Had they invested all of their brains into doll-making? Or did they have a plan of some sort?


    Soara''s gaze shifted over the battlefield. She looked for anything amiss or anything that stood out.


    Someone who would receive this many resources from the Great Ugor in the poor Underworld would not be stupid enough to waste it on something as pointless as filling up the Basilisk''s tomb with doll corpses.


    If they were that stupid the Great Ugor would never have granted them permission to all the resources necessary to craft the dolls. That would only happen if the Great Ugor was at least as stupid as the dollmaker. If the Great Ugor had been that stupid, the Underworld wouldn''t have been a threat.


    Soara tried to sense if the dollmaker had hidden anything inside the dolls. If there were explosives, she might not necessarily be in trouble since she could use her Aspect. But Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina would be no more. If the dolls were full of explosives or magic with the same function, it might even be enough to rock the Basilisk''s body and interfere with Alzara''s de-petrification potion-making.


    However, Soara didn''t sense anything. The dolls were empty husks.


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    Soara frowned.


    They shouldn''t be entirely empty.


    She stretched her consciousness deeper into the mounds of dead dolls.


    Not all of them were empty. Some of them were being emptied. Their contents were sucked into the centers of each mound, gathered in tiny lumps. The outer shells soon followed.


    Soara''s eyes narrowed. She knew what this kind of process was.


    It was a sacrificial ritual. The dollmaker was using the lives of many weaker dolls to build fewer but stronger units.


    Could the quantity of the dolls make up for the lacking quality? Would the five thousand dolls turned into five dolls be enough to land a blow on Soara?


    Soara didn''t see a reason to find out. She cut the process short by grabbing a stone shart that broke away from the ground during the Basilisk''s collision and threw it through the hill, piercing the core of the new chimera dolls.


    "Hmm?"


    However, instead of the process being interrupted, the dolls from the hill Soara targeted just changed directions and went for the next hill to build onto that doll instead.


    "Now then¡­"


    Soara''s eyes sparkled.


    Could she get rid of all the cores first or would one of the dolls finish being born first?


    It was a fun bet. She picked up another four stones.


    Physical actions and activities like flinging stones with pinpoint accuracy and enough power to blast through mountains weren''t her specialty. But she was still good enough to launch the stones at the nearby chimera cores without straying more than a few hairs from the dead center.


    The next three cores shattered without issue, diverting all the dolls, their contents, and their husks to the final chimera doll. Four out of five mounds and sources of trouble were gone.


    Soara was a little curious about how strong the final one, strengthened by the sacrifice of its brethren, would be.


    Maybe that curiosity led to a moment''s hesitation. Maybe that moment''s hesitation was enough for the doll to form enough of its body that when Soara threw the stone shard, the core shifted to the side. Maybe her hesitation didn''t matter.


    Maybe it gave the doll enough time to finish being born by making Soara take a few seconds to pick up another stone.


    That stone wouldn''t do much at this point.


    The chimera doll was twice as tall as Soara and had a smooth body and face like an oversized, muscular, hairless doll, puppet, or mannequin.


    Soara couldn''t help but think that the doll''s head looked a little small for its body.


    But the head was probably just there for the aesthetic anyway. The core wasn''t in there, and there weren''t any sensory organs. The dollmaker just didn''t make a headless doll.


    Soara looked the chimera doll up and down.


    It was too strong for her to snuff its spark of life out like it was a candle. But it wasn''t the kind of living being she was used to, either, so she couldn''t tell exactly how strong it was, at least not until it made a move.


    Soara faced off against the doll, and the doll stood motionless and expression less in front of her. Soara was ready to use her Aspect instantly in case the doll surpassed her perception of it.


    The doll moved.

 Chapter 367 Didnt Work

    The large doll with enough strength to crack the stone floor with each step it took turned around and sprinted away from Soara at full speed.Soara turned to Tar''s lifeless body. She turned back to the tunnel the doll was quickly disappearing into.


    "What the¡­?" She relaxed her tense muscles and tilted her head in confusion. She had been gearing up for a fight that would prick her nerves as much as the one with Tar did, where one mistake would lead to a blemish on her perfect skin, hair, or dress.


    She shrugged.


    This was better than having to fight the doll. It meant she could look for the others and see how Zach was doing. He should still be alive, considering her contract seemed to be intact. But if he had been released from the petrification, he should have already burst out of the Basilisk''s body.


    Since that hadn''t happened, it was clear he was still petrified. Alzara should have already had more than enough time to fix him. Even if the Basilisk''s sudden stop upon meeting the ground stirred things up, the other familiars, Alzara included, weren''t so weak that they would die or be hindered by something like that.


    The only one who might be in trouble would be Yanael since she was weakest and affected by the petrification as well. But Mandra should have been able to protect her.


    Soara frowned as she walked over to the Basilisk and the three students and their familiars who were busy catching their breaths.


    She glanced around.


    "Is the fourth one already inside?" She asked upon noticing that Nessa was nowhere to be seen.


    Violina nodded.


    "Yes. She is the best of us when it comes to searching in the darkness."


    "...She also wasn''t in a state to fight after what happened to her Millipede," Anerias added.


    "What happened to the Millipede?" Soara asked while walking toward one of the ruptures in the Basilisk''s skin from the crash landing.


    "Petrification and crash," Dukiel answered with a grave tone. None of them were as close to the Millipede as Nessa, but all of them had spent the last few years hanging out with Nessa, which naturally meant they also spent some time with the Millipede. It had been hard to understand and a little creepy at first.


    But after a while, it became obvious that the Serpentine Millipede was no more than a big, gluttonous puppy with hard ''fur'' and a few more legs than typical. It liked belly rubs, long walks, and food. No, it loved food. It was hard not to like it.


    Soara stopped. She could tell what Dukiel meant, even if he didn''t finish his sentence.


    She narrowed her eyes as she peered into the Basilisk.


    She couldn''t sense the passing of anything other than the Basilisk, but then again, the Basilisk was pretty big and significantly more powerful than the Millipede. It wouldn''t be strange if the aura of its death concealed the Millipede''s death.


    Soara frowned.


    Still, it didn''t feel like the Millipede would die that easily, especially if it was turned into the same stone that was partially intact, even after making direct contact upon collision with the hard ground.


    The stone from being petrified wasn''t quite as thick or durable as the one the Basilisk made its skin of. But if the Millipede was protected by the Basilisk''s soft insides, it might still be intact. It most likely wouldn''t have shattered, but it might still succumb to the petrification.


    Soara raised an eyebrow and entered the Basilisk''s corpse.


    Whatever the case, it didn''t have much to do with her. The Millipede wasn''t another familiar of Zach, and it definitely wasn''t Zach. Its survival or death wasn''t of great consequence. Its survival might increase their chances of success in the Underworld.


    But only by a few fractional percentages.


    Soara navigated through the Basilisk. Since it had hit the ground head first, she only needed to stay close to the ground, and she would sooner or later find her way to the center, where Zach and the other familiars should be. Hopefully, she would make it before she was completely covered in the blood and gore that she couldn''t dodge with the Aspect of Untouchable Death.


    She needed to touch the Basilisk to tear it apart and pry open a path forward, after all.


    After a little while, she sensed some motion slightly above her. It was not where she was supposed to go, but it wasn''t like she could ignore it. Soara opened a path to a fleshy cavern where she found Alzara, Nessa, the Millipede, and a partially restored Yanael.


    They turned to Soara as her head popped up out of the ground, bits of flesh and blood slipping through her body as she rose to their level.


    "...What''s going on?" Soara asked.


    "Alzara is undoing the petrification on me and the Millipede," Yanael answered, the translucent liquid from Alzara''s potion running over her stone-clad body.


    Soara frowned. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What about Master?" She questioned. If he was released from the petrification, why was he not with them or outside the Basilisk? If he was not released from the petrification, why was Alzara pouring the potion on someone who wasn''t him? Experience more on empire


    Yanael and Alzara exchanged looks as they felt the increased pressure from Soara. They could tell that she was worried. They could also tell that she could exercise more of her strength.


    "...It didn''t work," Alzara eventually said with a low face, her gaze turned to the floor in shame.


    "What¡­?" Soara demanded an explanation with a growl. She knew the ramifications of those words. She knew Alzara knew the meaning of those words. She could not believe Alzara was sitting here with a relaxed face focusing on someone who wasn''t their Master, the one binding them to this world.


    "The potion didn''t work on his petrification," Alzara explained. It did nothing to ease the pressure from Soara or dispel the robed phantom looming behind her.

 Chapter 368 Balance

    Alzara looked away from Soara. Soara didn''t care that Alzara already felt shame and disgrace at her failure."And instead of continuing to try, you went and started playing with Yanael and a half-dead insect?!" Soara questioned.


    "H-hey¡ª" Yanael tried interrupting, breaking up the fight. Soara spun the still mostly petrified angel around.


    "...I''ve been trying different potions on their petrification. Solutions that might have adverse effects and so on. Master said he trusted me. Do you really think I would stop trying?" Alzara shot Soara a sharp glare.


    "But if the one that doesn''t work on Master works on others, what makes you think the ones that work or don''t work on others will work on him?!" Zach was right now trapped in a stone coffin closer than a second skin, steadily approaching his limits and death. Why was Alzara focusing on Yanael and the Millipede? This wasn''t the time for proper procedure and caution.


    Alzara continued glaring at Soara for a second. She had already tried a bunch of different things on Zach. One of the things that had no effect on Yanael made the stone on Zach grow. Zach would have been in even more trouble if she had used more than half a drop to test that version.


    "Oh, I''m sorry, I forgot you were the alchemist. Here! Take this. With your expertise, it shouldn''t be a problem to fix Master, right?!" Alzara held out a few of her tools and ingredients to Soara in a fit of anger.


    "Since you know so much, it shouldn''t be a problem, right? A few minutes is all it should take for you to concoct a potion to break the dead man''s petrification of a Basilisk who''s already died once and then been resurrected by some kind of fucking bullshit artificial life and underworld energy, right?!" Alzara shoved the things into Soara''s hands and stormed off.


    "..." Soara looked at Alzara''s back with tools and ingredients that she didn''t even know the right side up of in her hands. She sighed.


    "Soara¡­" Yanael said in a low voice.


    "...I know." She turned to Nessa.


    "Either wipe that one''s drool or tell it to stop holding back. It''s not like anyone''s going to take care of this snake anyway."


    The Millipede was also still partially petrified and had cracks running all over its body, both in the stone and the carapace. None of that stopped it from looking at the meat all around it with burning eyes of hunger. It seemed pretty intent on finishing what it started earlier.


    At Soara''s words, the Millipede looked at Nessa with pleading eyes. She shrugged and nodded. Less than a second later, the Millipede was already plunging its head into the Basilisk''s meat.


    Nessa looked at Yanael and Soara awkwardly.


    "So, uh¡­" She began saying.


    "The situation outside is fine. For now. Alzara probably went to Zach. Let''s give her a minute or two before joining her," Soara said, answering Nessa''s awkwardness with direction.


    When Yanael lost enough of her petrification to move independently, they started walking toward the remains of the Basilisk''s head, where Zach, Alzara, and Mandra hopefully still were.


    That they were, but they weren''t alone.


    Mandra had maintained a magic barrier inside the skull during the crash, keeping a room-sized open space for Zach''s comfort. The brain was smashed into one corner of the cracked skull in a messy pile. The other corner had a peaceful-looking Zach statue, frowning Alzara, expressionless Mandra, and terrified four-eyed, four-armed, six-fingered, scrawny underworlder. In front of the underworlder, there was also a lump of green-black, pulsating flesh that looked a little like a heart.


    Alzara looked up when she noticed the others but looked away at once after glancing at Soara.


    Yanael walked over to Mandra and stood next to her while looking at the underworlder and the heart.


    "Is that¡­?" She began asking.


    "...The source of artificial life? Yes." Mandra nodded.


    "Where was it?"


    Mandra nodded toward what used to be the spine.


    "We walked right past it. It was embedded in the Basilisk''s spinal chord." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And this guy?"


    "He was trying to retrieve it."


    Yanael glanced at Soara, who was looking at the underworlder with narrow eyes.


    Soara sensed Yanael''s gaze.


    "I have no idea how he snuck past me. I didn''t let down my guard."


    The underworlder had gotten within several meters of Zach and the others without anyone noticing. If he had had malicious intentions, it might have been too late by the time they noticed him, though part of the reason they didn''t notice him was his lack of murderous intent.


    Alzara took a closer look at the artificial heart. She frowned.


    "This thing feels off," she said after a moment of contemplation, prompting Soara to take a closer look. Alzara''s words reminded her of something.


    However, Soara sighed in relief after inspecting the source of artificial life.


    "This much isn''t anything to worry about. They just found a way to bend the laws of life and death slightly. It''s the inversion of suspended animation. Instead of keeping someone on the verge of death to prolong their life, they''re putting someone or something on the verge of death to imitate life. I can''t tell what the limits or restrictions are, but it could be worse."


    Alzara looked between the heart and Zach. Read new chapters at empire


    "Could this be used in case¡­?"


    "Probably. But Master won''t die. I won''t let it happen." As a deity of death, Soara''s words carried some weight, especially in her current state.


    "Master also won''t die because he''s not in danger. The petrification can''t kill him," Mandra said, breaking the serious atmosphere Soara just built.


    "The petrification can''t break through his energy, but the energy isn''t getting rid of the petrification. Master is in a state of limbo until the balance is broken," she explained.


    However, the others only cared about the final part of her explanation.


    Zach was kind of fine for now. But the scales could tip in two directions when the balance broke. They could tip in favor of the energy, or they could tip in favor of the petrification that was spurred on by the Basilisk''s death.


    His life was dangling by a thread¡ªa thread that would either snap or pull him out of the abyss.

 Chapter 369 Splitting Up

    Nessa glanced around the room, her gaze settling on Zach for a moment before she looked at all the tall maids with frightening expressions. The silence was heavy after Mandra''s words ended."Is there nothing we can do?" She asked. All of Zach''s familiars were gathered in one room, and all of them were amazing beings that she and her familiars couldn''t compare to. Yet, there was nothing none of them could do when Zach was in trouble?


    It wasn''t right.


    Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra looked at Nessa before glancing at each other.


    "Alzara, what happened to the core that Zach Extracted?" Mandra asked after a minute of silence. She was not giving up just like that.


    "It''s here." Alzara took out the clay-like lump. "I couldn''t find anything else to match with it. And it had no effect on its own. This piece is too good for the rest of my ingredients. Oddly enough, I don''t have a fully stocked workroom in the Underworld," she finished sarcastically.


    Mandra inspected the lump closely before turning to the four-eyed, four-armed, six-fingered underworlder with dark grey skin.


    "With the right materials, you might be able to do something?" She asked.


    "Yes." Alzara nodded. "The other option would be to have Zach eat it as is and let his energy do the rest, but¡­"


    "That won''t work for obvious reasons." Soara sighed. She crossed her arms and glared at the underworlder.


    He wasn''t quite wearing a lab coat. But it was similar to an outfit that had once been a lab coat and then remodeled to also be used for stealth and more active activities.


    "You have one, right?" Soara asked, drawing closer to the underworlder, her eyes shining with a dark light and the phantom of a robed figure reflecting in the underworlder''s eyes.


    "O-one what?" He couldn''t help but ask. He wanted to answer since he could tell that he was about to lose his life if he didn''t. But he didn''t know what Soara wanted. It was a despairing situation.


    "A workshop, of course," she answered with a smile.


    The underworlder was clearly involved with the artificial life project, considering how he came to retrieve it. Just stealth wouldn''t have been enough to know where to look or how to extract the heart without damaging it. From top to toe, he also looked like the scholarly type.


    The familiars could be wrong. Maybe the underworlder was just a wimpy-looking assassin or stealthy scout with no knowledge of the artificial life project. It wasn''t likely, though.


    Slowly, the underworlder nodded.


    He knew where to find what Alzara needed. He could even guide them there without them being discovered by any of the other underworlders. For that, he needed to be alive. As long as he served a purpose, he would live. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was similar to before he joined the Underworld. Even after joining the Underworld, proof of usefulness was necessary if he didn''t want a life worse than before changing sides. He had to fight to get what little he could.


    Now, he just hoped the terrifying maids would let him go after he fulfilled his purpose. He could only hope as he waited next to the black-haired one while the others packed up the stone human and the rest.


    No, they didn''t pack up everything.


    Nessa couldn''t get the Millipede away from the Basilisk''s corpse no matter what she tried. The maids could force it away, but for what? It wasn''t like they needed it. In that case, it would be best to minimize the party going to the Underworld workshop for the sake of sneakiness and efficiency.


    Alzara needed to go, someone to carry and protect Zach needed to go, and someone to fight offensively or keep the underworlder in check needed to go. That was three individuals.


    Alzara and Yanael were as good as decided. It only remained to choose who should go between Soara and Mandra. The two were pretty interchangeable for the current tasks of accompanying the advance expedition into the Underworld or staying and keeping the other students¡ªZach''s friends¡ªsafe.


    It would have been best if they didn''t need to split up, but for Zach''s sake, this would be their best plan. Split up and regroup at the Basilisk or deeper down the Underworld, depending on how much trouble they ended up in.


    The maids'' priority was Zach''s safety regardless of the situation. The other students knew that trying to kill the Great Ugor without Zach would be more impossible than it would be with him, so they didn''t object to the plan.


    However, they didn''t like how they needed to be babysat by one of Zach''s familiars. It showed how weak they were in comparison to Zach. But they understood.


    They had been powerless when Soara unleashed her power.


    That was part of the reason why Soara was chosen to stay behind. She was good at getting rid of many weaklings at once. She would have an easy time securing the underground space that had become the Basilisk''s tomb. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    It wasn''t like Mandra would struggle with it since she was also powerful, but when they discussed who should stay and who should go, it had become apparent that Soara was the only one who had managed to squeeze out more of her strength in the current situation.


    She would have an easier time overwhelming the underworlders when they swarmed the tomb again.


    And Mandra was more versatile. She could deal with things that weren''t alive like locked doors, traps, or fly the group up and down if necessary.


    There was also the fact that Alzara and Soara were still tense. Things had gotten a little heated and needed to cool down before they could work together like a well-oiled machine. It was far from optimal, especially given the gravity of their current situation.


    But there was no use crying over spilled milk. All they could do was the best with the cards on hand.


    Yanael, Alzara, Mandra, and the sneaky scientist underworld took off into one of the tunnels with Zach''s statue.


    Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, and Soara stayed by the Basilisk''s corpse, arranging defenses and salvaging some food from the Basilisk. The situation had calmed down enough for them to eat and rest up to prepare while the underworlders figured out what to do with the intruders.

 Chapter 370 Wells

    In a way, Yanael and the others were lucky that an underworlder had come to retrieve the artificial life heart from the Basilisk''s corpse while the dolls kept Soara distracted. If she had detected him, he would have died, and they wouldn''t have had anyone to guide them through the spacious tunnels of the Underworld.It would have been the same if he didn''t come at all.


    The tunnels weren''t winding or unnecessarily complex like in a maze, but the maids and students didn''t know where to go. Eventually, they might be able to map out the place and find something that could help Alzara concoct a potion that would work on even Zach''s petrification.


    But the Underworld was vast. It could take them weeks or maybe even months before they found anything useful. It wasn''t even worth considering since they would not be allowed to roam around freely, and there was no telling how long Zach could last with the petrification trying to swallow him.


    Even now, they didn''t have so much as a second to spare.


    Yanael, Alzara, Mandra, and the underworlder ran hurried through the tunnels. They couldn''t use any light or magic that might reveal them, so everything they had went into stealth. More important than getting to their destination quickly was getting there undiscovered.


    Fortunately, the immediate area around the Basilisk''s tomb was deserted. It had been like that ever since Zach dropped that potion.


    Underworld energy had started seeping back into the halls and tunnels, but there was no telling when the surface dwellers would grow bored and toss down another one. The spy had destroyed most of them, but it would be foolish to assume that was all, especially now that more than enough time to make more had passed.


    There were almost no underworlders nearby to discover the group. But there were dolls. It also meant that their destination was further away than the maids would have liked. Their destination was also located in an area with more underworlders.


    The beginning of their expedition into the Underworld was smooth, but it would only grow more rugged the closer they got to their destination.


    Yanael and the others were ready for whatever might stand in their way. This was the fastest way to save Zach. That was their priority over anything else. All of their secondary priorities like ensuring a smooth graduation or the safety of his friends would all be meaningless if Zach himself was no longer alive.


    Besides, saving the other students or prioritizing their safety would only be short-term. Without Zach and his familiars, how were they supposed to get out of the Underworld?


    The answer was simple. They wouldn''t.


    That was why Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra couldn''t allow a single mistake. Even just by panting too loudly, the underworlder felt a chill surround the base of his skull. Just by trying to do anything suspicious, he would lose his head.


    He didn''t have anything planned, but the constant reminder helped him keep his focus. Even accidentally alerting the other underworlders, who were most likely on high alert following the Basilisk''s crash, would cost him his life.


    So, he led the maids and the stone statue to an out-of-the-way storage room that hopefully had enough materials to satisfy Alzara. It was only the fourth layer and not one of the main storages connected to any of the important projects. However, it was an emergency storage facility with important resources that were far better than anything in the upper three layers.


    The underworlder put his hand on the handle.


    Yanael, who was carrying Zach, stopped. She froze.


    The door opened.


    "Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire


    ***


    Back at the Basilisk''s corpse, Soara stood between the students at the corpse and the pumped-up doll who had returned after arming himself. It was evident it ran away because it didn''t think it could handle Soara, even with the strength of five thousand dolls.


    It was right. The mere fact that it considered the possibility of losing made it weaker than Soara.


    But it hadn''t just come back with armor, a helmet, a sword, and a shield. It had also returned with two underworlders who, based on their colorful and unique appearances were Named.


    Without turning to look at the students, Soara spoke, S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You guys handle the underworlders. They''re weaker than the doll. If you work together, you should be able to hold out until I''m done."


    She tried to encourage them, but Soara is a deity of Death, not of Encouragement.


    Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, and Nessa gulped.


    The doll looked scarier with its size, but its helmet was facing the wrong direction, which gave it a goofy impression.


    The two underworlders, however, looked menacing with sharp glares and weapons that weren''t comically large. A spear and a bow. The underworlders also had more humanoid appearances than they had seen of other underworlders.


    They looked like real enemies.


    But Soara wouldn''t feed them to the dogs just because she wanted an easy fight. The students trusted her judgment and split up.


    Violina and Dukiel targeted the bowman and Nessa and Anerias chose the spearwoman.


    Violina was better at close range than she was at long range, but she was better at handling attacks from a distance than Nessa and especially Anerias. She also had ways to attack at a distance, thanks to her familiars.


    She could hound the bowman while Dukiel''s familiars tried to snipe him from a distance. Nessa and Anerias could fight up close with the spearwoman and overwhelm her with their skills and familiars.


    With Soara fighting the doll, the battlefield split into three sections, sometimes overlapping. Fortunately, the students were more than used to fighting each other. Whenever they got a chance or an opening, they slipped attacks toward the other underworlder.


    Soara was wrong in her assessment.


    The students didn''t need to hold out. They could just defeat the underworlders outright and help her finish off the doll.


    It was a perfectly executed battle.


    It would have had a perfect ending as well if they could have returned to their meal afterward.


    Instead, the figure that had been watching from the shadows stopped watching.


    Large fists flashed, knocking the students'' heads into the solid floor.

 Chapter 371 Mysterious Underworlder

    The only one who managed to resist the new foe was Soara, but alone, she was no match for him. In the end, even with her currently unleashed state, she could only lightly scratch him. The Aspect of Untouchable Death still worked against him, at least until she ran out of power.In the end, she could only curse her powerless and weak self before joining the students and their familiars in their mysterious fate.


    ***


    Yanael had recognized the presence even before the underworlder opened the door to the storage room. She wasn''t sure how when not even Alzara or Mandra noticed anything. Maybe it was just a bad premonition that only she could feel because only she had encountered it before.


    The door swung open fully without the underworlder moving so much as a muscle. It was like someone else had taken control of it, opening it to invite them in.


    By now, even Alzara and Mandra had noticed that something was wrong.


    They hadn''t sensed anyone inside the storage room. Yet, there was someone there. He was strong enough to have avoided their detection. And he spoke with a calm voice like he had been waiting for them.


    "L-lord¡ª" the underworlder recognized the figure inside but his mouth was forcibly shut before he could finish. The figure inside had pinched his fingers together with a flourish and flicked them to the side like a conductor asking for silence.


    The underworlder had no choice but to obey.


    The figure inside invited them into the storage room with another gesture.


    Alzara and Mandra were suspicious, especially since they could sense Yanael''s nervousness. Her reaction wasn''t proportional to what they had seen of this mysterious underworlder so far. She seemed scared.


    She hadn''t reacted like this even in front of the Basilisk.


    But to their surprise, she was the first to enter the storage room. She even carried Zach with her.


    Alzara and Mandra exchanged a glance before following her.


    The underworlder was at a loss. Was he supposed to follow them or disappear? The underworlder inside the storage room made that decision for him. With a flick of the wrist, the four-armed underworlder was sucked into the storage room and grabbed by the mysterious underworlder''s green hand.


    The mysterious underworlder squeezed the four-armed one''s neck with a stable hand. Despite the four-armed one''s struggles and efforts, there was nothing he could do in the face of overwhelming strength. The four-armed underworlder scratched at the mysterious underworlder''s muscular arm until his fingers bled but without scratching the mysterious one''s green skin.


    A few seconds later, a crack rang out in the otherwise deathly silent storage room.


    The four-armed underworlder was dead. The mysterious underworlder snorted and tossed him in a corner like a piece of trash.


    "Sorry about that. He had been getting on my nerves recently." The mysterious underworlder snapped his fingers, granting light to the storage room similar to how he had lit up the swamp Locale.


    "Did you bring the heart with you?" The mysterious underworlder asked.


    Alzara instinctively clutched a leather sack on her side.


    "This is me asking peacefully. Return it," he ordered.


    Alzara hesitated. If Zach couldn''t overcome the petrification, the heart would be their best bet for saving him.


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    "Do it," Yanael said with almost as strict a voice as the underworlder.


    "Wh¡ª"


    "That''s Jigak," Yanael interrupted Alzara''s protest. Alzara stiffened. She had heard both Yanael and Zach talk about Jigak.


    Every time they did, they did so with overwhelming respect for his strength. But it wasn''t just respect for his strength. There was also the fact that he had helped with their training, spared their lives, and given Dukiel and Julius a bunch of stuff.


    If there was an exception to the underworlders'' hostility against the surface dwellers, it was Jigak. He had especially mentioned that he wasn''t interested in the conflict between the Great Ugor and the Academy for Summoners since he had once been a student himself.


    When she took a moment to sense more carefully, Alzara also noticed that Yanael''s and Zach''s fear wasn''t unfounded. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jigak was strong.


    "Alright." She sighed and handed the faintly pulsating black and green heart to Jigak.


    Jigak gently received the heart, his eyes smoldering with a fiery intensity of unknown emotion.


    "Thank you," he said, surprising the maids.


    "I would like to help you with that," he nodded toward Zach, "But that''s something he will have to overcome on his own."


    "Oh, I have this thing." Alzara pulled out the clay-like lump Zach had extracted and showed it to Jigak. By now, it was clear that he had only been threatening because he wanted the artificial life heart. He wasn''t hostile.


    Jigak narrowed his eyes as he looked at the lump.


    "It would be a waste to use it to get rid of the petrification. Give it to him when he overcomes it on his own. This is an opportunity. Don''t take it away from him," Jigak said pretty strictly.


    The maids frowned. Was he saying they made this trip for nothing? If they couldn''t help Zach, what were they supposed to do? Stand around and wait? Like useless bums? Worthless ingrates?


    As if he could read their minds through their sharp looks, Jigak opened his mouth again.


    "Do you not trust your Master?" He asked, poking a hole in their joint ferocity.


    They didn''t like it but at the same time, they had to admit that he had a point. If they trusted Zach, they had nothing to worry about. As long as he kept fighting, he would eventually overcome the petrification and free himself without them needing to do anything.


    Jigak let them gather their thoughts for a moment before asking,


    "Do you need my assistance to return to the surface? Otherwise, I have something I need to do." He could figure out how they had ended up in the Underworld. They had been forced to hitch a ride on the Basilisk. They killed it but not before starting its descent into the Underworld. And there was no way the students and familiars could climb up the Hole, especially with Zach in his current state.


    To Jigak, it made sense that a small team of elites would try to restore Zach before they tried to escape back to the surface.


    "The plan is not to return to the surface," Yanael said. Revealing the plan to an underworlder was risky. But she had a feeling that Zach would have included Jigak in their plan, so she did the same.

 Chapter 372 Jigak

    "That''s¡­bold," Jigak said after a minute of stunned silence after Yanael finished. He crossed his arms as he looked at the three maid familiars and Zach. The young summoner had come a long way in three years, much longer than Jigak would have expected when he first saw Zach back then."But it will be difficult with him like that." Jigak pointed at Zach. He was still stone and showed no signs of doing anything about it.


    The maids looked at Zach. Yanael met Jigak''s gaze.


    "You asked us if we trust him. We do. As such, there is no reason to cancel the plan. Master will break free before it is too late," Yanael said with conviction.


    "I see." Jigak nodded. It would still be difficult¡ªimpossible, in fact. Unless¡­


    "I''ll help you as much as I can," he eventually said.


    Yanael''s eyes widened. While she hadn''t thought he would go against them, especially after he listened to them to the end, she did not think he would help them.


    "Why?" She blurted out.


    "A bunch of reasons." Jigak shrugged. "But before we face the Great Ugor, there''s something I need to do."


    "Is it related to¡­?" Yanael asked, nodding toward the artificial heart carefully stored within Jigak''s vest.


    "Yep." He nodded. There was no need to hide it.


    "Is it something we can help with? In exchange for your help against the Great Ugor, I mean."


    "It would be greatly appreciated."


    Taking another detour, without informing the others at that, was the last thing they needed. But if it were to secure a powerhouse like Jigak, it would be more than worth it. Yanael just hoped the others managed to drag the Millipede away from the Basilisk. Staying there for too long would just be inviting trouble.


    There was no way for Yanael or the others to know that the other group had already encountered more trouble than they could handle. Well, Mandra could have deployed alarm magic in advance, but that would have been a waste and a distraction when she needed to focus on Zach and their expedition.


    It also wouldn''t have done much since it wouldn''t be able to tell her what kind of trouble the other group encountered. Alarm magic could be precise and detailed, but that took time. With what little they had before setting off, Mandra could only set up something stationary that would react to anything other than the members of the other group, meaning they could leave and something else could show up and still trigger the alarm.


    It would have been practically useless.


    Besides, Soara was there, and she was as good as their most powerful weapon currently. They should be fine, and if they weren''t, it didn''t matter if the others knew about it.


    Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra focused on what Jigak was doing. Somehow, he was floating through the hallways without even using his wings. He was also moving at a speed that was difficult for them to keep up with, and he did it without any signs of effort.


    Jigak was apparently stronger than Yanael and Zach had first thought, or he had grown stronger in the time they hadn''t seen him. Both options were equally likely. Regardless, Jigak was strong. He would be a powerful ally.


    But it also meant the Underworld was strong. The Great Ugor was strong, and there might be other underworlders as strong as Jigak.


    Yanael wanted to ask him about the Underworld''s forces and find out as much as possible, but she could tell that Jigak was in a hurry. He was barely holding back enough for them to follow him. From what she could see of his expression, he also had more important things on his mind than information that most likely didn''t matter much to him.


    The three maids followed Jigak in speedy silence as he breezed through the hallways.


    It seemed he had shed all pretense. He killed every underworlder unfortunate enough to be in their way.


    Since he had said he would help Zach''s familiars root out the Great Ugor and the Underworld, there was no reason to hold back.


    It also seemed like he held a grudge against the underworlders working in proximity to the artificial life project. The closer they got to it, the more violent the deaths of the underworlders caught in the way of the unstoppable force of nature that was Jigak.


    Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra were curious as to what could drive such a powerful man to such rage, but clearly, there was no room to ask. They could only wait and see what he was going to do after tearing apart the lab section of the Underworld in charge of the artificial life project, which was apparently an even bigger deal than they had initially thought, even after seeing it revive a creature like the Basilisk. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The artificial life project was apparently a big deal, and it was also very important to Jigak.


    As they closed in on the center of the labs and hallways with pipes and tubes pumping black stuff in and black stuff out, Jigak''s violence only grew more intense. At the same time, the heartbeats of the heart in his hand grew weaker.


    The artificial life project was failing.


    Jigak could not let that happen. He would not let it happen. He burst through the stone and metal doors, sparing not even a glance to the researcher underworlders caught in the crossfire.


    There was no way the maids would miss the trail of destruction he left in his wake, so he didn''t even bother keeping his speed in control. He even flapped his wings, propelling him forward at speed that caused shockwaves, which burst the eardrums of the weaker underworlders and collapsed their brains.


    In a flash, he was where he wanted to be.


    He looked up at the glass cylinder that stretched from floor to ceiling. It was a disproportionately large canister for the tiny girl floating in the translucent green liquid with wires and tubes connected to her body.


    The only place not connected to something was the center of her chest.


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    There was nothing to connect to. Where her heart was supposed to be, only a hole remained.

 Chapter 373 Daughter

    Continue reading at My Virtual Library EmpireJigak put his hand against the glass wall of the source of the artificial life project''s container. A light crack rang out and a tendril of underworld energy snaked into the container, gently weaving its way through the viscous liquid to the little girl. It wrapped around the tubes and wires plugged into her, gently dragging them out of her body.


    Jigak winced every time the little girl flinched or jerked in pain and when spurts of blood accompanied the tubes out of her body. But it had to be done. She had endured more than this, and while Jigak didn''t want to put her through any more suffering, this was the best he could do.


    And any injuries would fade within minutes as long as he returned her heart to its rightful place.


    After several long, painful moments, most of the tubes were gone. Another couple of seconds, and the little girl was free from the leeches. She started drifting to the floor until Jigak''s underworld energy wrapped around her and carried her to the edge of the canister.


    Jigak gently pushed against the glass wall, shattering it and blasting the broken glass and the liquid away, making sure none of it touched or remained on the little girl, who he caught in his arms.


    A little rushed but still gently, he placed the heart back into her chest. As soon as he saw the flesh start stitching itself back together, he wrapped her in a cloth from inside his vest. It was the best he had on hand. He picked her up in his arms and turned around.


    While he had done that, Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra had caught up. They had prevented any of the surviving guards or researcher underworlders from distracting him or triggering any fail-safe buttons, and they had done it by ruthlessly extinguishing their disgusting lives.


    The three maids understood why Jigak had been so enraged and impatient.


    Someone precious to him was in trouble and suffering. And all the underworlders involved in the artificial life project were guilty.


    Jigak glanced around the room. When they left, he swept his arm from one side to the other. As he did so, a phantom claw of underworld energy appeared and followed his movements, rending the entire laboratory space and tearing it to shreds. Nothing could be salvaged.


    He left with the three maids and their stony cargo.


    After fifteen minutes of winding paths to make sure it would be impossible to follow them, including descending to the fifth layer, Jigak stopped in front of a bare wall. He tapped it. A door appeared and opened, revealing a large apartment. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jigak entered without a word and put the little girl inside his bedroom. The door closed behind the maids as soon as they entered, plunging the room into darkness.


    It didn''t bother Jigak, but he knew the others were surface dwellers, so he snapped his fingers, igniting candles on the walls and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.


    After tucking in the little girl and closing the door to his bedroom, he joined the maids in the living room.


    "..." All of them were silent. Neither of the three maids was talkative unless in certain conditions, even then, it was mostly Alzara who could chatter as long as it was with Zach or about alchemy. Jigak also wasn''t in a talkative mood.


    "...I won''t go into all the details, but she is the source of the artificial life project that you might have heard about. She is also what I picked up when I first met you and your Master," Jigak looked at Yanael.


    "I¡­Shouldn''t have done that. She wasn''t created, at least not like I first thought. She is the daughter of the Underworld. The Great Ugor used her and her body as the basis for artificial life," Jigak''s face twisted in a grimace as he said the lord of the Underworld''s name.


    Yanael and the others nodded, grateful for the explanation. But they were also curious about something.


    "How strong is the Great Ugor that not even you can fight against him? Can''t you assassinate him or something?" Alzara asked.


    Jigak shook his head.


    "There are a couple of others about as strong as me, one of whom is always by the Great Ugor''s side. And the Great Ugor doesn''t let down his guard. There are no openings. But that''s not the only problem." Jigak took a breath.


    While he did so, someone else took the opportunity to speak.


    "That bastard has stolen what doesn''t belong to him." Without anyone noticing, the little girl had recovered, awoken, and left the bedroom. Yanael''s, Alzara''s, and Mandra''s eyes flashed with wariness. They already knew it wasn''t an ordinary girl and that she was even more special than Minatio, but they hadn''t expected her to join them at the table without any of them noticing it.


    "He has seized control over the Underworld and all its energy. Underworlders reliant on the Underworld''s energy have no choice but to obey his commands," the little girl continued her explanation without looking away from Jigak, who was on his knees in front of her with his forehead pressed against the ground.


    He had brought her from the swamp Locale to the main Underworld. He had secured her and handed her over to the researchers. It was as if he had personally put her in that oversized glass canister and hooked her up to the dozens of tubes and wires. He couldn''t describe the guilt he felt for not knowing better. That hadn''t even been one of the situations where he tried to resist the Great Ugor''s orders. He had carried them out without thinking too much.


    Tired and bored, he had blindly followed the Great Ugor''s orders and doomed a little girl to excruciating and drawn-out pain.


    Right now, there wasn''t so much as a scar on her tiny body, but her eyes were empty, and her face was expressionless. Jigak had heard her screams echo through the stone halls. He had seen her writhe in pain and curl up in agony.


    He knew how much she had suffered. All because he retrieved her from the swamp Locale.


    The little girl put her foot on the back of Jigak''s head, pressing down on it. Jigak didn''t even try to resist.

 Chapter 374 Sixth Layer

    The little girl sighed and removed her foot. She bent down and raised Jigak''s head. She caressed his cheeks. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire"You are not to blame. You didn''t steal my power. You didn''t experiment on me. You didn''t torture me.


    "Still, I forgive you, Jigak. Let go of this guilt you carry, ease the burden on your shoulders, and soar.


    "Become my champion, Jigak." The little girl kissed Jigak''s forehead.


    Black tears dribbled down his cheeks, and he closed his eyes in relief as a strange sensation spread through his body like a wave. For the first time in years, he could relax his shoulders. All the guilt and tension he had carried after what he did to the daughter of the Underworld and from resisting the Great Ugor as much as he could, faded like snow in the spring.


    He stretched out his wings fully and let himself feel the strength the little girl gave him.


    She had eased the burden he carried. She had relieved some of the Great Ugor''s pressure on him.


    The little girl pursed her lips as she looked at Jigak.


    It wasn''t complete.


    "I need to regain my strength to finish your transformation, my champion," she said. It wasn''t an order. It didn''t contain any secret messages.


    Jigak knew what he had to do. The Great Ugor had to die. He got up from both to one knee and bowed to the little girl again. His eyes were full of determination. He would do everything he could to make up for his transgression and serve her to the best of his ability. He would fight the Great Ugor to his dying breath if necessary.


    The Daughter of the Underworld nodded in recognition of his determination and loyalty.


    The Daughter''s gaze swept over the three maids before landing on Zach. She walked up to him and caressed his stony cheek. If greed had been an emotion she could still feel, she would have felt it when she sensed what swirled within Zach.


    "I will accept your assistance," the Daughter said to the three maids after she removed her hand from Zach''s face. It was her fight. Her revenge. But they could help.


    Afterward, she returned to the bedroom without another word. She still had to recover as much of her strength as she could before the Great Ugor tracked them down. There was no turning back now.


    It was only a matter of time before they clashed with the Great Ugor''s forces.


    Until then, the Daughter had to prepare as much as possible since she would be responsible for a significant portion of their strength both on her own and through covering Jigak from the Great Ugor''s influence.


    Jigak also had to strengthen his resolve and prepare for a mental battle against someone with the power to control him to his very core.


    There wasn''t much for the three familiars to do other than cheer on Zach and wait. They could try and reconvene with the others. But it was unclear how much help they would be in a battle against the Great Ugor. Soara would, of course, be of help. But the students? Maybe Dukiel.


    But that wasn''t the only reason for them to regroup with the others.


    With Zach covered in stone, there was something the others were carrying that would be very helpful against the Great Ugor¡ªagainst any underworlder, really. Alzara naturally carried a few as well, but it would be great if they could get what the other students had as well.


    The Daughter wanted to regain more of her strength, but that wouldn''t be possible in a short time. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let''s go," she said after leaving the bedroom.


    With the Great Ugor''s cowardly tactics, he would track them down and then weaken them as much as possible by using waves of cannon fodder before sending the stronger underworlders that could compare to Jigak.


    The little girl led the big and muscular underworlder and the three maids, one of whom was carrying a stone statue. It was an odd and mismatched group, but it was powerful and lethal.


    There was no need to sit around and wait for the Great Ugor to show himself, something that would never happen. Instead, they might as well cut to the chase and go look for him first.


    They were already at the fifth layer. The Great Ugor was on the sixth. While he had his troops running around to try and find Jigak and the Daughter, they would already be on their way to him. And they wouldn''t be alone.


    Killing or even knocking out and hiding the underworlders they encountered along the way would reveal to the Great Ugor where they were, so the group had to proceed with extreme caution.


    Fortunately, they had the Daughter on their side. While most of her strength and abilities had been hijacked by the Great Ugor, she still had some left. She could extend her senses along the underworld energy and pick up the presence of underworlders. She guided them through the best path straight toward the sixth layer''s entrance, and Mandra worked with her to make sure they were completely undetectable whenever they had to slip by close to any of the roaming guard-type underworlders.


    It took them several painstaking hours to arrive at the tunnel of complete darkness that led to the sixth layer. Black fog trickled out of it, spreading underworld energy to the rest of the Underworld in a gentle, steady stream.


    Over eras, that tiny trickle of fog had created the different layers and filled all of them with the varying densities of underworld energy. Combined, the five layers could not even compare to the sixth layer in density or amount.


    The sixth layer was the source of all underworld energy. It was the Underworld.


    It was where the Great Ugor resided with his most trusted and loyal subordinates.


    Past this point, there would be no sneaking around.


    The sixth layer was also the smallest one, after all, not to mention how the Great Ugor would notice them as soon as they set foot in the downwards sloping tunnel.


    As soon as he did, he would call all of his troops to support him.


    The Great Ugor would have been a fool not to realize what the Daughter''s intentions were. As strong as he was, there would be no way he would face her alone. He wasn''t the type to take unnecessary risks.


    So, Mandra, Jigak, and the Daughter were going to erect a wall to prevent any underworlders from stabbing them in the back during their fight with the Great Ugor.


    But they were too late.


    "Hmm?"


    "?"


    "I wondered what Zach was up to."

 Chapter 375 Champions

    "To think he wasn''t doing much of anything. That''s unlike him," the person at the front of the group that had just joined them in front of the entrance to the sixth layer continued with a relaxed tone, despite the oppressive wariness from Jigak. The maids were also staring daggers at the man and underworlder who had suddenly appeared in the tunnel.The maids looked at the students behind Monolith. Dukiel, Violina, Anerias, and Nessa were gagged and tied together by their hands and feet like prisoners. Their familiars were also tied up and dragged behind the students, Soara included. The familiars were unconscious. The only exception was the Millipede, which had, somehow, managed to get petrified again.


    When the students saw the three maids, they struggled and tried to say something and break free. But a light tug from Monolith, who held the rope connecting them, jerked them all forward until they face-planted. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man''s eyes shone with a scheming light as he stroked his chin with his one hand¡ªthe stump of his other resting against his chest¡ªwhile looking at Jigak, the three maids, the stone Zach, and the young girl by Jigak''s side. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the Daughter.


    The Daughter too, looked at the man with a slight tilt to her head but without showing any further interest.


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    Before anyone could say anything else, the sounds of rustling footsteps bounced along the walls.


    "We''ll be heading in first," the man said before leading Monolith, the students, and the familiars into the tunnel to the sixth layer.


    Jigak looked at the Daughter. Would they still be going with the same plan as before?


    The Daughter glanced at Mandra.


    "What are you waiting for?"


    Mandra couldn''t say she liked the tone in her voice, but it wasn''t worth getting emotional about. She raised a wall and sealed off the entrance to the sixth layer. As soon as she did, the Daughter of the Underworld led her return to where she belonged.


    Since it was so dark and filled with underworld energy to the point where their senses couldn''t penetrate the darkness, Yanael and the others thought the tunnel would be long and stretch deep into the ground.


    It wasn''t.


    After less than a minute of gentle walking, they arrived at what they could only call an unnecessarily large throne room. The tunnel ended in a bridge across a moat of thick underworld energy that looked like tar.


    The moat surrounded a large open space with nothing but a throne in the center. Underworld energy dripped down along the walls from the ceiling, filling the moat and the Underworld.


    Yanael frowned.


    Why was the underworld energy coming from the ceiling? Shouldn''t the fifth layer be up there? Did the underworld energy return to the sixth layer after some time? But it didn''t seem like the underworld energy had another source.


    It was strange, but Yanael wasn''t exactly the type to care much about that, especially when they had something more important to deal with.


    The Great Ugor was sitting on his throne, looking at them.


    He was a big man with long black hair that reached to the ground and then some. One of his eyes was completely black like he had replaced it with an onyx marble.


    Like it followed the Great Ugor''s direction, underworld energy swirled around whatever he looked at. It passed by the three maids and the stone statue, lingered slightly at Jigak, and then settled on the Daughter.


    "And so, you''ve come, Daughter. To die or to take my power remains to be seen. Have you wrested Jigak out of my grasp?" The Great Ugor''s voice echoed in the chamber despite it being barely more than a hoarse whisper. His gaze shifted to Jigak.


    "Obey me, Jigak," he ordered, his voice suffused with power.


    Jigak clutched his head. Seeing the Great Ugor and hearing his voice directly made it much more difficult to resist his control. If the Daughter hadn''t already helped him, he would have been no more than a mindless slave to the Great Ugor. Still, even now, he could barely stay still.


    The Daughter put a hand on Jigak''s forearm.


    "I believe in you, my Champion. That bastard is no more than a usurper. He is not worthy of you."


    The Daughter''s touch did as much as her words, and Jigak managed to tear his hands away from his head and glare at the Great Ugor with bloodshot eyes. He awaited her command. He wasn''t sure he could fight against the Great Ugor without succumbing to the latter''s control. But the Daughter trusted him. He would prove himself worthy of that trust.


    But the Daughter didn''t say anything. Instead, she glanced around the otherwise empty throne room. A slight crease appeared on her brow. It was the most change her face had shown since Jigak saved her.


    But she didn''t act on her suspicion.


    "Usurper, will you face me?" She asked as she took a step forward, back straight and burning gaze as she looked at the Great Ugor.


    The Great Ugor smirked as he looked at the Daughter.


    "No. Let''s have our ''champions'' fight," he said mockingly.


    "I want you to see Jigak fail you before you reach the end of your miserable existence."


    At the Great Ugor''s words, a tall, lithe figure stepped out from behind the throne. The underworlder was as tall as Jigak, but not as wide. He had no wings but had horns. His upper body was bare, revealing the finely chiseled muscles of his torso.


    But his face was gaunt, his eyes and cheeks sunken, and his lips thin and pale.


    "Mierev," Jigak said as he stepped forward. He took off his vest and handed it and all its contents to Mandra. It would only be in the way during his fight with the Great Ugor''s designated fighter.


    Mandra wasn''t sure what to do with the vest, but before she could do anything, the Daughter took it. The vest shrank to fit her before growing into a dress that replaced the cloth Jigak had wrapped around her.


    The Daughter stood with her hands behind her back as Jigak crossed the bridge to fight Mierev in front of the throne¡ªher throne. She held her own hands tightly, yet her face showed not a hint of worry.

 Chapter 376 Disappointing

    Jigak chewed on his teeth as he watched Mierev roll his neck and crack his knuckles while walking up to the center of the throne room. It was easier to focus when only looking at Miereve, but he could still feel the Great Ugor''s influence like a lantern bathing him in light.As soon as he lost focus, his body would succumb to that dark light and obey the Great Ugor whether he wanted to or not. It was a clear disadvantage.


    But Jigak wasn''t worried. He was in a better physical shape than ever. He was confident he could beat Mierev.


    "Hmph." Mierev snorted as he looked at Jigak''s outwardly calm posture.


    "Cocky as ever, ain''t ya?" He mocked.


    Jigak shrugged. Mierev''s words weren''t nearly as impactful as the Great Ugor''s. He focused on Mierev''s body instead as he looked for openings.


    Mierev snorted again and glanced at the Daughter in the distance behind Jigak.


    "Is it her who''s giving you the balls to stand against the Great Ugor? Manly. I wish I had a little girl to hold my hand when things got tough. Wait a minute. Isn''t that¡­?"


    Mierev squinted as he took a closer look at the Daughter.


    "Isn''t that the runt you brought back and stuffed into the torture chamber? Ha!" Mierev laughed in mocking disbelief.


    His laugh was interrupted by Jigak''s fist flying into his face. Mierev flew backward and bounced once on his back before standing up and sliding to a halt. He pressed his thumb against one side of his nose and blew out a globule of snot and dark blood.


    "That''s more like it," he said before shooting forward and trying to return the favor. A fist like ruby covered in ink spearheaded Mierev''s charge and blew past Jigak''s head, drawing a thin line across his cheek despite not touching him.


    Jigak took advantage of the moment Mierev''s arm was outstretched after missing and threw a solid fist into his ribcage. It cracked.


    But so did Jigak''s nose when Mierev headbutted him. It wasn''t enough to daze Jigak, and he continued punching Mierev''s chest.


    Mierev''s outstretched hand joined up with his other behind Jigak''s head, locking together. Before Jigak could slip under his hands, Mierev rammed their heads together, crashing Jigak''s nose with his forehead.


    The sharp horns at the top of his forehead almost gouged Jigak''s eyes out. Unfortunately, they pointed straight up and only managed to trim the edges of Jigak''s brow.


    Mierev and Jigak went for another exchange. This time, Mierev didn''t need to aim for an already crushed nose, so he decided to make full use of his momentum and the sturdiness of his forehead, one of the few things that he was better at than Jigak. He crashed his forehead with full force straight into Jigak''s.


    Jigak felt the fractures spread in his skill like a split rock. It definitely wasn''t comfortable.


    But he had sent five of Mierev''s ribs into his lungs in exchange.


    If they had been ordinary humans, their injuries would have been lethal. With martial or magical energy, they might have been able to suppress or even heal the injuries if they were good enough.


    With underworld energy, they didn''t even need to think about it. Black smoke swirled around inside their bodies, trickling out of their surface wounds, and healing all their injuries.


    Black smoke billowed out of Jigak''s face and into Mierev''s. It could barely obscure his vision, but it was enough for Jigak to push away and break out of Mierev''s necklock. While Mierev stumbled, Jigak threw an uppercut straight to his jaw, crushing his teeth.


    As Mierev brought his head back down, he spat a mouthful of bloody teeth in Jigak''s face.


    Jigak didn''t even flinch as he met Mierev''s headstrong charge with a straight fist to the latter''s forehead. It was Mierev''s turn to experience a cracked skull.


    Mierev grinned and reached up, wrapping his hands around Jigak''s wrist. Before Jigak could react, the rest of Mierev''s body followed and trapped Jigak in an armbar.


    The problem with that plan was that Jigak was too strong.


    Even if Mierev had his entire body wrapped around Jigak''s arm, Jigak was still standing. Even if Miereve pulled and tried to dislocate Jigak''s arm, Jigak could just not let that happen.


    With a grunt of exertion, Jigak raised his arm, Mierev attached, into the air before slamming him into the ground.


    The floor, stone soaked in underworld energy for millennia, didn''t even crack. That sound came from Mierev. He couldn''t compare to the floor in hardness. Naturally, in such a powerful collision, his spine broke.


    But Jigak wasn''t satisfied. Mierev was already healing.


    If he wanted to kill an underworlder as powerful as Mierev, he either had to keep injuring them until their underworld energy ran out or kill them before the underworld energy could fix their injuries.


    In the sixth layer of the Underworld with underworld energy thicker than cotton in the air, waiting for it to run out would take an eternity. Jigak''s only option was to kill Mierev before he could heal.


    It was easier said than done, but Jigak had an overwhelming advantage in strength, especially now that he had already broken Mierev''s spine.


    Mierev tried to let go and slither away, but Jigak grabbed him by the face and rammed his head into the ground. Once again, a crack rang out in the barren throne room. Yet, the floor remained unharmed. Dirty and covered in blood but without so much as a scratch.


    But Jigak felt Mierev''s breath against the palm of his hand, and the horned underworlder''s skull was still solid enough to keep his brain inside. On his knees, Jigak picked up Mierev''s head and slammed it into the floor again.


    Mierev was still struggling to break free, and his underworld energy was fighting to heal his injuries.


    Again.


    Mierev was moving, and his underworld energy only swirled more intensely.


    Again.


    Mierev was still breathing, and his underworld energy fought harder than ever to keep its user alive.


    Again.


    There was no response from Mierev.


    Again.


    Mierev stopped twitching.


    Again.


    Only the front of Mierev''s skull remained. The rest, brain and gore, were all splattered against the floor and Jigak. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Again.


    Again.


    Again.


    Finally, the underworld energy calmed down.


    Jigak let out a deep breath and stood up.


    "Disappointing."


    Jigak turned to look at the Great Ugor, who had just spoken. Mierev had died for him, but that was all the Great Ugor had to say. He was the disappointing one.


    "I''m talking about you, Jigak. I thought you would have known me better than to turn your back on my fighter."


    The Great Ugor grinned, madness covering his face.


    Before Jigak could react, a red hand had already pierced his chest.

 Chapter 377 Heavy Emotions

    "Beings from other worlds," the Daughter of the Underworld addressed, Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra."Are you familiar with underworld energy?" she asked.


    Yanael and the others wondered what brought this on, especially when her champion had just been run straight through by the resurrected Mierev.


    "Somewhat," Yanael answered. "It''s something like the gathering and manifestation of negative feelings, right?"


    It was something they had deduced after interacting and seeing what underworld energy did to people and who successfully became underworlders after coming in contact with it. It wasn''t confirmed, but the members of the Underworld Research and Extermination Club were pretty confident in their assessment.


    "No." But the Daughter rejected that theory.


    "You are correct in that it is related to emotion. But it has nothing to do with anything as abstract as positive or negative emotion. Look at where we are." She pointed at the throne room.


    "We are at the bottom of the world. The underworld energy you see is the accumulation of superfluous and surplus emotion. It is the emotions that have nowhere to go and linger around the world. Most emotion dissipates naturally.


    "The feelings that make it down here are the heavy ones." The Daughter sighed and looked at Jigak, whose eyes were burning with black flames as he tore Mierev''s arm off at the socket.


    "Heavy ones?" Yanael questioned. The Daughter commented about the arbitrary nature of positive and negative emotion, but here she was attributing weight to a concept stemming from the chemical response in a person''s body to certain situations and sensory stimuli. She couldn''t understand it.


    "Are you not familiar with heavy emotions?" The Daughter asked, not once tearing her gaze away from the battle happening in the center of the throne room.


    "The desire of undesirable men. The sorrow of shallow women. The wrongly justified wrath of misguided youth."


    Yanael frowned slightly at the Daughter''s examples. She could kind of understand what she meant by heavy feelings. They were the kind that were burdensome to not just the ones who felt them but to others around them as well.


    Jigak, covered in his own blood, would not let his guard down again. He tore Mierev''s head from the rest of his body.


    Even an underworlder wouldn''t survive that easily. But Jigak didn''t stop there. He crushed Mierev''s head between his hands like a fruit. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, he had already learned from his mistake. He looked at the remains of Mierev''s head in his hands and the lifeless body.


    He could feel the strength and underworld energy in Mierev''s corpse fade. It was like he had died. It was the same as before.


    Jigak frowned. Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire


    As the blood in his hand dripped to the floor, Mierev''s body was sucked dry like a grape turned raisin before returning to its original state like someone had breathed life into him. It didn''t stop there.


    A new head grew from Mierev''s body. Once again, his horns had grown slightly. His face had gained more color, and his body was a little more muscular than before.


    Mierev had been reborn. And he had come back stronger than before he died. It was a nonsensical ability.


    Mierev the Immortal.


    It was the ability of the strongest underworlder chosen to fight for the Great Ugor, the king of the Underworld.


    Every time he died, he would come back stronger. He had been one of the strongest before he died. There was no telling what his upper limit was.


    Jigak''s eyes narrowed.


    There was no doubt that Mierev''s ability was derived from the Daughter''s powers.


    Jigak would never blaspheme and say that it was an ability that surpassed or even rivaled the original. But it was comparable.


    Unfortunately, it was useless.


    Mierev still wasn''t strong enough to resist Jigak, who only grew stronger through fighting. The more Mierev resisted, the more the anger in Jigak burned. The more heated he got, the more fiercely the underworld energy responded.


    Jigak didn''t notice, nor did he care enough to notice. But he was stronger than he had ever been before, and it was all because Mierev had made a comment he hadn''t needed to make, all to provoke Jigak.


    Underworld energy was an emotionally driven energy. The more emotion one felt, the stronger the underworld energy. The heavier the emotion one felt, the stronger the energy.


    The more underworld energy one had, the easier it was to feel strong and heavy emotions.


    Once the ball got rolling, it could easily grow out of proportion. But it wasn''t easy to get the ball rolling.


    It needed a lot of underworld energy. Only someone like Jigak would have enough to easily set off the chain reaction. And only someone who carried such heavy regret, guilt, and loyalty could bring out the full potential of the underworld energy within them.


    Jigak might seem calm, composed, and polite usually. He had been friendly to Zach and Yanael when he met them at the swamp Locale, and after getting the Daughter''s heart back, he was polite and friendly to the three maids. He certainly didn''t seem like an emotional brute or berserker.


    But he wasn''t one of the strongest underworlders for nothing. He wasn''t one of the underworlders with the greatest affinity for underworld energy because he liked the color black.


    Jigak wasn''t an emotional person. He was friendly. He was kind. He was composed.


    But when he felt things, he couldn''t stop feeling them. His emotions and feelings overwhelmed him.


    His urgency to bring the Daughter''s heart back to her had led him on a rampage through the Underworld. He killed underworlders he had shared breakfast, lunch, and dinner with without thinking.


    Even after saving the Daughter, he couldn''t stop looking at her, at the bedroom door, or where she had walked.


    The Daughter had forgiven him for the sin of not being in control of himself, of being forced to follow another''s orders. But Jigak hadn''t forgiven himself.


    "Do you know what the heaviest feeling I''ve seen is, Angel?"


    The feelings he had tried to put in check for the Daughter''s sake¡ªhis Lady''s sake¡ªcame bursting forth.


    "No idea."


    Underworld energy swirled around Jigak like a tornado as he closed in on Mierev.


    "Love."

 Chapter 378 Living Up To Expectation

    Yanael pondered on the Daughter of the Underworld''s words for a few moments. As the Daughter of the Underworld, her words carried weight. She was the expert. But however she looked at it¡­ Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire"I don''t think what he feels is love, though?" She said doubtfully while looking at Jigak once again tearing apart Mierev.


    Jigak was certainly going through a string of heavy, powerful emotions as he absorbed the nearby underworld energy and strengthened himself beyond his limit. But Yanael couldn''t say she had ever seen him express love.


    He had shown a lot of guilt, wrath, resentment, responsibility, and sadness on the Daughter''s behalf. She had only interacted with Jigak for a few hours, but Yanael wouldn''t say he loved the Daughter.


    Neither would Jigak if he got the question. In his mind, love was a feeling between equals. He wasn''t even worthy of expressing his adoration, forget feeling something as idealistic as love.


    In a way, Jigak had a long way to go before maturing. But then again, he had only been a student when his life got turned on its head and he ended up joining the Underworld. The Underworld wasn''t exactly a place conducive to the development of mental health, especially when every day was a battle against the Great Ugor''s influence.


    Jigak, in a way, was lucky that he loved his familiar so much that his feelings of loss propelled his affinity for underworld energy. Thanks to that, he had been strong enough to notice and resist the Great Ugor when he had to. That was what had let him say no to disposing of Zach and the other students when they almost discovered the Daughter.


    It was also what let him help them.


    And now, he could stand in front of the Great Ugor and blatantly reject the latter''s influence and attempts to control him. Jigak, for the first time since his familiar''s death, did not feel powerless. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His feelings of freedom and relief at being in control of himself threatened to ease the weight of his emotions. He could feel it instinctively. He could not let himself feel at peace.


    Emotion like that was light.


    So, Jigak focused on his irritation toward Mierev the Immortal and turned his relief at almost being free into a desire for revenge. He wouldn''t be free until the Great Ugor was dead and the Daughter reassumed her rightful place.


    To get one step closer to his goal, Jigak had to get rid of Mierev.


    By now, Mierev had lost sanity.


    He could handle dying multiple times in a row with ease since he wouldn''t die for real. He could even handle the pain of dying. The Great Ugor had made sure of that.


    But there was a limit. Usually, he should have grown strong enough to kill whatever killed him long before he could die enough to lose his sanity.


    But Jigak grew stronger faster than Mierev did, despite the Immortal harnessing the heavy feelings of dying and the underworld energy of the sixth layer each time he died. His mind and consciousness couldn''t keep up with the repeated destruction and restoration of his body.


    Mierev''s mind felt the pain and suffering of each death. He cracked a little each time he died. With time, those cracks might heal or they might not.


    Each time he died, his body naturally suffered as well. But where the body was restored to a level beyond what it had been before death, his mind remained unconsoled.


    Each death destroyed his body and his mind, but only his body was healed upon resurrection.


    An iron will would have only prolonged Mierev''s suffering. Now, he was braindead and could not feel pain anymore.


    Unfortunately, his body still worked. It was driven by the lingering emotions in it and fought like a mindless, ferocious beast against Jigak.


    Jigak was at a loss. It seemed even without a brain to steer it, the body would continue resurrecting until it was strong enough to deal with Jigak. As powerful as he was, Jigak was not confident he could cut the Mierev''s supply of underworld energy.


    "I think that''s about enough." The Daughter of the Underworld''s voice filled the throne room, silencing the ruckus of Jigak slamming Mierev into the ground. Even Mierev stopped moving at the sound of the Daughter''s voice. His mangled body stopped healing.


    Jigak looked at the mess in his hand for a moment before tossing it aside.


    His own body slowly started healing. The skin on his face grew back. A new eyeball sprouted to replace the one Mierev gouged out. His torn wings came back glossy and darker than before. The flesh all over his body that hung by threads picked itself back up and stitched itself together, patching him up.


    Jigak shot the Great Ugor a glance. He knew he shouldn''t risk it, but he needed to see the expression on his face. He needed to see the expression the Great Ugor made when his trump card failed him.


    As expected, the Great Ugor''s face was grimmer than before. But he had a calm look as he faced the Daughter. He sighed lightly.


    Jigak had surpassed his imagination, and Mierev had disappointed him. It would have been great if Mierev could have just lived up to expectations and dealt with at least Jigak before dying.


    Instead, he had only served to further motivate Jigak and given him a way and reason to become even stronger than he was. He had become a perfect stepping stone for Jigak.


    But it wasn''t all bad. Mierev had at least destabilized Jigak''s mental state.


    With a heavy sigh like an old man getting up after just plopping down on the cough, the Great Ugor rose to his feet for the first time in years. He did not look away from the Daughter for even a moment.


    He wasn''t one to personally deal with his targets. But the Great Ugor wasn''t afraid of getting his hands dirty.


    While looking at the Daughter, the Great Ugor disappeared from the spot.

 Chapter 379 Harder Than Stone

    Since he had been staring so intently at the Daughter, everyone, including her, thought the Great Ugor would go for her straight away. As the strongest and the source of the rebellion, he would win as soon as she was taken out of the fight, even if he couldn''t kill her.However, the Great Ugor''s feint had succeeded.


    He reappeared in front of Jigak and put his hands around his head. Jigak couldn''t even react before the Great Ugor locked eyes with him, forcing Jigak to stare into the black jewel in his eye socket.


    Jigak''s eyes grew hazy as his vision was covered by a layer of murky grey. Suddenly, his thoughts grew very distant. His view changed after a few moments as he turned around and looked at the Daughter.


    Jigak''s thoughts moved in slow motion, and he couldn''t find it within himself to question why his view changed.


    It meant he had turned around. But why? He couldn''t be bothered. It had nothing to do with him.


    The others could only see that the underworld energy around Jigak had calmed down and that his gaze was a little vacant. They had no idea what the Great Ugor had just done. No, the Daughter knew, and the others could figure it out.


    The Great Ugor had used the black gem that carried the powers of the Underworld to control Jigak and turn him against the Daughter and the others against his will.


    Mierev might have failed, but the Great Ugor didn''t lose out if he could take the one who defeated Mierev to fight for him instead.


    Yanael and the others took a step backward and assumed defensive postures in front of Zach''s statue. They had seen how strong Jigak was. Although it looked like he was focused on the Daughter, there was no way to be sure with the dazed expression he had.


    "Assist me," the Daughter said before raising a hand and catching Jigak''s fist like it was a pebble. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra exchanged looks. This was it. No one would win the fight against the Great Ugor for them unless they helped.


    Yanael summoned her weapons, wings, and halo and assumed a stance directly in front of Zach. She would keep their Master safe. Alzara and Mandra nodded. They would fight Jigak and the Great Ugor with the Daughter.


    Alzara whipped out her daggers and coated them in Curses of Decay, Misfortune, Weakness, and Fear. She wasn''t sure how much they would do, especially Fear since Jigak didn''t seem to be in his right mind. But they would do something, and something was better than nothing.


    Mandra''s blue eyes and hair glowed slightly and she started floating above the ground as she roused the magical energy filling her body. No, her magical energy wasn''t just filling her body.


    Mandra''s entire body was magical energy of a quality that no mage could ever hope to match. Her entire existence was magic.


    In her current state, she could only use a fraction of the power that came from being a being of magic. Her output was limited, but she still had an almost endless supply of magical energy.


    And as she stretched her fingers and played with the streams of magical energy swirling around her, she felt it. She felt what Soara had noticed.


    Currently, Zach''s vessel was incredibly durable. His body was strong ordinarily as well. But the Basilisk''s petrification on him was the coalescence of its petrification ability. It was the strongest form of its ability. It was supposed to keep anyone capable of killing it petrified until they died. It was harder than its armor and the petrification on anyone else had been.


    That petrification had swallowed Zach''s body. The only thing that hadn''t turned to stone was his world essence energy, something that even surpassed the Basilisk''s dying trump card. The petrification had even used the solid foundation that was Zach''s body to grow even harder. The more solid his body was, the more effective the petrification. Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire


    That meant his body could handle the strain of his familiars'' presence and existence increasing. They could bring more of their strength to the world without Zach''s body crumbling under the pressure.


    For as long as Zach was consumed by the petrification, the familiars who had extra strength to harness, could harness part of that extra strength and show the world what being a Deity of Death meant¡ªwhat being an Archon meant.


    Technically, Zach''s body should also be very safe from any attacks, but Yanael wouldn''t take any chances.


    Feeling the shackles around her ease slightly as she weaved her magical energy to create a translucent armor around herself, Mandra''s lips rose in a minuscule smile.


    If it hadn''t been for the shivers running down the spines of everyone in the room, they wouldn''t have noticed such a slight change in her expression.


    But when everyone who had hair on their necks felt that hair rise and point away from Mandra like it wanted to escape, they had no choice but to notice.


    The Great Ugor looked at Mandra with wary eyes. The Daughter glanced at her before turning back to Jigak and throwing him into the wall with a sudden flick of her arm. Jigak crashed into the wall, which, just like the floor, had bathed in underworld energy for millennia and turned into a material harder than any stone.


    The wall cracked.


    Jigak spat out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes turned white.


    Unfortunately, he was an underworlder, and he was on the sixth layer, and he was one of the underworlders with the greatest affinity for underworld energy.


    He couldn''t die from such injuries even if he wanted to. Black fog surged around his body like a swarm of angry bees, repairing his injuries in seconds.


    But the Daughter wasn''t even looking at him when he peeled himself off the wall, dropped into the moat, and waded toward her. She only looked at the Great Ugor. To be exact, she looked at the black gem in his eye socket.


    That was hers.


    This time, it was the Daughter who disappeared from the spot.

 Chapter 380 The Great Ugor

    The Great Ugor saw it coming, and he raised his hand to block the Daughter''s tiny fist. The Daughter extended her hand and pierced her sharp nails into the Great Ugor''s palm. Like a butter knife trying to penetrate a steel plate, nothing happened.The Daughter clicked her tongue and tried to retreat. The Great Ugor shifted his arm forward and wrapped his fingers around the Daughter''s frail-looking wrist.


    Not even Jigak would have been able to crush it. But in the Great Ugor''s hands, it was like her wrist was a bundle of dry twigs. The Daughter pressed her feet against the Great Ugor''s chest and kicked off, tearing her wrist, leaving her hand with the Great Ugor.


    The Great Ugor threw it to the side and flicked his hand to get rid of her blood.


    He looked at the Daughter. Her hand had already regenerated without a sign of it ever being gone.


    "Disgusting." The Great Ugor frowned.


    The Daughter''s eyes burned with rage.


    This was part of the ability that the Great Ugor had wanted so badly¡ªhad put to use in his minions so much that they went crazy. This was the ability that made underworlders underworlders.


    Who was he to call it disgusting? Who was he to call her disgusting?


    However, as much as the Daughter wanted to tear the Great Ugor''s jaw off and stab it into his skull, she was also painfully aware of her weakness. It was like someone had replaced all the blood in her veins with lead and filled her joints with rust.


    Her body felt weak and didn''t move like it needed to.


    The Great Ugor, on the other hand, was at his strongest. Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    But if that had been enough to stop her, the Daughter would have given up a long time ago.


    Unless she wanted to she couldn''t die.


    It had been close many times over the almost thousand years of the Great Ugor''s reign. The pain, the futility, and the worthlessness of life had just been too much.


    The only thing that had kept her going, what had kept her fire of life burning, had been the image of the Great Ugor''s face. Every day for several hundred years, even the ones she had been unconscious, she had imagined herself tearing him to shreds.


    This was her opportunity to turn those imaginations into reality.


    So, when a bright white bolt of lightning illuminated the throne room, bathing it in the light it had never experienced before, struck the Great Ugor head-on like divine retribution, the Daughter dove forward.


    If she could scratch or pierce the Great Ugor''s skin, she would just have to beat him up until his insides crumbled. As tough as it was, his skin couldn''t dispel the force of her blows.


    Besides, the longer they fought, the more the fight would turn in her favor.


    Mandra''s lighting bolt left black scorch marks on the Great Ugor''s skin, but it didn''t deal much damage, at least not on the surface. However, the lingering electricity affected his reactions, and the Daughter managed to land two strikes to the Great Ugor''s throat before he reacted and caught her wrists.


    This time, he didn''t break them at once. Instead, he held onto her, capturing the Daughter. As soon as he broke them, she would just tear them off and return to her reckless attack.


    If he could subdue her without injuring her, the Daughter''s regeneration would be useless.


    Since the Great Ugor wouldn''t do her the service, the Daughter did it herself. With a light twitch, she broke both her wrists before tearing off her hands with her superhuman strength and breaking free from the Great Ugor''s grasp.


    She launched another barrage of attacks instantly. Her hands regenerated before her first attack could even reach the Great Ugor.


    The Daughter''s small stature made it difficult for her to reach the Great Ugor''s throat again, but as long as she could hit him, she didn''t care. The only thing she would go for if she found an opening was the black gem in his eye socket. If she could take that, she would win instantly.


    But the Great Ugor also knew that. That was why he would sooner let her have his heart than the black gem.


    It wasn''t even worth trying to go for the black gem. It would be better to just wear him down.


    After all, despite everything, the Great Ugor wasn''t a true underworlder. He lived in the Underworld. He breathed underworld energy. He ruled the Underworld.


    He was no underworlder. He didn''t embrace the underworld energy. He had great affinity for it. If his mind had been screwed on right, he would have become an underworlder greater than Jigak.


    For almost a millennium, he had lived and breathed underworld energy. Jigak''s decades compared to that was nothing.


    However, being an underworlder came with one obvious flaw. They were subject to the Underworld. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without underworld energy, underworlders were worse than roadside pebbles. And who controlled underworld energy? Who controlled the underworlders?


    The Daughter of the Underworld.


    The Great Ugor would never subject himself to another''s rule. No matter how powerful he was, if he wasn''t on top¡ªin control¡ªhe would never embrace that power.


    No matter how strong he became, he would never be the strongest. He would never have the power and authority he wanted.


    He hadn''t thrown a rebellion on the surface to try and seize the emperor''s crown and throne because he liked the color. He hadn''t almost succeeded because he was lucky. He hadn''t made it out of his failure alive because he wasn''t careful.


    He wouldn''t be facing the Daughter now if he wasn''t confident in his victory.


    He might have been far stronger than his current self if he had spent those centuries honing his strength and relying on underworld energy instead of suppressing the Daughter and controlling the gem, but to the Great Ugor, any amount of power was useless if someone sat on his head.


    And it wasn''t like he had spent his years in the Underworld looking at the wall and counting the days until someone came to ask if he wanted to play chess.


    He schemed to take resources from the surface. He schemed to take revenge on an old rival and cause trouble for those who had caused his rebellion to fail.


    However, his old rival didn''t even look his way anymore. And the ones who caused the failure of his rebellion were only the first line of defense.


    The world was vast. More so than he realized during his time as a surface dweller.


    The Basilisk would have been a great strength. The students he could have recruited would have been a great addition to his forces.


    Now, he had to settle for the Daughter.


    The Great Ugor''s lips curved into a stiff smile, the first he had shown in centuries.


    If he succeeded, it would be more than enough to make up for all of his losses.

 Chapter 381 Cursed Energy

    Mandra could throw a couple of spells at the Great Ugor at the beginning of the fight. But Jigak was set to attack any enemy of the Great Ugor''s. He wasn''t in his right mind, but he could tell that between Alzara, who had trouble keeping up with him, and Mandra, who was leisurely enough to attack the Great Ugor as well, Mandra was the bigger threat.Jigak targeted Mandra like a starved dog.


    He shot off the ground with a flap of his wings like a frog and launched himself toward Mandra. He tanked the lightning bolt with his face. He didn''t even flinch when it blasted the skin off his face, laying his white skull bare.


    But it took his eyes and sight for a moment, so Mandra dodged his charge by simply gliding to the side and letting him zip past her. Jigak could sense that she moved and reached out with a clawed hand to grab or attack her, but his hand just bounced off the translucent armor around her body.


    Jigak crashed into the ceiling high up, his face already restored. Like a swimmer, he turned around, hanging on the ceiling for a moment like a bat before shooting toward Mandra again. With gravity on his side, he was marginally faster this time. Drops of the underworld energy running along the ceiling to the walls trailed behind him.


    Mandra threw out a large ball of fire that swallowed Jigak whole, once again robbing him of his sight. The mass of flames even obstructed his other senses. But he came out on the other side unscathed but unable to reach Mandra, who had moved out of the way.


    Instead of flapping his wings and changing trajectory mid-air, Jigak knew it was faster and safer to just land and turn around on the floor. That was what he was going to do when the remnants of the fireball behind him exploded.


    The shockwave propelled Jigak even faster. It was more than he could control when he wasn''t responsible for the speed. He crashed into the floor head-first, parts of his wings smoking from the blast. Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But his wings were the least of Jigak''s worries.


    Alzara was on the ground waiting for him. Even before he struck the ground, she had already lashed out with her daggers, drawing an ''X'' in the air. Since Jigak came in faster than she could attack, she had to do it preemptively and time it with his arrival.


    Jigak flew straight into her daggers and absorbed all of the curses in them with his back.


    Alzara embraced the impact of Jigak''s crash to jump backward and avoid any retaliation. But she had underestimated Jigak.


    He had partly braced himself against the ground with his arms. They snapped like twigs due to his speed, but his muscles recovered quickly enough that he could use his arms to push himself off the ground and launch himself at Alzara.


    An instant before his hands reached Alzara''s throat, a pillar of concentrated magical energy slammed into Jigak''s back flattening him against the floor. Before he could slip out from under it, the pillar cracked and melted into several sets of heavy, partially translucent, blue chains that wrapped around Jigak''s arms, legs, waist, neck, and forehead before diving into the ground, locking him in place.


    Alzara didn''t even have time to feel the cold sweat from how close to taking Jigak''s lethal attack she had been before diving forward and plunging her daggers into his chest, pumping him full of curses before his bulging muscles snapped Mandra''s chains.


    Jigak''s veins popped, and several of his muscles snapped from how hard he struggled to break free from the chains locking him so tightly in place that he couldn''t even move. That would have been the limit of how much he could strain the chains if he had been a human.


    But the underworld energy flowing through his veins made sure that burst muscles and ruptured veins were the least of Jigak''s problems. No matter how much he destroyed his body in the process, he could continue to fight and struggle for his illusion of freedom. The more his muscles broke, the more they healed, and the stronger they got.


    Like anything, repeated destruction and recovery fostered greater strength.


    It wouldn''t be long until Jigak broke free. It was only a matter of time.


    In the short window she had, Alzara had to do as much as she could to weaken Jigak. Otherwise, they would have a repeat of the battle between Jigak and Mierev where Jigak would continue growing stronger the longer he fought.


    But unlike Mierev, Alzara and Mandra couldn''t resurrect infinitely.


    Alzara''s curses coursed through Jigak''s body, tearing it apart from within, plunging it into a state of rot and decay. The underworld energy within him fought intensely to push out the cursed energy and restore the damage it did, but cursed energy, as if to make up for its weakness in direct confrontation, was an energy that worked even at a disadvantage.


    Cursed energy was sticky and clingy. Underworld energy wasn''t great for purification. It was a strengthening and regenerating power. It didn''t cleanse wounds. The user tore off the rotten parts and regenerated the healthy parts.


    But now, all of Jigak''s body was rotten.


    Alzara was also a Desert Witch, a master of cursed energy. Her usage of it couldn''t be compared to Jigak''s usage of underworld energy when he was in a poor state of mind.


    As if that wasn''t enough, she was also an alchemist.


    Jigak was on their side, technically, and he was the Daughter''s Champion. Injuring him permanently or killing him wouldn''t be great.


    But Alzara didn''t have the leeway to care about that. She just hoped the Daughter would be understanding as she slipped out a vial of milky liquid.


    The dense underworld energy that was like a film on reality scattered as soon as it came in contact with the vial, clearing a tiny pocket of air around the glass.


    The underworlders and Great Ugor felt it.


    Alzara barely had time to uncork the vial and tip the vial toward Jigak''s head before the Daughter''s limp body crashed into her.

 Chapter 382 Difficult Situation

    The Great Ugor knew about the anti-underworld energy potions. How could he not? They were one of the critical reasons he had suffered such losses against the students of the Academy. And one of his greatest victories was getting Liam to destroy almost all without getting detected.But with Liam gone and no time to put a spy close enough to Zach to get rid of his potions, the Great Ugor had been unable to repeat that win.


    He had expected the potions to come into play sometime during this fight. He had not, however, expected them to be so potent that not even the thick and powerful underworld energy of the sixth layer shied away from them.


    Even if he hadn''t embraced his transition into an underworlder, underworld energy still coursed through his body. He wasn''t sure how his skin, reinforced to become harder than stone over the centuries, would react to it, but the Great Ugor wasn''t someone who would risk something as dangerous as that out of curiosity.


    Instead, he would much rather use the potions against the underworlders on the Daughter''s side or the Daughter herself. He wouldn''t mind losing Jigak, but only if the Daughter took a hit or was also injured.


    Jigak was, after all, holding back Mandra and Alzara.


    To increase the chances of his success, the Great Ugor wanted as little interference as possible.


    And right when he wanted it, an opportunity presented itself.


    He flung the Daughter into Alzara and the anti-underworld energy potion right as it was opened. The Daughter couldn''t avoid getting underworld energy on her as she and Alzara crashed into the wall, shattering the vial.


    The Daughter hissed in pain as the milky white liquid splashed against her skin and soaked the dress, which now clung to her skin like wet paper. The tiny vial contained a lot of potion.


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    She was absorbed by the painful stinging sensation that counterattacked her to her very nature¡ªher essence. It was a potion meant for the sole purpose of dissolving and scattering underworld energy. She, who was like the incarnation of the Underworld and underworld energy, was naturally extremely susceptible to the potion.


    The potion sapped her strength. The Daughter was powerless to even raise her arms, much less stand up or fight back against the Great Ugor who looked at her calmly. It was the first time since their battle began that his eyes weren''t filled with disgust.


    It was the first time since their battle began that she didn''t immediately recover from her injuries.


    Like acid burns, the areas where the potion touched her skin bubbled and sizzled.


    Alzara groaned in pain. She was not meant to take hits. She was good at injuring, evading, and crafting. Those were her specialties, and she was extremely good at it. In turn, she could not take a hit.


    Both her arms were broken, almost pulverized. Her shoulders were dislocated, and half her rib cage was caved in. If not for the extraordinary of a Desert Witch, who could survive the harshest of deserts, Alzara would have been mortally wounded. While she was critically injured, she wasn''t on the deathbed just yet.


    However, the Daughter was also out of commission while the Great Ugor was as strong as he was at the beginning of the fight.


    Yanael could leave Zach''s side and join the fight. But she didn''t have the strength to go up against a partially unleashed Mandra, and Mandra couldn''t quite reach the Daughter''s level, and the Daughter couldn''t quite reach the Great Ugor''s level.


    Leaving Zach, whom she had already exposed as their weakness, would do no one any good.


    Alzara not being mortally wounded, despite the severity of her injuries, didn''t mean much when the fight was nearing its end, and it was not in their favor.


    Still, she wouldn''t give up that easily.


    Mandra floated in front of the Great Ugor, preventing him from getting any closer to Alzara and the Daughter.


    Alzara grabbed one of her daggers that had ended up close to her head during the crash with her mouth. She stood up on unsteady legs. In doing so, she ended up rolling the powerless Daughter into the moat of liquid underworld energy.


    It wasn''t a deep moat, considering Jigak had waded through it and it reached his knees.


    But Jigak was tall, and the Daughter was small. She fully disappeared into the dark underworld energy, which started bubbling and boiling due to the remaining anti-underworld energy potion on her skin. It was an angry collision between the purest form of underworld energy and its antitheses. A fierce battle raged between the underworld energy and the potion, and the battlefield was the Daughter''s body.


    The Great Ugor was worried when he saw the Daughter slip into the moat. With the underworld energy there, she might be able to recover. But then, the moat started hissing and spitting steaming underworld energy.


    If those were the aftereffects that reached the surface, wouldn''t what was happening to the Daughter''s body be even worse?


    The Great Ugor wasn''t a gambling man, but he had to take care of Mandra and Alzara before he could do anything else, anyway, so he let the Daughter suffer as he turned his gaze to the blue-haired Archon.


    He didn''t know what he was facing right now. His centuries in the ground had deprived him of the access to much knowledge. But he knew Mandra wasn''t a human. He was curious about what she was, but not enough to strike up a conversation.


    He took a step forward.


    Whatever she was, she wasn''t an underworlder. She would die if she was killed. That was all he needed to know.


    With an expressionless face, he bore down on the floating Mandra with a fist heavier than a mountain. Mandra didn''t even try blocking it with her magic armor. She knew it wouldn''t last a second. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instead, she slid backward. The Great Ugor followed her with ease. Mandra transformed her magic armor into bands of magic and wrapped them around the Great Ugor''s outstretched arm. She barely slowed him down. She had no hope of stopping or trapping him with just that much.


    But she could flood the bands with lightning and pour electric magic straight into the Great Ugor''s body.


    She had noticed his reaction slow down before when she hit him with lightning bolts. She didn''t know if he was weak to it or if she was just good at it, but he had reacted to it. That meant she could use it to slow him down until she came up with a solution.


    Her eyes glowed and scanned the Great Ugor and their surroundings.


    It was certainly a difficult situation.

 Chapter 383 Mandra The Pacifist

    The Great Ugor''s body and power made it next to impossible for Mandra to see through him with her current strength. Her eyes were good. They were better than Zach''s, thanks to all the time she had spent with them. That was why she knew that if she tried to use more of their strength to pry into the Great Ugor''s secrets forcibly, it would put a strain on both her and Zach.She wouldn''t mind straining herself, but she didn''t know how much she could push Zach''s petrification. He was more durable than before, but he wasn''t indestructible. She would have to offset the strain by reducing the magical energy she was using.


    Weakness in exchange for insight. But the insight she would gain would be useless without her current strength.


    Mandra exhaled and focused.


    The Great Ugor reached for her head with a hand like an iron claw. Her lightning restraints had barely slowed him down.


    A concentrated concentration of wind appeared beneath the Great Ugor and pushed him upward. His long hair fluttered in the wind as he sailed over Mandra.


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    The wind was cut as soon as Mandra was temporarily safe from the Great Ugor''s attack. Her presence instantly weakened as the magical energy swirling around her body was reduced to a third.


    For an instant, her eyes turned razor-sharp. She looked at the Great Ugor, who had already turned around. It was enough to see through him.


    Mandra saw the muscles wrapped around his skeleton like bundles of steel wire. She saw his skeleton which was like diamond. She saw his blood being pumped around by his slowly beating heart. She saw the black gem in his eye socket and its roots stretching into his body like those of a water lily.


    The nerves connecting his brain to the rest of his body jolted and surged with electric impulses.


    Instantly, Mandra''s intrusive view of the Great Ugor disappeared and her magic flared back up again as she thwarted the Great Ugor''s attack by raising a stone block beneath his foot the moment he pushed off the ground. The stone compounded the Great Ugor''s strength and he overshot his target.


    Mandra, floating in the middle of the throne room, was safe from another attack. As soon as she was out of range, she switched again, replacing her magic with her sight that saw the truth of the world.


    She could see the chemicals forming in the Great Ugor''s brain, but even if she couldn''t, she could tell that the Great Ugor was irritated.


    Mandra, who was clearly weaker than him, was evading his attacks repeatedly. It did not sit well with him. He hadn''t thrown everything aside to acquire this strength only for it to be useless against someone who couldn''t even scratch him.


    He hadn''t sacrificed everything he and everyone he came across had for a firefly to make a mockery of him.


    He was far from his goals, but he had gotten closer to a level of strength that would make him invincible. He didn''t understand why Mandra wasn''t already torn apart by him.


    Mandra''s eyes glimmered for a second before her magic surged again and she intercepted the Great Ugor by propelling a pillar of earth straight into his face the moment before he tried to jump at her.


    The Great Ugor''s lack of understanding why he was losing was the exact reason why he was losing.


    He didn''t understand what was going on. He didn''t know how to deal with something he didn''t understand.


    He might be strong. He might be relatively smart. He might be careful, devious, scheming, and a bastard. And he might have monitored the Underworld and the underworlders as they trained and fought each other and the surface over the past centuries, but he had barely done anything himself since his attempted rebellion.


    Almost nine hundred years ago¡ªalmost a millennium ago. That was the last time the Great Ugor fought personally. He was rusty and inexperienced.


    To begin with, if he had been as good at fighting as he was greedy and ambitious, he wouldn''t have needed to flee to the Underworld and usurp the Daughter. He would have succeeded in his rebellion or died in battle.


    Mandra, on the other hand, was smart, experienced, and a talent the Great Ugor just couldn''t compare to.


    An Archon was the peak of magic. Becoming one was no simple matter. It was something not even one in a million mages could do. But it didn''t require knowing how to fight. It only required magic, and magic could be used for a million different things, none of them combat. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But that would be a perfect world¡ªa world without self-interest, greed, judgment, and strife.


    For a mage to become an Archon naturally, they must be alive. And to stay alive in a world¡ªany world¡ªwith other humans, knowing how to take care of oneself is a must. There are also monsters and other beings who might not like humans to be wary of.


    Mandra isn''t the type to look for fights. She isn''t interested in meaningless violence or bullying the weak. The only thing she cares about is magic.


    When people cause her trouble or come looking for it with her, it is natural to assume they are trying to disrupt her magic studies. How could she possibly let that go unpunished?


    Mandra''s life, despite her pacifist nature, has been fraught with combat. Even if her raw magical energy output was not enough to scratch the Great Ugor right now, she could still play him for the fool, at least until he adapted to a strength he still wasn''t used to.


    After all, Mandra hadn''t become a maid when she became Zach''s familiar. She was a Battle Maid.


    Combat was a part of her everyday life.


    By alternating her Eyes of Truth with her magical energy, she danced with the Great Ugor, leading him around the sixth layer and letting Alzara try and tend to herself before saving the Daughter.

 Chapter 384 Critical Mistakes

    Mandra managed the strain she put on Zach''s body flawlessly by alternating between her Eyes of Truth and magic output. But that didn''t mean it wasn''t taking its toll. If using magic was like opening the valve to a water fountain and using the magical energy pouring out to draw beautiful pictures, Mandra''s magical energy was like a raging river held up by a dam. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.When she used magic, she raised the dam slightly, letting her magical energy pour out. But shutting it again meant restraining the magical energy. Even with perfect control over magical energy that bent over backward to obey her, it wasn''t an instantaneous process.


    Like turning a faucet, the water¡ªmagical energy¡ªwas gradually shut off.


    But if she wasted time by waiting for that to happen before she activated her Eyes of Truth, she would miss the Great Ugor''s movements and tells. She would lose the fight in a heartbeat. Likewise, she needed to instantly reach as much magical output as she could to hold back the Great Ugor.


    The dam was too slow. It had never bothered her before, but she had never needed to limit her strength like she was doing right now or alternating between magical energy and her Eyes of Truth before this.


    Becoming Zach''s familiar was a unique circumstance she had never experienced before. It was an interesting one. Mandra had many thoughts about it, and given her nature, she had naturally thought about how she could optimize her magic to maximize her current strength. She had made minor improvements.


    But it was only when she was fighting with her and everyone else''s lives on the line that she was finally pushed into a spot where she had to improve. The fight with the Great Ugor gave her direction. She knew what she needed to improve.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t room for her to come up with an improvement or replacement for the mental dam controlling her magical energy when she wasn''t using it.


    All she could do right now was erase part of the dam and then put on a temporary band-aid for the few seconds she used her Eyes. It wasn''t a long-term solution. Even now, it took a significant portion of her mental strength to do it.


    It wouldn''t have mattered much if she was winning the fight anytime soon, but she wasn''t. If the fight were to end, it would be because the Great Ugor finally improved enough to catch her. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    It wasn''t fast, but he was making steady progress as he adapted to the changes his body had undergone throughout the years without him giving it much thought other than comfortably accepting his new strength and durability. He had never needed to fight before. The closest he had come was instantly subduing weaker underworlders.


    But now, the Great Ugor had to squeeze out more and more of his strength to try and grab the elusive Mandra.


    The repeated failures and Mandra''s continued tickling and evading irritated the Great Ugor beyond reason. It was the first time in several centuries he felt this powerless in his own home.


    It would have been one thing if someone like the principal had managed to sneak inside and was toying with him. At least then, the Great Ugor would know why he was being treated like an annoying kid throwing a tantrum. There was no way he could escape or even think of putting his hands on that monstrous man. The principal would tear him to shreds without even needing to use his hands.


    Mandra, however, still couldn''t scratch him.


    The Great Ugor''s caution and reliance on wits gradually faded as he repeatedly pursued Mandra all over the sixth layer. The fact that Mandra had barely scratched his skin even after several hundred different attacks gave him confidence. He could rest assured. While he couldn''t catch her, she couldn''t defeat him.


    That was why he missed two things. The first was that he was improving. Of course, it would be difficult for him to sense the changes in Mandra''s state when he hadn''t even mastered his own condition. But the time between Mandra''s magical surges was growing irregular, and the margin she had when escaping his attacks was shrinking. He was gaining on her.


    If he had caught that, he could have pressured her more and been more methodical in his approach. But while the Great Ugor liked to think of himself as a predator, he didn''t have the natural instincts of one.


    The other thing he missed was that Mandra could, at best, gently adjust his trajectory right when he lunged or when he was in the middle of the air.


    If he wanted to go somewhere, she couldn''t stop him.


    He had tunnel-visioned on Mandra. In his anger, he had forgotten who his enemy was.


    Mandra was an annoyance, sure, but she wasn''t a threat.


    If the Great Ugor had his wits about him, he would have realized that he could just go for the Daughter and finish the usurpation that had been nine centuries in the works.


    If Mandra or the others tried to get in his way or interfere with the process, there was a simple solution.


    Kill Zach.


    Just like they would be unable to stop him from taking the Daughter, the three maids would be unable to stop him from getting to Zach and shattering his stone body.


    But scheming from the safety and privacy of being alone in the sixth layer when his enemies were on the surface was different from being confronted by others directly. Put on the spot, enraged, and a little stressed, the Great Ugor made several critical mistakes in judgment.


    Even so, there was nothing Mandra or the other maids could do.


    The Great Ugor was just too strong.


    It was only when the Daughter returned that they would have a chance. But the liquid underworld energy had stopped boiling and hissing a while ago, but there was still no sign of her.


    Mandra started wondering if they could escape the Underworld without the Great Ugor catching them. It looked like there was no hope left for their success.

 Chapter 385 One Second

    The Great Ugor''s improvement was slow and steady, but only in comparison to what one might expect of someone who had climbed to his position. Every exchange, he narrowed the gap between himself and Mandra. Considering how small it had been from the beginning, he didn''t need to get far before he could reach her with the aftershocks of his swipes.The skin on Mandra''s arms was bruised from the power of the shocks that came when the Great Ugor threw himself or stones at her. Without even hitting her, it was still enough to penetrate the magical energy surrounding her body like a whirlwind and injure her.


    It was too late to run.


    Mandra gritted her teeth. Zach hadn''t begun to crack yet.


    However, since he was stone, he wouldn''t be able to alert her if she was going too far. If she pushed it too much, he would just crack and crumble. She was threading a thin line with the lives of Alzara, Yanael, and Zach on her back.


    Still, all it did was give her another twenty seconds of escaping the Great Ugor. And when he finally caught up to her, there was nothing she could do. She was not giving up yet. She had an idea of how to defeat the Great Ugor, but she couldn''t do it alone.


    Mandra resigned herself to her fate.


    The Great Ugor grabbed her by the wrist. Before Mandra could do anything or try to do what the Daughter did every time he grabbed her, the Great Ugor threw her hard into the wall. Once again, his lack of forethought was of benefit to Mandra.


    She had positioned herself expecting the Great Ugor''s reaction. He threw her close to where Alzara and the Daughter were¡ªwhere the Daughter should be, at least, since she was still under the surface of the underworld energy in the moat. She mitigated the impact by transforming as much of her body into pure magic as she could, turning into a being more akin to a spirit than a human.


    Before the Great Ugor could launch himself at her again, she dove forward toward the moat.


    She wasn''t fast enough. The Great Ugor already stood in front of her with a clenched fist and a malicious grin, full of vile excitement at finally turning the tables on Mandra.


    He rammed his fist into Mandra''s back, pummeling her into the ground hard enough to crack it, even when her body was barely material. She coughed up blood and, in one hit, was worse for wear than Alzara. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Great Ugor couldn''t decide whether he should lower himself to punch her, stomp her to death, or jump on her for maximum satisfaction.


    His desire for revenge and need to see his enemy suffer, which trumped his caution and the better decision to kill her at once, was another critical mistake.


    He only hesitated for a second before raising his foot.


    That second saved Mandra''s life.


    Right when the Great Ugor''s foot started descending like a meteor toward the exposed, vulnerable head of the Archon, two small, frail-looking hands came out from behind him and latched onto his face.


    Before and without the Great Ugor being able to react, an overwhelming force wrenched him away from Mandra, flipped him over, and rammed his body into the ground on the other side of the moat.


    His head rang, and his vision swam from how quickly he had suddenly adjusted positions and locations. He was stunned.


    For the first time since the fight began. For the third time since he took over the throne, he felt pain.


    The first was when he plucked out his eye and inserted the black gem. The second was when the gem sprouted roots a while later and latched onto the insides of his body.


    The third time was when the Daughter slammed him into the ground after taking a swim in the moat.


    But the pain didn''t come from that. It didn''t come from crashing into the hard floor with his back hard enough to make a crater.


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    It came from his eye socket. A red and black line appeared around the black gem in his eye socket. It was bleeding.


    While she flipped him over, the Daughter had tried to tear the black gem out of him, but it had been lodged in there like it was attached to a mountain with an indestructible chain. Taking back her gem would not be as easy as she thought.


    Not even the Great Ugor knew how hard it would be, so he had even defended against it before. He was happy he had.


    Holy fuck it hurt.


    The Daughter was strong, ridiculously strong right now for some reason, but she hadn''t put all of that weight into trying to get the gem out of his eye socket. That had been a fleeting grab she did in the middle of swinging him around.


    It felt like she had been about to tear his entire existence to shreds. It was the most painful thing the Great Ugor had ever felt.


    Slowly, he stood up and looked at the Daughter, a multitude of feelings swirling around in his muddy eye. The pain had thrown any irritation and mental inclarity far away. Instinctively, he wanted to run.


    He frowned as he looked at the Daughter. He couldn''t run. He was tied to the Underworld. He needed to return sooner or later. But the longer he waited, the stronger the Daughter would grow. She would never return to her peak, but she didn''t need to be that strong to beat him.


    "How¡­?" He asked.


    The Daughter''s hair was white, and he felt a sense of oppression from her.


    It was different from the oppression he had against weaker underworlders. It was more like the instinctive danger he had felt from the anti-underworld energy potion.


    It was something that shouldn''t be able to coexist with the Daughter''s nature as the purest underworlder.


    The Daughter didn''t answer. She clenched her fist and attacked the Great Ugor.

 Chapter 386 Steeling His Resolve

    The Great Ugor''s assessment of the Daughter was accurate. She was the purest underworlder. She was the peak of the Underworld. She was the Underworld given physical form. Right now, she could only exhibit part of her strength and powers, but that didn''t change her nature.The Great Ugor''s assessment of the anti-underworld energy potion was half-right. The potion was the antithesis of underworld energy. Any underworlder, whether it was the Great Ugor, the Daughter, Jigak, or any nameless grunt would experience violent pain. If they were strong enough, they would be lucky enough to stay alive to feel that pain. If they were unlucky, they would die first.


    But the anti-underworld energy potion was not the opposite of underworld energy. It was a product of it.


    Without the materials affected by underworld energy and underworld energy itself, Alzara would never have been able to make the potions. The potions worked to scatter and dissipate any underworld energy it came in contact with, but they did nothing to destroy the underworld energy itself.


    It was similar to how one of the best ways to extinguish a fire is to blow it up with explosives or bombs. Explosions follow the same principle as fire. They release energy through the combustion of specific materials.


    Explosions are just a little more intense than fire, enough to blow away the air the fire needs to burn and blow out the fires.


    The anti-underworld energy potions are similar.


    An ordinary fire spirit wouldn''t be able to suddenly handle the influx of explosions, which are similar to fire but thousands of times more intense, without exploding themselves.


    Naturally, ordinary underworlders wouldn''t be able to handle the anti-underworld energy potions, which induce the movement of underworld energy to beyond a thousand times more than its natural speed. The anti-underworld energy potions also propel the underworld energy straight away from themselves regardless of their location or position.


    The chaotic movements of the underworld energy within an underworlders body would be too much for most underworlders to handle. Not only is it out of control and going in any and all directions, but it is also moving several times faster than they''re used to while trying to flee the body. It would be impossible for an ordinary underworlder to survive, especially when their bodies themselves are made of underworld energy.


    But the Daughter?


    She doesn''t force her control over the underworld energy. The underworld energy seeks to follow her every whim. If anything, she has to control it to keep it from acting on its own in her favor.


    So, if she wishes to control the underworld energy, there''s no way it wouldn''t listen.


    Of course, even the Daughter would struggle with her body trying to tear itself apart to escape the anti-underworld energy potion on her skin and the fact that her underworld energy is suddenly moving hundreds of times faster than usual.


    But if her underworld energy is moving hundreds of times faster than usual, doesn''t that also mean she can regenerate hundreds of times faster? Strengthen her body with hundreds of times the intensity.


    The Daughter underwent a rapid cycle of continuous destruction and rebirth, only possible due to the overwhelming amount of underworld energy in the moat, replenishing the one her body used. The presence of so much underworld energy also suppressed the potion enough for her body to handle the pressure.


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    The torture she had gone through the last few centuries strengthened her mind and numbed it to the pain.


    Finally, she adapted. Her body grew accustomed to the rapid movements of her underworld energy due to the potion. Her body was strong enough that it would no longer be torn apart by the underworld energy. And the potion faded, finally freeing her from her prison of destruction and rebirth.


    In the first place, she had only gotten a splash of the potion on her. Under so much underworld energy, it couldn''t hold up for long. It had broken down just in time for the Daughter to save Mandra, who had kept the Great Ugor occupied long enough for her to go through the flames of hell and come out stronger.


    And now she was strong enough to fight with the Great Ugor on equal footing. Even the Great Ugor had to be wary of her punches.


    She wasn''t strong enough to break his bones, but she bruised his skin. She made him bleed.


    She was faster. She regenerated and recovered from any damage he managed to inflict on her in the blink of an eye.


    Suddenly, the tides of battle had turned in the Daughter''s favor.


    The Great Ugor was at a loss.


    He didn''t understand why the Daughter was suddenly so strong. He didn''t understand how the potion worked.


    In the Great Ugor''s mind, the Daughter should have either succumbed to the potion or somehow washed herself of its effects and healed, recovering to the level of strength she had before she was doused in it.


    She should not have become this strong from coming into contact with a lethal poison. That was not how things worked.


    But no matter how little the Great Ugor liked it, there was no denying the Daughter''s strength. He had to do something about it before it was too late.


    However, the Great Ugor was hesitant. What he was about to do would be irreversible. There would be no going back.


    But when the Daughter landed a blow hard enough to crack his forearm, the Great Ugor knew he had to do it.


    His body was sturdy, but it didn''t hold the disgustingly ridiculous regenerative powers other underworlders had. Without something like that, he could never fight on equal footing with the Daughter. Sooner or later, the damage he took would accumulate and lead to his doom.


    Then, he would feel the soul-searing pain of the Daughter trying to tear his gem out again. He would lose. He would die.


    Over anything else, that was the one thing the Great Ugor didn''t want. He steeled his resolve.


    "Fuck!" He shouted and stomped his foot hard, cracking the floor and creating a shockwave that held the Daughter back for a moment.


    The Great Ugor exhaled. He took a deep breath. He inhaled from the bottom of his stomach.


    Suddenly, all the underworld energy in the room started flowing toward him. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was embracing his nature as an underworlder.

 Chapter 387 Too Strong

    The Daughter''s eyes narrowed as she realized what the Great Ugor was doing.She knew better than anyone how good his affinity for underworld energy was. She knew better than anyone how his modified body would flourish under a true baptism of underworld energy. She knew better than anyone how the gem would increase his strength even more as he bathed in the underworld energy and embraced it.


    If she let him finish, they could forget ever defeating him.


    The Daughter gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in rage. This vile, hypocritical bastard would even become what he loathed just because he didn''t want to lose. He would do anything to win. He would throw aside whatever shreds of morals and personal ideals he held instead of owning up to his sins.


    And he would desecrate the Underworld in the process.


    She could not let that happen.


    She forced her way through the tornado of underworld energy swirling around the Great Ugor. For the first time, it did not blindly obey her. But it wasn''t just that. It even opposed her. The underworld energy being devoured by the Great Ugor sought to protect him.


    The Daughter''s eyes burned with rage as the Great Ugor corrupted the Underworld¡ªher Underworld. He was taking it from her. He wasn''t satisfied with taking her throne and position. He wanted to seize everything and turn the Underworld into one of his making.


    The Daughter howled like a banshee as she tore apart the veil of turbulent underworld energy, opening up a path. She would rather die than let the Great Ugor finish or win. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    The Daughter wasn''t the only one who used the path she opened up.


    A haggard, bloody Mandra flew in before it closed up. The Daughter, too angry to be surprised, caught and stabilized Mandra.


    "I¡­have an idea."


    The Daughter, jaws clenched so hard the muscles on her cheeks were bulging, nodded. She helped Mandra until they were close enough to the Great Ugor to touch him.


    The Great Ugor stood with his arms to the side and with his heald leaned back, mouth and eye wide open. Like a funnel, the underworld energy poured into his mouth under the glowing gem''s direction.


    Mandra took a deep breath to try and stabilize her condition.


    She had risked her life for this knowledge.


    The roots growing from the gem into the Great Ugor''s brain and body were the problem. They were what gave him the strength to move his body. The gem itself did nothing. They were also the reason it was impossible even for the Daughter to remove the gem.


    As long as they did something about the roots, they would win automatically.


    Fortunately, the Great Ugor was entranced by his transformation and couldn''t be bothered by anything else.


    The Daughter impatiently reached for the gem, but Mandra grabbed her wrist. When the Daughter glared at her, Mandra instead placed her hand right above the gem. She felt the gem''s light and the underworld energy try to burrow through her skin and flesh. If she hadn''t wrapped herself in magical energy to protect herself, her hand would have already started to erode.


    Unfortunately, she had to put whatever strength she had left into attacking the roots.


    She removed her magical protection. Instantly, the skin on her hand blackened, even under the light of a sprouting ball of lightning. The Daughter reached out to shield Mandra from the worst of it, but if she interfered too much, she would wake the Great Ugor.


    Still, a hand was a small thing to sacrifice for the Great Ugor''s death.


    The ball of lightning grew denser and brighter.


    It wasn''t the strongest spell in Mandra''s arsenal. It wasn''t even the strongest lightning spell she could cast right now.


    But it was a spell that made up for one of the major weaknesses of lightning and lightning magic.


    Lightning magic was powerful, but it had two major weaknesses. It didn''t have physical force. It was a bolt of pure energy. The other was that it was easily blocked. As long as someone held up something that did conduct electricity, they would have defended against most if not all of the lightning.


    Both weaknesses could be overcome with enough power. But sometimes more power wasn''t always the answer.


    Right now, Mandra couldn''t create a spell powerful enough to blast the Great Ugor into oblivion. So, she had to come up with another way.


    She had to zap the roots in his body. But the gem, if it was anything like any other gem, wouldn''t conduct electricity. The Great Ugor''s body also wasn''t the best conductor despite having a consistency like steel.


    So, Mandra used a spell that made up for lightning magic''s second weakness. The lightning bolt carried with it artificial conductivity. It would pass through anything, even things that didn''t conduct electricity. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She had to sacrifice power for it, but the versatility and reliability were more than enough to make up for it.


    Mandra let it fly straight onto the black gem. She guided the lightning into the black gem and further into its roots. Like tiny snakes, the lightning burst through the gem and crawled along the roots, frying them and the insides of the Great Ugor''s body.


    The light from the black gem flickered as the roots twisted, contorted, and contracted. The storm of underworld energy surrounding the Great Ugor stalled for a second and returned the sixth layer to a still wind.


    The transformation was halted. Mandra''s idea worked.


    But with the transformation halted, the Great Ugor was released from his trance. And he was enraged. Mandra''s idea hadn''t just worked. It had blessed the Great Ugor with a profound understanding of pain.


    As soon as he came to, he lashed out. His rock-solid fist crashed into Mandra''s chest, caving it in and sending her flying into the wall again before the Daughter could react.


    The Daughter reached out and grabbed the Great Ugor''s wrist. She spun and tried to swing him over her shoulder.


    The Great Ugor didn''t budge. He snorted as if to call the Daughter pathetic.


    The transformation wasn''t done yet, but they had been too slow. It had started, and what little it had done to the Great Ugor was enough.


    He was already too strong.

 Chapter 388 Tying Up Loose Ends

    The Great Ugor grabbed the Daughter by the base of her neck and picked her up before throwing her into the ground hard enough to both crack the floor and make her bounce up. Before she could fall back, he stomped on her, forcing her into the indent she made the first time.He raised his foot again and grabbed the air with his hands to give him more leverage as he stomped on her again. She had saved Mandra from this fate once so it was only right that she experienced it herself.


    And unlike Mandra, she would have the fortune to experience it multiple times since. She. Didn''t. Die.


    The Great Ugor continued stomping the Daughter deeper and deeper into the floor with an unbeatable strength. She couldn''t fight back regardless of how fast she recovered.


    The Great Ugor wanted to continue, but his condition wasn''t stable. He had to finish the transformation. When the Daughter was down to his elbow in the ground, he stopped. He scooped the nearby stone over her and flattened it, encasing her in stone.


    Loose rubble shouldn''t have been enough to stop her, but the Great Ugor packed it so hard that it was no longer loose. He also pushed it down so hard it penetrated her body. She couldn''t move, nor could she gather any strength.


    Her body was broken and without the space to recover. It still tried. It tried to push the stones out of her wounds and close them up, but if the stones didn''t budge, there wasn''t much her regeneration could do other than turn her into a malformed, mutated monster by healing her despite her misaligned limbs and the stones in her body.


    The Daughter''s powers of regeneration weren''t so sloppy they would do that. Instead, they kept her alive. They closed up whatever wounds they could and reattached whatever nerves and blood vessels they could. They created more blood to cover the loss they couldn''t prevent, and they prepared.


    The moment an opportunity presented itself, whether it was due to the Daughter''s struggles or someone else affecting the rubble, her regeneration would kick in at full force and heal her.


    For now, the Daughter was buried in stone and trapped in a state of crippling injury.


    Meanwhile, the Great Ugor was better and stronger than ever with nothing but underworld energy tying him down as he embraced all that came to him. He willingly let the underworld energy suffuse his body, refine every cell, and bathe his body in darkness.


    The skin, muscle, and bone that were already on a level far beyond even the most seasoned martial artists due to the exposure to the underworld energy and the black gem underwent a metamorphosis under the underworld energy''s baptism. Another level of strength was an apt way to put it.


    The Great Ugor evolved.


    He had held his misgivings about it, especially after he put the Daughter in the ground since he no longer needed the strength. But it was too late to regret it now. And he didn''t regret it.


    The overflowing strength he felt flowing through his veins was exactly what he had longed for. He felt invincible.


    With this, he could overthrow how many empires he wanted. He could sit on whatever throne he wanted. He could kill whatever principal he wanted.


    The Great Ugor inspected his hands as he clenched and unclenched his fists while reveling in his newfound strength.


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    Why had he hesitated so for this? This was what he had wanted all along.


    It came with the disgusting downside of immediate regeneration and being an official underworlder, but he didn''t look that much different from before. And he wouldn''t need to regenerate with his current strength. He was too strong for anyone to injure him.


    The Great Ugor glanced at his feet.


    He could try and kill the Daughter right now and finish what he started. But that would take a little time since her regeneration was even more disgusting now.


    Instead, he looked toward the exit of the sixth layer. Yanael was trying to drag Alzara, Mandra, and Zach out of there.


    The Great Ugor wouldn''t let someone who had once offended him and caused such pain leave. No, they could leave, just not with their lives.


    A shiver ran down Yanael''s spine. She turned around and raised her shield right in time to receive the Great Ugor''s punch. The shield shattered into a thousand tiny pieces that scattered over the sixth layer. The Great Ugor''s fist continued to her arm, crushing it.


    The Great Ugor raised an eyebrow.


    He was much faster now than before. He doubted even Mandra or the Daughter could react to it.


    But Yanael had. It was a little intriguing, but the Great Ugor didn''t put any more thought into it. She might have reacted to it. But she was still powerless. She couldn''t even take one blow before being sent backward.


    But to her credit, she remained on her feet and she didn''t take her eyes off the Great Ugor for a second.


    Yanael''s sword, halo, and wings glowed with sacred energy as she glared at the Great Ugor. She raised her weapon and stabilized her broken arm with her energy. She gritted her teeth.


    "I won''t let you," Yanael said with resolve. Alzara was barely clinging to consciousness. Mandra was unconscious and possibly on the verge of death. Zach was stone. Soara was missing.


    Yanael was the only one who could protect them against the Great Ugor. She was weaker than Mandra and Soara and pretty equal to Alzara in terms of direct combat ability. Alzara was a rank higher than her because she didn''t only specialize in combat. She was good at it, but she had helped Zach much more than any of the other familiars with her potions. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That alone earned her her rank.


    Alzara had barely been able to react to the Gerat Ugor before his transformation. Even before his fight with Mandra when he was still unused to his strength, Alzara hadn''t stood a chance.


    Yanael would have most likely fared similarly against the Great Ugor of then.


    Now that the Great Ugor was even stronger and strong enough to turn the Daughter, who had also powered up, into a rag, Yanael didn''t even stand a chance.


    But as she stood between the Great Ugor and Zach, Alzara, and Mandra, there was not a hint of fear or hesitation in her eyes. There was nothing to fear. There was no reason to hesitate.


    All she had to do was block the Great Ugor. No more. No less.


    There was no need to think of anything else. Doing so would only be a distraction.

 Chapter 389 Darkness Closing In

    Trying to stop the Great Ugor with her meager level of strength spelled certain death for Yanael. She was aware, painfully so. But so what? Her purpose was to protect Zach. If necessary, the other familiars, too.Besides, even if she wanted, running alone would be impossible. Her only choice was to die at the Great Ugor''s hands.


    That said, standing in front of him without even a drop of fear tainting her blood was not easy. Yanael was recklessly brave when it came to standing in front of Zach. Regardless of his current condition, Yanael felt like she had a mountain behind her with Zach there. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    She couldn''t back down even if she wanted.


    The Great Ugor''s eyes narrowed.


    He didn''t like the look in Yanael''s eyes. A worm should not look at a king with a defiant gaze. They should kowtow in reverence and submission. He would show her what that looked like.


    The Great Ugor punched Yanael in the stomach. He held back enough not to kill her instantly. He wanted her to curl up on the ground and, at least for a second, regret her miserable existence before dying.


    But she didn''t curl up. She didn''t plead for mercy. She didn''t apologize for her disrespect. She didn''t die.


    She was seriously injured. Blood seeped through her clenched teeth, staining them and her mouth bright red. She clutched her stomach with her broken arm.


    But she remained standing on both two feet. She glared at the Great Ugor. Since he wasn''t killing her, she could tell what he wanted.


    He wanted to see her suffer. He wanted to drag it out and revel in being the strongest.


    She wouldn''t give him the satisfaction. Even if she had to cut off her face, she wouldn''t give the Great Ugor the show he wanted.


    The Great Ugor''s jaw muscles tensed as he clenched his jaws. He also straightened out his hand. He raised it like a cleaver before bringing it down on Yanael''s shoulder.


    An expert swordsman could have used their energy and skill to transform their hand into a blade and make a clean cut that the victim wouldn''t even feel.


    The Great Ugor wasn''t an expert and even less of a swordsman. He only had brute force. But he had overwhelming strength. He just pushed his solid hand down through the flesh and bone of Yanael''s shoulder, demolishing it until her arm fell down.


    It was the broken arm anyway, so it wasn''t a huge loss to her current combat strength, not that she was thinking of fighting the Great Ugor. But the brutal method of dismemberment would have hurt.


    The Great Ugor expectantly turned his attention to Yanael''s face, imagining the grimace she would make or the shouts she would release. His face fell in disappointment.


    Yanael was making a face, but it was nowhere near the level he wanted. She was clenching her teeth hard enough for him to hear them crack, and her brow was twisted into knots. But her eyes were clear, albeit ablaze as she continued glaring at him without blinking.


    The corner of the Great Ugor''s lip rose in loathing. The way Yanael ignored her pain reminded him of the way the Daughter and how she didn''t even seem to notice her body breaking before it healed.


    Yanael wasn''t healing. At most, she hemmed the bleeding with her sacred energy. But he still didn''t like it.


    Why wasn''t she despairing?


    All of her friends had been defeated. That ugly fucking stone statue behind her wasn''t doing shit. She didn''t stand a chance. She couldn''t even run. There was no one coming to save her. There was no hope. How could she stand there, both feet on the ground, and look him in the eyes without a hint of fear, regret, despair, or hesitation?


    Seeing Yanael''s defiance, the Great Ugor had no choice but to remember his miserable state before he ended up in the Underworld.


    He had incited a rebellion at the beginning of the Empire. His younger brother was apparently a better fit for the throne just because he knew how to suck up to people. The Great Ugor refused to admit that his younger brother could do something that he couldn''t.


    In the end, it wasn''t even his younger brother or the emperor at the time who stopped his rebellion. It was a fucking summoner with an oversized lizard who was bored.


    The Great Ugor hated it. He wanted to reject it, deny it, and refuse it. But what could he do? Nothing.


    He took a beating that left him pissing and shitting blood for weeks. He rammed his head against the floor until it bled in hopeless apology. He pleaded and beg with his tears and snot mixing with his blood.


    And then, as soon as the principal turned his back, he turned tail and ran like a pathetic, cowardly, disgusting pig. He crawled into one of the entrances to the Underworld he learned about when planning his rebellion and securing escape and travel routes. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was none of the strength of will, determination, or fortitude that Yanael was displaying right now.


    The memories that he wanted to erase flashing through his mind irritated the Great Ugor. He wanted to kill Yanael at once. But if he killed her before making her give up, she would win.


    She would prove that she was better than him, regardless of how weak she was.


    The Great Ugor angrily chopped off her other arm.


    He was not going to let her win. He was better. He was not pathetic. He was not miserable. He was not desperate.


    He was not!


    The Great Ugor let Yanael stop her bleeding. The longer she held out without dying, the more time he had to break her spirit.


    After taking her arms, he took her ears. He ripped them off her skull. Then, he slapped her in the face until her cheeks were swollen and her teeth were gone.


    He struck her torso until breathing became next to impossible. She wheezed, her blood-stained breath barely escaping what remained of her mouth.


    He didn''t touch her legs. He needed him to kneel on her own.


    Yanael''s eyes were muddled. She couldn''t see, she couldn''t think, she couldn''t hear, she could barely feel. But she knew she was standing up. That was good enough.


    She could feel her heartbeat weaken. Her spark of life wasn''t flickering much. She wondered if she could sense it so clearly because she had spent a lot of time with Soara.


    Yanael had always protected Zach, and until Mandra showed up, she had been the one to shield him from the darkness with the light of her halo.


    ''I''m sorry, Master.''


    It seemed the darkness she had always pushed away had come to take her. It closed in on her.

 Chapter 390 Useless

    Zach didn''t know how long he had been swimming around in the darkness after his thoughts slowed. It could have been a moment, a minute, or a year, and he wouldn''t know the difference. His senses had long since faded and the only thing keeping him intact was the mental fortitude of a young man surrounded by beauties he was unable to lay his hands on.He had gone crazy for a while, though. He didn''t remember when in relation to the rest of his time in darkness it was, but he had spent a significant portion thinking about frogs for some reason. Then birds for a little while. But he could be considered a self-taught expert on frogs by now, at least the frogs in his head.


    However, Zach''s mind right now was clear. For the first time since the petrification and its darkness swallowed him, he felt something that he knew wasn''t an imagination. It was a sinking feeling in his gut like someone had attached an anchor to his heart and dropped it straight down.


    He wanted to tear open his chest and do something about it. But he couldn''t. He couldn''t do anything. He was powerless.


    He knew he had to do something. Otherwise, something bad would happen. He had to get out.


    The more he thought and the worse the feeling got, the worse Zach''s panic got. None of his skills worked.


    It was the first thing he tried. Blessed Defense did nothing. Transcension didn''t activate. Eyes of Truth might have activated but he still didn''t see shit. His skills were useless. His muscles were useless. His brain was useless. His energy¡­


    It was probably what was keeping him alive.


    ''Wait a minute¡­'' Zach paused his thoughts for a moment. He had tried to activate the skills he thought might work or do something at least. They didn''t do squat. Just like that, he completely disregarded using his skills to get out.


    But¡­


    Didn''t he have one more skill? He wasn''t sure how he would activate it or if it would even work.


    But Material Extraction was still untouched. The petrification covered his hands, so he was, technically, grabbing it.


    Zach¡­He didn''t close his eyes since he was pretty sure they were already closed. If they weren''t, there was nothing he could do about it. He, just like every other time, imagined himself pulling the material he wanted to extract out of the stone covering his palms.


    But he couldn''t move. How was he supposed to pull it out of the stone? And even if he just freed his palms, what was he supposed to do? Wave? It would show the familiars that he was alive, but their presence alone would be proof of that.


    All the while, the sinking feeling in his gut continued to worsen. Something was making his heart bleed, and it wasn''t the petrification or the memories of his bouts of insanity.


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    Zach screamed in his mind until he grew hoarse.


    He could do so many things with Blessed Defense that he couldn''t from the beginning. Why were the rest of his skills useless in comparison?!


    Why couldn''t he even just fucking get rid of some stone?!


    Zach felt the panic and rage bubble up inside him without anywhere to go. Discomfort danced around the horrible feeling inside him, highlighting it.


    Zach had trouble controlling himself, but he knew he had to do something productive.


    So, he forced his thoughts to obey and thought about how he had improved Blessed Defense. It was the only clue he had toward altering or improving Material Extraction to suit his needs.


    Unfortunately, Blessed Defense''s improvements came naturally to him over time as he used it a whole bunch and saw and felt what could be better. One of the downsides to being a genius was that he didn''t understand it himself.


    The most obvious drawback of Material Extraction was that it needed space. He needed to move his hands to use it. He didn''t need that for Blessed Defense or Eyes of Truth. A thought was enough for those.


    Preferably, Material Extraction should at least reach that level.


    But then, how was he supposed to extract the petrification, even if he didn''t need to move his hands? What was he supposed to do with the material he extracted?


    ''Argh, whatever!''


    Zach remembered his body. He knew what it looked like in detail, thanks to the Empress Dowager''s trick of introspection. He knew what the petrification looked like and that it covered him like a second skin grafted into his body.


    He just had to drain the petrification of all its most useful components. The rest didn''t matter.


    He visualized his body. He visualized a hollow stone statue with the exact same shape as his body. He overlaid the two, fusing them.


    That was almost exactly what he looked like from an outside perspective. It was close enough.


    Zach visualized himself activating his skill. It was the same tension based in his hands that he usually felt, but instead of just extending to cover what he held, he stretched it and covered all of the stone on him.


    The sensation of stretching and expanding the skill''s influence was similar to when he played with the size and shape of his barriers.


    But as he did it, he felt the tension in his hands grow. When he was past his waist and shoulders, the weight on his hands started growing unbearable. It was too much. His skill was spread too wide and too thin.


    But this was it. This was his key to breaking free.


    Zach didn''t care that his hands were on the line. If the worst came to it, he would just have his familiars feed and dress him for the rest of his life.


    He ignored the pain¡ªNo, he reveled in it. It was the second thing he felt that wasn''t an imagination since the petrification swallowed him. And it distracted him from the cries coming from within him.


    With a sensation of his hands crumbling, Zach stretched Material Extraction to cover all of him. If just expanding the skill was enough to break them, what would happen once he finally activated the skill?


    Zach didn''t know. He didn''t care.


    He activated the skill. He drained the petrification away from his body¡ªaway from his skin.


    The petrification cracked. It was so subtle and fine at first that the Great Ugor and Yanael didn''t notice. But as pieces of sandy stone fell to the ground with a dull clattering sound, the Great Ugor had to look. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael¡­was already in a state where she didn''t even notice it.


    As more and more pieces of the petrification fell, light returned to Zach''s world. Air brushed against his skin like the kisses of the memories of a lost lover. The hair on his neck could finally move to stand at attention in the Great Ugor''s presence.


    Slowly, gradually, Zach opened his eyes, thankful for the darkness of the Underworld. If it had been the daylight of the surface, he might have gone blind.


    He almost wished he had.


    That would have been better than seeing the sight in front of him.

 Chapter 391 Flames Of Hell

    There was a single spot in the center of Yanael''s back where the blood had yet to reach. The rest of her was covered in it. Not a spot on her body was untouched. Her hair was a blood-stained, tousled mess, just out of place enough for Zach to see the gruesome wounds where her ears were supposed to be.Even from behind, he could see how swollen, bruised, and beaten her face was. He saw the torn sleeves of her dress. He glanced down. He saw her arms, their ends mangled and crushed like someone had used a tree to chop them off.


    Still, she stood on both feet right in front of him.


    Zach didn''t need to be a genius to understand the situation. He didn''t need to know all the details.


    All he needed to know was that Yanael was in this state because of two people. Him. And the long-haired creature standing in front of her.


    Zach had never seen the Great Ugor. But he knew. That was him.


    His familiars had worked to fulfill his objective even when he was petrified. They had reached the sixth layer. They had fought against the Great Ugor.


    Things hadn''t gone well.


    Zach stared at the Great Ugor''s pale face as his mind whirred like an overheating machine.


    His heart, his bleeding heart, threw itself against his ribcage. Like a trapped bird, it beat hard enough for Zach to feel like his chest was about to break. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Again. It pounded against his chest.


    Zach''s thoughts faded. The world around and behind him faded.


    Everything else faded.


    His raging heart beats.


    The Great Ugor.


    Zach didn''t think.


    He was already in front of the Great Ugor, kicking him in the chest. He wanted to kill him, tear him apart, burn his soul, and put his head on a spike. But only after getting him away from Yanael.


    Zach''s kick pushed the Great Ugor all the way to his throne.


    Zach turned around. He hugged Yanael, putting a hand on the back of her head as he helped her down. She had done her part. She could rest now. She didn''t need to fight anymore. He would take it from here.


    Yanael was on the verge of death. She was unconscious.


    Still, she felt warmth surge into her body from where Zach touched her.


    After looking at her destroyed face for a second, Zach stood up and simultaneously erected a barrier more solid than anything he had ever made before around her. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    Zach wasn''t aware of it himself. He wasn''t aware of anything other than Yanael''s condition and it being the Great Ugor''s fault.


    But the world essence energy in his body was roaring and raging through his body like a river. His rage and determination had pulled it out of its slumber. Almost as if of its own volition, the world essence energy seeped into both Yanael and the barrier around her, taking its own initiative to protect her according to Zach''s wishes.


    With Yanael secured, Zach slowly turned around.


    Flames from the depths of Hell in the eyes of a Master of one of Heaven''s soldiers.


    The Great Ugor flinched as he met Zach''s eyes. They burned with steely cold wrath. The sheer intensity and the power of the world essence energy behind them took the Great Ugor by surprise. It was like they could see right through him and his pathetic self.


    He caught himself and the feelings of self-loathing from moments ago resurfaced.


    He touched his chest where Zach had kicked him. It wasn''t bruised but it may as well have been. The Great Ugor couldn''t accept that a young boy not even twenty years old was strong enough to kick him away. After everything he had done, after all the power he had gained, it still wasn''t enough?


    The Great Ugor refused to believe it. He dominated the Daughter. He overwhelmed Mandra, and he destroyed Yanael. The only thing he couldn''t break was her spirit.


    But that wasn''t enough? He still couldn''t compare to a human? A summoner?


    Zach should be weaker than his familiars. He should end up in an even more pathetic state than Yanael just by looking into the Great Ugor''s eyes.


    But as if to mock the Great Ugor, Zach wasn''t just stronger, he was strong enough to do what not even the Daughter could.


    The Great Ugor was once again reminded of his past. Again, he would be humiliated by a summoner.


    He glared at Zach with clenched teeth, the principal''s young, white-haired form overlapping with the young redhead. His rage grew.


    It was futile. Zach wouldn''t give him the initiative. He blinked forward like distance was something that only fools cared about.


    He didn''t punch the Great Ugor. He couldn''t. His hands up to his wrists were gone. But he had his legs. He wasn''t as good at kicking as he was punching, but he had trained in whatever unarmed combat his familiars could find.


    Zach''s heel came crashing down on top of the Great Ugor''s head. Angry at being forced to look up at someone who should be crawling at his feet, the Great Ugor met Zach''s kick with a fist headed straight for the sky.


    The foot and the hand collided with a muffled boom that spread a shockwave through the room. The only one who was untouched by it was Yanael.


    Zach dropped down to the ground a couple of steps away, and the Great Ugor pulled back his hand to look at it. The strike had broken his fingers and wrist. But now, they were healed.


    The Great Ugor''s upper lip twitched and his nostrils flared as he turned to Zach. Like a mad bull, he charged straight at Zach. He didn''t ignore distance like Zach, but he was fast enough that the short couple of steps between them might as well not exist. He threw a powerful fist straight at Zach''s annoying face.


    Zach met the fist with his forearm, putting the Great Ugor''s arm outside his own. He ducked slightly to avoid the Great Ugor''s other arm before stomping on the Great Ugor''s shin, breaking it and taking his balance for a moment.


    Zach rammed his forehead into the Great Ugor''s nose. The Great Ugor stumbled backward, apprehension appearing like stars in the raging flames in his eyes.


    Their strengths were equal. Their skill wasn''t.

 Chapter 392 Skill Issue

    The Great Ugor did not have formal or standardized training beyond what he was forced to endure during his time as a prince. He was strong only because he had taken power from the Underworld.Zach, on the other hand, had trained like a madman. Day and night, forgoing rest, and eating while training or making up for not eating by relying on his world essence energy or Alzara''s potions and supplements.


    The Great Ugor had lived almost fifty times of Zach''s lifetimes, but the time Zach had spent training was longer. While the Great Ugor had rotted away on his throne, Zach had shed blood, sweat, and tears to train.


    Right now, the two of them were in a similar state. Both of them were far stronger than they were used to. Power surged through both of their bodies, elevating them to a level they hadn''t seen, much less touched before.


    As if that wasn''t enough, Zach had another handicap. He was consumed by emotion. The pent-up thoughts, feelings, and bouts of insanity from his time as a stone statue exploded in contact with Yanael''s condition, robbing him of his mental clarity.


    Zach couldn''t stop even if he wanted to, which he didn''t. He saw no reason why he shouldn''t throw himself into this rage and let it take the reins. He welcomed it.


    The Great Ugor was strong but clumsy. It wasn''t noticeable against a weaker opponent since he had the sheer strength to make his clumsiness a non-issue.


    But Zach, even when devoured and transformed into a killing machine by his rage, was perfect. His muscle memory guided the body strengthened beyond its limits by the world essence energy. His movements weren''t flawless. Not yet, at least.


    Against an opponent who could rival his strength, the Great Ugor''s clumsiness was blaringly apparent.


    Zach toyed with him.


    Every attack the Great Ugor lashed out, Zach easily thwarted before returning a kick to whatever part of the Great Ugor looked juicy. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Best of all?


    The Great Ugor regenerated. He healed every injury he received in a matter of seconds. It was great.


    Zach could do whatever he wanted, and the Great Ugor would be fine just a few moments later.


    Even better than that?


    The Great Ugor felt pain.


    He suffered both from the wounds he received and when they healed.


    He was an underworlder now, but one of the only times he was beaten was when he failed his rebellion. He had felt pain before his descent into the Underworld. But after taking the throne from the Daughter, he had only felt pain a few times, the worst of which being when the Daughter tried to take the gem.


    The pain Zach was inflicting didn''t even come close to that level of pain. But that pain had flashed for a moment before disappearing.


    Zach''s attacks were unrelenting. He aimed for the Great Ugor''s weak spots. He broke shins, shattered knees, and bent his joints and fingers too far in the wrong direction. He even managed to bite off the Great Ugor''s nose once before spitting it back in his face.


    The Great Ugor was only imagining it, but he saw Zach''s mocking smile as the nose reattached itself. He was mocking the Great Ugor''s regeneration ability.


    The Great Ugor couldn''t stand it. The regeneration was as much physical torture as it was mental. It was the only reason he could still move around and try to flee from Zach, but it was also the only reason why he still had to do that.


    If he just stopped regenerating, Zach would stop breaking his bones repeatedly. Of course, it also meant he would die sooner, which the Great Ugor didn''t want.


    But he didn''t know what to do.


    The Great Ugor looked toward the exit. It might be worth trying to flee. He knew the tunnels better than Zach.


    He would need to return someday since he was tied to the Underworld now, but Zach wouldn''t be able to lie in wait forever. He would need to take care of his familiars. As soon as he left, the Great Ugor could just close up the Underworld and hide until Zach died of old age or forgot about him.


    The Great Ugor made a mistake.


    He looked toward the entrance. He didn''t think about how that might appear in Zach''s eyes.


    To Zach, it looked like the Great Ugor was looking at his familiars.


    The rage that had cooled down at the satisfaction of seeing the Great Ugor''s suffering and panic grew red hot. World essence energy swept around Zach''s body, unable to be contained by such a feeble vessel. It blew away the underworld energy as Zach suddenly appeared in front of the Great Ugor.


    Zach walked on the air, towering over the Great Ugor.


    He reached out a skeletal hand toward the exit. He waved with his fingers as if asking for something.


    The Great Ugor wondered what was going on as his eyes darted around, looking for an escape or somethnig to overturn the situation.


    Nothing happened with Zach''s hand. Zach impatiently turned around. He looked straight into the exit.


    "I know you''re there. Give me what I want." Zach''s voice cut through the throne room and the darkness of the tunnel leading to the fifth layer. The Great Ugor flinched at the cold voice. But Zach wasn''t looking at or talking to him.


    A sigh slipped out from the tunnel before a one-handed man, accompanied by Monolith stepped out with a tiny black bag in his hand.


    "This?" He waved the bag lightly. It was made of the same black cloth that the underworlders used to conceal or seal underworld energy.


    Zach just looked at the man, his hand still outstretched.


    "What, not even a please?" The man teased before tossing it over. Zach caught it and turned around only to discover that while he had pointed his attention into the tunnel, the Great Ugor had slipped to the side and stuck his hand into the ground.


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    Zach frowned.


    The Great Ugor might have gone crazy from panic and pain, but he wouldn''t stick his hand in there for no reason.


    He wasn''t doing it for no reason.


    A moment later, he pulled his hand out. In it was a beating black and green heart. While locking his crazy eyes with Zach''s, the Great Ugor ate the heart.

 Chapter 393 Vile Piece

    It was too late to stop him. The Great Ugor swallowed the heart. Instantly, underworld energy surged within him like a tidal wave. The black gem in his eye socket glowed, and his muscles swelled with power. His long hair fluttered as he stood up again, not even bothering to wipe his mouth.If his previous powerup had been intoxicating, this one was euphoric. He was not in a state of mind to care about the blood around his mouth.


    Rising from the rubble, Jigak returned to the fight, clear of mind and filled with a mad rage at what he had just witnessed. The emotionally driven Jigak, driven by more and stronger emotions than ever, pierced through the air like an arrow, his hands reaching for the Great Ugor''s throat.


    Before Jigak could get close, the Great Ugor stepped aside, walked up next to the underworlder lying in the air, and simply brought down his hand onto Jigak''s back.


    Jigak didn''t even notice the Great Ugor moving. He couldn''t keep up. One second, he was flying toward the Great Ugor in front of him. The next, he was planted into the ground, all the bones in his body shattered and scattered with his blood and flesh in a leg-deep pit on the floor.


    He couldn''t move.


    The Great Ugor dismissed Jigak and turned to Zach. His mind mixed up Zach''s face and the principal''s again, and the Great Ugor had trouble telling who he was facing. The pain caused by both made his skin tingle just by thinking about it.


    But it didn''t matter to the Great Ugor who stood in front of him. With the full power of the Underworld coursing through him, whoever it was didn''t stand a chance. They would just succumb to a meaningless death by his hands.


    Zach could tell that the Great Ugor had gotten stronger again. Right now, just benign better at fighting wouldn''t be enough to stand against him. But just being good at fighting hadn''t been enough to kill him, either.


    That was why Zach had asked for the tiny cloth bag containing their trump card. It had been in Dukiel''s hands. But he was tied together with the others by the one-handed man and Monolith. Naturally, they had been searched, and the trump card had ended up in the one-armed man''s hand.


    While the Great Ugor took a moment to revel in his strength, Zach opened the cloth bag.


    Immediately, a sense of suppression slipped out and forced even the underworld energy in the Great Ugor''s body to calm down and lie still. The Great Ugor''s pupils narrowed in disbelief.


    Even with his current strength, there was something in this world that could threaten him and make him feel such fear?


    Zach dipped his gray and wrinkly fingers into the bag and retrieved a vial of perfectly white liquid. It was too white, too clean, to be an ordinary vial of anti-underworld energy potion. But the sense of oppression and rejection toward underworld energy could only mean one thing.


    Zach grinned when he saw the wariness and fear in the Great Ugor''s eyes.


    Not even the most powerful version of the Great Ugor was a match for something like this that was made to annihilate any underworlder. If anything, he was only more susceptible to it now.


    It was the trump card that gave Zach the confidence to challenge the Great Ugor even with their current strength. It was a trump card that both he and Dukiel had worked on. It was a trump card that Dukiel had sacrificed his own growth and strength to make.


    It was a potion several tens or hundreds of times stronger than the strongest potion Alzara could make.


    It was a potion that Dukiel had Enhanced with his skill several times during the break. Zach knew he hadn''t used each of his daily uses on it, but he could tell when holding it that Dukiel had made sure to invest heavily in it.


    Zach''s hands were a little unsteady from the world essence energy forcibly regenerating them, but he made sure to hold the vial tightly when uncorking it. The underworld energy around him fled to the edges of the room. Even the liquid underworld energy in the moat seemed to be trying to crawl out of it.


    Zach looked at the Great Ugor.


    "You''re dead, you vile piece of shit."


    Zach flittered forward, making the most of the world essence energy, which he could feel had started retreating. It hadn''t reached its limit, but his body had. It couldn''t endure the world essence energy any longer. It was too powerful.


    He had to end it now while he could still move quickly enough to catch up to the Great Ugor. Even now, the Great Ugor was still faster and stronger than Zach. If he hadn''t been suppressed by the presence of the Enhanced potion, he could have fought back or made a run for it.


    But with the potion threatening his very existence, the Great Ugor couldn''t mobilize his underworld energy or his full strength.


    Zach could just splash the potion onto the fleeing Great Ugor. Like acid, the potion bit into the Great Ugor''s flesh, reducing it to smoke in a hiss.


    It hurt so much that the Great Ugor''s screams were soundless. It was like someone had spilled molten lava on his back. He froze and tried to reach for his back with his hands as his mouth opened wide.


    It was almost as painful as when the Daughter tried to rip out the gem.


    His body, the peak of the Underworld, tried to fight against the potion, much like the Daughter''s had. The Great Ugor was stronger than the Daughter had been then, so he managed to put up a fight even without the support of a river of liquid underworld energy.


    But all it did was prolong his suffering as his flesh tried to regenerate itself despite the potion denying its permission to exist.


    And then, the effects of the potion encroached on the gem in his eye socket. The roots.


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 Chapter 394 Bastard

    Like snails coming in contact with salt, the black gem''s roots flinched and started pulling back."NOOO!" The Great Ugor''s agonizing scream carried anger and refusal. He would not let himself succumb like this. Despite the pain and weakness assailing his body, he turned around in a mad frenzy and grabbed Zach by the throat, picking him up and slamming him into the ground.


    Zach, having lost most of the world essence energy''s effects, was absolutely powerless. Even Anerias could have done what the Great Ugor just did. And if the Great Ugor did it, it was only natural that Zach suffered a few injuries.


    He managed to block some of it with his barriers, but his head was dizzy, and he might have bitten himself on the tongue as his mouth was full of blood.


    Still, he grinned as he looked at the Great Ugor, blood staining his teeth.


    Zach had no way of knowing, but it was the exact same smile Yanael had made when the Great Ugor tried to make her surrender. He was reminded of his failure. On the brink of death and mad with pain and anger, the Great Ugor''s only outlet was the throat under his hands.


    He squeezed.


    Zach met the Great Ugor''s eyes with a calm gaze and forced out a sound that would have been a chuckle if not for the heavy hands around his throat. Instead, all that came out was a wheeze. But this time, the Great Ugor wasn''t imagining the mocking look in Zach''s eyes, and he knew what Zach wanted to say.


    The Great Ugor put his entire weight on Zach''s body. He was dying. There was nothing he could do at this point. He was done running. And since he wasn''t running, he was at least making sure to bring Zach, the angel, the principal, or whoever the fuck he was strangling with him.


    His strength was rapidly failing him as more and more of the roots withdrew and the potion turned more and more of his body into dust, but the potion had hit his back, which was the furthest place from his hands.


    The Great Ugor was confident he could finish the job before his faded away.


    He would have. He dragged out strength from nowhere as his grip around Zach''s neck tightened, breaking his barriers. He was about to snap his neck when a hand suddenly appeared over the black gem in his eye.


    "This hand familiar to you?" A voice said right into his ear.


    "It should be. It''s the mirror to the one you made me cut off when I pledged by loyalty, pig."


    The man''s fingers dug into the Great Ugor''s eye socket.


    "AAARGH!" The Great Ugor screamed in pain as his head was pulled backward, but he still didn''t let go of Zach''s neck.


    The man''s fingers, like prying a diamond out of a ring, were hard and unstoppable. They didn''t care about the ring¡ªthe Great Ugor''s eye socket¡ªand just pushed in before gripping the diamond.


    With a grin, the man started tugging on the gem. It was still lodged into the Great Ugor like attached to a mountain, even when a majority of the roots had withdrawn into the gem and the Great Ugor''s body was mostly gone, giving it nothing to hold onto.


    But the man didn''t mind. The longer he needed to pull on the gem, the longer he could subject the Great Ugor to another level of pain.


    Still, he had to get it out before the potion reached it, so he didn''t slack off and put his all into taking out the gem. Eventually, it popped out, and the man stumbled backward. He hurried to stabilize himself so that he could see when the Great Ugor completely lost all of his life and turned into dust, his last expression one of unbearable agony with bloody tears streaming down his face from his empty eye socket.


    The man smiled in satisfaction. He took a deep breath before sighing and clutching the gem in his hand. He closed his eyes as relief washed over him.


    Finally.


    But before he could rest further or celebrate, an old man''s hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him down to the cracked floor.


    Zach yanked the man next to him and forced him onto the ground next to him. Zach was too tired to stand, so he had to resort to this.


    He wheezed into the man''s ear,


    "What took you so long?" Zach let go of the man''s wrist and laid back down as the man chuckled.


    "I could say the same." The man didn''t get up and just looked at the ceiling next to Zach.


    "Why were you petrified for the entire fight?"


    "Dramatic entrance¡­And¡­I heard mud was¡­good for your skin¡­" Zach spoke between wheezing breaths. The world essence energy running rampant through his body, giving him a strength superior to that of even Mandra, had taken its toll on his body. It had taken all he had to get the man down next to him. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Right now, Zach couldn''t even move a finger.


    Seeing that Zach was too tired to even talk, the man turned his head to the exit.


    "It''s over. You can free them."


    A few moments later, Monolith and the other students burst out of the tunnel to the fifth layer. Monolith was looking at Zach. The students were glaring at the man.


    He and Monolith had knocked them out, kidnapped them, and followed the Great Ugor''s order to bring any intruder or disruptor to him. The man had also taken Dukiel''s Enhanced potion without asking what it was, almost like he knew already. He hadn''t taken anything else.


    At first, it had seemed like he was offering them up to the Great Ugor or something. But then, as soon as they entered the tunnel, the man had done something and stopped walking. Weirdly enough, the group had been able to see the Daughter and the others walk past them without so much as looking in their direction.


    Except for the Daughter. She glanced at the man but did nothing else.


    The group in the tunnel had also been able to see everything that happened in the throne room.


    More than once, the students and their familiars, Soara included, had tried to break free and join the battle against the Great Ugor. Every time, it ended with Monolith knocking them out for a little while until they learned. The only one who didn''t learn and kept fighting was Soara, who had to be carried out of the tunnel since she was still unconscious.


    Eventually, the students decided what to do with the man.


    "Julius, you bastard!" They ran at him.

 Chapter 395 Greedy Brats

    "Sorry, I wasn''t sure how things would pan out, so I needed to keep up the act." Julius'' apology was met with a full-body tackle from Dukiel, Anerias, Nessa, and Violina. They collapsed on top of him, making sure to include Zach in their hug but without worsening his injuries.They had a lot of things they wanted to say to him, but right now, the only thing they could do was hug him a little too tight for comfort. He had been rude and mean when he knocked them out and tied them up. But so what? He had spent two years in the Underworld. He had cut off his own hand and acted like a part of the Underworld while plotting against the Great Ugor.


    It wasn''t like they weren''t used to Monolith knocking them out, and there were worse things than being tied up. The worst of it all had been being forced to watch Zach''s familiars fight to the death with the Great Ugor and the Great Ugor strangle Zach. It had been unbearable and the reason they had to knock Soara out.


    "Still! Couldn''t you have told us anything while we were watching? If you had, we wouldn''t have struggled!" Nessa chastised Julius as soon as they were done with the group hug.


    Julius shook his head.


    "As I said, I wasn''t sure how things would unfold. If the Great Ugor survived, I would have needed to trick him into letting down his guard." Violina''s eyes widened.


    If the Great Ugor had survived in that situation¡­


    "Would you have let Zach die?" Her question didn''t beat around the bush.


    "..." Julius closed his eyes and tilted his head forward.


    "...I''m sorry, but it''s possible. This¡­" He held up the gem. "Is more important than all of our lives," he said.


    "If the Great Ugor kept it for much longer or if the anti-underworld potion destroyed it, the consequences would be irreversible," Julius''s voice was dead serious as he spoke.


    "It''s a cornerstone of our world. If it''s handled improperly or used incorrectly, what do you think would happen?"


    The four looked at the stone in his hand with frowning expressions.


    "You''re saying that little gemstone is that important?" Anerias asked doubtfully. They were all doubtful. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Julius nodded.


    "How do you even know that?" Violina questioned. It wasn''t like it was written on the gemstone''s back or anything.


    "She told me." Julius nodded toward the Daughter''s grave.


    "It is the physical core of the Underworld, and the Underworld is a vital reflection and aspect of our world. You heard her explanation, right? All the heavy feelings that have nowhere to go in our world go to the Underworld. But what would happen if there was no Underworld?


    "The heavy feelings wouldn''t go anywhere. They would seep into the ground, filling it with impurities. It might take thousands or tens of thousands of years, but all life would cease. All life is reliant on the ground. It''s the cycle of life. If you remove the beginning of the cycle, the rest will soon follow."


    Julius'' explanation kind of made sense. But the others had trouble believing it. Could the destruction or corruption of one little stone really cause that much damage? Julius saw their expression. He didn''t think they would believe him that easily.


    "You saw how Jigak grew stronger due to his feelings, right? It''s safe to say that he is a physical manifestation of the power of heavy feelings. He grew that strong in just a few decades by harnessing that power. But what if that power was built up over thousands of years and released into the wild? What if all of the liquid underworld energy in this moat was stuffed into people who could handle it and wield it at Jigak''s level or beyond and then given a thousand years to train before being unleashed onto the world?"


    Those arguments were more convincing. The students knew there were powerful people on the surface who could fight Jigak, but Julius'' what-ifs weren''t literal.


    The surface wouldn''t be fighting against physical people. They would be fighting against something similar to a non-physical concept wreaking havoc at the depths of the world, destroying it from within. How would they even begin to do something about that? The students didn''t know.


    But this was all based on the premise that what Julius first said was true.


    "How can you be so sure?" Dukiel asked. The Daughter had told him, but she was dead, so she couldn''t confirm that. Even if that part was true, couldn''t she have told him to get his help in taking down the Great Ugor?


    "I can feel it," Julius said. He looked at the gem resting in his palm. He wasn''t holding a gem. He didn''t know what he was holding, but it felt like he was holding the world in his hand.


    He gave it to the others to try.


    "I¡­don''t feel anything," Dukiel said after trying. The other soon echoed him.


    Julius frowned. He was about to try and convince them when someone else spoke.


    "He''s¡­right," Zach wheezed out. His world essence energy had reacted to the gem. Even now, it was pulling a little in its direction. It wasn''t enough for him to covet the gem, and he wouldn''t have noticed if not for how sensitive his destroyed body was, but it gave Julius'' words some credibility.


    The world essence energy being drawn to the gemstone had to mean something. Zach wasn''t sure what the world essence energy was or how it worked. But by its name, he could tell it was an energy related to the world as a whole. If the gemstone was a cornerstone of the world, it made sense if they reacted to each other.


    The others were silent for a moment. Zach supported Julius, which made it more credible. But how and why did he know whether the gemstone was what Julius said it was?


    "Yanael¡­" Zach raised a weak, skeletal finger in Yanael''s direction.


    He was tired of hearing them babble. Could they do something important and check on his familiar for him since he was too weak to move? If they wanted, they could even check on him instead of just focusing on the gemstone.


    ''Greedy brats.'' Zach would have shaken his head in disappointment if he could have moved a muscle. Raising that finger was all he had left.

 Chapter 396 Move!

    Continue reading on My Virtual Library EmpireWhile they still had a few questions about the black gem, Nessa and the others understood that it was nowhere near as important as Yanael''s well-being. Without her sacrifice, Alzara and Mandra wouldn''t be alive, and Zach wouldn''t have had the time to break his petrification.


    Dukiel decided to stay and check on Zach''s state while the other three went to check on Yanael, Alzara, and Mandra. Alzara and Mandra were in pretty bad shape, but they were strong and not in any danger anymore now that the worst had passed. They had even started getting stable enough to get up and move to Zach''s side.


    Yanael, on the other hand¡­She was hanging by a thread, at least by the looks of it. They couldn''t get to her due to the barrier Zach had put up. It also obscured their vision a little as well. An oval dome of pure light kept them from getting too close to Yanael''s resting body. It did not, however, stop them from delivering her arms back to her. Those slid right through.


    Of course. It was a barrier made for Yanael. It would never stop her from leaving or entering, including parts of her body not currently attached to her. But it still stopped the students'' hands. All they could do was drop them next to her and hope for the best.


    But it wasn''t like any of them had any healing skills. The most they could do was use Alzara''s potions to try and heal her. But those didn''t get through the barrier, either. Instead, they ended up pouring most of them on Zach, hoping he would come back to the world of the conscious and lift the barrier to let them treat Yanael.


    However, even if he were conscious, he might not be able to do that. The barrier was made with world essence energy infused into it. If the world essence energy obeyed or at least didn''t resist, he could do it. But if the world essence energy was being stubborn again, it would stay as a barrier.


    It was a troublesome energy.


    But it protected Yanael from the aftershocks of Zach''s and the Great Ugor''s battle. Even now, it supplied Yanael with warmth and its passive restorative effect that it had only ever shown Zach. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, a passive restorative effect like that wouldn''t reattach her arms, regrow her limbs, or heal her gruesome injuries. It could alleviate her pain in her final moments. It could take her sacred energy''s place in stemming her bleeding since she was too weak to do that on her own. But it wasn''t enough to save her.


    The damage was irreversible. There was no one who could do anything about it in the sixth layer.


    "Move!" Soara shouted, pushing the students and familiars crowding over Yanael out of the way.


    She had a bone or two to pick with Julius and Monolith. She was pissed with them for what they had made her watch and how they had repeatedly knocked her out. But now wasn''t the time.


    Since she had been unconscious most of the fighting, she wasn''t sure what had happened to Yanael. But she could sense that Yanael''s flame of light was as secure as a candle trapped in a hurricane. It was on the verge of going out permanently.


    Soara knew Yanael had been skeptical of her at first. It wasn''t mutual. Soara respected Yanael right from the very beginning. Yanael was a talented swordswoman who worked hard without being blinded by the world around her. She strived hard toward her goal of being the best maid possible for Zach.


    Soara put her hands on the barrier.


    Yanael wasn''t the strongest of them, but only because she hadn''t had the time to grow yet. Soara wasn''t sure since age wasn''t important to any of them, but she was pretty sure Yanael was the youngest. She was far from as old as her or Mandra. Even Alzara should be pretty old, at least if the rumor about Desert Witches growing continuously for as long as they lived was true.


    She was a young chick yet to grow out of her down feathers.


    "You''re not dying here! Not if I have a say!" Soara was used to doing the opposite of what she was doing right now.


    But she was more familiar with the flames of life inside people than anyone. She knew how to snuff them out. But, in theory, she also knew how to stoke them and make them burn brighter.


    Yanael was too young to die. She was too loved to die. She was too good to die. More than that, Zach would also be sad and in pain if she died.


    It was both Soara''s and Yanael''s duties as their faithful and loyal maids to do their best to keep Yanael alive.


    Soara cupped her powers around Yanael''s life flame, stabilizing it. She shielded it from the turbulence of her injuries and waning strength. But this much was only a temporary measure. As soon as she removed her strength, Yanael would grow weaker and die, her life flame unable to endure it any longer.


    Soara slowly and gently fanned the flame, encouraging it to grow. As long as the life flame grew more energetic, it would be enough to give her body some invigoration and the boost it needed to get back on the right track.


    However, Soara was making a mistake. She was indeed right in that she could stoke Yanael''s flame and make it more energetic.


    However, what she failed to take into consideration due to her lack of experience in this regard and in the rush to save Yanael''s life was the fact that a stronger flame needed more fuel. A stronger life flame would burn through Yanael''s life quicker.


    Usually, her life force was strong enough that such a thing wouldn''t be much of an issue. It could even be called a last resort since she would get stronger for as long as her life flame burned more intensely.


    But now that her life was already hanging by a thread, the energy it gave her wasn''t what she needed. It was like burning one''s body for heat in the cold of winter.


    It worked. It produced the intended result. It revitalized the life flame. It gave the heat Yanael needed to survive the winter. But it wasn''t enough to last her till spring. It wasn''t enough to heal her injuries enough to heal the backlash of the technique.


    If only there had been something else the life flame could burn instead.

 Chapter 397 How An Angel Dies

    Soara felt Yanael''s heartbeat grow stronger and quicker under the effect of her technique. Her blood started circulating, and some of the injuries on her face faded. But before anything significant could happen, her heartbeat dropped, and her skin paled, acquiring a shade of grey."No!" Soara shouted. She grabbed Yanael''s life flame again, just barely saving it. She stoked it again. She fanned it, forcing it to burn brighter.


    As she did so, she realized what the problem was. She was forcefully draining the last life Yanael had left to make her final moments brighter. She couldn''t give Yanael more life or extend what she had.


    She was a deity of Death, after all.


    All she had done was speed up Yanael''s death. Soara''s eyes were wide in despair as she realized what she had done.


    "NO!" She screamed again and pounded on the barrier.


    But there was nothing she could do but watch as Yanael''s last flicker of flight slowly but surely weakened until it finally puffed out.


    Zach''s heart cramped and, still unconscious, he coughed up blood. Alzara and Mandra, who were lying or sitting on their knees next to him also felt something. It was like a hollowness had appeared within them. They instantly woke up and turned in Yanael''s direction, doubt and disbelief in their eyes.


    They knew Yanael was in bad shape. She took one hell of a beating, after all. But they hadn''t thought she would actually die. It just didn''t make sense. Why would she do that when she still had Zach to protect?


    Why hadn''t she¡­


    Why hadn''t they done more? Their injuries were nothing compared to Yanael''s. They could have fought harder. They could have¡­


    There wasn''t much they could have done. But they should have done something to prevent this from happening.


    This shouldn''t be happening.


    Alzara and Mandra looked at Zach. Alzara had been by his side for a couple of years by now. She knew how much Zach treasured Yanael. He treasured all of them. They were his familiars, and he was their Master. It was in the nature of their relationship to value the other and take care of them as best as they could.


    But Yanael was his first. Zach had had more time to get to know her and deepen their connection.


    Alzara had seen them hold entire conversations without saying a word multiple times. It was almost on the same level as Zach and Nora''s relationship.


    Zach had a tacit understanding with all of his familiars, but none as deep as the one he had with Yanael.


    He would be devastated as soon as he woke up and realized what had happened.


    Alzara wiped the blood around his mouth and made sure he didn''t choke on it.


    ''Will he¡­'' Alzara shook her head, forcefully ejecting the thought that had been about to creep into her mind. She got up and hobbled over to Soara. Stopping her from punching the barrier. It wasn''t right to continue disturbing Yanael at this point.


    Soara protested. She struggled. She made a show of struggling. She knew if she tried, she could easily break out of the injured Alzara''s weakened grasp. But she didn''t want to hurt Alzara, not when she had already sped up Yanael''s death.


    How was she supposed to look Zach in the eyes ever again?


    Soara slumped in Alzara''s arms as she asked herself that question.


    This was her fault. She should have just stayed in Syst. She might have been alone, but that was for the best. Otherwise, like always, she would always bring ruin and death to the people around her. She wasn''t a deity of Death. She was an omen of it¡ªa bringer of ill fortune and suffering.


    However, Soara had barely started sinking into a bottomlessly descending spiral when the color of the barrier around Yanael deepened. It lost its translucency and turned completely yellow with the typical color of both Yanael''s hair and Zach''s Blessed Defense.


    The three maids glanced at Zach. Had he woken up?


    He was still lying there with his eyes closed.


    They turned back to the barrier. Did it fail now that the target it was meant to protect had died? Did it have an error of some kind?


    No. It wasn''t the barrier that had turned yellow. Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire


    Yellow light had filled it, making it look like it had changed colors. Something was happening to Yanael''s corpse.


    ''Is this how an angel dies?'' Mandra wondered, unable to stop her curious self.


    After the golden yellow light occupied the barrier, nothing else happened for several long minutes. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was Zach''s barrier trapping the vestiges of a fallen angel? Was something else happening? Was nothing happening?


    What was happening? That was the only common question among all those watching the barrier that could capture even light.


    However, as time passed, the barrier weakened, and more and more of the light slipped out, bathing the dark sixth layer in its radiance. It was a stunning sight that none could admire due to the tragedy behind it.


    These had to be the rays of farewell of the death of an angel. Angels were special beings. Familiars were special beings. S-ranks were special familiars.


    It was only right that their deaths were spectacles.


    Finally, the barrier broke entirely, having lost all its strength and being unable to withstand the pressure from within. The light escaped and blinded those with more sensitive eyes who had adjusted a little too well to the darkness.


    The others, the ones like Monolith, Jigak, Mandra, Soara, Alzara, Frost Imp, Frost Wraith, Sentinel, Transformation Cube, Symbiotic Slime, Dawnthief Bat, Darkwing, Hellcat, and Blackfire Hound saw what hid within the light.


    They saw the figure enshrouded within a golden veil of light like a mummy wrapped before its final journey to the afterlife.


    Their eyes, if they had those, widened in shock and awe. The lightshow was one thing. The majesty of the seemingly sleeping angel was another.


    Yanael''s figure rose into the air, standing up. The golden wrappings fell.

 Chapter 398 Done

    The golden wrappings around Yanael fell like drapes, turning into specks of light before hitting the ground. As they removed themselves they revealed Yanael to the spectators. They also let Yanael unfurl her four majestic wings and stretch her limbs as the light from her powerful halo gathered the light her entire body emitted.Like a phoenix, Yanael had died and emerged out of her ashes in a glorious display of strength and might.


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    She had evolved. The others didn''t know what her official existence was, but they could tell that she had reached a new rank.


    They were shocked. They were gobsmacked. They were awestruck. The evolution of an S-rank familiar to an SS-rank familiar was a sight to behold. It was also incredibly rare, not that the other familiars cared much about that. All they cared about was the air around Yanael.


    If before she had just been a maid with a sword and wings, she was now a true Angel, and her presence was utterly sacred and radiant like the essence of purity and holiness.


    Yanael gently descended to the ground with a soft wave of her wings. She retracted her wings and halo while walking toward Zach. Her steps were lighter than the feathers sailing down after her evolution. She kneeled next to Zach and put a hand on his forehead.


    She soothed him just like he had comforted her in her pain and agony. She couldn''t do more for him than he had been able to do for her. The backlash of the fully awake world essence energy wasn''t something even an evolved Yanael could do something about.


    But it wasn''t strange. She specialized in offense and defense, not healing. With her evolution, she had naturally improved, but she hadn''t turned into a miraculous healer who could restore the dead. The most she could do was ease Zach''s discomfort and help him sleep better.


    The others in the throne room of the sixth layer looked on as Yanael kneeled next to Zach and closed her eyes, her hand still on his forehead. The students were shocked.


    They didn''t know how to react to the sudden change except for one thing.


    Of course, Zach had been the one to evolve his S-rank familiar to SS-rank first. He was now an SS-rank summoner. Annoying.


    Anerias despaired. How was he ever supposed to catch up? He knew it was a lost race already, but at least the gap hadn''t widened that far yet. But now?


    With all the levels Zach would have earned from the Basilisk and the Great Ugor, he was probably getting close to summoning his next familiar as well, who would be at least SSS-rank. Three SS-ranks and two SSS-ranks. How was Anerias ever supposed to compare?


    How was anyone ever supposed to compare?


    Zach had been a summoner for three years. What kind of divine luck did he have to have gotten this far already?


    Anerias and the others as soon as they realized what had happened to Yanael started wondering if even the principal had been this successful in his youth. This had to be some kind of record. If not, they would just give up.


    If Zach wasn''t the first with this level of success, talent, and luck with summoning, wouldn''t that mean that there were others in the world who had all that but also time on their side?


    It was a damper just thinking about it, so they stopped and looked at Julius again.


    Zach was sleeping, and his familiars were crowded around him and Yanael.


    Were they doing something with the black gem or would they wait for Zach to recover enough for them to move him? With his mysterious ability of regeneration, it shouldn''t take too long.


    Julius looked around the throne room with the black gem in his hand. The other students followed his gaze. As they did so, a feeling of relief sank into their chests. Their tight and tense shoulders relaxed and they leaned back. Nessa even laid down and rested her head on her hand while looking at the ceiling.


    They were done. The Great Ugor was dead. They could graduate. They were finished with this shit. They wouldn''t have to risk their lives and almost die again unless they wanted to, which was at least a little better than risking their lives because the principal told them to do the impossible.


    They started thinking about what to do from here on out. They couldn''t come up with anything. Anerias wanted to get out of the Underworld and take a ride on the Darkwing through the sky.


    Violina wouldn''t mind going back home and taking a month to lie down on the beach and bask in the warm sun.


    Nessa couldn''t think of anything specific. Maybe visiting Minatio. Maybe helping her stupid foolish Millipede break out of its petrification again. She glanced at the curled-up stony figure of her familiar next to the entrance to the sixth layer.


    She shook her head. How had it managed to get petrified when the Basilisk was already dead? She glanced at Alzara. This wasn''t the moment to ask for help releasing the Basilisk from petrification. And she could tell that it was fine and would be for another while.


    It wasn''t a rush.


    Who knows? Maybe it could learn from Zach and break free on its own. Highly unlikely, though.


    Dukiel wanted to take it easy. He wasn''t interested in risking his life again, at least not soon. He wanted to take some time to continue experimenting with his Enhance skill and see where the limits were. Since he could only do it once a day, it would take some time, but now that they had graduated, unofficially at least, they had all the time and freedom in the world.


    He could find a deserted forest somewhere, build a cottage, and just live a secluded, peaceful life with his familiars while slowly leveling up.


    ''Can I Enhance my levels?'' A sudden thought struck Dukiel.


    But a cracking sound from one side of the throne room snapped him and everyone else out of their daze as they looked toward the exit.


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 Chapter 399 Evolution

    The cavernous throne room of the sixth layer was not crumbling despite the beating it had taken during the battle between the Great Ugor, the Daughter, the summoners, the underworlders, and the familiars. That would have been a disaster.No, the cracking sound had come from the stone statue of a certain Millipede curled up next to the exit. Nessa shot up and ran over to her familiar. The nonchalance she held when thinking and looking at her familiar just now was completely gone with worry having taken its place.


    Had the petrification won out? Had the Millipede succumbed?


    However, Nessa''s worry was needless.


    Just as what had happened with Zach, the stony shell around the Millipede cracked and crumbled, falling to the ground in dusty chunks to reveal a glorious interior. The black Millipede''s carapace was glossy with green, snakeskin patterns covering it. The black, flat, and beady eyes of the Millipede had assumed a serpentine sharpness, and the joints between its armor plates were almost seamless.


    From a distance, it would be easy to mistake the Millipede for a snake. It was unclear what kind of snake, and one would have to be far away since it was so big and still had legs, but there was a clear resemblance.


    Nessa started at her Millipede with wide eyes and a slack jaw for a moment before smacking its forehead.


    "You had me worried, you big fool!"


    The Millipede lowered its head and chattered while taping its front legs gently against the ground, apologizing and celebrating at the same time.


    Nessa hugged.


    "Good job, big guy!"


    The Millipede hadn''t been petrified by the dead Basilisk. The stone shell had been a cocoon and part of its evolution process after it ate enough of the Basilisk to evolve. It was the second time it evolved. It was now an A-rank familiar, which meant that she was now an A-rank summoner.


    It was great work by the Millipede that it recognized how great the Basilisk''s body had been for it and that it dared cling to it and eat until it evolved. Nessa couldn''t have made that decision even if she knew her Millipede would evolve from it since they weren''t here for that. They were here to risk their lives against the Great Ugor. They couldn''t risk being distracted, slowed down, or, slowed down as the Millipede had been petrified by the evolution process.


    The Millipede had made the decision for her. It worked out in the end. Besides, it wasn''t like Nessa or the Millipede would have been much help even if they had participated in the battle against the Great Ugor.


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    And now¡­Nessa glanced at the summoning interface¡­The Serpentine Millipede had evolved into a Basilian Millipede, clearly adopting a lot of the Basilisk''s traits. Or rather, transforming its already snakelike properties into those of the Basilisk''s.


    Nessa was happy. The Basilisk was an infamous creature rumored to be on the same level as dragons. Even if her Millipede had only devoured a fragment of its abilities, it would be enough to make it significantly stronger. It might have even developed special abilities related to the Basilisk. It would also give her some confidence that it could continue evolving in the future.


    A Basilisk was not the same as an A-rank familiar. It surpassed them.


    If the Basilisk had been alive or even just in a little better condition instead of having been half-resurrected after spending decades or centuries in the ground, none of the familiars would have stood a chance against it. The ones who might have come closest were Zach''s strongest familiars, who were only limited by the limit of Zach''s body, which could yet handle their full strength.


    But even they had been unable to deal with the Basilisk.


    That meant Nessa''s Millipede, which had now taken on a portion of the Basilisk, might have growth potential that could surpass the battle maids'' current strength. It might even be greater than that, but this was enough for Nessa. She didn''t dare dream for more.


    Her Millipede had already gone from being one of the weakest and wimpiest in the class to one of the four or five strongest below the S-rank. She had her A-rank Midnight Butterfly and S-rank Dawnthief Bat as well, so it wasn''t like she lacked strong familiars or anything, but it was a great feeling that her first familiar was also strong.


    Seeing that Nessa''s Millipede had also evolved, the other students couldn''t help but look at their familiars. None of them looked like they were about to evolve. The innocent familiars felt indignant and embarrassed.


    Dukiel looked at Julius after realizing something.


    "What about your Mannequin?" He asked worriedly. What if Julius had gone through the same thing as Jigak but without being forced to transform into an underworlder?


    Julius'' eyes widened slightly at the clear concern in Dukiel''s voice.


    Julius waved his hand relaxedly.


    "It''s fine. Manny is one of the reasons I didn''t have to become an underworlder to join the Underworld. Its and mine control over underworld energy was good enough to surpass most underworlders. Right now, it''s busy stopping the Dollmaker from escaping."


    At his words, the others'' eyes widened. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Right! The dolls! I forgot about them!" Violina said with a hint of self-reproach. She couldn''t believe she had forgotten about the dolls and their maker in the bustle of everything that had gone down after Monolith knocked them out.


    But it was understandable. A lot had happened, and it had been very intense, so it was completely understandable that she forgot. She wasn''t the only one, either. Everyone had temporarily put that part of their adventure out of their minds as they focused on the Great Ugor and the fighting in the sixth layer.


    The only one who hadn''t was Julius, who had been planning to deal with the Great Ugor at the first possible moment. And as soon as he was dealt with, he had his Mannequin go after the person responsible for the dolls that had terrorized the students.


    Now, they could only hope that the Mannequin would win against the Dollmaker.

 Chapter 400 Seeking A Host

    With Zach and his familiars being kind of okay, the Millipede no longer being petrified and even having evolved, and Julius'' Mannequin tying up loose ends, the situation in the Underworld was almost as stable as it could get. It brought their attention back to the black gem in Julius'' hand."So, what are you going to do with that?" Nessa asked nosily. She was in a good mood after her Millipede evolved.


    Julius followed where she was pointing and looked at the black gem.


    "...I''m not sure. The Daughter didn''t get that far in her explanation back then. All I know is that it shouldn''t end up in the hands of someone who will misuse its power."


    "Can I take a look at it again?" Nessa asked before taking it out of Julius'' hand and looking at it closely, trying to see through it. She glanced at her Millipede.


    Her Milliede had a tendency to eat everything she gave it. Would that include this?


    As if he could see the lunatic idea bouncing around in Nessa''s head, Dukiel snatched the gem from her only for a similar idea to appear in his mind. His Sentinel and Transformation Cube both used rare materials like ores and gemstones to strengthen themselves. What if they used the black gem that was a cornerstone of their world?


    Would they evolve straight to SS-rank?


    It wasn''t impossible. The gem had made the Great Ugor strong enough to dominate an SSS-rank familiar.


    Dukiel looked at his familiars with a thoughtful and contemplating expression. Which one should he try giving it to?


    Anerias snatched the gem out of Dukiel''s hand and instantly threw it to Violina, who, having caught on, also threw it away at once. Julius caught it.


    "Ah, I see," he said, realizing what was going on with a nod.


    "It''s looking for a place to settle down. Honestly, your familiars might be able to handle it, and if you only care about them getting stronger, it wouldn''t be much of a problem."


    "But¡­?" Dukiel asked, a little worried about the thoughts that had suddenly sprung up in his mind.


    "I can''t guarantee you guys won''t be affected." Julius extended one finger and moved his hand around the room, stirring the underworld energy into a gentle breeze.


    "...like me," he added. He had become something similar to an underworlder after his Mannequin was affected by the underworld energy and evolved and transformed into a variant. He wasn''t an underworlder, it was more like he was a human who used underworld energy instead of martial or magical energy. He was more similar to Minatio in that regard than other underworlders but without the sheer physical strength and ability to transform underworld energy into more strength.


    But it might not be something the others would want.


    "I also can''t even begin to guess what it will do to your familiars. Unlike that bastard Ugor, your familiars will most likely evolve into something centered around the gem or the Underworld. He adapted to the gem''s power and the Underworld over many years, eventually taking control over it and making it his own power. The gem probably won''t let something like that happen, which is a good thing as long as you''re not trying to use the power.


    "It would most likely turn into the gem using one of your familiars as a host to stabilize and grow itself," Julius said with a light shrug while looking at the gem. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, our familiars will grow stronger but lose their autonomy?" Nessa asked.


    Julius nodded.


    "Tell that gem to fuck right off." She crossed her arms and harrumphed. She couldn''t believe it had tried to take over her cute, precious little Millipede.


    "...Don''t hold a grudge against a stone, Nessa. It''s not sentient. It''s just following its instincts."


    "Sure. Keep it the fuck away from me and my Millipede. Dukiel can have it if he wants."


    "No way." Dukiel raised his hands and shook his head. He was not touching that thing again. And he was definitely not giving it one of his familiars.


    "Mm." As he looked at it, Julius started considering it. It was not the gem this time. But wouldn''t his Mannequin be a great host for it? It was already accustomed to the Underworld and its energy, it was flexible and adaptable, and it needed a little boost to its strength. Julius also remembered the roots it had sown into Ugor.


    Wouldn''t that synergize well with his wooden Mannequin, who could do something similar to absorb nutrients and underworld energy from the ground?


    "I think I know what to do," he eventually said.


    "...Can you put that stone down for a minute and say it?" Violina suggested, worried that he had been influenced the same way Nessa and Dukiel had.


    "...Right. Sure." Julius put it on the floor and took a step back. He took a deep breath.


    "Manny is the perfect host for it."


    Julius didn''t need to say more than that for the others to understand what he was getting at.


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    "Are you sure? Isn''t your Mannequin your only familiar?" Dukiel asked.


    "It is." Julius nodded. "But it''s not like I''m giving him up to the gem or the Underworld and leaving him behind. I''m confident Manny can handle the gem without losing himself."


    "I mean¡­If you say so?" Dukiel shrugged, uncertain. He glanced at the others.


    "Is it necessary for the gem to have a host? What happens if we just leave it here?" Anerias asked.


    Julius glanced at the gem.


    "I''m not sure if it needs a host, per se, but it needs something to hold it. Before Ugor, the Daughter had something to do with it. She didn''t have it in her body, which is how Ugor took it, but I''m not sure what she did back then. And it''s not like we can ask her¡­"


    "What about any of the other underworlders?" Nessa asked. Maybe Jigak could take care of it.


    Julius shrugged.


    "No idea."


    Right then, Yanael stood up and walked over to the Daughter''s open grave. She looked at the hole in the center of her chest. She glanced at the gem.


    "May I?" She asked.

 Chapter 401 Planting A Seed

    Julius was a little hesitant. What did Yanael know about the gem, the Daughter, or how anything related to the Underworld worked? And what was she planning to do by sticking the gem into a corpse? S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.But Yanael had only asked to be polite. The gem wasn''t Julius''s. He knew more than the other students, but he didn''t have any sway over Yanael. So, she grabbed the gem with him being unable to do anything about it.


    She then put it in the hole Ugor had dug out in her chest. She frowned.


    The hole was too big, but she could sense some kind of activity coming both from the Daughter''s dead flesh and the gem. She looked up and around the room. Her gaze finally settled on Julius.


    "Can you call your Mannequin? I need to borrow it." Julius frowned and walked up to the hole. He sensed the same thing Yanael sensed, even if only because of his sensitivity to underworld energy. His eyes widened as he realized what Yanael was trying to do.


    He nodded.


    "It seems like Manny''s lost the trail, anyway. But if we succeed, we won''t have to worry about the Dollmaker." Julius closed his eyes and focused on his connection with the Mannequin, asking it to return. The pitch-black Mannequin halted in the middle of a long and straight tunnel before turning around and rushing back to Julius'' side.


    It took a while for the Mannequin, which wasn''t specialized in speed, to make it to the sixth layer, but it was also a being who grew stronger by absorbing underworld energy. And the Mannequin had spent the last two years doing nothing but continuously absorbing underworld energy.


    The Mannequin was stronger and better than it was when it fell down to the Underworld with Julius back then. It had also evolved and turned into an Underworld Mannequin.


    Julius realized it would be best to inform the others about it before the Mannequin arrived so that they weren''t surprised by the familiar that was more like a nightmare now than a Mannequin. It moved quickly and joltingly with its doll joints. It was faceless, pitch-black, and taller than the average human.


    If it came running down a dark tunnel, most people would turn tail and run like their lives depended on it.


    But the students weren''t most people. As they saw and noticed the evolved Mannequin and its improved strength, they were happy for Julius. He had long struggled with having the weakest Mannequin and being the weakest summoner in their group. But now, while he only had one familiar, it was strong enough to contend with the A-rank familiars.


    It would be easy for him to grow stronger from here and level up and summon more familiars if he wanted.


    The Mannequin strode over to Yanael and Julius before following Julius'' order to extend his hand into the Daughter''s gaping chest. The Mannequin''s arm grew, and its hand wrapped around the gem before expanding until it touched both the gem and the flesh of the Daughter''s insides. It pierced into the Daughter''s flesh with its wood. Once the entire wound was sealed and there was no air left inside, Yanael severed the Mannequin''s wrist with a wave of her hand.


    The Mannequin took back his arm without showing any signs of discomfort. Its hand regrew after only a few seconds.


    Yanael, Julius, and the Mannequin looked at the Daughter who, while still badly beaten and in a horrible state of disrepair, looked like she was sleeping. Her body had reacted to the gem even when she was dead, and the gem had reacted to her lifeless body.


    The reactions just hadn''t been strong enough to spark a process or connect the two. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    But now, the Mannequin had provided a bridge for the gem to extend its power into the Daughter''s body and provide it with the energy it needed to spring back to life. It wasn''t much. With the latent vitality and strength of the Daughter''s body, all it needed was a little kick to get started.


    Usually, her heart was in charge of firing her body up and keeping it going regardless of her condition. But after Ugor took her heart and ate it, her weakened body couldn''t do anything about it. If she had been in her peak, she could have just made a new heart.


    But Ugor hadn''t spent centuries weakened and torturing her because a voice in his head told him to be mean to a little girl. He had done it so that once he took her heart, she wouldn''t be able to regenerate ever again.


    She had even survived without her heart while it was in the Basilisk. Ugor had used her to fuel the Basilisk and strengthen his army further. He had intended to use her to revive the Basilisk, turnt he Basilisk into an udnerworlder, and then seize the heart after the Daughter was weakened and the Basilisk had strengthened the heart with the self-protective properties of reflective petrification.


    It would have made him invincible. Instead, he eventually had to settle for just the heart.


    It had still made him strong, but it just hadn''t been enough to win against the Enhanced anti-udnerworld energy potion.


    And now, the gem, which had absorbed the strength of the Daughter''s heart when Ugor consumed it, took the place of that heart. It slipped its energy into her body through the wooden bridge from the Mannequin.


    The hungry and thirsty body of the Daughter devoured the energy that was a perfect match.


    The Daughter and the gem were both representations of the Underworld. They were different kinds of manifestations. The Daughter was the peak of underworlders. She represented the ones who walked the land.


    The gem was the physical condensation of the Underworld and a cornerstone of the world. It represented the land that was walked on.


    The synergy between the Daughter and the gem was perfect from the beginning, and it was only better after what both of them had gone through, thanks to Ugor. The gem had part of her heart, and the Daughter''s understanding and control over underworld energy had reached a new realm after being exposed to the anti-underworld energy potion.


    Black tree roots shot out of the Daughter''s heart and wrapped her body in a cocoon, pushing out stones and rock shards while straightening her bones, stiching together flesh and skin, and patching up her organs.


    Yanael''s idea was a success.

 Chapter 402 Tunnel

    Yanael and Julius stepped back as the roots shot out and wrapped around the Daughter. Julius grabbed his Mannequin and pulled him back a step. It probably wasn''t dangerous to stay close while the Daughter was reborn, but there was no harm in being careful.Besides, the Daughter''s death had been pretty traumatic, and she had been in the middle of resisting fiercely when Ugor snatched her heart. What if she woke up ready to punch the daylights out of the first face she saw?


    With the strength she should currently possess, it wouldn''t be a punch many could take without also losing their face.


    Yanael and Julius waited patiently. The others waited impatiently, curious about what was happening. A lot of things were happening after the fighting was already over. Yanael''s evolution, the Millipede''s evolution, and now the Daughter''s resurrection.


    Would they ever be done?


    They still had to wait for Zach before they could start looking for a way out, but couldn''t one or two of them go in advance and maybe get help?


    It didn''t take too long before the roots dispelled the cocoon around the Daughter''s body and transformed into a smooth, seamless dress that did not act like it was made of wood as she bounced up from her grave with her fists raised. She looked around warily before calming down, quickly realizing it was over.


    The Daughter curiously looked at Yanael before bowing her head in gratitude. Even buried in the stone coffin of eternal suffering, she had still been able to sense what was going on outside. She had sensed the fight Yanael and the others put up after she lost.


    The Daughter''s gaze shifted to Zach after a moment.


    Compared to the others, who fought Ugor, Zach fought and won. She glanced at Julius while walking past him toward Zach.


    Julius bowed. He could sense it. Even if he wasn''t an underworlder, the Daughter was a being superior to him. She was superior to all of the humans and most of the familiars in the sixth layer.


    It was only natural that he showed her the respect that she was due.


    To his surprise, she put a hand on his shoulder as if to tell him ''Good job.'' Julius smiled, a sense of relief warming his chest. She knew he had waited in the tunnel, using his mastery over underworld energy to hide from Ugor''s detection. She knew he had watched them fight with their lives on the line.


    She knew he had to do it to look for a chance to strike. And if no such chance arose, he would have to reconsider and hide his claws while looking for another one in the future.


    She didn''t blame him.


    That was all Julius needed.


    The Daughter walked over to the sleeping Zach with Yanael next to her. Alzara and Mandra were sleeping curled up next to him.


    "What''s his name?" The Daughter asked Yanael. Zach was undoubtedly the savior of the Underworld. She didn''t know how his young and tiny body harnessed the strength to defeat Ugor, but he had done it. From what she had gathered in her final moments and by smelling the air, it was also Zach who was responsible for the catalyst of Ugor''s destruction, the Enhanced potion.


    She owed him more than he knew. Without Zach and his friends, but mostly Zach, the Underworld would have been doomed.


    To show him the respect he deserved, she wanted to know his name.


    "Master''s full name is Zacharia Evandiel but Master usually goes by the nickname Zach. I am sure he wouldn''t mind you calling him that."


    The Daughter nodded slowly as she looked at the grey, dry, leathery, and haggard skin on Zach''s face. The backlash from using the strength he wielded to defeat Ugor was tremendous.


    "Zach¡­" She murmured as if practicing.


    She realized something. How would the savior of the Underworld address her? She couldn''t have him call her the Daughter, or his lord like the other underworlders.


    "Please call me¡­Zoe from now on," she said, deciding on a name inspired by Zach''s.


    Zach was asleep and didn''t hear her, but Zoe was confident Yanael would inform him when he woke up if he didn''t do so before they left. Or maybe¡­


    Zoe looked up at Yanael.


    "Do you need help leaving the Underworld?" She asked.


    "That would be much appreciated." Yanael nodded.


    Zoe looked at the others in the sixth layer. It was a big group of people. It would be easy to transport them all with her current strength. However, one of them looked a little hesitant.


    "What is it, Julius?" Zoe asked, noticing Julius'' hesitation to speak.


    "Um, I talked a little with my Mannequin as he lost the Dollmaker, but something''s strange. Do you remember a decently big tunnel going straight in that direction for what seems like several leagues?" Julius asked Zoe.


    Zoe''s eyebrows twitched in a light frown.


    "Show me," she ordered.


    The Mannequin and Julius led the way out of the sixth layer, the others following her. Zach and his familiars rode on Nessa''s Millipede, which moved even smoother after its evolution. It was like riding on a cloud. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a mostly quiet trek through the fifth layer, the group soon found themselves in front of the opening to a tunnel large enough to fit two Millipedes abreast with relative ease. It seemed to go on forever.


    "What is this?" Zoe asked.


    "...It seems the Dollmaker was working on it all this time."


    "I do not know what lies in this direction," Zoe said, shaking her head.


    Dukiel frowned as he tried to remember all the twists and turns they had gone through. The unconsciousness at the hands of Monolith made it difficult, but Dukiel''s sense of direction was good.


    "...I think it might be south."


    Violina''s eyes opened wide. That was her home.


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    "Is the Dollmaker going for¡­?"


    Zoe shook her head.


    "There would be no reason for them to target another part of the Empire, not if they''re fleeing."


    "So, they''re going beyond¡­?" Nessa asked in disbelief.


    Zoe nodded.


    The Dollmaker was going beyond the ocean by tunneling beneath it.


    "But there''s only one way to know for certain. He might just go straight away and then go upward, escaping to the surface."


    "..."

 Chapter 403 Graduation?

    Zoe looked at the tunnel for a moment before calling out,"Jigak, can you catch up to the Dollmaker?" She asked.


    Jigak walked up to the tunnel''s entrance.


    "If the Dollmaker has had time to prepare, it may be difficult, but I will do it," Jigak said with determination. He would not fail the Daughter again.


    "Mm. You have one day. If you have not caught the Dollmaker by then, return and report your findings. I have a feeling that this tunnel goes on for quite some distance."


    "Yes, My Lady." Jigak nodded before flapping his wings and setting off, leaving behind a gust of wind as he disappeared into the tunnel.


    Zoe turned around and led the group through the Underworld to the Basilisk''s corpse. She waved her hand and a wave of underworld energy pushed it aside as she gathered everyone under the Hole.


    "Ready?" She asked and without giving anyone time to respond, she made a swirling motion with her hand before bringing it upward. A platform of underworld energy appeared beneath their feet and raised them into the air, giving them a ride up to the surface through the Hole.


    Zoe used her power to propel the platform to incredible speed, but it still took quite a while for them to reach the surface. Most of that time was spent in silence since none of the conscious students knew how to act in Zoe''s presence. Instead, they focused on tending to their scrapes and injuries.


    Still, the Hole wasn''t endless, and they soon reached high enough that they could see light. After that, it took less than a moment to reach the surface even after Zoe slowed down enough not to send everyone into the air as soon as they left the Hole.


    In a tiny splash of underworld energy, the group of one ruler of the Underworld and a bunch of students and their familiars burst onto the surface to a warm welcome of the rest of the students pointing weapons and familiars at them.


    Zoe had already sensed that they weren''t a threat to her or the others, so she wasn''t bothered by them. She also couldn''t be bothered to tell the others about it.


    So, the students on the black platform ended up staring at the students around the Hole in a daze. The students around the Hole also stared at the students on the platform in a daze.


    "..."


    "..."


    This was not what either side had expected.


    "Uhh¡­What''s going on?" Kat Vis on the side of the students around the Hole was brave enough to step forward and ask.


    Violina exchanged looks with the others before meeting Kat Vis''s gaze.


    "Graduation?" She answered like it was a question.


    "What?"


    "We ended up getting a ride to the Underworld so we took the opportunity to kill Ugor." Violina summarized the events of the last few days. She did not do their efforts and suffering service, but it was the easiest way to explain what was going on.


    "What?"


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t the easiest thing to understand. Kat and the other students were still confused as hell.


    "What about you guys? What brought you here?" Violina asked as she left the platform and looked around. The entire class had gathered around the Hole as if to welcome them or attack any underworlders trying to crawl out of it.


    "Well, uh, you guys disappeared into the Hole with that big monster, and then a little while ago the magic items we set up around here triggered, so we thought the Underworld was launching an invasion," Kat answered.


    Violina frowned and looked at the gathered students. They wouldn''t stand a chance if the Underworld launched a proper invasion. Jigak alone would have decimated them.


    "Right. I commend you for your bravery, but that won''t be necessary. Ugor, the guy in charge of the invasion and who had taken over the Underworld, is dead and it''s safe to say we are friends? with the Underworld." Violina turned to look at Zoe, who gave a slight nod, confirming what she had said. Violina turned back to Kat.


    "I can share the details later, but for now, we need some rest and treatment for Zach." Violina started walking forward, having the students in front of her open a path for her and the rest.


    "...Is he okay?" Kat asked, falling in next to Violina while looking at Zach. She still remembered when he had helped her back then against the dolls. He was up on the Millipede''s back and surrounded by maids, so it was hard to tell, but he looked like he was in bad shape. She was worried.


    "It''s Zach." Violina shrugged. "As long as he isn''t dead, he''ll be fine. Even if he does die, I''m pretty sure he would find a way to make that temporary."


    "...that''s a relief." S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Say that when you''re stuck inside a snake bigger than the Academy with him."


    "...I''ll leave that to you guys."


    Violina snorted.


    Anerias and Nessa shared what had happened in the Underworld, letting the information spread among the students.


    Julius and Dukiel were having an important discussion.


    "Wouldn''t everyone have thought I was dead?" Julius asked. "Will I be able to graduate?"


    "As long as the principal says it''s fine, it will be fine, but even if it isn''t, Zach didn''t give up on you. He was pretty convinced you were alive all this time. We didn''t catch it at once, but those footsteps in Basilia''s ruins were yours, right? I wasn''t sure, but they were outside the shop you frequented for materials for your Mannequin."


    Julius nodded.


    "It was the most I could do with Monolith monitoring me. He couldn''t fully escape Ugor''s influence back then. I had to help him with that before we could even think of hiding anything from him. I''m happy you caught it."


    Dukiel gave a light shrug. Even if they caught it, it still hadn''t changed anything. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Even if the principal wants to follow the rules or something, you were never registered as dead. The other students and instructors were pretty convinced, but Zach had us pretend to be you now and then."


    "What? Did that work?"


    "Nope. But it was enough to keep Instructor Jarron just uncertain enough to keep your name on his list."


    "Instructor Jarron¡­" Julius scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

 Chapter 404 No Monologue?!

    "You guys are going to the capital!"Zach barely had time to wake up before the principal popped up by the end of his infirmary bed with an announcement wrapped in excitement.


    "..."


    "Didn''t you hear me? You are going to the capital!" He repeated when Zach just stared at him.


    Zach looked around until he found Yanael.


    "Sorry, Yanael, it seems I injured my ears and eyes in the Underworld. Can you bring me to my room?"


    The principal reached out and grabbed Zach''s head, forcing Zach to look at him.


    "..."


    "...Okay, fine. What''s the big deal about going to the capital?" Zach sighed and asked.


    The principal grinned.


    "The emperor wants to thank you personally for taking care of Ugor."


    "Really? Why?"


    "Didn''t Ugor go on a monologue or something about his plans, goals, and backstory?" The principal asked.


    Zach slowly shook his head.


    "No¡­That would have been pretty stupid of him."


    "Huh. I see. Well, he was a member of the imperial family. He would have been the second or third emperor if he had been better."


    "That''s¡­He didn''t look that old?"


    "Naturally. He was using that thing to maintain his youth."


    "That''s neat. Kinda makes me want it." Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire


    "You don''t need it." The principal shook his head. Zach didn''t actually want that gem, especially if it meant removing his eyeball to use it. But now he was curious.


    "Why not?"


    "Your world essence energy will extend your lifespan, even if you continue doing reckless stuff like this. And if you continue leveling up, your aging will slow down. You met the Empress Dowager, didn''t you? Does she look like a hag nearing eighty years old? And me, do I look like I''m over a thousand?"


    Zach looked blankly at the surprisingly talkative and forthright principal.


    "...Skincare routine for Ursula and I figured you were just special."


    "That''s right. I am special. I would have maintained my youth even if I didn''t get stronger, but I would have died to any stray bastard jealous of my beauty."


    "...Sure. So, my world essence energy will maintain my youth to a certain degree, and getting stronger will do the same but also give me the strength to protect that youth from others who wish me harm."


    "Yep."


    Zach thoughtfully stroked his chin. He frowned.


    "Doesn''t that mean that I will outlive my family and stuff?"


    "You can always kill yourself if you don''t want to live anymore," the principal suggested with a nonchalant shrug.


    "Is that something you should be saying to your student?"


    "But you''re not my student anymore, are you? It''s not too late to become my disciple, but haven''t you basically graduated?"


    Zach let out a deep sigh of relief. The principal shot him a sharp look before smiling.


    "Well, as long as your family is also strong, they''ll also live long lives. I find summoners have a relatively easier time attaining a state of longevity, but powerful mages and martial artists can also slow down their aging with their energies. Are you planning on kids anytime soon, by the way?"


    "..." Zach gave the principal a long stare.


    "Thanks for the information. When are we going to the capital?"


    "I was curious about whether they would inherit your world essence energy or if they would be improved by it. It might be better if the mother has it since it would nurture the fetus."


    "...Is this what you talk about with people who aren''t your students?" Zach asked, disappointed and off-put by the principal.


    The principal shrugged without a care.


    "You''ve graduated from the Academy. That means you''re an adult and practically a peer. Considering the friendly relationship we had while you were a student, isn''t it alright to think of you as perhaps a little more than an acquaintance? And discussing children is a perfectly normal topic among acquaintances and above, is it not?"


    "I don''t know. I don''t do that with my friends." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why not?"


    "We''re still in school? Well, we were until a few days ago."


    "If you guys were worried about that, the Academy provides assistance to those who end up pregnant. It would not have been an issue."


    "You would have let pregnant children fight against the Underworld?"


    "Of course not! I might have let pregnant summoners do it, though, as long as their combat ability wasn''t affected too much."


    Zach sighed and shook his head.


    "Whatever. I''m not planning on children any time soon. I still have a lot to do and see before I even start thinking about settling down. That brings me back to what I wanted to know. When are we going to the capital? And when can we leave the Academy for good? And where''s Nora?"


    "Woah, woah, a lot of questions there. Tomorrow. After the capital. And in the training room with your other familiars, I think."


    "Got it." Zach threw off his blanket and get ready to force his weak legs to stand.


    "Before we leave tomorrow, I want you to give a speech, Zach."


    "A speech?"


    The principal nodded.


    "You are the¡ªI don''t want to say greatest since I''m worried about your ego getting even worse. But you are the greatest summoner to have ever graduated from my Academy."


    Zach''s cheeks grew a little rosy and he embarassedly avoided looking at the principal.


    "Th-there''s no need to go that far¡­"


    "You''re right. You''re only kind of decent."


    "Hey! Go back to praising me!"


    "I want you to give a speech to all the students and just motivate them or something. The ranks of your familiars may have slipped out. Most seem to think that doing what you did is impossible without ridiculous luck and abundantly powerful familiars."


    "They would be right. It is impossible. Without my luck, good or bad, and my familiars, I wouldn''t have been able to do any of what I''ve done."


    "Well, yeah, but the other students don''t need to know that! Also, do you remember what you thought about defeating Ugor?"


    "...We all were pretty sure it was impossible."


    "You were convinced it was impossible. Yet you still went ahead and did it. That''s what being a summoner is all about¡ªdoing the impossible. I just need you to convince the other students that challenging the impossible is fun."


    "I''m not sure I can do just that, but I can at least do a speech."


    "Perfect! And maybe get dressed before taking off your blanket in front of people."

 Chapter 405 Monologue

    Zach had planned to find Nora, the rest of his familiars, and his friends after waking up, but when the principal asked him if he wanted to hold his speech right now, he figured he might as well.While the principal called a halt to all the lessons and asked everyone to gather in the auditorium, Yanael helped Zach clean up and get ready to stand in front of a crowd. Zach wasn''t nervous, but compared to last time he held a speech at the Academy, he had grown a lot. His words would affect the other students, and going into the world, his reputation, the words he speaks, and the actions he takes would affect how others view and interact with him.


    ''Maybe I should have waited a little and written something proper?'' Zach already had an idea of what he wanted to say, but maybe it wouldn''t have been so bad to come up with a proper speech and not just go for it.


    But as he thought about what he wanted to say, Zach realized there was only one option. When had he not just gone for it?


    Zach was done before the Academy had gathered in the auditorium, so he waited by the stage just out of view. It didn''t take long before Nora, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra arrived. The three maids were relieved to see him standing on both feet without leaning on Yanael too much.


    Nora looked like she had a lot to say, but she glanced at the stage behind Zach and listened to the murmurs of the gathering crowd of over a hundred people. Now wasn''t the time to go into a scolding or rant about Zach''s recklessness. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m glad you''re back, Young Master. I''m glad you are alive," she eventually ended up saying with a light bow.


    "So am I," Zach responded with a warm smile as he interrupted Nora''s bow with a hug. After hugging her for a moment, he dragged the others into it as well. He had been worried about his and their well-being when he collapsed after the world essence energy fully withdrew and let his body succumb to the backlash.


    Yanael especially had been on the verge of death. He was happy that she was alive.


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    He was definitely not taking advantage of the sappy atmosphere to be surrounded by warm and soft bodies pressing against him. But it was nice until the principal interrupted their hug by clearing his throat.


    "I hate to disturb you, but¡­"


    "Then don''t."


    The principal grabbed Zach by the neck of his collar and picked him up like a kitten. He tossed him onto the stage.


    Zach stumbled and glared back at the principal before straightening up and fixing his tie and collar.


    "Ahem." He cleared his throat and scanned the crowd. He didn''t understand how he had stood here three years ago and just cockily said he was going to use them all as stepping stones. In the end, he didn''t really use any of the other students as stepping stones. He helped them, and they helped him.


    The only ones he stepped on to rise higher was the underworlders and monsters.


    "This is a little bit of an impromptu gathering. I apologize on the principal''s behalf and hope that none of you were dragged away from something important, but since me and the other third-years are leaving tomorrow and don''t know when or if we''re ever coming back to this place, I guess the principal wanted me to say something and all of you to hear what I have to say.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t be long. I''ll just say a little something and then give you the rest of the day off.


    "Now, the only question is where to begin. The beginning I suppose.


    "I started my first year with no idea of what to expect. I ended it in a coma after, technically speaking, having been dead for several minutes.


    "In my second year, I almost lost a classmate, did lose a classmate, but he returned now, so it''s all good. And my friend lost her arm. I also pumped Basilia full of smog¡ªdon''t tell anyone it was me, though. That led to a bunch of trouble and now Basilia''s gone.


    "In my third year¡­A senior at the Academy betrayed us and tragically ended up dying. We were confronted by an insurmountable wall and faced with despair.


    "In my fourth year, I almost died again. I was turned into stone. I was eaten by a monster twice the size of this building, but I killed it so there''s that. I also fought with an old man several hundred years old. That was pretty fun. He almost killed me and my familiars. That part wasn''t as fun. All of that happened in the span of a less than a day, I''m pretty sure."


    Zach took a quick break while looking out over the crowd of fresh, naive, young, and bored faces.


    "Before I got to the Academy, I was a pretty unlucky person. I''m sure some have heard of it.


    "When you think of that and hear what I''ve been through, you must agree, right? I must be one unlucky son of a bitch to not only go through all that but also drag all my friends with me.


    "Well, I disagree." Zach found his classmates in the crowd and looked at them as he spoke. Anerias, Violina, Julius, Nessa, Dukiel.


    He looked at Nora and his familiars next to the stage.


    "I am the luckiest person alive. These years have been the best of my life. So far. I''m going to look for even better years out in this vast world we call home. Some day in the future, I hope to see you all out there.


    "Don''t be discouraged by whatever the principal does. Don''t let any walls stop you. Don''t let anything stop you from living your life to the fullest. If the Academy sucks, if the principal sucks, just suck back. As long as you''re students, you''ll be safe from everything but you''re own stupidity. Make use of that and do what you want while you still can.


    "As soon as you graduate, you can''t shift blame to the principal anymore!


    "I''ll see all of you in the future. Don''t forget to have fun while beating up each other. Forget to study, and remember that you''re done with schoolwork for today!" Zach waved and left the stage under a mix of confused applause.

 Chapter 406 Trust

    After the speech, Zach first quickly greeted his friends before returning to his room. They were happy to see him up and about and wanted to celebrate their victory, but Zach wanted to rest. He was still weak and tired, after all.But when he opened the door, he sensed the presence of another person in his room. With a frown, he walked over to his bedroom and opened the door only to find a young-looking girl in pajamas curled up in a nest of pillows and blankets, surrounded by snacks.


    Zach stared at the girl for several long moments. The girl looked up and stared at him, frozen in place.


    Zach slowly turned to Yanael.


    "Who is she?" This was his bedroom in his dorm. He would have understood if Nora or any of his familiars had taken the opportunity to make full use of his luxurious bed. But a stranger? What was going on?


    "That is Zoe, Master," Yanael helpfully answered.


    "Oh, I see. Pardon my mistake. And why is ''Zoe'' in my bed?" He said sarcastically.


    "Because she wanted, I guess, Master."


    "..." Zach gave Yanael a sharp look before turning to Zoe, who had started packing up the snacks and sorting the bed in a frenzy. When she finished, she took off the floppy pink pajama hat and stood in front of Zach with an embarrassed expression.


    "This isn''t how I wanted to meet you, Zach." She curtsied before introducing herself,


    "My name is Zoe. I am the Daughter of the Underworld, and I owe you my life."


    Zach''s eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down skeptically.


    "So you owe me your life and that''s why you are in my bed?"


    "I¡­didn''t want to sleep in anyone else''s bed, and I was waiting for you to wake up, so I figured¡­"


    "Well, it''s fine." Zach shrugged. "It''s not like you''ve ruined it," he said while grabbing the sheets to remove them and the crumbs Zoe had filled the bed with. However, his fingers slipped when he tried taking the sheets off the mattress.


    "..." Zach stared at his trembling, skinny, and pale hands without saying a word. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    "...Let me do it, Master."


    Zach didn''t object as Yanael made his bed for him while he watched. The others weren''t sure what to do.


    It was the first time that Zach had suffered this long after acquiring world essence energy. Usually, no matter what happened as long as he didn''t lose a limb, he would be fine after a day, especially if he added Alzara''s potions on top. But now, he had been in a coma for over a week, and his body and hands were still wrecks.


    He had to be struggling.


    And he was in this state because all of them were weak and incompetent. He had pushed himself so far beyond his limits that he might be permanently crippled because he had to cover for their faults.


    The only one who didn''t feel that guilt was Nora but only because she felt a bunch of other things because she was the only one who hadn''t been present.


    When Zach lay down in the bed, she took the initiative to lie down next to him.


    "...Young Master, you keep almost dying whenever you leave my sight," she said, just stating the truth.


    "I would apologize, but the only thing I''m apologetic about is leaving you behind every time." Zach closed his eyes and faced the ceiling with his hands clasped over his stomach. Nora copied him.


    "But that''s over now," he continued.


    "Since I''ve graduated, there are no Academy rules stopping you from helping me out however much you want."


    Nora hesitated. If not even Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra were enough to stop him from getting injured, what could she do?


    "...I''m not sure how much help I''ll be," she said, as if apologizing in advance.


    Zach was silent. He could say a couple of different things in response to that. He could say that it didn''t matter if she couldn''t help him, her presence alone was a help. He could say that she just needed to get stronger, then. He could throw out a bad joke about he doesn''t need her help.


    None of those things were what she wanted or needed to hear, nor were they things Zach wanted to say. They were easy to say, but not right.


    "I¡­trust you, Nora," was all he said.


    It was not what Nora had expected, but it warmed her heart nonetheless. She could tell Zach had read her like a book. He knew what she was insecure about, but instead of encouraging her to work harder and become useful or just stop worrying, he was telling her that he knew she would figure it out.


    Those same words that brought Nora comfort stabbed into the heart of another. He had told Alzara those same words moments before he was petrified. He had entrusted his stony body and the removal of the petrification before it was too late to her.


    She had failed. He had to break free on his own.


    In the end, both Jigak and the Daughter had said it was an opportunity for growth, and it had let Mandra exercise enough of her strength to hold Ugor at bay. The circumstances were forgiving for Alzara not breaking him out of his stone prison.


    But that didn''t change the facts. Not only had she been unable to do it. She had also stopped trying. She didn''t deserve Zach''s trust.


    Him saying that to Nora right now made it seem like he had shifted his trust from Alzara to Nora. Of course, that wasn''t the case. Zach had always trusted Nora, and he hadn''t stopped trusting Alzara.


    He had just woken up and hadn''t enough time to think too deeply about everything he missed while petrified. He didn''t care that it had taken some time. The only thing he cared about was that everyone was alive and together.


    With a sense of comfort unaffected by Zoe''s presence in her bedroom, Zach fell asleep again.

 Chapter 407 Cornerstones

    Despite Zach''s exhaustion, it only ended up being a short nap, and he woke up not an hour later with Zoe''s face a hand''s width away from his own. He looked at her. She looked at him for a moment before blushing and pulling away."Is there a special reason as to why you''re studying my face while I''m sleeping? Zoe?" He asked while sitting up, careful not to wake the sleeping Nora clinging to his arm.


    "...I was curious."


    "... Sure." Zach sighed and finished detangling himself as he got up, stumbling slightly when he left the bed. Yanael was there to catch him. Zach mumbled a thanks before looking at Zoe.


    "What do you want?" He asked bluntly.


    "To thank you."


    "You already did that."


    "And talk to you about something."


    "Something important."


    "I would say so, yes."


    "Alright." Zach gestured for her to follow him into the living room. He sat down in one of the chairs and gestured for her to do the same. When Soara came with tea and snacks, he gestured for her to begin. He had to wait for her to finish chewing first, though.


    "Ahem. Have you heard from anyone what the black gem that bastard had in his eye was?"


    "Nope."


    "It was¡ªis a cornerstone of this world, one of many. It is an important piece in the world''s stability, and it is the centerpiece of the Underworld. It was our most tightly guarded secret."


    "If it''s that important, how did it end up in that guy''s hands?"


    "That is what I am worried about. That bastard was a member of the imperial family at the time, so it''s not strange how he knew about the Underworld. We have existed in different ways for far longer than the Empire, after all. That he sought refuge with us isn''t weird. However, he didn''t just seek refuge. It was like we were his backup plan.


    "As soon as his rebellion failed, he came down and went straight for the black gem. He also knew how to take and use it. It might have been the gem telling him to use it since it has that kind of effect on the greedy, but it did not tell him where to find it."


    "So, you''re saying¡­?" Zach began.


    "...Someone told that bastard what to do," Zoe finished.


    Zach leaned back in his chair and thought about it. The black gem was important and not something Ugor should have known about, yet he did. Someone else told him what to do.


    "Who? Why?" He asked. "And why couldn''t they do it themselves if there was a reason why it needed to be done?"


    Zoe raised her hands with a shrug.


    "No idea. I can guess the why, but I have no more answers than you."


    "What''s your guess, then?"


    "There should only be one reason why they wanted that fucker to do what he did with the gem. They wanted to destabilize the world." Zoe''s tone was nonchalant, but her words still hung in the air with a heavy presence.


    "That doesn''t sound very good."


    "Mhm," she hummed in agreement.


    "..." Zach wasn''t sure what he was supposed to do with this information, but he appreciated Zoe telling him about it. Even if it was just a suspicion, he preferred knowing that there might have been someone acting to disruspt the world several centuries ago.


    "It''s just that¡­" Zoe continued talking, not done yet.


    "If that was their plan, they might never live to see it come to fruition," she said.


    "...Why not?" Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    "It would take several thousand years for the world to become noticeably unstable if they corrupt the gem or even break it."


    Zach frowned.


    "There are people who can live that long," he said, thinking about the principal mostly. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That''s true," Zoe nodded, thinking of herself.


    "But people who can live that long and actually do it are usually attached to their lives. They wouldn''t throw them away with the rest of the world."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure, but let''s say they can''t live forever but still want to see the world end, does this mean they have failed?" Zach asked, fully embracing the almost paranoid line of thought he and Zoe were entertaining.


    Someone or a group of people plotting to ruin the world by targeting one of its cornerstones? Come one, it sounded ridiculous.


    Zoe shrugged. But she still looked like she had something to say. Zach nodded for her to say it.


    "I¡­kind of didn''t want to consider it a possibility, but there is one way they could speed up the process if they don''t want to wait forever or to make sure they succeed even if Ugor fails."


    "Yes?"


    "...They just need to target multiple cornerstones," she said with a heavy voice.


    Zach frowned.


    "Are these cornerstones just lying around somewhere?" He asked.


    "Not at all," Zoe shook her head. "I only know of mine. They should be close to impossible to find and even harder to do something with."


    "...But since it''s happened with yours, it can happen to others as well."


    Zoe nodded.


    Zach was silent as he massaged his temples. He had just graduated, but he was suddenly talking about another threat to his safe, peaceful, and lovely life. It was barely more than a conspiracy theory, but the circumstances behind Ugor taking over the Underworld were suspicious.


    "I''ll¡­" A random thought hit Zach as he was about to say something. He was surprised this talk about the cornerstones of the world not being restricted. But he only found it odd, not alarming, so he set aside that thought.


    "I''ll talk to the principal about it. And since we''re going to the capital of the Empire tomorrow, I''ll ask a few of my contacts."


    Zoe nodded.


    "I will return to the Underworld tomorrow and make sure to keep the cornerstone safe. That tunnel also worries me."


    "Tunnel?" Zach asked.


    Zoe filled him in on the information about the tunnel, the Dollmaker, and their potential escape to somewhere beyond the ocean. Since Jigak hadn''t found anything except a tunnel leading straight away even after flying for over a day, it was likely that it wasn''t leading to anywhere within the Empire.


    Zach felt another headache on the way until he realized that part had nothing to do with him. He smiled lightly.


    "Good luck with that," he said simply.


    Zoe nodded. She wasn''t expecting Zach''s help with that, especially since he was checking on what others knew about the cornerstones.

 Chapter 408 Clue

    Zoe took her blankets and pillows and curled up in a new nest on the floor in a corner of the room while Zach enjoyed what was left of the snacks his maids had prepared for him. He thought about what Zoe had said and about how to go about asking the principal and the others for a few minutes before deciding it didn''t matter much.He could just ask the principal and Ursula about it when he saw them.


    Zach glanced at Yanael''s reflection on the shiny surface of his teacup.


    For now, there was something more pressing to do. A lot had happened since he last checked on his summoning interface, after all.


    [Zacharia Evandiel - Troublemaker | Savior of the Underworld]


    [Level 39 Master Summoner]


    [Innate Skill: Divine Luck]


    [Contract Skills: Blessed Defense | Material Extraction | Transcension | Eyes of Truth]


    [Contracts: Yanael | Alzara roi Kalam | Soara | Mandra]


    [Yanael ¨C SS-Rank Archangel *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Alzara roi Kalam ¨C SS-Rank Desert Witch *Battle Maid Variant]


    [Soara ¨C SS-Rank Deity of Death and Transcendence *Battle Maid Variant (SSS) (Incomplete)]


    [Mandra ¨C SSS-Rank Archon *Battle Maid Variant]


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    There were simultaneously more and fewer changes than Zach had expected. He knew not much had actually changed since it had only been a couple of months at most since he summoned Mandra. But it felt like a lot would have changed, even if the only thing he knew was Yanael''s evolution.


    Still, the title was more than he had expected. It also sounded like a pretty good title. It didn''t have the same negative connotations that Troublemaker did. But Zach was still a little surprised he got a title for doing what he did. He had killed a man.


    But that had saved the Underworld.


    ''I guess it''s because of that cornerstone.'' The cornerstone was what made the Underworld so important. By killing Ugor and saving the cornerstone, he did a great deed.


    ''I wonder if the others also got it.'' Zach considered getting up and leaving his room to ask them, but he didn''t feel like it. He was lethargic and tired so he remained seated and just enjoyed the warmth coming from the teacup in his hands while he relaxed.


    For the first time since waking up, he took a moment to embrace and enjoy the fact that they were done at the Academy. They didn''t need to stress over their grades and the Underworld anymore. From now on, the only thing he had to worry about was whatever he chose to worry about.


    And right now, Zach chose to worry about absolutely nothing.


    Then, there was a knock on his door.


    "Zacharia? Is it alright to be casual when you''re no longer a student?" The voice from the other side of the door called out and asked.


    Zach''s eyebrows drew closer to each other in a slight frown before he sighed and gestured for Nora to open the door and let the instructor in.


    "You''ve taught me a lot, Instructor Drupesh. Feel free to be as casual as you deem appropriate."


    "Perfect." Without putting up a front, Instructor Drupesh sat down opposite Zach and took the last cookie before looking over the table for a teacup she could use.


    "What can I do for you, Instructor Drupesh?" Zach asked, wanting to settle this before the short instructor pitched a tent in his living room.


    Drupesh''s hand froze and she cleared her throat as she gathered herself.


    "You remember that yellow brick you bri¡ªgave me?"


    "Yes."


    "First of all, thank you for that. Secondly, do you know where it came from?"


    "The Labyrinth of Syst."


    Drupesh''s eyes narrowed.


    "Inside the Labyrinth, I presume?"


    "Yeah."


    "Hmm."


    "I refined it with my skill if that''s what you''re thinking about."


    Drupesh shook her head.


    "No, that much I could tell. No matter how much you refine it, it doesn''t change the base makeup of the stone. If anything it enhances it, and that''s what has me confused. This brick¡­" Drupesh took out a piece of yellow stone and held it up in front of her.


    "...Is like nothing I''ve ever seen."


    "In a good way?" Zach asked, a little too tired to be entertaining this stone lover.


    "In a weird way. I can''t say whether it''s good or bad until I know why."


    "Okay¡­?"


    Drupesh could tell that Zach didn''t have a bottomless well of patience to sit on. She couldn''t drag it on or slip into her thoughts for however long she liked right now.


    "What I mean when I say that it''s like nothing I''ve ever seen, I mean that it''s like nothing from this¡­continent," was the word she settled for.


    "It doesn''t fit with the rest of the materials."


    "?"


    "Let''s say all the materials and stones I am familiar with are like students from this Academy. I can recognize someone who''s been a student even if I haven''t seen them during my or their time here or taught them personally just by the way they are.


    "This stone would be like a student from an entirely different Academy."


    "Your point being?"


    "...Uhh, nothing special, I guess. It''s just that the nature of this stone and this discovery is an important clue to the real nature of Labyrinths. This might have taken the academic world one step closer to uncovering the truth of the Labyrinths!" Drupesh grew more excited the more she talked.


    Zach''s eyes widened slightly, and he nodded. But he glanced at Soara.


    If he wanted to know more about the truth of the Labyrinths, couldn''t he ask Soara? It would probably be a lot of restricted information, but with two titles, level 39, and all the ranks of his familiars, he should be sitting on a decent pile of authority by now.


    "I see. Thanks for telling me about it, Instructor. Have you tried comparing it to the materials from Jira?"


    "I have compared it to a few treasures from Jira but not materials of the Labyrinth itself. I am planning on heading there next break if possible. But who knows?"


    Zach found the finale of Drupesh''s words ominous but he didn''t pay that hunch any mind and had Nora see her out while he returned to bed.

 Chapter 409 Plans

    Zach woke up the next morning and was still tired. But while he was tired, and his body felt heavy, he wasn''t sleepy. So he rose and took a stroll around the Academy right before sunset, letting the cool air flow through his lungs and maybe energize him.It didn''t work, but he at least met up with Nessa who was also out and about. Zach talked to her until the others also woke up and joined them. He found out that they had also earned the same title as him.


    It didn''t feel as special anymore, but it was right that they had it. Then, they talked about what they were going to do after stopping by the capital and receiving their reward.


    Julius was the first to announce his plans, possibly because he was the only one with them.


    He was going to follow Zoe back to the Underworld. He didn''t need underworld energy to live, but it made living a lot easier and more comfortable for him in his current state. His Mannequin would also continue growing stronger by living in the Underworld.


    After all the time he had spent there, Julius could also see himself living there long-term. He would be working for and with Zoe and the other underworlders to make the Underworld a better place than it had been during Ugor''s time. It wasn''t going to be a paradise, but it would work with the Empire to trade and offer help and such.


    Underworld energy was useful for many things, and the fact that they had an underground network over large parts of the Empire could be useful for trade routes that would otherwise be obstructed by mountains, weather, bandits, monsters, or natural disasters.


    Julius could return home, but he had already been stricken off the family register since they thought he was dead. Zach''s attempts at keeping the belief in his survival alive hadn''t worked that well outside the Academy. He could go home, but he couldn''t inherit, not that he wanted to, and if he did go home, he wouldn''t be able to stay for long.


    He was the son of a baron. He could either inherit or go start a family of his own somewhere else. Julius didn''t have any plans on starting a family anytime soon, but he was finding his own path in the world, and that path started in the Underworld.


    The others were initially shocked when they heard, but they didn''t try to dissuade Julius after hearing his reasoning. If he felt at home in the Underworld, who were they to tell him it was a bad idea just because they couldn''t imagine living in the darkness?


    Afterward, the others started discussing about their plans. The second thing to come up after taking a vacation at Violina''s or Zach''s homes was the planned trip to the northern Labyrinth of Vidur.


    They had agreed to go there together after their fourth year. But they had planned that for when they finished the fourth year after nine months of school, not nine days later, most of which was spent waiting for Zach to wake up.


    There was some interest. Zach wanted to go. The others also wanted to go. There was no reason not to. It was a shame that Julius wouldn''t follow since he would return to the Underworld after he and Zoe settled their business in the Empire.


    They decided to continue north after the capital unless something happened that drove them to reconsider.


    After a while, the principal popped up behind them and asked them if they were ready.


    Before they could answer, a shadow covered them moments before the dragon from last year slammed down into the ground in front of them, unleashing a powerful wave of wind that swept over the Academy grounds.


    Reluctantly and while glaring at most of the students, the dragon lowered its neck to the ground. The principal led his students and Zoe up onto the dragon''s back.


    Yanael helped Zach since he struggled with jumping the height to the neck from the ground. He didn''t even try since he didn''t want to embarrass himself in front of the others, but he knew it would be difficult for him in his current state. The top of the scaly neck was only slightly above the top of his head.


    It was an unimaginable height to jump with ease just more than three years ago. But now, Zach was filled with shame that he couldn''t do it.


    The others, who weren''t aware of Zach''s weakened state, just saw it as him showing off his closeness with such a beautiful familiar. But if that was enough to drive anyone other than Anerias jealous, they would have long since stopped being friends with Zach.


    The only ones who looked at Zach without rolling their eyes were the principal and Zoe. Zoe had seen him struggle yesterday. The principal was perceptive enough to notice Zach''s condition.


    The insides of Zach''s body were a complete mess, and it wasn''t something even his world essence energy and Alzara''s potions could do anything about in short order. Zach had a long path of recovery ahead of him. The backlash of overusing something as powerful and domineering as world essence energy wouldn''t be washed away with a good night''s rest and some vitamins. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The principal''s eyes narrowed as he wondered if he had a suitable graduation gift he could try and charm Zach with. If it was good enough, he might just be able to persuade Zach into becoming his disciple and inheriting the Academy. He just had to convince Zach that he would get a bunch of good stuff as soon as he agreed.


    The problem was that Zach was too used to good stuff. He wouldn''t be that easily persuaded, even by something good enough to deal with the consequences of overexerting himself.


    But at the same time, the principal didn''t want to give him something too good since Zach might accept the gift but not the request to become his disciple.


    It was rough.


    In the end, the principal decided to squeeze the Emperor for something truly valuable. Zach had done the Empire and the Imperial Family a huge favor, after all. He should be rewarded with something amazing.

 Chapter 410 For Your Efforts

    The students gasped in awe as the dragon took to the air and soared through the skies, giving them a glimpse into what it would be like to be a dragon and lord over the heavens. The only problem was the wind, as the dragon flapped its sail-like wings and propelled them to great speeds as they flew over the countryside and the Empire on their way to the capital.With the principal''s familiar''s speed, it didn''t take long for them to arrive at the capital. And in the principal''s usual manner of not caring the slightest about other''s thoughts and opinions, he had the dragon set down just outside the Imperial Palace.


    The principal jumped down with a smile on his face before walking past the pale and shocked guards. They didn''t even try to stop the principal or the others as they entered the palace grounds.


    Fortunately, they had been warned about the principal arriving today. The guard captain had told them to be prepared for anything and if something happens, don''t do anything stupid. The guards were determined not to do anything stupid from the beginning. That was part of their job description, after all.


    But when a large dragon suddenly dropped out of the sky and landed right in front of them, any thoughts of doing anything at all vanished from their heads. The guards pretended to be lifeless statues as the dragon lowered its head and sniffed them until their hair stood straight up. Their helmets? Already eaten.


    Nessa glanced back when she heard the crunching sounds. Fortunately, the guards were untouched. It was just pieces of their armor that had the honor of becoming the dragon''s snacks while it waited for the principal.


    Guards rushed out of the Palace and guard stations due to the ruckus the principal caused, but upon seeing the source, they lowered their weapons and ended up escorting the principal and his entourage to the hall where the Emperor or his representative held court on a semi-regular basis.


    It was a long room with stands on the side for nobles and commoners who had come to voice their requests, partake in discussions of the Empire''s policies, or, on rare occasions such as this one, receive rewards for meritorious deeds.


    Currently, the room was empty save for two people standing in front of the throne at the back of the room.


    The principal entered first and took a seat, gesturing for the students to walk forward.


    "Anerias Corom. Nessa Koche. Dukiel. Violina Systine. Julius Hersko. Zacharia Evandiel," the Empress Dowager said with a gentle smile as all six students bowed with proper etiquette before her, the Emperor''s representative.


    "You all have done the Empire a great favor. On behalf of the Emperor and all His subjects, I thank you. But gratitude alone is not enough of a reward for such a great deed as yours. Anerias Corom, rise and take a step forward." Ursula gestured for the young woman beside her, Rienne, to do her part.


    Rienne grabbed an item from the table next to her and walked down the dais and presented the item to Anerias.


    "For your efforts in vanquishing a threat to the Empire, you are granted the neckbone of a Two-headed Hellhound."


    Anerias received the bone that looked more like a thighbone than anything else with both hands. He could sense the heat and the power remaining in it as soon as he touched it. He almost wanted it for himself, but he knew where it was supposed to go. It was for his Blackfire Hound.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Anerias bowed deeply. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Nessa Koche, rise and take a step forward. For your efforts in vanquishing a threat to the Empire, you are granted the ashes of a Nightmare."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Nessa received a dark pouch with a curious expression. She had a feeling it was for her Midnight Butterfly. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Dukiel, rise and take a step forward. For your efforts in vanquishing a threat to the Empire, you are granted a Mountain Heart and the surname Spiros."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Dukiel accepted what looked like a polished, fist-sized stone and a paper with his full name. It was the document of his recognition by the Empire and Emperor. He was no longer a nameless orphan. He shared his name with the Empire''s capital, in a way turning the Empire into his parent. He was the first in his family.


    "Violina Systine, rise and take a step forward. For your efforts in vanquishing a threat to the Empire, you are granted the Winter''s Embrace."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Violina, although confused about the empty steely blue sword sheath she received, expressed her gratitude. Ursula could tell that Violina was confused, but the ceremony was still ongoing so she moved on for now.


    "Julius Hersko, rise and take a step forward. For your efforts in vanquishing a threat to the Empire, you are granted a Branch of the Sky Tree."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Julius received the ordinary-looking branch with an incredulous expression. He wasn''t sure what the Sky Tree was, nor what he was supposed to do with a branch from it. But he could tell that it was amazing just by holding it.


    If he looked at what the others got, it almost seemed like he was supposed to give it to his Mannequin, but that didn''t feel quite right to Julius. His Mannequin wouldn''t like the Branch, and the Branch wouldn''t accept becoming a part of the Mannequin.


    Julius shrugged and put away the branch. He could figure that out later.


    "Zacharia Evandiel, rise and take a step forward. For vanquishing a threat to the Empire, you are granted any one item out of the Imperial Treasury of your choosing," Ursula said with a smile as she looked at Zach. She could have picked out something for him that would be worth a fortune or of decent help to him or any of his familiars.


    But she had a feeling that it would be more entertaining if she let him pick what he wanted.


    The principal narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Empress Dowager.

 Chapter 411 Whats Your Relationship?

    "Can I help him out?" The principal asked before Zach could be smuggled away to the Imperial Treasury."No way," the Empress Dowager was quick to shoot that down. If she let the principal into the Imperial Treasury, she would go down in history for bringing the Imperial Family into financial ruin.


    The principal had the decency not to cross lines he shouldn''t cross. Usually. But if he was allowed into the Treasury, there was no telling what he would or wouldn''t do. That was not a risk she could take. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire


    "...Alright." The principal harrumphed and crossed his arms in disappointment. This would have been a great opportunity to show off his knowledge to Zach and help him rob the Imperial Family blind.


    The Empress Dowager ignored the principal and gestured toward Rienne.


    "This is Rienne. She will keep all of you entertained while I assist Zacharia."


    Rienne curtsied toward the students who reciprocated the greeting with their own. Rienne was about to lead them away when they heard Zach.


    "Thanks a bunch, Ursula." He even gave her a thumbs-up. He could tell that his reward was thanks to her discretion.


    Rienne sighed and rested her forehead against her hand. The other students stared at Zach and Ursula''s backs in shock as they left the courtroom.


    Zach had talked about his time in the capital when he returned. He had mentioned getting close to the Empress Dowager and using her summoning chamber to summon Mandra.


    They had figured that the story had been embellished.


    Based on what Zach had just said and Ursula''s light smile as she smacked the back of Zach''s head lightly, the story wasn''t embellished enough.


    "...If you would please come this way. I have prepared refreshments and details regarding your rewards should you be curious about their history and function."


    "...Yes, please," Nessa said before Violina got the chance. Both of them were curious about their rewards and they wanted something to distract them from Zach being all buddy-buddy with one of the individuals in the Empire with the highest status like they were old friends.


    Rienne led the students to another room where the palace''s servants had already prepared everything the students might want to eat or drink. It was treatment almost as good as the one Zach and Derot received during dinner at the Empress Dowager''s place.


    While the students ate, Rienne talked about their different rewards. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anerias'' bone came from a Two-headed Hellhound driven out of Hell a few decades ago. Most of it had been used for something else by now, but there was still a bone with a significant portion of the monster''s power still intact, which was a perfect reward for him.


    Nessa''s reward came from an incorporeal monster that was hard to find and harder to kill. When exterminated using a specific method, its death would leave behind potent ashes that could be used for a variety of usually nefarious purposes. The ashes of a Nightmare could be used for hallucinogenic poisons, curses, and drugs.


    They could also be fed to the Midnight Butterfly to strengthen its abilities.


    Dukiel''s Mountain Heart was the same thing he, Zach, and Julius had found in the Giupusta Locale all those years ago. It was the essence of a mountain. But this one wasn''t recently created and weakened by the Underworld''s influence. It was the product of a big and old mountain, and it was of even greater use to Dukiel''s Sentinel, especially since it was intact.


    Violina''s Winter''s Embrace was a sword sheath made long ago for a swordsman wielding ice swords. Any sword of ice put into it would be preserved and strengthened over time, transforming from ice that would shatter and break as soon as the user stopped inserting energy into indestructible ice that was more like diamond.


    There had been several swords to go along with the sheath in the past, but they had all broken or been lost in the annals of time with no one caring for the sheath and the weapons properly.


    But now, the sheath had an owner that could nurture it and let it nurture swords again. Violina was excited, at least, even if she wasn''t sure what the difference would be between the swords she strengthened herself and swords strengthened by the sheath.


    Julius'' reward was a Branch of the Sky Tree.


    ¡­That was all Rienne knew. She also didn''t know what the Sky Tree was. And she wasn''t sure whether he was supposed to try and give it to his Mannequin or chew on it like a snack. It was up to him.


    Finally done with her duties, Rienne turned to Violina with an expression of anticipation and excitement.


    "Miss Violina, I heard you have a spirit."


    "That''s right." Violina nodded.


    "Can I see?"


    "On one condition."


    "What is it? I''ll do anything as long as it''s reasonable!"


    "What''s your relationship with Zach?"


    ***


    In another corner of the Palace, Ursula and Zach stood in front of a large portrait of a golden-haired beautiful man. One of the past Emperors, who, like almost all members of the Imperial Family, shared the traits of golden hair and borderline inhuman beauty.


    "You ready?" Ursula asked.


    "I was born ready." Zach nodded.


    Ursula rolled her eyes and dragged Zach through the painting and into a large warehouse-like room filled to the brim with items and piles of gold, coins, and jewels.


    Zach''s jaw dropped.


    "...I might not have been as ready as I thought," he admitted after a while. This was more than he had expected. He couldn''t even see the other end of the Treasury, mostly because there were things in the way, but also because it was so large.


    "Well, it''s the accumulation of almost a thousand years. Your family shouldn''t be far behind."


    Zach narrowed his eyes. Somehow, he doubted that. His family wouldn''t sit on money like this. They would use it.


    "...You said I can pick any one item I want from here, right?" Zach asked.


    "That''s right."


    Zach glanced at his maids, who, as part of his strength, was allowed to assist him. He gave Mandra an especially long look.


    "You guys know what to do. Spread out."


    They nodded or bowed before carrying out his order. Zach also moved. He wasn''t the type to stay idle unless he wanted to.

 Chapter 412 Choosing An Item

    Zach and his familiars went around the Imperial Treasury for half an hour before gathering back at the entrance with a pile of things. Zach could only choose one item to bring out of the Treasury, but there were too many good ones for him to choose straight off. They had to narrow down the selection first.There was a blazing orange feather inside a glass dome, which contained the heat within but not enough for them not to feel it when touching the glass. Next to it was a tiny ingot of a dense, shiny metal that looked like it would become a great material for whatever it was used for, whether it was a weapon, armor, jewelry, or even a potion.


    There was a pillow softer than anything any of them had touched or felt before. It was like it was made out of the clouds of Heaven and the darkness of the bottomless pits of Hell. It was sure to guarantee a good night''s rest. A dull gold necklace lay next to it.


    There was a piece of fabric that stretched to fit whoever held it. It seemed to be very durable and even helped hide the wearer. Next to that was a wooden cane with a lion''s head of polished silver.


    All good things.


    Zach looked at Ursula.


    "Any recommendations to help me narrow it down?"


    Ursula raised her hands and took a step back.


    "What would be the point in telling you to pick one if I helped?" She asked, hiding her surprise at the items Zach and his familiars had picked out.


    They weren''t all the greatest items in the Treasury. But all of them were among the top tier. A few of them were also niched and not very suitable for Zach or any of his familiars. However, the items were of similar quality to or even better than the ones the other students received.


    It was a good selection. Therein lay the problem. Zach didn''t know which item to choose.


    He could tell that all of them were good. If he wanted to know more, he could always use his Eyes of Truth, but his body might not be in a condition where he could handle the backlash of using that skill inside the Imperial Treasury. It would be fine as long as he didn''t look at something that was too much for his brain.


    But he couldn''t guarantee that.


    There also wasn''t a need to risk it when Mandra had the same ability, albeit slightly different. However, she couldn''t reveal all of what the items did and their effects.


    The feather was a pure concentration of flame energy unlike anything she had seen, but it was a dropped feather that, in comparison to its origin, wasn''t as valuable. It would have been the best pick if Zach was a fire mage or elementalist like Violina but with fire instead of ice.


    But Zach wasn''t attuned or restricted to fire or any other element. The other use for it would be for Alzara to try and craft something with it. But that would most likely turn it into a consumable. Zach wasn''t interested in that when he knew he could get something better.


    The metal ingot would be great if he had a smith who could turn it into a weapon or armor, but even then, he didn''t use weapons and didn''t need armor. It could be used to strengthen Yanael''s sword.


    But Yanael wouldn''t agree to take Zach''s reward for herself.


    After how poorly he had slept lately, the pillow was tempting. Maybe if he slept well, he would recover quicker. But if that was all it did, it would be a waste, and he wasn''t sure if he would benefit from anything else the pillow could do.


    The cape was unnecessary. He had his Blessed Defense for defense and Mandra''s magic to evade detection. The cane¡­He had picked that up himself because it looked cool and because he might need it with how weak his body was right now. It also had a good feeling when he held it.


    But its energy was very subdued and it looked like it was the second weakest among all the items in Mandra''s eyes. The weakest and most useless item in her eyes was the necklace of dull gold with a medallion on the chain.


    Since gold doesn''t tarnish, rust, or fade with the passing of time, a necklace that appeared to be made of gold that had done just that had to be fake or made from something that wasn''t gold. It was unclear why it was in the Imperial Treasury in the first place. It looked like something one might find on the side of a street vendor''s stall.


    And that was exactly why Mandra had picked it. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An item like that wouldn''t be in the Imperial Treasury for no reason. And after all the years she had spent with her eyes, she knew to not look at only what she saw. She had to look at what she didn''t see as well.


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    She didn''t see anything special with the medallion. That in itself made it special.


    Of course, it could also be a keepsake of the Imperial Family and just put in the Treasury because it held sentimental value.


    Zach looked at all the items. Yanael, Alzara, Soara, Mandra, and Ursula looked at Zach. The items didn''t look at anyone, but the cane faced Zach.


    Zach was tempted to reach for the cane since he felt he would look cool with it. It didn''t quite fit his image as a young, vigorous man filled with fighting spirit who fought barehanded. But he didn''t feel like a young and energetic man. He felt like someone who went to bed early, woke up late, and didn''t do much of anything except complain about backpain, knee pain, hip pain, and the youth.


    But for that reason, he couldn''t take the cane. He couldn''t let himself become that.


    He reached out and grabbed the item he finally chose.

 Chapter 413 Vidri

    The dull gold chain dangled over the back of Zach''s hand as he inspected the medallion closely. The insignia had lost its shape over the centuries, but to Zach, it looked like a fist. He turned to Ursula and held up the necklace."I chose this, I think," he said.


    Ursula gave Zach an interesting look. But she couldn''t comment on it until Zach made his choice.


    "You''re sure?" She asked for confirmation since it hadn''t seemed like he was confident in his choice.


    Zach glanced at the other items again before his gaze settled on the necklace. He nodded.


    "Yeah, I''m sure."


    "Splendid. Let''s leave first." Ursula grabbed Zach by the arm and hauled him and the familiars out of the Treasury. She let go of his arm when they were in front of the painting again.


    She started leading the way away from the Treasury toward the room where Zach''s friends were waiting. She glanced at Zach.


    "...How come you chose that one?" She asked curiously.


    Zach shrugged.


    "Mandra picked it out and she has the best eyes out of all of us, so I knew it would probably be good. When I compared it to the others, it was the only one my gut reacted to."


    "So, you chose it based on a gut feeling?"


    "I guess." Zach shrugged lightly again as he put on the necklace. "What is it anyway?"


    Ursula hesitated for a moment as she looked at the golden medallion resting against the base of Zach''s neck.


    "...It''s one of Vidri''s masterpieces."


    "Vidri?" Zach repeated.


    "You''ve heard of them?"


    "Nope."


    "Right. They were¡­It''s a little unclear what they were since they lived several millennia ago. Not even the principal was alive back then. But they have remained in history thanks to the incredible pieces they crafted. Most of it was jewelry like the necklace you chose. But they also made things like daggers, braces, and, I know there was a mug at some point somewhere."


    "Of gold?"


    "Of whatever they fancied. The material didn''t matter to them. That is what made them so¡­fascinating. Today, we have mages specialized in making magic tools. They imbue magic of different kinds into items of the right materials and of sufficient quality to give them various effects. From what I''ve understood, it''s a bothersome process that puts high requirements on the materials and the process.


    "But Vidri¡­We have no idea how they did it. But from what we know, they could grab a pebble of the rock and grant it whatever mysterious effects they wanted. The mug I mentioned? It detoxified all poisons put in it and enhanced the flavor of any drink to suit who held the mug."


    Zach didn''t need the detoxification effect since his world essence energy did that for him, but he could still appreciate the usefulness of such a mug.


    "That sounds pretty convenient," he said. But it was just a good mug. Wouldn''t something similar be easy to make with the magical knowledge of today?


    "Can you guess what it was made of?" Ursula asked, a taunting smile teasing her lips.


    "Gold? Wood? Ceramic?" He threw out several quick guesses as Ursula continuously shook her head.


    Eventually, she gave the answer when he couldn''t guess it.


    "Air."


    "Air?"


    "Air. Vidri made a mug out of air."


    "How does that even work?" Zach asked with a frown.


    Ursula shrugged and raised her hands as if to say that was the point of her story. They had no idea how Vidri had done what they did. What they did know, however, was that some items were like the mug. Interesting and useful but not irreplaceable.


    "...And then there are the masterpieces. They are what Vidri didn''t make on a whim. Each one was made with a piece of their heart, or so the legend goes. I don''t think it''s literal. But Vidri''s masterpieces are a step above her ordinary crafts."


    Zach grabbed the medallion resting at the base of his throat.


    "So, what does it do? And is it fine for me to take it?" He asked curiously and worried.


    Ursula''s expression grew a little guilty.


    "That''s¡­It is definitely more than fine for you to take it. The Emperor made a promise, after all. As for why it''s ''definitely'' fine¡­That''s related to what it does."


    Zach frowned.


    "Don''t tell me it''s cursed or something? You should have warned me!"


    "No, no, it''s not cursed! It shouldn''t be, at least. But that''s the problem. We¡­don''t know what it does," Ursula admitted, her head hanging low in shame and apology.


    "You don''t know what it does?" Zach asked doubtfully. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "How do you know this Vidri person made it, then?"


    "Because it''s indestructible."


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    "So, just because it''s indestructible, Vidri made it?"


    "Not just because of that, but that''s one of the reasons. Just trust me when I say that the necklace is definitely one of Vidri''s masterpieces."


    "..."


    "There are rumors in the Imperial Family that it was made for a specific person, perhaps a lover, who eventually died, rendering the necklace useless."


    "Can I choose another item?" Zach asked.


    "No." Ursula shook her head.


    Ursula glanced to the side and saw Zach''s disappointed face.


    He felt like he had made the wrong choice, despite having a good feeling about the necklace.


    "There''s no reason to believe that rumor. Some members of the Imperial Family are just a little sappy. If you ask me, the necklace hasn''t shown its effects to any who have tried it because it''s been waiting for the right owner. Since you felt it call to you, it''s reasonable to assume that the necklace of Vidri has finally found its rightful master."


    "Are you sure?" Zach asked in a mix of doubt and hope.


    Ursula met Zach''s eyes.


    "Yes," she said confidently. In reality, she was not sure. She had just made that up to comfort Zach. But seeing the light return to his eyes, she could tell that it had been worth it since it seemed to work.


    Zach smiled and looked at the medallion.


    "So, what does this fist mean?" He asked.


    "What fist?" Ursula frowned. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire

 Chapter 414 Forgetting Something?

    Ursula stopped in her tracks and turned to the side, taking a closer look at the face of the medallion Zach held up to show her."A fist?" She asked.


    Zach frowned and took a look at the medallion again.


    "I mean, it could be a meatball as well with how faded the insignia is, but I think it looks like a fist," he said, not understanding why Ursula was making a fuss over what he thought it looked like.


    "You''re saying you see something resembling a fist on here?" She asked again.


    "Yes! How many times do I need to say it? What do you see then?" He asked exasperatedly.


    Ursula shook her head.


    Before Zach could ask her what that was supposed to mean, she said,


    "I don''t see anything. It''s just a blank surface for me."


    Zach''s eyebrows rose as he looked at the medallion again. He even brushed it with his thumb, feeling the grooves. He frowned and looked at Ursula with narrowed eyes.


    "Are you joking?"


    Ursula shook her head.


    Zach''s eyes relaxed. It didn''t look like she was joking. He couldn''t claim to know her well enough to be able to tell when she was lying hundred percent of the time. But why would she lie about this?


    He held out the medallion for her to feel the surface. She shook her head. She still couldn''t feel or see anything, much less a fist.


    "I guess I was right, after all," she said after a moment. The necklace had found its rightful owner.


    "..." Zach looked at his medallion without saying anything. If Ursula had been right, why was the only thing special about a necklace from someone as apparently incredible as Vidri showing him a fist that only he could see?


    ''Ah, whatever.''


    Zach couldn''t be bothered to think about it anymore and ignored it for now. So what if he had chosen a dud item? It wasn''t like he needed help from a mystical artifact or anything. He didn''t need any weapons or money, and he doubted the Imperial Treasury had anything that could help his familiars evolve.


    Based on what he had heard from the others about what happened after he passed out, Yanael''s evolution was only possible due to fulfilling a special condition in a set of very special circumstances.


    She had sacrificed herself for Zach and the other familiars without backing down¡ªsomething she had sought to achieve ever since she was first summoned as Zach''s familiar. She had accomplished that goal by not moving an inch even when faced with an insurmountable opponent who she couldn''t even fight back against. She had done it without fear or despair and fully aware of her fate.


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    That was most likely a condition she needed to fulfill before evolving as an S-rank familiar devoted to protection. She protected Zach regardless of what happened to her.


    Soara''s interference¡­


    Zach honestly couldn''t even guess whether it had been of help or only worsened it, but he could tell that Soara felt guilty about it, even after Yanael evolved and was fine.


    The world essence energy he gave her after breaking free from the petrification and helping her down to the floor had also played a part. It had satisfied the energy requirements of the evolution, much like how Nessa''s Millipede had needed to eat a lot of food before evolving and how Julius'' Mannequin had absorbed a lot of underworld energy before evolving.


    Following the theory of evolution that Yanael taught him, beings evolved over time. Each generation brought a minor change which compounded over the years until the creature was categorically different from its predecessor.


    Evolution in terms of familiars did something similar but skipped the whole time and generation thing by using a whole bunch of energy.


    The Millipede and the Mannequin had required a noticeably accumulation of energy before being able to evolve.


    For an S-rank to evolve, the base energy requirement would certainly be leagues above that of D, C, and even B-ranks. Yanael shouldn''t have been close to it. Even if she had fulfilled the conditions necessary for evolution, it wouldn''t have happened without the necessary amount of energy to facilitate the process. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If it hadn''t been for Zach subconsciously imbuing her with world essence energy to ease her pain and stabilize her injuries, she would have stayed dead instead of evolving.


    The entire process of Yanael''s evolution was a lucky string of coincidences and incidents.


    Nothing in the Imperial Treasury could help him replicate such a situation with any of his other familiars to help them evolve. After all, they wouldn''t be going from S-rank to SS-rank. They would be going from SS-rank to SSS-rank or SSS-rank to¡­whatever came next.


    The conditions would be even trickier, and the energy requirement would be even greater.


    That wasn''t to say that Zach wasn''t dissatisfied with his Vidri''s Medallion. If he knew it was famous but useless, he would have just gone with the cane. It at least looked cool.


    Zach stuffed the medallion into his shirt, letting it touch his bare skin, with a sigh. He was silent until Ursula reunited him with his friends, Zoe, and the principal.


    The atmosphere in the room was a little strange, and they all looked at Zach like he had just caught them doing something they weren''t supposed to, the principal included. But Zach was too tired to even care and just sat down, closing his eyes while Yanael poured him a cup of tea.


    He enjoyed the warmth in his hands as he listened to the others slowly start talking about the weather like that had been their conversation topic before he and Ursula entered the room.


    He was about to fall asleep when he gradually realized something.


    Where was¡­


    "Nora!" Zach exclaimed as he sat upright with a start, spilling a little tea on his lap.


    The others looked at him strangely for a moment before realizing.


    They weren''t returning to the Academy after this and had made arrangements for their belongings to be delivered to their homes or whatever. And Zach had planned to take Nora along with them when they continued to the Labyrinth of Vidur. But the principal had showed up and kidnapped the students when they were chatting in the morning before Nora had a chance to join them.


    That meant she was still at the Academy.


    "..."

 Chapter 415 Not Doing Anything

    After a few moments of silence in the room, one brave soul finally spoke."Master, I think I should be able to use a teleportation spell at least twice right now," Mandra suggested, only caring about Zach''s expression. She did not pay attention to the way the others'' mouths and eyes widened at her words.


    Teleportation wasn''t something mages could do in anything but theory, after all. But here Mandra was, proposing to use such a complex spell to pick up a maid.


    Zach slowly shook his head.


    "You could have done it if you hadn''t needed to push our bond as far as you did while I was petrified. It''s still fragile and I''d rather not take that risk." Zach didn''t mention that his current condition made it even riskier.


    Mandra nodded, understanding even the point Zach didn''t verbalize.


    Zach turned to the principal.


    "Can you have your familiar return to the Academy and pick up Nora, principal?" Zach asked. He wouldn''t go so far as to blame the principal for leaving Nora behind. It was as much his fault as it was the principal''s. But if the principal had waited half a second after asking if they were ready before they left, maybe they wouldn''t have forgotten Nora.


    "On one condition."


    "..."


    "Tell me about the item you chose from the Imperial Treasury."


    It was not what Zach had expected so he nodded and pulled the medallion out from inside his shirt.


    "I managed to snag this. Vidri''s Medallion or something. No idea what it does, though," he said with a light shrug.


    "Vidri, you say¡­" the principal echoed with a thoughtful expression, his eyes narrowed as he inspected the necklace.


    Ursula nodded and confirmed its veracity.


    "Alright. I''ll have my familiar bring Nora. Is there anyone or anything else you want while he''s at it?" The principal said after a moment of silent thought.


    The graduates looked at each other. As was often the case when presented with the question of whether they had forgotten anything, they couldn''t come up with an answer. It didn''t seem like they had forgotten anything.


    "Alright." The principal nodded.


    "..."


    "...Aren''t you going to do something?" Nessa asked when the principal just sat in his chair and sipped his tea.


    "Hmm?"


    "Shouldn''t you go tell your familiar to bring Nora?"


    The principal''s eyes widened in realization.


    "Oh! No, there''s no need for me to go to him. In case you didn''t notice, I can call for him when he''s far away. I can also talk to him mentally when he''s close enough. He''s already on his way."


    "That seems very convenient," Violina said with earnest admiration.


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    The principal nodded with a smug smile on his face. It wasn''t often he received honest praise nowadays. It was just a bunch of old but younger-than-him fogeys being passive-aggressive or downright rude.


    On the other side of the room, Ursula turned to Zoe and Julius.


    "You two have something more important to talk about than that guy''s ego, right? Do you mind doing so now?" She asked.


    "Not at all," Zoe answered and got up. She and Ursula walked side by side as they left the room to discuss the matters of the Underworld''s and the Empire''s cooperation privately. They didn''t need to hide the details from the others. It was just that it wasn''t the right atmosphere to discuss such important matters in a room that was supposed to be relaxing.


    Julius followed behind. Rienne was about to do the same, but she stayed behind and whispered something to Nessa and Violina before hurrying after the others, throwing a glance at Zach as she exited the room. He had already closed his eyes. Still, he raised his hand and waved at her as she left.


    She returned it with a quick wave of her own before closing the door.


    That little interaction did not go undetected by the others. They looked at Zach with lively eyes brimming with curiosity and an eagerness to tease him. But they could tell that he was tired. The expressions on his maids also made it pretty clear that they wouldn''t let them disturb his rest.


    Their excitement died down and they grew a little worried. It felt like Zach had slept almost ever since he woke up from his coma. Shouldn''t he have recovered by now? Was he just tired after three stressful years at the Academy and taking the opportunity to sleep while he could to make up for when he hadn''t done so before?


    Or was his condition worse than they thought?


    For now, it seemed like Zach was just tired, so they didn''t pry. But was diving into a Labyrinth the best thing to do right now?


    In one way, it was the best time right now since none of them had any idea when they would next be able to gather together all of them like this. After this, they would all do their own things and it would be difficult to do something like this together.


    But Zach seemed worryingly tired all the time, and the others wouldn''t mind doing something that wouldn''t be as stressful as driving into a Labyrinth.


    Zach managed to fall asleep even in such circumstances and after a while, he woke up to Nora by his side and the other graduates having gone somewhere else to explore the palace and do something more entertaining than looking at Zach''s sleeping face. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nora was, needless to say, a little displeased about having been left behind. But whether it was because she enjoyed the ride, was understanding, or simply suppressing her feelings, she didn''t cause much of a fuss about it. She just took her position by Zach''s side without saying much.


    Zoe and Ursula''s talks continued for several hours since they had a lot to settle and they wanted to settle it all in one go.


    Nessa and the others had fun going around the palace and just looking at old paintings and the palace''s architecture. But after a while, they had already gone to all the places they could go to without bothering the nobles and officials in the palace and were starting to get bored, so they left the Palace and headed to the capital.


    They were waiting for Julius so they could say goodbye to him anyway, so Zach tagged along. He led them all to his guild to check on Derot and the alchemists and let Alzara drop off a bunch of new and improved recipes.

 Chapter 416 Goodbyes

    Derot was doing better than fine. He had even managed to regain some meat on his bones. The alchemists at the Nyasm Desert Guild had also done splendid work even without Alzara''s oversight, but they were overjoyed to receive her boon as she delivered a stack of papers that contained not only pure recipes but also her thoughts and theories on various alchemical ingredients and crafting methods.It was another boost to the alchemists'' productivity.


    Derot didn''t have anything else to report other than the soaring numbers in Zach''s bank account. Zach had already told Derot to reinvest most of what he earned so he was disappointed to hear that until Derot clarified that those were his profits after he had already used most of it to invest in trade routes, ingredients, and expanding the guild.


    That made Zach happy enough to smile brightly as he checked the numbers Derot showed him again.


    Wealth was amazing.


    When Zach and the others were about to leave the guild and meet up with Julius, Zoe, and the principal before saying their goodbyes, however, Derot had one final thing to say.


    He asked Zach to be careful and vigilant. Zach didn''t know why, but he could tell Derot was serious, so he took it to heart as much as he could. He was weak right now, but his familiars were strong. There shouldn''t be a lot that could trouble him.


    But Zach told Derot he appreciated his concern before saying goodbye and leaving to say goodbye to the ones who wouldn''t be accompanying them up north. He also remembered that he had to ask the principal and Ursula about cornerstones.


    The youths were a little soaky-eyed when they bid their farewells to Julius. They had only been reunited for a little more than a week after thinking he was dead. It was a shame they had to say goodbye again so soon. But at least this time, they actually got to express their farewell, and they knew Julius would be alive and safe down in the Underworld.


    Zoe looked on with a cold expression as Zach, Nessa, Anerias, Dukiel, and Violina hugged Julius, her new subordinate. The warmth and love they all held for each other pricked her skin, feeling her with things she didn''t like.


    As if he could feel her gaze, Julius reached out and gestured for her to join their group hug. Zoe didn''t move. She didn''t know them that well and didn''t think she belonged there. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since Zoe didn''t come to them, they went to her.


    Zoe could have reacted. But for some reason, her legs didn''t move when the huddled group of youths shifted over to her, including her in their hug without letting her decline. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    When the principal tried to join, the group moved again, but unlike with Zoe, they moved away from the principal.


    Saying goodbye to Julius was a little sad. Hugging Zoe was fun because she made an interesting face.


    Saying goodbye to the principal was cause for celebration. None of them wanted to see him again for at least a couple of years. They didn''t cheer when they entered their carriages and left the capital, the principal, Zoe, Rienne, and Ursula behind. If anything, the mood was subdued in the group.


    But leaving the principal''s presence was a relief and they all let out deep sighs of relief. It was hard to forget about all the stress from their time at the Academy with him hovering at the edge of their group. Finally, they could put all the late nights they stayed up studying and their too-close shaves with death behind them.


    The two-week carriage ride to the North was too close to their time at the Academy. Instead of reminiscing about that, Zach and the others talked about what they had done before the Academy and what they were going to do after they raided the Labyrinth of Vidru.


    They weren''t in a rush and while they knew each other well, they didn''t know the details of everyone''s past. It was a good time to get to know each other even better. It was also an opportunity to prepare for adventure after the Labyrinth.


    Zach was still planning to explore the Empire and the world while looking for the answers to all the questions he had about summoning. It was a grand goal but interestingly enough, his goal wasn''t the grandest.


    Nessa''s was. She wasn''t sure about the immediate process, but she was going to evolve all her familiars to SSS-rank.


    The others couldn''t help but think that it would be impossible.


    But what had they just learned?


    Something being impossible just meant they had to try. It wasn''t impossible until it couldn''t be done, not before they even attempted it. Even if it was impossible, it just meant they had to try harder.


    It would take time for Nessa to reach her goal. But for some reason, the others didn''t think she would give up until she succeeded.


    Dukiel, Anerias, and Violina were still mostly undecided on whether to look for something else to do or take it easy for a little while. Since they were in the North already, Anerias considered returning home for the first time in a while after the Labyrinth and staying there for a bit.


    Violina considered participating in pirate hunting after the Labyrinth, and Dukiel was still thinking about finding a desolate forest and building a cottage.


    Weirdly enough, the three of them had more detailed plans than Zach, even though Zach''s plans were the most set in stone. Zach didn''t know where to begin, after all.


    He was just going to wander until he chanced upon something. It would have been different if the principal and Ursula had said something interesting or useful when he asked about the cornerstones. But since they just shrugged and told him to relax, he wasn''t going to pry where he wasn''t wanted.


    He was free to do whatever he wanted and start wherever he wanted.

 Chapter 417 Labyrinth Of Vidur

    As the carriages with familiars and former students rolled north, the weather gradually turned colder as they passed through towns and villages. It didn''t bother Violina or Anerias at all. It wouldn''t have bothered Zach at all if he had been healthy, but he wasn''t so it did. He, Nessa, and Dukiel picked up fur coats along the way and made sure to stay warm as they continued toward the depths of the North.The Labyrinth of Jira was located close to the edge of the Eastern territory in the last city before the border. The Labyrinth of Syst was located outside the continent in the sea. Following that trend, the Labyrinth of Vidur was also located on the outskirts of the northern territory.


    But unlike the East or the South, it wasn''t that easy to get to. There also wasn''t a need to organize or safekeep the Labyrinth''s entrance in any way. The rugged, snowy, windy, and almost lethal mountainous path leading to the Labyrinth entrance was enough to ensure only the ones qualified to enter would enter.


    The snowy monsters also acted as guards. Anyone unprepared would fall long before they arrived at the Labyrinth.


    Direwolves with legs longer than Nessa was tall and fur like blizzards as they ran up and down the mountainsides.


    Snow Leopards leaping from snowy shadows and cliffs as soundlessly as falling snowflakes.


    Massive primates walking on two legs throwing boulders of rocks and ice from afar before climbing close and attacking. Yetis.


    The snowy mountain range of Vidur was not hospitable. An ordinary entourage would have long been driven out or succumbed.


    Zach couldn''t put his full strength into his barriers given his condition, but they and Mandra''s magical barriers were more than enough to protect the group from the weather and any attacks they received. The other maids, Violina''s, and Dukiel''s familiars dealt with their attackers.


    Nessa''s familiars weren''t great at fighting in blizzards on top of mountains. The Millipede was too big and might end up falling and rolling down the mountain. The Midnight Butterfly and Dawnthief Bat suffered from the same problem as Anerias'' Darkwing. Their wings would get covered in ice and they would be unable to fly in the strong winds.


    Anerias'' other familiars, the Blackfire Hound and Hellcat were having trouble with the cold that Zach''s barriers couldn''t keep out. The Hellcat hid inside Anerias'' coat. Unfortunately, the Hound was too big to do the same, so it had to use its flames to heat itself. However, doing that melted the snow around it, soaking its feet, legs, and underside, which ended up freezing and being covered in ice as soon as the Hound let up the flames.


    Unsurprisingly, familiars from the fiery parts of hell weren''t suitable for the freezing blizzards of the northernmost mountain range''s peaks.


    Fortunately, Anerias and his familiars weren''t alone and could rely on the rest of the group as they made their way toward the Labyrinth''s entrance. Luckily, the entrance wasn''t on the other side or at the absolute highest peak. It was tucked into a corner of the mountain range a little above halfway to the highest peak.


    Three weeks after they left the capital, the group finally found themselves standing in front of a stone archway fused with a flat cliff face. A swirling white and glittery cloud made it obvious that the stone archway was not just a decoration in the middle of nowhere.


    There was something magical and otherworldly about it. It was the Labyrinth entrance.


    The youths glanced at each other tiredly. They had dealt with what the mountains threw at them with ease, but marching through the thick snow had been physically strenuous. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    They hoped a warm beach awaited them on the other side as they walked through the archway together.


    Unfortunately, the biting chill and the cold winds whipping the barriers with icy flakes did not relent even after they passed through the Entrance.


    The tolling of a bell and screeches from far away snapped them to attention, and they hurriedly took in their surroundings. While the weather hadn''t changed, their footing had. Instead of treading on snow, they were standing on frost-covered stone.


    They were standing on top of the walls of a large fortress. To one side was the fortress'' insides and a stair leading to the ground where armored soldiers were running around, carrying arrows, kettles of oil, boulders, and javelins.


    On the other side of the wall was a snowy battlefield.


    In the distance, an avalanche could be seen approaching the fortress. But it was moving uphill. It wasn''t an ordinary avalanche.


    Zach frowned. There was an ominous air to the mass of snow climbing toward the fortress.


    As it got closer, they could see that it wasn''t an avalanche. The cloud of snow was due to the beings marching so quickly they kicked up the snow on the ground, making it look like a cloud of snow was moving toward them.


    The enemy troops continued marching toward them at a thunderous pace. The bell continued tolling like it was the end of the world. The allied soldiers of the fortress shouted and lined up along the edge of the wall with their weapons.


    The youths glanced down the wall.


    It was so tall that even the Millipede''s full length was barely half its height.


    Yet, the soldiers running around Zach and the others like the youths were invisible had faces of fear and dread.


    The enemy troops were close enough that their features were visible.


    Those weren''t human features. They were monsters but not like any Zach and the others had seen. No, they were like ones they had seen and killed multiple times.


    But they were different. Their movements weren''t right. Almost all of the monsters were injured.


    Not a drop of blood flowed from the injuries, but it was clear that all of the monsters were in bad conditions. Still, like they were being carried by the snow, they surged forward like they were in the prime of their life.


    Something wasn''t adding up.


    Zach''s pupils narrowed as he looked at the enemy army. It looked like there were even humans among them.


    [Welcome to Urus Keep! Protect the last bastion of civilization!]


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 Chapter 418 Final Bastion

    Zach looked at the ice-blue holographic message that appeared in front of him and the others.[Survive against the endless horde of enemies and protect the Urus Keep.]


    It was the Labyrinth of Vidur''s task for them. It was like the Labyrinth of Syst''s twelve Trials and the Labyrinth of Jira''s floors.


    It was clear what they had to do.


    Zach, Violina, Nessa, Anerias, and Dukiel looked at each other. There were four sides to the Keep, which was situated on the top of a mountain with nothing but monsters on all sides. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ll take north," Violina said.


    "I''ll go west," Dukiel said.


    "Do you wanna share south?" Nessa asked Anerias. He nodded.


    "I guess I''m staying east," Zach said. The others set off toward their sides of the Keep with their familiars.


    Since Nessa and Anerias''s familiars weren''t the best for this, they stuck together and helped each other out. The Millipede and the Blackfire Hound were in charge of fighting beneath the wall with the other familiars'' support.


    Violina and Dukiel also sent out their familiars to fight off the monsters swarming the Keep. The Sentinel and the Transformation Cube swept the battlefield with lasers, enhanced by the Symbiotic Slime.


    The Ice Spirit, Frost Imp, Frost Wraith, and Violina, all of them strengthened by the ice-filled air, created avalanches of ice blocks and sent them tumbling down the mountainside, crushing the monsters that weren''t big or strong enough to take it. The familiars flew down and turned the mountainside into one big icy slope. It was too slick for the monsters to climb up and they piled up beneath the sheet of ice.


    Violina was tempted to join the battle herself with the blade she had fostered in Winter''s Embrace but she knew better than to throw herself into a chaotic battle such as the one that would unfold if she became the sole target of all those monsters. Besides, she had the high ground. There was no need for her to do that.


    Dukiel and Violina handled their sides with so much ease that they were almost getting bored.


    Nessa and Anerias did not have it as easy. Their combined long-range attacks were extremely lacking, so the Millipede and the Blackfire Hound had to leap off the mountain walls and join the fray directly with the other familiars'' support.


    Fortunately, the monsters weren''t that strong. The Millipede crushed them with ease, and the black flames spewing out of the Hound''s paws and mouths melted them like popsicles. For now, the two beefy familiars could handle it.


    Zach and his familiars looked at the approaching wave of monsters rising up the mountain. None of the maids had made a move yet as they were waiting for Zach''s order of who should go.


    "Soara, something is off with those monsters, right?" He asked before ordering them to do anything.


    "That is right, Master." Soara nodded. "I am not sure what has happened to them, but they are not alive."


    "What?"


    "It is similar to the Basilisk''s condition. It could be considered a state of forced animation. But this version is inferior to what the Basilisk experienced. These monsters have no hope of ever regaining a semblance of life."


    "I see¡­" Zach glanced at his maids.


    "Soara and Mandra, our bonds are still a little sore, so be sure to hold back. Alzara, investigate the Keep. Yanael, I hope you don''t mind staying here with me."


    "Of course, Master," Yanael said with a light bow of her head.


    The others accepted his orders and took off.


    Soara and Mandra jumped up on the fortress wall''s ledge while Alzara turned around and jumped down from the wall.


    Soara and Mandra started unleashing their powers on the horde of half-alive monsters while sensing the limit. Since even Zach could feel the repercussions of what they had done while he was petrified, it was clear that they had gone a little overboard with it, even if it had been necessary.


    That meant they had to be extremely careful right now, lest they worsen their bond and Zach''s condition even further.


    Soara didn''t have any trouble cutting the power to the monsters when they got close. The limit on the strength she could use mainly limited how far she could extend her reach when snuffing out the monsters'' fragile life force. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Mandra, on the other hand, wasn''t limited by range. She was limited by how much power she could put into her magic. So, she helped clear the monsters to the sides with the simplest spell of all, Magic Missile. A condensed projectile of magical energy.


    Originally, a spell meant for mages to practice how to condense and launch magic, which would help them cast more powerful offensive spells in the future. Since it''s meant for practice, Magic Missile was honed to the limit in efficiency in magical energy cost.


    However, Mandra didn''t need to stick to the standard formula for Magic Missile. She appreciated the genius and hard work that had gone into perfecting Magic Missile. And then she changed it to suit her uses.


    She kept the low cost but added in some destructive power and ease of casting.


    Almost like she was envious of the falling snow flakes and with the intention to make up for all that she had missed, Mandra filled the air in front of her with tiny blue needles of magical energy. The needles¡ªthe Magic Missiles¡ªcontinously zipped out and crashed into the horde, taking at least two monsters down with them each.


    And they were replenished just as quickly as they shot out. The air in front of Mandra was filled with Magic Missiles, each one only staying for less than a second as she chose targets and sent them out in a hail rain of magic that decimated the monsters'' ranks.


    However, there was seemingly no end to the monsters climbing up the mountain from beyond the base. As if that wasn''t enough, the monsters seemed to be getting stronger with each ripple of the wave. The ones dying to the familiars'' attacks right now were stronger than the first ones to climb the mountain.

 Chapter 419 Stronger Monsters

    The cold and crazed monsters didn''t stop charging the Urus Keep until night fell and sank the fortress into darkness barely kept at bay with a sea of lanterns. As soon as the monsters withdrew into the darkness down the mountain, Nessa, Violina, Anerias, and Dukiel regrouped with Zach.Zach told them about Soara''s analysis. The mere mention of the monsters'' similarity to the Basilisk and the Underworld''s artificial life project was enough to make their blood boil and raise their spirits again despite fighting for a day without a break.


    But they soon calmed down and told Zach about how it had gone for them. Anerias and Nessa were the only ones who had difficulty keeping up with the avalanche of monsters. But the soldiers of the Keep noticed which side was a little behind and threw most of their support that way.


    The soldiers didn''t interact with them and didn''t respond when talked to. They went about their business as if Zach and the others didn''t exist. If they tried to forcefully move the soldiers, they would freeze up until released.


    Then Alzara and Nora reported their findings from the inspection of the Keep. There were rations and supplies for at least several weeks. It was a big fortress. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But there didn''t seem to be any central authoritative figure controlling the soldiers. There were also civilians hiding inside the fortress. There weren''t many and there weren''t many who could move. It seemed like every person who could still do anything was contributing to the fight against the monsters.


    The atmosphere in the fortress, other than the five summoners, was glum and filled with despair. Still, no one stopped fighting. They hadn''t given up yet, even when it all seemed hopeless.


    Without Zach and the other summoners, it was hard to tell if the Keep would have made it through this wave unscathed. And if the rising strength of each successive monster was any indication, the monsters would only grow stronger with each passing day.


    What kept the soldiers going? What gave them hope?


    What were the monsters and where were they coming from?


    The directive given by the Labyrinth itself seemed simple. Defend as long as possible.


    It seemed like they would get their rewards when they could no longer defend and the fortress was overtaken or they died. The longer they survived and defended the Keep, the better their rewards. Also simple.


    But Zach and the others had no intention of failing. They didn''t enter the Labyrinth for sightseeing purposes.


    They had heard a little about what to expect since the only thing about the Labyrinth of Vidur that was dangerous was getting to it. They knew that it wasn''t meant to be ''completed'' like the Trials of Syst or the floors of Jira. It was an endurance test.


    People had looked for other solutions. Maybe there was a specific part of the Keep they needed to defend. Maybe there was something or someone outside the fortress that would come and help after a certain time that they could find in advance to speed up the process.


    Small elite groups had tried. Large groups of semi-elites had tried.


    It was a Labyrinth, so it wasn''t a waste, even if they never gained anything others hadn''t already gotten. It was also a great training exercise.


    But throughout the years the Labyrinth of Vidur had rested on the Vidur mountain range, no one had reached a conclusion other than the best to do would be to last as long as possible.


    Naturally, Zach and the others were going to do their best to break the record and stay for as long as they could.


    But their instincts were telling them that it wasn''t as simple as that. There had to be more to it.


    And if it was impossible to defeat the endless hordes of monsters¡­They already knew how to do the impossible. There was a solution somewhere in the Labyrinth and they would find it. Just because everyone who came before them had found nothing, it didn''t mean they wouldn''t.


    But they were still testing the waters and seeing what the Labyrinth of Vidur was all about, so, the young summoners decided to rest for now and then when morning came, look and decide. If they needed to defend against the monsters, there wasn''t much anyone could do. It would also be rough if the monsters continued growing stronger.


    Almost as soon as the light of the sun made it through the thick clouds covering the sky and mountain, the bell tower in the center of the fortress started ringing, signaling the start of the monsters'' siege.


    The summoners had managed to find heat and some rooms inside the fortress and slept well after a day of fighting. They were ready to continue. The only one who was still tired was Zach, but that had nothing to do with yesterday.


    He sat on a chair on the wall with Nora and Yanael to keep him and his cup of hot water company. He looked out over the battlefield and when he could feel the chill creep into his bones from the cold floor, he got up and took a walk around the walls, looking at the others.


    Even before the end of the day and the siege, he could confirm that the monsters were stronger than yesterday.


    If it continued like this, they would be too busy protecting the Keep to investigate the Labyrinth''s interior. They had to act quickly if they wanted to do something other than bathe in the frozen blood of the reanimated monsters.


    But for today, they would keep killing and fending off the monsters until the sun sank behind the horizon. They would need to take some time when the monsters halted their attacks to plan and organize.


    Zach was hopeful. Nessa and Anerias were struggling a little to keep up with the amount of monsters, but they still weren''t letting any up the walls and into the fortress. The others were doing more than fine.


    He had kind of cleared the Labyrinth of Syst, and he had been the first to do it. Maybe he could repeat that achievement with the Labyrinth of Vidur.

 Chapter 420 Disappering Into The Night

    At the end of the day, the monsters once again retreated back down the mountain, taking the corpses of their fallen with them. The blizzard howled outside the fortress, trying to listen in on the young summoners'' discussion."If we continue like this, I think we can defend against the monsters for at least a week. The problem would be¡­" Dukiel trailed off as he nervously glanced in Nessa''s and Anerias'' direction.


    Nessa nodded.


    "We''re holding you guys back. Sorry about that, but there''s not much we can do in these circumstances."


    Anerias bowed his head apologetically.


    "Don''t worry about it. It''s just that we need to adapt." Dukiel turned to Violina.


    "Your defense is great. But when it comes to going outside the fortress, I think you have to go. I don''t think anyone else would be able to handle the blizzard."


    Violina nodded in agreement.


    "And I''ll take Nessa and Anerias with me for some extra combat power and warmth while you and Zach stay and defend, right?" She asked, glancing at Zach and Dukiel.


    "That''s right," Dukiel confirmed before turning to Zach.


    "We should be able to defend the fortress just the two of us, right?"


    Zach nodded. If he wanted to and was willing to push himself and his familiars a little, he could probably defend the fortress alone for a couple of days. But there was no need to brag, so he stayed silent.


    Dukiel turned back to Violina and the other two.


    "As long as you stay outside the monster''s path, you should be fine. They looked hellbent on taking the Keep without caring about anything else."


    "I doubt there''s much else for them to care about out there, but I understand." She glanced at Anerias. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If we end up in trouble, Darkwing will return and alert you two. If we need help, Anerias will ask it to dance on one leg. If we are already doomed and kicked out of the Labyrinth, the Darkwing should probably disappear with us. If not, a little dance on both legs. Is there another situation we need to prepare for?"


    Dukiel crossed his arms and tilted his head for a while before slowly shaking it.


    "I don''t think so."


    "Good." Violina stood up and turned to Nessa and Anerias.


    "You two didn''t get enough exercise during the day, right?" She asked, not allowing their honest answers. She knew they had exercised plenty during the day since they had joined their familiars beneath the wall.


    But if fighting for one day after a good night''s rest was enough to exhaust them, they wouldn''t have managed to accompany Zach during his crazy graduation plan. They didn''t end up doing as much as him, but they were still well-trained and filled with stamina, thanks to the high levels on the summoning interface.


    Anerias sighed and got up. Nessa got up without the sigh since she thrived in darkness. Her Dawnthief Bat and the skill she got from her contract with it made her a natural predator in any lightless environment. Aside from the cold, the wind, and the snow, the world outside the fortress was perfect for her, and aside from the darkness, the world outside the fortress was perfect for Violina.


    Together with Anerias, who could help Nessa stay warm, and light the path for Violina if she needed, the trio created a perfect synergy. They packed bags with food since they didn''t know how long they would end up walking around outside the fortress, and then they set off into the darkness.


    The group of three summoners and nine familiars was surprisingly stealthy as the big ones blended in well with the darkness and the small ones disappeared almost completely. The snow and wind also muffled and hid their footsteps and the chatter of their conversation.


    There wasn''t much talking though since the powerful gusts ripped the words away from each others'' ears. They mostly complained about that and how cold it was without Zach''s barriers before eventually settling into a silent walk.


    Back at the fortress, Zach and Dukiel were making some hot chocolate to enjoy in the chilly weather.


    "Do you think we need to have a watch?" Dukiel asked.


    "The soldiers here already do. When the monsters start crawling up, there''s a guy in the central tower that starts ringing the bell. But I can have my maids stand on rotation for extra safety."


    Dukiel nodded. The soldiers would only alert the fortress if the monsters started crawling again. They wouldn''t bother informing them of Darkwing''s return. He preferred having someone who could communicate with them stand watch.


    "So, tomorrow?"


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    "I''ll take north. Your lasers will melt and waste all of Violina''s efforts," Zach said. Violina had spent the last two days turning the mountain slope into a thick layer of slick ice, rendering it impossible for the monsters to climb. The only thing that needed to be done there was to kill the monsters before they climbed using the corpses of their comrades.


    In a way, it was the easiest direction to defend, but Dukiel didn''t mind. His lasers melted the snow which turned into ice when it froze again. It was just that it thawed again when his familiars fired the next volley. He didn''t need the side Violina had prepared.


    Zach, on the other hand, was still suffering from the backlash he incurred during his battle against Ugor. Dukiel wanted to help him however he could. If he could do that by letting him take Violina''s side, he would.


    "I think I''ll head to bed, then," Dukiel said after finishing his cup of hot chocolate.


    "Mm." Zach hummed in acknowledgment. He still had a little left, although it had cooled by now. Still, he didn''t feel like sleeping. He was tired and knew he needed to rest if he wanted to speed up his recovery as much as possible.


    But there was something hanging in the air that just made him reluctant to close his eyes. It was a sinking feeling that caressed the small of his back, making him uncomfortable.

 Chapter 421 Bad Feeling

    "Nora, let''s take a walk." Instead of sitting in his chair and mulling over what could have caused the bad feeling in his gut other than old milk, Zach decided to get up and maybe calm his nerves with the cold air of the winter paradise of the Labyrinth of Vidur.Nora walked a third of a step behind him and the other maids followed further behind. Zach had only asked Nora to take a walk with him, but there was no way the others would leave his side. But they gave him and Nora some distance.


    Zach stopped for a moment as he opened the door and the freezing wind pierced his barrier and whipped his bare face. He strengthened the barrier around him and Nora slightly as she grabbed his arm, stabilizing him.


    "I really feel like an old man in moments like this," Zach commented.


    "...I am sure your recovery won''t take too long, Young master." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I hope so. I don''t mind being pampered like this, though."


    "..." Nora returned Zach''s chuckle with a conflicted expression. Zach''s recovery was so slow that it was hardly noticeable. She did not feel as comfortable as Zach joking about his current condition.


    Zach smiled gently and let Nora hold his arm as they walked. Despite Nora''s hesitation, Zach climbed up the stairs to the top of the walls, where the wind was even brisker and colder.


    He looked out at the darkness. It was pitch black like they were in the middle of the ocean on a night with neither stars nor moonlight to illuminate their presence. It was like the fortress was the only thing that existed in the universe¡ªthe fortress and the wind.


    "What do you think about this Labyrinth?" Zach eventually asked Nora.


    "It''s lonely."


    The darkness. The cold wind. The soldiers with empty eyes and no personalities. The lifeless monsters.


    Despite the action, the movements of everything around them, and the warmth of the torches, it was a desolate and haunting place. It wouldn''t be strange to go crazy if one entered the Labyrinth alone and managed to stay for too long.


    "It is?" Zach said with barely a hint of questioning at the end of his sentence. Nora wasn''t sure if he was doubting or confirming what she said. She got her answer when he continued after a moment.


    "I think it''s beautiful," he said, his eyes wide and bright as they peered into the depths of the seemingly endless darkness.


    It was an illusion of nothingness.


    No cramped rooms he wasn''t allowed to leave since the maids were scared of him. No mansions he got lost in. No gardens filled with thorny bushes, ponds, and angry dogs. No cities with people looking at him like he was a freak. No school buildings with students and teachers talking behind his back, judging him for things out of his control. No restrictions on his movements.


    It wasn''t paradise just because it didn''t have any of the things that bothered Zach. It wasn''t paradise because it didn''t even have pain. It wasn''t paradise at all.


    But that was exactly why Zach found it so beautiful.


    He sighed deeply.


    Nora could not decipher that sigh nor the expression on his face. However, after a minute she noticed a slight frown appear as the center of his brow creased slightly. Zach sighed again. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    Mandra was also about to close the distance when Zach opened his mouth.


    "Get ready. They''re coming tonight again," he said. Nora stayed by Zach''s side as the four familiars spread out and helped each other cover the fortress'' four sides.


    Soara and Mandra had no trouble taking care of the swathes of monsters charging up the mountain. Yanael also didn''t have trouble since her sacred energy had increased in both quality and quantity after her evolution. She could fling blades of golden sacred energy that sliced through the hordes like guillotines, cutting everything in half.


    Alzara was the one who struggled the most, but she refused any help from the others. She saw it as training to make up for her lacking combat ability, which had led to her being useless in the fight against Ugor. It was also a way for her to vent her emotions and guilt at failing Zach.


    The others understood her and couldn''t disobey her request unless Zach told them to. But Zach also understood part of what was going through Alzara''s mind. He would need to talk with her to understand more and ease her emotions, but that relied on Alzara being open with her heart and accepting Zach''s words as they were.


    That wouldn''t happen as easily as Zach would have liked. After all, despite her frivolous attitude, Alzara was the one who had shared the least about herself to Zach and the others. She had told him about Desert Witches in general and even joked about eating kids like the rest of her kind.


    Yanael also hadn''t said much about herself or her past before becoming a familiar. But she had been restricted and physically couldn''t. Zach had a feeling there also wasn''t as much to her backstory as there was to the others. Telling Zach was a matter of him asking. She had already opened her heart.


    Alzara was not the same.


    Zach looked away from Alzara''s beautiful dance of daggers and curses and back into the darkness.


    This wave of monsters was not the reason for his bad feeling. He wondered if something had happened to Violina, Nessa, and Anerias.


    If they had been ambushed, there was a chance that not even Darkwing could have made it back. But if they had been ambushed and put out of commission, they would have been kicked out of the Labyrinth and sent back to the Vidur mountain range.


    He hoped it didn''t have anything to do with them.


    But then what could it be? What could be the cause of this worry that he had only felt during times before disaster?

 Chapter 422 Source Of Discomfort

    Zach would have liked to ask Mandra or perhaps Yanael if they sensed anything ominous, but they were busy so he held off on that and instead turned to Nora."Do you feel anything strange?"


    Nora was silent as she thought for a moment before slowly shaking her head.


    "I cannot say I do, Young Master. Why do you ask?"


    "I''ve got a bad feeling is all."


    Nora frowned slightly.


    If Zach had a feeling bad enough to make him voice it and even ask her about it, it was probably a significant feeling. And it most likely had nothing to do with how he felt personally.


    Nora''s gaze sharpened as she scanned the outside of the fortress, adjusting her hands so that she could easily grab the daggers in her sleeves. She was on alert.


    Zach was also on alert, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield.


    But nothing happened. His familiars weren''t struggling or even getting injured.


    The only thing Zach could confirm was that the source of his bad feeling wasn''t nearby. He didn''t even know why he was feeling it. He usually wasn''t this sensitive. Either something more ominous and dangerous than he had ever faced hovered just outside his range of detection or he was imagining it. He could also just be extra paranoid due to his condition and subconsciously exaggerating what he felt.


    The principal had never directed any kind of power, killing intent, or even a weighted gaze toward him, but Zach had accidentally looked at him with the full power of his Eyes of Truth. He had trouble believing that he was currently facing someone or something more powerful than that.


    On the other hand, it made sense. Only someone or something stronger than the principal could keep the Labyrinth of Vidur undefeated throughout history. But were there rules to follow? Did it like seeing the Labyrinth entrants struggle for as long as possible? Could it not do anything but watch unless all the monsters were defeated?


    Zach frowned in realization. His string of questions made him realize something he and the others had overlooked.


    Where did the monsters come from? Why did they drag their fallen companions down with them whenever they retreated? What was the source of their reanimation?


    The Basilisk hadn''t revived on its own. It had needed Zoe''s heart and someone to put it there.


    It stood to reason that the monsters, while the process was different, were being brought back to life by someone.


    People in history were intelligent. Zach knew he couldn''t be the first to think of this, even if he didn''t think many had the experience of dealing with something similar before entering the Labyrinth.


    Zach sighed and lamented his current weakness. Otherwise, he could have been more proactive in looking for answers to all his questions about the Labyrinth of Vidur.


    However, there wasn''t much he could do about it now, and there wasn''t anything he could have done differently that wouldn''t have led to an even more troublesome situation regarding the Underworld.


    The monsters maintained their siege for a few hours before retreating just as they had done the night before.


    When Yanael and the other familiars returned to his side, he asked them if they had noticed anything or felt something while they fought. They hadn''t gotten the same bad feeling Zach had, but they all expressed a sensation of being watched. They couldn''t tell from where, but it felt like someone or something was watching them fight.


    "It''s safe to say something intelligent is controlling those monsters, then. It would also be pretty safe to assume that killing that something would lead to us conquering this Labyrinth," Zach said.


    His maids nodded. They didn''t have anything to suggest otherwise.


    "I think we should act fast in that case, Master," Yanael said. "We still don''t understand the mechanic behind the monsters'' growth, but it is rapid. With how seemingly endless they are, getting to the mastermind would be difficult even for us."


    Zach nodded slowly. He glanced at the fortress'' insides, where Dukiel was resting. He couldn''t say he wanted to leave Dukiel behind.


    But at the same time¡­


    Dukiel and his familiars were a step behind Zach and his familiars. Zach was in a pretty poor state, but as long as he forced himself a little, he was still strong. He would just delay his recovery a little.


    There was also the fact that he had fought against Ugor alone. Yanael had endured his torture alone.


    Zach knew Dukiel and the others had been caught and imprisoned by Julius and Monolith. They couldn''t join the fight even if they wanted to. Zach knew it wasn''t their fault.


    But he couldn''t help but feel that they didn''t meet his standards. They¡­ sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He couldn''t trust them with his back against an opponent strong enough to threaten it.


    "We should be able to follow their tracks if we go now, Master," Yanael said, convincing Zach.


    Zach nodded. He quickly scribbled a note and placed it where Dukiel would find it before leaping into Yanael''s arms and having her carry him off the wall. The other maids, Nora included, were right on their tail and landed in the snow beneath the wall soundlessly.


    Zach threw up a barrier to protect them¡ªmostly him¡ªagainst the cold wind as they started walking down the mountain, straight into the darkness that had swallowed the monsters.


    Zach''s world essence energy was dormant, but his Eyes of Truth passively let him see well enough in the darkness. Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra all were too good to be obstructed by something as simple as an atmosphere devoid of most light.


    Nora, who had been trained in the arts of sneaking around by her mother, was also used to darkness. As soon as she adapted to it well enough to see the monster tracks in the snow, she took the lead with Mandra by her side. Yanael and Zach were in the middle, and Soara and Alzara guarded the rear.


    As they walked, Zach could feel that they were getting closer to the source of his discomfort. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

 Chapter 423 The Answer

    The mountain was taller than Zach first thought. It was like they had been on the top of the world. It also turned out to be a solitary mountain peak with nothing but the Urus Keep on it. Zach had a feeling that the last bastion of civilization wasn''t just an expression for the fortress as they descended in the tracks of the monsters.As he glanced upward, the light from the fortress no longer visible through the darkness, Zach hoped this would lead to the end of the Labyrinth. He did not feel like making the climb back there to continue defending the Keep.


    When light started making its way through the thick clouds and the breeze calmed down, signaling they had made it far down the mountain, an unexpected and dreadful view spread out in front of Zach.


    At the base of the mountain were nothing but monsters, monsters, and more monsters. They covered a vast plain like ants swarming over a sweet. But unlike the ants, the monsters were completely motionless.


    Even the monsters that seemed to be waiting for reanimation or repairs weren''t doing anything.


    "I think killing all of those monsters is going to be pretty difficult, Young Master," Nora eventually pointed out. She couldn''t let the sight of more monsters than she could count daze her to the point where she couldn''t advise Zach on what to do.


    She had watched Mandra and the others fight by Zach''s side. She knew how capable they were. She had a long way to go to catch up.


    But the monsters they had slain the past two days and nights didn''t even amount to a fraction of all the monsters of various kinds on the vast plain. They also didn''t amount to even a portion of the different kinds.


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    The ones who had attacked the Keep were mostly smaller ones like humanoid creatures, wolves, primates, weird green creatures, and beings of the same weight class.


    However on the plains were not only smaller beings like insects and birds but also massive ones that, at a glance, resembled the principal''s familiars. There were also monsters towering above those dragons that resembled humans. Giants. There were other monsters that Nora couldn''t identify but that would certainly pose at least some danger to them if they were unleashed.


    "..." Zach was silent as he looked out over the vast plains. It only seemed like the monsters closest to the mountains had even a hint of power within them. The ones further away, such as the big ones, were no different from lifeless statues. But they would not remain that way forever.


    Sooner or later, they too would be free and reanimated to bring ruin to the last bastion of civilization.


    Zach shuddered. The world inside the Labyrinth of Vidur was grim. It was on the brink of annihilation.


    Zach couldn''t help but glance at Soara. From what the statues had shown about the twelve deities'' pasts, the world had also been laid waste to at that time.


    Zach frowned. Something didn''t add up. It was one thing if the world was ruined once, but twice¡­? And what if every Labyrinth was a retelling of the world''s destruction?


    The Labyrinths'' contents were more than just a fake scenario meant to set the stage. Soara''s existence proved that the worlds inside the Labyrinths were real.


    "...Is this another world?" Zach suddenly asked.


    The heads of all his familiars quickly turned to him at that question. It was something obvious to them and anyone who had reached high enough, but the matter of other worlds was not easily breached.


    "...It is as you say, Master," Yanael nodded.


    But now that the matter had been breached by Zach himself, the restrictions on the related information were significantly eased, and the familiars could tell him more about it. There were a couple of things they still couldn''t say. Yet. But this was enough for now.


    "Huh." Zach put his hand over his eyes and scanned their surroundings again.


    "A pretty bleak world," he commented. A single mountain and a vast plain filled with monsters. It probably wasn''t the entire world, but so far, it didn''t give him the best impression.


    The maids, excluding Nora, who was stunned, were a little surprised at Zach''s nonchalance. This wasn''t just an illusion or the past brought to life by the power of the Labyrinth.


    "To be exact, it''s part of another world destroyed by the monsters you see before you, Master," Soara explained before asking,


    "Are you not surprised that there are other worlds?"


    Zach tilted his head slightly.


    "Not really. It makes sense." He glanced at Yanael.


    "Heaven is a special place, so I''m not sure how that works. But the four of you¡­I doubt all of you would have been lost to history. Of course, unless becoming a familiar means disappearing from history, either as a condition or as a requirement. Also. World essence energy.


    "If you ask me, the existence of something like that means it''s standardized and common. If this world had been the only one¡­something like that wouldn''t have existed."


    The familiars were silent for a moment, each with their own thoughts on Zach''s reasonings. He wasn''t wrong, and he had figured it out on his own, after all. It wasn''t like he had to be surprised at the existence of other worlds.


    They glanced at Nora, who was still staring at nothing slackjawed.


    But his reaction was a little too dull in comparison to hers.


    "Would the answer to defeating this Labyrinth be to defeat these monsters, then?" Zach asked. "Something like putting an end to what ruined this world."


    Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra looked at each other.


    "That could be the answer, Master," Yanael eventually said.


    "Which means it could also be something else." Zach sighed and looked toward the monsters that were still some distance below them.


    He started walking. Whatever the answer was, it was down there. He just had to get it.


    Mandra grabbed Nora, lest they forget her again. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 424 Invitation

    As they neared the base of the mountain and the monsters on the plain, Zach raised a sturdy barrier around himself while his maids prepared for battle. They could feel the monsters turn to look at them, and Zach could feel the source of his bad feeling stronger than ever from deeper into the horde of monsters.However, contrary to their worries, the monsters didn''t surge to attack them in an unending tide.


    They cleared a path straight into the plains.


    "..."


    "...This looks like a trap, Young Master." Nora offered up her advice, already aware of Zach''s thoughts on the matter.


    "I know," he said, taking a step forward, inspecting the monsters. When they didn''t move and only seemed to follow him with their lifeless eyes, he continued walking. His maids had no choice but to follow him, their weapons and powers ready to lay waste to the monsters around them.


    After a while, the monsters around them changed from the ones that had attacked the fortress to ones who had yet to do so. They were stronger monsters waiting for their turn.


    Zach could tell that Alzara was curious about them and what materials she could get from them despite their situation. And Soara was studying how their reanimation worked since it didn''t work the same way it had done with the Basilisk.


    It was a hauntingly silent walk. Zach and his maids were scared they would wake the monsters from their lifeless slumber. And the monsters, despite being numerous enough to fill the vast plain, were dead silent. No breaths or heartbeats of any kind could be heard from them.


    Even the wind had died down below the mountain, sinking the area into a dull and rank lifeless wasteland.


    Zach had taken more enjoyable walks in his life. The only good thing about it was that there was only one path and all other directions were filled with monsters. The odds of him getting lost were almost nonexistent. And if he did get lost, he had the mountain behind him as an orientation post.


    After a while, without them getting lost, Zach and the others found themselves in front of the only thing that wasn''t a monster on what could be the entire plain. It was a tent like the one a military commander might use during an expedition.


    Zach glanced at his maids before grabbing and flipping open the flaps and entering the tent, no idea what to expect. His maids were less than half a step behind him, ready to intercept and retaliate against any attack.


    However, no one attacked them. There was only one other being inside the tent, and they were sitting in the middle of the floor cross-legged and with their eyes closed.


    The being looked like a human but with four arms. They were bald. Even their eyebrows were gone. There was not a hint of hair on their mostly exposed body. Due to that, Zach would have suspected them of being a man if not for their objectively beautiful features and the wrappings around their chest.


    If he had to guess between them being a man and a woman, he would say woman.


    As the tent flaps closed behind Nora, the four-armed being opened their eyes and looked at Zach with golden irises.


    "You," she said with a hoarse but soft voice as her eyes seemed to glow. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    "Me," Zach answered curiously as he looked at her. His spine crawled in discomfort. This four-armed woman was ridiculously dangerous. Probably more so than Ugor had been. But at the same time, Zach could tell that she couldn''t do anything. No, she wouldn''t do anything. It was odd. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You are the first face I have seen since I was dragged into this place," the four-armed woman explained as she looked at Zach''s face with a light smile.


    "My standards may have been influenced by my surroundings, but you''re handsome. Thank you for accepting my invitation."


    Zach returned her smile and sat down in front of her.


    "What''s the worst that could happen, right? If I get killed here, I just get sent back to my world. I figured I might as well try to get some answers to my curiosity."


    The four-armed woman barely shook her head.


    "That only applies if you aren''t killed by me. The Blizzard can protect you from the Blight when it''s been weakened by the hosts out there," the woman said with a strange tone Zach couldn''t tell what it meant. But he could understand the meaning of her words, and his pupils narrowed as he tensed up.


    "...If I had known that before, I might have made a different choice."


    "Mm. That''s reasonable." The woman looked at Zach with clear eyes as if waiting for him to flee.


    Instead¡­


    "So, what''s your story?" Zach asked.


    The woman was dangerous and understandably deranged. If what she had said so far was the truth, it seemed like she had been trapped here since the Labyrinth was made. That was at least over a thousand years ago and it could very well be more than several thousand years. And she had been trapped with nothing but the dead monsters for company.


    She had invited Zach for a reason, and it probably wasn''t just because she was lonely. But it was an undeniable part of the reason. Zach decided he could try and take advantage of her loneliness as he figured out what to do and how to get out of there.


    The woman''s eyes widened slightly as if she had expected Zach to express fear or worry, not curiosity.


    She blinked for the first time since the start of their conversation.


    "I can tell you my story. I am in no rush, after all. In exchange, I want you to listen to my request when I''m done," she said.


    Zach nodded.


    "That depends on the request, but I will at least hear you out."


    "That much is good enough." The woman returned the nod.

 Chapter 425 The Blight

    "I no longer remember my name. That detail has been lost on me ever since I came in contact with the Blight.""That¡­"The woman glanced around, looking at the horde of monsters outside the tent, not the tent''s inner walls.


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    "...is the Blight." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach nodded. He had already figured as much, but it was nice to get confirmation. The Blight was what reanimated the monsters and united them under the woman''s command. He wasn''t sure what the Blight was, where it came from, or how it worked, but those were minor details.


    "Before the Blight, long before it, I was an ordinary warrior. I was a proud warrior of the Ka. I fought for my people''s safety and wealth. Strangely enough, while I do not remember my own name, I remember the names of my family. My parents. My sisters. My child. Perhaps because they died before the Blight. How fortunate.


    "Yet, I do not know their faces anymore. I remember their smell, their names, and their touch on my body, but nothing remains of their faces," the woman''s voice was filled with sadness.


    "I¡­failed my people," she said after a long pause.


    "I, as a warrior, was the last of my kind. I, who should have died to protect them, could not die. I could not protect them with this useless life of mine. One by one, they fell around me." The woman sighed with grief that had stayed with her throughout the countless years since then.


    "...I do not remember much of what happened next, but suddenly, I was no longer just a warrior of the Ka. I was the Ka. And I was the strongest. I had avenged my people and then some, but I had no home. So, I went looking. But everywhere I went, I smelled the death of my people.


    "I had to leave. I had to go somewhere my people had never died. I turned to the stars. Nothing in the world could harm me. I was invincible, I thought.


    "How wrong but right I was." The woman sighed again, her gaze rising from the floor toward the sky without seeing Zach in front of her. She was deep in her memories as she remembered when she had bravely gathered her strength in her legs and took aim at the nearest star.


    "I left my world behind. But only for a few moments before the Blight found me. Suddenly, I was back on the ground, but I was no longer alone. The monsters that died when I fell stood by my side. Where I pointed, they went, bringing back new comrades.


    "But it was strange. I wasn''t the one pointing. It was the Blight using my body to carry out its ill desires. With me, it was unstoppable. With me and my strength, the Blight could not be defeated by anyone in the world. We were unstoppable.


    "I thought I would enjoy it. I thought I enjoyed it. But bringing onto others what others had brought onto me and my kind did nothing but empty my heart. By the time I realized, it was already too late." The woman''s gaze turned to the mountain.


    "The Blizzard was too slow. This mountain was all that remained." The woman sighed.


    "Now, me and the Blizzard wage a never-ending war. And unfortunately, it seems like I''m winning." The woman finally turned to Zach again.


    "What is your name, Handsome?" She asked, clearly done with her story. It was a little lacking in detail, and it would barely have been granted a passing grade if she had turned it in to any of the instructors at the Academy. The details were one thing since it was a decent short story that relied on the reader''s imagination.


    But it jumped a little. The characterization was a little lacking, and there wasn''t enough for the reader''s imagination to build on. And was it supposed to wake empathy or judgment? What was that ending?


    However, Zach wasn''t an instructor, thankfully, and he wasn''t here to critique the woman who had spent millennia with nothing but monsters to help her write her stories.


    "Zacharia Evandiel," he answered solemnly.


    "...''Zacharia Evandiel''..." She repeated, tasting the name. She gave him a light smile that would have earned her a sharp glare from each of his maids if they hadn''t been too worried about Zach''s safety to be jealous.


    The edges of the tent''s entrance flapped in the gentle breeze.


    "You may refer to me as Patient Zero. Thank you, Zacharia Evandiel. Thank you for accepting my invitation. Thank you for asking me about my story. Thank you for listening to the end. Thank you for heeding my request." The woman bowed her head with all four hands of hers on her lap.


    Zach frowned.


    "You haven''t stated your request yet?" He said, confused.


    "No? Aren''t your friends bringing me the object I asked you to acquire?" The woman responded with a question of her own.


    Zach''s eyes sharpened as he felt the cold breeze creep in through the tent''s cloth walls. He turned around toward the entrance.


    ''Why are they¡­!?''


    Zach stood up and looked at the woman.


    "What are you going to do with that?" He asked warily. He didn''t know what that was, but he had an idea, and he could guess what she was going to do with it. He did not like it.


    The woman smiled but didn''t say anything until after standing up for the first time in several thousand years.


    "I think we both know, Zacharia Evandiel," She said.


    "I implore you, do your best to stop me," she pleaded with sadness in her eyes.


    Zach didn''t have the time to question what she meant before she disappeared from the spot as she tried to leave the tent. His eyes widened. He could not stop her even if he was prepared for that speed. If he had been as strong as he was when fighting Ugor¡­ Maybe things would have been different.


    For now, he was lucky that she did not aim for him. He was lucky that he was not alone. He was lucky that he was at a higher level now than when fighting Ugor. He was lucky Yanael had evolved.

 Chapter 426 Tilting Scales

    Yanael had already suspected Patient Zero''s intentions based on what she had said so far and what she could sense happening outside the tent. So, she was ready to intercept as soon as Patient Zero made a move. Before the four-armed woman could leave the tent, Yanael blocked her with her shield.Patient Zero rammed first two fists then another two into the shield. The second round with the lower fists'' upward swing would have been enough to send the old Yanael flying. But now, Yanael''s feet dug into the ground, and she did not move an inch as she drew her sword. Filled with sacred energy, it lashed out to give Patient Zero the same treatment it had given the monsters just a few hours ago.


    However, her sword barely scratched Patient Zero''s well-trained stomach. It didn''t even make her flinch as she reached for the sword when Yanael thrust it at her stomach again. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Patient Zero trapped Yanael''s sword between two hands while her two other hands grabbed the rim of her shield and tore it out of Yanael''s hand. Yanael let it happen. The shield wouldn''t do much in this fight anyway. In return, she punched Patient Zero in the face.


    A thick drop of dark blood slowly trickled out of her nose as she looked at Yanael with a complicated expression before her gaze shifted into the distance behind her. Yanael wasn''t tricked, and she kept her attention on Patient Zero.


    Patient Zero tugged on the sword, dragging the tip to the side and behind her, forcing Yanael to take a step forward. She could have let go since Patient Zero was already reaching for her shoulders. Instead, she stepped into Patient Zero''s tug and used the force of the powerful warrior of Ka to headbutt her.


    Patient Zero grabbed the back of Yanael''s head and returned the headbutt with one of her own. Her other two hands let go of the sword and punched either side of Yanael''s torso. Yanael was too close to use the sword anyway, but now that Patient Zero had let go of it, she could transform it into a bracelet again and use her fist to try and match the four-armed woman''s strikes.


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    She could.


    Patient Zero needed to use two hands to keep Yanael in a headlock and keep her from headbutting again. It had only taken Patient Zero one exchange to figure out that Yanael''s headbutts dealt more damage to her than hers did to Yanael. It was because Yanael was fighting with sacred energy while Patient Zero was fighting with nothing but her physical body.


    She also couldn''t release Yanael and let her step away since that would give her space to wield her sword again. While it had only scratched her skin, it was an advantage in the fight nonetheless.


    However, the sword and shield weren''t Yanael''s only advantages in this fight. Her maid dress wasn''t made of simple fabric that did nothing to block the physical impact of Patient Zero''s strikes. It was part of her as a familiar and a Battle Maid variant. It couldn''t compare to the strength of her bones, but it was more durable than her skin. And there were several layers of cloth separating Yanael''s skin and Patient Zero''s knuckles.


    If the battle had been determined by just that much and what each combatant had displayed so far, it would have strongly been in Yanael''s favor.


    Unfortunately, Patient Zero was not that shallow of a being. There was more to her than taking a couple of hits and letting herself get trapped into a dogfight after trying to get out of the tent and toward the object coming her way as soon as possible.


    Even so, her build, her four arms, her dense skull, her visual acuity and her compact muscles made her perfect for dogfights.


    She was the last of her kind. The Ka were not all fighters, at least not until she was the last one. No people were solely made of fighters. If they were, they would not last long. But they were innately strong and versatile to the point where others found them dangerous by their mere existence.


    Patient Zero was someone who survived others'' rejection of her kind. She was the lone survivor of their genocide and it had nothing to do with the whims or mercy of those who feared the Ka. They did not have the capacity for that, especially in death.


    With her bare hands, she tore apart those who sought the destruction of her and her kind. And then, as if to escape the memories haunting her, she aimed to tear apart the sky and walk into the sea of stars.


    She didn''t just try, either. She succeeded. She opened up a path beyond her world. She built the bridge between her world and the sea of stars beyond.


    Unfortunately, it was a bridge that worked both ways, and before she could tear it down behind her, the Blight brought her back down to her world. The very same Blight that took over her world, save for a single mountain. The very same Blight that rendered all other living beings lifeless monsters with nothing but a thirst for more comrades tried to take control over Patient Zero, and it failed.


    It seized control of her body, but her mind stayed mostly intact despite the Blight''s infection and the passage of millennia.


    For thousands of years, Patient Zero had waged a cold war against not only the Blizzard, but also the Blight, and she had done it without moving so much as a muscle.


    Her body was stiff and her movements were rusty.


    It was only natural that Yanael had the advantage at the start. But if battles were decided by something as simple as a slight tilt of the scales, why train? Why sharpen one''s blade? Why hone one''s technique? Why improve one''s energy?


    With each punch, Patient Zero shook the rust off her muscles and the dust off her skin. As if each strike dropped several stones off her body, Patient Zero''s moves became faster and faster.


    Four glaringly white wings burst out of Yanael''s back in a gust of wind that sent the tent flying.


    Right.


    Another reason why Patient Zero wouldn''t lose that easily.


    She wasn''t alone.

 Chapter 427 Footwork

    Zach and his maids were lucky yet again, however. Patient Zero''s tent had been pretty deep into the horde of monsters, and many of them had yet to regain even a fraction of their power for whatever reason. Most of them could only slowly and stiffly move to help Patient Zero suppress Yanael."Soara, deal with the small fries. Mandra, help Yanael and Soara as you see fit. Alzara, Nora, clear a path for me. We need to get to Violina and the others." Zach quickly threw out a string of orders for his maids as he turned around and tried to peer through the horde of undead monsters for any signs of Violina.


    He didn''t have much luck since the monsters in that direction lined up to block him, Nora, and Alzara. But the monsters just confirmed it was the right direction. Alzara and Nora grabbed their daggers and started cutting.


    Alzara was stronger and did the heavy lifting while Nora focused more on keeping Zach out of harm''s way.


    On the opposite side of the blockade, the monsters were opening a path for Violina, Nessa, and Anerias and their familiars. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them with Violina carrying a large ball of what looked like ice.


    There was an anxious look on their faces.


    Yanael had managed to extract herself from Patient Zero''s headlock and turned it into a battle where her sword repeatedly clashed against Patient Zero''s steel-like fists as the latter tried to go around her or close the distance.


    Yanael was conflicted. For one, Zach had went in the opposite direction and entered a sea of monsters while she couldn''t protect him since she was busy.


    But she was mostly worried about Patient Zero. Since it was clear Patient Zero wanted to avoid the fight and get to whatever Violina and the others were bringing, it should be in her best interests to stall the fight for as long as possible. But at the same time, Yanael had a feeling that she did not want this fight to go on for too long, even if it would be hard to defeat Patient Zero in a short battle.


    When she thought about how Patient Zero was quickly getting faster and getting used to moving again after several thousand years, Yanael was reminded of how the monsters grew stronger with each passing minute. That couldn''t be because they were getting used to fighting again.


    There was something that made the monsters stronger as time passed.


    What if the same applied to Patient Zero?


    If her story was true, Yanael could understand why each attempt at the Labyrinth of Vidur had ended with the complete annihilation of all entrants. The longer they fought, the more time passed, and the more time that passed, the closer to regaining their former strength the monsters would get.


    The monsters that had attacked the Keep so far weren''t that strong to begin with, so they could move and attack even with a fraction of their strength. However, the stronger monsters needed to recover more strength before even being able to move.


    Patient Zero, while she could move with less than a fraction of her real strength, assuming this theory was true, would be invincible if she recovered to close to her peak.


    Yanael had followed Zach for several years now and made full use of the Academy''s library to read up on what could be useful. Information on strong people was useful, so they had looked for that. They had found a lot. They had also encountered strong people on several occasions.


    Yet, Yanael had never gotten the impression or even heard rumors about someone being strong enough to leave the world.


    It was very likely that Patient Zero was the strongest being they had faced, even if she was currently in an extremely weakened state. That meant no one from outside the Labyrinth could defeat her if enough time passed for her to regain her strength.


    The question was how she and the monsters gained strength just by time passing. Did it have something to do with the thing Violina was carrying?


    But why was Patient Zero in a rush if she was getting stronger with each passing second?


    Yanael blocked two of Patient Zero''s fists with the flat of her blade, trapped a third between her arm and leg, and headbutted the fourth one. The leg she raised to trap Patient Zero''s third arm shot down as soon as Patient Zero pulled out her fist and kicked the latter''s shin.


    Yanael quickly shifted her weight to that foot and raised her other, spinning it into Patient Zero''s other knee. When Patient Zero was too slow to reach down and block it, Yanael sliced the skin on the arm reaching down with a quick thrust, finally drawing blood.


    Patient Zero''s facial muscles didn''t move, but her eyes were dark with emotions Yanael couldn''t read.


    Yanael had a feeling she was missing something¡ªthat they were all missing something. But she couldn''t afford to consider that right now, especially when she had figured out a weakness in Patient Zero''s combat technique.


    With her four arms, Patient Zero was top-heavy and relied a lot on her fists when fighting. Her legs were stable and planted like mountains in the ground to support that. They hadn''t budged an inch from Yanael''s kicks. But she also hadn''t blocked with her legs. She had tried to use her fists to defend against a kick.


    Yanael had the advantage in footwork and agility, even if she lagged a little behind in raw strength, speed, and fist techniques.


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    Yanael quickly raised a foot and front kicked Patient Zero in the abdomen. Patient Zero easily caught her foot. That was what Yanael had counted on as she raised her other foot and kicked the side of Patient Zero''s head.


    Patient Zero blocked it but didn''t manage to catch the foot.


    Yanael whipped her foot up and down like a question mark and axed the top of Patient Zero''s head. Another block. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Yanael put a lot of power into her kicks thanks to the stable grip Patient Zero had on her other foot.


    Lastly, Yanael tried to kick Patient Zero straight in the face. But Patient Zero had given up on trying to catch both of Yanael''s feet and simply flung her away.

 Chapter 428 Blizzard

    Yanael sailed through the air for a moment before flapping her wings and stabilizing herself mid-air. Another flap pushed her forward in pursuit of Patient Zero, who was being slowed down by Mandra.However, Mandra had trouble facing off against Patient Zero. Her spells just bounced off of Patient Zero''s skin like it was impervious to magic. The best she could do was raise obstacles and turn the ground beneath her into a swamp.


    But Patient Zero just powered through it like a bull.


    Mandra frowned deeply as she concentrated on Patient Zero. It was the first time she had encountered something as befuddling and downright rude as someone immune to magic.


    Yanael had managed to injure Patient Zero, so Mandra knew it wasn''t because Patient Zero was indestructible or resistant to energy. It was magic specifically.


    However, this wasn''t the place to sit down and ask or start trying to figure out countermeasures. Mandra wasn''t the one in charge of holding back Patient Zero anyway. That was Yanael''s job.


    However, Patient Zero had managed to take twenty steps forward in the time Yanael was in the air. And Yanael couldn''t push her back anymore.


    Fortunately, Zach was getting close to Violina. Yanael had seen them being almost within reach of each other, separated only by a conflicted wall of monsters, one side trying to block and the other trying to open a path. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Violina!" Zach called out since he could clearly feel the cold and his friends'' presences in front of him.


    Nessa, Violina, and Anerias stopped dead in their tracks as the last couple of monsters fell or moved out of the way.


    "''...ZACH?!"'' The three shouted in shock.


    "That''s me. What are you three doing here, and what is that?" He asked, pointing at the ball of ice the size of three heads in Violina''s arms.


    "That''s what we should be asking!" Nessa shouted.


    "Why are you here?! Where is Dukiel?! And what is going on over there?!" Anerias followed up.


    "Uh¡­A couple of things happened, and I ended up finding the one controlling all the monsters. But she''s pretty strong and it seems like she''s getting stronger with each passing minute. She also wanted that." Zach pointed at the ice ball again.


    Violina looked at him for a second. Just like the other two, she wanted to question his presence here. But now wasn''t the time for that. They could judge his decisions when they made it out of here.


    "Oh, before I forget. If that bald, four-armed woman kills you, you''re dead for real."


    "..."


    "This thing is the source of the Labyrinth, we''re pretty sure," Violina said, answering Zach''s question.


    "...Why are you carrying it toward the enemy?" Zach asked with a frown.


    "It wanted us to," Violina shrugged.


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    "To my familiars, and my familiars can talk to me. It''s a being of pure ice by the looks of it. I''m pretty sure this is the one managing or taking care of this Labyrinth or whatever."


    Zach nodded slowly. That ice ball was probably the Blizzard Patient Zero mentioned. It was the one who had saved what remained of Patient Zero''s world by putting it and the Blight in this Labyrinth, forcing them to fight forever in a battle that never ended and restarted each time outsiders entered.


    Rather than saving what remained of the world, it would be more accurate to say that Blizzard had indefinitely delayed its destruction.


    "...Did it say why it wanted to go to Patient Zero?"


    "Patient Zero?"


    "The enemy."


    Violina shook her head.


    "It kind of just agitatedly pointed in this direction. But since it cleared a path in the monsters for us, we figured we could use it to kill all the monsters, including their source."


    Zach shook his head.


    "That one wasn''t the one moving the monsters."


    "You mean¡­?"


    "Yeah. Patient Zero wants that. She cleared the monsters. Maybe it pointed in this direction to warn you?"


    "..." Violina was silent.


    "..." Zach wasn''t sure what to say.


    "Fuck," Nessa cursed.


    Anerias glanced back.


    The monsters had closed up behind and around them. They would have to fight if they wanted to get out. Even after getting out of the encirclement, they would have to climb the mountain while the monsters pursued them if they wanted to get to safety.


    Even then, safety would only be temporary.


    Violina frowned as she looked at her familiars and then at the ball of opaque ice. After a couple of seconds, she turned to Zach with a confused face.


    "Now it''s saying¡­it wants you," she said with an odd look.


    Zach''s eyebrows rose.


    "Ah," he answered in realization.


    The Blizzard was something like the child of the world, similar to how Zoe was the Daughter of the Underworld. But it was incomplete and weak, probably due to putting everyone in the Labyrinth or creating it.


    It needed strength.


    Zach sighed. He wasn''t sure if he could do it. He hadn''t dared touch his world essence energy after the fight against Ugor. But now, it seemed like he didn''t have much of a choice.


    Patient Zero wanted the Blizzard to most likely end the Labyrinth''s imprisonment and break free. Or rather, the Blight wanted that. It wasn''t satisfied.


    Zach wasn''t sure if it was just his paranoia talking, but if Patient Zero regained her strength and unleashed the Blight on the Empire, he wasn''t sure if even the principal could stop her.


    He didn''t even know if Patient Zero and the Blight could get out of the Labyrinth. But she wanted the Blizzard for a reason, whatever it was.


    He couldn''t let that happen.


    However, while Patient Zero could take down the Blizzard, Blizzard might be the only thing that could handle Patient Zero as long as it also regained some of its strength, considering it was the one that trapped Patient Zero in the Labyrinth in the first place.


    Zach nodded.


    ''Come on now,'' he thought to himself and the world essence energy hiding deep within him.


    "You too, Violina. Pump your ice energy into this thing. It needs a little help waking up," he said, putting his hand on the ice ball.

 Chapter 429 Freezing

    Zach closed his eyes, sank his consciousness into himself, and focused on his body. He felt the tightly wound bundle of world essence energy hide deep within his core, careful not to stimulate Zach''s scarred insides.Zach could feel its reluctance. For his sake, he shouldn''t force it to move. But did he have a choice here?


    Maybe.


    If they focused everything on Patient Zero, maybe they could stop her dead in her tracks and kill her.


    Was that guaranteed to end things? No. The monsters that they had cut down and killed returned sooner or later. Patient Zero, as the first to make contact with the Blight and the source of the spread, was undoubtedly carrying the strongest variant.


    Killing her might only loosen her consciousness and strengthen the Blight''s hold on her body.


    The Blizzard, on the other hand¡­


    Zach wasn''t sure what it could do, but it had to have some special abilities if it truly was the one who created the Labyrinth. It just needed a little boost to get back on its feet after using all of its strength to imprison Patient Zero and the Blight with its monsters.


    Zach urged the world essence energy to stir.


    He winced in pain as a thin tendril finer than hair slipped out of his core and through his body and arm and out of his hand into the ice ball. It was highly uncomfortable despite all the painful things he had experienced and learned to endure.


    Fortunately, the world essence energy and Violina''s ice energy was enough to stimulate the Blizzard to wake up from its slumber and stand tall.


    The outer layer of the ice ball cracked, and gaps ran all over it. At first, Zach thought it was like an egg. The shape kind of fit, after all.


    But the cracks were the outlines of icy feathers on a pair of icy wings that expended and unfolded.


    Violina and Zach let go of the ice ball and stepped back as it transformed into a majestic bird of ice somewhere between the Hound and the Darkwing in size. A pair of deep blue eyes like marbles looked at Zach and the tired Violina.


    ''Foolish children, you have my thanks.''


    Zach''s eyes rose in surprise as he heard a mellow voice in his head. Even without anything else, he could tell it came from Blizzard. He nodded. Blizzard turned its eyes toward patient Zero''s and Yanael''s fight.


    It gently flapped its wings and flew forward. At the same time, the clouds high up on the mountain slid downward like an avalanche. They took wind, snow, and cold with them, which Blizzard dragged behind it as it headed toward Patient Zero.


    Patient Zero and Yanael both stopped and looked up at the bird of ice as it carried a snowstorm on its back, covering the monsters around in heavy ice. The ones about to move crashed and turned into a thousand ice cubes when the ice swallowed them. Only the ones perfectly still maintained their forms.


    But they were rendered useless nonetheless and it wasn''t long before only Blizzard and Patient Zero remained the only non-summoners or familiars on the battlefield.


    Whirlwinds of ice and snow trailing behind it, Blizzard rose into the sky before turning like a dolphin and diving toward Patient Zero. Patient Zero pushed away Yanael and raised their four hands to brace against Blizzard''s sharp beak and the avalanche it preluded.


    Zach, Nessa, Violina, Anerias, Nora, and the familiars were left nothing more than spectators in the clash between pure physical force and the supernatural manifestation of ice.


    It wouldn''t have been a battle if Patient Zero had been at her peak. After all, she had been strong enough to leave the world behind and then conquer it when that failed. Blizzard, on the other hand, was a remnant and fragment of a broken world. It carried the only part of nature that remained, ice.


    Blizzard had also been unable to move on its own until just now. It was only thanks to the power of Zach''s world essence energy and Violina''s ice energy from an intact world that gave it power.


    However, Patient Zero was so far from her peak that she could not withstand the fully concentrated blow from Blizzard. Blizzard had put all of the strength it got from Zach and Violina into its strike, betting everything on it.


    If it didn''t work, they would have been in trouble. But it worked.


    A thick layer of ice covered Patient Zero''s body. Two of her arms had broken off at the elbow. Her body was scarred and cracked in several places.


    However, Blizzard crashed into the ground next to her, no longer a mighty phoenix but a cute little pigeon instead.


    Zach and the others rushed over to secure Blizzard and check on it while making sure Patient Zero was defeated. Violina knelt next to Blizzard and scooped it up in her arms while Zach regrouped with his familiars in front of Patient Zero.


    The ice was slowly thawing, but even if she managed to break free, her body was in no condition to fight.


    Zach was unsure what to do. Should he just have Yanael decapitate her? But it felt strange. It was someone he had just had a decent conversation with. It might also not work since the Blight was still a thing, and she would just reanimate.


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    Zach glanced at Blizzard while Yanael and his familiars stood in front of Patient Zero, ready to act in case she broke out. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Maybe the little bird had a plan beyond wasting all of its energy in one go. Hopefully, it could still talk, even after losing most of its strength again. It was still a bird and not an ice ball, at least.


    Zach, still wary, glanced at the immobile Patient Zero before walking over to Blizzard in Violina''s hands. It was significantly weaker even than it had been before it received Zach and Violina''s help.


    However, before he could try and talk with it, a crack rang out from behind.

 Chapter 430 Apology

    Instantly, everyone''s heads whipped around toward the only possible source of that crack: Patient Zero''s frozen body. They could all imagine how she had remained mostly fine and was now breaking free from the icy imprisonment to tear them all apart and eat Blizzard like a starved wolf.Instead¡­


    The layer of ice around Patient Zero cracked and crumbled. Like a corpse dropping out of an open and upright coffin, Patient Zero fell to the ground with no strength to even brace herself. She was not going to tear even a fly''s wings apart, much less them. She had been defeated.


    Zach and Violina exchanged glances before looking at the seemingly asleep Blizzard. Zach looked at Patient Zero. He could feel her gaze on him, and he could see her lips move as she tried to say something.


    Zach''s expression was unreadable as he ignored his familiars'' warning looks and walked over to Patient Zero, kneeling next to her.


    Her voice was weak and hoarse. Even with his current senses, Zach wouldn''t be able to hear her if he wasn''t very close to her mouth.


    "...I''m¡­sorry¡­" Zach frowned. He didn''t understand why she was apologizing. Patient Zero''s eyes were glazed over. Maybe she wasn''t apologizing to him. Maybe she was apologizing in general for all the destruction and havoc she wreaked.


    At the same time, a realization flashed through Yanael''s mind.


    The thing they had missed.


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    Why had Patient Zero bothered inviting Zach into her tent? The only thing that had led to was a conflict between her and Zach''s familiars that drained her strength before Blizzard showed up. She had gained nothing from it other than the sentimental something of someone knowing her story.


    Yanael frowned as she thought back to the situation.


    While Zach had been right in front of Patient Zero, he and the maids had all been wary of Patient Zero. Considering how slow she had been at first, she would have never made it to Zach before they intervened.


    And Blizzard¡­? There were two reasons she could be aiming for it. Either, she wanted to infect it with the Blight or somehow use its strength for itself. Or it was a diversion.


    It didn''t succeed since Zach had retreated from the fight and went to regroup with his friends and Blizzard.


    But Zach had managed to restore some of Blizzard''s strength.


    Couldn''t he do the same with Patient Zero? What if that had been her aim all along?


    "NO!" Yanael drew her sword and started reaching forward before shouting as the realization struck her. But Patient Zero''s hands were quicker, and they wrapped around Zach''s neck.


    Instantly, Zach could feel an unbearable stinging sensation from deep inside him as Patient Zero''s hands latched onto his neck like leeches and tried to drain the world essence energy from deep within him.


    ''Ah. That''s why she apologized,'' Zach thought, his body paralyzed. He couldn''t defend himself or try to break free. But he could feel threads of world essence energy being drawn out of the tightly wound bundle in his core. His face contorted in pain but he was unable to scream due to the tight grip around his throat.


    A moment later, a golden sword cut through the wrists of the arms grabbing him, severing them. It was similar to when the homeless man infected by underworld energy they saved from the sewers back then tried to strangle one of them.


    Yanael cut off Patient Zero''s hands before dragging Zach back and gently slicing the fingers off his neck, releasing the pressure on his neck.


    Zach hacked out several coughs as he knelt on the ground with his hands holding up his body. A step or two away, Yanael had already severed Patient Zero''s head from her body.


    The Blight be damned. There was no energy left in that body that could be used to reanimate it. She hadn''t managed to steal Zach''s world essence energy.


    But to be sure, they separated the head and the body.


    As he looked up, Zach saw a lone tear slip off Patient Zero''s cheek.


    She truly was sorry.


    Zach sighed after regaining his breath and standing up. It had left a bad taste in his mouth, and it wasn''t just because of the pain from her trying to steal his world essence energy.


    He glanced around the battlefield.


    The monsters in the immediate surroundings were all statues of ice, so it was impossible to tell whether Patient Zero''s death had affected them or not, at least at first. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With a plomfing sound like someone dropping a book on a pile of ash, the monsters turned into dust.


    It had been the right call to kill Patient Zero. She was the source of the Blight. With her gone, the Blight lost its hold on the monsters, finally freeing their bodies from eternal suffering. After millennia of being deprived of their wrongful deaths and being used as tools for mindless slaughter and destruction, they could finally rest.


    With the Blight no longer sustaining their bodies, the damage built up over all that time immediately turned them into nothingness.


    Zach covered his mouth and gestured for the others to do the same. Breathing in that dust probably wasn''t good for their health.


    He looked around in confusion. The cloudy starless sky was seemingly melting. It buckled like the air above a hot flame. The ground suddenly felt unsteady like a large ship out on the ocean.


    "...I think we should get out of here," Zach said, the most sensitive to those changes thanks to his world essence energy. The others nodded in agreement. Violina tucked the unconcsiocus Blizzard into a pocket and started sprinting with the others.


    Zach joined Nessa on the Millipede as it plowed through the mountain''s snow upward. The entrance had been up there. Hopefully, they could exit through there as well.


    However, it might not be that easy.


    Zach''s eyes widened as he looked forward. The shaking and tilting ground had done the opposite of what they needed. The mountain had tipped toward them and in the process, freed the boatloads of snow on it, pouring it all in their direction with one big avalanche.


    "Damn."

 Chapter 431 Prank

    One by one, Violina, Nessa, Anerias, and Dukiel popped their heads out of the snow and started crawling up after taking several deep breaths. While climbing up, they glanced at the sky. There were a few clouds here and there, but it was otherwise blue with a very familiar sun.They were back in the Empire on the northern border. They had somehow left the Labyrinth with the avalanche.


    However, none of them could celebrate.


    They soon noticed that Zach wasn''t right by them, despite having ridden on Nessa''s Millipede with his familiars the same as them. Even the Millipede had poked its head out of the snow with no sign of Zach.


    At first, they thought he and his maids were still trapped deep in the snow or maybe even below the Millipede.


    However, before they could start searching for him, they sensed something a little further down the mountain. With frowns, the four summoners got up and with their familiars, descended to the bottom of the avalanche''s field of snow.


    Zach was in a bubble of his making with his maids around him. It seemed like he was unconscious.


    Around him, however, was a squad of armored knights pointing at the golden bubble with their spears. Those knights were not from the Labyrinth.


    Violina''s gaze darkened as she looked at the decorated armors and the sigil on their chests. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Those were imperial knights. They protected the Imperial Palace or, on rare occasions, accompanied members of the royal family on their excursions or when carrying out missions.


    Violina got her answer when she turned her gaze to the figure at the center of the knights standing with her arms crossed as she looked at Zach through the barrier.


    "Your Highness?" Violina questioned and walked closer.


    Rienne and the knights behind her turned toward Violina and the other summoners and their familiars with their spears raised.


    "Stay right there," Rienned ordered sternly.


    "What is going on?" Violina questioned and continued walking.


    The imperial knights knew what they were doing. They were here for Zacharia. They also knew about Zach''s company. They knew who Violina was. They couldn''t stop her from standing between Rienne and Zach''s barrier. But they could stop her from getting all up in Rienne''s face, and they could stop the others from approaching.


    "I am arresting Zacharia Evandiel on suspicion of treason. If you get in my way, I can only assume you are helping him and thus also betraying the Empire."


    "What?!" Violina exclaimed in outrage at the ridiculousness of the situation.


    "If this is a prank, shouldn''t you at least wait until he''s awake?" She questioned.


    Rienne''s jaw muscles tensed as she clenched her teeth before speaking.


    "...This is not a prank. If you continue obstructing the Imperial Family''s affairs, not even the Duke of Systine can pluck you out of jail." Rienna gave Violina a sharp look. Violina glared right back at her. She was not scared of her threats.


    "You said treason, right?! Sure, go ahead! Arrest me. After all, I''ve done the exact same thing as Zach. If he''s guilty, then so am I." Violina held out her wrists, asking to be tied up.


    "..."


    "So, you conspired to steal the Imperial Family''s Bonne Flower?" Rienne asked skeptically.


    "Yes!" Violina nodded decisively.


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    "Wrong!" Rienne said forcefully.


    "The entire Evandiel family is under suspicion of betraying the Empire and selling the Eastern region to the barbarians."


    "Wha¡­?" Violina asked in confusion.


    "There''s no such thing as a Bonne Flower. Now. Step. Aside." Rienne glared at Violina and took a step closer. When she was close enough that Violina could smell the perfume on her neck, Rienne whispered,


    "He''ll get a fair trial. If he''s innocent, he''ll be released. Let this happen."


    Violina frowned. She couldn''t understand what was going on. But she knew that she would have an easier time investigating or understanding what was going on from outside prison.


    "I''ll make sure you pay for this!" She said before shoulder-checking Rienne as she left the ring of knights to go to the others who looked like they were about to start a fight with the Imperial Knights, one of, if not the, strongest armed forces in the Empire.


    Rienne watched Violina''s back before turning to the golden barrier and the maids within with a stern face. She had brought enough force to take Zach with her. She was not sure it was enough to handle Zach and his friends, however.


    Fortunately, Violina had been easy to persuade.


    She looked at the sleeping Zach for a moment before turning to his maids.


    "When will he wake up?" She questioned. In response, Yanael drew her sword and stood up. She was not letting a greenhouse princess and a bunch of tin cans take Zach with them without putting up a fight.


    Since Rienne didn''t seem worried in the slightest, she probably had something to rely on. And if Yanael had to guess, it was the knight directly behind her. Their armor was simple, but they were the only one with the visor down and actively giving off fighting spirit like they were hoping or preparing for a fight. They were also the only one Yanael couldn''t see the bottom off.


    If a fight erupted, that seemingly inconspicuous knight would be trouble. But trouble wasn''t enough to make Yanael back down. Neither was it enough to make any of the others hesitate. With Nora tending to Zach, his familiars stood up and prepared for battle.


    "Wait¡­" Zach gently called out with a weak voice. Nora helped him sit up.


    Zach glanced at the knights around them. He looked at Rienne. He could tell what was going on even without hearing the explanation. He sighed and held out an arm for Nora to help him stand.


    "I''m not stupid enough to make an enemy of the Empire," he said tiredly.


    Rienne nodded, pleased.


    "But there better be a damn good reason for this," he growled, shooting Rienna a look so sharp the knight behind her stepped up. Even Rienne had trembled and taken a step back.


    She had not expected that rage from someone like Zach. She couldn''t help but worry if there was a mistake somewhere. But she shooed away that thought as Zach took down the barrier.

 Chapter 432 Vacation

    Rienne gestured for the knights to secure Zach and his maids."I can walk on my own," Zach said, refusing to have his wrists tied. But Rienne didn''t say anything, and the knight insisted.


    Zach punched the knight in the gut, collapsing their armor.


    "I SAID! I can walk on my own!" Zach shouted at the same time. He looked at the knights who pointed at him with their spears again without so much as a hint of worry on his face. The only emotion he displayed was irritation.


    Rienne narrowed her eyes. She sighed and waved back the knights. She glanced at the knight who needed help to get up.


    There were better armors out there, and this wasn''t the most elite of knight squads belonging to the Imperial Family. But that was still refined metal that was supposed to protect the knights from attacks that not even their martial energy could.


    Zach had dented that with his bare fist. She had brought the knight behind her because she had an idea of how strong Zach''s familiars were. She thought the knight would have been more than enough. She thought she had overestimated the maids.


    She might have been wrong since she forgot to take Zach into consideration.


    Following Rienne''s orders, the knights didn''t touch Zach or his maids. Instead, they surrounded them with their hands on their weapons as they started to descend the mountains. The seemingly inconspicuous knight walked at the back, ready to act at less than a moment''s notice if Zach''s group tried anything.


    Following them from far behind were Violina and the others.


    Rienne thought Zach would question what was going on or why he was being arrested by the Imperial Palace. Maybe he would chat and try to fish for information by pretending like it was no big deal.


    But he was silent as a mouse all the way to the bottom of the mountain range, where they had carriages waiting. He didn''t say anything even when she asked why he was standing on a barrier and floating forward instead of walking like everyone else.


    She heard him talk a little with his maids after he entered their carriage, but she couldn''t hear what they said.


    She couldn''t help but be suspicious. Shouldn''t he be questioning everything, wanting to know what was happening, and claiming innocence?


    But she wasn''t in charge of questioning him. All she was supposed to do was bring him back to the capital whatever it took. Since he was coming along willingly, she could be considered halfway done with her assignment. She just had to reach the capital safely and then she could wash this off her hands if she wanted.


    However, the return trip was not as easy as she had expected.


    All the time, monsters crawled out of whatever hole or crack was nearby to attack them. She didn''t even understand where all these monsters came from. Individually, the monsters were no trouble for the knights she brought. Even she could deal with the monsters. There was also her special knight who could help if necessary.


    But it took a toll on the knights'' minds to be continuously attacked, even if the attacks could barely scratch their armors. With the continuous monster attacks, the trip back to the capital suddenly felt a lot longer than it had done the other way.


    Still, the Imperial Knights were elites of the Empire, and they only lost a day or two. They were still in time.


    Zach was put in a fancy jail cell. It had a bedroom, a living room, and even a kitchen with ingredients. But he could not leave. The walls were fortified, the door was locked, and the cell was in a mansion close to the Imperial Palace. It was not that far from the Empress Dowager''s palace.


    At least, Zach thought it was close, but he might be wrong.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have anyone he could talk to since the Palace had separated him from his maids and his maids from each other. And there was no way he was giving Rienne or the knights outside his room the satisfaction of talking to them.


    Contrary to what Rienne thought, Zach hadn''t been asleep all the time. He had heard that his entire family was under suspicion of treason. That was a heavy crime to lay on one of the four founding families. It wouldn''t happen without reason.


    Zach had no idea what was going on, and he didn''t think his family would leave him behind intentionally.


    Something was happening, something beyond his control.


    But with no information and not enough power to go up against the Empire, there wasn''t much he could do. However, he could control himself, and he could shut up. He would make the imperialists tell him what he wanted to know by making them talk as they tried to get him to talk.


    However, they didn''t seem to have any intentions of forcing his mouth open any time soon. They left Zach alone in his cell for several days without so much as slipping a note under the door. The idea was probably to isolate him and make him worried since he couldn''t even talk with his maids.


    It was psychological warfare targeted at the spoiled and social nature of a young noble and summoner reliant on their surroundings.


    Zach was a little worried, but not enough for it to affect his mentality.


    He had food. He had a decently comfortable bed. It wasn''t as comfortable as one he shared with his maids but it would do. And he even had books to pass the time with when he wasn''t sleeping.


    But what helped him keep his utter calm was the experience he had. This solitary confinement that still respected his decency as a human and the son of a Duke could not compare in the slightest to the mind-numbing isolation he experienced after killing the Basilisk.


    He had gone crazy during that.


    Aside from not being able to leave his room and being alone, he was currently on vacation compared to that.


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 Chapter 433 Visitor

    When Zach finally received a visitor, it was someone he both had hoped and expected to visit him sooner than she did."Can I come in?" The Empress Dowager asked after already opening the door, entering, and closing it behind her, stopping her guards from accompanying her. The rumors about Zach''s bare-handed strength had spread, and the Imperial Knights were reluctant to leave The Empress Dowager alone with him since she didn''t have any such rumors floating around.


    But the Empress Dowager wasn''t even close to being in danger, even if she was alone with Zach for a few minutes.


    "Sure looks like it," Zach said and gestured for Ursula to take a seat while he prepared a kettle and two cups of tea.


    "My granddaughter says you lost your tongue in the Labyrinth," Ursula commented when Zach actually talked to her.


    "Your granddaughter also thinks I''m a filthy traitor, so¡­" Zach shrugged and sat down opposite Ursula.


    "You''re not?"


    "No." Zach''s answer was immediate.


    "So, you had no idea what your family was planning?" She asked gently.


    Zach sighed.


    "I don''t even know what they''ve done. How am I supposed to know what they were planning to do? The last time I talked to any of them was when Lexi visited the Academy. I haven''t even managed to exchange any letters after that," he explained with a tired voice. He loved his family and he thought they loved him, but he had been busy, and he had just assumed his family had been too.


    "I see¡­" Ursula said, stirring the sugar into her tea. For a few moments, the wispy sound of the metal spoon brushing against the porcelain cup was all that could be heard in the room.


    "Your family, Zach, handed over the East to the barbarians. They packed up and just disappeared with a significant portion of their servants and soldiers. We got word of it almost instantly¡­But we didn''t manage to save all the inhabitants of the region. The barbarians got word of it at around the same time but they live a little closer," Ursula explained with a low voice, looking intently at Zach''s face.


    Shock flashed on his face for a moment before he frowned deeply and lowered his gaze to look into his tea.


    It was supposed to be black tea. So, why was it reddish-brown?


    "...That doesn''t make any sense," Zach said after a minute.


    Ursula shrugged lightly.


    "My family has devoted themselves for generations to protect the Eastern border. They have trained and fought with their lives on the line¡ªmany of my ancestors have died protecting the border! None of my siblings and my parents definitely wouldn''t do what you''re saying they did." Zach shook his head. "I refuse to believe it!"


    Zach stood up and slammed the cup into the table without breaking it.


    Ursula sighed as Zach walked off and slammed the door to his bedroom shut behind him.


    He could be faking his reaction to feign innocence.


    An imperial investigator would have likely assumed as much and continued pressing for information about his family, what they had done, and why they had done it.


    An imperial investigator wouldn''t know that Zach doesn''t lie about things like this. He does lie or hide the truth on occasion but more often than not, he does the opposite. He speaks the truth and says what''s on his mind even when it might not be the most appropriate. As such, it becomes quite obvious when he lies, especially for someone like Ursula.


    He did not know anything about his family''s plans. For whatever reason, he had been left completely in the dark.


    Ursula cleaned away the tea. It had been deliciously brewed. She sighed as she left his cell.


    ''So, this is why that unruly son of mine wanted me to be the one to ask,'' she thought while leaving. Whatever was going on, there was more to it than the Evandiel family simply turning traitor. And her son, the Emperor, knew something.


    Ursula sighed again and massaged her forehead.


    ''Ah, this is why I should have retired¡­!'' She lamented silently on her way to tell the Emperor about the results of her talk with Zach.


    Zach sat on his bed and held Vidri''s Medallion in his hand as he thought about what Ursula had just said. It was unbelievable. But why would Ursula lie to him about something like this? Zach couldn''t come up with a single reason for her to lie.


    Sure, he didn''t know everything that was going on in her head or outside his cell. But he liked to think that he had at least gotten to know Ursula a little during his time in the capital before he graduated.


    If he couldn''t consider it possible for her to lie to him about this, it could only mean that she hadn''t lied. Either she thought she was telling the truth or she was telling the truth.


    Ursula wasn''t easy to fool, so she was most likely not lying.


    But that meant the Evandiel family had committed an atrocious crime against the Empire and its people. They had gone against everything they stood for and believed in for seemingly no reason.


    Zach couldn''t understand. He wasn''t sure he wanted to understand.


    But he had to do something. He couldn''t just sit here and do nothing while his family''s reputation was either being tarnished or they were tarnishing it themself.


    As the last innocent Evandiel, he had to do something about it, even if it meant finding and bringing his family to justice. Or, if they could somehow explain themselves, help them.


    According to Ursula, his family''s actions had led to the deaths of many of the East''s residents. That was not something Zach could just gloss over.


    They were the people his family had a duty to protect.


    He loved his family for who they were. If they did something like this, they wouldn''t be themselves. They wouldn''t be his family.


    Zach looked toward the door with a determined expression.


    He had to get out of here.


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 Chapter 434 Visitor Two

    Zach got another visitor the next day. It was someone he had neither hoped nor expected would arrive, but it was someone he liked seeing anyway. It was Derot.Zach naturally invited him inside and offered him something to eat and drink. Derot wasn''t interested in Zach''s refreshments. He was there on business.


    "Zach," he said with a heavy voice. Zach had already expected something heavy based on Derot''s expression and gaunt look, but the way he said his name all but confirmed that he came bearing bad news.


    "Yeah?"


    "Word on the street is that you are a traitor."


    "I''m not, but¡­"


    "It''s not good for business. There are rumors that all the recipes and alchemical theories that Alzara has provided are from the barbarians to the East. I''ve done my best to quell them, but it''s not working. It''s like trying to put out a wildfire with spit. I''m working uphill here," Derot explained the situation outside with a hanging head as he beat around the bush, delaying the inevitable.


    Zach tried to look at Derot, but Derot wouldn''t meet Zach''s gaze.


    Zach sighed.


    "You did what you had to. Leave." Derot''s eyes widened for a moment before he nodded and stood up. He left without meeting Zach''s eyes once since he arrived.


    How could he? He had kicked Zach out of the guild. The other shareholders were protesting. The Imperial Palace was scrutinizing them and freezing their cooperation. The market treated their products like the plague.


    All because Zach''s family was accused of treason. The same ones who hadn''t held back as soon as they heard Zach was operating this guild without his family''s help now couldn''t help but condemn Zach for the crimes his family had committed. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aside from Zach, Derot was the one with the most influence in the Guild. In some ways, he even had greater influence since he was the one running it while Zach had only shown his face once after the launch ceremony. If he didn''t agree, no one could force out Zach.


    But stubbornly clinging to a guild under Zach''s rule would lead to the Guild''s death. It wouldn''t even take long before a guild owned by someone labeled a traitor to the Empire became nothing more than a faint memory.


    For the sake of the guild, Derot had to get rid of Zach.


    It took a little finesse for it to be legal and legit, but no one opposed him as he usurped Zach as the head of the guild and threw him aside. It was one of the easiest things he had done with the guild.


    Zach lay down on his bed.


    It suddenly felt like the world had turned against him. He didn''t even have his maids to comfort him.


    He knew Violina and the others hadn''t turned on him or anything. But he had been in this cell for so long without any of them coming to visit. They probably weren''t allowed, but he felt like Violina should have been able to do something if she leveraged her family''s authority. Since she hadn''t¡­Someone was probably stopping her.


    It could be her father or maybe even her great-grandfather Sio. If they were stopping her from using their family''s authority to visit him, they probably had a reason.


    The Systine Ducal Family weren''t so scared they would be intimidated by the Palace into not visiting him. They also wouldn''t care about rumors that they were talking to a suspected traitor.


    However, what if it wasn''t a ''suspected'' traitor?


    ''I guess there''s no denying it¡­'' Zach sighed. In the eyes of others, he was probably already marked as a traitor. That meant his family had probably done what they were accused of.


    The only question was why.


    Zach couldn''t answer it no matter how much he thought about it. He wanted out.


    However, it didn''t look like that was happening anytime soon. The only thing that was happening was a bunch of snobby investigators coming to question him about his actions and whereabouts the last years and whether he was involved in his family''s conspiracy.


    Zach just told them that it wasn''t a secret what he had been up to and if they wanted to know, they could just ask anyone. He had never hidden his actions or whereabouts from anyone. If anything, he had made it pretty obvious where he was and what he did.


    That irked the investigators and interrogators to no end, which pleased Zach. If he wasn''t going to be let out anytime soon, the least he could do was torment the ones who came to visit.


    Several weeks passed like that with nothing changing except the faces of the interrogators, all trying to glean something new from Zach or break him with equally boring interrogation methods.


    However, since they didn''t even have a glimmer of evidence that he was involved and only evidence that he wasn''t a traitor, they couldn''t use physical violence. He was, after all, a descendant of one of the founding families. Even if the current generations of the Evandiels had turned traitor, the founding members hadn''t. They still deserved respect.


    There also weren''t many who were confident it was a good idea to use force.


    Zach wasn''t compliant, but he wasn''t fighting back. If he and his familiars chose to cause trouble, keeping them contained would be a lot more difficult and costly.


    The plan was to aggravate and provoke Zach and make him trip up, unintentionally revealing his connections to the traitors. It wasn''t going very well. They did not have anything tying Zach to the treason other than his blood relations with the rest of his family. He could not be put on trial like this. If he was convicted, it would be wrongfully.


    The Empress Dowager opposed it. The Emperor wasn''t saying much about it. The court minsters and nobles wanted to make an example of him or use him to drag out the rest of his family.


    In the end, the court got what they wanted. Zach was going to be used to capture the Evandiels and bring them to justice.

 Chapter 435 Second Prince

    The next non-interrogator visitor Zach received walked into his cell without even knocking. It was like he owned the place. The tall, skinny, white-haired man was flanked by the same knight that had accompanied Rienne to the North when apprehending Zach.He looked at the sleeping Zach.


    "Get up. I know you are awake," he said with a commanding tone.


    "...You knowing I''m awake isn''t much reason for me to get up," Zach answered lazily.


    "I don''t even know who you are. Why should I listen to you?" He continued before the white-haired man could say anything.


    The white-haired man sighed.


    "I''m the one who''s getting you out of here. My name is Yan ju Kiantier."


    Zach raised an eyebrow and looked at the white-haired man. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the man''s hair. It was white. Not blond. Not platinum blonde. Not very light yellow. Chalk white.


    "Distant relative?" Zach asked.


    "Second prince," Yan answered.


    "Huh."


    It was the first member of the imperial family Zach had seen with hair other than gold. Even Lusel ju Kiantier, the grand prince in charge of the Imperial Alchemist Department had golden hair when he didn''t dye it.


    "Can I get some privacy?" Zach asked, moving on from Yan''s hair color. He wasn''t going to show off his body to the imperial prince while he got dressed.


    Yan rolled his eyes but returned to the living room with his knight. It wasn''t like Zach would flee as soon as they turned their backs.


    "You said you were getting me out of here. What''s the deal?" Zach asked as soon as he was dressed properly.


    "We''ve investigated you as well as we''ve been able to given the circumstances. You''re spotless."


    "That''s good." Zach nodded.


    "Too spotless."


    "I don''t think that''s possible."


    "And we can''t just let you go. Even if you had nothing to do with your family''s treason, there''s no telling what you might do. Some suggested we lock you up here until the war''s over. Others wanted to behead you to make an example."


    "But that''s not what''s happening now."


    "No. His Majesty the Emperor supported a third idea. You will be given a chance to prove your loyalty to the Empire and your innocence."


    "..." Zach frowned.


    "You will be going to the frontlines with me and him," Yan nodded toward the knight behind his shoulder.


    "I think there are others worth bringing, but we''ll see.


    "You will be helping us fight against the barbarians and, if the opportunity arises, secure the members of your family."


    "...You want me to help you catch my family? My siblings and parents?" Zach questioned with a displeased look.


    Yan shrugged. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If you''re loyal to the Empire and not a traitor, it should not be a big deal. But if you hesitate, then we will know."


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    Zach scoffed.


    "Right. I know what the punishment is for treason. It''s death. Either I die or I help sentence my family to it. Get lost." Zach got up and left for his bedroom.


    The knight drew his sword and held it out in front of Zach, blocking his path. Zach raised an eyebrow and looked at the eyes glimmering through the slit in the visor. He was about to say something when Yan spoke.


    "It''s not a choice, Zacharia. You''re coming with us whether you like it or not."


    "You don''t want my help," Zach said as he turned around.


    "I''m bait, aren''t I?"


    Yan didn''t need to answer.


    "It''s good that you''re aware. Since you are, you should also be aware that you only need to be alive to be bait. It''s up to you about the rest."


    "..." Zach stared into Yan''s pale grey eyes. He snorted.


    "Sure."


    He headed for the door. Yan and the knight didn''t stop him. The guards outside tried to when they saw Zach leave since they didn''t know what Yan had come to do. Zach shoved them aside and strode toward another section of the mansion where he could feel his maids were being held. Yan and the knight followed behind him, silently informing the guards to not interfere.


    One by one, Zach reunited with his maids, all of whom looked hostilely at Yan and everyone else they saw in the Imperial Palace as they made their way out to where several carriages and guards were waiting for them.


    Yan had said it would be him, Zach, and the knight. He just hadn''t bothered mentioning the standard guards and servants who followed the imperial family members around like shadows.


    It didn''t take long for everyone and everything to be ready for Yan''s entourage to leave for the East and join the efforts in driving the barbarians back to their prairies. It was a well-prepared convoy, but it wasn''t as extensive as Zach would have expected from something an imperial prince would have.


    Even Rienne''s convoy when she picked up Zach had more knights and servants. Her trip had been simpler, and she was the fourth princess, not the second prince. Logically speaking, his entourage should be better prepared and more equipped since he would be going away to war, not picking up a kid.


    But Zach didn''t pay it any further heed. That was just how it was, he thought. He was too busy making up for lost time by snuggling close to his maids in their carriage.


    They needed and wanted to check up on him and his body since they weren''t sure how he was recovering after giving Blizzard a piece of his world essence energy and then being mistreated by Patient Zero. They''d had plenty of time during their journey back to the capital, but something might have happened after that.


    Fortunately, Zach''s condition hadn''t worsened.


    Unfortunately, it hadn''t improved much, either. It looked like it would take a long time before he could demonstrate his full strength. He would have to rely on his maids. They didn''t mind. He didn''t either. But he still wanted to be healthy, so he made sure to relax and do his best to recover as they made their way to the Eastern front.

 Chapter 436 Storum

    "We''re stopping at Storum and getting a lay of the land before deciding what to do," Yan said, informing Zach of their plan shortly before they arrived at their destination.Zach just raised an eyebrow as he looked at Yan.


    "Are you familiar with Storum and the surrounding area?" Yan asked.


    "Should I be?"


    "Yes. Yes, you should be. It is one of the biggest cities in the former Evandiel duchy."


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    Yan sighed.


    "Shouldn''t you be familiar with your own family''s duchy? You don''t need to know the ins, outs, and hideouts that don''t exist on any maps, but it would be great if you could at least share something only a native of the East knows."


    Zach didn''t only have a horrible sense of direction, but he was also a troublesome child when he was young. No matter what he did, he ended up in trouble of some kind. Detaining him at a mansion separate from the main estate hadn''t changed that, but it had made it easier to control and minimize the damage.


    Needless to say, Zach was not allowed to roam around outside. He also hadn''t bothered learning much about the duchy. The few teachers he had tried to teach him and etch at least some basic knowledge about the duchy into his brain, but he didn''t want to, so he hadn''t memorized it.


    "Do you know all that about the central region?" But there was no way he was going to tell Yan all about that.


    "Pretty much." Yan shrugged.


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    "Good for you."


    Yan sighed.


    It seemed Zach was intent on not cooperating. He understood why, but that didn''t mean it wasn''t inconvenient.


    "Whatever. We''ll be arriving soon. Lahso will be keeping an eye on you at all times, so don''t even think of causing trouble."


    When Zach glanced at the knight sitting next to Yan inside the carriage, Lahso nodded and tapped his chest with a gauntleted fist.


    "Sure." Zach rolled his eyes and looked out the window. As if Lahso hadn''t already been doing that all this time. He stayed by Yan''s side most of the time, but whenever Zach started straying from the camps at night or during breaks, he appeared and subtly or not-so-subtly guided Zach back to his carriage.


    After a while, they arrived at Storum. Zach''s brow furrowed and his gaze darkened as soon as the carriage door opened and replaced the stuffy but silent air inside with the dusty and noisy air from outside. He followed Yan out of the carriage and looked around.


    The barbarians hadn''t reached Storum, and the fighting hadn''t spread to the city, either. But it was still a city at war. People in uniform and armor were running around. Workers were hauling supplies between buildings and carriages. Horses were being saddled and unsaddled left and right as knights prepared to set off or scouts and messengers returned with important information and messages.


    Zach found it a little familiar to when his class had waged war against the Underworld. But the scale and the serious expressions on everyone made him realize how different the two situations were.


    Sure, he and his friends could have lost their lives.


    But here and now, people were actively dying. It wasn''t a matter of maybe dying if they were unlucky. The only thing their luck determined was when and how they would die.


    And Storum hadn''t even seen any fighting yet. The frontline was still further out.


    But the Empire wasn''t prepared to defend against the eastern barbarians without the full force of Evandiel. Forget pushing back the barbarians, all they could do was slow their advance.


    The barbarians had been itching to invade the Empire for a long time. They had been waiting for an opportunity like this and didn''t hesitate to seize it when it came. They were invading in full force while the Empire was trying too mobilize enough forces from the other regions, most of whom were already busy.


    The South had to deal with pirates and could not leave any openings. The North had to deal with monsters going on a rampage all of a sudden. The West was too far away and busy keeping the Sakra Jungle in check.


    The central region had the most available manpower since it didn''t experience as many outside troubles as the other regions, but the central region was in charge of maintaining peace among the populace and responding to any emergencies, such as the war to the East but also the monster rampage to the North. They also had to be ready in case something else happened. They also couldn''t just leave glaring openings in their defenses in case the monsters in the central region''s forests and wilderness started running wild as well.


    It was an administrative hellhole of trouble that made it impossible to secure the manpower to hold the line against the barbarians. And for the ones caught up in the middle of the war, the residents of the East, it was a literal hellhole.


    Zach couldn''t say that he had a great connection with the people of the East. They had judged and ostracized him for his air of misfortune when he was young. They had spread rumors and isolated him.


    But they were the people his family loved and protected. He couldn''t ignore their suffering. He couldn''t stand by and do nothing.


    Zach looked around until he saw Lahso standing behind a corner.


    "I''m going to help," he said before turning around and walking off. Lahso didn''t stop him.


    Zach could try and run. He could try and escape Yan''s and Lahso''s control. But he wasn''t going to. Where was he supposed to run?


    Instead, he had Alzara locate one of the places in charge of supplies. He used Yan''s name as he pleased to take charge of the medicinal ingredients. He and Alzara got to crafting potions that far exceeded the military standard.


    Some people recognized him. Yanael stopped them from approaching or stopping him and Alzara.


    Soara and Mandra located the field hospital where soldiers and residents who had gotten injured were being tended. Soara stabilized the life forces of the ones in trouble while Mandra used healing magic on the patients. It wasn''t her specialty, but she had reached the peak of magic.


    Something as trivial as repairing broken bones, patching gashes and wounds, and covering burn wounds was relatively easy.


    Nora didn''t have any special talents that were helpful the same way, but she contributed too by carrying supplies, wrapping wounds, and tending to the horses.

 Chapter 437 Regaining Hope

    Yan was a little surprised to see Zach devote himself and his maids to helping out Storum and the people struck by the war. Zach had seemed like the war had nothing to do with him, after all. But it was a sign that he cared about the people in the East.It was unlikely that he had anything to do with his family''s treason.


    It was still too soon to say anything, though. So, Yan continued to keep a close eye on Zach''s activities and look for any signs that he was communicating with his family. He didn''t find anything.


    The only thing Zach talked about was getting people aware of the Nyasm Desert Guild. It had made a decent splash in the capital, but the guild''s renown had yet to spread beyond Spiros. There weren''t many who were aware of the revolutionary and relatively cheap potions.


    There had been a hiccup in the guild''s operation due to Zach being labeled as a traitor. But with Zach out of the picture, Derot didn''t have much trouble washing the guild''s image clean and started working the alchemists to the bone to produce as many potions as possible before the price of ingredients soared due to the war.


    The cooperative relationship with the Imperial Palace was also more of a research-based one with solely the Imperial Alchemist Department. The guild''s potions hadn''t spread to the army.


    But with Zach sowing the seeds, it wouldn''t take long before the merchants working for the army in the war sent word to the guild to purchase potions.


    Along the way, Zach''s identity and relation to the Guild would come to light. But that would only cause trouble to Derot and had nothing to do with Zach. Any who had issues with his identity as a suspected traitor would take it up with him if they had the balls.


    There were many who planned to do just that once word spread inside Storum that Zacharia Evandiel had arrived. Storum wasn''t as close to the Evandiels as the residents of Ciel, the Duchy''s capital that had been right by the Duke''s estate, had been, but they were still familiar with Zach to a certain degree. They were also familiar with the Evandiels.


    They were part of the East. They felt the betrayal of their supposed protectors with every acquaintance, friend, and relative who was fighting or hadn''t managed to escape the barbarians.


    The fact that Zach was in the city without being in cuffs was proof that there wasn''t proof of his involvement. Naturally, more than a few citizens wanted to put Zach in his place and vent their anger.


    Yanael stopped them. Lahso stopped them. The second imperial prince''s presence stopped them. They had no choice but to watch from afar with burning coal in their eyes. They had no choice but to watch as Zach extracted materials for his maid to concoct carriage-loads of potions.


    They had no choice but to watch as Zach''s face grew pale by the end of the day as he overexerted himself. They had no choice but to watch Zach, unable to extract more materials, join his other maids in tending to the wounded entering the city from the East.


    He wasn''t a miraculous healer or anything, but he had been injured enough that he knew what to do with injured people. He also wasn''t squeamish or balked at the sight of people''s guts hanging out of their bandages.


    Surprisingly enough, he also had a calming effect on the ones in so much pain that they could not sleep and even screamed while unconscious.


    The ones who made it to Storum were the ones not mortally wounded since they were given treatment further out or died before receiving treatment. But that didn''t mean they weren''t grievously injured. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He also talked to people who had lost their limbs and helped them cope with their situation. Losing an arm, a leg, or even ''just'' a hand was crippling. It could completely ruin someone''s life since they would have lost their livelihood. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Zach knew two people who had lost their limbs, who had gone through the same ordeal. Nessa and Julius had their familiars to rely on, so they weren''t completely lost in the world even after they lost their arms and hands.


    But neither had relied only on their familiars after their accidents. Nessa had learned to fight and make up for the imbalance. She had even learned how to trick her opponents by motioning that she was going to swing with her right arm, the one she had lost.


    Zach knew she had been worried and despaired quite a bit when it first happened. But she got back on her feet and soared, managing to summon even an S-rank familiar.


    Losing a limb was tragic.


    But it was not the end.


    Zach looked for the most despair-ridden places in the medic tents and cleared the air with shitty jokes and frank talks while easing the patients'' pains.


    Eventually, those who could move unassisted started doing that. They started joining Zach on his rounds and helping talk to other patients and dress their wounds as best as they could. Sometimes, they were just in the way since they were soldiers or ordinary people caught up in the fighting between the Empire and the barbarians. But they were willing to learn, and they sincerely wanted to help their fellow patients.


    Zach''s influence over Storum was undeniable. The upset citizens of Storum who did not want a filthy traitor in their midst lost their chance to speak. They lost any feelings of rage they had toward Zach.


    He was on their side. He couldn''t be blamed for what his family had done.


    Instead of trying to vent their feelings of being betrayed on him, they should just join the war efforts. It was a situation where they couldn''t be too helpful. There couldn''t be too many working hands available.


    Storum was the first city to regain hope in the fight against the barbarians.

 Chapter 438 Ritel

    Your next read is at My Virtual Library EmpireYan would have had to be blind not to notice the effect Zach had on the people. It seemed he couldn''t escape his identity as an Evandiel. It was in his blood to help and protect the people of the East.


    Once he had listened to the reports from the stationed commanders in Storum, he decided what to do, taking Zach''s efforts so far into account. He first made sure to have the ones in charge of supplies and potions make contact with the Nyasm Desert Guild.


    From what Yan had seen so far, the quality of the potions produced by Zach and Alzara was above anything else they could possibly get from the same quality of materials. Even if the Nyasm Desert Guild didn''t quite reach that level, it would still be better than most alternatives.


    It was the best option available.


    After Yan left his orders, he grabbed a person used to the East and war before looking for Zach and telling him to get ready.


    They were going to where they were needed the most: Ritel. The frontline.


    The barbarians had already overtaken Ciel, the duchy''s capital and the city closest to the border without being a fortress. They had invaded several other cities and established a new border as they continued trying to push back the Empire.


    Ritel was their next target.


    Naturally, Yan had to go there and strengthen the defenses. They could not let the barbarians continue advancing. The further they got, the harder it would be to push them back.


    Yan had been hesitant about how much he could do on his own, even with Lahso''s complete assistance, especially since Zach wasn''t being more than absolutely necessarily compliant. But now that Zach was working himself to the bone to help even one more, Yan suddenly felt like he could have an impact. He could save lives.


    Once they had gathered their things and themselves, Yan, Zach, Lahso, Zach''s maids, and Garad, the old knight Yan had borrowed from the Storum troops got up on their horses and started traveling east.


    Lahso and Zach''s familiars didn''t need horses. If anything, traveling without horses would make it easier to make it to Ritel without being possibly ambushed by barbarian scouts and rangers who had already wrapped around the city and hidden within the land. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Yan wasn''t physically well-trained, Garad was a little too old to waste energy trekking through the wild, and Zach''s condition wasn''t the greatest. Besides, they didn''t need to worry about ambushes with Lahso and Zach''s maids to keep them safe. They also had Garad who led them on winding trails away from the main road. They weren''t worried about ambushes, but they weren''t going to take unnecessary risks by advertising their presence.


    Armored convoys with platoons to guard the supplies didn''t need to worry about traveling the main road since they could just barrel through any ambushes or kill the few barbarians who managed to slip past the perimeter and behind enemy lines. But there were losses.


    Yan''s life was too precious for them to be willing to risk using a well-traveled road.


    Five days later, they arrived at their destination, dusty and dirty but without having seen the face of anyone else.


    However, they could not complain about being dirty.


    If Storum had been hit by the quakes of war, Ritel was less than a stone''s throw away from the epicenter.


    Zach and the others were lucky since it seemed quiet when they arrived. But the entire city was tense with soldiers manning the city walls with binoculars and bows. They were ready for the barbarians to attack at any moment.


    Yan looked for the command center as soon as they were let inside the city while Zach and his maids went off to do what they did in Storum. His orange hair did not fly under the radar in the city. But unlike Storum, the people still in Ritel were too tired to care about Zach.


    They had heard about the Evandiels and their betrayal. They had heard about Zach still being in the Empire. They hadn''t heard any other details.


    He was in Ritel. He was helping. That was all that mattered.


    There were a few voices in the command center that were worried about him being a spy intentionally left behind to gather information and send it to the barbarians, revealing the Empire''s weaknesses and military organization.


    It wasn''t impossible. If it was true, it would be pretty troublesome.


    But Zach wasn''t allowed close to any important information. All he could do was talk to the ordinary injured soldiers in the medic halls and tents. They didn''t know anything other than the pain of war. Yan wasn''t telling him anything.


    As long as the rest of the important military officers didn''t share the oh-so-important information with him, he couldn''t give the barbarians anything.


    The one thing he could do that would be truly worthy of an infiltrating traitor would be to assassinate Yan, the second prince of the Empire. That would be something no spy would have succeeded with in the past.


    But as long as Yan had Lahso by his side, that would be next to impossible.


    For now, Yan and the military officers of Ritel agreed to keep a close eye on Zach without interfering with his activities too much. They needed the potions he and his familiar made. If it came to it, they would also need any extra hands when fighting. Supposedly, the beautiful maids crowding around Zach were pretty good at that stuff.


    And it wouldn''t be long until an opportunity came for them to prove it. Already on the first night, the barbarians launched an attack.


    The torches in the field outside the city went out one by one.


    Instead of keeping the fire in the face of the guards, making it impossible for them to see anything in the darkness, the torches outside would let them see anyone moving close. And when they went out, it was a sign that the enemy was doing something.


    Now, they just had to defend and do their best to guard their lives.

 Chapter 439 First Night

    Zach was awoken by Nora gently shaking his shoulder. Before he could ask what was going on, he saw the finger over her lips, asking him to be quiet. He nodded. Nora pointed at Yan, Lasho, and Garad standing at the door to his room. Technically, they were standing at the doorway. The door had been used as a makeshift bed for the injured soldiers.Zach''s maids followed him soundlessly as he followed Yan and the others out of their house under the cover of darkness. Along the way, Yan managed to gesture that the barbarians were attacking. Zach had already figured as much. What he couldn''t understand was why they needed to be so quiet.


    However, he soon got his answer when a door creaked open on the other side of the street and was immediately pierced by three arrows. Fortunately, there was no one standing there. The resident of that house was aware of the creaking of his hinges and had gently shown it open before slinking out through the back and sneaking around.


    In another place, a low grunt rang out as one of the barbarian archers had exposed themselves when taking that shot. A soldier lying in wait had seized the opportunity and stabbed them in the lung before falling down and hiding under their corpse.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed. He strengthened the barrier around him and his group.


    Things were a lot more dire than he had expected.


    This war wasn''t straightforward battles on the plains outside the city. It was guerilla warfare inside the city when night fell.


    It was a contest between how well the barbarians could use their senses and experience in the dark and the soldiers'' familiarity with the city and ability to adapt.


    It was impossible to determine which side held the advantage each night. And each night, the warriors on both sides prepared to face death.


    Zach glanced at Yan. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    Shouldn''t the imperial prince be hiding in his room with Lahso for safety?


    Zach gave Mandra a look before tapping Yan''s shoulder. He signaled for Yan, Lahso, and Garad to stay calm and not react. They nodded slowly with questioning frowns. Lahso''s expression was hidden by his visor, though.


    A moment later, the air around them changed subtly as Mandra wrapped them in a veil that obscured their presence and muted any sounds they inadvertently made. With the darkness'' help, they were next to impossible to discover by ordinary means. Yan''s eyes widened as he glanced around before looking at Mandra.


    He had not realized that she was more than a healer since the only thing she had displayed so far was healing magic.


    Zach mouthed to Yan, asking where they were going. Yan winced as soon as he saw Zach move his mouth and was about to cover it before stopping himself and looking around. No one attacked them. It was fine.


    He then pointed at the main gate.


    The archers could sneak into the city by climbing the walls under the cover of darkness. Any guards who tried to defend the walls or stop them were shot by archers from outside the city.


    They had no choice but to hunt the archers after they snuck into the city.


    However, the trained and agile archers were the only ones who could scale the walls. The other warriors had trouble doing so, especially rounding the crest of the walls without clumsily being dropped onto a soldier''s sword.


    That meant the archers and scouts sneaking into the city every night had one primary goal. They had to open the main gate and let in the warriors waiting outside.


    Naturally, that meant that the soldiers'' main goal was preventing that. More important than anything else was keeping the gates closed. But standing guard in front of the gate meant becoming a practice target and then a pincushion for arrows within moments.


    Most nights were a tense standoff. The soldiers would shoot or swarm any barbarian who tried to open the gate, and the barbarian archers hiding in the city''s shadows would fill any soldier guarding the gate with arrows. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Neither side would succeed like that, so they continued whittling down each side''s numbers each night.


    But the barbarians had the advantage in that aspect. The East did not have a bottomless supply of soldiers, and Ritel was not the only place that needed defending.


    Zach''s mind spun as he glanced around on their way to secure a spot close to the gate. Sounds of quick fights, deaths, and short skirmishes occasionally rang out from the darkness around them.


    It was strange walking in the darkness without caring anything about what was going on around them, but Zach didn''t have the authority to decide what they were doing. He frowned and clenched his fist as he tried to sense how much of his Blessed Defense he could use without it affecting his condition.


    It wasn''t as much as he would have liked. If it had been, he could have secured the gate without needing to sacrifice the lives of any soldiers. He was confident his barrier would hold up against the barbarian archers'' arrows.


    But not right now. He didn''t even know the extent of power the barbarians were attacking with. What if they had someone like Lahso on their side?


    Yan found a deserted shed within view of the gate that he chose as their spot. they would hold that vantage point and make sure no one got close to the gate.


    Lahso, Garad, and Zach stopped him from opening the door. He obediently took a step back, as Lahso silently drew his sword before putting his hand on the door. He jerked it open and took a step inside, thrusting his sword into a corner, stabbing the wounded barbarian archer who had sought refuge in there.


    Lahso grabbed the dead archer by the back of their tunic, stepped out of the shed and took another couple of steps before throwing the archer out of the city and into the plains.


    "..."


    Lahso dusted his hands as the others stared at him. He didn''t care and gestured for them to enter.


    The first night, Zach and the others watched.

 Chapter 440 Filthy Traitor

    The night ended without any passes at the gate. It was like the barbarians could sense that it was more tightly guarded than before. But that didn''t mean it was a peaceful night. There were more than a dozen dead on either side.Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire


    It didn''t end with sunrise, either. When morning came, the city''s defense troops went around in groups of two, three, or four to root out the remaining barbarians and prevent them from launching sneak attacks when unsuspecting soldiers passed them during the day.


    The barbarians had not made any significant progress this night.


    As soon as Lahso deemed it safe enough, he accompanied Yan and Garad to the command center. Now that Yan had seen the situation for himself, he could offer his insight and use his influence to annoy the commanders who saw more troops and supplies as the only solution to their current predicament.


    Yan didn''t outright disagree with that point of view. More support would alleviate their struggles. But Rittel wasn''t the only city used to hold the border, and it wasn''t the only place that needed reinforcements.


    While it was important, it wasn''t the most important. The Empire couldn''t set aside more than absolutely necessary for their defense. They had to do their best with what they had.


    Fortunately, Yan had been inspired by last night. Zach''s familiars were miraculous beings. He would have to ask for the details of Mandra''s spells and the other familiar''s abilities later. But they did not need to despair just yet.


    The barbarians seemed to know that they didn''t need to rush.


    The longer they took, the more the Empire would organize itself and give a proper response. But at the same time, the more time they spent in the East, the more used to the place the barbarians got. Their foothold was growing deeper with every passing day as they reinforced their own bases and outposts.


    The longer they stayed, the harder it would be to drive them out.


    Most importantly, they had seized Ciel.


    The Labyrinth of Jira was now theirs.


    The Empire had lost the East even with the Labyrinth''s treasures floating around. The barbarians with the Labyrinth''s treasures would only grow stronger.


    From that perspective, it was a battle of time.


    Still, Yan asked the military officers to wait a little while he worked on his ideas and conferred with Zach, the summoner of the familiars he wanted to use. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach had been going around and helping with finding the barbarians left in the city when Garad called for him. He was brought into the command center. It was an old inn whose dining hall had been turned into a meeting room with enough space for more than a dozen people.


    Zach looked at the faces of the group of mostly middle-aged men.


    Unlike the common people and troops who saw Zach as Zach and someone who was helping them, the military officers had a hard time separating Zach from the Evandiel name and the traitors who put them in this position while throwing away the lives of hundreds of their subordinates and citizens.


    The gazes they shot Zach when he entered were not friendly.


    Zach did not care. He looked at Yan with a raised eyebrow.


    "What are your thoughts on the current situation, Zach?" Yan asked.


    "It''s a losing battle," Zach didn''t hesitate to say.


    "Hey, hold on. We killed more than we lost," A military officer with a thick mustache said harshly.


    "So?" Zach questioned.


    "Are our troops not people? Is it not a losing battle if we continue watching our comrades die for nothing?"


    "It''s not nothing! They died honorably defending the city!" Another military officer with no facial hair but a wrinkled face said.


    "''Defending the city''?" Zach mocked. "Yep, they defended the city alright. For one whole night. Tonight, last night''s efforts will have been in vain. We''re back at square one. We didn''t gain anything last night. We only minimized our losses.


    "Continue like this, and we''ll lose sooner or later." Zach shrugged like it was obvious. He didn''t know why he needed to explain it to the military officers who should already be aware of this much.


    "What would you know, you filthy traitor?!" Another military officer shouted at Zach''s not-so-subtle implication that they had wasted the lives of their soldiers for nothing.


    Yan shot that military officer a sharp glare. Shouting in the presence of the imperial family? Inconceivable. Accusing someone the Palace had been unable to convict was also rude.


    "Zach Evandiel graduated from the Academy for Summoners with the highest grades in the school''s long history. Ever. His curriculum consisted of defeating the Underworld, which he did, with resounding success. It wasn''t on the same scale as what we''re dealing with now, but he knows war well enough to analyze this situation. He did all that without the Empire''s help, after all. Now, if any of you have any real opinions about his analysis and this situation only, let me hear them. If you''re being loud because of what his family did, you may take your leave." The second prince''s commanding voice silenced the room. With Yan going that far to express his support for Zach, they could no longer openly object to him or his words.


    "..." The military officers were silent.


    Yan turned to Zach.


    "I was thinking about asking your familiar to share that invisibility spell with as many of the troops as possible to reduce our casualties to as close as zero as possible. Would that be possible?"


    Zach tilted his head as he thought. Since everyone but Yanael had stayed outside the command center since they were as good as living weapons and he was a traitor, he couldn''t ask Mandra about it.


    "It should be possible. But¡­May I?" He asked the prince for permission to voice his opinion.


    Yan nodded.


    "We should hit them back. We should use their strategy against them." Zach''s words incurred several frowns, but Yan nodded for him to continue.

 Chapter 441 Plan

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    "Right now, the barbarians are fine with the current situation since they know they will win and take the city sooner or later. We are losing more men and we are not getting any proper rest, so we''re getting tired and weaker by the day. It won''t be long before there''s an opening.


    "However, if we all of a sudden go through the night unscathed, the barbarians will realize something''s up and change their tactics. They will invest more into this place and make sure to take it down, even if it delays their advance in another place.


    "Or they will back down for a little while. We will need to be on alert around the clock, but they can just not do anything and plan or rest.


    "The point is, we can''t control what they''re going to do if we follow your suggestion, Your Highness. We''re walking a thin path here, and if we take our first step without knowing where to put our second, we''ll fall off."


    Zach felt like he had said more words than he had the entire past several weeks, so he took a quick break to catch his breath. But that was enough for the second prince to grow impatient.


    "So, what do you suggest?" He asked, not too bothered by Zach calling his idea shortsighted.


    "As I said. We hit them back. We know what they want. So, if we give them it, we''ll know how they act. We control their next actions. We''ll put the path where we want to take our next step."


    "And in detail?" Yan questioned. Zach''s words sounded fancy, but without anything concrete, it was just a useless philosophy that wouldn''t work.


    Zach glanced at the military officers. He hoped Yan''s authority would be enough to order everyone. Otherwise, it would be difficult to go through with his plan.


    Zach told the waiting second prince his idea. Yan was silent as he considered it.


    The rest of the members of the meeting loudly expressed their opposition. There were mentions of Zach being a traitor, a fool, an idiot, and a stinking spy. The plan itself was called stupid, reckless, and foolish.


    But Yan liked it. It would be brave and heroic if it succeeded.


    It was the kind of boldness they needed to break through their current situation when the odds were stacked against them.


    Yan still had a lingering doubt in the back of his mind that there was something suspicious about Zach since he was an Evandiel. All he had done so far could have been an act for this moment. Maybe by being empathetic and getting them to let down their guards, Zach was planning to sell Rittel to the barbarians.


    ¡­


    Unlikely.


    Yan weighed the possibilities.


    It wasn''t impossible that Zach was fooling them all. But he was doing it so well that most people had stopped suspecting him once they saw him for themselves. Both Storum and Rittel had a good impression of him.


    But there was no way he would throw that away for a single city, especially not a small one like Rittel.


    This wasn''t a ploy to deceive the Empire, at least not yet. If Zach were going to do something, he would do it when it would cut the Empire at the heel, not poke them on the toe.


    With his position as the second prince and representative of the utmost power of the highest power in the Empire as well as the highest-ranking person in the city, Yan ordered for Zach''s plan to be carried out the following night. The troops that needed to be informed of what was happening were informed.


    Weapons were moved around. Patients were secured. Barricades were erected. Preparations were made.


    They rushed to make it in time, and they spent all the hours until the sun fell making their preparations. And when night was mere minutes away, the last soldier was granted Mandra''s stealth spell. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The soldier left to take their position beneath the wall.


    Zach, his maids, Yan, Garad, and Lahso also prepared. They were in front of the gate since they were the key players in this operation. They waited for word from the troops in the city.


    They hadn''t given all the troops stealth only to help them survive the night. It was also to make it easier for them to capture the barbarians. The most important part of the plan was successfully fooling the barbarians after all. For that, they needed information that they could only get by capturing and torturing barbarians.


    They couldn''t be satisfied with capturing just one barbarian, either. They needed to compare the information given by different barbarians to make sure they got the information they needed.


    The plan hinged on them getting and using the right information. Without it, they would be serving themselves up to the wolves on a silver platter. Needless to say, none of them wanted that.


    The air in the city was tense as the barbarians slowly made their way over the walls and into the city, carefully scanning their surroundings before dropping down into the arms of the almost invisible soldiers waiting for them.


    The barbarians were not prepared but they reacted quickly and put up a fight as best as they could. More often than not, that ended in their deaths.


    The soldiers knew that they had to capture as many barbarians as possible as quickly as possible, but they had repeatedly been told that nothing was more precious than their lives. If they could not do it without risking life and limb, they should just kill the barbarians.


    There were not many soldiers with the confidence to catch the barbarians alive. They had seen too many of their comrades die to them over the past weeks.


    Zach was worried he would have to ask his maids to step up. He didn''t need to.


    The military officer with a big mustache had secured two on his own and was ready to catch more if the ones the soldiers caught weren''t enough.


    They could get started with the interrogation.

 Chapter 442 Tricks

    One barbarian at a time was brought before Mandra when they were caught. They were questioned on their communication methods, signals, names, and favorite food just to confuse them. Your next read is at My Virtual Library Empire


    As expected, the barbarians came up with different methods for how they communicated or were supposed to communicate with their allies outside the city. There were bird calls, hoots, arrows with specific fletchings, and some even had notes prepared.


    They were lying.


    Mandra''s Eyes of Truth weren''t even needed to determine that, but they helped narrow down the parts of truth the barbarians had subconsciously or actively sprinkled in to make their lies more believable.


    Yan knew it was too early to celebrate since this was merely the first step of Zach''s plan. But they had fulfilled the necessary condition to move forward with the next step. They had found out how the barbarians were supposed to communicate with their allies outside the city.


    They knew how to fool the other barbarians. Now, they just had to silence the barbarians in the city before they could proceed to the next step. It would be a shame if their plan failed because the barbarians still in the city managed to see what they were doing and sneak out a message to the rest outside the city walls.


    Rittel''s troops worked double-time to chase and hunt down the barbarians. They knew that this was their chance to get an edge over the barbarians. If they had to be reckless and lure the barbarians out of hiding, they were. They made a little more noise than usual. Enough to tempt the barbarians into attacking without being loud enough to make them suspicious.


    After several hours since night fell, no more barbarians were found no matter how and where they looked.


    It was time.


    First, they launched a silent arrow out of the city, telling the barbarians to be ready since they were making a move on the gate. It was just that they were Rittel''s troops, not barbarians.


    Then, a few moments later, they started causing a ruckus in front of the gate like two groups were fighting each other. It wasn''t overly loud since they didn''t want to sound like they were fighting the entire city. It was a tiny scuffle. But if someone was on the other side of the gate, they would hear it.


    At the same time, they prepared thick and dark cloths to cover their eyes with, rotating with the ones play-fighting.


    Slowly, the fighting died down, and a couple of brave soldiers who had borrowed the barbarian infiltrators'' dark clothes started pushing open the gate.


    It was dead silent outside, even after the gate cracked open a gap wide enough to see through. It was pitch dark, clouds hiding the moon and stars.


    It reminded Zach of the view from the Urus Keep at night. But it was warmer and much less isolated. Also, unlike the ordinary soldiers who couldn''t sense anything and thought it looked completely empty outside, he could sense the presence of enemies.


    It was amazing how they were hiding in the darkness without showing so much as the glint of a sword or the rustle of clothes and armor. Not even their breaths could be heard.


    A quick whistle rang out, signaling the troops of Rittel to cover their eyes with their dark cloths.


    Ten seconds later, a bright blue flare shot up in the air, exploding into a rain of searing light.


    It exposed the legion of barbarians lined up outside the city gates, waiting to enter when they received the signal. But instead, they received the gift of being blinded by Mandra''s light. Their eyes, which had adjusted to the darkness, did not stand a chance in front of that bright light. They lost any ability to see. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even the trained barbarian troops could not help but fall into panic at suddenly being blind in the middle of enemy territory. They immediately drew their weapons and prepared to defend themselves.


    To help them along, Mandra shot a few spells into them, kick-starting their response.


    Once the sounds of battle and clashes rang out, the barbarians started swinging.


    They cared about themselves and their lives. They were going to take down all the imperial troops attacking them, even if they were blind.


    The problem was that the imperial troops hadn''t attacked yet.


    The barbarians were fighting themselves. They had fallen for the mind games and tricks.


    However, not all of them had been blinded by the light, and not all of them were panicking.


    Just like the Empire had people much stronger than ordinary soldiers, the barbarians also had powerful fighters, several of whom had already slipped past their comrades to mark Mandra before she could unleash any more of her spells onto their army from atop the city walls.


    Otherwise, she alone could have decimated most of the army before the Empire''s troops even got a chance.


    But doing so would also invite the barbarians'' strong fighters to join the battle of the weaklings and slaughter the ordinary soldiers.


    It was mutual courtesy to fight the ones at a similar level of strength to prevent as much needless destruction as possible.


    It was similar to how Sio, Violina''s great-grandfather, had withdrawn from the Empire. If he and people of his level got involved, the younger generations and weaker people wouldn''t even get to live.


    Without that check, too many would die for anything to ever be worth it.


    Of course, if someone didn''t care about retaliation or the future generations, there was nothing stopping them. But right now, both sides were keen to preserve their forces.


    The barbarians had to admit that they had been tricked. But there was nothing they could do about it but accept the fight.


    While Zach''s maids and the barbarians with braided hair looked at and sized each other up, Rittel''s troops moved out.


    The light in the night sky had faded, plunging the world back to darkness right as the barbarians slowly adjusted to the light. Once again, they were unable to see anything. But this time, they weren''t being attacked by one another.


    The enemies were in their midst.

 Chapter 443 Protection

    Zach looked through the open gates as the soldiers and fighters of Rittel poured out into the darkness to fight the barbarians. His gaze turned to the walls, which now had several strong-looking barbarians standing on them. One of them was right in front of Mandra, who had launched her spells from the wall.


    "Lahso, you''re protecting His Highness, right?" Zach asked.


    Lahso nodded with a hand on the hilt of his sword as he stood in front of Yan.


    Zach took a step back.


    "I''m leaving them to you guys," he said to his maids.


    Alzara and Soara moved, sprinting and soaring up onto the city walls. Yanael stayed put by Zach''s side. Nora waited and watched. She wasn''t confident she could fight those barbarians head-on, even if she had sparred and trained with Zach''s maids regularly lately.


    Instead, she made the most of her training to be unnoticeable and sneaky as she went around, using the shadows and gaps in the barbarians'' vision to ascend the walls and lurk out of sight while waiting for opportunities.


    The barbarians, male or female, had long braided hair of mostly light colors. They were blonde, grey-haired, or light brown. But their eyes were dark, and their skin was tan from a lifetime spent on the prairie living an active outdoorsy life. They were muscular and wielded different weapons.


    The barbarian facing Mandra looked the strongest and used a thin, straight, and sharp single-edged sword, which he used to deflect or slice her magic when she attacked. Since the sword could do that without breaking, it was clear that it was a treasure and not an ordinary sword.


    But a good sword alone wouldn''t be enough to defeat Mandra. She just had to hit him instead of the sword.


    One of the barbarians trying to pin down Alzara used a pair of sickles attached to his wrists with chains. They flew out and curved in the air like swallows but were still unable to reach the hem of Alzara''s clothes. If anything, they were closer to hitting his companion, a barbarian using a pair of daggers.


    Maybe the sickle-wielding barbarian was confused since both Alzara and the other barbarian were using two daggers, even if they or the daggers were nothing alike. Alzara was taller than both of them with more than a head, but it was dark, and she was moving fast.


    On another part of the wall, Soara was glancing toward the other barbarians when she had the opportunity and could afford to do so without catching swords or arrows to the face. She tried to see if the other barbarians also had some kind of defense against her powers.


    She wasn''t sure what it was, but the three barbarians trying to get close to her had something on their bodies that tried to shield them against her powers. It was like a barrier or film over them that prevented her from grabbing their life flames and snuffing them out or weakening them.


    She narrowed her eyes and focused on her opponents. It didn''t matter if the others had the same protection or not, at least not right now. She could deal with that after dealing with the two trying to shoot her and the one trying to dice her up.


    They were strong enough that she could only be distracted for moments at a time, but that still meant she had the advantage in a fight against three people. Without their protection, she would have long since won. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant she would win as soon as she got through it.


    Soara focused her power and pushed more of it onto the barbarian closest to her. As she did so, she saw an amulet resting below his throat begin to light up. She couldn''t help but let out a chuckle that sent shivers down the spines of all those who heard it except Zach and his familiars.


    It was the mocking laughter of Death, finding the struggle of the insignificant entertaining.


    An item was protecting them.


    That wouldn''t be enough.


    Silly barbarians.


    The fact that the amulet had lit up when she pushed it was proof that it wasn''t reliable.


    Soara just pushed more of her power onto the barbarian with the sword. She had to be a little careful since she didn''t want to draw on her strength too much and put pressure on Zach''s body, but this much should be fine.


    Maybe a little more.


    Soon, with a cracking sound, the amulet broke. It cracked and shattered into a dozen tiny pieces that fell to the ground. He stopped moving and glanced down at the broken amulet. Slowly, he looked up at Soara with a pale face¡ªa face of horror.


    Soara returned his expression with a smile as she gently waved his hand in his direction.


    The man felt a chilly breeze sweep past him, and that was the last thing he felt before the light faded from his eyes and he collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.


    Before he even finished falling, four arrows shot through where he had just been standing toward Soara''s head. The two barbarian archers tried to catch Soara by surprise when she let down her guard after killing one of them. However, Soara wouldn''t let down her guard that easily.


    She hadn''t let it down once since Zach was arrested outside the Labyrinth of Vidur. She wouldn''t be caught lacking just like that by two barbarians who were still wet behind their ears.


    She easily dodged under the arrows that embedded themselves in the stone wall behind her. Getting hit by an arrow like that wouldn''t be nice. But they were useless if they didn''t hit her. Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire


    Soara took a step toward the archers, concentrating her power on the one to the left until the amulet broke. As the cracking sound rang out, even the other glanced to the side to check what would happen to their friend and comrade.


    But looking away wasn''t enough to make them miss.


    Getting their throat slit by a short dagger, however, did make them unable to continue firing their bow.


    Three barbarians down.

 Chapter 444 Casualties

    Nora cleaned her dagger on the barbarian''s back before letting his body drop to the ground. She nodded to Soara before taking a step back and disappearing into the shadows of the city wall.


    Soara''s eyebrows rose slightly before she nodded in appreciation. Nora was better at this kind of thing than Soara had expected and compared to her straightforward combat. Soara snuck a glance toward Zach, who was watching everything with tired but fully attentive eyes.


    She couldn''t help but wonder if the fact that he only summoned battle maid variants had something to do with Nora. She was a battle maid who had been by his side since they were young, after all.


    If his beautiful childhood friend was a battle maid, it was understandable if he had a thing for them.


    Zach noticed Soara''s gaze and waved at her. Soara returned the wave with a smile and a light bow before turning toward the other two fights.


    Alzara had landed two curses on the barbarian with daggers. She would win in a few minutes.


    Mandra¡­


    She apparently found the sword''s magic-nullifying abilities interesting. Instead of ending the fight, she was studying the sword by targeting it with different kinds of magic. The barbarian was confused and stressed but unable to do anything.


    He had tried to retreat after Soara won her battle, but Mandra stood in the way. As soon as he took a step toward the side to slink past her, she did not hesitate to turn up the heat. The barbarian would have to risk turning into a piece of charcoal if he wanted to flee.


    It was a hopeless situation. But the barbarian didn''t stop fighting. He entertained Mandra''s whim while constantly looking for an opening to flee.


    They had underestimated the importance the Empire put on Rittel for them to have sent such strong warriors to its aid. He had to report this back to tribal chiefs and shamans. If he couldn''t do that, he hoped they would understand by their passing that there were strong people in Rittel.


    And in a war like this, where each side couldn''t have too many combatants, there was no way the Empire would waste their manpower for something unimportant. There was a secret about Rittel that the barbarians didn''t know about.


    The barbarian with the straight and thin sword had to report this. He was willing to sacrifice his life for it.


    Unfortunately, not even his life could pay the toll of passing Mandra. Once he committed to fleeing Rittel, he had already thrown away his life since Mandra couldn''t get him to agree to let her experiment on his sword. That meant he had served his purpose.


    With the final warrior barbarian dead, it was only a matter of time before Rittel won this battle.


    Mandra grabbed the sword from the fallen barbarian and looked up to see that the others were already done. She bowed apologetically toward Zach for taking so long to finish the fight and for getting caught up in her curiosity.


    Zach didn''t care about that. They weren''t in a rush, and the fight outside the city was still going on. The barbarians had started to recover from the light and some had even started adjusting to the darkness, but it was too little too late. Rittel''s troops had an overwhelming advantage by now and no longer needed to make use of their sight to win the fight. They could rely on their numbers and morale to stampede the lightly armored barbarians.


    Slowly, the barbarians started to pull back, unable to resist the Rittel troops. They didn''t signal a retreat. The barbarians just felt individually pushed back as they saw their friends and comrades cut down next to them. They fought back, of course, but once they took that first step backward, it had already become a losing fight. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Rittel troops pursued the barbarians for a while before the commanders ordered a retreat back into the city. The win was intoxicating, and they wanted to cut down every last barbarian when they had the chance.


    But if they followed too long, the barbarians would have the opportunity to regain their advantage or maybe even get reinforcements. They had the advantage in terrain outside the city. They were dressed for and more used to fighting in the darkness in the wild.


    The eastern soldiers had training for similar scenarios, but they hadn''t lived the same lives as the barbarians. Pursuing them recklessly was a bad idea. They had to stop when it was still their win.


    Tired but mostly satisfied, the soldiers dragged themselves and their injured or dead comrades into the city.


    Their victory was cause for celebration. But at the same time, the barbarians were formidable foes, and they had lost several dozen valiant men and women. It was only a fraction of what the barbarians lost in comparison, but how could they not grieve the loss of their own?


    The mood in the city was mixed. Some were happy, some were sad, and some didn''t know what to think or feel. But one thing was true for almost everyone. They could sleep well knowing that they had a guardian angel watching them and keeping them safe.


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t purely metaphorical. Zach had an angel by his side, after all.


    He had stabilized Storum. He had helped the injured in Rittel before saving numerous lives with his familiars'' magic and then devising a plan to turn the tables on the barbarians. If he was a traitor, the rest of them couldn''t even be considered human.


    Zach did not think much about how this had changed the way the others looked at him. He stood on the wall and silently looked out over the trampled fields.


    Most if not all of Rittel''s casualties had been cleaned up.


    Now, it was time for the barbarians to collect theirs.


    Zach''s expression was grim as he looked at the barbarians holding up black flags, signaling their intent to honor and care for their dead. Naturally, Rittel didn''t stop them.


    But they watched.


    Zach looked toward the skies. The clouds had scattered, revealing the stars and moon.


    He didn''t like war. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

 Chapter 445 Together

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    Zach noticed the difference in how the people of Rittel looked at him the next morning when he went to find Yan. It was better than being glared at for something he didn''t do, but he couldn''t say it felt right.


    He ignored it.


    Yan was in the command center as Zach had expected. Opposite to yesterday, when Yan had to flash his authority to get Zach into the meeting room, the guards outside held the door open for him. They didn''t even ask his familiars to stay outside. They were free to follow him inside if they wanted to.


    But it would be unnecessarily crowded, so Zach only brought Yanael.


    "..."


    "Zacharia, you''re here." Yan was the only one who greeted Zach with anything other than awkward silence.


    "Well, yeah. We need to make use of the breathing room we''ve gained. They know they can''t attack us with the forces they have, which means they''ll be holding off until they''re ready. We should take initiative before they do."


    The military officers understood and listened to Zach this time. They would not try the same thing again when it had already failed this spectacularly. But that didn''t mean they would stop trying. They would either try something else or just use more force.


    Rittel wasn''t a key location in the war, but it was an important access point. For both sides, it would alleviate a lot of stress on the supply route if they secured it. It was also easy to defend and hold with the right troops.


    The barbarians wanted to take the city, and the imperial troops could not hand it over without making the barbarians sacrifice at least as much as they would lose by doing so.


    So, before the barbarians had the chance to gather their forces and launch a more powerful attack, Rittel''s forces had to do something.


    "...What do you have in mind?" The military officer with a big mustache asked hesitantly. There was something about how he had been vocal in his opposition toward Zach''s participation in the war just a day ago, but now wasn''t the time for that. By asking, he admitted and acknowledged that Zach deserved his spot by the table.


    "Two alternatives. The first would be to scout our surroundings and the area in front to try and estimate the barbarians'' forces. If possible, we charge in full and drive them back. It''s offensive, but it will keep Rittel safe. For now."


    "The second?" Yan asked. The first option wasn''t optimal. But if Zach brought it up, it could only mean that the other was equally as bad.


    "We send out a small unit of elites. Guerilla warfare to harass the barbarians and distract them. They will have to move and do things to attack Rittel. That''s when the unit strikes and makes them bleed."


    "..."


    Risk everything by betting everything on everyone or risk everything by betting everything on a select few.


    If the first alternative failed, the city''s troops would be wiped out outside the city with far from enough soldiers to defend it, even if reinforcements arrived before the barbarians.


    If the second alternative failed, either because the unit was removed from the equation or because they couldn''t do enough damage to the barbarians to interfere with their plans, the city would be overtaken by a force much stronger than the one that had failed, the one that failed only because of Zach''s familiars and their tactics.


    "This is under the assumption that we will not receive any further reinforcements and that they will attack Rittel again with a stronger force," one of the military officers said.


    "Yes." Zach nodded. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why?"


    "Because that''s the worst scenario, excluding natural disasters and sickness. We do not know if we will receive much more reinforcements. Even our supplies are having trouble getting here. We cannot count on it. And the fact that the barbarians have spent weeks trying to slowly wear this city down and open the gates is proof that they want it. Since we''re defending it so much, it''s clear we don''t want to give it up.


    "Why? Because it''s a strategical location. It opens up a path west for the barbarians, and it lets us defend against a full advance from the barbarians. But then again, it''s not like they can''t go around us. It''s not like they can''t go anywhere else. Rittel isn''t the only city.


    "That''s good. For us. But not for the rest. We have an opportunity here, something that we can assume the other defending cities don''t have." Zach accidentally said a little more than he had intended. His blood still ran hot from last night.


    "..."


    "Then I say we take this opportunity," the mustached officer said firmly, making his stance clear. He couldn''t say which, if either, of the plans Zach proposed was right. But they had to do something, and they had to assume the conditions were the worst. That was the only way they could overcome them when it turned out to be true.


    Yan could tell that things were leaning toward a vote, based on the bearded officer''s statement. But there was something he had to clarify first.


    "This small unit of elites¡­Were you thinking of anyone specific?" He asked.


    "..." Zach silently looked at Yan for a moment before opening his mouth.


    "...If this city had anyone worthy of being called an elite other than me, then it wouldn''t have gotten this bad before we arrived."


    Yan''s eyes narrowed.


    "So, you were planning on keeping the barbarians busy with just yourself?"


    Zach subtly nodded toward his familiars before glancing at Garad.


    "Well, I''ll need someone familiar with the terrain, but I''m confident I can do it."


    "That confidence is the problem," Yan said. "Do you remember what led you here?" He asked.


    Zach nodded tiredly.


    "I won''t go if you stop me, but that means we have to go with the first alternative or something else if anyone has any ideas?" Zach glanced at the military officers. Maybe they had been inspired. Maybe they could contribute.


    "No?"


    It didn''t look like they had any ideas other than the two he had already shared.


    "Do you know what I was told when I was given this assignment?" Yan continued.


    "No."


    "I was told not to let you out of my sight," Yan answered his own question.


    "That means we''re going together," he said with a smile.

 Chapter 446 Early Empire

    Zach could not honestly say that he was excited to go with Yan, but since Yan was in charge, he also couldn''t say he didn''t like it, so he just stayed silent while the second prince of the Empire and the military officers of Rittel discussed the plan and any necessary details.


    Since Yan was on board with the idea, no others were brought up. Zach, Yan, Lahso, and Garad would be entering the territory occupied by the barbarians to wage guerilla warfare.


    It was not a good plan since the barbarians wouldn''t just let themselves be harassed. Yan was also a highly valuable hostage to the point where the barbarians could send one of their powerful fighters to capture him. It should be fine as long as they didn''t find out his identity, though.


    Instead of getting taken hostage, he would just be killed in the fight.


    Zach wasn''t even sure the prince could fight. But Lahso would more than make up for that. Zach had still yet to see the knight in action since he didn''t have to do anything other than block a few arrows last night, but he could feel that Lahso was strong.


    If there was anything to look forward to, it would be seeing Lahso fight. So, Zach didn''t obstinately oppose Yan tagging along.


    Time was of the essence.


    Yan and Zach cooperated with the military officers to set a few guidelines for the defense and how they should fortify the city with or without reinforcements from the Empire. Protecting the city and keeping it in Imperial hands was important, but more important than that was keeping it out of the barbarians'' hands.


    If necessary, they might have to bring down the walls and torch it just to weaken the barbarians'' hold over the land. But that was a last resort. And it would only be done after the barbarians had taken the city or were on the verge of doing so.


    Before it came to that, the city''s troops would do everything in their power to hold off the barbarians.


    Zach had proposed a drawn-out strategic retreat. They would trick as many barbarians into the city as possible before setting it on fire and trapping them inside while they retreated deeper into the Empire while filling their tracks with traps to slow down and waste the barbarians'' resources if they pursued.


    The military officers and the city''s troops did not like that idea. They wanted to defend the city if possible and would only give it up when it was impossible to do so. As long as there was hope, they would cling to the city.


    It was their home. Zach couldn''t make them leave.


    But what good was having a home if they were dead?


    Zach did not voice his doubt even until he left the city with his maids, Yan, Lahso, and Garad. Since going undiscovered and being able to traverse any terrain was more important than speed, they went on foot, leaving the horses behind.


    As they left the city behind, Zach couldn''t help but feel a little excited. He was, in a way, back home. But it was entirely different. The air was different. The circumstances were different.


    It reminded him of his first year at the Academy before he only dealt with the Underworld. The expeditions into the forest when he and his friends had to be wary and on alert at all times in case monsters attacked them.


    There shouldn''t be as many monsters in the East as in the forest by the Academy, but the barbarians would take their place.


    But at that thought, Zach''s mood dampened slightly.


    The barbarians weren''t monsters or bloodthirsty underworlders trying to take over the surface. They were just humans from a different place with different history and different values. He was pretty sure they were human the same as him and the rest of the Empire, at least.


    He had no reason to think they were anything else. They looked the same, they spoke the same language, and they died the same.


    That was why Zach didn''t like the thought of killing them or them killing his fellow imperial citizens.


    He wasn''t so soft that he wouldn''t do it. His home and his freedom was at stake. But that didn''t mean he had to like it.


    Zach sighed before glancing at Yan, who had gradually stopped panting after the rest slowed down to accommodate him.


    "Why do the barbarians want our land?" he asked.


    The barbarians would never get an opportunity like this again. Logically, something like the entire Evandiel family up and vanishing with most of their troops should never happen. It should not be possible.


    This was their best chance at ever invading the Empire. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    But they were still losing a lot, and after the initial advance into the Eastern territory, their progress was slow. The glory of conquering part of the Empire shouldn''t be worth it.


    Or so Zach thought. But maybe the leaders of the barbarians thought otherwise.


    Yan frowned slightly at Zach''s sudden question. It was a good question that was easy to miss in the face of the war. The why wasn''t as important as the how or how to stop it.


    "I have heard that the land beyond the border isn''t very arable. Life out there is harsh. Maybe they''re tired of that?" Yan answered uncertainly.


    He might be a prince, but he wasn''t deeply entrenched in the politics between the two nations. He could only guess the barbarians'' reasons for invading.


    "You''re right, Your Highness. The land further east is stony, harsh, and lifeless in comparison to the lushness of the Evandiel duchy. Sustaining life is hard, but the barbarians have lived there for centuries. They have adapted and found a way to live," Garad said with the experience of living as the barbarians'' neighbor for a lifetime.


    "But if it''s not because they want our fertile lands, then why?" Yan asked.


    "Do you know about the Empire''s early history, Your Highness?" Garad asked.


    Yan nodded slowly. As an imperial prince, he knew the Empire''s history better than most. But it was long. Even the part defined as the Empire''s early history was a couple of centuries.


    However, there was a common theme to that part.


    The Empire''s expansion.


    "...You''re saying the barbarians just want more?" Yan asked. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..." Garad shrugged.

 Chapter 447 Scouting

    The period in time leading up to the founding of the Empire and the first few centuries of the Empire''s history were chaotic. The current war in the east was a calm day of the week in comparison.


    Wars, destruction, and natural disasters ravaged the land. It was an era fraught with battle and blood-thirsty warlords and generals.


    A significant portion of that was related to the expansion of the Empire''s borders and the successive conqueror-emperors'' greed for more. They wouldn''t be satisfied until they had the continent in the palm of their hands.


    And to the relief of everyone on the continent, they were finally satisfied when they had everything from the southern sea to the northern mountains and the western forest to the eastern wastelands. Thus, the Empire entered an era of peace, stability, and prosperity.


    Garad was suggesting that the barbarians were in a situation similar to the Empire''s early history. They were on a mission of conquest and expansion to strengthen their nation and bolster the riches of their leaders.


    There was no special reason behind the barbarians'' invasion unless the base instinct of all humans, greed, could be called special.


    The barbarians lived by taking from the land. They persistently harassed the Eastern border of the Empire, and they grew up and lived with battles and fighting in a way that the Empire''s citizens didn''t.


    Why shouldn''t they invade the Empire?


    That was what Garad was saying. And he was making a good point.


    Other than the losses they would take and the overwhelming might of the Empire, why shouldn''t the barbarians try and increase the size of their territory? It wasn''t like it could come back and bite them in the ass or something, right?


    Zach wasn''t convinced. Yan was also on the fence.


    But neither of them knew as much about the East and the barbarians as Garad, so they were silent as Garad took them off the path cleared by the barbarians.


    They had followed it long enough for Garad to know where the barbarians had set up camp. Now, they had to get there without being discovered. Garad could lead the way, and Zach''s familiars and Lahso would handle discovering barbarians before the barbarians discovered them.


    First, they had to get the lay of the land and figure out what they were dealing with.


    Hundreds of barbarians had tried to attack Rittel last night, and they had continuously sent dozens of light barbarians into the city every night for a couple of weeks. That could be the scope of the barbarians gathered in the vicinity. Or it could be less than half.


    For a handful of people such as Zach''s group, the difference between the remnants of last night''s army and one three times the size of the original one was too large for them to ignore.


    If they were only dealing with the remnants, they could go wild and not even bother sneaking around the vegetation like shy snakes. But if they were dealing with not only many but also strong barbarians, they would have to make the most of Garad''s experience and cover themselves in mud and grass to hide their scent and camouflage themselves.


    It would be two entirely different ways of doing things.


    The sun had almost set once they arrived at the river bend where the barbarians had pitched camp. Zach and the others hid behind a bushy hill with the wind blowing from the barbarians to them.


    The hill was small enough that the barbarians hadn''t bothered posting a lookout as they had done with a slightly taller hill to the side. A good lookout would have seen them from that lookout if not for Mandra''s spell. By not being the best hiding spot, their chosen hiding spot became the best, and they could see the size of the camp and count their troops. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were three different colors to the tents and different flags at the different colors. Three tribes were cooperating here.


    That could be both a good and a bad sign. If the tribes were close, their cooperation would be impossible to break up. If the tribes weren''t close, Zach and the others could use that against them.


    Unfortunately, Garad wasn''t familiar with these tribes, much less their relationship.


    But that was a good sign. That meant the were smaller tribes that usually didn''t come close to the Empire''s border. If they called for stronger warriors after losing the ones they lost last night, they probably wouldn''t be able to call for much stronger ones. At best, it would be the tribal chiefs and the shamans that would pose a threat to Zach and the others.


    So far, it was looking good for Zach and the others, even if the size of the camp was bigger than they had expected.


    At least nine hundred barbarians could be fit into that camp.


    That explained why the forest and wilderness Zach and the others had gone through to reach their current hill had seemed so barren.


    A thousand people needed a lot of food, especially during war. It wouldn''t be easy for the barbarians to transport supplies this deep into the Empire, even if they had an abundance of supplies back home.


    They were picking the dusty clean to feed their warriors.


    Zach''s expression darkened as he looked at the barbarian camp. But then he looked closer. He didn''t just look at and count the tents.


    His eyes weren''t as good as a hawk''s, but with the Eyes of Truth from his contract with Mandra, his eyes were pretty sharp, even when he didn''t use the skill, and when he used the skill just a little, he could see further.


    He turned to Mandra just to confirm what he was seeing.


    "Those aren''t just warriors, right¡­?" He asked.


    He had seen children running around. Where there were children, there were caretakers, caretakers who wouldn''t be risking their lives fighting the imperial troops.


    Mandra nodded.


    "Yes, Master. There appear to be many non-combatants in the camp."

 Chapter 448 Cursing Zach

    Yan slowly turned to Zach and Mandra.


    "What are you saying?"


    Wasn''t it obvious not everyone was a warrior? They needed chefs, people to tend to the horses, people to help forage for food, and people to take care of the injured. A warring party like the camp of barbarians was more than just fighting.


    So what if there were a few non-combatants in the camp?


    Zach met Yan''s gaze.


    "There are families down there."


    "Families?" Yan questioned.


    Zach nodded.


    "Families."


    "So?"


    Zach held back a sigh.


    "The warriors brought their families, wives, and children with them. What do you think that means, Your Highness?"


    "...That they didn''t want to leave them behind in the possibly dangerous and hostile environment of their homes?"


    "Okay, and if their invasion fails?"


    It finally clicked in Yan''s mind.


    "Holy shit. They''re not planning on failing." He turned toward the camp with wide eyes.


    The barbarians weren''t just not planning on failing. They were betting everything on succeeding. Either their invasion succeeded or they perished.


    Yan slowly looked at Garad.


    "I think there might be more to their invasion than greed," he said.


    Garad shrugged without answering, but his face was also set in a deep frown as he thought about the revelation that the warriors had brought their families along.


    If they had done that, they should have also brought along as much food and supplies as they could carry. But the surrounding area was still picked clean of most things edible. It also didn''t look like there was a lot of food stored in the camp.


    Something wasn''t adding up.


    "I think we might need to change our plan," Zach said after a minute''s silence. He wasn''t going to launch a bunch of sneak attacks on a camp filled with children, the elderly, and those directly unrelated to the war. That was crossing a line.


    However, Yan slowly shook his head.


    "...Our mission hasn''t changed."


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    "You can''t be serious¡­!" Zach said in disbelief.


    Yan turned to meet Zach with a sharp glare.


    "I repeat, ''So what?'' What does it change that they brought along their families? This is WAR, Zach! It''s them or us! Don''t forget, the only way for you to prove your innocence is to follow my orders," Yan warned with a stern expression.


    "Hmph," Zach scoffed. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If being a traitor means refusing to kill children, I''ll make sure to go down as the biggest traitor in history."


    "Then don''t kill the children! Kill the adults!"


    Zach met Yan''s suggestion with a cold glare. Yan sighed. This wasn''t the place to hold this discussion. They should retreat before talking about this.


    Zach glanced toward the camp.


    Yan was about to suggest that they fall back when Zach stood up. As if they had expected it, his maids followed him.


    "What do you think you''re doing?!" Yan grabbed Zach''s arm and tried to pull him back down. Zach shook off his hand. He took a step forward.


    Yan''s eyes opened wide as he realized what Zach was doing.


    "...Where do you think you''re going?" He asked in a blisteringly cold voice while staring daggers into the side of Zach''s head.


    "...To stop this war."


    Yan reached for Zach again, but Lahso put a hand on the prince''s shoulder and held him back. Yan, Lahso, and Garad could only watch as Zach and his maids left the hill and walked toward the camp, which soon noticed his approach and turned hectic.


    Yan''s expression was dark as he glared at Zach one last time before turning around.


    "Let''s go," he ordered Lahso and Garad. With Zach defecting, they had no choice but to return to the city. Even if they could still technically proceed with the plan, that would be a lot more difficult if Zach told them about it and even more so if Zach volunteered to help the barbarians stop them and catch the second prince.


    Before it was too late, Yan had to return to the city with his guardian knight and guide. It would not be good for them to be caught outside, even if Lahso was strong. He wasn''t invincible, after all.


    Garad led them away from the barbarians without being detected and back to the city. Along the way, not a single word was spoken among the three. They were busy thinking about what Zach had just done.


    They had seen for themselves how much Zach cared about the people of the East. They had seen him rebuff the barbarians'' attack with ease and give Rittel a much-needed victory.


    Yet, he had all of a sudden walked into the barbarian camp without even looking back.


    He had said he was going to end this war. But wasn''t there only one way for wars to end? It was when one side lost more than the other.


    Walking into the enemy could be because he was confident he could take them down alone from within. But with the context of his argument with Yan moments before, maybe Zach decided that maybe someone who didn''t want to kill children and families deserved his assistance more. Maybe the barbarians could give him the answers he sought to what his family had done, supposing he hadn''t lied about that part.


    So, when the mustached military officer received Yan, Lahso, and Garad at the city gates when they returned, worriedly asking what had happened and why Zach wasn''t with them, Yan could only answer in one way.


    "He was a traitor, after all."


    It didn''t take long before those words spread through the city. In minutes, everyone knew what Yan had said.


    Most believed it. Zach saw a chance to leave the Empire in favor of the barbarians, and he took it.


    But there were some who were skeptical.


    Every step of the way, Zach had outshined Yan, the second prince, in terms of warfare and assisting the troops.


    Maybe a high-born someone was a little envious and decided to get rid of competition?


    But thoughts like those were treasonous and were never voiced as Rittel went from thanking Zach to cursing him again.

 Chapter 449 Naive

    The barbarians at the camp naturally responded with armed force when Zach suddenly appeared without their scouts alerting them. They didn''t lower their guard even when Zach and his maids raised their hands and said they only wanted to talk.


    It was only when Zach and his maids were bound to posts in the center of the camp that the barbarians relaxed slightly and stopped pointing drawn bows and sharp swords at them.


    Of course, if Zach and his maids wanted to, breaking out of the ropes would not be an issue. But since they weren''t there to cause trouble, they just let it be as the barbarians watched them from a distance while waiting to hear from their scouts.


    It was first when the scouts returned alive and reported that there was not so much as a hint of enemy troops nearby that a few of the barbarians walked up to Zach without a weapon in hand.


    "What do you want?" A man with thinning dark hair and a goatee asked as he stopped four steps away from Zach. He shot strange glances at the five maids by his side.


    Zach held back a sigh. He had repeated himself several times when he let himself be brought into the camp.


    "My name is Zacharia Evandiel. I have come to talk with your chiefs."


    "..."


    The barbarian who had taken it upon himself to question Zach found himself at a loss. But then his eyes widened, and he grabbed the blade at his hip.


    "Did you say Evandiel?" He questioned warily.


    "That''s right." Zach nodded.


    "Why have you come here?" The man drew his scimitar and asked.


    Zach sighed.


    "...To talk with your chiefs," he answered.


    "We won''t surrender just because of you." The man tried to sound confident, but there was no denying the effect the Evandiel name had on the barbarians. The Evandiels had repelled the barbarians and kept them and their raids in check for centuries, after all. The Evandiels were living horror stories just to keep naughty children in bed at night and obedient during the day.


    For one of them to have personally entered their camp, they could only imagine what terrors would befall them. They were not equipped to deal with the Evandiels coming their way.


    While the man and the other nearby barbarians were thinking about what to do without revealing any weakness, Zach was also deep in thought.


    This was not the reaction Zach had expected.


    Hadn''t his family given the barbarians entry to the Empire? Hadn''t his family turned traitor and joined the barbarians? Why did it seem like the barbarians were still prepared to fight the Evandiels?


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    Zach looked at the worried eyes of the man in front of him.


    "How did you get into the Empire?" Zach asked.


    "That has nothing to do with you."


    "How?!" Zach demanded. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If the barbarians didn''t know that his family had suddenly disappeared from their post, and the Empire didn''t know where they had gone, something unrelated to either side had to have happened.


    It could also be that the lesser tribes weren''t aware since there was no need to tell them, but Zach didn''t think the rumors of the Evandiels turning traitor wouldn''t spread like wildfire even if they tried to keep it secret. Even the rats in the Empire knew about the Evandiels giving up their post, after all.


    "...The stars paved the way," the man answered with a frown. The post had moved when Zach took a step forward to demand an answer.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Zach questioned.


    "That the stars paved the way. Fate led us here. We were just following the Arlecch''s words¡ªHey! I''m the one asking questions here!"


    "No, you''re not," a young woman interrupted from behind the barbarian with thinning hair. She had a bow slung across her back, and by the looks of it, she had just returned from a hunt. Her leather vest was slightly bloody, and her boots were dirty like she had just run through the forest.


    Zach could see hints of a tattoo poking out from under her short sleeve.


    "Zacharia Evandiel, was it?" She asked.


    Zach nodded.


    "The youngest," she said.


    Zach nodded again, a little surprised that she knew about him.


    "What are you doing here, Zacharia Evandiel?" She asked.


    "I came to talk. In peace."


    "That doesn''t sound very Evandiel-like," she responded, her eyes narrowing skeptically.


    "I''m often told I''m not much like the rest of my family."


    "Hmm." The woman unslung her bow and handed it to a nearby young barbarian who took it and ran away, scared to be so close to Zach.


    "What do you wish to talk about, Zacharia Evandiel?"


    Zach didn''t need to ask to know that this woman was either in charge or close to being in charge. She didn''t look like a tribal chief, but Zach knew he shouldn''t judge based on appearances.


    He cut to the chase.


    "This war. It needs to end."


    The woman frowned. She had not expected that to be what Zach wanted to talk about.


    "I see why people say you are not like your family. I do not think any other Evandiel would have said such a thing."


    "Well, they aren''t here right now."


    "That''s true. Since you asked so nicely, I will ask everyone to put down their weapons and return home. Does that work?"


    "..."


    "Is that what you expected me to say?" The woman snorted disdainfully.


    "You''re naive, Youngest Evandiel. The Sesha won''t back down at the request of a young boy."


    Zach had expected it, but it wouldn''t be easy to end this war.


    He shook his head.


    "It''s not my request. It''s the request of all the ones who have already fallen. It is the request of those who will fall. This war¡­It has only meaningless death." Zach couldn''t help but think of all the ones who had died on both sides already. And there were no signs of the war ending any time soon.


    The heartwrenching cries of sadness he heard from one of the big tents as he was dragged through the camp had only cemented the tragedy of war.


    Ugor¡­Was a power-hungry madman who waged war on the surface for revenge. But there was no denying that the Underworld had been impoverished and needed the surface''s resources for his people to survive. In a way, it had been a war for survival.


    It wouldn''t happened if Ugor negotiated with the surface or sought peaceful methods of resolving his people''s problems. All the suffering that had come from that was due to Ugor.


    But this war didn''t have Ugor at the helm.


    There was no power-hungry madman forcing the barbarians to throw their lives away.


    There had to be another reason the barbarians were forcing this invasion, and there had to be a solution other than war.

 Chapter 450 Magic

    "Are you really an Evandiel?" The barbarian woman questioned with a frown as she looked at the bound Zach, who wasn''t even trying to break free, though she was pretty sure he didn''t need to struggle to do that.


    She could not believe these kinds of words were coming from an Evandiel.


    "Aren''t you too soft?" She asked. There was a longstanding rivalry between Evandiels, those who held the border, and the barbarians, the Sesha, who tried to cross it. An encounter that didn''t involve crossed swords was as rare as an Evandiel pleading for peace.


    Zach looked at the woman for a moment.


    "So what if I''m soft? Is it wrong of me not to want innocent blood on my hands when I can do something about it?"


    "Can you do something about it?"


    "...Not alone," Zach admitted as he looked away. He was decently strong, even in his current condition, and his maids were skilled and powerful. But there was still a gap between him and the ones in charge of entire groups of people like the Emperor or the the strongest tribal chiefs.


    It would take more than his wishes to even get a ceasefire. Putting an end to the war final would be even more difficult.


    He would need help from both sides to establish peace.


    The woman looked at Zach with a thoughtful expression as she stroked her chin. She crossed her arms and leaned in to take a closer look.


    Zach met her gaze.


    "Will you help me?" He asked.


    The woman''s eyebrows rose. An Evandiel asking her for help. She did not know how to feel.


    "Me? I have on power. Too bad." She smiled and turned around.


    Zach sighed.


    Whether it was because she ordered them to or because they were too scared to approach, none of the barbarians got close to Zach after she left. They left him alone. It was better than them harassing him for his surname or being annoying.


    But Zach didn''t like it. As long as the barbarians weren''t fighting with Rittel, no one would die. But only between Rittel''s troops and the barbarians in the camp.


    But there were other cities and other barbarian camps fighting in other places. At any moment, several people could be losing their lives, wasting them.


    Zach wanted to do something about it.


    However, he knew forcing it would only backfire. He needed to be patient and only use his words. The moment he used violence to get his will through, he could talk peace all day without any of his words holding any meaning.


    As the hours passed, night slowly lowered itself over the world, wrapping it in a soft blanket of darkness. The mood in the camp was understandably low due to the tent of dead warriors.


    Zach wouldn''t have blamed them if they didn''t feed him. They were busy with other things, not to mention his identity as a lifelong enemy of the barbarians.


    Still, a while after the camp sank into darkness, a young boy warily approached him with a bowl of cold, leafy gruel in hand.


    He set it down a step in front of Zach after spending several minutes inching closer to make sure Zach didn''t lunge and bite him. He did not take his eyes off Zach for even a second.


    Thanks to that, Zach was free to look at the young boy as well. He was small and skinny, but his eyes were bright and full of life. His messy hair looked a little dirty. He was an ordinary boy, wary of but curious about the mysterious stranger that the adults warned him not to get too close to.


    After setting down the bowl, the boy slowly took a step back. He was still watching Zach. He continued backing away until he was several steps away. He stopped and just looked at Zach and the bowl as if waiting for Zach to eat it.


    "Hey."


    Zach''s voice startled the young boy and made him flinch and jump back a step. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach shrugged his shoulders and turned to the side to show his wrists tied to the post. How was he supposed to eat?


    The young boy understood what Zach wanted. He shook his head. He was not falling for that.


    Zach tilted his head and shrugged. A translucent golden spoon materialized above the bowl. That also startled the young boy, and he grabbed the dagger at his hip. He looked warily at the floating golden spoon as it scooped up a spoonful of gruel before flying toward Zach''s mouth.


    Zach tasted it and made sure it wasn''t poisoned before flying a spoon over to Nora.


    Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra were fine without food since they were more than a little special. But Nora was an ordinary human who didn''t even have much martial energy, much less the incredible world essence energy to stave off her hunger.


    Zach''s world essence energy had entered a dormant state to protect his tattered body, but it still helped maintain his body a little. He could go without food for a while. It would just slow down his recovery even further.


    Nora, however, needed food. So, Zach shared his food with her. Nora wanted Zach to eat it and focus on his recovery since he would need as much of his strength as possible, but she couldn''t refuse it when her stomach growled. She obediently let Zach spoonfeed her.


    The young boy slowly lowered his wariness as the spoon turned out to be harmless. It was just a way for Zach to eat without needing to be freed. That much was fine.


    The problem was¡­ Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Magic?" The young boy asked with a tiny voice. If Zach could use magic, just tying him to a pole in the center of the camp wouldn''t do much.


    Zach smiled a little and shook his head.


    "Not quite." He emptied the bowl into Nora''s mouth before continuing. He transformed the spoon into a frog and floated it over to the young boy. He stopped it at a safe distance lest he startled the young boy or one of the warriors watching from a distance.


    "It''s a skill."

 Chapter 451 Golden Frog

    The young barbarian boy couldn''t help himself as he curiously stretched out a finger toward the golden frog in front of him. A nearby barbarian warrior took a step forward with a hand on his weapon when he saw that, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.


    Carefully, the young boy placed his finger on the frog''s smooth head and gently stroked it with a blossoming smile on his face. He knew it wasn''t a real frog, but it was lifelike, and it even moved like it was hopping around in the air after he stroked.


    It was something that had no practical use. There would never be a situation in a fight where making a lifelike frog would give Zach an advantage unless his opponent was a frog enthusiast like himself. Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire


    But it was a display of his mastery over Blessed Defense.


    "Do you know about summoners?" Zach asked. The boy was startled again since he had been so focused on the frog flying around his head with its legs outstretched like a bird. But he wasn''t as scared as before.


    The young boy shook his head.


    "Summoners, as the name implies, summon things. Most summon monster-like beings. A friend of mine has a cute cat and a big dog, for example, and another friend has this cool golem that shoots lasers." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young boy listened with rapt attention as he cradled the frog in his hands, stroking its back.


    "Whenever a summoner summons a new familiar, something magical happens. The union between familiar and summoner creates a skill. In some cases, it''s similar to magic. In other cases, it''s more like miracles. That frog is one of the things I can do with the skill I got from summoning her." Zach used a golden arrow to point at Yanael.


    "Originally, I could only make barriers to defend myself. But after training hard, I can make things like that frog."


    The arrow shifted to Alzara.


    "With the skill I got from her, I can extract impurities from materials. It''s not as flashy, but¡­" Zach bent down and slid the rope tying him to the post down to the ground until he could reach and pick up a handful of dirt. He concentrated a little and separated the handful of dirt into a pile of dust and a soft lump of squishy clay, which he handed to the young boy.


    Cautiously, the young boy grabbed the clay with one hand. The other hand was still holding the frog. He was stunned by the cool surface and the softness. The frog was smooth but harder than stone. The clay was a little sticky but soft bouncy like a thick ball of hair.


    Zach smiled as the young boy''s eyes light up even more while playing with the frog and the ball of clay.


    "That is what a summoner is. I have friends I trust with my life, and I can do cool stuff no one else can." Zach smiled.


    He knew what that expression on the young boy''s face meant. He was born to be a summoner. How could he not be happy?


    "C-can I keep these?" The young boy asked, nervously glancing up at Zach.


    Zach nodded with a smile.


    "Of course. But let me touch that frog first."


    The young boy held up the frog. Zach leaned in and pressed his forehead against it for a couple of moments.


    "Just making sure it doesn''t hop away in the middle of the night."


    "Thank you, mister." The young boy nodded politely as he held the shiny frog and the dull ball of clay close to his chest.


    It seemed like the boy was more interested in playing with his new toys than listening to any more of Zach''s rambling. So, when Zach didn''t say anything else, he slowly backed away. When Zach didn''t stop him, he turned around and sprinted to his family''s tent.


    Zach looked at the nearby barbarian warrior in charge of keeping an eye on him and the woman who definitely didn''t have any influence behind him. He smiled and nodded in greeting before trying to find a comfortable position to rest.


    It wasn''t easy, but the discomfort of his sleeping position couldn''t compare to the one from inside his body. He managed to close his eyes in a position that earned him curious looks from the barbarians when they started waking up and tending to their business around the camp.


    It was a day of no one interacting with him unless the young boy from the night before waving at him from a distance, held back by his friends, could be considered an interaction.


    Zach was impatient. He usually wasn''t the type to sit around and wait for things to happen. He had charged straight at Ugor as soon as his final semester at the Academy began, after all.


    That was why he wasn''t sitting still doing nothing. He was working on what he could work on. He played a little with his skills, the three he could use, at least. He scanned the camp and learned as much as he could about the other side. And he tried to see if he could get his world essence energy active again in case that would speed up his recovery.


    It probably wouldn''t help since the backlash was caused by the world essence energy. While it helped against all kinds of internal injuries and poison, the world essence energy apparently couldn''t treat injuries it caused.


    Zach also touched Vidri''s Medallion and tried to study it.


    The only endeavor he found success in was studying the barbarians. He managed to pick up a few names here and there and a little about the situation. Food was running low. They wouldn''t get any help from the other tribes unless they achieved success.


    That was why many of the warriors, the woman from yesterday included, were out hunting.


    Zach had been right. Something¡ªother than the sudden vacancy at the border¡ªhad spurred this invasion on.


    It made the barbarians desperate.


    That was not good.

 Chapter 452 Goodbye Ceremony

    The young boy, Lori Kanh, of the Kanh tribe, approached Zach when evening came around. This time, he carried two bowls of gruel, one for Zach and one for Nora. He was not as scared as last time and even dared to ask why only Zach and Nora ate and not any of the other maids.


    He was intrigued by the answer that familiars, especially strong ones, weren''t as bound by food as humans were. And if they wanted to eat, they wanted to eat the best and most delicious food. Naturally, they weren''t interested in the gruel.


    Still, Zach made sure to clarify that he was grateful for the food they were receiving. It wasn''t much, and it was simple, but it was better than nothing. They were prisoners and from one of the Sesha''s greatest enemies, the Evandiel family. It would have been understandable if the barbarians'' starved them.


    Zach wouldn''t have minded talking to Lori more since he still wanted to find out more about the barbarians'' situation. From what he had heard and noticed, Lori was a relatively important kid. Getting closer to him could be beneficial.


    But he apparently had something to do. He had to return to his family before sunset. Zach didn''t understand why when it hadn''t been a problem last night, but gradually, the barbarian camp came to life.


    The foundation of a bonfire had been built right outside the camp sometime during the day. It was large enough that Zach could see it between the tents. He wasn''t sure what it was about, but he hoped the barbarians weren''t planning to set the forest and grassy hills on fire.


    They weren''t. Far from it.


    It was a clear sky with all the stars coming out to greet the humans looking up at them.


    The barbarians started carrying the corpses from inside the camp toward the lit bonfire. The dead warriors were swept in cloths and medicinal herbs almost like they were mummies.


    Zach tried to get a peek at what they were doing from his palace in the middle of the camp, but he could only catch glimpses, and even that became impossible when the barbarians all gathered in front of the bonfire.


    But Zach didn''t need to see more to know that they were saying farewell to their lost ones.


    It wasn''t the best opportunity since they weren''t that far away from the enemy and they were technically within enemy territory. With how much they were dedicating to this ritual, they were exposing themselves to an ambush. If any imperial troops wanted to attack them, this wuold be a great chance.


    However, it wasn''t like they would get any better opportunities until the war was over, and by then, all of them might be dead. The skies were clear, and the bodies were ready.


    Zach hung his head and closed his eyes.


    He felt hypocritical. He was responsible for their deaths. What right did he have to mourn the barbarian warriors? What right did he have to bid them farewell?


    "You."


    The woman from the first day stood in front of Zach with her hands on her hips. Her long hair was let loose and draped over her shoulders. She wore a flowy light yellow dress.


    Zach looked up.


    During the day, he had confirmed that she was important. But tonight was not a night for political discussion. He was also pretty sure he had heard her name once or twice, but he wasn''t confident. People didn''t shout her name when she went around playing with her friends like they did with Lori.


    "Yes?"


    "..." The woman looked at him silently before sighing and walking around to his back. Without a word, she untied him.


    "What''s going on¡­?" Zach asked confused.


    "...Since you''re here, you might as well participate," she answered while untying Yanael, Alzara, Soara, Mandra, and Nora as well with deft fingers.


    "Participate?" He asked, still confused.


    The woman stopped in front of Zach and looked him straight in the eyes. She was making sure he didn''t have any malicious intentions, whether it be with his surrendering to their camp or asking that question.


    "We are bidding farewell to our fallen friends and family members and wishing them luck on their journey to the stars. There can''t be too many voices giving them strength."


    Zach''s eyes widened. Whatever their ritual was when saying goodbye to their lost ones, they wanted him to be a part of it. They probably didn''t know about the part he played in their defeat a few days ago. But still¡­


    "...Is that ok?" He asked hesitantly.


    The woman gave Zach a look. The fact that he was this worried about it was proof that he cared. It was more than ok.


    The woman shrugged and turned to join the campfire. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach glanced at his maids. They didn''t say anything. This was entirely up to him.


    Zach wasn''t sure how to feel. He had been responsible for the barbarian''s defeat the other day. But if he hadn''t gotten involved the troops of Rittel would have been the ones to die instead. He felt something, but it wasn''t pure guilt.


    Still, participating in the dead warriors'' goodbye ceremony felt wrong. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    The woman glanced back.


    "Are you coming or not?" She asked when she saw that Zach still wasn''t moving. The tone she used hinted that Zach was not allowed to say no. If he wanted to move forward, he had to join.


    Zach nodded and slowly caught up to her, his maids tight behind him.


    Once he decided to participate, his mind gradually eased and he felt freer to indulge in his curiosity as he watched the barbarians and their ritual.


    The campfire wasn''t just a haphazard pile of wood. It was a ring with an opening in one section that allowed someone to enter the middle. That was where they put the bodies of the fallen warriors before the fire that had been lit on the opposite side spread to the entire circle. From what Zach could tell, not a single body had been carried inside before the fire was started.


    He wondered if there was a specific purpose behind that or if it was just tradition.


    Slowly, the heat within the bonfire grew and the ones carrying the bodies inside were soaked in sweat. But they didn''t speed up or slow down. The ones carrying the last body into the bonfire even turned reddish, their skin seemingly about to blister. Silent tears ran down their cheeks as the others helped apply medicinal ointment.


    That was the first part of the goodbye.

 Chapter 453 Garb

    As Zach looked around, he realized that the barbarian woman who had invited him to the ritual wasn''t the only one with their hair let down and in a flowy dress. All of the barbarians wore similar clothes and had similar hairstyles. Even the warriors who usually had their hair in braids had let it loose.


    The unfortunate bald ones had headdresses of feathers or fur instead of just hair.


    ''Interesting ceremonial garb, I suppose,''


    Zach hadn''t been to any funerals before since he refused to attend Julius''s, but he could still tell that the barbarians'' outfits were very different from the Empire''s.


    Before he could comment on it to the woman, a soft, booming drum rang out around the bonfire. It was a slow beat. After a couple of thumps, a choir of women began singing in a low and sorrowful tone.


    Their voices harmonized and pierced the hearts of those around the bonfire. It was a song that carried the grief of mothers who had lost their children, wives who had lost their husbands, and children who had lost their parents.


    Zach felt his heart stir. But he didn''t admire the singing for long before the woman grabbed him by the hand and dragged him forward.


    At first, he thought she was planning on throwing him into the fire to have him accompany the departed, but he was mistaken.


    They weren''t the only ones moving forward.


    All of the barbarians slowly started circling around the bonfire in tact with the music. The loose hair and fluttering clothes swayed gently with their movements, casting unstable shadows with the fire''s light.


    The barbarians turned into a gentle vortex with the body-burning bonfire in the center.


    With every lap around the bonfire, the intensity of the music rose. The drum beats grew more frequent, and the voices of the singers rose. Gradually, the theme of the music changed.


    It was no longer melancholic, mournful music tugging at the heartstrings of those who heard. It first turned into music with hope. Lighter voices chimed in and fought for a place in the choir, singing of the brightness of the future instead of the darkness of the past.


    The drumming was no longer monotonous. Different sounds from the same drums mixed into the ocean of music.


    Zach didn''t even realize it, but the music got his blood flowing, and just like that, the barbarians were no longer slowly trudging around the bonfire. They were running, jumping, and leaping. They were filled with emotion that they did not know what to do with. The only outlet was through physical expression. The only way to release all that was inside their hearts was to run, cheer, and jump, letting all the emotion within them carry them through the air.


    It was suddenly more of a festival than a funeral.


    Zach stopped thinking and lost himself in the dance.


    ***


    In Rittel, the revelation that Zach was a traitor had put the troops in a somber mood. It wasn''t just that someone who had been so kind and helpful had suddenly turned on them. Zach posed a serious threat. He hadn''t managed to gain access to any military secrets or the details of the supply routes or anything like that.


    But in the few days he had been in the city, he had shown how capable he was. He was good at tactics, and his familiars were strong enough to roll the barbarians'' strong warriors into the ground. If he became an enemy as Yan had said, Rittel would be in trouble. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    That was why Yan had laid into the messengers even harder. He used as much of his status and authority as an imperial prince as he could to pressure the cities and army into providing more troops and supplies.


    He was not going to let the barbarians have Rittel if it was the last thing he did. He was going to shove Zach''s betrayal in his face and show him that joining the barbarians was the wrong move.


    The only way to end this war was to root out all the barbarians who had entered the Empire and stamp them into the ground to make sure they would never even think of doing such a thing again.


    Yan knew he was getting ahead of himself, but maybe even turning the tables on them and expanding the Empire''s borders was a possibility. For that ambitious purpose, Yan had taken it upon himself to study military tactics, strategy, and warfare.


    Cramming right in the middle of the war probably wouldn''t do much, but it was better than nothing, especially when Lahso himself had told him he didn''t have much talent for the sword. It didn''t come as a surprise.


    Unlike his siblings, who had golden hair and were above average in most things and exceptionally talented in at least one thing, Yan wasn''t anything special. He was the black sheep of the imperial family. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His mother had been a commoner maid lucky enough to become the Emperor''s concubine. As if that hadn''t been enough to put him in a disadvantageous position, she had died during childbirth.


    That had turned the Emperor away from taking any further concubines. The common belief was that the imperial blood was too powerful for a commoner to bear. That was why Yan''s mother died.


    It led to the other imperial children sharing the same mother, the Empress. She still treated Yan well, but the rest of the imperial court didn''t care about that. They only cared about the lack of imperial physical features and Yan''s bloodline. There were even some who didn''t treat him as a son of the Emperor since he hadn''t inherited the imperial features.


    His mother had been unfaithful or deceived the Emperor into accepting Yan as his child. That was the only possible explanation for Yan not inheriting the golden hair of the imperial family.


    But the Emperor didn''t say anything, and Yan was still the second prince, so no one doubted his identity, at least not in the open.


    Still, Yan felt it.


    And now, he had to prove himself with this war.

 Chapter 454 Lets Do It

    Zach and the barbarians held the funeral until the bonfire burned out and the dead warriors had turned into ash, releasing their spirits into the starry sky. He was surprisingly tired afterward. It had just been a bunch of dancing in circles, nothing that should have tired him out that much, but fortunately, it was a good tired.


    He would have slept well if not for being tied up at the post again. At least the knots were a little looser this time, which gave his wrists some breathing room.


    He would have also slept better if the barbarian woman hadn''t visited him when morning came a couple of hours later.


    Zach opened his eyes and squinted at her, silently asking what she wanted.


    "Visla Maura," she said. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "?"


    "That''s my name."


    "Nice to meet you, Visla Maura. Any particular reason for introducing yourself at this moment?" She had talked to him several times without seeming to care about telling him her name. If it was because they had gotten closer after he participated in the funeral for their fallen warriors, was there any need to wake him up at dawn to do it?


    "Let''s do it," she answered with a resolute nod.


    Zach only grew more confused.


    "By ''it'' you mean?"


    "Let''s end this war."


    Zach did not need to be convinced. That was why he had left Yan to become the barbarians'' captive. He was a little curious about what had made Visla change her mind, but he wasn''t going to question her in case she changed it again.


    Visla untied Zach after he nodded.


    "So, what''s the plan?" He asked, massaging his wrists, who weren''t in any discomfort since he had used a barrier to give them even more breathing room. He just felt like he had to after being tied up.


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    Visla glanced around.


    "First, I want to arrange a ceasefire between this camp and Rittel. We can talk about what comes next after that."


    Zach nodded.


    "Sounds good. But it also sounds more like a goal than a plan," he commented.


    Visla crossed her arms and looked at Zach before ignoring his comment.


    "The three tribes in this camp, the Giri, Burian, and Kanh tribes have, first of all, never been much for fighting. They lived further away from the border before this all went down. Secondly, they have now lost a majority of their warriors. If they were willing to lose the rest, especially with you here, they could take Rittel. But¡­" Visla trailed off.


    There was no way they would do that as they were now. If they lost all their warriors when taking Rittel, they could never hold the city if the Empire tried to take it back. They would have to rely on support from other tribes.


    "Are they waiting for other tribes to support them?" Zach asked.


    Visla hesitated.


    "You promise that you only want to end this war, right? You are not pretending to get information and then going back to the Empire?"


    "My family, the Evandiels, have been branded traitors to the Empire. I was in a state of limbo, neither innocent nor a traitor since they couldn''t find any evidence or anything connecting me to that. And then I walked away from the guy meant to keep me leashed to the Empire to enter your camp."


    Visla''s eyes widened. Three sentences, yet Zach had revealed a lot. She frowned. She was curious about that part with the Evandiels being labeled traitors since they also wondered why the family who had made the Empire''s borders an iron wall for so long would suddenly disappear.


    By the looks of it, neither the Empire nor the barbarians knew anything about it. Not even Zach, a member of the Evandiel family knew. Visla had questions.


    Visla put a comforting hand on Zach''s shoulder. Now was no time for questions that most likely didn''t have the answers she sought. They would just have to look for that together while they tried to broker peace between the different sides.


    "You may feel like you are alone, Zacharia Evandiel, but¡ª" Visla began saying to try and comfort Zach when he interrupted her.


    "Why would I feel like I''m alone?" He asked, glancing toward Nora, Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra. He was far from alone.


    His family, while they loved him and he loved them, hadn''t always been reliable. The incidents in his childhood and being stuffed into a separate mansion with staff that mistreated him had already warned Zach. In this world, he only had himself.


    But now, he had Nora. Zach didn''t want to doubt her, even if she called him Young Master, was the daughter of his mother''s personal servant, and was technically on the Evandiel payroll. So, he didn''t doubt her.


    He also had Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra. They were his familiars. They couldn''t leave him even if they wanted, which they didn''t. They were also extensions of him in the way that a summoner''s familiars were counted as the summoner''s strength.


    He had never been this surrounded and crowded by people he loved and trusted before.


    Soara and Alzara, who had been struggling with themselves after what happened in the fight against Ugor, somehow felt Zach''s trust in them through their connection. It wasn''t enough to cure their insecurities, but it alleviated them.


    "I see. Then, let''s get started right away. I struck while the iron was hot and talked to the chiefs while you were asleep. The Giri tribe was a little uncertain. After all that they had sacrificed, they didn''t want to give up on Rittel. Burian didn''t want any more losses. Kanh¡­The chief wants to talk to you before agreeing to anything," Visla quickly brought Zach up to speed. She had been busy while he was busy resting after a little dance.


    Zach nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. He was a little curious about what the Kanh chief would want to talk to him about since the other two seemingly hadn''t cared.

 Chapter 455 Kanh Chief

    The only thing that separated the Kanh Chief''s tent from those of his tribe members was a flag at the top with the image of a strung bow with a loaded arrow. It was the Kanh tribe''s symbol.


    Visla opened the tent without knocking. Zach wasn''t sure where she should have knocked, but he wondered if wasn''t rude. Probably not. The chief would have noticed their arrival already. It would be like standing in front of someone and telling them that they''re there. Unnecessary.


    The Kanh chief looked straight at Visla and Zach from his cushion on the ground. He was a big man, and Zach could tell that he was stronger than the warriors his familiars had faced during the defense of Rittel.


    It wasn''t like the principal, the Empress Dowager, or even Ugor, but he was strong enough to make Zach understand why they hadn''t bothered tying him and his familiars up harder. They were confident in their chiefs.


    The Kanh chief had curly dark hair, which made him look very similar to the young boy behind his back. Lori Kanh.


    Zach had figured that having the tribe''s name in one''s name was just to show which tribe they belonged to, but maybe it was only the ones who were a member of the tribe chief''s family who carried the tribe''s name.


    "Sit." The Kanh chief gestured for Zach to sit down on the cushion opposite him. Zach did that, and Visla sat down on the cushion next to him.


    "I heard you wanted to talk to me," Zach said since the Kanh chief wasn''t saying anything after he sat down. It might have been a test of dominance or temperament to show Zach who the one in charge was, but Zach wasn''t interested in playing along and just wasked what he was curious about.


    The Kanh chief gave a light nod.


    "You''ve been putting fancy ideas in the head of my son."


    "I apologize?"


    "There''s no need. The thoughts of children should be fancy. What I''m interested in is¡­How to become a summoner? I think it''s the duty of parents to either help the dreams of their children become reality or show them why it is not possible." The Kanh chief''s voice was stable and not very emotional, but Zach could feel that the man in front of him was a doting father. Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    "I think there might be other ways to become a summoner, but the only method I''m familiar with is the Chamber of Ceremony in the Empire''s Academy for Summoners. If someone has the latent potential for summoning and enters the Chamber, they should become a summoner."


    The Kanh chief''s brow furrowed as he heard Zach''s answer. That meant it would be very difficult to help Lori become a summoner. Closer to impossible than very difficult, in fact.


    Zach saw the Kanh chief''s expression, so he continued,


    "Now, that''s going to be difficult to achieve for Lori for obvious reasons since not just anyone can enter the Chamber. But I''m¡­on good terms with the principal. As long as the war ends, making Lori a summoner should be a done deal."


    The Kanh chief raised an eyebrow at Zach''s words.


    ''As long as the war ends¡­''


    Zach made it sound so easy. It was just one step.


    The Kanh chief sighed. He nodded.


    "I''ll support the ceasefire and support your peace efforts." He reached back and grabbed the fussy head of Lori before wrestling the skinny boy into his lap.


    "It''s not like this war is doing us much good," he said, more to himself than to Zach and Visla.


    "Thank you," Zach bowed his head.


    "Succeed, and I''ll be the one thanking you."


    Zach nodded and took that as their dismissal. He and Visla left the Kanh chief''s tent. They looked at each other.


    "That went well," Zach commented.


    "That it did," Visla agreed.


    "...It seemed to me that both you and the Kanh chief assumed Lori would successfully become a summoner, but it sounded like that is not the case for everyone?"


    "That''s right. Talent for summoning is a rarity. But with some, you just know. Lori has the talent for it." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Visla''s eyes narrowed and she absentmindedly nodded as she thought about it.


    Zach was a summoner. He was strong. What if they could get access to that Chamber of Ceremony and mass-produce a bunch of strong summoners like Zach? Peace, war, whatever. It would strengthen the Sesha. It would be great.


    Visla looked Zach up and down.


    It would be difficult, though. If all summoners were as strong as Zach, who had been a summoner for only a few years, the Empire would have already taken over the world or something. If they hadn''t, it could only be because, like Zach, they lacked the ambition.


    Visla had a lot of thoughts in her head, but she sorted them and focused on what mattered as she left Zach at his post without tying him up before visiting the Giri and Burian tribe chiefs to tell them of the Kanh chief''s decision and ask them to send a messenger asking for a ceasefire. She might have also mentioned the thing about peace, even a temporary one, might lead to them getting summoners of their own.


    It was well worth it.


    The problem was getting Rittel to agree to it. It would be a little tricky if they didn''t. But there should be no reason for them to refuse it.


    Rittel''s troops wanted to hold the city in the Empire''s hands. That was their mission. They weren''t the ones to drive the barbarian forces out of the Empire. A ceasefire gave them what they wanted without them needing to work for it.


    They had to take it.


    And they did.


    Yan didn''t like it. He wasn''t furious, but he wasn''t happy, either.


    It was the first time the barbarians had arrived at the city during the day, and if it weren''t for the white flag fluttering on a pole above the envoy, they would have been shot before they could get close.


    Thus, there was no way Yan could hide what the messenger wanted.


    The military officers and the troops of Rittel were almost united in their desire to accept the ceasefire.


    It could be a sneaky trick from the sneaky barbarians since they had just lost in a straightforward fight to Zach''s sneaky tricks. But for that reason, it made sense they would want a ceasefire as well. They didn''t have the troops to continue fighting.


    And Rittel''s troops didn''t want to sit on the castle walls like drawn bows, tense with anxiety about the barbarians attacking at any moment.


    The ceasefire between Rittel and the Giri, Burian, and Kanh tribes went through.

 Chapter 456 Ceasefire

    Yan could maybe have rejected the ceasefire using his authority as the second imperial prince. It was a hefty position, even if the imperial court didn''t give him the respect his siblings got.


    But he wasn''t a military man or otherwise a part of the army. They were also in a smaller city on the countryside in the East. The imperial family''s influence wasn''t as great as it was in the capital.


    He would not have many allies or much trust left if he forced the military officers of Rittel to listen to him and refuse the ceasefire. Since the majority clearly wanted the ceasefire, it was an uphill battle to get them to agree to refusing it, and it wasn''t like Yan would get much from it anyway.


    "Don''t let the troops see that you''re disappointed about the ceasefire," Garad commented when he saw Yan''s frown. He didn''t bother keeping up the pretense of formality anymore. What was Yan going to do, kill the old man for being rude to a member of the Imperial Family?


    Yan was silent but he did work on his expression and suddenly turned into a calm and benign young noble instead of a sour scoundrel.


    "Though soldiers make a living fighting, few of them enjoy the life. Forcing them to continue when there''s a chance for peace is no good," Garad said with a shrug, more familiar with the attitudes of the soldiers than Yan, who had lived a cushy life in the palace.


    "..." Yan didn''t answer as he looked out over the fields outside the city.


    "...Why''re you so against it anyway? Is it because of the boy?" He asked.


    Yan glanced at Garad before turning back to look at the fields. Garad''s question made him reflect on his behavior.


    Was Garad right? Was he against the ceasefire because it meant Zach had succeeded? Had Zach been right? Had he been wrong?


    Had he opposed the ceasefire because he didn''t want to be outdone by a young man who refused to listen to and obey him? Who didn''t treat him with the respect he should have as the second prince?


    "Send word to the nearby strongholds, cities, and to the back of the line. Rittel is no longer actively fighting and there is word among the barbarians to look for peace. I''m not sure how it''ll go in other places, but I guess whether through peace or annihilation, being the one who ended his war is still an achievement."


    Garad''s eyes widened slightly at the end of Yan''s statement before he nodded and went to carry out his orders.


    Rittel agreeing on a ceasefire wasn''t something they had the authority to do really. This was a war between the Empire and the Sesha, not Rittel and a few tribes. But since Rittel and those few tribes could agree to not attack each other for a little while, there was hope that the rest could as well.


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    There would certainly be tribes, cities, and people on both sides who wouldn''t want a ceasefire or even talks about peace. Even if it progressed relatively smoothly in terms of putting a halt to the fighting, there was still the matter of dealing with the aftermath.


    What would happen with the barbarians? Were they making a claim on the land theyhad invaded? Would they just go back to their steppes and both sides could forget about this ever happening? Would the Empire claim reparations and compensation for everything the barbarians had done?


    It was another mess.


    Yan turned to Lahso.


    "There''s not much left for us to do here. Let''s move on."


    ***


    Zach and Visla celebrated their success. It was the first step of countless ones, and it was a small one, to boot. But with one step taken, they could take the next. There was hope. But they couldn''t afford to waste time. As soon as the word of confirmation of the ceasefire came, they set out toward the next barbarian encampment.


    They had three tribes on their side, supporting peace. But that wouldn''t be enough to get the tribes in charge of the invasion to even think twice about it. They would need to get enough tribes on their side to affect the war efforts to make their voices heard. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fortunately, Visla was influential. She didn''t want to elaborate, but while she didn''t have enough sway to make tribe chiefs listen to her, she could at least get them to hear her out.


    It would have been even harder without that. Zach was curious about why that was, but he didn''t know enough about the Sesha society to figure it out, though he had a feeling it may have something to do with her surname.


    Lori Kanh, the son of the Kanh chief, had helped persuade him into accepting the ceasefire, after all. The other tribe members had other surnames or no surnames at all, just long personal names.


    What if Visla was the child of a tribe called the Maura tribe? Zach didn''t know if there was such a tribe since not all surnames were tribes, but it wasn''t impossible. It would also explain why other tribes were willing to hear her out. They were showing respect to another tribe''s chief.


    Of course, it also helped that they bore insignias from the three tribes they had gotten agreement from. The Giri, Burian, and Kanh tribes were small and weak, but they still had proper chiefs. Zach and Visla carrying their insignias meant they were representing the tribe chiefs.


    The more insignias they gathered as they traveled across the east, persuading barbarian tribes to think about peace, the easier it would be to convince the tribes in charge to rethink the invasion.


    Visla didn''t know where all the other tribes were, but she knew where a couple camps were, and they were headed for the one closest to the south. It was an alliance of four tribes trying to take over Soku, a city close to the border to the southern duchy.

 Chapter 457 Soku

    The journey to Soku wasn''t a long one, and it was all thanks to Visla. They took the shortest and most direct route, which meant they skipped roads that would have brought them to other cities or places in other directions first before taking them to Soku.


    Such a journey wouldn''t have been possible for Zach alone since his sense of direction was nonexistent, and his familiars weren''t any better. There was Nora, though. However, she wasn''t trained for that kind of thing.


    Basic survival knowledge was ground into her since she had to be prepared for every situation. Alas, basic survival and wilderness knowledge could not compare to Visla''s advanced expertise, which had been fostered through generations of a nomadic life on the Sesha Steppes and then honed through practical experience.


    Visla was even better at Garad when it came to finding running water, camping spots for the night, and tracking monsters. It was an almost luxurious experience. Zach wouldn''t mind doing it again under less stressful circumstances without being in as much of a rush.


    Now, they barely had time to chat when eating. They either rested or moved. But he couldn''t complain. They both knew that time was of the essence. The sooner they did this, the more lives they would save.


    The only reason they weren''t ignoring sleep and only eating the bare minimum was the fact that it was a marathon and not a sprint. Soku was just the first of many places they had to calm down before they could even dream about brokering peace between the Sesha and the Empire.


    More specifically, they had to try and convince the barbarian tribes attacking Soku that they didn''t have to take one of the richer cities in the East after Ciel. Soku was close to the south, after all.


    It was only natural for it to become a trade hub between the East and the South. The East''s treasures from the Labyrinth of Jira, and the South''s bounty from the sea coming together in one place.


    Soku was a wealthy city.


    It wasn''t the only wealthy city along the border on both sides, but it was one that should have been easy to take over since it did not have a naturally easy-to-defend position. It also didn''t have the greatest defenses since it was closer to the South than the East. Soku was far from the barbarian raids, and it had many cities, towns, and villages between itself and the far East.


    Soku didn''t need half an army to protect it. A city guard to keep the crime at a minimum and skilled fighters to protect trade convoys was enough.


    Still, the city had managed to defend against the four tribes who pierced the eastern region and made it all the way to the border region. Pushing so deep so fast into the Duchy had cost the four tribes a lot, but it should have been worth it in the chiefs'' eyes.


    However, Soku did not fall as easily as they had predicted. They were having a hard time.


    It would be difficult for Zach and Visla to convince them that they had to give it up. The four tribes had already come this far. They had bet on the resources and wealth they would get from raiding Soku. What were they supposed to do if they couldn''t do that?


    That was something Zach and Visla had tried to figure out, but they still hadn''t come up with anything during their journey. They needed to take a look at the situation first before being able to figure something out. They needed a deeper understanding of what was happening.


    First of all, why was Soku still standing?


    They got their answer shortly after the warriors in charge of guarding the perimeter verified Visla''s identity and let her in after looking at her tattoo, which she was still reluctant to show Zach.


    It was the middle of the day, sunny. It was close to the southern region of the Empire, known for its good, hot, and tropical weather. The last thing Zach would do on such a day was light a fire and bundle himself up in pelts and fur.


    But that was what a bunch of the barbarian warriors were doing. They were huddled around a campfire, shivering until their teeth looked like they were about to fall out. The strange thing was that Zach understood them. When he and Visla were close to them, they could feel the air around them cool down, despite the campfire.


    Visla looked at the warrior guiding them toward his chief''s tent.


    "What happened to them?" She asked worriedly. Being cold without being able to do anything about it was a horrible feeling.


    The warrior didn''t even need to look to know who Visla was talking about. He looked straight ahead, afraid to even look at the warriors lest he incur the wrath of the one who put them in such a miserable state.


    "The Ice Witch," the warrior answered curtly.


    Visla naturally wanted to ask who or what that was, but the warrior seemed just as naturally reluctant to expand further on that matter. Visla let it go for now. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach also didn''t have anything to add, though he was too distracted by his thoughts to think of something to ask.


    Ice Witch. Close to the South. Zach could fit that to the image of a person.


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    It could just be a coincidence, and it could just be because he missed his friends and wanted to hope. But someone who could use ice at a level where the barbarians who were strong enough to break into the heart of the East could only be one person in Zach''s mind.


    It had to be the one and only Violina Systine.


    Without him noticing it, there was suddenly a light pep in Zach''s step, which hadn''t been there for several months, as he followed Visla and the barbarian warrior to the Woet tribe''s chief''s tent.

 Chapter 458 Woet Chief

    The Woet tribe''s chief was not the same kind of man the Kanh tribe chief''s had been. He was smaller, skinnier, and beardless. He had long light brown hair in tight braids. But he sat on a cushion with one knee bent and raised for him to rest his arm on. And he had a similar oppressive atmosphere as the Kanh tribe chief''s.


    However, the Kanh tribe had just been subconsciously pressuring Zach and Visla to make sure they told the truth when he asked them his question. The Woet tribe''s chief didn''t have a son who was already close to Zach, and he hadn''t spent several weeks with Visla. He had no reason to be overly hospitable other than Visla''s background.


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    His sharp eyes looked Visla and Zach up and down. He glanced backward at the maids who hadn''t been allowed into the tent. Those were imperial clothes. And the barbarian clothes on Zach were borrowed. That was clear as day from how he wore them.


    "Visla Maura. Greetings. And this skinless¡­?" He nodded toward Visla before turning his judgemental gaze toward Zach.


    Zach wondered what the Woet chief meant by skinless, but he could feel that this was not the time for him to open his troublemaking mouth. He would have to rely on Visla for this.


    Visla glanced at Zach. His identity as an Evandiel would probably bring more trouble than necessary right now. It was best not to mention that part.


    "This is Zach. He''s a summoner from the Empire. I won''t beat around the bush. We are going to try and establish peace between our people. This war¡­It is not right."


    The Woet chief narrowed his eyes and looked skeptically at Zach, but he listened to visla to the end. He was silent for a moment as he pondered on Visla''s words. He was a chief, and he deserved it. He was strong, but he was also wise enough to know when to listen to someone.


    Peace was a farfetched idea. But if there was a spirit of that going around, it could affect the warriors'' morale. It might affect the other tribes. It was a variable. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The justification of this war¡ªany war¡ªis subjective. Tell me, Visla Maura, why this war is not right."


    "The Empire is a powerful enemy."


    "A Maura is backing down out of fear?"


    "No. I''m being rational. The Evandiels may have left their post for reasons unknown to mice like me, but that doesn''t mean the Empire will let us have this plot of land. They have three more Dukes, an Emperor, and generations of accumulation. We will lose far more than we gain if we insist on fighting to the bitter end."


    "Are you anticipating our failure?"


    "There is no success. What else can I see? Even the best outcome is one where the Sesha are crippled."


    "Then so be it. Fear of an ill fate, one our ancestors and shamans have guided us toward, is not something that can stop any Sesha from advancing. The stars have guided us for generations, and they will guide us for generations to come just as they guided us here."


    Visla clenched her jaw for a moment. She wanted to question the chief''s reliance on the stars, their ancestors, and the shamans'' guidance. What was the point of all that if it led to the death of the Sesha as a people?


    But doing that in the face of a chief was a grave sin, so she controlled her tongue. She still needed the Woet chief and anyone else to take her seriously. That wouldn''t happen if she questioned the traditions that had kept all of the Sehsa safe for generations, that all the Sesha believed in.


    She was trying to stop the war, not make it worse.


    Still, she had to say something.


    "More specifically, what did your shamans say?" Zach asked, earning a sharp look from both Visla and the Woet chief. It was not his place to speak here.


    "!"


    It had been fine in the Kanh chief''s tent since he asked to speak to Zach and addressed him. But in the Woet chief''s tent, he was only an accessory to Visla. He was there to be introduced and looked at, nothing more. Unless the Woet chief spoke to him or asked him to speak, Zach should not say anything.


    Zach could feel that. But he couldn''t sit still without moving his mouth, especially when his thoughts were swirling.


    "I apologize for his rudeness! He is a fool¡ª"


    "I am sure he is," the Woet chief interrupted Visla''s apology, his eyes wide. He took a proper look at Zach before turning back to Visla.


    "Visla Maura, are you aware of the shamans'' teachings?"


    "A little¡­"


    "Do you know what they said before the Evandiels abandoned their post?"


    "No. I only know that it''s what started this war. If you ask me, they should be on the frontlines, fighting the war they caused, dying the deaths of our warrior."


    "No one asked you, Visla Maura. They said¡­


    "''Our time will come. Salvation shall be found in the homes of our neighbors.'' I''m paraphrasing a little since they always make it sound so grand, but that''s the essence of it."


    Visla''s eyes also widened when she finally heard the shamans'' words.


    With the Sesha''s attitude toward the Empire, those words from the shamans, who were known to speak in riddles and unclarities, could only mean one thing. The Sesha would be taking over the Empire''s eastern region if not the Empire.


    And it would be done aggressively.


    The Empire and the Sesha were generation-long enemies, after all. There had been talks of peace and ceasefires during important events on both sides like the deaths or births of important people. But that was it. It never got further than that.


    At the same time, the Sesha were not united, and they lived a nomadic life on the Sesha Steppes.


    War was not something either side wanted or saw benefit in. All this time, it had just been a bad relationship between neighbors, the feuds piling up over the years.


    What could the shamans want other than war?


    But in the eyes of those not out for blood, couldn''t those words also be interpreted as the Empire helping the Sesha? The shamans said nothing about the Sesha taking over their neighbor''s homes.


    Couldn''t they be invited in?

 Chapter 459 Arlecchs

    Visla''s face lit up, and she wanted to celebrate, but her face dropped almost as soon as it rose. The Woet chief nodded in understanding of her rollercoaster of her expressions.


    "That''s¡­How has this not been noticed earlier?" She questioned with a helpless look toward the Woet chief.


    "It probably has. I¡­take pride in myself. I may not be the best fighter the Woets have had, but I consider myself wise. Still, I can''t hold a candle to the Arlecchs. I may have gotten caught up in the spirit of war and missed it, but they didn''t." The Woet chief''s brow was furrowed deeply as he stroked the edge of his cushion.


    "The Arlecchs¡­" Visla echoed with a low voice. "They were one of the tribes pushing for the war," she continued with a heavy expression.


    The Woet chief stroked the cushion a little before saying,


    "There''s more to this war than just invading the East. For now, we need to figure out what. In the meantime, I''ll do what I can to halt the raid on Soku. But it won''t be easy. I''ll talk to the other chiefs while you two¡­do what you can."


    The Woet chief didn''t shoo them out of his tent, but it was clear he wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while. But he still opened his mouth before they left the tent.


    "The next time you want to hide his identity, try doing something about the flames in his hair. There''s no one who doesn''t know you''ve brought an Evandiel into this camp by now, Visla Maura."


    "..."


    Visla Maura and Zach facepalmed. How could they have missed something that obvious? They muttered a thanks for the reminder before leaving the tent. The same warrior who guided them to the chief''s tent guided them to an available lot where they could set up their own tent if they wished.


    They did just that since they wanted a little privacy while discussing their future plans.


    The revelations the Woet chief had bestowed them would affect their future plans. It was no longer about just convincing all the tribes that the war was a bad idea. It was about trying to resist the leading tribes'' decision to wage war even when it was not necessarily the answer.


    It was a slight difference, but it was there. It was the difference between waging war because they thought it was the solution and waging war when they knew it wasn''t the only solution but still doing it.


    But first things first¡­


    "You reacted when that warrior mentioned the Ice Witch. Do you know her?" Visla asked.


    Zach nodded slowly.


    "I''m pretty sure she''s one of my friends. Another summoner. It could be a coincidence that they use ice. But she was pretty good at making her ice last, which would explain why the warriors around the campfire still haven''t thawed."


    Visla''s eyes widened slightly and lit up with hope.


    "If she''s one of your friends¡­!"


    "I''ll need to talk to her first to make sure, but she is pretty influential, so getting them to agree to a peaceful resolution should be possible."


    Visla nodded before glancing at Zach''s orange hair. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire


    "No time to waste, right?" She asked.


    "No time to waste," he agreed. They got up. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When they left their tent, Visla glanced around the camp.


    "I''ll stay here and talk with the warriors of the Woet, Rib, Yota, and Toma tribes. I''ll hear what they have to say about the war and how willing they would be to at least pause their fighting."


    "And I''ll try and approach the Ice Witch."


    Visla nodded. Zach nodded. Visla hesitated.


    "...You''re not going back to the Empire, right?"


    "Not even if the Empire will have me. If I don''t return, I''ve most likely been captured."


    "Then, don''t get captured. I''m trusting you here, Zacharia Evandiel."


    "And I''m kind of trusting you here, Visla Maura."


    Visla narrowed her eyes before turning around and heading toward the clump of frostbitten barbarian warriors.


    Zach looked at Nora.


    "You know how to find Soku from here, right?"


    "Of course, Young Master." Nora didn''t bother mentioning that it would be easy since the barbarians would have left plenty of tracks moving to and from the city. They just needed to follow them while waving a white piece of cloth.


    Zach tried to leave the camp with his familiars, but the Woet chief hadn''t lied when he said everyone int he camp knew his family by now. The guards stood in his way and refused to budge when he said he would return in at most a day.


    Zach considered causing ruckus or finding Visla when a young man jogged up to them.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine. He''s with me," he said simply. The guarding warriors glanced at each other before stepping aside and letting Zach, his familiars, and the young, tall, muscular warrior through.


    Zach raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the young man, who reached out with a hand.


    "I''m Biu. The chief sent me since he expected something like this."


    Zach shook his hand.


    "Zach. So, are you just letting me out or following me."


    "The chief wanted me to follow you if that''s okay? Just to make sure you get past the scouts and such."


    Zach nodded.


    "That works."


    It wasn''t like Zach was doing something that needed to be kept secret from the Woet chief. He was just meeting with the Ice Witch hopefully. It would be good if the Woet chief was up to speed with the peace talks without them needing to inform him separately. It wasn''t like they were reporting to him or anything, after all.


    With Biu accompanying them, Nora and the other maids capable of following the tracks without getting lost didn''t need to lead the way. Biu took the quickest and most efficient route toward Soku. He had made the trip a couple of times, so he was familiar with it. He was so familiar with it that he could try and make small talk while leading Zach and his familiars.

 Chapter 460 Ice Witch

    Zach, Biu, and his familiars were lucky enough to find a couple of unlucky military scouts roaming around near Soku. Without startling the young scouts too much, Zach kindly asked them to relay a message. He made sure to wave the white flag in their faces to show that he had peaceful intentions.


    The two scouts rushed back to the city to relay his message while Zach, Biu, and Zach''s maids strolled along. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And when they got close enough to see the city, there was a group of people already waiting outside it for them. As Zach and his entourage approached, the detachment from the city also neared them.


    Zach narrowed his eyes. He thought Violina''s blue hair would stick out like a sore thumb even from afar, but he couldn''t see it. Was the Ice Witch not part of the detachment? Had it been a bad idea not to mention his name to the scouts just because he wanted to surprise Violina?


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he looked at the group of people from Soku. Violina was definitely not among them. But there was someone who looked familiar. He just couldn''t place them yet. However, when they were close enough to talk¡­


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    "You!"


    Zach and the mage at the helm of Soku''s detachment, which was her and a few capable fighters, pointed at each other, recognizing the other.


    "What are you doing on the side of the barbarians?!" Oria Villesand questioned. She had heard the rumors about Zach being a traitor from Violina herself. But Violina had insisted that Zach was innocent. He had also been cleared since he had been allowed to join the war.


    So, why in the twelve fucks was he now representing the four tribes attacking Soku and asking for a ceasefire?


    "Uh¡­Some things happened. I had a disagreement with the second prince, the one who was supposed to keep an eye on me to ensure my innocence. Then¡­" Zach conjured a table and two chairs for him and Oria Villesand to take a seat.


    He had barely spoken to Oria the last time they met when they entered the Labyrinth of Syst together. But they had spoken to each other, and Oria was Violina''s friend, so Zach considered her a friendly face. She hadn''t even called him a traitor or spat in his face, which was a sign that she wasn''t hostile. It was as good as her seeing him the same.


    Or maybe she had just been too stunned to see Zach when she was expecting a barbarian.


    Zach quickly explained what had led to him joining the barbarians. Oria frowned when she heard that Yan had wanted to take advantage of the three tribes'' weakness to erase them from history.


    That was a borderline war crime. But Zach''s decision was on the opposite end of the scale. She sighed helplessly when Zach told her he joined forces with Visla Maura to try and get the barbarians to accept peace.


    How were two youngsters supposed to achieve that? But then again, it was Zach. He had already done the impossible at least twice. He had entered the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth of Syst and come back alive, and he had defeated Ugor and the Underworld.


    "Well, Violina will be happy to know that you''re doing alright, at least," Oria said once Zach finished his little explanation.


    Zach''s eyes widened happily.


    "Oh, is she in the city? I thought I would be meeting her since I asked to see the Ice Witch," he said with a smile.


    "..."


    "What¡­?"


    "I''m the Ice Witch," Oria said, not fond of that nickname.


    "You are? But didn''t you use other magic?" Zach doubted.


    "I do. But my ice magic is best at neutralizing the enemy without killing them all. It''s what''s kept the barbarians at bay." Oria glanced at Biu standing a little behind Zach. He did not meet her gaze.


    "But where''s Violina?"


    "I''m pretty sure she went to look for you," Oria said with a shrug. She wasn''t Violina''s babysitter, and Violina had no obligation to report to her what she was doing, especially during a chaotic war.


    Zach frowned.


    "I see. Well, it''s nice to meet a familiar face, even if it''s not who I expected."


    Oria sighed and rested an elbow against the translucent golden table.


    "Yeah, same. So, ceasefire?"


    "Hopefully. Visla Maura is working on the barbarian side. I have a feeling they might agree to it. But I have an idea if they don''t."


    Visla raised an eyebrow.


    Zach leaned in close and whispered the idea, making sure Biu didn''t hear it. It wouldn''t work as well if the barbarians were prepared for it, after all.


    Biu was suspicious, but he couldn''t exactly question it. He could only think and guess what they were saying. Maybe this was the idea. They were tricking the barbarians into thinking that they had a secret trump card to get them to agree to the ceasefire and were planning on using Biu as the messenger.


    How could the barbarians distrust one of their own who saw them plot, after all?


    Oria''s eyes widened when she heard the plan. But she nodded appreciatively as she and Zach drew back. That would work.


    Zach reached out and shook Oria''s hand. They had done what they could. Oria wasn''t just the strongest mage in Soku, she was also the highest-ranking military officer since she had contributed greatly after aiding the South''s troops with magic research after her time at the Academy for Mages.


    If she wanted to agree to the ceasefire, Soku would enter a ceasefire. That was also why she had been free to freeze the barbarian warriors and give them frostbite instead of killing them, including the strong ones who could contest with her in terms of strength and level the playing field.


    She was merciful, and she had protected the few troops of Soku. However, she had a lofty air about her and rarely smiled.


    That was why she had started being called the Ice Queen instead of the Ice Witch on the Empire''s side.

 Chapter 461 Plan B

    Zach and Oria agreed to meet at about the same time the following day since Zach needed to talk with Visla and see how she was doing with convincing the other barbarians to think about peace. Since she had the Woet chief on her side, Zach was hopeful but only because he didn''t know about the other tribes'' attitudes.


    There was a reason why the Woet tribe had received the visitors. They were the least likely to turn things hostile.


    That was also why Visla''s expression was sour when Zach returned.


    The opinions inside the camp were mixed. Some wouldn''t mind a ceasefire just to work the ice out of their bones. Others were neutral. But some, the most vocal ones, thought accepting or asking for a ceasefire after being unable to take the city was the same as admitting the defeat. It was humiliating.


    They didn''t think of or consider everything they had invaded and taken over so far. That was apparently irrelevant to the current discussion.


    ''Musclebrained idiots,'' Visla called them. They were too stupid to even care about the ice crystals in their hair.


    Unfortunately, two of the chiefs were among those musclebrained idiots. They weren''t as idiotic as their more simple-minded warriors, but they were at least as stubborn. They were not going to agree to a ceasefire when they still had a fighting chance.


    They refused to admit the possibility that the Ice Witch had gone easy on them.


    She was an Ice Witch who ruled the battlefield with ice, after all. If she knew mercy, the stars would be raining down.


    Visla sighed.


    "Time for plan B, then," Zach said, careful not to smile eagerly.


    Visla nodded. She didn''t like it that much, but it might be necessary.


    The next day, Zach informed Oria of the barbarians'' attitude. Oria nodded excitedly. It would have been nice if they agreed to the ceasefire, but this was a great opportunity.


    Zach turned to Biu.


    "Would it be alright if my familiar followed them to the city to pick up a few supplies?"


    "...What kind of supplies?"


    "Hair dye and a bunch of snacks."


    "I don''t know¡­"


    "I couldn''t help but notice the kids in the camp. They''re starting to get bored, right? It''s a token of my sincerity."


    Biu narrowed his eyes.


    Was this their trump card? Getting them to lower their guard with gifts? Or perhaps poisoning their children?


    If that was the plan, Biu wanted to catch them in the act. He could only do so if Zach brought back poisoned snacks. And he could claim credit for the snacks if they weren''t poisoned.


    After a few moments'' deliberation, Biu slowly nodded his head.


    "I''ll make sure the guards will let her in when she returns."


    "Thank you very much, Biu," Zach flashed a radiant smile. He glanced at Mandra, who stepped away from the other maids and joined Oria''s retinue.


    Biu raised an eyebrow.


    "Why her?" He thought the short, silver-haired one who Zach usually talked to would do it. The one who wasn''t a familiar.


    Zach''s eyebrows widened. He had not expected that question.


    "Because she handles the money," was his hastily thought-up answer.


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    Biu looked at the serious-looking Mandra. He nodded. He could see it.


    Zach turned to Oria to hide his sigh of relief.


    "Then, we''ll see each other tomorrow?"


    "Sounds good." Oria and Zach got up after shaking hands.


    Zach and Biu returned to the barbarian encampment with Nora, Yanael, Alzara, and Soara while Mandra followed Oria and her guards back to Soku. Their meeting spot was closer to Soku than the barbarian encampment, so they arrived at their destination sooner.


    By the time Zach and his group returned to the barbarian encampment, dark clouds had started to gather in the sky. It was a bad omen for the barbarians who liked to watch the stars and pray to their ancestors they believed spent the afterlife among those stars.


    But they also knew that weather was a thing. Clouds came and went as naturally as the wind. The shamans who read the weather in advance hadn''t seen the clouds before they arrived, but it wouldn''t be the first time weather was unpredictable.


    They didn''t think much of it. But going to war with a clouded sky was a bad idea, so they reined in the warriors and prepared for a rain shower. It was a good thing they did.


    It was dark before sunset, and it didn''t take long before light drops started pittering against the tents and leaves. Most tents were waterproofed. But not everything was stored inside the tents. Everyone''s clothes weren''t waterproofed. The campfires weren''t waterproof.


    So, when the light rain grew into a heavy rain with big drops that soaked whatever they hit, the barbarians started getting a little worried. And the ones still suffering from Oria''s magic panicked. The rain brought down the ambient temperature, soaked their pelts and furs, and threatened to put out the campfires.


    But it wasn''t impossible to keep a fire going in the rain. They just had to put up a cover that would still let the heat and smoke go away. They also had to protect the firewood. That was doable. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Besides, a rain this heavy was sure to pass soon anyway. They just had to endure. Random rainshowers coming from out of nowhere were almost always short, and heavy rain ended sooner than light rain.


    Even with enough clouds to blot out the sky, it should only last a couple of hours before clearing out and revealing a clear starry sky.


    The barbarians who were like wet dogs in the rain were disappointed.


    One hour passed. Two. Three.


    The rain showed no signs of letting up.


    It had turned the air damp and made it almost impossible to keep the firewood dry. The ground was more mud than anything else and trying to get anywhere with the bad footing and the poor visibility was almost impossible.


    Zach smiled as he heard the barbarians suffer outside his dry-as-bone tent. His barriers kept him, his tent, his maids, and Visla dry and cozy.

 Chapter 462 Not A Ceasefire

    Bad weather alone wasn''t enough to so much as make the barbarians consider giving up on their campaign. But it wasn''t just bad weather. A large portion of the warriors, the ones in charge of realizing the campaign, were afflicted with residual ice magic. The bad weather worsened their condition. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    They were in no state to fight. They would be lucky if they didn''t get worse or started getting sick.


    Fighting like this would be impossible. After all, unlike them, Soku could handle the rain. They had roofs over their heads, dry firewood, and shelters for their soldiers, most of whom were uninjured. They also had paved or cobbled streets and gutters and drainage systems to handle the overflowing water the rain poured down.


    For the city, the weather was just an ''Oh no, we have a reason to stay inside and play board games or cards!'' But for the barbarians, it was a struggle to stay warm enough to digest the food they still had.


    Hunting or foraging for more food in this weather was also difficult, especially enough for such a large encampment. They weren''t in as dire a situation as the Giri, Burian, and Kanh tribes, but sooner or later, they would run out.


    The rain was weakening them.


    Soku''s troops had two options. They could either launch an attack through the rain, making use of the limited visibility to catch the camp off guard or they could wait until the rain ended. They would have spent the time training, resting, and maintaining their equipment.


    The barbarians, on the other hand, would have lost strength and energy, and their equipment would have suffered from the dampness and water.


    The troops, who had relied on the city''s fortifications and Oria to fend off the barbarians'' attacks could flip the tables on them by making use of the difference in condition and morale of the fighters.


    But the prideful barbarian warriors who didn''t want to surrender or even think about putting a pause on the fighting since it hurt their pride to consider the possibility of Oria going easy on them would never ask for a ceasefire just because of weather. They wouldn''t accept it if Visla brought it up again. It would only further solidify their stubbornness.


    With time, they might agree to withdraw or retreat since they would have to face reality sooner or later.


    But as always in dire situations, there was no time to waste. That was why Oria didn''t waste any time. She personally visited the barbarian camp under a white flag.


    She didn''t ask the barbarians to quit thinking about raiding her city. She didn''t ask for a ceasefire, at least not outright.


    She talked about the sudden downpour and how it had affected the city. The grass was greener on the other side but not much. A few buildings and ceilings had been unable to handle the rain and collapsed.


    Oria made it sound like she didn''t want to give up any military secrets to the enemy chiefs, but she hinted that their army wasn''t in the best state. And she could guess that the barbarians were in a similar predicament due to her ice magic.


    All she asked for was to put a pin in the hostilities. Let both sides focus on weathering the bad weather, and when the rain stops, they can focus on restoring their strength, rebuilding, or fixing their equipment.


    In the face of nature, they are all human, after all. Sesha or imperial citizen doesn''t matter when you''re soaked to the bone.


    The Woet and Yota tribe chiefs saw through it pretty quickly. Oria didn''t make much of an effort to deceive them, after all. But they didn''t mind. This was the kind of consideration that was necessary to get through stubborn bulls like the Toma and Rib tribe chiefs and their stupid pride.


    The barbarians didn''t accept the suggestion at once, but after some cajoling from the Woet chief and Oria, they reluctantly agreed to halt any offensive maneuvers and focus on themselves for a few weeks.


    A few weeks seemed a little much since the rain could stop at any moment and they would be fine after a single week, but there was nothing to lose with a little extra rest.


    And as if to celebrate the successful agreement of a temporary ceasefire, the skies cleared.


    Some took it as a sign to renege on the agreement. Others took it as a sign that peace was the way to clear skies and bright stars. The shamans were divided since they hadn''t seen the dark clouds on the horizon before they were over them.


    But they confidently made claims about the clouds'' dispersal to protect their authority and reputation.


    With that done, Zach and Visla bid Oria farewell before leaving toward the next city. They were happy that it had worked, and Visla was amazed at Zach''s capabilities. She could only assume it had something to do with Mandra leaving their side to join Oria, but she could not understand how one being could summon an entire rainstorm. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a neat trick against the barbarians who relied on the stars and put most of their belief in the skies. With the ability to summon rain, they could convince the other camps as well to lay down their arms a little.


    Zach was also a little happy. He had dreamed about knowing a mage who could summon a rain ever since they first discovered the Underworld''s activities in the sewers beneath Basilia. It had taken a couple of years, many adventures, and several close shaves with death, but it had finally happened.


    Of course, the circumstances needed to be perfect for it to work as well as it had.


    Soku was close to the south, which meant it was close to the sea. It was also close to a river snaking through the terrain. It also hadn''t rained at all for several days.


    Mandra and Oria hadn''t conjured all the water that poured down. They had guided it from the air in the surrounding area and concentrated it into clouds above them.


    It was only possible because of Mandra and her eyes that saw the flow of nature. Rain was imminent anyway. She took advantage of that and just guided it and strengthened it.

 Chapter 463 Next Stop

    With the situation in Soku calmed down with the help of a little weather manipulation, Zach and Visla had successfully gotten two sieges to stop. Now they just had to deal with the rest.


    But the two successes gave them confidence. A little persuasion, a little influence, and a little trickery would get them a long way, and a long way was all they needed. As long as the ball of peace started rolling, the flames of war wouldn''t be able to stop it.


    Although they had only taken two out of many steps on their long journey, Zach and Visla were still happy and hopeful.


    That changed when they arrived at their next destination, the siege of a small town by a group of smaller tribes deeper east. The town hadn''t been taken over yet because the more powerful tribes didn''t think it necessary. The smaller tribes also needed some scraps.


    Zach and Visla first assumed that the smell of fire and ash was heavy in the air because the two sides were fighting fiercely or had just fought with everything they had. That might have been true, but that was not the reason for the thick smell filling the air before they could even see either side.


    The barbarian encampment was in fiery ruins. The charcoal debris was still smoking and smoldering in places. Charred skeletons poked out of the occasional pile of ash and blacked tent remnants.


    It was a massacre. It was¡­an overwhelming difference in strength.


    "This is¡­" Zach''s gaze was heavy as he scanned the charred remains of the camp, hopelessly looking for traces of survivors.


    Visla knelt, the strength leaving her legs. This was what they had been trying to prevent. This was why they were trying to stop the war. With how fresh the fires were, this had only happened just a few hours ago, at most half a day.


    If they had been faster, they could have changed this¡ªthey could have stopped it.


    Zach knew that as well. He felt the hope and excitement from before drain out of him like cold syrup.


    He comfortingly put a hand on Visla''s shoulder.


    "Come¡ª" He was about to ask her to keep moving. Maybe they can track and catch whoever did this. But they shouldn''t stay here.


    "Don''t touch me!" Visla shouted and smacked Zach''s hand off of her shoulder in a fit of rage.


    She didn''t know the tribes or the barbarians who had been in the camp. She hadn''t lost any friends or acquaintances. But they were her people. And all the signs pointed toward one of Zach''s people being the cause for the tragedy in front of her.


    Even if she knew in her head that Zach wasn''t involved and had nothing to do with it, her heart wasn''t as calm.


    Zach took a step back with raised hands. He looked toward the western horizon with a frown.


    "Let''s take a look at the town before either of us does something we might regret." With that, Zach turned and walked away before Visla could say anything. After a few steps, Nora gently pointed him in the direction of the town.


    Visla looked at Zach''s back, a multitude of emotions swirling in her eyes. After a while, she sighed deeply.


    She had been about to lay into Zach about what had happened and how he had no right to tell her what to do and so on. They were words she didn''t even know where they came from. The merciless slaughter of her people, which not even war could condone, had awoken something within her, a beast of rage.


    It was good that Zach had calmly stepped away before she could point that beast at him.


    Following behind him from a distance, Visla was a step later to see the sight on the other side of the hill. At first, she thought Zach stopped because he waited for her or didn''t want to get too close to the city since he was a traitor to the Empire.


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    There was no reason to continue. He saw the town from his vantage point, and he saw its fate.


    It was no different from the barbarian encampment. Reduced to ash, rubble, and bone.


    This wasn''t a fight gone overboard. The Empire hadn''t decided to go nuts and burn the barbarians down to their last.


    Someone else had intervened in the battle between the Empire and the Sesha.


    Zach''s heart was heavy¡ªstiff, as he looked at the scene, smoke still rising from the smoldering ruins of the town. He had a lump in his throat. He didn''t want to breathe anymore. He hadn''t wanted to ever since they first came upon the barbarian camp.


    He was inhaling the smoke of people burned to ash and set into the air. It was different from the barbarian funeral. Those warriors had been guided to the stars.


    The people, barbarians, kids, and unfortunate souls caught in the crossfire of the war and unable to evacuate behind the frontlines as well as all the soldiers, warriors, and fighters, had been turned into fiery resentful spirits sent to roam the land and haunt whoever was sensitive enough to feel their ghastly presence.


    This wasn''t just a consequence of the war.


    War was war. People died, whether it be from weapons, starvation, or illness.


    But this¡­What had happened to the town and the barbarians had nothing to do with the war between the Empire and the Sesha. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach closed his eyes and nodded toward the city, giving a silent prayer before turning away.


    "Let''s go."


    Once she saw the town share the fate of her people, Visla realized she had no reason to direct her anger toward Zach. He was just as affected as her, and neither was responsible for the other''s suffering. She followed him silently as they walked away from the smoldering town and camp. They walked into the night until they could no longer see the smoke or smell the burn.

 Chapter 464 Why

    As they walked, Visla''s thoughts finally bubbled down to one question.


    ''Why?''


    Why would someone on either or neither side do something like this to both a town of the Empire and a barbarian camp?


    The following day, before they started moving, Visla opened her mouth and asked Zach that question. She didn''t think he had an answer. That wasn''t why she was asking. She just wanted to question the world.


    "To stir up chaos probably."


    However, contrary to what Visla had expected, Zach had an answer.


    "Do you remember how you first reacted when you saw the camp?"


    Zach''s rhetorical question was enough for Visla to understand.


    Visla was actively working with Zach, a member of the longest-standing enemy of the Sesha, to try to establish peace between the two sides. Yet, when she came upon the scene of the burned camp, she had been about to throw that away due to momentary rage.


    But what if she hadn''t been trying to achieve peace? What if she hadn''t been working with Zach?


    What if instead she had been a hot-headed barbarian warrior who lived for fighting the Empire?


    There was no way in hell she would ever hear out someone advocating for peace. They would be lucky if she didn''t cut them down. It didn''t matter that the same had happened to the town. It would just be their just desserts.


    "This¡­How do we stop it?"


    A small town and a small camp wouldn''t be enough to overthrow their peace talks. If the escalation of the war was their goal, they would continue attacking and decimating outposts of either side.


    They also had to stop the escalation itself. They couldn''t let this trigger the Empire and the barbarians into intensifying their attacks on the other and using more brutal tactics.


    "We catch whoever did it," Zach said as if it was a matter of course. He shrugged lightly.


    "We should also leave a message in front of either site explaining what''s going on for when someone stumbles upon it."


    Visla nodded in agreement. She wrote the message for the camp. She could use her identity to verify and authenticate the truth. It was the surest way to make sure the barbarians didn''t act rashly.


    Zach could not do the same. If anything, trying to use his identity as Zacharia Evandiel to tell the Empire that the barbarians weren''t involved in burning the town would backfire since he was a traitor and no one would believe him except his friends.


    He had to settle for an anonymous message. But he emphasized that they could check with the barbarians to see if the same had happened to them.


    After they had written and secured their messages close to the sites of massacre, Zach and Visla regrouped between the town and the camp. Zach glanced at Mandra.


    "Did you find anything?" He asked, hopefully. Her Eyes of Truth was the best way to find any traces of whoever did this.


    Mandra nodded.


    "As you suspected, Master, this was not mundane fire. From what I can tell, it''s unorthodox magic. Based on the burn patterns¡­and so on, I think we''re dealing with someone or something who breathes fire."


    Zach and Visla frowned at that. They were not familiar with any fire-breathers on either side.


    "Can you trace them?" Zach asked.


    Mandra nodded.


    "I will have to push my eyes a little, Master, I hope you will allow it," Mandra said with a light bow. She could do it, but she hadn''t regained her peak strength yet, which meant she would have to put a little strain on her connection with Zach.


    "Of course." Zach nodded.


    Yanael put a hand on Zach''s back to keep him stable as Mandra closed her eyes and focused. Slowly she tapped into the bottomless well of magical energy in her core. She felt the chains of her connection with Zach limit and restrain it. They didn''t affect her other than limiting how much magical energy she could pull out and how quickly. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when she did more than they allowed and forced the restraints to move, the weight of her existence was placed onto Zach''s vessel, making him bear it. It would have been fine with just a little since he had the world essence energy to restore his body almost regardless of what burdened it.


    However, Zach''s world essence energy was dormant, and his body was not in a good state.


    Mandra winced slightly when she felt the restraints rustle as she brought a stream of magical energy up and into her eyes.


    She quickly opened her eyes, resolving to finish this as soon as possible. She just had to use her eyes to pick up the scent, and then she could do it without pushing Zach''s limits.


    A heavy pressure slipped off of Mandra as she opened her eyes, prompting cold sweat and goosebumps all over Visla''s body. She instinctively felt that she couldn''t hide a thing from Mandra. She looked away.


    But Mandra wasn''t looking at her.


    She was looking at the multicolored fragments of light swirling through the air with and against the currents of the wind. She looked toward the sky and toward the town and the camp.


    Over the town and the camp, the air was filled with orange, red, yellow, and black particles of light. The magical energy in those places was still affected by the unorthodox magic used by whoever had done it. The arsonist''s presence filled both places.


    But those two places weren''t the only area where she found it.


    After such heavy usage of that kind of magic, even the arsonists body would be covered in it. Even if he could usually hide it or control it to the point where the fiery magical energy was undetectable, there was no hiding it now.


    An orange trail like the vestiges of a fiery ghost passing between the two places appeared before Mandra''s eyes. It led away from the camp deeper east. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire


    Mandra blinked, dispelling the sight.


    "I got it."

 Chapter 465 Arsonist

    After identifying and securing a sample of the residual magical energy from the arsonist, Mandra devised a simple spell that localized any nearby magical energy that matched. It would let them follow the arsonist''s trace, and if the trail went cold, the spell would find the arsonist as long as they were close enough.


    They didn''t have time to waste, so after making sure that Zach wasn''t too affected by Mandra pushing the limit, they set off.


    It was in times like these that Zach missed Nessa''s Millipede. It was fast, stable, and comfortable to ride. It was much better than having to walk or be carried by one of his maids. It was also less taxing than putting himself, Visla, and Nora on a floating barrier and carrying them while his maids ran next to them.


    But Zach didn''t care about conserving energy right now or worrying too much about his condition, so he used the floating barrier method and hovered over the ground with Nora and Visla since the two were significantly weaker and had less endurance than his familiars.


    The four maids ran side by side with Zach without so much as a hint of labored breathing or having trouble keeping up.


    Visla was once again impressed by the might of a summoner and their familiars. But as she watched Zach and his familiars, she also realized that it wasn''t that simple. It probably would not be that easy to get a single summoner as strong as Zach, much less a whole group of them.


    In the first place, with their current circumstances, it would be difficult to even reach a place with the Empire where the Sesha would be allowed entry to the Academy for Summoners'' Chamber of Ceremony. As she thought about it, she absentmindedly rubbed the tattoo on her arm.


    As they traveled, Zach and the others grew increasingly surprised at how far the arsonist had traveled in such a short time. Either they were stronger and faster than they had assumed or they were in a rush.


    Zach hoped it was the latter. It could mean that they had noticed their arrival and were scared.


    Mandra, who was in the lead, suddenly held up a hand and stopped everyone.


    "What is it?" Zach asked a little more impatiently than he would have liked.


    "There''s people ahead, Master. A camp."


    At Mandra''s words, Zach looked forward and sharpened his senses. That discoloration far away was not a grouping of rocks or grass, then. It was a barbarian camp and a big one by the looks of it.


    "Is the arsonist there?"


    The camp wasn''t on fire.


    Mandra nodded.


    "It looks like they put up a fight before being captured, Master."


    "Let''s go."


    Zach, Nora, and Visla dropped down from the barrier and walked the rest of the way. It didn''t take long for them to be spotted and approached by the warriors of the Nilma tribe, who were on high alert after a recent incident. However, they accepted Visla''s proof of identity and let her and Zach into the camp.


    Zach couldn''t help but notice that the Nilma tribe wasn''t quite as respectful toward her as the other tribes had been. He had even dyed his hair black to hide his familial relationships. But he soon figured out it was because the Nilma tribe was powerful enough that they only had to show Visla the bare minimum courtesy.


    They were the only tribe in the camp, yet it was bigger than the combined ones they had visited already.


    The Nilma tribe was a big and powerful one. It was a good thing Zach had dyed his hair already. Otherwise, they would have been in a pinch, even with the other tribes'' support of their peace activities.


    However, they were not the only ones the Nilma could put in a pinch.


    Zach and his maids clearly weren''t Sesha, so they weren''t allowed beyond the camp''s perimeter. They had to stay there under careful watch while Visla talked to the chief. It was inconvenient, but Zach trusted Visla. As long as it was within her power, she could handle it.


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    And if it came to it, Zach was confident he could flee if it were outside her power.


    After a while, Visla returned with a warrior by her side and a light-clad barbarian who left the camp in the direction of the burned camp and town to verify what Visla had talked about with her chief.


    Until then, Zach and Visla would have to stay put. Visla could roam around the camp with a warrior if she wanted, but she didn''t.


    After more than half a day, the scout returned, tired, sweaty, and panting. He had run all the way and back without break. The return trip had been particularly exhausting since he felt he had to deliver the news to the chief as soon as possible.


    The sight he had seen was horrible. If Visla knew something about it, they needed that information.


    It also could not be a coincidence that they found a strange individual lurking around their camp who breathed fire when asked to surrender shortly after those two sites were burned to the ground.


    The Nilma tribe''s chief could see the connection. The solution was simple. Kill the arsonist fucker.


    But he was generous enough to invite Zach and Visla to the tent where they kept him chained up and gagged with a cloth soaked in water. No maids, though.


    Zach and Visla both frowned when they saw the individual.


    They were not human but still human somehow.


    He had dark green hair. His pupils were vertical slits like those of a snake, and there were tiny scales on his cheeks. His ears were slightly pointed and pressed to his head.


    He smelled like fire and ash.


    Visla clenched her fists tightly to control the urge to tear his jaw off and bash his skull in.


    More important than executing him was figuring out why he had done it and if he was alone.


    The chief understood the need for the answers to those questions, so he gestured for a warrior to remove the gag.


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 Chapter 466 Too Late

    "What are you?" The Nilma tribe chief asked after the gag was removed from the arsonist''s mouth.


    "..." The arsonist just looked at the Nilma chief with his condescending slit eyes without saying a thing.


    The chief sighed, but before he could do anything, Zach raised a hand.


    "May I?" The chief raised an eyebrow. He was suspicious but not wary of Zach. He was someone who had let the Empire behind, but if Visla was to be trusted, he didn''t do it because he wanted the barbarians to win the war or anything. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    He just thought it would be more efficient to work on this side. Curious to see what the young man would do, the Nilma chief gestured for Zach to do whatever it was he had planned to do.


    Maybe this kid from the Empire had a special trick or technique.


    That wasn''t it.


    Zach punched the arsonist right in the face, breaking the latter''s nose with a nasty crack. Thick blood seeped out of both nostrils as the arsonist glared at Zach. He spat at Zach''s feet.


    The Nilma chief and Visla were a little disappointed. Getting him to talk wouldn''t be that easy so Zach was just venting his anger.


    However, they noticed something. There was something damming up the arsonist''s nose. Aside from the first few drops that slipped out, no more blood came out. It wasn''t because he had stopped bleeding or had healed.


    The snake-like arsonist felt it as well.


    The blood from his broken nose was being stopped from exiting there. As it overflowed, it went back up and in. It was a bad break, too, so there was a lot of blood.


    The arsonist tried to clear his throat from the blood that poured into it by spitting out a mouthful of blood, but that wasn''t enough. More blood came and replaced what he managed to get out, clogging his throat.


    With blood filling his throat, mouth, and nose, the arsonist couldn''t breathe.


    He was choking on his own blood.


    The Nilma chief gave Zach an appreciating look as the arsonist leaned forward and tried to pour the blood out of his throat. But kneeling and with his hands chained behind him, it wasn''t easy. It became impossible when Zach put a foot on his shoulder and tilted him back, forcing him to look up.


    The arsonist coughed and spluttered, the blood in his mouth bubbling as he tried to speak and breathe, inhaling the blood into his lungs.


    "I think that''s enough." The Nilma chief took a step forward.


    Killing the arsonist was natural. And watching him suffer was an added bonus. But they still had to drain him of information. Who was he? What did he want? When they had those answers, they could continue.


    Zach removed the barrier blocking the flow of blood and let the arsonist lean forward again to puke and clear his throat and mouth.


    "Ready to talk? You don''t have to if you don''t want to." Zach knelt and picked the arsonist''s head up by the hair on the back as he looked into his snake-like eyes. He could see the intent to spit sticky blood in his face. He headbutted the arsonist before ramming his head into the ground and stepping back. A barrier made sure the arsonist was the only one affected by the headbutt.


    After a moment, a low chuckle escaped the arsonist''s mouth, his face still against the ground.


    "What am I you ask?" He asked mockingly as he looked up. He continued chuckling while shaking his head.


    "That''s the wrong question."


    "What''s the right question, then?" Zach asked.


    The arsonist was silent for a moment as he looked into Zach''s eyes.


    "How far you can run. That''s what you should be asking."


    Zach''s eyebrows rose slightly. Dealing with nutjobs was always interesting. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I can run pretty far, so I don''t see why I need to be asking that."


    The arsonist looked the side and into the distance as if he could see through the tent''s fabric and toward the horizon before turning back to Zach with a grin.


    "It''s too late anyway."


    Zach, the Nilma chief, and Visla gave the arsonist a skeptical look before looking and sensing in the direction he had gazed. They couldn''t sense anything.


    "Too late for what?" Visla asked with a frown.


    The arsonist just met the question with a grin.


    It seemed that not even almost drowning in his own blood had been enough to scare the arsonist into talking. He wasn''t scared of death or he didn''t think they would actually kill them.


    The Nilma chief sighed and fished out a dagger. He held it by the blade and with the handle toward Zach and Visla.


    "Do either of you want to do the honors?" He asked.


    "I would." Visla raised her hand and accepted the dagger. Zach didn''t have any objections.


    After taking a deep breath, Visla plunged the dagger into the arsonist''s chest, stabbing his heart. She pulled it out and stabbed him on the other side of the chest, and then finally a third time in his throat.


    It wasn''t the painful death he deserved, but it was a death nonetheless. What irritated her was the nonchalant grin lingering on his face.


    "Annoying bastard," she spat at his corpse as the breath left it. She wiped the dagger on a cloth prepared by the guard before handing the dagger back to the Nilma chief. She was about to ask ''What now?'' when a shockwave hit the camp, blowing a majority of the tents and most loose items into the air, including the one they were in.


    Instnantly the maids assumed a position in front of Zach while still letting him see what was going on.


    An area on the border of the camp had turned into a crater, a few of the tents included.


    In the center of that crater was a person with long dark hair, snake-like eyes and scales on his cheeks. He was looking at Visla.

 Chapter 467 Guest

    The snake-like man who had just arrived at the edge of the Nilma tribe''s camp carried a striking resemblance to the recently deceased arsonist. It was beyond the physical features of their eyes and the scales on their cheeks.


    But the man who stood in his crater glaring at Visla was taller, more muscular, and far stronger. He gave off warning signals loud enough for the Nilma tribe''s chief to grab a dagger and a sword and ready himself for a fight.


    The Nilma chief who had suppressed his presence suddenly flared it and pointed it at the intruder, not willing to be pushed back by the air of intimidation.


    But the snake-like man ignored him and pointed at Visla with a fingernail that looked more like a claw than a nail.


    Zach''s eyes widened and he put up a hand in front of her face. He flinched a moment later and pulled back his hand.


    There was a burn mark on his palm. The tiny dot of light that the intruder shot out had pierced Zach''s barrier and burned his hand with the remaining power.


    Zach looked at the man warily. He had just pointed his finger. It didn''t even look like he had put any effort into it, but it had still been enough to break through the barrier he kept over his body at all times. It was one of the strongest barriers he could make without needing to focus constantly.


    If it hadn''t been for him realizing the man''s intentions¡ªwho wouldn''t want to kill the one who just killed their brother, after all?¡ªVisla would have died.


    The Nilma chief, Zach''s maids, and Visla turned to look at Zach. They were the only ones who had realized what had just happened. They were the only ones who realized that Zach was the only one to react to that man''s attack.


    But he hadn''t reacted to it. He had just anticipated it.


    Still, it was something that none of them had done. However, for some of them, it was because they were prepared to defend Zach, not Visla.


    If that finger had pointed at Zach, at least four maids would have intercepted it.


    Slowly, everyone turned back to look at the murderous intruder. He was strong. They needed to pay attention.


    "Everyone, clear the area. Forget your belongings. Treasure your lives." The Nilma chief did not forget his responsibilities and ordered his tribe to withdraw. This was going to be a fierce battle. The fewer tribe members that got caught in the crossfire the better.


    The man stepped out of the crater as the Nilma tribe quickly got to their senses and fled. The chief''s words were the law, and they carried it out without even thinking of disobeying.


    The Nilma chief had worked hard to earn his people''s respect and loyalty. It wasn''t for nothing.


    He glanced at Zach and Visla.


    "You two stay safe. I won''t be able to protect you," he cautioned them before turning his attention toward the snake-like man again.


    "We''re fighting with you," Zach said before visla could.


    "...Just don''t get in my way."


    The Nilma chief adjusted his grip on his weapons as he started walking toward the intruder. The shockwave he made when landing had cleared the area around them. There were no obstacles.


    But neither the Nilma chief nor the intruder were the kind who needed to worry about obstacles when fighting. They had long since surpassed the level where their surroundings would affect them when they fought as long as it wasn''t submerged in water or in the air.


    With a swish and a cling, the Nilma chief deflected a fire shot from the intruder with his dagger. Fast and powerful compared to how small and easy they appeared to be to fire, but they weren''t that difficult to deal with for the chief once he knew what to expect.


    What worried the chief was what else the intruder had in store. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The chief''s eyebrow twitched slightly, and he glanced down. A barrier had appeared around his body. Usually, more protection than necessary would weigh him down and make it easier for him to let his guard down.


    But on this occasion, he appreciated it.


    The chief deflected a string of fire shots with his dagger before taking a step forward and thrusting his sword at the intruder. The intruder sidestepped the lunge with airy footwork. The chief reacted as if he had expected it and turned the thrust into a slash and tried to slice the intruder in half at the belly.


    The intruder blocked the weak strike with a hand covered in dark scales that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.


    The chief could feel with one touch that it would take a full-powered strike to break through those scales. Against such a powerful opponent, he wouldn''t get many chances to unleash that kind of strike, at least if he was alone. Fortunately, that wasn''t the case.


    Before the intruder could point his other hand toward the chief''s face, an icicle crashed into the palm, breaking and covering the hand in ice. Mandra had joined the fight.


    The intruder was using magic and physical force to fight. It was only right that they did the same. Since the chief appeared to be purely physical, she had to join the fight.


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    However, it wasn''t like they needed to keep things fair. That was why when the intruder was busy detailing with the chief with one hand and trying to block Mandra''s attacks with the other, Alzara snuck up behind him with footwork even lighter than his own.


    She knew that she wouldn''t be able to pierce him with her daggers, even if she took him by surprise. The scales on his hand weren''t consciously activated. They surfaced when his body felt threatened.


    But she just needed to attach her curses to him. A couple of hair-fine scratches were enough to get started. Hopefully, her curses would be powerful enough to affect the intruder before they dissipated or were cleansed by his powerful fire energy.


    The situation was under control. For now.

 Chapter 468 Spirit Guide

    In terms of magic, there were three ways to deal with elemental energies like the one used by the first arsonist and the recent intruder.


    The first was to use overwhelming force to overpower it. The second was to be better at manipulating the specific elemental energy.


    Unfortunately, while Mandra was skilled at all kinds of magic, she was not adept at the unorthodox way the intruder was using his fire energy. It was close to but not quite magic. It moved like an extension of his body.


    If she had her peak strength, she could have taken control of it. But with her limited pool of strength right now, she had to rely on the third method. She had to use elements that naturally suppressed the fire.


    Water, ice, and wind if used correctly were all good against it.


    A fire strong enough would evaporate water or melt the ice. With how easily the intruder melted the cast of ice Mandra gave him, she figured her best option would be to use wind magic to control his fire.


    Magical fire, unlike mortal fire, wasn''t powered by air. Even in an atmosphere without oxygen, magical fire could still burn. But that didn''t mean it wasn''t affected by oxygen. It was fire. It burned things. And it reacted mostly the same as mortal fire when it came into contact with things it could burn.


    So, when the intruder tried to shoot fire shots at Mandra or anyone else, Mandra wrapped them in a veil of strong wind that caught, exploded, and redirected the fire shots. And when the intruder tried to douse the Nilma chief in a stream of red fire that seemed to melt the ground, Mandra just blew it away in the intruder''s direction, turning it into a firestorm centered around the intruder.


    Since it was still his fire, he could have controlled it if not for the magical energy of wind mixed into it. By diluting his fire energy with her own magical energy, Mandra wrested the control away from him.


    However, the intruder wouldn''t be burned by his own fire, and the wind magic wasn''t powerful enough to injure him. It was just a way to prevent him from injuring anyone else.


    Mandra left attacking him to the chief and Alzara as she took on a supportive role. She would have preferred if Yanael joined the fray and participated in attacking the intruder since they needed another heavy hitter, but she also understood why Yanael stayed in front of Zach to protect him.


    The intruder was strong enough to break through Zach''s barriers. Leaving Zach alone would put him in danger. Yanael was also the only one who could stop him. Nora couldn''t. Soara probably couldn''t.


    For Zach''s safety, Yanael had to stay passive. Nora was staying passive because she was too weak to join the fight. Soara¡­she wasn''t participating because she was also too weak.


    Until Alzara''s curses weakened the intruder further, Soara''s powers wouldn''t do anything to him. The intruder''s life force was overwhelmingly strong. It was to the point where it didn''t match the strength he displayed. She frowned as she looked at the dead snake-like arsonist.


    That guy''s life force had also been suspiciously strong for how easily he died.


    But it could be that they were just long-lived beings. Life force didn''t translate to strength, after all, unless they knew how to use it like she did. That thought made her look at the Nilma chief.


    She wasn''t sure if he knew how to use it, but something about him was related to life force. The more he fought, the more he bled, the stronger his life force grew. It was slow, and it was more like it was waking up, but it was undeniable that the translucent green flame that only she could see was growing in size and volatility.


    In tandem, he was growing faster and stronger.


    The chief could somewhat keep up with the intruder''s fire shots at the beginning. But he had missed the first one. It was only because he was always ready and anticipating what the intruder was going to do next that he could deflect them with his blades. However, after several minutes of tense fighting where neither managed to land a solid blow on the other, the chief was breezing past the fire shots.


    He didn''t need to deflect them anymore. He could just shift to the side before closing the distance, slashing with his sword, stabbing with his dagger, and kicking with his leg before stepping back nad letting Alzara do something similar.


    He was catching up to and surpassing the intruder''s speed. It wasn''t that he had held back int he beginning. He was slowly raising his limits while he fought and his blood surged.


    Soara wasn''t the only one who noticed it. The intruder noticed it. It was becoming more difficult for him to scratch the chief.


    Alzara, Mandra, Yanael, and Zach also noticed it. Nora could tell that the tides of the battle were shifting in their favor, but she couldn''t pinpoint the reason.


    Visla also noticed it. She also knew better than the others why it was happening. Her eyes widened in admiration. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It wasn''t a sight that was easily seen outside life-and-death battles involving the stronger Sesha on the steppes.


    The Nilma tribe was one of the animal tribes. Their motif, symbol, and source of worship was a leopard. It was the spiritual guide that led to the founding of the Nilma tribe. It was the source of the Nilma tribe''s strength and unity.


    Right now, the Nilma chief was channeling their leopard''s spirit through the tattoo on his back. He was manifesting the power both laying dormant within him through his ancestors, and the one added to his blood through the tattoo. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    He was displaying the highest level of strength of the barbarians, the tribal tattoo.


    Slowly, he was reaching above his human limits when faced with a threat beyond his level.

 Chapter 469 Round Two

    The battle between Zach''s familiars, the Nilma chief, and the snake-like intruder was clearly in favor of the humans. But the intruder''s scaly face showed no signs of distress or worry. They had only gotten a few meager scratches here and there. He was being suppressed, but he hadn''t even shed a drop of blood yet.


    However, the humans were far from done. Alzara''s curses were piling up, Mandra''s magic was seeping into the intruder''s fire energy, and the chief was still growing stronger. He even appeared to be transforming.


    A phantom leopard sometimes appeared when he struck or overlapped with his body. His skin started turning yellow and brown with the fur of a leopard. His hair retreated back into his head. His ears grew longer and fuzzier as they moved on top of his head. His nose grew flatter and wider while his mouth extended and expanded to fit the fangs that grew.


    His muscles bulged and rippled with strength as the rest of his body also slowly transformed, turning him into something between a human and a leopard. When he reached that stage, his power and speed soared. He drew the first drop of blood from the intruder.


    Zach and Nora were the most amazed.


    Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra were all aware of shapeshifters and the like. Mandra had even seen the phantom of a leopard behind the chief from the moment she saw him.


    Alzara knew a group of desert witches who could do something similar. Some of the deities from Soara''s home planet bestowed similar abilities to their followers. Yanael could pop out wings and a halo. Why couldn''t the chief pop out some fur and alter his body a little?


    If anything it would be easier for the chief to transform than it was for someone to get wings and a halo. The chief''s transformation still dealt with materials that could be found in the human body. Hair, muscles, blood, skin, and bone were the only things changing.


    Even if the how was difficult to understand, it was easy to understand that it was doable.


    Yanael''s transformation on the other hand¡­Where did the feathers come from? Where did the ring of solid light come from? Angel magic.


    However, not even the chief''s finished transformation was enough to change the intruder''s expression. He continued parrying the mix of legs, blades, and magic with ease. Occasionally, he would catch a strike he couldn''t block and either let it happen or counter by landing a blow of his own.


    The problem with that was the fact that none of the others were as sturdy as him.


    Zach was getting tense. The fact that the situation wasn''t worsening any more for the intruder meant that he was still fine. The scrapes he had gotten so far were barely anything.


    "I guess my brother''s death was not unexpected." The intruder''s voice was soft like he was talking to himself. But everyone heard it. It was calm. But it wasn''t just that it didn''t seem like he had even exerted himself so far.


    It sounded like he had just been testing the waters, seeing what he was dealing with.


    "He was always a little rash." The intruder sighed, not really blaming his brother.


    "Good thing he has me to clean up after him."


    The intruder took a deep breath. Mandra dashed forward and grabbed Alzara by the neck before retreating as far as she could in the few moments they had before the intruder unleashed a torrent of dark red flames from his mouth and nostrils onto his feet. A circle of fire bloomed and expanded, swallowing the camp.


    The chief, Alzara, Mandra, Soara, Yanael, Nora, Visla, and Zach hid behind a barrier made by Zach and Mandra''s combined efforts. The tiny area occupied by their feat was the only plot of land not charred black by the snake-like intruder''s fire.


    The tents had been turned into ash floating through the wind, and whatever metal pieces had been nearby had all melted and turned into red-hot goop in the black wasteland.


    "Uhh¡­I think he might have been going easy on us until now," Zach couldn''t help but say as the flames died down.


    "..." The only answer either Visla or the Nilma chief had would be unproductive, so they stayed silent.


    "But I still think it''s doable. Yanael, I think you''ll need to take the lead. Mandra, taking this bastard down is more important than my condition. Nilma chief, I hope you don''t mind relying on us."


    "Not at all. I''ll follow your lead this time." A bead of sweat soaked into the fur at the Nilma chief''s temple.


    Without Zach and Mandra''s barriers, surviving that blast would have been very difficult. His only option would have been to jump over the fire, but that would have turned him into a sitting duck in the air. He would have been peppered with fire shots before he even started falling again.


    There was no denying that Zach''s familiars were powerful, and Zach seemed to be the only one who could bring out their full potential when they were working together.


    Yanael unfurled her four wings and flapped them to dispel the dust and ash around them. Her halo glowed brighter as she filled her sword with sacred energy and faced the snake-like intruder.


    Since Zach ordered it, she would have to face the intruder instead of focusing on keeping Zach safe. It seemed Zach prioritized taking down the snake-like person over his own well-being. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire


    The only way for Yanael to do it in a way that satisfied her would be to take him down before he could injure Zach or Zach''s condition worsened because Mandra and Soara needed to tap into more of their strength to be effective. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Soara, can you find an angle?" Zach asked. He had noticed Soara not acting until now. There had to be a reason for that. Hopefully, there was also a solution.


    However, Soara slowly shook her head.


    "His life force is too strong. He would need to be on the brink of death for me to do anything."


    Zach nodded.


    "Yanael, Alzara, Mandra, Chief, you heard her."


    The four responded by charging at the intruder, undeterred by the power behind his latest attack.

 Chapter 470 One Sword

    The powerful tsunami of fire was dangerous, but it had taken the snake-like a couple of seconds to unleash it. That meant he couldn''t do it without preparation. Now that they knew that, Zach''s familiars and the Nilma chief just needed to watch out for any tells that he was using any powerful moves and react accordingly.


    He was stronger than them. There was no doubt about it and no shame in admitting it. But he wasn''t invincible.


    The difficult part would be stopping him from fleeing once they managed to injure him. But that was a matter for then. Right now, their priority was enduring the heat and getting close to the fiery snake.


    Fortunately, they had Zach''s barriers and Mandra''s magic to keep the intruder''s fire and heat in check while working through his defense.


    With fire wrapped around his scaly limbs, the intruder made it difficult to approach. Flames and sparks leaped and jumped at them each time he swung his arms and legs. Tiny dots of fire or fist-sized balls were flung at them and tried to turn them into smoldering cinders.


    Yanael, who was in the center of their formation, braced herself and accepted every last one that came her way. Her shield and sword infused and covered with sacred energy were more than durable enough to handle the blows.


    But she wasn''t just taking the hits. Her wings gave her speed that could almost rival the Nilma chief''s. She could dodge the intruder''s attacks if she wanted to, she just didn''t. Since she was strong enough to handle his attacks, she was naturally also strong enough to attack him.


    Yanael''s speed, durability, and strength made her a threat to the intruder. He could not ignore her and focus on the others. He had to pay attention to every single one of her moves.


    If he didn''t notice the slight turn of her front foot, he would be slow to react to the blinding slash that cut through the air like a gold silk fan, sacred energy overflowing from the weapon that cut through any magic the intruder tried to use to block.


    Absorbing the magical treasure of one of the barbarians who tried to take Rittel into her bracelet had proved useful. It was to the point where Zach wondered how such a magic-ignoring sword had ended up in the ends of that barbarian. It would have been much more useful in someone like the Nilma chief''s hands.


    Whatever. Now it''s properties belonged to Yanael''s sword.


    However, that still wasn''t enough to properly get through the intruder''s scales. Or maybe it was, and that was why the intruder had started dodging instead of accepting even a single scratch if he could. If he couldn''t dodge, he would minimize the damage by rolling on the ground or spinning in the air like an arrow.


    The intruder was strong, limber, athletic, and flexible. On top of that, he also possessed powerful innate magic.


    However, as Yanael analyzed him, she could tell that was it.


    He didn''t fall for the same feint twice, but he used the same way of dealing with it after that. He didn''t come up with new moves, ways to dodge, or attacks in the middle of the fight, and the way he used his magic was the same as in the beginning.


    He was strong. He was not talented.


    But he seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of fire energy and stamina. Still, the longer the fight progressed, the more favorable it became for Yanael, even without the others'' help. She was confident she could take him by herself given enough time. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a short few exchanges, Yanael had already minimized the precursing movements she made that alerted her opponent of her attacks. She noticed that every time she made a wide slash with her sword, the intruder reacted almost instantly. But other times, her sword was already almost acquainted with his skin when he reacted.


    Yanael watched the intruder''s eyes closely and analyzed her own movements.


    She rectified it. She didn''t need to twist her foot to draw out a maximal amount of strength from her slash.


    She also condensed and improved the flow of her sacred energy. It stopped leaking out of her sword. Instead, it was almost perfectly contained within, fortifying and sharpening it beyond compare. The flow of sacred energy within her body also improved as she got used to fighting with the support of four wings instead of two and the changes to her speed, strength, and balance they caused. Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire


    Yanael grew more and more comfortable with her increased strength from her evolution since it was the first time she was having a proper fight where she could push herself to her limits without worrying about their surroundings or who she was sparring with.


    Her movements became smoother, and her sword turned into a paintbrush with golden ink as she drew smooth strokes in the air. Her joints, wrist, elbow, shoulder, waist, hips, knees, ankles, and toes, all moved in soft harmony. She was not one being made of a bunch of tiny interconnected parts. She wasn''t those parts trying to work together to control her sword and shield to fight.


    She was one. Her sword was one. She and her sword together was one.


    With a resolute expression, Yanael transformed her shield back into a bracelet and gripped her sword with both hands. She closed her eyes as she felt her sacred energy flow between herself and her sword like the sword was part of her body.


    The intruder stopped for a moment as the pressure of the sacred energy from Yanael faded. At the same time, she closed her eyes, stopped attacking, and held her sword with both hands right in front of her.


    The intruder didn''t know what was going on, but he knew it was an opening.


    Before the others, who did not have as easy a time withstanding his fire, interfered, the intruder attacked, red fire swallowing his body before converging on his outstretched arms.

 Chapter 471 Important

    The torrent of red fire poured toward Yanael. It was too late to stop the intruder. And the horizontal pillar of flames was too powerful for Mandra to blow it away. It hit Yanael and splattered to the sides.


    The intruder maintained the fire for a second or a half but it was still enough to reignite the embers in their surroundings with its heat. The intruder wasn''t delighted. He didn''t care enough about anyone other than the girl who killed his brother to feel such emotion.


    But he was relieved that he could remove an annoyance and an interference.


    That was until the flames faded.


    He had not removed an annoyance. She was still there and without even a hint of a char on her. His flames had not reached her.


    He frowned until he noticed the molten, mostly translucent golden barrier in front of her. He turned to the young man. Another annoyance, but one that could be dealt with later. He focused back on the people actually fighting him and not hiding in the back.


    The Archangel was trouble now. That much was clear from the subtle tremors in the air around her.


    Yanael opened her eyes. The intruder looked the same, and he was still right in front of her. The air around her was a little hotter than before. That was it. Not much had changed.


    But at the same time, it felt like everything had changed.


    Yanael gently raised her sword before dropping the tip to the ground, slashing the air in front of her. Her movements seemed slow and elegant. They were nothing but that. Her slash was fierce and destructive as it released a line of sacred energy thinner than hair. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A moment later, a vertical gash appeared on the intruder''s body, running from the front of his scalp to the bottom of his¡­waist.


    It looked like she had cut across space and halved the intruder.


    Unfortunately, she wasn''t that powerful. Yet. She had only opened a wound that reached deeper than his skin.


    It was enough to draw blood, even through his thick, fiery scales. But it was far from enough to kill him, at least in one stroke.


    However, what if she used several strokes?


    Both Yanael and the intruder realized it. She had surpassed him. And she wasn''t even alone.


    The intruder shot a final glance toward Visla before turning around and shooting into the air, a trail of flames behind him.


    Yanael took a step forward, about to pursue him when she stopped. Even if she might be able to catch him, it wasn''t a guarantee. She also didn''t want to leave Zach''s side, not when she didn''t have to. She looked at Mandra.


    "I can follow him." Mandra turned to Zach. "If that''s what you want, Master."


    Zach nodded.


    "I think we have to, right?" He glanced at Visla. Mandra followed his gaze. She looked Visla up and down before nodding.


    Visla frowned with concern at those looks.


    "What?" She asked worried and curious.


    "You were marked," Mandra answered.


    Visla''s frown deepened.


    "Most likely, that guy doesn''t have just one brother. When you killed one, his death painted a target on you. That guy and their other potential siblings know you did it. They can probably track you and stuff," Zach explained. He had not missed how the intruder had looked at Visla ever since he first arrived.


    There was no sign that Visla had been the one to kill the first snake-like person, and if he had been perceptive enough to see she did it when she did it, which was way before any of them sensed him, he wouldn''t have been that slow to react to their attacks.


    He knew it was Visla. With their strange appearances and close bond, it wasn''t strange for them to know who killed one of them. There were probably spells that did something similar.


    In any case, the intruder who had just fought Yanael and the others would sooner or later return to take his revenge. Naturally, it would be best if they dealt with him before he could do that.


    Perfectly suited for that was Mandra''s spell, which she had devised to track the now-dead arsonist. It would work just as well on his brother. There was no time to waste, given how fast he had fled.


    But Zach was tired from blocking that torrent of fire that would have hit Yanael when she reached enlightenment with her sword. Alzara and Mandra also appreciated the opportunity to rest if they were going to have to fight again.


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    Besides, it looked like someone had something to say.


    Most of the Nilma tribe had fled and managed to mostly avoid the intruder''s attacks and the aftermath of the battle. Their camp and all their items were ruined, but those were just material things. They were unimportant compared to their lives.


    The tribe''s shaman, an old and short woman who looked like she had seen at least five generations, had fled with the rest only to come back now before them to see the tribe chief who had completed his transformation. Her eyes almost glowed as she looked at the chief who had transformed back to his human form now that the battle had ended.


    Inhabiting the leopard spirit in his body gave him tremendous strength and speed, but it was incredibly exhausting. He had to rely on the shaman to hold him up. But that wasn''t necessary so the shaman dropped him on his ass and gestured for Zach and the others to listen.


    "Chief and Visla of the Maura tribe, do you remember the fairytales your elders told you when you were young?"


    "...Some of them."


    "Shaman, is this important?"


    "Shush. It is important. None of you know who those two were, right? I think I do."


    "..."


    "Fine. If you aren''t going to ask, I''ll have to tell you myself. I believe they are the Hydra''s children."


    "The Hydra''s children?"


    "That''s what I said. Are you going deaf?"

 Chapter 472 Children Of The Hydra

    The elderly Nimla shaman was quite strong-willed. But she could tell that the others were just wondering what the Hydra and its children were. She cleared her throat. She looked at the Nilma chief.


    "Chief, you remember the stories of the Hydra, right? The ones our ancestors passed down."


    "Yeah. A monstrous being of myth that brings ruin to its surroundings. Nine-heads. Fire, poison, death, destruction, and so on. Immortal or something."


    "What a brief summary, chief. It''s almost like you listened to those stories," the shaman said condescendingly while shooting the chief a glare. She sighed and turned to Zach and visla.


    "But it''s accurate enough. The Hydra was a monster that would have destroyed this world if it wasn''t made to change its ways by the god of nature, Isuls. The details of that vary from story to story, from storyteller to storyteller.


    "That aside, I believe the ones who caused harm to our brethren and attacked our camp were the children of that Hydra. Their fire contained malice and destruction. They looked like they had a lot of lives under their eyes, and they spoke oddly." The shaman''s analysis of the fire-breathing intruders aligned mostly with what the others had seen and experienced up close.


    "Is the Hydra famous for having children?" Zach asked. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire


    It seemed like a stretch to just call the fire-breathing intruders the Hydra''s children just because they breathed fire and were mean.


    "Yeah. Since the Hydra can no longer destroy the world, it''s rumored that it had its progeny fulfill its ambition. But I thought that part of the stories was just to scare children into behaving. ''Or else the Children of the Hydra will take you!'' kind of thing," Visla answered Zach before turning to the Nilma chief for confirmation of her doubts.


    "Nowadays, that''s the case. But all legends have a source of beginning. The Children of the Hydra were very real at one point in time, harassing the Sesha, running wild on the Steppes, and doing whatever they pleased to whatever or whoever they pleased. But their activities faded over time until only a memory of them remained in our stories."


    "So, we''re dealing with fairytale miscreants?" Zach confirmed.


    The shaman nodded.


    "Yes."


    It wasn''t like the shaman knew for certain, but Visla and the Nilma chief believed it. They were dealing with the Children of the Hydra. Ancient progeny of a mythological monster with the power to destroy the world or something.


    "Fun," Zach said. The others couldn''t tell if he was serious or extremely sarcastic.


    The shaman and the chief rounded up the tribe''s people. That was their main priority. While doing so, though, they asked for everyone to tell them about what they knew of the Children. Maybe they could uncover their weaknesses, habits, or ways to find them.


    There was a lot of hearsay, people eager to help without knowing anything, and fluff to make the stories scarier.


    But one family had a story that not even the shaman knew in detail. It was the story of a warrior who had managed to defeat one of the Children. But he hadn''t just killed one of them. He had killed three. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The first Child tried to steal the warrior''s children. The warrior caught him and fought him to the death.


    The second Child tried to take revenge in the middle of the night, but the warrior bested him.


    Knowing that there were more, the warrior set up an ambush for the next. It succeeded on the third. But the fourth Child acted as if he knew about the ambush and tricked the warrior, finally taking his head.


    That was the gist of that family''s story. Zach and the others weren''t sure about the message it was trying to convey, but they still memorized it. They didn''t have much else to do while resting and preparing to chase the Child who ruined the Nilma camp, after all.


    Zach had one concern that he didn''t voice since it would do no good. Once they were ready, they set off.


    The Nilma chief couldn''t accompany them since he had his people to look after, and they had no idea where, how long, or how far away this chase would lead them. As the strongest warrior of his tribe, especially now that he had successfully manifested the leopard spirit, the Nilma chief had to stay.


    It was a shame since he was strong, but with Yanael reaching enlightenment with the sword, she should be strong enough to take care of them with the other familiars'' support.


    That was unless, of course, even the Child they were chasing had a big brother who was even stronger.


    Zach hoped not but hoping wouldn''t do much. It didn''t help his condition, and it wouldn''t change the strength of their foes.


    Zach, Visla, Nora, Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra stepped onto Zach''s barrier and soared into the sky. Zach could feel the weight press down on the barrier and his chest.


    It wasn''t unbearable, but he did not have much spare room. Carrying people was heavier and harder than he thought it would be, but they needed to get into the air to track the Child.


    Mandra and Yanael could fly. Zach thought Soara should be able to as well since she was a deity, but it seemed she didn''t have that power. Maybe it was part of what she lost back then.


    But Mandra and Soara needed to focus on defense, scouting, and tracking. If they flew just to ease Zach''s burden, they might not be ready to handle something else coming their way.


    Besides, Zach wanted to carry them.


    At a steady pace, they pursued the trail of fire energy that the Child of the Hydra left behind as he fled from the Nilma camp after being scared by Yanael. As the trail stabilized and no longer swung from side to side like the Child was trying to drop a tail or looking for something, Nora and Visla couldn''t help but notice that he was heading almost straight East.


    If he continued like this, there was only one destination they could think of.


    But it didn''t make sense.

 Chapter 473 Return

    "N-never a-again," Visla said, her voice trembling as much as her body as soon as she returned to the loving embrace of the ground. She lay down flat on her back and closed her eyes, feeling the stability of the earth beneath her.


    "I didn''t think you''d be scared of heights;" Zach commented. Since they didn''t want to be seen by anyone who might be below them, Zach had pushed himself and brought them high up into the sky. Personally, he was awed at his own greatness. It was freeing being able to fly that high.


    Visla was not of the same opinion. She had been mostly fine when they were just high enough that she wouldn''t be able to jump up onto the barrier. It was a height where she would be fine if she fell.


    However, when they continued rising, her heart clenched, and her stomach sank. She had to close her eyes and lay down with her head in Nora''s lap to stop herself from panicking.


    "Shut it, please." Since Visla had never been that high up before, she hadn''t known she was that scared of heights, either.


    "No, but I can move on to something else," Zach said as he turned toward the direction the Hydra''s Child had flown in. At the horizon, he saw it. Ciel. The capital city of the Evandiel duchy.


    Mandra had confirmed with her spell that the Child''s traces led there. But there was just one problem.


    "I thought your people had taken over Ciel?" Zach asked. That was what he had heard in Rittel and Storum. The barbarians had swiftly moved in on the city when the Evandiels'' absence was discovered and made it their base.


    "So did I." That same information was the one circulating in the camps deeper into imperial territory as well.


    Firstly, why would the Child go to a place under the control of the leading tribes of the invasion, the strongest on the Steppes.


    Secondly, how were several of the biggest tribes crammed into the city without being noticeable from this distance?


    The Sesha Steppes had far from as many human inhabitants as the Empire. But their population might be able to rival the East''s. But only a small portion of the Evandiel duchy''s people lived in the capital. Even if all of the tribes could fit in the city and the houses, would they want to?


    They would spread out and make full use of the vast space around the city.


    Needless to say, something wasn''t adding up.


    "You good yet?" Zach glanced at Visla, who was covering her eyes with her forearm like she was sick.


    Visla grunted and slowly got up.


    "Good. Let''s go."


    Something was off about Ciel. But it was the center of this whole war. The answers to their questions, the method to establish peace, and the Children of the Hydra. All of them would be found there.


    Zach had to gather and conserve as much of his strength as possible before they arrived. And it wouldn''t be any good if Visla was about to collapse. They walked the last part. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    But even as they arrived, not a single person, barbarian or otherwise, came out to meet them. The city wasn''t a ghost town, but it was a lot emptier than either of them had expected it to be. It also wasn''t guarded like they thought the headquarters of the invasion would be.


    Zach and Visla exchanged glances, stopping in front of the ajar city gates. Zach glanced at Mandra. She nodded and cast her stealth spell on the group.


    They entered Ciel, a place filled with both good and bad memories for Zach. For Visla, it was just the biggest imperial city she had seen. Now, she had seen it twice. Once when she entered the Empire and now.


    Neither of them had forgotten what brought them here.


    Mandra glanced at the sky before following the trail of orange magic energy with her eyes to the center of the city. She didn''t know what was there, but Zach, Nora, Yanael, Alzara, and Visla did. They had been there before, after all.


    It was the Labyrinth of Jira.


    Zach looked at Visla when they approached. There were barbarians around the entrance to the Labyrinth. The building that had housed the entrance was entirely gone, so they saw the archway even from afar.


    Unlike with the city, the guards seemed to take watching the entrance seriously. There were also more barbarians around it nearby.


    "Do you want to talk to the tribes here or just enter?"


    "Just enter," she answered shortly.


    Zach took a look around. It certainly didn''t seem like they would get anything from talking to the people here. It would only cause trouble and delays.


    If it could have led to talks of peace between the Empire and the Sesha, that trouble and those delays would have been worth it.


    But most of the barbarians in the city seemed to be, for lack of a more respectful word, weaklings.


    For whatever reason, the Child of the Hydra had entered the Labyrinth. But so seemingly had the majority of the barbarians as well.


    It was that or they had moved on or retreated, leaving behind only the bare minimum to keep the city occupied.


    The Labyrinth certainly held a lot of treasures and secrets. But none of them could understand why the Sesha would enter it with several tribes'' worth of people.


    Zach thought about the environment on the first floor, the only one he had been on. Aside from the rat-like monsters popping out behind every strand of grass, it was a nice place. Green grass. Fresh air. Clear skies.


    It was certainly an environment people could live in. Coupled with the apparent possibility that the barbarians were hungry and no longer able to sustain themselves on the Steppes, it led Zach to the idea of the barbarians trying to live in the Labyrinth of Jira.


    The barbarians weren''t just invading the Empire, they were invading the Labyrinth. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 474 Years-Old Question

    Mandra''s spell was enough to keep the group undetected when they walked through the city since the guards weren''t actively looking at them. But entering the Labyrinth of Jira would be a little tricker since the barbarians were guarding it. Still wasn''t a problem, though.


    Mandra put them to sleep with a spell, and the group could just walk through the pile of sleeping warriors like they were on a picnic.


    Just like that, they entered the Labyrinth of Jira.


    What greeted them after the bout of vertigo was the seemingly endless grassy plain that was home to the rat monsters.


    However, it was noticeably more visited than last time. A lot of people had been there before them, trampling the grass and the ground until there were clear paths and the vegetation was worn away.


    Mandra activated her Eyes of Truth and her spell to find the Child''s traces. While doing so, she glanced at the ground.


    There were a few spots here and there that were brighter than the rest. It was barely noticeable, and she couldn''t tell what it was for, but she could tell it wasn''t dangerous or anything so she stayed silent about it while following the Child''s traces. However, as she walked, she noticed that the bright spots increased every now and then.


    When the Child''s traces coincided with the location of one of the spots, she finally told the rest.


    Just like that, Zach got the explanation to a year-old question about how to stay on the first floor of the Labyrinth of Jira. How had he managed to stay on it and walk until he arrived at the ratling king?


    Magic traps appeared at regular intervals at least a couple of steps away from whoever was on the first floor. Stepping on them would take them to the second floor. But, no matter how much time passed, there was always at least one place without the traps.


    As long as one could fly or see the traps, they could stay on the first floor indefinitely.


    Not many could do that.


    It had been pure luck or coincidence it happened to Zach the first time around.


    Zach didn''t know what else to think about it, so he asked Mandra to point out the trap the Child had stepped on. But before anyone could step on it, he turned to Nora.


    "Do you know if we''re guaranteed to end up on the same place on the second floor?" He asked. He wasn''t familiar with the Labyrinth, and neither was any of his familiars.


    He had wanted to go through it and discover its secrets and so on as he went. Or maybe do it with his family. But life had gotten in his way.


    "It can happen, yes, Young Master. But it should be fine as long as we step on the same spot."


    "''Should''?" Zach repeated.


    "Pardon me, Young Master. I have been preoccupied with other tasks. I have not been able to memorize and master all the knowledge related to the Labyrinth of Jira. I mistakenly assumed you would let me know in advance when you were going to enter it. I apologize."


    Zach narrowed his eyes slightly. That felt very insincere and passive-aggressive. She couldn''t possibly be blaming him for something? No way. It wasn''t like he kept her busy or anything.


    "It''s fine. Let''s just go. Mandra, lead the way." Since Zach could also see the magic traps leading to the next floor, Mandra could go first and secure their arrival while also continuing to look for the Child''s traces.


    "Oh, and if we get separated, let''s just keep going. We''ll meet up sooner or later if we continue going down the floors. I think that would be easiest and most efficient." S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The others nodded seriously. Nora and Visla couldn''t help but feel that he was jinxing them by saying something like that.


    After Mandra, it was Soara, then Visla, then Yanael. Yanael wanted to be last, but Zach didn''t see why that mattered. She was closest, so she went. Zach, Nora, and Alzara were left.


    Alzara stepped on the spot, almost closing her eyes as she prepared for the feeling of vertigo that was inevitable with the Labyrinth''s transportation. But it didn''t come, even after several seconds. Unsure of whether she had even moved to the second floor, Alzara opened her eyes again.


    She looked at Zach. Zach looked at her. They looked at Nora. Nora didn''t know why they were looking at her. Alzara looked at the ground. She shuffled around with her feet and stomped like she was trying to kill a cockroach. She moved a little to the left, a little to the right, a little back, and a little forward.


    She was still on the first floor.


    Zach activated his Eyes of Truth and looked at the area beneath Alzara''s feet.


    The bright spot¡ªthe entrance to the second floor¡ªwas gone.


    "Looks like the trap is gone." Zach glanced at Nora. That meant the odds of them getting separated were higher all of a sudden.


    "If we use a spot next to that one, we should end up next to the others maybe, Young Master?" Nora nervously suggested. Whether she or Zach had jinxed them didn''t matter.


    They would find out if they got separated after they entered the second floor.


    Alzara listened to Nora''s suggestion since Zach didn''t do anything but give a slow nod. She stepped to the side until Zach nodded again. There was another magic trap there.


    Alzara stepped on it and disappeared like she never existed.


    "You first, Young Master."


    Zach had wanted Nora to go first just in case this one also disappeared and he didn''t want her to be alone. It was fine even if she just had Alzara. But Nora wouldn''t allow it, and if he forced it, she would just go to another spot.


    She would end up alone regardless if he didn''t go first.


    With a sigh and while holding Nora''s hand, Zach stepped onto the trap. Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

 Chapter 475 Second And Third Floors

    Zach''s hand slipped out of Nora''s when he was transported to the next floor. Physical contact wasn''t enough to ensure that they stayed together. Fortunately, the magic trap didn''t disappear after he stepped on it, and Nora appeared next to him and Alzara only a moment later.


    Zach glanced around as soon as Nora arrived.


    They were in a forest. It looked like a young forest since the trees were young and tiny with fresh green leaves. The trees were twice or three times as tall as Alzara.


    There was no sign of any of the others.


    Yanael, Soara, Mandra, and Visla were someplace else. It was as Nora had said was possible. Using different magic traps could bring them to different places.


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    "How do you get to the third floor?" Zach asked Nora. They had been separated from the others. That meant they didn''t have the means to track the Child. They could only hope to reunite with the others as they made their way through the Labyrinth.


    "Shouldn''t we look for the others, Master?" Alzara asked. Mandra had their energies. She would be able to track them if she came upon their traces. There was also the connection between Zach and his familiars that could possibly guide them toward each other.


    Although Zach had said to continue going deeper into the Labyrinth, wasn''t it better and safer to regroup?


    "My gut''s telling me to go down." Zach tapped the ground with his foot. He couldn''t explain it. He just felt that he should continue through the Labyrinth''s floors.


    "Understood, Master." Alzara nodded. Since Zach had said as much, she didn''t object any further. They looked at Nora.


    "We need to collect one hundred ears, Young Master."


    "Ears?" He asked doubtfully.


    Alzara''s eyes widened and she raised her head, turning to the side. She pointed at something through the trees.


    "I think she means the ears of those creatures, Master," she said, revealing a creature half the size of a man with green leathery skin, bald heads, and pointy ears sticking right out to the side.


    "That''s right," Nora nodded.


    One by one, similar creatures appeared around them, popping out from bushes, behind trees, and dropping from branches. They crawled out of seemingly nowhere to swarm Zach and his two maids.


    Right. Zach had that effect on monsters. Without Mandra''s, Soara''s, and Yanael''s presence to deter the monsters, it was inevitable Zach and the other two would be swarmed.


    "Feel free to get started whenever," Zach said with a shrug when Alzara and Nora were just standing on either side of him, watching the green-skinned creatures.


    At his words, Alzara and Nora dashed out with their daggers in hand. They did not let the strange humanoid monsters get close to Zach. They killed them and chopped their ears off, gathering a pile in the middle of the carnage. Occasionally, the creatures had weapons or more than simple loincloths on them. Some even had what looked like proper weapons like iron-tipped spears and steel swords.


    Some were bigger, had straighter backs, and were more muscular than others. They could have just been more well-trained or something.


    But Zach had a feeling it was similar to what they had seen on the first floor the first time around. There were different versions of the green-skinned monsters¡ªdifferent evolutions. He confirmed that theory when a big one incomparable to the first ones approached. There was just no way it was the same as the first small ones when it was two heads taller than Zach instead of half his size.


    But it was just a monster on the Labyrinth''s second floor. It didn''t matter how much better it was than the others.


    Zach had struggled with the ratling king back during his first time on the first floor. The Alzara he summoned back then wouldn''t have struggled at all. His current self was even stronger than the Alzara of back then. Needless to say, Alzara right now was incomparably stronger than the Zach of back then.


    It didn''t matter if the oversized and bulky green-skinned monster was stronger than the ratling king. It didn''t stand a chance. A couple of slices and it was on the ground in pieces with the rest of its kin. And just like the rest of its kin, it was missing two ears.


    While taking down all the monsters that came for Zach, Nora and Alzara amassed far more than a hundred ears. But it was only when they were done and gathered around the pile of ears that they moved to the next floor.


    What greeted them this time was another forest. It was denser with more rugged trees this time. And there was no sign of the other maids or Visla.


    "Aren''t there supposed to be rewards when you move on to the next floor?" Zach asked Nora.


    All three of them looked around and felt in their pockets without finding anything. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Maybe the rewards were those good weapons those strange monsters were carrying, Master?" Alzara suggested.


    Zach tilted his head.


    "It''s possible. Whatever. What''s for this floor?" He asked Nora.


    "Eyes, Young Master."


    Zach didn''t even need to ask what eyes or from what monster this time. A loud screech made them all look up. Among the dense treetops, the monsters had already started swarming. Eagle-like monsters with mostly bare human torsos and human-like faces but with beaks had started filling the trees around them.


    They were a strategically more difficult opponent than the ratlings on the first floor and the greenskins on the second floor since they were airborne. Zach could have chased them into the sky if necessary.


    But he didn''t have to. They came to him all on their own like a pack of starved dogs with a piece of fresh meat. Nora and Alzara intercepted them, grabbed their ankles, and threw them into the ground hard enough to kill them.


    This time, they only collected the eyes after all the bird-like monsters were dead, including the different evolutions.

 Chapter 476 Third To Eighth Floors

    Once they teleported to the next floor of the Labyrinth of the Jira, Zach stretched and took a deep breath. He didn''t know if it was the air or what, but the tightness in his chest that had lingered like glue since his fight with Ugor eased up a little. He could breathe more deeply now.


    It was the kind of feeling he didn''t know he had missed.


    He, Nora, and Alzara glanced around. They didn''t find any rewards or treasures in the grass and bushes around them. They weren''t hiding in the trees, either. It was strange since the bird-like monsters hadn''t used weapons. They had used their talons and nothing else.


    But Zach didn''t let it get to him as he looked at Nora.


    The things they needed to collect for the fourth floor of the Labyrinth were the horns on top of the horned rabbits that hopped out of the underbrush to try and skewer Zach.


    Zach noticed a pattern. He hoped it would change soon. Collecting body parts was boring to do and even more boring to watch. It also didn''t live up to the fantasy of the Labyrinth of Jira. Where were the trials, tests, mysteries, and treasures?


    Did he have to scour the entire floor to find anything better than a rusty arrow stuck in the back of a big rabbit with two horns?


    If not for his constitution that attracted all the monsters, he would have probably needed to do just that to find one hundred rabbits. But since the rabbits came to him, they didn''t even get the chance to explore.


    They soon found themselves on the fifth floor.


    Nora and Alzara couldn''t help but wonder if they weren''t leaving the others far behind at this pace. Wouldn''t that make it even more difficult to regroup? How were they supposed to find each other across different floors wider than the Academy''s forest?


    But neither Zach nor his monster-attracting constitution gave them much time to rest.


    The monsters on the fifth floor were wolf-like monsters that walked on two legs with hunched backs. Some of them even had opposable thumbs capable of holding weapons like daggers and swords.


    The body part Nora and Alzara took from them was their heart.


    Interestingly enough, the sixth floor was similar since they needed to take the hearts of monsters that looked and walked like the monsters on the sixth floor. But instead of fur, they had scales. It reminded the three of the Child of the Hydra''s combat state when scales covered most of his body.


    But the Child''s scales had been smaller and finer. More like those of a snake than a big lizard.


    The seventh floor introduced a monster similar to the ones on the second floor. At first, Zach thought it was the big version of the green-skinned ones on the second floor, but they were different. The monsters on the second floor, while green-skinned and humanoid, were fatter, had tusks jutting out of their mouths, and squished faces. They were noticeably stronger as well.


    They still weren''t enough to put a halt to the trio''s speedy advance, though.


    After severing one hundred of their heads, the trio moved on to the eighth floor, where humanoid monsters almost three times as tall as Alzara gathered with large clubs of wood and stone to clobber the intruders. They had long tusks but pointing down, compared to the green monsters'' ones. They had long unruly hair that seemed to grow out of their backs. Their skin was discolored, warty, and dirty.


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    They were the strongest and most annoying monsters they had faced so far. If it hadn''t been for Alzara''s curses, it would have been difficult for Zach and Nora to take them down. No matter how badly they were injured, they just healed in a matter of seconds.


    Unless their heads were cut off in one stroke or their hearts¡ªthe hearts they needed to collect¡ªwere pierced and destroyed, the monsters wouldn''t die. Fortunately, Alzara''s curses of decay and weakness could negate that healing.


    While piling up the hearts to prepare for another transport, Zach and Alzara suddenly turned to the side.


    A lone monster was sprinting through the forest toward them. It was running to them and away from something else. It was probably running from the thing that had burned most of its skin and flesh away while also seeking the enticing meal that was Zach. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach wasn''t used to monsters running away since they only saw red when in his vicinity, but he figured that was another part of the Labyrinth''s trials. An unkillable monster that also knew how to run away.


    Gathering one hundred of their hearts would be pretty difficult. Fortunately, he didn''t have that struggle. He just had to wait for them to come running.


    He did not envy the poor sucker forced to chase the monster.


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he looked behind the monster.


    Someone had burned the monster. That meant they used fire.


    Could it be a coincidence? Possible.


    Was it likely to be a coincidence? Nope.


    Alzara and Nora also realized it. They grabbed their weapons again.


    "There you are, you fast fucker¡­!"


    The Child''s voice trailed off as the monster he was chasing collapsed, black smoke pouring out of its melting corpse. He looked ahead.


    He saw a couple of familiar faces. Instantly, he considered turning around.


    He had wasted a lot of energy flying when he fled from Yanael and then trying to rush through the Labyrinth. He was not in condition to fight that sword-wielding Archangel again.


    But then he paused.


    "Alzara, grab that heart. Let''s go."


    There were only a few faces he recognized. He glanced around the bloody and corpse-ridden clearing.


    He did not sense that Archangel''s presence anywhere. He did not sense the presence of the mage, either.


    Slowly, the Child''s face broke into a grin. An opportunity to get rid of a few pesky flies had been delivered to him on a silver platter.


    The Child leaned forward in the air, the soft red fire beneath his feet pushing him forward.


    He wasn''t letting them go anywhere.

 Chapter 477 Ninth Floor

    Alzara finished grabbing the final heart before retreating back to the pile by Zach and Nora with the Child hot on her heels.


    Without Yanael or Mandra, fighting the Child would be difficult. Their only option was to flee to the ninth floor.


    They were lucky the Child of the Hydra was still scared of Yanael. That momentary hesitation gave them enough room to teleport away to the next floor of the Labyrinth. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Child of the Hydra was frustrated and took out his frustration on his surroundings, turning a large part of the forest into a smoldering wasteland.


    Zach, Nora, and Alzara breathed out in relief as they safely arrived at the ninth floor before the Child could reach them. Zach had put up enough barriers to hold the Child off just in case, but it would have hurt if the Child had broken through even one of them.


    "Well, we found who we were looking for, at least," Zach said with a light smile. Nora was not a big fan of his joke.


    There was no doubting what would have happened if the Child had been faster or if they hadn''t already been ready to move on to the next floor. The Child of the Hydra hadn''t oozed murderous intent because he was a kind soul, after all.


    They would have died. Zach joked about it.


    But Nora couldn''t blame him. How many times hadn''t Zach already been close to death? He had even technically been pronounced dead once. He could joke about it if he wanted.


    Fortunately, he didn''t do more than that. He noticed Nora''s aversion to such jokes. Besides, they weren''t safe yet.


    With the Child''s strength, gathering a hundred hearts from those big monsters wouldn''t take that long. They had to get moving. So, Zach and Alzara looked at Nora.


    She sighed.


    "I''m telling you this in advance, but I only know that this floor is hearts as well. Any floors below this are beyond my knowledge."


    "That''s fine." Zach nodded and glanced around. The monsters should start swarming them soon. The big and wide but surprisingly short trees packed tightly around them made it difficult to see far, but Zach still felt like he should have seen something.


    At the sound of a creaking branch, the three quickly turned to the side to see what they were dealing with this time. They didn''t see anything.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and his gaze slowly rose.


    "Guys¡­" He said ominously. They followed his gaze.


    The branches on the trees were moving.


    The wind wasn''t blowing.


    The monsters this time around were the trees around them. As soon as they realized that, they could feel it. The tree monsters were pretty strong.


    But more than that¡­


    "Do trees even have hearts?" Zach couldn''t help but ask as he clenched his fists and prepared for battle. It looked like he wouldn''t be able to sit this one out without putting unnecessary pressure on Alzara and Nora, who both wielded daggers¡ªless than optimal weapons to cut down trees.


    His fists weren''t much better, but he could handle the branches that were slowly coming down on them.


    Noticing they had been discovered, the tree monsters suddenly increased the speed of their swings.


    Like multi-tailed whips, the branches smacked down with swooshing sounds that sent chills down Zach''s spine. It sounded like it would hurt to be hit by one of those. Thank goodness, they were all good at dodging.


    Zach sharpened his gaze and focused on one tree monster as he activated his Eyes of Truth. He wanted to see if he could detect any weakness or maybe even the location of their hearts.


    He could.


    "It''s not their hearts!" He shouted to the other two who had already started fighting the trees, chopping their branches, and dancing between them.


    "It''s the heartwood!" The center of the trunk, the hard and dense structure going from its base to the top.


    They had to gather, if the trend was the same, one hundred of those. Zach sighed. It was an annoyingly troublesome task. But he didn''t let that affect him as he focused on the task at hand.


    Given enough time, all three of them could handle a tree monster on their own. But it was inefficient.


    Zach and Nora grouped up with Alzara. The two humans grabbed or cut off the branches of one tree monster while Alzara went to town on its body, cutting it up and carving it to pieces. Once it could no longer move and the heartwood was as good as separated from the rest of its body, they moved on to the next.


    Zach could imagine the pain of this floor''s Trial if he hadn''t been involved. All the other floors so far were basically monster hunts in a forest. The Labyrinth entrants would have to search the floor for the monsters they needed to kill.


    After gathering the hundred hearts on the previous floor, they would arrive at this forest and slowly start looking for the next type of monster if they didn''t already know what was waiting for them.


    They would go around the trees, getting closer and closer to them. Maybe, once they didn''t find anything or any monsters, they would sit down and lean against a tree while taking a break.


    That was when the tree monsters would strike and wrap up their victim in a tight, wooden embrace.


    But now, since Zach was involved, the tree monsters couldn''t control themselves. They came looking for him instead, and they didn''t have the patience to use their deceptive appearances to lull Zach into a false sense of safety.


    They wanted his blood, and they did not want to wait. It was the same as with every other monster.


    It was a relief. Zach did not want to spend days looking for monsters with such good camouflage that they were indistinguishable from ordinary trees unless he used his Eyes of Truth when the Child of the Hydra was chasing them. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    It still took them over a day to finish gathering the pieces of heartwood, though.

 Chapter 478 The Tenth Floor

    Zach and Nora were tired to the point where they much preferred sitting on the damp and torn-to-shreds ground. Alzara also showed clear signs of exhaustion. She had needed to use a lot of her cursed energy to fell the trees, even if she only used her Curse of Weakness.


    One hundred big trees with bark harder than common steel was a lot to deal with for the trio.


    But they couldn''t rest forever. It wouldn''t be long until the Child moved to the ninth floor. He wouldn''t have any trouble following the signs of the tree monsters dragging their bodies across the ground toward them even if he ended up far away from them.


    Even if they were tired, they had to continue moving until they could find the others, who were hopefully moving as quickly through the floors as them, or until they could find an opportunity to rest.


    Zach glanced at Nora. She was still slightly out of breath. But she had recovered enough. He got up.


    "Let''s go," he said. The other two nodded and gathered the pieces of heartwood in one place. A moment later, they teleported to the tenth floor.


    The first thing Zach noticed was the hard ground beneath his feet. It was more solid than the soft forest floor from the previous floors. The second thing he noticed was the arrow that lodged itself in that very ground a moment later.


    He looked at the arrow before slowly looking up and toward where it had come from. While raising his gaze, he noticed their surroundings. They looked like they had appeared in the center of a village.


    At first, he thought it was a village similar to the ones on the first floor. They had arrived at a place on the tenth floor with a more evolved version of the floor''s monster.


    That wasn''t it.


    The owner of the arrow looked at them with clear eyes.


    Zach frowned. At first, when he saw the arrow that had been shot at his feet, not at him, he thought it might have been a barbarian.


    He was mistaken again.


    It was a fair person with blonde hair. Those two traits were already exceedingly rare on their own among the Sesha. But the archer also had long pointy ears unlike anything Zach had ever seen on a human.


    Either the archer was a strange human, or they weren''t human.


    As he glanced around and confirmed the presence of several other beings of similar appearance, Zach could only conclude they weren''t human. If he had to guess, it was probably another race similar to Desert Witches or Angels. Human-like in appearance with a similar degree of sentience.


    They were not humanoid monsters.


    "Hello?" He raised a hand cautiously.


    The archer pointed at him with another arrow.


    "Are you from the Empire or the Sesha?"


    ''The Sesha?'' Zach thought confused.


    "The Sesha have been here?" He asked. Of course, they had been here, he realized as soon as he did. Where else would they have gone? They hadn''t seen the barbarians on the previous floors. That could only mean they had continued going down.


    But for the residents of the village with wooden huts blending into the trees to use that term¡­It meant they had talked to the Sesha and gotten along with them over any members of the Empire since most citizens called the Sesha barbarians.


    "We haven''t just been here. We are still here," a tall man in typical light, brown clothes stepped out from one of the huts and looked at Zach.


    The man narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zach. That fair skin was an indication of his privilege. He hadn''t lived his life on the harsh and sunny Steppes. But he wore Sesha robes. The maids accompanying him wore traditional imperial maid attire, though.


    "Answer the question, oddling. Where are you from?" The man asked again, crossing his arms. Zach noticed other barbarians also appear from the same hut and others. He was suddenly surrounded by dozens of barbarians and long-eared beauties of both genders.


    "It''s a little complicated¡­" Zach wasn''t sure how to go about this. If the tribe here was in favor of peace, he wouldn''t mind trying to tell the truth, even if Visla wasn''t with him. But if they were against it, they might try to silence him, especially if he revealed his identity.


    "A skinless, then," the man scoffed.


    Zach frowned. From the mocking look in the man''s eyes, he could tell it was an insult. But now wasn''t the time to dig into that.


    "Whatever. What tribe are you from?"


    The man surprisingly wasn''t insulted by Zach''s rude attitude.


    "The Ugri Tribe," he answered confidently.


    Zach looked at him blankly. He didn''t know many tribes. He didn''t recognize it.


    The man frowned. That wasn''t the reaction he expected. Maybe Zach hadn''t heard him.


    "I said, ''The Ugri Tribe,''" he repeated.


    "Yeah, I heard you. But I haven''t heard of the Ugri Tribe. Is it a big one?" He asked innocently. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    The man with dark hair tied in knots behind his head frowned with a hint of anger.


    "It''s only among the four biggest tribes on the Steppes," he explained with frustration in his voice.


    Zach''s eyes widened.


    "Oh, have you heard of the Children of the Hydra, then?" He asked, moving on to more important matters.


    "The fairytales?" The man asked, too surprised by the sudden question to get hung up about the renown of his tribe.


    "Exactly."


    "Yeah. What about them?"


    "They are not fairytales, and at least one of the Children is coming here soon. I think others might already be in the Labyrinth."


    It was the Ugri member''s turn to look blankly at Zach. He did that for a moment.


    "Hah!" He burst into laughter. After the initial burst, he continued chuckling, and the other members of his tribe slowly joined in.


    "...That''s hilarious," he said after a while. "You think I''m gonna let you go now?" He asked, grabbing the saber at his hip.

 Chapter 479 Not-Child

    "No. I thought¡ªhoped¡ªyou would take me seriously," Zach said, tugging the corner of his mouth to the side in disappointment.


    "But I guess that''s my fault. I shouldn''t have said that the Children of the Hydra are involved. I should have just said that a group of powerful arsonists are torching both imperial cities and Sesha camps. Me, Visla Maura, and the Nilma chief killed one of them so now another is coming after us."


    The man from the Ugri tribe hesitated.


    "That does sound a little more believable," He admitted. He did not let go of the handle of his weapon. "It doesn''t mean I have any reason to listen to you, though." He took a step toward Zach.


    "Hold it, Borso." However, the archer who shot the arrow stopped him with a smooth and melodious voice. Zach still couldn''t tell whether they were a woman or a man. Maybe these long-eared people didn''t have that kind of distinction.


    The archer lowered their bow and jumped down from their tree. They approached Zach, carefully scrutinizing him and his two companions.


    "My name is Viomin. I take it you have not come here with hostile intentions?" She asked.


    "I''m Zach¡­No. I''m here to look for the guy chasing me, my family, and possibly the bottom of the Labyrinth while I''m at it. These two are Nora and Alzara, two of my attendants. We got separated from the rest of our group when entering the second floor. I''d be most grateful if you happen to know anything about a group of maids."


    Viomin glanced at Nora and Alzara.


    "Unfortunately, we have not heard of any maids other than the two next to you. But this village is not the only one on this floor. They might have just ended up on another when they cleared the ninth floor."


    "I see¡­" Zach was a little disappointed.


    "You mentioned what sounded like a dangerous group targeting you," Viomin continued, not caring much for Zach''s disappointment. "Do you mind elaborating?"


    Zach nodded. Viomin was taking what he had said seriously. That was a good thing. If the Child came here looking for them, he probably wouldn''t be very merciful in his questioning. If he could get Viomin''s village''s people and the Ugri tribe to help him, they might even be able to kill the Child.


    Zach told Viomin in brief strokes about what he and Visla had discovered, how they had chased the first arsonist to the Nilma tribe''s camp, and then about their fight and ensuing pursuit of the second Child.


    All the while, Borso listened without interrupting. This was too detailed for it to be made-up on the spot. Either, Zach was scheming something profound, or he was telling the truth.


    The problem came with calling the arsonists Children of the Hydra. He didn''t want to believe in fairytales. Zach didn''t obsess over what to call them.


    Besides, they hadn''t confirmed that part.


    What they had confirmed was the fighting strength of the not-Child of the Hydra.


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    However, the teleportation location from one floor to the next was random. The not-Child could have ended up on the other side of the floor.


    That was why Viomin and Borso weren''t going to raise an ambush or set their defenses to the max. They would raise the alertness level a little. But considering they had shot an arrow at Zach''s feet the moment he arrived, they were already alert.


    They would mostly focus on spreading this information through the floor to warn the other tribes and villages about the looming potential threat of a wild and crazy arsonist. They also included Zach and his maids in the information they spread.


    If Yanael and the others heard about it, they would know where to start looking for Zach and the others or that he had been on the tenth floor and left already.


    The not-Child was alone in the Labyrinth. If he posed a threat to the residents of the Labyrinth or the other Labyrinth entrants, he would be met with their united wrath.


    The problem came with the degree of unison.


    The Sesha got along pretty well with many of the villages on the tenth floor. Both were people who lived off nature and sought harmony. They respected their elders and ancestors and held similar enough social structures.


    The Labyrinth entrants from the Empire, however, were a little different. They did not put much worth on the villages. The villages and their residents were poor. They were barely worth trading with, and they were not worth taking over.


    The Evandiels had established a relationship of mutual exchange.


    The villages helped out if necessary. In exchange, the entrants related to Evandiel, whether it be guards of the household or direct family members, brought along goods from the outside. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It wasn''t a deep relationship, and it had ceased to exist once the Evandiels wordlessly broke it when they disappeared.


    Since the villages were self-reliant, they hadn''t needed the items brought by the Evandiels, but they valued the weight of words. The Evandiels had broken their word without so much as an excuse.


    So, when the Sesha came and asked if they could stay for a bit and leave the weaker members of the tribes in their villages while the rest looked for deeper floors, the villagers saw no reason to refuse.


    The Sesha weren''t bad people. They brought gifts and were willing to engage in a deep cultural exchange.


    The long-eared villagers who only knew of the Labyrinth and a little about the Empire were happy about it.


    Zach was once again disappointed.


    How many had his parents and siblings let down with their actions? How many had they left behind? How much trust had they broken?


    And for what?


    Zach couldn''t figure it out, and he couldn''t understand it.


    But by the sounds of it, he was on the right track. It had something to do with the Labyrinth.


    Viomin had said that no one had seen any troops of Evandiel enter the Labyrinth''s floors or go deeper. There wasn''t a single strand of orange hair in the entire Labyrinth to be found.


    They were hiding their tracks.

 Chapter 480 Good Point

    Zach wanted to continue diving deeper into the Labyrinth to search for his family once he figured out that they were most likely deep down. But he and the other two needed to rest. Staying in Viomin''s village for a day gave them some breathing room. They could also listen for rumors about Yanael and the others. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The ninth floor had been a bit of a struggle to clear, and if the long-eared people on the tenth floor¡ªthe elves¡ªwere to be believed, the eleventh floor would be more dangerous. Every tenth floor was ''safe'' but signified a change in scenery and difficulty.


    The tenth floor was safe since one would almost always teleport to an elven village when clearing the ninth floor. But there were monsters and the like in the woods around. And it wouldn''t be safe if the elves were hostile.


    However, for Zach, Nora, and Alzara, the hostility they faced came from the Ugri tribe and its members in Viomin''s village. But they didn''t do anything. It was mostly Borso dropping passive-aggressive comments about them being from the Empire and whatnot.


    Zach just had to ask him why he was hiding in the Labyrinth and staying on the tenth floor to get him to shut up, though. Borso didn''t know why the tribes who took Ciel decided to enter the Labyrinth of Jira, and he didn''t have the guts to ask those who knew. Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire


    He also hadn''t had the guts to follow deeper down after facing the tree monsters on the ninth floor. So, he had stayed on the tenth floor and trained with the elves.


    Until Zach started to tease him about it.


    When Zach, Nora, and Alzara were about to go through the gate in the depths of the village to the eleventh floor, Borso showed up with his gear, a bow, his sword, and a quiver of arrows.


    "No," Zach said immediately. He could guess what Borso wanted.


    "Yes," Borso answered. "I''m coming. You can''t mock me for staying on the tenth floor and then stop me from going to the eleventh." It was a sound argument.


    "Go on your own, then. I don''t want dead weight dragging us down." It was easily refuted.


    "I''m not dead weight! I just got cold feet a little. I''ll be helpful! Didn''t you say you were looking for Visla Maura? I''m familiar with the Maura tribe''s markings. If she''s left traces, I''ll find them. And what are you going to do if you run into more Sesha? Tell them the ancestors are guiding you?" Borso rapidfired all the arguments and reasons he had come up with last night to convince Zach to accept him.


    "..." Zach stared at him blankly. He didn''t care much about Borso''s helpfulness, but he raised a good point when he mentioned the part about the Sesha.


    As far as Zach knew, at least three tribes¡ªthe three biggest tribes¡ªhad entered the Labyrinth of Jira. He hadn''t seen many of them yet. Part of that was because each floor was big. It was like finding needles in haystacks when he wasn''t even trying to find the needles. Another big part was that few of the Sesha had stayed on the single-digit floors.


    They had mostly either stayed on the tenth floor in the elven villages or continued deeper into the Labyrinth.


    There were a handful of the Ugri tribe in Viomin''s village. There were thousands of Sesha in the Ugri tribe.


    Viomin didn''t know how many elven villages there were on the tenth floor, but it was anywhere between a dozen and a hundred.


    At most, a thousand Sesha had stayed on the tenth floor. That meant there could still be thousands more on the following floors.


    Borso had been easy to deal with. But he was relatively weak, and he respected Viomin and the other elves of the village. When they asked him to cool his beans and let them listen to Zach, he obeyed. And while he was prejudiced against the Empire and its citizens, he wasn''t blinded by the generational feud.


    He saw that Zach was just another young man, not an embodiment of an enemy that needed to be defeated or anything.


    Zach thought about the Woet, Yota, Toma, and Rib tribes. If not for the Woet chief''s and Visla''s protection, they would have torn him to pieces. The Nilme tribe too, if not for him concealing his identity with hair dye.


    The big tribes, the ones who led this invasion and that had stood on the forefront of the enmity between the two sides for the last decades and centuries, they wouldn''t easily entertain Zach''s words without someone of their own to speak up for him.


    After a long silence, Zach sighed.


    "Fine. But if you can''t keep up, don''t blame me for ignoring your dignity," Zach said before turning around and walking into the stone archway leading to the eleventh floor.


    "Hey, what does that mean? What do you mean ignoring my dignity?" Borso asked while hurriedly going after Zach, Nora, and Alzara.


    "Hey! Ski¨CZach! Why would you ignore my dignity?!" He questioned, growing increasingly worried. Zach didn''t answer him. He just walked through the vortex with the other two while thinking about what the elves had said about the following floors.


    The eleventh to the twentieth floors were apparently the first big hurdle all the Labyrinth entrants would face as they tried to reach the depths of the Labyrinth. It was what separated truly capable Labyrinth entrants from those who could only hunt monsters.


    Everything, not just the monsters, worked against those brave or foolish enough to enter the floors. The environment, the weather, the monsters, and one''s perception were out for one''s life.


    The monsters, anywhere else, weren''t overly strong. But in their natural habitat, they became dangerous threats.


    Letting down your guard for even a moment could spell death.


    Zach wasn''t worried in the least. He had the most reliable person in such circumstances by his side.


    The second part of the Labyrinth was a desert.

 Chapter 481 Right At Home

    The loose sand beneath Zach''s feet shifted and slipped whenever he adjusted his weight. The sun glaring down at them from above was harsh and seemed intent on boring holes in their skin. The stale air didn''t help.


    Zach, Nora, and Borso were not used to the harsh environment nor walking on the sandy dunes.


    Alzara, however, had not felt this comfortable ever since Zach summoned her. She had to constantly remind herself to slow down since every step she took brought her ahead of the others. The sun on her skin was like war kisses, and the air filled her lungs and body with energy. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Alzara was excited to be back in a place similar to home. It didn''t feel quite the same as home or a real desert, but the Labyrinth had done a good job. No one other than a skilled Desert Witch would have felt the difference.


    The sun was a little too bright for how warm it was. The air was stale and dry, but the faint wind wasn''t suffocating the way it was in a real desert. And the sand beneath their feet was a little too loose.


    "Are you alright, Master?" Alzara asked after stopping herself again. She saw Zach hang with his head when she glanced back.


    Unlike fighting a few monsters, this kind of environment put deeper and more thorough pressure on one''s body. It wasn''t as harsh, but it could be worse for someone whose entire body was weakened.


    Zach looked up, startled. He had just been busy thinking about something.


    "Yeah, I feel fine," He answered. It was almost surprising how well he felt. He wondered if it was due to his connection with Alzara, the Desert Witch.


    "By the way¡­" He started saying, earning the attention of the other two as well, who were busy trying to figure out how to walk on sand without getting too tired. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Aren''t the elves strange?" He asked. The other three looked at him.


    "Because of the ears, you mean?" Borso asked.


    Zach shook his head.


    "Their existence. They are sentient. Both in the Labyrinth of Syst and the Labyrinth of Vidur, the only sentient beings were ones on a level beyond mortals." Soara, Patient Zero, and Blizzard were the sentient beings Zach had met in the other Labyrinths. They were remnants of their destroyed worlds.


    "So?" Borso asked, not understanding the issue.


    "Who are the elves? Where do they come from? Why can''t they leave the Labyrinth? How did they¡ª" Zach''s mouth snapped shut. He wanted to ask how the elves survived the destruction of their world, which had led to the creation of this Labyrinth. But Borso''s presence forced the restriction into place, preventing him from saying anything about that.


    Zach didn''t know whether the Labyrinth of Jira was created under similar circumstances as the other two he had visited, but he had no reason to think otherwise.


    The Labyrinth of Syst had used a dilapidated city and a temple to house the first eleven Trials. Soara had sacrificed a piece of her strength to save her world''s legacy and escape the destruction of herself and her world. She had made the Labyrinth to look for challengers who could clear the twelfth Trial and possibly defeat the enemies who destroyed her world and then help her regain the strength she lost.


    Blizzard had cut out a slice of their world to trap Patient Zero and the monsters she had infected. The ice bird didn''t want the Blight to spread. At the same time, by creating the Labyrinth, it could wait for people to challenge it and eventually defeat Patient Zero.


    But the Labyrinth of Jira¡­


    It was more than just a tiny part of a world on the brink of ruin. By the looks of it, a world at least as big as the one Zach was from could fit in the Labyrinth. And none of it looked like it was about to be destroyed.


    The monsters they had seen so far on the first to tenth floors couldn''t be found anywhere on the Gjula Continent. That included the elves. However, the monsters on the floors so far didn''t seem like they were responsible for anything other than the death of humans or other monsters.


    They weren''t eroding the world or the Labyrinth the way Patient Zero''s Blight monsters had. And while they were strange, compared to the native monsters of the Gjula Continent, they weren''t the abominations Zach had seen in the memories of the deity statues in the Labyrinth of Syst.


    He could only assume that the monsters were a natural part of the ecosystem. However, they were non-sentient beings that didn''t care about the passage of time.


    The elves, on the other hand, were not only fully sentient, but they were also aware that they were living inside a Labyrinth. Their home was a sliver of land attached to an entire world. They had been living like that for ages. The Labyrinths had existed on the Gjula continent longer than recorded history covered.


    For all that time, the elves had seemingly lived their lives the same as usual.


    Zach couldn''t quite put his finger on it. But something wasn''t adding up.


    Zach sighed and looked at Borso.


    "You can''t read lips, right?"


    Borso shook his head. Before he could ask why, Zach spoke again.


    "Bear with this for a little. I need to talk to these two." He snapped his fingers, and a soundproof barrier appeared around Borso.


    "If you knew that there was an entire world many times the size of this place out there, wouldn''t you want to visit it?" He asked. Unlike Borso, Alzara and Nora were aware of the secret behind the Labyrinths. They were supposed to be the remnants of broken worlds.


    That meant the elves had lost their original home. The current elves probably didn''t remember it since they would have spent many generations in the Labyrinth by now, but Zach doubted a people similar to the Sesha would have forgotten their ancestors'' wishes.


    "Maybe it''s just impossible for them to leave the Labyrinth, Young Master," Nora suggested. Her eyes widened. She realized what Zach meant as soon as she said it.


    "I wouldn''t stop trying just because it''s impossible."

 Chapter 482 Twelfth Floor

    Nora and Alzara looked at Zach. He was right. If they were confined to the Labyrinth, a place that seemed fixed in time, while fully aware of an entire world just on the other side of a gate, they would stop at nothing to leave.


    But they hadn''t even heard of elves before this, much less anything about them leaving the Labyrinth. Either, the elves were more different than their long ears suggested, or something was deeply off about the entire situation.


    However, it was impossible for them to confirm anything without more information.


    "Is this something we need to care about, Master?" Alzara suddenly asked. They didn''t know about the elves until just now, and it didn''t seem like the elves were plotting their destruction or anything. They were just living their lives.


    "...I guess that''s true. But it just feels like we''re missing something."


    Alzara suddenly reached out and grabbed Zach and Nora, plucking them away from the monster that suddenly burst out of the ground in a shower of sand. The big, rat-like thing covered in sand-colored armor lost its target and dove back into the ground. No, it tried to dive back into the ground.


    The dagger lodged in its spine, paralyzing it, stopped the monster.


    Zach undid the barrier around Borso.


    "Get ready," he said while covering the ground beneath them in a barrier. Several thuds immediately rang out as more of those monsters crashed into it when they tried to dive at Zach.


    But they couldn''t kill them if the monsters were trapped underground. Fortunately, the monsters weren''t obsessed with ambushes. They crawled out of the ground outside the barrier''s range before trying to get to Zach. They did not get past Alzara and Nora. Some of them managed to sneak past Borso.


    Alzara had always been swift and agile with movements like a ghost whenever she fought.


    But on the desert sand, where not even the armored rat-like monsters couldn''t guarantee their footing, she was unstoppable. She didn''t disturb even a single grain of sand when she flickered across the desert around Zach, dicing the monsters and feeding the yellow sand their red blood.


    Nora, who usually fought similarly to Alzara, didn''t even try to imitate her this time. Those moves weren''t something a human could imitate. It would be like a human trying to imitate a fish swimming in the water.


    Instead, she secured her footing on the barrier around Zach and fought defensively. She didn''t need to kill the monsters. She just needed to stop them from getting to Zach. Alzara could do the killing.


    It didn''t take long for Borso to understand why Zach was worried about him being a dead weight. Alzara dominated the sandy dunes.


    However, compared to her, Nora was only slightly better than him. And Zach wasn''t doing anything at all. Who was the real deadweight?


    Determined not to be outdone by either Alzara or Nora, Borso doubled his efforts in cutting down the monsters until no more came. While they gathered the central pieces of their armor, a diamond-shaped rock-solid part from the monsters'' chests, Borso looked over at Zach.


    "Are you cursed?" He couldn''t help but ask.


    He had accompanied the hunting parties on the first nine floors. Even when they used lures, lures that stank, they had not gathered this many monsters. And by the unsurprised looks on Zach''s and the other two''s faces, this wasn''t the first time.


    Borso had also noticed how all the monsters had gunned straight for Zach like their lives depended on it.


    "I might as well be," Zach answered with a sigh. He didn''t elaborate. Borso didn''t push. He could tell that it had brought Zach some suffering over the years. He gave the young man with dyed black hair a sympathetic look.


    Zach just didn''t want to talk to Borso more than necessary. In fact, his monster-attraction ability had brought him a great deal of convenience. He never hungered. He could gather almost endless, though mostly basic, alchemical materials for Alzara. And it was a great source of levels for his summoning interface.


    But it was worrisome.


    Lexi had mentioned it was due to something leaking from him. Alzara and the others had mentioned something similar.


    But they had no idea what that something was, nor what do do about it. The world essence energy had helped when it floated around in his body, and his more threatening familiars could suppress the monsters'' ravenous instincts with their bloodlust.


    If something from the depths of him that was precious enough to whip most monsters into a frenzy was leaking from him, Zach wanted it to stop. He wanted something that precious all for himself.


    The strange thing was that it hadn''t been noticeable before he became a summoner. And it only became worse as he grew stronger.


    Zach didn''t like it, but there wasn''t anything he could do about it, either.


    With another sigh, Zach and the others teleported to the twelfth floor.


    They looked around in confusion.


    "...Didn''t Viomin say all the floors up to the twentieth were desert?" Zach asked, glancing at Borso who had the most contact with Viomin. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "She did¡­" He nodded slowly, looking around in confusion.


    There was not a speck of sand around them. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    The only thing around them was glass. The ground was a seemingly endless floor of wavy glass. At the bottom of the glass, the darkness might be desert, but it was hard to tell with how the glass bent and tricked with the light.


    "This¡­" However, Zach remembered something. It was something he had first read in a book and then seen for himself during one of Alzara''s experiments.


    "Sand can turn to glass under extreme heat, right?"


    Alzara nodded. It wasn''t as straightforward as all glass turning to glass just by heating it a little. To make proper glass, a few other materials were needed and a specific and controlled temperature.


    But there was no denying what Zach was hinting at.


    Someone had torched the twelfth floor.

 Chapter 483 Ocean Of Glass

    "I don''t think our guy could have done this," Zach remarked. The Child of the Hydra they ran into did not have the firepower to melt what was at least a big part of the floor into glass. If he did, he would have used it at the Nilma tribe''s camp.


    Alzara nodded.


    "This happened a while ago, Master. Before we met him on the ninth floor," she said.


    "Any idea how long ago?" Zach asked.


    Alzara shook her head. She knew it wasn''t recent but that was it.


    Zach sighed and scratched the back of his head as he looked around with a frown.


    They were most likely right. There were more Children of the Hydra in the Labyrinth, and they were stronger than the two they had faced. Zach was not confident about facing them, especially not without Yanael, Soara, and Mandra.


    But that was further into the future.


    Right now, they had another predicament.


    "How are we supposed to get to the next floor if all the monsters are already dead and encased in glass?" Borso asked, bringing what was on Zach''s mind into the air.


    "This happened recently enough that the elves on the tenth floor weren''t aware of it," Zach pointed out, half-ignoring Borso. Borso sighed. He had a feeling it wasn''t entirely intentional.


    "They seemed to know perfectly well before the tribes proceeded deeper."


    "That could mean some of the Sesha encountered one or more of the Children and it led to this." Zach pointed at the glassy ground.


    Borso''s expression darkened. That was a very plausible situation, but it was not good news. He wasn''t sure if any of the warriors he knew could survive something that could turn a desert into glass.


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he thought about how the two Children he met had used their flames. Their most powerful attacks had been exhaling powerful fire through their mouths.


    The first had done it when burning the camp and the town. Mandra had analyzed the burn pattern and deduced that he stood in the middle and just exhaled fire that spread in all directions.


    Zach had seen it for himself with the second Child.


    Zach knelt and touched the glass with his fingers.


    There was no reason the third Child would use it differently.


    That meant the subtle wave-like formations in the glass, like ripples on water, weren''t from the wind or the state of the sand before it turned to glass. They were an after-effect of the Child spewing fire.


    "Let''s follow the waves," Zach said, standing up and doing just that. They could follow them to the edge of the glassy area and hopefully find monsters to proceed to the thirteenth floor.


    And get closer to the one who turned the twelfth floor to glass?


    Zach didn''t see a reason to rush that part. Instead, finding traces of the battle and more clues to what happened seemed like a better idea.


    There had to be a reason to unleash a strike this powerful, after all.


    The second Child had done it when he realized simple fire shots wouldn''t be enough. The first Child had done it because it was the simplest way to get rid of the town and the camp.


    Would the third Child be the same, or did they have another reason to do it?


    Borso was hesitant. What if they, instead of finding traces, found the one responsible for the glassy transformation? What if they found the aftermath? He wasn''t sure he could stomach seeing what would remain of his people after an incident like this.


    Zach could guess what Borso was thinking.


    He refrained from saying that there probably wouldn''t remain much of anything from his people if they had been caught by the fire that turned the desert to glass.


    Slowly, the waves in the glass became larger and clearer. The power that had made them was more intense than at the outskirts. They could also feel it in the air.


    The fiery, burning heat had yet to completely dissipate. It was difficult to think it had happened several days maybe weeks ago. It grew a little hotter but not unbearably so as they approached the epicenter of the blast.


    Zach and the others curiously looked around, looking for any kind of trace other than the rippling pattern in the glass. It didn''t take long for them to find it but only because there wasn''t much to find.


    "This¡­" Borso started saying, unsure how to continue. There was only one way the scene in front of them could be true. But it was unbelievable.


    They had felt the remnants of the power that melted the desert. It was scary.


    Yet, in spite of that, one area in the center of the glass was untouched by the translucent material. It was an island of sand in an ocean of glass. It was just large enough for a person to stand on with comfort.


    "I don''t think we''re the only ones fighting the Children," Zach said. He didn''t elaborate, but the others nodded. That was the only explanation. Experience new stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    Someone strong enough to fight the Child had done just that, and they had overcome the powerful fire of the Child''s lineage. It gave them hope. They weren''t alone in this fight. The Children weren''t the only powerful ones.


    However, there were no traces of further fighting or blood or anything. The fight most likely hadn''t concluded here. They had moved on.


    That meant Zach and the others had to do the same if they wanted to catch up to either side.


    Zach stomped on the glass once, leaving a footprint and sending cracks deep into the ground. He was telling Yanael and the others, should they come there, that he had already been there. They would recognize his foot print. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same time, Zach also figured out how to move to the next floor.


    If there weren''t enough monsters for them to kill, it was impossible to clear the floor. That wasn''t okay. The Labyrinth wanted them to go deeper.


    Zach felt something pull on them.

 Chapter 484 Brave Soldiers

    "Lahso, Garad," The second imperial prince, Yan, said before glancing to his other side, where a purple-haired woman stood. "Miss Oria."


    They listened without tearing their eyes away from the horizon. Yan looked in the same direction.


    The barbarian army was kicking up a cloud of dust as they moved toward Mara.


    "It looks like the negotiation has officially failed," Yan commented.


    He didn''t know why, but the Byuwil tribe was more hostile to the Empire than any of the others they had seen so far. They also employed more ruthless tactics. They did not hold back.


    If not for Zach managing to establish a ceasefire in two places already, Yan wouldn''t have even entertained the thought of a ceasefire with the Byuwil tribe.


    Burning several small towns, outposts, and entire caravans and convoys of supplies was too much. They did not take prisoners of war or let the women and children go. They turned every imperial citizen they encountered into a pile of ash and bone.


    If Yan hadn''t seen and experienced a lot on the battlefield since he separated from Zach, that would have driven him mad with rage. But now he knew that the only way to prevent more people from experiencing the same fate was to end the war.


    That was more important than revenge or making the Byuwil tribe pay for their deeds.


    However, if the Byuwil tribe wasn''t willing to listen to them, there was only one way to end the war.


    Yan turned around and looked at the army beneath the city wall. He saw only brave warriors who would help him see through that end. He took a deep breath. It was time to make use of his one talent.


    "Men, women¡ªBrave soldiers!" He shouted, his voice spreading across the city. It silenced the clamor of nervously shifting and chatting soldiers. They listened with attention as Yan, the imperial prince¡ªno, the commander, spoke.


    "I had not set foot on the battlefield until a few weeks ago. I did not know the horrors of war nor the bravery of the Empire''s citizens! I was foolish. I was ignorant. I lived a sheltered life in the safety of the capital. I know now that it was only possible thanks to you and your forefathers who fight and fought for this land.


    "I could not have been more different from all of you!


    "I am ashamed to say that I would not have given any of you so much as a second look a month ago.


    "But today, I am proud to call each and every one of you my brothers and sisters! You all make me proud! And I know you will make me proud again.


    "Today, we don''t fight for the ones like me. We don''t fight for the privileged nobles in the capital who have not seen so much as a drop of blood. We don''t fight for the Emperor who refuses to send aid.


    "We fight for our friends! Our families! Our lovers!


    "Today, we fight for our lives!"


    Yan could feel the spirit in the soldiers rise. Their hearts were beating and their blood was boiling. He knew because he knew his own was doing the same.


    Unlike the ones down there, he wasn''t fighting. He couldn''t fight. His life was in their hands. He was fortunate. The soldiers were the most trustworthy people he had ever met.


    He wasn''t worried about them losing, even if their loss would mean his death.


    Victory was theirs. He was convinced. And he was convincing the soldiers of it too.


    As he closed his eyes, he could hear the stampeding barbarians from behind. He could feel it in the soles of his feet.


    He opened his eyes. They glowed with fervor and white light.


    "Open the gates!" He roared. Instantly, the gates were steadily cranked open, and the army spilled out of the city. They lined up.


    Several thousand soldiers. Some had fought more times than they could remember. Others were fighting for the first time.


    All of them stood shoulder to shoulder, their breaths steaming in the morning air. Some had lumps in their throats, others in their stomachs. A few were just waiting, waiting for the barbarians.


    Their armors, shields, and weapons rustled as they breathed or shifted to get rid of the kinks in their posture.


    Yan saw it all. He took it all in as he drew a deep breath.


    "RAISE YOUR WEAPONS!"


    Yan''s voice boomed across the battlefield. The soldiers weren''t surprised. It was louder than usual, but who could blame him? This was the deciding battle.


    The Sesha were surprised but chalked it up to magic. They could just ignore it.


    It wasn''t magic, at least not ordinary magic.


    "Take a look at the men and women by your sides!


    "That is who you are fighting for!


    "I will see you bring each other back here! I will see you win this war!


    "Breathe, my brave soldiers!"


    The soldiers, who had been unable to breathe due to tension and nervousness took deep breaths. The air flowed into their bodies and reinvigorated them.


    "Jump, my brave soldiers!"


    Their legs and bodies, stiff from the chilly morning air and the armor jumped. Their muscles, forced to activate, relaxed.


    "My brave soldiers, they say a good laugh prolongs life. And I''ll be damned if any of you die before me. My hair is already white, dammit! Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Laugh, my brave soldiers!"


    The soldiers chuckled, the last of their nervousness fading due to the warmth in their bellies.


    "Good! Now¡­March!"


    At Yan''s signal, drums lined up on the wall started beating, signaling the tempo the soldiers had to keep as they moved to meet the barbarians.


    But even without the drums, the soldiers moved in perfect sync. When one stepped forward, the others also stepped forward. The soldiers moved as one.


    It was what Yan liked to see. He grew even more satisfied as the army gradually split into five divisions.


    It was a subtle split with less than two steps between each division, but it was enough for him to see it. The distance between each soldier was less than a single step, after all.


    Yan clenched his fights so tight his knuckles whitened.


    He had done all he could so far.


    He hoped it would be enough.

 Chapter 485 Five Divisions

    Yan had naturally read up on military strategies and formations since he first stepped foot on the battlefield. He was not talented enough at wielding a weapon to make up for the time he had spent doing everything but training since he was young.


    The only thing he could contribute with on the battlefield was his mind.


    Phalanxes, arrow formation, spear formations, and so on were great. They were reliable. But they were also predictable. Moreover, as Yan studied different tactics, formations, and strategies, he noticed something unrelated to specific formations but connected to them all.


    The formation he used or asked his troops to use wasn''t important. What was important was the enemies'' actions and reactions.


    The war between generals and commanders was a mind game with the troops as pieces and resources.


    Yan would never think of the soldiers fighting down there as pawns, mere pieces on a game board. He knew they were more than that. That was why he was confident he would win.


    He knew his soldiers inside and out. He knew how they would react, how they would act, and how they would respond to his orders.


    Yan watched without blinking as his troops advanced toward the stampeding barbarians. Since he knew how his troops would react, he only had to figure out the enemies'' movements now.


    After encountering the barbarians and skirmishing with the Byumil tribe a few times, Yan had a superficial grasp of the way they fought.


    The Empire''s troops valued structure, discipline, and order. They repeated the motions in training and practiced moves that had been honed through centuries of skilled imperial warriors lending their experience to the soldiers of the future.


    The Empire''s swordsmanship and spearmanship were built on the legacies of the soldiers and warriors who established the Empire.


    Throughout the years, the Empire''s rudimentary weapon arts and techniques had come close to perfection. By repeating the movements of their seniors, the soldiers would make an impact on the battlefield, regardless of how talented or untalented they were.


    They only needed to put in the work.


    The Eastern techniques had also been influenced over the generations of fighting against barbarians. It was quicker and more cautious than the standard techniques of the central region.


    The Eastern troops had learned and adapted to the way the barbarians fought just as how the barbarians had learned and adapted to the Empire''s plate armor.


    The barbarians fought savagely and used their lightness to their advantage. They targeted the weaknesses and openings in the soldiers'' armor to whittle them down. That was only possible when they had the leeway on the battlefield to fight almost one-on-one with the soldiers.


    In theory, the Empire''s troops fought in unison while the barbarians fought individually.


    Since they were usually on equal standing, it was easy to assume that the barbarians'' individual strength was greater than the soldiers''. It might be true. But it also might not be since in reality, far from the fancy theory, it was every man for himself on the battlefield.


    Training, showering, and sleeping with your fellow soldiers built a strong bond. The harsher the training, the stronger the bond. If that bond held up during live combat, they would naturally be undefeated against any single opponent unless they were abnormally strong or skilled.


    However, there was nothing as good at severing that bond as the fear of death and the blade of a barbarian a hair from the throat.


    Only soldiers who didn''t fear death and shared each others'' thoughts would be able to fight as they did during training.


    Soldiers like that didn''t exist.


    But the fear of death could be overcome with bravery. And they didn''t need to share each others'' thoughts to act like one. They could replace their thoughts with the orders of their commander.


    The soldiers didn''t think more than necessary. They marched forward. The ones in the front glared at the barbarians stampeding toward them.


    Just like the imperial troops, the barbarians had a shield wall in the front. Shields made of wood, bone, and hide.


    The imperial shields were made of wood and metal. Both sides supported the shields with spears, pikes, and halberds.


    Yan signaled for the drummers to increase the pace. As they did, the booming drum beats filling the battlefield spurred the troops into a swift march. Again.


    With less than fifty strides between them, both sides dove into a sprint toward the enemy.


    "Third Division! Pull ahead!"


    The troops were already sprinting. As if he didn''t care about that, Yan ordered the third to increase their pace even further with his voice that covered the battlefield, temporarily drowning out even the drums.


    The Third Division heard him. They listened. Their bodies grew lighter as a new source of strength fueled their pumping legs. The division in the middle of the imperial army pulled ahead.


    It was a variation on the arrow formation.


    The Third Division would bear the brunt of the barbarians'' shield wall and push into it. It was a hard task, but the soldiers had no objections. The harder it was for them, the lighter it was for the others.


    As Yan expected, the barbarians in the front reacted to the Third Division. They gathered more strength in the center of their troops. As the barbarians in the front moved, gradually the ones in the back did the same.


    It was only natural. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire


    While they fought individually compared to the imperial troops, they lived and breathed the same air. The barbarians still moved together.


    "Third Division, halt! First and Fifth Division, advance!" Yan shouted five seconds before the soldiers and barbarians clashed.


    It was the kind of micromanaging that was only possible thanks to Yan''s voice reaching the battlefield.


    His soldiers listened without hesitation.


    The Third Division stopped almost dead in their tracks and braced themselves for impact. The Second and Fourth Divisions closed in and supported them from the sides.


    The First and Fifth Divisions felt the same burst of energy that the Third Division had felt. It helped them pick up even more speed in the last few steps before charging into the weakened flanks of the barbarian army.


    The war had begun. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 486 Eighteenth Floor

    At first, Zach didn''t know why he could suddenly feel himself being pulled away from the twelfth floor. But then he noticed that the feeling stemmed from the center of his chest. It was thanks to his world essence energy.


    The next moment, Zach, Nora, Alzara, and Borso found themselves on the thirteenth floor. The others were a little confused but quickly adapted. The thirteenth floor was another desert, one that hadn''t been turned to glass.


    That meant monsters.


    For the thirteenth floor, that meant tortoise-like monsters that slowly crept up on them by camouflaging into the sandy dunes before suddenly extending their necks up to several strides and trying to snap pieces of Zach and the others. Their heads shot forward with surprising speed and power, but it wasn''t enough to overwhelm Zach''s barriers.


    Stunned by hitting something they couldn''t see, the tortoises left their vulnerable necks exposed to the blades of their would-be prey.


    Nora, Alzara, and even Borso easily severed the monsters'' heads and piled them up.


    That brought them to the fourteenth floor. Whether the fighting had skipped the thirteenth floor or if Zach and the others just ended up in an area untouched by it, they couldn''t know.


    But when they arrived at the fourteenth floor, they were in the middle of a field of craters from fists, magic, and feet. A small-scale war had been fought where they were.


    But the ash was cool, and some of the craters in the sand had started filling themselves back up with the wind. It had happened a while ago.


    It was not the fight between the Child and whoever had resisted the Child''s fire. It looked more like a fight between two groups of people.


    Zach glanced at Borso.


    "What were the different tribes that entered the Labyrinth, and would they have a reason to fight each other?" He asked.


    As far as Zach could assume, the Evandiel and Evandiel-affiliated troops had disappeared before the barbarians even arrived in the Labyrinth. Assuming they had disappeared into the Labyrinth, they should have gone deep enough that the barbarians wouldn''t have caught up to them on only the fourteenth floor.


    That meant what they were looking at should be the aftermath of two groups who entered simultaneously and were equal in strength.


    "I am pretty sure only the Arlecch tribe, the Maura tribe, and the Ugri tribe entered the labyrinth," Borso answered after looking around at the destruction. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach''s eyes widened. He had kind of expected it, but the Maura tribe really was one of the big shots.


    "Can you tell which tribes fought here?" Zach asked. He could ask Visla about her tribe later.


    Borso slowly shook his head. He didn''t deny it being the Sesha who fought.


    Their expressions were grim.


    What could have caused the Sesha to fight among themselves?


    Another question they could only answer by finding the ones involved. Fortunately, they hadn''t killed all the moving cactuses on the fourteenth floor in their fighting, and Zach and the others had a way to proceed to the fifteenth floor in their pursuit of answers.


    It didn''t take long for them to get one answer, at least.


    The fight that started on the fourteenth floor saw several victims on the fifteenth. The dead Sesha belonged to the Arlecch tribe.


    What was worrisome was the fact that the dead only belonged to the Arlecch tribe. There was none from the opposing tribe.


    According to Borso, the only tribe that could do this to the Arlecch without casualties was the Maura tribe. Surprising Zach once again, the Maura tribe was apparently the one with the strongest warriors.


    Borso admitted that not even the Ugri tribe would be able to fight with the Arlecchs without casualties, despite the Arlecchs not being famous for their combat skills. They were famous for their prophetic skills and reading the stars.


    It was no wonder they lost then. There were no stars in the Labyrinth for them to read.


    The corpses they found on the fifteenth floor were cold and stiff. It had been a while since they died.


    Zach and the others did not expect to run into anyone on the next floor, which they didn''t. The sixteenth floor was clear. As was the seventeenth floor.


    The eighteenth floor, however, was the opposite.


    It seemed that the barbarians had taken the elves'' advice to rest up properly before moving to the nineteenth and twentieth floors. They had set up camp.


    Zach and the others were lucky enough to end up close to the camp of the Ugri tribe. Borso should be able to talk to them with ease. They were from the same tribe, after all. Or so Zach hoped. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    He could not have been more wrong.


    "Borso?" The guard at the edge of the sandy camp asked doubtfully. Zach sensed a hint of disdain in the question.


    "That''s me." Borso nodded.


    "What are you doing here?" The guard questioned.


    "Uh¡­" Borso didn''t know how to answer that. He was accompanying Zach into the dungeon. That was what he was doing. But how would it sound to his fellow tribesmen that he had followed a skinless into the Labyrinth?


    Zach held back a sigh. Borso wasn''t up for it. What a surprise.


    "We''re here to inform your tribes of what''s happening on the surface," Zach said.


    The guard glanced at Zach. He saw at once at Zach wasn''t Sesha. The disdain in his eyes deepened. He scoffed.


    "Oh? And what''s happening on the surface that they had to send a skinless like you and a kid like him?"


    "For one, the Sesha are losing," Zach said, gauging the barbarian''s reaction. There wasn''t much of one. It was like he wasn''t surprised.


    "...And the other matter is that snake people are running around burning Sesha camps, leaving no survivors."


    That made the guard raise an eyebrow.


    "Snake people? You mean the Empire?" The guard asked.


    Zach shook his head.


    "Not the Empire. The snake people are burning the Empire''s towns as well."


    "Huh. Is that it?" The guard asked, suddenly disinterested.


    It was fine as long as the Empire suffered.

 Chapter 487 Nineteenth Floor

    Zach''s eyes darkened as he looked at the Ugri guard.


    "Is that it?" He asked. "Is that your reaction when you hear innocent people are dying like flies to some crazy arsonists?"


    The guard shrugged.


    "If that''s all you have to say, you four can take your leave now. Go back to the elves, Borso. The lower floors are too much for you." The guard dismissed them.


    Zach and Borso took a step back.


    "Who is he for him to speak to disrespectfully?" Zach asked. He was pretty sure that this was important news. But the Ugri guard didn''t care.


    Borso shrugged.


    "That''s how most people in the Ugri tribe are," he admitted. He was the same. He had only started to change after spending time with Zach and the elves in Viomin''s village.


    Zach made a full turn, scanning the horizon. The Ugri tribe was a dead end.


    "Is it worth trying to look for the other tribes?" He asked the others for their opinion. If they couldn''t get the Ugri tribe''s cooperation, maybe they could get either of the other two to hear them out.


    "Is there a need for that, Young Master?" Nora asked. Technically, they weren''t in the Labyrinth to look for the tribes. They were looking for the Children of the Hydra, Yanael and the others, and the Evandiels.


    Zach shrugged with one shoulder.


    "Information on the Children, the war, and the person who fought the Child on the twelfth floor would be nice," Zach said. Getting the tribes to talk about peace was probably impossible. They were fighting each other. How eager wouldn''t they be to fight the Empire as soon as they finished delving into the Labyrinth?


    Or maybe they weren''t interested in the war outside at all as long as they could move into the Labyrinth. They had started it as a pretext to get access to the Labyrinth. Once they had that, they didn''t care about the rest of the tribes.


    It would be callous of them if that were true, but given the Ugri guard''s attitude just now, Zach could see it.


    "The nineteenth floor it is. I hope you''re ready, Borso."


    They took out the needles they had gathered from the tiny furballs that hid in the sand and tried to ambush them on the eighteenth floor. With the requirements met and their wish to move to the next floor at the forefront of their minds, the group of four teleported to the nineteenth floor, where massive worms the size of buildings were supposed to tunnel through the ground and swallow them from underneath.


    The sight of worms greeted them indeed. But not in the way they had expected.


    The worms weren''t lying in wait to swallow the ground they were standing on. They were lying on the ground in tatters, stacked on top of each other, with smoke rising from their corpses.


    ''Shit.''


    Zach felt it first.


    There was a heavy pressure in the air that had nothing to do with the nineteenth floor, the worms, or the sun.


    It came from the individual in the center of the worm massacre. Their hair, such a dark red it was almost black, draped over their back like an inky curtain. They turned around slowly to look at Zach and the others with slit pupils and dark eyes. Scales covered their cheeks and rimmed their eyes.


    A split tongue snuck out between their thin lips and tasted the air.


    The Child''s mouth broke into a grin as he looked at the newcomers.


    "RUN!" Zach shouted while raising his arms and a stack of barriers to defend himself and the others. The only one who listened to that command was Borso. Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire


    Rather than wasting time turning around and trying to flee while Zach remained in place, Nora and Alzara took out their weapons and prepared for a fight.


    This was a Child stronger than the one they fought at the Nilma tribe. Given the fear in Zach''s voice when he shouted, he was most likely noticeably stronger. In comparison, their group was far weaker than when they fought at the Nilma tribe''s camp. Their three strongest fighters were not with them.


    Their only relief was the fact that they had figured out what they received from the Labyrinth each time they passed a floor. Almost as if the Labyrinth could sense the need, it had pooled everyone''s rewards and given them to Zach in the form of helping him with his condition and improving his world essence energy.


    He was not yet fully restored, but he could fight without worry. Pushing himself beyond his limits probably wasn''t smart, though.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have a choice.


    "What a cute little group," the Child remarked, suddenly appearing right in front of Zach''s face, breaking two barriers in the process. Zach''s eyes twitched. It stung, but it was bearable.


    "Thanks, I do my best to look cute," he answered, only deepening the Child''s grin.


    "You''re a summoner," the Child pointed out while glancing at Nora.


    "Yeah. Sorry for intruding on your business. If you don''t mind¡ª"


    "That means you know that lizard bastard," The Child interrupted with a displeased frown.


    ''Fuck. Stupid fucking principal,'' Zach lamented deep in his heart. Just knowing the principal had already lowered their chances of getting out of this without a fight to zero.


    Far, far away, the principal scratched his ear.


    "Huh," the principal said.


    "What?" Kami asked.


    "I think Zach''s talking shit about me," the principal answered.


    "Why would he be doing that? And why would you know about it?"


    "I have absolutely no idea. And because I''m the greatest, obviously. No matter. You said you found traces of Ozra?"


    "Yeah¡­"


    Back on the Labyrinth''s nineteenth floor, Zach was flying through the air fast enough that his surroundings were a blur. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Despite that, Nora was flying even faster as she caught up to and crashed into him mid-air. When they landed, Alzara landed on top of them.


    Zach''s barriers were the only reason they were still alive.

 Chapter 488 - 488: So Scared

    Zach, Nora, and Alzara helped each other up out of the sandy pit they made when they crashed after the Child sent them flying. They looked at the Child clenching and unclenching the fist he used to punch the three.


    "This is why I don''t like summoners," he said with a sigh. "Nasty little tricks that make killing them such a bother," he complained.


    By the sounds of it, he had killed more than one or two summoners in his time. However, Zach''s expression couldn''t get any darker, so it didn''t matter what the Child said. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire


    Zach swallowed whatever saliva he had in his dry mouth. He forced the world essence energy in his core to start moving. This wasn''t a situation where it could be lazy or pretend to be considerate. It was going to listen to him, and it was going to obey him.


    It did just that. In a gentle stream, the world essence energy returned to the body it had ravaged all those months ago. It was like pouring lemon juice on a wound. It stung. It wasn''t good.


    But it gave Zach the strength he needed to face the Child.


    If there was one thing he could tell other than the fact that the Child was strong, it was that he wasn''t the strongest person he had fought. Ugor had been stronger. Ugor had fallen to him. The Child would too.


    Zach had been stronger back then, too, but that was irrelevant.


    Nora and Alzara felt the change in Zach''s presence. They knew he was pushing himself too far again. They couldn''t say anything. It was because they were too weak. However, they could not do anything about it right now. They could only accept the situation and live to become stronger another day.


    That meant letting Zach fight, even if they didn''t want to. He was the only one of them who could take the Child''s hits without losing immediately. Their fists clenched hard enough to make their knuckles pale.


    But they took deep breaths and relaxed their grips. They needed to fight better than ever before. Otherwise, Zach''s sacrifice would not be worth it.


    Zach started walking toward the Child, a barrier wrapped around his body like another layer of skin. It was the sturdies barrier he could make. He raised his fists.


    The Child''s eyebrows rose as if impressed that Zach was not only still able to walk but also doing so toward him.


    The Child exhaled through his nose as he shook his head while looking down.


    This was why he couldn''t stop enjoying hunting summoners. More than most humans and other insects, they didn''t give up. The ones who were on good enough terms with the principal to scowl when he was mentioned were especially entertaining.


    It was like they didn''t know the meaning of impossible.


    That made it all the more fun to beat it into them.


    Rather than just making a weakling feel despair, the Child found it much more enjoyable to teach some the meaning of despair and then make them feel it.


    His face still angled at the ground, the Child broke into a wide grin as he tightened his hand into a fist. It was like he could already feel the satisfaction of breaking through those barriers and breaking a few of the summoners'' fragile bones.


    That''s exactly what the Child did.


    He didn''t entertain Zach''s walk.


    The Child dashed over and rammed his fist down onto Zach''s shoulder, pushing the latter''s feet into the ground. It would be boring if he just went flying again without the barrier breaking.


    The Child needed him to stay put.


    Zach tried to return the favor and punch the Child in the gut. With his fist full of world essence energy and ready to blast it into the Child, Zach was confident he could deal some damage to the bastard.


    But the Child wasn''t masochistic enough to like being hit if he could avoid it, which he could. He shifted lightly to the side.


    Before Zach could try and get out of the sand, the Child''s fist whipped him in the face. With his feet held by the sand like a vice, his body snapped at the knees and toppled into the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand.


    As the Child expected, Zach got up before the dust settled. He protected his face with his hands. His arms and elbows covered his chest.


    But Zach wasn''t some freak with arms long enough to shield his entire body.


    The Child tapped Zach''s abdomen with his toes. What looked like a tap was a kick powerful enough to crack the barrier and have Zach keel over forward this time, exposing the back of his head to another cannonball-like fist.


    It sent Zach''s face straight into the ground. His posture was a mess with his ass sticking up and him bent at the waist since his knees only worked in one direction.


    Zach was starting to feel overwhelmed. Unless he managed to overload his body with the fully activated world essence energy as he did against Ugor, this fight was lost. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The problem was that neither he nor his world essence energy wanted that, not really. It was the only solution, but Zach wasn''t sure if his body could handle it yet. It would leave him in a state of almost complete desolation.


    How would he continue in the Labyrinth after that?


    But he wasn''t in a position to think about what comes next. He had to focus everything he had on the Child and distract him so that Alzara and Nora could land their attacks.


    That was why when he managed to raise his head again. He looked straight into the Child''s eyes and said,


    "Wow, you''re so strong. I''m so scared," in a deadpan voice without so much as a hint of fear.


    He was mocking the Child.


    Considering how the Child had tried to dominate Zach with his punches and strikes, Zach figured this was the best way to provoke him.


    As expected, the Child took offense. His grin deepened, but anger surged in his eyes.


    He raised his fist. Zach braced himself. Alzara saw an opportunity. She took it.

 Chapter 489 - 489: Not Enough

    It wasn''t enough.


    The Child deflected Alzara''s blade with the hand that wasn''t trying to break Zach''s nose. He then backhanded Alzara like he was an abusive father.


    Zach bit the Child''s hand hard enough to draw blood.


    That was enough. It distracted him to the point where Nora managed to sneak up and stab him in the thigh. Or maybe she just wasn''t strong enough to make him wary of her presence.


    After all, her dagger did not pierce his scales. It didn''t even scratch them.


    She was also sent flying with a nasty crack as the Child''s hand collided with her skull.


    Zach recognized that crack. It was not the sound of his barriers breaking.


    It was a sound that the human body should not make. His heart sank.


    He punched the Child in the knee, forcefully bending it backward.


    "Fuck!" The Child screamed in half pain as his knee joint was made to do things it wasn''t made to do. His anger surged.


    It had been the right call not to get hit by Zach''s punches so far. They hurt more than Zach''s durability or strength had led the Child to believe they would.


    The Child bent down and straightened out their leg with a cracking sound. Zach dared to sneak a glance in Nora''s direction. She wasn''t moving. He met Alzara''s gaze. She nodded.


    Instead of rejoining the battle, she was going to tend to Nora. Her attempt just now had proved that she couldn''t do much against the Child anyway.


    Alzara''s heart was bitter.


    This was her element. They were in the desert. This was the place where she could exercise the most of her strength. Yet, she was as good as useless in front of the Child.


    She had trained and sparred with the others. She had trained her cursed energy. She had trained her body. She did not understand why she was so weak!


    She was a familiar, and Zach was the summoner. She was supposed to be the one Zach could rely on, not the other way around.


    But now wasn''t the time to lament or drown in self-pity. She had to check on Nora.


    While she couldn''t store many potions on her body, she could at least carry enough restorative potions that she hadn''t run out yet.


    Seeing Alzara kneel down next to Nora, Zach focused whole-heartedly on the Child. He could feel his heart heat up and his insides tingle.


    The sight of Nora not moving after receiving that blow unnerved him. He did not even want to imagine the worst outcome. But he didn''t need to for his world essence energy to start resonating with his body again.


    Kicking up a cloud of sand, Zach stepped out of the holes the Child made when knocking him into the ground. He looked at the Child with blood dripping out of his nose. He wiped it with the back of his hand.


    The Child bent and extended their leg.


    If there was one thing Zach appreciated about the Children of the Hydra, it was the fact that they didn''t have the regenerative abilities he had gotten used to while fighting the Underworld. If they got injured, they stayed injured for more than a few minutes.


    The hit he landed on the Child''s leg was a lucky strike, and he was going to make the most of that luck. The Child''s mobility would be extremely limited. Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire


    Zach might be able to catch up.


    "These fucking summoners¡­!" The Child cursed while glaring at Zach. "Always, always getting in our way¡­!"


    Zach could feel some pent-up and misdirected anger coming his way from the Child. He didn''t care and only chalked it up to the principal doing stuff in his youth again. Still, he reveled in the Child''s anger. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The angrier and more miserable he was, the happier Zach was.


    It was time to turn the tides of this battle.


    Unfortunately, in his state of desperation, Zach had forgotten about one key factor in this fight.


    The Children of the Hydra weren''t limited to only their innately strong physiques. They had another powerful card up their sleeves.


    Fire.


    Orange sparks appeared around the Child''s fingers, and smoke slithered out of his nose and mouth.


    Zach''s eyes widened. The next moment, the Child raised his hands and doused Zach in a shower of flames. Zach sprinted to the side, but the Child just followed him with the flames, bathing the area in fire.


    Zach gritted his teeth.


    The flames were hot enough to distort the air and make it hard to breathe.


    Zach took a deep breath and stopped running away. He altered the structure of his barrier slightly to make it more temperature-resistant before turning toward the Child.


    He would only lose by putting distance between them. Unlike the Child, he didn''t have any long-range attacks, after all. He had to stick close to the Child.


    Zach rushed through the flames and right into the waiting fist of the Child. Unlike Zach, whose vision was obstructed by the flames, the Child saw right through them. He used that to his advantage and prepared and ambush that would have succeeded if he hadn''t been mistaken.


    Ordinarily, Zach couldn''t see through the deep flames. With his Eyes of Truth, he could. He saw clear as day the Child''s silhouette move on the other side of the flames. That was why he could duck under the Child''s fist and levy a heavy fist straight into his abdomen in one swift movement.


    Sturdy scales blocked most of the fist, but the Child still grunted.


    A fist enveloped in flames dove straight for Zach''s face. He was too close and out of balance to dodge. He accepted the punch but not without returning it with a strike of his own.


    The Child was slightly taller than Zach, and he was in a good position to keep going for Zach''s head and face.


    Zach was slightly shorter than the Child and was in a good position to keep going for the Child''s torso.


    Instantly, it turned into a messy dogfight. Both of them bet on them being stronger, having better defenses, and being better at hitting the enemy.


    Only one could be right.

 Chapter 490 - 490: Fighting To Win

    Between Zach and the Child of the Hydra, Zach''s only advantage was the power of the world essence energy in his blows. Usually, he would have also had the restorative effect of the world essence energy on his side. But the scars from last time were still hampering that, putting him just a margin above the Child.


    In terms of sheer strength, raw firepower, sturdiness, and speed, the Child surpassed Zach.


    The injury to his knee lowered his speed to just above Zach''s, and Zach''s barriers made up for his lacking durability. But there wasn''t much he could do in the other areas other than try to explode the Child with his energy, which wasn''t going very well since he was far from skilled enough at handling it.


    However, the skull was one of the hardest pieces of bone in the human body. Although what was inside it wasn''t very durable, as long as the skull itself held up, it would be mostly fine. That''s what Zach hoped at least.


    He was trading blows to his head for blows to the Child''s torso, after all. The scales covering the Child''s side and ribs were hard and tough, but they weren''t indestructible, and neither were the Child''s ribs.


    Zach''s face was burned and most of his hair was gone. He might end up with permanent scars due to this. He might never get his hair back due to those scars.


    But Zach didn''t care about being ugly. He didn''t care about being stared at wherever he went, at least not anymore. Sure, it would suck, but he didn''t need his hair or his beauty. His familiars didn''t follow him because of his face. His friends¡­If they could stand his personality, they could stand his appearance.


    He willingly let the Child burn him. The pain and disfigurement were more than worth it if he could use the Child''s cracked ribs to pierce the latter''s lungs and heart.


    The Child felt its injuries in a distant sense. Zach wasn''t the only one running on an adrenaline high, unable to properly feel pain. The only thing on their minds was to kill the other one. That was the only way this fight would end. This was the only way for them to survive.


    And that was the deciding difference between them. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Child was alone. He had to win to survive for himself. He fought to live.


    Zach, on the other hand, wasn''t alone. If he lost, he would be taking Nora, Alzara, Yanael, Soara, and Mandra with him. He would be betraying their trust and so on.


    Zach wasn''t fighting to live. He was fighting to win. He was fighting to kill the Child.


    Since that was the case, what did it matter if the Child enveloped his entire body in fire?


    What did it matter if his world essence energy ruined his body even further in exchange for the slightest increase in strength?


    The more they fought, the more desperate the two became.


    The Child''s desperation was to flee. He did not want to die here. It would be an awful inconvenience.


    Zach''s desperation was to win before it was too late.


    The Children, as Yanael had noticed, didn''t improve during battle. It could have just been the one she fought, but it seemed to be true for this one as well. His use of fire energy didn''t improve. The only thing that changed was the output, but after that was already at the maximum, there was nothing more he could do other than stare in amazement as Zach bore the flames, his skin bubbling and melting due to the heat.


    Zach, on the other hand, had well of world essence energy in him. He could barely make it move on an ordinary day, but with him on the brink of death, the world essence energy finally surged.


    His condition, which had only recently seen some improvement would worsen again. But if he died, he would never get better again.


    The world essence energy swirling around Zach''s body made the flames shy away. Slowly and gradually, Zach''s skin stopped falling off his flesh. Char dropped to the ground, and he started recovering.


    At the same time, his punches became even heavier. Each one drew out a crack from the Child''s body. Broken scales, broken ribs.


    Eventually, the Child tried to flee.


    It was too late.


    Zach was close to as strong as he was when fighting Ugor.


    He could already feel the aftermath and backlash deep in his bones. He didn''t stop.


    He held the Child by the shoulder as he punched one last time, pushing his fist into the Child''s chest. He destroyed a lung in the process before grabbing the Child''s heart and squeezing it.


    The Child continued struggling for a few moments. Zach looking into his eyes as the light faded before letting the Child''s corpse drop to the ground. He shook his hand free of blood.


    Zach took an unsteady step away, almost falling to the ground.


    The fight had ended, and the world essence energy couldn''t have been quicker to withdraw back into his core. A second longer and the damage to his body would have been even worse.


    It hadn''t even stayed long enough to heal his skin fully. He was still hairless and covered in wavy, irregular burn scars.


    But he wasn''t done yet. He wasn''t the only one who risked their life to fight the Child. He had to check up on Nora.


    Alzara was sitting next to her. From a distance, it looked like Nora was sleeping and Alzara was waiting for her to wake up.


    Maybe the pile of potions next to Nora had done the work and now they just needed to wait for Nora to handle the fatiguing effects of the potions before waking up.


    But as he walked closer, Zach got a sinking feeling in his gut. Alzara was turned away, so he couldn''t see her expression. But her back and shoulders were tense.


    With weak and unsteady steps, falling over twice, Zach hurried over to his maids.

 Chapter 491 - 491: Anymore

    Zach put a hand on Alzara''s trembling shoulder.


    "How is she doing?" He asked while looking at Nora''s pale face.


    "..." Alzara didn''t say anything. She only flinched. She hadn''t even noticed Zach getting close to her.


    "Alzara¡­?" Zach asked again.


    "..." She still didn''t dare to answer.


    With a frown, Zach took another step, ending up right next to Nora. She looked like she was sleeping on the warm sand. Nora had said she didn''t like how the sand felt when lying on it. Despite that, she looked like she was at peace.


    Nora didn''t look like that even when she was sleeping deeply as of late. She was having trouble resting properly. She was anxious.


    Just like Zach, she was worried about the rest of the Evandiel family. She was also worried about Zach. His condition had barely improved in quite a while, and he had a tendency to rush head-first into danger. How could she not worry about him?


    She also worried about herself. She felt inadequate. She tried to keep up with Zach and the other maids, whether it be in terms of cooking, cleaning, or fighting.


    At the beginning of Zach''s journey as a summoner, she had somehow managed to keep equal steps with Yanael and Alzara. It was just that she wasn''t as versatile since she wasn''t good with swords or potions. So, she tried to expand her usefulness by studying as much as possible in the Academy''s library.


    But in that aspect, she couldn''t keep up with Zach, who memorized everything he found interesting on the first read.


    And as more time passed, and Zach added more familiars to his retinue, the gap increased. It wasn''t just that Soara and Mandra were strong.


    For every step forward Nora took, they took ten or more steps. She would never be able to catch up to them.


    How long would it take for Zach to give up on her?


    He had said he trusted her. Nora knew Zach believed in her. But how could she believe that when she didn''t believe in herself? Her heart didn''t feel what her head was saying.


    How long would it take before Zach realized that Nora was in too much danger by trying to accompany them?


    How long would it take him to ask her to back down ''for her own good''?


    Nora pushed herself to her limits and beyond. She willingly underwent training almost as harsh as the one her mother forced on her just to stay by Zach''s side for even another day.


    She asked the others to help her. They obliged. Nora was both thankful and resentful.


    Not only were the four familiars exceptionally strong and competent maids, they were also kind. They cared even for her. Could they be any more perfect?


    However, their help could only do so much.


    Nora''s talent had a ceiling, unlike Yanael. Her body couldn''t handle Alzara''s bottomless potions the same way Zach''s did. Soara could squeeze her life force to draw out her latent potential, but she had sworn not to do that again, especially not on Nora.


    Mandra mentioned something about body enhancement magic and experimental magic of different kinds. She was interested but reluctant. She wanted to do some tests on people who weren''t close to Zach''s heart first. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nora had no choice but to wait.


    But now, even that was too late.


    There was no magical experiment that could bring the dead back to life, at least not perfectly. It couldn''t restore Nora''s life.


    Who knows, maybe there was magic that could rewind time. Maybe there was magic that could actually bring the dead back to life.


    A thought similar to that but too vague to be put in words appeared on the foggy shores of Zach''s mind as he collapsed to his knees by Nora''s side. Other than that, he had no clear thoughts in his head.


    Once the realization of what had happened to Nora set in, his mind clouded itself to protect him, to soften the blow.


    Still, his hand moved to hover over her chest.


    Slowly, a golden barrier rippled out from his palm, covering Nora''s body. The barrier hugged her body, pushing away any speck of dust or drop of blood, perfectly cleaning her and sealing her within a pristine cocoon.


    Just like with Yanael, world essence energy slipped into the barrier, strengthening it far beyond normal.


    This barrier wouldn''t break. It would protect and preserve Nora forever. It was the least Zach could do. If Nora couldn''t live forever, at least the memories of her would.


    With her body protected and preserved, Zach had used the last dregs of energy in him. He slumped over Nora, hugging her as tightly as he could with his tired body.


    He didn''t feel the pain of his burned skin twisting and grinding against the barrier he had just made. He didn''t feel the pain of his distorted veins and arteries or rebelling organs after the world essence energy wreaked havoc across his body.


    The only pain he felt was in his eyes as red hot tears slowly trickled out and onto the barrier beneath his face. The tears pooled on the translucent barrier before breaking and running down the side, disappearing into the sand.


    Zach closed his eyes and hugged Nora''s body tighter.


    He didn''t want the sand to touch her body anymore, even with the barrier between them. He didn''t want to feel the sand under his legs. He didn''t want to feel the irritating sun bear down on his back or Nora''s pale face.


    He didn''t want to breathe the hot and dusty air.


    He didn''t want to be in the desert anymore.


    He didn''t want to be in the Labyrinth anymore.


    He didn''t want to feel the burden of responsibility anymore. He didn''t want to struggle just because his consciousness told him to anymore. He didn''t want to suffer anymore.


    He didn''t want to do anything anymore.


    He didn''t want to be anywhere anymore.


    Zach disappeared.

 Chapter 492 - 492: Running Man

    The only one to make it out of the battle between Zach and the Child of the Hydra unscathed was Borso. He had listened to Zach when he said run, and boy did Borso run. He put his legs on his back and hauled ass. He ran quicker than he had ever done before despite running on sand.


    Borso instincts were screaming at him that if he didn''t run with all he had, he would be a goner.


    It was just that his instincts were a little oversensitive.


    Borso wasn''t even strong enough to pop up on the Child''s radar. If he had stayed, and the Child won, he would have died eventually. But since he poofed at once while the Child only cared about Zach, he had also poofed from the Child''s mind.


    If the Child were alive and were to be asked how many people had arrived at the nineteenth floor, interrupting its worm massacre, he would have answered three. He didn''t even remember Borso.


    But Borso remembered him.


    While Borso was confident Zach and the others were already doomed, he was not planning to give up that easily. He wasn''t just running away. He was looking for the Sesha who should be on the nineteenth floor.


    The Ugri camp they had encountered on the eighteenth floor was the kind that the tribe set up for security. It was the kind they set up when they didn''t have their strongest warriors with them.


    That meant the stronger warriors had moved on to the next floor.


    There weren''t any Sesha corpses around the Child, but there were a lot of worms. That meant the Sesha were still on the floor since they weren''t dead, and they wouldn''t have found enough worms to kill and move to the next floor.


    As long as he ran around like a headless chicken, Borso was confident he would find someone to help sooner or later. And that''s what he did.


    When his feet were sore and blistered, his legs made of lead, and his lungs ablaze, Borso finally stumbled into a group of Sesha.


    He started celebrating until he saw their bigger-than-average physiques, dark clothes, and bear markings. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Maura tribe.


    Since he had seen them, they had naturally also seen him. It was too late to look for others.


    Borso hurried to steady his breathing. If he couldn''t answer the warriors'' questions quickly enough¡­He didn''t even want to imagine it.


    A few hours later, he returned to the scene of battle, laughing and joking with the friendly bear-like warriors of the Maura tribe. They were big and intimidating, no doubt. But they weren''t prideful pricks like the warriors of the Ugri tribe that Borso was used to. They were still prideful, but they weren''t pricks about, especially not toward Borso who had made it all the way to the nineteenth floor.


    Even if it wasn''t all due to his own efforts, he still had the guts to go that deep when many of his tribe had stayed on the eighteenth floor.


    The Maura warriors were skeptical about the whole Child of the Hydra part of his story, but they had also seen the twelfth floor. There were undoubtedly others also traversing the Labyrinth, and they were strong.


    And while the Maura warriors wanted to proceed to the next floor, it wasn''t like they were having much luck finding the worms they needed to kill. They might as well entertain Borso and follow him back to where he had left his friends to fight a foe strong enough to make Borso wince just thinking about it.


    That part of him wasn''t as honorable. But they couldn''t blame him for it.


    Sometimes, surviving was the right decision, especially if the fight was doomed from the start.


    When they arrived, the first thing they saw was a pile of worms, each one the size of a house. They looked mostly untouched, aside from the injuries that killed them.


    That meant no one had dug around for the crystals in the center of their bodies, which were necessary to move to the next floor. The Child knew what it was doing. If he had won and wanted to move to the next floor, he would have taken the crystals.


    Since that hadn''t happened, he was probably still on this floor.


    If Borso''s claims that Zach was strong were correct, maybe the Child was tending to their injuries before proceeding deeper into the Labyrinth.


    Instantly, the Maura warriors'' guards rose. Some drew their weapons. Others had fur start to poke out of the skin on their forearms as their muscles started swelling. They were ready to transform.


    Another couple of steps brought them around one of the worms to where the fight had gone down.


    Surrounded by splatters of blood dying the sand red was a blood-soaked corpse with its chest brutally crushed. The damage to the corpse and the markings in the surroundings were proof of the brutal fight that had led to the death of one fight.


    Borso narrowed his eyes for a moment as he looked at the corpse.


    That wasn''t Zach. He wanted to cheer, but he could tell that the fight hadn''t been one-sided.


    He and the Maura warriors followed the trail of blood drops leading through the sand. It would take them to the one who won.


    However, at the end of the trail, they only found a maid sitting cross-legged in the sand with her eyes closed.


    One of the warriors wanted to go up and poke her to see if she was alive. Another pulled him back as the gleam of a dagger flashed out and pointed at them.


    If the warrior had reached out with a hand to poke Alzara, he would have lost it.


    Alzara looked at the warriors with narrowed eyes before glancing to the side. The warriors were ready to fight.


    Alzara stuffed away her daggers and sat down again. She had no intention to fight.


    "Leave," she said.

 Chapter 493 - 493: Loss

    After confirming Nora''s passing, Zach disappeared with her body, leaving Alzara behind.


    Alzara had no idea where they had gone, but she knew they hadn''t moved floors. Alzara was counted as an extension of Zach. If the Labyrinth moved him somewhere, she would have followed.


    The way Zach had disappeared was also different from how they teleported between the floors. It was similar but different. Alzara didn''t know how or what it was, but there was a difference.


    She was worried. She didn''t know where Zach was, but she knew he was not in a good state of mind.


    Over the years since she was summoned, Alzara had heard about some of the details of the relationship between Zach and Nora. They were close.


    Zach was an emotional guy. He grieved for strangers he didn''t even know. He fought to stop a war to save the lives of people he had never even heard the names of. He willingly became labeled as a traitor to his homeland for that very reason.


    He was used to physical pain and was harsh and merciless toward his enemies and the ones who didn''t deserve his mercy.


    But Mino, the underworlder baby made through countless experiments to create a monster that had the best of both the Underworld and the surface, turned into a kind child because Zach saw past the terrifying strength he wielded. He saw a baby and ignored the signs of destruction around it.


    He had been willing to hear out Patient Zero''s last words.


    He didn''t seek revenge against anyone who ostracized him for the rumors around him or anything.


    He had a soft and kind heart. Alzara knew that as well as anyone.


    She also knew that the only emotional suffering Zach had gone through was the one directed at him.


    His heart had been weathered to endure torment as long as he was the one tormented. Since his childhood, he had been left alone, ostracized, ignored, and bullied. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire


    He had suffered through several unfortunate incidents, and all because he came out unscathed while others didn''t, he was blamed for it. He was still a son of the Evandiel Duke, so no one laid hands on him.


    But after he was stuffed in a separate mansion ''for his own safety'' the supervision faltered. He was left alone as a young child for hours at a time in a room with nothing but a bed. Even if he could leave his room, how was he supposed to get anywhere else? His sense of direction was nonexistent.


    Still, he grew up to become an almost normal person.


    However, he had never grieved the loss of a close one or a pet. Everyone in his family that he knew about and had met were still alive, probably. He wasn''t allowed to have pets after that incident with the family of dogs and the pond.


    Grief and loss were unfamiliar feelings to Zach. He wasn''t used to handling them or dealing with the aftermath.


    Yet now, he wasn''t just getting acquainted with those feelings.


    He had lost one of the most important people in his life with no time to prepare, not that having more time would have helped.


    Nora''s passing hit Zach in the stomach like a stone with the weight of the world.


    Alzara wasn''t just worried about Zach due to his injuries. She was worried about what he would do now that he had lost Nora.


    She¡­ regrettably could not imagine how he felt. She imagined it would be similar to how she would feel if Zach died. But she didn''t even know how that would feel. Besides, Nora and Zach were closer than Zach and any of his familiars.


    The time, years, and things they had gone through together couldn''t compare.


    Nora had been with Zach since they were young. She had helped him pick himself up and slowly become normal after his isolated childhood.


    Since she was just a maid and had to listen to Zach, especially when they were home at the estate where she was under her mother''s supervisions, there wasn''t much Nora could do.


    But in a home where not even the faces of his siblings and parents were a constant, Nora was a rock. She was always by Zach''s side. She didn''t judge him. She didn''t bully him. She didn''t mock him for always causing trouble or getting lost.


    She helped prepare his food. She helped him study. And when he got lost, she helped him find his way.


    Now, she would never do any of those things again.


    Zach had to come to terms with that. He had to face that bleak reality.


    That was what he had gone to do. Alzara didn''t know where he had gone or when he would return. She could only hope he would return.


    She could only wait for his return.


    That was why, instead of panicking, she sat next to where Zach had been the moment he disappeared. She was going to wait.


    That was all there was to it. She could wait an eternity for his return.


    However, Zach wasn''t the one who returned. It was Borso, and he brought a bunch of hairy warriors with him. Alzara was not in the mood to entertain them or care about them.


    If things had been different, it would have been an opportunity to get close to the big tribes and find a way to end the war raging on the surface.


    But things weren''t different. Alzara wanted them to leave.


    "What happened to Zach?" Borso asked before looking around.


    "And Nora," he added. Alzara flinched.


    "That''s none of your business. Leave," She answered, crossing her legs and closing her eyes. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But¡­"


    One of the warriors grabbed Borso and dragged him away. They weren''t as insensitive as him. They knew the face Alzara was making. They could also smell it.


    "Kid, someone died. Leave her alone," one of them said. Borso''s eyes widened. He was silent.


    The Maura warriors started cleaning up the worms and moving them away from Alzara. They were showing her respect.


    Unlike Zach, they knew what it was like to lose someone.


    Zach wasn''t the only one who lost someone.


    Alzara lost a dear friend.

 Chapter 494 - 494: Kid

    Zach disappeared from the Labyrinth of Jira''s nineteenth floor, taking Nora''s corpse with him. At first, not even he knew where he had gone. He didn''t even notice it at first since the only thing in his fuzzy mind was Nora''s unmoving face.


    But after a while, he couldn''t help but notice that he wasn''t in a sandy desert anymore. He was on a dry, barren plain instead. And in the distance was a snow-covered mountain.


    Zach recognized it.


    It was the Labyrinth of Vidur. He looked around in confusion. It was enough to distract him from his grief temporarily.


    How had he returned to the Labyrinth of Vidur? And hadn''t the Labyrinth collapsed with the death of Patient Zero? It had fulfilled its purpose and had neither energy nor reason to keep itself maintained.


    Zach frowned as he looked toward the sky.


    There was nothing there. The sky was empty. There was no sun, clouds, moon, or stars. It was like a blank sheet the color of wet paper. The weather didn''t exist, either. The wind didn''t blow.


    Something had happened since Zach and the others left the Labyrinth of Vidur.


    "I had a feeling, but you''re here again, kid¡­" A woman''s soft voice said from behind Zach.


    Startled, Zach turned around in a hurry, ready to fight.


    But the woman sitting cross-legged in the air, who looked a little like she was glowing, had no intentions to fight. Her golden hair swayed gently in the non-existent breeze, the same as her simple white dress.


    Even in this situation, Zach had to admit that she was extraordinarily beautiful. If he hadn''t gotten used to the ground-shaking beauty of Mandra and his other familiars, he would have dropped to the ground in worship.


    Instead, he frowned slightly.


    "You¡­Patient Zero?" He asked. She nodded.


    "Mhm. Though, I''m free of the Blight now, so feel free to call me something else."


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    "...What happened to your other two arms and being bald?" He asked insensitively.


    Patient Zero chuckled slightly.


    As if in response, her hair disappeared and another pair of arms appeared under her ordinary ones.


    "The Blight trapped me in a permanent state of combat. Hair gets in the way when fighting, and these two¡­" she said, flexing her second pair of fists, "are my weapons." She didn''t need her weapons when she wasn''t fighting. She could transform.


    Zach couldn''t even begin to imagine how that worked, but he couldn''t say he cared, either.


    "What are you doing here?" He asked. She should have died.


    Patient Zero nodded as if she could see what Zach was thinking.


    "I did die, and I would have stayed dead if not for this place giving me another chance. You see, this world, or what remains of it, is sealed off." Patient Zero looked toward the sky.


    "When I died, I was supposed to have slipped away to oblivion or an afterlife or something. I''m not sure myself. It probably depends on where you die, honestly. But since this place is completely isolated from the rest of the world beyond the world, that didn''t happen. After a while, my essence started congealing, and I regained consciousness." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach''s eyes widened slowly as he looked at Patient Zero. He slowly turned to Nora beneath his hands.


    "Does that mean¡­?" He started asking, hope surging in his chest. He looked toward Patient Zero again, his eyes bright.


    However, Patient Zero slowly shook her head with a look of regret.


    "I''m sorry, kid, but that girl''s essence was already gone by the time you made it here. Even if it hadn''t been, it would have been a long shot. This happened to me because I had already reached beyond the limits of my vessel. My essence is strong enough to weather the pressure that a body is usually needed for. Her, on the other hand¡­"


    Patient Zero didn''t need to finish her sentence.


    Nora had been so weak that she died to the Child, whom even Zach could handle. But Zach couldn''t even touch the hem of Patient Zero''s clothes when she was in a weakened state after spending millennia prolonging her existence in an endless battle against Blizzard and the Labyrinth entrants.


    But none of that had taken away from the base strength of her essence. It was her body that had limited the strength she could display. Her essence, once it recovered, was equal to the strength her body could release during her prime.


    In her prime, Patient Zero was strong enough to first break free from a world and then take over it.


    Nora''s essence was better than an average person''s but it was far from enough to overcome bodily death, even under perfect conditions, much less under horrible conditions.


    Zach''s shoulders slumped, and his face slackened as he caressed Nora''s cheek. He was no longer curious about Patient Zero.


    She said she was free from the Blight. She wasn''t a threat. He didn''t need to care about her. He didn''t need to pay attention to her.


    However, that didn''t mean she couldn''t care about him.


    Patient Zero floated over next to Zach and put a soft, warm, incorporeal hand on his shoulder.


    "Kid¡­I know how you feel. Just¡ª"


    "How could you possibly know how I feel?!" Zach shouted in an emotional outburst, smacking away Patient Zero''s hand.


    The last thing he wanted was pity. It only made everything feel even more pathetic.


    Patient Zero''s gaze cooled for a second before softening. Suddenly, another pair of arms appeared.


    Before Zach could say anything else, Patient Zero wrapped him in a warm hug.


    "Kid, I know better than anyone else how you feel right now," she whispered softly straight into his ear. She did not give him the option to ignore her words this time.


    "I have not lied to you once, kid," she continued.


    Zach remembered.


    Patient Zero''s story. There hadn''t been many details, but she had told him what happened to her in rough strokes.


    She had lost her family. She had lost her people. She had lost everything.


    Zach stopped resisting.

 Chapter 495 - 495: Carrying A Stone

    Patient Zero hadn''t just lost a dear friend or a maid. She had lost everything. Her lover, all of her friends, her children, her parents and siblings, her neighbors, and her people. As if that wasn''t enough, she had also doomed her entire world.


    What had he lost? One person.


    He still had his family. He still had his friends. He still had his familiars. He still had a home to return to.


    "I-I''m sorry," he started saying, tears welling up in his eyes again as he returned Patient Zero''s hug.


    How could she claim to know his feelings? No. How could he dare to question that claim?


    Patient Zero understood the feelings in Zach''s apology. He wasn''t apologizing for being rude to her. That certainly wouldn''t have been enough to make him cry.


    He was apologizing because he had made light of her grief. He was apologizing because he didn''t know what else to do.


    "Aw, kid, I didn''t tell you that to tell you not to grieve just because I''ve been through worse. You don''t compare grief, kid. You share it," Patient Zero said, tightening her hug on Zach to the point where it almost became difficult to breathe.


    Zach didn''t mind. The suffocating pressure was nice in a way. It was like he was tightly wrapped in a blanket, protected from the harsh world outside.


    "Now, tell me."


    "T-tell you?" Zach asked between sobs.


    "Tell me everything about this girl."


    At first, Zach didn''t know why he had to tell Patient Zero anything about Nora.


    Nora was his. He wanted her all to himself. But before he knew it¡­


    "She¡ªNora was stubborn and annoying.


    "When I didn''t want to get up in the mornings, she would resort to any tactic to get me out of bed. She would tickle me, snatch my duvet, flip me out of the bed onto the floor, press a pillow over my face, or slip ice cubes into my shirt.


    "She would force or trick me into eating the things I didn''t like. She would make sure I studied. She would¡­


    "She would crawl into bed and hug me when I had nightmares. She always made my favorite snacks. Whenever I got lost, she would be the one to find me and lead me back."


    Zach looked at Nora''s face. He hoped that now that he had said all these embarrassing things, she would wake up with a laugh and tell him it was all a joke.


    But it wasn''t.


    It wasn''t a joke. Nora wasn''t waking up.


    So, he continued talking.


    He told Patient Zero everything he knew about Nora. It was a lot, but Zach''s mouth didn''t even dry out. He didn''t take a break.


    How could he when he was talking about Nora?


    Even if only for his sake, he would make sure to tell Patient Zero everything he knew and memorize it. He was not forgetting a single detail about the life Nora had lived with him. She deserved at least as much, and Zach was sure she would have done the same if not more for him.


    No, in fact, she might have done something worse.


    Without anyone to stop her, she might have joined him should the roles have been reversed.


    Nora was self-sacrificing, and she attached herself to Zach almost like his familiars. It was entirely plausible.


    When that thought struck Zach, he considered doing it. He was silent for a long while as he thought about the possibility of meeting Nora again in death.


    It might have been worth trying if he didn''t have a bunch of strings tying him to life. His rationality and his feelings toward his familiars won out. Patient Zero''s presence also helped.


    Zach lay down next to Nora, his hand over hers. He looked at the sky. Patient Zero lay down next to him.


    "...Can the Blight¡ª"


    "No." Patient Zero''s answer was immediate.


    "Even if it could, it wouldn''t be Nora. It would only be her body moving according to the Blight''s hostile will."


    "..."


    "...I''m not ready to let go of her," Zach said, his voice hoarse and raw. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Then don''t," Patient Zero answered with a clear voice.


    "Don''t let go of her, kid. Hold onto her tight. Remember her. Preserve her body for as long as you want."


    "I¡­It hurts so much," Zach placed a hand on his chest. He turned his head toward Patient Zero.


    "D-does it ever stop¡­?" He asked. Maybe it was a little insensitive, but he had to know. Did it get better? It had been so long since Patient Zero lost her family, after all. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Patient Zero looked straight into Zach''s eyes. It was like she was seeing her own all those years ago.


    She saw the pain of the burning void in the center of Zach''s chest.


    It was a wonder how emptiness could hurt so much. It was like the emptiness left behind by the ones who left first was made of fire.


    That was why Patient Zero desperately wanted to tell Zach that it got better. That it stopped hurting. But she couldn''t do that, not when she was still grieving.


    "...It will stop when you stop loving Nora," Patient Zero finally answered in a roundabout way.


    Zach understood.


    He would never stop loving and missing Nora. It would never stop hurting.


    Patient Zero continued as if to answer the questions written on his face.


    "You learn to live with it. It''s like carrying a stone. If you do it every day, it suddenly isn''t as heavy. It''s still there, but you''ve grown strong enough to carry it."


    "..." Zach didn''t ask anything else. He turned back to continue looking at the empty sky.


    Patient Zero was also silent.


    She didn''t mention that there was another alternative.


    Instead of learning to carry the grief, one could end up consumed by it.


    That was what had happened to her. And that was why she didn''t mention it to Zach. She didn''t want to see it happening to him.

 Chapter 496 - 496: Arise

    Zach had no desire to even think about leaving what remained of the Labyrinth of Vidur. He didn''t want to think about much of anything. He just wanted to sit by Nora''s side and do nothing.


    He knew his familiars would wonder where he was. He knew he had things he ''should'' do. But he just couldn''t find it in him to pick himself up and do them.


    He was lethargic and apathetic. He didn''t want to do anything. He didn''t even want to think.


    Zach¡­He didn''t want to forget about Nora, but he did want to forget that she had died. But if he did, he would only have to go through it again once he remembered or had to face reality again, so he couldn''t do that.


    Without a sun or weather, it was almost impossible to tell how much time passed within the remains of Vidur. Zach wasn''t even trying to keep track of time, so he had no idea. His time was spent looking at Nora''s face, the barren sky, and sleeping.


    His body was still a mess, both inside and outside. His hair had started growing back, bright red, but his skin was still covered in burn scars. They weren''t gruesome, but they certainly took an edge off of his handsomeness.


    They also reflected how Zach felt inside, both physically and emotionally.


    However, surprisingly enough, his body wasn''t completely useless. He would have expected it to almost break down completely after he forced the world essence energy to give him the strength to defeat the Child.


    But he didn''t think much about it. What did it matter?


    "Kid¡­" Patient Zero gently spoke for the first time in a while. She had watched Zach do nothing for some time now without saying anything. She understood him.


    The death of a loved one could have that effect. It made everything in life feel useless. It robbed one of all of one''s motivation, even more so for someone who didn''t need to eat. Zach didn''t have to do anything.


    Naturally, he did nothing.


    But without moving, he wouldn''t learn how to carry that stone. He would lose the strength to even pick himself back up. He was already on the verge of that.


    The only way to do something about it was to have someone else pick him up.


    With no familiars, friends, or family around, that duty fell to Patient Zero.


    She had hoped Zach would find the will to continue moving on his own. But that didn''t appear to be happening any time soon. Maybe it would in the future. Maybe Zach would get up and pick up the stone on his own. But that could be months or years down the line.


    A lot could happen in that time, especially when Zach was isolated in this tiny corner of a broken world.


    "Kid," She said again, finally reaching through the fog in Zach''s mind. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...What?" He asked.


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    "Stand up," she ordered.


    "Why?" He asked, not moving an inch.


    "Because I said so," She answered, standing in front of him.


    Zach sighed and, with the movements of a sloth, stood up with an annoyed expression. He frowned when he saw the two swords in Patient Zero''s hands.


    "I found these in the fortress. Here," she said, tossing one of the swords to Zach. Zach didn''t move. He let the sword hit him before clattering to the ground. He looked at the sword at his feet before slowly looking at Patient Zero.


    "What do you want?" He asked, disgruntled.


    "We didn''t get to fight back then, and I''m bored of sitting around. Pick up that sword and fight me, kid."


    "No," Zach answered flatly.


    Patient Zero tugged on the corner of her lip and shrugged.


    "Well, if you won''t come to me, I guess I''ll have to go to you," she said, raising the sword and taking a step forward, appearing in front of Zach the next moment.


    Zach punched the flat of the blade, thwarting the attack before glaring into Patient Zero''s eyes.


    "I don''t use weapons."


    Zach extended his other fist toward Patient Zero''s chin.


    "Perfect." She grinned, bowed out of the way from Zach''s strike and tossed away the sword, which ended up piercing the ground and trembling in place like a doorstop.


    Before it stopped trembling, Zach was already on the ground with a dazed expression and Patient Zero''s foot on his throat.


    It was a given that Zach didn''t stand a chance against the mighty Patient Zero, considering her strength that had brought her to the stars.


    But Zach had not felt an ounce of force in her movements. Suddenly, he had just been on the ground.


    Patient Zero removed her foot with a cocky smile and reached out with a hand to help him up.


    Zach smacked away her hand and stood up on his own. He was no longer a sloth.


    Instead, he was a punching bag.


    Zach didn''t even know why he agreed to fight Patient Zero or why he was so fired up and determined to beat someone he knew he couldn''t beat. But he didn''t stop trying to defeat Patient Zero.


    She beat him into the ground with ease multiple times in the span of a minute, but he got up just as many times.


    She never used overwhelming force. She didn''t injure him. She didn''t tire him out.


    Patient Zero just had such a technical advantage that she could play with Zach with one hand and one foot tied together. She was even suppressing her strength to equal Zach''s.


    If her mind and body had been this clear when Zach and the others raided the Labyrinth of Vidur, they wouldn''t have stood a chance.


    Zach had never experienced something like this.


    He had sparred against his familiars, all of whom were stronger than him. They could win against him when suppressing their strength as well.


    But this¡­


    Patient Zero wasn''t just beating him.


    It wasn''t even a fight.


    Zach felt like an ant trying to knock down a brick wall the size of a mountain.


    Still, it wasn''t as frustrating as losing Nora.

 Chapter 497 - 497: Waste

    Yan looked at the names etched into the stone wall of Mara, the city that the soldiers had defended with their lives. His jaws were clenched so tight his teeth were about to crack.


    "What a damn waste!" He spat out in frustration.


    They had won the battle against the Byuwil tribe. Compared to the Byuwil tribe''s losses, it had even been an overwhelming victory.


    But that didn''t change the fact that the soldiers had died for an empty battle.


    While the two sides were cleaning up the battlefield, another group had entered the scene.


    The Nilma tribe.


    Instantly, Yan had been prepared for another fight. It would be difficult against the Nilma tribe alone, and even more so if they joined up with the remnants of the Bywuil tribe, who were familiar with Yan''s tactics by now.


    But the Nilma tribe came carrying white flags. White flags and a horrible message. Their timing couldn''t have been worse.


    Yan didn''t know about the Children of the Hydra, so he couldn''t have even guessed about their involvement or existence. But in hindsight, it was so damn obvious that there were others involved in the war.


    That was the best explanation to the Byuwil tribe''s behavior.


    All the soldiers whose names were etched on the wall had died because neither the Empire nor the Byuwil tribe had realized that they were being played like a couple of puppets.


    If even one of them had realized what was going on, they could have told the other side, exactly how the Nilma tribe was doing.


    That was why Yan blamed himself. If he had realized that it didn''t make sense for the Byuwil tribe to torch their outposts, refugee camps, and supply convoys and treat them like they were doing the same, he could have saved a lot of lives.


    Yan finally understood why Zach had chosen peace¡ªwhy he was going around behind enemy lines with nothing but his maids and one Sesha doing his best to convince the Sesha to stay their weapons.


    Death and war sucked.


    After finding out about the Children, Yan started thinking.


    The higher-ups on both sides had been suspiciously inactive this war.


    The Emperor hadn''t given much of any orders. Just superficial encouragements like don''t lose the border too much and stuff. He had not been active, even when the Evandiels, one of the most trusted families of the Empire, disappeared, leaving the East to suffer at the hands of the Sesha.


    At the same time, the Ugri, Arlecch, and Maura tribes were also not seen on the frontlines. They had seized Ciel and then not made a sound.


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    There was more to this war than the higher-ups were willing to share.


    Yan was not on good terms with his father, the Emperor. But he knew him well enough to know that he wasn''t a heartless man. If he was doing something like this, it could only be because he thought it would save more lives than putting everything out in the open. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan couldn''t say he understood or wasn''t resentful, at least not without all the details. But he had to take everything he knew into consideration when planning his next moves.


    Why would the Emperor not tell his generals or troops about another force interfering with the war?


    How could that be beneficial?


    The only thing it led to was an increase in the death tolls on both sides of the war¡­


    Yan figured it out.


    The only question he had left was if this was why his father had asked him to join the war efforts?


    ***


    On the Labyrinth of Jira''s nineteenth floor, Borso and the group of Maura warriors were in a bit of a pickle.


    They had stayed by Alzara''s side since it seemed like a good spot to hunt worms. Borso also wanted to find out what happened to Zach and Nora. But before they could finish on the nineteenth floor and move on to the twentieth, another tribe had found them.


    The Arlecchs. Their deep blue clothes stood out against the yellow sand as they encircled Borso and the others.


    Goro, one of the Maura warriors and the leader of their group wasn''t scared.


    He stood with a ramrod straight back as he faced off against the Arlecchs. The Arlecchs positioning around them like this could only mean they were hostile.


    Goro didn''t know why. But he wasn''t going to let that deter or scare him.


    "What do you want, Arlecchs?" He asked in a loud voice


    "Doesn''t it have anything to do with the fight between your tribes?" Borso asked upon seeing the confused Goro. That only confused Goro further.


    "Huh? There''s no fight between our tribes," he answered. Borso was confused.


    "What? Then what about the dead Arlecchs on the fifteenth floor?" Borso asked. They hadn''t seen any warriors from the other two tribes. Only the Maura tribe was strong enough to win against the Arlecchs in a skirmish like that without any casualties.


    Goro frowned. The other Maura warriors did the same. They had not heard anything about a fight between their tribe and the Arlecchs. Either they were left out of it, which was unlikely, or something else was going on.


    An older man with long grey hair hanging to the small of his back tied in knots stepped out from the Arlecch encirclement. He had a beard almost as long as his hair. The robes he wore and the staff he carried revealed his position as one of the Arlecchs'' stargazers. A position similar to but just below the shaman.


    In a way, they were more powerful than the shamans.


    The shamans of each tribe offered advice, guidance, and care for the tribe.


    The stargazers were similar in that aspect. Their difference came from the fact that if they wanted, they were allowed to fight and use their powers for the harm of others.


    "That would be our doing," He said with a gentle smile that didn''t reach his wrinkly eyes. He had overheard Borso and Goro''s conversation.

 Chapter 498 - 498: Ulminer Go

    The air was tense after the old stargazer from the Arlecch tribe stepped forward and joined the conversation. Goro looked at him with a frown.


    "Ulminer Go," Goro said, recognizing him as one of the more prestigious stargazers.


    "What do you mean?" Goro asked.


    Ulminer smile.


    "Exactly what I said. It wasn''t the Maura tribe or the Ugri tribe. It was us, the Arlecchs. We did a bit of cleansing."


    The way Ulminer said ''cleansing'' sent shivers down Borso''s spine.


    "So? What do you want us?" Goro glanced at the encirclement. Since it had nothing to do with the dead Arlecchs on the fifteenth floor, why were they surrounding the Maura warriors, Borso, and Alzara?


    "Well, now that you know, there''s no way we can let you go, no?" Ulminer said, taking a step closer.


    Goro sighed. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ulminer wasn''t targeting them because they deserved to be targeted. He was targeting them because he was a prick.


    Goro''s muscles swelled, and dark brown fur covered his body. His shirt burst at the seams as he grew to almost twice the height. At the same time, he took a step forward and swung a massive hand onto Ulminer.


    Talking was useless.


    However, Goro''s hand stopped before it could reach Ulminer''s head. A swirling blue shield blocked it.


    Ulminer swung his staff lightly as if brushing open a curtain with it.


    A blast of energy flew out from his staff and crashed into Goro, sending him flying.


    The other warriors got out of the way and finished their own transformations as the Arlecch warriors charged.


    Borso looked on, stunned. He had not yet prepared himself for a fight against the dozens or maybe hundreds of Arlecchs that suddenly surrounded them. What were they, a group of seven, eight, including Alzara, supposed to do?


    However, Borso was the only one struggling with that question.


    What were they supposed to do? Wasn''t it obvious?


    Fight.


    Goro got up from the sandy ditch he made on impact. He turned to Ulminer and looked at the old man''s emotionless smile. He growled before sinking to all fours and charging at him with lumbering steps that seemed to almost make the Labyrinth floor shake.


    Ulminer met his charge with several condensed blasts, none of them able to shake Goro once he built up his momentum. Ulminer slid out of the way when Goro got close. There was no way his barrier would hold up against that thing this time.


    Ulminer floated over the sand, circling around Goro while singing his fur with continuous blasts from his staff. His expression was a little more tense than before since he had not expected Goro to be this sturdy. But he looked around.


    While the other Maura warriors could initiate their transformation to make their muscles swell and grow a little hair, they could not reach the same degree as Goro. They were not the indestructible behemoths Goro was.


    Sooner or later, they would fall to the Arlecch warriors. By then, all the warriors could collapse on Goro.


    Goro was strong, but he wouldn''t be able to handle all of them.


    For now, Ulminer just had to distract Goro and prevent him from running amok and stampeding over all the Arlecch warriors.


    The other Maura warriors were putting up a good fight.


    The Maura tribe''s reputation wasn''t undeserved. But five against almost a hundred warriors was not a fair fight.


    The only thing that helped them endure was the fact that so many warriors couldn''t attack them at the same time, especially when they stayed close to each other. As long as they played it slow, they would wear down the Arlecchs until their numbers dwindled to the point where they could turn the tides.


    However, they weren''t the only ones aware of this fact. And in the heat of battle, it wouldn''t be strange if a warrior who couldn''t perfectly control the hot-heated bear spirit wanted to tear down an extra Arlecch warrior or two.


    The Arlecchs started showing openings here and there. It didn''t take long for one of the Maura warriors to fall for it and step out of the formation, isolating himself in the ocean of Arlecch warriors.


    It was too late by the time the others managed to get there. The Maura warrior was pierced with a dozen weapons and on his knees.


    Rage surged through the remaining four warriors'' bodies. Their blood boiled. Their large bodies swept out and tore through the Arlecchs whenever they got too close. They could ignore their injuries with the anger and adrenaline coursing through their veins.


    But it was only temporary. They could not kill all the Arlecch warriors. The irritating flies were using spears, pikes, and halberds to keep the bear-sized warriors who used their fists or sabers at bay.


    Whenever one of the Maura managed to grab a spear to try and pull in the enemy, the Arlecch warriors would just ignore their pride as spearmen and let go of their weapons. They would replace them and each other just as quickly.


    It was a ruthless tactic devised specifically to handle the Maura tribe''s warriors who forsake their ability to wield weapons in exchange for incredible strength and durability.


    Unless the ones who wielded the technique themselves were strong, it wouldn''t be enough to handle someone like Goro. But it was enough for the other warriors who had yet to master embracing the bear spirit.


    It was an uphill battle from the start. The Maura warriors who were fighting against people who had trained to fight against them were struggling. They did not know how to get out of this or how to win this fight.


    If it continued like this, the Maura warriors would be doomed.


    However, they were not alone.


    The Arlecchs had been tracking the Maura warriors and Borso, so they hadn''t expected the maid sitting cross-legged in the center of it all. But that didn''t change what they had to do. She had heard. She had seen.


    She needed to be disposed of.


    A foolish decision.

 Chapter 499 - 499: Looking

    Alzara being forced into battle by the Arlecch warriors attacking her eased some of the pressure on the Maura warriors.


    If the Arlecch warriors were the Maura warriors'' worst opponent, Alzara was the Arlecch warriors'' worst opponent. She danced between them, nimbly avoiding their spears. If they so much as tried to stab her when caught up in her flow, they would only stab each other.


    Alzara slipped through the Arlecch warriors, grazing them with her cursed daggers. They fell like wilting roses wherever she tread.


    However, she wasn''t invincible, and the Arlecch tribe didn''t have only weak cowards who relied on the combination of tactics and numbers to fight. They also had strong warriors.


    Otherwise, they would have never been put on the same pedestal as the Maura and Ugri tribe. They had the strength to uphold their reputation, and it wasn''t only because of their stargazers.


    Arlecch, the tribe of the owl spirit, also had warriors capable of channeling that spirit and transforming.


    It was the only tribe that could achieve flight through transformation. A nocturnal predator bird. It solidified their position as the tribe closest to the stars.


    It didn''t take long for the warriors of the Arlecch tribe to realize that this wasn''t a quick fight. They would have to risk all of their lives.


    Warriors with wings poking out of their backs, talons on their feet, and feathers covering parts of their body joined the fray.


    They weren''t as adept at transforming as Goro was, so they couldn''t achieve perfect flight. But they could leap into the air and land on Alzara or peck at her like vultures harassing a corpse.


    Naturally, Alzara wouldn''t go down that easily, especially when they were in the desert. But with the owl warriors keeping her in check, she couldn''t level the battlefield. Wherever she went, the owls were quick to follow. When she tried to turn on them, they swiftly soared up and hovered into the air out of her reach.


    Before she could wait for them to sink to the ground like hens flapping to stay afloat, the warriors on the ground or other owls would attack her.


    Alzara was being pulled in a thousand directions at once, unable to follow through with one.


    Goro was being kept at bay by an old man and his shining wooden staff. The other Maura warriors were surrounded by a horde of spearmen trying to turn the half-bears into pincushions.


    No one bothered with Borso. Once again, he was overlooked and perhaps forgotten.


    It was only natural.


    His existence would have no effect on the outcome of the battle. Since killing him first or last wouldn''t matter, the Arlecchs would much rather focus on those who actually had an impact on the fight.


    What was Borso going to do, tickle them with his arrows? He would be lucky if he could even shoot a tree two steps in front of him with the way his hands were shaking.


    The warriors on either side didn''t even spare a glance for Borso.


    Borso, on the other hand, could do nothing but watch.


    The Maura warriors were stronger than him. The opponents keeping them at bay¡­He didn''t stand a chance. As soon as he tried to fight them, they would turn on him and turn him into a pile of diced meat in seconds.


    He knew that.


    All of the warriors currently fighting were experienced veterans who had raided the Evandiel duchy and fought monsters on the Steppes for years if not decades.


    He was just a kid. He had seen action, but he was a long way from experienced or skilled enough to join a battle on this level.


    He was extremely lucky that he had even survived this far into it without being hit by a stray arrow or a weapon sent flying by one of the bears.


    But oddly enough, the chaotic sounds of battle and the never-ending motion of everything around him calmed him. His panic and fear thawed like snow during spring, and, even more oddly, he found himself asking what Zach would do.


    Borso wasn''t sure why, but deep down, he felt admiration for Zach. He had only known the traitor for almost a couple of weeks, but no matter what happened, he was always as cool as the autumn breeze. He faced every situation like he had expected them.''


    He didn''t do much himself.


    At first, Borso had looked down on him for only making his maids do everything while he did the bare minimum.


    But the more he saw¡ªthe more he looked, the more Borso realized that Zach was central to how smoothly they had passed the floors.


    Alzara and Nora worked well together. But with Zach acting as the bridge between the two fighters, they worked perfectly together. And whenever something happened, he was there to catch them with his barriers.


    Zach was the glue that filled in the cracks. He only did what was necessary to win and nothing more.


    To the common eye, it looked like he was mooching off of his maids and just ignorantly ordering them around. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Borso saw more than that.


    That was why he looked at the battlefield. He didn''t just point his eyes at all the fights going on at the same time. He looked.


    It was currently a stalemate on three fronts.


    Goro against Ulminer Go. The four remaining Maura warriors against two-thirds of the Arlecch warriors. Alzara against the remaining third of the warriors.


    Alzara was slowly whittling down her opponents. The Arlecchs were slowly wearing down the half-bears. Ulminer Go and Goro were tiring each other out without doing much damage to the other.


    Goro''s fur looked like a mess, but Borso could tell he was barely injured or bothered by his injuries.


    But channeling that much of the bear spirit for so long had to be taxing.


    Ulminer Go''s staff on the other hand seemed to contain an endless supply of energy. He could keep swinging it for days without worrying about anything but a headache.


    Borso''s eyes narrowed.


    As long as one of the three fights ended, the whole battle would flip on its head and end.


    Currently, no one other than the ones directly involved could do anything about that. And if they could, they would have already done it.


    That meant¡­


    "Shit. It''s up to me, isn''t it?" Borso cursed.

 Chapter 500 - 500: Delicate Balance

    Boros could tell which of the three parties on the battlefield would have the quickest and biggest effect on the overall battle without thinking.


    It was without a doubt Goro. He was the strongest fighter on their side. As soon as he won his battle, he could steamroll the other two sides of the battlefield.


    The four warriors were injured and exhausted. They would have trouble facing Ulminer Go. Alzara wasn''t more than superficially injured, but she was exhausted.


    Based on her attitude the last couple of days, she also might not be inclined to help the others. She might decide to sit back down or leave the area as soon as she won her fight.


    If Borso wanted the best odds for them all to win and survive, he had to separate Goro from Ulminer somehow and let the bear into the other fights.


    But that was where the problem appeared.


    How was Borso, the weakest in the desert, supposed to do something to Ulminer Go, one of the strongest?


    No.


    Borso shook his head. He could not interfere in the battle between the Goro and Ulminer Go. He looked away from those two and toward the other fights.


    The four half-bears and the tall maid.


    The halfbears were on their last leg, and the tall maid might use her long legs to sprint away once she managed to get free of the leech-like owls.


    Not only did Borso have to decide which battle he should join to maximize their odds of survival and success, but he also had to figure out how.


    He looked at the weapons and tools he had. A sword and a bow.


    Borso sighed deeply before dropping his blade and grabbing his bow. He dropped his arrows and stuck them into the ground in front of him.


    It was a calculated decision, but he wasn''t sure it was the right one. Alzara¡­


    Borso had a feeling that the only one who could rely on Alzara wholeheartedly was Zach.


    Still, he had to take the gamble.


    He grabbed an arrow and drew his bow, aiming it at the owl warriors flapping around and harassing Alzara.


    Shooting haphazardly wouldn''t be enough.


    Borso had to time his shots with the owl warriors'' agile movements, Alzara''s movements, and the flow of the battlefield. He had to attack one of the owls at the exact right moment to make an opening for Alzara to cut him down and break the delicate balance they were somehow keeping.


    Borso took a deep breath.


    His eyes were tense. He couldn''t blink. He couldn''t miss even a single moment.


    One of the humanoid owls saw an opening when Alzara turned around to lunge at his companion. It was too great not to go for it. Even if it was a trap, the owl warrior was confident his comrades would have his back and step in before Alzara''s cursed daggers could touch him.


    He flapped his wings and dove forward, reaching for Alzara''s back with his talons. he didn''t put his all into the attack. There was no need to do that when they already had the advantage. He didn''t need to go for a suicide attack just to land a blow on Alzara.


    They just had to keep juggling her like this, stopping her from going after any one of them. Sooner or later, she would make a mistake or grow tired.


    The owl warrior was confident. With how the battle had flowed so far, there was no reason not to be.


    That was why he thought the slight brushing sound his sensitive hearing picked up from behind him had nothing to do with him. It could just have been the feathers of one of his companions grinding against their clothes or dropping to the ground.


    It wasn''t.


    It was the sound of an arrow soaring through the air, its fletchings giving it a gentle spin as it headed for the owl warrior''s back.


    Borso wasn''t an expert archer, but he was good at enough that he carried around a bow as his secondary weapon. He was good enough to hit a target from thirty strides away, even if it was moving.


    He wasn''t good or strong enough to use a bow that had a heavy enough draw to shoot an arrow that could maim the owl warrior.


    The arrow lodged itself in the warrior''s muscular back, but that was it. He could reach back and pull it out if his comrades didn''t do it first.


    But it was a stinging pain he wasn''t prepared for, and it hit close to the base of his wings. It was enough to halt his movements for several moments.


    It was enough for Alzara to take one step into the air, fully extend her long arm, and slit the owl warriors throat, spilling his blood onto the desert floor.


    It was a sudden turn of events that momentarily surprised the other warriors, both airborne and grounded.


    Alzara did not miss the opportunity. She used the blood of the warrior on her dagger to spread a curse by swinging her dagger at them, spraying the blood. The drops of blood that flew onto them were enough to weaken them.


    The delicate balance had been broken.


    As if invigorated by the shower of blood, Alzara danced among the owl warriors, reveling in their panic. She jumped from one to the other, her daggers drawing light grey streaks in the air.


    Alzara, who had held back, looking for an opening, stopped holding back.


    It didn''t take long for the Arlecch warriors to break rank and try to flee or seek the others'' help. But showing their backs to Alzara was the most foolish thing they could have done.


    Alzara had won her battle. One third of the battlefield was dissolved in a rain of blood. Now, only the fights between Goro and Ulminer go, and the four half-bears and the Arlecch warriors were left.


    But they were still in a stalemate, though it looked like the half-bears were losing.


    Alzara glanced at the battlefield before turning to look at Borso.


    Borso looked at her. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She was too far away for him to plead with her, though he doubted that his words could affect her mind.


    Borso watched anxiously, waiting for Alzara to make her decision.

 Chapter 501 - 501: Best Guess

    While Borso was highly uncertain about Alzara''s decision, Alzara didn''t have to think about it.


    The Arlecchs had come and attacked her while she was waiting. She wasn''t just waiting, either. She was waiting for Zach. It was almost the same as if they had attacked Zach.


    Death was the only thing they deserved.


    Moreover, the Maura warriors had acted respectfully toward her and sympathised with her loss. Of course, she was going to help them out.


    After giving Borso a nod of acknowledgement since his arrow had been helpful, Alzara turned toward the half-bears.


    Getting Ulminer Go would be best, but the half-bears were already about to fall. They had already lost one comrade. They didn''t need to lose more. Besides, the Arlecch warriors fighting the half-bears were incapable of resisting her in the slightest.


    The blue-clothed warriors of the Arlecch tribe fell like dominoes. It didn''t take long before the half-bears of the Maura tribe could stop fighting for their lives and start taking the lives of their enemies.


    Goro and Ulminer noticed what was going on and the fight went from Ulminer keeping Goro in check to Goro trying to stop Ulminer from fleeing.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t succeed.


    As soon as he realized that the fight was lost, Ulminer Go decisively retreated. He had made a miscalculation but, well, he was still alive. It wasn''t over yet. And while he had revealed that they had killed some of the other Arlecchs, he hadn''t told them why.


    It was no big deal.


    Ulminer Go flew away, gliding on the surface of the desert''s sandy dunes. Goro considered chasing, but he wasn''t going to catch up. Besides, checking on his fellow warriors was more important.


    They gave the fallen warrior a warrior''s burial by making a funeral pyre with whatever combustible they could find and lit it on fire, sending his ashes to the ancestors among the stars.


    Afterward, Goro and the other warriors had to get moving. They had to inform the others of their tribe and the Ugri tribe of the Arlecch tribe''s betrayal.


    Goro wasn''t sure what Ulminer''s plan was. He alone would never be enough to do anything if he was working against both the Maura and Ugri tribes. That could only mean he wasn''t alone.


    But if the Maura chief took action personally¡­


    Goro had trouble seeing anything work out in Ulminer''s favor from now on.


    Borso considered staying in place with Alzara for a moment but decided against it. He wouldn''t get anything from it and would only be causing trouble for Alzara.


    He joined the Maura warriors.


    ***


    "Kid, I''ve been thinking about something," Patient Zero said, looking down at Zach, who was lying in the ground panting so hard his chest was moving like the wings of a bumblebee. The area around them was still barren, but it was no longer a flat plain. It was covered with the scars of their sparring.


    Zach didn''t bother answering. He knew Patient Zero would continue talking anyway.


    "Your hair color. You said you didn''t know why it changed from orange to red, right?"


    "Mhm?"


    "What if it happened because of the blood from your fight with the Child you mentioned?" She asked. She knew Zach didn''t like talking about that event, but hair didn''t change color for no reason. She was curious about why that had happened. What if it was an ill omen or a sign about Zach''s health?


    "Yeah, no." Zach rejected that possibility. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Patient Zero shrugged. It was just an idea. It was also partially to get Zach to talk about the incident, even just by dancing around it with a barely related topic.


    Zach moved on.


    "Any more progress on why or how I ended up here?" He asked. It was also vaguely related to the incident since that had made him want to go far away, but Patient Zero knew he specifically meant why the Labyrinth of Vidur still existed and why he could access what remained of it.


    "My best guess, after going through all the treasures in the Fortress, is that your accomplishments were greater than what the Labyrinth could reward you. You defeated me and the Blight, after all. So, instead of not giving you what you deserved, the Labyrinth took advantage of your world essence energy and tied the remnants of the world to you."


    "So, this is my world now?" Zach asked with a strange feeling. It was a weird thing to think about. He possessed an entire world. Well, not an entire world. But he had his very own world.


    "It''s not much of a world anymore, but yeah," Patient Zero said while looking around. A snowy mountain and a barren plain.


    There was also a Fortress with a bunch of treasures from the world. Considering they had endured through time and lasted until now, they were either worn-out scraps or good items. But they didn''t contribute much to the world itself.


    "Should I blame you for that?" Zach asked.


    "..." Patient Zero avoided Zach''s gaze and picked up a stone. She took aim and threw it into the sky. With a whistling sound, it disappeared into the distance.


    Patient Zero''s throw looked like it would have been enough for the stone to reach the stars.


    Instead, the stone hit something like a barrier after a couple of seconds and dropped back to the ground.


    "Do you want me to break it?" Patient Zero asked, pointing at the barrier.


    "I have a feeling that would be very stupid. What happened last time you breached this world''s protective barrier?"


    Last time Patient Zero had done something like that, she had invited the Blight to her world. She lowered her hand and dropped stone Nr. 2.


    "...Still, you need to get a sun and moon in here. Stars at the very least."


    "And how am I supposed to do that?"


    "Your world has plenty of stars. I''m sure you can borrow one or two."


    "..." Zach didn''t bother giving that any real thought.


    "I think I''m ready," He said instead.

 Chapter 502 - 502: Haven

    Patient Zero looked at Zach with a soft gaze. By that, he meant he was going to look for a way out. It would be lonely inside the tiny world again, but it wasn''t like she wasn''t used to it. At least this time, she was free from the Blight. She could train or something. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ll miss these talks of ours," she said.


    Zach did not needlessly retort, asking if she wasn''t going to miss having a punching bag. Instead, he nodded.


    "Me too."


    "Two, no three things before you go," Patient Zero said.


    "Mm?"


    "First. My name."


    "What about it?" Zach asked.


    "Technically, I don''t have one. I don''t remember my original one, and even if I did, I wouldn''t want to use it. Patient Zero¡­I''m no longer infected by the Blight, so that one doesn''t fit either. I need advice."


    "You want me to give you a name?" Zach asked with concern. Didn''t she know him pretty well by now? Did she really trust him with something like that?


    "Well¡­yeah." She nodded decisively after a moment''s hesitation.


    "Okay." Zach returned the nod. Since she wanted to entrust something like that to him, he had to take it seriously. He crossed his arms, and his head leaned forward as he sank into deep thought.


    And after several minutes of silent contemplation, Zach finally had a suggestion.


    "Ra?" He asked. Patient Zero looked up, a light gleaming deep in her eyes. She nodded instinctively. She had responded to that name.


    "It sounds powerful. It''s similar to the name of your people, and if you ask me, it fits you," Zach explained his reasoning. It was also simple, but he had a feeling she would misunderstand that, even if he tried to explain that while she wasn''t simple in the least, she was also pretty simple.


    It was also a tribute to her people, the Ka. She was the last of them. It was a way to remember her origins and the legacy she carried.


    "I like it," Ra said after a while, tasting the name on her tongue.


    As if in response to her acknowledgement of the name, her slightly illusory, faintly glowing figure solidified and glowed brighter for a moment. Her essence had strengthened in response to the name.


    Even Ra looked surprised.


    "Feel any different?" Zach asked curiously. Ra closed her eyes for a second before shaking her head.


    "Maybe a little more solid but¡­"


    "What does that even feel like?"


    "Exactly."


    "Alright. That was thing one. What''s thing two?" Zach asked, moving on.


    "Another name. It feels weird calling this place Vidur or the remnants of the Labyrinth of Vidur or whatever. It also seems appropriate to baptize this place to recognize you as the new official owner."


    "Was this world originally called Vidur?" Zach looked around the plain and the mountain.


    Ra shook her head.


    "Nope. I have no idea where Blizzard got that name from. Granted, I don''t remember what the world was called before, but I''m pretty sure it wasn''t Vidur."


    "Haven, I guess." Zach didn''t need to think long. This world had been his safe haven when he was dealing with Nora''s passing and the initial shock and trauma. And it would continue to be a safe haven going forward.


    It was a world that belonged exclusively to him. Ra lived in it as well, but that was just an added bonus.


    He could waste time to think of something less on the nose, but there was no need to.


    Ra nodded.


    "And the third thing?" Zach asked.


    "How are you going to return? I don''t see a door anywhere."


    Zach stiffened.


    That was a very good question. Why hadn''t he thought of it sooner?


    However, as if responding to him asking that question himself, Zach could feel it deep in his core. He just had to mobilize his world essence energy and seek the outside world. With that settled, he went to the highest mountain peak.


    Ra followed him silently.


    Zach hadn''t wanted to put Nora''s body on the snowy mountain since he didn''t want her to be cold. But it wasn''t very cold on the mountain. She was also protected by the most secure barrier he had ever made. Not even the sands of time would get through it. She wouldn''t be cold.


    Besides, she was dead and gone. The weather was the least of her worries.


    But still¡­Zach wanted to treat her body with respect. That was why he put it at the highest peak. It was both a pedestal and a point where she could look down on everything around her. It was the best location in Haven.


    It was much better than the barren plain.


    That was why Ra had chosen the second best location, the second highest peak, as her place. She had flattened it and borrowed a cushion from the fortress to sit on and meditate.


    Zach stroked Nora''s face.


    "I''ll be back," he said before hopping over to Ra''s peak.


    He didn''t know what would happen when he returned, after all. He didn''t want to accidentally do something to Nora''s resting place.


    "Look after her for me, will you?" He looked at Ra.


    If possible, he would have wanted to bring her with him. She had been an incredible source of comfort and a pillar for him to lean on when dealing with Nora''s passing. She was also strong. Zach would not have minded bringing her with him to the Labyrinth for added safety.


    But Ra had declined for multiple reasons.


    Zach would need to learn how to carry the stone on his own. He could not have Ra carry it with him. He would grow disillusioned and sooner or later forget how heavy it was. Then, for whatever reason, Ra wouldn''t be able to carry it with him, and the weight would hit him all at once, sending him crashing to rock bottom.


    She also wasn''t certain if she could last outside Haven. She did not have a body, after all.


    In a way, she was barely more than a ghost, right now.


    She didn''t want to take that risk, and Zach didn''t want to expose her to it once he realized it was a thing.


    With a lump in his stomach, Zach mustered his resolve, shooting Nora a final glance before letting his and Haven''s world essence energy swallow him.

 Chapter 503 - 503: Error

    The feeling Zach got when leaving Haven was similar to the vertigo he felt when entering the Labyrinths or traversing Jira''s floors. It differed in the warmth and stability he felt. He didn''t know if it was because of his connection to it or not, but leaving Haven felt like leaving home.


    Zach squinted at the bright light all around him. He was standing in an area of nothing but white. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Uhh¡­?" This was not the desert he left.


    Zach felt the space shake for half a second before a red holographic screen appeared in front of him. It was similar to the ones from the summoning interface and the other Labyrinths.


    [Error] was the first thing that flashed, but that soon disappeared almost before Zach caught it.


    And then, as if trying to hide that, it corrected itself.


    [Erronous method of entry detected. Administrator''s permission received. Returning entrant to last known location.]


    The white space disappeared around Zach. The next thing he knew, he was back in the desert in the same place as before he entered Haven. Since he had adjusted to the brightness of the white space, he didn''t need to squint for the bright sunlight of the desert.


    Instantly, he saw Alzara''s white hair and dark maid dress sticking out like a sore thumb in the yellow sand.


    Sensing the presence of another person for the first time in a while, Alzara slowly looked up. As she looked at the man with rock-solid muscles, minimum body fat, red hair, tattered clothes, and skin textured from fading burn scars, her eyes widened.


    Disbelief, shock, surprise, joy, sorrow.


    "Z¡ª...Master!" She cried out, standing up in a burst of sand that had crept up on her while she sat motionless. She was about to throw herself over him and wrap him up in a hug, but she wasn''t sure if he would appreciate that. If it was a mirage, she also didn''t want to dispel it so soon.


    But she was a Desert Witch and immune to mirages or hallucinations in the desert.


    Zach opened his arms slightly.


    That was all Alzara needed to cling to Zach with her tall figure.


    For most people, hugging or being hugged by someone half a height taller or shorter than them would be awkward. Was Zach supposed to reach up or did Alzara bow down? If she bowed down, wouldn''t she have to bend ninety degrees at the hips or something to get a good angle?


    Nope.


    Alzara got down on her knees to get a good position for hugging Zach tightly. Zach put his arms over and around Alzara''s shoulders and returned the favor.


    He might not have Ra by his side to help him carry the stone. But he did have his familiars to support and cheer him on while he carried the stone.


    They hadn''t been with him when he about collapsed from grief. They hadn''t helped him stand up. Even if they wanted to pick up that stone and carry it for them, they couldn''t. They could only support him.


    Zach glanced around. There were no signs of anyone else in the desert.


    He looked down at the top of Alzara''s head pressed against his shoulder. It wasn''t often he saw her from this angle.


    He took a breath, breathing in real air and not the stale one that felt like it was made of world essence energy in Haven.


    "Any signs of the others?" He asked.


    Yanael, Soara, Mandra, and Visla Maura were still on the loose.


    Zach was conflicted.


    He was sure that going their own ways should they separate had been the right call. If they had wasted time looking for each other on the next floor, they would have been delayed, even more so if it repeated on the following floor. They would never catch up to the Child or even the Sesha. And catching up to the Evandiels was even more of a pipe dream.


    But at the same time¡­


    If he had been with the others¡ªif they had been with the others¡­


    Nora wouldn''t have died, not like that.


    A million little things had led to Nora''s death. Zach wasn''t responsible for all of them, but he was for some of them.


    He stopped thinking about it.


    It was a hole he was not ready to enter yet. He was not going to dig into all the events and consequence chains that led to Nora''s death. He knew without doing it that the only thing at the bottom of the hole was his name.


    He didn''t need to confirm that. Not yet. He had just started walking again. He couldn''t stop, not until all the Children were dead.


    Alzara shook her head. She had several questions at the top of her mind that she couldn''t ask.


    Did Zach ask that the moment he returned because she wasn''t enough? Did he not trust her anymore? Did he even trust her in the first place? She had failed Yanael during the fight with Ugor, and now she had failed Nora.


    In that case, Zach was right to ask for the others. She did not deserve his trust.


    If she had been stronger, Nora wouldn''t have died, after all.


    Alzara blamed herself for Nora''s death.


    Zach was too caught up in his thoughts and blind to Alzara''s mood.


    "Let''s go," he said.


    Losing Nora had put a layer of ice on his heart. That presented itself in a tone colder than his usual warm one.


    How could Alzara not misunderstand that as Zach silently blaming her? Why else would he be so cold toward her when he usually showed nothing but warmth?


    With a nod and a quiet ''Yes, Master'' Alzara followed Zach through the desert.


    Zach didn''t know how long he had spent in Haven, and Alzara hadn''t bothered to keep track of time.


    Without a doubt, the others would have long passed right by the nineteenth floor and proceeded downward. The only question was how far.

 Chapter 504 - 504: Are You Zach?

    With the two of them working silently and tirelessly, Zach and Alzara made quick work of the sand worms of the nineteenth floor. It was the productivity of those escaping reality by throwing themselves at the task at hand.


    Alzara noticed that Zach was doing well. He was fighting and using his strength without any visible signs of injury or pain.


    He had recovered well wherever he was. At least something to find joy in.


    With all the stony cores of the sand worms gathered, Zach and Alzara moved to the twentieth floor. They had been warned that it would be dangerous, but not for the same reason as the nineteenth. If anything, it was because it was similar to the tenth floor.


    It was a ''safe'' floor with the residents of the Labyrinth receiving those who visited.


    It was just that the sentient residents on the twentieth floor weren''t as hospitable as the elves on the tenth floor.


    Zach and Alzara appeared in the middle of an underground town. Stone and sand buildings littered their surroundings, much like the wooden houses had done in the village on the tenth floor.


    But they weren''t greeted by an arrow at their feet.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed as he scanned their surroundings. He could sense several life forms around them, hiding in the shadows of the stable lanterns in the ceiling and on the house corners.


    He felt that the residents of the twentieth floor were more wary than hostile.


    He wondered if he needed to use force to have someone guide him to the portal to the twenty-first floor. But before he could make a decision, a person with skin like charcoal stepped out from the shadows. Their hair was dark grey, and their eyes were entirely black. Even their teeth looked like they were made of darkness.


    If they didn''t want to be seen while standing in shadows, they wouldn''t be.


    And their ears were long.


    Dark elves. Very distant relatives to the elves on the tenth floor.


    The dark elf looked at Alzara and then at Zach.


    "...Are you Zach?" They asked warily. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach frowned.


    "Who''s asking?" He asked in return.


    "Please, tell me! Are you Zach?" They repeated, desperation souring their voice.


    Zach hadn''t noticed it before since he assumed their glassy black eyes were just shiny, but the dark elf was on the verge of crying.


    "Fine. Yes. I''m Zach. What do you want?"


    The dark elf heaved a sigh of relief.


    "Please take your followers with you and leave!" The dark elf pleaded.


    Zach shot Alzara a confused and nervous glance. She just shook her head slightly. She also had no idea what was going on.


    "Please follow me," the dark elf said, turning around.


    After exchanging another look, Zach and Alzara followed the dark elf out of the town, up to the surface of the desert, and across it to another underground town. Along the way, Zach and Alzara tried to ask the dark elf what was going on, but they only gave vague answers and said that they would find out when they arrived.


    It looked like the dark elf was scared of them, especially Alzara, but they still didn''t want to answer for whatever reason. Left without a choice, Zach and Alzara could only wait and see.


    They couldn''t help but understand the dark elf once they arrived. It was another underground town where the dark elves lived. But it wasn''t in the dark elves'' control.


    Three maids and a barbarian had taken it hostage, threatening the lives of all the dark elves living in it.


    Not all of the other towns and dark elves cared about it, but the dark elves weren''t a prosperous race. They cherished each of their members. Naturally, they didn''t want to see an entire town of theirs disappear off the map.


    So, they complied. In exchange for the lives of all those in the town, the dark elves just had to bring them any information about a young man who should be accompanied by at least one maid.


    Yanael and the others didn''t want to expose Zach''s origins as the Evandiel family, so all they said was that he was from the Empire. That should be enough.


    But they had waited for more than a week without so much as a hint toward Zach''s location. The dark elves knew nothing about a young man from the Empire passing through their floor. That probably meant he hadn''t arrived yet.


    That meant he was coming sooner or later.


    It also meant that whatever had sent ripples through their connection to each other had happened on the higher floors. But until they reunited with Zach and the others, Yanael, Soara, and Mandra could only speculate on what happened to Zach for his emotions to fluctuate so greatly that they felt it.


    But they were desperate to reunite with Zach by now. Since it hadn''t happened naturally on the previous floors, they would have to take it upon themselves to force their reunion. It was also especially important now since the difficulty of each floor would only continue to rise with each floor.


    Yanael and the others were worried that Zach, Alzara, and Nora would struggle and fall behind even further if they tried to brave the deeper floors on their own.


    So, they took a town hostage and forced the dark elves to look for Zach. Finally, they had brought him to the town they took hostage.


    The dark elf army waiting outside let Zach enter.


    Yanael and the others wanted to celebrate the reunion, but the dark elf army didn''t look like it was waiting much longer.


    As soon as Zach and Alzara entered the town, Yanael, Soara, Mandra, and Visla grabbed them and threw them into the gate to the twenty-first floor without thinking much about it. First, they had to leave the town and get safe.


    Although they hadn''t killed any of the dark elves, the dark elves wouldn''t just let it go that easily.


    It was only when they were all on the other side of the portal that Yanael and the others realized something was missing.


    "Where''s Nora?"

 Chapter 505 - 505: Catching Up

    The silence after Visla''s question hung heavy in the midst of the howling glacial winds tossing and turning around them. But not saying anything wouldn''t change reality.


    "She''s dead," Zach said in a flat voice after a minute or two.


    "What?" Visla asked, stumped.


    Out of all the things she could have ever expected to come out of Zach''s mouth, that was the last thing she would have thought he would say. But the look on his face made it clear he wasn''t joking.


    "Wha-what happened?" She asked, still in disbelief. She couldn''t believe her ears just because it didn''t look like Zach was joking.


    "We ran into a Child. He killed Nora when she attacked him. End of story," Zach said quickly in a deadpan voice.


    Visla frowned. That was not a lot of information. But it was clear Zach did not want to talk about it, given his tone and expression. She did not pry. But she and the other familiars looked at Alzara. She had some explaining to do.


    But first, they had to deal with the shadows surrounding them and hiding in the snowstorm blowing around them.


    Despite Zach''s group not showing a hint of fear, it didn''t take long for the snow-white wolves to lunge at them. It also didn''t take long for the pack of fierce wolves to be wiped.


    Regardless of what had happened, they still had things to do and a war to stop. So, while moving through the floors, they told the others what had happened while they were separated.


    Zach stayed clinical and focused as he talked about his encounter with Borso and the Ugri tribe''s general attitude. Visla had a few things to say about the Ugri tribe, but they soon moved on when Alzara told both Zach and the others what happened when he was gone.


    The others were curious about that part, but they could tell from the lack of details that''s when Nora died, so, once again, they didn''t pry. The part about the Arlecch tribe''s internal conflict was also important enough that where Zach had been wasn''t important.


    It worried Visla. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Arlecch tribe had always been a tribe representing wisdom and a united front that guided the whole of the Sesha toward a brighter future. That they had killed each other for an unknown reason was alarming.


    Yanael, Soara, Mandra, and Visla had also seen some action, but it was nothing more than a couple of run-ins with the barbarians. Nothing they couldn''t handle.


    Neither of them had seen any traces of other labyrinth entrants. They had seen the glass floor as the aftermath of the battle between a Child and another, but that was it. No signs of the Child they were chasing, and no signs of the Evandiels.


    It was a little strange how a Child weaker than the one he killed had managed to virtually disappear in the Labyrinth. But it wasn''t like the Labyrinth was small. It wasn''t impossible for him to have just gone under everyone''s radar.


    But Zach was getting curious.


    They had caught up to and partially surpassed the three tribes. But there was still no sign of what they or the Children or the Evandiels were looking for.


    Zach wondered how deep they would have to go to find anything of what they were looking for.


    It took them arriving at the twenty-fifth floor to even see another human again. It was a small group of Maura warriors. They had a few words to say to Visla, which she didn''t let the others hear because she was embarrassed. Then Visla told them about the Arlecch tribe and the Children.


    They didn''t seem like they believed everything she said. But Visla had made it this far into the Labyrinth when not many of their tribe members had. They took her seriously. Though they looked strangely at Zach.


    He hadn''t died his hair again, and that red hair¡­


    But it didn''t seem like Visla was going around with an Evandiel for no reason, so they only told her to be cautious. They also informed her that the chief should only be a couple of floors ahead of them.


    If they hurried, they might catch up.


    It should be good news. They wanted to talk to the chiefs of all the tribes and get them to agree not to wage war against the Empire. That was how it had started at least.


    Now, they wanted to talk about why they had invaded the Empire in the first place and why they were in the Labyrinth of Jira. They wanted answers to all the questions about what was going on.


    But now that they were on the brink of getting their answers, Visla was getting cold feet. It was a little concerning, but Zach wasn''t patient nor in the mood to care.


    He had a feeling as to why Visla was hesitant. If he was right, she was just being silly.


    So, once they bid farewell to the Maura warriors, he urged his group to continue moving. There was no reason or time to stay still.


    Visla didn''t have the persuasive power to get Zach agree to maybe slow down. She also didn''t have a reason. She couldn''t even convince herself that it was a bad idea to try and catch up to the Maura chief.


    It was the only chief they knew the whereabouts of, after all. Maybe by catching up to and meeting them, they could finally make some progress.


    They had already spent a lot of time on this wild chase in the Labyrinth. The Children could have wreaked all sorts of havoc on the surface by now. They could have reaped many innocent lives while they were wasting time.


    They needed to put an end to this war as soon as possible.


    Visla could only sigh and resolve herself. After all, how bad could it really be?


    She was just meeting her mother for the first time in a while.


    It wasn''t like the chief had asked her to stay out of trouble or anything.

 Chapter 506 - 506: Nom

    In the winter wonderland with worse weather than the mountain in the Labyrinth of Vidur had before becoming Zach''s property, finding traces of other groups was next to impossible. Still, on the twenty-eighth floor, Mandra picked up residual presences of others. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The traces they found definitely didn''t belong to the Children, and were not anywhere close to Zach. They had found traces of the barbarians. Now, they just had to follow them through the blizzard to see if they belonged to Maura''s mother or any of the other tribes.


    Both Zach and Maura had trouble seeing either of the other tribes making it this far this soon, but then again, they had made it this far in better time than the Maura chief.


    The tribes probably had a reason for taking it slow, which meant they could be fast if they wanted to. They also hadn''t seen many traces of the thousands of other tribe members. They could be spread out on the floors they had already passed. But the leaders of each tribe could have ventured deep into the Labyrinth already.


    With the tension from Visla building with each step they took, Zach''s group followed the traces to a cave in the snowy mountains that the twentieth floors consisted of. The cave entrance was hidden and safe from the howling and freezing winds. As soon as they entered it, they walked into a wall of heat.


    They also saw the heat of a campfire further in. But before they could get that far, a large man wrapped in an icy pelt stepped out from around the corner and looked at them with a dark gaze. From his appearance alone, it was obvious he was a member of the Maura tribe.


    He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the group. Since Visla was hiding behind Yanael, he didn''t see her.


    "This cave is occupied." He didn''t need to say the rest. He was telling them to fuck off.


    That was despite them being clearly from the Empire. Since the two sides were technically at war, Zach would have thought the barbarians would have been a little more hostile.


    The Maura warrior was by no means friendly, but he also wasn''t starting a fight.


    Zach reached out to the side and grabbed Visla by the scruff of her neck like a mother cat with her kitten. He showed her to the Maura warrior who narrowed his eyes.


    "You¡­You''re one of the Chief''s children, right?" He asked.


    Visla nodded without meeting the man''s gaze. Not looking up at him wasn''t difficult. He was almost as tall as Alzara and thrice as wide.


    "W-what are you doing here?" He asked, a little surprised.


    "I''m here to see m¡ªWe''re here to talk to the Chief," Visla said, mustering her courage and straightening her back.


    The Maura warrior frowned slightly and shot a glance back into the cave.


    "I, uh¡ª"


    "Get out of the way, Nom," A woman''s voice oozing with power called out from behind Nom.


    Visla flinched at the voice. Zach worriedly raised an eyebrow. Was the Maura chief big trouble?


    Nom nodded and stepped aside, letting Zach''s group go past him. Zach naturally took the lead. Visla was slow to follow, so he pushed her along with a barrier to her back. Still, she hid behind them as they rounded the corner to a larger space.


    It was where the flickering light of a campfire had come from.


    A group of big and burly Maura warriors stood around it. One was bent over to roast some meat on the fire.


    Only one sat down. Still she looked at Zach and the others down her nose.


    Visla''s mother, the Maura Chief, was as tall as Alzara, who was the second tallest in the room. That was noticeable even when she was lounging in a chair next to the campfire, showing off her muscular and toned body that was like a work of art. It was even coated in a glistening layer of sweat.


    She was warm despite the minimal amount of clothes on her. A fur wrapped around her hips and a white fur vest to match her thick, neck-length bundle of hair.


    Her vest was one sudden movement away from slipping off of the surprisingly pale mounds beneath. She was undeniably attractive, and with such a temptation lying in the open, few would be unable to resist trying to sneak a glimpse.


    None of the warriors in the cave were looking at her.


    Her steely eyes caught Zach''s gaze glancing over her before landing on her face without hesitation. She glanced at his entourage.


    A following of that kind could either mean he was a degenerate lecher and pervert. But then, he would have gawked and stared.


    He didn''t do that because he was used to women. Still¡­


    "You''ve brought friends, daughter¡ªinteresting friends. S''he a mate of yours?" The Maura Chief asked, going straight for it.


    "W-what! N-no!" Visla hurriedly protested.


    "Good, then you won''t mind if I take him for myself," the Maura Chief said, a corner of her lips rising as she looked Zach up and down. His clothes were pretty tattered, but even if they hadn''t been, she would have noticed his physique. The way he stood, rested his arms, and breathed couldn''t be hidden from her eyes.


    He would last a little while.


    "You can''t!" Visla''s voice was loud in the cave, despite several piles of meat being there to absorb the sound.


    "You said he wasn''t yours. Stay out of this conversation." The Maura Chief''s words were an order, something Visla couldn''t ignore.


    The Chief looked Zach in the eyes as she spoke.


    "What do you say, young Evandiel? Fancy a tussle with the enemy?" She asked, sitting up straight before leaning in, somehow not exposing herself but being infuriatingly close to.


    Zach didn''t answer immediately.


    It didn''t take a genius to figure out what Visla''s mother wanted. He had to admit¡­


    He was intrigued¡ªa little tempted, even.

 Chapter 507 - 507: Maura

    The atmosphere, the flickering and crackling campfire, the primal lust and desire in Maura''s eyes. The warriors around blended into the darkness of the cave with their brown and black furs. They were easy to ignore.


    And Zach was a young man.


    For years, he had been surrounded by beautiful women¡ªnot just surrounded. He had wrestled and fought with and against them more times than he could count during training and sparring. He had made physical contact with ''areas'' that invoked thoughts and desires.


    He had not had a single outlet.


    Zach had thought about it on many occasions. But doing it with his familiars¡­


    Something deep in his heart told him it was a line he shouldn''t cross. At least not yet, but maybe not ever.


    He had thought about doing it with Nora, about changing their relationship from one of Young Master and Maid, to one of equals. He had thought about it a lot on occasion.


    He could see himself grow old with her, as strange as it was. She would be nagging him with a smile that deepened her wrinkles. He would stroke her grey hair as she sat in his lap on the rocking chair. Their kids and grandkids would shake their heads.


    But it wasn''t to be.


    He was of the highest nobility and she was of an unknown origin, her only background being her mother, who had an even more unknown origin. But he was the seventh son, and as long as he wanted it enough, the only obstacle would have been Nora''s mother.


    But Zach didn''t care a rat''s ass about her.


    Still, Zach had never acted on those thoughts.


    First of all, he wasn''t sure if his feelings were real.


    Nora had been the biggest and only real source of constant warmth and support ever since she came into his life. She had been reliable and was always there for him.


    Those feelings of his could only be a perversion of the non-romantic love he held for her.


    Even if it wasn''t anything like that, what if they weren''t reciprocated?


    Nora would either feel forced by her position and reliance on the Evandiel family to entertain his wishes, making both of them miserable, or she would ask to leave his side. Either way, their relationship would be forever changed and damaged.


    Zach had a feeling sometimes, though, that the way Nora looked at him was different from the way a maid was supposed to look at the master she served. But he did not dig into that. For both of their sakes.


    So, Zach pushed those feelings deep down until he forgot what they felt like.


    And now, they would never bloom.


    Naturally, Zach hadn''t thought much about love and the intimacy between genders as of late. Naturally, nothing had happened in that area.


    Yet, here Maura was, taking the initiative.


    How could Zach not be interested?


    Was it as good as the rumors said? Would it make him a different man?


    ¡­Would it help him think of something¡ªsomeone¡ªelse?


    Zach sighed. It probably would distract him. For a moment.


    "I must decline," he answered after a minute of thoughtful consideration.


    Maura''s eyebrows rose slightly.


    "Nn, I thought I had you for a moment there. Scared?" She asked, leaning back in her chair and looking at Zach with an intrigued gaze.


    Zach met her eyes. He still wasn''t falling for the ongoing temptation just below her face.


    "...I guess not," she said, answering her own question. Zach was just too focused on whatever was going on in his head to give in to his desire.


    She sighed.


    "This just got a lot more boring. What brings you here, young Evandiel, and be quick about it. I''m getting hungry soon, and if you''re still here by then, it''s hard to say what I''ll be eating tonight." Maura licked her teeth as she looked Zach up and down again with a hungry gaze.


    "We want to know why this war started, why your tribes entered the Labyrinth, and what it all has to do with the Children of the Hydra," Zach stated firmly.


    The corner of Maura''s eyebrow rose slightly and the way she looked at Zach changed.


    "You don''t know anything, do you?" She asked before continuing since it was obvious he didn''t.


    "Maybe I shouldn''t be calling you young Evandiel, then. Good. I prefer being on first name basis. Zacharia," she said, leaning forward again, "Are you sure you want to know everything?" She asked in a low voice.


    It was like she was saying that she knew he did not want to know. But whether she was wrong or simply knew better than Zach, it didn''t matter.


    Zach had to know. He nodded.


    "Too bad," Maura shrugged and casually leaned back again, kicking up her foot on her knee.


    "It''s not my place to tell you the deep and gritty secrets, unfortunately. You will have to talk to your family about that, Zacharia. As for what I can tell you¡­" Maura smiled, her steely eyes glistening like a blade in the dark.


    "Have you ever seen a bear share its food?" She asked.


    Zach did not understand what she meant. At first he thought she was still talking about her earlier suggestion, but that wasn''t it. He slowly shook his head.


    "Of course, you haven''t. Bears it a lot. If they went around giving away everything, they would starve.


    "But they''re smart creatures. They don''t eat if they''re not hungry."


    Maura finally got to the point. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Give me something, and I''ll tell you at least a little." She smirked. Watching Zach''s expressions while she talked was a treat of its own. She wondered what other expressions he could make.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed.


    "What do you want¡­?" He asked, barely resisting covering himself with his hands.


    Maura grinned and held up three fingers.


    "Three chances. You have three chances to make a suggestion that will satisfy me. If you don''t, I''ll take what I want."

 Chapter 508 - 508: Customer Satisfaction

    Zach heard Visla gulp behind him at Maura''s words. He ignored that and thought about what he had that Maura could possibly want. He didn''t have much on him, after all. And he doubted that she would want the rags of his clothes.


    She might want to take off his rags, but she wouldn''t want to keep them. He thought silently for a moment before realizing something.


    He had access to all the treasures of a world. It was a small world that had already seen its ruin once, but some of the treasures remained.


    Zach held up a finger.


    "I''ll be right back," he said before disappearing, instantly putting everyone in the cave on alert. His familiars looked around in worry. The Maura warriors grabbed their weapons, and Maura sat up straight, fixing her gaze on the spot from where Zach disappeared. That had happened without any hints.


    It was a terrifying ability.


    He returned a little while later with a longsword in his hands. The blade was dull grey, and the grip was a strip of black leather wrapped tightly around the hilt. It didn''t have a crossguard, and the pommel was a smooth piece of metal. It looked like a boring and almost cheap sword.


    It would do the trick in a pinch, but it wasn''t something to put on display.


    But Ra had said it was one of the better swords in the Fortress. It was to the point where she wondered if it was worth learning how to wield the sword just so she could teach Zach how to use it. But since Zach couldn''t learn how to use a sword, she didn''t bother. It would be of better use in someone else''s hands.


    Visla and a few of the warriors were still confused about Zach disappearing and reappearing, but they looked at the sword. They could not understand why he was offering a sword like that to Maura when it looked like it would barely be able to cut through the meat roasting by the campfire.


    However, a couple of warriors'' eyes lit up. Nom was one of them. Their eyes stung when they looked at the sword''s edge for too long. And as if to prove that to the others and demonstrate the sword''s sharpness, Zach stuck it right into the cave wall.


    It slid right in like a hot knife into a slab of butter. He didn''t use force or world essence energy. The sword was just sharp enough to cut through stone like it was cheese.


    Zach pulled it out to half the length and struck the hilt so as to snap the blade in half, but it didn''t break. It bent slightly before trembling like a spring doorstop in its pocket in the cave wall.


    "Mhm, s''a good weapon. Too bad I don''t use them," Maura said with a light shrug.


    Zach could have countered that she could give it to a subordinate or something. But he was supposed to give her something that she wanted, not something that anyone would want.


    With a sigh, Zach nodded and returned to Haven. Since a weapon was no good, what about a necklace that increased the wearer''s strength?


    "Zacharia, please," Maura said while gesturing at her body, "Does this body look like one that needs trinkets?"


    Zach couldn''t argue with that. Maura''s body was flawless. Based on his short acquaintance with her, he could also guess that she wasn''t interested in strength that wasn''t her own. A necklace like that was almost like insulting her since it could imply that her strength wasn''t enough.


    He returned it to Haven. He looked at the pile of goodies that Ra helped him pick out.


    He was stumped.


    What could he possibly give to Maura that would satisfy her? She probably didn''t lack pure material wealth. Treasured items didn''t interest her. Clothes¡­didn''t interest her either. Ores and minerals? What was she supposed to do with them?


    Food maybe?


    Zach shook his head. She had the meat by the campfire, and if that wasn''t enough, she would solve it on her own.


    He sighed.


    Getting devoured by her and getting something from it was better than just getting devoured and receiving nothing in return.


    It wasn''t like it was a bad deal, either, assuming he could endure long enough to satisfy Maura and assuming she was still interested in that.


    However, he was sure Maura''s image of him would fall if he did that. Doing that was the easy way out. If he wanted to get as much as possible from Maura, he would have to live up to her expectations and satisfy not just her body but her spirit.


    He narrowed his eyes. He looked at Ra. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Thanks for the help, Ra," he said before returning to the Labyrinth. He knew what to give Maura. It was something better than any physical object. It was better than momentary pleasure.


    Zach returned to the cave with a confident smile as he looked at Maura again. She had been about to propose that if he told her about his mysterious teleportation ability, she would tell him what he wanted to know, but looking at his face, she didn''t have to.


    He had come up with an answer. Maura waited patiently.


    "If you tell me what I asked of you, I''ll owe you one," Zach said simply.


    Could there be anything better to receive as a gift than another''s help?


    No amount of money, no treasure, and no object could have saved Zach when he first learned to deal with the grief of losing Nora. Only Ra''s presence, warmth, and kindness had helped.


    He wasn''t necessarily offering his warmth and kindness to Maura. But he was offering to fulfill any one of her requests whenever she asked.


    "..." Maura looked at him blankly. Visla could feel her spine about to freeze. Yanael and the other familiars were ready to fight the warriors who also looked like they were ready to make sure no one interfered with the Chief when she took what she wanted.

 Chapter 509 - 509: Prophecy

    The tension in the cave continued rising like the sun until¡­


    "Haha!" Maura burst out laughing. It was a powerful laugh that made the fire''s flames dance and flicker. She soon calmed down and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. It was the first time she had laughed in ages.


    "You¡­" She looked at Zach. "What makes you think that I would ever need your help?" She asked out of almost pure curiosity. She wanted to know Zach''s train of thought.


    Zach shrugged and glanced at his familiars.


    "I''m sure there''s something I can help you with right now¡­But as I said, I will owe you one. In the future, should you ever need a favor or my help with anything, I will do everything in my power to help, almost no questions asked."


    Maura''s eyes narrowed slightly. Zach was speaking as if it was a certainty that he would become someone whose help she would benefit from greatly in the future. He was confident in himself. Looking at him and his familiars, though, she couldn''t blame him.


    Instead, she thought about the prophecy that had brought everyone into the Labyrinth.


    ''Maybe there is something to the other interpretation, after all,'' Maura thought to herself.


    Zach felt his confidence slowly dwindle as Maura just looked at him without saying anything else. Maybe he had made a wrong assessment. Just because he knew the value of another''s favor, it didn''t mean Maura would. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But eventually, Maura spoke.


    "Alright," She said. "I''ll accept this deal. I''ll tell you a little about what you want to know. In exchange, you owe me one." Maura smiled, her eyes glowing like those of a predator. Zach nodded.


    She held out her hand. Zach grabbed it and started shaking it, but before he could finish, Maura pulled him down onto her lap.


    Zach supported himself with one hand on the chair next to her shoulder and the other next to her waist. His face was so close to hers they were almost touching.


    "Cashing in that favor already?" Zach asked, doing his best to stay calm. It was difficult. Being this close to Maura, he could feel her body heat and her breath tickling his ear. He was also dangerously close to two of the only soft spots on her body. A glance downward and he might see something.


    "Just showing you what you''re missing," Maura said with a chuckle as she wrapped an arm around the small of his back and pushed his body onto hers.


    Unfortunately, it would take more than mere physical contact to convince him or make him succumb to the base desires of man.


    "Ahem," He cleared his throat and pushed away from Maura. She didn''t let him go at first, and Zach felt just how strong she was. If she didn''t want to let him go, he wouldn''t be able to break free.


    Luckily, she was just teasing him and released him after a moment, but not without being surprised at the strength he had displayed in that short moment.


    If she hadn''t let him go, the chair beneath them would have broken under his grip, putting them both in an embarrassing position. Well, Maura figured she wouldn''t mind that position if Zach showed such initiative, but she doubted Zach would be down to continue.


    She chuckled again as Zach straightened his messy clothes with a blushing face.


    Zach was used to physical contact with extremely beautiful women. He was not used to extremely beautiful women initiating physical contact to such a degree with purposes other than training in mind.


    Zach ignored the gazes from those around them and let his eyes wander around the cave while his heart rate slowed to a normal pace before looking at Maura again.


    Maura could tell what he wanted. She sighed. It was fun teasing him, but she had to uphold her end of the deal.


    "In reality, there''s not much to say. Everything that''s happened the last few months, including everyone entering the Labyrinth of Jira, has happened for one reason.


    "There was a prophecy of a great disaster emerging from the Labyrinth. I think the Evandiels also figured it out pretty quickly. But a great disaster emerging from the Labyrinth that would prompt the Children to suddenly emerge from the cracks can only mean one thing." She paused for a moment as if to let Zach figure it out on his own.


    A great disaster that would make the Evandiels and the big three tribes of the Sesha move without caring too much about actually fighting each other. It was also something that would make the Children of the Hydra move.


    According to the Sesha folktales, the Children came into being after the God of Nature, Isuls, defeated the Hydra. But after the encounter with the Child at the Nilma tribe, they had heard several different versions.


    In some, Isuls slew the Hydra, and the Children were the Hydra''s heads separating from its body and gaining sentience and human shape.


    In others, Isuls seduced the Hydra and together, they created the Children. Isuls used the Hydra''s weakness after birth to defeat it.


    It was only natural to assume that by defeating the Hydra, the stories meant that Isuls had killed it.


    But what if Isuls hadn''t slain the Hydra but instead just put it away or something.


    What if defeating the Hydra meant just that. Isuls had beaten the rampaging Hydra so badly that the overgrown snake had to enter a state of dormancy to rest and recover.


    What if the best place, a place rich in food and energy, was the Labyrinth of Jira?


    Zach''s eyes widened in realization as he looked at Maura. She smiled as she saw his expression. She knew he could figure it out. A little substance behind the meat always made it more delicious.


    "...There''s no way¡­!" Zach said in disbelief.


    Maura shrugged.


    "It could always be something native to the Labyrinth that''s found a way out or another walking disaster, and the Children are just taking advantage of it to make a comeback." Although that''s what she said, it was clear Maura didn''t believe it herself.


    The Hydra was emerging.

 Chapter 510 - 510: Hypocrite

    "So, my family, your three tribes, and the Children have entered the Labyrinth to do something about the Hydra? I get that part. But why the war?" Zach asked.


    Maura rolled her eyes.


    "With our history, would you expect anything else? The Evandiels left their posts, and we needed to enter the Empire. It was a natural flow of events," she answered lazily.


    Zach wasn''t satisfied.


    "Couldn''t you have told everyone about the Hydra? Couldn''t you have talked with, I don''t know, the Emperor? Maybe cooperated to deal with a greater threat or something?" He pressed. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A lot of lives had already been lost, and by Maura''s words, it was seemingly for nothing. The war was a hoax. A front for something else.


    How could Zach not be angry?


    But he realized something else and spoke before Maura could answer.


    "And why did the Children interfere in the war?" He asked in a chilly tone.


    "That''s¡­" Maura hesitated for the first time. She had promised to answer Zach''s questions to a certain degree. She certainly could tell him what it was about and why they hadn''t bothered stopping the war before it broke out.


    But while she and the others who knew about it were in on it, she could tell that Zach was against it.


    Maura sighed.


    "How much do you know about the Hydra, Zacharia?" she asked.


    Zach shrugged. He knew it was a strong, nigh-mythological beast that dealt in fire, poison, death, and destruction. That was about it.


    "In short, it''s a nine-headed, overgrown snake, with each of its nine heads representing an Aspect of its power. One of those heads carries the Aspect of Death."


    That made Zach glance at Soara, but she wasn''t sure what to do about that. It wasn''t like all deities of death knew each other, so she shrugged and shook her head.


    Maura was a little curious about that interaction but didn''t bother.


    She was about to continue when Zach''s eyes widened in realization.


    "...It''s to make the Hydra stronger?" He asked in disbelief.


    Soara''s powers of death made her passively gain strength by being close to death and areas where people have died. It hadn''t shown a lot over the past years, but Zach wasn''t a genocidal maniac, and he hadn''t gone around massacring people.


    However, Soara had gained a little from it while they traveled around the Evandiel Duchy since the war broke out. But it was less than expected for a place riddled with the flames of war.


    But if the Hydra had the same ability and was already connected to the land, it was understandable why Soara hadn''t gained as much as they would have expected.


    However, that aside, Maura was saying that it was intentional.


    They hadn''t stopped the war because they didn''t mind the Hydra absorbing the energies of death that would come from it. And the Children of Hydra were fanning the flames because they wanted the Hydra to gain even more from it.


    Zach didn''t understand.


    Hadn''t Maura just said that the Hydra was a great disaster that they needed to stop? Why were they helping it grow stronger?


    Zach''s frown took on hints of anger as he looked at Maura.


    She wasn''t scared in the least, but she felt that she needed to correct his assumption.


    "Before you do anything you regret," she said, feeling the power surging within Zach''s body, "Listen to the end first.


    "The Hydra is sealed. Isuls put her deep in the Labyrinth, but that wasn''t all he did. He made sure she would not escape. But the seal is also there to keep her safe.


    "We need the Hydra to break out of the seal so that we can kill her once and for all," Maura said.


    Zach''s frown deepened.


    "...So, this war and all the innocent lives lost are just part of the process to hunt the Hydra?" Zach questioned, hoping for a no.


    Maura nodded.


    "Yeah. That''s one way to put it, I guess."


    Zach''s eyes darkened as he looked at Maura. She did not shy away from his gaze.


    "I can tell what you''re thinking, Zacharia. And I can probably give you a dozen excuses and reasons for why it had to be done this way." Maura shrugged.


    "But the simple answer is that it''s the easiest way. Like this, we can control when the Hydra breaks free from its seal to a certain degree. Like this, we can prevent it from breaking out from the Labyrinth and laying waste to all of the east.


    "It''s a necessary sacrifice. The ones dying right now would only die sooner or later to the Hydra once it breaks free and escapes the Labyrinth."


    Maura didn''t owe Zach an explanation, but she gave it anyway since she hoped Zach would see clearly.


    "Do you think that justifies it?!" Zach shouted in outrage.


    Thousands of people had died and were dying because some impatient schmucks wanted to kill the Hydra on the right day of the week.


    "Thousands dead! Thousands more are dying¡ª"


    "And if they weren''t, it would be hundreds of thousands. Zacharia." Maura''s voice silenced Zach. She interrupted him, and she was not letting him interrupt her.


    "I am not seeking justification. I don''t need it. But if you want to get into the worth of lives, think about yourself for a second.


    "How many innocent deaths isn''t your life built on? The Empire is built on a foundation of millions of lives. Half of the Evandiel wealth comes from the slaughter of countless Sesha throughout the generations. And don''t get me started on your principal. Do you think he got those Titles because he''s a good person who saved a lot of lives? He might be laying low right now but the blood on his hands is enough to drown a city."


    The heat in Zach''s eyes faded slightly.


    "I¡­am a few generations too late to do anything about that. Call me hypocritical if you want, but this is happening right in front of me! How can I not blame the ones responsible? How can I not even try to do something about it?" He asked in a pleading tone.

 Chapter 511 - 511: Good Daughter

    Maura shrugged. She had already said more than she felt obligated to say. She might have taken a light fancy to Zach''s physique and potential, but she wasn''t going to give him the guidance and comfort he needed or whatever it was he was asking for.


    Zach sighed.


    No matter what he said, it wasn''t like Maura was going to change reality or the past.


    "I''ll just say that if you wanted the Hydra out of its seal, you could have always broken it yourself instead of helping the Hydra get stronger." He eventually said. There was no need to get worked up about something he couldn''t change right now. But he was going to get the last word.


    "..."


    "Oh, don''t tell me you didn''t think of that?"


    "The seal was made by Isuls, the god of nature," Maura said as if to explain.


    "So, you can''t handle the seal, but you can handle the Hydra, who can break the seal?" Zach asked. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...It''s easier for the Hydra to break the seal. It''s been wearing it down for millennia."


    Zach raised his hands. He wasn''t going to continue arguing.


    "Is that all, then?" He asked instead. Had Maura told them everything they needed and wanted to know?


    "Yeah, I don''t feel like talking to you anymore," Maura said, resting her forehead in her hand and waving away Zach before pointing at Visla.


    "But you¡­Visla, didn''t I tell you to stay out of trouble?"


    "Y-you did." Visla was startled to suddenly be talked to by Maura but tried to stay calm. Hopefully, Zach wouldn''t throw her to the wolves.


    "Tell me, weak child of mine, did the meaning of staying out of trouble change since the last time I used the phrase?" Maura asked.


    "I-I don''t know when you used it the last¡ª"


    "Do you think that''s what I wanted to hear?"


    "N-No."


    "No? Then what do you think I wanted to hear?"


    Visla despaired. It felt like whatever she said, it was the opposite of what Maura wanted.


    "I''m sorry?" She said tentatively. An apology could never be wrong.


    "No." Maura sighed.


    "You had the balls to go against my orders, and you had the balls to crawl this deep into the Labyrinth. You might as well have to balls to stand up straight, look me in the eyes, and tell me to fuck off." Maura looked straight at Visla.


    Visla felt the pressure of her mother''s gaze and, for the first time during their conversation, looked up from the ground. She glanced at her mother.


    "I-Is that what you want me to say?" She asked.


    "No, of course not. I want you to tell me that you''re going to be returning to the surface and then finding a place to hide, a place where the Hydra will never find you if we fail to kill it." Maura sighed.


    "But I also know that if my parents had told me to do something like that, I would have told them to fuck off and proceeded deeper into the Labyrinth, so, I can''t blame you for doing the same.


    "All I want, Visla, is for you to be safe. But you don''t always get what you want. So, continue clinging to Zacharia and find a place to look as we fight the Hydra. That''s where I draw the line. Try to join the fight or anything, and I''ll pack you into Nom''s stomach and send you to the surface." Maura finished with a threat. She couldn''t be seen as a softie and a loving mother, after all.


    "Uhh¡­" Visla wasn''t sure what to say. Maura''s words were more than a little confusing to her. Zach tapped her shoulder with his knuckles.


    "Just go hug your mom, coward." When Visla glanced at him uncertainly, he pushed her forward, making her stumble into Maura''s embrace.


    "I''ll wait outside." Zach left with his familiars to let the two catch up in peace. He also needed a moment for himself to think about what Maura had just revealed to him.


    A Hydra. People dying to free that Hydra. People planning to kill that Hydra, his family included.


    It was a mess.


    But it was just the right kind of mess. It would do a better job distracting him than any pleasures of the flesh.


    Zach started thinking about what he had on hand and what he could.


    The Hydra was a monster that not even Maura was confident she could kill, and that was when she was working with the other tribe Chiefs and possibly the Evandiel family. That was the best possible scenario.


    The Arlecchs were sketchy, and there was no way Zach could forget about the Children.


    Maura, the other chiefs, and Zach''s parents were strong. He did not know exactly how strong, but he probably didn''t stand a chance if he were alone. With all of his familiars, he might have a chance against one of them.


    He wouldn''t be too much of a deadweight in the battle against the Hydra, at least.


    But he wasn''t sure it would be the best use of his abilities and familiars. He also wasn''t sure if he wanted to cooperate with everyone else.


    His family had left him behind, and the chiefs were nasty bastards who sacrificed the Empire''s and their own people just because they weren''t confident of breaking the Hydra''s seal on their own.


    Zach sighed and looked toward the sky. Snow and ice trapped in eternal wind blocked it, but it was almost better than the view in Haven.


    It would be reassuring to have Ra by his side for this, but that wasn''t happening. She wasn''t sure if her incorporeal essence would last outside Haven. It would be great if it could, though.


    He could just invite her out and sic her on anyone and anything causing him dissatisfaction. Boom, problem solved.


    Zach glanced at Nom, who joined him outside the cave. Nom offered him a skewer of meat. Zach shook his head, refusing the offer.


    "I don''t eat."

 Chapter 512 - 512: Nothings Changed

    Nom looked around awkwardly at Zach''s odd way of rejecting the food, but he quickly moved on and told Zach what he had been ordered to tell him.


    The Hydra was sealed on the thirtieth floor. Isuls had used the floor''s environment to restrict the Hydra''s powers and limit its activity as much as possible. That was why the thirtieth floor diverged from the rest of the section of the Labyrinth.


    Up the twenty-ninth floor, the temperature only continued to drop, and the blizzard grew worse. But on the thirtieth, it was like stepping into spring. All the cold had been used to seal the Hydra.


    That meant all of it would be re-released alongside the Hydra.


    Anyone there to see it happen but not prepared for it would turn into an ice cube before they knew what was happening to them.


    Zach didn''t have any plans on ever dropping his barriers, but he appreciated the heads-up.


    So far, the pattern had been pretty consistent in making the ''safe'' floors safe only in terms of monsters. The environment, however, was a condensation of everything on the previous floors of the same section of the Labyrinth.


    So, the thirtieth floor should be relatively free from hostile monsters, the Hydra aside, but it would be a manifestation of a winter hellscape with temperatures that made even ice shiver. The Hydra''s seal had borrowed that environment, but as soon as the Seal broke, the temperatures would return to their original levels.


    A drastic change in environment and a Hydra on the loose.


    The only good thing would be that the Hydra wouldn''t be able to display its full power in the frozen hellscape. That should make it easier to kill.


    Nom also told Zach that the Evandiels, if they were in the Labyrinth, should be on the twenty-ninth floor. It was a floor that most Labyrinth entrants would never see in their lives, but it was easy for the Evandiel family to get there in record time and prepare for a battle with the Hydra and possibly against the Children and the Sesha.


    If the Evandiels weren''t anywhere else, they would be there.


    Zach was lost in thought, and Nom returned to the cave, only to be replaced by Visla a few moments later.


    "...What do we do now, Zach?" She asked after a while of him looking at the sky. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What do you mean? What we have to do hasn''t changed. The only thing that''s changed is how we need to do it." Zach shrugged. Before Maura''s revelations, they needed to talk to the chiefs and get them to agree to the peace.


    Now, the peace hinged on the Hydra''s death. When it was dead, they could stop the war.


    They just had to make sure the Hydra ended up dead.


    Visla''s eyes widened as she understood what Zach meant. Then, worry and hesitation covered her face.


    She had pulled her own weight in the beginning of their dive into the Labyrinth, but it had been a while since she was entirely reliant on Zach''s familiars. It would have been different if she could complete her transformation. But she wasn''t an experienced veteran, and she wasn''t a disgusting genius like her mother, who did it in her early teens.


    Visla was rightfully worried that she wouldn''t be able to contribute to what Zach was going to do the following days.


    "You don''t have to come if you don''t want to," Zach said suddenly, sensing Visla''s hesitation.


    That was all she needed to hear.


    "Don''t think you''ll get rid of me that easily," She retorted with a humph as she crossed her arms and leaned against the mountain wall next to Zach.


    "...I heard your family might be on the next floor," She said cautiously. She had a feeling it was a slightly sensitive subject for Zach.


    They had left him behind in the Empire. As if that wasn''t enough, they had all agreed to sacrifice their people for the sake of breaking the Hydra''s seal.


    In that aspect, they were right to keep him out of it. Zach would have done everything in his power to go against them if he knew about their plan.


    "Yeah. Since I''ve met yours, I guess it''s only right for you to meet mine. Let''s go."


    Now that he was about to reunite with his parents and siblings for the first time since they abandoned him, Zach was a little hesitant. Would he be able to retain his disappointment, sadness, and anger when he looked at them? Would he even be able to look them in the eye?


    He had lost Nora, and they had sacrificed thousands of their own people.


    Regardless of what happened with the Hydra, things would never be the same again.


    This encounter with them would be deciding how different things would end up.


    It was only natural that Zach was hesitant.


    But he shouldn''t waste time, and there was no use in stalling. He also had to find out what Mauara had hinted about. His family was hiding another secret from him. At least one secret.


    Zach didn''t like it.


    At first, he had been limited by the restrictions on everything, which made it almost impossible to find out what he wanted. Now, he knew the basics of most things, and he had the authority to keep looking for more information. But now, he wasn''t limited by what he couldn''t know. He was limited by what others weren''t telling him.


    It was irritating being left in the dark.


    He wanted to know the truth.


    Mandra suddenly glanced at Zach. She could feel a sensation of a kindred spirit. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at Zach closely.


    She finally understood why he had received a skill similar to her innate talent when he summoned her.


    He wasn''t just a curious person or obsessed with finding out more about the mystic art of summoning.


    He craved answers. He was the same as her. Mandra suddenly felt closer to Zach than before.


    But that didn''t stop her from intercepting the towering boulder of ice and sending it back at the hill-sized yeti that threw it.

 Chapter 513 - 513: Me?

    After gathering the grisly claws from a hundred yetis, Zach looked at the ones around him. Yanael, Alzara, Soara, Mandra, and Visla. There was a gap to his left between himself and Visla where Nora usually stood in moments like this.


    Zach gritted his teeth. Thoughts swirled around in his messy mind. But he did not let himself get drawn in. Instead, he focused on moving them to the next floor.


    He hoped they would end up far from his family so that he could get the chance to prepare himself mentally. But Zach wasn''t infamous for his bad luck for nothing.


    They didn''t just end up close to the Evandiels on the twenty-ninth floor. They ended up in the middle of their camp.


    Zach recognized the emblems, the tents, and the warriors suddenly pointing at them with their weapons.


    "...Zach?" A voice called out from behind them. The warriors of the Evandiel family lowered their weapons. They had suspected something once they saw the young man with red hair, but it was only when Leana, the third daughter of the family spoke that they could confirm it and lower their guard.


    Zach turned around, his expression frozen stiff.


    "Leana," He answered simply. Before he could do anything else, she had already thrown herself at him and forced him into a hug. The sister who had been the worst at showing affection.


    Zach could have avoided it or easily broken out of it. But in a weird way, he needed a hug, even if it was from the family that abandoned him. He also had to find out if he could still feel anything from it. Could he feel the warmth he so desperately needed?


    After a few moments, he wrangled his arms out of Leana''s grip and put his hands on her shoulders. He pushed her back and freed himself from her hug.


    Leana was a little surprised at his strength. She was several years older than him, and she had trained rigorously since she was young. Zach, on the other hand, had only trained the last few years.


    "W-what are you doing here, Zach?" She asked, mostly out of curiosity since she hadn''t had enough time to get over the surprise of seeing him where she least expected it. She hadn''t had enough time to think about what it meant that Zach was on the twenty-ninth floor of the Labyrinth at this moment. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, before Zach could answer, a solid hand landed on his shoulder. It was a warm hand in the frozen and snow-covered forest of the twenty-ninth floor. It was the hand of Leonidas, Zach''s older brother and the eldest son of the family.


    "Let''s go to the command tent," he said, shooting a glance around at the warriors who definitely weren''t listening.


    Leonidas could tell that this would be a conversation that was best kept to the family, even if only because they could not afford a loss of morale on the brink of a fight to the death against the Hydra.


    Zach''s eyes narrowed, but he followed his siblings without a word.


    Leonidas led the way without looking back. Leana walked somewhere between Leonidas and Zach, occasionally glancing back at her younger brother. He had grown a lot in the years they hadn''t seen each other. He was taller, more muscular, and his features were more refined.


    But his hair was also redder than before, and his skin was covered in faint burn scars. He also had a couple of more maids than last time, all four of them looking like they were ready to kill. The barbarian girl by his side was no different, but she at least tried to hide her murderous intent.


    All five of them had noticed the stiffness in Zach''s body language as soon as his siblings appeared.


    He hadn''t talked much about how his family''s betrayal made him feel. But this made it obvious why.


    His family''s betrayal had hurt Zach deeply. There was no way Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra would forgive them.


    Visla shared that sentiment, but she was also a member of one of the three tribes who had fought the Evandiels for generations with blood and death on the line. It was in her blood to want to kill the Evandiels. She could not help but feel tense when she was in the midst of the entire Evandiel family and their most elite troops.


    Zach heard voices discussing matters inside the command tent. He recognized those voices. But they all died down once he entered.


    Leonia, the second daughter, Lilo, Lily, and Lexi, the triplets taking fourth, fifth, and sixth place. Nymur, Zach''s father. Calserra, Zach''s father. And, in a corner, ready to serve, Nora''s mother, the silver-haired maid, Victoria.


    Zach looked at all of them except Victoria.


    Leonia tried to keep her composure, but Zach could see her already trying to figure out how much he knew, how he had gotten to where they were, and how this would affect their plans. Lilo and Lily avoided his gaze. They felt guilt. Lexi did not avoid his gaze, but she also felt guilt. She was also apologetic and remorseful, though.


    Leonidas maintained a calm expression. He did a good job trying to hide how flustered he was, but not good enough. Leana''s eyes cleared for a moment as she remembered why Zach wasn''t with them in the first place. She was worried.


    Nymur''s expression was cold, not like he had expected this exact situation but like he had expected to be confronted about his actions sooner or later. Calserra did not show anything on her face. But she glanced at Visla with narrowed eyes.


    "Zach," Leonidas started, "I am sure you have a lot to say¡ª"


    "Me?" Zach interrupted, scoffing. "I have nothing to say. It''s all of you who have a lot of talking to do." He crossed his arms and sat down on a chair he made with his Blessed Defense skill. He was not going to use one of the chairs in the tent. There was only one for each member of the Evandiel family, after all.

 Chapter 514 - 514: Icy Sarcasm

    As if reading from the same script, Zach''s family members sighed. Calserra glanced at her husband for a moment before stroking her eyebrow with two fingers. She crossed her other arm over her torso.


    "Alright, but have her wait outside. We wouldn''t want a barbarian to hear our secrets, would we?" She said, pointing at Visla.


    Visla was prepared to step out. She understood. After all, Zach had given her and Maura some privacy just a day ago.


    "Oh, we most certainly do," Zach said before she could even start taking a step.


    Calserra''s smooth forehead knit into a slight frown. She couldn''t tell why Zach was being so needlessly rebellious. The sooner Visla left, the sooner they could explain.


    "Why?" She asked.


    Zach took his time before answering. He looked each of his family members, his siblings and parents, in the eye.


    He pointed at the ground.


    "In this tent, I trust my familiars, and I trust Visla." He didn''t continue. That was his answer. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that he trusted Visla, a barbarian, more than he trusted his own family members.


    "Zach!" Lilo shouted, a little reproachfully. She was well aware of what they had done, but he should know that they had done it for a good reason. He should also know that their family had fought the barbarians for generations. He could never trust one of them.


    There might be a truce right now, but only because the Hydra would kill them all if they didn''t kill it first. As soon as it was dead, things would go back to the way they used to.


    Nymur held up a hand, stopping Lilo and anyone else from continuing. Zach was well within his rights not to trust them. But¡­


    "Who is she, anyway?" He asked.


    "Visla Maura, daughter of the Maura Chief and my friend." Zach didn''t hesitate in answering. He knew what the Maura name meant. They were one of the Evandiel family''s greatest enemies. There was no telling how much blood the two sides had taken from one another.


    Yet, he was calling Visla his friend, and he was saying he trusted her over them.


    It put a frown on all of their faces. Zach derived a twisted sense of satisfaction from that.


    "How did you even meet?" Leonia asked with a frown.


    Logically speaking, there should not have been any opportunities for Zach, an Evandiel, and Visla Maura, daughter of the Maura Chief, to meet under circumstances that would foster such a friendly relationship between the two.


    Zach might have been kept out of the fights against the barbarians, but Visla Maura clearly hadn''t. There was no being kept out of the fights for the barbarians.


    Zach could be shipped off to the Academy and the other side of the Empire. For the barbarians, there was the Steppes, and then the Evandiels keeping them from the prosperous lands of the Empire.


    Zach shrugged.


    "We met on the battlefield¡ª"


    "The battlefield?" Lexi questioned before he could get six words in on his ten-word long explanation.


    "The war?" Zach retorted. "Don''t you know about it? A certain family opened a wide fucking gap in the Empire''s border, and the Sesha seized the opportunity to slaughter our people. I don''t know why, but that led to a war somehow," He said with a shrug, his voice dripping with icy sarcasm.


    The tension in the tent rose another degree.


    Lexi''s frown deepened.


    "But why were you there?" She asked, ignoring the elephant Zach highlighted. In turn, Zach ignored the concern in her voice.


    Zach shrugged with one shoulder and crossed his arms.


    "It was that or be executed," he answered simply. Once again, he made everyone''s frowns deepen.


    "...Why would you be executed?" Leonidas asked, knowing the answer.


    Zach smiled brightly.


    "Believe it or not, but when everyone in a family but one is branded a disgusting traitor, it''s easy to label the last one a disgusting traitor as well." He sighed like he couldn''t believe it himself before continuing,


    "And no matter how much I told them I wasn''t a disgusting traitor, they just wouldn''t believe me." He shrugged like he was saying, ''Well, what can you do?''


    Nymur slowly shook his head.


    "No¡­There''s no way the Emperor would have actually had you executed."


    Zach glared at him.


    "Disgustingly easy to say when the noose isn''t around your neck."


    Zach had had the Empress Dowager on his side, so he hadn''t quite feared for his life. But there had been nights when he didn''t get much rest even if it looked like he slept. It wasn''t just because the bed wasn''t comfortable.


    Before anyone else could say anything, Zach continued,


    "Thinking about it now, I can''t even blame them. The Emperor, the princes and princesses, the nobles, the citizens in the capital, the citizens of the East. If I were related in the slightest to the betrayal that led to thousands upon thousands of innocent lives being lost, of course I would want to hang me."


    Zach wasn''t just saying that he understood why people wanted him dead after his family betrayed the Empire. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was saying that he understood why people wanted his family dead. It brought up complex emotions in the hearts of that family. Fortunately, complex emotions in a tense situation always find their way out. Fortunately, complex emotions can usually be transformed into one simple emotion.


    Anger.


    "Don''t go too far, Zach! We tried to keep you out of it! We only did what we had to!" Leonidas shouted in rage. The lives of innocent people didn''t weigh any lighter on his heart than it did on Zach''s.


    "Shut up!" Zach shouted and stood up. Leonidas was still taller than him, despite all the growing he had done the past couple of years.


    "Don''t use that disgusting excuse!" Zach couldn''t stand it any longer.


    ''They had to.'' ''It was for the greater good.'' ''A necessary sacrifice.''


    "Do you think I came here to listen to your disgusting explanations?!" He questioned with a voice tragic and loud enough to make his siblings flinch.


    "You may have been hurt by our actions, but you don''t call your family disgusting," Calserra chastised.


    "Sit down." She wrapped him in red Domination Aura and forced him back into his chair.

 Chapter 515 - 515: Family Secret

    "Don''t fucking tell me what to do!" Zach broke out of his mother''s domination aura with a burst of world essence energy and stood back up, surprising them all, especially Calserra and Nymur.


    "You lost the right to do that the moment you abandoned me!"


    "And if you don''t want me to call you disgusting, then you shouldn''t have committed disgusting acts! The people of the Duchy looked to all of you for protection. You all should have been the last to agree to sacrifice them! What the fuck is wrong with all of you?!"


    To this moment, Zach still didn''t understand how his parents and siblings could ever have gone along with this plan.


    He knew his parents weren''t as kind to everyone as they were to him. They weren''t perfect parents. But no parents were. Still, they were good people.


    Zach had grown up believing that. He had grown up believing that his parents and siblings didn''t intentionally neglect him when he was young. They were just busy caring for the people of the Duchy and taking care of their responsibilities.


    But now, his image of his family had crashed into the ground.


    If they could throw the Duchy into the flames of Hell just to kill an overgrown snake, why couldn''t they look away from it for a few hours to at least eat dinner with him?!


    Zach could see his family members exchange looks, none of them bothering with excuses or phony justifications.


    "Dad, I think we should tell him."


    "Tell me what? Don''t tell me you''ve managed to sneak away the people and hide them in the Labyrinth or something."


    "..." S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Please tell me you did that." Zach changed his mind. If that were the case, he would have no reason to detest them.


    "...No," Nymur eventually said, his head hanging low.


    "That''s not it. As much as I would have liked that, something like that wouldn''t have been possible. If we had tried anything like that, there''s no telling what the Hydra would have done to both the Steppes and the Empire."


    "...You didn''t even try?" Zach asked with belated realization. "You didn''t even try to save our people," he said in disbelief.


    "Hah." He laughed emptily.


    "This was the only way!" Nymur said, slamming his palm against the table.


    "Don''t give me that!" Zach shouted back. "How can you know when you didn''t look for another?!"


    "Looking for something that doesn''t exist is meaningless and impossible!" Nymur refused to give in. The moment he did, he would have accepted that he had made the wrong choice.


    "''Impossible''?!" Zach questioned. There was no such thing as impossible. But he wasn''t going to explain that to Nymur. Instead¡­


    "You''re a disgrace to the Evandiel name," Zach said with all the disgust he felt.


    This was worse than he had expected. However, he did not get the reaction he expected. All of them grit their teeth and glared at Zach.


    "We are doing this exactly because of the Evandiel name," Nymur said in a low voice.


    "Since when was the name Evandiel synonymous to ''disgusting traitor''?" Zach asked mockingly.


    "At this point, is there a need to hide it anymore?" Lexi asked, earning various looks from the others, including a glare from Nymur.


    "The moment we tell him, he will never be able to let it go."


    "What does it matter? Won''t everything be over when the Hydra is dead? Besides, does it look like he will ever let go now?" Stubbornness wasn''t a trait that just Nymur and Zach shared. Lexi had also inherited it.


    Nymur sighed. He looked up from the table and straight at Zach. For several long moments, he just stared at Zach, thinking about whether to include him in their secret or not.


    Unfortunately, it seemed Lexi was right.


    Zach was also a hair away from blowing up again. If Nymur didn''t tell him, there was no telling what Zach was going to do or when they would see him again.


    After another deep and heavy sigh, Nymur opened his mouth to talk.


    "Our family¡­It''s older than the Empire. A lot older. It''s as old as the Children of the Hydra, in fact."


    Together with everything else he knew and what had already been said, Zach understood a part of it almost instantly.


    They had said that this, sacrificing innocent lives to kill the Hydra, was to honor their name. Their reddish-orange hair. The affinity for fire and magic in their bloodline. Their innately powerful physiques. Their ferocity and occasional bloodthirst.


    "We''re¡­the Hydra''s Children?" he asked in utter disbelief. He could not believe it.


    Nymur nodded. He wasn''t surprised that Zach already knew about the children. And he could only be proud that Zach figured it out that quickly.


    "To be exact, we''re descendants of the Second Child. Usually, the Children are immortal but can''t reproduce. But he gave up his immortality to sire a line of heirs to grow a force that could hold back the other Children and the Hydra itself," Nymur explained.


    Zach frowned as he tried to wrap his head around it.


    He didn''t know that much about the Children. He hadn''t known about their supposed immortality or their infertility. But he knew all of them seemed innately malicious and bloodthirsty.


    They were different to the point where Zach looked at them like humanoid monsters with the ability to talk. They were similar to how several of the Named underworlders had been, regardless of Ugor''s control of them.


    His impression of them had hit rock bottom after Nora''s death. They were less than monsters. They were pests who deserved extermination, and Zach was planning on bringing it to them.


    But now, this big family secret that his family had gone to extreme lengths to hide from him was that he was the same as them. His mind couldn''t¡ªwouldn''t straighten it out. He didn''t want to accept it.


    There were many things about it that he couldn''t accept. One of those things was why they even had to hide it from him. He wasn''t sure if anything would have changed if he had known about it beforehand. He would have still wanted the Child that the Nilma tribe caught dead. He still would have chased the other Child, and he still would have killed the one he killed.


    But maybe if he knew about it beforehand, he could have done something about them getting involved in the war¡ª


    "You''re telling me I''m the same as the fucker that killed Nora?!"


    "...What?" Victoria could no longer stay silent in the corner of the tent.

 Chapter 516 - 516: Love

    Victoria was Calserra''s personal maid and had been with the family since long before Nora was born. Calserra trusted her almost more than she trusted herself. If she wanted to speak up about something, she could do so without worrying about being reproached or reprimanded.


    But she didn''t do that since she strictly adhered to what she believed a perfect maid should be like.


    But now, she broke away from that.


    "...What do you mean by that, Young Master?" She pressed when Zach didn''t say anything.


    At first, Zach didn''t look at her, but after a few moments, he slowly turned toward Victoria.


    "Nora. Is. Dead," He said with a grim expression and shadows swirling within his eyes.


    "You¡­!"


    Zach wasn''t sure what kind of expression Victoria was making, but it was the most emotion she had ever shown in the twenty years he had known her. It seemed like a mix of shock, outrage, disbelief, and anger.


    He raised an eyebrow.


    "I don''t understand why you''re so upset. It''s almost like you cared for her."


    It wasn''t just the most emotion she had shown him. Zach was sure that Victoria had never been this expressive with Nora, either.


    Maura was perhaps a little too flirtatious in front of her daughter, and she didn''t mind flaunting herself. She had kept things from Visla and pushed her away since she didn''t want her to get in trouble.


    A little bit of bad communication but with good intentions. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Calserra was busy, and she hadn''t always had time for Zach when he was young, but she made sure to send him gifts and hug him when she found the time. She made it clear that she loved him. Zach did not doubt that until recently, when his entire family abandoned him without so much as a word.


    Victoria¡­


    "...What is that supposed to mean?" Victoria asked, her face snapping into place and covered with frost that seeped into her voice. The icy edge in her tone was telling Zach to tread very carefully.


    Normally, she would never use such a tone when talking with anyone, much less a member of Calserra''s family. But she did not like what Zach was implying, and with the shock of hearing about her daughter''s death, Victoria could not control herself.


    Zach shrugged.


    "Just that it feels odd for you to have this reaction. It''s not like you ever showed Nora you cared about her when she was alive. Why do it when she''s dead? When it''s too late?" He asked, meeting Victoria''s ice with fire.


    "I want to question whether you ever loved Nora, but¡ª"


    "Don''t you dare¡ª!"


    "Did you even like her?" Zach asked.


    "Of course, I loved her!" Victoria shouted. It was the highest Zach had ever heard her voice go. He didn''t even know it was possible for her to sound like that.


    "Oh? I guess you have¡ªhad an interesting way of showing it. Or maybe we just have different definitions of love," Zach remarked with nonchalant shrug.


    It was too little and far too late, but he finally had the strength to stand up to Victoria for Nora. Besides, it wasn''t like Nora could blame him for ruining her already strenuous relationship with her mother now. He might as well take the opportunity and vent everything that had built up over the years.


    "You see, in my book, when you love someone, you want to see them happy. You want to see smiles on their faces. You want them to thrive. And, most importantly, you want to be the one who makes all of that happen.


    "Tell me, Victoria, how often did Nora smile in your presence? Five times after her sixth birthday perhaps? And how often was she punished for smiling when it wasn''t ''appropriate''? By you, I might add.


    "Once? Twice? Thrice?"


    "Zach, that''s enough," Calserra interjected. She couldn''t stand to watch this anymore. Victoria was about to snap.


    Zach ignored his mother and continued.


    "Don''t tell me you punished her every time she smiled? Surely, no ''loving'' mother would ever do such a thing." Zach''s voice was filled with sarcasm.


    "...It was just training¡­" Victoria said in a low voice to try and justify it.


    "Right. Training. Training how to get beat up by her own mother, perhaps. Is that why she hated training with you?"


    "Enough!" Calserra raised her voice.


    Zach continued ignoring her.


    "Is that why she dreaded returning to the estate? Is that why she didn''t want to step foot into a training room for years? Is that why preferred training with me over so much as thinking about her training with you?


    "Because your training was just so full of love? Hmm?


    "In the first place, if you cared about your daughter, you would have never agreed to this stupid fucking plan. I wasn''t the only one left behind and labeled a traitor.


    "What do you think would have happened to Nora the moment it was confirmed I betrayed the Empire?


    "With how my mother listens to your every word like it''s gospel, you could have easily done something.


    "If you had, Nora wouldn''t have been sent to the frontlines with me. If you had, Nora wouldn''t have been forced to see the tragedy of entire towns reduced to nothing but ash and burned human corpses. If you had, she wouldn''t have had to join the fight against the Children.


    "If you had¡­She wouldn''t be dead right now."


    "ENOUGH!" Calserra''s voice boomed not just inside the tent but the entire camp, sending shivers down the warriors'' spines. They stopped what they were doing and waited for something to happen. But it was dead silent everywhere.


    Zach took a step back from Victoria''s face and glanced at his mother. His disappointment was blatant.


    Calserra''s heart stung seeing that look on her dear son''s face. But some lines shouldn''t be crossed even when one''s heart was in tatters.


    However, Zach''s heart wasn''t the only broken one.


    "...She wouldn''t have died if you had done a better job protecting her." Victoria couldn''t hold back.

 Chapter 517 - 517: Many Factors

    Zach''s world essence energy flared up like a wildfire, blasting everything and everyone around him back a step and sending the tent flying into the air.


    There were a lot of factors involved in the chain of events that led to Nora''s death.


    The Hydra''s existence. The Labyrinth of Jira''s existence. The God of Nature, Isuls, who chose to seal the Hydra in the Labyrinth. The two of them somehow finding the time to make children during that event.


    One of the Children being born with a conscience. The Empire being established. Different people from before the Empire''s foundation coming together and establishing a new semi-united people on the Sesha Steppes.


    The clashing of different personalities of leaders and followers of both the Empire''s people and the Sesha working to destabilize the relationship over the generations.


    More recently, the prophecy of the Hydra''s seal coming undone had a great impact on the chain of events. In a way, that prophecy and the deadline of the Hydra''s seal were the major factors behind Nora''s death. They were what started the whole thing.


    But they were too big for Zach to blame Nora''s death on them.


    On a smaller scale, there was the Emperor giving Yan an opportunity for the first time to prove himself by heading to the front lines and making Zach prove he wasn''t a traitor to the Empire. That was directly related to Nora ending up in an unfavorable position.


    There was no way he could have left her behind in the Empire or the capital when the country wanted his head. Nora wouldn''t be safe if she stayed behind.


    But Nora was only an ordinary human. She was more talented than most. But not as talented as Zach. Her martial energy couldn''t compare to even a drop of his world essence energy.


    She could keep up with him when he was injured as long as he didn''t use his skills. But as soon as he used his Blessed Defense, she would start to fall behind.


    Naturally, she had no hope of ever keeping up with or catching up to the legendary creatures by Zach''s side.


    An SS-rank Archangel. An SS-rank Desert Witch. An SS(SSS)-rank Death Deity. An SSS-rank Archon. All of them far surpassed the limits of even talented humans. Nora, an ordinary human, didn''t stand a chance.


    Against foes that even the familiars struggled against, Nora could only hope and pray.


    It was through no fault of her own. She did the best with what she had, but she just didn''t have as much as the others, so her best wasn''t enough.


    Zach should have realized it sooner.


    Keeping Nora by his side when it was that dangerous was foolish.


    He knew Nora would refuse to leave him, especially after all the times they had been apart during his time at the Academy only for him to return on the brink of death.


    He had promised that something like that wouldn''t happen again, and he had stuck to that promise. In return, Nora had been the one to suffer instead of him.


    Another factor that led to Nora''s death was the war and how unnecessary it was. Zach had followed his heart to do his best to try and stop it.


    He had followed the leads and arrows into the Labyrinth.


    He had led the way to the sandy dunes on the nineteenth floor.


    There were a million big and small things that had stacked on top of each other as an altar for Nora''s death.


    Zach could have made one different decision in the past and torn that altar down to prevent Nora from dying.


    Instead of doing that, he had helped build the altar. He had helped dig Nora''s grave.


    Victoria was right.


    If he had done a better job of protecting Nora, she would still be alive.


    That was why his world essence energy disappeared after a split second.


    Still, that split second was enough for his powerful family members to feel the unbridled rage within the world essence energy¡ªwithin Zach. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What he had shown them so far when he screamed and shouted at them for what they had done to him and their people was only a fraction of the slumbering behemoth of rage and sorrow lurking deep in his heart, waiting to be released.


    Victoria''s words were like stabbing a sleeping bear with a red hot branding iron.


    If it hadn''t already been covered in burns, it would have lashed out and ripped apart both the iron and the one wielding it.


    If it hadn''t been for Zach''s subconscious screaming at him through a thick glass wall the very same words that Victoria had just uttered, he would have snapped. But since he knew better than anyone how true they were, he didn''t.


    All emotion drained from his face, and the wind stopped blowing in the area. His clenched fists tightened for a moment before relaxing. He exhaled. He opened his eyes.


    Zach glanced at Calserra, his mother, who was ready to defend Victoria should he decide to attack her. Domination aura swam around her hands as she stood in a defensive position in front of her maid.


    Zach wasn''t surprised. But that didn''t mean he wasn''t disappointed.


    Calserra should know how much those words would have hurt him.


    They were at least as bad as Zach''s comments about Victoria being a bad and abusive mother.


    But did Calserra do anything to Victoria? Did she tell her it was enough?


    Did she stand up for her maid or her son?


    It was no wonder that Victoria had been free to treat Nora as she did all those years.


    Zach sighed and turned around.


    There was no way he was going to stick around when this was how it went.


    He had managed to hold back this time and for now, but he wasn''t sure how long he could keep his lid sealed.


    More importantly, he didn''t want to see those faces on his family members.


    The command tent sailed down and landed in the snow with a soft plumf a bit away.


    They had looked at him with wary eyes.

 Chapter 518 - 518: Mistake

    Zach''s family watched him take the shortest route out of the camp and into the snow-covered forest.


    "...Where do you think you''re going?" Nymur suddenly asked, looking at Lexi.


    Lexi stopped and looked at Nymur.


    "I''m going after him."


    "No." Nymur''s voice was firm. Lexi didn''t care.


    "You can''t afford to stop me," She said, gently gesturing at the warriors of their family doing their best not to look at the commotion. Zach causing a ruckus was one thing.


    The other family members using force to stop Lexi could ruin everything. It could put the warriors'' morale and trust in the family at the bottom, something that would affect their ability to fight the Hydra and its children properly.


    "I have a feeling that if we let Zach go like this, we will never see him again and we will always regret it. Personally, that''s not something I can stand.


    "I will go after him, and I will get on my fucking knees when apologizing.


    "We did what we had to, and we tried to keep Zach out of it for his own good. I understand that. I also understand that we didn''t have much of a choice back then. But you all felt it, right?" She asked rhetorically before continuing.


    "There was no reason to keep him out of it. He''s more than strong enough to handle himself, and he''s definitely strong enough to participate in this operation if he can scare even Victoria to take a step back!"


    Lexi took a deep breath to calm herself before following in her brother''s footsteps and going on a rant.


    "We fucked up. We wronged Zach. I am going to own up to it," She said, turning around and following Zach''s trail. His footsteps had melted the snow he walked on, clearing a path.


    The others watched her go as well.


    Lexi made a good point.


    They had severely underestimated Zach. They had thought that he would be weak since he had spent the majority of his childhood doing nothing much while they had spent most of their lives training.


    They had high hopes for him since he was a summoner and, according to Lexi and their reports, both talented and favored by the principal. But talent and the principal''s favor couldn''t cut down the years needed to accumulate strength, especially the level of strength needed to fight a mythical monster like the Hydra.


    But if there was one path that could do something like ignore the part that time played in growing stronger, it was the art of summoning.


    Not to mention that Zach wasn''t just talented. He was extremely talented. Even in just summoning, his talent was the greatest it could possibly be. It was so great that it put a burden on his body since he summoned beings greater than his current vessel, a vessel stronger than most people could ever hope to achieve at his age, thanks to the world essence energy and his hard work, which was the other critical component that let him reduce the time needed to get where he was.


    Zach''s family had made a mistake in thinking that his level of genius was the same as theirs. They had made a miscalculation based on that mistake.


    That mistake might have cost them not only a son, but a daughter, and possibly even the fight against the Hydra.


    Nymur sighed.


    "Do we think those two are going to interfere when it''s time?" Leonia suddenly asked, looking at what remained of the map on what remained of the table between them. The corner closest to where Zach had been when he flared up was gone, but most of it still remained. It was still usable.


    That meant they could continue their planning without wasting any more time.


    The others weren''t even surprised by Leonia''s cold-heartedness. She was the weakest of them all in terms of combat ability. Yet, she was one of the family''s greatest trumpcards. She had the makings of a great commander, and she had helped stabilize the border ever since she was young.


    Unfortunately, a great commander couldn''t be swept away by their emotions. They had to remain calm, composed, and calculating even during the most stressful situations.


    "Let''s assume they are," Leonidas said with a sigh. He knew the two well enough to know that they would definitely be involved wherever there was trouble. There was no way they were staying out of this.


    "No. We won''t assume anything," Leonia corrected him. "I''ll plan for whatever they do. As usual. Either they do nothing or they do something. If they do nothing, or plan''s mostly unchanged. We will have to move this part up a little, but that''s it," She said pointing at an area on the map.


    "If they do something¡­" She continued, narrowing her eyes.


    "Does anyone know any details about what Zach can do? Anything''s fine." She asked, looking not only at the family but at the warriors as well. She needed to gather as much information as possible to increase the effectiveness of her planning and strategizing.


    "That Sesha girl was Visla Maura, right? Considering how close they were and what Zach already knew, it''s safe to assume he talked with the Maura chief and it went well. If we''re lucky, we can use that to our advantage. Let''s see if we can make contact with them before the battle."


    Leonia''s mind spun as she saw a plethora of possible scenarios play out in front of her. With all the information they had gathered, she could visualize several ways everything could go down. Her job was to plan accordingly and make sure they used every card hiding in their sleeves to achieve success while minimizing loss.


    Zach would be even more disappointed if he knew the depth of his sister''s talent. Something like that could have saved thousands of lives during the war. It was to the point where Leonia might have been able to cut the war''s duration to a third, sparing lives on both sides.


    There was a reason he entire family listened to her in times like this. There was a reason they relied on her, and why she was confident in herself.


    Unfortunately, she had missed a critical piece of information.


    She had missed how reckless Zach was right now.


    That was why none of them expected the Labyrinth to rumble and the floors to quake with tremors less than two days after Zach and Lexi left.


    sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 519 - 519: Smug

    Lexi hurried after Zach, hoping he wasn''t in too much of a rush to get away from their family. She was confident in her own abilities, but after what Zach had shown, she wasn''t sure anymore.


    Fortunately, Zach wasn''t in a hurry. If anything, he was walking surprisingly slow.


    It was almost like he was hoping and waiting for someone to come after him¡ªfor someone to choose him first.


    It just so happened that the one who came after him was the only other summoner in the family.


    "Zach!" Lexi cried out in slight relief when she saw Zach''s back. He froze and slowed until coming to a complete halt. He slowly turned around and looked at Lexi as if asking her what she wanted.


    Before he could verbalize that question, Lexi carried out what she had said to the others she would do. She sank to her knees in the deep snow and looked up at Zach with teary eyes.


    "I''m sorry, Zach. I won''t make any excuses or try to justify what we did, but I do want you to know that I never liked the plan, and that I am very sorry for causing you hurt."


    "..." Zach looked at his sister. Lexi was the one he had spent the most time with the past few years since she went through the trouble of visiting the Academy. She was also the only other summoner in the family. She was also the one closest to him in age, even if she was only minutes younger than Lilo and Lily.


    Things might have been different when they were younger since Lexi wasn''t interested in any of the siblings unless it was to learn from them, and she didn''t have anything to learn from Zach. But it was safe to say that she was the sibling Zach was closest to.


    In a way, it was a relief Lexi was the one who chased after him. He wasn''t sure what he would have done if it had been any of the others or one of his parents.


    "Get up," he just said before turning away. He couldn''t remember seeing his siblings ever be so vulnerable. It especially didn''t fit the cocky Lexi. She was a bundle of talent in a variety of areas. She was better than most at almost everything she did.


    Of course, she was arrogant.


    Someone like her shouldn''t be on her knees with tears in her eyes pleading for forgiveness.


    Lexi shook her head, sending glittery tears flying in either direction.


    "Not until you''re okay."


    "You''ll be stuck on you''re knees forever, then."


    "...If that''s what it takes."


    Zach sighed. It wasn''t like he was not okay only because of his family''s betrayal. It was mostly losing Nora, which was his fault. Lexi didn''t need to be on her knees until he was okay for that. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Just get up, Lexi. It''s fine if you apologize on your feet. It''s not even that much your fault. Could you have changed anything if you dug your heels in and told mom and dad to fuck off?" He asked when he saw that Lexi still wasn''t budging.


    She shook her head.


    "I would have lost what little freedom I had since we decided on this plan, but that''s about it," she said, slowly getting up on one knee.


    "...Are you sure it''s fine?" She asked.


    Zach nodded.


    "We''re good. It means a lot that you came after me, even if I ran away like a child."


    Lexi sighed in relief and wiped the drops of water in the corners of her eyes as she stood up.


    "Between stepping away and vaporizing Victoria, I think you made the responsible choice."


    "...yeah."


    "What was that anyway?" Lexi asked, curiously and excitedly. "I didn''t know summoners could do that." She didn''t have any trouble changing topics and moving on from the uncomfortable atmosphere that came with talking about Victoria and what had just happened.


    Zach chuckled slightly. It was clear she was interested in learning to do what he had done, even if it was just a display of power. After all, it was clear that it was a power unlike anything she knew how to do. It wasn''t magic. It wasn''t martial energy. It wasn''t Domination Aura.


    He shook his head.


    "I think I''m the only summoner with this particular ability," He said smugly.


    Lexi narrowed her eyes and glared at him.


    "I can''t help but notice that you didn''t tell me what it was."


    "Why should I?" Zach shrugged.


    "You''re scared I''ll learn how to do it. That''s why you aren''t telling me."


    Zach chuckled again.


    "I would actually love to see you do it. But¡ª"


    "Just tell me already!"


    "Alright, alright. In itself, what I did was nothing special. I just lost control over my energy."


    Lexi narrowed her eyes. It was understandable that he lost control. But losing control over one''s energy when one wasn''t using it usually didn''t do anything. If Zach had been in the middle of casting a spell or using it to strengthen his body, she could have understood if it rampaged.


    But when he wasn''t doing anything.


    "...What kind of energy do you have?"


    Zach nodded. As expected. Lexi figured out where the core of the issue lay.


    He hesitated before saying anything, though. He was expecting the restriction to take hold since that''s what it usually did when he tried to talk about it. But he didn''t feel it.


    He realized why. He glanced to the side, expecting to see a familiar face. He knew he wouldn''t see it, but he was still disappointed.


    Nora was the reason why he usually couldn''t say it out loud. But she was no longer present.


    Zach''s mood dropped, but he still answered Lexi.


    "...World essence energy."


    "World essence energy," She repeated.


    "The energy of the world," She continued, figuring out what it was, even if she didn''t know what it meant in detail.


    Zach nodded.


    "How in the Magic Academy''s seventh bathroom do you have that?!" She asked in disbelief.


    She might not know what the world essence energy did specifically, she could still understand something.


    Just like powerful beings had energy, the world had energy. That was world essence energy.


    Zach had the energy of the entire world within him. The world that held countless powerful beings, forests, and seas. That world''s energy was inside Zach.


    Lexi clenched her fist tightly.


    She understood why Zach was so smug.


    But that didn''t mean she didn''t want to knock the lights out of him.

 Chapter 520 - 520: Exaggeration

    Zach was happy seeing the look of frustration on Lexi''s face. It was finally her turn to be on that side. Usually, it was the other way around. She would confuse and frustrate people by spending minutes or hours learning what others could take months or years to do.


    But now, she was faced with a wall that she couldn''t even see the top of, much less climb.


    Zach had to revel in it as long as possible.


    Unfortunately, Lexi was quick to control her expression.


    "I mean, that''s cool, I guess," She said with a shrug and a voice full of clear disinterest.


    "I know what you''re doing."


    "Oh? And what am I doing?"


    "It''s not going to work."


    "What''s not going to work?"


    "This!"


    "What is ''this''?"


    "Ah, screw it, I''ll just tell you. If you don''t want to hear it, just stop me."


    "..."


    Zach snorted before continuing.


    "I¡­am actually not sure how to explain it. Soara, please take the reins."


    "Yes, Master." Soara cleared her throat. She had half expected this since Zach and Lexi first started talking about his world essence energy.


    "To give you the context you need, Lexi, Zach acquired it in my Labyrinth, the Labyrinth of Syst. I arranged twelve trials for the entrants to clear. I used world essence energy to maintain the Labyrinth and the Labyrinth entrants so that they wouldn''t need to eat or¡­relieve themselves in the Labyrinth since the trials could take several weeks, months, or years to complete¡ª"


    "Wait, wait, wait. Sorry to interrupt you when you''re just getting started, but you''re talking like you¡ªlike it was your Labyrinth?" Lexi interrupted. She got hung up on the first question she got during Soara''s explanation. Her inquisitive mind wouldn''t let her move on until she received an answer.


    "Well, yeah, I made it. Who else would it belong to if not me?" Soara looked at Yanael as if to say, ''This girl.'' Zach saw that but just rolled his eyes.


    That was not common knowledge, but Lexi deserved to be treated like she was the ignorant one for once. Besides, Soara was probably doing it to lighten the mood.


    "...I was under the impression that you were Zach''s reward for clearing the Labyrinth?" Lexi said tentatively. She wasn''t sure if she had made a mistake or what.


    "I was." Soara nodded assertively.


    "She made herself the reward," Yanael helpfully added. She glanced at Zach to get permission to explain. Zach nodded.


    "We obscured the truth about Soara''s identity since it might cause an uproar if he was walking around with a deity from another world and the creator of one of the five Labyrinths that have existed since before the Empire."


    Lexi''s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Yanael continued.


    "She figured that she had collected enough dust when Master finished the first part of the twelfth Trial. So she came up with a half-ridiculous excuse just to get out of the Labyrinth and see the world, willingly putting on the maid dress and becoming Master''s familiar."


    "I-I see," Lexi meekly answered, still struggling to come to terms with the sudden revelations of Soara''s background.


    "Ahem." Soara cleared her throat. "Getting back on track and cutting the story a little short¡­Master made a barrier around himself that blocked off the world essence energy, putting his body in a weakened state. A little more than usual was necessary to make up for that and restore him. It wasn''t much, but it was enough for him to sense it. Thanks to that, he became aware of it, making it his own. A coincidence possible only because it was Master."


    Lexi''s eyes widened and she looked at Zach.


    "Your barriers can block energies like that? And they could do it back then already?"


    Zach crossed his arms smugly, and Lexi regretted asking.


    "Well, what can I say? I am just that good," He said with a light shrug.


    Lexi rolled her eyes and sighed, looking away. Cocky people¡­


    "Your barriers¡­" She started saying. She still had things she wanted to know, after all. "They''re your first contract skill, right?"


    Zach nodded.


    "How did you, you know, learn how to use it?" She asked. She didn''t want to admit it, but she couldn''t figure out how to use hers.


    Zach''s eyes widened. He could tell where Lexi''s hesitation stemmed from. But he was struggling with the same problem, so he didn''t mention it, much to Lexi''s relief.


    "In a way, it was luck, I guess."


    "Luck?" Lexi asked doubtfully. That was the opposite of what Zach was known for.


    "Yeah. A chandelier dropped on my head¡ª"


    "What?!"


    "Haven''t I told you about this before?" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...I don''t think so?"


    "Still, it''s not big enough of a deal for you to shout like that."


    "Of course it is! You could have died!"


    Zach''s eyes narrowed suspiciously.


    "Lexi, do you remember when I returned home after my first year at the Academy and told you all about what I had done during that first year?"


    "Mostly."


    "Everything I said then is much worse than a simple chandelier falling on me."


    "Huh? As if! That was just exaggeration!"


    "..."


    "Right?"


    "...None of you believed me?" Zach asked, his gaze dropping in disappointment. He had figured that there was no need to lie or exaggerate since his family had more than enough resources to keep track of what was going on at the Academy.


    But apparently not.


    Lexi''s eyes flashed with realization as she thought about what Zach had said. If he wasn''t lying right now, that meant he had technically died during his first year at the Academy. Before Zach''s disappointment could sink deeper, she quickly hugged him. She wasn''t sure what she could say, but she knew he needed comfort.


    Zach just sighed and after a while spoke again.


    "Lexi, when you look at me right now, what do you see?" He asked.


    Lexi grabbed him by the shoulders and held him at arm''s length while looking him up and down.


    "I mean, your hair is redder than I remember, and your skin looks like it could use some lotion, if I''m being honest."


    "Look closer."


    Lexi narrowed her eyes and took a closer look at Zach''s skin.


    "Are these¡­Scars? All over your body? But they''re so faint¡­What happened to you, Zach?" She asked, her voice full of concern.


    Zach looked at her for a second before gesturing at Yanael. Showing her would be easier than telling. Yanael transformed her bracelet into a sword and handed it to Zach.


    Zach slit his wrist without so much as blinking. Lexi flinched and reached for Zach, grabbing the sword and throwing it away.


    She froze.


    The wound was already closing.

 Chapter 521 - 521: Suffering

    As soon as she saw the cut on Zach''s wrist glue itself together and disappear like it never existed, she realized what the scars all over his body meant. They were from injuries that his miraculous healing ability couldn''t completely make go away. They were from something much more severe than a simple cut.


    Zach looked at the skin on his own arm.


    His regenerative ability had only strengthened with time, especially now that he had recovered from the backlash of overusing his world essence energy. His body was in a good state, and his world essence energy wasn''t in the dormant state it had been in when he first acquired it.


    It wasn''t fully active quite yet, but Zach figured that one more proper fight where he put his life on the line would be enough for that. He could control it relatively well, at least compared to when he just got it.


    He did not suffer from the burn scars anymore, and they were barely more than white-ish wave-like marks all over his skin.


    He frowned.


    But regardless of how faint they were, they were undoubtedly burn scars. He sighed.


    "Not once did any of you ask if I was okay after I appeared at the camp," He couldn''t help but point out while Lexi was busy thinking about what to say.


    "I know I didn''t exactly give space for that, but still¡­


    "H¡­How did¡ªdo¡ªall of you see me?" He asked, genuinely befuddled. He knew how he looked at himself. He knew what others saw when they looked at him, whether it be strangers or fellow students at the Academy.


    Few of them bothered hiding what they thought, after all.


    But his family¡­


    He had thought they looked at him the same way he looked at them. They were his precious family. But was he not their precious family?


    They had abandoned him. They had almost left him to be executed. They hadn''t believed him when he said he technically died during his first year at the Academy.


    Was the only time they took him seriously just then when he shouted at them for abandoning him and their people? Was it only because they felt the world essence energy and the strength of his presence?


    Did they not worry about his well-being? Did they just take it for granted? Did they take him for granted?


    Lexi hurriedly shook her head.


    "You''re my precious little brother! Of course, I care about you. Of course I worry!" She said, grabbing Zach by the sides of his head and forcing him to look into her eyes. She was sincere, and she would beat that sincerity into him if he didn''t believe her.


    "It''s just¡­Your childhood was¡­eventful if I''m nice. If I''m a little more blunt, you had a hectic, chaotic, troublesome, and dangerous childhood. You were in more incidents than we had guards at the time. It was impossible to keep you safe and out of trouble.


    "However, no matter what kind of trouble you got swept up in, you were always flushed out on the other side without so much as a scratch.


    "I guess¡­I guess we just kind of assumed you had some kind of divine protection or something¡ªthat you couldn''t or wouldn''t be harmed."


    Lexi shrugged and avoided Zach''s gaze out of guilt as she continued.


    "I guess we figured that no matter what happened, you would be safe. It wasn''t like the Academy and the center of the Empire could be more dangerous than home, right? After all, who could ever want to hurt our precious little Zachy-Zach, right?"


    "...A lot of people as it turns out."


    "..."


    Zach wasn''t sure what to think. He kind of understood their perspective.


    After everything he had been through, it made sense to think he was blessed if one just looked at the incidents as bad luck or coincidence. After all, only someone with incredible luck could survive everything he had been through.


    But he had only escaped bodily harm. He had still been forced to endure and go through dangerous, traumatic, and stressful situations while he was far too young for it.


    ''I guess that''s not much for a member of the Evandiel family, though,'' Zach thought to himself. What was almost drowning, being kidnapped, and almost exploding to a member of the strongest family in the Empire? Not much.


    But to a kid with an age in the single digits?


    Zach wasn''t blessed or lucky to have survived all of that.


    He was cursed to have gone through all of it.


    It was the difference between how Zach and his family saw it. That was why they thought he would be fine at the Academy.


    And it was why Zach knew that he wouldn''t be fine regardless of where he was.


    It also didn''t help that he actively looked for trouble nowadays. But that was beside the point.


    It was a difference in perspective that could have been solved if his family had paid more attention to him, talked to him, and made sure that he wasn''t just physically okay after everything he went through.


    He got used to it, after a while, and by now, Zach didn''t suffer from anything.


    But back then, he would have loved to sleep in the same bed as his parents or something, not be stuffed into a separate estate with servants, who, oddly enough, saw it from the same angle as him and most others, who saw him as a cursed child of misfortune. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach sighed and looked at Lexi, who had tears in her eyes as she stroked his cheek.


    She had realized that out of the places she could see, his face was the most scarred. As she studied it, she could tell what had made the injuries that left those scars.


    It was fire.


    She couldn''t even imagine the pain Zach had gone through.


    She couldn''t even begin to imagine everything that Zach had gone through over the years. All because they just assumed he was fine. She wanted to apologize, but that wouldn''t do anything. An apology wouldn''t heal the scars on his body or on his heart.


    Zach grabbed Lexi''s hand and stopped her from caressing his cheek. It was a little unpleasant to be shown such tenderness and care from someone who had teased him almost relentlessly the past twenty years.


    "As I said, it''s fine." Zach turned around and continued walking. He didn''t know where or how long he was going to walk, but he didn''t want to stand still any more.

 Chapter 522 - 522: Lets Just Say

    The silence was painful, and Zach couldn''t endure it for long. He also didn''t want to put Visla through even more awkwardness.


    "What about Minatio?" He asked. It was a sudden question, and Lexi had to blink a couple of times before catching up.


    "He''s¡­"


    Zach''s eyes narrowed.


    "Don''t tell me I stepped on a landmine," he said. He didn''t want to open up another tough conversation. Lexi was of the same mind.


    "...Let''s just say that a lot has happened in the two years since you guys found him."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "...Let''s just say that the Underworld didn''t make him because they liked making babies."


    "Lexi¡­"


    "...Let''s just say that some children grow quickly."


    Zach sighed. He could somewhat tell that Lexi wasn''t telling him what Minatio was up to because she knew it would invite even more displeasure from Zach. But in doing so, she indirectly revealed what the Evandiels had done with Minatio when preparing for this battle against the Hydra.


    He clicked his tongue.


    He knew better than most about Minatio''s potential. Even as a newborn fresh into the world, he had strength to overwhelm even Named underworlders. He was potentially Ugor''s greatest success and biggest failure. The baby was powerful and all. However, he didn''t have a shred of malice in him.


    He was an ordinary baby but with the strength of a hundred men. He couldn''t control it at first, so he was still dangerous with the potential to become even more dangerous since he grew stronger by absorbing underworld energy.


    He had grown by the day back when he was still in Zach and the others'' custody. He could only imagine how strong he was now after a couple of years. And since Minatio wasn''t an unlucky child, he would have received the family''s attention and nurturing.


    The best resources and training in the Empire combined with Minatio''s strength, talent, and potential would have helped him flourish into a perfect fighting machine.


    But that didn''t mean it was okay to put a toddler in the fight against the Hydra.


    "You¡ªYou''ll understand when you see him," Lexi eventually said.


    She agreed with Zach about everything else the family had done. But she did not agree with this point. It was not wrong of them to invite Minatio to join them in the fight against the Hydra.


    However, she also knew that it was something Zach could only understand if he saw it himself. No matter how much she said that Minatio had grown well and that it''s what he wanted, Zach wouldn''t believe her, and not just because she had kept the family''s plan and betrayal a secret from him.


    It just didn''t make sense.


    The last Zach saw of Minatio was a little baby who would only harm a fly by accident.


    Zach decided to categorize the circumstances and minutes after Minatio''s birth as a tantrum by a newborn who didn''t know what it was doing. It didn''t count.


    Lexi thought differently.


    Zach and the other students had warned her about what Minatio was capable of when they handed him over to her. She knew what Zach was thinking right now.


    That was why she also knew it wasn''t worth trying to convince him that what Minatio had done when he was just born wasn''t just a tantrum. It wasn''t an accident or a coincidence.


    It was in his nature.


    "Not if I have a say in it," Zach said, crossing his arms.


    Lexi got a bad feeling.


    "You''re not planning to stop our family from fighting the Hydra, right?" She asked worriedly. She knew that they hadn''t gone about it in a way that satisfied Zach. But not fighting and killing the Hydra meant releasing it upon the world.


    That was far worse than anything they had ever done to Zach.


    Zach frowned.


    "Of course not."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "At least not in the way you think I am. I need to screw with our family''s plan without releasing the Hydra into the world, right?"


    "I wouldn''t say you need¡ª"


    "When were you planning to attack? Or were you just waiting for it to break its seal?"


    Lexi sighed.


    "We were waiting, but we had an estimate of a week or two." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And you wouldn''t make a move before then?"


    "As the time approached, we would have advanced to the thirtieth floor. But only a day or two before the estimate."


    "Perfect." Zach''s lips pulled up into a grin.


    Lexi''s bad feeling worsened.


    "Zach¡­What are you planning?"


    He shrugged.


    "To prove that my idea would have worked. My words don''t hold much weight until I do, after all."


    "Zach¡­"


    Zach wasn''t going to tell her that easily. What was the fun in that?


    He glanced around. He still felt a jarring sensation whenever he did and realized he couldn''t find Nora, only to remember that he would never find Nora again.


    He looked at Yanael, Alzara, Soara, Mandra, Visla, and Lexi.


    "I''m not sure how this will go, but¡­don''t resist and just let it happen," He said as he closed his eyes and focused on sensing the ones around him and only them. He took a deep breath and reached for something both within himself and far away.


    He reached for Haven.


    He found it. Like a doorway, he found the way to Haven.


    Zach pulled himself and the ones he chose through it and into Haven. A familiar feeling wrapped around him.


    The others felt something intangible surround them, at least the ones with good enough senses. A moment later, something tugged on them.


    They recognized the feeling as being similar to when they moved through floors but weaker and gentler. They could have resisted it.


    Mandra and Soara even realized that just moving an arm would have broken them free from Zach''s invitation. Fortunately, even the ones who didn''t realize that didn''t move.


    They were all swept up and moved into Haven.


    Alzara was at ease knowing how Zach had disappeared back then.


    Soara was surprised.


    Mandra was curious about how Zach could perform such a seamless teleportation to another space.


    Visla and Lexi were shocked, flabbergasted, and stunned.


    Yanael had drawn her sword.

 Chapter 523 - 523: The Vault

    Ra had noticed Zach''s group on their way to Haven. She could have easily dodged or even retaliated against the sword covered in sacred energy pointed at her throat.


    Considering the difference between them on their way and having arrived was less than a second, Ra had a clear advantage in reaction time. But doing anything would only escalate the situation, so she remained still, only sitting in the air with a faint smile as she looked at the tense and wary Yanael.


    One by one, the others also noticed what was going on.


    "Yanael," Zach said while grabbing Yanael''s swordarm and pushing it down.


    "Ra is not an enemy. She even helped me a lot after¡­" Zach''s voice trailed off.


    Yanael was smart enough to know what he was talking about just by his tone. With narrowed eyes, she transformed her sword into the bracelet again.


    "As you wish, Master," She said with a nod before turning to Ra.


    "Since Master has said as much, I will not treat you with hostility. But I will not forget what you did to Master, even if it was due to the Blight."


    Ra nodded. Attacking Zach and trying to take his world essence energy, putting him through excruciating pain was a sin. If she had succeeded, he and everyone else would have died, and she would have gained the strength to defeat Blizzard and break out of the Labyrinth, spreading the Blight to the Empire and their world.


    She could have wrought destruction to another world.


    But the weight of what she could have done was like a feather compared to what she had done.


    Besides, a little choking and a little pain wasn''t that big of a deal. It was inevitable in a fight to the death. If anything, she should be the one holding a grudge, considering Yanael chopped her hands and head off.


    But the blessing of being freed from the Blight far outweighed that. Ra was nothing but thankful that she met Zach and his companions.


    That was why she didn''t mind showing them around her humble abode, the second highest mountain peak in Haven. It was also because it was just a mountain peak with a cushion. It was a quick tour that ended as soon as the others saw Nora''s tomb.


    Zach wasn''t interested in making a show of himself saying hi to Nora or of Nora herself.


    "Let''s go." He said, taking them away from the mountain peaks and toward the fortress.


    It was only then that he started explaining what Haven was. Since Lexi and Visla didn''t know about the Labyrinth of Vidur, he took it from the beginning. That didn''t mean they understood it all, though.


    Why did Zach have his own little world? And why did he have a ghost living in it?


    It was the kind of questions that didn''t need to be answered, so they stopped thinking about it and asked questions like why there wasn''t a sun. What about the grass? Had he considered inviting any animals to liven up the place?


    It annoyed Zach, but he had a feeling that was the purpose of the questions. If he was annoyed, he didn''t have to think about the painful stuff.


    Fortunately, they all shut up as soon as he opened the doors to the vault.


    It was just a big and empty room where all the treasures were. It wasn''t very secure. Who was going to steal from him? Ra?


    "Feel free to arm yourselves!" Zach spread his arms wide and invited the others to go ahead and take what they wanted.


    They looked at him uncertainly. He nodded. They stopped holding back.


    Zach''s familiars showed a little composure. They were confident in themselves and their abilities. They didn''t need to rely on tools and treasures to enhance themselves.


    But that didn''t mean that the pile of shiny trinkets wasn''t alluring. Naturally, they had to take a look or two and see if there was anything that could help them. The stronger they were, the better they could defend or carry out Zach''s wishes, after all.


    Visla and especially Lexi were not as composed. They dove forward and rummaged through the treasures like burglars ruffling through a married lady''s panty drawer. It didn''t take long before they were covered in shiny items. Multiple necklaces and bracelets around their necks and wrists. Swords, daggers, clubs, and bows hung from their belts, waists, arms, and shoulders.


    It was amazing they could even walk with all that.


    Zach just sighed and shook his head. He looked at his familiars.


    Mandra found a couple of grimoires with advanced magic from a different world. Apparently, the magic from Zach''s world was similar enough to hers that it wasn''t very interesting beyond a certain point. But the magic from Ra''s world used a different line of thought when it came to using magic energy.


    Even an Archon at the peak of magic would find it interesting.


    Soara found a necklace with a black gem that carried the power of death. She wasn''t quite sure what it did, but as a minimum, it amplified her passive ability to absorb the power of death from her surroundings. It would be a great help against the Hydra and its Children. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael fed her bracelets with several treasured swords and minerals, strengthening, sharpening, and enhancing the smoothness of sacred energy flowing through them. Her sword was now far better than the one Zach had tried to offer Maura.


    Yanael''s skills and talents wouldn''t be limited by the maximum output or sharpness of her sword any more. Instead, it was time for her sword to elevate her prowess.


    Alzara was the last one to return to the entrance of the vault. With her, she carried a pile of dried plants that looked like they had withered ages ago and were on the brink of disintegrating. But she treated them carefully and asked Zach for a little world essence energy. She looked nervous when asking, but Zach didn''t even hesitate when giving it to her.


    Alzara took it and hurried away to a secluded corner of Haven while the others took another lap around the vault.

 Chapter 524 - 524: Gods And Deities

    Zach looked at the others enjoying themselves in the vault. At some point, it turned into a treasure fight with them throwing priceless artifacts at each other. He was happy to see his familiars relax and get along with his sister. He was also happy to see that Visla wasn''t out of place. It had started when Lexi discarded a treasure she didn''t like and accidentally tossed it at Soara.


    "You still haven''t found anything you like?" Ra asked from beside him.


    Zach shook his head.


    "My barriers are the best defense there is, and I can''t use any weapons. My world essence energy makes most accessories useless, not to mention that most rings will break as soon as I fight someone since I use my fists."


    "It''s a shame any clothes have long turned to dust," Ra said with a sigh. Zach still hadn''t found any proper replacements since his fight with the Child that killed Nora. He was still wearing rags mostly held together by his barriers.


    Right then, a black rubbery ball that could easily fit in Zach''s hand rolled over and stopped at his feet. It was one of the things thrown by the maniacs releasing some pent up stress inside the vault.


    Zach bent down to pick it up and throw it at Lexi, but when he gathered some strength in his pulled-back arm, the ball exploded into a stretchy curtain of black that enveloped Zach before he could react. He started using his world essence energy to blow it away.


    "Don''t." Ra stopped him. She could tell it wasn''t a threat to him. Zach listened.


    After a few seconds, a black bodysuit covered him from his wrists to his ankles and the top of his neck. His old clothes were gone, swallowed by the black bodysuit. Zach looked at himself. He looked at Ra.


    "Uh¡­"


    Ra nodded.


    "I never thought I would see one of these again."


    "One of these?" Zach asked for clarification. It wasn''t uncomfortable. If anything, it was very comfortable. But he was a little concerned about a black something suddenly covering almost his entire body.


    "A Taio," she said, taking a closer look. By now, the others had stopped their fighting and come to look at the black-clad Zach.


    Ra continued without anyone needing to say anything. Their inquisitive gazes were enough. If they hadn''t been, Yanael''s sword would encourage Ra to explain.


    "They are¡­something between a living being and an object. They are living objects but without clear sentience. As far as I know, they kind of live on instinct? I don''t remember all the details, but they choose hosts like this and become their clothes."


    Zach and the others narrowed their eyes.


    "When you say host¡­?"


    "They live in symbiosis with their host. It''s kind of like trees and some fungi. It''s nothing big. If I remember correctly, you give them sweat and maybe a little energy, and they give you clothes. I''m pretty sure they can also consume and replicate any clothing-like item you give them. As in, give them a bunch of armor, and they will become excellent defensive tools."


    To Zach, it sounded like Ra had just told him he had a mushroom covering his body, but he moved past that.


    "So, am I stuck like this until I give it something?" He asked. He wasn''t very interested in the defensive aspects, but not having to change clothes and having something to take care of his sweat sounded pretty sweet.


    As if in response to his words, the Taio changed into the clothes he was the most familiar and comfortable with. It transformed into Zach''s Academy uniform. Zach''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "...I guess that''s what it means for it to live in symbiosis with me," he said. He thought about the fact that the Taio had read his mind and memories or something along the lines of that. It was a little scary.


    But it wasn''t the first time something like that happened. It wasn''t too big of a deal.


    "Do anything to harm me and you''re a goner," he simply said to the Taio. It felt like it nodded. He wasn''t sure how that was possible, but he would take it. He also wasn''t sure about wearing an Academy uniform after he had already graduated, so he thought of other clothes.


    After a couple of seconds, he was wearing a simpler outfit more suitable for fighting a mythical monster that was once equal enough to a god for him to have children with it.


    Zach felt a little ridiculous just thinking about how far he had come in less than six years.


    But then again, he summoned an Angel as his first familiar, and already had someone similar to a god and someone like a god of magic among his familiars. Fighting a monster on that level wasn''t strange.


    A thought suddenly struck Zach as he was thinking about whether it was right to call Mandra, an Archon, a god of magic. He looked at Soara.


    "Hey, what''s the difference between a deity and a god, by the way?" He asked.


    The others were still waiting to hear his thoughts on the Taio, so they were more than a little taken aback by the sudden question. But it was an interesting question, and it didn''t seem like the Taio was that big of a deal.


    It was like a set of magical clothes. Compared to the technical difference between legendary beings like deities and gods, it wasn''t very interesting.


    The others also turned to look at Soara. She was the only one with any relation to either, so she was the only one who could answer that question. Not even Ra knew the answer.


    However, there was a problem.


    Soara looked a little awkward, and she raised her hands uncertainly.


    "I apologize, Master, but I''m not sure," She said with a hint of regret since she couldn''t answer Zach''s question. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I know in the depths of my heart that I am a ''deity'' but not why I am not a god," She explained.


    "Well, I''m sure it''s not that big of a difference." Zach turned to Mandra and Ra.


    "You two got any ideas?" They shook their heads.


    Finally, Zach looked at Lexi. He had something else to ask her.

 Chapter 525 - 525: Drops

    Lexi was a little flustered when Zach suddenly looked straight at her with a piercing gaze. She wondered what kind of ridiculous question was going to slip out of his mouth now.


    "Do you have your egg on you?" He asked simply.


    "Always," She answered quickly and retrieved the bottomless black egg that she summoned back then.


    "Perfect." Zach turned to Ra and asked, "Do you bleed in that form?"


    Ra furrowed her brow while looking at the egg. She didn''t even hear Zach''s question.


    "What¡­is that?" She asked, pointing at the egg with a frown.


    "My familiar?" Lexi responded, a little concerned about the way Ra looked at it.


    "Hmm."


    "We figured out that it consumes blood. Our theory is that it fuses and refines the essences of the blood of different creatures to enhance its potential and so on," Zach explained with excitement.


    "Is that why you asked for my blood after summoning me, Master?" Mandra asked. Zach nodded. He looked at Ra with glowing eyes.


    "Well?"


    "Let me get this straight. You figured out that whatever hatches from that egg will be stronger the better the blood it consumes while it''s an egg. And you''ve gone around gathering blood from all kinds of powerful beings to feed it, serving it an all-you-can-eat buffet of things that might as well me elixirs?" Ra asked, her doubt making it clear that what they had done seemed just a little irrational and perhaps very reckless. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If their theory was right, if whatever hatched from the egg perfectly fused and refined the essence of all the blood it consumed, what were they expecting to hatch?


    From what Ra knew, the blood of a deity, an Archon, a Desert Witch, an Archangel, and a human with world essence energy were already within it. And since Zach had told her a little about his adventures, she could guess what else it had.


    The blood from the familiars of his friends. Three beings from Hell of three different but powerful lineages. An oversized millipede with an innate potential for growth. A mystic Midnight Butterfly with unique powers. A bat living to steal the sun.


    The familiars of the other ones that entered the Labyrinth of Vidur back then didn''t bleed as far as she knew, so they probably hadn''t joined the cause.


    But Ra knew Zach was well-connected. She just didn''t know how well connected he was.


    The principal who was infamous throughout history for being powerful and domineering had donated his familiars'' blood. The Empress Dowager had eventually agreed to do it as well with her familiars.


    The Underworld and Zoe. Minatio.


    Almost all the familiars at the Academy.


    The distant descendants of the Hydra and whatever else Lexi and the Evandiels had found to give to the egg. With their resources, they would have undoubtedly made sure to get the egg the best possible nourishment in the hopes of securing another card up their sleeves against the Hydra.


    Too bad it didn''t hatch in time, but if Lexi and the egg survived, it would still be a great aid to her and the family. They hadn''t held back.


    Ra sighed. She could only imagine.


    If the theory was true, whatever hatched from the egg would be ridiculously insane.


    But seeing the light, anticipation, and hope in Zach''s eyes, she couldn''t help but feel a little curious.


    The Ra people were an innately strong people with a high ceiling and deep potential. She had extracted all of that potential beyond the limit and reached past the ceiling, refining herself to a level beyond mortals. She had transcended her world.


    If she added her blood to the mix, what would happen?


    "It''s not my blood, per se, but I can condense a drop of my essence," She eventually said with a resigned sigh. Just the beaming smile on Zach''s face made it worth it.


    Ra held her hand above the egg and closed her eyes to focus. After a few moments, a drop of golden liquid dripped down from the center of her palm. It didn''t even land on the egg before it was sucked in and disappeared.


    It was clear that the egg very much liked the donation.


    Zach squealed excitedly.


    But when he turned to thank Ra, he saw that she was paler and her existence was fainter than before. If she had looked almost solid before, now she was partially translucent.


    "Are you okay?!" He hurriedly asked. He wouldn''t have asked her to give that drop if he knew it would weaken her to this point.


    Ra looked at herself with a tired expression.


    "I might have forgotten I didn''t have a body. I''ll be fine after some rest," She said, waving off Zach and the others'' worry as she floated over to her cushion, sitting down and closing her eyes.


    Zach was still worried, but he turned back to the egg.


    If it didn''t take just blood¡­


    Zach could control his world essence energy now. He couldn''t do that last time. His blood might be of better quality now, too since he was stronger.


    He grabbed one of the daggers strapped to Lexi and cut his finger. He held it above the egg and squeezed out a drop of blood filled with world essence energy. When it escaped the cut in his finger, even the others around felt it.


    That drop of blood shone with an otherworldly luster, and it hung in the air with a weight that drew them all in. It was enough to make Ra open her eyes and look at it with hunger.


    But the hungriest of them all was the egg. As soon as the drop stopped touching Zach''s finger and finally let go, the egg vacuumed it in before anyone else could even think to snatch it.


    Ra might have transcended the limits of her world, but world essence energy was the energy and representation of an entire world. They were a little different in base value. It was understandable that the egg wanted it so desperately.


    Mostly Zach and Lexi looked at the egg with excitement and anticipation. Maybe this would be enough¡­?

 Chapter 526 - 526: Lets Go!

    Zach, Lexi, Visla, Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra looked at the egg with growing anticipation.


    It wasn''t enough. The egg didn''t hatch even after several minutes.


    "You know what this means?" Zach asked Lexi.


    "No¡­?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?"


    "No¡­?"


    "It wants more."


    "By more, do you mean¡­?"


    "What else could I mean? Let''s go kill that stupid snake now." Zach said decisively.


    It was the best way to ruin the Evandiels'' and the Seshas'' plan to wait for people to die to kill the Hydra. If he killed it first, their efforts would be for naught. It would be a hefty slap in their faces.


    Lexi was stunned for a moment as she looked at Zach. She sighed. It was what she had guessed. Zach, the madman, was going to challenge a monster that their family had prepared their entire lives for. The Evandiels had put together an army of elites and trained until they bled to prepare for it.


    They had also entered a tacit agreement with the Sesha that the Hydra needed to be killed before anything else.


    The Evandiels, the Maura, the Arlecchs, and the Ugris were all of one mind to work together to a certain degree and kill the Hydra. Their forces were many times that of Zach''s.


    "Are you sure about this, Zach?" She asked.


    Her family was not convinced they could take the Hydra even with all of their preparations. She knew Zach was stronger than when she last saw him. His familiars were also incredibly powerful.


    But the Hydra was the Hydra.


    "You can stay here if you want." Zach shrugged. "Though, if I die, I have no idea what will happen, so maybe I should take you out first."


    "Weren''t you planning on giving the Hydra''s blood to my egg? Of course, I am coming."


    "Perfect." He looked at Visla. "No objections or doubts?"


    "...I have nothing but doubts, but if you think I can help¡­"


    "You''re your mother''s daughter, Visla. This is an opportunity. See it as such." Zach nodded and patted her shoulder reassuringly. He then turned to his familiars.


    "All of you are ready?"


    "Yes, Master."


    "Of course, Master."


    "I''ll show that snake what death really means, Master."


    "I have a new spell I''ve been waiting to test out, Master."


    Zach nodded. He went over to Ra and said goodbye, tapping her shoulder gently and giving her some world essence energy. He had figured out that it would help her condition.


    But there was no way she could ask for it when she was already relying on Zach''s Haven to remain alive. The fact that she tried to take it from him when she was affected by the Blight also hung over her. If she asked for it, she might sow doubts that she was still greedy for power.


    Since everyone was as ready as they were going to get once Visla and Lexi dropped most of the treasures they tried to bring, Zach swept them all up and returned to the Labyrinth. This time, the Labyrinth seemed like it was ready for him. They didn''t end up in a white space with an error message. They returned to the spot they had been in before entering Haven.


    "Oh, right. In preparation for this, we cleared the twenty-ninth floor of monsters, so¡ª" Lexi started explaining.


    "I know. We just need to express our desire to move to the next floor."


    "Huh? How did you know that?"


    "The thirteenth floor didn''t have any monsters."


    "What?"


    "I don''t know if it was the entire thing or not, but the desert was turned into glass."


    Lexi''s surprised expression darkened. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That happened after we passed through."


    "I guessed as much. We also found traces of someone fighting the one who did that. I think one of the more powerful Children fought the Maura chief or something. We should have asked her about that," Zach said regretfully.


    But Lexi shook her head.


    "No, the Maura chief and her group were one step behind us. The other two chiefs should have only been a step or two behind her. I don''t think that was one of the chiefs," she said slowly.


    "Hmm." That meant there was someone else on equal footing with a Child powerful enough to incinerate and melt an entire floor of the Labyrinth. It seemed like they were against the Children, but that didn''t mean they were an ally.


    "Well, what can you do about it?" Zach shrugged.


    "Let''s go!" He said, pointing forward. He took a step in that direction and the entire group disappeared from the twenty-ninth floor, reappearing on the thirtieth.


    Zach felt the teleportation wrap him and the others up before moving them. It was an interesting feeling. But he didn''t pay it any further mind and instead focused on more important matters, such as the enormous ice cube in front of them.


    It was somewhere between the size of a hill and a mountain. It was covered in frost, and fog and mist surrounded it, giving the mountainous silhouette within a mystical air.


    It was hard to breathe.


    Even inside the seal, there was no denying the Hydra''s overwhelming power. It was also clear that the seal was about to break as the Hydra''s power fluctuated and seeped out of the ice cube.


    Still, the Hydra was deep enough in the seal that they could only see a vague shadow with a blurry outline.


    It was enough to make Zach wonder if maybe he had been a little rash. He shouldn''t have brought along Lexi and Visla. He might have made another mistake no amount of regret could undo.


    He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He was not going to let the failure of Nora''s death swallow him before this fight had even started.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have to wait long before a soft thud rang out from behind.


    After all, the Hydra wasn''t their only opponent. Zach and the others turned around as the Hydra''s Children surrounded them.

 Chapter 527 - 527: Terms

    Zach scanned the scaly faces of the Children when he came to the seventh and final one. His eyes narrowed.


    "You¡­!"


    But he wasn''t the only one recognizing someone.


    The seventh Child of the ones around them was looking at Visla.


    "You¡­!" He exclaimed in anger, looking ready to charge like a mad bull. Visla couldn''t not notice that and frowned as she looked at the Child before her eyes widened in realization.


    It was the Child that she had killed, the one the Nilma tribe captured and let her execute to bring justice to the ones he had killed. Visla was certain she had pierced his heart. She had felt his pulse fade and seen the light in his eyes go out.


    "...I guess that''s what they meant by immortal." Zach remembered what his father had said about the Children. He had been a little distracted by other things at the time, so he hadn''t thought much about it, but he hadn''t missed it.


    It wasn''t that they didn''t die. They just didn''t stay dead.


    "You''ve already killed one of them?" Lexi asked.


    "Two. I killed the one who killed¡­" His voice trailed off. He didn''t need to finish for the others to know who he was talking about, though. Zach scanned the Children again.


    "He''s not here, though. But maybe he is just late."


    "That''s possible," Lexi agreed. It seemed like the Children were weighing the situation and assessing Zach and the others. Lexi had half forgotten it since she thought she would have more time to prepare, but she hadn''t told Zach everything they knew about the Hydra and her Children.


    She lowered her voice and whispered to Zach as quickly as she could,


    "We have figured out a few of the Hydra''s nine powers. Fire, wind, poison, death, immortality, and regeneration. We also know it''s missing one head, the head of Domination. Neither it nor its children should have that power."


    It was a boatload of information compressed to a couple of sentences. But Zach still understood the potential abilities and the like of the Children they would soon fight. He also understood what Lexi was getting at.


    "That means they might have two powers we know nothing about."


    "Exactly."


    "It''s just you?" The seemingly most powerful Child, a tall and muscular man, asked. He had already looked around and confirmed that there was no one hiding nearby.


    Zach took a step forward.


    "That''s right." He glanced at their numbers and then at the Children''s numbers as he got an idea. He turned back to the Child.


    "Our numbers are equal. What do you think about individual fights?" He asked. Lexi and Visla looked at Zach in stunned disbelief. This was a fight to the death. Why was he discussing terms of the battle like it was a friendly sparring match?


    The Child narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he looked at Zach and Lexi. He turned back to Zach.


    "If you tell me why Mother''s smell is so thick on you."


    "I have no idea."


    "...Fair enough." The First Child glanced back at his younger siblings. The Youngest seemed ot have a target. The others¡­ They were mostly looking at either Zach or Lexi, but they weren''t fixed on anyone.


    A chaotic brawl would be on their side since they all handled fire to a certain degree. However, involving the younger siblings in a fight between himself and enemies strong enough to withstand him¡­They would have to die again.


    The First Child wasn''t keen on that when he didn''t know where Seven was. He clenched and unclenched his fist. There was also someone else in the Labyrinth that posed a threat to them, someone that wasn''t an Evandiel or a barbarian.


    They had to stay together.


    If everyone got their own opponents of relatively similar levels, their odds of survival and success were greater. It was the same for both sides.


    The First Child was a little hesitant about making an agreement with an Evandiel. But an ordinary Evandiel would never even suggest making a deal with them. Besides, with Mother''s smell so heavy on him, he couldn''t help but feel a sense of kinship.


    "Alright," he eventually said, much to Lexi''s and Visla''s surprise.


    "Will you be the one I face?" He asked.


    "No, no, no." Zach hurriedly raised his hands and shook his head. He turned to Yanael and Mandra.


    "Do either of you two¡­?"


    "I don''t mind a warm-up, Master." "I would prefer to conserve my strength to the Hydra, Master," The two said at the same time. It was fortunate that they wanted opposite things. Zach gestured for Yanael to go ahead. She unsheathed her sword and stepped forward.


    "An angel¡­It''s been a long time since I last fought one. It''s an honor," he said, scales covering his body and white, airy smoke pouring out of his nose.


    "I''m not just an Angel," Yanael answered, two pairs of wings shooting out of her back and exploding her strength as she launched forward. With the two of them soaring into the sky and entering a wild fight, the others also sought their opponents.


    Visla and the youngest and Ninth Child found each other quickly and clashed in a savage melee. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soara and the Third Child hadn''t stopped looking at each other from the moment the Children arrived. They could sense the other.


    Soara was naturally greater since she was a self-made deity while the Third was the offspring of a god-like creature. But Soara was in a state of weakness.


    The Third could feel it. If he won and took Soara''s powers for himself, he would rise to heights he hadn''t even been able to dream of.


    Soara, on the other hand, was revolted by the feeling of the Child wielding the power of death.


    Soara wasn''t delusional enough to think she was the only one who could or should use the power of death. But the Child in front of her didn''t deserve it. He hadn''t learned it. He had been born with it. It was opposite to everything that the powers of death represented.


    Naturally, the two sought each other out and started comparing their powers in a still and silent contest that greyed the air and area around them.

 Chapter 528 - 528: Staring Contest

    Death in itself was formless and appearance-wise, a nonexistent power. It wasn''t like flame that roared and devoured. It wasn''t like poison that corroded and could come in all kinds of forms. It wasn''t a fist or a weapon.


    It was intangible. Invisible.


    It wasn''t something a human could learn to wield like a limb. Yet, Soara had done just that. One of the ways she had done it was by making it easier for her to understand. She had divided Death into Aspects that she could control and wield. She had also given Death the shape of tentacles or snakes that wrapped around its unsuspecting victims, suffocating their lives before they could notice.


    Even if they by some miracle did notice that they were about to die, what could they do about it?


    However, Soara had trouble killing beings with an absolute strength greater than hers. In her current state, her powers were more similar to magic but with properties of death than the powers of a deity. It was like a bird''s breaths trying to put out a wildfire.


    But she had grown now. She had taken in a lot of death with the passing of time, and Zach had leveled up, releasing more of her strength. Unfortunately, she was still far from her prime, and the snake-like runt in front of her had been spoiled with great power from the Hydra.


    Soara held back a smirk. That was undignified. But that didn''t change her impression of the Third Child. They were undoubtedly powerful. If any of the others had fought him, they might have been in serious trouble.


    But he was lacking.


    The Third Child had received plentiful power of death from birth in exchange for not getting much fire or any of the Hydra''s other powers. He had been given it to play with and that was exactly what he had done.


    He was probably better at using it right now than when he received it. But he was a step below using it like a strange form of magic. He was just using brute force. He threw his power of death at Soara, hoping to overwhelm and overpower her, snuffing her out and seizing her power as his.


    He hadn''t honed it. He hadn''t mastered it.


    The Third Child erected a wall of death like a child building a simple wall during a snowball fight. He then proceeded to just lump the power of death together like crude snowballs and flinging them at Soara while barely taking aim.


    Soara, on the other hand, had a perfectly cut and measured fortress wall so dense that even when the Child''s boulder-like snowballs hit it, they barely scratched it. She made ballistas and trebuchets, which launched perfect projectiles, where not a drop of her powers went to waste.


    Soara had less to work with, but she made much more. It was only a matter of time before her Aspects of Unstoppable Death and Inescapable Death pierced the Child''s flimsy curtain of death, which lacked any kind of foundation.


    In contrast to Soara''s and the Third Child''s fight that looked like they were trying to stare each other to death, all of the other fights were harsh, intense, and brutal with two exceptions.


    Surprisingly enough, one of the most intense fights was the one between Visla and the Ninth Child. The two were the weakest on either side, yet they fought each other like the world depended on it.


    The Ninth Child was understandably upset by Visla killing him, even if he was still alive right now.


    And Visla was rightfully enraged by the genocide and atrocities committed by the Ninth Child.


    However, Visla was a young human lady, and the Ninth Child was a child of a monstrous being and had lived for several thousand years. The odds were stacked against her.


    She hadn''t been sheltered. She had received training and seen a lot of action. She was by no means a bad fighter. She just didn''t have enough talent to transcend the constraints of time like a certain someone else. She didn''t even have enough talent to follow in her mother''s large steps.


    But she was good enough to hold her ground, especially with the treasures she took from Zach''s vault.


    She managed to secure an orange amulet that weakened all flames in her surroundings. A bracelet on the same wrist as the hand she held her sword with let her cut through magic and magic-related phenomena, such as all of the Ninth Child''s non-physical attacks. For those, she had picked up a chestplate, greaves, gauntlets, and shoulder pads.


    She was the most armored barbarian Zach had seen.


    That was because the Sesha were a primarily nomadic people. They moved around a lot on the Steppes. They didn''t want to lug around heavy armor. They also didn''t spend time developing mines, ores, and metal craftsmanship.


    Since they lived fighting big and strong beasts or the Empire''s armored troops, the Sesha also developed light-footed and mobile fighting techniques. Heavy armor would slow them down.


    However, whether it was because she had been influenced by Zach, her mother, or the bulky warriors of the Maura tribe, Visla wasn''t attached to that way of fighting. Given the chance, she didn''t mind armoring herself.


    She wasn''t going to avoid the Children, especially not the Ninth Child. She couldn''t avoid them, even if she wanted. She wasn''t strong or fast enough.


    But what she could do was endure. She could take the hits and, if they came from the Ninth Child, return them. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So far, she had managed to cut off several of the weak scales he tried to defend himself with. She had drawn his blood. But it didn''t come cheap.


    Her left gauntlet was shattered, and her left wrist was a bleeding, throbbing bundle of pain.


    The Ninth Child had spit a ball of fire in her face and hid behind it to drop a heel on her head. She didn''t have time to dodge, so she had been forced to sacrifice her wrist. But it was worth it since she got to stab him in the leg and reduce his mobility.


    Visla could feel her blood heat up with each painful throb from her wrist. Her eyes turned feral as she, for the first time since the fight began, took a step toward the Ninth Child.

 Chapter 529 - 529: Feral

    Visla kept her left arm close to her side. If she moved it too much, it felt like her hand would break off and leave her body behind. But her right arm was still fine, and the sword she had chosen was light. One hand was more than enough to swing it around like it was a stick.


    She might be small for a member of the Maura tribe, but her size was no indication of her strength.


    Her sword turned into a shard of flashing light as she deflected the Ninth Child''s fire shots, fire balls, and arrows of fire. He tried to get through her defenses and treasures to turn her into a piece of charcoal.


    After Visla sacrificed her wrist to stab him in the thigh without blinking, the Ninth Child realized he had to be a little cautious. Visla wouldn''t hesitate to kill him even if it killed her.


    Usually, the Ninth Child wouldn''t care too much about dying. It would be a setback, and he would feel weak and sluggish for a while, which was always uncomfortable. It would be especially bad since he had just returned to life a little while ago.


    But they were fighting right next to Mother.


    The Ninth Child wasn''t sure if his immortality would win over their Mother''s presence. Either she passively suppressed his regeneration just by existing or she absorbed him in his time of death.


    It was something the First Child had warned them to be cautious about. They shouldn''t die unless absolutely necessary.


    The Ninth Child hadn''t taken that warning to heart until now. First of all, there was no way he was letting himself die so soon again. Secondly, who could kill him when he had all but one of his siblings around?


    But the Ninth Child was mistaken. He had severely underestimated their opponents this time around.


    Zach and his companions alone were enough to keep the Children occupied.


    If the Evandiels, Mauras, Ugris, and Arlecchs joined the fight, the Children would be doomed. The losses on their sides would be significant, but in the end, the Children would lose, even if only temporarily, since they could always come back to life.


    Visla, on the other hand, had long since stopped caring about things like that as she pushed toward the Ninth Child. Her boiling blood had reached her head. The only thing she cared about was the fight. She wanted to be pushed beyond her limits. She wanted to come face to face with death as she narrowly avoided the Ninth Child''s lethal attacks.


    She wanted to feel his attacks with her body. She wanted to take it and remain unmoved. She wanted to hit him hard with her fists. She wanted to bash his head in.


    She had gone mad with the thrill of battle.


    Visla was proving why the Maura tribe was famous on the Steppes for being battle-crazed maniacs that one shouldn''t provoke needlessly. She was proving why the Mauras were the strongest fighters. It lay deep in their blood to enjoy fighting. Naturally, the best way to enjoy it to the fullest was to be good at it.


    The pain from her wrist and other injuries started to fade in response to the growing madness.


    But that wasn''t the only thing that changed.


    As she became more in tune with her feral nature, her body slowly grew in size and mass, and murky fur sprouted from her arms. She was feeling it. The spirit of the ancestors was descending upon her.


    If she had known a battle to the death was all it took to earn the bear spirit''s recognition, she would have done it a long time ago. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Strength surged through her body and limbs, revitilizing her and restoring her wrist as more fur and muscles sprouted, gradually changing her body. Her armor started buckling and twisting, no longer fitting around her.


    The Ninth Child stopped for a moment as he looked at his opponent in confusion.


    Visla was fully prepared to become a bear and fight like one instead of as a human, but before the spirit could fully descend upon her, something bit the bear spirit from behind and yanked it out of Visla''s body.


    She couldn''t even react before the other spirit took the bear''s place and replaced its transformation with its own.


    Visla lost her size and the muscles she gained as her body shrank. But it didn''t stop when she reached her original size. She continued shrinking until she was a head or two shorter than she usually was. She fell down to all fours with dense fur covering her body, and her sleek snout up in the air as she looked at the Child.


    She was confused at first as it looked like everything around her had suddenly grown bigger.


    That wasn''t the case.


    She was just small.


    She was confused. She was enraged.


    She wanted to be a bear, not a bear cub! But then she looked at her paws and as much of her body as she could. It was flatter than the round bodies of bears. Her paws and claws were pointed almost straight forward.


    This wasn''t the body of a bear¡­


    It was that of an animal that lived on the Steppes. It wasn''t common, but the Sesha made sure to keep track of where they lived since they didn''t want to disturb them.


    It wasn''t that they were strong or overwhelmingly powerful or anything. It wasn''t even that they were hard to kill, poisonus, or a bad omen.


    They were annoying to fight, but the stronger warriors could take them.


    It wasn''t the animal the Maura tribe worshipped.


    It was most likely the animal spirit from her father''s tribe.


    Visla didn''t know much about her father, but that was because Maura didn''t know much about him, either. He was feisty and fierce and put up a fight both in the wild and in the bed. That was enough for Maura.


    A while later, she had Visla.


    She had her theories about him, which she had shared with Visla.


    Now, those theories combined with what she knew about the animals on the Steppes, Visla could guess what animal spirit her father worshipped.


    It was the fucking honey badger.

 Chapter 530 - 530: A Fist To The Badger Fight

    Slowly, Visla turned to the Ninth Child. She stared at him.


    That''s right.


    It was his fault. It was his fault that she was a badger instead of a bear.


    If she hadn''t been fighting him, she wouldn''t have transformed. If she hadn''t transformed, the badger spirit wouldn''t have taken over and turned her into a badger instead of a bear. She wouldn''t have lost her pride if not for the Ninth Child.


    There was nothing wrong with badgers, especially honey badgers. They even had a cute name. But compared to bears¡­


    There was no comparison.


    Visla had lived thinking she was a bear and wanting to be one.


    Naturally, when she transformed into a badger instead, she was enraged.


    A disproportionate amount of rage filled her small body as she started moving toward the Ninth Child, leaving her armor and items behind her like a snake shading its skin. She walked slowly at first, but her speed increased with each step she took. She scrambled toward the Ninth Child like a lizard over hot coal.


    She didn''t notice it herself, but her rage propelled angry screeches and howls out of her mouth as she showed off razor-sharp teeth.


    It was enough to distract a few of the others fighting.


    They saw a badger with a pale back and darker limbs chase after the Ninth Child hopelessly trying to set the badger on fire. But the badger didn''t care about the plumes of fire that hit it, much less about the ones that didn''t hit it.


    Its fur didn''t catch on fire, and the hits didn''t have much force behind them since they were hastily conjured.


    The badger growled and reached for the Ninth Child.


    The Ninth Child could only run and try to get enough distance between himself and the badger to try and gather a stronger attack. But the badger was smaller than its size and shape indicated, and it managed to keep up.


    Eventually, the Ninth Child decided that he would have to use physical force to take care of the badger if fire didn''t work.


    Besides, it was a small creature. How strong could it possibly be? He could probably grab its arms and rip it in half. With that thought in mind, the Ninth Child suddenly turned on his heel and brought down a fist on top of the badger''s skull.


    The badger, fully prepared to chase the Ninth Child to the ends of the world, was not ready for it and solidly caught the blow with its head. It was a stiff and muted hit.


    The Ninth Child had put a lot of power in that blow. It was enough to sink the badger''s head.


    Slowly, the badger''s eyes turned upward, glaring straight at the Ninth Child.


    With a hiss, it lunged at the Ninth Child and scratched his arm, dragging several long claws along his wrist, leaving deep bloody furrows.


    The Ninth Child yelped and jumped backward. The badger jumped after him, falling just short. The Ninth Child threw a kick at the badger''s head. It hit it straight on the jaw.


    The badger didn''t even flinch, instead reaching to bite the foot. It managed to nip a piece of leather from the shoe and even a patch of skin from the Child''s foot.


    It swallowed both the leather and the skin without chewing. It looked at the Child as it licked its lips, a few drops of blood staining its teeth.


    A shiver ran down the Ninth Child''s spine. He turned around. He was not putting his hands or feet anywhere near the little beast.


    The spectators of their fight slowly turned back to their opponents.


    The Children were a little ashamed to be the Ninth Child''s siblings. Zach and the others were unsure what to think of Visla''s transformation.


    It was great that she seemed to be having fun.


    Lexi looked at her opponent, the Eighth Child.


    "...I don''t really know her. We met just recently."


    "Shut up and fight."


    Unlike the First Child, the Eighth Child did not have the patience to talk with the Second Child''s descendants. They were traitors in his books, and traitors did not deserve conversation. The Eighth Child was still upset about the First Child agreeing with Zach''s suggestion, but it gave him the chance to fight and kill Lexi, an Evandiel, so he couldn''t stay mad.


    A flame-soaked fist tore through the air toward Lexi before he finished talking.


    Lexi sighed.


    It wasn''t like she didn''t understand the Eighth Child. She wanted to rip the Children to pieces just as much as they wanted to rip her to pieces. They were mortal enemies, destined to be from birth. It wasn''t something they could change, either.


    The Children were remorseless, humanoid monsters with no interest in anyone but themselves, each other, and the Hydra.


    Lexi had emotions and compassion. They could never see eye to eye on anything.


    But having a witty conversation in the middle of the fight was one of the charms of battle.


    Fighting someone was one of the closest and most intimate things one could do. It was awkward not to talk every now and then.


    Lexi dodged to the side and blew away the wave of flame the Eighth Child''s fist left in its wake with a simple gust she conjured with magic. She tried to slash the Child''s shoulder, but he leaned to the side before shooting his other fist at her.


    It didn''t reach, but when it reached its stop, a plume of flame shot out and engulfed Lexi.


    Lexi sneezed and extinguished it.


    "Sorry, my allergies always act up this time of year."


    "..."


    The Eighth Child pressed the attack since Lexi had been forced a step back by his attack, even if she had dispelled the flame with seeming ease.


    Lexi''s eyes sparkled unnoticeably as the Eighth Child followed in her steps, recklessly swinging his fiery fists at her. Every now and then, he would sneak in a blisteringly fast fire shot that always seemed to just barely and by coincidence miss Lexi.


    The Eighth Child was suspicious. It didn''t look like Lexi noticed. And if she did, shouldn''t she have had more of a reaction? There was no way she was letting them take one hair off her head at a time.


    The Eighth Child was distracted by that thought.


    Lexi stopped dead in her tracks and lowered her stance.


    sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 531 - 531: Master Plan

    The Eighth Child had shown a minuscule gap. It was enough for Lexi to see and seize it.


    The Child could not react in time to the slash she let rip from her lowered stance. It was powerful, and it unleashed a combination of magic and martial energy that clashed and bit the air in an electric frenzy.


    Lexi turned the tides of their fight and pushed the Child backward with incessant swings that the Child had to dodge. He risked losing his fingers and hands if he tried to block them.


    Lexi''s sword was both sharp and powerful, even without her energies pervading it. After all, it was a treasured sword that had survived millennia of neglect. It would have been even better if it hadn''t gone through that. But going through that and still being a great sword was proof of the craftsmanship.


    If the Eighth Child wasn''t careful, one good swing was all it would take for Lexi to win the fight. But as long as he was careful and stayed on his toes, getting that good swing in was as good as impossible for Lexi.


    Fortunately, that wasn''t her only plan.


    She guided the Child backward with targeted strikes. It didn''t matter even if he knew that she was trying to get him to walk in a specific pattern. What was she trying to achieve by doing so? Make a painting with their footsteps?


    Unless she revealed an opening, the Child would have to force himself and push through her attacks to break it. For now, he was content waiting around and building up the heat around them. Like all the Children, he was confident in his fire and heat tolerance. The hotter it was, the better it was for him.


    The Evandiels were also descendants of the Hydra, and they were mostly attuned to fire as well. But their blood had been diluted with that of humans over millennia. Lexi would char and crumble like a cookie long before the heat got to the Child.


    Besides, the other Children were also raising the atmosphere''s temperature. The longer each fight dragged on, the better it was for them.


    However, the fire and heat in the air weren''t just fire and heat. It was fire and heat built on magic and energies. It floated around just dancing around everyone fighting for their lives.


    It was visible to Mandra''s and Zach''s Eyes of Truth if they looked for it. But to the others, it was invisible.


    That didn''t mean it wasn''t there, though.


    Lexi stepped forward, hounding the Child, but her step was a little too big, and she ended up losing her rock-solid balance. The Child didn''t miss that and instantly ducked to the side when she tried to hide it by attacking him with a reckless swing. He avoided her sword and closed in on her.


    Lexi could only brace herself and take a flame-soaked fist to the stomach. She used the hit to jump backward and try and catch her breath.


    Naturally, the Child pursued her and leaped after her. He landed right in front of her with fire welling up out of both palms. He was ready to douse her in it and turn her into a grilled meat.


    However, there was something off about the place he landed on. He glanced down.


    He hadn''t noticed it before, but as soon as he looked at it, he could feel a tremendous magic concentrated below his feet. He frowned. His gaze wandered.


    He was standing in the middle of a large circle marked by the scuffs, scrapes, and footprints from their fight.


    Every single mark Lexi had made since the start of the fight was filled with magic energy. The Eighth Child was standing in the center of it.


    The marks lit up, including the one beneath his feet. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before the Child realized, crystallized chains connected every part of his body to those marks.


    He couldn''t move. He looked at Lexi, smoke pouring out of his nose and mouth, veins popping on his forehead and arms as he tried to wrangle free. His eyes were ablaze in anger. But there was nothing he could do.


    The marks the chains had sprouted from used not only Lexi''s magic, but also the magic in the air. Usually, this spell would have only restrained the Child for up to a minute, depending on how much Lexi had prepared. It would still have been enough to kill him.


    But now, with the supercharged air that was packed with swirling magic and energies, Lexi could hold the Eighth Child like this for several days.


    She grinned.


    "This is where I would say something witty or explain my master plan¡ªhow I tricked you from the very beginning. Maybe even how this spell works since I created it. But I know you''re not interested¡­" She shrugged and flicked her arm, severing the Child''s head.


    "See you some other time, I guess."


    After a while, the Child''s body would disappear, and after another while, he would come back somewhere else.


    It wasn''t the first time they had killed one of the Children. They always came back.


    Lexi sighed and turned to look at the other fights. She sat down. It didn''t look like any of the ones she could help needed help.


    The badger was busy chasing the Ninth Child in circles.


    The Sixth Child was lying on the ground, paler than a sheet and with muddy tears welling out of her eyes. Alzara was standing above her with her arms crossed and a frown as she thought about how to improve her curses or perhaps stop the Child from respawning.


    But she didn''t know how their immortality worked, so she unfortunately couldn''t do anything other than stop the Child from dying. If they didn''t die, they didn''t respawn safely somewhere else.


    For now, the Sixth Child was held in cursed limbo, unable to escape Alzara''s curses.


    Lexi turned to the Fifth Child.


    Since Alzara had fought the Sixth Child, Yanael the First Child, Soara the Third Child, Mandra the Fourth Child, and the Second Child was dead, the only one who could be fighting her was Zach.


    Lexi was a little worried. The Fifth Child was far stronger than the Eighth one she had fought.

 Chapter 532 - 532: That Power

    Lexi knew Zach was stronger than her. She was a little envious, even if only about the world essence energy that was the main reason for hit as longa s she didn''t look at his familiars. But he was her brother. She was more proud than anything.


    However, she didn''t know exactly how strong he was. She was worried that the Fifth Child would be too strong for him. But she also knew how great his barriers were.


    So, when she turned to look at him and his fight, she assumed he would be cowering behind his barriers and enduring until someone, whether it be his familiars or her, came to help him.


    That was not the case.


    Zach did not cower or hide behind his barriers. He didn''t budge an inch and faced the Fifth Child straight on. He still used his barriers, but he wasn''t just letting the Fifth Child try to break them down. He used his barriers to ignore all of the Fifth Child''s attacks.


    The fire, the purple clouds of poisonous smoke, the house-sized tornadoes trying to sweep him off his feet in a mixture of wind, fire, and poison¡ªhis barriers weathered it all.


    Occasionally, the barriers cracked, but they were repaired quicker than they broke. The only exception was when they broke under Zach''s punches.


    His fists, empowered by his world essence energy, were the only things powerful enough to shatter his barriers. Naturally, they were powerful enough to also shatter the Fifth Child''s defenses, scales, and bones.


    Lexi''s eyes glowed with pride and admiration as Zach walked through flames, dust, and smoke, untouched and unstoppable.


    He had grown up.


    His fists were bloody, and his hair was ruffled. There was also a hint of madness and rage in his eyes, but all that only added to Zach''s charm.


    Whether it was because of the world essence energy or something else, Lexi couldn''t see Zach as an ordinary human as he fought. There was something otherworldly about him¡ªsomething greater than human.


    Eventually, Zach''s fight reached its climax and finale. Once he built up his momentum, there was no way for the Fifth Child to stop him.


    The Fifth Child was diverse and flexible in their ways of combat. But they didn''t have the raw power to break through Zach''s defenses. They could not stop him.


    Once Zach grabbed their face, they could only tiredly resign themselves to their fate. They probably wouldn''t get an opportunity for revenge against Zach. Unlike them, he would only continue to grow stronger, and if his past was anything to go by, he was the type to grow fast.


    Soon, not even the First Child would have the power to kill Zach. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But that was still a bit away.


    That was why the Fifth Child closed their eyes peacefully. They could take a break, knowing full well that the First would take revenge in their stead. They might have lost their fight, but the First wouldn''t. Only that strange person on the desert floor or someone like Maura could make him go all out.


    Even now, he was keeping the Archangel at bay while holding back a majority of his strength since he didn''t want to get his siblings caught in the crossfire.


    The Fifth Child felt the air rush past them as Zach slammed their head into the ground, shattering it. A brief flash of searing pain and then darkness like the ground was welcoming them into its embrace. It wasn''t the first time this happened, and the Fifth Child wasn''t worried. After a while, the ground would spit them back out again.


    They could be killed, but they never stayed dead. It was like a law of nature binding them to this world.


    However, something was different this time.


    If the Fifth Child had still retained the ability to make facial expressions in death, they would have frowned.


    The darkness enveloping them was deeper than usual. It wasn''t the damp, slightly warm one that usually enveloped them.


    It was colder. Sharper. It didn''t embrace the Fifth Child. It grabbed them and held them tight.


    A fleeting sense of panic tore through what remained of the Fifth Child''s consciousness before they ceased to disappear.


    At the same time, the First Child''s head whipped around, a wide swing of his arm sending Yanael retreating.


    He looked toward Zach and the Fifth Child''s corpse.


    "That power¡­!" He said in disbelief, looking at Zach''s bloody hand before shouting,


    "WHO ARE YOU?!" The First Child''s voice boomed across the plains. Visla passed out. Lexi sank to the ground, her hands covering her bleeding ears. Not even the Ninth Child was spared from it and finally found release from the hell that it was to be chased by a badger. His injuries were too much for him to handle the shockwave of the First''s shout.


    The next moment, the First Child was right in front of Zach, a hand around his throat. There was no barrier between the skin on the First''s palm and Zach''s neck.


    Zach was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. He had not expected this just from killing one of the Children, especially when one had already died at the hands of his sister and one or two others was on the verge of death. He had also already killed another Child.


    The First''s reaction was out of proportion, considering the Children would come back to life after a while.


    The First looked at Zach with a deep frown, anger and confusion blooming in his eyes.


    "Did you inherit that power¡­?! It should not be possible for a human to wield it!" He shouted.


    Zach frowned. He was not keeping up. What power had he inherited? The only things he used were world essence energy and his barriers. He had inherited neither of those.


    "Um, what happened to the agree¡ª"


    The First slammed Zach into the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs. Still, he managed to signal to his familiars that they had to hang back for a second. If they interfered, the First might just kill him.


    For now, it seemed like he wanted to talk.


    "I ASKED YOU WHO YOU ARE!" He roared again.


    "My name¡ª"


    The First slammed him into the ground again. Zach''s vision blurred.

 Chapter 533 - 533: Unless

    His injuries aside, Zach felt a little tired. What was it with old people and never listening?


    The First added some pressure on the base of Zach''s throat as he continued.


    "I asked for your identity! Not your name!"


    Zach frowned at the First''s words. He had seriously missed something.


    This was no longer just about surviving. He had to know what the First was asking about. It was enough to make someone who had lived for millennia go crazy. It was important, and not just because the First Child was trying to kill him over it.


    "Where do you come from?! How can you wield that power with this body?!" The First asked, growing increasingly angry and dangerous as Zach stayed silent.


    "First of all, I have no idea what you''re talking about," Zach hurriedly squeezed out before the First could be disappointed with the answer.


    The First Child''s frown changed slightly with the addition of confusion. With his hand around Zach''s neck, he could tell that he wasn''t lying.


    "Secondly, are you talking about my world essence energy? That''s usually the explanation." Zach tried to calm the situation down by talking and explaining as best he could. The moment he was separated from the First, he could boil his body with the world essence energy and fight the First with his familiars.


    But now, the First could snap his neck as soon as he tried something. Zach didn''t want to risk it. He just had to put some distance between himself and the First. But it seemed like the First had no intention to even let up on the pressure around Zach''s neck.


    Fortunately, breathing wasn''t a necessity as long as he had world essence energy. It could just restore the damages from not breathing and keep his brain running.


    "World essence energy¡­?" He said doubtfully before shaking his head. "No, that wouldn''t explain it¡­" The First''s voice trailed off as he sank into silent thought, trying to understand what had happened.


    Zach got a bad feeling.


    A moment later, the First''s eyes lit up.


    He didn''t need to understand it.


    The problem lay with Zach. If Zach was gone, it would no longer be a problem.


    "You will pay for the deaths of my brethren with your life," The First said.


    From that, Zach could tell something was off. The First shouldn''t care this much about the deaths of his siblings. He definitely didn''t like that his siblings died, but he wouldn''t go crazy like this unless¡­


    Unless they were actually dead.


    Zach''s eyes lit up.


    The First had said it wasn''t because of the world essence energy, but Zach didn''t know what else it could be. Besides, the world essence energy gave him incredible regeneration and endurance. It wasn''t to the point of immortality, but give it a millennia or two, and Zach was confident he would be immortal.


    So, if it could make him immortal, couldn''t it unmake someone else''s immortality?


    Had he permanently killed the Fifth and Seventh Children?


    It was possible.


    But now, he was going to die for it.


    The First tightened his grip around Zach''s throat. Zach felt the pressure build on his larynx and his vertebrae. He wasn''t sure if he could recover from that. He gave his familiars the go sign while he placed barriers inside his throat.


    He couldn''t fit them between his neck and the First''s hand without adding more pressure to his throat. They would also break almost instantly.


    He could, however, make some space by putting them just inside his skin.


    It was disgustingly uncomfortable, but Zach didn''t have a choice. He had to buy as much time as he could, even if it was just a fraction of a second.


    At the same time, he spurred his world essence energy into action.


    The First felt Zach''s body ripple and sizzle with power, and he hurriedly increased his force until he heard a cracking sound. Zach''s body went limp.


    A sword covered in dazzling golden flames cut through the air, leaving ripples in its wake. It was a full-powered strike from an Archangel with four wings and a radiant halo on full display. It would cut clean through a mountain.


    The First stood up, turned around, and caught it with one hand in a single smooth motion. The sword''s sharp edge cut into his palm, but it wasn''t enough to make him wince.


    No, much greater things than something that couldn''t even be called pain dominated the First''s mind.


    He had been shocked by the power Zach displayed.


    But now that Zach was gone and his power with him, the real problem rose to the surface.


    Zach had used that power on the Fifth.


    The First wanted to deny it since it didn''t make sense, but he felt it deep in the essence of his being.


    The Fifth was gone. They wouldn''t come back. Zach had destroyed their existence.


    One of his siblings that had accompanied him for millennia was gone. A face and personality that he was more familiar with than his own was gone. He would never see it again.


    And if his hunch was right, it was the same with the Seventh Child. That was why his heart had been so soft for several days now.


    Once he witnessed the death of the Fifth Child, the death of the Seventh sank in as well.


    Two of his siblings were gone forever.


    How could the First possibly stay sane?


    How could he not go crazy? sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Ninth was temporarily dead. The Eighth was the same. The Sixth was hanging by a thread.


    The others were holding on.


    If the fighting had dragged on, the others would have most likely also fallen.


    This youngest Evandiel and his familiars¡­


    The First had underestimated them, and it had cost them greatly.


    "My brethren¡­" The First said in a choked voice.


    The Third and Fourth nodded. They knew what the First was going to do. They agreed.


    They had seen what happened to the Fifth.


    Even if Zach was dead, it didn''t end there.


    The First was venting their sorrow for all of them.


    They didn''t mind dying once for his sake.

 Chapter 534 - 534: Sea Of Flames

    The air moved and changed before it even looked like the First had done anything. With every breath they took, the others could tell that it was growing hotter and hotter. It didn''t take long before it felt like they were breathing fire.


    The First inhaled deeply, breathing in until the air touched the bottom of his lungs. He held it inside for a moment, just enough to prepare and gather his strength.


    Emptying a vessel as large and deep as his of everything it contained couldn''t be done instantaneously. It took a little time.


    But then again, the First had spent a long time practicing.


    Growing stronger was difficult for the Children. In exchange for immortality and blessed strength from birth, their essences and vessels were solid and unmalleable. Taking even a single step forward meant breaking several rock-solid walls.


    Most of the Children gave up. It wasn''t like they had to get stronger. If they died to someone stronger than them, they would come back and just ask one of their older siblings to deal with it.


    But there were two exceptions.


    The Second Child and the First Child.


    The First had no one to go to if they were defeated. He had to handle it himself. And while he was born the strongest, he was also born with the knowledge and awareness that there were others in the world stronger than him.


    That meant there were beings capable of killing his siblings and him.


    He had to be the one to break the mold and escape their limits.


    With their mother sealed, the First was the Children''s only safety.


    Yet, he had failed. Twice.


    What good was being stronger than his siblings if he still couldn''t protect them?


    The First poured it all out.


    He exhaled.


    Crimson flames like lava poured out of the First''s mouth and nose in a powerful jet stream that converged and hit the ground with a soft boom.


    Instantly, the temperatures in the area soared.


    The scarlet flames blossomed and exploded, covering everything in the area before spreading.


    The ground around and beneath the First child melted, joining the sea of lava exiting his mouth.


    He was reducing the entire floor to ash and smoke, including his siblings.


    His cries of sorrow and grief were deafened by the roar of the flames and the heat distorting the air.


    The other Children, all of whom possessed nigh-immunity to heat and flames, barely felt it before turning to ash and sinking into the dark and warm embrace of death. Since they were annihilated like this, it would take a little while before they returned, but return they would.


    The only thing left untouched by the sea of flames on the entire floor was the ice cube the size of a small mountain or a large hill. The fire tried to ascend and melt it. It fought hard to do so, and it sped up the ice cube''s thawing. But it wasn''t enough.


    Not even all of the fire within the First Child was enough to break the Hydra''s seal.


    But it was enough to wipe out all signs of life on the thirtieth floor.


    The ground was a charred mess where it wasn''t melted. The forest and the plants that had managed to somehow survive in the Hydra''s presence were all gone. The life that had come into existence on a floor originally the concentration of frosty winter was gone.


    A certain administrator had a headache just thinking about the cleanup they would have to do. Again.


    But this historical event wasn''t over yet.


    This was just the first act, and not even that had ended yet.


    Zach had realized he was in trouble the moment the First started bringing his strength to the surface.


    He was incredibly lucky that the First had mistaken the sound of his barriers breaking for the sound of his neck breaking. But it also might have been that the First didn''t care. Whether Zach''s neck was broken or not, he wouldn''t survive what was coming next¡ªNo one would, except the Hydra and the First.


    He was also incredibly lucky that the First was experiencing loss for the first time in millennia.


    If he had to guess, the First had probably grieved the moment the Second Child turned against them and decided to create a family with the sole purpose of exterminating the Children and the Hydra. He would have also grieved the moment the Second traded his immortality for that family and eventually died. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But that was a long time ago. The pain would have become bearable. The wounds would have scabbed.


    The loss of two more siblings would have torn those scabs right off and been like a glowing hot dagger stabbed right into his heart.


    The First wasn''t not of a clear enough mind to notice what was going on around him.


    He would not have noticed Zach, Visla, Lexi, Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra disappearing before the flames could consume them. If he did notice, he might have just simply thought they were annihilated.


    It would be a reasonable assumption since Zach had just barely gotten them out in the nick of time. The powerful fire had disturbed his concentration and world essence energy.


    If he hadn''t already done it once, he would have been too slow.


    Even now, almost all of them were covered in blisters and burns. Lexi, Visla, and Soara were especially bad. They weren''t in mortal danger, but they were not going to be ready to fight anytime soon.


    So, Zach asked Ra to look after them. Alzara volunteered to help since she was the only one with any kind of medicinal expertise.


    It was also because she didn''t want to be a dead weight back in the Labyrinth. Deep in her heart, she wanted Zach to ask her to come.


    But he wasn''t going to do that when he needed someone to take care of his sister.


    Alzara was both disappointed and relieved.


    With Yanael and Mandra by his sides, he returned to the Labyrinth.

 Chapter 535 - 535: Sent Flying

    Zach had been right behind the First when he hopped into Haven. When he hopped back into the Labyrinth, he returned to the exact same place, even if it looked totally different.


    Zach had expected it, but he still wasn''t quite prepared for the desolation wrought by the First. The heat also managed to pierce his barriers. But he didn''t have the time to reinforce them to the point where they could block the heat.


    They just had to be quick about it. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The First kneeled on the ground with an empty look on his face after letting it all out. He was not expecting and definitely not prepared for an ambush from behind.


    But he hadn''t managed to break through his rock-solid limits for no reason. He might have been too dazed to notice Zach and the others disappear amid his sea of flames, but he instantly noticed the change in the air when Zach returned with two powerful familiars.


    He felt their killing intent cut into his neck as soon as they started moving between Haven and the Labyrinth.


    The First turned around with an outstretched hand to both defend himself and sweep away any attack coming his way.


    Zach gritted his teeth and braced against the impact by turning to the side and receiving the First''s strike with both arms. His barriers cracked and shattered like glass, letting the heat seep in and start singing the hair he still had on his body.


    The First sent Zach flying.


    But in return for Zach taking that hit, Yanael and Mandra were untouched, and the First was in an uncomfortable position. He was tired, on his knees, with his upper body turned around, and slightly out of balance after launching a full-powered attack against someone who was as light as a feather compared to what the First thought he was defending against.


    He thought he would be fending off the attacks of all three of them. But all three held their attacks for a second. Zach even gave up his chance to counterattack by taking the hit since Yanael and Mandra were stronger than him.


    Yanael severed the arm still hanging in the air after having sent Zach flying. Her sword was covered in golden flames that burned the air with the temperature of cold steel.


    Mandra pierced the First''s shoulder with a blue spear of ice, knocking him into the ground. She had aimed for the center of his chest, but he had managed to shift his body at the last second.


    It wasn''t enough, though.


    Yanael lunged forward and plunged her sword into the base of the First''s throat, nailing him to the ground, her sword destroying the First''s scales, skin, and flesh. His blood evaporated on contact with her sacred energy.


    Mandra restrained his limbs with more piercing shackles of ice.


    The First was already in a weakened state from having use all of his strength to reduce the thirtieth floor to a smoldering wasteland. The ice only served to weaken him further.


    By not knowing that Zach had a method to instantly escape the Labyrinth, the First had wasted all of his strength. He did not have the power to resist the perfectly combined assault of the two enraged battle maids. He was spent, taken by surprise, and overwhelmed.


    Yanael and Mandra were struggling with the heat, and Mandra''s ice was already starting to melt. But it wouldn''t take melt quick enough to free the First''s limbs before they had the time to kill him.


    The First''s eyes wandered until he saw Zach walking toward him. He looked at this distant relative of his. And in Zach''s eyes, he saw emotions similar to his own.


    Zach had killed two of the Children permanently. But the Children had killed someone just as close to his heart as the other Children were to the First.


    It was¡­not surprising.


    That was they the world worked. A blood-soaked, eternally spinning wheel of misery. Revenge begets revenge. Death begets death. An endless, vicious cycle.


    But what was the First supposed to do, forgive the one who killed his sibligns?


    Never.


    Just like Zach would never forgive the Children for everything they had done.


    But the First couldn''t let himself fade out of existence like this, not when his other siblings still lived. They needed him.


    He tried to struggle and break free, but the ice fixed him in place, and if he tried to move his head or torso, he would be reminded of the razor-sharp sword nailing him to the ground through the base of his throat.


    The First stayed still as he spat out the blood in his mouth and looked at Zach.


    "H-how can you use that power?" He asked desperately.


    Usually, Zach wouldn''t entertain the last words of a mortal enemy like this. But he had to know what the First was talking about.


    "What power?"


    The First''s brow sank into a frown. It still didn''t look like Zach was lying. Zach didn''t have a reason to lie right now.


    The back of the First''s head dropped to the ground as he closed his eyes.


    The power he had fought and worked for his entire life. The power that raised the Hydra to her position. And the most dreaded power of their bloodline. It was something that should not even exist, especially not in the hands of a human mortal.


    But here Zach was, using without even knowing it.


    It probably wasn''t fully developed, nor was he using it consciously. But the knowledge of the power was rooted deep in the First''s mind and heart. He recognized it without a doubt.


    He could not say anything and just let Zach stay in the dark.


    But it was starting to look like Zach would be the last descendant of the Hydra.


    Although they were mortal enemies, fated from birth to stand against each other, the First Child did not want to see the Hydra''s legacy fade into the annals of history.


    "...Usurpation," he eventually answered.

 Chapter 536 - 536: Power

    "Usurpation?" Zach echoed, confused. The First Child had made it seem like it was a power that he had inherited from the Hydra. But Usurpation wasn''t one of the powers that Lexi had mentioned. But she had only mentioned seven out of nine powers.


    "Is that one of the Hydra''s powers?" He asked.


    The First nodded, still with closed eyes.


    "It is her first power. It is a power that goes against the flow of nature. It was what helped her reach her height. It is a power that takes." The First sounded tired.


    "It was a power that only the Second inherited out of all of us. But he refused to use it. Until now, I thought it was because he couldn''t handle it, that his body couldn''t handle it. But that wasn''t it.


    "His heart was just too soft to use it." The First sighed, thick blood leaking out of the corners of his mouth.


    Zach looked toward the sealed Hydra. The First hadn''t lied. At this point, there was no way he could deny it. He was truly related to the Children.


    "Why did Usurpation let me kill your siblings permanently?" Zach asked.


    The First had said it was the source of the Hydra''s strength and that it was a power that took. But that didn''t mean much. Zach wanted details. He wanted to know how it worked.


    If it was a power that even the First valued and saw as a threat, and what had given birth to the Hydra''s strength, Zach wanted to know how to use it.


    The First''s heart bled just from Zach asking that. He let out a gurgling chuckle. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    How was he supposed to know? He just knew about Usurpation and what it did. He didn''t know how it worked.


    Zach furrowed his brow. It seemed like he wasn''t getting anything else from the First.


    He knelt and put his hand on the First''s forehead. Slowly, he began pushing down.


    The molten ground had cooled enough to harden like rock. With no way for the First''s head to go under the pressure of Zach''s head, only one thing could happen when Zach increased his strength and continued pressing down.


    It was a brutal method, but it would do the trick.


    The First''s head let out creaking sounds before Zach''s hand suddenly broke through the skull and squashed his brains.


    Zach shook his hand to clear the barrier of any blood and gore. He looked at the First''s corpse before turning back to the Hydra.


    The other Children who were still alive would probably return, but they weren''t a threat. The only thing left was the Hydra.


    But maybe they should take a break first. The heat was still intense, and Zach wasn''t the only one who wanted to breathe clean air for a bit before fighting something that should be even stronger than the First Child.


    He had his doubts about whether they would be able to do it.


    But the Hydra should be weakened, he hadn''t used his world essence energy yet, and Mandra still had that spell she had been tinkering with. Yanael also had a lot of energy left in the tank.


    The main concerns would be Soara and Alzara. Alzara was fine, but it was a little unclear how she would fare against the Hydra. Soara should be able to contribute as soon as she recovered from the burns.


    Still, it might be a little dangerous.


    Zach glanced at the other two. They nodded.


    He took them back to Haven.


    Soara was awake and muttering about he stench of the paste on her arms. Visla was back in her human form but still unconscious.


    She looked fine from what Zach could tell based on her sleeping face. The rest was covered in a blanket since she had lost her clothes and equipment when she transformed into a badger.


    There wasn''t much hope of getting any of that back since the First had burned everything.


    Lexi was writhing in pain. Her innate resistance to fire made it so she emerged mostly unscathed, but the First''s fire was still too powerful. Alzara had covered her in a medicinal paste as well and was working on treating her burns as best as she could.


    But she didn''t have much else to work with other than the herbs and grasses she had managed to restore and plant with Zach''s world essence energy. The potions she had brought were also running out, and there hadn''t been many options to restock after they left the desert section of the Labyrinth.


    Zach went over to Lexi. He gave a vial made from his barriers of the First''s blood to the egg before sitting down next to his sister and placing a hand on her forehead. It was a much softer and gentler touch than the one he gave the First, and Lexi calmed down almost immediately.


    Zach hadn''t even given her any world essence energy yet. She just found comfort in the gentle touch of her brother.


    Since she already had other energies, she wouldn''t be able to make the world essence energy her own. But it could still flow through her and help her body recover, just like it did with Zach''s.


    But Zach had to be careful. If the world essence energy clashed with her energies, her injuries might worsen. The world essence energy alone might even be too powerful for her body.


    Like a gentle snake, the world essence energy slithered into Lexi''s body through the place connected by her forehead and Zach''s palm. It sneaked through her torso and limbs, washing away all the pain, hurt, and injuries caused by the fighting and the First''s fire before breaching the surface and giving her skin the same treatment.


    It cleansed her body of filth and impurities and opened up her body. Her martial and magical energy would flow even smoother now.


    It had done its job, so it was about to slip out of Lexi''s body and return to Zach or just fade into the air, depending on what it felt like.


    But something from deep within Lexi grabbed hold of the snake''s tail, refusing to let go.


    But whatever it was, it wasn''t strong enough to hold onto the mighty world essence energy, especially when Zach was retrieving it.


    However, a tiny crumb still broke off and stayed inside Lexi.


    Slowly, Lexi opened her eyes.

 Chapter 537 - 537: Active Crumb

    Lexi''s eyes fluttered open, but she wasn''t interested in looking at anyone or anything other than herself. She scanned her own body with amazement in her eyes. She had been fully aware of her injuries and how serious they were.


    "Woah¡­" She exclaimed softly as she moved her limbs and flexed her hands. However, after a few moments, she froze.


    The state of her body wasn''t the only thing that changed.


    Her core, where her magical energy, martial energy, and domination aura rested when she didn''t use them, was different. At first, she could only feel that something about the way her energies were arranged had changed. They were more stable.


    Lexi didn''t have an issue getting her energies to get along. They weren''t as free-thinking as world essence energy, after all, and she had almost mastered them. They lived alongside each other in friendly stability.


    She had been thinking about how to take that to the next level, though, and bring them to a state of equilibrium and harmony, where, instead of coexisting, they helped each other thrive.


    She knew magical and martial energy could react explosively in certain conditions. She had tried to use that reaction to propel their strength by using the domination aura as a stabilizer, but she hadn''t seen much success so far.


    However, now it felt like her energies were just waiting for her to take that step. They wanted to advance.


    At first, Lexi assumed it was due to the near-death experience, but that wasn''t it. When she looked closer at the center of the swirling energies, she found something unfamiliar.


    It was a tiny drop of world essence energy. She recognized it from the feeling Zach gave her. Her eyes bugged out of her head as she turned to Zach.


    "You¡ªMe¡ªI¡ªWhat¡ª" She pointed at Zach, herself, and her core, unable to form a proper sentence. She couldn''t believe what was going on, much less understand it. She thought she would never get the chance to possess world essence energy the same way Zach did. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Zach shrugged nonchalantly.


    "I healed you with my world essence energy. Your body took some when I was done."


    "What?" Lexi''s face scrunched up in confusion and disbelief. How did that make sense?


    "What did you say your contract skill was?" He asked instead of trying to make Lexi just take his word for it and move on.


    "Absorption¡­" Lexi realized before she even finished.


    Her contract skill had triggered and absorbed some of Zach''s world essence energy.


    "Holy shit¡­!" She said, looking into her core again. She then grabbed Zach by the shoulders and looked him into the eyes.


    "Can you give me more?!"


    Zach shook his head.


    "Why not?!" Lexi asked before he could explain.


    "Because I''m pretty sure you''ll explode. From what I know, world essence energy is either active or dormant. I don''t know why it has different states. Maybe it doesn''t need to be active when it''s not doing anything special or connected to a world or something. Regardless, when I first acquired world essence energy, it was dormant. I couldn''t use it even if I wanted to, and it stayed curled up in my core for months.


    "Still, that was enough for my strength and recovery to soar. Even now, I keep it in a semi-active state since that''s all I need. When it''s active, it''s too powerful for the human body.


    "The first time I activated all of it fully, I became ridiculously strong. It felt like I could take over the world, and I''m pretty sure I would have defeated¡­Maybe not the First or someone like Dad. But the rest of the Children or our other siblings wouldn''t have stood a chance."


    Zach could tell that Lexi was waiting for him to get to the point.


    "That was after I had used the world essence energy, my barriers, and Alzara''s medicines to strengthen my body until I could bend steel bars barehanded. Here, touch." Zach held out an arm and flexed his bicep.


    Lexi was hesitant but she was a little curious. She had seen how well-trained Zach was. His muscles were like carved from rock. She had also seen him fight the Fifth Child and overwhelm them with physical strength.


    She poked Zach''s bicep. She didn''t even dent his skin. Lexi frowned and grabbed Zach''s upper arm with her entire hand and squeezed.


    It was like trying to squeeze a stone. It did not change shape.


    Slowly, she turned to look at her younger brother with wide eyes.


    He was a monster.


    She could only imagine what kind of training gave muscles that hard and dense.


    "But that sounds like it was a while ago, no? Haven''t you trained since then?"


    Zach shook his head.


    "I mean, it was when I graduated from the Academy. That was, what, a couple of months ago?" He was about to glance at Nora for confirmation but caught himself and continued.


    "And no, I haven''t trained since then. The backlash almost killed me. It left my body crippled and in a state of weakness until I entered the Labyrinth. If it hadn''t been for the Labyrinth rewarding me clearing the floors by gently healing me instead of giving me things, I wouldn''t have been able to fight anyone other than the Ninth Child."


    Lexi''s eyes widened and softened as she once again realized how much Zach had suffered all alone due to their neglect.


    "But what does that¡­?"


    "Have to do with you?"


    Lexi stopped herself from saying ''exactly.''


    "That crumb you took is fully active. Before you learn how to control it, I don''t think getting more is a good idea. You also have your other energies to think about. Don''t rush, Lexi."


    Lexi sighed and nodded. She knew Zach was right.


    The energies in her core were currently maintaining a delicate balance. More world essence energy would break that balance. After what Zach had said, she was not curious about the consequences.


    "Wait, couldn''t your world essence energy have healed the injuries from the backlash?"


    Zach shook his head.


    "It''s not omnipotent. It seems like it can''t heal injuries it has caused."


    Lexi nodded and closed her eyes. But Zach still had things to talk about.

 Chapter 538 - 538: Eight Powers

    He was a little intrigued by Lexi''s contract skill, but since she didn''t know much about it herself, Zach figured he wouldn''t get many answers. It was just that it seemed a little similar to the power of Usurpation, at least by name. He still didn''t know what Usurpation did.


    "By the way, Lexi?"


    "Yeah?" She said without opening her eyes since she was busy focusing on her energies. But she could easily talk with Zach at the same time.


    "I might have discovered the Hydra''s eighth power."


    "What was that?" She asked absent-mindedly. Maybe she couldn''t multitask that well, considering she didn''t pay attention to what Zach was saying.


    "The Hydra''s eighth power out of its nine powers. It''s Usurpation."


    Lexi opened her eyes and looked at Zach with a tilted head.


    "W-what?" She asked stiffly.


    "Do I need to repeat myself again?"


    "No, you need to explain yourself. What do you mean you discovered the Hydra''s eighth power? When? How?"


    "You noticed how the First got angry after I killed the Fifth, right?"


    Lexi nodded.


    "That was because I killed them permanently. They aren''t coming back. I did the same with the Seventh Child. And it''s thanks to the power of Usurpation. I''m a little unsure what it did, but considering my hair is redder, maybe I took their hair color or something?"


    "Usurpation, you say?"


    Zach nodded.


    "I''ve never heard of it, but if you say so. Tell me more, please."


    Zach obliged and told her about what the First had said and how he hadn''t noticed anything. It was just when he killed the Children that it seemed to take effect.


    Zach suddenly froze.


    "What now?" Lexi asked, worriedly.


    "Remind me again, what were the Hydra''s powers?"


    Lexi raised an eyebrow, but she told him.


    "Fire, wind, poison, death, immortality, domination, and regeneration. I guess Usurpation now, too."


    "Did any of the other Children wield the power of regeneration?" Zach asked. He looked at his familiars as well. Slowly, they, including Lexi, shook their heads.


    The First had been shocked about the power of Usurpation. He was not shocked when Zach''s injuries from when the First strangled him or when the burns healed in front of his eyes. Regeneration was not on the same level as the power of Usurpation. The First was aware of it.


    But if none of the other Children regenerated or healed, how was the First not worried?


    Was it because regeneration was the kind of power many monsters had? Was it because it wasn''t a power that went against the flow of nature or whatever it was the First said?


    Maybe the First was too busy thinking about the power of Usurpation to notice Zach''s injuries fade.


    Or was the First just used to the power of regeneration because he himself possessed it?


    "Shit."


    "Shit, indeed," Lexi echoed, realizing the same thing Zach realized.


    Zach didn''t waste any time. He immediately wrapped everyone but Visla in his world essence energy and pulled them back into the Labyrinth.


    They had left from just next to the First''s supposed corpse. If they were wrong, it should have been by their feet when they returned.


    It wasn''t. The charred ground was bare without a hint of the First. No, it wasn''t entirely without hints. There were footsteps they could follow.


    Slowly, Zach and the others turned to look in the direction of the footsteps. Toward the ice cube sealing the Hydra.


    And at the base of the mountainous ice cube, they saw him. Like an ant beneath a block of ice, the First stood before the Hydra. Even from afar, Zach could tell that he was trying to do something.


    He looked at Yanael and Mandra. Without saying anything, they understood. They had to stop him.


    Even if they eventually decided to proceed with the plan to deal with the Hydra without the Evandiels'' or the Sesha''s help, they still had to rest, recover, and prepare for the fight. They weren''t ready to take it on just yet.


    They couldn''t let the First wake it up.


    Zach jumped into the air and crouched with his feet pointed backward.


    Yanael and Mandra took one foot each before stepping forward and gathering their strength. Their arms were fully extended behind them.


    Zach had made an air-tight and aerodynamic barrier around himself.


    Yanael and Mandra pulled forward. The strength in their bodies concentrated in their arms.


    They catapulted Zach forward at a speed that drew a line through the air and almost made him leave his hair behind. Less than a second later, they raced to catch up.


    While flying into the distance toward the ice cube, Zach gathered his world essence energy.


    If the situation was the worst possible it could be, the First''s regeneration would be complete, and he would have fully restored his strength.


    It was unlikely. It hadn''t been that long since they left him for dead, and it wasn''t that much longer than the time when the First spent all of his strength. If he could recover that quickly, he would have done it after creating his sea of flames and then fought back against Zach, Yanael, and Mandra.


    At most, he would have regained enough strength to move and try to break the Hydra''s seal.


    That meant Zach should still be able to fight him, even if he didn''t use his trump card. But Zach was not going to take any chances when the Hydra''s seal was on the line.


    As he looked at the ice cube, though, Zach realized that maybe flying toward it with a barrier the shape of an arrow''s tip wasn''t the best idea. If the First stepped to the side, he would crash into the seal instead of him.


    Zach narrowed his eyes.


    It was barely more than a second until he arrived. But it didn''t seem like the First had noticed anything. It should be fine.


    It also seemed like the First''s hands were stuck to the seal. He couldn''t move even if he wanted to. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach tried to muster the power of Usurpation. He couldn''t let the First return.

 Chapter 539 - 539: Lets Just Say 2

    Zach didn''t know how Usurpation worked, only that it had killed the Fifth and Seventh Children because he wanted them dead. He recalled those feelings and desires of wanting to tear apart something and directed them at the First Child.


    He wanted to skin him, break his bones, and remove him from history.


    Zach also thought about how it would be impossible for him to break the seal, even if he crashed into it at his current speed. So, he stopped worrying about that and just focused on the First Child''s back. That was his last thought before arriving at his destination.


    The top of Zach''s barrier hit the center of the First''s back. Instantly, the rest exploded outward and plastered the First to the wall of ice that was the Hydra''s seal.


    Then, it was Zach''s turn to reach. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His fist was wound tightly and filled with world essence energy. His arm was fully extended.


    Like a needle, Zach''s fist punched through his barrier and the First''s back before finally sinking a thumb into the ice.


    Zach''s hand, arm, and shoulder was numb, and his bones were broken in several places. But the First''s insides were ruined.


    His face was pressed against the ice wall, and Zach was pressed against his back. Still, the First managed to glance back with blood dripping from his mouth again.


    "There you go." He chuckled slightly. "But it''s too late."


    The life faded from the First''s eyes.


    The force behind Zach''s punch and the world essence energy had ravaged his insides. He also wasn''t in a good condition from before. With Zach using he power of Usurpation as best he could, the First couldn''t cling to life.


    Zach couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed. It felt like the First had died to easily after tricking them into thinking he was dead the first time.


    Just to be safe, Zach grabbed the First''s head and ripped it off.


    Zach raised a barrier to ward off the inevitable spray of blood, but hardly more than a drop flew out along with the First''s head. Zach frowned in confusion and looked down at the First''s body rapidly drying up like a withered husk.


    Zach also felt something on his forearm.


    The First''s blood was flowing along his hand, using his arm as a bridge, into the Hydra''s seal.


    The First had given his life to break the Hydra''s seal. That was why he had died so easily. He knew that now that he had lost, the only one who could keep his other siblings safe was their mother.


    It was the only thing he could do in the situation.


    Yanael and Mandra caught up and stopped on either side of Zach and the First''s corpse. They helped pull Zach''s arm out of the ice cube and the corpse.


    Right in time for a crack to spread from the mark his fist had made. The ringing and echoing sound of ice cracking on a large scale reminded Zach of the sounds Blizzard had made when flying.


    It was a haunting sound, even more so when it preluded the release of a monster like the Hydra into the world.


    Zach''s expression was grim as cracks continued spreading from the imprint. He slowly backed away.


    Yanael and Mandra turned around and grabbed an arm each before flying away from the ice cube and back to the others.


    They should not stay close to the seal when it broke. Even if they could survive, it was an unnecessary risk.


    Lexi looked at Zach when he returned with his two familiars at a blistering speed.


    "...What happened?" She asked, fearing the worst.


    "Let''s just say I was right."


    "...What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Let''s just say that being right isn''t always the best."


    "Zach¡­"


    "Let''s just say that I and the First cracked the seal. The Hydra is in the process of doing the rest."


    It was about what Lexi had feared, but hearing Zach confirmed it made her freeze on the spot. She knew Zach''s plan was to defeat the Hydra before the others and prove that they were wrong while he was right, but she also knew that he had been planning to recover and prepare after fighting the Children and before going for the Hydra.


    This situation wasn''t optimal. Several of them were weak and tired from the fight against the Children. Soara was even a little injured still.


    Lexi could feel it.


    "S-shouldn''t we get out of here?" She asked.


    She was starting to panic.


    She had come face-to-face with lethal situations many times. She had almost died many times. It was just something that happened during training or when fighting strong opponents in the search of strength, adventure, or treasures.


    However, she had gone through all of those times with the awareness that there was always a chance for her to live. Never had she been in a situation where she was guaranteed to die.


    Never had she been in a situation as dangerous and impossible to overcome as this one.


    And it wasn''t just her life that was hanging by a thread. Her brother and his familiars were also in trouble.


    It was a situation that, for the first time, took her calm.


    She couldn''t help it.


    As soon as the cracks reached a certain depth, the Hydra''s presence had started seeping out.


    It was overwhelming.


    It was like breathing in certain death.


    It was like she was an ant standing before a mountain¡ªa living mountain about to stomp her to death.


    It wasn''t something staying calm could do anything about. It was to the point where her instincts had stopped telling her to run.


    This wasn''t something she could run from.


    She could only hope it was quick and painless.


    She didn''t even have the energy to sink to her knees.


    However, something to her side offset the ominous pressure from the Hydra.


    Slowly, she turned to look.


    There, she saw Zach. He was staring straight at the Hydra without a hint of fear in his eyes.

 Chapter 540 - 540: Prep Time

    The same despair that threatened to drown Lexi washed right over Zach. Seeing him so composed helped stabilize Lexi. She gritted her teeth and glared at the Hydra. It had almost made her show her brother something disgraceful.


    "How long do you think we have, Mandra?" Zach asked, breaking the heavy silence.


    "An hour at most, Master."


    "That''s plenty."


    "...But a few minutes at the least, Master."


    "Mm. No time to waste, then. Mandra, prepare the most powerful thing you can. Push the bond if you have to. We are going to tie this thing down before it gets the chance to rise. Lexi, help her. That spell you used before looked pretty good."


    Mandra nodded and asked Lexi for the details on that spell. Together, they started weaving a spell to bring down a god. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yanael, does time to prepare do you anything?"


    "A little, Master." That meant she barely had to prepare.


    "Good, you''ll be going with me, then."


    "Soara, that thing can probably kill us with the power of death. We''ll need you to do something about that."


    "Of course, Master."


    "Alzara¡­"


    "Yes, Master¡­?"


    "Can you imbue your curses into things other than your daggers? I have an idea."


    "It''s not as efficient, but yes. What do you need me to curse, Master?"


    "Me."


    Alzara wanted to refuse immediately, and the others would support her, but Zach explained his idea and his reasoning based on his understanding of Alzara''s curses and cursed energy.


    They had to admit that his method was the most likely to succeed. Unfortunately, they didn''t have time to waste, much less experiment. They had to take a risk and hope that Zach''s flash of genius was indeed genius and not delusion or madness.


    Zach grabbed Yanael and Alzara and brought them up with him. They were going above the Hydra while Mandra, Lexi, and Soara stayed on the ground.


    Mandra and Lexi started running and flying around the ice cube, setting up a magical array that not only had to be destructive enough to do something to the Hydra but also sturdy enough to handle the Hydra breaking out of its seal.


    Even now, the Hydra''s presence leaking out from the cracked seal was eroding and distorting any magical energy nearby. Just breathing close to the seal was difficult.


    However, Mandra''s magical expertise and control were not so poor that a mere lizard''s existence was enough to dispel the magic she cast. Lexi helped as much as she could, mostly by pouring her magic energy into the array and using her domination aura to lock it in place.


    The Hydra''s presence alone was enough to interfere with magic and martial energy. But it was weak to domination aura.


    It was one of the Hydra''s nine powers, originally. But the reason why Lexi and her sister could use it had nothing to do with their Evandiel inheritage.


    The talent for domination was a rare ability that manifested in people randomly all over the world.


    The reason the Evandiels said it was one of the Hydra''s powers is that it was so in the past.


    But the God of Nature, Isuls, isn''t the only god to have a run-in with the Hydra.


    According to records from before the Hydra was sealed, another God cut off one of the Hydra''s heads, the one representing the power of domination. That god''s power prevented the Hydra from reclaiming the head and the power of domination.


    The head broke down, releasing the power of domination into the world.


    It was a power that the Hydra had lost. Its presence alone wasn''t enough to dispel even the weak domination aura of someone at Lexi''s level.


    Lexi was still too weak to fight the Hydra by relying on her domination aura, but there was no doubt that domination was a useful weapon against the Hydra.


    That was why the mother of the Evandiel family, Calserra Evandiel, formally recognized as the strongest Dominator in the Empire, was supposed to play a pivotal role in the fight against the Hydra.


    But now, all of those plans were out the window.


    The only Evandiels fighting the Hydra were the youngest two.


    The generations of planning, preparing, and anticipating done by the Evandiel family was thrown out the window by the reckless actions of an emotional and hot-tempered young man and his supportive sister.


    While Mandra built up enough magic energy to make the air shimmer, twist, and sparkle, Soara sat down on the rough ground and focused. She closed her eyes and shut down most of her senses.


    She was confident in her ability. She was confident in her mastery over death.


    But the Hydra was a being whose strength surpassed her own. It had most likely lived a longer and more eventful life than her. It had raw strength, experience, and understanding of death. It couldn''t compare to the Third Child.


    She saw it as she shut off her senses.


    In a dark world, Soara saw herself as a flickering black flame. She saw the others as bundles of light in various colors. Zach was orange with hints of a color she couldn''t see. Lexi was orange.


    Yanael was golden yellow. Alzara was earthy yellow. Mandra was sky blue.


    The Hydra was a mountain of blotchy colors, all of them solid. One of those colors was the black of Death. It''s power of death was overwhelming. It was smaller than its fire and poison, but those two alone almost took up half of the Hydra''s presence.


    Wind was a small part. Regeneration and immortality were about equal. There was a blank spot where domination had most likely been. There were two blotches left.


    One was the tainted red of Usurpation. It was the color of dirty but glossy blood.


    The last was another color that Soara couldn''t see. No, she could see it but couldn''t understand it.


    It was the Hydra''s ninth power, a power that didn''t make sense.


    The Hydra was an overwhelming being of pure strength, variety of powers, and sheer existence. Both its essence and its vessel overwhelmed anything she had seen so far since she became Zach''s familiar.


    And if she had to be honest, it was probably stronger than she had been in her prime.


    But Soara wasn''t scared.


    She didn''t have to face it alone. And she was stronger now than she had been in a long time. It was time to show Zach and the others that she was trustworthy. She wasn''t just a deity in name only.


    And if that wasn''t enough, she had a trump card.


    She grabbed the black gem at the base of her neck that she took from Zach''s vault.

 Chapter 541 - 541: Nowhere To Run

    As the seconds trickled away, more and more of the Hydra''s seal broke. Cracks ran all over the block of ice, some as wide as the length of an outstretched arm. It wasn''t long until the Hydra was free.


    Eventually, a big block from a corner broke off and fell away from the seal. Before it could hit the ground, it shattered into a million pieces that transformed into a breath of winter. A chill that covered the ground in frost and lowered the steaming temperature escaped into the distance, almost tearing down Mandra''s and Lexi''s magic in the process.


    The thirtieth floor was returning to its original climate as the Hydra''s seal broke. The power of winter, frost, and ice that had been used to seal the Hydra was being released alongside the Hydra.


    Already, the temperature was dropping to below freezing. Zach''s and Lexi''s breaths created plumes of mist.


    The First''s sea of flames had evaporated all of the moisture on the thirtieth floor. Now that the temperature was sinking again, that moisture was condensing into clouds and liquid. It hung heavy in the air, and fog was rising in the distance.


    At the same time, more of the Hydra''s power was escaping its seal, pulling up the temperature in its immediate surroundings. It was a clash of hot and cold, arid and wet.


    Lexi could no longer stay close to the Hydra. Her heart was beating so hard she was afraid it would stop. Her mind was too weak to withstand the pressure. She couldn''t even use her energies or domination aura to resist it.


    The only reason she was still standing was the world essence energy and domination aura offsetting it.


    She glanced toward the three sitting on a barrier in the sky.


    They had underestimated the Hydra.


    It was inevitable. It was impossible to estimate its strength accurately.


    Lexi sighed as she withdrew. She was worried about Zach. But if Zach was continuing with his plan, it meant he had some confidence it would work. She could only trust him.


    Lexi understood that she had already done as much as she could for this fight. The best way for her to help right now was to get as far away as possible so that Zach didn''t get distracted worrying about her. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She thought about Visla in Haven.


    She didn''t want to even consider the possibility, but if Zach died here, Visla was most likely also a goner.


    But Lexi didn''t know if she or Visla was the unlucky one.


    After all, it was impossible to leave a floor and move up through the Labyrinth again if the Labyrinth thought you were in a fight.


    Part of the Labyrinth experience was living with your decisions. If you could leave the floor as soon as you realized you had overestimated yourself, there would be no danger. No one would advance.


    Usually, that wasn''t a problem. If it was against any other monster, Lexi could have just run far enough away that the Labyrinth couldn''t possibly think she was in a fight.


    But the Hydra was a monster whose powers reached every corner of the floor. Wherever she went, she would feel its presence, and if she felt its presence, it was interfering with her. It was like she was fighting it.


    She was stuck on the thirtieth floor.


    Another large block of ice broke away from the mountain of ice that was the Hydra''s seal. The temperature on the floor sank even more. Lexi felt flakes of ice brush against the skin on her face as she ran. Frost hung in the air. It was like it was waiting.


    Only when all of the power used to seal the Hydra was released would the snow and ice descend with frozen winds upon the floor. Lexi shivered. She didn''t know if it was due to the cold or the sudden wave of power flooding the floor.


    A crack ran along the middle of the Hydra''s seal, splitting it in half. All living beings on the thirtieth floor had no choice but to feel it.


    The Hydra was moments away from breaking free. Their end was nigh.


    Up in the sky above the Hydra, the cross-legged Zach opened his eyes. In one of his hands was a ball of swirling, condensed purple energy. It was the curse energy he had Extracted from Alzara''s curses on him.


    Lexi''s contract skill had inspired him. So far, he had only used Material Extraction to make better ingredients for Alzara. But there was no need to limit himself and his skill to physical substances. Anything could be a material. That included energies and curses.


    In one hand, he had a ball of concentrated curses. It was made from everything Alzara had. Right now, she was completely drained. She was lying next to Zach, pale and exhausted. She needed to do at least that much to make a curse strong enough to affect the Hydra.


    In Zach''s other hand, he had a tiny marble of world essence energy. It was the catalyst.


    Zach glanced down. He split apart the barrier they were sitting on and sent away Alzara. She had done her part. Now, it was up to him and Yanael.


    Zach took a deep breath and looked into Yanael''s eyes. There, he saw nothing but trust and a desire to ensure the success of Zach''s plan, even if only because it was Zach''s plan.


    As one, they leaned to the side and fell off the barrier. They plummeted toward the Hydra right as its seal exploded outward in a burst of icy shards that disintegrated and turned into cold air and snow.


    Like tree roots, the Hydra''s eight heads unfurled and stretched for the first time in millennia. They breathed air for the first time in millennia. They inhaled.


    All eight heads opened their mouths and roared. It was a horrible screeching sound that tore at the hearts and souls of all who heard.


    Even as far away as she was, Lexi fell to the ground with bleeding orifices.


    The air trembled in terror at the Hydra''s cry.


    It took a step and the floor shook.

 Chapter 542 - 542: Volatile

    Zach''s barriers cracked under the Hydra''s echoing roar and cry. Mandra''s magic array broke down in several places. Soara lost her concentration for a moment. Alzara almost fell off the barrier flying her toward Lexi.


    Zach''s expression didn''t change. Mandra fixed her array. Soara regained concentration in less than a moment. Alzara held on until she dropped down next to Lexi, whom she picked up and carried away. The cold and exhaustion were getting to her, but it was far from enough to make her stop.


    It would take far more than that to make the SS-rank Desert Witch even lose a pace. Her long legs carried them as far away as quickly as possible.


    They both had done what they could in the fight against the Hydra. Now, Alzara''s job was ensuring Lexi''s safety. Lexi''s job was to survive.


    As long as they did that, Zach, Yanael, Soara, and Mandra could focus on the fight against the Hydra.


    Zach locked eyes with Yanael as they fell headfirst toward the Hydra, building speed and momentum.


    Zach glanced down. The Hydra''s eight heads were weaving back and forth like seaweed as it regained its senses and control over its body. Each one was like a big snake.


    It was odd.


    He knew each head¡ªeven the entire Hydra¡ªwas not bigger than the Basilisk had been. But at the same time, the Hydra gave him the impression of reaching the sky. It was smaller than it appeared to be, despite being a gigantic monster. It didn''t make sense. But he didn''t have time to ponder that.


    "Clear the way," he ordered.


    The eight swiveling heads were in the way.


    Right now, as the Hydra was shaking off the remnants of the seal and regaining its bearings after being sealed for so long was their best shot at landing a solid blow.


    Yanael''s four wings burst out, and her halo became the focal point of the sacred energy blossoming around her. She flapped her wings and let her swordarm hang by her side as she shot toward the Hydra like a comet, surrounded by her energy.


    Yanael''s energy looked like golden flames as it welled up and empowered her, but they were as far from fire as they could get. They drew a line of gold through the air like an inky brush stroke.


    Zach watched in awe for a moment before slowly bringing his hands together.


    The curse energy alone and the world essence energy alone wouldn''t be enough to damage the Hydra, at least not severely. It was strong enough to shake the entire floor just by stomping around and stabilizing itself.


    It would take the end of the world to bring it down in one hit.


    That was exactly the kind of power Zach was aiming for. If there was something in his arsenal that could mimic that kind of power, it was the fully activated world essence energy concentrated and turned into a one-time attack combined with something as destructive and corrosive as the concentrate of all of Alzara''s curse energy.


    Zach felt it as soon as his hands as the airspace of the energies in each of his hands touched. Neither energy wanted this. They resisted fiercely enough to shoot sparks into his palms. His fingers twitched and jittered both from pain and the sparks of energy themselves.


    Zach ignored it. It was do or die, and he was not going to die, at least not without taking the Hydra down with him.


    The two energies sizzled like water in hot oil as he pressed them together.


    He was struggling, even with his bulging muscles that amazed Lexi, he could barely get the two energies to touch. They were like two magnets pointing at each other with the same pole.


    But just getting them to touch wasn''t enough. He needed to combine them to draw out as much power as possible from this volatile reaction.


    Zach dared to shift his gaze for a split second.


    He was close.


    Yanael had grabbed the heads'' attention and cleared a path to the Hydra''s lizard-like body. He had at most five seconds before he needed to be ready.


    He pulled apart his hands a little before suddenly pushing them all the way together. His palms were pressed flat against each other, only a thin sheet of compressed energy between them.


    He slowly pulled his hands apart again. As he did so, the sheet of energy transformed back into a ball. It glowed bright purple like a miniature cursed sun.


    Zach felt his hands erode and deteriorate as he held the ball. It once again reminded him of the Basilisk. His hands had been like this after he broke himself out of the petrification. But they hadn''t gotten worse after that. They had healed when he activated his world essence energy fully, at least temporarily. They were still a mess afterward, partly thanks to his body being a mess. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But while it didn''t do much for the rest of his body, consuming the clay-like lump he Extracted from the Basilisk''s brain had helped his hands. It had also helped get an even sturdier outer layer of his body.


    But right now, nothing was stopping the cursed energy from degrading his hands out of existence. Zach doubted there was anything that would make them return, considering this was in part due to the world essence energy.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have to carry the ball for long before he could hand it over to the Hydra.


    He stretched his hands above his head, pointing the palms and the miniature purple sun at the Hydra''s back. At the same time, he made the world essence energy inside his body well up and surge through his body in a torrent.


    Just smacking the ball into the Hydra was just the first part.


    He had to survive, too.


    After that, he had to make space for Mandra''s attack.


    And then, the fight would begin.


    Zach braced himself for impact.

 Chapter 543 - 543: Heads

    Purple lightning flashed the instant Zach''s miniature sun made contact with the Hydra''s scaly back. The energy blasted a tiny hole in the skin and muscle that were harder than stone. The ball of condensed energy slipped into the Hydra''s body, after which Zach lost control over it.


    His hands crashed into the Hydra''s body an instant after the ball was sucked into the Hydra. He crashed into the Hydra''s thick skin.


    It was like hitting the ground hand-first. If he hadn''t been strong and powered by world essence energy, he would have broken both arms and cracked his head. Instead, he made a small indentation in the Hydra''s back.


    It was less than he had expected.


    Following the ball, he had hoped to make a decent crater and open up a weak spot for him or Mandra to take advantage of.


    Still, despite Zach''s landing not dealing much damage to the Hydra, the oversized lizard still screamed out in displeasure as the ball ravaged its insides. The few drops of blood seeping out of the wound on its back darkened, and its red-rimmed grey scales dropped in color.


    The condensed curse was spreading through its body.


    Not only was it the first time in a long while that the Hydra felt anything, but it was also the first time in an even longer while that it felt the discomfort and pain of something trying to eat it up from within.


    Several of the Hydra''s heads whipped around and screeched at the critter on its back.


    Yanael tried to grab their attention. But four of the Hydra''s heads focused on her, and it seemed to be four of the most vicious ones.


    One had red scales on its forehead and smoke pouring out of its nostrils moments before it unleashed a torrent of flame onto Yanael. Another breathed black smoke that soured the air in the vicinity. Any living plants or the like nearby would have died immediately.


    The third head combined the fire and poison smoke with winds that threatened to tear apart Yanael''s wings.


    The fourth head¡­


    Yanael didn''t know what was wrong with it, but insanity was the only thing she could feel from the fourth head attacking her. Its eyes were glazed over with madness, and it lunged at her like a rabid dog. It didn''t care for the others'' attacks or the limitations of its own neck and stationary body.


    It was also unpredictable. Sometimes, it came from straight ahead. Other times, it stopped for a second or two before swiveling around and trying to smack her with the bottom of its chin like it had turned itself into a club.


    It only used physical force, and it was limited by its own size and shape. But it was teh head that Yanael was struggling the most with.


    In the other direction, Zach was struggling with the heads of Death, Usurpation, Regeneration, and Immortality. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Death and Usurpation were just staring at him while Regeneration and Immortality both tried to reach down and nab him.


    As the seconds passed while he ran like a madman across the Hydra''s back, he could feel the mounting pressure from the head of Death''s gaze. It was going to kill him in one go before he could do anything about it.


    The heads of Regeneration and Immortality were still trying to get him, but they were slow, unwieldy, and big enough to get in each other''s way when they tried to open their maws and devour him. They were oozing with vitality, which made them seem strong. But it seemed their strength didn''t lie in their offensive power.


    Zach was also fast.


    When he fully activated his world essence energy for the first time, he had become stronger than all of his familiars. He had become strong enough to overwhelm and dominate Ugor. Back then, he had only used it for strength.


    Right now, he was using his world essence energy and the strength it gave him to move fast.


    He could use it to attack the Hydra instead, but that would leave him exposed. He might also get trapped. For now, he just had to distract the Hydra''s heads until Mandra was ready.


    Suddenly, an overwhelming chill crept up his spine. It was almost enough to make him stumble and fall, which would be dangerous, considering his speed.


    He turned his head around and activated his Eyes of Truth. Thanks to the skill, he saw something like a flare of darkness moving toward him at a speed he couldn''t outrun. As he stared at it, a sense of defeat overcame him.


    That wasn''t something he could do anything about. He couldn''t punch it, outrun it, or endure it.


    It was his end given form and presented to him in a straightforward package of certain death.


    However, the head of Death''s attack was intercepted and dispelled halfway.


    Zach shot Soara an appreciative glance as he neared the edge of the Hydra''s massive body. It was almost amazing that four legs were enough to hold it up.


    The head of Death turned toward Soara, greatly easing the pressure on Zach. He caught Mandra''s attention as he ran alongside the edge of the Hydra''s body.


    She needed a little more time to finalize preparations.


    Zach turned toward the base of the Hydra''s necks.


    The only way he could of to significantly keep the Hydra occupied while also weakening it was to remove its heads.


    He glanced upward as he sprinted toward the necks.


    He had a feeling that the easiest heads to attack were the two of Regeneration and Immortality. But if their powers were anything like they sounded, getting rid of them would be difficult.


    He glanced toward Yanael''s side of the battle.


    By the looks of it, the powers of each head wasn''t exclusive, either. They could cooperate. It was just that Regeneration and Immortality weren''t the best at it.


    But it could mean that even if he got rid of another head, it would still regenerate that head.


    However, there was only one way to confirm that.

 Chapter 544 - 544: Crazy Head

    The heads of Regeneration and Immortality almost tied each other in knots chasing after Zach like donkeys after a carrot. Zach was a little confused about two things.


    He was surviving much easier than he had thought he would. Outrunning, zig-zagging, and dodging the two heads was going almost too well. He had enough time to think about useless things, including the other thing he was curious about.


    Why was the other head, the head with a crown-like pattern of bronze scales and piercing red eyes, just looking at him? It could only be the head of Usurpation with the way it looked. Shouldn''t that be the most proactive one?


    Did it recognize its power of Usurpation within him? Did it recognize him as a descendant or something?


    For now, Zach could only stay wary and keep moving toward the base of the closest neck. As he did so, he glanced up and toward Yanael''s fight.


    She was deftly flying through the air. The tip of her upper left wing was a little singed from the Hydra''s fire. The one below it was dripping with poison, and dying feathers kept falling down.


    But the head of Fire had lost an eye, and the head of poison had lost a large fang that was now lodged in the ground, filling the thirtieth floor with poison. Yanael''s injuries were light in comparison.


    The two heads had also yet to show any signs of regenerating, which was good.


    Yanael''s sword cut through another torrent of poisonous fire as she dove forward. She dashed forward, aiming for the head of Wind. She wanted to whittle all of the heads down and keep their attention on her.


    However, from seemingly out of nowhere, the head with the Hydra''s unknown ninth power crashed into her side, sending her tumbling through the air.


    Zach frowned. Why hadn''t Yanael dodged that?


    Zach was confident that even he, if put in the exact same situation, would have been able to dodge that fourth head''s charge. It wasn''t faster than any of the other heads, it didn''t use a blind spot, and it wasn''t invisible.


    But Yanael acted like she hadn''t even seen the head until it was right beside her.


    Something was up with that head. There was probably a good reason why no one knew the power it contained.


    It was risky, but Zach decided to make that head his target. If it turned on him, he might learn why Yanael hadn''t reacted to it before it was too late. If it didn''t, he would have a free punching bag to vent all his frustration on.


    Zach traced the head and neck to find which of the eight bases belonged to it, but he had to stop for a second and look again. He was suddenly confused.


    There were only eight heads and eight necks, and all of them were enormous. It shouldn''t be that difficult to keep track of them. He should be able to find the head he was looking for. They even had distinct markings.


    The head of Fire was redder than the others. The head of Poison was greener. The head of Wind didn''t look much different from the rest of the Hydra''s body. The head of Death was darker and seemed to have black air around it. The heads of regeneration and immortality also looked like the rest of the Hydra''s body, but they oozed vitality and life.


    The head of Usurpation looked almost regal, and the bronze-colored markings ran from the back of its crown like drops of blood.


    When he looked at the different heads and their necks, he could easily follow each of them except the eighth head with the unknown power.


    He resorted to locating the other heads and the necks they were attached to before targeting the last one. But as he ran, the different necks blended together like watercolors before separating.


    The unknown head wasn''t going to be easy to target, but that only made Zach all the more desperate to reach it.


    If it was afraid of getting it to the point of distorting his senses, it meant hitting it would be worth it.


    Zach activated his Eyes of Truth again and increased the power as much as he dared. His eyes stung. They were only holding up because of the world essence energy flowing through his veins like lava.


    He had a feeling that he would need to take it easy for a while after this fight.


    Gradually, he saw more clearly than before. He saw the powers flowing through the different heads. He could tell the head of Fire was gathering energy to pour another large torrent onto Yanael.


    The head of Death was locked in a struggle against Soara. Its power of death roiled and rumbled like the ocean during a storm.


    The heads of Wind and Poison were also gathering their strength to attack Yanael. Zach could tell that the Hydra was clearing out filth that had accumulated during the time it was sealed.


    It was getting back into the groove and warming up. It was the same as it had been with Ra when she was Patient Zero.


    The longer this fight went on, the more the Hydra would regain its strength.


    Now that he was taking a closer look at them with his Eyes of Truth, Zach could tell that the heads of Regeneration and Immortality were already spent. They were what had kept the Hydra alive and mostly intact while it was sealed.


    It had not been easy.


    For now, they didn''t have to worry about the Hydra regaining its full strength in a matter of minutes.


    Before looking at the unknown head, Zach glanced at the head of Usurpation. It looked back at him.


    It was still and showed no intention of moving or doing anything.


    But unlike the other heads, it was thinking. There was a lot of intelligence hiding in those snake eyes of the head of Usurpation.


    Zach had a feeling that the head of Usurpation was the one in charge. And right now, it was just looking and assessing the situation after several thousand years in the seal.


    That scared Zach.


    More frightening than the Hydra going mad after being sealed for so long was the Hydra having a mind powerful enough to endure the solitude, boredom, and suffocation of the seal.


    He had been petrified into a state of knowing nothing but his own thoughts by the Basilisk. He had gone crazy in less than a day.


    He regained his sanity, but he also broke out quickly. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If he had been stuck for several thousand years like that¡­


    Zach didn''t want to imagine it.


    But the way he looked at the Hydra changed.


    He didn''t know what they were dealing with. His family, the Sesha, and the Children.


    None of them knew what they had been preparing for.


    The Hydra had been sealed for several thousand years.


    It wasn''t going to die as soon as it got out.

 Chapter 545 - 545: Unexpected Death

    Zach finally looked away from the head of Usurpation. Regardless of what it was waiting for, Zach still had things to do. He slowly turned his gaze and Eyes of Truth toward the unknown head.


    His eyes stung as soon as he looked at it. It was like with the principal. It was too powerful.


    But it was strange.


    The rest of the Hydra didn''t give him that impression. It was just the unknown head and its power.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and looked closer at the head. The eyes of the other heads were mostly clear. Some were a little glazed over or injured from Yanael''s attacks. None were as clear as the head of Usurpation. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the unknown head''s eyes were rife with pure madness. There were no thoughts in that head. There wasn''t even any instinct left. The head was just madly lunging at whatever caught its interest. Right now, that was Yanael.


    Somehow, it was still using its power to circumvent Yanael''s perception and attack her. It was the only head that had landed a decent blow on her.


    Zach wasn''t sure if Yanael''s shield arm was broken or if it was just bleeding a little too much, but he knew that injury had come from the unknown head.


    He hid behind a neck as the heads of Regeneration and Immortality lunged at him again, knocking into each other and the neck of the head of Death.


    The head of Death turned around and glared at the two clumsy heads, which froze for a second. The head of Death was in a better state than them. It was also a head with a power that directly countered them.


    However, the head of Death was locked in a tense fight with Soara. A moment''s distraction was dangerous. An attack that no one else could see hit the head of Death, and it flinched in discomfort and pain.


    Soara had ripped into the cloud of deathly mist that was its power and torn a hole. A few capillaries in one of its eyes burst. It was barely an injury. All it did was spur a harsh reaction as the head of Death fired back.


    Soara was a deity of death. Of course, she was accustomed to the feeling of approaching death. She just hadn''t felt it herself in a long time¡ªuntil now.


    If she didn''t block the head of Death''s attack, which was like a cannonball of certain death, she would no longer be a deity of death. She would become a dead deity.


    The power of death was unfortunately one of the few powers that her Aspects wouldn''t work very well against, regardless of the difference in strength. Her Aspect of Untouchable Death wouldn''t do anything.


    She grabbed the necklace with the black gem. It seemed she would have to use her trump card a little earlier than she had thought.


    However, she hesitated. She had a sudden thought. Time seemed to slow down as her mind raced.


    From what she could tell, the necklace was a concentration of death so dense and pure that it was like nothing she had seen. It was to the point where she suspected it was made with the death of the world that Ra had brought to ruin.


    If she broke the gem, she would unleash that death.


    She was somewhat confident she could at least point it in a direction if she couldn''t control it. But what was to stop the Hydra from trying to wrest it away from her? What was to stop the Hydra from just interfering with what she was trying to do and let all of the death contained in her necklace blossom and replace the First''s sea of flames with a sea of death?


    Nothing, really.


    That was what brought her to her realization.


    The reason the Hydra would be able to do that, and the reason why she would be able to control the death contained in the necklace, was the same.


    It was because death was universal.


    The same death that killed a rabbit caught in an eagle''s talons killed the eagle struck by a hunter''s arrow. The same death would then reap the hunter''s life when he slipped on a wet stone and struck his head.


    The same death that stole Nora also then took the Seventh, Fifth, and First Children.


    There were no sides to death.


    It was an absolute, impartial force of nature. No, it wasn''t even quite a ''force'' of nature. It was a law of nature.


    All things would or could die. That sentence was what made up the core of Soara''s Aspect of Inescapable Death. Sooner or later, death would come. Circumstances didn''t matter. The weight of one''s heart didn''t matter.


    Strength¡­Inevitably mattered. If one was strong, they could run longer before getting caught.


    But all the same, death would sooner or later come. It would be the same death that came for the stillborn infant, too weak to even breathe, regardless of how strong one was.


    Death didn''t change.


    The only thing that changed was how people died. It didn''t change the fact that they were dead.


    The only thing that changed was the appearance of death, and that only in the eyes of those who saw it. Death did nothing to change itself.


    Death was one. All death is one.


    Soara''s eyes opened wide as she looked at the attack coming her way. Her eyes were solid black, much like the gem in her hand.


    Her understanding of death had deepened. It was greater than the Hydra''s understanding of death.


    Time around her returned to its natural flow as her thoughts stabilized. The only thing that didn''t keep moving was the head of Death''s attack. It slowed to a complete halt as Soara looked at it.


    She shifted her gaze to the stunned head of Death. She imagined that if a snake knew how to frown, the head of Death would have been doing just that. It couldn''t understand what was going on.


    ''Sometimes, death comes for you in the most unexpected ways,'' Soara mused.

 Chapter 546 - 546: Setting The Stage

    The cloudy, invisible lump of power of death suddenly shot forward to catch up with Soara''s gaze. It rammed straight into the head of Death''s head. If it had been an attack with physical matter, weight, and force, it would have knocked back the head.


    Since it was an attack using nothing but a concept and a metaphorical description, it wasn''t enough to move the head on its own.


    But the pain the head of Death felt when Soara infiltrated its head was enough to make it twist, turn, and fling its head around.


    The Hydra didn''t have hands it could cover its head with. It didn''t have claws it could use to scratch itself with to distract itself from the pain. It had legs it could walk with and eight heads that could overturn the world.


    But the head of Death could not resist Soara.


    For the first time since it grew four heads, the Hydra felt small. As the head of Death looked toward Soara, it saw a towering, shadowy figure draped in a cloak blot out the sky.


    This was no longer a fight between two individuals who knew how to wield the abstract power of death.


    It was a fight between someone who thought they knew what death was and someone who embodied it.


    It was a fight between someone who had dipped their toes in the lake once and someone who was the lake itself.


    The head of Death tried to shield the drops of water on its metaphorical toes. But once Soara touched the drop the head had flung at her, she had no trouble making her way inside the head of Death''s defenses.


    The lake drowned the toes and the person they belonged to. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soara''s power of death wrapped up the head of Death''s power and made it hers. With a motion as gentle as plucking a ripe apple, Soara took back her power like it was hers from the beginning.


    The head of Death was no longer allowed to play with what belonged to someone else.


    Gradually, the faint light in the head of Death''s eyes totally faded. The head lost all semblance of life and strength and started to fall like a broken tower.


    Much like the seal, the head broke into a million fine pieces that dissolved into the air before crashing into the ground, much to Mandra''s relief.


    Now, the Hydra only had seven heads and two stumps.


    The cross-legged Soara exhaled deeply and stopped floating. She slowly sank back to the ground as the power she had just used settled within her and calmed down.


    Blood streamed down from her eyes and nose.


    Her understanding of death and the sheer power she had used was a little greater than what her body could handle. It had yet to adapt to her enlightenment. But it was only a matter of time before she was that powerful whenever she wanted.


    She had also pushed herself a little to prevent the head of Death from getting a chance to fight back.


    But right now, she was spent. She had to take a break before she could rejoin the fight.


    As soon as the head of Death vanished, Zach looked up at the head of Usurpation, fearing retaliation. The Hydra had just lost one of its heads. Surely, it would be in a fit and ready to attack them.


    That wasn''t the case. Zach frowned, but there wasn''t much he could do about it other than start running again since his shelter was gone. However, as he ran, Mandra caught his attention.


    He had to get clear. It was time for her to show her worth.


    Zach couldn''t help but be a little excited as he directly jumped off the Hydra and made barriers to run on as he made his way to Mandra.


    The two heads of Regeneration and Immortality started to follow him, but it seemed like they didn''t want to get down too low as they changed focus to Yanael. Or maybe it was because they were drawn to the ruckus above and a target that fought back instead of fleeing and scurrying around like a little rat.


    All of a sudden, Yanael was assailed on all sides by six of the Hydra''s seven heads.


    It was a lot of pressure, but the two recently joined heads were more in the way of the other heads than they were a threat to her.


    She had also gotten a little used to the unknown head''s irregular and unpredictable attacks.


    It didn''t take long for her to realize that something was off with it.


    Usually, regardless of whether an opponent avoided her detection or repeatedly launched ambushes, she would notice a pattern, a hint, or something after a few times.


    But against the unknown head, it felt like she should have noticed something long ago but without actually noticing anything. It was like there was a block around the unknown head preventing her from prying into its movements and existence.


    It was a power that she hadn''t seen anywhere else. It was a power that overruled her talent that let her see through her opponents and the flow of combat.


    But whether it was because the Hydra couldn''t fully harness that power or if Yanael''s talent was just that great, she soon saw the gaps.


    She saw both the gaps that the other heads left when attacking or defending and the gaps she herself left when attacking or defending.


    She didn''t know when the unknown head would attack, but she knew when she could be attacked.


    She first minimized the number of gaps she revealed.


    During a fight against an opponent of the Hydra''s level, she couldn''t possibly remove all openings except the ones she wanted. The Hydra was just too strong. But she could, to a certain degree, control them.


    With the flow of the battle under her direction, even the unknown head''s attack was within her scope of predictions.


    This was her stage. The unknown head had been intruding on it. But now, it was an actor in her play. It was a rebellious actor, but an actor she could somewhat handle nonetheless.


    It didn''t take long for the Hydra''s wounds to accumulate.

 Chapter 547 - 547: Lightning Magic

    Lightning magic was usually magic energy transformed into electricity that was then fired straight at the enemy like it was a projectile.


    That was not how lightning worked in nature. That was why lightning magic was not as powerful as its natural equivalent unless the mage casting it used an exorbitant amount of magical energy.


    However, recreating the lightning found in naturally occurring thunderstorms was difficult to do, even if one understood how it worked. If one didn''t understand it, recreation became impossible.


    But Mandra was a mage who made the impossible possible. What others found difficult to the point of giving up, she found worth doing.


    Her eyes, which gave her no choice but to see the truth of the world, unveiled the mysteries of lightning a long time ago, but it was only recently, after creating a rainstorm with Oria Villesand, that she started devising a spell to make use of that knowledge.


    She hadn''t seen the need to do so earlier since it would take time to prepare such a spell. But there were things she could do with such spells that she couldn''t do with spells that only took a few seconds to cast.


    There was no need to ignore her inspiration when it would make her stronger and more versatile. More importantly, it was magic. Of course, she had to learn how to do it.


    Mandra had tinkered with and thought a lot about how to bring natural lightning into her magic and make it even more powerful than what can be found in nature. She''d had the idea on how to do it from the beginning.


    Lightning in nature wasn''t an attack. Like every other natural phenomenon, lightning was simply a result of everything else.


    Rain poured down because the sun pulled vapor up from the ground. When the gathered vapor was condensed and heavy enough, gravity pulled it down again.


    Lightning was similar but different.


    Lightning occurred when there was a difference in the air on the ground and the air in the sky. When the components of lightning were higher in the sky than on the ground, lightning would descend, restoring balance, equalizing the scales.


    It took a while for Mandra to figure out how to create that difference. At first, she thought that the best way to do it would be to increase the components of lightning in the sky and call down lightning.


    But increasing something intangible like that was difficult even for her. And casting spells in the sky cost a lot of magical energy. It was inefficient on several fronts.


    So, she flipped it.


    Instead of increasing the amount of lightning components in the sky, she decreased the amount on the ground. She was going to force nature into restoring balance for her.


    Lexi''s magic had added the final touch to Mandra''s spell. She wasn''t going to just call down lightning to where she wanted, she was going to lead it straight into her target and prevent it from restoring balance.


    If the lightning didn''t restore balance, more would have to come down until balance was restored.


    If things went according to plan, the lightning would only restore balance once the target was dead and could no longer block the lightning.


    It was a spell that would always kill its target before finishing, assuming things went according to plan. That was a rare property for spells to have. But that wasn''t the only reason Mandra was so excited that she couldn''t stand still.


    Mages were beings who liked to pretend they had nature under their control, that they used magic energy to tame nature.


    That was not the case at all.


    Magic was rarely more than a poor imitation of nature. Even if it was similar or more beautiful in appearance, it almost always lacked structure, foundation, and reasoning.


    But right now, Mandra wasn''t just imitating nature. She was controlling it.


    She desperately wanted it to work, but even if it didn''t, she wouldn''t be satisfied. It just meant she had to try again.


    Zach glanced to the side as Mandra squealed and chittered in excitement like a squirrel stumbling upon a mountain of nuts and cheese.


    He had never seen her this excited before. It was something to celebrate.


    But when he looked at the head of Usurpation, he couldn''t find it within him to do so.


    If even he could feel the building electric tension in the air, the Hydra could undoubtedly feel it. But it wasn''t doing anything. It was just watching its other heads fight Yanael.


    Was it not worried? Did it not fear lightning?


    It made sense that it didn''t fear ordinary lightning. Zach didn''t either. Ordinary lightning couldn''t touch even a hair on his head, much less ruffle the Hydra''s scales.


    But this wasn''t ordinary lightning.


    The head of Usurpation''s eyes narrowed, and it glanced toward the sky.


    Mandra was going all out on this first experiment of hers.


    In theory, the greater the difference between the lightning components in the air and on the ground, the greater the lightning.


    So, why not empty the area of the lightning components that existed everywhere like air? It couldn''t be much greater of a difference than that unless she increased the lightning components in the sky.


    Mandra narrowed her eyes and looked toward the sky.


    That was an idea.


    But it would have to wait until next time.


    For now, she grabbed Zach and retreated.


    She might have underestimated the wrath of nature when being toyed with and controlled by someone else.


    Great.


    Excellent.


    Amazing.


    Zach couldn''t help but be a little worried when Mandra pulled him back with an almost crazed expression. But he understood when sparks started appearing in the sky.


    The precursors to what was to come were enough to make the air all over his body stand on end. The flies of blue light zipping across the rapidly darkening sky¡­


    Zach wasn''t sure if it could be called lightning before it struck, but those strings of light in the sky felt more overwhelming than any lightning strikes he had seen personally.


    The head of Usurpation curled into a ball on its back. It called its other heads to protect it with their necks. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 548 - 548: Lightning Hell

    Yanael had also realized by now that the head of Usurpation that was watching everything happening with a calm gaze was the Hydra''s main head. If she could keep the other heads away during Mandra''s attack, the main head would take damage. That would make it easier to kill the Hydra. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, no matter how much she slashed at and attacked the heads and necks covering the Hydra''s body and main head, they refused to budge. Eventually, she had to accept that the Hydra would rather take her attacks than the lightning.


    Yanael was forced to back off unless she wanted to get caught up in Mandra''s attack.


    Yanael was confident in Mandra''s magic control to the point where she wasn''t worried about Mandra ever hitting her on accident when they fought together. But this wasn''t magic energy.


    Mandra had used magic energy to summon a force of nature.


    This was already out of Mandra''s hands. She was as much of a spectator as Zach and the others right now.


    If Yanael stayed in the area, she could only blame herself if she got struck by lightning.


    The Hydra bent its legs and sank to the ground, transforming into something that looked more like a stone than a seven-headed lizard.


    The first blip of lightning struck, drawing a fine, jagged white line through the air between the Hydra and the sky. It did so with a soft bang like someone smacking a heavy book against the floor.


    It was a light hit. The only one that flinched was Soara since she had been sitting with her eyes closed to try and understand more of her enlightenment.


    Mandra frowned in confusion.


    She couldn''t understand why the strike was so light when more hung in the sky like a cobweb of lightning phasing through the dark clouds. She didn''t get an answer to that question, but she did get another lightning strike.


    This one was a little more powerful as it struck the edge of the Hydra. It barely left a scratch on the Hydra''s tough scales, though.


    "So far, it seems a little¡ª"


    Yanael''s voice was interrupted by the low rumble that filled the air instants before a solid beam of lightning crashed down with a loud bang that would have made an ordinary human''s ears pop.


    "What was that?" Mandra asked teasingly without looking away. Her excitement was returning in full.


    Three lightning strikes had already come down, each one stronger than the last. But there was more lightning in the sky than there was at the start.


    This was it!


    Yanael just cleared her throat. She had just wanted to say that it seemed like it was coming off to a gentle start. The start was gentle, but it was also short.


    The fourth lightning strike was even more powerful and bright. The world plunged into darkness and eerie silence after it faded. Zips of lightning in the sky occasionally shed enough light for Zach to see the excitement on Mandra''s face.


    He had a feeling that she wouldn''t want to hide behind a barrier, so he only increased the defenses around himself, Soara, and Yanael. He had a feeling that things were going to get intense, bright, loud, and explosive.


    He was right.


    After another couple of increasingly powerful lightning strikes, it seemed like the sky had warmed up enough. The sizzling smell in the air and the static electricity that raised the hair on his body was already more than he had felt during any other thunderstorm.


    But the lightning wasn''t here to make sure Zach and the others remembered it as the most powerful lightning they had seen. It was hanging in the sky because there was an imbalance, and it was here to fix that.


    However, even after several powerful lightning strikes, the balance showed no signs of returning.


    The lightning had no choice but to continue.


    For a while, the lightning still struck one bolt at a time like they were waiting in line. But it didn''t take long before the lightning started dropping formalities and rained down on the Hydra with never-ending thunderclaps to applaud its performance.


    The world flashed endlessly with the overwhelmingly bright lightning strikes. The air shook from the booming and crashing sounds the bolts made when colliding with the Hydra''s solid body.


    If the Hydra screamed, it was impossible to hear.


    Zach couldn''t even hear his own thoughts, much less any sounds from the center of the restricted lightning hell.


    Tens of lightning bolts fell within seconds of each other, each one powerful enough to turn great trees into smithereens.


    Even with as many of his most powerful barriers as possible and his world essence energy fully activated, Zach did not think he could hold up for more than five seconds.


    Mandra was his only SSS-rank familiar, and she was showing him why.


    None of his other familiars could do something like this, and none of them could withstand it. It was an overwhelming display of might.


    It had taken some preparation and the Hydra''s cooperation since it hadn''t done anything about it, but that was because of poor timing on the First''s side.


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the Hydra.


    The rain of lightning seemed like it would never end.


    But the Hydra''s shape seemed to remain intact on the other side of the blinding light. Smoke seemed to be rising, but it was impossible to tell if ti was because of the lightning hitting the Hydra or the lightning burning the Hydra.


    It might also be an illusion or a mirage. Zach was pretty sure looking at the lightning show wasn''t good for his eyes. Trying to see anything through lights brighter than the sun was foolish and hopeless.


    But he had been right about one thing.


    The Hydra''s shape was mostly intact, at least until it started moving.


    It seemed like the Hydra had figured out that the lightning wouldn''t stop anytime soon unless it did something about it. So, it was going to do something about it.


    Wasn''t all of this because of the magic array around it? Then it just needed to get rid of that.


    The Hydra''s tail swept out.

 Chapter 549 - 549: Two Seconds Too Long

    The Hydra''s strength was slightly suppressed by the lightning blanketing and coursing through its body. But a mammoth without fur is still an elephant. It''s tail easily broke apart every piece of Mandra''s array it touched.


    However, Mandra''s spell pulled away the lightning components in the specified area and set a target. Those components were already gone, and the Hydra had already become the target.


    The rest, the lightning bolts falling from the sky like divine punishment, was all nature''s doing. Just destroying the spell wouldn''t stop the thunderstorm.


    But it did weaken the concentration, and the lightning strikes spread out. Several of them missed the Hydra. That still meant many of them hit the overgrown lizard, though.


    It was hard for Zach and the others to tell since the lightning strikes were so overwhelmingly brilliant, but Mandra felt her array be destroyed. She knew it was only a matter of time before the Hydra was done enduring the rest of the attack.


    She just hoped that it would focus on the lightning and not them.


    Like cranes raising their heads to look at the sunrise, one by one, the Hydra''s heads bore the lightning and returned to their towering position just below the sky.


    The world grew silent for a moment.


    It was the Hydra inhaling.


    The lightning had properly awoken all of its remaining heads and helped its body warm up. The Hydra bled big and heavy drops, and six of its necks and heads were covered in char and jagged burn patterns.


    It had felt the lightning. It had endured and weathered as much as it needed. Now, it was time to end it.


    The Hydra was a monster that the God of Nature needed to step in to stop.


    A mere natural phenomenon like the lightning hell Mandra had arranged for it was far from enough to stop it.


    The Hydra filled its lungs with the intense air around it.


    That was why the sound had stopped for a second.


    The world was also holding its breath. It was waiting with horrified anticipation for what was to come once the Hydra exhaled.


    Eventually, the Hydra''s lungs tightened and pushed out the air inside them.


    What left the Hydra''s mouths through its necks wasn''t just a breath. It wasn''t just air.


    It was an announcement.


    The Hydra was telling the world that it had returned, and it was doing it with a volume that shattered air and Zach''s barriers alike.


    It drowned all other sounds like the Hydra was telling the sky to shut up.


    Zach couldn''t even tell if it was a roar, a screech, or a cry. It wasn''t something that could be squeezed into any of those categories.


    All he knew was that it left his vision pink and blurry and a ringing in his ears in its wake.


    The shockwave of the powerful roar made the dresses of his maids flap and flutter in the wind like the sail of a ship caught in a storm at sea. If his clothes had been ordinary clothes and not the Taio from Ra''s world, they would have been ripped clean off his body.


    The most impressive part of the Hydra''s screech, thorough, was that it succeeded in telling the sky to shut up.


    The Hydra wasn''t a force of nature, but it might as well have been.


    A single shout was enough for it to clear away the murky thunderclouds that Mandra had managed to lure into existence.


    The sky cleared, daylight returned, and the Hydra revealed its full form in all its glory. Its seven heads reached high into the sky with long necks on a wide, mountainous, powerful body.


    The Hydra wasn''t done.


    Gradually, like it was getting rid of the final traps of rust, its back cracked open. Two leathery wings extended like the horizon and turned the Hydra from an overgrown, seven-headed lizard into an overgrown, seven-headed flying lizard.


    Zach was stunned, even if that wasn''t the only reason he was silent.


    He had not expected the Hydra to have wings. He hadn''t noticed that when he was running on its back, though it wasn''t strange, considering he was being chased by two Basilisk-like heads who wanted to eat him.


    With the Hydra''s size, even two wings the size of a warehouse each wouldn''t be enough to take it even higher into the sky.


    But the Hydra was beyond the realm of caring about whether it was too heavy to fly or not.


    It had wings. If it wanted to fly, it was going to fly. There was nothing in the world that could stop it.


    With another breath, this time one that could be heard, the Hydra raised its wings into the air. With all seven heads breathing out at the same time, the two large wings pushed down like it was trying to flatten the ground beneath it.


    Zach had been right.


    It was heavy.


    The Hydra had to jump into the air to make it easier for itself to take to the sky. It did just that.


    When it pushed against the ground with its legs, the entire thirtieth floor shook once again.


    It was lighter than the other times when it first woke up and during the lightning storm.


    Enough time had passed since that happened. Enough time had passed since the twenty-ninth floor first felt the earthquakes for those on it to prepare themselves as best as they could.


    So, once the floor shook again, the ones on the twenty-ninth and twenty-eighth floors had no choice but to hurry on down.


    The Evandiels and their warriors appeared not far from Zach''s group. The Sesha also appeared, one group at a time. The Maura were first, then the Ugris, and then finally the Arlecchs, including Ulminer Go.


    But the Hydra did not spare the large groups so much as a glance as it rose. All of its seven heads were coordinated.


    There was no way for the perceptive warriors and leaders of the other groups to miss the direction it looked in.


    Worried, confused, shocked, surprised, filled with awe, or scared, the ones who noticed something was up turned to follow the Hydra''s gaze.


    At the end of it, they saw Zach.


    Zach frowned as he met the Hydra''s gaze himself.


    The Hydra''s gaze rose into the sky, and it flapped again, this time breaking through the thirtieth floor.


    It had already spent the last several thousand years in this hellhole. A second more was two seconds too long. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 550 - 550: Leaving

    Everyone on the thirtieth floor instantly realized what the Hydra was doing, like struck by lightning.


    All of them realized that it would be even more impossible to stop the Hydra once it left the Labyrinth. It would also be too late by then.


    As soon as the Hydra set foot outside the Labyrinth, the area would be destroyed. Annihilation would spread through the East and bring the land to ruin. Countless would die.


    Nymur, Calserra, Leonidas, Leonia, Leana, Lilo, and Lily looked at Zach. They were a distance away, but Zach felt their sharp glares.


    It was clear that they were blaming him for this. He had screwed over all of their plans and set the Hydra free.


    Zach shrugged.


    "I told you the seal was breakable." He didn''t know if they heard him or not, but he didn''t care. He turned to Soara.


    "You can take care of Alzara and Lexi, right?"


    "Of course, Master." Soara nodded. She had recovered as much as she could, but it would take more than that to deal with the fully awoken Hydra. It would be best if she used her strength to make sure they didn''t lose anyone. There was also something important to be done now that the Hydra had been injured.


    Zach looked at Yanael and Mandra, silently asking if they were ready. They nodded with determined expressions.


    The real fight was starting now.


    After glaring at Zach for a few seconds, Leonia spurred the family into action, and they left the floor. The Sesha did the same. Maura hesitated slightly before moving. She looked at Zach, worried about the daughter she couldn''t see anywhere. She knew Visla would have joined the fight.


    She loved her daughter and was hopeful for her future, but there was no way in hell or heaven Visla Maura was strong enough to last even half an exchange against the Hydra. Since there were no traces of her, Maura feared the worst. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But she also knew Zach wasn''t the type to let Visla die just like that, so she set aside her worries and focused straight ahead. If they were both alive after this, she could always ask Zach what happened to Visla.


    She left with her warriors.


    The Arlecchs also looked at Zach before leaving. The Ugris had left first.


    Zach waited until they were the only ones left. He looked at Soara and gave her a nod before focusing.


    He just had to express his intentions to move up through the floors. Now that the Hydra was gone, they were no longer locked in combat. The Labyrinth wouldn''t stop them.


    But moving through the floors was something that relied on teleportation.


    It was similar to how Zach moved to and from Haven.


    The others could only rely on the Labyrinth picking up their will.


    Zach could facilitate the move himself. He was familiar with it.


    He not only clearly expressed his desire to move up, but he also used his world essence energy to invite himself up. Of course, without the Labyrinth''s cooperation, he was just making himself glow a little. Or he might take himself to Haven again.


    But since the Labyrinth cooperated with him, he and his two familiars flashed through the floors so quickly that the others didn''t even notice they had been bypassed.


    Zach felt a sense of vertigo overtake him after only a few floors.


    It wasn''t just one teleportation, after all. He was doing it almost several times each second. One teleportation could be enough to make someone else grow faint of stomach and bid farewell to their breakfast.


    Zach didn''t feel much from only one teleportation, but when they stacked onto each other like that, he started feeling like it was a good thing that he had stopped eating.


    He glanced at Yanael and Mandra, the only two constants in his flashing surroundings. Yanael was composed. The way she gripped her sword and had her wings folded but still summoned told him that she was ready to fight at a moment''s notice.


    Mandra was anything but composed. Teleportation could be considered within the realm of magic. Of course, she wanted to study this rapid teleportation with everything she had. Her eyes glowed as she read the flow of the air, themselves, and the magic behind the teleportations.


    It was only then that Zach remembered she had offered to teleport back to the Academy after their graduation when they forgot Nora before heading to the Imperial Palace. He hadn''t needed to take her up on that offer and had forgotten about it. But maybe there was something behind it.


    Zach pinched his nose bridge.


    Distracting himself hadn''t worked. He was still feeling a little queasy.


    He held his breath and endured. He had to get to the surface as quickly as possible.


    He had wanted to screw over his family''s plan to prove to them that they were wrong and wasted countless lives because of it. It had kind of worked so far since he had destroyed the seal mostly by himself.


    But all of that would be for naught if the Hydra reached the surface and wreaked the havoc the God of Nature stopped it from wreaking all those ages ago, not to mention all the death and suffering it would cause.


    With those wings, it would be impossible to catch up to, much less stop the Hydra once it got away.


    Zach could fly with his barriers, but he was not confident he could match the speed wings the size of those on the Hydra''s back could generate. If it wanted to, laying waste to all of the eastern part of the Empire in an afternoon was completely doable. The rest would only take a day.


    That was why Zach couldn''t slow down on the way out of the Labyrinth.


    Fortunately, his body was incredible.


    He grew dizzy, but he reached all the way to the first floor without puking or passing out. He stopped to take a quick breath before leaving the Labyrinth with his two maids, fearing the worst.


    What they saw upon their exit shocked them.

 Chapter 551 - 551: Fire And Ash

    Considering the Hydra''s powers, Zach was expecting to step into a fiery wasteland akin to the one the First Child created on the thirtieth floor. The Hydra had waited until it woke up and not done anything but fight Yanael lightheartedly in the Labyrinth, but once it was free, there should be no reason for it to hold back.


    However, instead of fire and ash they expected, Zach, Yanael, and Mandra were instead greeted by a sight of ice and smoke. Before they could do anything, a bang rang out, and stone went flying in all directions.


    Zach''s barrier blocked the pebbles and stones that reached all the way to them.


    They turned toward the source of the commotion and glimpsed the action through the smoke and shards and blocks of ice covering the buildings, or what remained of them.


    The Hydra was on the ground, bleeding. A boulder of ice was pinching one of its wings to the ground. Its other wing was in tatters with large holes in it like a ripped sail.


    Its heads were roaring, breathing fire and poison, and calling upon powerful winds.


    Zach narrowed his eyes as he couldn''t even begin to imagine who or what the Hydra was fighting against.


    Everyone who knew about the Hydra except the Emperor should still be in the Labyrinth and on their way out.


    But it wasn''t the Emperor fighting the Hydra.


    It was an army helmed by a mixed group of imperialists and Sesha. Zach recognized a few of them.


    Oria Villesand, the Nilma Chief, and Yan. Together, the three of them led the troops around the Hydra, throwing what looked like rocks at its body and launching the same stuff at it from afar using catapults and trebuchets.


    It was only a few seconds later that Zach realized that they were not rocks.


    It was what had made that banging sound and launched stone at them earlier.


    The army was launching explosives at the Hydra.


    Zach did not think explosives would be powerful enough to do damage to a mythical creature like the Hydra, considering they were just consumable weapons. It would be like throwing a well-crafted sword at best. But a sword needed a swordsman to fulfill its purpose.


    The explosives just needed to be near their target.


    Zach was wrong.


    There was a reason why the Imperial Family controlled the distribution of explosives in the Empire and why even the four ducal families only had access to a little.


    It might just be one of the most dangerous substances in the Empire.


    Each block of explosive material that was close enough to the Hydra tore chunks of flesh out of its body whenever they exploded. The chunks weren''t large, but the explosives going up in clouds of smoke with sharp, banging puffs still got through the Hydra''s hard scales with creepy ease.


    Explosives were more destructive and powerful than Zach had imagined. But it was a good thing in this case since it meant the Hydra hadn''t laid waste to the East. If anything, it looked like it was being beaten back by Yan, Oria, and the others.


    "It hardly looks like we''re needed," Zach said while making his way over to where Yan and the others would be in a few minutes. They had to stay moving unless they wanted to get caught by any of the seven heads wildly swinging around in a frenzy.


    Yan''s group was only a couple of dozen large. They were barely a speck compared to the large Hydra. But they were still a noticeable target, riding around the Hydra on their horses and throwing explosives at the Hydra. They had already had several close shaves and lost several good men and horses.


    However, they had already blown through almost all of the explosives that Yan had managed to scrounge together for this operation, and the Hydra was nowhere close to falling. They had managed to injure it and draw its blood. But its blood was deadly, and a drop would kill them and their horses.


    Yan gritted his teeth and gripped the reins to his horse until his fingers whitened. It was looking doomed. But they had stalled. They had bought time. He just hoped it was enough for everyone to finish evacuating and for reinforcements to make it in time.


    He felt a sense of hopelessness wash through his icy veins as he saw the wounds on the Hydra regenerate, recover, and begin to fade.


    As soon as Yan realized why the Emperor didn''t put a stop to the fighting, interfere, or do anything about the Children because he wanted to unite both the Empire and the Sesha against a greater enemy, he had instantly looked for what that enemy could be.


    He scrounged through records and asked whoever he could get a hold of. If it hadn''t been for the Sesha''s folktales and orally passed down knowledge, he wouldn''t have figured it out in time. He wouldn''t have realized that the greater enemy they needed to unite against was the Hydra, a being only recorded as a myth.


    Thanks to that, he could look for helpful information and plan accordingly. He could gather the troops and supplies he would need to fight against the Hydra.


    He had Oria, the Nilma Chief, Lahso, Garad, the Kanh chief, and several other chiefs and military officers. He had gathered the strongest still outside the Labyrinth and put together a unit to fight against the Hydra.


    All of them knew that it was nothing more than a glorified suicide mission.


    The Hydra was a being who tore the sky asunder, overturned mountains, and burned seas.


    Fighting it with what they had was reckless and stupid.


    But it had to be done.


    Despite the war, there were many still living in the East. They needed to evacuate the people and get word to the rest of the Empire.


    They weren''t fighting the Hydra to defeat it. They were fighting it to save the lives of as many people as they could at the cost of their own.


    Some made the sacrifice with bitter hearts. Others did it with hearts comforted by the knowledge that their loved ones would have a better chance at survival.


    Why or how they did it didn''t matter.


    Their sacrifice was noble regardless. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when the head with crazed eyes suddenly appeared right in front of them with its maw open wide and ready to swallow them all, they couldn''t help but feel a twinge of regret and disappointment that this was how their lives ended.

 Chapter 552 - 552: A Little Crazy

    However, instead of the gory sounds of the Hydra''s head''s jaws crushing them all to a brutal death, Yan and the others only heard a grinding sound like stone being dragged against glass. Realizing that they were alive, they slowly opened their eyes again.


    A translucent, golden-hued dome was standing between them and the Hydra''s sharp teeth.


    Yan was momentarily confused, but he didn''t let that stop him.


    "Quick! Throw everything you have left!" He ordered sharply. This was an unprecedented opportunity. It would have taken their deaths to do it, but now, they could do it without dying as long as the barrier didn''t stand in their way.


    Naturally, it didn''t. A hole opened up, letting all of the explosives fly through the barrier while still preventing the Hydra''s crazed head from closing its mouth.


    After throwing everything they had, Yan and his group hurriedly retreated out of the way. The barrier disappeared, and the head closed its mouth. But Yan and the others didn''t stop to look. Their lives were more important than watching a good show.


    They had their horses run straight away from the Hydra for several long seconds, barely daring to glance back in case another head was coming for them.


    Eventually, it became clear that they were safe for the moment. Yan gathered the courage to look back. He wanted to see the head be blown to pieces.


    The explosives should go off any second.


    That they did.


    A muffled boom rang out from within the head, just at the top of its throat. A few seconds later, smoke rose from its nostrils, eyes, and ear holes. It wasn''t the flashy show of an exploding head that Yan had wanted to see, but it was good enough. That should have decimated the head''s insides. It should not be able to handle that kind of damage.


    It might regenerate in a few minutes, but it was more than they could have hoped for without sacrificing a lot of lives.


    However, reality wasn''t as kind as Yan would have liked. The head slowly turned in their direction, a pair of glowing eyes looking at them through the smoke coming out of its face.


    "Shit!" Yan cursed.


    He had resolved not to let the others see his hopelessness, even when he was on the brink of despair. That included cursing when things didn''t go according to plan. But this time, he just couldn''t help it. One of the Hydra''s heads took a cartload of explosives straight to the brain and just laughed it off.


    This monster wasn''t ever going to die.


    "Yan, what do we do now?" Oria asked. They were out of explosives. The seven heads were looking at them with hungry eyes. The Hydra''s wounds were recovering, and the ice boulder on one of its wings was melting. It was only a matter of time until all their efforts were nullified and their lives were cut short.


    "Aren''t you asking the wrong person?" Zach said before Yan could answer. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice that only a few recognized.


    Most of them weren''t sure what to think. It looked like a mad young noble had brought two maids to die. But everyone in Yan''s unit was elite enough to quickly realize that wasn''t the case.


    Zach had an air of madness around him. That part wasn''t wrong. But it wasn''t the madness of the suicidal. It was the madness of those who saw death on a daily basis and spat in its face.


    Of course, Zach saw death on a daily basis since he had Soara, but he never spat on her.


    But a few recognized Zach. Yan, Oria, and the Nilma Chief were among them. Oria''s lit up, hope returning to them. Every time she saw Zach in action, her view of the world was turned upside down. She was confident he would do it again.


    Yan sighed with a tired smile.


    "Never have I been so happy to see a traitor."


    "Aren''t you also working with the Sesha now? That makes you as much of a traitor as me," Zach retorted, not a fan of the traitor label.


    "And I do it gladly. So, my senior traitor, please tell me you have something that can deal with this thing," Yan pleaded desperately, without a hint of his princely arrogance. He had long since left behind him things that had no place on the battlefield.


    Zach narrowed his eyes and looked at Yan''s hair.


    "Is your hair glowing?" He asked, avoiding the question. It was so sudden that Yan subconsciously followed along and touched his hair.


    "Yeah, it does that sometimes. I''m starting to think my mother wasn''t just a maid¡ªHey! Are we doomed or not?!" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach scratched the back of his head with an uncomfortable expression.


    "No idea, honestly. But I think you guys had the right idea about stalling it. I''ll take over, so you guys get to safety or something."


    "What?" Yan frowned in confusion. The others also had no idea what to think of Zach''s words, but they subconsciously moved out of the way when he walked straight forward toward the Hydra.


    Yan called out to Zach again, wanting clarification. Zach didn''t answer. His actions were answer enough. Oria grabbed Yan and stopped him from following Zach.


    "Yan, let''s back off for now. I''m all out of magic, and we need to get the troops to back off before the head of Fire goes for them. Trust me, Zach looks and acts a little crazy¡ª"


    "A little?"


    "But he gets things done. If he says he''s taking over, let him take over. There''s not much we can do anyway. Just support him with your voice once we''ve cleared out the rest, alright?"


    Yan nodded and screwed his head on tight again.


    "You''re right. I can''t get swept up in his antics. I just need to focus on what I can do. Thanks, Oria."


    "Always."


    The two led their unit back to the rest of the army emptying the rest of the explosives onto the Hydra while Zach walked toward the seven-headed monster with his two maids.

 Chapter 553 - 553: Preoccupied

    Zach was far from sure about his current actions. Walking toward the Hydra was like walking into the jaws of death, after all. But what was he supposed to do, walk in the other direction?


    The rest of the Hydra-killing party was taking their sweet time leaving the Labyrinth. There was an army and citizens praying for the Hydra not to kill them. There was an Empire ready for the Hydra to destroy.


    Zach had seen the intelligence in the Hydra''s eyes. There was a chance that it just wanted out and wasn''t interested in destruction.


    But that was before it was attacked, lost a head, and had its wings torn to shreds by Oria and Yan.


    As much as he saw the intelligence in the Hydra''s eyes, he also felt its need for destruction and the malice it held deep in its heart.


    It might not have a grudge against the Empire that rose long after it was sealed. But if the stories held a grain of truth to them, the God of Nature was responsible for sealing the Hydra into the Labyrinth. The best way to get revenge on him would be to destroy nature.


    Zach didn''t think it was quite that simple, but it was an idea that would work for someone like the Hydra.


    So, the Hydra wasn''t going to destroy the Empire. The Empire would just end up a causality to the Hydra''s revenge.


    Zach started wondering to himself if the Hydra would invoke someone like the principal to move, but he shook away all unnecessary thoughts and focused on the Hydra''s seven heads as the world essence energy surged through his body.


    He spread his legs, took a stable stance, and pulled back his fist. When the head of Regeneration came for round two, Zach punched the tip of its lower jaw. It was hard to hit anything else when it was posing to eat him.


    To everyone''s surprise, the head of Regeneration was knocked back by Zach''s fist. There was a clear indentation where he had struck.


    The power of the world essence energy was no joke. But neither was the Hydra''s powers.


    The head of Regeneration quickly recovered, while the head of Immortality took a swing at Zach.


    "Mandra, you can keep its wings tied down and prepare another round of lightning, right?" S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It won''t be as precise as before, Master, but I can do it as long as this beast is preoccupied."


    "You heard her, Yanael. Let''s keep this beast preoccupied. You''re better at dealing damage than me, so I''ll let you handle the heads of Regeneration and Immortality. I''ll go for the head of Fire, Poison, and the unknown one if possible." That left the head of Wind and the head of Usurpation.


    Whoever handled them would depend on who they decided to attack.


    "Yes, Master. I''ll do my best."


    Magic energy replaced Mandra''s flesh and blood as she brought the properties of being an Archon to the surface. She became a being of pure magic. It placed a strain on Zach still, but with him using world essence energy like that, it was fine.


    Magic energy poured out of her and transformed into glacial chains that wrapped around the Hydra wing with a boulder of ice on it. The chains seamlessly integrated with the ice block and melted it down, using its magic and weight to empower the chains as they dug into the ground. She infused the chains with enough magic energy to stay cold for a year. They also dragged down the temperature around them, weakening the Hydra''s fire.


    Oria was in awe as she saw that.


    But Mandra wasn''t done. That was just one of the Hydra''s wings.


    If she used the same method on the other one, the Hydra could fix them with the same method¡ªheat. So, for the other wing, she used stone. Her magic energy flowed into the air and the ground. The magic energy that flowed into the air took control of the magic energy in the atmosphere and made it help out.


    The magic energy in the ground did two things. It prepared the dirt for a transformation and moved it out of the way, opening up a wing-sized pocket in the ground.


    Before the Hydra could react and raise its wing, a large block of solid air swept down and forced the Hydra''s wing into the ground. One of the drawbacks of the wing healing from Yan''s explosives was the fact that it caught all the air. It was too much for it to resist.


    As soon as the wing was in the ground, Mandra closed the hole again and transformed the dirt into solid stone by condensing the minerals in the dirt. She drew it out from the stone on the surface as well to extend her petrification as far as possible.


    The Hydra was chained down to the point it couldn''t even take a step forward unless it wanted to leave its wings behind.


    Naturally, after Mandra did that, she became a target of interest for the Hydra''s heads. But the heads of Regeneration and Immortality were preoccupied with a certain four-winged fly that just wouldn''t leave them alone. It was like it had a grudge against them or something. It was almost like they had repeatedly tried to attack and eat the fly''s master.


    The heads of Fire and Poison were also busy.


    Zach had channeled his strength into his legs and leaped up onto the head of Fire shortly after Mandra got started, taking advantage of a moment of distraction. He held onto the top of the head with his barriers tied around it.


    With his footing secured, Zach went to town on the head. He rocked out with punch after punch, each one sending cracks to ring across the battlefield. His punches were powerful enough to send shockwaves. They were more than enough to break the Hydra''s scales and start drilling into its skull.


    Naturally, the head of Fire didn''t like that and tried to swing him off like a mad bull. It even managed to break his barriers with its frenzied movements. But Zach had already inserted his legs under the head''s skin. He was not getting thrown off.

 Chapter 554 - 554: Race

    The head of Fire wasn''t getting rid of Zach on its own, and since Zach was glaring at the head of Poison while beating the snot out of the head of Fire, the head of Poison took it upon themselves to help out their fellow head.


    Zach wasn''t sure how the different heads and their powers worked, but the two heads he was the least afraid of, even when working together, were the heads of Fire and Poison. So, even when the head of Poison showered him in a slew of smoky poison, Zach didn''t flinch, and his attacks continued uninterrupted. He could almost see the gleaming white of the skull beneath.


    Yan and the others could only watch without understanding. How was it possible for a human to beat the Hydra? It didn''t make sense.


    They had barely managed to keep up with the Hydra''s regeneration by emptying the Palace''s explosives. But Zach wasn''t just keeping the Hydra busy or simply occupied. He looked like he was going to smash one of its heads in. And that was just Zach.


    One of his maids had locked the Hydra in place by its wings, and the other was flying around and toying with three of its heads at the same time.


    But that still left one¡ªno, two heads available.


    The head of Usurpation looked on as Zach beat up its heads with faint interest. It didn''t look like it had any plans of joining the fight even now. That worried Zach more than if it had joined in on the fighting.


    The head of Usurpation not joining the fight meant that it had another plan, one that would produce a better outcome than if it joined the fight. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Zach did not have much of a choice. He could do what he could do, and what he could do was use his strength to beat the Hydra and keep it in place until reinforcements arrived.


    His barrier was just barely holding up against the combined onslaught of fire and poison, and his body wouldn''t last forever under the burden of the world essence energy.


    However, he did realize that just punching wasn''t the most efficient way to deal with the Hydra''s heads. His Blessed Defense wasn''t his only skill, after all.


    He still couldn''t use Trancension. But he could use Eyes of Truth to locate weak spots and structural weaknesses in the Hydra''s scales and skull.


    It became easier to look at the Hydra with the Eyes of Truth as long as he didn''t look at the monstrous being in its entirety and as long as his gaze stayed clear of the head of Usurpation and the unknown head.


    However, the Hydra was a being approaching perfection. There weren''t many structural deficiencies in its body. He had to make them himself. That was where his punches and Material Extraction came in.


    Material Extraction was something Zach used as a way to transform inanimate objects and the bodies of dead monsters into materials for Alzara to use. It actually took him quite a while to even think of using it on a living being or in combat at all.


    But even when he realized something like that was possible, it was still hard to pull off.


    Living beings were far more resistant to the effects of Material Extraction than their dead counterparts. Their pulse and essence rejected Zach''s advances. Powerful beings were also harder to Extract from.


    Something like the Hydra should have been impossible for Zach to use his skill efficiently. It should be too strong and sentient for his skill to activate.


    That was why Zach didn''t target the Hydra. He targeted individual scales, muscle fibers, or sections of the skull when he tried to shatter it. He narrowed down the scope of his skill to the absolute minimum using his Eyes of Truth.


    His fists hammered down, creating wounds and the like, and on their way up, his hands Extracted material from the Hydra''s body, further destabilizing it for the next round. It was a simple process that hid the incredible control and endurance it took from Zach to do it perfectly time after time.


    The Hydra''s regeneration fought to keep Zach out of the head of Fire, but once Zach got into it, and his body got used to the motions, his pace increased.


    Maybe his inherited power of Usurpation and its similarity to Material Extraction helped him utilize the skill to more of its potential. Maybe he was just that talented.


    Whatever it was, it didn''t take long for the spiderweb of cracks in the head of Fire''s cranium to expand faster than the regeneration could fix it.


    At the same time, Zach''s barriers weren''t in much better shape. Cracks ran through it like it was home to a horde of ants. He could hardly see out of it if not for the Eyes of Truth, and he definitely couldn''t keep them up much longer. The Hydra''s blood, the fire from inside the head he was standing in, and the poison all attacked his barrier relentlessly like he was trying to kill them or something.


    It was a race between Zach and the Hydra''s two heads.


    Fortunately, Zach wasn''t one to lose. He did whatever it took to win. He could feel it. He was only a few hits away from finally breaking through the head of Fire''s stubborn skull.


    However, he froze.


    Something deep within him warned him. He had forgotten something. It was such a deep and instinctual feeling that he paused for a moment to think about what he could possibly have forgotten. No, it wasn''t that he had forgotten anything specific. He just wasn''t keeping something in mind that he should be keeping in mind.


    What was it?


    It didn''t take long for Zach to get the answer. Unfortunately, it was not because he realized what it was.


    It was because the answer came to him.


    The head with an unknown power joined the fight by diving straight at Zach, not caring for the head of Fire.

 Chapter 555 - 555: Intentions

    When Zach first noticed the unknown head about to attack him and the head of Fire, he had a fraction of a second to think that the head would probably hold back in case it hit the head of Fire. It just needed to nip Zach with its wide open maw, after all. It was smart enough to do what the head of Poison wasn''t.


    However, Zach was wrong. He had underestimated its wit, its brutality, or both.


    The unknown head didn''t care one lick for the head of Fire. It didn''t even try to hide its intentions when attacking Zach with its mouth suddenly closed before it could even reach Zach''s hair.


    It rammed straight into Zach''s barrier. The ground beneath Zach''s feet caved in. To the unknown head and Zach, that didn''t mean much. It was just a change in footing for one of them, and the target moving back a negligible amount for the other.


    But for the ground¡ªthe head of Fire¡ªit was devastating. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The pain was one thing. It had endured everything so far in the hopes that it and the head of Poison would triumph against the powerful gnat. But now, it was so painful the head of Fire thrashed, tossed, and turned like a child throwing a tantrum.


    But that wasn''t it.


    Someone''s feet were inside its brain. It was an indescribable feeling of discomfort and wrongness that made the head of Fire want to puke.


    However, before it could take anything from the shared and listlessly empty stomach and hurl at the ground, it stiffened. From the base of its neck to the tip of its nose, the head of Fire stopped moving for a couple of seconds before slowly falling like a cut tree.


    Zach had taken the opportunity to stomp as hard as possible with as much of the world essence energy surging through his legs as possible. He had decimated the head of Fire''s brain, and then before it could fall or even think about regenerating, he used Material Extraction to reduce what was left into an amber pearl as big as his fist.


    The head of Fire was dead, and before it could hit the ground, it turned to a million fragments of dust that disappeared into the air


    Zach landed on the ground with a thud and a roll before standing up and hurriedly turning around, expecting retribution.


    But the unknown head was already moving, and the head of Poison was looking at its dead buddy in shock.


    Both Zach and the head of Poison tracked down the unknown head and looked at it warily. It looked insane. Its gaze was crazed, and there was not a hint of sanity behind its eyes.


    But Zach did not think for a second that what it had just done was anything but deliberate.


    Infighting could be found anywhere, especially considering it happened even within Zach''s family. But Zach had not expected the Hydra to kill one of its own heads like that.


    The Hydra was down to six heads now. It had already lost two of them since the start of the battle against Zach.


    Zach had expected to put up a fight against the Hydra. He was confident in himself and his maids. But hsi confidence had wavered once the seal started breaking, and the Hydra''s presence seeped into the world.


    Things were well beyond his expectations right now. He did not think it would be this easy to take two of the Hydra''s heads. He had taken one almost by himself, and Soara had taken one almost by herself.


    And Yanael was working hard to take three by herself.


    Zach couldn''t help but think that the Hydra wanted them to take its heads, other than the head of Usurpation.


    But he couldn''t for the life of him figure out why.


    It didn''t make sense. Each head was a source of power and incredible strength. If the Hydra hadn''t lost the head of Death already, Yan and the rest of his army wouldn''t have stood a chance. They would have been wiped out in minutes at most without having time to launch more than a couple of explosives at the Hydra.


    It still had its head of Poison, but without the head of Fire, the Hydra would have an even harder time laying waste to the land, assuming that''s what it wanted.


    Even if that wasn''t what the Hydra wanted, wouldn''t it want strength? Wouldn''t it want to take revenge?


    Logically speaking, the Hydra wouldn''t want to become weaker.


    In Zach''s mind, that meant it was willingly letting them take its heads because it would, in turn, make it stronger. He didn''t know how that could possibly be, but it was the only answer to why it would do it that made sense.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t even the problem with the current situation.


    The problem was that there was nothing Zach could do about even if he figured out the head of Usurpation''s intentions.


    The Hydra wanted them to lop off its heads. Okay. So what?


    Were they supposed to stop fighting the Hydra? Were they supposed to fight it without targeting the heads? Was that even possible?


    Besides, it was clear that the Hydra had grown weaker after losing two of its heads. It had even shrunk in size.


    However he looked at it, this was the only way to fight the Hydra. Their only option was to take its heads, weaken it, and finally kill it.


    The feeling of being left without a choice frustrated Zach.


    Fortunately, he had the perfect target to vent his frustration on.


    He turned to the head of Poison.


    The head of Poison sensed his gaze and turned to him.


    The unknown head had certainly been involved in the head of Fire''s death. But its powers worked just as well on the head of Poison as they did on the others. It didn''t take long for the head of Poison to remember that Zach was the one who had attacked the head of Fire and cracked open its skull.


    Naturally, Zach became its target.

 Chapter 556 - 556: Cheesy

    Zach didn''t mind being the head of Poison''s target. If anything, it aligned perfectly with what he wanted as he flung himself at it, once again leaping into the sky to reach the head he was going to take away from the Hydra.


    At another location in the ruins of Ciel, closer to the Labyrinth''s entrance than where the fight was taking place, two people returned to the surface in a blink. Their night blue robes and the owl markings on those robes revealed their affiliation as being of the Arlecch tribe.


    One of them had a familiar face. It was Ulminer Go, who tried to, among other things, get rid of Alzara once during the desert floors when she waited for Zach to return after Nora''s passing.


    Ulminer Go showed a deferent attitude toward the sharp-looking man from the same tribe. The two looked around, taking in the current situation.


    Both men gritted their teeth and clenched their fists when they saw the Hydra''s condition. They glared at Zach for a few moments before their gazes fell to the side.


    There, they noticed Yan, Oria, and the members of the army still willing to fight. They were preparing something.


    "Let''s go," The man with sharp features ordered before stepping forward, moving through the city with bluish light transporting him at an incredible speed. Ulminer Go followed him toward Yan and the others, light gathering at the top of his staff. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan looked at the fighters from both the army and the tribes gathering what remained of the explosives in one large pile on the best catapult. It wasn''t much since it was just the scraps from the earlier round of attacks. But it was enough to deal at least some damage to the Hydra.


    Zach needed all the help he could get. So, Yan was going to do this while Oria rested before they joined the fight itself. Suddenly, Yan''s head whipped around almost so quick it cracked. He had an extremely bad feeling. A moment later, a blue arrow flew straight toward him, leaving a trail of light in its wake.


    It was so fast that Yan didn''t even have time to think about reacting. He did lower his head slightly, though, even if it wasn''t enough.


    "...Thanks," He said with a stiff throat as he looked at the translucent shield in front of him. Oria had noticed and protected him.


    "Don''t mention it. But I think we might be in trouble."


    "As long as we''re in trouble together."


    "No. You can be cheesy after we win. Right now, I want you to focus."


    "Right. Enzi, take everyone else and get clear. We''ll try to lead those two away from here," Yan said in a calm voice that had no trouble reaching the Nilma chief''s ears despite the ruckus caused by the fighting between Zach and the Hydra. Yan''s voice was like a large ship cutting through the turbulent waves of the Hydra''s screeching and roaring and the thuds and bangs from Zach''s attacks.


    Enzi started moving before he even saw the two attackers rapidly closing in on their location. He gathered everyone else, had them drop whatever they were holding, and pread out in the opposite direction of the attackers.


    Their survival was the priority right now, even if it meant leaving Yan and Oria behind. They had to get out of the way and live so that they could pick up what they had dropped once Yan and Oria were done or had led the attackers away.


    This was no time to think about how to help or regret their weakness.


    If Yan told them to do something, they did it, no questions asked. It was partly because of Yan''s mysterious vocal powers.


    Another part of it was that Yan had proved repeatedly that he deserved their trust. He was capable, and he knew the best course of action.


    "Not you, Lahso. You''re fighting with us." That was why he stopped the knight who had followed him from the imperial palace from helping Enzi.


    Lahso would have never left Yan''s side if this had been a couple of months ago. His orders were to protect Yan, after all.


    However, as they spent time together, overcame tribulations, and faced danger, Lahso''s allegiance had slowly shifted from the Imperial Palace to Yan and Yan alone. His actions were Yan''s orders, not whatever would keep Yan safe.


    Lahso had also started showing off more of his personality and letting it slip that while he was a capable fighter and didn''t fear death, he wasn''t addicted to fighting. Unless Yan told him to, he wouldn''t fight unnecessarily.


    But this wasn''t an unnecessary fight. Yan and Oria needed him to deal with the two members of the Arlecch tribe.


    Lahso stood in front of Oria and Yan with his sword raised and his worn armor reflecting some of the rising sun''s light.


    The two members of the Arlecch tribe stopped in front of the trio and looked at them and the catapult. They didn''t know what the trio thought a catapult would do to the Hydra, but attacking the Hydra alone was enough of an insult.


    "What are you two doing?" Yan started questioning. "We are on the same side here! If we don''t stop the Hydra, we''re all going to die."


    He had gotten along with the rest of the Sesha tribes that had made it out on the other side of the Children''s attacks before the Children disappeared into the Labyrinth. He saw no reason why he couldn''t get along with the Arlecchs as well as soon as they cleared up this misunderstanding.


    The man with sharp features narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yan.


    "Who are you?" He asked in a demanding tone. Yan didn''t like it.


    "Yan ju Kiantier, second prince of the Empire," Yan introduced himself. It was a title that would make anyone arrogant, but he said it without a hint of haughtiness.


    "I''m also the field general of the allied Empire and Sesha forces in the fight against the Hydra." This time, pride shone through in Yan''s voice.


    The sharp-looking man''s frown deepened.


    "How unpleasant."

 Chapter 557 - 557: Satisfied?

    Yan''s gaze changed. The sharp-looking man from the Arlecch tribe was familiar. It was not because he had met him before or seen him from a distance or anything.


    It was because he was similar to the old nobles in the capital. His mind was rotten. He was stuck in his mental ways, and the way he looked down on others was the same as the nobles who looked down on Yan because of his background.


    For some reason, this man from the Arlecch tribe was arrogant and prejudiced.


    Yan sighed.


    It would take a miracle and a half to change the mind of someone like that. Unfortunately, they had just about run out of miracles when Zach saved their lives.


    Yan changed his goal from clearing up the misunderstanding to figuring out what the Arlecch tribe wanted.


    "What a rude thing to say to someone you''ve just met. What''s so unpleasant that you can''t even control your tongue?" Yan asked bluntly, tiptoeing around what he actually wanted to ask.


    "I see no need to explain myself to you lowly, narrow-sighted ones. Ulminer, punish these ones for daring to bar the one brave enough to open the doors to a new era."


    "Right away, Lord Arlecch." Ulminer bowed obediently before raising his staff and swinging it at Yan, shooting three projectiles of blue light.


    Oria blocked the attack with a magic barrier while gritting her teeth. Ulminer Go was stronger than her, at least right now. She had used almost all of her magic to prevent the Hydra from taking to the skies. What little she had left had been used to keep everyone safe while they tossed explosives at and ran circles around the Hydra.


    She had recovered a little after Zach took over, but it was far from enough to contend with Ulminer GO head-on.


    Fortunately, she wasn''t alone.


    Yan put a hand on her shoulder and spoke.


    "Oria, you''ve got this," He said, his voice full of trust. His voice entered her body through her ears like a stream of warm air, seeping into her core. She could feel herself regain strength and energy.


    The same voice that could spur on and energize an entire army was concentrated on her and her alone. Naturally, the effects were more apparent. It also helped that Yan was growing more accustomed to using his powers compared to before, when he didn''t even know about them.


    Oria hadn''t despaired even when bearing the brunt of Ulminer''s attack, but right now, she felt confident that they could win. She deflected the next three projectiles before sending a couple of magic missiles of her own.


    They disappeared like raindrops when they crashed into Ulminer''s barrier, but Oria wasn''t deterred. Whenever she found an opening, she launched some kind of magic attack at Ulminer, whether it be a magic missile, fireball, or icicle. Gradually, she and Ulminer disappeared into their own little world of attacking and defending.


    Yan turned to the man Ulminer called Lord Alrecch while still making sure to keep supporting Oria.


    "The ''One'' you mentioned, the one opening up the doors to a new era, is that the Hydra?" Yan asked for confirmation.


    The Arlecch looked down his nose at Yan.


    "Yes. The Hydra is going to usher in a new age greater than anything this land has seen before. That you dare stand in its way is heretical."


    "So, you aren''t worried about the thousands upon thousands of people that will die in the process? You aren''t worried about your brethren dying under the Hydra''s feet?"


    "Hmph. My brethren do not stand in the Hydra''s way. How could they possibly end up on the same side of life as your people?"


    "Do you think the Hydra will spare your miserable lives just because you aren''t in the way?" Yan asked doubtfully. He wasn''t sure what era the Hydra was ushering in. But it was becoming apparent that the Arlecchs were on its side. That wasn''t good.


    "Of course. The Hydra has no reason to target us, who are akin to ants, if we do not meaninglessly try to bite it. We will follow in its steps and enter this new era with our lives and the seeds of prosperity."


    "Fool. Does the Hydra need a reason to exterminate you? You are in its vicinity right now. If not for Zach fighting it, it would have already killed you. That''s the kind of monster the Hydra is. Why do you think it was sealed in the Labyrinth for so long?"


    Septine Arlecch knew what Yan was referencing. He was talking about the theory that the Hydra had been about to destroy the world and that was why the God of Nature had been forced to seal it in the Labyrinth.


    He clicked his tongue while shaking his head.


    "HIstory¡­So it distorts itself. The Hydra wasn''t sealed because it wanted to destroy the world.


    "The ones who sealed it could not accept its challenge. But neither could they kill it. Sealing it and delaying the inevitable was their only option."


    "What are you talking about?" Yan wasn''t stupid enough that he didn''t understand what Septine Arlecch was talking about.


    That whole love story about the Hydra and the God of Nature was nothing but a fairy tale. The truth behind the Hydra being sealed into the Labyrinth all those years ago was different.


    Yan wanted to know that truth. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The Hydra isn''t an agent of destruction. It''s a force of revolution. It was written in history that it was a destroyer to spread fear¡ªto induce that kind of welcome," Septine said, nodding toward Zach and his maids fighting the remaining heads.


    "It has already tried to change¡ªnot destroy¡ªthe world once. It failed back then. It won''t fail now."


    "How do you know?" Yan asked skeptically. The Hydra was weakened by the seal now. It should be even more difficult for it to usher in the new era if it had already tried once.


    "The stars told me. The skies are about to change."


    "..."


    "Satisfied?" Septine asked, raising a hand bathed in white blue light. He wasn''t interested in the answer.

 Chapter 558 - 558: Lazy Lahso

    Septine fired before Yan could answer. A blue, almost white beam like a strand of starlight pierced the air.


    If it hadn''t been for Lahso cutting it in half, deflecting both halves to the side into the ground, Yan didn''t think he would have survived. But no thoughts of his own weakness surfaced in his mind.


    Yan no longer cared that he was too weak to defend himself. That was why he had his friends and companions, after all. Instead of caring about that, he focused on Lahso and Septine.


    "Lahso," He said, extending his powers to his trustworthy knight.


    "That face looks unchable, right?"


    "Very."


    "You know what to do then."


    Lahso answered by taking action. He took one step forward before disappearing from the spot.


    Lahso wasn''t a troublemaker. He wasn''t someone who made it difficult for his superiors or comrades. But he was a talented and very capable knight.


    So, how had he ended up babysitting the infamous second prince, who no one in the Imperial Palace wanted to associate with if possible?


    With his talent that shone even among the garden of diamonds that was the Imperial Palace and its knights, Lahso could have gone on to become a knight captain, a general, or even the personal knight of the crown prince.


    Instead, he became the bodyguard and servant of the prince with the lowest chance of ever accomplishing something, at least in the eyes of everyone at the Imperial Palace.


    The reason was simple.


    To Lahso, it seemed like that was where he would have to do the least and the simplest work.


    Needless to say, he was wrong. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn''t regret it, at least not that much, but he didn''t like unnecessary trouble.


    That was one of the reasons why he was so strong. The stronger he was, the less effort he had to use to get stuff done. It was a simple reasoning.


    This time was no different.


    Septine Arlecch was one of the core members of the Arlecch tribe. He was of direct lineage and had been raised as a stargazer from birth. He wielded the starlight of the Arlecch tribe with ease akin to breathing as he drew figures and had them attack both Yan and Lahso.


    He flitted around the crumbled buildings and the wasteland just outside the ruins of Ciel like a mosquito as he remained just outside Lahso''s grasp.


    But just like Lahso couldn''t touch Septine, Septine couldn''t even add a scratch to the rugged armor of his opponent.


    It was only when Lahso kept trying to cut him off and stand in his way that Septine realized that the armor that looked like it had been through four wars wasn''t beaten, scarred, and physically abused.


    It was just dirt and mistreated because Lahso didn''t have the energy to take care of both Yan and his armor. Naturally, he prioritized Yan while letting his armor accumulate dirt and grime.


    It had a couple of scratches, but Septine realized he had underestimated Lahso.


    Lahso managed to intercept every attack he tried to sneak past the knight to Yan. It was irritating, especially since it seemed like Lahso couldn''t even touch the hem of Septine''s clothes.


    However, that wasn''t because Lahso was too weak. He just figured that the easiest way to defeat Septine was not to go all out from the start. That was what his instincts were telling him.


    It didn''t take long for him to get the empirical reason why that was, either.


    It was something that Yan had already figured out.


    Since Septine Arlecch and Ulminer Go had managed to leave the Labyrinth, the rest of them shouldn''t be far behind. Zach making it out first made sense. The Arlecchs had probably come second due to their starlight magic and the fact that they were planning on the Hydra leaving the Labyrinth. They were ready for it. The others weren''t.


    It was a significant difference that had managed to give the two Arlecch tribe members a lead of several minutes on the other tribal leaders and the Evandiels.


    But it was not a significant enough difference to leave the Evandiels, the Ugri tribe, and the Maura tribe completely in the dust. The Evandiel family, Maura, and the Ugri tribe''s strongest appeared outside the Labyrinth entrance only a few minutes after the two men from the Arlecch tribe.


    They looked around with expressions similar to the ones Zach and his maids had when they exited.


    They had expected death and fiery desolation. Instead, they had ruins, ice, and smoke. There was also a lot of noise coming from someone manhandling an overgrown lizard.


    It was only after staring at it for a few moments that they realized it was Zach and his maids going to town on the Hydra.


    Then, they noticed another source of disturbance from the side.


    It was two of the strongest Arlecchs fighting against a mage, a knight, and an old man. That did not make any sense.


    Nymur Evandiel looked at the Ugri and Maura chiefs.


    Maura crossed her arms.


    "I''m fighting the Hydra. I don''t care about what those starcrazed fools are doing."


    Nymur looked only at the Ugri chief. The tall, lanky, and surprisingly young-looking man with a scar across his face sighed, hiding his relief. He took his warriors with him to sort out the situation to the side.


    Dealing with the Arlecchs and the ones fighting them seemed like a lot less trouble than fighting the Hydra. He was thankful for the battle-crazed Maura and the objective-oriented Evandiels who cared for nothing but what they had to do.


    Septine Arlecch frowned in confusion when Lahso suddenly stopped. But he sensed something and turned around. A pack of hungry wolves was looking at him, licking their lips.


    "Ugri. Are you getting in our way? I thought we had an agreement." Septine asked.


    The wolf with the same scar as the Ugri chief shrugged.


    "Circumstances have changed. It looks like the Hydra is going to lose. It''d be foolish to pick the wrong side. No hard feelings, alright?"


    "Hmph!" Septine snorted, and feathers shot out of his skin and a beak replaced his nose as he transformed into a giant owl. Fools always stood in his way.

 Chapter 559 - 559: Second Lightning Round

    Lahso nodded when he saw Septine dive into a wild fight with the wolves instead of bothering with him and Yan. But the Ugri weren''t satisfied with just Septine. They snagged Ulminer away from Oria, too, much to her relief.


    She had barely held on with Yan''s support. Stalling was all she could do with her current reserves. The Ugris'' interference was much appreciated.


    Yan''s expression was grim, however. He had heard Septine''s conversation with the Ugri chief. He had been about to join the Arlecchs'' side.


    Yan shifted his gaze now that he had a moment to breathe. He had to check how Zach was doing.


    He narrowed his eyes.


    Zach was distancing himself from the Hydra. At first, Yan thought it was because the others had come to take over and give Zach a moment to rest.


    That wasn''t it.


    The Hydra''s heads were already in a deplorable state. The head of Poison was lying on the ground limply. It was a hair from death. The heads of Regeneration, Immortality, and Wind were also in poor states.


    The heads of Regeneration and Immortality were naturally already fighting to recover, but Yanael had inflicted serious damage on all three heads. The only two heads still intact were the heads of Usurpation, which had yet to partake in the fight, and the unknown head, which was almost impossible to hit due to its unpredictable movements and patterns.


    Even if Zach was tired, he wouldn''t back down from a Hydra in such poor condition unless he couldn''t move. But with how rapidly he was dashing away from the Hydra, that wasn''t the case.


    Yan''s eyes narrowed as his gaze was drawn toward the sky high above the Hydra. He couldn''t see anything at first, but the eyes that granted him the ability to see through battlefields told him that something was wrong.


    That ability of his was just sensitive enough to make him look toward the sky a second before Lahso and Oria. Unlike Yan, who couldn''t sense it, they could.


    Someone had used a ridiculous spell that they weren''t even sure could be called magic to disturb the flow of nature.


    Oria instantly realized who it was since she had helped Mandra once before to do something similar.


    But this was on a different level.


    When they conjured the rain to convince a few of the tribes to consider a ceasefire, they had made it rain by hand. They had manually drawn the moisture and water in the air and from any nearby water sources and concentrated it in the air above the Sesha camp.


    It would have been the same if Mandra had manually created a lot of lightning magic in the sky before calling it down. But she wasn''t doing that.


    She was inviting natural lightning into existence somehow.


    Oria''s eyes lit up. She wanted to learn how to do that.


    However, staring at it with such wide eyes was a mistake once the magic showed its effects.


    Lightning bright enough to drown out the sun poured down on the Hydra.


    That was why Zach and Yanael had retreated from the Hydra in a hurry. That was why the Evandiel family and the Maura tribe had held off on approaching the Hydra, even if they had been eager to beat it into the ground.


    Maura felt awe when she looked at the powerful play of lightning strikes. Her daughter had picked up a capable man. It was to the point where she couldn''t complain about him surrounding himself with strikingly beautiful maids. After all, it meant he didn''t struggle when outnumbered.


    The Evandiels, on the other hand¡­


    Nymur, Calserra, Leonidas, Leonia, Leana, Lilo, and Lily all felt a mixture of emotions as they looked at what the youngest was capable of.


    His words rang through their minds.


    ''The seal was breakable.''


    Indeed. With that power at his disposal, he had the right to say such things.


    Since he was right about that, did it mean he was right about the other part as well?


    Could they have chosen a different path, one that didn''t lead the East to ruin?


    But there was no time to dwell on that now. It would be of no use. It was already in the past. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The future may not be set in stone, but the past certainly was, and there was nothing any of them could do about it other than seek to make amends and right their wrongs.


    But that was a matter for after the fight, which was far from over.


    Leana and the younger daughters of the family couldn''t sense it, nor could Leonia, but she could at least figure out that this wouldn''t be enough to kill the Hydra.


    The lightning was powerful, without a doubt. But it was haphazard, inconsistent, and unconcentrated. At most, it would take a couple of heads, depending on their condition.


    Zach frowned as he looked at the sky with his familiars.


    "Mandra, it''s different from how it was in the Labyrinth, right?" He asked. He wasn''t sure exactly how, but it felt like the lightning was more powerful, but stubborn at the same time. It was like it didn''t want to go along with mandr''as spell as easily. The difference in concentration of lightning components faded much quicker on the surface than in the Labyrinth.


    "Yes, Master. Unsurprisingly, the laws of nature are more complete outside the Labyrinth than inside, even if the world within the Labyrinth is surprisingly complete. I will have to take that into consideration next time."


    "I have a bad feeling about this."


    Zach couldn''t explain it, nor could he see anything that prompted the bad feeling other than the relatively weaker lightning.


    But something about he current situation was awry.


    "Master, is it because it''s going too well?" Yanael suggested, having been by Zach''s side through all the trouble he''s experienced the past years. It looked like the Hydra was on its last legs, and Zach hadn''t almost died once.


    He was a little tired, and his body was starting to struggle with the world essence energy. It was too easy.


    "That may be it."

 Chapter 560 - 560: Worst Nightmare

    Zach continued looking at the light show until he suddenly noticed a pair of hands on his shoulders. He would have assumed they belonged to Yanael if not for one simple reason.


    He didn''t recognize them.


    "I almost thought I was going to miss the action, but it seems like I''m right on time," An unfamiliar voice said from right behind Zach, immediately attracting Yanael''s and Mandra''s attention as well.


    Zach shook off the two hands and whipped around on full alert.


    Whoever it was, they had managed to sneak up on him and his two maids without any of them noticing a thing. If they had been out to take his life, they could very well have succeeded.


    Zach reinforced his barriers and stirred his world essence energy again as he looked the woman up and down with a wary gaze. She was shorter than Zach, which wasn''t strange after all the growing he had done the past few years.


    She had unruly dark hair with notes of red that almost reached the middle of her ears. Her piercing bright yellow eyes stared right at Zach with an unnerving intensity.


    "...Who are you?" Zach asked after a couple of seconds when it became clear that the woman wasn''t going to attack them, at least not right this instant.


    "The principal didn''t tell you anything?" The woman tilted her head curiously.


    "If you know the principal, you know there''s nothing odd about that."


    "That''s true." The woman nodded with crossed arms. "OKay, I''ll give you a hint. If I do this¡­" She held out her hand to the side.


    It was first now that Zach realized there was a skeleton standing slightly behind her. It was a matte grey gold color with pale lights in its eye sockets. When the woman stretched out her hand, the skeleton''s expression dropped slightly as it ambled its way forward and around the woman''s arm until she held its neck.


    Zach narrowed its eyes, waiting for the rest of the demonstration, but that was it. The woman just showed that she had a skeleton with an intriguing appearance completely under her control.


    "You''re a summoner," Zach stated. The woman nodded with a smile.


    "Yes. So, who do you think I am?" She asked eagerly.


    Zach''s mind was blank. A slightly panicked look flashed across his face before he raised his arms with a shrug.


    "I have no idea."


    The woman frowned and kicked the ground.


    "The old fucker!" The stone she hit pierced straight through the brick walls of the first ruin she hit. Zach didn''t see where it went next.


    After grumbling a little more, the woman sighed and smoothed her forehead out before holding out her hand.


    "I''m the principal''s first disciple, which makes me your direct senior. It''s nice to finally meet you, Zach of the Maids."


    Zach tentatively held out his hand even if he could feel Yanael''s and Mandra''s warning gazes.


    "I''m not the principal''s disciple or anything, but it''s nice to meet you too," He said. It seemed like it was a better option to be on friendly terms with this woman than on bad terms. Besides, she was a summoner. How bad could she be?


    "You''re not?" The woman tilted her head. A scary look flashed across her face.


    "Did he banish you too?"


    That question made Zach frown. He did not like its implications.


    "No¡­I just didn''t want to be saddled with becoming the new principal."


    "Ah¡­" She nodded in understanding.


    "I understand. But there''s no need to worry about that. That old bastard would rather see the world burn than see his precious Academy in the hands of another."


    "I don''t know. He seemed pretty insistent on making me his inheritor."


    The smile on the woman''s face stiffened at Zach''s last word.


    "He said he was going to make me his inheritor once too," She said.


    As the atmosphere suddenly grew a little chilly, Zach realized that he did not like where this was going.


    "So, uh, what''s your name?" He suddenly asked, hoping to change the topic and maybe figure out who and what he was dealing with.


    "Ozra. But if you want to call me by name instead of senior or big sis, you''ll have to prove your worth¡ªNo, as a matter of fact. You will have to prove that you earned the principal''s recognition." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach took a step back. He could feel Ozra''s fighting spirit rise. He had a feeling that she wanted to pummel him.


    "Right now?" He asked, glancing toward the Hydra.


    "If you satisfy me, I''ll help you deal with that."


    "Deal."


    Less than a second later, a fist came flying toward Zach''s face. It collided with his barrier, sending cracks running through it. Zach reached up and grabbed it by the wrist. He spun around and yanked on the wrist. He raised the body up in the air and slammed it hard enough into the ground to make a starfish.


    The skeleton stood up instantly without so much as a scratch on it.


    "Hah! Good luck trying to break this one," Ozra laughed before kicking Zach in the back and sending him tumbling over the ground after almost folding his body in half.


    Yanael and Mandra tried to return the favor.


    Ozra had spooked Zach and the two maids with her sudden appearance, and she had spoken to and looked at Zach with a worrying intensity. Some of her expressions and the way she said things also made it seem like she wasn''t quite stable.


    Naturally, Yanael and Mandra were worried.


    That worry turned into anger as soon as Ozra attacked Zach with such a ruthless kick.


    "Play with those two, Metaleton." However, Ozra was interested in Zach, not his two familiars.


    The metallic skeleton intercepted Yanael''s attack and caught her sword with its hand. When Mandra tried to bypass it, the skeleton spun half a turn and extended its leg, kicking her in the abdomen.


    But the two would have continued to ignore the skeleton if they hadn''t seen Zach raise his hand, telling them to stay back.


    It was a familiar''s worst nightmare.

 Chapter 561 - 561: High Hopes

    Ozra was strong. Just like Zach, she completely ignored the norm of most summoners being significantly weaker than their familiars. If anything, she seemed stronger than her familiars, at least the metal skeleton one.


    Yanael and Mandra did not want him to fight her on his own. But they didn''t have much choice in the matter. Both Ozra and her Metaleton were strong enough that they could decide that for them.


    Yanael and Mandra could only grit their teeth and focus on the skeleton in front of them. If they could beat it, they could help Zach.


    A little bit away from them, Zach rubbed his back with an expression of discomfort. That kick had made it clear.


    Ozra might be his senior and someone talented enough for the principal to want to have her as his disciple.


    But she had no intentions of going easy on him. She was serious when she said she wanted him to prove his worth. But it also seemed like she held a grudge against him after he revealed that the principal had offered the position that was supposed to be hers to Zach instead.


    Zach felt it from both the kick and her gaze as she walked toward him.


    She knew just as well that it was the principal''s fault, much like the rest of what was wrong with the world.


    But if he didn''t prove his worth here, he would die. Surviving was proving his worth.


    Fortunately, survival was one of Zach''s strengths. He raised his guard and put up a series of barriers around his skin.


    Ozra disappeared from his sight even when he was on full alert. The next time he noticed her, she was already next to him, throwing a punch into his side. It was too late for him to move his arms to block.


    He still had his barriers, but they were like glass before Ozra''s fist.


    Zach''s world essence energy stirred.


    Testing the waters against Ozra was foolish. It seemed like he would have to treat her as seriously as he treated the Hydra.


    "I had high hopes for you, Zach," Ozra suddenly said while walking toward Zach as he got up again.


    "You are unprecedented, after all. Did you know?" She asked, punching Zach in the stomach and raising him into the air.


    "A summoner with four variants. I have never heard of such a thing before. I''ve seen three variants but not four. Well, it''s not like variants are better or anything. They''re just rare."


    Before Zach could fall back to the ground, Ozra grabbed his ankle and slammed him into the ground hard enough to make him bounce up and catch a kick with his waist.


    "But as if that''s not enough, all four of your variants are the same kind. Battle Maid Variants."


    Ozra already stood where Zach would have flown to. Instead of catching him in her arms, she balled her fists up and slammed them into Zach''s torso when he arrived, sending him into the ground as the seed of a crater.


    Ozra sighed.


    "Yet, here you are. I thought someone like you would exceed expectations, not fail to even live up to them." She bent down and placed a small but ridiculously strong hand around Zach''s neck.


    Before she could start squeezing, Zach''s hand wrapped around her wrist in a vice-like grip.


    "You''re the one who fought the First Child on the thirteenth floor, right?"


    "I never learned how to count past ten, but that sounds about right. If you tell anyone that he escaped from me¡­" She threatened, squeezing harder.


    "Don''t worry," Zach said, forcing a grin. "I killed him for you."


    Ozra''s eyebrows rose. Her grip didn''t let up, and she still had a knee on Zach''s chest. But it was enough of a gap for Zach to kick the back of her head. It was thanks tot he mobility he had trained over the years and with Ra.


    Ozra stumbled forward and let go of Zach, but Zach didn''t let go of her as he rolled backward with her and stood up. He held Ozra up in the air by the wrist.


    She looked at him, waiting for him to decide what to do.


    There were two routes he could take. He could be benevolent, show mercy, and let her go now that he had proved he could defend himself and retaliate. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Or he could not do that.


    Zach smiled kindly as he punched Ozra in the stomach with his other hand. She tried to block it with her free hand, but Zach just punched hard enough for it not to matter much.


    However, his smile faded.


    It was unsatisfying to punch Ozra. Her expression didn''t change from one of intense excitement as she stared straight into his eyes. It also felt like hitting a padded brick wall.


    Ozra was sturdy.


    Her hand wrapped around the fist that had tried to punch her stomach. Before Zach could react, she made use of the vice-like grip around her wrist to swing herself forward and headbutt Zach, eliciting two cracks, one from his barrier and one from his nose.


    She kneed him in the stomach. Zach leaned forward slightly. His grip wavered from the two hits, and Ozra got free.


    She landed with her feet slightly apart and with her fist already drawn back. As soon as she had footing, she twisted her upper body and sank her hand into the same spot she kneed. Zach''s stomach momentarily turned into the shape of a punched pillow before he was sent flying again.


    He had sparred a lot with Ra, but it seemed like putting it into practice against Ozra was a little difficult for him.


    Still, he had no intentions of giving up and stood up before he even stopped flying backward. His feet dug two lines into the ground as he slid to a halt.


    "So, what were you doing down in the Labyrinth if you weren''t waiting by the Hydra?" Zach asked, raising his arms to catch the horizontal kick Ozra was aiming at his face.


    "Exploring. I was going to see how deep the Labyrinth went. But then I found this interesting kid. Actually interesting, not like you," She answered, making use of Zach holding her by the leg to kick him with her other one.


    "Oh?"


    "Yeah. He was strong. Fun to play with."


    Zach stiffened.

 Chapter 562 - 562: You Done?

    A strong, interesting kid who was fun to play with.


    It didn''t quite fit in with the logical part of Zach''s brain. But he knew instinctively who that was.


    The last time he saw him, Minatio would never have been able to catch Ozra''s attention. In Zach''s mind, Minatio was still a wild baby with a little more strength than average.


    Lexi had said he had grown a lot the past years, but Zach still didn''t have an updated mental image of Minatio, so he couldn''t see him as anything but a mostly helpless baby who should not have been at the same depths in the Labyrinth as Ozra.


    But the way Ozra said it¡­It just made him think of Minatio. Still, he had to be sure.


    "Pale? Greyish hair? Maybe dark eyes?"


    "Yeah, how did you know?" Ozra asked lightly while trying to split Zach''s head in half with her heel.


    "What did you do¡­" Zach''s voice was a murmur behind gritted teeth.


    "Huh?"


    "Whad did you do to him?!" He roared, lunging forward, grabbing Ozra by the ankle, slamming her into the ground, and putting a foot on her throat.


    Ozra was taken by surprise. Did he really think that would work?


    She spun around, freeing her ankle and throat before grabbing the foot that had been on her throat and trapping his leg between hers. Before she could snap it in three places, Zach kicked the side of her head.


    It was an awkward angle, but it was still a good hit, based on the cracking sound it made, even if it was from Zach''s foot and not Ozra''s skull. He pushed the tip of his foot into the underside of her jaw. She had to let go, so that''s what she did, but not before twisting his ankle until it broke.


    The two shuffled backward and got up. Zach stood on one foot, the other resting limply against the ground while slowly healing. He glared at Ozra.


    "What did you do to Minatio?" He demanded again.


    "Nothing." She shrugged.


    "Why would I do anything to him when he hasn''t done me any wrong? He reminded me of myself when I was young, so I offered him some advice before we were interrupted by someone." She shot the Hydra a glare.


    "If that''s true, where is he?"


    "How am I supposed to know?" She asked like it was unreasonable for Zach to ask that.


    "But he was alive when you saw him last?"


    "Of course."


    "Good." Zach heaved a sigh of relief. Ozra didn''t understand what the big deal was. She just rolled her eyes and lowered her hands. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two of them turned to the side and looked at the new arrivals.


    Since the lightning was calming down, the Evandiels and the Maura warriors, chief included, had come to see what the commotion was about. Naturally, anger surged within the Evandiels when they saw Ozra snap Zach''s ankle.


    Zach did like Ozra and rolled his eyes. Now, they were worried about him?


    However, before they could say anything, the lightning died down, releasing the Hydra from its grasp.


    Everyone''s eyes, except Ozra''s, narrowed as they looked.


    Only three heads remained.


    The head of Usurpation, the head of Regeneration, and the unknown head. The head of Usurpation and the unknown head were mostly fine. But the head of Regeneration looked like it was about to join the rest of the fallen heads in nonexistence.


    Zach was a little surprised that the Hydra had taken so much damage that it had lost so many heads already, including the head of Immortality.


    But it solidified his feeling that it was intentional. He didn''t know why, but the Hydra wanted to lose its heads. It could not be for a good reason.


    He glanced at Ozra.


    "Did I prove my worth?" He asked. If he did, she was going to help them against the Hydra.


    "No," She answered simply, whipping her hand out and cracking it against Zach''s head at the same time, resuming their fight. Nymur drew his sword.


    Zach blocked Ozra''s knee and deflected her punch, looking past her at his family, and Maura, who was looking on with interest.


    "You guys deal with that," he said, glancing at the Hydra. "We''ll join you in a few minutes."


    Calserra put a hand on Nymur''s shoulder.


    Zach was important. But they had already come this far. If they didn''t take down the Hydra here, everything they had sacrificed so far would be for naught.


    Nymur gritted his teeth and pointed his sword at the Hydra instead of Ozra.


    "You done?" Ozra asked Zach.


    "Yep."


    "Good." Ozra grabbed Zach''s head with both hands and headbutted him.


    The pain stung, and tears involuntarily sprung up in the corners of Zach''s eyes. But he ignored that and sucker punched Ozra in the gut. She didn''t let go of his head and headbutted him again. Naturally, Zach responded with another sucker punch. But this time, he also kicked her shin and stomped on her foot.


    It was just a shame that she seemed to be indestructible. She didn''t so much as flinch from either attack. Zach sighed.


    He hadn''t wanted to use it against another human since it felt like there would be no going back after that.


    He placed his hand against Ozra''s stomach, ignoring the headbutts that broke through his barriers. He raised his palm until only his fingertips touched her.


    But before he could start, Ozra let go of him and jumped back with a wary expression.


    "What was that?" She asked.


    Zach shrugged.


    "Finally, something that works against you, I guess."


    Ozra narrowed her eyes and touched her stomach.


    "Don''t do that again."


    Zach was going to ask why, but a wave of unease swept over them both, forcing them to look toward the Hydra.


    The Evandiel family''s confidence in taking down the Hydra wasn''t for naught, nor was Maura''s confidence in her own strength.


    While Zach and Ozra fooled around, the Hydra had lost two of its three remaining heads. Only the head of Usurpation remained, and it smiled brightly as its body crumbled like it was made of coal.

 Chapter 563 - 563: Improper

    The Hydra''s entire body crumbled, including its head of Usurpation.


    At first, Zach thought that the bright smile was because it had found peace. After millennia of suffering, it could finally be released from the torture that was living. It could finally die. That was why it hadn''t put up more of a fight. That was why it had let Zach and the others take its heads off like ugly decorations. Maybe it was just done.


    But no, that wasn''t it.


    "You have our thanks."


    The Hydra had just shed unnecessary baggage.


    Did the different heads and the massive body do anything for it? It was so heavy that its wings could just barely lift it into the air. Its weight distribution was all weird, and the heads could be better at cooperating.


    The Hydra was strong, and on a fundamental level, its vessel was close to perfection. The physical makeup of its blood, bones, flesh, and scale was at a level that couldn''t be compared to an ordinary lizard. It was even a couple of steps above the Basilisk.


    Maybe if it still had its ninth head and balance between its powers and a balanced body, things would have been different. But it didn''t, so it needed to look for another way to achieve harmony and reach the next level.


    A few thousand years of seclusion hadn''t done the Hydra''s sanity any good, but it had done wonders for its ability to think about what to do when it got out.


    It had thought a lot about what it could do to become stronger.


    It hadn''t been able to test any of its theories when it was sealed, but it had realized a couple of things.


    The first was that almost no other creature had multiple heads, much less nine of them. And the most the Hydra had seen was beings with two or three heads. But to all those beings, those heads were innate. They were born with them.


    The Hydra wasn''t.


    It had made new heads for each of its powers as a way to better learn how to control and master them. It was a good idea, and it worked well, especially when it took a power it couldn''t control.


    The Hydra could just put that power in a separate head, and the power wouldn''t bother it. But when it tried to reach higher, the Hydra was forced to face its limits. That idea was good as long as it didn''t need to fight someone stronger than each of its heads.


    It was a good idea as long as the Hydra was satisfied with its current strength¡ªas long as it was satisfied with being a big fish in a small pond.


    It wasn''t. The Hydra wanted more, a lot more than what its current strength could offer it.


    So, without hesitation, the Hydra decided to discard its multiple heads and their personalities. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But that didn''t mean it got rid of the powers of each head.


    The Hydra took back all of the heads'' understanding of each power with two exceptions, and harmonized, united, and refined everything. It reduced its unnecessary body size to a fraction of what it was before, removing all the excess and waste, retaining only the best parts of itself.


    "It''s been a while since we talked like this."


    For ease of use, energy usage, movement, and communication, the Hydra took a form popular among most intelligent races, and one that monsters and powerful non-human beings often transformed into.


    It took on a humanoid shape. The only things that separated it from an ordinary human were the fragment-like scales on its cheekbones, its vertical pupils, and the leathery grey wings on its back.


    The Hydra''s long dark grey hair draped over their nude form as it stood with all of itself on full glorious display in the bright morning sun. Their limbs were long and slender, with hints of lean muscle beautifully adorning them, accentuating their curves.


    Ozra instinctively reached out to cover Zach''s eyes.


    "Don''t look, young''un!"


    Zach smacked away her hand.


    "Do you think it''s my first time seeing a naked woman?" He asked disdainfully.


    Ozra looked at him. He had a point. He was younger than her, but he was still a fully grown adult. It was only natural that he had at least some experience with the opposite gender.


    "It is, actually, so let me look."


    "..."


    "Ah! Hey¨CWait¡ªStop!" Zach raised his arms to defend himself as Ozra started beating him again.


    "I was just joking! I''m looking because that''s the Hydra, who might or not might want to kill me."


    Ozra''s hand stopped moving, but only for a second before she tapped Zach atop his head one last time.


    "You''re lucky that''s a good excuse. If I catch you doing something improper during the fight, I''ll show you the meaning of improper," Ozra said with a harrumph as she shot Zach a stern look with her arms crossed under the two only soft parts of her body.


    "Do you think I''m stupid?" He asked, massaging his sore arms. He continued before Ozra could say yes.


    "You''re supposed to save the improper stuff for after the fight."


    Zach winced, but it didn''t hide his smile as Ozra punched him in the side, breaking his posture.


    However, they were forced to stop joking around.


    The entire Evandiel family, the Maura warriors, the Ugri tribe, their captives, the Arlecch duo, Yan, and Oria, and even the Hydra were looking at them.


    Zach straightened up, fixed his clothes, even if they had already fixed themselves, and crossed his arms. There was not a hint of shame on his face. Coincidentally enough, Ozra''s expression was similar to Zach''s.


    They were both unbothered by everyone looking at them weirdly in this tense situation where any number of them might die in a fight that might break out any second.


    Eventually, Zach couldn''t stand the tension anymore.


    "So, Madam¡ªMiss Hydra. Do you still have plans on destroying the world?" He asked bluntly. This time, Ozra joined the ones staring at him.

 Chapter 564 - 564: Intentions

    Even the Hydra herself was a little taken aback by Zach''s bluntness. She blinked once.


    "Our intentions were never to destroy the world, but you know how it is. Do you care for the insects and bacteria you trample with every step you take?" The Hydra smiled with a tilt of her head, her pearly white fangs gleaming.


    The others'' reactions upon hearing those words were mixed. Some realized that the Hydra considered them the same way they thought about ants and accepted it. It wasn''t strange. The Hydra had the strength and right to have such a mind.


    It could be used to their advantage.


    Others realized the same thing but rejected the notion. They were angered by it.


    "Yes, actually. I make sure to take care when I walk just for that reason." One person was unbothered by it and focused on the literal meaning of the Hydra''s words. It was Zach.


    "If I can''t avoid walking over an ant or whatever it may be, I make sure to give it a barrier that I can walk on instead."


    "..."


    "Zach, have you ever been told you don''t know how to read the room?" Ozra asked, dumbfounded.


    "Yes, but I don''t see what that has to do with this. We''re not inside right now, and the closest thing to a room is on the other side of these ruins."


    "..."


    "Ahem. I am just joking, of course. Mostly. What are your intentions, then?" He turned to the Hydra again.


    She shrugged lightly with one shoulder.


    "I''m hungry."


    "A few thousand years in the ice will do that to a person."


    "...A few thousand¡­" The Hydra echoed in a murmur. "We weren''t that far off, then."


    Zach was the only one who understood the depth of those words. The others didn''t care much or were merely a little impressed that she had kept track of the time for so long.


    Zach was still under the rightful assumption that the Hydra''s seal was similar to when he was petrified by the Basilisk. He knew how difficult it was to keep track of time when all of one''s senses were sealed. With only one''s thoughts, it was almost impossible to measure time accurately.


    His eyes widened. The Hydra''s mental strength was greater than he thought. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Well, I don''t know if you like fowl, but I offer these two to you," Zach said while pointing at the Arlecch duo. He didn''t know what they had done or why, but they had fought Yan, Oria, and Lahso. That meant they were bad guys. But they would become good guys in his book if they could pacify the ravenous Hydra.


    The Hydra just smiled and looked straight into Zach''s eyes.


    "You know it, don''t you? You managed to acquire our ability somehow, after all. We can feel it sprouting inside you. That''s not at all what we want." She moved for the first time. She took a step forward.


    She was finally accustomed to how her current body worked. Every last fiber strand of muscle, joint, and nerve was under her control now. She could move as she pleased.


    "Those two have nothing to offer me." She appeared right in front of Zach, and she put her hands on either side of Zach''s head as she looked into his eyes with a bright expression that made Zach doubt whether she had really retained her sanity or not.


    "But you, on the other hand¡­! We wonder what will happen if we eat you!" She said excitedly, her mouth a wild grin. Before she could open that maw wide and devour Zach, a delicate-but-not-delicate fist rammed into the side of the Hydra''s head with enough force to knock her away from Zach.


    Ozra snorted as she stood in front of Zach.


    "Feel free to fall to your knees in gratitude," she said cockily but without tearing here eyes away from the Hydra, who was unaffected by the hit.


    "Sure, but she wasn''t going to eat me."


    "She wasn''t?" Ozra turned around.


    "I wasn''t?" The Hydra''s eyebrows were raised as she looked at Zach, shocked by his confident proclamation about what she was going to do.


    "Yeah. You said it yourself, didn''t you? My Usurpation is still growing. I could see it in your eyes. You gave me quite the close-up, after all. You''re curious." Zach was familiar with that breed of curiosity. It was the same as his. It was about something different since it didn''t have anything to do with summoning.


    But the Hydra was interested in how he got her ability of Usurpation, and how it would grow in the future.


    The Hydra''s lips curved into a deep smile. She realized Zach was right. She was curious about the young red-haired man who reminded her of herself while at the same time being her opposite.


    "That''s right. But don''t you think that we will kill you after seeing that smug face?"


    Zach''s expression froze.


    "If you tell us how you got our ability, we''ll spare you." A little out of practice with the whole talking thing, the Hydra went straight for making a deal to get what she wanted.


    Zach realized that she desperately wanted to know. He could have used it to negotiate if not for the fact that the Hydra was very strong. He also wasn''t sure what he wanted that could be negotiated.


    The Hydra''s desperation would have worked against her against someone more insidious than Zach.


    "I am pretty sure I inherited it from your second Child."


    The Hydra stared at Zach for a while before blinking. She opened her eyes and stared at him again.


    Ozra grabbed Zach by the collar and yanked him back as a blood-red flame scorched the place he had just been in. She hadn''t moved a finger. It looked like the ground had suddenly caught on fire as if the world was punishing Zach for speaking nonsense.


    "It seems you don''t take us seriously," The Hydra said, the smile on her face the temperative opposite of her searing flames. It sent chills down Zach''s confused spine.

 Chapter 565 - 565: Fight

    That was it. Nymur had had it. He was done with this. He was tired of two things.


    He was tired of constantly seeing his precious youngest son be attacked by people strong enough to kill him. He was also tired of Zach acting like he was the only one in the world.


    He was the youngest around. Why was he talking to the Hydra like he was the boss of them all?


    Nymur''s grip on the handle to his sword tightened, and he stepped forward, shooting off the ground. He was not going to give the Hydra another chance to attack Zach. The conversation was over.


    Nymur disappeared from the spot, reappearing right behind the Hydra with his sword raised and ready to strike. Almost translucent orange flames burned the air around his body and sword. It was the manifestation of his martial energy to one of the highest degrees.


    Nymur wasn''t holding back.


    He had lived his entire life with two primary goals. The first was to become strong enough to defeat the Hydra, should its seal become undone during his generation. The second was to raise the next generation to be that strong if the seal was not undone during his generation.


    Now that the time had come, he couldn''t be more prepared. He had honed his martial energy, his swordsmanship, his tactical skills, his strength, and himself all for this moment.


    However, the Hydra was a being that transcended limits and norms. It wasn''t something an ordinary person could prepare for.


    The Hydra peeled her attention away from Zach for a moment to glance at Nymur. She raised a hand to swat away Nymur''s sword before striking him in the center of his chest. Nymur reacted and blocked the strike with his arm as best as he could, but the force behind the blow alone was enough to send him flying.


    It took the length of a child''s stone throw before he even touched the ground. And when he finally did, he kept sliding, his feet leaving behind two long furrows in the ground until he eventually managed to retake the initiative and advance again.


    He looked at the Hydra in subdued shock.


    The Hydra was famous for its variety of powers, each represented by a head, and its size. Right now, the Hydra had neither many heads nor a grand size.


    Nymur had suspected that the Hydra would retain its powers even after losing its heads. It was the only thing that made sense. He confirmed that suspicion when she used fire to try and incinerate Zach.


    That led to him expecting her to use any of her eight powers to attack him. Why wouldn''t she? After all, those powers were her greatest strengths.


    However, they weren''t her only strengths.


    The Hydra wouldn''t be satisfied with a body that couldn''t live up to her expectations. She wouldn''t be satisfied with anything shy of the best.


    And right now, she was feeling pretty satisfied with her body.


    It was the peak physical form, as imagined by the endless experience of flesh and blood from her powers of regeneration and immortality. It was those powers that let her remake her body as she wished.


    It was those powers that had seen through an endless amount of damage to her body and restored it all. Naturally, those powers would notice what was better or weaker.


    Usurpation filled in whatever gaps remained by taking the strengths of everything she had ever consumed.


    The density of her muscles, the flexibility of her joints, the length of her limbs, the cohesion of her organs, the elasticity of her tendons, the sharpness of her senses, and the body''s compatibility with her powers.


    Calling her an apex predator implied that she was at the top of the food chain. That wasn''t accurate. She was above it.


    She had the right to see destroying the world as an unintended side effect of her actions. She was strong enough that trampling the Empire to her was the same as a kid walking over a marching line of ants.


    However, even among ants, there were those who could kill adult humans with a single bite. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Nymur was sent flying, the fight broke out in full.


    Leonidas hurried to take his place, keeping the Hydra busy and from attacking anyone else. His approach was more cautious than Nymur''s, and he was wary of both the Hydra''s physical strength and her powers.


    But if being wary of something was enough to overcome it, the world would be a different place. Being aware of the Hydra''s physical excellence didn''t suddenly give Leonidas the ability to compare.


    He was barely maintaining the Hydra''s attention on him, much less enduring her relaxed flicks. She gently tapped his blade whenever he swung it. The shocks that ran through his weapon made his hands tremble. If he hadn''t tied the sword to his main hand with a strap before the fight broke out, he would have already lost it.


    Fortunately, the Hydra seemed interested in finding the limits of her current physical body. So, she entertained Leonidas and Lily, the other sword-user in the family. They attacked in turns, and in turn, received the Hydra''s attacks one at a time.


    The Hydra tapped their weapons with one hand behind her back as she dodged and stepped aside with relaxed movements. Occasionally, she would flick their arms, backs, sides, or legs. Each flick carried a ringing snapping sound.


    Leana, Calserra, and Lilo could imagine the pain the swordsmen would have felt each time the snapping sound rang out. But they focused on what they had to do.


    Leana supported Calserra as she manifested a cloud of red domination aura that quickly grew to the size of a house before it shrank under their concentrated efforts. A spread out domination aura wouldn''t do anything to the Hydra.


    As the domination aura concentrated, the color deepened until the cloud was opaque and like a boulder of ruby.


    It was an inefficient way to use domination aura, but it was one of the stronger direct attacks Calserra could use. She pushed it toward the Hydra at a speed that couldn''t be avoided.

 Chapter 566 - 566: Strength

    The Hydra''s eyes widened slightly when she noticed the power Calserra and Leana were using.


    "We remember this power. Your mastery over it is impressive. For a human."


    The next moment, the ruby cloud enveloped the Hydra.


    Domination was a power that controlled¡ªdominated the target. It could be anything from the arrow or sword another was trying to kill one with to the blood in another''s vessels. All it took was for the domination aura, which was a manifestation of the user''s will and could move at the speed of thought, to make contact.


    Naturally, dominating another person and moving the aura at the speed of thoughts required extensive training and talent. Fortunately, Calserra had both those things.


    The Hydra, on the other hand, was weaker to domination than anything else after having possessed and then lost that power.


    The battle should have been in Calserra''s favor. Still, she could feel the Hydra''s fierce resistance from within the red domination aura. She grunted from exertion and gritted her teeth as she closed her fists as if to squeeze the aura even tighter. Beads of sweat pearled on her skin.


    Anyone else would have already succumbed to the pressure and turned into a meatball.


    The Hydra certainly felt it. Calserra''s attack was powerful enough to draw cracks in her skin and draw blood. The vessels in the Hydra''s eyes even burst, giving her a slightly terrifying appearance.


    She snorted. Black flames burst out from every spot on the Hydra''s body, burning away the domination aura. The block of domination aura exploded, the shards fading like memories.


    Calserra stumbled, blood trickling out of her nose.


    Poisonous smoke from the fire pervaded the area.


    Lilo, like most members of the Evandiel family, inherited an affinity for fire. Her specialty was fire magic. That was useless against the Hydra. That was why she was going against her nature to use water and ice magic against the Hydra. But she quickly gave up on that after seeing the poison fire the Hydra used to break out from her mother''s domination aura.


    Lilo wasn''t strong enough to attack the Hydra.


    Instead, she could support the others by blowing away the smoke and keeping them safe from the poison.


    There was just one problem. The Hydra also ruled the air. Any attempts Lilo made at conjuring wind to blow away the smoke backfired.


    Everything the Evandiel family tried ended in failure. And it ended so quickly that Zach and the others just watched it happen.


    However, Zach wasn''t going to stay still when the Hydra rampaged. He wasn''t the only one that moved.


    Maura''s blood had already boiled too long without seeing any action.


    The next thing that happened in the fight was a large polar bear that dwarfed the Hydra charging right at her, letting out a guttural roar. Maura raised a heavy paw and swatted down at the Hydra like she was going to squash a bug.


    The Hydra met Maura''s paw with a relaxed upward swat of her own.


    But unlike what the Hydra expected, Maura''s paw wasn''t sent away. She was forced to carry the brunt of Maura''s weight as she pushed down on the Hydra.


    The Hydra revealed an opening as she used both hands to resist the overlapping paws of the oversized bear. She could use her powers to force Maura back, but the Hydra wanted to test her body''s limits.


    Nymur saw that opening and dashed forward again, crouching behind the Hydra with his sword behind him. He lashed out, drawing a glistening curve through the air before the Hydra could react.


    The Hydra''s body tried to resist Nymur''s sharp blade but did not succeed. He cut open the Hydra''s back. It was deep enough to scratch her spine. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was an attack that would have crippled an ordinary person.


    The Hydra felt a bout of instability as the damage to her spine weakened the connection in her body, but only for a moment.


    The powers of regeneration that could heal areas the size of a house when she was in her previous form was now concentrated in a body a fraction of the size. Naturally, it took more for her powers to regenerate her now since her current physique was more complex and advanced. The regeneration in terms of blood drops recovered per second was lower.


    But the amount of blood to recover was less than a fraction.


    It was just like how the injuries Calserra inflicted disappeared before she had the time to see them when the Hydra escaped the domination aura.


    The wound closed almost before Nymur had the chance to evaluate his success.


    Still holding up the bear that was trying to crush her with all its might, the Hydra glanced back at Nymur. He was a little dirty from the previous attack but still mostly fine.


    Nymur felt a chill run down his spine as the Hydra''s eyes twinkled before her leg suddenly shot out backward, kicking Nymur up into the air.


    Calserra caught him with her domination aura and put him down next to her while the Hydra threw off Maura''s hands hard enough to make her stumble backward. Maura''s fur rippled as she went down on all fours and growled at the Hydra. The two started circling each other.


    Maura was face-to-face with someone physically stronger than her for the first time in ages. The Hydra was standing before someone who could help her find her body''s limits.


    Neither saw a reason to hold back.


    Maura''s claws tore through the dirt and stone beneath her as she charged.


    The Hydra bent her legs slightly as she gathered her strength before receiving Maura''s tackle, which was more like a bull''s charge. She caught Maura by the snout and held it under her arm as she dug her feet into the ground.


    Maura ripped apart the ground as she pushed forward, trying to raise the Hydra up.


    But instead, the Hydra started putting pressure on the underside of Maura''s head and throat. She leaned backward. With a roar of her own, the Hydra flipped the tables on Maura by picking her up by the head and balancing her, furry ass touching the clouds.

 Chapter 567 - 567: What Do You Mean?

    Maura was too stunned to struggle. Never in her life had she ever been picked up like this. Never in her life had she thought it would ever happen, either. Her body was a dense mass of bone, tight muscle, and thick fur.


    But the Hydra hadn''t just picked her up. She had picked Maura up by the head.


    Maura had lost the contest of strength. But it only made her excited. Her excitement cooled a little as the Hydra leaned backward, though, and slammed her into the ground with her back first.


    The impact made a decent pit, and cracks spread through the ground, forcing Lilo and Calserra to move aside.


    Maura rolled over with an excited grin.


    "I don''t usually consort with reptiles, but for you, I''ll make an exception." She looked at the Hydra, who was flexing her hands and feeling her strength. The Hydra raised an eyebrow.


    "What makes you think I''m interested?"


    "..." Maura blinked. That was a good point. Maura liked the Hydra''s strength. But the Hydra was stronger than Maura, so it was one-sided.


    "I think you need to work on your seductive skills, Maura. You''ve been shot down twice now," Zach said as he flew in with a fist aimed at the Hydra''s face.


    It was supposed to be a surprise attack, so talking wasn''t optimal. But the Hydra had already noticed him, so Zach figured it didn''t matter.


    The Hydra raised a palm and caught Zach''s fist. However, the recklessly surging world essence energy and the strength it gave Zach took the Hydra by surprise, and her arm buckled. Her and Zach''s hands almost reached her face before she regained control.


    The Hydra''s eyes lit up as she looked at Zach with a wide smile.


    "Oh, I knew I wanted to eat you!" She said upon recognizing the world essence energy.


    World essence energy was not easy to come in contact with, even more so in a form that could be consumed, eaten, or Usurped. World essence energy was such a high level energy that even the Hydra wanted it.


    The Hydra raised the hand holding Zach''s and pulled him close. She looked into his eyes. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What do you say?" She asked lovingly.


    Maura could only watch with a slack jaw at what was going on.


    "If you mean in the literal sense, then no."


    "Too bad," She said without a hint of disappointment and without the smile on her face fading. It was too bad for him since he wouldn''t get what he wanted.


    The Hydra started opening her mouth when two feet suddenly entered the picture and crashed into her ribcage from the side. Zach recognized those feet. Ozra had fulfilled her promise.


    Zach glanced up in the split second between Ozra''s impact and the Hydra being flung to the side.


    The Hydra was still holding onto him.


    "Hey!" He shouted angrily at Ozra as he and the Hydra tumbled through the air for a few steps.


    The Hydra landed on her feet, surprised by Ozra''s strength and how she had suddenly appeared without warning.


    She also took the opportunity to marinate Zach a little by slamming him into the ground.


    "That''s what you get for holding back when fighting me!" Ozra shouted back with her arms crossed.


    "Ugh."


    Zach tried to get up, but the Hydra put a foot on his back.


    "I did not forget what you said. If you stay down, I''ll at least make it painless."


    Zach would have frowned if his face hadn''t been planted in the ground.


    "Hmamb go u mimf?" He said. The mouthful of dirt muddled his speech a little.


    The Hydra frowned before sighing and picking up Zach by the hair on the back of his head. She dangled it up and down to shake out the dirt in his mouth. Her curiosity got the best of her.


    "One more time."


    "What do you mean?" Zach asked again like he was sick and tired of having to repeat himself.


    "What do I mean?" The Hydra asked in disbelief.


    "Hmph! What do you mean?! Since when do I have kids?" She asked in outrage, pulling Zach up by his hair.


    Nymur, who had been about to rejoin the fight with his sword ready to cut down the Hydra again, froze. Maura, who had been drawing circles in the sand with her claw, looked up, stunned.


    Yanael, Mandra, and the metallic skeleton, who were tied together like three strings in a knot slowly pulled apart from each other. It was a tie.


    "Uhh¡­According to my understanding of the timeline, since around the time you were sealed? There were nine of them¡ª"


    "No, don''t continue. What the fuck do you mean?" The Hydra asked, as confused as Zach.


    Zach glanced around, silently pleading for help since he didn''t have the best understanding of the history behind the Hydra. He didn''t get it.


    "Well, it all happened so long ago that I guess history has been a little muddied. But before or around the time you were sealed, you had nine children."


    "How come I don''t know about this?" She asked with a suspicious glare.


    "How am I supposed to know?" Zach asked with a helpless shrug.


    "Hmm. Continue explaining, then." The Hydra could tell that Zach wasn''t lying, at least not intentionally. There was something off about this situation. She didn''t like it. Before she devoured Zach, she wanted to figure it out. Considering that he had her ability, she kind of had to figure it out.


    "All I know is that a group of eight, formerly nine people calling themselves your Children and you Mother, have been active since the time you were sealed. Some legends say they are the product of a forbidden love between you and¡­" Zach could feel his life hang by a thread as he approached this topic. The Hydra''s eyes were dangerously narrow as she looked at him, silently telling him to tread carefully.


    "...The God of Nature¡ª"


    "THAT BASTARD!"

 Chapter 568 - 568: That Bastard

    The Hydra''s roar tore through the skies like thunder. The strength she used to lift Maura was channeled into the air through her voice. The shockwave blew away loose sand and dust around her.


    Zach''s ears rang, and it was not because the Hydra had thrown him back into the ground. He had been the closest to the powerful shout and suffered the most. But the others weren''t doing much better.


    It was a roar containing all the pent-up rage and resentment the Hydra had accumulated during the time she was sealed. She wasn''t holding back or testing her limits. That shout came straight from her heart.


    Zach''s vision was blurry and pink when he tried to look up at the Hydra again. Her shout had burst some of the vessels in his eyes.


    "I¡­I take it that''s not what happened," he struggled to say.


    The Hydra angrily turned toward him. She was close to just incinerating him. It would be easy. She needed to vent her anger somewhere.


    But¡­


    "You''re lucky, you rude man. You''re going to help me kill a god."


    Zach''s already swollen eyes almost popped out of his head.


    "W-what¡­?" He asked in a weak voice.


    "You''re one of only two people in this world with the ability to surpass the gods. Devouring you won''t do much now, but it will stave off my hunger a little. It''s up to you." The Hydra looked at him closely, waiting for an answer. To her, it didn''t matter much.


    "If I help you kill the God¡ª"


    "That bastard," she corrected.


    "If I help you kill that bastard¡­" He started saying.


    "Yes¡­?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She could tell Zach was going to ask for something. As long as it wasn''t stupid, she might consider it.


    "Will you become my familiar?" He asked with a puppy dog smile, his eyes gleaming like wet diamonds in the sunlight.


    The next thing he knew was the ground his face was suddenly planted in again. He didn''t even have time to register the pain. He hurriedly pulled himself up to see the Hydra glancing south, not that he knew which direction it was.


    "Is that a yes?" He asked hopefully.


    The Hydra snorted.


    "If you aren''t strong enough by the time I come back, you better have said your goodbyes." The Hydra''s wings extended fully.


    Zach saw them start to move, but that was all he saw before she disappeared from the spot. He had a feeling she soared into the sky, so he looked up but still saw no trace of her.


    "That was exhausting," He said as he fell backward, limp as a log.


    The Hydra was a lot stronger than expected. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, he didn''t have time to relax. Suddenly, someone stood by his head.


    "I forgot this." The Hydra said, holding a compressed cloud of dark, eerie gray. She had returned to give him a gift.


    Out of her eight powers, not counting the Domination she had already lost, she had set aside two from the harmony she established when changing her form. One was the power of Death. That power did not fit in with the rest, especially after Soara took almost all of it, weakening it. The Hydra discarded what she had left.


    The other power that she did not introduce to the balance she created was the unknown power of the unpredictable head. She could not control it.


    ''I don''t know where you''re from, but you''re like me, right? Since you could take my ability, you might be able to handle this someday.''


    Zach''s eyes flashed wide open as he heard the Hydra''s voice inside his head before she pressed her palm against his chest. Ozra, Maura, Nymur, Yanael, and Mandra reached out to stop her, but they were far too slow. The Hydra had already disappeared again when they reached Zach.


    They hadn''t heard all she said, nor had they understood what little they heard. They feared the worst.


    Zach knew he wasn''t going to die, but he had felt that strange power. It was a scary feeling that unnerved him down to his core. It was not something a mortal should be playing. He felt it instinctively. He was worried he would face a fate worse than death.


    So, he lay scared stiff while the others crowded around him.


    "Master!" Yanael threw herself down to check on Zach, worried that she might worsen any injuries if she wasn''t careful.


    "Zach!"


    "Kid."


    "Junior, you''re not faking it, are you?"


    "Youngest¡­"


    Lying there on the ground, Zach felt inexplicably calm and amazed as he looked up. Amid the blue canvas of the sky, he saw the faces of his familiars, the prince''s group, Maura, Ozra, and his family.


    "I¡­"


    "''Yes?''"


    "Can''t breathe with all of you crowding me like that. Back off. Yanael, help me up, please. I can''t walk on my own right now."


    "Why not?!" Nymur shouted, his worry raising his voice.


    Zach glanced at him as he put his arm over Yanael''s shoulder and had her carry most of his weight.


    "It''s the backlash from using a power a human shouldn''t have." He shrugged before walking toward the Labyrinth.


    With the Hydra gone after having dominated them all, the threat seemed to be past. If the Hydra wanted to destroy the world or the Empire or whatever, she wouldn''t have spared them.


    The truth could be whatever, but it was clear that history was a lie.


    The fight was over, at least for now, and Zach wasn''t in the mood to continue. He just wanted to lie down and take a nap for a few years.


    But while the fight was over, everything wasn''t done yet.


    He still had to pick up his other familiars and Lexi.


    As the others looked at the slouched back clinging to two maids, they realized something.


    Zach was the youngest of everyone present. He had the least time to get strong enough to fight the Hydra.


    They were all only alive thanks to him.

 Chapter 569 - 569: Beating

    The fight against the Hydra could have gone very differently. The Hydra had no reason to spare any of them. They had all attacked her as soon as she broke out of her seal and wanted to return to the world, after all. If anything, she would have been justified if she returned the killing intent. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She had more than enough strength to realize that killing intent.


    However, whether it was intentional or not, Zach had defused the situation multiple times. Instead of the fight devolving into a blood fest to celebrate the Hydra''s return, it turned into a conversation. It was interrupted by violence and unlucky choices of words, but Zach had essentially disarmed the Hydra by talking with her.


    If he hadn''t done that, the others would not have thought to converse with the Hydra or tried to figure out her intentions. They would have fought to the death, believing in the tales told by their predecessors and the prophecies as read from the stars.


    The Evandiels had passed down the goal of ending the Hydra''s lifeline for generations. They had lived for that and inspected the seal on the thirtieth floor to get an estimate of when the Hydra would break out of its seal.


    That timing had coincided with the prophecy of great change and disaster from the Sesha.


    The prophecy had made it sound like something big and dangerous was coming. Regardless of whether they survived or not, the skies would change.


    Considering the timing of the Hydra''s seal, it was natural to assume that the prophecy had been about her.


    The Hydra was certainly big and dangerous. The mere threat of her reemergence into the world had birthed a war and reaped countless lives. She was also still very much alive and free. There was no telling the damage she could wreak across the Empire with the strength she had just shown.


    But that was unlikely, given her conversation with Zach.


    However, for a prophecy of such a scale to talk about this war like it was the end of the world didn''t make sense. Either it was wrong, or they had missed something. One way to find out would be to talk with the tribe responsible for reading the prophecy among the stars.


    Maura glanced around.


    "Shit."


    Everyone looked at her when she suddenly cursed.


    "Those rat bastards took the chance to flee," she explained. The Arlecch tribe, or what remained of it, and the Ugri tribe had disappeared sometime during the fight. They had realized that there was no defeating the Hydra. Even if there were, their end wouldn''t be any good.


    So, when the others were distracted by keeping their lives intact, they skipped town like their lives depended on it. There was no way they would be caught now.


    That discovery put a damper on the already complex mood. Everyone was still reeling from the fact that history was a lie, they were all disgustingly weak, and Zach, the youngest of them all, had saved their lives without even waiting for a thanks.


    There was also the aftermath that they all dreaded dealing with. For now, they could take a few moments or minutes to breathe. They had survived. The threat of the Hydra was at least temporarily suspended.


    Everything else could come later.


    There was just one thing that stood out.


    "Who are you?" Nymur suddenly asked Ozra. He had not forgotten the sight of Ozra headbutting Zach until his nose gushed blood. She had come from seemingly nowhere and attacked his son for seemingly no reason.


    But she had also saved Zach from being incinerated when he first spoke about the Hydra''s Children. She was strong.


    Nymur was more wary than hostile, but he certainly didn''t have a good impression of her.


    "Ozra." Ozra''s answer was simple, and she gave it with a shrug.


    Nymur stepped in front of his other kids and put his hand on the handle of his beaten sword.


    Yan paused for a second before narrowing his eyes as he looked at Ozra.


    Maura tilted her head, confused at their reactions.


    "You''re¡­" Nymur started saying uncertainly.


    Ozra rolled her eyes.


    "Yes. Ozra, the maniac who maims and kills children in her free time." She crossed her arms and stared at Nymur to see if he was going to do anything. He wasn''t. He was tired from the fighting and not confident he could take Ozra. If the rumors were even slightly accurate, she still had many cards up her sleeves.


    Since no one was going to do anything to her, Ozra turned around and grabbed her Metaleton. She picked it up by the head and held it in front of her while walking away.


    "You''re a disgrace. But you did good, I guess." Her body faded away as she spoke, disappearing from the others'' view and senses.


    Yan glanced at Nymur.


    "I think¡ª"


    "Don''t." Nymur sternly interrupted Yan.


    "...That was a mistake." Yan ignored that and spoke anyway. "There''s more to it than those rumors. And she saved your son''s life."


    "She also beat him up."


    "Is that what it looked like to you?" Yan asked seemingly innocently.


    It was definitely a beating that would have put an ordinary man in the field hospital for a month if they survived.


    But Zach was far from ordinary. His body was sturdy, he had his barriers to soften any blow he took, and he regenerated from his injuries at a visible pace. It was to the point where Yan suspected that he had inherited the Hydra''s powers of regeneration, albeit a weaker version.


    A beating of the level Ozra had given him was like a friendly but painful tap to the shoulders with the knuckles.


    It was only a beating worth being upset over if Zach was weak.


    That made it clear what Nymur subconsciously still thought of Zach despite what had just transpired.


    Yan ignored Nymur and the other Evandiels and turned to Maura.


    "Are you interested in a little diplomacy to calm the nerves on a tumultuous day like this?" He asked.


    "Don''t you know the word rest¡­?"


    "I know it very well. That''s why I know when my gut is telling me there''s no time for it."

 Chapter 570 - 570: A Moment Of Peace

    Zach was dead tired. Most of his injuries had recovered. It was a life where he put his life on the line, but it wasn''t a messy dogfight where he accumulated a bunch of broken bones. Either he lived or he didn''t. Fortunately, the Hydra had been surprisingly easy to talk to.


    If her personality had been worse, everyone would have died.


    Most of Zach''s fatigue and the poor condition of his body came from the world essence energy. He had already taxed his body until he felt the backlash during the first two rounds against the Hydra when she was still in her lizard form.


    And then, when she shrank and transformed, he had been forced to overdo it. His body was practically useless.


    He didn''t even have anything to show for it.


    Zach sighed as he re-entered the Labyrinth with Yanael and Mandra. Since Soara, Alzara, and Lexi weren''t out yet, it probably meant they were staying on the thirtieth floor. Zach would have to go get them.


    Fortunately, descending was a lot easier this time since they had already done it once. They didn''t have to complete the obscure and repetitive objectives of each floor. They just had to take it easy when Zach had trouble withstanding the vertigo. There was one floor they couldn''t take it easy on, though. The twentieth floor wasn''t very welcoming to them for some reason, and they hurried away to the next.


    It didn''t take long for them to return to the thirtieth floor, where the chill had started to set in and fill the air with icy crystals.


    Zach was too weak to make a barrier that could withstand the chill, so Mandra handled that. She was also prepared to handle the search for the other three, but that wasn''t necessary.


    Something was telling them which direction to go in.


    It wasn''t the Labyrinth. It wasn''t a spell. It wasn''t any of the familiars.


    It was an unsettling and bone-chilling feeling that trumped the Labyrinth''s cold. It was a feeling that made her instincts tell them to go in the opposite direction.


    Naturally, they followed that feeling to its source. If there was one good thing about the feeling, it was the fact that it was so unnerving that it couldn''t be because Lexi or Alzara had died.


    Whether that was truly a good thing remained to be seen, however.


    After a little while, one trio spotted another. However, Soara, Alzara, and Lexi did not seem to notice them. They were huddled together with their backs toward Zach and the others.


    Zach couldn''t help but fear the worst, but when he got closer, he could tell that all three of them were alive and mostly well. They were gathered around something small and looking at it.


    Zach narrowed his eyes for a moment before they widened in realization. He hobbled forward on unsteady legs as quickly as Yanael and Mandra let him.


    "Is it the egg?!" He asked as soon as he was only a few steps away and close enough to answer his own question.


    "Schh!" Lexi hushed him.


    "Yes, Master," Soara answered him, earning a side-long glare from Lexi, who almost instantly returned to watching the egg with hawk-like sharpness.


    Lexi remembered that the Hydra was a thing and glanced at Zach with worry.


    He looked fine. That he was here now meant that the situation was probably over. They could talk details later.


    Yanael and Mandra helped Zach sit down next to Soara. They joined the spectators and watched the black egg with curious and expectant eyes. After laying their eyes on it, they could confirm that it was the source of the unnerving feeling they got when they stepped foot on the thirtieth floor.


    However, other than perhaps being a little glossier than before, it didn''t appear much different. It still looked like a bottomless pit given physical form in the shape of an egg. It hadn''t made any cracks or any moves. It did not look like an egg about to hatch.


    Still, Zach was content just watching. They didn''t need to stress about the egg''s current condition and whether it was going to hatch or just entering another stage of its incubation phase.


    A moment of silence with the awareness that the danger had passed and they were all fine was enough to warm Zach''s heart and gently lower his mind into a soft slumber. He leaned his head against Soara''s shoulder without even realizing he had fallen asleep.


    Yanael helped him remain seated by standing behind him and offering her legs as a backrest, and Mandra kept him warm with her magic.


    Zach deserved more rest than he was going to give himself. After everything he had gone through, the least they could do was make sure it was as comfortable as possible. After all, the more he did, the less they had to do.


    He was taking their job. In other words, he was fighting so that they didn''t have to waste their lives. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yanael and Mandra, who had gotten the best look at how far Zach pushed himself this time, had mixed feelings.


    On one hand, they were happy to have such an admirable and powerful Master who took care of them and fought because he didn''t want them to risk their lives without him.


    On the other hand, their inadequacy had led to Zach''s current condition. If they were stronger, he wouldn''t need to push himself so far. He also wouldn''t have to worry about them.


    But it wasn''t like Zach was going to sit still and wait for them to surpass him until his meager strength was redundant. They would have to work hard.


    The silence made for many thoughts, not just within Yanael''s and Mandra''s minds. But the foremost one that they all, except Zach, who dreamed of frogs, shared was a question.


    They all wondered when the egg would hatch.


    Fortunately, they didn''t have to wait as long as it took for the egg to reach its current state.


    A little while after Zach fell asleep, the egg cracked, and dark light emerged like sunlight through a broken roof.

 Chapter 571 - 571: Rank

    A wave of pressure flowed out, waking Zach up and straightening everyone''s backs. The light expanded while the eggshell disappeared. A lump of solid dark light floated into the air, shedding beams akin to tendrils of starlight into the far distance.


    Zach and the others watched with awe as the dark light slowly took form and became a familiar with the appearance of a young child instead of an egg. It was not a human child, however.


    Light purple skin with hues of grey, black eyes with specks of white light, tiny, leathery wings a few shades darker than her skin, eight horns around her head like a crown, and velvety violet hair that reached her shoulders.


    Her eyes fluttered, and she looked at the crowd spectating her hatching. Zach and the other suddenly got a feeling of wanting to kneel before the little girl. They could easily ignore it, but it was surprising that a newly hatched familiar with the appearance of a little girl could give them such a feeling.


    It was clear that she was no ordinary being.


    The only one unaffected by that impression was Lexi, who quickly reached out and wrapped the girl in a hug.


    "Ohmygosh! You''re so cute!" Lexi squealed. The young girl let herself be hugged with a slightly confused look on her face. The young girl let out a shallow sigh and retracted her presence. She was no longer intimidating or making people want to get on their knees. Other than her non-human appearance, she just appeared to be an ordinary girl.


    However, she was clearly extraordinary. Zach had let Lexi hug and squeeze the little girl for a little while, but he couldn''t endure it any longer. He poked Lexi''s shoulder. The little girl gazed at him while he did it. She seemed curious, which only made Zach even more excited to find out what kind of being she was.


    "Hey, check your summoning interface."


    Lexi''s eyes widened. She immediately pulled it up. She did not let go of the girl, who resigned herself to her fate, though.


    Her eyes lit up as she slowly read the letters that appeared. Excitement welled out of her like sunlight.


    "''Primordian *Dark Star Variant''¡­" Her voice trembled with excitement, as she intentionally skipped over the most important part to raise Zach''s anticipation through the roof. But it was for a good reason.


    Zach couldn''t even find it in himself to ask what rank. He didn''t want to distract Lexi or make her waste more time before answering.


    "S¡­" She said, dragging out the letter''s tail like she was a snake.


    She wasn''t done yet.


    "S¡­"


    Zach''s eyes widened. Was that it? Or was there more?


    "S¡­rank," She finally finished with a wide smile. Her first familiar was SSS-rank.


    Zach had expected it after feeling the sense of oppression coming from the little girl and after the second ''S,'' but it was still a shock to have it confirmed. The shame of her first familiar being a G-rank egg was completely wiped away.


    Zach had felt great about summoning an S-rank as his first and an SSS-rank as his fourth. According to the Empress Dowager, that was the limit.


    Lexi''s circumstances were a little different, but she had still summoned an SSS-rank as her first.


    It seemed like she was always going to upstage everyone else.


    Zach sighed lightly with a happy smile. He couldn''t be jealous of his sister, who was great at everything. He could only be proud. He patted her shoulder.


    To his surprise, Lexi grabbed his hand and looked at Zach with warm eyes.


    "Thank you, Zach," She expressed her heartfelt gratitude. Zach almost got the creeps.


    "W-what''s wrong with you now?"


    Lexi rolled her eyes.


    "It''s safe to say that your theory was correct. The blood she absorbed helped her grow stronger. Without your help, I would have never gotten such a high-ranking familiar."


    Without Zach, she wouldn''t even have summoned a familiar in the first place. But it was thanks to Zach that she got the blood from his powerful familiars, the familiars of everyone at the Academy, the blood of the principal''s familiars, the blood of the Empress Dowager''s familiars, Ra''s blood, and the Hydra''s blood. He had even given his blood filled with world essence energy.


    Without Zach''s help, Lexi did not think she could have nourished her familiar until it reached the SSS-rank.


    Up til now, Zach had felt a little regretful that they had only been able to use the blood that the Hydra shed before it escaped to the surface and transformed. But that clearly didn''t matter to Lexi. He doubted it would have mattered even if she knew about it.


    It wasn''t like that difference would have propelled the tiny girl to the next rank. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach shrugged with a smug grin.


    "Well, it was nothing much, but since you feel so strongly about it, feel free to spend the lest of your life paying me back."


    "Sure." Lexi nodded.


    "Wait, no. You''re supposed to¡ª"


    "You understand, don''t you? If I had helped you summon an SSS-rank familiar as your first¡­" Lexi didn''t need to finish. She knew Zach would understand as soon as she said that much. He was far more obsessed with summoning than she was. If he had gotten an SSS-rank familiar as his first, he would have probably exploded from the excitement.


    Even now, she could see him twist and curl up on the inside from trying to control his thoughts. Eventually, he shook his head.


    "No, that wouldn''t have mattered. I wouldn''t give up Yanael or anyone else even for a higher-ranking first familiar."


    Yanael and the others appreciated the sentiment of his statement, but it was painfully obvious that he wasn''t being truthful to himself or anyone else. Purely hypothetically, if it had been in the past, before he had summoned anyone, he would have jumped at the chance to get an SSS-ranking familiar as his first. He might have even done it without knowing how good it was.


    However, Zach suddenly stopped moving like he had ants crawling through his veins. A look of clarity covered his face. He thumped his fist against his palm as a light appeared above his head.


    "I just need to help everyone evolve to SSS-rank."